2.27

(I,ITE . . .

CARMEL HIGH SCHOOL

inside the issue

• Orchestra students to attend Violin Day at Zionsville, Page 2 • Students question validity of Facebook relationships, B1 • Some at this school take cleanliness to another level, B2

sports Hockey team to compete for third straight State championship. page 7

www.hilite.org

520 E. Main Street

top google street views

O

Carmel, IN 46032

Volume 54, Issue 10

February 27, 2009

Visit hilite.org for the top Street View images, including a guy with no head, the void, ET, girls sunbathing and a crime in progress.

ne day last year, a friend of Tyler Smitson, a former student then a freshman, told him that there was a picture of him on Google Street View. Smitson went home, searched his address on Google Maps and clicked on Street View. The result was a blurry image depicting him playing basketball in his driveway.

Since its debut in May 2007, Google Street View has raised eyebrows on the issue of privacy. Specially-equipped cars drive down public streets and take 360-degree pictures of the surrounding areas, including people and cars if they just happen to be there. So far, Google has covered more than 40 cities and many of their suburbs, including Carmel.

It’s common to see a photograph of a mother taking a stroll with her baby, people jogging or someone playing ball in a driveway much like in Smitson’s case.

In fact, there’s a picture of two girls at this school waiting to cross the street.

Although they may seem disturbing to some people, these images definitely don’t break any privacy laws.

H o l l y Wa n z e r i s a n a t t o r n e y a t Hollingsworth, Jocham & Zivitz, PC, located here in Carmel. Wanzer said,

“Something is considered an invasion of privacy if a person is portrayed offensively in a false manner, if private and unrelated and often embarrassing facts are revealed about a person or if someone physically intrudes on a person such as through spy cameras or opening that person’s mail.

Google hasn’t done any of these things.”

Even if Google Street View captures a person doing something unflattering, it’s completely legal to post it because the picture was taken from a public place.

“The picture looks like just any kid playing basketball in the driveway. If I didn't already know it was my house, there would be no way of telling who it is in the picture,” Smitson said.

Junior Dianya Pu is another person who was photographed on Street View. She was opening her garage door at the time.

“You can’t really see anything, just a seemingly random person opening a garage door,” Pu said. “Especially since my back was to the camera.”

Some other people have responded to Google Street View with less nonchalance.

One woman made it into a New York Times story for complaining about the program over a picture of her cat visible through her window, although the image was extremely blurry from zooming in

so much. One couple from Pennsylvania went as far as to sue Google for invasion of privacy.

“It would be pretty much impossible to win a lawsuit like that since the Google photos were taken on public property,” Wanzer said.

Smitson believes that those certain individuals take Street View too seriously.

“I think that the people who feel threatened by this are making too big of a deal out of the Street View because all it does is help people find a place once they are in the general area,” Smitson said. “I guess some stalker could try to use it, but he would already have to know my address to look it up so it probably couldn't be that bad.”

To appease those who find Street View invasive, Google offers a process for its users to flag and remove imagery they consider offensive or a breach of privacy.

Stephen Chau, the product manager of the Google Maps program, said in a New York Times interview that the team members “routinely review takedown requests and act quickly to remove any objectionable imagery.”

Google also said that it blurs out license plate numbers and faces before releasing the images to the public.

staff / graphic

Carmel alum named CDO for education non-profit By tim chai tchai@hilite.org

1. Register and add money to your virtual wallet.

2. Check out personal or project profiles.

3. Donate to help students around the world.

know and tell

givology.org / source

In high school, Catherine Gao (Class of ’07), currently a student enrolled in the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, spent her weekends volunteering in the local community at places like the Ronald McDonald House and Chaucie’s Place. Now, she’s taking on the world.

Gao was recently named Chief Development Officer (CDO) of the new non-profit organization, G i v o l o g y ( g i v o l o g y. o r g ) .

Appropriately, especially with her contributions to this school’s academic record, Givology strives to bring education to every child in the world.

She said, “Givology is an Internet community that empowers individual

$2,000

donors to connect with students and communities around the world in need of education support. By leveraging the Internet to support education grants and projects, we can create a global community of people connected through their belief in the power of education.”

As the CDO, some of Gao’s responsibilities include leading campus marketing initiatives, initiating partnerships between Givology and campus groups, overseeing development of human resources, implementing development of internal training materials and leading the corporate sponsorship and grant application processes.

According to Gao, many of the skills she acquired from leading activities in organizations at this school like Key Club, in which she was president for two years, are transferable to her

$10.8 $125,000,000 tax dollars spent on a trillion National Guard ad featuring approximate

approximate amount in U.S. dollars an Italian right-wing political party offered to pay parents to name thier kids after Benito Mussolini or his wife

national debt as of Feb. 23

$298,000

$35,000

amount the U.S. Department of Agriculture gave to an Idaho farmer to help him advertise and market his potatoes to high-end restaurants

work with Givology.

Key Club sponsor Jill Grimes said, “We never doubted that Catherine would go on to do great things. We were lucky to have her in high school, and (Givology) will benefit from the enthusiasm (Gao) brings to her work.”

“Community ser vice is like breathing for Catherine. I don’t think that she ever thinks about it; she just does it.”

Givology, according to Gao, is very simple to use. She encourages everyone at this school to make a profile and spread the word among their friends, family and anyone else they see. “(Givology is) very simple to use.

Individuals view profiles of students and education-related projects on our website. They then select which ones they would like to support

approximate amount of each American’s share of the debt

as well as the amount they would like to donate to each one. Once a student or project is fully funded, the money is channeled to our local partners, who give out the funding,” Gao said. “Partners also provide regular updates from each student or project via (our website), givology. org. Donors even have the option to message the students they are supporting. Unlike other non-profit organizations, Givology distinguishes itself in its way of making giving easy, transparent and rewarding.”

According to Gao, Givology began as a small project created by graduates of the University of Pennsylvania a few years ago. Gao said that, since its inception, the organization has grown tremendously.

“The people I work with are amazing, and they’ve grown the organization from a (University

For complete stories, see pages B3 and B4.

He’s Just Not That Into You directed by Ken Kwapis

Kid Rock that played during two months in 2008

A

F

Details Magazine, U.S. National debt clock / source

F

A

32 number of active-duty U.S. Air

Force physicians authorized in December to receive battlefield-acupuncture training

of Pennsylvania) campus group to something that is truly international.

They’re all some of the brightest people I’ve met, a lot of them graduating from the Huntsman Program (of International Studies and Business) at Penn. Our CEO, for example, is a Rhodes Scholar.”

Givology’s success as a major non-profit is already visible, demonstrated through its features in various publications, including on the New York Times website.

However, in the end, Gao said the real reward is creating life-long bonds among people in different parts of the world.

She said, “Through the levels of regular communication we offer, people can track their impact and maintain a lasting relationship with those they have helped. And that’s all we really want.”

Friday the 13th directed

by Marcus Nispel A

C-

Confessions of a Shopaholic starring Isla Fisher F

B-

A

Miyagi’s 3625 E. 96th Street F

B+

A

go online

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

www.hilite.org

HOw it works

Page 2 • Friday, February 27, 2009 • News

GREYHOUND NEWS BRIEFS Superintendent In case of another day off school due to poor weather, this district would come to school on May 4 rather than receive the day as a flex day off.

Superintendent Barbara Underwood said if there are any days off in addition to this, the district would need to make up the day.

“We are required by law to have 180 school days,” Under wood said. The last time that the district had to make up a day, the students came in on a Saturday for school.

Underwood said attendance was very low on that day.

According to Underwood, no plan is set up if another snow day were to occurThey will jump this hurdle if it arises.

Any additional two-hour delays will not count against the snow days, but the district will continue to use them only if necessary.

She said, “Our job is to educate kids and you can’t do it if they are not there.” By Brittani Wheeler

Orchestras to join Zionsville High School’s Violin Day

By Susie Chen susiechen@hilite.org

M

Art Club Art department chair Jen Davis said the Spring Art Show is to take place on May 7 through 10 and will be located in the lobby outside the Dale E. Graham Auditorium.

“Basically it’s open to anyone at anytime, although we plan it to open on the same night as the opening night of the musical, so that more people come see it,” Davis said.

“I try to encourage every teacher to represent every content area. The subjects represented are drawing, painting, jewelry, ceramics, computer graphics, Independent Study, AP Studio and photography.

M a r k K r e m e r, A P S t u d i o Art student and junior, said he participated in the show last year and plans to again this year.

He said, “I’m not sure what piece that (art teacher Jon) Kane will choose of mine to put in the show.”

According to him, he deviated from what he usually produces by finishing a graffiti peace.

Davis said becasue of space restrictions, not ever y student will have a piece in the show. She said she would like students with average to above average work to be displayed in the show, although it is their prerogative to decline the offer to be displayed.

According to her, it is possible for jewelry students to showcase several of their pieces because they are relatively small. However, it’s not possible for ceramic students to display several of their pieces.

Though the show is confined to the lobby, she said they try their best to use the room they are given.

“I’m really excited for the show.

Having pieces displayed is a really rewarding experience and I enjoy seeing what other art students have been working on,” Kremer said. By Rosemary Boeglin

Academic superbowl The Academic Superbowl will have four meets next month, according to Head Coach Matthew Dillon.

Assistant coach Joe Stuelpe said, “The team has divided into small groups for their research.” The small groups will continue to meet on their own time in order to prepare for the upcoming meets in March.

Stuelpe said, “It’s really up to the team members to do their research within the groups and prepare for the next competition on their own.”

By Mitch Ringenberg

CORRECTIONS and clarifications From the 2.6 issue In the story “No Bull,” junior Annie Tang’s quote that China uses “an old Chinese lunar calendar” does not imply that China is outdated but only uses the calendar for Chinese New Year.

There were several corrections to the story “Ramping up efforts for awareness” in the Feb. 6 issue. View the corrected story online at hilite.org.

In the days after this issue was sent to be printed, Congress approved a bill to delay the DTV transition to June 12. The updated story is online.

Kate Grumme / Photo

STAY TUNED: Senior Katherine Hill rehearses after school with Symphony Orchestra. She and the rest of the violinists will spend a day at Zionsville learning from professional violinist Rachel Barton-Pine and hearing performances from Barton-Pine and the IU Violin Virtuosi.

AP exam registration materials due March 6

She said many students opt to self-study for AP exams in order to receive college credit even though class credit isn’t Registration for this year’s AP granted for high scores. exams will end on March 6 and is Sophomore Yihao “Sara” Zhang, open to any student who wishes who will register for three exams this to take one. However, according year, is one of those students who has to AP exam coordinator Kristina opted to self-study for AP Psychology.

Hartman, students who don’t take “I just approach (self-studying) the the class do not get class credits for same way as you would any other class taking the exam because a certain without the lecture,” she said. number of “seat-time” is needed for The fee is $86 per test, but $8 for math and science exams, assuming the any class credit to be awarded.

“AP exams are open for any state subsidizes the fee again. If state student to take, although AP classes funding is low, students will be billed prepare students to take the AP later for the full cost, according to exams,” Hartman said via e-mail. counselor Linda Skafish.

By Afra Hussain ahussain@hilite.org

Science Olympiad to contend at Regional competition

By Lauren Burdick lburdick@hilite.org Tomorrow, the Science Olympiad team will compete in the Regional competition at Butler University against nine to twelve other schools from the area.

Team sponsor Fran Rushing said, “All (the team members are) excited and wound up about it.”

The team has been practicing every Wednesday in preparation for David Yang the upcoming competitions, and according to Rushing, those practices have increased to include Saturday morning practices from 9 to noon.

Last year was Rushing’s first year as Head Coach of the team.

She took over after the retirement of the Newmans, former science teachers at this school.

The team acquired enough members during the past school year to form two separate teams.

One team is dominated by senior

members and will compete at Butler.

The other team consists mostly of freshmen, sophomores and juniors, and will travel to Indiana University Northwest in Gary.

At a Science Olympiad competition, there are 23 categories.

The tests in each category are set up in a variety of ways, from paper and pencil tests to labs and building machines. After each event, the schools are judged and ranked, with the winning team receiving the lowest score.

This year, the team has an “eggo-naut,” the idea of which is to launch an egg-carrying rocket into the air and have it successfully land without breaking the egg.

According to Rushing, after last year’s Regional competitions, 26 high schools competed in the State competition.

According to president and senior David Yang, who has been a member of the Science Olympiad team since his sophomore year, the team has special meaning to him.

“I’ve always liked science, and I want to do something with science in my future. This is just a chance for me to explore other interests so that I’ve had a chance to do so.”

ore than 100 orchestra students from Zionsville and Carmel will gather tomorrow at Zionsville Community High School to participate in the first ever Violin Day, a collaboration project between Carmel and Zionsville high schools.

Orchestra director Soo Han said, “It’s basically an entire day of music-making.” According to Han, Zionsville schools have previously hosted low-string day festivals, but not any particular days featuring violins. “The Zionsville orchestra director, Susan Lyons, and I are really good friends. We felt like the violins were left out, and we wanted to get them involved, so we created Violin Day,” Han said. This is the first time this event has happened, and Han said he hopes it will continue in the future.

The day will consist of workshops, classes and performances. Matt Dickey, a violin player in Symphony and Camerata and senior, said, “I would like to learn different tips on technical and music processes while playing among great professionals of our day. I also want to learn new literature for violin that I have not seen before. I want to see top performing artists play their music as well.”

“We have some really neat things planned,” Han said. “The headliner for this event is a violinist called Rachel Barton-Pine. She’s an internationally renowned violinist and soloist. She’s coming here and going to do master classes with the students and perform some pieces.”

The students will also hear a performance from the IU Violin Virtuosi. “They, in their own right, have international performances and experiences. These are high school kids who have dedicated their lives to music and are learning through the university,” Han said.

Dickey said it is always exciting when it comes to meeting famous musicians. “They are always interesting and are never dull. It’s always great to work with great artists because they know their craft so well that they can explain it easily to aspiring young performers,” he said.

At the end of the event, the orchestra will perform two pieces, the “Telemann Violin Concerto for Four Violins” and the rock arrangement of “Vivaldi Winter”. The concert, which Han said he encourages everyone to attend, will begin at 4:30 p.m. at the Zionsville High School Performing Arts Center. The concert will be free but Han said that donations will be accepted.

“I think this is going to be an awesome opportunity for the players,” Han said. “I think too often students don’t get to experience the music scene outside Carmel but on Violin Day, they’ll be able to interact and get to know other students.”

May 2009 Ap Exam dates mon

tues

weds

Thurs

Fri

US Government, Comparative Government, French Language

Computer Science A/AB, Spanish Language, Statistics

Calculus AB/ BC, Chinese Language and Culture

English, French Literature, German, Japanese Language

US History, European History, Studio Art

Biology, Music Theory, Physics B/C

Chemistry, Environmental Science, Psychology

English Language, Italian Language, Art History

Macroeconomics, World History, Microeconomics

Human Geography, Spanish, Latin Literature

4 5 6 7 8 11 1213 14 15 Collegeboard.com / Source

Regional competition Events Astronomy Cell Biology Earth Science Ecology Electric Vehicle Engineering Environmental Chemistry Forensics Fossils Health Science Herpetology Physics soinc.org / Source

SRT trivia Brain Game to begin next Friday

By Hope Boyer hboyer@hilite.org The Brain Game of Indianapolis was the inspiration six years ago for the intramural version here.

The Senate is the founder of the CHS Brain Game and will continue to be in charge of the event this year.

Senior senator Mike Gospel said, “We’re the ones who make up the questions that are asked and we get to test them out on the rest of the Senate to see if they’re smart enough to get them right.”

The Brain game is organized v e r y s i m p l y, a c c o r d i n g t o Gospel. Each SRT allows four of its students to form a team.

These four students will travel around to other SRTs and compete in a twenty-question verbal quiz.

Basically, whoever hits his or her hand down first gets the chance to answer the question, as there are no buzzer systems.

The teachers par ticipate as the judges. There are six rounds of the Brain Game

and one championship match between the two SRTs that remain undefeated.

“Once you lose a game you’re out of the Brain Game. Only the undefeated make it to the championship. We keep track of the winners on a March Madnesslike bracket. It’s a lot of fun to guess who will win this year,” Gospel said.

The championship will be on a live telecast on CHTV on April 1.

In addition, the winning team of the game will receive a pizza party for their SRT at the very beginning of April according to Senate sponsor Michelle Foutz.

However, Gospel said, “Personally, I think the honor of winning is a good prize.”

The Indianapolis Brain Game was very inspiring to the Senate at CHS and caused them to formulate the plan for a smaller, more local version of the game.

Gospel said, “Without the Brain Game on Channel 13, I am not sure how the Carmel version would have been created. But knowing the Senate, we would have found a way.”

NEWS / ADS • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2009 • PAGE 3

Budget cuts could hold widespread effects District, superintendent proposes $1.5 million in reductions for staff, materials costs

R

BY SARA ROGERS srogers@hilite.org

W H AT W O U L D T H E P R O P O S E D B U D G E T C U T S M E A N F O R T H I S S C H O O L ?

ecently, Jeremy Weprich, member of the Principal’s Advisory Council and sophomore, said he sat in one of his classes and listened while one of his teachers spoke of the possible effects of recent plans to cut spending at Carmel Clay Schools. He said he was concerned.

“If (the budget cuts) bother teachers enough that they actually consult the students about it, that’s a big deal,” Weprich said.

It’s no secret that the struggling economy is affecting most Americans and school districts, including this one, are no exception. Because of budgeting concerns, this school must cut its spending by nearly 2 percent for the 2009-10 school year. However, the way to meet these budget concerns has been met with differences in plans, between the superintendent and the teachers’ union here. To address this issue, Superintendent Barbara Underwood introduced her initial budget cut proposal on Jan. 26. The proposal called for cuts of roughly $1.85 million. Underwood produced a revised proposal to the school board of $1.5 million in cuts. $611,178 of the latest proposal on Feb. 9 comes directly from this school.

However, the Carmel teacher’s union, the Carmel Clay Education Association (CCEA), created an alternative proposition, which they presented briefly at the Feb. 3 school board meeting and is available on its Web site, carmelclayteachers. org. The CCEA’s plan includes losing six teachers to attrition and seven administrators; according to the CCEA’s plan, five of these administrators are part time assistant principals at elementary schools.

The goal of the plan is cut less teachers and to “cut spending from the top down, making cuts as far away from the students as possible,” according to the CCEA proposal.

According to Indiana State Law, schools are not allowed to operate in debt, which in turn leads to school having to cut spending. During this school year, Carmel Clay Schools reduced spending by $300,000, including loss of summer school classes, field trips and instructional aides. Extracurricular activities will experience a $10,000 reduction.

With the superintendent’s current proposal, some teachers worry about the impact it will have on their teaching as well as their students’ education.

After reducing six teaching positions, under the superintendent’s plan, 30 teachers may gain a sixth period to compensate for the loss of teachers.

Math teacher Matthew Wernke said, “If I taught a sixth period...I’d be unavailable for students to come and ask questions during regular SRT time.”

U.S. history teacher Matt Dillon also addressed concerns for his students. “Assuming that I had a sixth period assignment, I don’t think I would

+$91,710 -$10,000 Reduction of extra-curricular expenses

See the different proposals and voice your thoughts online at

hilite.org

+$28,000 Increase of two media center instructional assistants -$120,000 Reduction of four custodians -$312,000 Reduction of six regular education, full-time teachers -$104,000 Reduction of two special education teachers

-$52,000 Reduction of one media specialist

-$28,000 Reduction of two special education instructional assistants CARMEL CLAY SCHOOLS / SOURCE MICHELLE HU / GRAPHIC change a lot of the lessons in class,” he said.

“However, I would be very hesitant to assign essays, papers or other large assignments. Essays can be hard to grade and they are time consuming.”

Dillon said he also worries about the effects budget cuts could have on students visiting him during SRT. “SRT is an excellent time to sit down and address any issues that my students may have.

If I taught a sixth period, I would not be able to meet with students during SRT,” Dillon said. “I think that will affect their individual performance at school. If I am not assigning essays or other large assignments, student will have less exposure to those type of assignments.”

Weprich said he is also concerned that the lack of teacher availability might influence student

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performance. “If some of my teachers aren’t available during SRT, it takes away from the original purpose of having an SRT.” However, Underwood said her proposal is designed not to greatly affect students. “Different people feel in different ways. I don’t think, for the most part, students are going to feel a huge difference. I hope not, but you will when you cut 2 percent of what you are doing. You can’t help impact students in some way.”

Underwood also said the proposal tries to keep original classes. “What we have tried to do is not eliminate programs. There is only one area in the district where we have probably greatly impacted a program,” Underwood said. “People in other programs may have changed such as we reduced

the number of teachers in a certain area. The only thing that has changed is that maybe class sizes will be larger in some areas or how we have organized things may have changed.”

However, current proposals are not final.

According to Underwood, the board should decide the final budget in March.

“There will be concerns. I expect there to be. If some ideas come forward, we have to find another idea to replace it,” Underwood said regarding the budget cut proposals. “I want everyone to think about it and help us evaluate it.”

Weprich said, “It’s unfortunate that our teachers are the ones that will have to feel the repercussions of the budget cuts because without the support of the teachers, there really is no education system.

Page 4 • Friday, February 27, 2009 • Beats / Ads F e at u r e d b e at : C C P L

CCPL provides games for teens By michael Wang mwang@hilite.org

G

ame Space is on March 7 at 2 p.m. and the Kick-Off event for the Hamilton County Reads is on March 9 at 3 p.m. at the Carmel Clay Public Library (CCPL).

Young Adult (YA) Services Manager Hope Baugh said Game Space is an event where middle school and high school students come in and play Guitar Hero, Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) and various board games in the library program room.

According to Baugh, students don’t need to pre-register or pay anything in order to participate in the event.

Baugh said, “It’s a chance to play games that are a little noisier than what people usually play upstairs in the YA lounge.”

Junior Crystal Wespestad said, “I think it’s a good idea to have this event at the library because it allows all the students to have opportunities that aren’t always available to them, and it gives them time to socialize with their peers. And it’s also a fun environment for a lot of them because they don’t always have those games at home.”

According to Baugh, the mayor will be present and will unveil the title that everyone will be reading during the Kick-Off event for the Hamilton County Reads.

Baugh said, “This year’s Hamilton County Reads book celebrates the natural world and stresses that we must take care to preserve it.”

Weekend patrol

Clubs, Activities at a Glance For more info, go online to hilite.org and click on ‘Beats’ FCCLA

WRAP

German Club

Best Buddies

According to Shameem Zia, Family, Consumer and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) secretar y a n d j u n i o r, a fundraising event will be decided on for the Feed the Children 150 million project. The children suffer c o m m i t t e e i s looking through malnutrition the suggestions 11 million by club children die due made members. The to lack of food d e a d l i n e f o r fundraising is the feedthechildren. F C C L A S t a t e org / source C o n f e r e n c e , which will take place from March 5 to 7.

The Feed the Children project is a FCCLA national initiative event.

FCCLA sponsor Brooke Weekes said the purpose of the event is to raise money for children who are in need of food, medicine, clothing and other necessities. Many of the children lack these necessities due to famine, war, poverty or natural disaster. By Erum Rizvi

Members of WRAP Club said they are excited about the next coffeehouse on March 12 in the Media Center.

According to Kelsey “Kay” C a m p b e l l , member of the WRAP Club and junior, this spring themed cof feehouse is Connie going to be one mitchell of the best of the year. “We’re going to be having a spring coffeehouse of awesomeness,” Campbell said.

The upcoming WRAP coffeehouses include the next one on March 12, a regular coffeehouse on April 16, and the last day blowout party on May 7. There is little time to either enjoy the remaining coffeehouses or to get involved in WRAP. Campbell said she is expecting a great turnout for the spring coffeehouse.

Connie Mitchell, WRAP sponsor and media specialist, is also anticipating a great coffeehouse this spring. By Jackson Whiteker

Tomorrow, the German Club and all interested German students ar e scheduled to compete in Staatskongress at Ball State University (BSU). Staatskongress is an annual competition among German students in the areas of German language and culture. The competition lasts all day and the cost to participate is $20.

At Staatskongress, students can participate in a wide range of events from German poetry readings to the making of gingerbread houses and people as well as many other events.

According to German Club sponsor Laura King, students participate in two to three events. Also at the end of the competition the boy and girl who scored the most in the competition are crowned king and queen. By Meredith Boyd

Best Buddies club is preparing for its upcoming meeting on March 17th.

“We are having a meeting on St. Patrick’s Day,” Tianyi Zhang, president of the club and senior, said. Zhang said there was a meeting on Feb. 19th.

“ We ’ l l be talking about out St. Tianyi Patrick’s Day zhang party and we’ll probably play some games,” Zhang said. “We were planning on going bowling on Feb. 27, but we can’t get a field trip approved.”

Brian Bondus, treasurer of the club and senior, said he thinks it’s troubling that the club can’t get a fieldtrip approved.

“It’s been really difficult, so we’ve had to cancel the bowling trip,” Bondus said. “Hopefully, we’ll still have fun at the meetings.”

By Meher Ahmad

By the numbers

competition events • food and grammar events • spelling bees • poster making Laura King / Source

This Issue @ HiLite Online

Check out www.hilite.org for more on school and community news Saturday

Recent Comments

recent updates

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.

Carmel Planetarium presents “A Celebration of the International Year of Astronomy” here Show times: 7 and 8 p.m.

Sunday

Hearthside Suppers at Conner Prairie from 6 to 9 p.m.

Reservations are required.

Tickets are $55 for nonmembers and $50 for members

And much more

Read comments and leave your own on stories, photos, blogs, and more at hilite.org.

Find out what’s happening in the school and around the community by reading the ‘Recent Updates.’

ADS • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2009 • PAGE 5

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Page 6 • Friday, February 27, 2009 • Ads

Sports • Friday, February 27, 2009 • Page 7

State roun d u p

Women’s swim team wins 23rd straight State title

Will Mascaro finishes third at wrestling State

Carmel’s State Champs 200 Medley Relay Jessie Hammes Lauren Stauder Megan Detro Devon Mason

200 Freestyle Relay Trish Regan Megan Detro Logan Mason Jessie Hammes

200 Freestyle Logan Mason

100 Backstroke Jessie Hammes

200 Individual Medley Trish Regan MARIS SCHIESS / PHOTO

SET FOR SUCCESS: Swimmers in the 200 yard individual medley final take their marks before the race. Juniors Megan Jex (lane one) and Trish Regan (lane four) both competed in the race. Jex finished seventh and Regan captured first with a winning time of 2:01.83.

50 Freestyle Megan Detro

400 Freestyle Relay Carly Marshall Rhiannon Sheets Logan Mason Trish Regan

500 Freestyle Lauren Jordan

Twenty-three down. Now what?

Carmel’s women’s swimming team now holds the national record for the most consecutive State Championships for a female team. But what streaks must the team surpass to earn the record for any sport, male or female?

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

Sport: Women’s swimming School: Carmel (IN) H.S. Streak: 1987 to present

Sport: Men’s swimming School: Tacoma (WA) H.S. Streak: 1960 to 1983

Sport: Men’s wrestling School: Paulsboro (NJ) H.S. Streak: 1983 to 2007

Sport: Men’s ice hockey School: Woonsocket (RI) Mt. St. Charles Academy Streak: 1978 to 2003

Sport: Men’s track and field School: Pickford (MI) H.S. Streak: 1952 to 1978

No current teams with this streak

Sport: Men’s swimming School: Honolulu (HI) Punahou H.S. Streak: 1958 to 1986

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Nick johnson / photo

THROW DOWN: Senior Will Mascaro (right) attempts to take down sophomore Eric Roach of Crown Point during the third-place match of the 135-pound weight class at the individual State wrestling meet, avenging the loss he faced to Roach last year in the State finals. Mascaro lost his only match of the season earlier in the day in the semifinals to the eventual State champion, senior Taylor March of East Noble High School.

Men’s swim team heads to State by lily zhao lzhao@hilite.org

nick johnson / photo

GOING FORWARD: A varsity men’s swimmer does the butterfly stroke during the Sectionals.

During sectionals, the team won seven out of 12 events and is looking on to State meets.

After winning seven out of 12 events at the men’s swimming Sectional, the men’s team prepares for its State preliminary trials tonight at 6 p.m. And being tied with having the most events, 15, with Munster High School in the State finals is something assistant coach Elizabeth Shafer said she is excited about.

“This is going to be my first boys’ State meet, and after coming off of the high from the girls’ State title, (the men’s State trials) is going to be awesome,” she said.

According to IHSAA.org, the top 16 swimmers in each event, be it in the relays, 100-yard freestyle or 200-meter individual medley, or any other events, will qualify to swim in

tomorrow’s State events. Only the top eight swimmers can qualify for State championship honors.

One of those determined swimmers is sophomore Mike Vinyard, who is swimming four events: the 200-meter individual medley, 500 freestyle, 200 medley and 400 free relay. And going into the State championship, Vinyard said he would like to see how fast he can actually swim and see how the team can improve.

Vinyard said, “(The men’s team) just wants to move up and advance in State.”

And while the women’s swim team won its 23rd straight State title, Shafer and Vinyard said they hope the men’s team focuses on its own swimming events, instead of worrying or focusing on what the women’s team did in the water.

“I think (the men’s team’s) main pressure is to meet their own goals,” Shafer said. “They set goals to be at in the end of year.”

Vinyard said he agrees.

He said, “We don’t want to compare ourselves because we’re completely different than the girls’ team. We just want to do the best we can.”

MORE online For additional sports and statistics, along with Faith Mwalwa’s men’s basketball and Andrew Browning’s women’s basketball stories, go online to:

www.hilite.org

Carmel Gold Icehounds try for third 4A State championship able to fill the void and increase their intensity. (The Gold team is) definitely peaking at the right time,” Wait said. “We have only lost The Carmel Gold Icehounds will one game in 2009 and that was the play for their third-consecutive State championship game of a tournament Championship this weekend against in Detroit in January.”

Lake St. Joseph in the T h e G o l d t e a m ’ s Carmel Ice Skadium at competition tomorrow, 5:30 p.m. The Icehounds Lake St. Joseph, is a started its title run last team the Icehounds weekend in the Statehave faced before. qualifying tournament, Carmel defeated the defeating Evansville, Penn then Number-6-ranked Gold and Snider.

St. Joesph team 3-0 on The Carmel Blue team, 1. Evansville Dec. 5, 2008. however, will not be in this 2. Hamilton SE A W i t h t h e weekend’s championship 3. Cathedralchampionship game after it lost to Northside tomorrow, Wait said Chatard 4-0. Carmel White will the team must focus 6. Carmel Gold play a tournament in on a few factors.

Holland, MI., as the end 14. Carmel Blue “The biggest thing we 17. Carmel White to its season. need to improve on is Deron Wait, Carmel ishshl.goalline.ca / eliminating turn-overs Gold assistant coach, source and minimizing our said he feels good about mistakes,” he said. “We the team’s chances of have been stressing to winning a third-straight 4A State the team that every turn-over takes championship, despite injuries to us out of the offensive zone and puts key player, forward and sophomore us on defense. It can add up to a lot Garrett Charton. of time in our defensive zone making “The rest of the team has been it more difficult to get wins.”

by mackenzie madison mmadison@hilite.org

HOOSIER HOCKEY RANKINGs

mac madison / photo

NOT TOO BLUE: Forward and junior Matt Bartelson (left) scores during Carmel Blue’s 5-2 loss to Cathedral-Chatard. While Carmel Blue lost last weekend in the State qualifying tournament, Carmel Gold will play in the title game tomorrow against Lake St. Joseph at 5:30 p.m. at the Carmel Ice Skadium.

Page 8 • Friday, February 27, 2009 • Sports

The the better?

Athletes here respond to a relatively new collegiate sports phenomenon: coaches recruiting players in middle school or younger

submitted / photo

gathering young athletes Prominent coaches who do/do not seek youthful talent to complement programs

university of minnesota’s tubby smith:

Left University of Kentucky Openly disagrees with recruiting middle school athletes, believing that it is deterring them from their true potentials

university of kentucky’s billy gillispie:

Recruited 14-year-old Michael Avery during his eighth-grade year Tried to sign other athletes in their teens

university of southern california’s tim floyd:

Recruited 14year-old Ryan Boatwright during his eighth-grade year Recruited current NBA-star O.J. Mayo while he was in middle school ncaa.org / photos, source

by maggie brandenburg mbrandenburg@hilite.org The college recruiting process has managed the unthinkable, as just about everything else in the world has aged; it has managed to become younger.

With middle-school-aged students being of fered scholarships from USC, college recruiters are beginning to rob the cradle when looking for the next big basketball star.

Fresh out of a.j. middle school, hammons A.J. Hammons varsity basketball player and freshman is already starting to gain attention from some big name schools.

“People say I’ve got good hands and feet and I’m a big guy,” Hammons said.

At 6 feet 10 inches, Hammons is certainly a “big guy”. According to head coach Mark Galloway, Hammons’s height is a big part of the reason why he is becoming so noticed by schools when he still has three more years left of high school.

“A lot of times early on with young kids, (college recruiters) look for that size and they look for strength. They look for something that’s going to set that student -athlete apart and, definitely, being 6 feet 10 inches sets (Hammons) apart,” Galloway said.

The new phenomenon of targeting younger and younger athletes according to Athletics Director Jim Inskeep, is due in part to the shift from rewarding scholarships based on achievement to awarding athletes based on their future potential.

“Certainly, the expectations once you make that commitment (to a college) is that (the athlete) must be really good, he/she must be excellent if that’s where he/she is at (in the recruiting process). The reality is that colleges are offering earlier and earlier in a sport such as basketball because they’re trying to get in on someone before someone else does, that’s why that cycle (of recruiting) has become the way that it is,” Inskeep said.

While many of the most famous cases of early recruiting seem to be centered on basketball, Inskeep said that many other sports like tennis see players beginning to look beyond the

YES NO

where a student athlete wouldn’t commit until maybe 18 months before they would be scheduled to graduate so maybe even a January 1 date,” Inskeep said. “I think you can reach that decision as a junior.”

And while many would expect that attention from college recruiters as a freshman would give a player a big head, Hammons says he isn’t focusing on anything but high school at the moment, saying that he will most likely make a decision the second half of his junior year.

Hammons said, “My brother is excited (about me being recruited) because he’s like a gold digger, and my mom just wants me to make it.”

Recruiting Faces of Sports: Mihir Kumar said. “I think socially and mentally, there are issues there. I can’t imagine for a middle school student that recruiting is going to have a positive impact on them. Their head is going to get extremely large in While it does happen, freshman Mihir Kumar, who those circumstances, and I think it’s hard for them played varsity number one singles for the men’s tennis to continue to concentrate on getting better without team this past fall, said collegiate recruiting of middle that enormous ego getting bigger.” school athletes would not be as beneficial in tennis.

As for Kumar, he said he’s gotten limited “I don’t think correspondence it’s that good of from schools. a thing because “I’ve gotten mail with tennis, it’s from colleges, hard to tell how but usually from good you’re smaller colleges, going to be at so it’s nothing a young age,” I’m interested in,” Kumar said. “So Kumar said. “At recruiting early tournaments I’ve doesn’t have that seen coaches and many advantages, talked to them, so I don’t think but I wouldn’t too many colleges call that recruiting. do that for tennis, I’m still trying to but they might.” figure out what With college I’m trying to do.” a t h l e t i c s Although it is b e c o m i n g nick johnson / photo an issue, Inskeep more and more said collegiate competitive in recruiting of s o m e s p o r t s , BOOK IT: Freshman Mihir Kumar reads a college handbook. Instead of middle school c o l l e g e s h a v e relying on recruting, he said he prefers to find colleges on his own. athletes is not started trying to one that might gain an upper hand on other schools by extending be as prevalent as people think. their recruiting process to include even middle school “Overall, it has not been an issue we have seen athletes. This includes basketball players primarily, in our community for example,” Inskeep said. “If but has extended to also include athletes involved in there is a solution, it’s going to have to come from other sports like tennis. the NCAA, and I think they’re reluctant to do that However, Athletics Director Jim Inskeep noted at this point. It will become an issue at some point, some of the potential issues that could come with and I think sometimes common sense prevails among recruiting middle school athletes, regardless of college coaches as to how many resources they want sport. “You don’t know how a 13 or 14-year-old to commit to looking at potential middle school will develop by the time they’re 17 or 18,” Inskeep players down the road.”

Poll Do you think college coaches should be able to recruit middle school athletes?

Go online to www.hilite.org to vote and see the results:

just talking and they were giving us stuff,” Hammons said.

While there are no rules currently enforced by the NCAA over recruiters approaching younger athletes, according to Inskeep, several big name coaches like Bobby Knight warn against looking for such young players. Inskeep said he also advocates raising the age limit to stop sophomores or freshmen from making the choice on a college too early in their high school career, while Galloway said he would like to see scholarships based more on accomplishments rather than potential.

“I’d really like to see something

high school circuit toward a more national stage to see what colleges want. The same goes for basketball, where organizations such as the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) help athletes get noticed past the doors of their high schools. Football players, for instance, usually mature at a slower pace physically. With all of the muscle they have to build, they don’t typically peak until 17 or 18 years of age. For Hammons, attending an AllAmerican Camp helped to get him in touch with his first choice for college: Georgetown University.

“I toured (at Georgetown) one time when I went to All-American Camp. We went up there, we were

by david zheng dzheng@hilite.org

Back and forth Students’ views on middle school athletes being recruited by college coaches. Compiled by Ryan Duffy freshman john hughes:

“I think that it’s a good thing when there’s recruting as early as middle school because that gives the kids a longer time to choose that perfect college to attend. It also gives them more time to look into the coaching staff and the history behind that college.”

sophomore brady mcDaniel:

“I think it could be useful if the players have true talent, but a lot of the time it probably just goes to their heads.”

junior spenser studebaker:

“ I think if the players are pretty much going to be the best players at their position, then its fine. But, some times its a little too much cause it is hard to tell if they will continue to progress.” kaitlyn lampe, lily zhao / photo illustrations

CARMEL HIGH SCHOOL

3POT,ITE

Blue Jeans by Design Inspired by Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, student designs jeans and sells them for profit See Page B5

www.hilite.org

520 E. Main Street • Carmel,IN 46032 • Volume 54, Issue 10 • February 27, 2009

Relationship Status...

IT’S COMPLICATED Students question value, validity of turning private relationship status into public concern by meher ahmad mahmad@hilite.org meher ahmad / photo

User Engagement More than 175 million active users More than 3 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day (worldwide) More than 15 million users update their statuses at least once each day

facebook.com / source

Ariel Aisen and sarah sheafer / photo illustration

growing at an alarming rate, people now more than ever have the capability to make their lives public. The problem arises in situations like the one Hourmozdi described, in which Facebook is becoming the primary method of communicating in a relationship.

According to abcnews.com, “Going from ‘in a relationship’ to ‘single’ online may become similar to returning an engagement ring, and is possibly a new rite of passage that young modern couples will have to deal with.”

David Weiner of The Huffington Post reported the first divorce conveyed via Facebook. According to Wiener, a woman discovered her husband wanted a divorce when her husband made it public on Facebook. Apparently, someone had commented on the status change before she had a chance to see it.

Such instances, although usually not as extreme, are becoming regular occurrences. “Future, here we come!” Weiner said.

A growing number of Facebook users are opting not to display their relationship status on Facebook. According to Northbynorthwestern.com, 46 percent of Northwestern University’s Facebook network chooses not to make us of the relationship status.

“After what happened, I’m just not going to put it up there.

It’s not serious. I don’t think putting (a relationship) up makes it any more legitimate,” Paliza-Carre said.

Paliza-Carre’s sentiment towards the status has been mirrored by many, like Pollack: “A Facebook relationship is globalizing your personal life. Is your relationship so important that the world must know exactly what second you get broken up with or left someone on the street? Can you even define those moments in a serious relationship? I guess it’s just not that serious.”

acebook.com has become an addiction for nearly every high schooler in America. Daily notifications make aspects of socializations easier and accessible to all those in an individual’s Facebook network. In the minified, everything from status updates to video posts are made available on a single page.

One aspect that has had a significant impact on the gossip aspect of Facebook is the relationship status.

Treated as a joke by many, the relationship status is a way for people to declare their status to the world, or the world of their Facebook friends.

Senior Sophia Paliza-Carre first declared her status to “In a relationship” a few days after she began dating her then boyfriend.

“It wasn’t like I went home and changed it right away,” said PalizaCarre. “I didn’t really think much of it.”

However, Paliza-Carre said she would never put her relationship on Facebook again. After her break up with her last boyfriend, Paliza-Carre said people commented on the status change. “They commented and were asking things like, ‘what happened?’ It was annoying and completely pointless,” Paliza-Carre said.

Not everyone uses the Facebook relationship status to display their actual relationships like Paliza-Carre. Senior Jonathan “Johnny” Hourmozdi only recently changed his status to show his real relationship after five months of dating his girlfriend.

“In the fall of last year, I fake proposed to my friend on Facebook,” Hourmozdi said. “(My girlfriend and I) joked about it. We’d be like, ‘I’m going to go hang out with my wife.’” Hourmozdi said he only changed it when both he and his girlfriend were dumped by their fake partners.

Senior Joel Pollack uses his relationship status for ulterior purposes. “My status right now is ‘It’s Complicated.’ I want girls to think I’m mysterious,” Pollack said.

He said he’d change his status from “It’s Complicated” when he feels it necessary to no longer be mysterious.

Like Hourmozdi, Pollack finds that relationships on Facebook can’t be taken seriously. “Facebook relationships are a joke. If you post them, you’re a joke,” Pollack said.

Not everyone takes the relationship status as lightly as Pollack, though.

Hourmozdi said over the summer, his friend at camp discovered her boyfriend had dumped her only through Facebook.

“We were at camp so we didn’t check the computer as much,” Hourmozdi said. “She checked and meher ahmad / photo saw that he was listed as single. When she called him, he told her it was for Notified: Senior Sophia Paliza-Carre talks to her ex-boyfriend. Although she posted her breakup with him on Facebook, Paliza-Carre said she would not post her relationship on real,” Hourmozdi said.

With new forms of online networking Facebook again because she wants to keep some aspects of her life personal.

In tight economy, more students choose off-brand clothes by ellie seta eseta@hilite.org

shirley chen / photo

dressing smart: Sophomore Allison Scott views a dress in a mirror. Scott usually shops at discount stores instead of more expensive places.

Just walking down the hallway the sheer amount of name brand items students display is overwhelming, most of which include iconic images of various animals.

But while to some students the brand means everything, sophomore Allison Scott said she could care less. She said she has no desire to pay the steep price for these “high-end” items.

“The main factor for me to not buy name brand clothes is price,” Scott said. “But to me their clothes are cute so it really does not matter to me.”

Although high school students are infamous for their obsession with name brands, students here are finding that although generic brands do not always have the best quality, the price is just too good to pass up, especially in this economic. On the other hand, many still argue the importance of purchasing items for quality rather than buying a greater quantity of less expensive items.

Scott, who regularly shops at discount stores such as Target and Forever 21, said she believes the clothes she buys at these stores are similar to the clothes in higher end stores.

“I think they look just as cute,” Scott said. “You don’t need a label to show that you have cute clothes.”

However, in contrast to Scott, sophomore Laura Rummel said she prefers to buy name brand clothes due to the fact that they usually have better quality.

“In general, I think that name brand clothes are a lot cuter,” Rummel said. “Even though they are more expensive you can usually find some really great sales.”

Rummel said in the end she believes in the saying “you get what you pay for,” “and that if you buy cheaper clothes then you should be prepared for the clothes to not last as long as name brand clothes would.

“I would rather buy more expensive clothes and not get as much (clothing) than buy a lot of cheap clothes that are falling apart,” Rummel said. “In the end, you would probably end up spending the same amount because the cheaper clothes will probably not last as long.”

Fashion merchandising teacher, Sharon Robinson said the main reason behind the lower pricing of generic brand clothing has to do with the less expensive fabric and fewer embellishments. Also Robinson said name brand clothing also is usually made in Europe, while generic products are mass produced in Asia which allows the products to be sold at a less expensive price.

“With higher end clothing you are paying more for the original design,” Robinson said. “But with lower end (clothing) you do not have to pay for the original thought.”

Scott said a big reason as to why she often purchases her clothing from cheaper stores is because she is required to pay for her clothes with her own money, which she said greatly limits her clothing budget. However, she said her mom does buy her some necessary clothing items at the beginning of the school year, but after that she is left to pay for most of her clothes with her own money. But Scott admits that even if her mom did offer to buy all of her clothes for her she still probably would shop at the same stores.

SEE BRAND V. GENERIC ON PAGE B2

Page B2 • Friday, February 27, 2009 • Feature / Ads

Stringent Standards

BRAND V. GENERIC, from Page B1 “I would feel really bad if my mom spent all of her money that she worked for on my clothes when she could spend it on more important stuff,” Scott said.

Robinson said although to some people dressing in high-end designer clothing is impor tant to them, she cautioned to only spend the amount of money that is financially appropriate for your budget.

“Only spend what is within your means,” Robinson said. “You should not try to be someone you aren’t.”

Although Rummel and Scott do not agree on the type of clothing that they purchase, they both share a common love for Target, a store known for its low prices.

“I especially like Target when they have high-end designers design clothes (for Target),” Rummel said.

“I really like H&M also.”

“I think that girls today are too worried about their image,” Scott said. “They believe that wearing name brands will improve their image, but I don’t really care that much about buying name brand clothes. You really don’t need to waste you money.”

shirley chen / photo

R ags w i t h o u t ric h es : Sophomore Allison Scott checks out a pair of pants in the mirror. Scott often shops in less expensive stores compared to pricier shops.

Student ‘germophobes’ attempt to keep dirt and disease at bay, but school does not always make the job easy

By Julie Kippenbrock jkippenbrock@hilite.org

According to sophomore Gracie Mauer, she is also considered a germophobe by her friends. “People would consider me one but I don’t think I am. I’m probably in denial,” Mauer said. She said she wasn’t always like this. “It just came up the last year of two.

I became more aware of different types of germs and how they are spread,” Mauer said. Mauer said she also has a special way of opening doors. “I touch the top of it where no one touches it,” Mauer said.

Mauer said she also hides her toothbrush. When she was little, her mom bought her and her siblings the same color toothbrushes. They wrote their names on each of their toothbrushes but her siblings never looked and just took a random one. Mauer said she

As she washes her hands, junior Krista Henry said she sings the ABC song to herself.

“I sing the ABCs sometimes when I wash my hands but I used to do it all the time,” Henry said.

While many students may have long-since abandoned this hand-washing rule from elementary school, Henry is different. In fact, Henry is one of a few people who is so conscientious about germs one might even go so far as to call her a “germophobe.”

Henry said she washes her hands not only after every time she uses the bathroom, but also every day before lunch. “I don’t even know why I do it. I think I got it from my mom. She always washes her hands and never touches door handles,” Henry said. Like her mother, Henr y said she also doesn’t like to touch door handles. She uses her elbows or pulls her sleeves over her hands.

Henry said her mother is a bigger germophobe than she is.

“I wouldn’t say she has a full out phobia, but she is pretty close.

You wouldn’t think it; she was raised on a farm,” Henry said.

“She has never liked to touch door handles, but I wash my hands more than she does.”

However, rather than discount Henry’s habits, freshman school nurse Althea Albritton said she thinks this precaution is one many students should take. “(Hand-washing) is a ver y necessary precaution. In general, people have very little awareness (about germs) unless they have a medical background of how unsanitary their hands are and the huge significant the hands have in transmission of diseases or infections,” Albritton said.

Albritton also said this is the reason why a poll completed in 2005 by Harris Ineractive is still true today. The national poll stated that 91 percent of adults claimed that they washed their hands after using a public restroom. But of the 6,336 adults keep it clean: Junior Krista Henry sits in the whose behavior was observed, hand sanitizer nearby so she can keep clean. only 82 percent actually did so.

thought this was gross and then started to hide her toothbrush from her siblings and still today she hides it, in a basket under the sink. Mauer said she believes this might be because she has obsessive compulsive disorder, though she has never been diagnosed with the condition. “I’m OCD with everything. I have to make sure my I turn my lock on my locker three times before I leave and the pillows on my bed have to be in a certain order,” Mauer said.

Albritton doesn’t exactly think being a germophobe is a bad thing. “It depends on the degree (of the phobia),” Albritton said. “It could become a big problem if it starts affecting someone’s life. But awareness needs to be on everyone’s mind.”

Jinny zhang / photo

band room during SRT. Considered a germophobe by her friends, Henry keeps

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Entertainment • Friday, February 27, 2009 • Page B3

Reviews

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

Exceptionally Asian

Miyagi’s pricey dishes shine in a sea of bad Asian restaurants Michelle Hu / Photos

CHEW-WORTHY: Miyagi’s unique dishes exhibit a fresh, but expensive mix between the West and the East, offering a new experience to the tastebuds. Although not completely authentic, the cuisine Miyagi’s offers outshines many other Asian restaurants in the Indianapolis area in taste and originality.

T

Miyagi’s 3625 E. 96th Street Indianapolis, IN 46240

Service: A

Price: $7 to $40

Food: B

Overall: B+

By Michelle Hu mhu@hilite.org

hese days, it’s hard to find a decent place to have some decent Asian food. The majority of them have sub-par restrooms adjacent to subpar kitchens, and those of you who enjoy allyou-can-eat buffets know this well. Some produce dishes so atrocious they feel the need to add MSG, even though they have signs proudly proclaiming that they don’t. Even in a relatively large city like Indianapolis (the 12th largest city in the United States), true Asian restaurants are a rare commodity, but it doesn’t mean fusion restaurants can’t make up for that deficiency.

Miyagi’s, a self-proclaimed Japanese restaurant with French influence, more than makes up for Indianapolis’s lack of sophisticated Asian eateries. Though the furniture attempts to create an urban atmosphere, it actually could use an interior decorator’s touch, but the environment is the last thing on your mind when dining at Miyagi’s.

The entire place has a casual feel, from the votive candles to the bar on the far right of the room. The waitresses are friendly and prompt, despite the negative comments on them on the restaurant’s online reviews.

Perhaps, they fired those servers and brought amiable ones on board.

One major flaw, however, is that their menus seem to be old; that is, they have failed to update their menus, an act appropriately dubbed bypassing menu costs in basic economics. Some of the items recommended to me were missing from the list, and it was probably due to laziness on the restaurant’s part. Not a good sign, especially in a recession, when failing to adjust menus could lead to price stickiness (not following the economy’s price changes).

But let’s put all of that to the side. Miyagi’s is known for their sushi, and it certainly lived up to its fame. One order comes with six rolls, which makes each one cost a hefty $3. I’m far from a sushi expert, but the price tag seems a bit excessive, even with all the embellishments and sauces. When actually taking apart

the rolls (don’t ever do it unless you’re writing a review; it’s one of the sins of eating sushi) there seems to be little “content” inside. I ordered some with eel and I failed to find any. Perhaps all of the sauce was just covering it, since it seemed to take up half of the dish. In addition, the wasabi on the side is dreadfully minimal, especially for those who enjoy an exciting rush of horseradish.

Once again, compared to complaints I have for other Asian restaurants, these are minimal. In all reality, the sushi is worth every penny since the flavors all come together exquisitely. The downside is that some people are put off by strong flavors, whereas others like me are drawn to them. I have a hunch that every dish Miyagi’s serves is laden with sodium and spices, which may be a little too overpowering. One dish that counteracted this imbalance was the Diablo Roll, sushi with a slice of sashimi (raw fish) on the top. The subtle taste of the raw salmon held the powerful spices of the rest of the roll at bay, and tasted fresh (but not too fresh to the point of smelling like a fish market). I’ve heard that the Diablo Roll is the restaurant’s specialty and is worth a try.

Rarely have I ever tasted a sushi roll worth eating in one bite, as is conventional when eating sushi. Typically, I try a little bit of one in case it tastes strange or too fishy, but the dishes Miyagi’s serves are almost perfect.

The sauces don’t taste like any other restaurant’s, and are symbols of Miyagi’s signature taste.

In addition, I tried the lobster teriyaki, which sadly to say, was much too pricey for something most people could make. At $24, it took up less than ¼ of the plate and once again consisted of half sauce. Only this time, the other half was broccoli and lobster tempura (seafood with a fried shell). The sauce was much too salty even for someone who enjoys salty food, but luckily it came with a rice pyramid. Quite cleverly arranged, the rice came with corn and peas and definitely took away some of the intense salinity the dish contained. It could not, however, justify why exactly the lobster had to be so fried that it began tasting like pork. This is a sophisticated restaurant, not KFC where every meat can and will be thrown into

a deep fryer. On a pettier note, the broccoli was tough and tasted quasi-raw, which is never a good taste for vegetables (only steak).

Something else I failed to understand was the restaurant’s penchant for placing raw onions as a garnish on every single dish, since they contributed little to the overall taste. Still, they did not diminish the taste of each dish, but were merely there as a decoration.

Lastly came the dessert, which was probably the best part of the evening. If you’ve never tried this before, you must at some point; mochi, a Japanese dessert, is possibly the most amazing food you’ll ever have. It’s ice cream encased in a rice gelatin, and the ones served at Miyagi’s are drizzled with a lemon-flavored (you guessed it) sauce. My personal favorite is the green tea mochi, though Miyagi’s was sold out of that flavor, along with strawberry. If this happens, try purchasing it at Trader Joe’s; a box of six is more than 50 percent less expensive than an equivalent of the dish at Miyagi’s.

An indulgent experience, Miyagi’s is worth a visit depending on personal preferences, but certainly a better dining locale than most Indianapolis restaurants. Be prepared, however; the extravagant meal will certainly drain your wallet.

CASUAL AND QUAINT: The candles and lighting of Miyagi’s complement the urban furniture of Miyagi’s well. The atmosphere is both comfortable and casual.

Al Basha bridges culture with authentic Mediterranean cuisine Points of interest in the Store

A LASTING TASTE: Most of the food sold can only be found in specialty stores like Al Basha. Many of these products are key ingredients in cooking Mediterranean foods.

ONE-OF-A-KIND: Al Basha also sells Middle Eastern jewelry. The findings can be rare in the United States unless searched for in specialty stores like Al Basha.

By Shireen Korkzan skorkzan@hilite.org In the Middle East, Basha stands for “king.” Last December, Mario Abdel named his new restaurant and grocer y store combination on 116th Street and Allisonville Road Al Basha in reference to the Middle Eastern term to explain that the food and products sold there are better than any other restaurant or grocery store located in the area.

This name is not deceiving for the small store, despite it being the only store and restaurant of its kind for miles around. Customers will walk into the grocery store with an automatic authentic Middle Eastern and Persian feel. The vibes will grow stronger when they walk into the restaurant half, which is separated from the grocery store by a wall with a wide walkway. Both rooms are kept clean so as not to distract customers from either the restaurant or the grocery store half.

Imported goods for sale surround the restaurant and hookahs – Indian-based water pipes used for smoking – line every wall and shelf.

A giant Persian rug covers nearly an entire wall.

The best part, aside from the benevolent service of the gregarious owner, who was also a waiter, is the fresh and authentic Mediterranean

food. For one thing, the hummus is made from real chickpeas and tahini and doesn’t come from a can. It also leaves a sophisticated appearance by leaving the olive oil sitting inside the hummus to give a fountain-like look. The rice and meat-stuffed grape leaves had a light taste, leaving the meat not overpowering the taste of the leaves. The chicken shawarma, ser ved with sliced pickles and a homemade garlic sauce, is served in toasted pita bread. The chicken has a subtle flavor and was perfectly juicy and tender.

As for vegetarians, they can’t go wrong with the falafel sandwich, an Egyptian-based meal consisting of fried chickpeas ser ved with a single sliced tomato, pickle slices and yogurt sauce in toasted pita bread. Although falafel is normally considered a snack food in its region of origin, it is both filling and delicious (and much healthier than American fast food).

For dessert, this restaurant’s oven-fresh baklava, loaded with walnuts, honey and phyllo dough, cannot be defeated. The generous amount and high quality in taste is worth the $3, which in itself is a steal because baklava is both expensive and difficult to make.

The warm, sweet and sticky baklava tops the entire meal, ending the visit with ecstatic taste buds and stomachs. No customer can ever leave Al Basha unsatisfied. If anyone

Shireen Korkzan / Photos

LIGHT AND THIN: The hummus is handmade fresh with authentic ingredients and offers a light, harmonious taste. The food is both healthy and filling, revealing aspects of new cultures. does, he or she most likely doesn’t have a decent taste in food.

Because of the conflicts in the Middle East, many Americans may not have considered tr ying this different, yet wonderful style of foreign cooking. However, if you’re looking to try authentic Middle Eastern cuisine, Al Basha is the perfect place to start.

Al Basha

Service: A Food: A+

Price: $1.50 to $15 Overall: A

Page B4 • Friday, February 27, 2009 • Entertainment

Reviews

B o o k s . M o v i e s . F o o d . M u s i c . S h o p p i n g . Pr e v i e w s .

Head Over Heels for ‘He’s Just Not That Into You’ All star cast, compelling human drama draw audience into multi-perspective romantic comedy

rottentomatoes.com / photo

‘Confessions of a Shopaholic:’ not quite as fabulous as books by lexi muir lmuir@hilite.org “Confessions of a Shopaholic” stirs up familiar feelings for many women and many men as well. Especially now, a growing number of people know what it’s like to be in over their heads in debt with no way out. The main difference between real life and “Becky life;” however, is that in real life, everything isn’t handed to you like it is in the movie, and that is the film’s main, and tragic, flaw.

After finding herself out of a job and out of money, Becky (Isla Fisher) ironically takes a job at a savings magazine where she charms everyone and quickly works her way up to the top. After writing only two columns, Becky is soon the talk of the magazine and at the top of the world. Of course, things don’t work out for the best, and Becky is stuck making some difficult decisions to save her relationships as well as her future.

Becky is a fashionable and quirky young woman who comes across as much less than intelligent. Fisher played the “dumb” role well, but most of the acting was forced and completely unnatural. The obsessive, spastic and uncontainable traits of Becky did not come naturally to Fisher and came off as over-animated and cheesy. Throughout the books I also imagined Becky to be much classier and mature. In her role, Fisher came across as too young and immature for the character.

Also lacking in the movie was the surrounding cast depth. Becky’s boss/love interest Luke Brandon (Hugh Dancy) is serious and badly dressed to the outside, but fashionable, fun and wealthy on the inside. They of course fall for each other, then break up, and then get back together in the end. Becky’s spunky best friend and roommate, Suze (Krysten Ritter) helps Becky to get over her “shopping disease” by forcing her to go into Shopaholics Anonymous. Becky’s parents (John Goodman and Joan Cusack) make a few appearances throughout the movie and come to help Becky succeed in the end.

As a huge fan of designer clothing and fashion, I went into the movie with hopes of seeing some great clothes, hearing some great “label-chat” and being inspired by fashion. Even if the story line wasn’t great, I at least had the hope that the clothing would impress me. To my dismay, however, Becky’s clothes were tacky, gaudy and something I would never wear. Sure, there was a cute dress here and there, but her taste in clothing included brightly colored fur, clumsily puttogether outfits and gaudy necklaces. I was less than impressed with both the choice of clothing and the lack of labels, which only disappointed me more.

As usual, the Shopaholic novel series is much funnier, quirkier and more entertaining than the movie.

Almost everything that was hilarious and great about the books, such as Becky’s obsessive morning routine, her relationships with the men in her life and her spastic and unordinery behavior, was left out of the movie, and I found myself missing those through the entire 112 minutes.

With cheesy lines and unrealistic outcomes, “Confessions of a Shopaholic” was entertaining, but not worth the time or money. With a predictable outcome and less than original story line, I found that the movie was like almost every other chick-flick I have ever seen, except with cheesier lines and (shockingly) worse dressed women.

‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’

Rated: PG

Starring: Isla Fisher, Joan Cusack, John Goodman

Runtime: 1 Hr. 52 Min.

Overall: B-

Directed By: P.J. Hogan

By lexi muir lmuir@hilite.org If a guy likes you, he’ll call. If he doesn’t, he’s just not that interested.

This small piece of advice is the genius behind the movie “He’s Just Not That Into You.” The movie, which is based on the book by Greg Berhrendt and Liz Tuccillo, makes an effort to save women all over the world from wasting their time and effort trying to “decode” signals from men and translate their every move. We’re all guilty, and we know it.

Ladies, look no further: this is the answer we’ve all been searching for.

With a solid cast behind the film, “He’s Just Not That into You” far surpassed any expectation I held. The story follows a group of young adults in Baltimore in their search for true love and happiness. With witty lines and suspenseful events, this movie kept my emotions on a roller coaster through the entire 130 minutes.

Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin) is a young woman who spends hours and hours by her phone waiting for her most recent date to call, often finding that he never will. Beth (Jennifer Aniston) plays a woman who is madly in love with her long-time boyfriend, Neil (Ben Affleck), but set back by the fact that he doesn’t believe in marriage. Anna (Scarlett Johansson), despite that fact that she is in a rather casual relationship with Connor (Kevin Connolly), spends the entire movie trying to seduce Ben (Bradley Cooper) who is married to Janine (Jennifer Connely). Alex (Justin Long) plays the nerdy bartender who “knows it all” and opens Gigi up to the truth about men.

For the first time in my life I found myself laughing, hard, from the witty remarks in the movie.

I also found myself gasping and making other sounds of shock along with the rest of the theater (which I never do). My emotions were on my sleeve as I felt the heartbreak and pain for each woman on the screen, feeling the weight of her situation as if it were my own.

After about an hour of the movie I decided that I hated men: cheating, lying, stupid, no good very bad men. I even wanted to strangle my own boyfriend.

I secretly wondered to myself why I even bothered with the opposite sex. They’ll just screw up the relationship anyway, right?

But just as I was about to declare my hatred and disgust for all males in the world, the movie took an unexpected turn. Role reversals took place and suddenly, it was the man who was sweating by the phone waiting for her to call. It was the man who came to the rescue and made everything okay. It was the man who realized he couldn’t live without that one special person. The men in the movie unexpectedly proved that they aren’t all idiots, just a large percentage of them. I found myself crying tears of joy (which also never ever happens to me in movies) for all those happy couples. It gave me hope that love does exist, you just have to find the right person first.

Beautifully cast, hilariously funny and ridiculously smart, “He’s Just Not That into You” is something that all women (and men hint hint…) should see.

Providing the women everywhere with hope that true love does exist, this movie will leave you with a fluttering heart and a high hope for the future.

rottentomatoes.com / photo

‘He’s just not that into you’ Directed By: Ken Kwapis Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck Runtime: 2 Hr. 9 Min. Rated: PG-13 Overall: A

‘Friday the 13th’ disappoints with predictable plot, genre stereotypes

BY Mitch Ringenberg mringenberg@hilite.org With movie studios currently remaking any horror movie they can possibly get their hands on, it comes as no surprise to see a remake of “Friday the 13th.”

The 1980 original became one of the better known “slasher” horror films and even helped mold the sub-genre’s now-tired formula. After that film’s success, many, many sequels were made (this is technically the 12th film in the series). However, the original film was a monotonous bore, even by today’s standards, with an implausible “plot twist” that insults the viewer’s intelligence.

Fortunately, this remake (or “re-imagining,” as filmmakers now like to claim) improves upon the original, providing some effective scares, some mild laughs (not always intentional) and slick cinematography. Unfortunately, the film suffers greatly from predictability, choosing to stick to the standard slasher formula of a group of immoral teens being picked off in creative ways by a machetewielding killer, with plenty of gratuitous gore, sex and drugs to go around. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise though, considering the film itself was produced by Michael Bay, whose motto must be “style over substance.”

“Friday the 13th” focuses on a group of young adults heading out to their friend’s cabin to party and have a good time. Little do they know, however, their friend’s cabin is right next to the abandoned Camp Crystal Lake, home to the psychopathic, hockey-mask-wearing Jason Voorhees. According to legend, Jason drowned in Crystal Lake due to the negligence of certain camp counselors. Somehow, (the film never seems to explain if Jason is some sort

of ghost or actually alive) Jason is back and ready to punish any naughty teens trespassing on his territory.

Presumably, Jason has been on this killing spree for quite some time, which brings to mind the question: How and why would the general public, not to mention the authorities, ignore the fact that at least a hundred rambunctious teens have gone missing in the same area for years? And on top of that, why would these teens continue to camp there? But I guess you’re not supposed to think that hard with this kind of movie.

After Jason’s origin is explained, in a matter of roughly fifteen minutes, the film begins its routine.

One by one each teen stereotype is murdered in rather inventive fashions until the “big showdown” with Jason takes place.

The director, Marcus Nispel, has already had horror movie experience directing the 2003 remake of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” Where that film went for a gritty and chaotic feel, to the point where it almost gives the viewer a sense of fatigue, “Friday the 13th” goes for a much more campy feel, focusing more on creative deaths rather than actual scares.

That’s not to say the film doesn’t have any scares.

The first 20 minutes are legitimately intense and the film’s final act is just about as scary. But much of the movie wastes its time by trying to shock or titillate the viewer. Some of the death scenes can certainly qualify as guilty pleasures (a scene involving a speedboat is especially entertaining) but a film can not be supported by these kinds of scenes alone.

Most people going into “Friday the 13th” will expect hefty amounts of violence, nudity, etc. and those expectations will certainly be met, and then some. Casual moviegoers looking to be scared may be pleasantly surprised, but not overly so. Anyone looking for a film with intelligent plot (or any plot for that matter), would do best to look elsewhere.

‘Friday the 13th’ Directed by: Marcus Nispel Starring: Jared Padalecki, Derek Mears Runtime: 1 Hr. 37 Min. Rated: R Overall: C-

rottentomatoes.com / photo

Student Section • Friday, February 27, 2009 • Page B5

Internship class helps students experience career options

By Amanda Nguyen anguyen@hilite.org Many juniors and seniors are undecided about their possible future careers. This was the case for senior Emma Shipley until she took an internship last semester. She said she interned at the Carmel City Hall in the community relations area and really enjoyed the government setting.

“Last year I didn’t have any idea of what to do in the future so I took a career test and it said I should go into business. Internship is a good way to explore careers and get more experience,” Shipley said.

According to business teacher Stacie Fowler, internship is offered to give students a chance to explore college options. There are a lot of fields that students look into such as public relations, medicine, engineering, advertising and accounting.

She said, “Internship helps students decide if they like that certain job or if they don’t like it. The field of their study may not be what they thought it was.”

After taking an internship, Shipley said she was looking for a career in public relations or advertising. She said she hopes to eventually become a public relations manager. “ P u b l i c r e l a t i o n s a n d Senior Emma Shipley advertisement deal a lot with writing, art, photography and creativity. Because I’m interested in photography and art, I wanted to find a career to use them in,” Shipley said. “The experience I got from internship was really great. Internship allows me to try new careers and it helps narrow the choices down.”

Fowler said the internship class is during SRT and seventh period so that students can have a three-hour time period to complete job shadows.

She said, “Internship is very beneficial. It’s during SRT and seventh period so it doesn’t require any extracurricular time. Students can still be involved with extracurricular activities and keep a job. It’s a great opportunity to explore and think about what students really want to do in the future.”

Senior Kendal Erickson also interned in the department of community relations. Although it isn’t an example of his interest in telecommunications, it involved different forms of media along with his love of politics.

He said, “I’ve been filming for the football team for three years, but I took internship to explore other ideas.

One thing I really enjoyed was working with Nancy Heck, the department head of community relations.

I liked the politics of it because it is involved with the media and works directly with the mayor and city.”

Erickson said the telecommunications opportunity came to him when the football team was in need of a person to do the job. “I enjoyed doing film itself and it was fun with the football players. I was talking to different people in the area and it’s a recession proof job. New and media can also tie in with politics. It’s a broad enough field so that I can go in any direction I want,” Erickson said.

Although Shipley isn’t taking any classes related to public relations or advertisement, she said, the internship class opens up a lot of opportunities in college and gets contacts for future internships.

“Internship allows me to get an understanding of what I want do to in college,” Shipley said.

Erickson said he agrees with Shipley and said, “Internship gives the idea of the career. It allows you to find out if you actually want do to a certain job or not because you get a firsthand experience with it.”

Shipley said she enjoys the fact that she gets out of school and a parking pass, but she also said, “Internship is a really good experience.”

Arjuna Capulong / Photos

By Jade Schwarting jschwarting@hilite.org

W

hile many students here have some sort of personal income, usually it’s not through a business they can call their own. This is not so for sophomore Aneesha Kamath who designs and decorates jeans for friends, family or anyone wanting a pair, and sells them for a sizeable income.

House of Kamath: Sophomore Aneesha Kamath works on designing a par of jeans. She was inspired by the jeans on the cover of popular book series Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

According to Kamath, her idea to make the jeans came from a culmination of many hobbies including her background in art which includes several years of art classes, in addition to Drawing IV and IB Art which she will take next year.

“I read the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in sixth grade. I liked the idea of sharing pants with friends that you draw and write on.

I’ve been friends with (the same) people for a long time so I thought it would be fun to do. And then I read (the books) again last year and in (English teacher Lynette) Gross’s class we had to do a project where you had to dress up. And to dress up, I drew on a pair of pants.

My friend (sophomore) Catherine “Cat” Krege really liked them so I made a pair for her.”

Kamath began her small business by giving the jeans as a gift or making them just for fun. While the Sharpies she used only cost her about $10 to $15 a pack, she soon learned that the jeans could not be washed or the marker would run.

She then purchased fabric markers so the designs wouldn’t run when washed. With the new markers came a higher price tag, forcing her to sell the jeans for about $30 a pair.

While Kamath said she does not plan to continue her small business after high school, Eric Murphy, Hamilton County Alliance business plan presentation winner and senior, said student-based businesses are somewhat rare. “There are a few here and there that I know of but generally speaking, they’re not too common,” Murphy said.

While these businesses are far and few between, Murphy said a good business person is one with “the drive and push to succeed, the mental capacity and an accessibility of resources. It would definitely help to take marketing classes and entrepreneurship. In both of those classes you work on business plans which are very helpful since that’s the first step in starting a business.”

For Kamath, she has no business plan, no marketing experience and no advertisements, but her process continues to remain simple and successful. Kamath said, “I sketch in a sketch book what I want the jeans to look like. Then I e-mailed forms to my friends that they can fill out with information about their personality, what they want to do when they’re older or just what they want on their jeans. I just make them really personal with quotes and pictures that (have meaning).”

While risks such as debt, an unsuccessful business or minimal income are common with entrepreneurial companies, Murphy said the risk is a calculated one.

“You know what you’re getting into before you do.” Along with financial risks, downfalls such as a large time commitment can put small businesses at risk. While Kamath does not see her income as a business, she continues to devote time and money into producing more jeans. Kamath said, “Whenever I have time I work (on the jeans). It’s pretty easy to get them to the people; they don’t usually give me deadlines. But if they do they’re usually pretty general.

Like six months in advance for a

birthday present or something. I usually work on them over the holidays like Winter Break and three day weekends and stuff too.”

Although Kamath is a minority of employed students here, Murphy said he encourages students interested in starting a business to do so. “Owning your own business means you have the opportunity to be your own boss. If starting a business is something you want to do, make it work. You can do it by just taking it one step at a time and working through the process.”

Kamath said, “I don’t make a lot of money but it’s a nice way to have an income. It’s fun for me to do and I enjoy what I do, so that’s a good thing.”

Everybody Has a story According to the HiLite student name list, there were 4,199 students registered at CHS as of the first day of school. We plan to cover some of them randomly. This week, we feature number

1,817

For more information on our selection, visit www.hilite.org

SchoolGround Highlights

Here is a look back at some of the events and activites throughout the past week

1. Senior Night: Member of the men’s swim team and senior Josh Jordan is featured on Senior Night.

This was also the men’s swimming Sectional meet. Nick Johnson / photo

2. SPRING AUDITIONS: Students sing off for parts in the spring musical “Singing in the Rain.” Auditions were held on Feb. 10. Arjuna Capulong / Photo 3. DANCE OFF: Students participate in the dance callbacks for the spring musical “Singing in the Rain” on Feb. 17. Students rehearsed with a choreographer.

2.

1.

4.

Kate Grumme / Photo

5.

4. Wrap Coffeehouse: Junior Kelsey “Kay” Campbell discusses the order of buiness during WRAP’s Valentines Day meeting. WRAP meets periodically in the media center to discuss literature, poetry and writing. Evelyn

3.

Forbes / Photo

5. Carnation Sale: Junior Erik Blankenbaker buys carnations in main cafeteria. NHS sold carnations from Feb. 3 to Feb. 11. Kaitlyn Lampe / Photo

PAGE B6 • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2009 • PERSPECTIVES STAFF PERSPECTIVE

With proposed budget reductions, teachers should be last to get cut

I

n March, the school board is scheduled to vote on upcoming budget cuts for the district. Superintendent Barbara Underwood’s proposed cuts, which currently stand at $1.5 million (including $611,178 at this school alone), while down from the original suggestion to cut 10 teaching positions at this school, still propose to eliminate six teaching positions at the high school while burdening 30 additional teachers with an additional sixth teaching period.

If the board wants to effectively distribute funds, however, the quality of students’ education should not be diminished by overscheduled teachers.

We understand that cuts are necessary in all areas, since it is illegal for a school to operate with a negative balance. However, the first areas cut should be those not critical to the direct education of students here. To that end, extracurriculars can be beneficial for students in times of prosperity, and therefore can stand to be cut more deeply in these hard economic times when they are not a priority. That being said, the extracurricular budget alone is not enough to meet the necessary budgetary cut requirements.

More important than the retention of extracurriculars is the retention of our faculty.

In these troubling economic circumstances it should be our goal to maintain as many teaching jobs as possible.

Reducing six teaching positions and adding 30 sixth period teaching assignments will excessively tax the teachers here. Teachers’ preparation periods are essential to the integrity of the grading here. With the addition of a sixth teaching period, teachers would be hard pressed to maintain both updated grades and lesson plans. Subtracting a preparation period might also cause teachers to be otherwise occupied during SRT and unable to give students additional help as

they do now. This would directly affect the quality of education presented to students, which could have varying levels of damage to students’ futures.

When the school board votes on budget cuts next month, for the sake of the academic integrity of this school, more money should be established for the continuation of top notch education. This means keeping more teachers in our classrooms.

OUR STAND The school board should vote to keep as many teachers in their classrooms as possible without being overscheduled.

BY AMY FLIS Culminating in his inaugural address on Jan. 20, President Barack Obama moved the nation to have the highest voter turnout in decades and the American people to raise their expectations for their government.

Unfortunately, the hope Obama brought to Washington D.C. has not yet proved as revolutionary as anticipated. The high expectations he inspired have finally been met by the reality of the political system.

The controversy surrounding Tom Daschle’s nomination for Health and Human Services Secretary is a first example. Obama made several symbolic gestures to the American public that promised a clean

BY MEHER AHMAD I love pork. All forms of it. I love ham; I love pepperoni; I love salami; I love bologna; I love bacon.

My love affair with the other white meat is a forbidden one, though.

Coming from a Muslim background, albeit relatively liberal Muslim background, pork or any pig product is considered filth.

The religious explanation for this is something I don’t feel comfortable elaborating on because I am far from a practicing Muslim. It is the same reason Jews who keep kosher don’t eat pork; I am sure.

The first time I ate pork was in first grade. My elementary school offered two choices in that awful, rectangular-shaped pizza: cheese or pepperoni. The pepperoni appeared more appetizing than the cheese. That

WHAT DO YOU THINK SHOULD BE CUT FROM THE SCHOOL BUDGET? I’d say gym. Only freshmen take the class; we already have materials and don’t need more. It’s not like anyone is going to be majoring in gym.

” “ ” “ ” “ Money they spend on radio and TV. For TV, I’m in management and they spent so much improving the department.

REBECCA XU / ART

administration, free from special interests and questionable balance sheets. Then a few weeks into his presidency, it was discovered he gave us just that—a lobbyist and tax evader.

Although Daschle was technically never a registered lobbyist and later paid the owed tax money, the various excuses he gave for the situation did little to restore his status as the ethical politician Obama endorsed.

The economic stimulus plan also proved somewhat disappointing. After almost a month of debate in Congress, the resulting bill is filled with compromise to the point of weary resignation where no one is happy.

Despite Obama’s encouragement to take swift action, Congress dragged its feet and made too many compromises.

The bill, once over $800 billion, dropped to $787 billion according to CNN.com.

Along with the extensive congressional negotiations came the constant complaints from both sides citing reasons why the bill would not have as great an impact as it could. Unfortunately, there was nothing Obama could do to bring the legislation back to what he intended.

One accomplishment you cannot deny Obama is that he inspired many young people, myself included, to

(Obama) is just a politician, who will work hard for the nation, but who cannot do it all and cannot bring about a landmark change in the American political system.

become more personally invested in politics. However, in doing this, I have come to find that, like a flashy magic trick, it is not as magical once you see the mechanics behind it.

Only time will tell what impact the passage of this stimulus package will have. However, it does demonstrate that the charismatic leader elected last November is no longer a pristine, allpowerful symbol of hope. His powers are limited as is his capacity to make the changes he promised.

I still believe in Obama. It will take more than these mistakes to lose me as a supporter, but the events have brought back the reality of his power.

Despite his efforts, it appears Obama does not have the power to transcend the political system. He is just a politician, one who will work hard for the nation, but who cannot do it all and cannot bring about a landmark change in the American political system. At least not yet. Amy Flis is editor in chief of the HiLite. Contact her at aflis@hilite.org.

Lessons from the other white meat GET HAPPY

Compiled by Maria LaMagna and Mackenzie Madison

SOPHOMORE NATALIE ADDINGTON

After inspirational campaign, the glow is gone DANCING THRU LIFE

“

SPEAK UP

was my logic for eating that forbidden meat. It was the start to my slippery slope of pork-flavored sin.

I kept my ham eating habits as secretive as a heroin addict. I made sure no one from the Muslim community knew of my inclinations.

During the peak of my pork consumption, I was living in Hong Kong. At the time, I would go so far as to buy fresh salami and eat it on the subway home, then continue to mask the scent of that ungodly meat with perfume and breath mints.

My parents remained ignorant of my habit until earlier this month. I ordered wonton soup at my favorite Chinese restaurant, the Taiwan Tea House. The waitress informed me the dumplings were pork, and in front of my parents, I told her that it was all right.

I don’t know what prompted me to suddenly expose my pork habit, but I didn’t expect the reaction I received.

My parents were furious. A dramatic scene in the restaurant booth ensued, followed by an hour-long

argument and a stark realization.

I had always assumed my parents to be much more lax when it comes to Muslim standards. They openly drink alcohol and allow for me to wear relatively more revealing clothes than typical conservative parents.

Most importantly, I had thought of my parents as two very logical people.

I don’t claim myself to be Muslim and no one in my immediate family is a practicing Muslim. In my mind, alcohol and pork are equally taboo.

Since my parents openly consumed the former, I assumed I could do the same for the latter.

My parents told me otherwise. I was frustrated, and still am, because culture often times defies logic.

Logically, pig meat is no longer as dirty as it was in biblical times. In no way am I disproving reasons for other practicing Muslims to refrain from eating pork, but I personally cannot find a legitimate reason for myself to do the same.

For my parents, especially my dad, consuming pork is more than the simple act of eating meat. It represents

going back on his culture, his country, his identity. Eating pork is more shameful than consuming alcohol or drugs because it is, in his mind, the filthiest substance on the earth.

None of this is logical. Pork products obviously aren’t dirty in any way. But his argument isn’t based around logic. Culture defies logic, many times, and cultural preferences have developed over time to be solidified into a group of people. The fact that my father, an intelligent and educated man, considers pork to be dirty is evidence enough.

I still eat pork pretty regularly.

I do it not as a statement or in defiance of my religion, my culture or my family. I eat it because I love pork. In my parent’s eyes, I am defying my family and culture.

But for myself, I am simply eating food that I find delicious. I know this issue can’t be resolved with my family. It is difficult to accept that my parents will never be able to view the subject the way I do. Meher Ahmad is a reporter for the HiLite.

Contact her at mahmad@hilite.org.

JUNIOR TYLER POIRIER

They could cut field trips and extras like that. Our going to see something is not as important as a teacher’s job.

SENIOR ALYSSA GARCIASERRA

I think we could cut extracurriculars and clubs instead of cutting teachers’ jobs.

JUNIOR VICTOR OBASAJU

Perspectives • Friday, February 27, 2009 • Page B7

Exams don’t show full potential band girl by shireen korkzan On graduation day, my cousin Anthony will address the Senior Class of Hobart High School (Hobart, IN) because he is this year’s Senior Class President. When most students think of senior class presidents, they think of Ivy League-bound geniuses who will probably become the next President of the United States. Think along the lines of Dan Frascella when he was Student Body President here a year ago; now he’s attending Yale University.

But Anthony doesn’t even have a good chance of getting into a state school, let alone Yale. IU, my cousin’s top choice school, waitlisted him because of his below-average SAT and ACT scores. It’s not because he earned all his awards by becoming a teacher’s pet all four years of high school – he’s earned A’s in all his AP and honors courses, including AP Calculus AB and AP Chemistry, and he’s a very active student both in and out of school.

He’s just not good with timed tests. Which is a shame, because most public schools – including IU – determine a student’s admission based mostly on grades, standardized tests such as the ISTEP and college entrance examinations.

How can my cousin, whose academic achievements can easily be on par with some of the top students here, be regarded as one of our below-average students simply because of his SAT and ACT scores?

According to the College Board, the SAT is “one of the best predictors of how well students will do in college.”

So is Anthony not as bright as his grades and the Hobart community claim he is, or is the College Board wrong about the SAT? And maybe it is wrong, especially since more colleges – mainly liberal arts schools such as Knox College in Illinois and Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio – are dropping college entrance examinations each year. One of the most recent schools to fall into this category is Wake Forest University, which dropped the testing requirements because of students with cases similar to Anthony’s. And this doesn’t make undergraduate admission any easier; Wake Forest is still one of the most selective national universities in the countr y, focusing more on what students have done in their four years of high school (and the quality) rather than the score of a test taken on one specific date.

I concur with Wake Forest. In late August last year, Indianapolis Star reporter Andy Gammill quoted me in his stor y “Indiana’s SAT Scores Virtually Unchanged.” In his article, I said my scores don’t reflect all of my skills and “everyone is different. You could be the best math student in the school and you woke up (the morning of the test) with bronchitis and you can’t think straight.” Looking back at my quote, I’m not satisfied with what I said (I happened to have had bronchitis at the time of my interview). Instead I would have preferred saying something along the lines of not everyone is born with good test-taking skills and even the best students have bad days. Colleges shouldn’t make test scores their priorities when it comes to admissions, although this makes me feel like a hypocrite since my relatively high SAT score is what got me admitted to the University of Missouri. But even though I scored higher on both the SAT and ACT than my cousin, I know he’s still academically brighter than I am.

Ironically, Bellarmine University, a private university in Louisville that is, according to U.S. News and World Report, about 6 percent more selective than IU, admitted Anthony with an instant $14,000 academic scholarship. IU eventually accepted him as of Feb. 9, but this doesn’t negate the fact schools like IU are still heavily dependent in college entrance examinations for determining a student’s admission status. And it would have been a shame if IU rejected Anthony because of a silly test. Who knows?

Maybe he’ll be a future President of the United States, and a test never helped along the way. Then again Lincoln and Truman never went to college to become president, let alone took the SAT. Shireen Korkzan is a writing coach for the HiLite.

Contact her at skorkzan@hilite.org.

Is there happiness beyond divorce? wondering why this happened and how it will affect my future. Will I have commitment problems?

Am I more likely to get divorced because of my parents?

According to the book, “Adult Children of Divorce,” the divorce rate for children from families of divorce is 57 percent, while the rate for children of non-divorced families is only 11 percent. The reason, according to the book, is that relationships of children’s parents are important in defining marriage as an institution.

Showing children that divorce happens in marriage teaches them that divorce it is the “normal” thing to do.

After reading these statistics my first instinct was to run from my relationship and never look back. If my chances of getting divorced are 57 percent then why even try? Being the child of two people who absolutely hate each other certainly doesn’t help with my relationships, and it certainly can’t help in the future, right?

My view, however, negates all the statistics out there. If I have seen what can come of divorce and

life’s too short

by Lexi muir Speaking as a child of divorce (a recent divorce I will add) I will say that I know what it’s like to have a life completely turn upside-down. I know what it’s like to have everything fall apart past the point of gluing it back together. I know what it’s like to start from scratch, and I know what it’s like to survive.

But I’m not alone.

According to divorcerate.org, over 50 percent of marriages in the Unites States end up in divorce. Whether it is because of infidelity, financial reasons, lack of commitment, change in priorities or whatever the reason might be, it still sucks.

Obviously there are much worse things that would happen in life, but ever yone has disasters, and this is mine.

I have spent the past year

what causes two people to fall out of love, wouldn’t I be better able to have a great marriage? Shouldn’t I be able to learn from the mistakes of my parents and make my marriage better than theirs? Or will the stress and the pain from my parents’ divorce stand in the way of a happy future for me?

Obviously, showing from the statistic, there are many children and teens that are in the exact same boat as me. And according to the other statistic, over half of them will end their marriages in divorce as well. But I can’t help but wonder and hope if there is any hope for me and ever yone else. Hope for anyone, like me, who has ever felt the pain of a divorce, for anyone who feels lost in the storm and for anyone who has drowned in the sorrow.

I believe that there is hope, and life beyond divorce. I believe there is life beyond this disease, and I hope that I will someday be able to look back on this with what is has taught me, as a happily married woman. Lexi Muir is a reporter for the HiLite. Contact her at lmuir@hilite.org.

66% of divorced couples are childless.

36 to 38% of people who get married

between the ages of 20 and 24 get divorced.

divorcerate.org / source

In-state schools deserve a chance oh yes he did! by bennett fuson Senior year is, in no small terms, the most important year of one’s life. It is the crossroads between adolescence and adulthood. Every choice made senior year will directly impact the future, especially one: picking a college.

I’ve never had a problem with going to college within the borders of the Hoosier state.

Frankly, I don’t see why it’s a big deal. IU, Ball State and Purdue are nationally recognized universities (along with many others, including a little known school in South Bend). Yet this fall, as I applied to college with most of my friends, I noticed a rather peculiar trend.

Ever yone wants to leave Indiana as soon as possible.

Now I’m not saying I plan on living with the moonlight on the Wabash until I am interred. I am a firm believer in going out and experiencing the world. But there’s a time and a place, and right now, with the economy the way it is, I don’t see how anyone can justify paying upwards of $50,000 per year for tuition.

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

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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.

Divorce by the numbers

50% of first marriages end in divorce.

67% of second marriages end in divorce.

74% of third marriages end in divorce.

Contact information

Nay-sayers, hear me out. I certainly recognize the prestige of becoming a Harvard man. But even then, what dreams can realistically happen to those Ivy League-ers right now? Pay upwards of $50,000 a year to not get a prestigious associate position in a financial institution? Sounds fantastic.

I’m not bashing the hopes and dreams of everyone out there. If you’ve had your heart set on heading out to New Haven to become a Yale-y, then by all means, let me be the first to congratulate you.

But those of you who decided last year that to be an “independent spirit” meant running away with the parents’ nest egg, then shame on you.

Right now, there’s absolutely no reason to leave the state for a higher education. Between the dozens of colleges in Indiana, a good education is to be had at a reasonable price.

This may sound harsh, but it’s absolutely true. If you can avoid leaving the state, then try.

Economically, the worst is yet to come. I personally don’t think it’s fair on my own family to ask for funds to ship off out of state, especially since we have lost so much. And I count myself as blessed; at least both of my parents still have their jobs. This column is not a complaint. It is simply a statement: if you could get as good of an education here as anywhere, why wouldn’t you? Bennett Fuson is an Entertainment editor for the HiLite. Contact him at bfuson@hilite.org.

I don’t see how anyone can justify paying upwards of $50,000 per year for tuition...if you could get as good an education here as anywhere, why wouldn’t you?

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 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

Gender equality will soon prevail Hu’s there? by michelle hu There’s a girl from Yemen that just made the best decision of her life: to get a divorce. She became the youngest divorcee in the world last April, after her parents married her off to a man more than three times her age, and she rebelled against their decision. Nujood Ali is 10 years old, and was beaten and raped by her husband every night until one day, her mother sent her out to buy bread and Ali decided instead to go to a courthouse in Yemen’s capital.

She told the judge her story, who approved the divorce.

Sound surprising? It shouldn’t be. Numerous countries around the world have extremely low marriage ages, especially for women. In Ali’s home country of Yemen, half of women under 18 are already married. In Ethiopia, girls as young as six already have husbands. And, even in nations where it is supposedly forbidden to marry young girls off, the authorities generally turn a blind eye. Typically, once a girl reaches puberty, she is eligible for marriage. On the other hand, men typically cannot marry until 18. This gap is an unexplained phenomenon that occurs in these countries.

It’s led human rights organizations to ask, “Why does this discrepancy exist?”

What’s more is that in Pakistan and Afghanistan, schoolgirls are sometimes prevented from earning an education. It’s not because schools do not allow them to attend classes, but because locals often throw acid on girls commuting to their schools. These people, with an antiquated sense of society, cannot accept the fact that women are becoming literate or gaining influence in the world. Not surprisingly, these are all nations that view women as lesser beings.

Now that a black man has become President of the United States, countries worldwide have a new sense of equality. After all, there is no other place on Earth where race plays such a little factor in everyday life. If anything, it is diminishing in importance exponentially.

It’s about time we do the same for women’s rights. It is absolutely shameful that today, there are more slaves than pre-Civil War times (27 million), and the over whelming majority of them are women and children. According to the State Department, a slave is brought into the United States every half hour. About 8,000 of those imported annually serve as sex slaves, and one costs a mere $90.

In the past, racial equality has always preceded gender equality, but if anything, the 2008 election means that women’s rights are bound to come, and they’re coming fast. Michelle Hu is a News editor for the HiLite. Contact her at mhu@hilite.org.

It is absolutely shameful that today, there are more slaves than pre-Civil War times (27 million), and the overwhelming majority of them are women and children.

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

Kelsey Binion Maddi Bourgerie Hope Boyer Maggie Brandenburg

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

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Nick Johnson

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Lizzy Grubbs

Elizabeth Trancik Owen Williamson

Webmasters Michael Luo Mike Jiang Nishanth Samala

Jimmy Sun Alex Yin

Page B8 • Friday, February 27, 2009 • 15 Minutes of Fame

ComedySportz prepares for upcoming matches in March and April by amanda nguyen anguyen@hilite.org The ComedySpor tz team will compete against Guerin on March 6 and April 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the Studio Theater. According to Michael “Mike” Gospel, team captain and senior, the ComedySportz team, consisting of seniors Gospel, Jon Haslam and Philip “Phil” Kirk, juniors Laura Palmer and Jason Van Houten and sophomore Bethany Arrington, has practiced hard for these matches.

According to sponsor Jim Peterson, Gospel usually runs the practices

and leads his fellow team members through exercise and various match games. “We still rehearse Fridays after school. Right now we are running through mock matches. The team has had an exhibition match downtown, so they get a real world experience,” Peterson said.

To get further experience, Gospel said the ComedySportz team went to a professional ComedySportz match to see the real ComedySportz players in action. He said the ComedySportz team also has exhibition matches, which are similar to dress rehearsals that also help train the team members for real matches.

Some games played in the matches are the musical game “Da Doo Run Run,” a gimmick game titled “Hitchhikers,” a scenic game called “Countdown” and a guessing game “5 Things,” according to Gospel.

G ospel said these games help build quick thinking, improvisation skills, impression skills, rhyming skills, physicality skills, gibberish usage, confidence and teamwork.

Peterson said matches run in two halves. The first half opens with a head-to-head game, which is where players face off against the other team one-on-one. This game determines who gets control of

the match. The team that wins the head-to-head game then challenges the other team to another game.

Then, the audience votes on which team is the funniest. This process goes back and forth until halftime.

At that point, the team with fewer points plays a bonus game called “5 Things.” The losing team can earn more points by how well they guess what five things the team is doing. After halftime is another head-to-head game, and after a couple of challenge rounds, the votes are tallied. The last game is an individual game in which the teams stand together and make up quick

one-line jokes to earn quick points.

The team at the end of the match with the most points wins and is awarded the “meaningless trophy.”

Gospel said he prefers matches over practices because it makes him feel better when the audience is there to laugh at the ComedySportz team’s jokes. He first got interested in ComedySportz his freshman year.

After three years of participating in ComedySportz, Gospel said he still enjoys all of it. “I love the team aspect of ComedySportz. I love performing; it’s addicting.

Entertaining people brings me joy. It makes me feel good about myself.”

Y !

Sophomore Harold Owens has practiced with his yo-yo for years and has even made up a few tricks of his own

by tommy sneider tsneider@hilite.org

What made you get interested in learning yo-yo tricks?

My friend Mitch brought in a yo-yo in seventh grade and he was really good and I thought I would be able to do it too, so I did and I got pretty good at it.

Do you make up some of your own tricks?

I make up a lot of my own tricks actually, most of them. You draw from pretty much the same basic skills that you need to do tricks to make your own moves and things like that. But yeah, most of the skills I have learned from other people and then you make up your own tricks.

When do you think you started becoming good with your yo-yo tricks?

Are there different types of yo-yos that help you do certain tricks better than others?

Yeah, ther e ar e cer tain yo-yos that are strictly for sleeping where they just sit there. My favorite is the one I used at the talent show where it actually contacts your body. I like the flames on the side because it was my first yo-yo that I actually got so I have a pretty good connection with it.

Describe your favorite trick.

I actually was not very good for about the first month. It was static development, I didn’t get very far. But after about two or thr ee months I star ted to learn things every night and I’ve practiced every night since then and it keeps on getting better and better.

quick tricks: Sophomore Harold Owens

practices a complicated yo-yo trick. He enjoys Is it more of a hobby, or do you think you will try creating some of his own tricks. to earn money in the future?

I would have to say that my favorite trick that I do is the thumb grind because it’s pretty much when you put the fingernail side on the yo-yo and the audience can never figure out what is happening so it’s always a good crowd pleaser.

Why did you decide to participate in the talent show in the fall?

Actually I didn’t actually decide to do it until the day before, because I needed some money to get another yo-yo and my friends said that there was a talent show that you could get money for it and so I thought it would be a good idea.

How much time did you take to practice your routine?

Before the talent show probably about two hours at home. I also learned some backstage, because after school I couldn’t get a ride home so I had to stay at school that whole time so I practiced after school the entire day until the talent show.

Where do you learn your tricks?

I get that question a lot, it’s a good one. When I very first started it was just a matter of watching people who were really good at it like on YouTube and stuff like that. So for the first couple weeks I would watch stuff on YouTube and I tried to replicate it. Once I learned how to do it, you can just kind of branch off and do your own stuff, that’s what I’ve been doing for about two or three years now.

When you perform for others, what kinds of reactions do you get?

I tend to whenever someone asks me to show something to their friends I’ll do kind of a basic trick, like I think it’s really easy and they always seem to be really amazed.

I’ve never seen it from the other person’s perspective, so I guess it just looks really cool.

What’s the hardest trick you know how to do?

I like to think of it as more than a hobby, I hope I never stop. I’d love to figure out a way to earn money off of it. It’s a crowd pleaser evidently.

What is the hardest part about yo-yoing?

I would have to say that the hardest part is that you mess up so much because it takes so long to get good at a certain part for a certain trick. I’ve seen people try and they kind of get enthusiastic for a while but then once you start messing up the frustration just makes it hard. So probably just sticking with it.

What advice do you have for others who want to get interested in it?

Try it if you think it’s fun if you think it’s cool. Stick with it, like I’ve seen people try and just keep practicing. It might take a while but it pays off in the end.

Do you have any goals for yourself, like learning more tricks or getting better at a certain part of it?

I hope to compete since I’ve never been in a tournament before. A good goal for me is to see how I rank in a state competition.

If you could learn any trick, what would it be?

I would say just to keep making things up, there’s not really one trick that I want to learn. It’s just not all of them are my favorite. I just want to keep making things up that work with my style and my routine and stuff.

Usually the hardest tricks that I do seem to be the ones that look easiest to people because people can’t tell that it’s hard because I do it so well. One of them is the windmill where instead of having the string attached to your finger you have a counterweight at the end of the string and you hold on to that and its pretty much just a balancing act where you have to balance the two together.

Visit hilite.org for a chance to see a few of Owens’ yo­-yo tricks in action

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

kaitlyn lampe and afra hussain / photo illustration

members •Captain Michael “Mike” Gospel •Jon Haslam •Philip “Phil” Kirk •Laura Palmer •Jason Van Houten •Bethany Arrington mike gospel / source