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THE
e n i l i h tiger
VOLUME 51 ISSUE 17 1015 Division St. Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613
NCTE Winners 2011
How does it feel to win the National Council of Teachers of English award?
Junior Gwen Farber “I’m so freaking excited! I think my writing is pretty decent, so having a vote of confidence is very flattering.”
“At first I was surprised. I mean all I know is I turned in my best work and hoped for the best. There were so many good writers there too.”
Junior Rhydian Talbot “I feel human. I was really proud of my work.”
Junior Karl Sadkowski
CF artists earn spots at Hearst show He said he thinks the musicians’ showcase is a good way to get out of the normal lesson routine and up on a The Hearst Center’s gallery stage. He has been taking private voice was quiet with nervous tensions as lessons for 10 years and has performed participants made last minute checks in this recital before. He said he comes over their music notes before giving back to sing again because it is such a them up in the must-be-memorized good experience. auditions for the Young Artist Senior Another participtaing CFHS musiDivision Concert. Five cian claims Cedar Falls High School “You get to conquer to have alstudents auditioned for ways been your nerves and chal- involved in the concert, which will be held on Saturday, lenge yourself to pre- music. March 6. SophoCategories they chose pare and learn new more to audition in include McKenzie music.” voice and piano. The Sesterhenn —McKenzie Sesterhenn judge was a professor said she Young Artist participant has been from the University of Iowa. involved For most of the musimusically cians, their teachers recommended since kindergarten. them for this concert as a way to perThis year she auditioned with two form in front of others and gain some pieces that she is also preparing for experience. Senior Austin Javellana solo ensemble. She said that her usual said, “This concert is really nice benerves were calm for this performance cause it gives you a chance to get up in and instead of the panic that comes front of a judge and get comments so with performing, she was prepared that you can improve before contest.” enough to just enjoy it. He will be performing “Blow Blow “What I like about auditions and Thou Winter Wind” by Quilter and performing is that you get a chance for “Spirate, pur Spirate” by Danoudy. someone you’re not used to, to listen
Maya Amjadi Staff Writer
and tell you what they think,” Sesterhenn said. “It’s good to get a different point of view on things, and I usually like to try out the judge’s tips and see if they work for me.” She will be performing “Aria di Nanninah” by Franz Joseph Haydn and “Spepherd! Thy Demeanour Vary” by Thomas Brown. Sophomore Spencer Gray will be performing two movements of the Gershwin prelude as a duet. He said the judge’s comment sheet is really just a “sheet of recommended fixes,” and although he may try out the suggestions, it has to be up to the performer how he will play the music. “In the end, you get to interpret the piece and make the feelings the piece offers, your own.” Gray said that he has been preparing the preludes for about a month and is excited to hear everyone play. “Things like this are always a good experience because you get to conquer your nerves and challenge yourself to prepare and learn new music,” Sesterhenn said. The students’ musical talents will be showcased in the recital, and Cedar Falls High School students and staff are invited to attend this free event.
Jazz teams place high at Tall Corn Fest Lucas Hamilton Staff Writer
At Cedar Falls High School, there are two extra curricular groups from the music wing that meet and practice rigorously to play music. These groups are Jazz I and Jazz, Too! They perform at competitions all throughout the year, but the most recent and notable was the Tallcorn Jazz Festival, held on Friday, Feb. 18. The Tallcorn Jazz Festival was held at UNI, and members of the jazz bands spent all day listening to other jazz bands from across the state and performing their own pieces. Jazz, Too! director Gerald Ramsey said, “It is entertaining to listen to other bands perform from across the state, and it allows us to see how we stack up against them in our playing
abilities.” Not many schools have two strong jazz bands like CFHS does. Out of 19 bands in the 4A Class, Jazz I came in at third place. In the second band class, Jazz, Too! took second place. Commenting on the high placement of the bands, Jazz I director Kyle Engelhardt said, “With both bands placing within the top three, it is definitely a first for me as a director. The hard work that the students put in definitely paid off, and they put on a fantastic show.” The audience agreed that the performances from the Cedar Falls bands were more than ordinary seeing as they gave an immediate standing ovation to Jazz I after it finished its final piece, which was also a first for the band. Upcoming competitions include Districts, which will be held at Wa-
terloo West High School on Saturday, March 5. The top two bands from this performance will then go on to perform at Jazz Championship at the Civic Center in Des Moines. Once those performances are over with, the jazz season will be concluded. As the seniors perform for the last time with the beloved jazz bands, it is a bittersweet good-bye. Senior Kaiti Faye said, “I might have shed a tear at Tallcorn. I can neither confirm nor deny that ...” Englehardt also expressed bittersweet sentiments at season’s end. “Whenever seniors leave for college, it is always sad to see them leave, but most continue to play through college. We are lucky to have a deep pool of talent here and have people available to step up and replace the wonderful players we have now.”
Tracy Lukasiewicz photo
Junior Ian Abbott plays his tenor sax in the Jazz I ensemble.
e n i l i h r e tig THE
2 news
March, 1 2011
Spring musical premiere fast approaching Student Senate room-esque. It’s especially hard on When Birdie receives a draft notice nights where we work one dance after to join the Army, his manager, Albert Editor-in-chief another, and we have to keep the difPeterson, comes up with a plan along ferent styles and moves separate from Three-hour daily rehearsals, with his secretary/girlfriend, Rosie, to another number.” frequent weekend practices and lots save them from a financial crisis. In addition to the challenges of of stress can only mean one thing: the Senior Nick Carlo, who plays creating a role and perfecting the drama department’s preparation for Albert Peterson, said the hardest part dance and song numbers comes the the spring musical is nearing its close. about his character has been defining inevitable challenge with a musical This spring’s musical is entitled “Bye multi-dimensional levels. production — time. Bye Birdie” and will debut Friday, “When dealing with people and “Production is crazy,” senior Reed March 4 and Saturday, March 5 at 7:30 crowds, he is authoritative and in conBowden said. “We are always doing p.m. in the CFHS auditorium. trol. With his mother, however, he is a something The play is set in the late 1950s and total pushover. With for our early 1960s with an engaging story Rosie, he is some“ three hours line that features elements of comedy, where in between. after school romance and drama. Not letting any of every day. “This is the type of play where you these overlap, such When honestly can’t help but smile while as being too much not watching,” junior Rhydian Talbot said. of a ‘momma’s boy’ ” you’re on stage The story features a rock star in other scenes, has —Rhydian Talbot doing lines, named Conrad Birdie whose manager been a challenge.” is going into debt after staking his Talbot said she musical cast member you are in financial future on Birdie’s success. feels the greatthe school est challenge for her has not been in lobby dancing, and it is exhausting.” developing her role, but in perfecting Director Michlle Rathe said this the dances. year has been a particular challenge “I’m in five numbers that are due to the increasing number of stuall really different stylistically. dents getting sick. There’s one that’s classic ’60s “A string of illnesses and snow and another that’s latin balldays has forced the cast to push hard these past couple of weeks.” Despite the setbacks, many of the cast members said this production is going to be a definite success. “This musical is going to be flat-out fantastic,” Carlo said. “We have a lot of really cool stuff in [1] [2] here. Between some fun songs, dances, stunts and just hilarious content, I can guarantee you are going to leave this show satisfied.” “Bye Bye Birdie” will be performed in the high school auditorium on March 4th and 5th at 7:30 p.m. [3] Admissions fee Top left: Seniors Sam Takes and Nick Carlo shush senior Scott is $6 for Sesterhenn at his first arrival in Sweet Apple. 2) Senior Melina students Gotera talks with her son, Nick Carlo in the first act. 3) Senior and Carly Naaktgeboren freaks out about celebrity Conrad Birdie $7 for coming to give her one last kiss. 4) Senior Scott Sesterhenn adults. . and sophomore Evan Cayton dance about “all of the living
Sara Gabriele
This is the type of play where you honestly can’t help but smile while watching
they have to do.”
[4]
seeks feedback Sandra Omari-Boateng Staff Writer
Starting Tuesday, March 1 and continuing for the rest of the week, Student Senate will be going around to all the fourth hour DEAR times. They will be asking all the classes questions about what is on the minds of the students. “This will improve the school, because there will be a lot of students that give positive feedback that we will take and consider what to do with it,” Student Senator Emma Karns said. There will be 26 trained students from Student Senate performing the surveys. “My only concern is that students won’t participate enough to really get any insight,” Student Senator Hanno Fenech said. The main focus of this is to go and find out what the students want and need. Two of the questions that will be asked include “Are there any activities that students want added?” and “Are there any policies that students want changed?” Student Senators will also collect other opinions and questions that students have. “I think this survey is extremely important because it will allow students to feel like they are participating and are an active part of their school,” Fenech said. The biggest part is that there is good student participation so that Student Senate will be able to learn what students want and need. This idea came from what Student Senate learned from another student leadership group in Iowa. “There was a leadership conference in Ankeny that some of the students went to, and another school had done this and got a positive response from their students. We did this to see what students want for different activities or what they want to get involved in and find out what they want to see,” counselor Erin Gardner said. Student Senators are optimistic about the outcome. “We are looking for enormous participation. Students just need to speak up and give us their feedback,” Fenech said. Senators said the trick will be to try to make the outcome constructive. “We are looking for positive feedback, things that are reasonable to make the school better for everyone,” Karns said.
e n i l i h r e tig THE
opinion
March 1 2011
our view
Shout it out Students should seize opportunity for feedback So did you hear? Justin Bieber, the famous boy wonder in the music world, has cut his long locks. He is cutting for his new, upcoming music video, which is promised to be A-mazing! And, oh, did you also hear that in countries such as Yemen, Libya, Bahrain, Uganda and many others, people are dying to protest their suppressive governments? Our guess here at the Tiger Hi-Line is that Bieber’s hair change has probably trumped your interest in democratic revolutions. Too bad, because now a mini revolution could be coming to you. This week, Student Senate will be holding C.F.S.I.,or Cedar Falls Student Interest, sessions during our designated D.E.A.R times from Tueday, March 1 to Friday, March 4. The idea behind these sessions is to find out what students think could be improved in our school. This is a great idea for finding what can be improved, though we are worried about how effective this meeting will actually be. We feel students might take this time to gripe about problems that are obsolete or unchangable, such as the school lunch menu or the new P.E requirements. It’s time to look beyond the norm and find things that could truly improve our school. This is our time to speak up and use our voices. We have been blessed with a hard working Student Senate that has provided this opportunity for input on our school, so why not use it while we can? Thousands of protesters in any of those Middle Eastern countries would die for this very right, and, yes, we realize that their struggle is far greater than anything we have to fight for here, but improvements to our educational processes are nothing to scoff at. We hold hope that Cedar Falls High School will come out with developments of greater impact than Biebers’ latest haircut.
Khan Academy videos provide alternative to difficult textbooks Sara Gabreiele Editor-in-Chief
The convoluted examples and headache inducing explanations notorious to math books never seem to end. Even the most basic of concepts are often explained in such a way you’d think you were reading an advanced level calculus book. After nine years of enduring this, I did a little searching. Isn’t there anyone who can explain things more simply? A few Google searches later, I found exactly who I was looking for: Salman Khan, a math genius who graduated from MIT and Harvard Business School and began a promising career as a hedge fund analyst only to quit his job in 2009 to post math videos on YouTube full time. Wait, what? Although a seemingly counter-intuitive move, Khan began his endeavor several years ago when he started making short, five- to 10-minute videos about algebra for his niece who was in need of math help. When he posted them on YouTube so his
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Editorial Staff
Editors-in-Chief: Sara Gabriele and Ellen Gustavson News Editor: Ben Olson and Sara Gabriele Opinion Editor: Meg Lane and Kaylee Micu Sports Editor: Ben Olson and Allyson Vuong Feature Editors: Ellen Gustavson Entertainment Editors: Meg Lane and Kaylee Micu Photo Editor: Tracy Lukasiewicz
niece could access them, they suddenly started receiving thousands and then hundreds of thousands of hits. Pleasantly surprised, Khan continued posting videos, broadening the breadth of topics to science, history, finance and SAT prep. A few years more of making midnight math videos, and he decided to quit his job to pursue the endeavor full time. He created a site, called the Khan Academy, which now contains over 1,800 of his videos. The reason for Khan’s success was apparent to me after watching 30 seconds of a video over a concept that had previously caused me multiple headaches. Khan explains concepts simply. He does away with all the math/scientific jargon and explains the concepts how he, as a former student, understands them. Consequently, he is able to boil down complex topics into understandable bites that make sense. But after some more thought, I realized Khan’s magic was not solely caused by his simplicity. Khan explains concepts as a man who is fascinated with the
world around him, not as a textbook writer interested in making a perfectly worded excuse for an explanation. His videos center around intuition and understanding, rather than “completion.” The result is over 1,800 videos that actually make sense and inspire true understanding. I have not been the only one to have this epiphany, though. All over the world, hundreds of thousands of students tune in to watch Khan’s videos every day. The site has over 30 million hits and grows every few minutes. Students in isolated areas now have access to a world-class education. Those that previously may have been academically suppressed because of their environments are now being handed a resource that allows them an opportunity to advance and succeed. The global implications are huge and exciting, but at a smaller level, the videos can just serve as a nice relief from textbook jargon and a boost to your math grade. With videos on over 33 different subjects, the site is truly an amazing resource. See for yourself at khanacademy.org.
Advertisers moving toward shorter, more entertaining commericals Kaylee Micu Opinion Editor
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.
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It’s almost impossible to watch TV and not become furious after countless commercials interrupt your favorite show. Well, all of that is about to change, and it’s about time too. Watching TV is a pain because there are so many commercials. For example, TNT hosts “More Movie Less Commercials” specials regularly for certain films. Even though there are less commercials during the actual films, I still hardly enjoy the movies because of all the times when the commercials
actualy interrupt. When I lived in Europe, I was heaven. The programs ran the entire cartoon, show, movie, etc., and commercials only interrupted the show twice: before the show and at the end. There were only seven commercials total by the time the show was done. According to CBC news, the “Oh So Hated” 30second commercials are now becoming a thing of the past. Instead, 15-second commercials are going to take their place. This means that advertisers will save money, have more commercials in a shorter amount of time and keep your attention longer.
This means more business for them, or at least they hope so. Researches believe that since the commercials are shorter, viewers will be more inclined to actually watch the commercial. Some commercials that began this bandwagon are Old Spice, Geico, Swiffer and FedEx. Personally, if more commercials are going to wind up being like the Old Spice commercials, I’m definitely going to be watching more. These commercials are entertaining to watch. Even though there will probably be more commercials in a single time period.
THE
4 entertainment
tiger hi-line March 1, 2011
new releases Alternative band releases worthy followup MUSIC
-Dropkick Murphys Going Out in Style Radiohead King of Limbs R.E.M. Collapse Into Now The Strokes Angel Lucinda Williams Blessed
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Florence + the Machine
Between Two Lungs
MOVIES
-Rango -The Adjustment Bureau -Of Gods and Men -Beastly -Mars Needs Moms GAM E S
-Karaoke Rev Glee 2 -Fight Night Champion -Rango: The Video Game This week’s feature podcast as well as eight others that are updated every other week can be found on The Tiger Hi-Line Online (http://www.hiline. co.nr) by following the podcast links. The website is also linked off the high school’s website.
Lucas Hamilton Staff Writer
Sure, there are plenty of unknown bands that get little to no attention despite how talented they may be. One such band is a group called House of Heroes. The Columbus, Ohio, native alternative rock group consists of five members, three of whom record and tour, one who simply records, and another that only tours. Not the average band set-up, but hey, they make it work. Colin Rigsby plays drums, his brother, Jared, plays guitar, Tim Skipper sings and plays guitar, AJ Babcock records bass, and Eric Newcomer tours on the bass. All of them contribute to the backing vocals in the recordings. As a band, they’ve progressed from their debut release of What You Want Is Now in 2003 and into the new album released in 2010 entitled Suburba. The releases in between include two other full-length original albums, a Beatles cover album, acoustic versions and a Christmas EP. Even as an unknown band, they’ve released 13 singles, none of which have even grazed the big time status of many popular songs these days, but are wildly addicting nonetheless. They have, however, topped the Christian Rock Radio charts. Their music does in fact
Staff Writer
with host Austin Hanson
This show will explore the many options available for everyone on the UNI campus. Feb. 18/Episode 10 Last year UNI tooted it’s horn with a deep shot over Kansas. This year the nation is catching on to a little dance called The Interlude.
“Baby’s A Red” is a song about having a Communist girlfriend. Not a religious song, obviously. As for the song-making process, the group takes a classic approach to making music. According to guitarist and lead vocalist Tim Skipper, “For our record [The End Is Not The End] we wanted to take a different approach to our vocals. For all background vocals that contain more than one singer, we all stood around one mic, and recorded it like Queen used to back in the day.” Recording member AJ Babcock added that when recording in this style for vocal tracks,
Skate fans bid goodbye to Rollerdrome Melanie Rasmussen
Pawdcats
have Christian undertones, however, while listening, I didn’t even pick them up. It isn’t a whole “God is good, we all will worship him” type of musical expression, but more of a lyrical story-telling resulting in a mild expression of a Christian belief. The band stated, “The idea is that, if we just express ourselves and we have a real connection with our faith, then the things we express will be, you know, Christian most likely.” They don’t try to strike listeners as outwardly Christian, but when looking deeper, Biblical story lines can be seen paralleling the lyrics. But not all songs hold religious undertones.
some harmonies don’t line up exactly. “If you listen closely, you can hear parts where not everything lines up. I think that adds to the rawness and purity of the sound.” As for the rest of the band, let’s just say that with their experience comes a fuller sound and more generous and warm tones. They’ve got your softer songs such as “By Your Side” which is about brothers returning home from war and the peace to be found after a family member passes away in battle, and “Ghost,” which is a tragic love song about crime, high school love and death. They also create driving classic-sounding rock and roll guitar riffs with songs like “Lose Control” and “Code Name: Raven.” Even the slightly pop sounding songs sound good with tracks like “If” and “God Save the Foolish Kings.” Hopefully, House of Heroes will continue to grow and expand as artists. Granted, their music isn’t for everyone, but all they ask is for people to give it a try. For any first time listeners, The End Is Not The End should work well to get you into it. If it isn’t your type of music, at least you can say you tried it. House of Heroes deserves more credit than they receive for the quality music they produce. This is definitely a breakthrough band worthy of listening to.
Last month the Cedar Valley said goodbye to a site where many memories were made. The Blackhawk Rollerdrome wasn’t able to recover after devastation from the flood in 2008. It was built in the ’40s and had one of the biggest skating floors in Iowa. Squeels on Wheels was one very fun event for the elementry schools held at the skating rink which was a night that the schools kids were invited
to a skating party. Melanie Rasmussen Photo The Rollerdrome’s demolition started on Tuesday, March 8. The Rollerdrome was owned and run by Karen Demolition of the Rollerdrome Shelton and her son wrapped up last month after damand daughter in law, age from the 2008 floods. Steve and Sarah Miller. “We are going to miss flood was devastating.” the skating rink and wish the They badly wanted to youth of this area had a skatrebuild it after the devastation ing rink,” Shelton said. “We of the flood but did not have are so sorry it’s gone, but the the money to do so. Steve and
Sarah Miller relocated to Rice Lake, Wisc., and have opened a new rink called Skate City. Still there are many memories of the times at the rink. “I remember going there in elementary school to roller skate, and that was always fun,” junior Jack Van Gent said. Some students went skating almost every Friday during the winter. “It was the one place to hangout in Cedar Falls that was fun and made you feel like you were old enough to be out on your own,” junior Andrea Anderson said.
e n i l i h r e tig THE
March 1, 2011
Wizards bring tricks to CF, raise money for North Cedar Jessica Dally Staff Writer
The Harlem Wizards came to the high school on Tuesday, Feb. 22, to help support and raise money for North Cedar Elementary School. North Cedar’s PTA wanted to boost up the school by rallying the whole community together for support because the school was struck by a major flood in 2008, and this has led to a decline in enrollment as well as funding for the school. The game started out with an introduction of the CF Incredibles. Some players included Jen Hartman (Principal of North Cedar), Ron Steele and Mark Schnackenberg (KWWL) and Cedar Falls High School’s own Ethan Weichmann. The Harlem Wizards strolled onto the CF court very energenic, and their players included Eric ‘Broadway’ Jones, Arnold ‘A-Train’ Bernard, Michael ‘Big Mike’ Mathews, Rashaan ‘Rocket’ Barner, David ‘DP’ Paul and James ‘Road Runner’ Tyndal. Right off the bat, music blasted to energize the crowd and get the audience moving. Head Wizards coach Eric ‘Broadway’ Jones thought the matchup was very worthwhile. “Any time you can have a positive impact as well as entertain people, it’s for a good cause.” The announcer rocked the crowd as well by playing
Ali Miller Photo
Math teacher Ethan Weichmann was one of a number of Cedar Valley stars who volunteered to face the Harlem Wizards in a fund raiser at the high school last week on Tuesday, Feb. 22. The money raised from the event went to help North Cedar Elementary School, which is still recovering from the devasting flood of 2008. some energentic tunes like “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” “I Love Rock and Roll” and “We Will Rock You.” The Wizards showed off their moves and even picked up one of the Incredibles players, as well as knighting some CF players with their own titles. Notably, Principal Hartman was nicknamed “Short Shorts,” and Ethan Weichmann was called “Baby Doogie Howser.” The Wizards players continuously dunked and made impressive shots, like when “A-Train” stole an innocent spectator’s food and drink. He said, “This game is a great idea because it’s an op-
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sports
portunity for kids to get a better education, and it brings the whole community together.” At the end of the second quarter, the Wizards were up 41 to 29. At half time, the Wizards hosted a game where Broadway tried to trick some audience volunteers into not catching the ball. A young boy won the game and received a Harlem Wizards basketball, and sophomore Nick DeBuhr represented Cedar Falls in the game but ended up losing. Following the UNI tradition, the announcer also played the Interlude song and dance which was a major success.
The second half wasn’t as successful for the Incredibles or the Wizards. The Wizards were easily distracted, and one was tired as well, so he hopped on an elementary teacher’s back for a leisurly piggy back ride upcourt. Harlem gave off the impression that they were overly friendly because they hugged and carried many of the Incredibles to the hoop as well. In the end, the scoreboard read Wizards-110 and Incredibles-88. Waterloo mayor Buck Clark and Cedar Falls mayor John Crews came to coach the Incredibles to defeat. Other Incredibles players included Quentin Hart “Eddie Murphy,” Brent Mansion “Mr. Clean,” Gregg Groen “Mini Me” and Jordan Henrichs “Next Backstreet Boy.” The names were affiliated with the looks of the players. The MVP was Holmes Junior High Principal Mark Welter. Broadway Jones said, “The Wizards are about bringing awareness and embracing what’s going on in a community.” The Wizards have been to places as far as China, and though they hate the traveling, once they get to their destination, they forget about it and put on a show. Principal Hartman said, “I appreciate everything the PTA has put together, and I loved playing even though I wasn’t very good.”
Athlete Week of the
Marshall Cook Hockey Senior
1. How does it feel to go to State? “Going to State feels great my senior year.” 2. Is this your first year going? “We won varsity State in ’09 [when I was a] sophomore. 3. How did you get started with hockey? “My dad played pro hockey and he got me into it.” 4. Are you planning to continue playing hockey after you graduate? “ I plan to play junior hockey after high school.” 5. Does your team do any rituals before State? “We died our hair blonde.”
Tigers in
Action
Men/Women’s Track 3/1, Wartburg Indoor Invite, 3 p.m.
Last week
Men’s Basketball Lost to Waterloo West 52-49 Waterloo Warriors Won fourth at State
Wahawks cut Tiger season short Jared Hylton Staff Writer
The CFHS men’s state basketball hopes were eliminated in a battle of Mississippi Valley Conference rivals when Waterloo West marched into Cedar Falls on Friday, Feb. 25, and beat the Tigers on their home court 52-49. The Tigers dug themselves a hole early with no helping
hand to climb back out. They found themselves down 8 points at the end of the first quarter, and West High never looked back. The Wahawks rode Trent Washington, who had 16 points, after the first half and added nine more in the second half. “[Washington] is a good player, and he was just making a lot of shots,” sophomore Isaac Boettger said of West’s lead-
ing scorer. For a short period in the second quarter, Cedar Falls found its groove. The team went on a 9-4 run late in the quarter to make it a four-point ballgame, and West High went into the half clinging to a fivepoint lead. “Getting down early is tough, especially when you let the crowd into it. We just needed to keep our heads up
and keep playing,” sophomore Kalund Brown said. With 28 seconds left in regulation and a tie score, West forced a steal and made an easy go-ahead layup to grab a two-point lead. Following another turnover, West hit a free throw to extend its lead to three points. Cedar Falls fumbled the ball on the inbound, and West took possesion and held on to win. “We
prepared well. We knew what we needed to do,” sophomore Kalehl Brown said. “We just didn’t execute,” Boettger said. The loss, however disappointing, caps off a great season for Cedar Falls. The Tigers will be losing seniors Bobby Brummel, Matt Klinehart, Neal DeBuhr and Matt Allender. “The seniors had a great year, and they brought a lot to the team,” Boettger said.
e n i l i h r e tig THE
6 feature
March 1, 2011
Student authors share their inside stories
Several students at CFHS have taken their writing skills outside of the classroom to self-publish novels or poems. Some of these students include seniors Melina Gotera, a two time Scholastic Silver Star Winner, senior Stefan Vallentine, and junior Richelle Kime. Bellow are interviews with Vallentine and Kime and an excerpt from Gotera’s award winning short story.
Senior Stefan Vallentine What did you write about?
I wrote a novel (Peter, Imagined) about a young man who has had crazily realistic dreams throughout his childhood, and he begins to be unable to tell the difference between reality and his imagination. The whole plot follows him as he goes insane and deals with how he deals with trying to determine whether or not he's actually living his own life.
Where did your inspiration come from?
My inspiration for the story came from a song ("Under the Sheets" by Ellie Goulding) that set up the idea of a conflict between a boy and a girl where the relationship is dangerous; my main character imagines a girl in one of his dreams and falls in love with her, but because she isn't real, their relationship is incredibly dangerous. I just loved that idea and rolled with it.
What were some challenges you encountered while writing?
The biggest challenge was how I wrote it, since it took me only 20 days to get through since I did it for NaNoWriMo. Because I wrote it so fast, the quality kind of suffered at times and the plot got kind of inconsistent during certain points.
Are you pleased with what you have accomplshed?
Senior Melina Gotera
Junior Richelle Kime What did you write about?
She sat in front of me in French class, fourth period, and for months she was just hair at the desk in front of me. Long dark hair, maybe a glimpse of her forearm and once, a small mole on the right side of her neck. It was tiny, a sweet little fleck of brown below her ear. When she turned to pass me papers, her hands might brush against mine. Sometimes we locked eyes before returning to our respective boundaries. Her eyes were dark round things, swallowing me whole for those moments our worlds overlapped. The rest of the time I glared at the back of her head. Rich whirling waves of sadness pained me behind the eyes and I pushed them all her way. She was odd, like me, but boys liked her. She was beautiful and for that I hated her. She wore sweaters. Big funny Bill Cosby sweaters without anything on underneath. Her jeans were too long at the bottoms, and ripped. People said she slept around, the type of girl to watch with both eyes. She was a strange wild thing, freckled and willowy, with a top lip that curled up like she was always ready to kiss someone. Her name was Claire. She was ordinary.
It's definitely the best thing I've ever written, and as I'm revising it to possibly submit for real publication some day, it only gets better.
Do you plan to get published some day?
Getting published is a huge goal of mine, but I want to make sure before I try to get anything published that my first submission is a true reflection of my voice and talent.
Do you think you would ever pursue a career in writing?
I plan to pursue a career in writing of some kind in the future (I'm going to U of I to major in English and the Creative Writing track that goes along with it) because it's what I love to do. Nothing makes me happier than sitting down and writing about whatever pops into my head.
Well, it's a story about a fairy princess. I know that sounds weird, but it's the easiest summary I can do.
Where did your inspiration come from?
I've always been a writer, and I have countless unfinished and finished stories saved on my computer. I can look out the window and be inspired by the littlest things, which I'm so grateful for because if I didn't have such a creative mind, I don't think I'd be inspired to write at all.
What were some challenges you encountered while writing?
Oh man. I get writer's block all the time but with the novel I published, the idea I had (which came to me in a dream) was so vivid, I was able to write it without problem. For some of the stories I write, though, I have to do a lot of research on the topic sometimes, and that can prove to be challenging. I mean, I have a few stories about cancer patients, and it's always hard trying to learn about the cancer, try to feel what the people with cancer are feeling and all that jazz. When I write, I try to be my character (feel what my character feels, say what my character would say) and that is challenging.
Are you pleased with what you have accomplished?
Oh, I am very pleased with how it turned out. I'm not a person who is proud of my work, but being able to actually hold the book in my hand and read my name on the cover is something I never dreamed of.
Do you think you would ever pursue a career in writing?
I would love to pursue a career in writing if I knew I would be successful. I'm programmed to succeed, and I don't know if my writing has that spark. Half of that just has to do with my bad confidence issues, but, yeah. I kind of just go with the flow, so if my writing is popular and I become famous, great! If I'm going to be some circus clown who loves writing when I have time, also great! Maybe I'll be in the right place at the right time.
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Student pursues passion for theater Chandal Geerdes Staff Writer
Submitted Photo
Junior Dylan Martin performs in Sissy’s Circus, a UNISTA benefit play. Martin has been a part of UNI theater since she was eight years old. sion,” Martin said. A significant difference between UNI and CFHS theater is that UNI is directed and run by the students. The students receive permission from UNISTA, which stands for UNI Student Theater Association. Their purpose is to produce theater that offers opportunities for students to explore their creativity in a more
relaxed environment. UNISTA sets up all the fundraising, sets, costumes, auditions and publicity for UNI theater. Martin said she feels this method of directing produces great results. “It allows students to go ‘off-script’ and create whatever they feel inclined to do. They can direct and create whatever they want; they have
Maya Amjadi Staff Writer
Snip, snip, clip go the scissors as 11 inches of healthy brunette hair are chopped off to be donated for the Locks of Love Foundation. Senior Krista Lee has donated to Locks of Love four times in her life, one of these times recently being Thursday, Feb. 24. In fact, she can’t even remember what the first time was like because she was so little. “I was really young, and I’ve been donating ever since. It’s just what I do,” Lee said. Lee doesn’t know anyone specific who benefits from her contribution to the Foundation, but just knowing that she is helping someone is enough. She is inspired by patients she has seen at the Mayo Clinic. “I have gone to Mayo Clinic for treatments, and
there I see kids who have cancer and as a result are bald,” Lee said. “I donate my hair for the people [like them] who have the most right to complain but don’t.” Lee said she would definitely recommend the Locks of Love program to others. There are methods she follows to keep her hair in healthy and top condition. “I don’t straighten my hair very often, and I don’t use a lot of hairspray,” she said. Although this may be hard for people today since straightening and hair spraying are so common,but it really isn’t a tough price to pay to donate hair for a balding cancer patient. Another rule for donatinhair is that one cannot ever dye it, but this, too, was never a problem for Lee. She uses typical shampoos and conditioners, although she believes
Junior donates hair to Locks of Love Senior Krista Lee just donated to Locks of Love for the fourth time in her life last Thursday, Feb. 24. Her hair will be made into wigs for children who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments.
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Fourth time’s the charm:
more freedom,” Martin said. “You get huge amounts of creativity out of it, more so than a single director administrating everything for the whole realm of the project.” Martin has heard rumors about shows in progress and feels that amazing things are going to come out of UNI theater. “There are a wide range
that Aussie products work the best in keeping her hair healthy enough to grow long and exuberant. One more rule that Locks of Love has is that the donor’s hair has to be approximately 10 to 11 inches in length. Lee has never struggled with this. Give it time and it will grow. The longest her hair has ever been was down at her waist.
Maya Amjadi Photos
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Starting at the young age of eight, junior Dylan Martin has been a part of UNI theater for eight years. She has contributed to UNI theater in a multitude of ways, which include taking acting and tech roles in Sturgis Youth Theater. Martin was introduced to UNI theater in third grade, when she served as an assistant to professor Gretta Bergahmmer, a friend of the family. While her older sister played the role of Scout in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Martin was eager to have a part in the play as well. “She could tell I wanted to help, getting coffee and holding her 4-inch binder that held the script,” Martin said. “[It was] my first dive into UNI theater.” Martin has been doing theater for so long that she finds it to be more than just an extracurricular. “Theater is my favorite hobby, pass time and pas-
of genres and a huge range of talent and passion,” Martin said. Martin admits she was kind of shy working with older college kids at first but came to find they were very welcoming. They also share her passion for theater, so Martin said she feels very comfortable at UNI. She even said that theater college students are part of her main group of friends. “I feel at home,” she said about her time spent doing UNI theater. Although Martin has and will continue her passion with UNI theater, there was one challenge she had to face. “I had to choose between my own age group that I knew I was comfortable with or taking the chance of being with an older, more experienced group.” Martin said. This summer Martin plans on being an intern again for Berghammer, helping out with tech lights and costumes for Sturgis Youth Theater.
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Tuned Up Choir students wow crowd at pops concert at Prairie Lakes
The choir had its pops concert at Prairie Lakes Church on Thursday, Feb. 24. Starting at upper left and working clockwise are seniors Kimmi Husmann, Ashlyn Ryan and Sarah E. Welter. Men’s choir is performing the Beach Boy’s Medley, and below are junior J.P. Sevcik and senior Catherine Dunbar; senior Austin Javellana; senior Karly Fuller and senior Sarah Postel rock the crowd with Taylor Swift’s “Mean.” Photos by Billy Horward, Meg Lane and Allyson Vuong