e g h iin l Ti er THE

Dec. 15, 2009

Volume 50 Issue 12

1015 Division St. Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613

CFHS junior off to Washington Maggie Devine Editor-in-Chief

Junior Nick Carlo pauses during a rest in last week’s band concert. The choir and orchestra performed their winter tunes last night.

CFHS junior and Hi-Line sports editor Ben Olson has been chosen to serve as a congressional page for Representative Bruce Braley. He will work and go to school in Washington, D.C., from Jan. 24 to June 4. “My dad got an email forwarded to him from someone from Braley’s office saying that there was an opportunity to be a page. I got the email two weeks before the application was due, so I thought about doing it for one week, and when I decided to do it, I had about five days to get all of my recommendations and essays done, so it was hectic, but I’m definitely glad I chose to send in my app,” Olson said. Congressman Braley said he chose Olson because of his many outstanding achievements. “This is an extremely rare opportunity to see how our

popular art forms. Senior Alexis Rokes, who is taking advanced design with Klenske, wishes the change had come earlier. “We had a short photography unit where we made a collage out of pictures,” Rokes said, “but I wish that we had spent more time on the photography unit instead of just brushing past it.” Junior Darby Sheehan was excited about the new course offering. “Yes, I’m definitely planning on taking it,” Sheehan said. “I take pictures for school events right now, but that sometimes can be not very interesting. Hopefully this new class will allow me to take

pictures of what I want.” The curriculum for the course is being formed by expanding what is currently skimmed over in computer graphics. “We’re going to have more time to be creative with our cameras and with our Photoshop scanners,” Klenske said. The class is seen as a very important addition to the art department. “It’s essential because we have so many outlets for art here (at Cedar Falls High School), but one of the most mainstream and creative forms of it isn’t available,” Sheehan said. “It’s a pretty major past time.” Klenske pointed out a few other advantages that the

Looking Spiffy

Tiffany Payne Photo

nation’s government works, and I’m proud to have had the opportunity to nominate Ben,” Braley said. “Ben’s strong academic transcript, Eagle Scout Rank and involvement in his community reflect the outstanding moral character, dedication to public service and emotional maturity needed for success in this program.” Braley nominated Olson and Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi then confirmed Olson for the position. Olson said he doesn’t completely know what to expect during his stay in Washington, D.C., but he is optimistic it will be a good experience. “I really have no idea what it’s going to be like. I’m hoping that it is going to be exciting and not too stressful, but it will definitely be a change. This is one of those things where you don’t know what it’s going to be like until you get there,” Olson said. Olson said his parents are

concerned about the distance. “I’m pretty sure that my mom is more nervous than I am about me being gone for so long, but I told her that’s what cell phones and email are for,” he said. Olson will study in the attic of the House of Representatives for about half a day on average, and he will work the other half of the day. He will earn about $1,000 a month, not counting taxes, but he will also be responsible for paying rent on his apartment. Among the jobs Olson will be responsible for are answering phones and delivering messages. “I’m really excited for this,” Olson said. “I’m nervous, too, because I’ve never had to cook meals for myself or do a ton of laundry or live on my own with people I don’t know, but I think it will be a good test for me to see if I would survive going to college far away from home or not. I’ve always wanted to try something new.”

Photography class enters curriculum Alex Entz Senior Writer

A course that students have been wanting for years is finally coming to Cedar Falls High School. Starting next year, the art department will be adding a digital photography course, taught by Lisa Klenske. “Right now we have computer graphics as a class,” Klenske said. “We’re going to split that into two different classes, and one of those courses will be digital photography while the other will be graphic design.” Some seniors are disappointed that they never got to take a class focusing solely on photography, one of the more

digital photography class will bring. “It will allow us to offer an art course to students who don’t feel very artistically inclined or creative that will use technology to create art,” Klenske said. “It also will allow students interested in pursuing graphic design after high school to take a more detailed and preparatory course for college rather than just skimming over the basic points.” Klenske spoke about what she was most looking forward to about teaching this new class. “I’m really going to enjoy being able to devote more time to do more creative projects. Right now, the course is like

a salad bar where we just get little samples; once the new course gets added, we get to feast.” The class is expected to be very popular among students. Due to the raw enthusiasm shown by students pushing for this project in past years, Klenske believes that the class is going to be a hit. “I think it will be especially popular among people who might not normally see themselves as artistic. I don’t really see any downsides to this class, except for the difficulties that might arise from me trucking back and forth between this class and my other classes and forgetting things,” she laughed.

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tiger hi-line Dec. 15, 2009

Hoop Hype

SPORTS 3

Young women’s basketball team sets high goals Jayne Durnin Staff Writer

Every year the CFHS women’s basketball team has set the bar high. This year’s team is no different. Last year the team had a 19-5 season and a 16-game winning streak. This years team is working hard to keep up the great work. The Tigers head coach is Dan List, and the assistant coach is Gregg Groan. Coach List is in his 17th season at Cedar Falls and has been coaching for over 30 years. “Our team this year is really young, but I think if we can pull through even though we are inexpe-

rienced, we can have a successful season,” senior captain Linden Terpstra said. The team started the season very optimistically, but they suffered a severe setback early in the season. “We were very confident going into the season we would be successful. We suffered a major blow when our starting point guard Courtney Dreyer tore her ACL in her knee. She might be out the entire season. We are very inexperienced at this position, so this was a severe loss for us,” head coach Dan List said. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been a great start to the season. “We have already faced

the number two team in 3A in Waukon, the number one team in the girl’s union poll in Kennedy and the number one team in the press poll in Linn Mar in back-to-backback games. This was an extremely brutal beginning to the season, especially losing Courtney. There are other quality teams in our conference as well,” List said. Despite the young team and a big injury, the team is looking up. “The girls get along very well and have a good team chemistry. We had our top two scorers back and three returning staters: seniors Laura Johnson, Terpstra and Dreyer,” List said. The team, led by senior

foundation, returning state champion Michael Kelly, elaborated on what he is most looking forward to this season. “I’m looking forward to working hard and getting better and seeing the team grow and get better. (I’m also looking forward to) having success and getting to be with the team on weekend tournaments,” Kelly said. Wiechmann did not exempt Kelly from his list of what he wants to see improved, despite Kelly’s state championship. “As soon as someone becomes a state champ, everyone assumes that they know all,” Wiechmann said. “They don’t understand that there’s always room for improvement — getting tougher in this position, etc.,

to get ready for a college atmosphere.” Kelly emphasized that his title last year hasn’t put pressure on himself to repeat. “I don’t feel as though I have any pressure,” Kelly said. “I’m just working hard and the other things will take care of themselves.” The team has already played in a tournament and in a double-dual. The team beat West but got edged by West Delaware in the double-dual. In the Keith Young tournament, the team finished 10th out 16 teams. Practices are the main avenue for improvement, as Wiechmann noted. “We have stressed for our wrestlers to battle in every position, and to take pride in the program and in themselves,” he said. Kelly added that the

captains Dreyer, Johnson and Terpstra, has big goals for this season. “Our first goal is to make it to State. We also have to work hard and win games to get seeded better for Regionals. And really, our goal is just to improve as a team, have a good season and get to know each other really well,” Terpstra said. “We want to be a better team at the end of the year than we were at the beginning of the season,” List added. The team’s next game is tonight at Cedar Rapids Washington starting at 7:30, following the JV game. The next home game is on Friday against Waterloo East at 7:30.

Under new coach, wrestlers attain good team chemistry, hopefulness Alex Entz Senior Writer

The new season for wrestling is just barely underway, and yet coach Ethan Wiechmann, in his first year of coaching wrestling at Cedar Falls after six years of coaching in West Branch, has already outlined a number of ambitious goals for his wrestlers to meet. “We want to lay a foundation of work ethic that we can stand on and take pride in, and that people looking in can be proud with where we are, and where we’re headed,” Wiechmann said. “Every time one of our wrestlers steps off a mat, we need them to walk off with their heads high; if we can do that, everything else will fall in line.” A key piece of that

team “has been focused on getting solid basics down and on mastering technique.” Despite Wiechmann’s push for a more sound team, both Kelly and Wiechmann acknowledge that this year’s team has been working very hard to achieve its goals. Aiding this defining work ethic is the team’s solid chemistry. “The team chemistry has been great. We are all really supportive of each other. I like this team a lot, and it is a very unique team,” Kelly said. “All of the kids have been really receptive to the coaches; they are working hard and serious about getting better and taking the program to the next level.” Wiechmann agreed. “This is a good group of kids that work hard and that are very respectful,” he said.

Athlete Week of the

Josh Sund Men’s Swimming Junior

1. What are your personal goals for the season? To finish top six in the 200 I.M. at state, contribute in relays at state and set myself up for a strong senior year. 2. What are your team goals for the season? We are shooting for at least top three at state, but by how we are looking right now, we could be in contention for first. 3. What have you done to prepare for the season? I’ve been swimming year round through high school swimming and club swimming with the Black Hawk Area Swim Team. 4. Who are the toughest teams this year? Right now Ames, City High, Dubuque Senior, and Cedar Rapids Washington.

Tigers in Action Men’s Basketball 12/15 vs. CR Washington @ Home, 6 p.m. 12/18 Away vs. W’loo East, 6 p.m. Women’s Basketball 12/15 Away vs. CR Washington, 6 p.m. 12/18 vs. W’loo East @ Home, 6 p.m. Bowling 12/18 vs. W’loo West @ Home, 3:45 p.m. Men’s Swimming 2nd at Marcussen Invite 12/17 vs. Dub. Senior @ Home, 6 p.m. Wrestling 12/17 Away vs. CR Jefferson, 6:15 p.m.

2 opinion our view Art club’s sale benefits special needs classes The holiday season is upon us at last. While department stores, jewelers, and what seems like every other business on the planet keep telling us now is the time to buy, buy, buy, we need to remember that the holidays should be, more importantly, the time to help others. Last Saturday, the art club and the resource art class, with Lisa Klenske as their adviser, did their part by raising money to support special needs students at our school. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the high school, they sold student-made paintings, pottery and other crafts at their holiday art sale. We think this is an effective way to help out others in our school and promote the art club at the same time. In past years, the art club has not been very popular among students. This year it has gained momentum again, with many more enthusiastic students participating in its meetings on Tueday afternoons. The art club provides a great creative outlet for students as well as a very relaxing atmosphere. So far, they have provided decorations for the homecoming dance and raised money by selling arts and crafts on the Art a la Carte at the play and conferences as well. The art sale provides a win-win situation: students can showcase their work while supporting a good cause. We commend the resource art class and art club for their generosity this holiday season. It shows us those students recognize that when you get past all the commercialization of the holidays, what really matters is caring about others and helping those in need.

Contact the Tiger Hi-Line

The Tiger Hi-Line is a weekly publication of the journalism classes of Cedar Falls High School, 1015 Division St., Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613. Our website is www.hiline.co.nr. The Hi-Line is distributed to CFHS students on Tuesdays to read in their DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) classes. Columns and letters do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Hi-Line or Cedar Falls Schools. The Hi-Line editorial staff view is presented weekly in the editorial labeled as Our View. Reader opinions on any topic are welcome and should be sent to the Tiger Hi-Line staff or delivered to room 208. All letters must be signed. Letters must be submitted by 3 p.m. on Thursday for publication the following Tuesday. Letters may not exceed 300 words and may be edited to meet space limitations. Include address and phone number for verification.

Editorial Staff

Editors-in-Chief: Maggie Devine and Vincent Stigliani News Editors: Vincent Stigliani and Ben Sadkowski Opinion Editor: Monica Clark Sports Editor: Ben Olson Feature Editor: Aubrey Caruso On-Line Editors: Vincent Stigliani and Maggie Devine Entertainment Editor: Maggie Devine Senior Writer: Alex Entz Photo Editor: Ben Sadkowski

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tiger hi-line Dec. 15, 2009

Pundits overreact to emissions Alex Entz Senior Writer

Global warming is not a myth. As such, I’m sure that Vince and an assortment of scientists will try to push the view that only a drastic lifestyle change can save us. Painfully, this idea lacks practicality and rationality. The law of diminishing returns tells us that for each additional ton of CO2 put into the atmosphere, it has less of an effect. And yet, scientists continue pushing for the shutdown of CO2producing facilities. Fear mongering has powerful effects. Scientists claim the bully pulpit, and, despite

evidence that they have suppressed studies downplaying the role of humans in global warming, tell us that an immediate reversal in our lifestyle is the only appropriate action. Such steps would stunt the growth of developing countries and send the planet into a deep recession as output turns south. This much is simple: the frenzied climate of science has put forth no solid suggestions. The facts tell us that if all human made CO2 emissions were to cease today, the warming effect would still continue for some time, largely because human CO2 emissions account for

around 30 percent of all CO2 output. This is not to mention that CO2 is not the worst of the greenhouse gases or that scientists don’t fully understand how the ecosystem works, making it dubious that they could potentially fix the problem. I urge you to ignore the blatant fear tactics and look up Budyko’s Blanket. We know that the planet is on a temperature uptick right now, and that the amount of natural CO2 will begin to diminish soon. We also know that sometimes, stepping back from an emotionally loaded situation to rationally analyze it is the only way to truly solve a problem.

Email climate findings overblown Vinnie Stigliani Editor-in-Chief

Recently, controversy erupted when a still unknown felon hacked into the server of the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit (CRU) and anonymously released over 1,000 emails and 2,000 documents. First off, much attention has been placed on what was said, but it is important to consider what wasn’t said. Throughout the extensive email correspondence, not once was global warming admitted to be a hoax. Not once did the scientists allude conspiring with leftist politicians in some socialist attack on capitalism. Not once was data found to be falsified. Perhaps the most referenced line regarding tinkering with data came when climatologist Phil Jones of the University of

East Anglia wrote, “I’ve just completed Mike’s Nature trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years ... to hide the decline.” The “trick” he mentions refers to plotting the instrumental records alongside a plotting of multiproxy temperature reconstruction, which was the subject of “Mike’s” 1998 paper in Nature. This method has been discussed and debated in scientific journals for years now and should by no means be considered junk science. Another common misconception is that these emails rock the foundations of climate change, as if the CRU is the sole institute responsible for contributing temperature data for climate models. Three other major agencies, including NASA, also generate and contribute data, and the CRU’s data has closely matched and been corroborated by the

others’. Some emails inappropriately and harshly attacked both skeptical publications and people, yet many of the cherry-picked emails must be put in perspective. In one oft-quoted excerpt, Jones expresses indignation towards the journal Climate Research. What he references, however, is an occurrence that should anger anyone with half a brain: the journal published a 2003 study denying human-caused global warming that was underwritten, it was soon discovered, by the American Petroleum Institute. If the greatest proof against climate change lies in only a few cherry-picked lines from illegally retrieved emails of over 13 years and thousands of pages of correspondences, it does not speak well for what scientific data the skeptics can produce themselves.

4 feature

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tiger hi-line Dec. 15, 2009

Schnack Cat

Teacher’s feline friend interested in weather Maggie Devine Editor-in-Chief

If you've ever had a class with Spanish teacher Linda McCormack, you know all about the fascinating cat named Snickers. "No matter who comes to our house, when they leave, they are amazed at this cat," McCormack said. Of Snicker's various adventures, the most famous is his attachment to KWWL meteorologist Mark Schnackenberg. "Last year he would only watch the weather with Mark Schnackenburg, and one time when he was gone and Eileen Loan was filling in, Snickers ran to the end of the bed, got all ready to watch, and then turned around and left when she came on," McCormack said. One dark day, unfortunately, Snickers didn't get to watch the weather. "One morning his older 'sister' Rosie and he were fighting, and when the weather came on, Rosie went to the foot of the bed and swatted at Snickers so he couldn't watch the weather. He tried several times to get to the foot of the bed, but she wouldn't let him," McCormack caught a picture of Snickers watching Schnackenberg on television and sent it in to the KWWL

studio. "I sent a picture to Schnack, and he featured it one morning on the news saying that 'Evidently I have a #1 fan ... but it's a cat,' and they showed the picture. Danielle Wagner also showed it on the Saturday morning news," she said. Schnackenberg weighed in on the event. “I think it is pretty funny. I have heard of babies and toddlers stopping what they are doing when they see me on TV. As for animals … that is very different. Maybe the cats want to know what they are missing since they can’t go outside.” McCormack added that this year Snickers has begun to watch Jeff Kennedy and Eileen Loan, but never misses the morning forecast and never watches the evening edition. As for an explanation for this phenomenon, McCormack isn't sure what lures Snickers to the morning weather. "I have no idea why he watches the weather, but he even sits through commercials until it's all over. I used to think it was Schnack's voice, but that obviously isn't the case. It may just be habit now, although we didn't turn the TV on early in the morning all summer long, so he didn't watch it for almost three months. However, the very first day of school when

I turned it on, he sat and watched. So, I don't know what the attraction is," she said. Besides his enchanment with the weather, Snickers is also interested in pools. "Snickers latest trick is to slide down the slide that goes into our swimming pool and at the last minute jump off onto the deck. He also walks around the edge of the pool and now that the pool cover is on it, he walks right into the middle of the pool on top of the cover," McCormack said. Rarely do cats and dogs get along, but Snickers, on the other hand, is an exception to the rule. "Snickers also loves to play with the little dogs in the neighborhood and has three 'friends.' Sometimes they actually roll around together and follow each other on 'adventures' into neighbors' garages and into their backyards. All the neighbors stand around laughing at their antics," McCormack said. Not surprisingly, Snickers is one popular cat. "The little neighborhood kids knock on our door and ask if they can go play in the backyard with Snickers," McCormack said. One thing's for sure... Snickers is one special kitty. McCormack beamed, "He is truly a one-of-a-kind cat!"

Support Student Press The list of businesses and individuals included here are backers of the real world educational opportunities made possible by all the publication and broadcasting programs at Cedar Falls High School. Check out their links at our website: http://www.hiline.co.nr

Submitted photos Above: Spanish teacher Linda McCormack’s fabulous cat Snickers watches Schnack on TV every morning. Below: Snickers likes to play with the neighborhood puppies like Maddy, seen here.

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