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VOLUME 51 ISSUE 18 1015 Division St. Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613
DECA group competes at state conference Maya Amjadi Staff Writer
Competing in business planning, marketing and merchandising, several CFHS students worked their way through the DECA competition held in Des Moines on Feb. 27 and 28. “They did a great job and represented Cedar Falls very well,” said their coach and teacher from the business department, Matthew Flaherty. The competition consisted of taking a 100-point test and role playing in front of judges. The role plays were judged on how well the situation at hand was dealt with. For example, senior Jordan Smoldt and her partner, senior Alana Alberts, competed in the traveling and tourism division in the marketing and advertising area. They had to come up with a plan to market and advertise for a new cruise ship. The judges then evaluated them on both the presentation and how well they answered their questions. “The hardest part was trying to come up with the best ideas possible in the 20 minutes they give you to prepare your answer,” Smoldt said. First and second place winners qualify for Nationals in Orlando, which will be held the first week of May. Smoldt and Alberts placed third, but because the first place winners of the
Submitted Picture Deca participants at state conference from ;eft to right: Megan Hartman, Jordan Smolt, Alana Alberts, Katlin Gillet, Shawn Hagarty, Matt Klinhert, Celeste Southall, Kelly Dobson, Lauren Bannon, Brooke Craig, Madison Bradford, Ben Challgren, Stephan Poe, Danny Karns, Henry Shares, Shane Shaddox, Patrick Sesker. out how to answer the judge’s quescompetition in their division are not tions. able to attend Nationals, these two will “It’s on the spot, and you aren’t be replacing them. sure what they are going to ask,” Junior Patrick Sesker qualified Sesker said. He will be attending the with a first place in the food marketing national competition in Orlando in event. It is his first year in DECA, and May. for him the hardest part was figuring Junior Kelley Dobson competed
individually with a situation in the industry and hospitality event, receiving a second place exam score and an honorable mention. She also competed in the written business plan event with her partner, junior Celeste Southall, and received third place. For the written event, their paper was turned in a month before the competition for review. Then, on the day of the competition, the paper was presented by Dobson and Southall in the form of a business presentation, and the judges asked questions regarding the paper. Dobson said, “The best part about DECA is that it’s such a great mix of business experience and getting to be with friends and have a good time.” Her written event will be going to Nationals in May. Seniors Megan Hartman and Kaitlyn Gillett placed second in the travel and tourism event. Although they qualified for Nationals, they will not be attending this year because it conflicts with the Drake Relays. Other top competitors include junior Ben Challgren, who received first place in his independent business plan and second in the retail merchandising event. Also, seniors Stephan Poe and Danny Karns finished in second place in the financial decision making event.
CFHS concert bands prepare Southdale dance marathon
for annual pop concerts Lucas Hamilton Staff Writer
The CFHS concert bands, the symphonic band and wind symphony, will be performing their annual pops concert on Tuesday, March 8, and Thursday, March 10. For music selection, both bands have unique music picked out. Symphonic band will be performing “Pirates of the Caribbean,” selections from the movie “Up,” a Beatles medley and a song entitled “Joy.” Wind symphony will be performing a Chicago medley featuring songs like “Make Me Smile,” “Saturday in the Park” and “25 or 6
to 4,” as well as music from the movie “Sweeney Todd” and music composed by Henry Mancini, including the infamous “Pink Panther” song, “Baby Elephant Walk” and “Peter Gunn.” The director of symphonic band, Kyle Engelhardt, said, “The music we have picked out is really fun to play and people should like it.” Gerald Ramsey, director of wind symphony, said, “There is a wide variety in the music chosen for this year’s concert, and I think it will keep the audience interested. From the darkness of ‘Sweeney Todd,’ changing into a rock and roll medley just keeps everything much more active and fun to listen to.”
raises money for student Sandra Omari-Boateng Staff Writer
The Southdale Elementary School held a successful dance marathon to help raise money for one of its own students on Friday, Feb. 25. The event took place in the gym of the school and was held for most of the school day. Each class came in for 25-minute time periods to dance as hard as they could for raising all that money. Each student went out and got people to pledge and sponsor them to dance in order to raise the money. Some students from the high school went to help motivate the dancers there. The students could sign up for 30-minute slots to go and dance with
the students in the marathon. This was mainly a Student Senate event, but other high school students branched off to help with the fun cause. The marathon was coordinated by Southdale gym teacher Robbie Sckerl. He helped pump up the students to do dances like the “Cupid Shuffle,” “Cha Cha Slide and even taught the students to do the increasingly famous “Interlude” dance. The student that inspired this whole thing is Benny Bernard. Bernard is a student at Southdale who has cancer and influenced the whole school to rally and raise money for the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics to help find a cure. The marathon proved to be a success, raising $1,200 for the hospital.
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2 opinion our view Public employees becoming unfair target of benefit cuts The law of diminishing returns says that if you abuse one particular area of a system, then the rest will suffer also. In states such as Wisconsin and others, you can see this basic principle played out as the state governments try to balance their budgets. And the ones who are paying for struggles are public servants, and one in particular, teachers. So how exactly does that law connect to the teachers? Well, the teachers are are unionized. Essentially these workers get a voice in how they are treated. The opposite can be said about many in the private sector, where union memberships are down as well as employee benefits. But there is a catch, the same private sector jobs that are so highly regarded in our society are also the major banks and corporations that were bailed out by those who work in the public sector with government funds because these private sector jobs got too greedy for their own good. Hence the connection to the law of diminishing returns: the government allowed the largest private sectors to abuse its privleges, and now the public sector has to sacrifice. Ironic, isn’t it? So now states like Wisconsin, whose Republican government obviously benefits from private sector endorsement, are trying to cut wages from the public sectors that include teachers and others. On top of that, they have teachers protesting and not going to work, which means kids aren’t going to school. At the Tiger Hi-Line, the editors back these teachers and many other public sector workers’ decision to protest these actions. We understand both public and private sectors should make sacrifices, but the plans for balancing the budgets are unjust. They not only cut funds, they strip public employees’ rights for negotiating benefits. If this new plan passes, not only will those states lose valuable teachers, but they also would be cutting funding for schools that already make due with very little. Students will suffer from a lack of teachers, their class sizes will get bigger and fewer materials will be available for them. It makes you wonder if it’s really all worth it? The U.S education system is already under much strain as is and doesn’t need this added to it. We need to stand by our educators’ rights, because when it comes down to it, education is the very foundation of our society, and those teachers they want to cut wages from or fire are part of the building blocks that make up that foundation, and everyone knows you need a solid foundation before you can get started anywhere in life.
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 8, 2011
Letter to the Editor: Human trafficking deserves punishment Dear Editors: I am a senior at Cedar Falls High School and I am taking Mr. Winkel’s American Literature: 1930’s to Today class. We have been reading Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” which is why I am writing this letter. After I read his letter, I was inspired to take action and to write to you about human trafficking that is going on in the United States right now. Human trafficking has been around for many years, and the numbers keep getting higher and higher. Men, women and children are being enslaved for forced labor, indentured servitude, sex and pornography. Children are the most vulnerable. In the United States, between 100,000 and 300,00 children are sold for sex. As of right now, the justice system punishes girls for their involvement in human trafficking instead of prosecuting the men who are their pimps and purchase them. We can’t be a country that sits around and watches men, women and children being enslaved for forced labor and sex. This industry affects all of us. Most of us aren’t involved with this issue but instead of taking action and prosecuting the men responsible, we punish the young women and children. Martin
Luther King Jr. said in his letter, “Justice too long delayed is justice denied.” The young women and children’s lives can’t be denied. Whether you are personally involved with this or not, you are delaying their right to a life they should have. It is time for us to take a stand on this issue. The numbers keep increasing. Approximately every 10 minutes, a child or woman is trafficked into the United States. Seventy six percent of transactions for sex with underage girls are through the Internet. It’s not right for us to be a country that spends 300 times more money a year to fight drug trafficking than we do to fight human trafficking. Martin Luther King Jr. also said, “So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love?” That’s the same question we should be asking ourselves. Will we keep saying human trafficking is bad and instead spend the money to stop drug trafficking or be an extremist for love and show the young women and girls there is love in the world. The average age for a girl to be entered into commercial sex slavery is 13 years old. If we were to ask one of these girls, I’m sure they would all say we couldn’t even begin to imagine. And we can’t. We
can’t imagine having a childhood where we’re serving people or being involved with the sex trafficking. We can’t imagine being 17 years old and being arrested for the 20th time and watching the “John” sit there as if nothing just happened. We can’t imagine losing our childhood. This is the time to change this; we can give young girls a childhood. It is time for us to take action. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Society must protect the robbed and punish the robber.” We can’t be a society that lets them men who robbed the girls of their childhood walk. The 100,000 girls who are being sold for sex are all being robbed of something that only lasts for a little while. These girls deserve the right to be a child like every other child in the United States. My plan for action is to raise awareness. I will do this by sharing my opinion on the issue and making sure people know how big the numbers are. We can’t keep robbing these girls of their childhood. Instead, we need to stand up against this issue. Respectfully, Anne Raecker senior Editor’s Note: All students in English teacher Brian Winkel’s American Literature class wrote letters. This was the top pick among all those submitted.
Do you agree with the recent Supreme Court ruling that the Westboro Baptist Church should not be restricted from expressing its controversial views?
“I personally think there really is a point of terrible disrespect.”
-Leah Franke Senior
“I think it’s incredibly insensitive for these people to be doing that.”
—Kevin Swartley Physics Teacher
“I have mixed feelings about this. I do agree it is a constitutional right but they are being intolerant and are inciting violence.”
—Isak Knivesland sophomore
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sports
March 8, 2011
Special Olympics zooms into track season Maya Amjadi Staff Writer
The largest season of the Special Olympics, track and field, is on its way with practices recently begun and continuing every Wednesday. The track and field season includes events such as the mile, relays, shotput, a soft power javelin, a weighted long jump, botchi ball and even gymnastics. There really is something for everyone to participate in. The head coach, for his second year in a row, is science teacher Scott Bohlman, In addition to head coach duties, Bohlmann has been involved in the program for four years through helping out at the events and volunteering. “The team this year has slightly less numbers than last year’s, but overall we have a bunch of kids who are really excited, and they were talking about the track season as early as last fall,” Bohlmann said. The variety keeps different athletes involved and interested. “Kids in Special Olympics can do pretty much anything that varsity sports in high school [have to offer],” Bohlmann said. There are no student
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Racing to the finish line at the Special Olympics track meet last year at the UNI Dome is senior Chey Wheeler and 2010 graduate Tyler Cooper. coaches this year, but many people have showed up to volunteer at the UNI Dome where Districts are held. Everyone is welcome to attend. To become a coach, contact Joe Wilson, the director for this region. There are classes in the fall, training dates and hours of coaching experience
required. Students participating in the Special Olympics practice once a week for an hour or longer at the UNI Dome so that they are ready for the competition. The indoor track at UNI is where Districts are held on March 27, and the ability to practice there makes
the students comfortable and prepared. Students who make it to a top spot at Districts go to Iowa State University for the state level competition. Senior Alex Graber has participated in the Special Olympics for two years now. The events in which he will be participating include the softball throw and 50-meter dash. He said his favorite part of the whole experience is “the crowd cheering me on.” Senior Chey Wheeler has participated in the sports games since ninth grade. The events he is partaking in include the 50-meter dash, standing long jump and 4x100 meter dash. He said that Boehlman is doing well for his second year. “He is a really good supporter. [He] makes everyone feel like they can do their best,” Wheeler said. Wheeler said he is a runner. “I’m energetic, and running utilizes my full potential. I love track because I love to run, and it is where I shine.” The District event welcomes spectators and volunteers of all ages. They are hoping for a blue ribbon which would send them to State.
Indoor track commences with key victories Aaron Parsons Staff Writer
Track season is officially up and going, and indoor track is off to a great start. The track team ran in its first field event Tuesday, March 1, at the Wartburg College High School Invitational in Waverly. In the women’s event, junior Hannah Savage and sophomore Allison Gregg captured the 1,500 and 3,000 meter events. Savage excelled at the 1,500 meters in 4:57.52, while Gregg captured the 3,000 meters in 10:46.45. Senior Molly Youde went
above and beyond in the long jump, managing 15 feet, 8 inches. On the men’s side of things, junior Luke Toyosi got the team off to a very strong start, running the 55 meter dash in 6.68 seconds. Track coach Jeff Hartman said, “We have four indoor meets, so we think that is plenty. Once we get into April, the weather is nice enough to host outdoor track meets. It’s a lot better to run on a 400-meter track rather than a 200-meter track. Plus, there are a lot more events that are run in the outdoor meets.” All of the schools in the Mississippi Valley Conference
participate in indoor track season. “All of the schools run at least a few indoor meets. The MVC indoor track meet will be held in the UNI Dome on Monday, March 12. All of the conference schools should be there.” Track has always been a popular sport at Cedar Falls High School. “We should have around 80 athletes, which is similar to years past,” Hartman said. Because of the high number of athletes out for track, Hartman has high hopes for the season, “We hope to have fun, work hard and get better every week. I think that if we
do that, we can be very successful at the end of the year at the conference meet and at the state track meet.” The men’s team has 27 returning letter winners, while the women’s team has 25 returning letter winners. “We have a lot of returning letter winners. We graduated some outstanding athletes last year, but we return a very solid nucleus of runners. Our returning letter winners have really worked hard over the last year, and it shows on their performances so far this year” Hartman said. The teams are set to run in the Wartburg Invite today at 3 p.m.
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Athlete Week of the
Hannah Savage Women’s Track Junior
1. How was the first indoor track meet? “The first meet went really good. Our team won a lot of the events, and it was just really fun to get competing again.” 2. What is your favorite event in track? “My favorite event would definitely be the 1500 because I just think it’s the perfect distance. and I always have a blast running it.” 3. What is your goal for the season? “My goal for this season would definitely be just to make it to Drake and State in any events that I can and enjoy my last year with all the seniors that will be leaving next year. ”
Tigers in Action
Men’s Track 3/8, Wartburg Indoor Invite, 3 p.m. 3/12, Quadangular @ home, 5 p.m. 3/14, MVC Indoor @ UNIDome, 4:30 p.m. Women’s Track 3/8, Wartburg Indoor Invite, 3 p.m. 3/15, MVC Indoor @ UNIDome, 4:30 p.m.
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feature
March. 8, 2011
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Digitial craze sweeps through CF Aaron Parsons Staff Writer
In these technologically advanced times, many are giving up their books, CDs and DVDs while making the switch to completely digital purchases. Statistics suggest that digital downloads have a very good chance of surpassing CD sales in the very near future; one report even estimates that this idea will become a reality by 2012. In 2008, digital sales accounted for 1.7 billion sales, while physical sales stood at 5.5 billion. Just two years later in 2010, digital sales increased dramatically to 2.1 billion while physical sales continued their descent downward to 3.6 billion sales. Many CFHS students are joining the digital trend as well. Sophomore Marie Deviney said, “Back when I was little, I used to buy CDs all the time when there was new music out that I wanted, but when Apple released
iPods, I had to get an iTunes account, and now it is a lot easier to just purchase your music on iTunes and download it to your iPod.” The digital craze is occurring in movies too as consumers download films digitally instead of purchasing DVDs. Packaged media sales, which include DVD and Blu-ray discs, fell 7.1 percent from one year ago to 4.7 billion copies. DVD’s accounted for 4 billion of those sales, while Blu-ray discs accounted for 733 million of the sales. On the other hand, digital downloads rose 23 percent in one year. Overall, they had a total of 1.1 billion in sales. Many prefer digital media because of its convenience. “I used to buy DVDs, but now I just download it either on Amazon, or I download it on iTunes and watch it on my iPod. It is a lot easier to watch and a lot more convenient as I can watch it from whatever computer I’m at, so I do not need to worry about being
near a TV or DVD player,” sophomore Haley McDermott said. Deviney agreed. “I do not have to go out to the store and browse through the whole department to find the CD that I want. I can just stay at home sitting on my couch and download my music through a click by the mouse.” Many people at the high school are also getting the Amazon Kindle to download books electronically. Amazon customers now purchase more Kindle books than hardcover books, which is astonishing since they have been selling hardcover books for 15 years and Kindle E-books for a mere 33 months. The Cedar Falls Public Library has many E-books available to download. Just visit its website to receive instructions on how to download one. The E-books can transfer to Nook, Sony and Kobo; however, the Kindle does not work due to its proprietary format. iPod Touches and iPhones also
can easily be hacked; many people get hacked every day by people they may or may not even know. Hacking can be done by anyone with simple computer skills. Those who think their accounts are password protected should think twice: there are ways to get into an account without even having a password. Some websites even give directions on how
to hack an account. “It’s an invasion of privacy and can be embarrassing if people change your account,” sophomore Katie Hudson said. People can not only hack into Facebook or email accounts and act like the accounts’ owners, but they can look through all of the messages and change the information.
Krystal Thomas Photos Taking time out to look up their grades on the Infinite Campus Portal on an iPad are Juniors Andy Garcia and Austin Mehmen. iPads, as well as iPods and iPhones, have grown in popularity for reading E-books.
allow users to read E-books from an application on the device. Also keeping up with the digital offerings, the Cedar Falls Public Library is working hard to keep up with new digital offerings Patrons can explore what is available on their website.
Senior Kirsten Weaver is making a prediction about the future. She said, “I think that as the world goes more into the future, digital downloads like iTunes and E-books will continue to increase in sales. I think that it is possible that they even stop making DVDs and CDs altogether.”
Recent studies have come out showing that Facebook may not be as private as people think. Even when one sets one’s page to private, people can still see the picture, name, age, sexual orientation and religious beliefs. All it takes is an advanced page search and people may be able to find out where one lives, where one goes to school and even what activities one is in.
“I post things on Facebook I wouldn’t want people I don’t know to see. It almost makes me not want to put any information on my Facebook page,” sophomore Megan Evens said. Even if you delete your Facebook, your information will never be truly removed from the Web. Once you put something on the Internet, it is no longer private, even if you think it is.
Web information never truly private Olivia Borsay Staff Writer
As technology grows and computers become more high tech, one can never be sure of one’s privacy online. With all the options of social networking these days such as Facebook, Twitter and other profile-based websites, there is a lot more danger online. Facebook and email accounts
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