We, The Ravine

We The Ravine

A Whole New Fight For women, the price for helping your country could be worse then death

PG 8-9

PG 10-11

Epidemics Explore the changes in pandemics through time, and why they changed

Table of Contents PG 3

That Causes Cancer??

PG 4-5

Do You Remember....

PG 6

The Wiccans Ways

PG 7

Cover Page

PG 9-8

Abuse in the Military

PG 1011

Epidemics

PG 12

Five Things to Look out for at a Concert/Why you should be at a Graveyard

PG 14

Scum Life

Backpage

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Editor n’ Cheif

Text Editor

Quotes from the editors “You don’t realize the stress of a magazine.” -Lucy Blair, Design Editor “Boop.” -Nick Deerberg, Editor n’ Cheif “I can’t believe it’s not butter!” -Kaden Smidt, Text Editor

Design Editor

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5VBxACwSLZ4/UQX2P3kUGUI/AAAAAAAADfE/gT2I-1fx_lk/s1600/plasticwrap.jpg

HIDDEN DEMONS

by Kaden Smidt

We’re all dying. Nobody truly wants to die, but all of us- ironically- plan our lives around death. We make bucket lists of things to do before we die, we build retirement plans and rest homes to smooth the dying process, and we even vow to our husbands and wives to be faithful “‘Till death do us part”. Death is inevitable. But does it have to come so soon?

Some believe that there are demons in the world around us- hidden aggravators of “the big C”. Average human life expectancy according to the CIA World Factbook is 66 1/2 years old. There’s a chance that by avoiding some of the things listed below, we could raise that number tenfold.

Bisephenol A is a deadly ingredient located in the manufacturing of plastic bottles. It has been a known cancer accelerant for years

Plasticisers are chemicals that are found in clingwrap- that stuff you wrap around your food to preserve it. These plasticisers have been found to create cancer cells, and can enter the food they are being wrapped around- especially fatty foods such as meat or cheese

Over 70 cancer-causing chemicals in cigarette smoke including Arsenic, Formaldahyde, Cadmium, and Acrolein- an ingredient that was actuallyused as a chemical weapon in World War I

The caramel coloring in some of your favorite sodas contains a chemical called 4MI, a known cause of leukemia, as well as lung, liver, and thyroid cancers

You may have heard of this one before- Cell phones have been scientifically proven time and time again to be a cause for concern when dealing with cancer as they produce concentrated doses of microwave radiation that increases the harder the phone has to try to get a signal through (the fewer bars you have). This radiation- which can penetrate the brain- is especially dangerous to children’s heads due to their having smaller, thinner skulls that contain more fluid.

My childhood reminisce

Childhood Reminisces

Katelyn Simpson ’13“Never go into a strangers house while selling cookies.”

Nobuki Harata ’13Broke a glass table. It was an accident.

Alex Bebber ‘15 “ Boys, boys everywhere”

‘

Alexa Oleson ‘16 “I was always the victor” “Dem Bean sammies” -Shelby Kidder, 51

Whitney Duncan ‘13 “Always hid in the cabinets”

Remember When...

By. Lucy Blair

Much has changed from our childhood, not just our bodies, but our experiences. We once spent time on Pokemon; now we can’t stop ‘tweeting.’

Though do you remember sleeping with all of your stuffed animals so they wouldn’t get offended? Watching Nemo in the back of one of those long car rides with ones parents? We can not go back to those days, but we can remember them, nostalgia.

Alexa Oleson ’16, War against the neighbors, as guns they had sticks.

Grabbing hold of the other team’s fort and coming out victor was the highest honor on the street. Along with her best friend Alex Bebber ’16, they would play hot lava tag across the

playground, she had lost her life many times to that game. .

It is different for some of the older generations. Shelby Kidder 51, remembers eating beans on toast as her daily snack in her small Minnesota home as a child, fifty one years ago.

There it compacted 5 kids, a grumpy step father and a full time nurse as a mom. As the eldest, she made all her brothers and sisters beans on toast to save her mom from having to worry.

As the new generation comes into ways, who will be more excited for the new Monsters Inc? The sevenyear-olds? Or the college student waiting to see the beloved characters of Sully and Mike? The memory

of the Disney movies and their rushed sequels is all we need. How do we go about remembering?

How does the childhood memory make them feel? Finally, how does

it affect us today?

Sky photo-flickr

Almost everything you can think of is stereotyped and generalized these days. If someone said the word “witch” to you, what would you envision? Maybe a small, portly woman with warty pale green skin, black robes, and a pointy hat. Maybe reading this article won’t completely sway anyone’s mental image of the word witch- but hopefully it will at least “shake off the pointy hat” so to speak.

The best place to start is to examine the concept of witches and warlocks (male witches) from a historical standpoint.

Since the olden days, witches and their associates have been given a bad name- things would happen around them that no one could explain. As an organized society, we always seem to need a way to describe and categorize everything around us- it makes us feel safe and secure in our own intelligence and understanding of the world. So when we come upon something we can’t explain, we immediately invent explanations of our own- usually resulting in the banishment of these unexplained things or people from the public ranks.

We’ve all heard about the stigma with witches these days- They’re fictional creatures that ride around on broomsticks casting spells, brewing potions, and being terrifying and nasty with their fiendishly evil ways.

Right? Wrong. On all accounts. Not only do these people, By not creatures, PEOPLE, exist- they have their own respected community and are far more common among the general public than the average person may think. These people have a simple belief system; life is something to be celebrated and embraced for what it is- not something to be studied and picked apart, their only god is nature, and they draw their inspiration from the world around them.

Brittney Capps, a teenage Wiccan and newcomer to the culture, says that she was introduced to the idea through her cousins.

They told her about their grandma and Capps was drawn in right away. “I knew I wanted to learn more.” said Capps.

She then mentioned the news about the grandma-witch to a friend of hers, who then admitted that SHE was a Wiccan herself, and Capps began learning from her and eventually fell in love with the idea and inducted herself into the culture. “Having a best friend who has the love for it that I do makes it so much more exciting to be a part of.” said Capps as a parting thought.

Shaking Off The

Pointy Hat

A Wiccans Journey

Kaden Smidt

A WHOLE NEW FIGHT

who is the real enemy?

a whole new fight

by Lucy Blair

Women, like men, want to serve their country, but back in the Civil War times, if women wanted to be a part of the fighting they had to disguise themselves as men, or become mere nurses to help. The strides women have made in the military are amazing. Only recently they are able to fight alongside their fellow soldiers, though few realize the actual danger for women is abuse.

Women don’t even consider the possibility of mistreatment as they sign up and train. They only consider the good they can do in third world countries or for their own country. Approximately 19,000 cases of sexual abuse go unreported, 8 out of 10 women are abused while in service in the military.

"A woman who signs up to protect her country is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire," stated former California Democratic Rep. As the U.S. military acknowledges that women have been serving in the line of fire and thus should be allowed to have combat roles within much of the branches, it also is becom-

ing apparent that those women will have to be mindful not only of the enemy but of the sexual predator who may be serving with them. To stop the constant abuse, Congress and the President have made it easier to file a complaint process.

Defense Secretary and 1st Class Sergeant Chuck Hagel ordered to retrain and re screen all of the military recruiters.

A man who is Chuck Hagel is responsible for, the man is responsible for all sexual abuse cases is now under investigation of sexual misconduct against the unnamed man among other charges are being filed. It has been said that he forced a subordinate into prostitution. Another example of the higher ranking officers being accused of sexual misconduct is ten days after the investigation started with the first man. A lieutenant colonel who led the Air Force’s sexual-assault prevention programs was arrested in Arlington County on charges that he groped and battered a woman in a parking lot.

Dawn Grimes 51, in the Marines, veteran who was in service in the 1980’s. At the time of her serving, only 5% of the

military were women and was surrounded by a “male dominant culture.” While stationed in California she had to pass a 3 story building to get to the “chow hall,” the 3 story building was known for the “male barracks” which came alive from all 3 stories. “It was part of the culture and I just learned how to deal with it or avoid it. It was embarrassing and humiliating but not surprising and to some degree it was just a situation that I adapted to and overcame, to the best of my ability.” But the longer Grimes spent in the Marines her rank grew along with her, and soon stopped most of the harassment which was started by lower ranking individual. Nothing serious happened to her while her serving, only innuendo and flirtation by the senior officers. Grimes says to this generation of women to use their common sense - do not let yourself get into unsafe situations, especially if drinking is involved.

“Military bases are not unlike college campuses and the incidence of abuse increases dramatically when alcohol or drugs are involved.” Grimes states it will take a genera-

tion of women to change the attitudes of men towards the women in combat. Her final advice to women is to “not be naive to age old attitudes that will only be changed by time, education and new socialization among those serving.”

The military, which is mainly male dominated. There is some men there believe women should not be in combat, should not be there at all. Are protected by their fellow soldiers and higher ranking officers. Females being abused are now urged to report the abuse or sexual innuendos but are often too scared. Only a new wave of job education and training will put an end to this, but it will take time.

EPIDE

Epidemics have always been a part of life. But looking back on old ones and comparing them to new, we can really see the strides we have made... and the ones we need to work on

N E H

T

By Nick Deerberg

BLACK DEATH

If you’re like me, you probably are starting to read this, knowing that the Black Death was some old epidemic, and a pretty serious one at that. But the seriousness of this epidemic is overlooked too often. The Black Death was most prevalent during 1348- 1350. In that time, it single handedly wiped out 75 to 200 million people. Since then, Black Death has turned up around Europe every so often, but eventually ended in the 19th century.

BUBONIC PLAGUE A lot of people get Bubonic Plague and Black Death confused. That is because the Bubonic Plague is the Black Death.

Bubonic Plague starts when an infected flea bites a human.

Then the disease infects their lymph nodes and leaves nasty sores all over their body. After some vomiting, body aches, and other flu like symptoms, the plague often takes a persons life. Doesn’t sound so great, does it? But there is a simple way this could potentially all be avoided. Use bug spray my friends.

10 FEATURE MAY 31, 2012

EMICS

NO

CHOLERA

SWINE FLU You most likely remember the swine flu, and knew at least one person who had it. Although it passed through pretty fast, it was one of the bigger pandemics of our time. The flu is very common among pig populations, and the chances of it being spread to humans are very slim. But in the case of the pandemic, it spread to one person who proceeded to spread it to almost 300,000 people.

W

Cholera isn’t as big of a deal as it used to be, but believe it or not, it kills 100,000 to 130,000 people in America alone (2010).

It starts out with diarrhea and vomiting. If these initial stages aren’t solved fast, they can lead to rapid dehydration. The reason people end up dead from Cholera is because they don’t treat the dehydration and it eventually brings them to their demise.

Although the Bubonic Plague isn’t something you need to be worrying about, Cholera is still out there and if you aren’t careful about your food or water and don’t get proper treatment, you could end up dehydrated with extremely uncomfortable bowel movements... or worse.

MAY 31, 2012 FEATURE 11

Five things to look out for at a concert

by Lucy Blair

The world of concerts. Fun, enjoyable and overall exciting. The feeling of the beat inside your ribcage and shrieks coming from the audience. But among the fun, dangers lurks in the loud music, confusion and other people’s sweat and spilled beer that is a concert.

Molly- Or MDMA, one of the top party drugs. The chance of getting Molly blown in your face is slim. But always be aware that it can cause dry mouth, teeth grinding while sleeping, jaw clenching, lack of appetite, depression and many more symptoms.

Spiking of Drinks- Perverts. Perverts everywhere. If you happen to have a drink, do not leave it somewhere and come back for it

10 minutes later. Cover the top of the drink with your thumb to prevent someone slipping roofies in.

Moshing- Body parts shoving against you, pulled in different directions. Shoulders slamming into your chest and or face. Just watch the YouTube videos before you enter the depths.

Flying stage divers- “A personal story, I was standing there minding my business at the blue moose. Listening to one of my favorite bands.

Suddenly, a girls midsection hits the top of my head, knees crumbled under this surprised weight. Though her weight caught me off guard I did not let her drop to the floors to be trampled.” -Blue Moose goer

Beware the adult men.,They probably want to kill you.

Concerts, fun and exciting, one has fun at concerts. Seeing your favorite band, but there are always some dangers to the outtside world. And I am here to warn you of those scary, scary things. You are welcome.

Why you should hang out in cemeteries

by Nick Deerberg

Cemeteries. We all see them, but don’t really take the time to appreciate them. As a kid you would drive by and hold your breath for as long as possible. As you grow older though, they become a sort of figment of your imagination. You see them in movies and think “Huh, I haven’t been to one of those in a while.” Well now’s your chance to go back to those mystical (ehhh). And if you can’t find a reason, well, I’m here to give you a reason.

My first reason is one that lots of teenagers enjoy. You can call it lots of things, but I prefer to call it “Ghost Hunting”. Some cemeteries aren’t great for that, but for our area, you can just go down to Oakland Cemetery and take a

late night visit to see the infamous Black Angel.

Another haunted cemetery nearby is Tillie’s Grave in Cedar Rapids. But just remember when visiting these haunted areas: BE SAFE!!!

I can’t stress this enough. You don’t want to end up dead. I mean, unless you don’t believe in that stuff...

Back in the day, cemeteries were actually happier places, where a family may gather to have a picnic, or friends who haven't seen each other in years would meet up for the first time.

I guess what I’m saying is, maybe during the daytime you and a few friends or family members could go to your local cemetery and have a nice, relaxing picnic. And of course after the

picnic, ghost hunt.

And of course, you can always go to... I don’t know... mourne someone’s loss? I know it sounds pretty stupid to teenagers, but take it from me, it’s actually kind of nice and calming to visit the grave of someone you knew. It’s also a great way to relieve some stress after a long day at school, or some other extremely stressful event.

So hopefully you appreciate those dark, sad places a little more now. Next time you drive by your local cemetery, take a moment to appreciate it, and maybe stop in for a visit, because they aren’t as creepy as they seem.

High rise in Iowa City

by Nick Deerberg Photos and Design by Nick Deerberg As technology advances, so do the things around it. In this case, we see bigger and bigger buildings popping up in our prized downtown ped mall. Newer buildings are towering over older, smaller ones. Some see this as a good thing, whereas others are against it. As one Iowa City pedestrian said, “The New York City skyline doesn’t look like it did in the 60’s.” A new, towering building is currently being put up next to the library in the ped mall downtown. Locals have mixed feelings, and very strong opinions. Angie Kalwies 16’ said about the building, “The building won’t fit because the ped mall is too small to accommodate it.” It seems most West High students feel strongly opposed to the building. “I feel like it draws away the attention of its surroundings, and creates a somewhat intimidating vibe. I like the sunlight and the spaciousness downtown used to obtain, yo’,” said Chandler Myers 14’.But not all people see a negative side to it. “Quite frankly, it is quite petty for somebody to oppose the building of a building based on its height. I fail to see any reason why this structure should not be erected,” said Harry Manaligod 15’.To see some of the locals opinions, find us on YouTube.

MAY 31, 2012 Photo Story 13

facebook

Our Generation

By Nick Deerberg

We all know the feeling when you scroll down your Facebook wall, and you spot the daily hypocritical post.

Keep scrolling, and you may see the attention seeker.

After a facepalm, you continue scrolling, hoping to find something logical, but eventually lose faith. Below, we’ve created a typical modern day Facebook wall.

Friends

The Hypocrite I hate those people who post stuff about their problems. Like anyone cares!

Our Generation: Have you seen the stuff you put on here...

The Overdramatic Why do I even bother? You don’t even notice me.

A Fellow Overdramatic: You don’t deserve him honey!

The Attention Seeker I can’t take this anymore. #sodone Person: What’s wrong?

The Attention Seeker: I don’t wanna talk about it...

Photos

Likes

The Comedian All I want in life is for someone to give me hugs and potato salad Our Generation: ...

The Overdramatic Why do I even bother? You don’t even notice me.

A Fellow Overdramatic: You don’t deserve him honey!

The Indirect Poster Stop being such an annoying *****? K thanks.

Person: I know!!!