The Wire, Issue 5, 2014-2015

THE

WIRE

Lewis Central High School

>>> PROMPOSALS pgs. 8 & 9 >>> ROAD RAGE pg. 12 >>> BUCKET LISTS pg. 16

April 2015

Issue 5

THE

Advertising wire STAFF Editor in Chief Jenny Pedersen Managing Editor Gabbi Rasmussen Co-Design Editors Emily LeMaster Abby Oswald Business Manager Gabbi Rasmussen Photography Editor Jocelyn Nightser Sports Editor Bailey Teply Copy Editor Taylor Smith Reporters Olivia Alexander Megan Bailey Ally Bergsten Kacie Foss Kristin Huey Jake Lieber Brenden O’Brien Mateo Rodriguez Arianna Young EDITORIAL POLICY:

1745 Madison Ave. (712) 322-9260 2323 W. Broadway (712) 328-9792 A proud supporter of Lewis Central.

2323 W. Broadway (712) 328-9792 A proud supporter of Lewis Central

The Wire is the official Lewis Central student newspaper and it is distributed free of cost to the students. The opinions expressed in this publication reflect those of the student writers and not Lewis Central administration, faculty, or its adviser. The Wire is published seven times throughout the school year and by the Suburban Times in Papillion, Nebraska.

THE PURPOSE OF THE WIRE IS TO:

-inform students of current and relevant events -interpret and analyze complex events and issues that affect students -serve as a forum for discussion of controversial issues

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:

The Wire staff strongly encourages responses to articles appearing in the newspaper. Letters may be submitted to room 401. The letters must be signed, legible, and concise. The staff reserves the right to edit letters for length, grammar, and punctuation. These letters should also be free of profanity, vulgarity, or words with undesirable meanings.

jpedersen@lewiscentral.org

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P. 4-5

P. 6-7

AROUND THE SCHOOL

FINE ARTS

Meet the “YouTubers” of LC, Spanish club, National History Day, school safety and the TeamMates program.

BPA takes on nationals, speech comes to an end and the student council hosts another great conference.

NEWS

P. 12

Bullying, road rage, noteworthy animals and foods with an unusual twist.

-table of contents-

OPINION

P. 13

How learning has evolved, the legalization of marijuana and the ethics of designing babies.

P. 8-9

FEATURE Prom- it all adds up.

ADVERTISING

P. 2 & 14

Check out the supporters of The Wire.

SPORTS

P. 10-11

LC golf, track, March Madness and sports injuries.

On

the

Cover

Junior Tanner Hawkinson plays his saxophone in the media center.

Photo by Taylor Smith

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Around The School

TAYLOR SMITH COPY EDITOR

Conducting your own research is very common in your English or Science classes, but not as common in History.

For those students who find themselves interested in digging deeper into the mysteries of the world’s history instead of learning standard curriculum, there is an option to do so.

NHD is a year-long academic program that allows students from various middle and high schools to conduct their own original research on a certain topic of choice. Any student is eligible to sign up and create their own project, which can be anything from a large poster to a documentary.

This year, the theme is leadership and legacy. Three juniors, Haley French, Haley Sanders, and Haley Kelly, all grouped up to create a project on Gloria Steinem, a famous leader during the feminist movement in the late 1960’s.

“Since there are three Haley’s in the group, we were trying to find a woman named Haley to research for the project, but we ended up not finding anyone, and chose Gloria instead,” says Haley Sanders.

In order to finish their projects in time, the Haley’s are able to get out of their history class most days to go work.

Each of them had to set up a certain schedule with their teacher, in order to still get credit for the class.

“At first I thought it’d be a good idea to only come to class on major test or project days, but when I took the first test, I wasn’t prepared at all,” Sanders says.

After further discussion with government teacher Dan Miller, Haley and he decided that she would just present her finished project to the class for her final grade.

The first presentation of these projects was at the public library on Saturday, March 21st, and will determine which projects go to state competition in Des Moines. If this program interests you, be sure to talk to TAG teacher Lorraine Duitsman for more information on signing up.

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SAFETY FIRST

Better safe than sorry.

KRISTIN HUEY REPORTER

How safe you feel at school is not something we should even have to think about, but sadly it is. At schools there is violence, drugs, and even the possibility of sexual assault.

Our world is becoming more unsafe as the years go on, and teenagers should start to realize that and do something to protect themselves. In the U.S., 33 schoolassociated, violent deaths occurred in the 2009-2010 school year, according to dosomething.org. 18 of these deaths occurred on school property. No one can really answer the question why students want to engage in violent behavior, but it is something we cannot ignore. Since 1992, there has been 387 school shootings in our country, 387 times someone has decided that they are going to go to school with a gun and hurt people, 387 times too many.

Often we don’t ask our students how safe they feel at school. Sophomore Cassie Strietbeck tells me that she has experienced scary situations. She tells me that violence

is not so much there in every school you go to, but at some, Strietbeck has witnessed students chemically induced and fighting.

When asked how she felt about school violence Strietbeck told me, “Crack down on it, crack down on the students. That’s what we need to do to make it stop.”

School safety has become a bigger deal than it ever has been. What we as teenagers need to do is educate our peers about this situation, and work together to end it.

It isn’t unusual for students to carry pepper spray to school, kids nowadays feel more of a threat.

Photo by Jocelyn Nightser

LENDING A HELPING HAND MEGAN BAILEY REPORTER

Mentors help for a better education.

Encouragement, a new look on your education, and helping hands is what the TeamMates program is all about. The TeamMates mentoring program here at school was designed to provide effort and encouragement to students, to get them the grades they need and are capable of. The goal of this program is to see the youth that they are mentoring succeed and graduate from high school with flying colors. The mentoring program meets one hour per week with the youth and their mentors.

The mentors that serve in this program are caring adults from the community or here at school. These mentors give the youth a sense of “hope, purpose, and vision.”

“We match a student between the grades of 3-12 with an adult that goes through a training process for this program. The student and the mentor meet for about 45 minutes once a week to talk during school.” said program coordinator Andy Walters.

Walters went on to say that this program is an outlet to share about what is going on in

their life, applying for a job, and helping life at home. They encourage to get them on the track to graduation, maintain their grades, and achieve the best they can be.

This program has helped many students and taught those lessons, as well as the mentor themselves. It’s a great opportunity to achieve great success. For more information about this program or joining this program, contact Mr. Walters by email at awalters@lewiscentral. org or by phone at 712-366-8342. For information about what the program, you can visit lewiscentral.org and click on the bullet that reads “Become a Mentor Today!” on the left of the home page.

Becoming a mentor could change your point of view on the way you’ve seen things in your life. Even if you’re struggling with school a mentor could change your point of view on the way you see your education. A mentor and the youth can have huge impacts on each other and only for the better.

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NATIONAL HISTORY DAY

-around the school-

T WO I S B E T T E R TOP

ALLY BERGSTEN REPORTER

Go discover what other cultures have to offer.

El club de español es muy divertido, speaking two languages helps the brain grow and improves test scores. Studies show that taking the time to learn more than one language helps tremendously. Not only can it help with test scores but it helps with getting a job, communicating with other people, and when traveling you are able to order the food you want. Things are changing, eighty percent of the world speaks two languages, so don’t be that twenty percent.

Spanish club can help you improve

your speaking skills. Srta. Allard runs the club and ideally they meet once a month, rarely are they ever in a classroom. They like to explore and try new things and go places to experience the culture up close. In November, they brought Ennio Emmanuel to perform a concert which hosted more than 800 students, this year the plans are to go to South Omaha to attend the Cinco de Mayo Parade and to eat at the delicious authentic restaurants. Enjoy Spanish? In the club you get to do stuff they can’t in class.

STARS ON THE RISE BRENDEN O’BRIEN

LC Youtubers make their mark.

REPORTER Youtube is an internet sensation that is viewed by billions of people every day, with over a billion individual user accounts.

The site has little restrictions allowing users to freely express themselves or others within their videos. Several Lewis Central Students own accounts and create several videos with much success.

Sophomores Olivia Behm and Kitty Terhune both have personal accounts in which they frequently post videos for viewers to enjoy, while expressing their passion. Olivia’s channel consists primarily of makeup tutorials in an effort to help prevent likely struggles associated with it, or even teach someone something they may have not known before. “I never planned on making videos until it was suggested to me. I didn’t ever think it could be as much fun as it is and I really enjoy making them.”

Kitty however, expresses herself through her music. The talented sophomore, is a member of the choir and enjoys singing a variety of music for others to enjoy. “The

thing that inspires me to make videos is to try to reach a bigger audience and positively impact others’ lives.”

Senior Dillon Kinart has been publishing gaming videos for a little over a year and many of his videos have received thousands of views. Dillon enjoys making the videos and has invested lots of money into his equipment. His channel range from tutorial videos, to funny moments, and simply enjoying gaming with friends.

He also has a designated room where most of his equipment such as computers, microphones, and televisions are located.

This room has also essentially developed into a place where not only he, but friends can come to relax and have a good time.

“Making the videos and getting so many views is a quite a thrill but, I enjoy having the space for my friends and I to get together and have a good time.”

The rise to fame is no easy feat, but the passion for what they do is what drives them to success.

TWEETS

“I’m also on Twitter.”

Taylor Rolles Sophomore @_TaylorRolles

“Why can’t friends hang out and have fun without getting drunk and doing drugs?????”

Melanie Annan Freshman @MelanieAnnan “Kinda wish I still had my gap so I could say get the London look on dub smash..”

Sam Mailahn Senior @SamMailahn “Hide and Seek in a house with no furniture... let the real challenge begin” Kyla Goodman Senior @kyylagoodman “gotta stop spending money on food but I JUST LOVE PANERA AND DOBA AND TASTEE TREAT” Allie Wolf Junior @_ALLIEWOLF

Oliva Behm, Kitty Terhune, and Dillon Kinart produce and post Youtube videos for others to enjoy. Be sure to check out the beauty guru, talented singer, or the dedicated gamer. the

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“If you aren’t driving with your windows down and country music blasting with weather like this what are you doing with your life?”

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KILN TIME?

KACIE FOSS REPORTER

Movies, tv shows, football teams, and characters are a big part of the inspiration of the four pottery projects to get one or two of them down in the library to show them off and having to go through the pressure of having all of their projects done by the end of the term.

Haley Sanders explains how her inspiration for her best project was from watching the movie ‘The Box Trolls’, “I thought he was such an interesting character, so why not re-create it?” She coiled the neck up to the top of his head, then added the eyes, ears, nose, and all the hair afterwards, “the hardest part was keeping him from being dry, I ended up having to put him in a huge trash bag.” Haley loves being artistic and by having to paint her project, she was excited she would be able to use her skills, “overall, it was an awesome project to create!”

Kaylie Saldana explained how she made her Mother Nature’s daughter sculpture, “The first time I was in pottery, I made Mother Nature and so I figured I’d make her daughter,” she explained. She had to coil the entire thing, put a couple slabs on, and had put some details in and carved some things out. “I had to poke holes in the top of her head so she didn’t explode in the kiln, also I had to spray it with water every single day to keep her from drying out,” she said.

“We do it to reward students for going above and beyond the expectations in the pottery room, ” states Clay Cunningham.

The pottery projects were displayed down in the library to show off all of the students hard work and their best pieces during the second term.

Left Meredith Ellis’s published pottery piece.

“My inspiration was my favorite childhood movie Finding Nemo.”

- Sophomore Meredith Ellis.

Left Haley Sanders published pottery piece.

“I was Inspired by Box Trolls, I saw the dad and saw how detailed he was and I wanted to make him.”-Junior Haley Sanders

Photos by Kacie Foss

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SPEECH SHENANIGANS

Individual speech shows them who’s best.

ABBY OSWALD

CO-DESIGN EDITOR

Patient, hardworking, and successful are a few words to describe any given speech kid. Instead of just standing up in front of the crowd and speaking, speech kids do more than just the ordinary speech.

A few of the different categories range from singing and acting, to public address, improv, and making up speeches to perform on the spot.

The top speakers who made it to all state were, sophomore Jonny Cox, for the second year in a row, in prose and seniors Olivia Overholtzer in solo musical theater and Alejandra Shell in public address and poetry. The best of the best were (results of all state) At districts on February 28th, the speakers broke the record for the amount of people with division one ranking, the best rank to get, and the chance to go to state.

Coaches, Laurie Nielsen and Trudy Kimble were really excited to see all of the great ranking. Nielsen says, “ So proud of my students’ hard work when we break records.

I also have to acknowledge that we have a team of coaches who can give multiple perspectives on a speech.”

The following weekend, March 7th, the speech crew took a trip down to the

Anita invitational hoping to hold onto their winning title from the previous year.

Half of the 24 students were new speech goers. The Titans won the meet by two points, and brought home more than 12 trophies and a huge trophy to signify yet another win. The students that brought home trophies were in the top three of their category. The winners were, freshmen; Ottilie Cooper-Ohm, Olivia Schneider, Nolan King, Jordan Dickinson, and Emily Finnegan, sophomores; Johnny Cox and Austin Dunham, juniors; Brian Rew, and Senior Olivia Overholtzer and Alejandra Shel. One of the newcomers, Junior Deane Statzer says, “I enjoy speech because it’s a whole different way of competition rather than running, and it’s a different kind of stress relief.”

State was held on March 14th at Nevada high school with over 20 speech students attending the tough competition.

Out of 25 ratings, 19 of them were division 1 ratings. Only the top 4% in the state of Iowa get to move onto all state, it is great that Cox, Shell, and Overholtzer were able to make it. The alternative winter sport is losing some great talent, but also gaining younger talent. The speech program is something to be watching in the years to come.

THE PEOPLE OF TOMORROW

MATEO RODRIGUEZ REPORTER

BPA club is going to nationals.

For some students a simple club can do a lot to benefit in the long run. Business Professionals of America (BPA) teaches their members to develop academic skills along with business skills towards state and national competition.

Competition rivals range from statewide to countrywide. The BPA are preparing for nationals now. With the help of the fundraising throughout the year, they are able to compete for nationals. “We will compete well, but there are close to 1,000 students from all over the country; it will be very hard to top three,” explains BPA advisor Cheryl Casey, Derek Archer and Kathie Lincoln are the other sponsors.

Senior Sara Braymen says that BPA benefits more than just developing business skills. “I’m going in the medical field, to do medical office procedure. The business part I need to learn for this is insurance and BPA helps with that.”

For state, everyone placed in the top 10, for all kinds of events like Advanced Accounting and Financial Accounting Analyst. Junior Harley Waldstein and senior David Michael had most of the events. The students going to represent LC in nationals are seniors Sara Braymen, Dominika Jedinak, Monika Nikseresht, David Michaels, and Harley Waldstein.

Competition will be held May 6 through May 10. They are going to be in Anaheim, California.

Seniors Monica Nikseresht, Sara Braymen, Dominika Jedinak and junior Harley Waldstein will go to nationals in Anaheim, California in May.

Photos by Mateo Rodriguez

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Fine Arts

-fine arts-

I “BET” YOU DIDN’T KNOW THIS A TRIP TO ST. LOUIS The problem of underage gambling.

BRYN NORVILLE

GUEST REPORTER

Sixteen years old, what started as a game, evolved into a boy living in a hostel and being disowned by family because of one devastating decision to gamble illegally. Gambling is an addictive form of entertainment that has produced a problematic issue: underage gambling.

Eighty percent of adolescents have engaged in gambling. From that eighty percent, four to eight percent have a serious problem, which surpasses adults at one to three percent. Underage gambling triggers crime, depression, suicide, substance abuse and destructive relationships.

The availability of government lotteries, TV poker and internet gambling

ARIANNA YOUNG

REPORTER Lewis Central’s leadership conferences started three years ago when senior Kyler Nixon and the student council decided to step up and create their own. After attending a different conference, Nixon and a few other students were inspired to create a new leadership conference because they knew that our school could do better. After talking to the student council adviser Lu Peverill and getting the student council members on board, they decided to call the conference START. START is a loud verb that is meant to encourage the students to make an impact in their school. The conference was set up for the schools around our area; Harlan, Glenwood, Papillion La Vista, St. Albert, and Fremont were a few of the twenty-three schools that attended the conference. Part of the purpose of a leadership conference is to get involved with the students of other schools, and START

lure gamblers into an addictive habit.

Contributing factors are parents who gamble, age of first gambling experience, family problems, and having medical, psychiatric or addictive disorders. The consequences differ from state to state, but could include a 500-1000 dollar fine, license suspension and a misdemeanor on one’s personal record.

The ramifications of a fine, and a blemish on one’s record don’t compare to the repercussions in one’s life. A person may be in debt, lose loved ones, abuse drugs and alcohol, or be tempted to end their life. The next time you consider carelessly playing a game of roulette, consider how all addictions start, with one decision.

has accomplished that goal.

At the beginning of the conference, the students did a few icebreakers like ultimate thumb wrestling and extreme musical chairs.

At the conference the students also observed Canadian speaker Blake Fly that taught them about how the students shouldn’t let others get in the way of their dreams. Fly also played guitar during the conference as some entertainment for the students. After the speaker, the students split into groups and had the opportunity to attend three of the many breakout sessions. A few of the sessions were led by seniors Kristin Ahrens, Noah Hahn, and junior Noah Korner.

The event was so great that #START2015 trended on Twitter. Because START has been such a success, student council is hoping to set up similar plans for next year. The student council will make sure that there will be a group of people that is capable of making START 2016 a big success.

Seniors Taylor Kjeldgaard and Kyler Nixon play a friendly game of thumb war at the start conference. Afterwards, STUCO members gather around to listen to guest speaker Blake Fly before splitting off into break out sessions.

Photos by Abby Oswald the

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KRISTIN HUEY REPORTER

A fun, and memorable trip to St. Louis is what band and choir have in mind for this summer.

Every four years, band and choir take a trip to celebrate all they’ve accomplished and experience new adventures. This years trip to St. Louis will be full of going to the Arch, Six Flags, and performing at the Riverfront Overlook Stage. Two hundred students will be attending the trip, and if you asked any of them they would say they are so excited.

“I’m so excited to be able to go to St Louis. I’m especially excited to go to Six Flags,” says sophomore Savannah Whatcott.

For the trip each kid has to have five hundred and fifty dollars to pay for all of their expenses. To anyone that can be a lot of money, so to help get enough for every student, they fund raise. One thing they do is sell coupon books, even a hypnotist came to the middle school auditorium and did a session for anyone who wanted to go. It was a lot of fun for the people who fell under hypnosis, like junior, Kassie Larsen. Larsen say’s that while being hypnotized she had no clue what was going on, but towards the end she could remember some things.

Many are excited for the band and choir trip this summer, to have lots of fun, and fund raising helped make that happen.

Senior Sam Mailahn, sophomore Olivia Husa, juniors Colton Lear and Brittany Thompson and sophomore Kristian Nielsen fall victim to the hypnotist’s power of suggestion.

Photo by Kristin Huey

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SPORTS SHORTS

The latest in sports

TEEING OFF Titan Golf Three-StepPrep is in full swing.

JAKE LIEBER

BAILEY TEPLY

Ndamukong Suh has signed with the Miami Dolphins for a six year, $114 million dollar contract. Suh’s move to the Dolphins comes after his former team, the Detroit Lions, did not use the franchise tag to keep him on the team for one more year.

The Lions decision stems mostly from the fact that they had paid big contracts to quarterback Matthew Stafford and receiver Calvin Johnson.

It is spring and that means golf is in full swing, see what I did there. For the guys, it means that it is their second season this year and for the girls, their first.

In the fall the guys had four 18 hole matches, and no nine hole matches. The guys are looking for a good spring season “We are a lot deeper talent wise than last year. It really helps keep the competitive attitude within the team high during practice and meets,” said head coach Steve Koester.

They will be led by seniors David Michaels and Noah Hahn.

The girls on the other hand have already played a round of 18 this year. The team, lead by freshman Opal Fox, did the best they could but did not meet their own standards.

“None of the girls were very happy with their scores, they all knew that they could do much better,” Koester said. Fox got third place, scoring a 99.

REPORTER

Former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Chris Borland retires, citing that he fears for his long term health. Borland says “From what I’ve researched and what I’ve experienced, I don’t think it’s worth the risk.” Borland was a standout rookie linebacker on 49ers team that was depleted at linebacker after losing two key players.

Borland is only 24 years old.

NBA point guard Steve Nash retires after 19 seasons. Nash most famously played for the Phoenix Suns alongside teammate Amare Stoudemire. Nash also played with the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers. At the beginning of the season, Nash was ruled out for the season with a back injury. Nash won two MVP awards and was an eight time all-star throughout his hall-of-fame career.

Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Devon Still announced that his daughter, Leah, is in remission from cancer. On June 2nd, 2014, Leah Still was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma stage 4 cancer. Devon Still and the Cincinnati Bengals used money from Still’s jersey sales to pay for hospital fees. Still shaved his head in support of his daughter.

Former North Carolina coach Dean Smith, who died last month at the age of 83, left $200 in his will to every letter winner at North Carolina during his 36 year tenure.

During Smith’s tenure there were about 180 letter winners. Former player Serge Zwikker said “I didn’t know what it was, then it hit me, it put a tear in my eye.”

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SPORTS EDITOR

Sophomore Payton Schmidt sets the ball on the tee, lines up her shot and takes a swing.

Senior Noah Hahn and junior Kirby White take their practice swings on the driving rage before heading out on the course.

Photos by Jenny Pedersen

DUKE TAKES THE CROWN

A recap of the NCAA March What an end to March Madness! When it Madness Tournament.

JAKE LIEBER REPORTER

comes to the NCAA tournament there are no guarantees because one bad shooting game, bad defensive performance, or breakdown at the end of the game can sink an entire teams season in an instant.

Iowa State and Baylor are an example of this. Both teams were expected to roll by their respected opponents.

In the Cyclones case their poor shooting got them ousted in round one by UAB. Baylor couldn’t maintain a 12 point lead and ridiculous 3 pointer sunk them. But there are always those games where the other teams talent just outweighs effort. After a West Virginia player said they were going to beat No. 1 Kentucky, the Wildcats proceeded to beat them by 39 points.

Then there are teams like Michigan State which, it doesn’t matter what seed they are or the amount of overall talent they have. Come tournament time they are a tough out for

anyone and with some luck along the way they were able to get into the final four. It is amazing how good of a coach Tom Izzo is.

But for all the upsets that happened in this tournament, the final four still ended up with one seeds Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Duke. Dukes talent squashed a Michigan State team that had been playing hard. Wisconsin, led by Frank Kaminsky, shocked the nation when they ousted the Kentucky Wildcats who were favored to win the tournament.

This led to the final showdown of the year between Duke and Wisconsin in which Duke won 68-63 due to big performances

by Tyus Jones and Grayson Allen. The tournament left some fans disappointed and others overjoyed, which it seems to bring every year.

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Sports

-sports-

CALLING IT QUITS?

When is the right time to walk away?

BAILEY TEPLY SPORTS EDITOR

Sophomore Alec Mass (Left) and junior Brendon Quandt (Right) run their legs in the varsity 4x110 meter shuttle hurdle at the Glenwood invite. The shuttle hurdle team took fourth overall.

TRAINING FOR FIRST

OLIVIA ALEXANDER REPORTER

Track team takes charge in their goal for first.

Track; there is preparation and competition for these athletes. The runners don't just stop training after practice. There is a lot of preparing on their own time.

Not only are these athletes competing with other runners in their events, they're competing with themselves. If they don't train to be champions, they will not be. They need a healthy diet, regular workout, and be physically prepared for the meets to succeed.

To even get a chance to succeed they need to stay on top of their school work.

Senior Keeley Swenson went to state sophomore year and her goal is to return.

Swenson and her group ran the 4x100 relay in 54.7 seconds two years ago at state. Her goal is to return and run that event in 51 seconds this year. To do this Swenson trains everyday on the track but it does not end when she gets off. She keeps a clean diet

and after practice she ices. The night before meets she loads up on carbs with a dinner of pasta.

Being passionate about something you love doing can get you places. This is why junior Brian Rew is great at what he does.

“What I enjoy most is that I can just go out and do what I love every day during the spring,” says Rew. His goal is to make it back to state for the third year in a row in any event. He runs the long jump, the 4x2 relay, the 4x1 relay, and the distance medley relay.

To reach his goal he trains every day when the season starts and keeps his diet clean by cutting out pop and drinking more water.

Track isn't just running in a circle. It’s physical and mental strength, conditioning, dieting, and competing with yourself and others. You need passion and dedication to succeed in a sport like track.

Sophomore Drew Sieleman (left) and junior Bailey Teply (right) run the fourth and third leg of the 4x110 meter shuttle hurdle relay at Glenwood.

Junior Caleb Shudak stalks a St. Albert runner as he takes on the 2nd leg of the varsity 4x800 meter run.

Photos by Jocelyn NIghtser the

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Junior Cory Lear shows off his stride as he runs the 3rd leg in the varsity 4x800 meter run.

Junior Easton Archibald takes on the last 100 meters of the varsity 4x800 meter run. The team took eighth out of nine.

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? The better question is how many injuries does it take to end a career?

Athletes are putting their lives and bodies on the line every day. Some are doing it for the love of the game, some doing it for fun, and a select few are doing it for money, but is the money really worth it?

Now I know that there are other sports that include contact but none that are as brutal and as draining as football, except for Rugby, those guys are crazy.

The NFL is all about business, they could care less about the players in my opinion. As long as the players are bringing in fans and money, everyone is happy. It is all fun and games until the player decides to hang up the cleats and collect his last paycheck. For some players, they go on and live a healthy, happy life. For the rest, not so much.

A recent ABC News story surveyed 3,377 retired NFL players, 1,594 of those players responded. Out of the responders 15 percent said they suffer from chronic illnesses and severe depression. In another survey by Newsdaily, 763 players surveyed, took a look into the transition from NFL to life after football. Of the retired players 41 percent suffered from injuries and were not cared for by the NFL. In my mind the player is like an old, used car. You drive it and get the most out of it until it just reaches its demise, then you get a new one, or in the NFLs’ mind, a younger, better football star.

Yes, I know a car is not a human being but you get the reference. I think that the NFL should care for their retired veterans. I mean the player did spend five or so years of his life earning you money. But is there much that the NFL can do? They can not do much to help depression or chronic illness at the moment, unless Jerry Jones starts putting some of his money towards a good use like brain research instead of building something unnecessary, like a giant Tony Romo Statue.

In the NFL's’ defense, they do make you sign a waiver so it’s not like these players were straight up lied to. The players who come out and say that they have brain illnesses after their retirement have probably experienced one too many concussions. If that is the problem I think the NFL should set a limit and if a player reaches that limit they are basically forced into retirement and taken care of for their for their own good.

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NEWS BRIEFS What’s going on in the news.

GABBI RASMUSSEN BUSINESS EDITOR

Missing cheese- Authorities are still trying to locate a tractor filled with $85,000 in mozzarella cheese. Apparently, the driver left the truck unattended at a truck stop and came back out to find it missing. The missing cart of cheese has Michigan license plates and is white with the logo “Hudsonville Trailer Sales.”

Crabby Badger- Police were called to the premises of a luxury hotel in Stockholm after a nervous badger prohibited anyone from coming in or leaving the hotel.

Finally, after the police were called the badger left at free will.

Law enforcement claimed that the badger seemed stressed or “crazed.”

Stockholm police spokesman, Albin Birch, said that the badger was probably on the edge after just waking up from hibernation.

Creepy Cuisine- If you like salt and vinegar crickets or buffalo flavored worms than the street store, Pesturaunt is for you.

Pesturaunt is a company that sets up kiosks in cities across the globe.

The restaurant is ran by Britains most pristine pest control who aims to “interpret street food.” Popular things on the menu involve salt & vinegar crickets, BBQ worms and roasted locusts.

Stowaway Chihuahua- A woman at the airport was stopped at the baggage security check after TSA reported seeing something strange in her bag. After a quick check the workers found the source of the suspicion was none other than the woman’s pet chihuahua!

The little dog allegedly snuck into the bag and curled up into a ball so small, that the owner didn’t see and zipped the bag and was on her way.

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DON’T BEThinkAbefore BULLY you type.

OLIVIA ALEXANDER REPORTER

Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me. Words, once you say it or press send, that’s it. It will forever be there and be remembered. People often times don’t think about what they’re saying until it’s too late. The internet makes it easy for bullies to target people but the internet also makes it easy to report a bully.

Cyber bullying occurs when people are involved in insults and threat via internet. Over 80 percent of teens use their cell phones regularly which makes cyber bullying the most common form of bullying says bullyingstatistics. org. Posting rumors, embarrassing stories and calling one another names are common actions of cyber bullying.

As a counselor, Julie McComas pays close attention and listens carefully on reported bullying. When a student reports to her, she tries to determine if it’s a conflict between two people or actual harassment. Either way she will try her best to make the situation better. Bullying is common on social media and McComas says, “I think people say things on social media that they would never say in person

because they are hiding behind a computer.”

Words can hurt, even if its through a computer screen. If there is a problem, report it to the counselors or even through the school’s website under the tab For Students, Bullying and Harassment Reporting Form. Telling a teacher or parent will always help even if it feels like it won’t. Bullying will always be a worldwide problem, if you feel alone, you are not and there is someone you can go to for help.

Being bullied is never fun, especially when multiple people are in on it.

BEEP BEEP

EMILY LEMASTER

CO-DESIGN EDITOR Sixteen is the age of freedom. Behind the wheel with the music blaring, being able to go wherever, whenever. Getting a license is an exciting experience, that can also be terrifying. People are known to use explicates or a certain finger to get their point across, but lately, drivers have been going too far.

While taking her daughter out on a routine driving lesson, Tammy Meyers was forced to stop after a silver car spun out in front of her. The driver of the car, 19 year old Erich Nowsch, proceeded to get out and tell Meyers, “I’m gonna come back for you and your daughter.” After returning home, Meyers and her son Brandon, went back out to find Nowsch. Not being able to find Nowsch or his car, the two went back home, but were shocked when the silver car pulled up into their driveway. Brandon was even more shocked when Nowsch pulled out a gun and shot his mother in the head; the

Photo by Jenny Pedersen

Drivers getting out of hand. shot killed her two days later.

When the wrong person gets irritated, it can result in madness and dire consequences; just like it did with the Meyers. According to www.cdc.gov, car accidents are the leading cause of death among teenagers and many can be associated with emotions getting out of control. Teenages who grow up watching their parents drive aggressively are more likely to do the same and with about sixty percent of American adults admitting to having road rage, it looks like it won’t be slowing down in the future.

When a teenager experiences road rage, they aren’t always trying to act aggressively, most of the time, teens just lose their temper.

Sophomore Faith Moritz says, “I have a little bit of a temper on the road. It’s just really irritating when people don’t know what they’re doing; I’m just really glad my horn doesn’t work.”

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News

Opinion A RUN TO LEGALIZE DRUGS DESIGNER BABIES MEGAN BAILEY REPORTER

Iowa begins to legalize medical marijuana.

Drugs and alcohol in possession of minors has been an ongoing problem in the United States for quite some time. Much of the problem has been around to the use of marijuana.

Cannabis, commonly known as marijuana, is a preparation of the cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug and as medicine.

In the last few years teens and young adults under the age of 21 have gotten a hold of this drug and possibly over the years could have harmed their health and breathing. Why use this as a drug to get a high when we can use it to help people with medical issues?

Iowa already thought of that.

In the state of Iowa, marijuana has been under debate for some time. Last year, the Iowa Legislature passed the “Medical Cannabidiol Act” making it safe for doctors to use

medical marijuana if they think it is the best option for their patient. Medical marijuana could be able to help many people such as a soldier with PTSD. Iowa has decreased its criminal punishment for having marijuana on them. Iowa imposes a jail sentence going from six months to 30 days for having five grams of marijuana on them.

Currently in the U.S. 33 states have legalized marijuana whether it has been for the use of recreational or for the use of medicinal marijuana.

For many seriously ill people, medical marijuana is the only medicine that has been shown to relieve pain, and treat symptoms of their medical condition.

Medical marijuana has also been shown to relieve symptoms of serious medical problems such as cancer, AIDS, and glaucoma.

LEARNING VS. CHEATING

What will students do to get good grades?

JOCELY NIGHTSER

PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Students easily agree that school is a stressful environment. Between social life, grades, sports, work, and other activities, when would it possibly be efficient to study or take your education seriously?

I realize many students could argue, which is exactly why this is an opinion piece. But if you think about it, when was the last time you were severely intrigued by a polynomial function, or To Kill a Mockingbird?

Again, realizing that kind of stuff does in fact interest some people, and there is nothing wrong with that, in fact, props to you. But, it seems like school is more about getting good grades rather than learning.

On multiple situations, students admit to not fully understanding what’s going on in their classes, but they know the material from memorization.

It’s amazing what measures students will go to in order to avoid a lecture and punishment from their parents.

“Honestly, school is very stressful. I really don’t know what’s the

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going on in any of my classes but I have pretty average grades. I guess I kinda got to the point where I just wanted the grades in order to be successful because apparently you need good grades and a social life in high school to be successful in life.” says junior, Katie Griffin. Katie makes a great point. In fact, a lot of students have said something similar. So, what’s school really about? Learning or getting good grades?

Junior Katie Griffin demonstrates her frustrations when it comes to school.

Photo by Jocelyn Nightser

GABBI RASMUSSEN BUSINESS MANAGER Have you ever wished you were born more athletic, more intelligent or even born with different colored eyes? Scientists are currently on their way to making this dream become a reality.

Expeditious breakthroughs made in genetic testing on mice have brought about a stir in the world of science. Dr. Tony Perry, who is known as a pioneer in cloning, being one of the first to clone mice and pigs, said that at the exact moment of conception of a mouse, he was able to precisely edit the DNA of the embryo.

This could mean a substantial change in unfamiliar territory. Perry, who says “designing babies” is still a fictional concept, but says science is rapidly advancing making elements of “designer babies” a thing that may be just around the corner. Thus leaving a heap of debate to society on whether or not this is ethical or not.

Imagine knowing your child was going to be born with a terminal illness such as cystic fibrosis or a cancerous gene.

With this DNA editing you would be able to genetically modify the mutation in the gene.

But giving a child the healthiest life they can live isn’t worth the risk of accidently killing the embryo if the genetic modifying isn’t done carefully.

And, on the other hand, it’s not 100% guaranteed to work yet. Humans have already cloned crops and animals but the ones that failed or didn’t turn out the way they were supposed to, were simply thrown away. What would happen when a child wasn’t born the way it was supposed to? Would it just be simply discarded like the clones, crops, and animals? There are always people who are going to abuse the system. Children were not made to be simply thrown away because they are “imperfect.”

Living in a near perfect world could cause all sorts of social problems such as a separation in classes between designer babies and non-designer babies due to the fact that the designer humans would be smarter and better looking. These designer babies have no consent what-so-ever in something that would change their entire lives. All of these many questions are ones that scientists are saying it is time for society to debate about.

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LC’s Top 5 Watched Shows

THE PRESSURE’S ON

These shows are the most watched TV shows in our school. We surveyed the English Classes and within our estimated results we came up with these shows that made it to the top 5.

JENNY PEDERSEN

EDITOR IN CHIEF

When I was a junior I couldn’t wait to be a senior. What I didn’t realize is how much pressure was involved in applying to college and making sure you get good scholarships. Going into my junior year I finally took my ACT’s. I was taking them a little late and I would recommend starting them at least as a sophomore. I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting into. I would take as many ACT classes as you can to help get your score up. What you get on the ACT will be a big factor for scholarships and getting into college. The pressure I felt for a good score was through the roof. I thought I had my whole plan of how things would go. Once I got myACT out of the way, the pressure continued.

I applied to about four colleges that I thought would be a good fit and went on a few college visits. I have never been great at making decisions that would impact my future. Once I picked my college I applied for all these scholarships. It’s a long boring process that I hated but I knew I needed. Then waiting however long to see if I was picked to get some money is a tormenting wait. I finally got my acceptance letter from UNI. I was thrilled because that’s where I want to go. All of the ACT tests, scholarship applications, and the process that felt pointless and time wasting paid off. As of now, I know what I want to do with my future which is a pretty good feeling. You’re all going to go through a different process your last few years of high school, but the end result is what makes it all worth it. That pressure to pick the right college and and get the good grades won’t be for nothing. the

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#1 The Walking Dead- A drama horror series about the zombie apocalyse.- won with 67 votes. #2 Law & Order- A drama series about detectives who investigate rape and assault crimes against in New York City.

- won with 32 votes. #3 Pretty Little LiarsA mystery series about a group of girls who get a mysterious text and investigate it. -won with 27 votes. #4 Supernatural- A thrilling horror/ fantasy about two borthers who hunt monsters to stop sinster plans.

-won with 24 votes. #5 Teen Wolf- A drama/horror series about a “teen wolf” that juggles with being a teen and a wolf.

-won with 12 votes.

Abs & Gabs

OVERLY COMPETITIVE PARENTS

ABBY OSWALD

CO-DESIGN EDITOR

GABBI RASMUSSEN

MANAGING EDITOR

“C’mon Billy, kick that ball. Make a goal or else no dinner tonight!”- We’ve all heard of living through their child, but when your kindergarten son can’t kick the ball into the goal on his first game, everything will be okay. The college scouts weren’t there to see it.

“Did you not see your teammate wide open in the end zone?” Yes, he probably did, but he knew he wasn’t capable of throwing of throwing a 70 yard pass in peewee football.

“I tell you what, if you don’t run that 100 meter dash in less than 10 seconds, you will never hear the end of it.” Even though Usain Bolt can barely cut 10 seconds, I’m sure your 10 year old son sure can. Keep motivating your kid in a positive way.

“You were wide open, shoot the dang ball!” From where she was at on the floor, they probably would’ve gave her four points to just hit the rim. Kobe would have even passed it.

If you need any advice feel free to e-mail Abby Oswald or Gabbi Rasmussen at aoswald@lewiscentral.org or grasmussen@lewiscentral.org or if you have an idea on what they should do their advice column on.

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-the wire-

BUCKET LISTS I’ve always wanted to skydive!

-sophomore Zoe Burns

To get big and muscular!

-freshman Melanie Annan

Go scuba diving in South Africa!

-junior Lizzie Brooks

Run a marathon!

-junior Easton Archibald

Go cliff diving in Florida!

-junior Mason HPJ

Explore all of Ireland!

-senior Nicholas Nichols

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