12.12.08

(I,ITE . . .

CARMEL HIGH SCHOOL

inside the issue

• Online shopping is becoming more popular, Page 2 • Younger football players must step up next year, Page 8 • Students connect with their families with technology, B1

BASKETBALL Check out this month’s “Faces of Sports” feature, Robert Kitzinger page 7

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520 E. Main Street

School occupied over weekends by cultural societies

Carmel, IN 46032

December 12, 2008

Countdown to ‘Change’

By Michelle Hu mhu@hilite.org

his promises

Every Sunday afternoon, junior Pedram Navid walks through the doors of this school for extra lessons.

He does not meet with a tutor to review math or chemistry or history. Instead, he is here on the weekends to learn Farsi, a Middle Eastern language spoken in areas of ancient Persia, or, as it is more commonly known, Iran.

Navid learns from the Society for the Promotion of Persian Culture (SPPC), whose members are local Iranian parents who, in 2005, wished for their children to maintain their cultural identities and thus formed a cooperative to achieve this goal.

However, Farsi is not the only language taught at this school when it is not in session. The Indianapolis Chinese Community Center, Inc. (ICCCI) also offers courses for simplified Chinese on Saturday afternoons.

These extracurricular courses take place in the E rooms and have been for the past several years, unbeknownst to many students here. In addition, there are several upcoming events that will occur in this school while it is not in session.

On Jan. 17, the ICCCI will host its annual Chinese New Year celebration from 3 to 8 p.m.

The SPPC will have its monthly meeting on the following day from 10 a.m. until noon.

Assistant Principal Doug Bird deals with any issues that arise from scheduling classrooms to outside organizations for use. He said there has been no trouble other than re-arranged desks, and that there are multiple benefits for this school to host other groups.

Bird said, “We have tremendous facilities that have been provided by taxpayer dollars, so the thought there is to get as much use out of them as possible.” According to him, the building is frequently unoccupied and unused over the weekends, and renting out classrooms provides an opportunity for tax money to be put to use.

In addition, Bird said it is relatively easy for organizations to rent classrooms, especially if they meet certain quotas and guidelines, such as a minimum proportion of Carmel residents in the society. If a school organization needs space, there is no rental fee associated with outside groups. But even for those non-Carmel organizations, Bird said, “It’s a reasonable cost.”

Since many residents do not visit the school often, Bird said the school receives more coverage.

“I think it’s an additional opportunity for our school to get some positive exposure. A lot of people don’t know to the extent of what our facility can offer,” he said.

Though these organizations only use the school’s building on the weekends, they affect participating students in profound ways. Navid’s father has been

Volume 54, Issue 7

8 National Defense: •Expand the military •Restore the readiness of the National Guard and Reserves 8 Economy •Provide tax cuts to working families •Encourage entrepreneurism by giving tax relief to small businesses and startups •Invest in public infrastructure to create new jobs 8 Energy and Environment •Reduce dependence on energy •Invest in sustainable and renewable energy resources 8 Foreign Policy •End the war in Iraq •Renew diplomatic efforts 8 Healthcare •Make health insurance affordable and accessible all 8 Immigration •Secure America’s borders •Improve the immigration system •Bring people out of the shadows

Public must remain realistic about the scope and speed of progress in Obama’s presidency

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By Susie chen susiechen@hilite.org

hen it was announced that Presidentelect Barack Obama had won the Nov. 4 election, thousands of his supporters who had gathered in Grant Park in Chicago sent up cheers of joy and cried tears of happiness. Soon after, Obama stood in front of the throng, and in his acceptance speech, proclaimed that “at this defining moment, change has come to America.”

The platform of change was a crucial component of Obama’s campaign, with one of his slogans being “Change We Can Believe In.” But now, with Obama’s inauguration fast approaching, the country officially in a recession and with so many expectations placed on him, that call for change –and how quickly that change may happen- could be difficult.

But Vincent Reuter, co-President of Students for Barack Obama and junior, for one, said he is still confident in Obama’s ability to make good on his campaign promises. He said it didn’t matter the country’s condition or the expectations of constituents. “I think we can expect to see change expedited,” he said via e-mail.

A recent poll of 1,246 people conducted by barackobama.com / source C N N s h o w e d

that two-thirds of those questioned say Obama will change the country for the better, and 76 percent said that the condition of the country will improve four years from now. This poll suggests that the majority of the country believes that the change promised

by Obama will come.

However, it does not show how fast these individuals expect the change to appear.

And that’s an issue, especially because those expectations for change will also be hurried because of the mindset of today’s generation, who expect change to come immediately; this mindset could put added pressure on Obama as he starts his ter m. Reuter said, “Notoriously impatient,

SEE CHANGE ON PAGE 3

SEE CULTURAL SOCIETIES ON PAGE 2

michelle hu / PHOTO

Students scramble to finish college applications

michelle hu / photo

know and tell

SUNDAY SCHOOL: A Carmel Middle School student participates in poetry reading in the highest level Chinese course. These classes occur every week, and aim to teach both Chinese and adopted Chinese children about their culture.

2,000

Senior Yifan Hua has been filling out applications, like most seniors, all year, but has chosen to fill out some college applications over winter break, causing his vacation to be somewhat dif ferent than everyone else’s.

Hua has applied to about 10 colleges and universities and said that while the experience has been stressful, it will be worth it in the end.

approximate number of left-handed people who die annually due to improper use of equipment designed only for right handed people

10 43

percentage of the world’s mail that the U.S. Post Office handles

“I guess college applications have been somewhat all-consuming.

They kind of plow through my life like a force of nature. ‘Cause if I’m not actually working on them, I’m worrying about working on them or procrastinating on working on them, all of which produce the same stress levels anyhow,” Hua said via e-mail.

According to counselor Shelly Rubinstein, “It’s becoming more competitive to get into schools, and the earlier the schools receive their application, they will have a better

72

chance of being admitted.”

Unfortunately for some seniors at this school, the deadline for turning in many college applications is Jan. 1, 2009, a date that is looming ahead on the horizon. As they rush to get their submissions into the mail, they are reminded of the numerous benefits facing those who have already turned in their applications and have often received acceptance letters.

“Get them done as soon as possible; it is a relief to get them

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808s & Heartbreak Kanye West F

B+ A-

Simple Man Hum-V profile

A

Wishlist: Recession Edition compiled by HiLite staff

Day & Age The Killers

number of deaths attributed to falling coconuts THE FREEMAN INSTITUTE / SOURCE

SEE APPS ON PAGE 2

For complete previews and reviews, see pages B3 and B4.

Total number of muscles used by humans in speech

number of deaths attributed to shark attacks

done,” senior Peter Weisenbach said.

Weisenbach sent his applications to schools in August and has already been accepted to Indiana University and Ball State University, again noting the weight taken off his shoulders this holiday break, when instead of putting pen to paper and writing admissions essays, he can spend his last winter break as a Greyhound spending valuable time with family and friends.

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preview

go online

As always, you can find the latest reviews on the most popular movies, CDs, restaurants and books online.

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lauren burdick lburdick@hilite.org

Page 2 • Friday, December 12, 2008 • News

GREYHOUND NEWS BRIEFS Speech Team Speech team looks forward to an upcoming tournament at Fishers tomorrow, according to club sponsor John Love. The team will face tough competition from Southport and Connorsville high schools, but Carmel will bring a full slate of speech students.

Love said, “I actually had to turn kids away who wanted to compete.

All thirty-four slots are filled.”

After a large win at New Castle over Connorsville on Nov. 15, speech team is feeling confident about the Fishers tournament and upcoming sectionals in January and February.

“We have a lot of juniors and seniors this year, and upperclassmen tend to do well in speech,” junior Hannah Smith said. “I think we’ll do well since we have more members this year than any other year I’ve been on the team.” By Mallory St. Claire

Lifelines Today is the last day of Lifelines’ Pre-Winter Break Awareness Week, the club’s effort to inspire students to make good decisions over the holidays. Lifelines is concluding the week with a movie which students are watching in SRT today, “The Lion King.”

With this movie, Lifelines hopes to deliver more than typical popcorn fare. Lifelines sponsor Rebekah Overbey said, “‘The Lion King’ shows the need to work together regardless of difference, what it means to be a true friend, obedience, truthfulness, not running away from things but working through them, and taking responsibility.”

Students like junior Andrew Johnston, an avid moviegoer, are excited by this entertaining method of educating students. Johnston said, “By showing a movie, Lifelines is making its message more accessible and fun to be involved in. I like the fact that they are using the ‘Mary Poppins’ principle which says, ‘Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” By Sam Watermeier

techhounds The TechHOUNDS team is now just a few short weeks away from the beginning of competition season, which starts on Jan. 3.

“We’ll be at Kokomo with a few other teams to listen to the broadcast,” co-captain and junior Meera Chander said, r efering to the date, when the rules and guidelines for this season’s game will be announced. “The Monday after that, we will host a Parents’ and Sponsors’ Night to reveal the game to our supporters, and we’re going to allow them to take part in our brainstorming process.”

After the game is announced, the robotics team will then be hard at work every day for the next six weeks during the build season, according to team sponsor George Giltner. “The team has prepared very well, and we’re excited to see what (the game) throws at us this year,” he said.

As of right now, the team isn’t quite sure what to anticipate for this season. “We’re given a different thing to accomplish ever y year.

Sometimes we have to construct a robot that can pick things up, sometimes we have to build a robot that can put a basketball in a net, that sort of thing,” Giltner said.

While the game will be taking up most of the TechHOUNDS’s time, it will not be taking up all of it, according to Chander.

“We still have much to do, such as fundraise. We’re still deep in the hole; it’s a very expensive program to be a part of,” she said.

Chander added, “We’re all very excited to see what’s in store for the 2009 season.” By Beverly Jenkins

CORRECTIONS and clarifications From the 11.20 issue In the feature article “Students majoring in alternative subjects face obstacles,” Benson said the school does realize learning extends beyond the subjects in standardized tests.

In the student section story “Across the States,” a quote from sophomore Brogan Bunnell should have read, “There were no real events in St. George.”

Online shopping rising in popularity

cons OF ONLINE SHOPPING No guarantee on returns or exchanges Identity theft from using PayPal (however, other sites are very secure)

Some sites only accept credit cards for payment Payment for shipping, then waiting for the item to be shipped

Pros OF ONLINE SHOPPING Compare prices from different sellers on other Web sites within seconds No need to drive or venture out into the cold Wider variety of items from all around the nation and the world No need to wait in line at stores to check out items

F

By Sara Rogers srogers@hilite.org

rigid weather, long lines and crowded stores may appeal to some people. But, for others, such as sophomore Andrew Melvin, online shopping is preferable during the holiday season.

Melvin is one of a growing number of people who prefer shopping online. According to an October 2008 study done by Forrester Research, online shopping is expected to reach $44 billion by the end of December this year, a 12 percent increase from December 2007.

According to marketing teacher Rachel Cera the increase isn’t surprising, “I think more people feel comfortable using the Internet and buying things online,” she said. “The younger generation feels just as comfortable as the older generation buying things online as in the store. People also feel safer using their credit card numbers with new Internet security.”

Melvin is one such person who decided to opt for the online shopping experience this year. “It’s just more convenient that way,” Melvin said. “You can be sitting in a chair, watching TV and doing other things all while looking for what you want to buy.

It’s the ultimate multi-task.”

With the current economic crunch, Cera said more people are turning towards Internet browsing this holiday season. “Shopping in general is decreasing this year. People are more price-conscious. Online retailers often offer incentives such as free shipping to their customers. Deals are easier to find online.

You can compare the price of a product from one store to another in a matter of minutes.”

Cera said she also sees the convenience aspect of browsing online. “In a matter of minutes you can browse multiple stores instead of having to drive from one store to the other,” she said. According to Cera, “Brick and mortar stores don’t carry as much

Kate Grumme / Photos CBS NEWS / source variety as online.”

Melvin said he agrees. “I bought my baseball bat online. I couldn’t find it in any store, but I found it on a Web site and bought it,” he said. Melvin has also bought shoes and stocks over the Internet. “There’s more variety online and it doesn’t take as long to find what you want. You can type something in and automatically have 20 options.”

However, according to Cera there are also some downsides to online retail. “You can’t actually see the product online and it can be a hassle returning things.”

Melvin said, “When I was looking for my baseball bat I couldn’t hold it or swing it. If you’re buying shoes you can’t try them on and test them out online which is kind of a downside.”

Other consequences of shopping online can include unsafe Web sites, lack of information about the product and excess charges. Cera said, “If you buy a product off a site you don’t know, you could encounter hackers.

Also, you can’t actually talk to a salesperson about the product. Plus, most Web sites make the consumer pay a shipping and handling fee.”

Melvin has encountered such problems. “I went to buy shoes online because I couldn’t find them anywhere else. When I finally found them I bought them right away. I had to pay a $13 shipping fee.”

Consumers can’t actually pay with cash over the Internet so a credit or debit card is often necessary to purchase a product, which could also pose a problem for those without either card.

Cera said online shopping does affect regular stores.

“It definitely leads to some stores closing down,” she said. “Circuit City, for example, looks at stores that are not performing as well and closes them down.

Ultimately, it does affect the stores.”

But as the weather gets colder and the lines at stores get longer, people like Melvin are happy to shop in the comfort of their home over the Internet. “No lines, no store hours and more variety,” he said. “To me, it just makes more sense to shop online.”

Cultural societies,

from Page 1

part of the SPPC since its foundation, resulting in Navid’s concurrent involvement from the society’s inception. Originally, he said that the society began as a small community organization, and has burgeoned to over 60 students, spread mostly by word-of-mouth.

He said he has mainly learned about everyday habits in Iran. “I’ve learned a lot about customs and things they do there,” he said. “The teachers will be constantly talking about how people mostly (speak) slang and what they do when they greet each other and what’s appropriate to take if you’re going to someone’s house for a visitation.”

According to Navid, the SPPC students (who are mostly below high school age) learn Farsi, and then have the choice to attend additional courses. The girls may participate in traditional dance, which is usually performed at international festivals. The boys may practice Iranian exercises.

Since so many are young children, Navid said “they’re still reluctant to (take weekend classes), but some of them are starting to like it more especially because of the after-school programs.”

The Farsi courses are open to non-Iranian people, Navid said, but are not substitutes for an actual journey to Iran. “You do learn from these lessons, but of course it’s always best to actually just go (to Iran) and immerse yourself in (the culture),” he said.

Navid, however, does not visit Iran frequently, making these weekly courses a necessity. “Over here,” he said, “you don’t get to see Iran much, so you feel yourself losing a lot of your culture.”

He is one of the high school age students in the courses, and as a result, Navid said he has learned the usefulness of learning his language. “Going to (these classes) helps you keep in touch and teaches you more about your own cultural identity,” he said.

Though he said that Farsi is his second most familiar language, he still struggles to keep up with it. In his opinion, the SPPC meetings allow him to maintain a connection to the culture and the language.

Navid said, “(I take Farsi courses because) when I go to Iran, most of my family lives there, so (it helps) just to be able to connect with them and understand what they’re saying and things they do.”

Michelle Hu / Photo

DRAGON DANCE: Parents Steven He (left) and Richard Foran construct metal frames for a dragon head. It will appear in the Chinese New Year festival on Jan. 17 in the Dale E. Graham auditorium.

NHS to deliver final exam survival kits Popular fund-raiser delivery in time to relieve students’ first semester exam stress before tests begin

By Beverly Jenkins bjenkins@hilite.org Each December and May, National Honor Society members distribute final exam survival kits (FESKs), and this December is no exception.

The main purpose of the kit is to alleviate stress from the students who feel the pressure of first semester final exams creeping up on them, according to Annie Wu, NHS president and senior.

The $5 fee covers the price for the goodies in the bag, which include standard pens, pencils and erasers that all students could use more of during the last and usually most stressful week of the semester, as well as other Annie Wu miscellaneous items.

NHS sponsor Deborah Haire said that the idea for the survival kit is actually not as unique to this school as some students might think. The idea did not orginiate here.

Instead, Haire said the idea to sell the kits came from following in the fund-raising footsteps of several well-known, public Indiana universities.

“Purdue and IU both sell FESKs, on a much larger scale than we do here. Students will bring in buckets of popcorn, candy and other things like that in order to lighten the depressing mood,” Haire said.

However, Haire said that NHS had to make adjustments in order to sell these kits at this school.

She said, “Obviously, parents probably wouldn’t approve of us giving candy to their

kids during finals week, so we can’t do that, but we can provide other things.”

Wu also said she thinks that besides just creating a smaller version of what Indiana campuses like Indiana and Purdue Universities do, the idea to help out the students during the notoriously difficult final exam week was a considerate thing for NHS to provide.

“A lot of students are tired and stressed out during finals week,” she said. “So, we thought that FESKs would be a great way to remind students that the world isn’t coming to an end; someone out there is thinking of you during your finals week.”

Usually parents purchase a kit for their child, since the main adver tisement is included in the thick, back-to-school packet that students receive in the late summer, but parents are not the only people who can purchase one.

Wu said anyone is allowed to purchase a survival kit for any student, and the sender can even add a personalized message and card for no extra charge with the kit. The option to leave a message is included with the main advertisement.

While the deadline to purchase a survival kit for this semester was two days ago, on Wednesday, NHS will already be taking orders for the spring semester exams. This deadline allowed NHS members exactly one week to prepare the ordered kits.

NHS members will deliver this semester’s kits on the first day of final exams during SRT on Wednesday.

Wu said, “FESKs are a small, thoughtful way to say you understand a student is stressed out during finals week and you want to help.”

Final Exams Wednesday, Dec. 17 Per. 5, 7, 8 Finals Thursday, Dec. 18 Per. 1, 2 Finals Friday, Dec. 19 Per. 3, 4 Finals

skip-a-final rules

No more than 2 absences per class (unless absences qualify as excused) No more than 1 tardy (including excused tardies) No more than 1 time of community service each semester No out-of-class, in-school, or outof-school suspensions No 6-week grade less than a Cfor ANY class during the semester CHS Web Site / Source

Apps, from Page 1 According to Hua, the majority of the time spent over winter break with applications will be for essays.

“I’d say the possibility of a good future is worth spending a winter break over,” he said.

According to collegeboard.com, thus far students should have visited schools that interest them and have met with their counselor. Applications that are going through Early Decision or Early Action programs should also have been submitted. By December, students should “wrap up college applications before winter break.

Make copies of each application before you send it.”

Both IU and Purdue University have implemented new policies to allow for early applications. IU collects pools of applications and makes acceptance or rejection decisions within two to four weeks. Purdue has collected all of their applications and made decisions regarding their applicants last Friday.

Hua said, “There’s a lot of stuf f to keep track of between app requirements and mailings to admissions offices. The general logistics behind everything can get a bit ridiculous sometimes.”

Weisenbach said the benefits of sending apps in early handily outweigh the detriments. “What if something comes up and you’re not able to finish the app?” he said.

It is unquestionable that filling out college requests is a worthwhile activity at any time of the year, and should be taken seriously regardless of the time. Like Rubinstein said, “We don’t want to discourage anybody from filling out applications at any time of the year.”

News • Friday, December 12, 2008 • Page 3

Change, from Page 1 young people, myself included, will demand quick action.

Due to their unprecedented influence on his election, Obama will feel this pressure—and likely respond.”

In addition, Reuter said that Obama should pay attention to his most significant demographics.

“I think he’ll definitely feel pressure to deliver on promises to younger voters since they placed such a vital role in his election,” he said. “He will certainly feel a strong need to deliver on his promises as Republicans in Congress and potential GOP candidates for 2012 will be monitoring his each and every move, looking for slip-ups to point out to voters in 2010.”

In the New York Times article “Obama Aides Tamp Down Expectations” published last Friday, his advisers said the public should not expect too much change too quickly and that Obama will not solve the nation’s social and economic problems as quickly and easily as the public expects him to.

Reuter said that although he thinks change will come, it will undoubtedly come across some obstacles in the process.

“Never speedy in Washington,” he said, “change will inevitably encounter some barriers over the next four years, most likely from congressional Republicans who may feel cornered, given the large Democratic majorities in the Senate and the House, not to mention having lost control over the White House. Outside interest groups will still have some amount of influence through their lobbying efforts, albeit a diminished one.”

Andrew Gordon, creator of the Students for McCain club and junior, said he thinks people will expect Obama to stay true to his promises, and therefore expect too much from him. “Change can’t happen instantaneously.

I think it will come as fast as it can though,” Gordon said. “I think we will begin to see effects from his administration, whether they be good or bad, within the first year of his administration.”

Social Studies teacher Alicia Smith said via e-mail she believes that Obama made a concentrated effort in his acceptance speech and other speeches to indicate that change will not come all at once. “Obviously, the economic situation is impacting what he can choose to focus on in the first few months. It is the job of the president to deal with the pressure. However, with that said, there will be people who are upset with his decisions,” she said.

Gordon said that although Obama will feel some pressure from specific groups, the public will just expect change in general. “I think that a lot of people want change, no matter what it is. They just want change. It has an effect on him because he will have to live up to people’s expectations,” he said.

Smith said Obama will undoubtedly feel some pressure, especially from groups who do not feel they are receiving enough consideration.

She said, “In class, I like to compare our country’s resources to a pie. There are only so many pieces of the pie so not everyone will get as much pie as they want.

If someone perceives that their piece of the pie is smaller than others, then people will be upset.”

In addition, she said that Obama should pay attention the under-represented. “There will be pressure especially from those groups who feel as though they aren’t receiving enough attention,” Smith said.

The change that Obama promised during his

Michelle Hu / Photos

PARTY PLATFORM: President-elect Barack Obama speaks to supporters at a family picnic in Noblesville, before the Indiana primary last May. In his speech, he addressed issues such as lower taxes for the middle and lower classes and economic security, promises that may take more time to implement than most voters had initially assumed. campaign will be seen through his actions during his term; however, there are still issues he must deal with during the lame duck session, the period between the election in November and the inauguration in January.

Reuter said he thinks Obama should make sure his Cabinet is prepared to start working right after Jan. 20.

“Additionally, he should continue communicating with Democratic congressional leadership to attempt to get everyone on the same page. Doing so will ensure the speediest change possible—something, it seems, that the American people, as evidenced by races across the country on November 4th, desperately crave,” he said.

The idea that Obama should have his advisers chosen and ready during the lame duck session is something that Smith said she agrees with.

She said, “(During the lame duck period, he should accomplish) exactly what he is (currently) doing, getting advisers in place so they are ready to act once January comes around.”

Although there are varied opinions on when, or even if, the change Obama promised will come, Reuter said there should be no doubt Obama will feel the importance of bringing about new ideas to the country after eight years of one party’s policies.

“A young, ambitious president eager to prove himself,” Reuter said, “coupled with loyal congressional majorities and millions of Americans suffering, should create a strong sense of urgency.”

GRASSROOTS FANS: (From left to right) Juniors Emily Lentz, Johnny Bretz, Kathleen Fenerty and Michael Young converse before Barack Obama takes the stage. Young said that he was a Hillary Clinton supporter at first, but began supporting Obama after he heard him speak.

Charities struggle during recession Members volunteering as bell-ringers face difficulties raising money for Salvation Army after economic distress decreases spending amounts in Americans’ pockets

By Afra Hussain ahussain@hilite.org

T

his Saturday, Key Club members will go to their last bell ringing of the year. Bell ringing started on Nov. 29 and lasted every consecutive Saturday up to this Saturday.

Members ring bells to get donations for the Salvation Army, according to Tianyi Zhang, Key Club president and senior. The donations go to the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Christmas Campaign which is an organization that provides clothing, toys and food to recipients

during the holiday season.

“It’s a really good cause and fun,” said Zhang. The bell ringing will take place at three different locations this year. The locations include the two local O’Malia’s grocery stores on N. Meridian Street and E. 126th street as well as at Kroger on S. Rangeline Rd. According to Zhang, members can sign up for hour shifts from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the O’Malia’s on E. 126th street. At all other locations shifts are from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Also, there is no limit to how many shifts members may sign up for and they can sign up to go bell ringing with friends. Zhang recommends going

bell ringing with friends because she said it is more fun.

“It’s just so much fun even though it’s cold. My friend and I try to make songs with the bells and you dance to keep warm,” Kaitlin Owens, Key Club member and junior, said. Owens has been a member of Key Club since freshman year and said she plans to go bell ringing next year as well. Owens has gone to both O’Malia’s locations and the local Michael’s. This year Owens will go bell ringing with another friend and fellow member.

Members stand outside of the various local stores with a donation bucket and ring a bell as the event

title suggests. “Dress warmly because it will be cold,” Zhang said.

Although it is cold outside, Zhang said she still enjoys bell ringing. Owens said bell ringing was her favorite Key Club event other than working at the various elementary school carnivals. She said she likes it because it is fun.

“It’s so much fun to talk to people,” Owens said. In the past when she bell rang, Owens said she received both positive and indifferent reactions from the store patrons.

“We’ve got all different reactions.

We’ve had people completely ignore us and people who donate generously,” Owens said.

She said she has had people tell her “God Bless You” many times.

She said she likes to greet people as they come into the stores with a holiday greeting.

This will be Owens’ third year bell ringing and Zhang’s fourth.

Both said they do things to make bell ringing more fun. Zhang sings carols with her friends. She said that she noticed people donating more when they saw Zhang and her friends having fun. Owens said she agrees. “When you are fun with it (bell ringing), people tend to donate more, I wouldn’t say generously but they tend to give,” Owens said.

The Key Club members do receive quite a lot of donations said Zhang. According to her, two years

Evelyn Forbes / Photo

GOOD SAMARITANS: Key Club members sign up for the bell-ringing events for the holiday season. Students may volunteer at an O’Malia’s or Kroger. ago Key Club members from this school raised the most money out of all the local high schools. Zhang could not give an amount as to how much members had raised but she said it is typically a lot.

Zhang said, “We hope to make this year better than ever (in terms of donations).”

Upcoming SERVICE events

Evelyn Forbes / Photo

ATTENTIVE LISTENERS: Tianyi Zhang (right), Key Club president and senior, speaks to club members about last meeting’s agenda. The club has had a tradition of volunteering for Salvation Army for the past 10 years.

CARMEL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AFTER=SCHOOL READING

COLLEGE WOOD ELEMENTARY AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM

Every day from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

FOREST DALE ELEMENTARY AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM

SUNRISE RETIREMENT HOME VISITING HOUR

Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Saturdays from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Key Club agenda / source

PAGE 4 • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2008 • BEATS

Relay for Life encourages more high school students to join

BY KELSEY BINION kbinion@hilite.org

STEVEN BRISLEY / SUBMITTED PHOTO

FIGHT AGAINST CANCER: Relay for Life members held a ceremony at the stadium last year. Relay for Life has been hosted in Carmel for the past two years and is sponsored by the American Cancer Society.

FOR MORE CLUB AND ACTIVITY INFORMATION Go online to hilite.org and click on ‘BEATS’ in the navigation menu

While Carmel’s Relay for Life event won’t occur until June 2009, people can begin gearing up now for the American Cancer Society’s signature event. Relay for Life brings more than 3.5 million people from 4,900 communities across the country together each year to celebrate the lives of those who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost and fight back against a disease that takes too much, according to RelayforLife.org.

“The relay is a 24-hour event. Teams of people from all walks of life have fun while raising much-needed funds to fight cancer and raise awareness of cancer prevention and treatment. Each team has one or two team captains that organize the team, collect funds and attend a monthly captain’s meeting,” Steven Brisley, Chairman of Online Fundraising, Online Technology and Logistics for Relay for Life and junior, said.

Carmel had its second annual Relay for Life last year at the end of the 2008 school year. People converged from around the Carmel area to the football stadium here.

CHS ANGELS

COQUETTES

Tianyi Zhang, Club President and senior, said that the club is planning a holiday party for its next weekend.

“We haven’t planned any specific games yet, but we’re having a holiday party for our next weekend on Dec. 16,” Zhang said.

In addition to the party, the club is also having a fundraiser. Senior Molly McKneight said club members will be selling coupon books around the school in the next month.

“They’re $10 each, with coupons for a bunch of local stores,” McKneight said. “The money raised will be used for field trips and food for our meetings.”

Matt Ludwick, club member and senior, said he is excited about the Best Buddies party.

“I really like my Best Buddy,” Ludwick said, “and the party is going to be extra fun.” By Meher Ahmad

CHS Angels will be gift wrapping presents tomorrow from 1 to 6 p.m. in the Carmel Arts and Design Center in downtown Carmel.

Wrapping paper and materials will be provided there, and there is a sign-up available according to Kati Feller, CHS Angels co-president and junior, said.

“We ask them to sign up to get a general number of people who will be coming,” she said.

The tips given to the CHS Angels from gift wrapping will be funds for the CHS Angels to par ticipate in other activities.

On Dec. 23, a second gift wrapping is planned.

This event Dec. 13 is scheduled at 1 to 6 p.m.

Castleton Mall from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Dec. 23 Feller said that 8 a.m. to 11 unlike the gift p.m. wrapping event at Carmel Arts and Design C e n t e r , materials will not be provided.

“Last year, I bought a lot of stuff at the after-Christmas sale (in preparation for this),” Feller said.

In the spirit of giving during the holiday season, CHS Angels have been busy with activities in November and December.

According to Fran Rushing, CHS Angels sponsor and teacher, CHS Angels did a Thanksgiving basket program through a local church.

H o w e v e r, F e l l e r s a i d t h e organizer cancelled the event at the last minute. She said that she still plans on donating the items collected, but she is not sure where she will donate it yet.

CHS Angels had an event on Dec. 6 at Castleton, called Breakfast with Santa. Six members dressed up as Christmas characters.

In light of the holiday season, CHS Angels have worked hard, but they hope to continue.

“We look forward to our two major fundraising events, the gift wrapping at the Carmel Arts and Design Center and at Castleton,” Mallory St. Claire, club co-president and senior, said. By Jade Luo

Shortly after the season for the Coquettes began, the girls started practicing for their first two games on Dec. 16 and 19.

The girls will be performing at halftime for the first time this season next Tuesday when the women’s basketball team will play against Kokomo. They will dance again for the women’s basketball team against North Central next Friday.

A few years ago the Coquettes would have performed a special holiday dance at one of their games.

This year, there will not be a special holiday dance.

Coquettes sponsor Sarah Wolff said, “It’s been done before, but not this year because we fund everything and it would cost too much. It also takes longer to choreograph a special dance.”

Sophomore Molly Cason, a second year dancer for the Coquette team said she was disappointed that there isn’t going to be any special dancing.

“I would like to do a holiday dance because we didn’t get to do one last year and it sounds like so much fun,” Cason said. By Nicole Sullivan

Students that want to play a Carmel Dad’s Club(CDC) spring sport should look to register beginning on Jan. 1.

Students can register by going online to carmeldadsclub.org and clicking on “sports sign up” along the left hand side.

They can also register by fax, mail, or walking in to the CDC offices off of Main Street.

CDC spring sports at the high school level include co-ed soccer, boys’ baseball, girls’ volleyball, boys’ and girls’ rugby and men’s volleyball.

According to Keith Armitage, CDC board member and general commissioner of basketball, CDC is looking at high school students to coach younger sports teams.

Students who are interested in coaching any of the CDC sport teams can email Armitage at armitagegang@sbcglobal.net, or they can also stop in the CDC offices.

Senior Steven Smith, who plays CDC basketball, soccer, and high school men’s volleyball, said that he likes playing CDC sports because they are fun and allow him to compete without having too much pressure to win.

“I’m really into sports, so CDC is perfect,” he said. “I get to play every sport I want, and it isn’t too stressful.” By Lexi Muir

RELAY FOR LIFE SCHEDULE June 6 12 to 1 p.m.

Opening Ceremony and Survivor Luncheon June 7 12 p.m.

Closing Ceremony RELAYFORLIFE. ORG / SOURCE

Club and Activity News at a Glance

BEST BUDDIES

CARMEL DAD’S CLUB

Event chairperson Tracy Uhrig said, “Basically, you get teams of 10 to 15 people (some teams have more) to attend the event. Each team brings tents to set up for its ‘campsite’. There should be at least one person from each team on the track walking at all times with the exception of during the ceremonies. We usually have late night movies in a movie tent, pizza at midnight, MCL provides breakfast in the morning and the survivors are treated to a luncheon provided by Abuelo’s.”

It will be the third year the American Cancer Society has hosted the relay in Carmel. This year Relay for Life will begin at noon on Saturday, June 6 and will end at noon on Sunday, June 7. As the event draws nearer, participants can start a team by signing up as a team captain or can register on a friend’s team. People can register at relayforlife.org/carmel.in.

Students can also check out a soon-to-be created Facebook group to learn more information about the relay. Another way that students, parents, and community members can learn more information is by attending the Community Kick-Off. It will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 6:45 p.m. For the exact location, people should check the Web site, relayforlife.org/carmelin.

GIFT WRAPPING DATES

WEEKEND PATROL Saturday

Carmel Symphony Orchestra’s “Celebrate the Holidays” concert at Westfield High School at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Holidays in the Art District at Old Town Arts and Design District from 1 to 5 p.m.

Sunday Conner Prairie by Candlelight in Fishers from 5 to 8 p.m. Reservation and tickets are required.

Gingerbread Village at Conner Prairie from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $4 for non-members.

DEBATE The debate team is getting everything finalized for their meet in Logansport tomorrow morning. The debate students will meet here at 7 a.m. to leave for the debate meet.

According to debate coach Amanda Richmond, the public forum topic for this meet is the impact that social networking sites have on America.

The public forum is open to both novice and varsity debaters.

According to Will Petrovic, senior and varsity debater, other events include a Lincoln Douglas debate, a one-on-one debate modeled after the old Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas debates.

It deals with values as opposed to research. One other topic being debated is a set of four mock Congress bills.

Senior Christopher Herman is one debate member who will be participating in the Logansport meet. He will be debating on the four Congress bills. According to Herman, the bills aren’t real, but

HOLIDAY MOVIES Here’s a list of winter holiday movies to enjoy during break

are made up for the purpose of debating. While individual student debaters like Herman appear ready for the various debate meets, there has been other trouble.

This year the debate team has run into trouble finding judges.

“I encourage debate team members to bring a judge because we have a huge lack of judges this year.

We’ve already had to back out of one meet because of it,” Petrovic said.

The debate team has another meet coming up over winter break on Jan. 3 at Ben Davis. By Reid Conner

GLOBAL GIVING

HERA ASHRAF / PHOTO

BAKING SUCCESS: Annie Tang, Global Giving president and junior, reveals total donations from the club’s recent bake sale. According to Tang, more fundraisers are coming up.

The Swing Dance Club will go to Fountain Square Theatre on Dec. 19. The cost to get in is $10, according to the club sponsor Caitlin Baird. Senior Avery Sanders said that event generally lasts from 8 to 11:30 p.m.

“The first half hour is a lesson,” said Sanders. “There’s a live jazz band every time and really anyone is welcome to go.”

“The Swing Dance Club usually goes about ever y other Friday,” said Baird. “There’s usually about 200 people there.” ByKendall Harshberger

WINTER FOODS These foods help your body during the winter weather

• Garlic: Garlic helps your body deactivate viruses and helps prevent diseases, like cancer.

2. “Die Hard” by John McTiernan

• Ginger: Ginger helps to stimulate circulation and ease congestion in your throat.

3. “It’s a Wonderful Life” by Frank Capra

• Barley: Barley helps streghthen your immune system and fights diseases.

4. “A Charlie Brown Christmas” by Bill Melendez

• Sweet Potatoes: Sweet potatoes contain a lot of immune boosting compounds.

WIRED.COM / SOURCE

RECENT UPDATES

To find out what is going on around the school and in the community, check out the ‘Recent Updates’ on hilite.org.

CURRENT SURVEY

SWING CLUB

1. “The Nightmare Before Christmas” by Tim Burton

5. “The Nutcracker” by Emile Ardolino

This Issue @ HiLite Online

• Kale: Kale helps with lung congestion and soothes stomach aches.

BNET.COM / SOURCE

Participate in the current survey online at hilite.org.

You can also view results and see previous polls.

AND MUCH MORE For daily updates, photos, stories and calendar, go online now to www.hilite.org. You can also subscribe to HiLite Online to receive notifications when new stories are posted.

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Sports • Friday, December 12, 2008 • Page 7

Faces of Sports: Robert Kitzinger Standout guard and junior plays in shadow of his dad by david zheng dzheng@hilite.org

nick johnson, lily zhao / photo illustration

RUNS IN THE FAMILY: Robert Kitzinger, basketball player and junior, takes a shot during practice.

Like his dad, Robert has become a standout basketball player, but has developed his own style of play.

One for the record books Kirk Kitzinger’s career records at Depauw University

REBOUNDS TOTAL: 607 RANK: 11 REBOUNDS PER GAME TOTAL: 7.3 RANK: 20 FREE THROWS ATTEMPTED TOTAL: 359 RANK: 11 FREE THROWS MADE TOTAL: 239 RANK: 18 DEPAUW.EDU / SOURCE

From 1976 to 1980, Kirk Kitzinger p l a y e d college basketball at DePauw University in Greencastle, back when the Tigers were a Division I school. According t o w w w. d e p a u w. edu, Mr. Kitzinger played a major par t of the DePauw men’s basketball team’s all-time career leaders for both free throws and rebounds.

Now, as a starting guard for this school’s men’s varsity basketball team, Robert Kitzinger, Mr. Kitzinger’s son and a junior, is trying to step into his dad’s shoes.

Robert said his dad was the biggest influence on him in basketball; his dad was the reason he started playing.

Robert said, “He definitely got me interested in basketball and he helped to develop my skills when I was growing up, so he definitely ignited my passion for the game.”

R o b e r t s t a r t e d p l a y i n g basketball when he was five years old.

“When I was old enough to understand the game of basketball, I would always go watch all (of my dad’s basketball) games,” Robert said. “We would also just go to the gym and work on drills and fundamentals.”

“I cer tainly think this is Robert’s time and basketball’s something he’s enjoyed his entire life,” Mr. Kitzinger said.

“Before he knew I played he’s had a basketball in his hand. It’s been his passion and it’s been a joy for me to watch him play and love the game like I did.”

Despite all this, Robert said that filling in his dad’s talented shoes isn’t always easy. “It’s kind of hard, really,” Robert said.

“He did get a scholarship to play basketball, so I kind of want to do that. Also, he was an all-time leading rebounder at DePauw, so (rebounding) is one thing I’ve tried to work on.”

According to Rober t, his playing style differs from how his dad used to play. “He was more of a power-forward and center, and I’m more of a guard, so he did a lot more down low while I play a lot more outside,” Robert said. “He’s just more of an inside guy, while I have shot more threes.”

“He’s a very good perimeter player, and the ironic part is that we’re the same height (at 6 feet 6 inches),” Mr. Kitzinger said.

“He’s far more skilled than I ever had the ability to be.”

Also, Robert said he hopes to continue playing basketball in college, but does not yet have plans for what college he wants to attend.

“I just want to keep my options open,” he said. “I’ve been looking at some places like Harvard and some Ivy League schools, and also some schools like Miami and Ohio.”

However, Mr. Kitzinger said he does not really have any expectations for Robert. “I hope he continues to play the game the way he has and to love the game the way he has,” Mr. Kitzinger said. “It’s his time. It’s time for him to experience and enjoy and to share, and lead a team that hopefully will achieve some great things, and then continue with life whether basketball is a part of it or not.”

“The expectations for me to perform well in games are pretty high,” Robert said. “I personally look at the expectations from my dad and from my team the same way. I just want to do the best for my team, and I just hope my dad accepts what I do out there.”

Intensity on the Road Elizabeth trancik / photo

HOME COOKING: Beth Larson, basketball player and freshman, controls the ball during the Noblesville game earlier this season. After playing nine of their first 12 games at home, the Hounds will play at home only once during the remainder of the season. by maggie brandenburg mbrandenburg@hilite.org Away games can be a problem for even professional teams and players with several years under their belts. The team hits the road and arrives to an arena full of hostile fans intent on contributing to their demise. Away games offer an entirely different experience for sports teams, and after the women’s basketball team plays nine of its first 12 games at home, it will be faced with the majority of the rest of its season away from Carmel.

Head Coach Scott Bowen said, “It’d be nice to keep winning. We (have) got to keep on this roll. It’s also good to go on the road too and find out what your team is capable of doing as well. (We’ve) never really had this many home games at the start of the season, but we’ll take it and hopefully build on that and help us in the second half (of the season).”

Since the majority of those first games were at home, it has given the team members a chance to grow used to one another on the court. The friendly crowds of their home venue gave the teammates an opportunity to get comfortable with how the team would play together before they competed against rival teams and the opposing fans bent on distracting the Hounds.

Lauren McRoberts, varsity basketball forward and senior,

said, “It’s good (to have several home games in the beginning of the season) just so we can get a feel for each other. We’ve got a home crowd so we don’t go to other places and just get heckled up.”

The team enjoyed a successful start to its season, winning its first five games. Those early wins provides the momentum to carry the team through tougher away games, but Bowen was quick to point out that being on a roll is much more important come tournament time, as the team learned last year on its way to a State championship victory.

“I’m not sure getting on a roll now really means a whole lot, as we found out last year,” Bowen said. “Getting on a roll at the end of the year is the most important part, so that’s hopefully when we’re playing our best basketball, when tournament time comes.”

Women’s basketball myths revealed by Head Coach Scott Bowen by steven chen stevenchen@hilite.org STEVEN CHEN: Men’s games are more physical than women’s games. True SCOTT BOWEN: “It’s probably true.

They’re both contact sports. Obviously they’re not collision sports like football, but the physical-ness is going to be more boy-heavy because boys are bigger and stronger, but both games are physical.”

SC: Women respond better to coaching.

False SB: “I guess the biggest difference is personality between boys and girls, but it doesn’t have anything to do with being

coached or not. What I found is kids are kids and there are some kids that respond really well to coaching and there are some kids that don’t. I don’t think there’s a gender bias.

Here at Carmel, we’ve got a lot of very coachable kids.”

SC: Women’s games tend to have less action than the men’s games. True SB: “(For both) boys and girls games you’re going to see physical contact. Both you’re going to see physical contact. You probably will not see dunking in a girl’s game. There has been an occasion when girls have dunked, if you consider that action. As far as the game? I mean, it’s basketball.”

elizabeth trancik, lily zhao / photo illustration

ONE MORE SHOT: Chrissy Steffen, basketball player and senior, shoots a layup in practice. Steffen looks to lead her team to another title.

JV, Freshman Athletic News JV WOMEN’S BASKETBALL With their season well under way, the women’s JV basketball team is looking toward finishing out its season with a winning record and coming together as a team for each of the remaining games. “(Our goals ar e) to continue playing as a team and to have a winning record for the rest of the season, “ Amy Swiderski, JV basketball player and sophomore, said.

Swiderski said that she hopes that the team can amy swiderski play well this season, for it is already halfway through its season.

The team is back in action with a home game in the Eric Clark Activity Center on Tuesday against North Central at 6 p.m.

By Maggie Brandenburg

JV MEN’S BASKETBALL The junior varsity men’s basketball team plays tonight at North Central at 6, right before the varsity squad takes action on the court at 7:30.

“We are doing well and have a good mixture of young guys and some veteran high school players,” Head Coach Steve Drabyn said. “We also have a good mixture of ball handlers, shooters and good post players.”

Sophomore Mark Fennerty is one of the guards for the JV team. He said, “We’re a little rusty right now because we have just been learning the plays, but once we get those down we’ll be a lot better.”

According to Drabyn, the JV team practices after school with the varsity team. “We have a lot of fundamental drills, and we work on the aspects of ball handling, passing and shooting,” Drabyn said. “(Head Coach Mark) Galloway is big on being tough and aggressive, so we

have a lot of cut-throat defensive drills to improve those aspects.”

“We do shooting drills, and some of the coaches will work with guards and others will work with big men,” Fennerty said.

“Then we’ll run through our plays and scrimmage at the end.”

“North Central, like most MIC teams will be very good,” Drabyn said. “They will be very quick and athletic, and probably have a good defensive team. We would just appreciate everyone’s support in coming to our games this year.” By David Zheng

upcoming JV games Tonight: at North Central (6 p.m.)

Dec. 19: at Fishers (6 p.m.)

IHSAA.ORG / SOURCE

Page 8 • Friday, December 12, 2008 • Sports

Filling the Gaps

With the football team’s State title game loss and the departure of many star senior players, younger players on the team look to make an impact early next year by faith mwalwa fmwalwa@hilite.org

T

he football team closed its 2008 season with a 3633 State championship loss to Center Grove at Lucas Oil Stadium. Despite the outcome, it was the third year in a row that the team made an appearance at the championship game. However, now with seniors such as University eric of Kentucky courter recruit Morgan Newton, Joseph “Joe” Rippe, Joseph “Joey” Barnes and Thomas “Scott” Dehnke all going to college, the responsibility of leading the team to another State championship game in 2009 rests on the able shoulders of the underclassman.

Junior Eric Courter, who started

as a tight end this season, looks to bear even more responsibility after the departure of Zachary “Zach” Broadbent, tight end and senior. “(I know) Courter can handle it. He got better and better (this season),” Broadbent said. Both Courter and Broadbent played for the first time this season as tight ends; Broadbent played outside linebacker and Cour ter played offensive tackle last season. Courter said he did not play often in games and was a “seventh-string player,” as he called it.

Courter said, “I guess (Head) Coach Mo (Moriarity) saw potential in me (to be a tight end).”

For this past season, Courter and Broadbent played with the addition of Billy Davis, tight end and sophomore.

Broadbent described Courter’s tight end role as the receiving tight end, while he and Davis mainly play the role of blocking tight ends. For next year, Courter said that he and Walker Chance, tight end and junior, will be the starting senior tight ends, along with Davis.

Davis said, “I’m (almost fairly) sure that I will remain a tight end for next year.”

Barnes, who played center this season, is another key player who will be moving onto college. Center and junior Richard Velde is an upand-coming player who may play in Barnes’s place. This season, Velde said that he felt excited about starting, and stepped in for Barnes during an injur y that prevented Barnes from playing.

“Joey (Barnes) is a great player.

It’ll be (difficult) to fill his place (when he’s gone),” Velde said.

When asked about Velde, Barnes said, “The experience he got (when he filled in for me) helps a lot.”

Barnes said that he believes that Velde is a capable player and most likely to take his place.

Rob Holman, special teams coordinator, tight ends coach and business teacher, said that the coaches have time for decisions for next year and the decision ultimately falls in the hands of Moriarity, but there is still a lot of time between

this season and next.

“We have quite a ways away before making any (formal) decisions,” Holman said.

Players such as cornerback and junior Ronald “Ronnie” Fowlkes and outside linebacker and junior Brian East, who started regularly this season, will continue to develop their skills for the 2009 season.

Fowlkes, who did not play in the first few regular season games, proved his playing ability and earned a chance to move up to the role of a permanent starter.

Conditioned players such as East, who has started since his sophomore year, will be key for leading the team to the Greyhounds’ fourth trip to the State championship. Senior Ty Stetson will leave his responsibilities to the junior linebackers like East. “(East) knows what he’s doing,” Stetson said.

Courter said, “I think we have a good chance next year (of going to State). I’m nervous because there will only be a few seniors next year, but we’re confident.”

The departed The Hounds’ top graduating seniors’ season statistics

OFFENSE Quarterback Morgan Newton (1,673 rushing yards, 1,925 passing yards, 48 total TDs) Running Back Kurt Freytag (1,225 rushing yards, 15 total TDs) DEFENSE Outside Linebacker Ty Stetson (76 tackles, six sacks, two forced fumbles) Safety Joe Rippe (57 tackles, eight interceptions) ihsaa.org / source

The game in pictures

A LASTING GLANCE: (left) The players and the team’s staff look dazed as Center Grove takes the lead in the game. The Greyhounds had a 19-point lead with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, until the Trojans mounted a remarkable comeback.

IN THE TRENCHES: (top) The defensive line of the Greyhounds takes down Center Grove’s quarterback during the first quarter of the State game. The defense would prove to be an asset until the fourth quarter, where the team lost 36-33, ending the Greyhound’s dreams of a back-to-back State title.

AMP IT UP: (right) Defensive back and junior Ronald “Ronnie” Fowlkes tries to pump up the crowd after another Center Grove touchdown. Even though his efforts helped excite the crowd, the mood on the field after the game was anything but celebratory. arjuna capulong / photos

Want more?

For more sports stats and highlights, along with Arjuna Capulong’s whole collection of the football team’s State title game and Ryan Duffy’s basketball story, log onto:

www.hilite.org

The Voices Behind the Sport midwest sports talk by daniyal habib These days, many sports announcers, especially those on television, try to use catchy and sometimes cliché phrases to attract attention. Unfortunately, John Madden has become a laughingstock for his mumbling and incomprehensible phrases. The sad thing is that there is so much football knowledge in his head that doesn’t get out.

Sure, some announcers make it difficult to keep your finger far from the mute button, but others, like Mike Tirico and Al Michaels are a pleasure to listen to.

Michaels is most famous for his “Do you believe in miracles?” call of the USA hockey upset of the Soviet Union in the 1980 Olympic Games. He currently does NBC’s Sunday Night Football, and occasionally does

National Basketball Association (NBA) games, and I must say, he does a phenomenal job.

Tirico is terrific with his on-the-fly explanations of the small nuances of sports, whether he is doing basketball or football. He often brings up interesting angles to current topics in the sports world, which keep you tuned in while watching the game.

The importance of announcers is something that’s often overlooked. They act as sort of a tour guide through the game. They are not the main attraction, but they sure are useful. The casual sports fan would probably be lost within 15 minutes of a professional football game without them. Along with explaining certain happenings in games, they bring up interesting subplots in the game or in the season that may affect the game itself. They set up the framework for the game, and let the event itself do the rest. It’s kind of like a hamburger. The burger and bun may be good, but the condiments like lettuce, tomatoes, and other extras are what make a burger unique and extra good.

Also, there needs to be a voice on special plays in sports. No one would remember the famous 1988

World Series home run by Los Angeles Dodgers player Kirk Gibson as well if it wasn’t for Jack Buck proclaiming, “I don’t believe what I just saw!”

Living in Indiana, we all are familiar with Bobby “Slick” Leonard’s “Boom Baby!” whenever a Pacers player makes a three point shot. Who would be as fond of Reggie Miller’s threes without that? For the Colts, Bob Lamey proclaiming “Touchdown!” in his highest of high voices is second nature to us.

As much as we hear these TV and radio announcers having fun calling games, hours of hard, sometimes monotonous research go into preparation. Just like the players prepare, announcers must have stats and information about each team and players to avoid sounding like foolish. They, like players, watch film of games to notice tendencies and things about the players, so that they can bring up interesting points during games.

As much as we may overlook them, give them credit for their preparation and the information they provide during a game. If it wasn’t for sports announcers, we may not have believed in miracles in 1980. Daniyal Habib is a sports reporter. Contact him at dhabib@hilite.org.

CARMEL HIGH SCHOOL

3POT,ITE

Christmas on A budget Buy presents while still maintaining a criteria for spending page B2

www.hilite.org

520 E. Main Street • Carmel,IN 46032 • Volume 54, Issue 7 • December 12, 2008

Keeping in touch Modern technology allows students to stay connected with their geographically-distant family members

J

by aili arnell aarnell@hilite.org

unior Brian Wiess has family dispersed across the United States and he said he finds it hard to keep in touch. Wiess said, “I’m really not that close as I wish I could be to my non-immediate family.

Most of them live a couple hours north of us so it’s hard for us to go up there unless we want to spend a couple of days with them. My other cousins, which live in Virginia, I only see once a year which is

during Christmas. It’s hard to be close to them when you don’t see them too often.”

With the holiday season approaching, family becomes a dominant theme. When families come together for the first time in months, people talk about recent occurrences in their lives. Without technology, there could be endless topics to get caught up on.

According to the Pew Research Center, today, about 84 percent of all adults own a cell phone, 77 percent own a computer and 52 percent have a home broadband connection. Although some critics have expressed fears that technology pulls families apart, in reality many people use their phones to connect and coordinate their lives.

Friends and family often go their separate ways during the day but remain connected by cell phones and to some extent by Internet communications. To some extent, technology is not always the right option.

In a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, 53 percent of people said that technology has increased their quality of communication with family members who do not live with you, 47 percent of people that communication increased with members of their household and 47 percent said that communication increased with friends.

W iess said, “Technology has definitely helped me keep in touch with my family. With the feature of AIM I don’t have to use minutes or keep the phone lines clogged up for the rest of my family. I have three other siblings, so the landline is usually being used by someone. AIM and the Internet makes it easier to say what you need to say in a quick and easy way.”

Interpersonal relations teacher Lila Torp said, “I do believe that technology does help to an extent but when technology is all you are relying

on, it isn’t good. In a good relationship, people should be able to talk via technology and in person with no problem. When people begin to not be able to talk in person, there is a problem. I think that’s a problem with kids today. They are so caught up with talking online and texting that they lose all other contact with people.”

She later said that any form of communication is better than no communication at all. Torp said, “It is extremely important to keep in contact with family because to have a healthy relationship, communication is key. A good, solid relationship with family, both immediate and not, is essential because family is a major support system.”

Wiess strongly agreed and said, “(Family members) are the people that you should be able to talk to and share your thoughts with. They are there for you when no one else is. They should be interested in what you have to say even if it’s crazy. A good family relationship is key for everyone.”

Torp said, “Just remember it is important to have a good relationship with family because they will always be there for you. ”

Technology Ownership

by Household type All adults: 84 percent own cell phones, 77 percent own computers, 52 percent have broadband connection Married with children: 95 percent own cell phones, 93 percent own computers, 66 have broadband connection Multimember: 88 percent own cell phones, 81 percent own computers, 55 percent have broadban connection pewresearch.org / source

stephanie coleman / photo

Tap the keys: Junior Brian Weiss checks his e-mail in the library. Weiss uses technology to stay connected with family and friends. Many students find it difficult to keep close communication with their families in fast paced society, although modern technology makes this much easier. Weiss said that he uses computer programs such as AOL Instant Messenger to stay in contact wtih his extended families that he isn’t able to see in person very often.

School continues to promote AIDS education By celina wu cwu@hilite.org The summer before her sophomore year, junior Kimberly Collins visited Nairobi and Nakuru in Kenya for a mission trip.

There, she said she helped spread the gospel and dealt with those who were HIV positive.

Collins said, “I went to a few orphanages Kimberly where there Collins were kids who were orphaned by parents who died from AIDS. It was hard to see these kids because since their parents had AIDS, then they are destined to die of AIDS. It was heartbreaking to interact with the kids when you knew that they were going to die.”

December is dedicated to AIDS awareness. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban

Development, although deaths due to AIDS are decreasing, there are approximately 40 million people worldwide who are afflicted with HIV or AIDS. But unlike Collins, who has a high level of AIDS awareness because of her experience in Africa, the spread of this disease still persists because of the lack of public attention and education. This lack of attention, also according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, has led to a decrease in public awareness for AIDS. On the positive side, one of the most important factors for raising AIDS awareness is education, which this school continually provides for its students.

One of the ways that this school educates students about the disease is through the convocation dedicated to the subject that is presented each year to the Freshman Class.

Assistant Principal Kevin Gallman said, “The AIDS convocation is a ver y informational time for students about how they can protect themselves against AIDS. It gives

them a wealth of information that they many not have already received early in their high school career.”

Freshman Renee La Schiazza was among the students in attendance at this year’s AIDS convocation. She said that the speaker was informative and helpful. “I remember that the speaker really went over things multiple times, which helped get into our heads that AIDS is a really important issue,” she said. “He also explained different medical terms associated with AIDS that I didn’t know before in more detail.”

Besides this convocation, this school also does more to provide awareness and education about AIDS. Nurse Carol Gelatt said, “It is part of our state’s requirements to discuss AIDS in the classroom. I know health classes and interpersonal relations classes teach a unit on AIDS.” According to health teacher Emily Good, the Indiana Dept. of Education states that each school needs to include in the school corporation’s curriculum instruction regarding AIDS and other dangerous diseases.

Regarding the AIDS unit she teaches in health classes, Good said, “Students are provided with oppor tunities to explore the ef fect of health behaviors on an individual’s quality of life.

This course assists students in understanding that health is a lifetime commitment by analyzing individual risk factors and health decisions that promote health and prevent disease, including HIV/ AIDS education. Students are also encouraged to assume individual responsibility for becoming competent health consumers.”

Gelatt also said education about AIDS is important ever ywhere.

She said, “Any disease that may be prevented through choices that we make is always worthwhile to be educated about.”

Reflecting on her mission trip to Africa, Collins said, “I will always remember my experience in Kenya.

It opened my eyes to the desperate need for more AIDS education and awareness in Africa and everywhere else as well.”

Got a New Year’s Resolution?

Want to share it? Go online to hilite.org and join in the discussion

“My New Year’s resolution is that I just really want to get cast in a school production.

More than anything, I just want to be on stage.”

Junior Leo Amanse “My New Year’s resolution is to save the earth by inspiring others to go green.”

Senior Leah Weprich

www.hilite.org

Page B2 • Friday, December 12, 2008 • Feature

Students work to find budgetfriendly gifts by amanda nguyen anguyen@hilite.org Sophomore Jeremy Weprich has a dilemma that many others this holiday season are experiencing. He wants to buy presents for his family, but with a limited budget, he can’t buy something for everyone.

“Because I don’t have a job, I have to rely on my parents to help purchase gifts for my family,” Weprich said.

So to solve the problem Weprich said his family, consisting of a total of six people including his two parents and three other siblings, participate in a “Secret Santa,” which is an anonymous gift-exchange usually with a big group of people.

“Every year we draw names out of a hat and buy gifts for that one person. It’s difficult to buy gifts for everyone, so it’s easier just to focus on one person,” Weprich said. “I think it’s better to focus on getting one good gift for someone rather than feeling obligated to buy a gift for everyone.”

According to betterbudgeting.com, there are many ways, like Weprich’s Secret Santa approach, to save money during the holiday season. Some ideas include making gifts by hand, using magazines as wrapping paper, doing a gift-exchange, looking for sales or discounts and stocking up on decorations after the holidays.

Business teacher Debbie Lesjak said via e-mail, “I think that teens feel the stress of finding the perfect gift just like adults. Their stress is multiplied by their budget constraints. This year many parents will be cutting the amount budgeted for gift-giving for the entire family.

This year everyone needs to get creative. The highest costing gift will be out of place. Unemployed teens can shop for less expensive ‘fun’ gifts. A game for the family, a favorite book or even homemade items can be a great gift for friends and families.”

Weprich said he usually spends around $50 on his gift for a family member. “Because of the recent economic downfall, our family is probably going to spend less this year. We’ll get smaller gifts and not focus on the big, expensive gifts,” Weprich said.

And credit cards aren’t the answer. According to consumeraffairs.com, people that use credit cards usually end up paying twice as much paying with cash.

Instead, Lesjak said teens should take a different approach. “Teens should realistically look at their budgets,” Lesjak said. “Credit cards should not be used to buy gifts. It also looks like a lot of stores will be having sales after the holidays. Maybe get a nice Valentine’s Day gift instead.”

Weprich said, “When it comes to giving gifts, it shouldn’t be about the money you spend on the gift. In fact, some of the best gifts are inexpensive and personal.

With the pressure from the state of the economy, hopefully people will choose to spend less money and give a gift that counts.”

Diy: A hOLIDAY gift to savor

Save money and show you care SANTA COOKIES Directions: 1. Dip top (head end) into melted white chocolate and sprinkle with red sugar/sprinkles but leave a band of white at the bottom 2. Place mini marshmallow on right end of white band 3. Let dry on wax paper 4. When dry, dip bottom (beard end) into white chocolate 5. Use mini semi sweet morsels for eyes and M&M for nose, use melted white chocolate as “glue”

Ingredients: • Nutter Butter cookies • White chocolate (melted) • Red sugar or sprinkles • Mini marshmallow • Mini semi sweet morsels • Red M&Ms Go online for a Sweet & Salty Dreidel recipe @ hilite.org thriftyfun.com / source

Double the trouble or double the fun?

Dealing with divorce around the holidays can be hard, but some families manage to create new, separate traditions by ellie seta eseta@hilite.org

Peek into the past: Sophomore Jennifer Kahn sits with her dad while looking at a scrapbook. Jennifer said she tries to maintain a close relationship with both of her parents during the holiday season, although she said it was difficult at first to celebrate Hanukkah separately.

Dealing with divorce around the holidays can be hard, but for some families, like sophomore Jennifer Kahn’s, double holidays are actually a lot less trouble. For Jennifer, whose parents have been divorced for seven years, having multiple holidays between her mother and father’s houses isn’t something that bothers her.

“It is all I have ever known,” Kahn said.

According to a study by the New York University Child Study Center, the holidays can be an especially difficult time for divorced families. They said that the biggest mistakes that a divorced couple can make is to refuse to compromise. According to the study, there are several developmental risks that a child of divorced parents can experience including, issues of attachment, self-esteem and a lack of healthy interpersonal relationships. But the study said this can easily be avoided with a little help and cooperation from the parents.

Jennifer said every holiday is usually spent evenly between both of her parent’s houses.

“I stay with my normal schedule between houses and celebrate Hanukkah that way even if it means celebrating the holidays when they are over,” Jennifer said.

But Jennifer said although both of her parents celebrate Hanukkah, they both have dif ferent traditions. Jennifer said her dad celebrates Hanukkah more traditionally than her mom does. Her dad also is remarried, so Jennifer said their holiday celebrations are a lot bigger because her stepmother’s family is also included in the celebrations. Jennifer said the question she gets asked all the time is, ‘So, do you get double the presents?’ and she said she usually laughs.

“I get asked that so much,” Jennifer said. “The only

reason I get more than usual is because of my step mom’s family who gives me presents too.”

Sophomore Kaitlyn Davis said she can relate to Jennifer situation because she said she too has divorced parents. Davis said the holiday season is still enjoyable even though her parents are divorced and she does not miss out on anything.

“We usually do what we did when we were one family,” Davis said. “So it is really like we are not missing out on anything we just celebrate it twice.”

In fact, Davis said she actually likes having two Christmases better.

“I really like it because it is not like you are with the same people all day,” Davis said. “Also because I get double the presents.”

Davis, whose parents have been divorced for three years, said her parents being divorced has make things a lot better in the end.

Counselor Bettina Cool said the holidays are a hard time for kids who have parents that are divorced.

“Kids are always going to feel like they want their parents to be together,” Cool said. “Honesty is the most important thing to remember.”

Jennifer’s mom said she understands that divorce is a difficult time for any family to go through but she said she does think that the age of the child plays a big role in how much they are affected.

“But no matter what the ages are, when the children are with a parent, I think it is important for that parent to make sure it is quality time spent together,” Mrs. Kahn said. “The kids need to know they are important and they are loved.”

Jennifer said her parents get along for the most part and even live in the same neighborhood, which she said makes dealing with the divorce a lot easier. But Jennifer said that it was not always so easy.

“I remember the first Hanukkah at my dad’s new house,” Jennifer said. “I did not feel like I could fully celebrate because my mom was not there.”

Cool said divorce also has a lot of negative effects that effect kids in different ways. “It can be a lot worse if after the divorce the parents can’t agree on things,” Cool said. “It is definitely better when the parents can work together and compromise. I see children that do well with divorce but also those who get very depressed and sometimes even blame themselves.” michelle hu / photos But for Jennifer she said that her divorce has not been as hard TORN BETWEEN THE TWO: Sophomore Jennifer Kahn helps her mom set up parents’ as people might think. for a make-up showing in their home. While Jennifer’s parents are divorced, “My family is so much better off now she said she doesn’t mind having Hanukkah celebrations in two different that my parents are divorced,” Jennifer said. “We are all so much happier.” homes each year.

Divorce stats In America

8.5%

Women aged from 30 to 34 who divorce

11.6%

Men aged from 30 to 34 who divorce

11.7%

Men under the age of 20 who divorce

16.4%

Women aged from 25 to 29 who divorce

22.3%

Men aged from 25 to 29 who divorce

27.6%

Women under the age of20 who divorce

36.6%

Women aged from 20 to 24 who divorce

38.8%

Men aged from 20 to 24 who divorce

41%

Divorce rate for a persons’ first marriage

61%

Divorce rate for a persons’ second marriage

66%

Divorced couples who are childless

73%

Divorce rate for a persons’ third marriage

divorcerate.org / source

Differing religious views create unique holiday for family Separate Episcopalian, Jehovah’s Witness traditions make for interesting Christmas by maddi bourgerie mbourgerie@hilite.org For many families Christmas is a time to come together, enjoy one another and celebrate the Christian holiday.

But for junior Emily Edelen and her family, they see Christmas in a different light. While Edelen’s father is an Episcopalian and celebrates the holiday, her mother, a practicing Jehovah’s Witness, does not.

“A Jehovah’s Witness is a Christian religion teaching in the Bible. We don’t celebrate Christmas because it is not scriptural; it never says Jesus was born on Dec. 25,” Bonnie Edelen, Emily’s mother, said. “We don’t celebrate any holidays for that matter. We are compared to first country Christians; most holidays are not in the Bible and most of them have non-Christian traditions; therefore, our religion doesn’t celebrate them.”

The one holiday Jehovah’s Witnesses do have is a religious observance. “It’s an observant of Jesus’ death, (the) only day the Bible commands to follow,”

Bonnie Edelen said.

But despite Mrs. Edelen’s beliefs, the rest of the family still celebrates Christmas with their father.

“We still have traditions just like everyone else on Christmas like decorating our tree,” Emily said. “My Dad does all the shopping and the family exchanges gifts; my mom just isn’t around.”

According to watchtower.org, the official Jehovah’s Witness Web site, as a practicing Jehovah’s Witness Emily’s mother cannot follow two religious traditions.

In other words, her faith prevents her from practicing her religion and also celebrating Christmas or other holidays. Jehovah’s Witnesses contend that the Bible has always condemned the mixing of religions on the basis that there can only be one truth from God. According to the Web site, they believe only their religion represents true Christianity and that all other religions fail to meet all the requirements set by God and will be destroyed.

They are opposed to “councils” that unite or combine different religions.

Emily said her mother is still around for the holidays; she just excludes the religious part and planning. Her mother is kind of in the shadows observing, she said, and is there but not involved. “I do choose to be there,” Mrs. Edelen said, “I am home on Christmas day and usually spend the day with the family, excluding the gift giving, but I always make dinner.”

Stephanie Harleman, a volunteer at Kingdom Hall said, “Jehovah’s Witness is an international organization and all who practice the faith have an understanding that while some passages in the Bible can be translated

differently, there is no dispute about the celebration of holidays. Others are very black and white, like murder.

Including the holidays, we are all on the same page.”

Mrs. Edelen said she doesn’t feel left out during the holidays because everyone needs to make their own choice on beliefs, and this is hers. “As for Emily, she said, my mom makes up for it in other ways during the year. She buys us little gifts randomly which I think is to make up for Christmas. I also think during the holidays she is comforted by her Bible and beliefs, she doesn’t feel like she is missing out.”

Harleman said being in a family with different faiths can be challenging. “Having a family that is split between two different religious beliefs is certainly difficult,” she said, “But impossible? Certainly not.” She said for those who are more accepting to other views, the degree of difficulty are reduced.

For the Edelens, Mrs. Edelen said their different beliefs work for them. “Some advice to families made up of different religions is, (that they) all need to respect others’ beliefs. I think it is good to ask about the other beliefs. Don’t make assumptions. Just ask,” Mrs. Edelen said. “Two religions have been presented to my kids with two very different opinions. They have been to Kingdom Hall as well as church with their father. Our children have the right to believe what they want.”

Even though Mrs. Edelen doesn’t celebrate Christmas, Emily said, in the end, it all works out. She said, “Even though she doesn’t decorate the Christmas tree, I am happy she feels she is doing what is right, and so is she.”

comparing faiths • • • • •

Jehovah’s Witness Jehovah is the Almighty God. Jesus Christ is God’s Son, who came to Earth to give his life for humankind.

The Kingdom in the ‘Our Father’ is a heavenly government that will take away all suffering and pain Everyone who does the will of God has the opportunity to enjoy the Kingdom’s blessings eternally.

Christians must mold their behavior by what the Bible says. watchtower.org / source

Episcopalian Episcopalians believe in One God, • the Father who creates us and all things, • the Son who redeems us from sin and death • the Holy Spirit who renews us as the Children of God. Episcopalcafe.com / source

Entertainment • Friday, December 12, 2008 • Page B3

Reviews ‘Day & Age:’ entertaining, but leaves audience wanting more Seemingly confused with success, Brandon Flowers has led The Killers down an unexpected path with its fourth studio album “Day & Age.” This album could just have easily been the second disc had “Hot Fuss” been released as a double CD. It lacks all of the development that “Sam’s Town” contained, but this is not to say that it is all bad. Ignoring chronological idiosyncrasies, “Day and Age” is an enjoyable listen, but it’s not the band’s best work.

It is not obvious what its intentions were when The Killers decided on the feel for their next album.

The band could have been potentially making a move to consolidate their fan base they established with “Hot Fuss” or simply they wanted to create an album that contrasted “Sam’s Town” as much as possible. The only thing that can be definitely said is that The Killers have returned to its roots.

When Flowers chose to re-establish the band’s influences, he went back to the band’s hometown of Las Vegas to get a more glitz and glam feel for their music (as if the song “Neon Tiger” isn’t a big enough giveaway).

Even the main lyric of the synthesizerladen song “Human,” “Are we human or ar e we dancer?” is reminiscent of all the shows in Vegas.

The Killers deser ve credit for not falling victim to a common problem that bands face on their later albums, which I call an “empty album.” This happens when a band puts out a new album whose only good point is its single with 10 other songs that it happened to record the same week. The Killers made sure that it came through on each of its songs, instead of only focusing on its singles “Human” and “Spaceman.”

The album, which comes in at almost 42 minutes, finishes too early for my liking. Individually, I love all of the songs with the exception of “Joy Ride,” which is an epic failure that is reminiscent of terrible waiting room music of the ‘90s. “Losing Touch” starts the album off amazingly, and “A Dustland Fairytale” helps make up for the aforementioned atrocity.

Regardless of individual success, the album lacks cohesiveness. Placing their weakest song, “Joy Ride,” as the fourth song ruins all of the build-up that the beginning of an album produces and then leaves you in a bad mood for the rest.

Some people may feel that Flowers’ lyrics are repetitive and just a way to write an album before he was ready. His repetition is not a space-filler, but rather a mechanism to help his songs and album gain some flow. It also produces songs that can actually tell a story while keeping the quick tempo that is associated with The Killers.

Independently, “Day & Age” is a very good album, but it is not stellar enough to overcome its faults. The lack of flow throughout the album tarnishes multiple songs that otherwise would be shining gems. The Killers should have followed the path that was laid before it with its previous albums instead of forging off on their own through the bush.

Lyrics: B

Wishlist 2008:

Economic situation got you down? Here’s eight holiday alternatives to the pricier gifts desired this holiday season

For her...

For him...

Compiled by Bennett Fuson

By Matt Kanitra mkanitra@hilite.org

The Killers ‘Day and Age’

books. movies. food. music. shopping.

Compiled by Lexi Muir

Bearpaw boots - $50 to $80

forgettingsarahmarshall.com / photo

‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’ - $13.99 In my opinion, this is the funniest movie in the Judd Apatow canon.

Jason Segel, who was underappreciated in “Knocked Up” and is criminally funny every week on “How I Met Your Mother,” joins the regular Apatow ensemble, sans Seth Rogen, in a story about a TV show composer who is dumped by his famous girlfriend and flees to Hawaii…only to find his ex and her new beau at the same resort.

Pacers Tickets - $49.99 Club level The Pacers are on an upswing! Okay, maybe not an upswing, but in an effort to improve ticket sales, Larry Bird and Co. are wooing back fans with drastically reduced ticket prices. This is a fool-proof gift for those on your list who have a five year waitlist status for Colts tickets.

Added bonus: Carmel alumni Josh McRoberts ‘05 has played off the bench numerous times this season.

Bearpaw boots are the perfect holiday gift for any girl. They are fashionable, comfortable, and warm for the winter season. As close to UGG boots as they come, purchasing Bearpaw boots is a great way to save money while still getting a good quality item. Bearpaw boots are essential to any fashionable winter outfit, and are sure to keep your feet warm and cozy all through the holiday season.

Matt Kanitra / Photo illustration

Compared to: Uggs - $200

Twilight Saga Collection - $45 Almost everybody has read Twilight. Over the past year it has swept the nation and become the newest fad. Recently made into a movie, Twilight is a story for everyone to love and share with their families and friends. This “Twilight Saga Collection” is a great gift for any teen girl whether she has already read the books or not. It will serve as a memento as well as something that can be passed down to friends and family over the years.

Compared to: Separate Books - $19.99 Each

Compared to: Colts Tickets - $230 Club Level

Music: B+

Express Scarves - $30 Lately, scarves have swept the nation. More than just an accessory to keep you warm, scarves have become essential to looking great through this winter season. Express has created a line of scarves that is both affordable and trendy. Girls can wear scarves as an accessory to spice up any outfit or to keep them warm while facing the bitter cold. Either way, scarves have become the latest musthave fashion accessory and any girl would be lucky to have one.

Overall: B

Compared to: Scarves at Macy’s - $85

Bennett Fuson / photo illustration

Rock Band 2 - $71.99 As much as I love the “Guitar Hero” series, the fact of the matter is that although “Guitar Hero: World Tour” has some great songs, it pales in comparison to “Rock Band 2.” Not only does “Rock Band 2” have more extensive song/artist coverage (plus, additional track packs you can purchase), the game and guitar set are only $71.99, compared to “Guitar Hero: World Tour’s” $99.99 price tag for the same gear.

sephora.com / Photo

Sephora Ultimate Blockbuster Palette-Collector’s Edition - $48

Compared to: “Guitar Hero: World Tour” - $99.99

Nintendo Wii - $249.99 There are people who would disagree with this choice, given that it really isn’t new or particularly special this holiday season. Those people are wrong. The Wii continues to outsell the X-Box 360 and the Playstation 3, both of which cost at least $50 more, and with the innovative motion-sensing technology, it’s no surprise. Plus, I’m pretty sure Wii Sport is a rough English translation for the Japanese phrase, “Fat people will never leave their houses again.”

This makeup kit has absolutely everything a girl will ever need to do her make-up, and it comes at a great price. This sleek, mirrored, palette has 71 eyeshadow shades, 13 cream eyeshadow shades, five blushes, one compact powder, 60 lip glosses, one lip liner, one eyeliner, four brushes and three sponge-tipped applicators. This palette looks great in its sleek brown case and will keep girls looking great all year long.

Compared to: x-box 360 - $299.99

Compared to: Individual products - over $100 combined

Major recording artists create unique holiday albums By renny logan rlogan@hilite.org Ever y holiday season, ar tists of ever y genre put out their own CD in light of the festivities. Some of these releases deserve a listen while others are just another wasted ef for t. Two major factors distinguish successful holiday CDs from the rest.

First off, style dictates everything about the CD. When a band or artist records a holiday CD, the style of music should remain the same. A consumer wouldn’t buy Celine Dion’s holiday collection “These Are Special Times” if he or she didn’t like Celine Dion to begin with. So when the Taste of Chaos tour crew gathered artists like Skindred, The Used and Opiate for the Masses to release “Taste of Christmas,” the post-hardcore and alternative hard rock bands produced some of the most original, as well as sometimes comical, Christmas and holiday songs ever. Their styles, though contradictory to the stereotypical mood of holiday songs, actually renewed the classic

songs in a way their fans could easily enjoy.

Their goal was executed well.

Often, lyrics on holiday collections have been written poorly and come off sounding forced.

Instead, lyrics should be written in such a way that is neither purposeful nor accidental, but merely natural. On Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s “Everything You Want for Christmas,” the band, while staying true to its modern swing style, writes lyrics that are not all too different from their previous releases. The band’s lyrics on “Everything You Want for Christmas” sound as if their relevance to the holidays is merely incidental. On opening track “Rockabilly Christmas,” lyricist and vocalist Scotty Morris writes lyrics that both appeal to the band’s fanbase as well as provide holiday wishes. “T’was the night before Christmas/ And all through the land/ All the cats were jumpin’ to a big swing band./ Way past midnight till a quarter of two/ Jumpin’ to the sounds of Big Bad Voodoo./ As the singer explains steppin’ up to the mic/ Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night,” Morris writes.

Another important factor to consider when it

comes to lyrics and style is not only composing holiday songs, but also choosing the right ones to cover. Plenty of classics have been done and redone over the years, but the best ones were not merely drawn out of a hat by the performer.

Bands and vocalists should carefully select the songs that best suit their style. For instance, if Metallica randomly decided to make a holiday CD, it probably wouldn’t be their best choice to perform “Twelve Days of Christmas.” Even as a joke, the humor would be lost.

Jethro Tull provides an example of a good selection when the band selected “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman” to perform. Ian Anderson’s flute playing complemented the song perfectly, and the band’s style added a subtle but renewed feeling to the song. The only way the song could be improved, in my opinion, would be to add the vocals back in, as Anderson’s voice would be perfect for the song.

So just remember, when you feel nauseated by the thought of another whole December full of overdone holiday tunes, that there are successful CDs out there that might be a safe bet to surviving the season.

Renny logan / photos

Page B4 • Friday, December 12, 2008 • Entertainment

Reviews

Books. Movies. Food. Music. Shopping. Previews.

Top 5 Movies of the Year Compiled by Sam Watermeier and Mitch Ringenberg

Kanye West shocks with creative new album

By Erum Rizvi erizvi@hilite.org

1. ‘W.’ wthefilm.com / photo

George W. Bush is no longer a joke. Instead of following the same satirical path as Will Ferrell and Stephen Colbert with this biopic, filmmaker Oliver Stone takes one of the most daring steps of this political-fueled year: treating Bush, one of the least popular president in American history, like a human being. Even more surprising is Josh Brolin’s towering performance. It is one of those rare, immersive biographical portrayals that make you forget you are merely watching an actor. He creates a charismatic and often tragic character. By exploring his insecurities more than his politics, Stone and Brolin give Bush’s story a transcendent, universal appeal.

2. ‘The Dark Knight’

3. ‘In Bruges’

“The Dark Knight” is one giant leap forward for the superhero genre.

Here, director Christopher Nolan (“The Prestige,” “Memento”) creates what can be called the first truly adult superhero film. The film is packed with a brilliant cast, excellent script and breathtaking action sequences.

Christian Bale is great as usual, playing Batman, but the real gem here is Heath Ledger as the Joker. A masochistic clown, he is one of the most unique and intriguing villains since Hannibal Lecter. “The Dark Knight” will surely go down as a classic, not only in the action-superhero genre, but in film in general.

This is simply the funniest and most original comedy of the year–which is saying a lot considering all of this year’s great comedies (“Tropic Thunder,” “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” “Role Models”). Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson play two hitmen who are sent to the Belgian city of Bruges to sightsee among other deadly tasks. Farrell and Gleeson’s chemistry is the core of the film’s comedic genius. The real standout performance, though, is the downright hilarious Ralph Fiennes as the men’s obnoxiously crazy boss. Surprisingly, this film deals with heavier issues beneath its humorous exterior like guilt, morality, and the afterlife.

4. ‘Funny Games’

5. ‘Iron Man’

wip.warnerbros.com/funnygames / photo

ironmanmovie.marvel.com / photo

Brutal, but poignant, “Funny Games” challenges its audience to question their feelings about violence in the cinema. Audiences used to the “torture porn” of modern horror films will be dumbfounded at what they see here. The story is simple. Two seemingly polite young men go from house to house holding families hostage and doing whatever they like with them. This mostly includes torture and humiliation. The film follows one family and the “games” that ensue. “Funny Games” is not particularly violent, but the emotional intensity of the film is almost impossible to endure. However, those that can sit through it and understand its message will find much to appreciate.

With many superhero films, I find myself simply waiting for the hero to jump into action. In this film, however, Robert Downey, Jr. is so charming and witty as alter ego Tony Stark that one won’t mind if Iron Man doesn’t show up right away. People seem to only concern themselves with dark, gritty comic book films these days and “Iron Man” provides a dose of fun escapism, which is refreshing. In that sense, it is perfect counterprogramming to “The Dark Knight.” More importantly, though, it shows that style does not always triumph over substance with its engaging and sometimes even tender performances.

West’s latest album, “808s & Heartbreak,” contains 12 songs in which Kanye mourns the loss of his mother who passed away, as well as the recent loss of his exfiancé. Although a lot of talk has come of how this new album is drastically unlike West’s three previous albums, there are some signs of musical permanence.

Unlike in the album “Graduation,” the synthesizer does not serve as the primary element of the album’s production, yet instead is created at the base of the layers of instrumentation. The Auto-Tone vocals are a perfect fit here, especially with an album whose sonic stomp is already so mechanized.

“808s & Heartbreak” begins with an aura of gospel called “Say You Will,” while the second song, “Welcome to Heartbreak,” features one of West’s simplest, yet most effective allusions to his feelings of despair. (Dad cracked a joke, all the kids laughed, but I couldn’t hear him all the way in first-class/ Chased the good-life, my whole life long, look back on my life, all my life gone, where did I go wrong?”)

In this deep track, West realizes that although he seems to have it all, he is missing out on the simple Tone: Aand more fulfilling joys of life.

The album offers an ingenious turn of events all the way through Rhythm: B+ as West ensures fans still get the chance to hear some rapping. The Lyrics: A track “Amazing” features Young Jeezy who drops a few lines with his Best delivery as passionate as always.

The much reworked version Tracks: of “Love Lockdown,” which is “Robocop” muffled and trapped on its original and inception, changes the initially “Welcome to head-scratching lead single into Heartbreak” one of the entire album’s finest tracks. West’s vocals are particularly cleaned up and the tribal drums Overall: Aplay triumphantly over the blend of piano and synthesizer.

Lil’ Wayne makes his guest appearance on the battle-like song “See You in My Nightmares.” Wayne and West vent about how a fairytale became a nightmare and ultimately express bitterness.

This song is not one of the best–Lil’ Wayne’s vocals didn’t complement West’s whatsoever, as his hoarse voice didn’t fit in with the song.

At the end of the album, West pours his heart out on the track titled “Coldest Winter,” which displays an array of musical instruments used to form the melody and background of the music. It is one of the most creative tracks on the album both lyrically and musically.

Although I enjoy the new sound that West used throughout the entire album, the best song is “Robocop.”

This track offers a base of drums and orchestra, which mix to form a catchy and melodic tune.

In the end, “808s & Heartbreak” serves as another example of West playing to his strengths. The precise, sweeping production serves as the highlight, with the individual songs working off anthem-worthy hooks and generally straight-forward lyrics.

As many artists tend to regurgitate the cliché that their albums are their most personal efforts, for Kanye West, this truly is a deep and personal album. Even with appearances from hip-hop notables Lil’ Wayne, Young Jeezy and Kid Cudi, “808s & Heartbreak” is undeniably all about West. With the new “pop art” genre he has mastered and his outlook that hip-hop is over for him, perhaps he has opened a new chapter in his life as an artist. This album shows how the multi-faceted West continues to evolve as an artist, leaving no musical stone unturned. Not all of West’s fans will likely warm to the chilly album, but even if it’s destined to be an acquired taste, it’s worth sampling. The imaginative direction West took on this album was risky, but it was a risk worth taking that came out as purely brilliant.

808s & Heartbreak

Local hip-hop act HUM-V breaks out onto national scene

By Bennett Fuson bfuson@hilite.org Over the past few years, Indianapolis’s local music scene has exploded with an eruption of various talents, each representing different genres. So far one, Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s, have made it out of Broad Ripple onto the national music landscape. Hot on their heels is HUM-V (also known as Greg Humrichouser), Indy’s most successful hip-hop artist in recent history.

Born in Ashland, OH, Humrichouser grew up around music. His older sister first turned his attention to hip-hop at a young age, and by middle school he was practicing the art, citing his first success with a talent contest victory in sixth grade.

“I did, like, an anti-litter rap,” Humrichouser said.

In high school, Humrichouser formed his own hip-hop group, but also did vocals for a few small rock

groups. But it was when he moved to Indianapolis in 1999 to attend Butler University that he first saw music as a possible career.

“When I got to college, I realized that your major could be recording arts,” Humrichouser said, “and I thought, ‘You know what? This is right up my alley.”

After recording and mixing his first album as a freshman, a local record label, Down Wit It Records, approached and signed Humrichouser to a record deal: yet another sign to pursue music. “That’s really when I was like, ‘You know, I can really start doing this.’ I started getting more and more serious. I put out more CDs in college, started booking shows,” he said.

Over the next few years, Humrichouser, under the alias HUM-V (which he said is an abbreviation for his surname) and the Cleptoz, a group he created with Dizzy Young (Brandon Waggoner)

and Tha B.C. (Brandon Currie) their senior year, found considerable success, both locally and regionally.

They opened for a number of hiphop heavyweights. “ We t o u r e d e v e r y w h e r e i n college,” Humrichouser said. “You name it, we did it. We opened for Jurassic 5, Twista, Kanye West.

We toured all over the Midwest.

I played in Miami, FL and NYC. I mean, that was my job, doing shows and touring with these guys.

We played ever ywhere, mostly regional. Chicago, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Columbus, but at times we’d branch out of there too. We just went everywhere, and it was awesome. And it’s the life that I like living.”

In 2006, Humrichouser ventured away from the Cleptoz to work on a solo career. His first solo album, “Simple Man,” began a rapid ascent as a recognized hip-hop figure. The titular single garnered

interest from local Top 40 station Radio Now, which put the single on their rotation. “Simple Man” also piqued the interest of a much higher musical deity: Capital Records.

However, at that point, Capital’s interest in Humrichouser was only that: interest. “He told me how bad they’re all struggling right now. I mean, these guys don’t even know if they’re going to have jobs in a year,” Humrichouser said.

HUM-V’s second album, “One Verse At A Time,” is Humrichouser’s best bid to arrange his record contract. The album’s single, “Look In Your Eyes,” has sold over 3,000 downloads on iTunes, at one point outselling the Jonas Brothers.

(HUM-V also has a MySpace music page.) “Look In Your Eyes” also has a regular rotation on Radio Now. The album itself has sold 400 copies locally: a powerful feat, considering the downfall of tangible album purchases.

What sets HUM-V apart from its competitors, according to Humrichouser, is the quality of the music, which he attributes to his recording background as well as a demand for precision. Yet he said he also realizes the struggles for his particular niche of music.

“I don’t just consider myself a rapper. I consider myself a songwriter,” Humrichouser said. “It’s not like what you’d think. It’s not ‘shoot-emup’ gangster rap. It’s more intellectual and thought-out.

Lots of live instruments. And people are really, really into it. But at the end of the day, no matter how my music is, I’m labeled as a white rapper.

And that label’s hard to break.

When people actually listen to it, they like it. But you have to get them to listen to it first.”

Hum-V Website: humvmusic.com Compared to: OutKast Singles: “Simple Man” “Look In Your Eyes”

STUDENT SECTION • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2008 • PAGE B5

Crime Watch Despite Carmel’s relative sense of security, reporting suspicious behavior is important to public safety

By Faith Mwalwa

I

t was 42 minutes after eight, on Nov. 9, 2007.

Sophomore Eric Peterson and his best friend freshman Alec Bangert walked to Bangert’s house, planning to enjoy themselves and hang out together on a typical Friday night, when a vehicle inexplicably pulled up and stopped next to the two as they walked toward their destination.

Peterson said the man in the car reached over and opened the passenger door and patted the seat, gesturing his motive, all while looking down, away from Bangert and Peterson and keeping his face out of sight.

“Do you guys know this area well?” the man said, mumbling and continuing to gesture.

Peterson said the mistakenly believed that the man was Bangert’s father, and was ready to get into the car and looked at Bangert. According to Peterson however, Bangert looked “freaked out.”

“No, sorry,” Peterson said, rapidly assessing the situation and sensing the danger that they may be in; he and Bangert changed their route and ran back to Peterson’s house, the house that was closest to them.

Peterson said he immediately called his parents, who were not home at the time, and told them what had just happened; Peterson’s mother advised the two against going outside once more. Her advice, luckily, kept the two from further danger. Peterson said he saw the car return twice more that night, stopping in the same spot that he stopped previously and waiting there for a while, as though looking for Bangert and Peterson again.

Since then, Peterson said he had seen the car once more on that Christmas Eve. This time,

Peterson’s older sister, junior Megan Peterson, and his fraternal twin sister, sophomore Sarah Peterson, witnessed a similar situation firsthand, and with the same suspicious character.

As Banger t and Peterson and his sisters exchanged gifts in the middle of the cul-de-sac in Springmill Streams, where Bangert and the Petersons are neighbors, Peterson said that the same vehicle approached the cul-de-sac and drove slowly through, as though looking for Peterson and Bangert again.

Peterson, his sisters, and Bangert quickly ran for cover in their neighbor’s bushes and remained hidden until the vehicle left the cul-desac. Peterson said he did not report any of the incidences.

“I would say that, luckily, we live in a city where there are no kidnappings reported, although suspicious activity (is inevitable),” Sergeant Phil Hobson, School Resource Officer, said.

“The first thing that (this student) did wisely was to get away from the situation immediately.

Secondly, the Carmel Police Department always recommends these situations be repor ted.

Although this would be secondary to the safety of the victim, getting the best report of the car and getting a full or partial license plate (number), as well as time and location can help us find the

ARUJUNA CAPULONG / PHOTO suspicious person(s). Again, this is not at all more important than the safety of the victim.”

Hobson said if the victim cannot extract himself from the situation and get a description of the incident, it is ideal that the victim gets out of the situation safely without the description; the victim should not put himself in harm’s way for the information.

“Better safe than sorry,” Hobson said.

“I’m having second thoughts,” said Peterson.

“Maybe he really was lost and needed our help. I highly doubt it, but there is still a (seed) of doubt in my mind.”

Hobson said, however, that such an occurrence sounds highly suspicious and trying to get someone into a car is the wrong way to get help; one may have good intentions and this man may have simply been looking for directions and help around the neighborhood but the other person does not know that, in this case, Bangert and Peterson.

“I have not seen him since and I cannot report him, because I could not see his face and do not remember the car. Alec (Bangert) claims that he saw a glimpse of this guy’s face as he reached over to open the door, though. Would I report this guy if I saw him again? Yes, I would,” Peterson said.

“Our neighborhood does have a neighborhood crime watch and the (man in the vehicle) even

drove past the sign (that indicates so). No one apparently has reported this guy.”

These days, Peterson and Bangert have put it behind them and forgotten about it, and even joke about seeing the vehicle occasionally. Peterson does not know whether or not the man is in the vicinity, or in neighboring vicinities, and does not think that the man will return to his According to the cul-de-sac.

HiLite student name “Again, it is list, there were important to report 4,199 students such incidences, in registered at CHS order to prevent this man from (coming as of the first day of back), or looking for school. We plan to other victims in other cover some of them neighborhoods,” randomly. This week, Hobson said. “Not we feature number only might you prevent future harm to yourselves, but you might prevent harm to other (potential victims).”

EVERYBODY HAS A STORY

2,886

Democrats sweep elections, Republicans need to catch up GUEST COLUMNIST NICK COOPER

November 4, 2008 was a very bad day for Republicans.

Democrats, led by the intelligent, inspiring Barack Obama thoroughly swept thr ough the United States government on a wave of change and reform. Republican senators and congressmen, both well respected and accomplished w i t h i n t h e i r p a r t y, f o u n d themselves out of office and into the ranks of unemployed Americans across the country.

But what Republicans must realize now is that this election was not won by the traditional democratic coalition, but instead by a new consortium of first time voters, middle class suburbanites and unsatisfied conservatives. Following their mantra, the Democratic Party has changed, and if Republicans desire to be competitive in 2010, they must change too.

The Obama campaign along with other democratic candidates were successful because they identified problems facing everyday citizens and paired them

with proposed solutions. When John McCain stated that the fundamentals of the economy are strong and Sarah Palin said that global warming is not a man made phenomenon, they spoke on behalf of their party and not on behalf of the American people.

Republicans in 2010 have to evolve to address a changing American electorate, and this is how they should do it.

1. Choose a Leader: This person needs to be sensitive to the needs of liberals and conservatives while having the political skills to work across party lines. Drop the polarizing Sarah Palin and replace her with the open minded governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal.

2. Expand and Redefine Base: The country’s electorate is changing. Although most Americans are self-declared conser vatives, out-reach to minorities and first time voters is essential to strengthening the party’s base.

3. Focus on Important Issues: Most Americans cannot

even define the word earmark.

“Moral” values rhetoric inspires the old conservative base, but does not appeal to moderate voters. Republicans should not be afraid to talk about education and health care, but should instead embrace it as an opportunity to connect with an ailing population 4. Scrutinize and Assist the Obama Administration: Being informed about national security is a proud accomplishment for the Republican Par ty. Help Obama succeeded in militar y pursuits without neoconservatism zealotry, and make sure everyone knows it.

5. Do Not Fade into Obscurity: If the Republican Party truly has America’s best interests at heart, it would want nothing more than to see Obama’s policies succeed.

In actively challenging Obama to be that president instead of engaging in partisan criticism, the respect of the party among a naturally conservative population will grow.

Republicans have the choice to evolve into this new, potentially powerful political entity. The stakes are higher than ever. Fail, and a part of American history fails with them. Succeed, and the United States makes a huge step in becoming that “more perfect union” to the benefit of all American citizens.

WANT MORE?

For more on President-elect Obama, see page 1 To have your voice heard, contact the student section editor at mqiao@hilite.org

THROUGH THE SCRAPBOOK...

By Tracy Sun

Sophomore Kacie Piedmonte keeps memories of past trip by scrapbooking Scrapbook: “It’s from Hobby Lobby or Michael’s or something. My mom bought it, and there were different sizes. I wanted the big one because it can hold multiple pictures on a page.”

Why Scrapbook was Special: “This one has more of a theme. I’ve only made one other scrapbook. The other one had pictures of more of a variety of pictures.”

Pictures: “I went on a trip with my grandma with Elderhostel on a boat with other grandparents and grandchildren. A lot of the pictures are of moments of the trip or people and what I did. A couple of them are of a sign I liked that was funny.”

Trip: “For Elderhostel you can choose different sites for trips, but there are limits on each.

You have to be at least 12 to 18 years old. It sounded like fun. My grandma takes one of her grandchildren at a time.”

First Day of the Trip: “Basically, we loaded the ship and ate dinner in the port and took off in the night. On the first night I got sea sick and got pills when we were at the next port.”

Ship: “It was called the Exy Johnson. It was like a giant sea boat with a lot of bunk beds. There

ARJUNA CAPULONG / PHOTOS

were about 18 to 24 beds in our bunk room.”

The Fun Part: “It was something really different that I never thought I would get to do, being out in the water.

You could even see the dolphins. It was special because it was I trip I got to share with my grandma.”

Favorite Photograph: “I think the effect is cool.

You can see the ship in the distance and the framing is cool.”

Favorite Page: “This was my favorite member of the ship, and he made a bracelet for me that’s still on my ankle.”

Favorite Memory: “There was a tall ship race, and there were divisions of about three boats each. We raced against other ones, and we won. We beat the actual Mexican navy because they got deductions at the beginning for something.”

Activities during Trip: “We would stop at different ports, hike in Santa Cruz Island. We actually got to meet the mayor of Los Angeles. On the second to last day of the trip, he climbed on our ship and visited with us.”

“

PAGE B6 • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2008 • PERSPECTIVES STAFF PERSPECTIVE

SPEAK UP

Former McCain supporters must rally behind future president

Compiled by Maria LaMagna and Jinny Zhang

WHAT IS THE BEST PRESENT YOU EVER GAVE SOMEONE?

T

his fall, in this high school and across the country were frenzies of political discussions. One could rarely escape constant debate about presidential candidates, their platforms or even their television commercials. But now the election is over and Barack Obama will officially be the next president of the United States. And now with thousands of McCain supporters, or even George W. Bush supporters, still living in the country, it is vitally important that they should not continue to campaign to the detriment of the country’s future.

John McCain received 58,421,377 popular votes in the presidential election. At the school mock election, John McCain even won by a margin of 31 votes.

But Election Day and season are over. The time to promote presidential candidates has come and gone, and it is time to put away the party pennants and boxing gloves. Our country is facing difficult times ahead in many ways, from the continuing violence in the Middle East, terrorism as seen recently in India and the now officially-titled economic recession. It is hard enough to have political dissidence during prosperous intervals, but now more than ever is a time to unite and put the election behind us.

There is little to be done now but support the new president and the country. Americans must keep in mind that the rest of the world closely watches as U.S. presidents come into office. The international community has waited with bated breath to see the outcome of the historic election, and it is watching now as Americans tackle the difficult issues set before us. This issue is not to be underestimated.

Obama himself addressed former McCain supporters in his victory speech. He said, “...to

I wrote my friend a three-page letter telling her how much she means to me and that I hoped she’d have a great Christmas.

those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president, too.”

Students and all Americans will still have differences in opinion, and continued debate is beneficial to the country’s future. Supporters of any political candidate should continue to influence policy by voicing their opinions and maintain the essence of democracy. In fact, former McCain supporters can write letters to local government and elect local leaders who support their views.

In positive ways, Republicans and opponents of Obama can continue voicing their opinions, but attacking him as a person is neither warranted nor positive.

OUR STAND In the aftermath of the election, Americans need to be united behind the Obama administration. We need to set aside our differences and work together to further our nation.

Opposites don’t always attract VENTI CASSUCCINO

BY CASSIE DUGAN It takes audacity to defy a concept that’s been written in stone for so many years- especially when you’re dealing with science. So call me audacious. There are some things in science that just cannot be translated to make sense of human relationships.

Probably the most popular of all, the “opposites attract” law, seems to be the one we like to relate to our relationships the most. We even use it to predetermine whether or not we will get along with people. For those who support this idea, that people whose personalities contradict each other are most strongly attracted, I pose one question: Why is it that you love your best friend? Odd question, I know, but humor me and answer. Does it sound like something along the lines of ‘we have a lot in common?’ It sounds like we are all preaching one idea, but living by the polar opposite.

In a relationship, be it romantic or not, we look for things we have in common with each other. It is a part of the human psyche to want to fit in and not feel like an outsider, which is why we do find so much comfort in people who share similar traits as ourselves.

According to webmd.com, there are actually certain characteristics that tend to be the same among successful relationships. These include physical attractiveness, money (income), desire for children, religion, class and education. The logic that rests here is that yes, of course it is possible for a hot lawyer with a Harvard degree and sevenfigure income to fall in love and have a partnership with an average – looking diner waitress who dropped out of high school and lives off of tips. However, as much our hearts yearn to believe true love could

reside in there somewhere, the chances of her snatching this dream man are slim to none.

Most times people mistake complementary characteristics as opposite characteristics. If one person likes to debate and the other doesn’t, then this may not necessarily be a bad thing.

The debater could inspire more opinions in the nondebater and the non-debater could cool the debater’s head a bit. However, if you mix an apathetic person with an opinionated and outspoken person; sparks may fly, and not the Cinderella love story kind.

This all truly whittles down to us humans trying to put a formula or a rule-of-thumb to something that is beyond our comprehension: love.

Love, especially once we progress through our teen years and into adulthood, seems to be the center of confusion among other things.

What feels right, what feels wrong, tr ying to peer into the opposite sex’s mind is just a gray area. And we humans can’t just leave something gray.

It has to be black or white… or something close enough.

We either stamp a question mark on it and deem it craziness, or give it some label or rule in attempts to make fur ther sense of it. Why can’t we just leave it alone?

Let it be. Drop your weapons, stop writing all those formulas and quit your over analyzing. Love is not a science, it’s a verb. Cassie Dugan is a reporter for the HiLite. Contact her at cdugan@hilite.org.

It sounds like we are all preaching one idea, but living by the polar opposite. In a relationship, be it romantic or not, we look for things we have in common with each other.

Familiar faces may be celebrities to some BAND GIRL

BY SHIREEN KORKZAN Every time I see performing arts chairperson Richard Saucedo’s son Ethan, I always have to gently pull his big, yet adorable, ears. I’m not sure if Mr. Saucedo is okay with this, but as long as he’s not complaining, then I’m more than willing to keep it up as well as openly tell him how big his son’s ears are. And I’m not the only one who speaks informally to Mr. Saucedo; pretty much every band kid who has gotten to know him over the years does, mainly by telling him that he looks like a koala.

But if you ask a band student from outside of this school to do the same thing, chances are they’ll be too nervous and intimidated to even stand within five feet of Mr. Saucedo.

In fact, many band kids here behave the same way around him because

” “ ” “ ” “

RENNY LOGAN / ART

Mr. Saucedo is an icon in the high school band world.

During our breaking ranks at the Indianapolis Regional at Lucas Oil Stadium this year, the entire tenor saxophone section from Marian Catholic High School from Chicago Heights, IL, came up to me (I happened to be the first Carmel student they ran into) and asked if I could introduce them to “Mr. Richard Saucedo.” I said, “You mean Sauce? Sure, why not.” One of them gasped when I used Mr. Saucedo’s name so informally. They told me that Mr. Saucedo is their hero because of his accomplishments throughout his music career, the main reason being that he composed music for the Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps – one of the most respected bands in Drum Corps International – from 2000 up until this past August. All six of them wanted to meet him sometime before they graduated, and their section leader had been waiting for four years. Unfortunately for the Marian Catholic tenors, Mr. Saucedo was already long gone by the time I asked another director where he was.

They were disappointed, because to them, Richard Saucedo is another George Clooney or John Mayer; he’s a celebrity.

They’re not alone. On Facebook, Mr. Saucedo has two fan Web sites created by students who have no affiliation with Carmel High School other than the fact that their concert bands have played a few of Mr. Saucedo’s pieces. Ten people on MySpace have listed this school’s highly sought-after and respected director as one of their favorite musicians and composers and none of them are even from Indiana.

It’s not that the band kids here take advantage of having such an important public figure as their musical mentor. We just know him at a more personal level than others.

Do I admire people the way people outside of this school admire Mr. Saucedo? Sure. There are many, such as Barack Obama. But how do Sasha and Malia Obama feel about their father? Of course they’re proud that their father is going to be the next president of the United States, but to them he’ll always be

Daddy who acts uncool around their friends. Jenna and Barbara Bush love their father despite his low approval ratings in politics. It doesn’t matter to them. His politics do not constitute as what kind of father he is. Being president is what he does, but not who he is.

My admiration of Mr. Saucedo is even deeper because I admire him not just as an accomplished musician, but also as a human being. I know Mr. Saucedo and I like what I know.

And I am reminded of that whenever I see someone I idolize. Sure, he’s a good actor or politician – and sure he’s a good musician, but what kind of person is he?

Personally knowing a celebrity is the best way to humanize him or her. While every musician considers it an honor to have Mr. Saucedo teach them music, the musicians here agree wholeheartedly. We just also see him as a loveable koala with an adorable big-eared son. And in many ways, that distinction makes him even more admirable. Shireen Korkzan is a Writing Coach for the HiLite. Contact her at skorkzan@hilite.org.

FRESHMAN VICTORIA VICKERS

I made my friend a cake for his birthday because he’s a really good friend of mine.

JUNIOR PATRICK “PAT” YOUNG

I gave my brother a football signed by Jeff Saturday and four tickets to a Colts game.

SENIOR ANN CLARK

I gave my mom a poem and snow globe for Christmas one year.

She loved it.

JUNIOR ADAM BURNS

Perspectives • Friday, December 12, 2008 • Page B7

Dieting, weight loss views clash Life’s too short by lexi muir Over the past few years, losing weight has become a fad. Millions of people across the nation have shared their success stories and inspired others to lose hundreds of pounds. Everywhere you look there are weight loss advertisements and newly discovered diets for people to try. Lately, it seems that losing weight and having the perfect body are more important than anything else in life.

But it was just last year when numerous fashion designers announced that they wanted to see more “healthylooking” women in magazines. Tyra Banks fired “America’s Next Top Model” judge Janice Dickinson for saying that she was “dying to find kids who are too thin.” Dickinson said that she was trying to get the models in her agency to lose weight, and she wished that they would “come down with some anorexia.” And it was last year that actress Kirstie Alley, who has recently lost 75 pounds, appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in a bikini after losing a significant amount of weight. With her body in no means “perfect” or even considered “thin,” Alley “strutted her stuff” confidently proving to women everywhere that being pencil thin is not the only thing to be proud of.

But isn’t this contradictor y of society?

Losing weight is advertised right and left so that ever ywhere we look, there are diet pills and treadmills and pictureperfect bodies to dream about, yet according to some, being “yourself” in your body and accepting it is supposedly the healthy thing to do?

As a society, we are being told to embrace our bodies and love them for what they are, but dieting and weight loss ads still fill magazine pages and cover our television screens.

So who draws the line between being “healthy” and not healthy? Who needs to lose weight and who needs to “embrace their bodies?”

Last year, many teen girl magazines like Teen Vogue and Seventeen put a great emphasis on getting the word out to teenage girls that they do not need to look like the models that they are exposed to everyday. Many of them even said that they would try and put more healthy looking girls in their magazines. While flipping through the latest issue of Seventeen, only one advertisement displayed women that were more average looking, and it was an advertisement for a plus-size clothing line. Every other advertisement and article showed the average six-foot, 105-pound model.

Eating healthily and exercising are obviously two very important aspects of the human life, but how much is weight actually considered when deciding who’s healthy and who’s not? Models that are stick thin aren’t healthy, yet when an actor or actress in Hollywood gains even five pounds, the media can’t talk about anything else. And heaven forbid a “plus-sized” model ever be featured in a top-ofthe-line fashion show. After all, she wouldn’t fit in, right?

Our society wants people to lose weight, but when someone becomes thin, they are suddenly labeled with having an eating disorder. And if someone walks by who is larger than the average person, they are immediately thrown into the category of unhealthy and overweight. So what’s a person to do? Are we supposed to be embracing our bodies and accepting them for what they are, or should we be trying to mold them into what we want them to be? It seems that society wants to think that it accepts people of all sizes and shapes, but it really doesn’t. We want to think that we are an accepting society, but in truth, we don’t really know what we want.

Lexi Muir is a reporter for the HiLite.

Contact her at lmuir@hilite.org.

We are being told to embrace our bodies... but dieting and weight loss ads still fill magazine pages and cover our television screens.

In times of hardship, be thankful oh yes he did! by bennett fuson Think back to this time last year. What was on your mind?

Most likely, you were thinking about finals or the holidays, although in this city I’ve noticed that “thinking about the holidays” is a fancy way of saying “how much stuff will I get?”

Now reflect on your thoughts for this holiday season. Most people are still “thinking about the holidays,” but I say that with a grain of salt. Everybody with a functioning brain and the ability to communicate knows that this holiday season comes with a pretty large price tag: the debt of all the hardships, both domestic and foreign, that we’ve faced over the past 12 months.

Let’s face it: some of us will get ever ything we want over the holidays. But there are others whose parents have lost their jobs or who have lost jobs themselves because of the current economic situation. As much as we try to ignore it, there is still economic unrest in the blue and gold suburb.

In this situation, we have three options. One: we ignore the situation, like we seem to do for every bad thing that happens around us, because by God, it’s the American Way! Two: we recognize that our economy is shot, feel bad about it and spend

our time wishing for the good old days. Three: we recognize that our economy is shot, but instead of moping, reflect on every good thing that we have going for us. Now, which option sounds best to you?

I spent a week this summer working in and around New York City with the city’s homeless population. Or so I thought. Although a lot of the people I served were in fact homeless, a significant number of them had a job or a home or both. The truth of the magnitude of this situation is that they and thousands of others across the country cannot afford even the most basic amenities of life, even while working two jobs. Yet no one that I met complained about their hardships. Instead, they took whatever I happened to give them (which was, more often than enough, not enough) and were genuinely grateful for what they had.

Wrap your heads around that statement for a second. These people worked their butts off to stay alive with minimal results, yet were overjoyed by a flimsy paper plate with donated green beans on it. Although I am ashamed to admit it (both as a girthy figure and an affluent citizen), I have taken for granted most of my meals, let alone green beans, and I know for a fact that I’m not alone.

This is a state of mind that I think everyone should adapt. However, this is wishful thinking. I know that some of us won’t truly be “happy” unless we get that new iPhone/Gucci purse/private island. But I do think that it’s not out of the question for us to take a minute, especially this time of year, and realize that what we have, no matter what that is, is a helluva lot better than nothing at all. Bennett Fuson is an Entertainment editor for the HiLite. Contact him at bfuson@hilite.org.

Some of us will get everything we want over the holidays. But there are others whose parents have lost their jobs or who have lost jobs themselves because of the current economic situation.

Contact information Mailing Address: 520 E. Main St., Carmel, IN 46032 Phone: (317) 846-7721, Ext. 7143 Web site: www.hilite.org E-mail: Staff members of the HiLite may be contacted by using their first initial and their last name appending @hilite.org. For example, Amy Flis will receive mail sent to aflis@hilite.org.

Responding to the HiLite

Letters to the editor will be accepted for the Jan. 23 issue no later than Jan. 14. Letters may be submitted in Room C147, placed in the mailbox of Jim Streisel, e-mailed to letters@hilite.org or mailed to school. All letters must be signed.

Names will be published. (Letters sent via e-mail will be taken to a student’s SRT for him to sign.)

Letters must not contain personal attacks against an individual and may be edited.

Purpose The HiLite is a student publication distributed to students, faculty and staff of Carmel High School, with a press run of 4,500. Copies are distributed to every school in the Carmel Clay district as well as the Chamber of Commerce, city hall and the Carmel Clay Public Library.

The paper serves as a public forum and two-way communication for both the school and the community. Opinions expressed in the newspaper are not necessarily those of CHS nor the Carmel Clay system faculty, staff or administration.

Credentials The HiLite belongs to the Indiana High School Press Association, Quill & Scroll and the National Scholastic Press Association.

Advertising Businesses may advertise in the HiLite if their ads adhere to guidelines. The advertising policy is available in Room C147 or at www.hilite.org.

Editor in Chief Managing Editors

One in eight Americans is hungry

Recent statistics shed light on rising need for charity dancing thru life by amy flis “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Jack Frost nipping at your nose.” That’s how the song goes.

However, according to recent statistics there is a rising number of people who do not see enough chestnuts, or any other food for that matter, to meet their needs. And that hunger keeps nipping.

A report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture said that an estimated 36.2 million people struggled during 2007 with “food insecurities,” as the government calls it. Included in that 36.2 million are 691,000 children. Statistically that means one of every eight Americans went hungry last year.

We all know the effect this year’s economy could have on that number.

Most Americans will be tightening their belts this year.

According to a Unity Marketing sur vey taken during October of 1,200 af fluent consumers (with an average income of

$210,000), over 50 percent reported that they were cutting back on spending by shopping less often and by going to outlets malls or shopping during sales.

The problem is that consumers who spend less will also tend to donate less, and it is times like these that charities need those contributions more than ever. Re-assessing priorities and cutting back on those goods and services that are unnecessary could do people good, but cutting back on charity donations will do no one good.

It’s important to remember that charities rely heavily on the small donations of the everyday person, not just the huge donations given by wealthy Americans. Such flashy gifts accounted for only 1.3 percent of the overall donations in 2006, according to Giving USA, while donations from individuals accounted for about 75 percent. Although small donations don’t get much media attention, they are the ones that really count.

That’s what this season is about.

It’s about the power of giving and how students here choose to exercise that power. Even though the economy has hit hard this year, it has not crippled the average family’s power to help the ones who need it. Amy Flis is the editor in chief of the HiLite. Contact her at aflis@hilite.org.

by the numbers

35.9

million people are living below the poverty line.

12.9

million of these people are children

100 billion pounds of food

are wasted in the U.S. each year

33

million Americans live in a household with a shortage of food.

3.5% of American

households experience hunger

Accountant Acumen 15 Minutes of Fame Ads Manager Artist Beats/Calendar Entertainment Feature Front Page Graphics News Perspectives Photography Sports Student Section Videographer Web Writing Coaches Adviser Principal Superintendent

Reporters Meher Ahmad Aili Arnell Kelsey Binion

soundvision.com / source

Maddi Bourgerie Hope Boyer Maggie Brandenburg

The line between curiosity and stalking Hu’s there? by michelle hu In the age of new media, finding out information about someone no longer takes a private detective or thousands of dollars for an information service. A phone number is merely a click away on whitepages.com, and an address can turn into a 3D image on Google Earth.

The question becomes, when does access cross the line of creepiness? Several bloggers and journalistic organizations have already investigated a so-called etiquette to use on Facebook, since there is now a wealth of information open to its users. USA Today published a piece last year titled “Confessions of ‘Facebook stalkers’” that showcased college students utilizing Facebook to find out everything about someone they just met the previous night.

In this day and age, it’s hard to know which actions cross the line. Unlike other aspects of life, social networks and online technology have barely any regulations.

About three weeks ago, I deactivated my Facebook for a few reasons. Mostly, I was spending too much time futilely refreshing my homepage, but it also created a reason to destroy face-to-face contact. As a result, I began to find out a little too much about my friends

and acquaintances – more so than I would have by having a passing conversation in the hallways.

This is the increasing trend fashioned by social networking: the downward slope into a “too much information” world. Today, applications such as Facebook and Twitter’s status updates tell you by the second what your friends are up to. And if you have an iPhone, a free application users can download called Loopt can incorporate those updates onto an interactive map.

Let’s say that on a given Saturday a couple of your friends are shopping at Castleton, and you’re fairly close looking for a nice restaurant in Broad Ripple. You see on your map that they’re only about 15 minutes away, so you comment on their status and ask if they’re interested in joining you for lunch. It also allows you to call or text them instantly to arrange plans. Apple has been promoting this app in its television ads, boasting that it is “solving life’s dilemma’s one app at a time.”

They may be simplifying social networking habits, but in some ways this ease of communication is blinding young users’ sense of privacy. Almost anything now qualifies as update-worthy on social networking sites, regardless of importance or relevance. Sometimes, people just don’t want to know about your feelings regarding your latest break-up, or the (unworthy) awesomeness of the “Twilight” movie.

However, that’s not to say some people aren’t interested.

Just keep in mind, sometimes those people are a bit unsavory. After all, access to a play-by-play of your daily activities is now just a click away. Michelle Hu is a News editor for the HiLite. Contact her at mhu@hilite.org.

Amy Flis Cathy Chen Brittani Wheeler Charlie Duncan Ariel Aisen Jinny Zhang Stephanie Hodgin Beth Brookie Renny Logan Hera Ashraf Bennett Fuson Jade Luo Rosemary Boeglin Sarah Sheafer Tim Chai Matthew Kanitra Steven Chen Michelle Hu Michael Wang Reid Conner Maria LaMagna Evelyn Forbes Kaitlyn Lampe Andrew Browning Lily Zhao Min Qiao Brian Bondus Yon-Sue Choi Shireen Korkzan Renny Logan Jim Streisel John Williams Barbara Underwood

Lexi Muir Faith Mwalwa Amanda Nguyen Tatum Outlaw Monica Rice Mitch Ringenberg

Lauren Burdick

Erum Rizvi

Steven Chen

Sara Rogers

Susie Chen

Jade Schwarting

Ryan Duffy Ellie Seta Cassie Dugan

Tommy Sneider

Daniyal Habib

Mallory St. Claire

Jon Haslam Afra Hussain Beverly Jenkins Julie Kippenbrock Erin Lowe

Tracy Sun Sam Watermeier Tyler Wright Celina Wu Rebecca Xu

Mac Madison Michelle Yun Lauren Mugavin David Zheng

Photographers Arjuna Capulong

Kate Grumme

Shirley Chen

Nick Johnson

Stephanie Coleman

Pooja Mathur

Lizzy Grubbs

Elizabeth Trancik Owen Williamson

Webmasters Michael Luo Mike Jiang Nishanth Samala

Jimmy Sun Alex Yin

Page B8 • Friday, December 12, 2008 • 15 Minutes of Fame

Although the average student doesn’t usually take Calculus until college, freshman Lyndon Ji is currently enrolled in AP Calculus BC by tommy sneider tsneider@hilite.org How did you manage to master higher level math?

My dad’s a math professor at IUPUI. I started to learn precalc in fifth grade because my dad taught groups of students at our house.

What is it like being in AP Calculus BC as a freshman?

What are your plans after high school?

Probably go to college and get a PhD in a field related to math, finance or maybe math itself, I’m not sure.

What is the hardest thing you have ever learned in math?

It would probably be linear algebra. It delves deeper into matrix theory, which is kind of an obscure topic for many people. Once you understand it, it’s not as bad.

It’s really not that different from a normal class. It’s not always easy, but you have to have time to understand it yourself and redo it yourself.

What is your favorite topic in math?

Why did you decide to go ahead of everyone else and take more advanced math classes?

What is it like being in class where most or all of the students are upperclassmen?

I would be stuck in classes that I already took, which is not fun. My dad actually teaches groups of students at his house a few times every week, and so I just attended those.

What did you do during classes in elementary and middle school?

I can’t really say much about that, but I just kind of dozed off. I started learning at the same time as everyone else, but I had nothing better to do, so my dad taught me in the car rides back and from school in kindergarten.

What do you plan to take after AP Calculus BC?

I’ll probably take multivariable calculus, but I’ll probably get demoted to AP Statistics as a junior.

Math has a really wide variety of topics, but right now number theory or geometry are probably my favorites.

It’s not too bad. I already know a lot of them because some of them took my dad’s class.

Does the math in AP Calculus BC come naturally to you?

Sort of. Some parts are easier to understand, and others you just have to work it out by yourself and why everything is what it is.

Do you consider yourself a genius in math?

No, not even close. Those people learn everything by themselves, and they have the creativity that’s needed to find what most people will never have because it’s very hard to come by.

How much time do you spend on math homework every night?

I don’t do math homework. It kind of comes naturally to me, but my dad helps me out too.

How does math help you in your everyday life or even in classes at school?

Math is related to science and other topics, but I’m not sure. It just kind of eliminates the math causing trouble in high school.

What did you get on the SAT?

I got an 800 for the math portion. The SAT isn’t really advanced if you compare it to other competitions or tests.

Is it challenging being in such a high math course?

Not really.

kaitlyn lampe / photo steven chen and hera ashraf / graphic

To submit nominations for 15 Minutes of Fame, email Stephanie Hodgin at shodgin@hilite.org

Students test out of lower levels of certain classes by michelle yun myun@hilite.org Junior Olivia Roy grew up speaking French and found French I to be quite easy. So in her sophomore year, she said she completed the first semester of French I and skipped into the second semester of French II her sophomore year.

“My mom just called (the language department).

Because I used to speak French at home, she asked if I could olivia roy move up,” Roy

said. “My teacher also said this was too easy for me and that I should move up.”

Roy said she did not have any trouble after she skipped. In fact, she is currently finding French III to be easy as well. “It’s still pretty easy because I grew up speaking French.

I want to see if I can skip into IV next semester.”

Many students like Roy take advantage of this process and take higher level courses that meet their needs. There are some students, however, who are not able to skip classes for whatever reason.

Junior Michael Young, for example, wanted to skip a French level just as Roy had, but he said

the department had reasons that prevented him from doing so.

“Many students want to skip a level of a language but the heads of the (language) depar tment feel that the process of learning a language is too important to miss out on the classroom experience,” Young said.

There are students who test out of classes in the math department as well. Math teacher Kathie Freed said she has several students who have tested out of some math classes.

Freed said she has several uderclassmen who have skipped and are now in AP Calculus BC—both sophomores and a freshman. She also said she has a student in her

multivariable calculus class who is a junior.

According to Freed, there is a certain policy for students who want to test out of a math class.

“In order for any person to skip any math class, they have to work with the department head, and they have to take a placement test to see if they are ready,” Freed said. “Within the last three years, our policy has been that (the students) must talk to the department head and take a placement test.”

Freed also said that the students do not have trouble. She said that the thinking and problem solving level is not as developed, however.

Freshman Youkow Homma tested

out of Algebra II to take honors precalculus this year. He also said he has no difficulties even after skipping a course. “I skipped because I wanted to take a more challenging math course,” Homma said.

Homma said he was able to successfully test out of Algebra II becaue he had learned the course material in a private tutoring class.

In addition to experiencing a challenging course, he said he is able to learn more about school in general from his sophomore and junior classmates. Not only has Homma tested out of a math class, but he said he also skipped Spanish II and is currently enrolled in Spanish III.

“

Generally, the only way to skip a class is having studied in the country of the target language and passing the final exam of the level to be skipped with an A or B. ANGELIKA BECKER

Carmel High School’s News Magazine

Behind the scenes

Senate... Page 2 I Sports Trainers, Managers... Page 3 I Tech Theater... Pages 4 & 5 I School Staff... Page 6 I Scenic Movies... Page 7 I Around the Clock... Page 8 Carmel High School . Volume 5 . Issue 3 . December 12, 2008

Page C2 • Friday, December 12, 2008

ACUMEN

Media classes work behind camera, mic

Purpose Acumen is an occasional publication serving to supplement the HiLite. Acumen is distributed to the students, faculty and staff of Carmel High School. This publication operates as a public forum for the school and community.

Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily representative of those held by CHS, the Carmel Clay system faculty, staff or administration.

Responding to Acumen Letters in response to this issue of Acumen will be considered for publication in the HiLite.

All letters must be submitted to Room C147, placed in the mailbox of Jim Streisel, e-mailed to letters@hilite.org or mailed to the school.

Letters must be signed; names will be published.

(Letters submitted through e-mail will be taken to a student’s SRT for him to sign.) Letters must not include personal attacks against an individual and may be subject to editing.

T

Afra hussain ahussain@hilite.org

he radio broadcast of the State football game appeared to be a seamless commentary of the ongoing game. The three broadcasters commented on the game and listeners were able to hear their descriptions on air. However what went on to allow listeners to hear the game takes more than just three broadcasters.

It takes the involvement of many students to run the radio and television stations along with guidance and instruction from their teachers.

“For the State game the station needed to contact the IHSAA for media credentials.

We received 4 total (3 for broadcasters and 1 for an IT guy). We then needed

to contact the people at Lucas Oil for internet/phone access,” Brian Spielbeler, WHJE station manager and teacher said via email. After receiving clearance from the IHSAA and Lucas Oil Stadium, the four students boarded the cheerleader bus and arrived at the stadium.

After setting up, senior Bradley Huber hosts a live pre-game show. For the state game Huber pre-recorded the pre-game show and it was played before the broadcast went on live, according to Spielbeler. During the game Huber also hosts a halftime show with updates and statistics about the game.

While commenting on sports is one role of the radio station, there is more to the radio station than sports.

Junior Megan Snider is a co-host of

Staff Editor Associate Editor

Writers / Photographers

Ariel Aisen Jinny Zhang Hera Ashraf Arjuna Capulong Tim Chai Evelyn Forbes Afra Hussain Nick Johnson Renny Logan Lexi Muir Min Qiao Erum Rizvi Jade Schwarting Sam Watermeier Rebecca Xu HiLite Editor in chief Amy Flis HiLite Managing editors Cathy Chen Brittani Wheeler Adviser Jim Streisel Principal John Williams Superintendent Barbara Underwood

In This Issue Dear readers, It takes a great deal of work to put on a show, whether it be theatrical, on television, or the running and operating of a high school- or anything else, for that matter. The cover graphic represents what this issue is about: the blueprints of the school. The blueprints we look at in this issue, however, are not sketches and building plans but people who work hard to successfully run their different shows, events, and jobs. We present, for your consideration, the metaphorical nuts and bolts of a variety of unique niches of our high school.

Ariel Aisen Acumen Editor

Cover photo: Photo illustration by Ariel Aisen.

Jinny zhang / photo

Jam session: Junior Megan Snider broadcasts on WHJE, the school’s radio station, during SRT. She is currently the co-host of the radio show, “Jam Session.”

the radio show, “Jam Session”. She and Stephen Moore, the other host talk about the school in their radio show.

“I really enjoy radio. I really like my teacher Mr. Spilbeler. He makes things fun and interesting,” she said.

Snider goes on air on Thursday for her show. Snider said she first became interested in the radio station after taking Mass Media her freshman year.

Students must take the prerequisite classes to get involved in both video and radio. Senior Kyle Borcherding chose the broadcasting and video path after taking a series of television broadcasting lab classes.

He is a sports announcer for CHTV. “I’ve always been really big into sports. I’ve never been really good, so it’s a way of being involved,” he said.

Borcherding’s schedule on a football game day is busy. Before the game he looks up the opposing team’s statistics.

Borcherding must arrive at the game early.

After tailgating for a while, Borcherding and the crew of two camera operators, one technical director, one instant replay machine operator and Huber, the other announcer, set up. Before the game Borcherding discusses the match up between schools with Huber. Then before the game starts, Huber and Borcherding host a pre-game show. After the game, the crew cleans up and leaves. However, Borcherding’s work does not end. He looks up other team’s statistics from around the school before he is finished.

Espey said he recognizes the work that students put behind such programs.

“There’s more that goes into things than meets the eye. Things tend to be a little bit more complicated than they appear.”

Senate puts time, effort into planning traditional school events hera ashraf hashraf@hilite.org Students look for ward to events like Homecoming, Brain Game and Dance Marathon, which have been part of the school for years.

But some may not realize the time and commitment it takes to make all this happen.

Steven Brisley, Senate member and junior said via e-mail, “The actual planning of our events isn’t ‘hard’, but it does take a lot of time and dedication. Each senator has his or her own responsibilities for each event, so we all work together to plan the event.”

According to Senate sponsor Michelle Foutz, many of the events Senate organizes have been around the school

for years and it has always been the Senate’s responsibility to make sure they happen.

Organizing and coordinating so many events doesn’t come easy. According to Brisley, “For each event, a committee of Senators is put together to head up the planning. Usually there is one committee chair and a few other committee members that do the majority of the organizing. The rest of the Senators act as a support team and assist wherever they can.”

Student body president Weston Luzadder said, “All the senators help out with planning events so the work is spread out over our group of people.

It’s not just one person.”

According to Luzadder, he has to meet with the members before the school year to sort

out what events will continue on from the last year.

“I sit down with people from the staff in the beginning of the school year. We go through all the events and figure out who’s going to lead them and whose going to be the chairs of the committees of the events. We also look at what they did before in previous years,” Luzadder said.

Foutz said that she then gets together with the committee chairs and talks about what jobs need to be done for the event.

“Generally, senators don’t work hard in order to receive recognition; they do so to bring fun events to CHS and help out less-fortunate members of the community,” Brisley said.

Luzadder said he thinks Senate is credited enough and recognition isn’t a main focus

for the Senate members.

Luzadder said, “I think Senate is kind of like a behind the scenes thing. There’s a lot of work that go into it that people don’t realize as part of organizing. All the senators are deserving and it’s a good group of kids to work with.”

Senate events Care to Share Homecoming Dance Marathon March Madness Brain Game Staff Appreciation Weeks Blood Drive weston luzadder / source

ACUMEN

Friday, December 12, 2008 • Page C3

Athletic student managers, trainers keep sports on track

By Lexi MUir lmuir@hilite.org

S

enior Michael Benson doesn’t get to sleep in on Saturday mornings like most of his friends. Benson gets up every Saturday morning, leaves his house and heads to basketball practice. But when he gets there, he doesn’t put on his practice jersey and shoes like the players. Instead, because Benson is the team manager, he is in the gym early setting up for practice.

“I am there before and after practice ever yday,” Benson said. “I’m behind the scenes, but I’m okay with that. If I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t do it.”

Nick Johnson / Photo Benson said that he got started managing the BANDAGED UP: Senior Michael Kremer and junior Kathryn “Katie” Hohn bandage an injured basketball team sophomore athlete’s foot. Kremer helps new trainer Hohn as a part of her training process. year because Mark Galloway, he wants to take just yet. head mens’ basketball coach Benson, however, already has high hopes to carry his here asked him about it.

Senior Michael Kremer also arrives to womens’ managing career into college. basketball practice early and stays late. Unlike Benson, “I like the idea of being able to take (managing) Kremer’s responsibilities are in the training room, icing, beyond high school into college and even get a taping, stretching and helping players with rehabilitation. scholarship for it,” Benson said. “I really want to go Kremer is a student athletic trainer here for women’s to Xavier next year to be the mens’ basketball manager basketball. In his high school career, he has also worked there. Coach (Galloway) has been working a lot to help with volleyball players, mens’ and womens’ soccer teams, me get the scholarship and position.” Robertson said that this is the case for most student athletic trainers. mens’ and womens’ swimming and softball teams.

“My freshman year, I got hurt playing soccer and I liked “The majority of them are looking into something being in the training room,” Kremer said. “I decided I in the medical field,” Robertson said. “This is a great wanted to be around sports, but not actually play them.” way to get experience.”

Certified Athletic Trainer Dawn Robertson, one of The student athletic trainers and managers here put the head trainers here for the past five years along with forth a total of 20 to 30 hours a week into their sport, Chad Gabbard, said that without the student trainers, the which is equal to, if not more than, the amount of time the actual players spend in the gym. Robertson said that athletic training here would not be nearly as effective.

“There is absolutely no way I could treat athletes at the trainers put in more time in the training room than the Carmel as well without (the student trainers),” Robertson players put in the gym. “They are here an hour before and a half hour after,” Robertson said. said. “They are an extension of Chad and I.” Kremer said that his favorite part about athletic training Robertson also said that the biggest difference between being a player on the team and being an is helping the athletes to recover after an injury.

“I like being able to nurse athletes back to health and athletic trainer (or manager) is that they are content on watch them recover,” Kremer said. “I like watching them being in the background. “(The student trainers) don’t need to be noticed to be able to compete again.”

Both Kremer and Benson said that they feel just as much know that they did a good job,” she said. part of the team as any of the players. Benson said that he As far as being “behind the scenes,” Kremer and especially feels like part of the team because the players as Benson said they don’t mind being in the background. well as Galloway make sure that he doesn’t go unnoticed. Benson said that as far as being recognized goes, the “I have my own locker in the locker room,” Benson said. coaches and the players do a good job of appreciating “I am definitely appreciated for what I do. Coach (Galloway) everything that he does for them. He said he never feels unappreciated or under-recognized. always says ‘A good manager is worth five players.’”

Kremer and Benson also said that they want to carry “Coach does a good job of recognition,” he said. “(The the skills they are learning into college and possibly coaches and players) definitely notice me.” even after that. Kremer said that he wants to go into the Kremer said,” I’m okay with not getting acknowledged. medical field for his career, but he is not sure what path That’s why I’m the trainer, not the player.”

Dedication crucial in marching band

By Erum Rizvi erizvi@hilite.org When the audience watches a marching band competition, they usually cannot see the marching band practicing for hours, the devotion band members’ parents put into ensuring the competition runs smoothly or even shipping the equipment and making sure it gets to its destination safely.

For Kevin Carlson, drum major and senior, marching band is a performing arts activity that he knows takes dedication from many people and a lot of cooperation.

“Most Carmel students only see the marching band’s halftime and pre-game football performances. Most of our energy is devoted to preparing for competitions we have almost every Saturday in September, October and November,” Carlson said.

According to Carlson, the band starts rehearsals in the spring semester of the previous school year. The marching band rehearses before and after school Tuesday through Friday and Saturdays before competitions, often as early as 8 a.m.

Performing arts teacher Rachel Tookolo said that besides all the hard work band members have, the parent support is what makes the marching band possible.

“From building show props, maintaining uniforms and driving the equipment trucks, there is a lot to be done and our parents do an amazing job at accomplishing it all,” she said.

As well as all the preparation and devotion needed in marching band, there is a great deal of help needed in order to ship the equipment to and from competitions.

According to Carlson, the band has a semi trailer and two box trucks that they fill with their sound board and speakers, drum major podiums, uniforms, wind instruments, a vast array of percussion instruments, color guard equipment and a few parents who volunteer to drive all this equipment around.

There are a total of four drum majors including Carlson, senior Kyle McBane, junior Lexie Krohn and junior Christopher Wilner. According to Associate Band Director Christopher Kreke, the drum majors have worked hard to get to where they are now as the marching band just completed its season with a fifth place finish out of 92 bands at the Bands of America National Championships. Rather than having a specific director supervise them, drum majors guided their own advancement, assisted by comments from various staff members as well as the students who watched.

Carlson said he thinks being a drum major is a demanding but hugely rewarding position. “It was so incredible to be able to watch the band develop from the front through this season,” he said. “I know that all of us who have done it have come out of the experience far different than we entered it.”

A Day in the life Of A Marching BaND MEMBER First: The group arrives at the contest site two hours before performance time.

Then: Members change into their uniforms and unload all of the equipment from the trucks.

Next: They move to a visual warm-up area for 30 minutes and then a music warm-up area for 30 minutes After: They move into their performance Last: They reload all equipment and wait for awards Christopher Kreke / Source

ACUMEN

PAGE C4 • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2008

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2008 • PAGE C5

Putting on a Show

Despite absence from spotlight, tech theater crew makes vital contributions to show

L EVELYN FORBES / PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

BACK STAGE PASS: Seniors Natalie Cappucci (left), Julia Bonnett (center) and Sarah Donaldson (right) converse about the upcoming theater performance, “Peter Pan.” Cappucci’s involvement in tech theater has led her to consider a career in that field.

BY MIN QIAO AND JADE SCHWARTING mqiao@hilite.org, jschwarting@hilite.org

ike many that step onto the stage to revel in the spotlight as a performer, senior Sam Spoerle invests countless hours in preparation for production.

However, despite being a part of about 14 productions, students may never have seen him. Spoerle is a part of the technical theater crew, also known as tech crew, here.

His production experience includes “Cinderella,” “Anne Frank,” “Secret Garden” and several other performances.

Spoerle said that he first got interested in technical theater in his freshman year.

“I actually saw a production at Beef and Boards my freshman year. I watched all the tech people doing their jobs and it got me interested,” Spoerle said. “My mom emailed the current teacher at the time, Bernie Killian, and he invited me to join them for the build out on ‘Cinderella.’”

The technical theater crew is the backbone of all theatrical production, according to technical theater teacher Jason Sipe.

Sipe said that they are in charge of all productions produced in the Dale E. Graham Auditorium. Aside from internal clients like the choir, band, orchestra or drama directors, the crew also works for external clients in the community.

“The tech crew consists of mostly kids from my technical theater classes; kids from my advanced classes are required to participate,” Sipe said. “Then there are some who just volunteer and do it as an extracurricular activity.”

Senior Natalie Cappucci has been heavily involved in tech theater throughout her four years here and she said that she hopes to pursue a career in the field. Cappucci said that the tech crew invests an enormous amount of time in preparation for performance.

“The week before a show, we call it ‘tech week’ and we are usually here ‘til 9 o’clock at night,” Cappucci said.

“We’re always working on a deadline. The show must always go on and we’re held with a lot of

DID YOU KNOW? There are entire magazines dedicated to selling tech theater supplies.

responsibility as students.”

Sipe said that production responsibilities are divided into several sections such as sound, light, scenery and design.

“We produce full-scale sets for productions like ‘Holiday (Spectacular)’ which costs several thousands of dollars and are several months in the making,” Sipe said. “Then there is Studio Theater which is more minimalized, more experimental, more avant-garde.”

The preparations of a set goes something like this: Spoerle said, “It starts with the set designer getting together with the director to plan out their idea. The set designer then makes a model for the director to finalize and edit.

After that, they show it to the construction crew and they make it happen. When it’s all built and put up, scenic art goes at it and makes it look like it should. The two crews work together to really make the set look awesome.”

Aside from building the set, Spoerle said that they also have a props crew that is in charge of making 40 to 50 props in the show. Then there is the sound crew that plans out what sound effects are needed, how they are going to amplify the actors and also music during intermission and pre-show. Lights crew is also incredibly important and they are responsible for circulating any and all lights so that they go through the correct dimmer that connects to the light board.

Each crew serves it’s specific purpose. “Without props, nobody would know what they’re using, without sound, nobody could hear the actors or experience the different sound effects, and without lights, there’d be no actors to see on stage,” Spoerle said.

But their work is not over yet. During the show, Cappucci said that she is usually in the sound booth, but there is also crew back stage getting the actors organized and on the stage in time. “(During the show), the stage manager is the one calling all the shots. He tells each crew chief or board operator when to go; he informs everyone on what goes on during a show,” Spoerle said.

After the show, there is much work put into the tearing down of a set. Cappucci said that they devote one day right after the show to a program called “Strike,” which is the crew that takes down the set. The next day, they start immediately on their next production. Sipe said that the crew saves the pieces from sets that are re-usable. In fact, the tech crew has made such a habit of keeping old sets that Sipe said that they are running out of storage area for these pieces.

“The good thing about keeping sets is that it gives us a bargaining chip when it comes to trading (sets) with other schools, even colleges like Ball State University,” Sipe said.

“Sometimes, if we are lucky, we are able to just completely destroy a set.” Spoerle said. “It’s a different feeling.

Knowing you can create something for everyone to see and enjoy, but after that, you destroy it in less time than what you put into creating it. It can sometimes be more fun.”

SOLDERING SESSION (ABOVE): Performing Arts/Tech Theater teacher Jason Sipe teachers seniors Michael Hrachovec (left) and Samuel “Sam” Spoerle (right) how to solder wire. This method is important in the construction of sets.

FINAL ADJUSTMENTS (LEFT): Senior Kyle McBane hands microphones along the stage.

Members of tech theater have many responsibilities to ensure a smooth production, including sound, light, scenery and design.

ARJUNA CAPULONG / PHOTOS

DID YOU KNOW? The black stage curtains on the sides are called “legs.”

ACUMEN

Page C6 • Friday, December 12, 2008

Glance into inner workings of school staff reveals hard work

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By Rebecca XU rxu@hilite.org

s bus driver Tammy Taylor drove Bus 63 through the Plum Creek Nor th neighborhood, she suddenly stopped behind an idle bus, paused to listen to her radio and spoke to the students through the intercom.

“Can we fit about 40 more students on here?

Bus 78 broke down,” Taylor said.

The students rose up to the challenge, sitting three to a seat and crouching in the aisle as students poured into Bus 63. The ride to school continued as usual.

Incidents like this one, which happened only three weeks ago, are just part of the routine that bus drivers like Taylor must prepare for.

“We have to be trained for all kinds of incidents that could occur and be aware of what could happen and how we can handle it,” Taylor said.

Bus drivers, as well as cafeteria workers and custodians, quietly work behind the scenes to make this school function. According to the CHS Web site, the 400 plus members of the staff include 150 employees in custodial, food service, clerical, technical and other support positions, and Taylor said there are 189 bus drivers here. While such workers have been a familiar part of the average student’s life since grade school, most students don’t know how these jobs really work.

Every day of the week, Taylor gets up early to prepare to drive students to school.

“My alarm’s set at 5:30 (a.m.) and I leave about 25 (minutes) after six, and then I come and start my bus. When you get on the bus, you have to pre-trip your bus,” she said. “We have to check the whole bus to make sure that there’s nothing leaking, all the tires are full, all the lights are working, the stop arm, the red lights – make sure that’s all working to get the bus warmed up for the route.”

Now in her fourth year of bus driving (after retiring from remodeling), Taylor said driving the 40-foot long, five-miles-per-gallon vehicle has its perks, like meeting all the kids and having all the school holidays off.

“We (bus drivers) are just pretty much... I guess,

normal? Or crazy. Crazy for wanting to drive a bus?” Taylor said. “Some are grandparents, some are parents, some are single. I think we do it because we like the hours and we like what we do.”

Like Taylor, cafeteria worker Lisa Smith is another familiar figure in students’ lives. She works busily every day in the main cafeteria, preparing and serving food to thousands of hungry teens.

“I do the à la carte, so I come in at about 8 o’clock and I put all the chips and all the snacks in the carts and I bring them out. After I’m done doing that, I do the yogurt and the soy milk in pans of ice,” Smith said. She said she later helps serve in the lunch lines, cleans up and goes home at about 2 p.m.

According to Smith, the specialty bar itself serves 500 to 700 meals a day, while the entire main cafeteria serves around 3,000 meals a day. It takes about two hours to cook and prepare all the food, and it’s all done by about 30 cafeteria workers.

“I think (students) don’t realize how hard we work. And I don’t think that they’re aware that we do print a menu out,” Smith said.

Alphonson “Al” Murry is another employee here.

After being a copper miner for 30 years and moving from Arizona to be closer to his grandchildren, Murry now does custodial work mostly in the Freshman Center.

“We prepare all the tables for the lunches, all the clean-up in between, all of the trashing and garbaging in between. Then after lunch, we take everything up, and the floors are scrubbed very well by the Chariot,” Murry said, pointing to a machine resembling a small Zamboni.

Murry said that he has to consider the potential dangers and safety issues when he does his work, such as cleaning a spill that could become a slip hazard. Of course, he also has his share of scraping gum off carpet, but he said he has a positive attitude toward it.

“I like to be proactive, as opposed to reactive,” Murry said. “Sometimes there might be a piece of gum on the carpet because somebody was telling somebody a really neat story and it just decided to come out in the middle of a laugh. I give them the benefit of the doubt.”

Evelyn Forbes / photo

Food Frenzy: Cafeteria worker Sandy Piltz serves lunch in the freshman cafeteria. Piltz said she also works as a bus driver for the high school.

Business big in fashion Chai Town

By Tim Chai I spent this entire weekend going through a stack of Vogues, GQs and L’Officiels that I had put off for calculus—thank you for that, Mrs. Freed.

Flipping through the glossy pages, I skipped from a focus on Alexander Wang to a list of up-and-coming designers that included Simon Spur and Steven Alan. However, not even after 5,000 page (granted, most were advertisements) could I find a single focus on the people standing behind the designers and their models: the businessmen.

I bet most people in this school can name a few designers, at least the big hitters: Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren and Marc Jacobs, just to list a few. But, I expect that almost no one can name a single executive from the number-one ranked management team at Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), the world’s largest luxury goods conglomerate with brands like Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Christian LaCroix and Fendi.

From films like “The Devil Wears Prada” and reality shows on Bravo, people get a glimpse of glitzy runway shows and event parties. But nothing portrays the day-to-day work of the people who keep the more than $250 billion luxury goods industry afloat. This is such a shame. It’s people like Yves Carcelle and Mimi Tang who have adapted their venerable brands to today’s rapidly globalizing society and brought their products to all corners of the world.

I know this from firsthand experience. When I accepted an international marketing internship with LVMH over offers at British-based HSBC (Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation), one of the largest and the most profitable banking groups in the world, and Ping An Insurance, one of the largest private insurers in Asia, I was met with some wary glances for going into a superficial and what a few people unkindly described as a “nonconsequential” industry.

I soon learned that the fashion industry is one of the most difficult and cut-throat sectors to work in. Opportunities are few and extremely difficult to come by, and there are so many people who will take your place if you take one small misstep. What Heidi Klum says in every episode of “Project Runway” appears to be true: “One day you’re in and the next you’re out.” The luxury goods industry is all about the details; messing up one seemingly insignificant element at a promotional event or on a press packet could land you on the blacklist of several fickle magazine editors.

Toward the beginning of my internship, I was given the task of postpress releases. Throughout my 10-to-14 hour workdays, my land line and mobile phones would ring constantly, sometimes at the same time.

When I was not busy compiling editorial coverage reports from literally hundreds of different media groups or taking calls from magazines requesting certain samples to photograph, I watched the flood of people often running in and out the constantly revolving office doors to meet with celebrities and stylists, investors or buyers. My colleagues working in this chaotic setting came to work before me, left later than I did and were on call for any emergencies after work hours.

There were definite perks to my job. I was invited to attend various work functions and events, which were gold mines of networking possibilities. But there is only so long I can hold a fake smile before succumbing to muscle paralysis and only a certain amount of days I can stay out after midnight before sleeping through a litany of alarms. At the end of the day, it was the feeling of walking into a showroom filled with beautiful shoes and gowns, making my first successful sales pitch to buyers from a major upscale department store or convincing a celebrity to wear the last dress in the showroom to a high profile event that kept me dedicated to my work.

Oh, as a postscript to any future event organizers, scheduling launch parties, film festivals and the Olympics in the same month will give me a brain tumor one day. Please don’t. Tim Chai is the front page editor of the HiLite. Contact him at tchai@hilite.org.

ACUMEN

Friday, December 12, 2008 • Page C7

Style over substance key in modern cinema Digital effects too often used to mask lack of story

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By Sam Watermeier

tanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” is now our reality. As that film predicted, the savagery of man has evolved into the savagery of technology.

Filmmakers especially are becoming slaves to it as they rely more and more on special effects to reach their audiences. Look at “Transformers.” The entire film revolves around robots--cold, calculating machines.

The humans are an afterthought and they are merely supporting characters. In fact, as the film progresses, the humans become less lifelike and more blindly obedient to the technology around them just like today’s filmmakers.

This is eerily similar to “2001” because the characters in that film were also flat in comparison to the nefarious master computer HAL. Kubrick’s 1968 film was supposed to be a warning for not only Hollywood but mankind. Sadly, now

40 years later, Hollywood is embracing style over substance more than ever. However, there is still hope. Here are some tips for recovering the humanity in movies…

Stop making motion capture films- I am addressing this directly to Robert Zemeckis whose last two films (“The Polar Express,” “Beowulf”) were completely computer generated even though they were human dramas. The fact that he utilized digitalized versions of such fine actors (Tom Hanks, Ray Winstone) and digitally created all of their surroundings is embarrassing. The “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, a larger production than all of Zemeckis’ films combined, told its epic, fantasy story with all live actors and mostly real locations. Therefore, who is Zemeckis trying to impress exactly? He needs to understand that the emotion in his latest films will always seem artificial. There is an agenda behind his new, computer-based filmmaking that audiences can see right through, thus ruining the magic of movies.

“Special effects without a story is a pretty boring thing”- It is ironic that George Lucas said this considering he only makes films these days to exploit new technology.

He was the one that even tried to convince Spielberg to go digital for “Indiana Jones 4.” Anyway, filmmakers like Lucas need to stop basing their films around special effects.

2001: A space Odyssey (1968) The polar express (2004)

Audiences may go to movies for the spectacle, but they ultimately stay for the drama between the characters. This is the problem with the new “Star Wars” films- the story and characters are secondary to the spaceships and light sabers.

Stop relying on visual effects- In “The Dark Knight,” a large truck literally somersaults through the air without any help from computer-generated technology. Take note, Michael Bay and George Lucas. Practical stunts are still an option. Take advantage of them.

I realize I sound like a gigantic film snob in this article.

However, don’t get me wrong, I love big event films as much as the next guy. I will be the first in line to see “Star Trek” and I will always crave spectacle. However, when style gets in the way of story, I have a problem. So, I ask (no, beg) readers to stop seeing films like “Transformers” (if that can even be called a film) and “10,000 B.C.” (Wait, did anyone even see that besides me?) These films simply, sadly encourage style triumphing over substance. I’d like to live in a world where special effects are not the number one priority and movies are not thought of as products before art. Readers like you can make that dream a reality.

Sam Watermeier is a reporter for the HiLite. E-mail him at swatermeier@hilite.org.

transformers (2007)

The DARK KNIGHT (2008) yahoo! movies / photos

Music industry has history of change, development Eye of the Beholder

By Renny Logan “Tin Pan Alley,” located in New York’s Union Square, served as the small beginning for the music industry. The name derived from the endless clatter of out-of-tune pianos as songwriters worked away at writing the next hit. As populations grew between 1860 and 1900 and communication improved, this small time alley became a big start.

Traveling troupes and vaudeville gave Tin Pan Alley a means to introduce the music being composed to the public. Before today’s bands, songwriters composed music for anyone to play, making money from the sheet music sold. In households,

playing piano passed the time and provided entertainment.

Like any other industry, that of music has grown and undergone many changes. Recording which began in 1894, didn’t officially establish itself as an industry until 1914.

Soon, however, radio became its rival, competing with its scheduled programming and live broadcasts. As a result, record sales plummeted through the end of the 1920s.

Then in 1917, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) won its first case for royalties. Before this, no regulations forced radio to pay fines for using songs owned by Tin Pan Alley songwriters or the ASCAP. Now, radio had to pay royalties to the owner each time it played a song.

While this might have helped Tin Pan Alley and the ASCAP for a short time, the damage had already been done.

Soon, the film-making industry, located on the west coast, moved in. Since its start with silent films, the industry had always used popular music to attract audiences. And now that the music industry was down on profits, the filmmaking industry began purchasing publishing houses, which then moved to the west coast.

Today, the industry continues to fluctuate. From records to cassettes to CDs to mp3s, the form changes and the style

may be new, but music is as loved as ever.

Still, have all these changes been for the better? The music industry, like its best melodies, transitions fluidly. It has kept pace with society and stayed up-to-date. But there’s a nagging nostalgia about the way music used to be. As a 21st century kid, I don’t know first-hand what it was like to be there and to experience the changes. However, even now there’s a detachment from performer to audience that began with the radio. I didn’t have to live through it to know that.

Of course today, you can go to a concert to feel connected… from across 20 rows of seats. There’s no intimacy. Even after radio was big, listeners wanted to feel a certain closeness to the performer. In the 1940s, Frank Sinatra was loved for his smooth, conversational voice. Sure, the quality of his voice was amazing, but listeners truly listened for the way he sang: as if he was speaking privately, individually to each member of the audience, across the airwaves.

Today, we don’t have many Sinatras. Now more than ever, performers are detached in more ways than one.

They have become intangible and larger than life with their extravagance. Renny Logan is a writing coach for the HiLite.

Contact her at rlogan@hilite.org.

ACUMEN

Page C8 • Friday, December 12, 2008

CLOCK

Those hard at work behind the scenes ensure our school runs smoothly every day

Ariel Aisen and Jinny Zhang / photo illustration

6 8 9 10 3

:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Bus Drivers transport students to school in the morning, back home after school, and to and from sporting events and field trips.

A.M. to 2 p.m.

Cafeteria server Pam Klezmer dishes out food. Cafeteria workers prepare breakfast and lunch for students daily.

Jinny Zhang / photo

:30 to 11:03 A.M. Senate spends most of its time planning events during its special SRT. a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Custodians in the Freshman Center set up and clean the cafeteria, office area, classrooms and halls. :05 to 5:00 p.m.

Junior Brielle Peters teaches junior Rebecca “Becca” Price how to tape the arch of a foot. Sports managers and trainers spend as much or more time in the gym as the athletes.

3 3

:45 to 6 p.m.

Marching band practices not only four days a week before and after school during its season, but also in the summer.

:05 to 9 p.m.

Senior Chris Kovey prepares an electrical outlet for Holiday Spectacular. Before a show, Tech Theater students commit a lot of time to their work and sometimes stay at this school until 9 p.m. or later.

Arjuna Capulong / photo

Nick Johnson / photo

24

Hours a Day While broadcasting live on WHJE, senior Chandler Pickard mentions a Plain White T’s song that just aired. Able to prerecord what to play, our school’s radio station is on continuously.

24

Hours a Day Our school’s television station, CHTV, is hard at work during events such as sports games, and it also has a channel that broadcasts all day.

evelyn forbes / photo