HHS Voice May 2016

the

VOICE R

ockstar in the making

PLUS Summer school to offer three online courses for students to complete Link Crew: A waste of time for freshmen and upperclassmen?

Disney reenvisions 1967 Disney classic, ‘The Jungle Book’

(S. Faheem)

Huntley High School • 13719 Harmony Rd. Huntley, IL 60142 • (847) 659-6600 • @huntleyvoice • huntleyvoice.com May 2, 2016 • Volume 19 • Issue 7

VOICE

Features

the

15

Note by Note Juniors Cameron Nachreiner and Alyssa DeBock bond over their shared love of music.

16

Waving his wand New Band Driector Philip Carter paves the way for establishing a new perception for the band program at Huntley.

20

Battle of the Bands COVER STORY Sophomores Noah Evert, Ryan McQueen, and Jake Lange come together to perform as SML at the Battle of the Bands.

A&E 24

‘Game of Thrones’

(S. Faheem)

Opinion 10

HBO’s hit show returns for season six and fans are pleased that their questions have been answered 30

News 8

29

As the Chicago Cubs continue to stay hot, the bandwagon is becoming entirely too large and annoying.

‘Hardcore Henry’ A story about a roboticallyenhanced man takes on a new dimension for film making, having it be in first person

Cubs bandwagon

Sports

12

Music mayhem

Cailyn Pienschke and Jacqueline Dorin’s friendship follows them into athletics as teammates in basketball and softball.

31

With so many platforms to listen to music, TIDAL disappoints, Apple Music is solid, and Spotify is versatile.

14

Say yes to Avalon

Irrelevance of ACT The ACT creates negative stress in students’ lives and damages students’ self image in the process.

Huntley High School’s 2016 Prom will be moved from the Renaissance Hotel to the Avalon Banquets Center

Two-Sport stars

Going for gold Sophomore Cassidy Lackovic proves her dominance on the track by starring for Huntley in multiple events.

34

Defensive backbone Junior Tayah Owens provides necessary structure and eadership in the defensive for Huntley soccer.

VOICE STAFF

the

Editor in Chief • Adam Reckamp • Print Editor • Courtney Thomas • Online Editor • Ashley O’Brien • Assistant Online Editor • Camille Paddock • News Editor • Mawa Iqbal • Opinion Editor • Maddy Moffett • Features Editor • Charlie Vavrick • Design Editor • Sumbul Shakeel • A&E Editor • Devin Martin • Sports Editor • Tyler Watkins • Photo Editor • Ryan O’Sullivan • Staff Writers • Sarah Biernat • Brandon Frey • Danielle King • Alex Landman • Tyler Lopez • Maggie McGee • Lucas Modzelewski • Joe Rizzo • Raemon Savillo • Mohammed Syed • Natalie Trzeckiak • Austin Zeis • Photographers • Michael Czapka • Dana Kalish • Sehba Faheem • Adviser • Dennis Brown

Editorial Policy

H

HS Media are the official student-produced media of news and information published/produced by HHS Media students. HHS Media have been established as designated public forums for student editors to inform and educate their readers as well as for the discussion of issues of concern to their audience. It will not be reviewed or restrained by school officials prior to publication or distribution. Advisers may – and should coach and discuss content – during the writing process. Because school officials do not engage in prior review, and the content of HHS Media is determined by and reflects only the views of the student staff and not school officials or the school itself; its student editorial board and responsible student staff members assume complete legal and financial liability for the content of the publication.

NEWS

School is in for summer Summer school to offer three online courses courtney thomas • print editor

S

ummer school has always held a bad connotation; if you’re in summer school, you failed a class during the school year.

But that’s not usually the case with Huntley High School’s summer school. While there are some remedial courses, many students use summer school to get ahead in school.

Summer school, though, has been difficult for some students to attend because of scheduling issues. According to summer school policy, students cannot miss more than two days of class. If they do, they will fail the class and need to retake the course during the school year or the following summer.

This rule is hard to abide by because many students are in sports, which have summer camps, that conflict with class time. Some students have jobs and some are going on vacation during class time.

Last summer, Huntley High School introduced online summer courses for Personal Finance and the old version of American Government, General Constitution.

This summer, in addition to those two classes, Consumer Education,

Ally Kula uses her textbooks to prop up her laptop. (S. Faheem).

Freshman Ally Kula does her online homework online on her laptop. (S. Faheem).

a version of Personal Finance, will be offered.

“Students were expressing a desire to take classes over the summer, but were not able to due to their schedules,” said Daynce Letkewicz, associate principal. “Online classes [are] are way for use to provide an opportunity for more students to take summer school.”

With the introduction of online summer school classes, students were able to continue their extra curricular activities during the summer and go on vacation.

“I had students that were taking the class in different countries even, different parts of the world,” said Jack Towne, who taught online Personal Finance last summer. “It’s nice because you can finish that course work and not have to be in Huntley.”

Of course, with anything new, there were some kinks that had to be worked out. Test formats could no longer be multiple choice but rather something that could not be looked up on the internet in a different tab. Short answer questions were utilized more than anything else because students’ answers had to be their own and could not be found easily on the internet.

Nonetheless, online courses proved to be a success for teachers and students. They were both able

to participate in various summer activities that they would not have been able to had there been an actual class.

“It worked out great for me because I could spend the day doing what I wanted with my family, and I basically spent the nights doing that class,” said Towne. “I found that was when most of the students were working anyways.”

Haiku was utilized as the online

platform last year, but with the news of the district switching to Canvas in the coming years, the online summer courses will be a mixture of both, depending on the class the student is enrolled in.

According to Assistant Principal Shelly Kish, classes that have already been using Haiku, such as Personal Finance, will continue to do so. But classes like American Government and Consumer Education will use Canvas.

As for online courses being offered within regular school year, there is discussion surrounding it.

“We’ve gotta be careful with it because how does that impact teachers and students,” said Kish. “It’s all of those implications. We are talking through it and are in the middle of discussion right now.”

Online summer school is becoming more and more popular for students to get ahead in their studies and will, hopefully, continue to grow to accommodate the growing population of Huntley High School.

Ally Kula takes a mini homework break by surfing on the web (S. Faheem).

May 2016 huntleyvoice.com 33

NEWS

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NEWS

James Wallace, Christine DeFrancesco, and members of the theater and tech team pose with their first and fifth place medals at the April District 158 Board of Education meeting. (M. Czpaka).

Lights, camera, heart Theater program’s success at IHSA caps off a year’s worth of hard work and dedication tyler lopez • staff writer

T

he lights are bright, blinding almost. It takes training to ignore the stage lights. The actual stage has its own dynamic. The old black stage top is its own character, as it has held up dozens of gifted students who acted their hearts out in front of varied audience sizes.

Behind the stage and behind the scenes, lies a whole other dynamic.

All actors at HHS are familiar with the workshop, dress rooms and the long hall straight through it all.

Long days and even longer nights are spent there, calling back to memories of unforgettable moments in a plethora of classic plays and musicals.

“So many of us have dedicated vast amounts of time to acting, it gets crazy, but the satisfaction of performing a show is great.” said

Leslie Allen.

The air of the Performing Arts Center is thick with passion and emotion. Every actor, be they a thespian or not, have dedicated hours upon hours of their lives to honing their craft and expressing themselves in catchy melodies and personal monologues.

For many who have dedicated hours of their time to the Fine Arts Program at HHS, the PAC is a second home where it almost guaranteed you will laugh, cheer or cry each day. It truly is a sacred area.

“Walking into the PAC is a real experience,” said freshman Aaron Winters. “It feels as if you are among dozens of gifted actors.”

This year, for the first time in Huntley High School’s history, the actors placed fifth in their performance of Macbeth at the IHSA competition on April 2 in Springfield. The theater’s tech team

placed first in state, also a first.

HHS’ theater state finalists are sophomores Jacob Lopez, Noah Simmons, Marisa Bowman, Dylan Smith, Jason Trejo, Ben Johnson, juniors Justin Panachia, Leslie Allen, Sophie Caldrone, Katie Feeley, Ava Novak, Josh Szeszol, and seniors Bobby Allen, Aly Shafer and Joey White.

In addition to the entirety doing well, sophomores Jacob Lopez, Ben Johnson and junior Leslie Allen were named all-state actors.

“So many of us have dedicated vast amounts of time to acting, it gets crazy, but the satisfaction of performing a show is great.”

-Junior Leslie Allen.

“We have always worked well together, ever since we began acting.

We have something most students don’t.” said junior Leslie Allen.

HHS has long thought highly of their Fine Arts Program, but it hasn’t gained a following the size of football, but that fact hardly impedes the excellence they display on stage.

“While HHS emphasizes in sports, the theater program is fantastic,” said junior Joe Roberts.

“They have always done a great job with their plays and musicals.”

As the school year comes to an end, the dozens of actors who have dedicated hours upon hours of their time to perfecting their craft, only become better at what many of the aspire do for the rest of their lives.

“It has been a privilege to work these gifted students and actors,” said Tom George. “I am beyond proud of them and their victory.”

May 2016 huntleyvoice.com 5

NEWS

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NEWS

This one time... at band camp Three students from Huntley were awarded scholarshps to attend a summer band camp sumbul shakeel • design editor

A

s the camera started rolling, they knew they only had 30-60 seconds to showcase their talents. Their hands moving up and down and left and right. With each breath, the air left their mouths, traveling through the instrument to produce a wonderful note.

These short videos were an important part of the application for the Sun City Concert Band Scholarship. For the first time in eight years, three students from HHS received the award. On March 8, juniors Rebekah Green, Andrew Ossler, and Peyton Kerley were all given $650 towards any summer band camp of their choice.

All three are eager to attend their camps and engage in what they love most. For Green, it’s playing her French horn, for Ossler, his trumpet, and for Kerley, her clarinet. To apply, each filled out applications and sent teacher recommendations along with their videos.

The scholarships are for band

From left to right: juniors Rebekah Green, Peyton Kerley, and Andrew Ossler hold their french horn, clarinet, and trumpet, respectively. (R. O’Sullivan).

camps over the summer, a part of the Illinois Summer Youth in Music. ISYM has over 20 different programs to bring roughly 1000 students together to participate in three weeks of all things music.

The programs are held on campus at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, and give the students a chance to experience some college life as well as playing music.

Green chose to take part in a two week program with the Birchcreek Symphony in Door County, Wisconsin. According to Green, she wants to major in music and play professionally. Attending this camp will provide her with a place to nurture her talent as well as do what she enjoys the most.

Green is also the first student in HHS history to be named in the Illinois Music Education All-State band as a third chair French horn.

ILMEA is a non-profit association that strives to provide music education to anyone and everyone who wishes to learn or already plays an instrument.

For Ossler, it was for a new experience, like the Jazz camp he applied for at the University. Kerley will be attending the Senior Band camp for one week.

Ossler has auditioned for McHenry County Honor Band twice and made it both times. He wants to major in music when he attends college. Music plays an important part in Ossler’s life too.

“It runs in my family; my grandpa plays the accordian,” said Ossler.

The Sun City Band supports HHS musicians by fundraising during their March concert. Both the band students at HHS, and the Sun City residents share a passion for music, and that’s what brings them together each year for the March Concert. Green, Ossler, and Kerley want to make music a part of their lives and will pursue it in college as well.

“Music is universally understood, it bridges everything together,” said Kerley. “Everyone can communicate; music touches everyone in some way whether you realize it or not.”

May 2016 huntleyvoice.com 7

NEWS

Prom is on the move To ensure that students will have a good time, HHS will host Prom at Avalon Banquet Center ashley o’brien • online editor

Center in Elk Grove Village on May 7.

“I hope that it suits our needs and allows us to have the night of our lives,” said junior Jacob Wat, Student Council Member.

According to Schaefer, the Student Council wanted to make sure prom would be available for the desired date and space needed.

“We host a large prom compared to other neighboring schools,” said Schaefer. “So we are limited in where we can host prom.”

This year, over 800 students are going to prom, that is almost 100 more than last year’s, according he end is nearing for the prom supervisor. “It should be a to Schaefer. The theme for this 2015-2016 school year. memorable night with friends that year’s prom is a vintage Hollywood Many seniors are makcelebrates the end of the school design. ing the best of their last year. And for seniors the end of Schaefer and the Junior Class few months and planning for the their high school career.” decided the theme for the seniors. big event: Prom.

For the past five years Huntley “Except for the couples them“Prom is one of the great High School’s Prom has been held selves, we plan everything,” said milestones of high school,” said at the Renaissance Hotel. This year’s junior Jaclyn Smitendorf, Student Samantha Schaefer, this year’s prom will be at the Avalon Banquet Council Member.

They arrange the food, posters, table arrangements, and anything prom related.

AcIf you bring in this ad cording to Wat, a lot of plan10436 Rt. 47 Huntley, IL 60142 ning goes (847)669-0900 into One of the banquet halls at Avalon Banquet Center, the new venue for HHS Prom 2016 (Courtesy of Avalonbanquets.com)

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the event, which is why tickets are sold extremely early to help make the preparing process quicker and smoother for everyone invovled.

As for the size of the banquet center, the space available is more than enough for this year.

The banquet is a stand alone building, giving the students the luxury of having the whole place to themselves this year, and for students who have previously been to a HHS Prom to experience a new place.

As well as a new location, there will also be a new DJ for this year’s Prom.

“The students at both Prom and Homecoming have been calling for a change,” said Schaefer. “So we are trying a new company which hopefully will make the evening more enjoyable.”

With the multiple changes going on for Prom this year, it has left everyone eager to see what the turnout will be like.

“I don’t think Prom is overrated,” said Smitendorf. “I feel like it’s kind of an indicator of how your high school years went, so it’s a big deal to go all out.”

Prom is a time to dress up and look great, as well as have a wonderful and memorable experience with your friends. As for seniors, it’s the last big event of their high school career besides graduation.

The Student Council and students alike have high hopes for this year’s Prom.

“I just hope that it turns out nice and that everyone has a great time,” said Wat. Students are advised to be at the high school by 5 p.m. on May 7 for what most would consider to be the night of their young-adult lives.

Link Crew should go

OPINION

Group does not help most freshman students adam reckamp • editor-in-chief

L

ink Crew. It’s a program every freshman at Huntley High School has experienced. For those who haven’t, Link Crew is a freshman advisory program designed to inform freshmen about the high school and make their transition from middle school easier. This is facilitated by meeting with Link Crew leaders, upperclassmen mentors, twice a week in small groups during half of their lunch period.

The Link Crew leaders provide students with advice on how to handle everything from their academics to their social lives, and serve as positive role models on how to conduct themselves in a high school environment.

Sounds like a great program right? Well as it turns out, Link Crew is just your run-of-the-mill advisory class, a sometimes informational class that is filled with cringe worthy lessons and corny team building exercises.

The end result? A massive time suck for all involved.

Bold accusation right? Not really. If you go around and talk to students that have been through the program, most, even a lot of the Link Crew leaders themselves, will echo the sentiment. In an informal Twitter poll conducted on the

Huntley Voice Twitter account, students were asked if they felt Link Crew was an effective program or just a waste of time. Unsurprisingly to me, but maybe surprising to administration, 69% of the 198 students that answered felt Link Crew was not effective, and just a waste of time.

The teachers that run Link Crew, however, believe the program has been a great success since its implementation.

“We believe [Link Crew] is successful due to past surveys from freshmen, not recently but in the past,” said Angela Zaleski. “Freshmen grades are good, discipline for freshmen is the lowest among the school, and we believe part of it is because of our program. If people did not like it, we wouldn’t have 150-200 applicants each year. Somebody has to like it right?”

Let’s go through her reasons one by one. First, the surveys. Zaleski states herself that the surveys are outdated, and our Twitter poll, while informal, showed that a majority of students think Link Crew was a waste of time.

Freshmen grades being good and their discipline being the lowest would be fine points except there is no proof of Link Crew causing them. Anyone who has taken a statistics class would note the obvious lurking variables that are in play here.

Freshmen grades are the highest because they take the easiest classes, and they haven’t been burned out by previous years of high school.

Freshmen are disciplined the least in part because they are the newest

G. Bryczek

students at the school, therefore they are less confident and more likely to conform to the rules.

And finally, why do so many upperclassmen apply to be Link Crew leaders if they don’t feel the program is effective? The answer is that Link Crew looks really good on a college transcript. High school students have been doing this forever, engaging in mentorship or community service type activities just so they can add them to their college transcript and improve their chances of getting into their top school. Link Crew is just another resume booster, far from the altruistic idea of what Link Crew should be.

The only virtue of Link Crew is its success as an information source for freshmen. Freshmen learn a lot about the school through Link Crew and are provided with upperclassmen to answer their questions.

But with the move towards emailed announcements that administration insists will be effective in reaching incoming classes, email should be able to replace Link Crew as a freshmen information source.

Link Crew should be scrapped,

and freshmen should be allowed to take a non mandatory lunch/study hall class during fourth hour. This would allow students who want to push themselves academically to drop their lunch and take another academic class, as senior Valedictorian Matthew Cannalte pushed for his freshmen year. The vast majority of students, however, would just keep their lunch and not have their study hall interrupted by useless Link Crew time. Having freshmen be in a study hall for 20 minutes a day would improve their academic adjustment to high school, and provide them a teacher to answer any additional questions they might have.

Link Crew, like many other programs, sounds great on the surface.

But upon further inspection, it’s just exposed as a time waster and repeat of the same lessons about bullying and respect that students have been bombarded with since middle school.

If you really want to help freshmen, you should treat them like the young adults you want them to grow into, not like the sixth graders they used to be.

December 2015 huntleyvoice.com 9

OPINION

Real fans wanted Cubs “fans” seem to be appearing out of thin air charlie vavrick • features editor

J

une 10, 2008. I remember it like it was yesterday. It wasn’t my first Cubs game, but it was the game where I fell in love with my team.

My dad had gotten tickets to the game and we sat down the third base line at Wrigley, a perfect seat to watch the Cubs. In one hand, a younger version of myself held a scorecard my father had been teaching me to use, and in the other a hot dog with mustard, one of my ballpark favorites.

The seventh inning stretch had already been done. The stands were full, packed with fans biting their nails as the Cubs were losing their lead in the top of the eighth inning.

The Cubs entered the bottom of that inning at Wrigley, up 6-5 to the Braves, but it looked like that lead could snap after the Cubs had allowed just allowed two more runs.

That inning, the bottom of the eighth, couldn’t have been more perfect. Alfonso Soriano singled to start that inning, later stealing second and advancing to third on a throwing error. Then Ryan Theriot reached on another error to put runners at the corners and Derrek Lee hit a sacrifice fly, advancing him to second. With runners on second and third, Aramis Ramirez was walked intentionally before Geovany Soto hit his 11th homer of the season, a grand slam shot to deep left field.

Talk about a stadium erupting. I’ve never seen or heard anything else like it at a baseball game. That moment stuck with me, and since that day in June, I’ve followed my team through thick and thin, and there’s been a lot of thin.

That year, 2008, the Cubs made the playoffs and were handed a first round exit by the Dodgers. Since then, the Cubs had a winning regular season in 2009, barely missing playoffs, followed by five years of losing regular season records.

Then last year happened: 2015. A year where life-long fans of the Cubs rejoiced as Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Starlin Castro, and Jake Arrieta made names for themselves on the road to 97-65, the best record the Cubs had achieved since ‘08.

Then the playoffs came around. Hype for the Cubs was at an all time high. They had just beat the Cardinals and were headed to the NLCS for the first time since 2003. The promised land was in sight, a World Series, hoisting the Commissioner’s Trophy at the end of October, something the Cubs haven’t done for 106 years, and then it snapped. The Cubs lost that series, getting swept by the Mets.

But then came a historically dominant offseason for the Cubs. The Jason Heyward signing. The Zobrist deal. Retaining Dexter Fowler for another year. All things point up for the Cubs going into this year.

10 huntleyvoice.com May 2016

The experts and analysts all have them at #1 in their power rankings and they can field one of the best lineups that baseball has seen since the ‘04 Red Sox. With all that in mind, I want you to take a second today. Slow down and look at the halls. Look at the people, and look at what they’re wearing. Notice something that isn’t usually there?

I do. When I look out over the halls of our high school, I see spots of blue that haven’t been there for the last five years. When I look out, I see the seemingly unending tide of the Chicago Cubs bandwagon.

Hype for the Cubs is at a high point right now, drawing in throngs of “fans,” most of whom can’t name you who the current third baseman is until you prompt them that they are wearing his jersey.

“It’s really funny that people can wear the jersey, but not have a clue about the team,” said junior Nathan Fitzgerald. “If you’re gonna wear it, that’s fine, but at least be able to talk about the Cubs a little.”

The support for the Cubs is clear when they are winning. Average attendance records at Wrigley over the last 10 regular seasons, which are split between winning and losing seasons, show that during winning seasons, the Cubs average 3,841 more fans per game.

“It’s harder to get tickets this year than I can ever remember,” said Fitzgerald.

“I want to go to the games, but they cost more than I’ve seen in awhile.”

That’s one of the many problems with the Cubs bandwagoners. They pack the stadium and make it harder for the true fans of the team to get out to Wrigley, but we will still manage to do it anyways.

“I’ve loved the Cubs since day one and I’m going to make an effort to see as many games as possible this year,” said senior Tomasz Lernacinski.

Real fans will want to get out and see the action first hand amidst all the hype Chicago hasn’t seen for a while, unless you count the Blackhawks run of Stanley Cups that the same people jumped on board with in recent years. Do you even watch regular season hockey?

“All this hype reminds me of when the Blackhawks are in the playoffs,” said Lernacinski. “When teams are good, people notice.”

Besides the point, Cubs bandwagon “fans” dilute the true fandom that exists when your team is losing. Sure, it’s an exciting time for real Cubs fans, but if you are just learning what it means to Fly the W or if you don’t know who Theo Epstein is, you’re not really a fan, so I ask you to kindly remove your pink Cubs hat that you bought during spring training and hop on with the Blackhawks.

May 2016 huntleyvoice.com 11

OPINION

Tides of music are turning TIDAL Music falls behind Apple Music and Spotify in the battle for best music service lucas modzelewski • staff writer

A

pril 4 was the day I snapped. I finally decided I had enough. I was riding on the bus to

12 huntleyvoice.com May 2016

school, listening to the music I had bought from iTunes as I had done every school day before that. Suddenly, while the bus was at a stop in downtown Huntley, the music cut out. At first I thought that I had lost connection and the song I was listening was not downloaded on my phone so it stopped loading, but when I checked my phone, there was no music. It was not paused, it was not on the lowest volume or anything like that. There was no

picture, no song name, no artist name, just my usual phone background. So I went into my Music app and I notice something that absolutely infuriated me: all the songs on my phone were deleted. I no longer had any music. Even the songs that were not downloaded but were still technically in my library were gone. I had absolutely nothing. This was when I decided to finally switch over to a music streaming service, but the question was, which one should I use?

Ever since I first listened to music, I always got my songs from iTunes. I would get iTunes gift cards on almost every holiday and I never thought about using a streaming service like Spotify. The first time the thought of streaming music crossed my mind was during a conversation when I mentioned my use of iTunes and received the response, “You pay for music?”

So once I decided to switch to a

streaming service, Spotify was the first one I checked out. It was free so I thought trying it couldn’t hurt.

At first I loved it, but soon the ads and the lack of music from some of my favorite artists started to bug me. I decided that I wanted to switch to a higher quality streaming service, and so my search began.

I determined that the three best and most popular music streaming services out there were Apple Music, Spotify Premium, and TIDAL. While on the surface they all seem to be pretty similar, once you take a closer look, there are some clear differences.

The first difference is the price.

While they all have a standard $9.99 price tag for a month’s subscription, each has a unique second option.

First there’s Apple Music; it offers a $14.99 option for a family plan of up to six people using the service. If the maximum amount

OPINION

Kanye West, left, and Jay Z perform at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan, on Saturday, November 26, 2011. (Romain Blanquart/Detroit Free Press/MCT)

of people are used for the plan this can save a total of $45, which makes this option the best alternative pay option among the three streaming services.

Spotify has a free option, quite popular among most Spotify users, although it severely limits your use of the service. Ads are frequent, and you can only listen to playlists and albums on shuffle. However, this limitation has a loophole.

If you are using a computer, you can listen to any song you want in any order you want and no ads.

Unfortunately, not everyone carries a computer around with them in their pocket. Although, if your aim is to listen to just one specific song for whatever reason, you can add that song to a new playlist and simply leave that playlist containing that single song.

The free option is a great choice for anyone who prefers to listen to playlists on shuffle and do not mind listening to ads every once and awhile.

Lastly, there is TIDAL’s higher quality listening service, which is $20. As someone who has used this so-called “HiFi” service, I would say that it is hard to spot the difference between it and other services so the extra $10 every month is certainly not worth it.

TIDAL has also has an upcharge on those who purchase subscriptions through the app, leaving the cost at $12.99 and $25.99, respectively. Strangely, this fact is not told to the person purchasing the subscription on the app, so, in a way, it feels like TIDAL has cheated them.

While both the alternative pay choices for Apple Music and

“I think Spotify is the best because I can just look up an artist and most of their music is on there.”

-Junior Jimmy Yolich Spotify are great, solid options, TIDAL’s seems like a rip-off.

Now when it comes to deciding between Spotify and Apple Music, the decision is simple. Are you okay with paying for the service? If yes, Apple Music is the streaming service for you. If no, choose Spotify’s free listening option.

Unfortunately, Apple Music is only available on Apple products, so this leaves Android users and

people with other types of phones with Spotify as the only real music streaming option available.

However, for those looking for a high quality music listening experience without an iPhone, Spotify Premium is a great choice.

Both Spotify and Apple Music have their fair share of happy listeners.

Junior Jimmy Yolich believes Spotify is great platform to discover new music or music recommended by friends- at no price.

“I think Spotify is the best because I can just look up an artist and most of their music is on there.”

According to Yolich, Spotify is a 9 out of 10 type of service.

Fellow student, senior Nik Kambitsis agrees with Yolich.

“Spotify was nice to have and I would recommend it to a friend that doesn’t have an iPhone,” said Kambitsis However, now that Kambitsis has an iPhone, he vastly prefers Apple’s streaming service.

“I like [Apple Music] because it is very convenient and easy to use, and there are very few songs that they don’t have. The only thing that I don’t like is when the subscription runs out you have no way of accessing your music,” said Kambitsis Even though he finds faults with the service, he still believes it is the best of its kind.

“I still prefer Apple Music, because the prices are very reason-

able, especially the family option, and you can get virtually any song you want, whenever you want,” said Kambitsis.

“If you are someone like me who downloads a lot of music per month, you can save a lot of money by just paying the $10 instead of $1.50 for every song.”

Spotify’s lack of music by popular artists like Taylor Swift and Future gives the edge to Apple Music in terms of actual music available.

However if there is one thing the two music fans can agree on, it’s that TIDAL is unquestionably the worst and most unpopular service.

Yolich tried TIDAL, but was dissatisfied with the price.

“I never use TIDAL,” said Yolich Unlike Yolich, Kambitsis has not tried the service, but he is well aware of its infamous unpopularity.

“All I know [about TIDAL] is that it is pretty much like Apple Music and Spotify, but no one uses it,” said Kambitsis.

Since big-name albums like “The Life of Pablo” by Kanye West are no longer exclusive on TIDAL, there currently remains only one reason to choose TIDAL over the other two options: TIDAL pays its artists more than Apple Music and Spotify combined.

Overall, while both Apple Music and Spotify are great music streaming options, TIDAL just cannot compare and this clearly shows by the service’s massive unpopularity.

While Spotify recently reached its 100 millionth user and Apple Music has an amount of users upwards of 50 million, TIDAL only reached 1 million users last fall.

However, when looking for a good place to find great music, the listener should always put their own enjoyment over creating more revenue for already wealthy artists.

While it is not guaranteed that the artist the listener is listening to is rich, feeling guilty about an artist not making enough money should not detract a listener from getting the best out of the money they are spending.

May 2016 huntleyvoice.com 13

OPINION

Beating the system The ACT does not define a student or their ability to succeed devin martin • a&e editor

H

e sat in his chair not knowing what to think. The letters “ACT” gleamed across in black lettering on a packet very close to him. As he looked at the packet, he knew the importance of the ACT, and he did not want his parents’ money to go to waste.

Not only that, but senior Jamieson Allare never had taken a test that ranged around four hours long.

At the time, Allare thought this test determined the next four years of his life and then the proctor started handing out the test booklet.

“When I actually saw the test and experienced how serious the proctor handled things I was even more nervous,” said Allare.

The fact of the matter is that Allare is not wrong. It’s natural to feel nervous, especially for the ACT. It’s a test that has math, science, English, and reading crammed into a four hour block. Now that might not seem that bad, right? We take tests all the time. But a fine line his being crossed here with the ACT. The ACT is stressing students’ out more than they should be.

14 huntleyvoice.com May 2016

Students have their minds set that the ACT determines how well they will do for the rest of their lives and that the ACT is the only thing that will get them into school.

That is not the case.

Some universities require an ACT score. But it’s not the only thing they are looking at. Many universities say they want you to be at the top 50 percent of your graduating class or have a 2.5 GPA or have an ACT score of 21. As long as you hit one of those requirements, then you are all set to be admitted.

That is not the case for all schools. Some schools might want an ACT score and that might be the only determining factor. If it is, take note of that when you are looking at colleges and if need be improve your ACT score. Now, I am also not saying to not care about your ACT. Because the fact is that you still need to prepare to be successful. You can be a 2.0 GPA student and get a 31 on your ACT and get admitted into college or you can be a 4.0 GPA student and get a 19 on your ACT and get admitted into college.

Still prepare. Do the best you can, and if there is a will, there’s a way. Allare knows that for a fact.

“I prepared for the ACT with multiple prep classes and I didn’t get the score I was aiming for,” said Allare. “I’m not in favor of the ACT because I feel like it tests your ability to answer questions quickly

G. Bryczek

not necessarily testing how smart you are.”

What Allare mentions is 100 percent the truth. You don’t need to cram formulas into your brain, memorize grammar rules, or even learn science terms. You have to take the test in a smarter way and not one that involves memorization. You need to take the ACT in a timely manner. That is what you have to practice.

However, some people are not test takers, and even with the right amount of preparation, their dream ACT score might not come to them.

“I got a 27 on my ACT and it really hurt me in applying for competitive scholarships,” said Allare.

This brings me to my next point: you are worth more than what your score may be. You are not defined by what that stupid piece of paper in the mail says; you are so much more than that. You can achieve anything, and the ACT does not determine that as well.

My ACT score was not the best either. But I hit two of the three requirements for the University

of South Dakota. I went on to get accepted into the university and I would also achieve a competitive scholarship. However, I always thought that my ACT score defined me. Even when I went in for the scholarship interview that piece of paper plagued my mind.

I knew that my ACT score would not define me and I would not let it either. However, some students love the ACT and the opportunities that it brings. Having that way of thinking is not a bad thing, everybody is different. Junior Ava Novak shares how she came to admire the ACT. “In the long run, I think a good ACT can make it easier to be successful,” said Novak.

“However it doesn’t guarantee success because everyone has a different path in life,” It all comes down to that there is no purpose in the ACT. Do not let that score, whatever you may get define you, because you have a bright future. Don’t let a simple piece of paper say what you can and can’t do. There is no need to worry.

FEATURES

Music brings couple closer Juniors Alyssa DeBock, Cameron Nachreiner share their love of music with each other camille paddock • staff writer

Junior Cameron Nachreiner plays his guitar while junior Alyssa DeBock sings. (R. O’Sullivan)

T

he night had finally arrived. He was nervous inside but collected on the exterior, it was his first live performance.

She was calm and collected as a whole, it was just one of many performances she had done since middle school.

Together, they were intoxicating, stealing shy smiles at one another as the song started. Once they began to play, no one would ever be able to guess it was their first time performing together.

Juniors Alyssa DeBock and Cameron Nachreiner had a near flawless performance that night at the Guitar Club-hosted event, Battle of the Bands. That was just the start of something beautiful.

Surprisingly, the couple started playing together less than six months ago. It all began when Nachreiner decided he wanted to learn guitar. He had always had a love for music, and finally chose to act on it in order to catch DeBock’s attention. But Nachreiner’s intentions grew pure as he developed a passion for guitar.

“Most of the time when people play to get girls, they drop it because they aren’t that interested in it, but I actually really liked it,” said Nachreiner.

Guitar soon became more than just a hobby for Nachreiner, it was a passion. He found himself, guitar in hand at times when he was stressed out or needing to blow off steam.

“Whenever I’m trying to relax, I’ll try and learn some new songs or mess around,” said Nachreiner.

DeBock, on the other hand, has a natural talent when it comes to music. She has been singing her whole life and began playing piano

at a young age. She had always been able to play by ear, but did not take notice of her talents until a friend pointed it out to her.

During middle school, DeBock truly began focusing in on music.

She joined the choir and started taking piano lessons. As the years went on, her passion grew stronger

“I feel like playing music is an emotional release.”

- Alyssa DeBock and music became her outlet.

Singing and playing piano has become so much more than a hobby, it is a way of life. DeBock uses music as a form of self expression, and writes her own.

“I just really like perfecting music

that I’m working on,” said DeBock.

“When I finally do play it correctly and when I’m able to sing with it at the same time, I feel like I have accomplished something, and I feel good about it.”

As the more experienced musician, DeBock started helping Nachreiner as he got accustomed to the guitar. Once he could play parts of songs, the magic started happening.

“He wanted me to sing for him when he would learn songs,” said DeBock. “He was just so excited about them.”

That’s when the couple finally began playing as a team. Since Nachreiner joined Guitar Club and heard about Battle of the Bands, he thought it would be a great opportunity to showcase what he had grown to love. They immediately went to work.

About a week before the big

show the two finalized their song choices. They would be playing “The Water” by Johnny Flynn and “Rivers and Roads” by The Head and the Heart. Both of them loved the songs, and since DeBock knew the lyrics and Nachreiner knew the chords to play, they thought it was a perfect match.

“The night before the show we just practiced a ton of times until we felt like it was perfect,” said DeBock.

The final song came to an end, and the crowd went wild. The amount of support in the audience was reassuring. They both knew that all their hard work had finally paid off. They share a shy smile at one another knowing that music may not have brought them together, but it has definitely brought them closer. It is now something they both have, something they can share.

15 huntleyvoice.com May 2016

FEATURES

New band conductor Philip Carter hopes to change band’s culture natalie trzeciak • staff writer

W

ith baton in hand, he meets the multiple pairs of eyes staring back at him, waiting for his silent instruction. He gives the band a graceful downbeat, and the first chord of the piece sounds.

For him this is everything. He lives his life in terms of music, and it is nearly impossible for him to separate it from any other aspect of his life.

Band director Philip Carter had set his sights on improving the music program at Huntley High School since he was selected for the position last year.

Carter’s fascination with music began in the sixth grade when he decided to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and take up playing the trumpet. Shortly after, he began taking private lessons and exploring his passion of music. However, it wasn’t until Carter joined the school band that he realized that he wanted to major in Music Education.

“My band director was someone that impacted my life in the sense that I learned as much about life as I did about music from him,” said Carter. “I knew that I wanted to have that same impact on people in the future.”

In order to prepare for college, Carter made it his goal to immerse himself in all things music. Carter became a Drum Major at his high school, and enrolled in Jazz Band and Pep Band. He was also a part of the Illinois Music Education Association for 12 years, and had the opportunity to go to All-State for trumpet performance and as a future music educator.

All of his hard work paid off as he was accepted to ISU and placed in the school’s top Jazz Band and Concert Band. He continued 16 huntleyvoice.com May 2016

participating in the Marching Band as a Drum Major as well.

“When I wasn’t in school, I was spending my summers attending music festivals and teaching at band camps,” said Carter. “Most of all, I tried to stay on top of being the best in my band.”

Carter graduated top of his class in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in Music Education and a minor in Jazz Performance.

Within a few months, Carter was notified of a job opening at Huntley High School by fellow Drum Major and former HHS graduate Casey Sukel.

“The previous band director was a big part of [Casey’s] life, so she knew the position was open,” said Carter. “She shot me a message telling me to look into it, so I decided to apply.”

After multiple interviews, Carter was offered the band director position in April.

“He had a lot of experience just coming out of college, and he really wanted to give the students a voice in the decisions that were made,” said junior Matt Rodriguez.

“That’s what made him such a great candidate.”

Aware that he was in charge of a Philp Carter leading the band through their warm ups. (R. O’Sullivan)

large program, Carter came into the job with a full agenda and an aspiration to get the bands more involved in the music scene in Illinois.

“The great thing about this program is that there are a ton of students that are really excited about band,” said Carter. “There wasn’t any friction as far as the methods I was using to get stuff done.”

With the students on board, Carter was able to bring in guest musicians for the Concerts Bands to get cliniced. This provided the students with a different perspective and a new set of critical ears.

The top concert band also had the opportunity to attend a concert festival at ISU. “Mr. Carter is taking us places that the band has never been before,” said Rodriguez. “He’s giving us the opportunity to grow as a program.”

All the changes will not stop this year. Next year, band clinicians will be brought in on a regular basis, and the concert bands will also be performing a show that has been custom written and catered to HHS’ needs.

The Marching Band will have the opportunity to compete at multiple competitions hosted by U

of I and ISU. The students will also be participating in the Thanksgiving Parade of Bands in Orlando, Florida.

As his time at HHS goes on, Carter will continue to set high

I want to change the culture as to how band’s viewed.

I want us, as a program, to feel important.

- Philip Carter expectations for the band program in order to inspire and help nourish his students’ love of music just as his middle school band director did for him.

“When picking my career, I thought a lot about the quote, ‘If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life,’” said Carter.

“For me there was no other option.

This is where I wanted to be, and it’s awesome that I get to call this ‘work.’”

Hey seniors...

Vavs here.

13 school days left!

17 huntleyvoice.com May 2016

CENTERSPREAD

art teacher

Bridget Regan mawa iqbal • news editor

I Courtesy of B. Regan

D. Kalis h

t was at that moment that art teacher Bridget Regan felt like a pet fish. She was sitting inside a comfortable little fishbowl, surrounded by gawking stares of adolescent humans.

Luckily her comfortable little bowl wasn’t empty. Some of her closest colleagues, friends, and young students surrounded her in a more secure circle, insulating her from the humans who were tapping their fingers on her glass.

As the razor buzzed strokes of red waves off her scalp, she looked over at her freshman counterpart, Jaxy Kastner, seated next to her. Her mother was standing across her chair, watching intently as tresses of her daughter’s beautiful blonde hair fell gently onto the basketball court.

Regan saw tears rolling down the mother’s cheeks, but they weren’t the kind of tears triggered by an irreversible loss. They were the kind of tears triggered by a mother’s pride. The kind that moves people.

“Her mother was crying, so I started crying,” said Regan. “To be a freshman girl living in a world that’s caught up in how you look, shaving her head, to me, is courage.”

Though shaving her head at the assembly wasn’t intended to be a public statement against societal beauty standards, Regan believes that her and other young girls losing their locks at an event like St. Baldrick’s advocates an important message.

“As a woman, doing something like this really raises awareness for the fact that we all can take part in doing this no matter what gender we are,” said Regan. “I think as human beings we all have a responsibility to contribute to where we can.”

Yet she was a bit hesitant to give a whole lot of her hair at first. Her copper cascades had been the focal point of most people when looking directly at her. Even her mother was opposed to the idea of her daughter sporting a bare scalp.

“When I told my mother and sister, they begged me not to,” said Regan. “My mom didn’t want me to lose my pretty hair and I told her that my hair isn’t who I am.”

It was with this realisation, the blessings of three healthy children, and her own personal philosophy that Regan ultimately sat down in a swivel chair in the middle of the East Gym. The words inscribed on her deceased father’s headstone had echoed true to her even after the razor clicked off.

“There’s a little excerpt on my dad’s grave that says that we all have a small part in contributing to the world,” said Regan. “How we contribute is a personal decision, but I think we all need to participate in building this world.”

sophomore

St. Baldr and

Hannah Hennessy alex landman • staff writer

T D. Kalish

18 huntleyvoice.com May 2016

here are the little things she remembers, like how warm her hair kept her ears, how she used to n from behind. Now, her appearance is not so obvious. At first, she did not think she could do it; For sophomore Hannah Hennessy, deciding to brave the shave and donate all of her hair duri and confidence to those who needed it most, children with pediatric cancer.

“It’s an amazing feeling seeing others so happy and knowing they’re getting so much support as they go th to shave to keep an open mind and remind them that they don’t necessarily need to shave to make an impac Since the event, Hennessy’s outlook on life has changed. Talking to the kids and their parents made her makes it all worth it.

“I realized how important your health is, how important it is to give to others, and what the fight is like,” When Hennessy looks back on the actual shaving, it was not losing her hair that she was worried about.

“I was kind of nervous people would think I’m an ugly crier. I saw that projector they had going and kind going to think of me was the last thing on my mind.”

It took around a week for Hennessy to adjust to life without hair. She had dreams that she still had her h According to Hennessy, it has been the strangest thing she has experienced since the shave.

Looking back on one of the most impactful days in her life, Hennessy cannot wait to do it all again next “I’m planning on it [shaving]! I’d love to do it all again, and even if I don’t decide to shave, I’ll support it

CENTERSPREAD

junior

Mike Ahmer maggie mcgee • staff writer

F

or junior Mike Ahmer, the choice to shave his head for St. Baldrick’s was an obvious one; anything to support a teammate and friend Justin Domingo who was diagnosed with non Hodgkin’s lymphoma this past year.

Ahmer decided he would “brave the shave” after he heard one of his football coaches mentioning the cause and how it would be supporting Domingo.

With this being Ahmer’s first shave, many emotions were evident.

“I didn’t know how I was going to look or how I was going to feel, but I was excited because I was supporting Justin,” said Ahmer.

Leading up to the shave, family and friends were supportive throughout the process.

When March 18 finally came, Ahmer was “kinda freaking out” leading up to the shave. This is understandable because it’s not every day that an electric razor is placed at the crown of your head, shaving off the remaining locks of hair that teenagers, especially, identify themselves with.

“There were a bunch of people around me, all taking pictures,” said Ahmer. “It was funny because at one point people were taking pictures with half of my head shaved. You could see how my hair was long on one side, and bald on the other.”

As his hair fell to the floor, the nerves were still high, but Ahmer had no regrets shaving his head for the St. Baldrick’s foundation.

“It was kind of scary, but at the same time it was really fun,” said Ahmer. “I think the best part of this experience was, since I was nervous about how I would look, it worked out well and I ended up liking it!”

Ahmer mentioned that he would shave his head again for the “Huntley Goes Bald” event, and is even planning on keeping his hair short.

“I’ve learned that it takes a lot of courage to shave your head, especially if you’re a girl,” said Ahmer. “It takes a lot of courage to shave long hair!”

The children battling childhood cancer are the reason this event exists, but the “Huntley Goes Bald” event and the St. Baldrick’s Foundation could not function without the shavees, volunteers, and generous donations given.

Ahmer’s biggest piece of advice to students thinking about shaving their heads is, “Don’t let anyone talk you out of it, raise a lot of money, and just go for it!”

rick’s Before d After

Courtesy of

Mike Ahm

er

er

esy Court

e Ahm of Mik

D. Kalish

never get stared at, and how waiters never used to called her “sir” because she obviously looked like a girl ; it was too drastic of a change. Come to find out, she changed her mind. ing the St. Baldrick’s assembly was a rather easy decision. She knew that her hair was giving happiness

hrough something so terrifying and life-changing,” said Hennessy. “I like to tell people who are reluctant ct.” realize not to take things for granted. For Hennessy, knowing she has made a difference in someone’s life

” said Hennessy. “Not having hair has changed my mindset on things big and small.”

d of thought, ‘Oh boy,’” said Hennessy. “ When I heard the razor, it all melted away and what others were

hair and was upset and confused because she just shaved it off. When she woke up, she would be relieved.

year. t in any way I can,” said Hennessy. “Right now the odds are 99% that I’m going to shave again.”

May 2016 huntleyvoice.com 19

FEATURES

SML: Jamming on stage Sophomores perform at Battle of the Bands sarah biernat • staff writer

E

ndless hours of practice, perfection, and some nausea. It all led to blinding lights and a roaring crowd.

He’d say it was the best night of his life. For sophomore Noah Evert, it was as if the world had paused for his 15 minutes of fame.

This was the first year the Battle of the Bands took place after a long hiatus. One of Evert’s bandmates, drummer Jake Lange, requested for a rebirth of the event. On April 9, his wish was granted.

Evert, sophomore Ryan McQueen, and sophomore Jake Lange met back in middle school.

“Jake and I became friends first,” said Evert. “Ryan thought we were both annoying. Now look at us.

We’re all really close friends and bandmates.”

According to Evert, their bond makes creating music even easier.

Music is in Evert’s genes. His father used to play guitar. His older brother, senior Bailey Evert, plays too. The family bloodline kept rolling with rhythm and soul, and it soon got down to youthful, little Noah, at a young age.

Backtrack to 2010. Evert, only 10, was introduced to the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin by his father.

“He’d play it in the house,” said Evert. “I got hooked.”

Leaving a lasting impact on him, Evert broadened his horizons to grunge and other forms of rock.

Nirvana and Pearl Jam became new obsessions.

Then came 2013. Evert began his journey as a guitarist, taking lessons at JC’s Lessons in Lake in the Hills, Illinois. He began with acoustic, loved it, and then moved onto electric.

“As of six months ago, I play a LTD [electric guitar],” said Evert.

“Acoustics are nice to start out with, 20 huntleyvoice.com May 2016

but I like my electric better. When we’re coming up with songs, we make random riffs on them.”

Music is a form of therapy. Every band has a message and a reason for forming. Bands similar to The Clash talk about screwing over the government and Nirvana showcases overall hatred. Really, all Grunge and Punk songs are filled with angst.

Hard rock is a release of emotions for Evert. He blasts music to exhale any feelings he wants to eliminate.

“I play when I’m upset, I’ll play when I can’t sleep. It’s really calming,” Evert said. “Actually, I picked up the guitar because of family issues. It’s a great outlet.”

For the three of them, creating music is effortless.

“Jake gets really into playing the drums,” said Evert.

Like Evert, Lange has been surrounded by music for the longest time.

“When we practice, we go to Jake’s step dad’s house.

He used to play, so he has a room in his house where his drums, big speakers, and guitars are.”

- Noah Evert When SML comes together, their only goal is to play and enjoy themselves.

“We aren’t perfectionists,” said Evert. “We will play through little things, and only fix major things.”

McQueen and Evert are slow learners, and then there’s Lange.

Sophomore Noah Evert plays his guitar at a local park. (S. Faheem)

“Jake picks it up quickly.” said Evert. “I have to play through it a few times. We play lots of Nirvana songs because they’re easy to learn.”

According to Evert, “About A Girl” was really easy to learn. It only took two hours.

“It’s repetitive and the chords are easy,” said Evert. “It’s a fun song to play.”

According to Evert, he’ll roughly play three hours a day, depending on his homework. Three hours a day, seven days a week. It’s been plenty of time for his neighbors to wonder what is going on and to become intrigued.

“My neighbor opens up his window to hear me play,” he said.

Evert’s tunes are classic, and so are his vinyls.

“I’m a collector,” said Evert. “I want to grow my collection. My dad has bookshelves of them. My collection looks pitiful compared to his.”

Evert has an old record player

that was passed down to him by a family member.

“They passed away and it was my turn to choose what I wanted to keep, so I took the record player,” he said. “My favorite record is my Pearl Jam ‘Ten’ one. They’re my favorite band and I’ve wanted it for a long time.”

Evert said how his influence and favorite guitarist is Joe Bonamassa.

“I’ve seen him live six times,” he said. “This summer I’m seeing Pearl Jam at Soldier Field, I’m excited. At concerts I just lose myself. It’s a new feeling. I’ve never had a bad experience with them.”

Evert also said the next vinyl he wants is Nirvana’s debut album “Bleach.”

Things are only going up for SML. While Evert has free time, he is going to learn “American Idiot” by Green Day, and “Polly” by Nirvana.

“You let the music take you away,” said Evert. “It’s perfect.”

FEATURES

Engineering on display HHS Engineering Academy places second and third out of 32 in MCC Vex Robotics Competition mohammed syed • staff writer

Sophomore Blake Czarnecki adjusts his robot.

(S. Faheem)

A

s sophomore Blake Czarnecki and junior Charlie Burian get ready for the competition, they feel scared, but remain confident. They make their final adjustments to their robot and head in.

The MCC Vex Robotics Competition took place March 18 in the hallways of MCC. According to Principles of Engineering teacher Amanda Henk, there were two categories students had to compete in.

For the competition part, students had to build a robot that would either push wiffle balls into a certain area or throw them into a bucket in order to win points. While in the second part, students had to go through a design process in front of a panel of judges and they had to explain why they had chosen their design, what modifications they had made, and why.

“We held a similar version of the competition here at school and the top six teams in all of the Principles of Engineering classes were determined based on their scoring” - Amanda Henk

According to Henk, the teams were made up of four Engineering Academy students each. All of these students were selected from the second Engineering Academy class, Principles of Engineering.

The first class is Introduction to Engineering Design, the third is Civil Engineering and Architecture, and the fourth is Aerospace Engineering. All four of these are part of the Engineering Academy. Students are required to take certain courses which count as points towards their high school transcript designation.

In total, 24 students from Huntley participated. There were 32 teams from the county schools, including McHenry, Woodstock, Cary Grove, Crystal Lake schools, and Prairie Ridge. The first place team in the competition was Cary Grove. Huntley placed second and third.

“We thought that was a pretty

strong finish for our first year out,” said Henk. “We were incredibly proud of all 24 students that went for what they had accomplished here and that they had qualified to go to MCC. We were really proud of their perseverance on this project because it was difficult.”

Some Huntley teams did run into a few problems though.

“Programming it correctly and making sure it worked within the time limit allotted which was two minutes was difficult,” said Czarnecki. “And there was a couple of small details where you could only lift so many balls at one time.

You had to program it and know what controls what and that gave us some grief.”

Although they had some issues, they were still able to perform adequately.

“Rank-wise we weren’t very high,” said Czarnecki. “We prob-

ably were in the middle because a lot of people either did very well or didn’t do well. We were one of the teams that scored in the middle. We got 80 I think. The top was 160 and some of the lower ones were in the single digits.”

Czarnecki and Burian worked well with each other even though they have different interests.

“I want to go into go into the engineering field where I get to work with numbers and experiment with stuff,” said Czarnecki. “It sounds fun.”

“I’m looking for an engineering field that’s more artistic. I don’t want to crunch numbers all day,” said Burian. “I’m more interested in the design.”

With its bright students, the HHS Engineering Academy hopes to win more competitions in the future.

21 huntleyvoice.com May 2016

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

Photos and cutouts courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/ HardcoreHenry/timeline.

‘Hardcore Henry’ shocks Iiya Naishuller’s new action movie pleases some fans, but not all joe rizzo • staff writer

I

iya Naishuller’s “Hardcore Henry” is not your ordinary action movie, if you’re looking for a deranged movie then “Hardcore Henry” is for you.

A robotically-enhanced man, Henry, is woken up by his wife Estelle to start the movie. Estelle explains to him what he is and shows him how he is different from everyone else. Before Henry can even talk, a group of mercenaries come and take Estelle.

The beginning of this movie starts really fast jumps into crazy action. Seeing this movie in 3D was extremely hard, since the movie was in first person everything that was shot at Henry was coming at you.

The movie made sure you felt very close to the action.

“Hardcore Henry” is a mix of “Call of Duty” and “Grand Theft Auto” on a big screen. With a first person view, this movie is separated from all

22 huntleyvoice.com May 2016

other action movies. Henry learns that he is up against an army that wants the technology that makes him special. Henry learns what his body is capable of throughout the movie.

As Henry goes and saves Estelle you see it from his eyes, slow motion gun bullets, blood, and death are only a few parts of this crazy movie. Henry breaks Estelle out from the evil mercenaries and kills a lot of them in the process.

Henry can jump out of airplanes, fall of of bridges, and jump from car-to-car and not die.

The special effects and crazy stunts are what made this movie exciting.

“The violence was so real and I thought the first person view was different and they hit it on the nose,” said junior Brad Model.

Although the storyline was terrible and most of the characters were boring. The only true main characters were Henry, Estelle, and Jimmy who were helping Henry find Estelle. There were other characters in the movie but they would just come and go. Henry would be involved in a fight scene and you would not know if his squad was getting killed or not because you couldn’t see them.

The first person puts this movie in a disadvantage because you could not relate to any of the other characters because you did not see them very often. All that you saw was what Henry was shooting at and what kind of gun he was using.

The Producers of “Cloverfield” used the first person view in 2008. Critics were split 50-50 on the movie. Recently “Cloverfield” came out with a second movie called “10 Cloverfield Lane” and this movie was not in first person. I was confused when I saw this. Why would “Hardcore Henry” use first person if it was used and did not work?

Looking through the reviews of “Hardcore

Henry” it was about split 50-50 just like “Cloverfield,” I believe if they decide to make another “Hardcore Henry” it will not be in first person just like “Cloverfield.”

Going into the movie I knew that it was going to be a hit or a miss. Personally I thought this movie was a miss. The first stage was dizziness, next was the headache, and finally nauseousness.

Throughout the whole movie I felt sick, seeing all of the action in first person just did not feel right, I felt like I was playing video games for too long instead of watching a movie. Although the special effects and action scenes were good, it just didn’t feel like a movie for me. When Henry would move the whole screen would move causing little objects to not be seen. The idea for the movie was a great idea and I personally think in the future there could be better planned first person movies. As my friends and I walked out of the movies I could tell that about half of the audience enjoyed the movie and the other half went to throw up in the trash can.

“I personally did not like the movie I thought it was too much and I was not a big fan of the first person view it made me feel sick throughout the whole movie,” said junior Denny Smith.

I thought the movie was fantastic by the way the action was filmed. However, I would give this movie two stars out of five because of the first person filming. I believe that “Hardcore Henry” is the future of movies but I don’t think the future is now. First person shooting belongs in video games not on the big screen.

“The violence was so real and I thought the first person view was different and they hit it on the nose” -Junior Brad Model

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

‘Game of Thrones’ returns

HBO’s hit show returns for season six and many questions have been answered in the premiere tyler watkins • sports editor

T

he TV screen is filled with a 3D map of Westeros, and the title music blares as the opening sequence of “Game of Thrones,” flies across the screen. Viewers flock to the station in order to catch up on the adventures of their favorite characters, eagerly awaiting what comes next in the story.

On April 24, HBO’s “Game of Thrones” will return for its sixth season, inevitably leading to more heartbreak as main characters are killed off seemingly at will. The show originally premiered on April 17, 2011, and has quickly built a massive following, both in the U.S. and internationally.

“Game of Thrones” is based on George R.R. Martin’s series of novels, “A Song of Ice and Fire.” It quickly became very successful and has won 26 Emmy Awards. The fifth season set a record for Emmy Awards won in a single year, with the show taking home the title in 12 categories. Due to its massive success and HBO’s status as a premium channel, “Game of Thrones” has become one of the most pirated shows in television history. Its popularity has also helped it continue to bring in new viewers each year.

“I started watching because it’s a popular show, and a lot of my friends recommended it to me,” said junior Bobby Loza. “It’s a great show and I’d definitely recommend it to people.”

Season five saw lots of drama, and left viewers with plenty of cliffhangers to keep them waiting in anticipation of season six.

“My favorite moment of season five was definitely Jon Snow’s death,” said Loza. “I can’t wait for season six to see if they bring him back or not.”

In Mereen, Daenerys Targaryen (Clarke) had to deal with an uprising led by the Sons of the Harpy, resulting in the death of Barristan 24 huntleyvoice.com May 2016

Photos and cutouts courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/ GameOfThrones/photos_stream

Selmy (McElhinney) and culminating in a showdown at the city’s fighting pits. Luckily, with the aid of her dragon, Drogon, she was able to escape, ending up in the Dothraki Sea, where she is found by the Dothraki.

At the Wall, Jon Snow (Harrington) leads a rescue mission to Hardhome, even though many members of the Night’s Watch oppose him. Although his mission is successful and many wildlings are rescued, he is betrayed by his comrades, with a group of them stabbing him to death at the conclusion of the season’s finale.

Sansa Stark (Turner) is betrothed to Ramsay Bolton (Rheon) in Winterfell, but manages to escape with Theon Greyjoy (Allen) as Stannis Baratheon (Dillane) leads an attack on the keep. Stannis’ forces are repelled and it appears that he is killed after his men are slaughtered.

Myrcella Lannister’s (Free) betrothal to Trystane Martell (Sebastian) ends in tragedy, as the princess is poisoned by Ellaria Sand (Varma) and the Sand Snakes as retribution for the death of Oberyn Martell (Pascal) at the hands of Gregor Clegane (Björnsson).

The sixth season of the show will be interesting, as it is the first season that takes place outside of the books, as most of the source material has already been covered on the show.

However, there are many fan theories and predictions on what will occur.

Arguably the most popular prediction is that Jon Snow hasn’t died from his wounds, and it’s likely an event that will be covered quite quickly at the beginning of the season. Many believe that Melisandre will use her powers to resurrect Snow.

Due to Myrcella’s death at the end of season five, it’s widely anticipated that the Lannisters will go to war with Dorne. This is a storyline that will likely feature heavily throughout the season, and may even continue on into the seventh season, as HBO recently confirmed that “Game of Thrones” will indeed be continuing after 2016.

“I’m really excited to see what happens after Myrcella’s death,” said Loza. “I was pretty shocked that they killed her off, so it’ll be interesting to see how the Lannisters react.”

One incredibly intriguing cliffhanger is the fate of Sansa and Theon.

Even if the two are able to survive

their jump off of the ramparts of Winterfell, there has been no indication of where the two are headed.

Will they journey to the wall in an attempt to reunite with Jon Snow, or will they turn south, towards the Eyrie?

“I hope that Sansa and Theon head towards the wall,” said Loza. “At least one of the Starks needs to reunite with Jon Snow at some point.”

It’s also possible that the show will decide to bring in some of the storylines that occurred early in the books that have yet to make it into the show. Recently, it has been reported that Thoros of Myr will return to “Game of Thrones” at some point during the season.

If true, his return makes a debut of the Lady Stoneheart storyline highly plausible.

Regardless of how they wrap up the cliffhangers from the end of season five, it is nearly guaranteed that “Game of Thrones” will continue to see massive success throughout its sixth season. It has managed to overcome the deaths of beloved characters and controversy about its overtly sexual and violent nature, and it will continue to kill off fan favorites virtually every week.

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

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ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

Photos and cutouts courtesy of https://www. facebook.com/DisneyJungleBook/photos_stream

‘The Jungle Book’ soars Disney reenvisions their classic tale from 1967, and succeeds

D

maddy moffett • opinion editor

irected by Jon Favreau (“Iron Man”), “The Jungle Book” transforms Rudyard Kipling’s timeless short stories into a modern masterpiece. Young man-cub, Mowgli (Sethi) was found on the outskirts of the jungle

by Bagheera (Kingsley), a grandfatherly black panther, who takes the boy to Raksha (N’yongo), a protective mother wolf, to be raised in the pack.

As an unwritten law of the jungle, no human is to be allowed, strictly enforced by the fear-inducing tiger, Shere Khan (Elba).

Mowgli is forced to flee the jungle in lieu of threats on his life, sending him down a murky, uncertain journey.

Along his way back to the human village, Mowgli is separated from Bagheera and must navigate the depths of the jungle solo. Trouble

26 huntleyvoice.com May 2016

brews when he stumbles upon Kaa (Johansson), a sultry, seducing python, Buloo (Murray), a conniving, opportunistic bear, and King Louie of the monkeys (Walken).

The shining trait was the vocal talent of the star-studded cast. Johansson’s rendition of Kaa resembles that of hypnosis, paired with a brilliant score by John Debney, lulled me as much as Mowgli into a trance. Murray’s relaxed, Hakuna-Matata cadence added much needed light to what was beginning to feel like a dark, almost Tim Burton-like piece.

There were times where I, a 17-year-old, almost had to close my eyes. I wonder how elementary-age kids faired, considering the intense action at times was inappropriate for their age category. The film did, however, pay homage to the 1967 original animated film, as Murray sang a fresh version the “The Bear Necessities,” while Walken brought Louis Armstrong style jazz into “I Wanna Be Like

You.” “The Jungle Book” is Disney’s latest venture into the world of live action. The stories that launched Disney Studios onto the movie scene, like “Cinderella” and “Alice in Wonderland” have made the transition from animation to live cast. The second installment in the “Alice in Wonderland” franchise is due for later this year, while classic “Beauty and the Beast” is slated for 2017. Possible films also looking to hit the big screen in the future include “Pinocchio”, “Dumbo,” and “Mulan.”

This film triumphs in more than one category. Visually, it is a CGI marvel, in my opinion dethroning James Cameron’s “Avatar.”

Both movies focus on the intricacies of each environment, highlighting the species of trees, and wildlife. Scene after scene of lush trees and emerald shrubbery cascade across the screen, along with vivid colors capturing the numerous creatures and diverse vegetation that litters the jungle floor.

“The Jungle Book” takes the detail and allure of “Avatar” to another level. Ironically in order to make the movie more realistic, only intangible imagination could be used. Only the character of Mowgli, the red-loincloth, vine-swinging, tree-scaling maestro, was played by a human.

Besides being cinematically pleasing, “The Jungle Book” also has a slightly political undertone. The “red flower,” is the most feared and powerful tool of the humans, with the capability to destroy the jungle with just one spark. By the power of deduction, the socalled “red flower” is simply fire.

As Smokey the Bear would agree, thousands of acres of wildlife are razed every year due to the carelessness and ignorance of humans. In the midst of the debate on climate change and facing natural resource shortages, Favreau and screenwriter Justin Marks throw their hats into the ring.

While kids will be busy googling their eyes at the big cats with sharp teeth and begging their parents for a wolf cub, the older audience will be forced to do some intrinsic soul searching; are humans causing this? Are humans the common denominator to all of nature’s problems?

Overall, “The Jungle Book” set the bar high not only for the next Disney films to come, but also for the summer of 2016. Mowgli and his band of jungle friends leave Disney as king of the jungle.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

‘Criminal’ fails expectations

With a low box office income, rotten tomato rating, and low audience ratings, ‘Criminal’ flops brandon frey• staff writer

T

he beginning of “Criminal” makes you feel as if you are about to watch an action packed, Jason Bourne-like movie with undercover CIA agent, Bill Pope(Reynolds) attempting to set up a deal with a hacker, dubbed “The Dutchman”, by giving him millions of dollars and an American passport in exchange for a wormhole program. This program would allow the owner to bypass all computer codes protecting the United State’s nuclear defense codes, essentially starting World War III. Unfortunately, Pope realizes he is being followed on his way to meet with the Dutchman and attempts to lose a group of terrorists, lead by anarchist, Xavier Heimbahl (Mollà), who want the program for themselves. Pope is unable to escape from the terrorists and is tortured to death before he can tell anyone where he hid the Dutchman.

“I was really excited when this movie started because the first five minutes were action-packed, and was hoping for it to continue throughout the movie,” said junior Justin Callahan.

The CIA’s job is to find out where Pope hid the asset and retrieve the program before it falls into the wrong hands.

Photos and cutouts courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/Criminal/photos/pb.859203520865684.2207520000.1461455208./892952604157442/?type=3&theater

This science fiction thriller takes place all around London and includes many high speed car chases through the streets.

This film includes some very inimaginable medical advances including the transfer of memories from a dead person to live one. After Pope dies, the doctor that requests that convict Jericho Stewart(Kostner) be the subject of the procedure which will give Stewart all of Pope’s memories because of brain trauma Stewart sustained as a kid which left him with an underdeveloped frontal lobe. This deformity makes Stewart unable to experience emotions and control his impulse control, giving the doctors the ability to graft Pope’s knowledge into Stewart’s mind.

The film stars Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, and Tommy Lee Jones in their second collaboration following the 1991 film “JFK,” which was a huge success, bringing in more than $200 million. The lead actor, Kevin Costner, has had a similar role to that in “Criminal” in the movie, “3 Days to Kill.” In this movie, Costner was a CIA agent who has to prevent terrorists from obtaining a dirty bomb. The experience Costner received from acting in

this movie was beneficial to his role in “Criminal.”

Unfortunately, “Criminal” has not done so well in the box office, only having grossed $7.4 million since opening on April 15. This failure in the box office may be due to the lack of action seen in the movie.

“Criminal”’s climax is in the first five minutes of the movie when Pope dies and drops off from there.

The plot of the story takes a while to set up because of all the information the viewer needs to understand the story, and as a result leaves many viewers bored and angry they spent $20 to see this movie. There is only one other point in the movie that achieves the same amount of action and that is at the end when Stewart has to find the Dutchman while being followed by the terrorists.

“I would not recommend this movie to anyone due to the fact that it possessed little very little action,” said Callahan. “The plot was hard to follow also because I fell asleep during it.”

May 2016 huntleyvoice.com 27

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Best friends for life

Cailyn Pienschke and Jacqueline Dorin compete at a high level in both basketball and softball

Sophomores Cailyn Pienschke and Jacqueline Dorin pose in their basketball uniforms (Courtesy of Cailyn Pienschke).

bri governale • staff writer

A

s the clock ticks and time moves closer to 7 p.m., sophomore Cailyn Pienschke rushes off the softball field over to the parking lot.

As the car travels along, Pienschke slides out of her softball uniform and puts on her basketball shorts.

By the time she has changed, the softball player is gone, now it is time for basketball.

Being on sports whose seasons are back to back is tough, especially when they intertwine. Pienschke plays for the JV basketball team and the varsity softball team. However, she is not alone. Pienschke has her partner in crime, sophomore Jacqueline Dorin, by her side.

Dorin plays for both JV and varsity

basketball and varsity softball.

“Jackie goes through all sports with me,” said Pienschke. “She’s there every game, every practice every at bat, and every shot.”

The two girls are each other’s biggest supporters and are there for each other even when school gets tough.

“I think that school comes first, so during the day I do my homework during any little time I have.

I also try to get stuff done ahead of time so I am not cramming the day it is due,” said Dorin. “I then worry about sports.”

School is not the only tough factor these girls face while being in these sports. Both sports can be the toughest factor of all. The day basketball season ends, softball season begins right away.

Sophomores Cailyn Pienschke and Jacqueline Dorin pose in their softball uniforms (Courtesy of Cailyn Pienschke).

“It’s tough because it’s nonstop sports every day,” said Dorin.

“This year there was not one day in between basketball and softball season.”

Basketball may just be a little bit more tough. The girls on the team did something called the terrible 20’s, which was 20 minutes of conditioning. After that, practice consisted of drills, scrimmages, and more running.

“Basketball is so much harder than softball,” said Pienschke. “We would run every single day, skin knees, take elbows to the head, have bruises all over, and always have to push through physically.”

Softball is different, according to the girls, softball is more of a mental game. Practice is different and does not include as much

conditioning as basketball. Fielding and hitting are the two things the softball team focuses on.

But the girls have such a strong love for each sport that the stress and pain that comes along with it doesn’t matter. Being able to experience winning a game, making a basket, or hitting a home run is a feeling nobody can take away.

Once a goal is completed the previous stress feels worth it, and it just makes the girls want to try even harder. Even when they lose or come across a struggle they never give up.

“I love both sports in a different way. Softball there’s just a feeling you get when you get that game winning hit or when you make that one play that saves your team,” said Pienschke. “For basketball, I love how when you’re on the court everything you do is for the four other girls out with you.”

Being on a school sport is tough, especially when they’re back to back. Having a teammate and a best friend who understands may just be the luckiest thing ever.

“It is really easy to transition from one sport to another because Cailyn does the same thing,” said Dorin. “If I did it by myself, it would be harder because no one would understand how hard it really is.”

Dorin and Pienschke are lucky to have each other, both on and off the field or court. They are best friends and teammates.

“I love going from basketball to softball then back to basketball with Jackie. She’s a great teammate and one of my best friends,” said Pienschke. “I can’t wait to be doing both sports with her for the rest of high school.”

May 2016 huntleyvoice.com 29

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SPORTS

SPORTS

Sophomore superstar Cassidy Lackovic continues her dominance on the track Junior Cassidy Lackovic practices with her teammates (D. Kalish).

danielle king • staff writer

H

untley High School’s field house holds many girls walking along the track. As the girls stretch, touching their toes then taking a short step, they eagerly talk about how lovely the weather is. They will finally be able to hold a track practice outside.

Among the girls is sophomore Cassidy Lackovic, who is jogging

around the track. Her legs move in a way that is mesmerizing, almost effortless.

Lackovic began running in the sixth grade when her dad convinced her to join track. Before joining track, she participated in gymnastics and dance for 12 years.

“Since I was a gymnast, my dad just said try out for track, it will keep your speed since you’re out of season for gymnastics,” said Lackovic. “My dad likes to keep me

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in sports.”

Her life consists of running. She jokingly says that her daily routine is Eat. Sleep. Run. She is always running, even if it means trying to catch the bus after being late to the bus stop.

When she is not running outside of school, Lackovic competes in many events for Huntley High School, such as the 4x100, 4x200, 100, 200, and long jump, which is new to her this year. By Lackovic’s side for most of these events is her friend, sophomore Alex Handchetz.

“Cassidy is definitely a person I, or anyone, can look up to, ” said Handchetz. “I feel that a lot of the younger kids do look up to her because she is so good and a lot of people want to be that good too.”

Last year, Lackovic and Handchetz were the only Huntley freshmen to make it to state. They shared a room together and became closer through track.

“Me and her are the best competitors for each other,” said Lackovic. “We will try to support and compete against each other to make each other better.”

Lackovic has accomplished many things, including qualifying for state. Last year, she received over 30 medals, most of them gold. She also broke the school record for the 4x100.

One of her most recent accomplishments is being the Buffalo Wild Wings Athlete of the Month.

Lackovic was chosen over other local female athletes in the area.

“It’s really exciting,” said Lackovic. “It’s recognition of what I am doing and it is so cool!”

Lackovic has had some hardships she’s overcome to become the runner she is today. She has had many injuries due to gymnastics that affects her running, such as an injured knee.

To stay in tip-top shape, Lackovic joined cross country this year. She goes to a cross country summer program through Huntley High School, so that she can be running 24/7 and not lose her rhythm.

“We will go to different places so it is not the same every single time,” said Lackovic.

In the future, Lackovic would like to continue running at the collegiate level. Her dream would be that people know her name because of running.

“I think the sky’s the limit for her,” said track coach Shawn Nordeen. “She can do a lot of great things.”

When it comes to her education in the future, she would like to be in the medical field. Her ideal job would be to be an orthopedic surgeon.

“When I was younger I broke bones a lot, I broke 6 bones,” said Lackovic. “So I was in the orthopedic office a lot. I guess you can say I grew up in the orthopedic office.”

“I think the sky’s the limit for her, she can do a lot of great things.”

- coach Shawn Nordeen Track has made such a positive impact in Lackovic’s life. She feels that she would never have the friends that she has today if she did not join this sport.

“I would have never met Alex [Handchetz], or Sofia [Romano], or Tyra [Miller],” said Lackovic.

“Since track we have been friends, but it has brought us so much closer.”

May 2016 huntleyvoice.com 31

Junior Sam Pitrone starts off strong in his race (M. Czapka).

32 huntleyvoice.com May 2016

SPORTS

Hurdling the competition Sam Pitrone proves to be a star for Huntley track austin zeis • staff writer

C

oming around the last turn on DundeeCrown’s track, thensophomore Sam Pitrone was heading into the final 100 meters, heart-racing, he was still in the lead, but the last hurdle was quickly approaching. Suddenly, jumping over the hurdle, his back right foot caught the hurdle. Within split-seconds, the Jacobs hurdler passes him on his right, placing first. Pitrone was heartbroken and defeated, but determined to get better.

At his first day of track and field practice during his freshman year, Pitrone thought he would only be running for the freshman team but hoped to make the varsity squad.

Entering the East Gym, he saw the upperclassmen stretching and joking around. Pitrone finally realized that those two years of running track with the seventh and eighth grade teams at Heineman will begin to pay off, he just does not know when or where. To his surprise, Coach Rolando invited him to practice with the varsity team, and he excelled.

Not only did he make the varsity team, he performed at as high of a level as most of the seniors. Pitrone made hurdling and running look as easy as walking, but he went through many hardships during his earlier years of track and field.

“One of the few memories I have from my middle school years of track and field was one of the first days of practice,” said Pitrone. “I walked in and I had no clue what events I would be running and competing in, and I never thought that I would take this sport into high school while competing at an elite level.”

One of the biggest problems Pitrone was worried he would face

on the varsity level would be getting along with all of the upperclassmen, as he was one of the very few younger athletes on the team. Little did he know that this would be his biggest problem, and it truly was not a problem at all for him.

Luckily for Pitrone, he has been able to avoid the worst problem of all, injury.

He is lucky that his mom is a nurse, so when he encounters any small injury, it is treated right away before it gets much worse. Pitrone also finds it quite relaxing to ice his legs and to use a heating pad to loosen his muscles out after the ice tightens them up. Most athletes find icing to be a pain and annoying because of how cold that specific part of their body would getm and the numbness of that part is irritating as well, but to Pitrone’s benefit he finds it soothing and relaxing.

Fortunately for Pitrone, his commitment to track and field may just pay off in the long run, as college is just on the horizon. Some of the colleges he has been looking at have been Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois.

Not only do these universities have successful track and field teams, they also have fantastic physical therapy programs. This benefits Pitrone because he would like to major in physical therapy and pursue a career in that field.

“What makes these three colleges special to me is that they have a direct entry program right after you graduate,” said Pitrone. “What I mean by direct entry is that once you get your degree in physical therapy, the school helps you find a job in that specific field. The best part of the program is that if you are unable to find an outside world

job, then the school will hire you until you find a different job.”

One of the biggest things in every sport is that losing is more common than winning. Pitrone has been on the other side of that deal, placing first in the 300 meter hurdles freshman year, and placing second in the same event sophomore year. Pitrone has been very satisfied with his work at his normal meets, consistently medaling in each event he competes in, which includes the 300 meter hurdles, triple jump, and

4x400 meter relay.

“The biggest thing I would preach to any young athlete, but especially to track and field athletes, would be to never lose sight of your dreams, especially in failure,” said Pitrone. “Life is built around failure for the most part but speaking from my experiences, continue to chase your dreams. Ever since I could remember when I began to run track, I always wanted to run in college and now it is a reasonable reality for me.”

Junior Sam Pitrone looks to take first in his race (M. Czapka).

May 2016 huntleyvoice.com 33

SPORTS

Overcoming adversity Tayah Owens fights through injury to excel on the field Junior Tayah Owens takes a throw-in (D. Kalish).

raemon savillo • staff writer

A

s Huntley junior defender Tayah Owens sets up her free kick from the 40-yard line, she looks up and scans the field, trying to find the best person to cross the ball to.

Ever since Owens started playing soccer, she has been in love with the game, and always looks forward to stepping onto the field and competing.

“I started playing soccer when I was 5, and I have been in love with the sport ever since,” said Owens.

Owens’ dad influenced her to play soccer, and he is her motivation to strive for her best and to continue improving her game.

“My biggest influence has been my dad because he was supportive and influential for me in soccer,” said Owens.

Throughout Owens’ soccer career, she has been very successful, as she has been able to earn a lot of

34 huntleyvoice.com May 2016

accolades throughout the years.

“The greatest things I have achieved were being able to reach super-sectionals last year with the girls varsity team, and also being able to finish second in state for travel,” said Owens.

However, with success, there come some roadblocks along the way. One of Owens’ setbacks was dealing with multiple injuries during the past couple of years, but she was able to bounce back and recover.

“Over my past two and a half years, I have had four concussions and a few leg injuries,” said Owens.

“But, thankfully, I was able to recover from the injuries and bounce back and play soccer again.”

But the biggest challenge Owens had to face was during her freshman year when she made the fresh/ soph team in the beginning of the year. However, her hard work and determination were able to land her a spot on the varsity team by the end of the year.

“I was very nervous coming into high school soccer, and my confidence level dropped since I was getting nervous during tryouts and games,” said Owens. “But, as the season went on, my confidence level rose and I was determined to try to get moved up to varsity by the end of the regular season, and my hard work paid off as I was able to get moved up for regionals.”

On the field, Owens is a reliable defender, as she constantly starts for the team and is steadfast in the center of the defense alongside junior Sam Heustis.

“She is a great player in the air and is also a great person for taking throw-ins,” said junior Madison Doty. “Also, I can trust her in the back because she is a great vocal leader.”

“She is very good at winning balls in the air,” said head coach Kris Grabner. “And she is great at distributing the ball when she is able to settle the ball down at the back.”

Even though Owens is one of the leaders on the team, the person she looks up to is senior Brianna Wilder, because of her leadership in the midfield.

“I love all of my teammates, but the person I look up to the most on my team is Bri because she is great at controlling the midfield and is also a great leader,” said Owens.

For this season, Owens’ final goal is to win super-sectionals, since her

“The greatest things I have achieved were being able to reach supersectionals last year with the girls varsity team, and also being able to finish second in state for travel.”

-Junior Tayah Owens team lost in super-sectionals for the past two years.

“My ultimate goal for this season is to win super-sectionals since we lost the year before, and hopefully we will be able to go on and reach the finals for state,” said Owens.

In the future, Owens is hoping to play college soccer, and she has already been keeping track of what colleges she might want to play for.

“After high school, I am hoping I could be able to play college soccer and I would like to play somewhere in Florida,” said Owens.

STAFF EDITORIAL

Admin should take a closer look at internal department chair candidates

D

epartments within a high school need someone to be in charge, whether that be a team leader or department chair. At Huntley High School, English and math department chairs have been around for five years, science three years, and social studies two years.

Within the five years, the English department has had three different department chairs, and the math department has had two. Following this trend, social studies will be moving on to their second department chair next year.

Before department chair positions were created at Huntley, team leaders ran individual departments. After Rochelle Hewlett stepped down as team leader, the position was not stable, frequently changed, causing friction among English teachers. The math department’s team leader was Shelly Kish, for who is now the assistant principal. Shandon Nixon was the team leader for social studies for years prior to creating the department chair position. Cindy Fuhrer was the team leader for science before the creation of the department chair position.

When the department chair positions were created, they weren’t filled by the existing team leaders even though they applied, with the exception of math. English hired Brian Conant. Science hired Chris Ozarka. Social studies hired Shaun Conway. The math position was filled by Kish. Three of the four positions were filled by people who did not teach at Huntley High School, again with the exception of Kish.

Conant left within two years and was replaced with Tom George for a year, who was given the team leader title, not department chair. The English department chair position was then offered the following year, and even though there were internal applicants, James Monaco was hired. When Kish was hired to be assistant principal, Cynthia Schneider was hired to be the math chair, even though there were internal applicants. Ozarka stayed for a year, before quitting. Fuhrer, who originally applied for the position but was passed over, was asked to step into the role when he left.

Now, two years later, Monaco, Conway, and Schneider are all resigning, each one for different reasons. Monaco is going to a school district near his home in Chicago. Conway is going to be an assistant principal at a middle school in Schaumburg. Schneider is still staying at the high school, but stepping down to spend more time in the classroom.

Huntley High School administration has now been given the task of hiring three out of four department chairs before

the end of the school year. We at the Voice think administration needs take a closer look at internal applicants rather than external ones. In the past, internal applicants have been passed over and replaced with external ones, who do not stay for more than a few years.

If we continue this trend, not only will the departments be constantly changing, but the school is going to start to look more and more like a training ground for teachers and administrators who move on to greener pastures.

According to multiple teachers in the social studies and English departments, HHS has become a stepping stone, a place where teachers and administrators come for experience only to leave within four years.

“When hiring any position we are looking for the best candidate for the job,” said Principal Scott Rowe. “Our goal is to develop leaders from within to be ready for this type of position, but at the end of the day, we owe it to our students and community to hire the best available candidate.”

There are positives that can come from external applicants.

Prior experience provides a different perspective than you would get from an internal applicant.

However, hiring internal applicants would not only help maintain continuity within the departments, but also allow for a greater sense of familiarity. Many internal applicants have been at Huntley for a number of years and are dedicated to the school.

In hiring an internal applicant, administration would be hiring someone who is familiar with the school and its initiatives. Coming into a school with as many up-and-coming programs as Huntley has, such as blended and one-to-one, can be intimidating. It would be hard to take over and lead an entire department. An internal applicant would already have been exposed to those initiatives and understand the direction Huntley High School is moving in.

Also, internal applicants understand the curriculum within their department. They are familiar with the teachers in the department, the content students learn, and the classroom environment.

The hiring of department chairs has already begun, starting with the math department. Administration has hired Josh Gschwend, an external applicant. He is currently the assistant principal at Morton High School.

With the remaining two positions, we hope that the administration will take a closer look at internal candidates.

Cassidy Lackovic: Golden Girl

(D. Kalish)