TH
ig r iLi e
Oct. 22, 2008
Volume 49 Issue 7
Hotline Happenings: Ben Sadkowski Staff Writer
The lights dim and the floor director counts 3-2-1 and go. The cameras roll and the show begins as viewers tune in from across the district. Hotline is a TV show run out of the Cedar Falls City Hall and airs every Wednesday at 4 p.m. on the local access channel. The production crew is mostly comprised of ALPHA students out of Peet, Holmes and the high school. On Wednesday, Oct. 15, Hotline aired a political debate between juniors Alex Clopton, Michael Droste, Alex Entz and Vincent Stigliani. “Hotline provided a great oppurtunity for me to express my personal opinions,” Entz said. The debators were also impressed with the professionalism of the show. “I thought it (the debate) went well. I think it’s good to get kids involved in these sorts of issues, Stigliani said. The Hotline student crew is used to deadline pressures. “When the cameras start rolling, there is some nervousness and excitement for me because we know that something could go wrong at any time and we have to react fast to get the problem solved,” freshman Sara Gabriele said. Even though the tension before going on-air can be nerve-wracking, the students working on each show feel that the experience is rewarding. “It’s scary and exciting, and it makes you extremely nervous, but it also makes you feel like you’re doing something really worthwhile,” junior Rachel Connelly said. Although Hotline may appear effortless, the work that goes into it is considerable. “During one show last year we were covering documentary filmmakers while there was drilling being done in City Hall. On top of that, a part of a film we were going to play didn’t work, so we had to improvise on the spot. We canned the show and
since we had taped it, we played it on a later date,” Gabriele said. A “canned” show is one that has been recorded previously and can be used as a safeguard in case something goes wrong during a live broadcast. A few very prominent seniors left the show last year thanks to graduation, and their absence has been felt in the studio. Perhaps the most prominent of them all was Briana McGeough. “Brianna was very gifted at being able to pull a lot together in a short time and was a great host. On the negative side, she did several people’s jobs, and now it’s difficult to fill all of the empty slots she had,” ALPHA teacher Tim Kangas said. There are many jobs available to students, including cameraperson, scorekeeper (for trivia games), floor director, director and audio controller. About 15 students are working in the show each time it airs. “My job is to choose the camera shots, and I’m the overall coordinator of the show,” Connelly said. Hotline covers many topics each year. This season, some major topics will be the elections, new students and teachers in the district, and the flooding from last summer. “We try to be timely, and we try to keep up
1015 Division St. Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613
Students voice opinions about upcoming election
Ben Sadkowski Photos Honor Heindl Graphic
with what’s going on,” Kangas said. Being in Hotline can help open career opportunities for students because of all the training they receive while working on the show. “I’m not sure if I want to go specifically into broadcast journalism, but the problem-solving aspect and thinking skills you get out of Hotline are really useful. I really like being in the studio and working with all of the equipment. Just the experience of being there is really valuable,” Gabriele said.
In a debate that aired last week on Wednesday, Oct. 17, juniors Mike Droste and Vinnie Stigliani (pictured at top left in graphic) represented the Democrats and juniors Alex Entz and Alex Clopton stumped for the Republicans. The student debate was just one example of the many topics tackled by the weekly student-produced broadcast news show aired on the local cable access channel.
Model United Nations start year off with conference Monica Reida Staff Writer
Today, the Model United Nations (UN) is wrapping up the second of its two-day fall symposium in Des Moines. “It’s a mock UN where we discuss different topics in the world as if we were the actual United Nations,” senior Michelle Redinbaugh, a newcomer to Model UN, said.
Every year, the group attends a symposium in the fall and one in the spring. “During the fall one, everyone represents the United States and discusses topics from the U.S.’s viewpoint. At the spring symposium, we represent other world countries,” said senior Tyler Schaub, who has been doing Model UN for three years. The meetings are about 30 minutes long and are after school on Thursday.
“A majority of time is spent writing a position paper,” Schaub said. The faculty sponsor is social studies teacher Andrea Aykens. Students that are interested in participating in Model UN for spring semester should talk to Aykens. She encourages those interested in debate, world cultures and different political issues to join. “I’m interested in relations between countries, and I think that it’s important for our country,”
junior Chelsea Hall said. The pre-plenary delegates for the symposium are Alp Zora, Kellie Petersen, Jasmine Singh, Sarah Weber, Rachel Grover, Vincent Stigliani, Zach Graham and Daniel Yehieli.
Be sure to check the Tiger Hi-line website to learn who the Honorary Delegates are for the 2008 Model United Nations Symposium.