March 29, 2011 hi line

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VOLUME 51 ISSUE 19 1015 Division St. Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613

Robotics takes first at Regionals Sandra Omari-Boateng Staff Writer

The CFHS robotics team efforts paid off when they won first place at the Greater Kansas City Regional competition.The team arrived in Kansas City on Thursday, March 10, and started its first day of practice. By the end of the day Saturday, March 12, the team had continued throughout the whole competition undefeated in 10 qualifying matches and six elimination rounds. The FIRST Team 525 Swartdogs came back home victorious as the Greater Kansas City Regional champions.The first place win qualifies all four teams for the championships in St. Louis.

“We weren’t expecting to win. We knew that we had a good robot, just like now we aren’t expecting to win, but we’re going to do our best and hope that we do really well. We’re already qualified for St. Louis, so even if we don’t do as well, we’re still in,” senior Ashley Brown said.

Each year FIRST, the organization that sets the qualifications for the robots, changes what type of tasks that the robots have to be able to do. This year the rules explain that the robot is 120 pounds, and the mini robot is

Submitted Photo Robotics team members cheer on the 525 Swartdogs at the regional competition in Kansas City where the team received first place. under 15 pounds. The current challenge was to get the bigger robot to hang innertubes on posts on the wall.

Then, during the last 30 seconds, the big robot deploys the minibot which climbs a pole at the end of the robot to earn extra points.

The past couple of years the robotics team has been doing well in the competitions. Last year they made it to the International Championship event,

the highest level of competition, and now they have just qualified for it this year. The championship has builders from Canada, Israel and Mexico signed up to participate this year.

“It’s very exciting, and being able to go to the international level as a team is really exciting. I’m glad I got to work on the robots, and I get to say that I built some of the stuff that was out there on the field,” senior Louis

Redfern said.

This Wednesday, March 30, the team is leaving to compete again in the Minnesota 10,000 Lakes Regional event. This will be another regional competition that they are entering like the one in Kansas, but this time, no matter what happens, they will still be headed to the championship. The international championship will be held in St. Louis from April 27-30.

This wasn’t an easily earned first place. There were always people working on the robots from 6:30 p.m. to midnight, and then for the final weeks leading up the the competition people were coming in at 5:30 p.m. every day.

“After a while we had people coming in a little earlier or staying a little later to work on it. As soon as we’re done with our homework, it’s off to the build site,” Redfern said.

Being on the robotics team counts as a varsity sport, so you can letter for robotics, but members don’t get a semester exempted from gym. The 525 Swartdogs is led by Physics teacher Kenton Swartley. To stay updated and connected to the Swartdogs, visit the team website at http://www.525swartdogs.org/.

New permit regulation considered by legislature new terms for young drivers. One of the new regulations states that 14 year olds Staff Writer must have their permit for a year before they can start driver’s education. As of By age 16, most students have now, students already been driving can take driver’s for years. They have ed immediately received their permits after receiving at age 14, taken their permit, driver’s ed, obtained which allows their all important them to get their school permit and school permit finally received that as early as 9th plastic card that says they are able to drive —Kevin Stewart grade. Under the new restricaround without their Driving Instructor tions, however, parents. It was easy students will to start one’s driving not even be eligible to take driver’s ed experience back then; however, for until age 15, the prerequisite to getting a younger siblings and everyone else school permit. from now on, the experience is likely Part of the justification for more to be more regulated. control over early teen drivers are studIowa legislation is pending with

Jessica Dally

experience “isMore needed to be a responsible safe driver.

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ies like one that shows 48 percent of the deaths between the ages of 14-17 are related to car accidents because young drivers are not experienced enough to start driving without an adult. Statistics also show that 22 percent of all fatal accidents in Iowa are related to 14-year-old drivers and 9.6 percent of drivers under the age of 15 are involved with injuries to themselves and other passengers.

Driving instructor Kevin Stewart said he agrees with the new proposed regulations.

“I agree with the possible new regulations of the learner’s permit because more experience is needed to be a responsible safe driver. I think it’s absurd that 14-year-old drivers are able to have a school permit if we are saying 16 is the allowed driving age.”

Driving instructor Neil Jones also agrees with new legislation because he feels the added experience will lead to safer drivers.

“The more experience the driver has, the safer they are. It’s all about how mature and responsible they are.

If they are mentally ready to have their school permit then, I don’t have a problem with them driving on the street.”

This new regulation hasn’t been passed in legislation yet but is being discussed and debated in Des Moines.

In a recent WCF Courier article, Sen. Bill Heckroth from Waverly said that the bill is “basically about saving lives,” but Sen. Merlin Bartz said, “The bill is basically taking away the rights of a parents and replacing it with a nanny state.” As of February, the bill was approved in the Senate 47-1 and is now making its way to the house.

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2 opinion our view Youtube Black Plague rivals Bieber Fever Recently, 13-year-old Rebecca Black’s song “Friday” has gone completely viral on YouTube. With over 60 million views and counting since its release on Feb. 10, speculation about the video has grown exponentially in the last few weeks. The song has even been hovering in the top 30s on iTunes Top 100.

While some may say Black could soon be following in the footsteps of Justin Bieber, others have deemed “Friday” as “The Worst Music Video Ever.”

The infamous video has received hundreds of thousands of comments, some of which are extremely hateful, allowing cyberbullying to be viewed by everyone in cyberspace. Further proof of this negative reception is shown by the growing “dislike” to “like” ratio on YouTube. Currently the video has over a million dislikes, as opposed to less than 130,000 likes. Which differs greatly from her youtube rival, Bieber who cleaned up nicely with over nearly 300,000 likes on one of his videos.

To put it nicely, it has rather obvious lyrics (i.e., “Yesterday was Thursday, Thursday/Today it is Friday, Friday … Tomorrow is Saturday/And Sunday comes afterwards”), and Black’s voice is admittedly not the most pleasing to listen to.

However, the hateful feedback from some viewers is too much. In an interview on Good Morning America, Black said that some of the most hurtful comments she read on her video told her to go “cut herself” or “get an eating disorder.” This kind of hatred is despicable: just because someone sings an annoying song on YouTube does not mean they need to be subjected to such cruel comments. In addition, Black is only 13 years old.

How many 13-year-old girls can successfully cope with being bashed on an international level?

It appears Black is quickly becoming famous for all the wrong reasons, as her “hit” on YouTube has become an unintentional parody of today’s pop music. Whether she, her parents or Ark Music Factory (the company that recorded her song and video) are to blame for this, it is simply wrong for Black to deal with such intense negativism on the Internet.

Haters, get off YouTube and go get a life.

Good Job to All-State Speech

Congratulations to the CF speech team on a successful state individual contest. This year’s teams received 16 Division I ratings and four Division II ratings. We also would like to congratulate Nate Hua, Darby Sheehan, Jillian Ross, Maya Amjadi and Carrsan Morrisey on receiving All State nominations.

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: 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

March 29 2011

After decades of protected status, doves become target under new hunting law Maya Amjadi Staff Writer

Quick, light grey and brown, gallant young birds flutter in and out of view all year in Iowa, but is it the view from the kitchen window while they’re busy at the bird feeder or is it the view of them in the target ring when looking through the gun sights? One precise finger movement and the gun is fired at the harmless beauty.

The hunting of a recognized symbol of peace, the dove, is an issue that has been debated for decades in Iowa. Iowa just became the forty-first state to allow dove hunting.

Mourning dove hunting is a hobby that puts other wildlife in danger. The bullets used for mourning dove hunting are smaller than other steel bullets, used that are used in larger birds and rodents, and also contain lead. Hunters say the reason mourning doves are

so fun to shoot at is because of their quickness, speed and agility. You have to be a good shot to hit a dove, and you might fire several shots without producing a single hit on target.

These lead bullets then come falling back to earth and land in leaves and dirt. Other wildlife that live and travel through the woods have eaten these pellets and can become poisoned and die as a result.

Even for bullets that do hit the bird, what happens when it does not kill the mourning dove or the it lands somewhere unreachable or hidden?

Now there is lead in a dying body, with blood that in turn, attracts the great bald eagle who isn’t shy. He will eat till he has had his fill and then will die from lead poisoning. And now the protected, honored, lucky-ifspotted symbol of our nation has been killed as result.

Then, who knows, something else will eat the eagle, and the cycle will continue.

There are already 25 ani-

mal species that can legally be hunted in Iowa, nine of these being birds. There is no reason to start allowing mourning doves to be shot because they are not a harm to our society, nor are they overpopulated.

One argument is that the issuing of licenses to hunters would bring in more money than previous years because many hunters went out of state to hunt mourning doves.

Staying in Iowa brings in a larger sum, which in other states has been used for recreational parks and upkeep of the environment. Iowa could use the money for that as well.

However, there are many other ways to raise money for parks that don’t involve shooting mourning doves.

Unfortunately, the bill was passed on Thursday March, 24 making Iowa no longer a safe refuge for mourning doves.

This does make me wonder though, where do we draw the line? If we’re hunting birds that don’t even make a full meal, what songbird will be next?

iPad sacrifices quality to save cost at Catholic Schools Aaron Parson Staff Writer

If you have been paying attention to the news lately, you probably have seen that students of the Cedar Valley Catholic Schools and Waverly Shell-Rock Public School District will be receiving an Apple iPad 2 at the start of next school year.

As it is a tablet computer, it does not have a separate keyboard or mouse like a desktop/laptop computer would, which in my mind is a major downside because it will not be as user friendly.

This has some of us wondering, is this iPad something that will truly help you with your homework, or is it something that is just really great to play games on?

Many people, including me, think of the iPad as more as a toy than a tool. You have access to the Apple App Store,

where there are hundreds of thousands of games and many things that are not school related.

Cedar Valley Catholic Schools was originally going to get each student in Grade 6-12 a MacBook Pro, but around January leaders of the school started hearing “strong indicators” that the iPad 2 will have all of the features necessary for the students.

A MacBook Pro starts around $1,200 while the iPad starts at $500. There is clearly a big savings in getting the iPad. Each family will have to pay just a $200 technology fee each year that will cover the cost and will get it fixed, if the damage is minor.

Many are dissing the technology fee, as over seven years of using the iPad, Catholic school students will pay $1,400 total, and they are not able to keep the iPad, which retails for approximately half

that price, after graduation. Of course, kids are also sometimes irresponsible, and it is very easy for a student to drop the iPad and have the screen shatter, or lose it or have the iPad stolen. The technology fee then will not provide a replacement or pay to get it fixed if the screen shatters, so parents or the school will have to purchase some sort of insurance should they want to be covered.

I think that a laptop computer like the MacBook Pro would be a lot better. It is more business and school related, and it has all the proper features necessary for a student. It may cost a little bit more, but sometimes you have to spend a bit more to get the best quality product.

The real question is whether tomorrow’s workforce needs schools to be gearing up students with digital tools like either of these Apple products.

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sports

March 29, 2011

CF cheerleaders go big at Nationals

24 hours later. The first event Cedar Falls competed in was the Stunt competition. The Fabulous Five including; Dallas Deery, Jena Spier, Sam

Doyle, Deserai Deery, and Katie Gettman, received second place overall in the Stunt competition.

Assistant Coach Megan

Ruane said, “We’re so proud of the girls at Nationals they did such a great job and we’re happy they placed.”

The Next competition was the overall team competition. Cedar Falls competed in the Intermediate Junior Varsity/Freshman division.

Cedar Falls won the Superior Showmanship award. They also placed third place in the overall competition.

“It’s an Honor to place at the National Competition and I’m happy we could bring home a trophy,” said Abigail Wieland.

The tigers placed 3rd,while the stunt teams placed 2nd and 6th.

Cedar Falls has already posted results for next years competition squad and the team hopes to be just as successful as last year.

students, including myself, who would like an activity, such as soccer or volleyball, to be an option for them just as a fun, laid back time.

A great way to have these sports be an option to students who either don’t have the time for the actual team sport or don’t want the pressure of competition is intramural sports. Intramurals give students more opportunities to try new things that they normally wouldn’t have the

time to do. This would also give the year round athletes the chance to try other sports that they’ve thought about doing but haven’t had the time to do due to their commitment to the other things in life which may include a sport they are already in.

Nowadays, it’s hard to play a sport for fun if you are not at the top of your class because of our large athletic student population. When you play a sport, you want to be put in the place where you want to be and where you feel you excel. With the multitude of great athletes at our school, it’s hard to have your time on the field, court or track if your times or skills are not at the top.

Intramurals are a great option for those who are not the best at the sport they want to play and are also another way to show off and have fun at the same time. There are many opportunities throughout the year for intramural

sports such as flag football, ultimate Frisbee, volleyball, dodgeball and, new last year, quidditch. Although the only opportunity left this year is quidditch, make sure to listen to announcements and look for posters next year for the other intramurals. All intramural games are usually on Monday or Tuesday nights from 6 to 8 p.m. There is a $1 fee to play. Teams for each intramural can be all boys, all girls or co-ed grades 10 through 12. Registration forms for intramural games are kept in the office.

Although there is no structured practice, teams still get together to have practices and even come up with matching uniforms. About 30 to 60 students sign up for each intramural, and it would be great to get more students involved in future years. Intramurals are a great way to be active, hangout with friends and compete in a stress-free environment.

Olivia Borsay

The Cedar Falls cheerleading team performs during the Tiger Invite last fall. Clockwise from top: junior Danika Patten, junior Maddie Gary, senior Jordi Powell, sophomore Jacey Beiner, junior Hali Weimerskirch

Staff Writer

Nationals is an opportunity that Cedar Falls get to compete at once every two years. Cedar Fall’s competition squad is the elite team that competes in competitions, State, and Nationals. This year Cedar Falls was headed to Myrtle Beach for the National Cheerleading competition.

After finishing fifth as a team at the State competition Cedar Falls knew they needed to step up there game.

Dallas Deery said, “We were all pretty bummed out after the state competition and so I’m happy we could come compete and be succesful.”.

The cheerleaders departed from Cedar Falls High School Wednesday March 16 and arrived in Myrtle beach over

S p o r t s Intramurals offer low-key O p i n i o n options for fun activities Chandal Geerdes Staff Writer

Students these days have many pressures to be the best they can be. From everyday school duties, work, home responsibilities and even sports, students feel there’s no place for fun, relaxed activities. Although sports are an enjoyable way to be healthy and active, there is still pressure when it comes time to compete. I know some

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Athlete Week of the

Marshall Hill Men’s Track Senior

1. Are you excited that track is starting again?

If yes, why?

“Yes, I am excited that track is starting again because I love it and I want to do better this year .”

2. What is your favorite event to run? Why? “My favorite event is the 400 dash because it’s my best event.”

3. What is your goal for the season?

“My goal for this year is to run 48 seconds in the 400 and win a state championship” 4. What is the hardest thing about track to you?

“To be honest, there isn’t really anything I think is hard, but if I had to choose, it would be (Coach) Homewood’s workouts.”

5. What are you looking foward to this year?

“I’m really looking forward to going to state and Drake and I’m hoping that we can bring home some medals.”

Tigers in Action

Men’s Soccer 3/31, Metro Jamboree vs.

Decorah @ Sloane Wallace Stadium, 6 p.m.

4/2, North Scott Tournament, 12:20 p.m.

Men’s Track 4/1, Waterloo West Triangular @ Waterloo Memorial, 5 p.m.

Men’s Tennis 4/2, Wahawk Invitational, 9 a.m.

Women’s Track 4/1, Xavier Invitational, 5 p.m.

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feature

March 29, 2011

TOMS Ellen Gustavson Editor-in-Chief

Recently, the number of CFHS students wearing TOMS shoes has increased greatly. Whether the reason for their popularity comes from the One-for-One cause, the look or just the brand name, it is evident that they are quickly becoming a musthave for spring.

TOMS were created in 2006, when American traveler Blake Mycoskie met children in Argentina who had no shoes to protect their feet.

This inspired him to create TOMS Shoes, a company that matches every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need, in a “One for One” move-

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Popular brand promotes ‘One Day Without Shoes’ ment. Mycoskie later returned to Argentina with a group of family, friends and staff that year with 10,000 pairs of shoes, which were made possible by customers of TOMS. “I think the cause is awesome because children who have to walk everywhere, every day need shoes, and TOMS is providing that for them,” said junior Elley Bailey. “In Ethiopia wearing shoes is a symbol of status, and the shoes protect people’s feet from disease.”

However, the cause is not the only reason to love TOMS. “I think that they are extremely both comfy and cute,” said sophomore Carissa Herkelman, who owns two pairs. “I love that I am helping children simply by buying

shoes.”

Junior Ben Bonwell said, “It’s great what they’re doing for the kids … I think they are immensely comfortable.”

As of September 2010, TOMS has given over one million pairs of new shoes to children in need around the world. Their website has shoes with several designs, colors and styles to choose from for both girls and guys.

Umthun said, “It was really hard for me to choose which ones I wanted because there are so many to choose from.”

“I have a list of about five more pairs that I want,” senior Karly Fuller said.

“It’s such a great feeling knowing that you’re not just buying

Photo from toms.com

shoes for yourself.”

TOMS shoes are sold online and at a select few stores, such as Nordstrom. Although they advertise mostly through Internet ads, their popularity has spread mainly by word of mouth. “I found out about them over the summer. Someone I met at a summer camp had them,” Bailey said.

“The first person I saw wearing TOMS was my small group leader during Caravan last summer,” Umthun said.

“Not long after, my parents went to a conference and heard Blake Mycoskie speak about the one for one cause.”

The shoes have also become a popular choice for prom shoes: the only problem for many is deciding which pair to get. “I’m stuck between Ellen Gustavson Photo

(Left) TOMS shoes are donated to children in Africa who cannot afford shoes. Next Tuesday, April 5, TOMS will promote “One Day Without Shoes” to raise awareness about their mission. (Right) Junior Brynna Sankey wears simple but cute TOMS classics.

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two pairs that I really want for prom,” junior Brynna Sankey said.

TOMS also recently introduced a line of shoes for weddings. “I got the gold [glitter] TOMS and love them,” Fuller said. “We also have some friends getting married this summer, and the whole bridal party is wearing TOMS.” Umthun said, “[My small group leader] told me that she wore them on her wedding day. I thought that was so cool.”

The cause is not only to help children because they cannot afford shoes, however.

With no shoes, their feet get cuts and sores, which can become infected easily. They also have a higher risk of contracting a disease transmitted from soil.

Most importantly, children cannot attend school because the dress code requires shoes — they are forced to forgo an education simply because they lack shoes.

TOMS currently gives shoes to children in 24 countries, the majority of which are in Africa. Next Tuesday, April 5, TOMS will promote “One Day Without Shoes.”

On this day, people everywhere are encouraged to go barefoot to experience what a day without shoes really feels like while raising awareness about their mission.

Bronze Star Sponsors ($100) •Ruth N. DeHoff •Glass Tech •Larry and Judy Timmins

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