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OFF AND RUNNING Women’s basketball team opens with a win at home/page 4 Follow us on Twitter at tigerhiline, Facebook at TigerHilineOnline and on our website at www.hiline.cfschools.org
Volume 58 Edition 11
Catholic youth conference joins thousands The stadium grew hushed as the lights dimmed and the monks began sing. Their voices cut through the silence. Twenty five thousand high school youth sat quietly and listened. The air was still. The song reverberated off of the stadium walls, filling the space with the life. In silent adoration, listening to the monks’ melody, the youth sat and prayed. On Thursday, Nov. 16, 12 Cedar Falls students embarked on a journey to Indianapolis, Ind., for the National Catholic Youth Conference, or NCYC. The conference occurs every two years and hosts nearly 25,000 catholic youth, with individuals traveling from all 50 states and several countries to come take part in worship. The conference lasted for four days, featuring keynote speakers like Chris Stefanik and popular contempory musicians, Tobymac and Matt Maur. Students Alexa Balong, Lauren Smothers, Abby Balong, Julia Hetherton, Shaffer Kirschenman, Margaret Schaefer, Roxanna Arreola, Carolina Guevara, Clare Rolinger and Kate Mauss all attended the conference through Saint Patrick’s Parish. The youth fundraised for the trip months in advance in order to cover the costs of the
Submitted Photo Twelve Cedar Falls students gathered in Indianapolis, Ind., Nov. 16-18 to celebrate the National Catholic Youth Conference with 25,000 Catholic youth from across the country. conference. Chick-fil-a fundraising nights and spaghetti dinners were only a few of the many things that the students did to collect funds. Rosie Guerrero, Youth Faith Formation Coordinator at Saint
Patrick’s Catholic Church and Head Chaperone on the trip, explained the intense preparation that went into getting ready for NCYC. “It was a good year-long process. A lot of fundraising
helped with the costs to make NCYC more affordable for the students, and, of course, there was a lot of spiritual preparation as well — making sure that everyone realized that it wasn’t just a conference to go have
fun, but that it would be an experience for spiritual growth.” Sophomore Abby Balong said she discovered a newfound joy in her faith since attending NCYC. “I took away a new understanding and love of my faith. It was incredible to see and feel the love and hope of so many people in one place. I feel more connected with other catholic youth around the country and know that I am supported by all of them,” Balong said. “I hope to continue to deepen my connection with God and my community. I also hope there will be opportunities to share what I have learned and some of the experiences with others in my church so that they can see how the Catholic Church is growing.” This year marked the second year that senior Alexa Balong attended NCYC, and she said it has changed her view of the world dramatically. “This experience at NCYC left me with one question: How are you going to change the way you look at the world and others with the new found knowledge of our Lord? It took me a while to really come up
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CF alumna reflects on 1980s culture resurgence American culture is going through 1980s resurgence. Big feathered hair, mullets, neon colors, Madonna and Michael Jackson. For those who didn’t live through this era, watching “Stranger Things,” “GLOW” or Stephen King’s “It” is enough for one to get a feeling for the culture of that time. Melanie Abbas is a CFHS alumna who actually lived through the ’80s and had feathered hair in her 1986 graduation photo to prove it. Abbas is now a Director of IT Educational Technology & Media Services at the University of Northern Iowa since 2016. In that position, Abbas is the second highest ranking woman in Information Technology at UNI. She directs a department of 14 staff and 20
students to provide technology services to the UNI community to support teaching and learning. Her department also provides media services support for audio and video needs for events and activities across campus. She also teaches classes in UNI’s computer science department, where she
Submitted Photos attended with multiple scholarships and got her BA degree. She later earned an MS in computer science and a doctorate of technology degree. Back in the 1980s, Abbas did the classic jobs that Cedar Falls teenagers often still do. “I detasseled one summer, and I was a waitress at Happy Chef
restaurant on 1st street,” she said. Lunch time in the 1980s was similar to today, too. “Open lunches included going to friends’ houses or getting fast food and eating it across the street at the cemetery,” she said. Abbas remembers one of the major highlights of her senior year: “Winning the state drill team contest in the large school color guard category in December of 1985,” she said. Yet many traditions from her graduating year have now changed. At that time, the high school had a gym with a rubber floor, which wasn’t compatible with high school dances. “Costume dances in the rubber gym where we had to take off our shoes and put them in
numbered paper sacks,” was an odd custom of the time, Abbas said. In the 1980s, the high school also had a Sadie Hawkins Day, the now-outdated tradition where the girls would be encouraged to ask boys to a dance. Abbas also said the high school had “the smoking square” outside for students to smoke, but added, “I did not hang out there.” Abbas said she would have done at least one thing differently if she had to do high school all over again. “I would not have dated at all and spent more time enjoying time with my female friends,” she said. By Co-Editor-in-Chief Sabine
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Breaking the Stigma Friday, Dec. 1, 2017
Exposures of sexual harassment long overdue
The Federal Communications Commission is poised to end net neutrality in a vote on Dec. 14.
Keep the Web Open to All
Contact congress to prevent FCC from ending net neutrality When it comes to the Internet and age of information, we don’t know what we have until it’s gone. Going on whatever website we want and experiencing the Internet without interference from a cable provider or phone company is something we should have the right to, but this right is very close to being taken away from us. This is net neutrality: free speech through an open Internet, without applications being blocked or discriminated against through a provider. Without net neutrality companies like Verizon are able to charge websites to reach users at faster speeds, in turn slowing down the lower budget ones. Without net neutrality companies are able to throttle Internet speeds to certain websites for their users. The Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai is working to do away with net neutrality, making the case scenarios discussed above a grim reality. According to the FCC, the net neutrality rules will be voted on Dec. 14 and are predicted to be done away with, letting Internet providers do basically whatever they want when it comes to Internet speeds. What we as citizens can do is limited due to the plan being moved forward so quickly, but a large public outcry is evident. As students, you can join the protest to save the free Internet, both online and in the world by spreading awareness of this issue and contacting the FCC and Sens. Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley as well as Rep. Rod Blum with emails and phone calls.
Contact Us The Tiger Hi-Line is a weekly publication of the journalism classes at Cedar Falls High School, 1015 Division Street, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613. Our website is www.hiline.cfschools.org. The Hi-Line is distributed to CFHS students on Fridays to read during their third period classes. Columns and letters do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hi-Line staff or Cedar Falls Schools. The Hi-Line editorial is presented weekly in the editorial labeled Our View, and it is the view of the majority of the editors listed below. 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 Monday for publication in the following Friday edition. Letters may not exceed 300 words and may be edited to meet space limitations. Writers should include their contact information for verification. Editors-in-Chief: Elise Leasure, Sabine Martin, Clare Rolinger, Rachel Schmid, Tehya Tournier Staff: Benjamin Boezinger, Noah Forker, Aysiah Keller, Chase Kline, Sierra Miller, Skylar Promer, Parker Strauss, Matthew Walsh
Allegations have flooded newsstands, accusations spiral throughout Hollywood and victims’ unheard voices continue to surface as more stories of sexual violence and harassment are illustrated throughout the press. Sexual harassment has literally been the talk of the town. Famous movie directors, politicians and citizens around the country are being accused, our president openly discussing “locker room” talk and, of course, it happens everywhere. Yes, even locally, in our home town. But where do we draw the lines? House Speaker, Paul Ryan announced on Tuesday, Nov. 14, that the House will be making a policy change in order to have all members and staff undergo anti-harassment training, due to a stunning hearing prior to this policy change, of lawmakers acknowledging that sexual harassment is a prominent issue. If you’re not ready to hear the politics side of this heavy topic, let me throw some statistics at you first. According to the National Statistics of EndSexualViolencect.org, one in every four women and one in every six men, will be sexually assaulted in their lifetimes. One of every six women and one of every 33 men will experience attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. Those are heartbreaking numbers. As a young woman, I have personally endured many struggles and have seen the tragedies that have struck our country since growing up. It is no secret that women, no matter the age, feel they need protection due to unsafe circumstances. We are told, make sure to be aware of your surroundings. Walk with your head high and keys out. We are asked, do you have a rape whistle? Pepper spray? Were you flirting? Was alcohol or drugs involved? What were you doing to bring this behavior on? And, my personal favorite, what were you wearing? When will it be time for the questions to stop? To me, it is taken as a blame game instead of taking it as a serious topic.
So, to address the elephant in the room, what exactly is sexual harassment/sexual violence? Sexual harassment/violence includes any unwanted sexual comments, physical advances or gestures, as well as behaviors made toward another person. A simple catcall or flirting can automatically turn into a dangerous game when it comes to the point of the person on the receiving end becoming uncomfortable if that target person communicates the actions are unwanted and the other person does not intend on stopping. As many students know, science teacher Marcey Hand is very close with her students, receiving a lot of trust and communication with many of the teenagers in the building and graduates. Being a mandated reporter, Hand said she has dealt with frequent sexual harassment issues in her time of teaching. “I’d say it’s a frequent encounter, but students just don’t talk about it. Sometimes I think this is because they don’t realize it’s harassment or they don’t want to make a big deal about it. That being said, we should talk about it more and address the issue,” Hand said. As for the opinions of drinking and sexual harassment or the way people dress, Hand has very strong opinions on both, that I very much agree with. With drinking, Hand said she feels that there can’t be true consent given when a person is under the influence. “Any sexual encounter where one or both of the individuals involved isn’t sober is a bad situation waiting to happen,” she said. And, to those people all around the world who blame victims of rape, sexual assault, harassment, etc. for their appearances, Hand said she believes that is bull crap. “I’m not saying that people are making the best decisions when they dress or act a certain way, and, yes, they are more likely to attract comments and advances that are some form of sexual harassment. That being said, harassment is harassment no matter how the person is
dressed, etc.” With the teacher side coming out, Hand said that as a community, we should talk about sexual harassment more. Awareness about this horrifying topic should come to surface, and we should discuss how much it actually happens and educate everyone on what counts as harassment. “I think the biggest problem is we don’t talk about the issue and don’t educate ourselves on the topic. Because this is true here, at CFHS we definitely don’t deal with the issues as well as we could,” Hand said. Once again, I agree with Hand. I feel as though I am just learning about what counts as harassment, assault, violence, rape, etc. by taking her social issues class and actually discussing our opinions. Everyone is going to have their own opinions, yes. But this is a new time. Thirty five years ago, when sexual harassment happened, very few people talked about it as we have of late. It was to be shied away from, swept under the rug — especially by women, due to not wanting to lose their jobs, bring attention to themselves or get hurt even more, but that has to change. Times are changing, the men and women who are being harassed and assaulted, which are thousands upon millions of people, are begging for their voices to be heard for change. Constantly in the media, stories are appearing, and you hear rumors spread through the community and secret whispers because, why? We don’t talk about it enough. Sexual harassment, violence, assault, rape, etc. exists everywhere, and it’s time to stop reminding perverted men and women, time after time, that’s it’s wrong, and they can get off scot free. This is common sense. There is no need for a small tap on the wrist but a punishment for these behaviors. Our community and our society needs to progressively move forward, together, and quit taking these horrendous situations lightly. By Co-Editor-in-Chief Tehya
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Friday, Dec. 1, 2017
FOSTERS
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Adoption Day marks new start for 23 local kids at courthouse
National Adoption Day was Nov. 17 and November is national adoption month. Over 23 kids, ages 3 months to 14 years, were adopted on 17th at the courthouse in Waterloo from 1-4 p.m. How amazing is that? For many kids, such as my brother Tysean, being a foster child is a terrifying thing. With the foster system falling to part, kids flailing through the cracks left and right, and social workers not having enough time, pay and staff, many children don’t have an option but to sit and wait with strangers in a home they do not know. Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart honored and celebrated with adoptive families and children within those short hours. Hart said he felt as though he needed to be out there in order to support the families and young people, saying that the stories of each of the adoptions was very heartwarming. “There is no other place I’d want to be than here, celebrating with these amazing people. I consider these people to be our heroes, our modern day heroes, and bringing families together is an awesome experience,” Hart said. On my brother’s adoption day, glee filled my body, and
warmth devoured my heart. We finally made it to our goal. I had always wanted a brother. There had always been a missing piece to our puzzle. We decorated Ty’s wall with signs, made his a countdown for his big day and presents engulfed the room where Judge Block struck our family with the gold heart of Tysean Duane Tournier. My entire family and friends sat anxiously in the room watching each of our eyes glisten with excitement. When my siblings and I found out that we were finally able to adopt my baby brother, I knew I had to use my talents and put them to work for his day. Rewriting and memorizing parts, I came up with a letter to
Tysean and the people that surrounded our family that brisk March day. My palms were sweaty, and when it came for the final moments of my speech, tears stung to my eyelids and soon dripped down everyone’s faces after reading an emotional and love-driven letter to my brother. With thousands upon thousands of little children to teenagers to young adults waiting to find a family, their forever home, national adoption day and month is to attract potential foster homes, raise awareness of how much help and love is needed and ultimately piece someone’s puzzle back together.
Cedar Falls Mayor Jim Brown was spotted in the midst of everyone’s festivities and happened to be celebrating an adoption that he was invited to by a friend. “What started as friends, coming and celebrating with them, turned into a nice event to see how it alls happens, and it’s wonderful to be here,” Brown said. Since Ty arrived Dec., 4, a monkey has been attached to him at the hip. His name is George. And, the bond within stuffed animals has only grown since that first day. That is how my younger sister, Aaliyah Tournier, sparked the idea of Furries 4 Fosters. Furries 4 Fosters is a non-
It’s not very often that when I get up whilst watching Netflix or a movie on TV I pause to resume the action when I return, but Netflix’s new documentary “Shot In the Dark” did just that. The documentary series follows three stingers. A stinger is a person who patrols the city like a cop day or night while trying to document atrocities that occur during people’s lives. If you can remember a few years ago, there was a movie released starring Jake Gyllenhaal. It documented the life of an up and coming stringer who made his living scouring the city for the “story of the night.” This is virtually the same thing; however, it is in real time with real-life events. Not only does it follow the heroics of a cameraman in the right place at the right time, it goes as far left as ethics and the business side of stinging. The newest Netflix documentary is a huge success and is well worth a weekday binge.
The greatest forte of “Shot in the Dark” is it’s character development and portrayal. Very early you discover the inner workings of the three main characters. There’s the humble English family man running the business with his three brothers. There’s the egotistical arrogant cameraman willing to go to all lengths to get the best shot from the best angle, and finally there’s the internally smug cameraman who cares about two things: being the only business in town and looking as professional as possible. For myself, it was an internal struggle that I could connect with for Howard (the humble Brit). After his crew was cut, the feeling of helplessness and frustration was something that made him the most likable and relatable character. Then there is the feud between Scott the egotistical maniac and Zak the smug. It’s not clear as to how it all started,
but it is clear how much the two hate each other. Scott is never afraid to voice his feelings about himself or the current predicament. I won’t lie. It leads to some pretty good one-liners. On the other side of the coin, Zak prefers to ignore the feud and continue with his work. At first, it is respectable, but the more I watched, the more I realized the high society viewership Zak has about himself. In some ways, this led to being more infuriating than the blatant arrogance of Scott. Nonetheless, the characters led to the best part of the series: the monologues and dialogues. The constant bickering between the three characters is something worth paying attention to. It develops from a simple side story to the main part of the conflict toward the end. Hatred is something that fuels Zak and Scott to do better at every scene, every night.
Just the thought that one of them is out there, possibly doing better than the other, fuels the anger and determination like coal in a fire. Meanwhile, Howard is barely keeping his business afloat. The feud comes to a point where Howard is forced to intervene. The final few episodes of the season might not be as exciting as the first few, but they offer a look into the rough business world. It details the fight for existence. Howard’s fight to keep his business and livelihood alive both leaves a great cliffhanger for season two and great narrative. “Shot in the Dark” is a great documentary series about the life a stringer, something I personally think should be much more documented after watching the series. After the first episode, I thought “Why is this the first I’ve heard of this on a major platform?” Netflix has an untapped oa-
Tehya Tournier Photos
The Black Hawk County Courthouse was the scene of 23 adoptions on Nov. 17, National Adoption Day. The kids also received stuffed animals through Furries 4 Fosters.
profit organization that collects new stuffed animals and blankets for all ages of kids in the foster care system. The mission is to help foster children’s transition to foster homes be more comfortable by giving them a new token for life. My sister’s goal was to be able to give each child a blanket and stuffed animal for adoption to go along with a tote bag with the logo on it. As the children filed in to celebrate together, their faces lit up, and my heart felt that same warmth as my family’s own adoption day. Nov., 17 is a day of happiness, awareness, celebration and a bond of a forever family. My mother, sister and I had an opportunity to experience 23 adoption day celebrations. Smiles, hugs and giggles filled the room, and I had never been more happy to be a part of the foster care world. I felt so much support and love in that moment of my brother’s official adoption. March 9 is a day that I will never forget, and Nov. 17 is a day that will be imprinted in those 23 families’ hearts forever as well. By Co-Editor-in-Chief Tehya
TOURNIER
Netflix’s ‘Shot in the Dark’ well crafted look at timely issue
sis of great shows that are undervalued. I think Netflix can add to the oasis that a lot of people do not pay attention to by providing even more looks at the life of a stringer. Netflix has just tapped into possibly the new greatest theme of the decade. The drama, the action, the feasibility are all the reasons that the profession of stringing is something that will become well known amongst the country. “Shot in the Dark” is one of the newest Netflix shows to come online, and I think not enough people are paying attention to it. It’s a great show, and all the events that take place make it a great drama. Howard, Zak and Scott provide for great protagonists, antagonists and everything in between. “Shot in the Dark” is a quick watch that you won’t regret. By Staff Writer Ben
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Friday, Dec. 1, 2017
Athlete of the
Week
Alexandria Gudgeon Dance Team
Off and Running
Maddie Posekany Photos
The women’s basketball team opened its season with a 64-41 win at home over Dubuque Hempstead on Tuesday, Nov. 28. Senior Cynthia Wolf (top) led the Tigers with nine rebounds, and seniors Kamryn Finley (top right) and Kiana Barney (right) added 13 and 12 points respectively.
‘NCYC’/Continued from Page 1 with what I needed to do before I realized I had already been doing things differently and thinking differently. I have more of an open mind and see more of who I could be instead of who I am. If you are struggling to really understand our Lord and what to believe and how to put him first in our everyday lives and how to follow in his footsteps, NCYC is the perfect opportunity for you to learn about God and grow in your faith and as a person.” “NCYC isn’t about getting out of school for two days,” added Senior Lauren Smothers. “It’s about giving your time to God and feeling relaxed and comfortable with the people around you. It was an amazing experience to see 25,000 people singing together and also stunning to have those same 25,000 teenagers be completely silent during adoration. I left changed, I left feeling
“We must love our brothers and sisters even if we are a different race, religion, sexuality even. Our teachings may not always be eye to eye, but we are all a part of humanity. If we truly know who Christ is, I believe that we understand each person is made individually unique and we are all called to love.”
—Rosie Guerrero
Youth Faith Formation Coordinator better about myself and closer with God.” Guerrero shares the joy that it brings her to witness her students growing in their relationships with Christ. “It was very beautiful to witness all twelve of the youth enjoying themselves and really being a part of the experience and letting Christ into their lives. I loved seeing everyone smiling and getting engaged by what was happening with
the speakers and the musicians. Just being able to witness it all happen and see all of that growth, seeing how their faith was not only growing from the inside, but being displayed on the outside — that was my favorite part.” Guerrero said one of her favorite things that the conference focused on was humanity’s calling to love one another. “We must love our brothers and sisters even if we are a dif-
ferent race, religion, sexuality even. Our teachings may not always be eye to eye, but we are all a part of humanity. If we truly know who Christ is, I believe that we understand each person is made individually unique and we are all called to love,” Guerrero said. “The catholic church is always there to help and assist, and I know sometimes there are some misconceptions about what the church teaches, and so this was an opportunity to really learn about those teachings and find peace in that and then work to educate everyone else on them as well. I want people to consider attending church as an option. Go and find out about us. Seek out your faith and take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves to you.” By Co-Editor-in-Chief Clare
ROLINGER
How long have you been dancing? I have been dancing for 13 years. Biggest accomplishment? This summer, we took on a very difficult routine while at camp. By the end of the three days, we had to perfect it. We had come so far and really figured out who we were as a team. It set the tone for the rest of the season and told the coaches how hard we were willing to work. Do you have any personal goals? My goal this season has been to improve myself to become the best version of myself. For me, it’s all about personal growth and being able to see changes in your performances. Do you have any team goals? As a team, we obviously want to do well at State, but more importantly to walk off knowing that we gave everything we had. We can’t control the competition, so as long as we all understand that we have to leave it all on the floor, I think we will all consider that a huge accomplishment. Do you have any state traditions? The week leading up to State, the girls all do a secret sister gift exchange, and it’s always fun to try and guess who is giving you your presents. Best memory from this or previous seasons? At All-Iowa auditions, the six of us that were auditioning had had a very long day of dancing and learning the new routines. So on the way home, all of us were completely hysterical, laughing forever about the silliest things. It was such a good time, and I felt like we really got to see a less serious side of each other. Do you plan on dancing after this year? I haven’t decided if I will audition for a college dance team yet. I can’t imagine just quitting dance after being a part of a studio or team for so long. I would imagine that even if I don’t end up on a college team, I’ll find some sort of company or program to get involved in.