MHS Crier 11 27 13

munster high school Vol. 48 / Issue 5 / November 27, 2013 / Munster High School 8808 Columbia Ave, Munster IN 46321

crier INSIDE LOOK Tomorrow 32/23 Friday 36/27 Saturday 39/28

Sunday 41/30

Up and coming

INFILTERATION photo illustration by Alisa Muñoz

As students find themselves more involved in social media, it can influence acceptance into college, the workforce Meena Kandallu Lifestyles Editor

Lauren Rouse Social Media Director

J

ust like every other day, Brandon Tepper, senior, logs into his Twitter account after

school to tweet about the high and low points of his day.

“Twitter is a place for me to post what I want,” Brandon said. “But I’m careful about what I put out on the site because colleges, employers and our school can look at those websites. I don’t want to be portrayed in the wrong light, so I keep it clean.”

Students affect their high school careers with what they tweet or post, according to Mrs. Denise Moore, dean of students.

They can receive disciplinary actions for anything posted using school devices, brought onto school grounds or displayed during school hours.

“Its our job to make sure that students are doing schoolwork and not in any way disrupting other students,” Mrs. Moore said.

Brandon, on the other hand, believes that school administrators viewing social media profiles violates his right to privacy.

“If I have my Twitter on private, then I only want my followers looking at it, not the school,” Brandon said.

However, in Lack v. Kersey, administrators removed Reuben Lack from the position of Student Body President due to Facebook messages regarding school councilmen. Lack sued and won, using the

argument that the school infringed upon his First Amendment rights.

Mrs. Moore believes that as long as reasonable justification exists for checking a student’s social media profile, it does not violate their privacy.

“I believe that you should have a right to privacy,” Brandon said. “But, politicians find ways around laws to enact what they want, even if it does invade the rights of citizens. Colleges are finding a way around privacy too.”

In a survey of the nation’s 500 top colleges, 10 percent of colleges started checking applicants’ social media sites, according to a survey conducted by the Washington Post on Oct. 31, 2013. This percentage affects what Brandon puts on his Twitter.

“Applications can be deceiving to the actions that someone commits,” Brandon said. “A lot of people are really ignorant and try to look cool for their friends on social media by posting pictures of them drinking, but it can put you in a bad place during the admissions process. Student’s need to be more careful about what they post.”

Colleges log onto Twitter and Facebook in order to get a view of what a student acts like outside of their application, according to Ms. Sharon Vail, guidance counselor.

She believes that this remains one of the best ways to gauge if a student will fit into the college they have applied to.

“Twitter and Facebook are very true to what a student deals with in their every-

day lives,” Ms. Vail said. “But, colleges are also businesses and if they see something on social media which makes them believe an applicant is not the best fit, they will not accept them. Colleges want a good reputation so they can continue to run their school.”

Hayley Kwasniewski, junior takes every reasonable measure she can to increase her odds to attend Georgetown University in Washington DC, her dream college.

Although Hayley knows there remains a chance that she may not receive acceptance from this college, she still makes sure to protect her online profile.

“I would feel really guilty and ignorant if I had ruined my chances of getting into a good school over something like a Facebook post,” Hayley said.

Other students should take the same precautions such as setting their profiles to private on social media, according to Hayley.

“People don’t think about how what they post affects themselves or others,” Hayley said. “They broadcast when they do stupid things and don’t think about the consequences.”

For Brandon, colleges looking at applicant’s social media can hinder the admission process.

“Someone may have stellar academics,” Brandon said. “But then you look on their social media. That’s what makes this process a little unfair, because you’ll have kids who worked hard to get into a college but give it all away for some stupid tweet.”

The Boys’ Varsity Swim team plays at Penn at 9 a.m. Saturday The Boys’ Varsity Basketball team plays Gavit today, 7:30 p.m.

Victorious Speech placed 13th at Glenbrooks last weekend

page 2

Gamer central With the recent release of the PS4 and Xbox One, staff member reviews game

page 9 Headstrong Wrestling competed in a tournament last Friday and Saturday

page 11 Infected areas The Medical Intervention class ranked the most dirtiest object in school

page 5 Inner struggles Students discusses difficulties of clinical depression, how they deal with them

page 6-7

2

NEWS Crier / Nov. 27, 2013

Quick Notes

Football

The Mustang Toy Round-Up celebrates 30 years of donations The Munster Toy Drive will accept wrapped and unwrapped toys over 10 dollars from Dec. 2-13, according to Coach Leroy Marsh, health teacher.

“We feel very blessed to help others,” Coach Marsh said. “The Toy Drive helps about 800 children get toys which reaches every race, religion, and demographic.”

What started as a small project has since developed into something much bigger then anticipated, according to Coach Marsh.

“It’s fortunate to see the joy its in their life even if it’s bad on a normal day,” Coach Marsh said. “We must remember that none of us are ever exempt from needing help. I’m very proud of the school and the community for supporting a project like this.”

Project X photo by Lauren Koultourides

SALUTE TO SPEECH Practicing their scripted duo, a speech piece where two people preform, but can’t look, touch, or talk to each other, Vivian Reba, sophomore, and Nia Clark, junior, reflect on the past speech

experiences. “Its cool to tell a story to so many people and impact their lives in some way,” Vivian said. “You have to learn how to break down peoples mental walls so you can show your piece to different people.”

LEARNING FROM THE BEST Speech and Debate team learns from best coaches at Glenbrooks Vrusha Patel Business Manager Last weekend, Speech and Debate competed at Glenbrooks meet, hosted

by Glenbrooks North and Glenbrooks South high schools. Although the debate placement remains unknown, the speech team placed 13th.

“It’s because it is such an old tournament, it became a national league tournament, both of the schools involved with putting it together are very involved in speech and debate,” President of Speech and Debate Nick Siano, senior, said.

Many of the schools that attend Glenbrooks later on in their season compete in tournaments held in schools such as Harvard, Yale, Emory, and Stanford, according to Nick.

“Even though it’s so early in the season, all of the schools that show up

have very polished and clean pieces.

These are the schools that we see most often at nationals,” Nick said.

Many competitors attending Glenbrooks arrive with a mindset of learning, according to public forum debater Rama Alsakaji, junior.

“It’s okay if you aren’t successful as long as you take the experience back with you,” Rama said, “because you will take that experience and apply it to your style of debating in future rounds.”

In order to attend the meet, a coach must approve of the debater; the coach either refers to the past performances and experience of the debater’s, according to Rama.

“I think the key is being prepared and being able to think on your feet,” Rama said.

Rama witnessed debaters prepare for every topic related to the debate;

however, this proves to be an unsuccessful tactic, due to the multiple unknown factors members must face when debating at Glenbrooks. These factors consist of unfamiliar competitors and different styles of debating.

“No matter how prepared you are, you always have to be able to analyze what is said and being able to respond in a effective way, I think that is what gives debaters their success,” Rama said.

The level of difficulty speech must face helps the team determine the level of competition they will face at Nationals. The Plymouth meet will help the team gauge how well they will preform at a state level competition, according to Nick.

“It’s a big learning experience for everyone,” Nick said. “It’s ‘the’ place to get out there on a national level and improve as a singular speaker.”

Project X assembled Thanksgiving Baskets for less fortunate

Project X bought and distributed Thanksgiving baskets for eight families in the local area this past Monday.

“We are reaching out to families that need assistance through the Police Department to give them a nice family meal,” Sponsor Ms. Leigh Ann Westland, English teacher, said.

Last week, Project X members went shopping for the items before putting it all together.

“We shopped for all the traditional item like stuffing, corn, potatoes,” Ms. Westland said. “Even crayons and coloring books for the kids.”

While Project X buys the essentials, the Police Department contributes in other ways, according to Ms. Westland.

“The Police Department will provide the turkey and deliver the baskets to the families,” Ms. Westland.

Assisting families during the Holiday season now stands as a tradition for the club according Ms. Westland.

Corrections

In the last issue, Niko Ingoglia’s name was misspelled and Andrew Phifer, senior was incorrectly attributed as a junior. The Crier regrets these errors.

Expressing buried emotions through poetic prose Poetry Club continues to grow as members learn to express themselves through poetry; other creative outlets Victoria Avina Associate Editor She stood in the center of the classroom and read her poem out loud.

Through the poem, Destiny Sabo, senior, expressed her feeling about the death of her dad, the hardships she and her mom faced and her overdosing freshman year.

“The poem was about my life from my toddler years until today,” Destiny said. “I personally haven’t grown up in the perfect house and I’ve had a hard life.”

Destiny hopes that her poem allows the other poetry club members to feel her pain.

“I performed my spoken word poem to the class and about six people were actually crying,” Destiny said. “It made me feel like my poetry influences others and puts them in my shoes.”

Starting to write poetry as an outlet,

Destiny found it more effective and out loud to the club members,” Mrs. Barnes said. “I think it has made them healthier than the medicine she took.

“I got labeled with clinical depres- closer. They’re able to understand each sion going into my freshman year, other on a different level.”

The Poetry Club positively impacts Destiny said. “They put me on medication first, but then the medication the students because they learn how made me into a zombie, so I refused to to express themselves creatively with take it anymore. When I would get de- other club members, according to Mrs. Barnes. pressed, I needed a “I think it brought new outlet and thats It started as getting a how I found poetry.” together a lot of stupaper and writing down my dents from different Other than watchfeelings and tossing it in the backgrounds and difing Destiny, Poetry club sponsor Mrs. garbage. The more I did it, ferent perspective,” Kelly Barnes, Enthe more I realized I wasn’t Mrs. Barnes said. “ glish teacher, also writing nonsense. I was I think they formed observes other mema lot of new friendwriting poetry.” bers deal with perships, but I think sonal issues through they are learning Destiny Sabo, senior, a positive outlet in how to express themtheir poetry. selves in a new way “There has been students who have through poetry.”

Like Mrs. Barnes, Mateo Singleton, cried and have broken down from being emotional reading their poetry senior, also likes listening to others

“

members read their poetry. He enjoys how the students convey their emotions through the words and how they read it.

“I like the fact that we can express ourselves in a lot of different ways and each day we have to write a poem and then we share the poems at the end of the day,” Mateo said. “When we share our poems, you can really feel how well poetry expresses specific emotions.”

Most of Destiny’s poems stem from her feelings of stress.

“As I’m writing, I can feel the stress level decreasing because while I write, I go into my own world,” Destiny said.

Destiny believes that the poetry club act as an extended family towards each member of the club.

“Poetry club here at Munster isn’t just a bunch of people coming together.

It’s a family. It’s kind of a place where everyone belongs,” Destiny said.

SPEAKOUT Crier / Nov. 27, 2013

ALL

editorial

CLEANING CHAOS Crier is printed Tuesday evening.

The delivery man carries the bundles of paper, and sneezes before delivering them.

The germs from the printer follow the papers to the high school, and the germs from the cart the papers sit on add to it.

Even more germs make their way to the Criers currently in the hands of students.

The number of germs on the Criers multiply with the addition of the germs on the hands of the staff member selling them.

Although this picture is quite disturbing, one can truly find germs everywhere.

Last week, Crier swabbed various areas of the school and allowed the cotton swabs to incubate for three days. In 2002, Crier conducted a similar study and found little to no bacteria growth, and no disease-causing bacteria was found.

However, in the study done last week, Crier identified a significant increase in the bacteria found. Although Crier cannot determine whether the bacteria is healthy or disease-causing, there occurred an obvious increase in bacteria.

In recent years, the custodial staff of the School Town of Munster has suffered many setbacks. With funding, staff, and pay cuts among the obstacles faced, one is left to decide if he thinks these factors contribute.

In 2008, the high school had 19 custodians; this year, it has a staff of only 14. Had the referendum not passed, the School Town proposed to reduce custodial services by 30 percent, resulting in a gain of $380,000. And although the referendum passed, the custodians continue to suffer the same pay cuts.

All of these obstacles thrown in front of the custodial staff leaves one impressed; the staff handles each obstacle thrown at them exceedingly well.

However, with the set of obstacles placed in front of them, it leaves one to wonder: has the pay, funding, and staff cuts caused the increase in bacteria found within the walls of the school?

Parental guidance suggested Lauren Rouse Social Media Director A student returns home from a long day at school where he fought with his teacher. He confides in his parents, but lets them know that he will handle the subject and that they have no reason to get involved.

Two weeks later, the problem still exists. The parents worry, but do not enter into the conflict because their child requested that they do not interfere.

However, as the problem progresses and no solution is presented, the parents step in and demand a solution.

One appears within the next several days from the administration.

In this day and age, students want

nothing more than to be separate from their parents. But when problems arise at school, administrators suggest that parents get involved despite them not needing to. Some issues are better resolved when students handle it themselves, such as a disagreement between a teacher and a student.

The school involves parents for a few reasons. A good standing with the parents will give the school a positive reputation. A second reason acts as a safety blanket for the school in case of a lawsuit.

But these reasons are invalid. Students are not the ones that sue the schools, that action relies on a parent.

Why would the school involve someone in a conflict if they have the ability

Crier Crier, Munster High School’s official student newspaper, may be reached at 8808 Columbia Ave, Munster, IN 46321, phone 219-836-3200, Ext. 3443; Fax: 219-836-3202. Published by the Honors Newspaper Advanced Writing and Editing classes, and extra-curricular involvement.

•The newspaper serves as a public forum and two-way communication for the school and community.•Crier is a source of information, entertainment, advertising and opinion for the student body, faculty, administration and community •Published material will stress objective reporting except on the editorial page where opinion writing will be featured. All published material will stress accuracy, truthfulness, integrity, honesty, responsibility, objectivity, fairness and independence.

Opinions expressed in the newspaper do not necessarily reflect those of the School Town of Munster, faculty or administration.

GROWN

OUT

Students, teachers grew out beards for No Shave November, in order to support prostate cancer; before and after photos

Yiorgo Karnezis, sophomore

Luis Dominguez, senior

Demetri Georgalas, senior

Brian King, senior

to sue the school?

When students attend college, professors, heads of departments and deans do not want the involvement of a student’s parents. These students should rely on themselves and their knowledge to solve a problem, for after they graduate, they are faced with the problems of the real world.

The gap between college and high school remains a small one. Therefore, parents and school should remain separate and administrators should rely on students to solve trivial problems themselves without the help of their parents. If the student has the means, the want and the ability to solve a problem between them and their teacher, then why not let them?

Letters to the Editor are welcomed, but should be limited to 250 words. All letters must be signed and should be given directly to any staff member or delivered to the Pub, N155, one week prior to publication. Letters must not contain personal attacks against an individual. Editors reserve the right to edit for length, clarity, and grammatical errors. Crier will accept letters from anyone, provided that the content pertains to school or school issues.

Subscriptions cost $4 per semester or $6.50 per school year. Mailed subscriptions cost $18 per year. Ad rates and policies are available to anyone upon request. Crier is published 13 times a school year.

The Staff Editor-in-Chief Cassie Eberle Managing Editor Jordan Cockrum Associate Editor Victoria Avina

3

Tanner Seput, senior

Mr. Kevin Clyne, English teacher

Lifestyles Editor Meena Kandallu Sports Editor William Hatczel News Editor Max Baker Infocus Editor Nikki Mammano Social Media Director Lauren Rouse Business Manager Vrusha Patel Head Photographer Gabrielle Dore Photographers Christopher Anguiano, Alex Baker, Ali Bauer, Natalia Bilek, Cesar Camacho, Chelsea Eickleberry, Casey Gouwens, Gage Knor, Lauren Koultourides, Pam Muangmingsuk, Alisa Muñoz Cartoonist Ryan Myers Adviser Sarah-Anne Lanman

4 TRIPLE THREAT NEWS

Crier / Nov. 27, 2013

Science Olympiad creates three teams just in time to travel to Whiting for their Winter Invitational Nikki Mammano Infocus Editor For the first time in Science Olympiad history, the team will compete at the Whiting Invitational Dec. 7 with two different teams.

At the competition, the two teams of equal strength will compete in 23 different events against many other schools, according to Captain Collin Richter, senior.

“We expect to either win or take second,” Collin said. “Taking two teams last year worked really well and payed off a lot.”

This year Munster and Whiting stand as rivals. After Whiting defeated them in competitions two years ago, Munster made a comeback last year by taking a State title, according to Coach, Mr. Keith Koszut, science teacher “It’s exciting, but it’s something new,” Mr. Koszut said. “We have never been first in the state before last year or have had a state title to defend.”

However, Mr. Koszut feels optimistic about how they will do at this next competition because of this new mental attitude the students have never faced before.

“What we can’t predict is how other teams will do,” Mr. Koszut said. “They have a very go-getter attitude and we want to be confident, but also want to be short of arrogance.”

Due to the rules of Science Olympiad changing, this year the club has grown to 42 students. The change in numbers have given them the opportunity to split into three teams.

Instead of ranking the teams “JV” or “Varsity” the coaches decided to make them co-equal, naming them “red”, “white” and “black”.

“We attempt to balance those teams as best we can,” Coach Keith Koszut said. “Everyone’s got a shot for the state team.”

Collin feels that having three teams this year, gives the whole club a well deserved advantage.

“It gives a lot more underclassmen experience and opportunity,” Collin said. “With three teams there is also a lot more internal competition to make for an even stronger state team.”

In order to prepare the teams for this competition, they will practice at least four days a week and either work with a group, partner, or study alone.

“We have a lot of flexible students that can study and learn equally because of all the shifting that has happened this year,” Collin said.

However, the real challenge will come when the team must decide from which member make the single state team, according to Collin.

“After Whiting we mix up the teams,” Collin said. “With all this new information it will be a challenge to put together the most strategic team.”

At their first competition, that took place this past Saturday, the team took first place overall.

“Hopefully this was a good indicator of how the season will be,” Taylor Merkel, junior said. “At this point we’re on track to make it to Nationals, but it will all come down to how we do at State.”

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photo by Cesar Camacho

READY FOR LAUNCH Using clay as an additional mass, Alexandru Kirr, sophomore, adds to the launcher. The device uses a falling mass to propel a car towards a wall, getting the car as close to the wall without actually hitting it.

“In Science Olympiad you learn a lot and you get to work with a lot of really smart people,“ Alex said. “I learn so much about a lot of different subjects, like astronomy, that I wouldn’t learn about in school.”

INFOCUS Crier / Nov. 27, 2013

Quick Tips

5

Nurse Mrs. Heather Paprstein, discusses how to stay healthy during the cold season and slow down the spread of germs What is a germ and how does it spread?

“It is a pathogen, virus, or fungi that causes someone to get sick. The two most common ways it is spread is through direct contact, either someone touches you or you touch something, and airborne, if someone sneezes or coughs.”

What can the school do to eliminate them? photo by Gabrielle Dore

GETTING THE DIRT Looking at the 20 plates of different objects they tested around the school, seniors Justin Bobos and Emmy Georgas, observe the growth after 48

hours of the bacteria and fungi they found, “It was really cool to go around and swab places that you come into contact with everyday,” Justin said.

OVER-EXPOSED Since 2008, the decline of custodians have gone from 19 to 14; now with the amount of work each have to do, the Medical Interventions class inspects the cleanliness of the school Nikki Mammano Infocus Editor When it comes to the end of his shift, after balancing between sometimes 28 classrooms, including bathrooms, he feels exhausted from the lack of help.

In the past five years since 2008, the school’s custodial staff has shrunk from 19 people to only 14. Because of this, having to empty garbage cans along with cleaning boards, the carpet, tiles, desks, and more, every day, has taken a toll on the cleanliness of the school, according to custodian Kevin (not real name), who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

“It’s not as clean as it used to be,” Michael said, “You work really hard and it hurts. The people that are here are trying the best they can and it is just the way it is until we get some help.”

Although the custodians want to clean every object every day, it proves impossi-

ble due to the amount of time their eight hour shifts allow them. Usually the custodians give themselves 5-10 minutes in each room.

The issue of time plays a large role in the cleanliness of the school as well, according to Phil, another custodian who chose to omit their name.

“You cannot do it all in one day so you have to stretch it out over a week,” Phil said.“You have to cut corners in order to get the job done, but done right.”

Last Thursday, Crier investigated the cleanliness of the school with the help of Science Teacher Ms. Catherine Mazeikas’s third level Medical Intervention (MI)class, by swabbing 20 objects that students come into contact with everyday.

Despite a few shocking results, the MI students were not able to determine if the bacteria and fungi were harmful or not, according to Emmy Georgas, senior.

“Within the first 24 hours it was pret-

ty clean,” Emmy said, “but in the next 48 hours the bacteria continued to grow. It did not really gross me out.”

The top two tested objects came out as the microwave in the lunch room, where they found fungi growing, and the spigot on the water fountains.

Some of the most common bacteria the students probably would have found on these objects include streptococcus and E. Coli, according to Ms. Mazeikas.

“You can clean,” Ms. Mazeikas said.

“However, if you constantly clean these objects, the only bacteria that will be left over are the ones resistant to those cleaning products.”

However, Ms. Mazeikas was not surprised from these results.

“The test looks bad, but in reality I don’t think it’s very dirty,” Ms. Mazeikas said. “Even if we get these things into our bodies, that’s why we have immune systems.”

“They should have hand sanitizer available in classrooms, along with automatic toilet flushers, faucets, soap dispensers, and hand dryers. However, I am not looking for a germ free world because some exposure to germs helps build a healthy immune system.

The body does need to be exposed to prevent future illnesses.”

How can students prevent themselves from getting sick?

“The number one thing is that people don’t practice good hand washing--- you do not realize how many times you touch your face and then your desk. They can also prevent the spread of germs by covering their mouth, do not share drinks, and do not come to school if you are contagious.”

How effective is Munster at eliminating the spread of germs ?

“Considering we have over 1500 students, I am actually pretty surprised that we do not have more of a spread of illnesses. “

Dirty Swabs

After the Medical Intervention class swabbed 20 objects in the school, they ranked them on a scale from one being the most infected of either bacteria or fungi, to 20 being the least infected; They recorded the rankings after 24 hours and then after 48 hours

2

4

Fountain spigot Lunch tables

Microwave

After 24 hours:1 After 48 hours:1

6

8

Trash can

Bathroom sink 9

After 24 hours: 2 After 48 hours: 2

After 24 hours: 8 After 48 hours: 5

After 24 hours: 11 After 48 hours: 12

3

5

7

Lunch railing

library keyboard Library mouse

Door handle

After 24 hours: 3 After 48 hours: 8

After 24 hours: 12 After 48 hours: 15

After 24 hours:15 After 48 hours:10

After 24 hours: 13 After 48 hours: 13

After 24 hours: 14 After 48 hours: 16

6

INFOCUS

INFOCUS

Crier / Nov. 27, 2013

Crier / Nov. 27, 2013

Looking in the mirror, a junior boy stares at himself in the reflective glass. His heart pounds in his chest as venomous bile rises in his throat.

He chokes it down and turns away, disgusted with himself.

TRAPPED

BY THE MAN “I IN THE MIRROR Students discuss how they handle having clinically diagnosed depression, how it affects their school life, social life, home life Max Baker News Editor

thing at all ever.”

While multiple stressors, biological factors, and psychological reasons exist for his condition, the junior boy’s depression stems from an almost ingrained chemical imbalance.

“The real depression isn’t something that’s just triggered, it’s something that is there and it’s something that you can’t get rid of,” the junior boy said.

“It’s not something you can just bring up out of nowhere.”

There are two different psychological definitions of depression. Dysthymic depression is a mild depression that lasts at least two years, whereas Major Depression Disorder (MDD) lasts about two weeks.

MDD mentally affects peoples ability and will to actively function, according to Mr. Matthew Kalwasinski, psychology teacher.

“With clinical depression the lines become blurred between MDD and dysthymic depression.” Mr. Kalwasinski said. “I would think you standard desee an angry teenager who doesn’t know pression, clinical, is probably the dysthmic.”

While there are multiple internal and external who he’s suppose to be, doesn’t know where he is and can’t seem to find any answers to forces that exist which contribute to a person develthe questions he has,” the junior boy said. “I see a opment of depression among other psychiatric dislot of disappointment, honestly, because that’s all orders, the most common of these factors is being I’ve ever been to most people, a disappointment or stress, according to Mr. Kalwasinski.

“It’s called the diathesis stress approach,” Mr. a waste of time.”

The junior boy’s fingers slowly drift along the side Kalwasinski said. “What that approach says is that with our major (psychological) disof his leg, grazing the myriad of orders, like depression, you have a scars and burns that intersect his flesh caused by numerous The real depression isn’t genetic predisposition for the disorder, but stress is going to bring girlfriends, friends, parents and something that’s just triggered, it out.” stress, all amplified by his Cliniit’s something that is there and cal Depression. it’s something that you can’t The guidance department experi“That (the depression) lead me to start hating myself to the point get rid of. It’s not something enced an influx in counseling type iswhere I felt that I didn’t deserve you can just bring up out of sues, such as clinically diagnosable depression, this year more than to have a healthy body to live in nowhere.” any other previous years, accordand I felt that if I can’t do any- the junior boy ing to Ms. Sharon Vail, guidance thing right with it, than what’s counselor. the point of having it,” he said.

“It (students having depression) “It’s almost like the pain is something that I finally deserve instead of emotional pain. doesn’t surprise me. So much goes on in their daiIt feels like physical pain is something that I actually ly lives like family issues and illness,” Ms. Vail said. earned in my life and it’s something that makes me “It’s a lot of adult problems and the kids take on feel stronger, because it’s something that I can en- the burden from their parents along with everyday dure and I’m doing it to myself and I’m finally doing school work. It’s unfortunate.”

Senior, Cheyenne Marciniak’s battle with depresit right.”

Within the regions of his mind, the junior boy feels sion spans almost three years, and while it puts a his self-esteem drop lower and lower as he recalls all tremendous strain on her social and educational lifestyles, she feels grateful for the experience. the past interactions with his friends and peers “Knowing you have this problem you take things “Nobody really gets what I’m trying to say, they just think I’m trying to be some whiny teenager and a a lot harder than most people and I use to overreact lot of the time it feels like nobody really cares what I to every situation,” Cheyenne said. “But now I’m a have to think, do, or say,” the junior boy said. “It just stronger person and I can analyze a situation and act makes me really down on myself because sometimes accordingly.”

However a light at the end of the tunnel does exist it seems like there is no point in me trying to say any-

“

Thank you

for supporting

photo illustration by Beatriz Costa-Lima

for everybody suffering through any form of depression, clinical or otherwise, according to Cheyenne.

“I’ve learned from my experience that if you have severe depression, you need help,” Cheyenne said.

“It helped me in so many ways and I don’t want anyone to suffer through what I did during that time in my life.”

Seeing a student with depression get help has always stuck with her, according to Ms. Vail.

“It’s just memorable in that regard,” Ms. Vail said.

“I think it’s rewarding when they (a depressed student) comes back to school and they look and feel better.”

Despite all the obstacles he has faced with this disorder, the junior boy’s struggle with Clinical Depression has created a sense of clarity in both his person-

al and educational life.

“Now I’ve realized it’s not as bad as it may seem,” the junior boy said. “It’s something that once you are able to control it, you feel so much better about yourself because you did something right and you got somewhere and you finished something and its one of the greatest achievements out there.”

The junior boy is thankful for his psychologist and his friends for listening to him talk and open up about this t strenuous time in his life and his fight against Clinical Depression, finding comfort in the fact that depression developed into something that people now take much more seriously.

“There is no excuse not to get help,” the junior boy said. “It’s just like how you don’t want to get up in the morning, you don’t want to go to school, but you

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have to do it, because if you don’t you’re not going to go anywhere in the future.”

The junior boy claims he wants to grow up to tell his story to others and explain that there is a way out that’s not the easy way out. He has already learned so much from his depression and would like to encourage others to learn and fight against depression just as he had done.

“I think it’s putting me in a place where I’m more able to take things on and more willing to accept things as they happen,” the junior boy said. “That doesn’t mean that I won’t put up a fight because there is no point in laying back and letting it all hit you, sometimes you have to stand up against it. I want to be remembered as the one who helped and not the one who just stood back and did nothing.”

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8 CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE LIFESTYLES

Crier / Nov. 27, 2013

With last Friday’s $161.1 million opening, “Catching Fire”, “The Hunger Games” trilogy’s second movie starring Jennifer Lawrence, now ranks as November movie debut with largest amount of viewers Hungry for more

13

While waiting for release of next movie of “The Hunger Games” trilogy, fans can enjoy similar books Max Baker News Editor

7

“Unwind” Neal Shusterman

3

Connor, Risa and Lev are trapped within a society whose twisted perceptions on life and children cause an unimaginable backlash of gruesome results. The three teenagers must band together and escape from the unimaginable fate of being unwound, or killed for their youthful organs and spread across the country for necessary organ donations for other citizens.

Fans of “The Hunger Games” instantly feel a dark, morbid pull towards the grim reality of this ugly, warped society filled to the brim with monsters of all shapes and sizes, but all hidden within the saintly human form.

5

The Capitol

1

8

9

10

2

6 12 11

4 District diversity

“Divergent” Veronica Roth This book perfectly captures the corrupted, unquenchable action sequences “The Hunger Games” fans crave in their books.

“Divergent” recounts the story of sixteen year old Tris. Tris lives in a futuristic Chicago split into five different fractions, each honoring a different attribute including peace, honesty, selflessness, bravery and intelligence. She pledges her allegiance to Dauntless, which honors bravery, and struggles to pass the torture which she must endure to become a member of this elitist fraction, while fighting her attraction to an alluring love interest.

Which district would you fit best in? Citizens of various districts of “The Hunger Games” have different interests, hobbies, occupations which dictate their lifestyles District 1

“Wither” takes the love that Katniss felt toward her younger sister into a whole new dimension.

After generations of genetic experimentation, geneticists have cured all disease, but at a grisly cost. Every male lives until the ripe age of twenty-five and females live until the age of twenty. Sixteen year old Rhine has four years left to live before being kidnapped and sold into a polygamous marriage with the mysterious Linden. Rhine must rely on nothing but her wits and her servant Gabriel in order for her to escape Linden’s mansion and find her long lost brother.

District 3

Masonry

Electronics

People who live in this district show a lot of pride for their homeland. People from this district like to celebrate patriotic holidays.

They also make luxury items for The Capitol.

Characteristics of inhabitants of this district include an obsession for winning, headstrong and the love of volunteering.

District 2 excels in building weapons.

Citizens enjoy math and science over any other subject. They work with electronics and technology. People from District 3 portray peaceful qualities.

District 4

District 5

District 6

Fishing

Power

Transportation

Inhabitants of District 4 feel very comfortable around water. Tributes would excel at swimming and capturing fish or other seafood for food.

Citizens of this district would participate in events that tested their mental capabilities but would like to play tricks on people every once in a while.

Tributes from District 6 consider themselves very creative and artistic. They enjoy painting and artistic activities and visit art galleries in their spare time.

District 7 “Wither” Lauren DeStefano

District 2

Luxury

District 8

District 9

Lumber

Textiles

Grain

District 7 citizens enjoy being outdoors and around nature, especially in the forest.

They also like camping and interacting wildlife.

Inhabitants of this district enjoy rebelling in school and society. They never conform to how others say they should behave. They also do not mind being the hopeful outcasts.

Citizens from this district like running for exercise. They are also very close with relatives. People from district 9 value family time greatly.

District 10

District 11

District 12

Livestock

Agriculture

Coal

Tributes from District 10 love animals of all types. They hate seeing injured animals and do not mind having to work hard to take care of these animals.

District 11 citizens think quickly in difficult situations. They have strong problem solving skills and they enjoy outdoor activities including climbing trees and gardening.

Inhabitants of District 12 break the rules.

Their characteristics include toughness and sticking up for what they believe in. They will never compromise their morals.

District 13

Nuclear Weapons After a failed rebellion, District 13 was destroyed and the Hunger Games were created as punishment. The original inhabitants of District 13 were known for creating nuclear weapons. A citizen of District 13 would also have strong survival skills and would be known for his common sense.

Information based on first and second books of “The Hunger Games” trilogy

LIFESTYLES Crier / Nov. 27, 2013

Battling

9

For Control

pho

tos

by G

abr

ielle

Dor e

Crier staff member reviews Sony Playstation 4 released Nov. 15, Xbox One released Nov. 22, comparing in-game aspects, additional features

FALLING

FLAT

With Wii U’s Oct. 25 release, features disappoint, falling short of expectations Victoria Avina Associate Editor Nintendo needs to reevaluate themselves if they think the Wii U can compete against the new Playstation 4 (PS4) and Xbox One. Not even the new games on the Wii U have attracted video game fans’ interest. Nintendo did not even reach their sales expectation and plans on implementing more games and commercials to try to reach their holiday sales.

To compensate, they will also keep the Wii U’s price low.

The commercial will explain the differences between the Wii U and the Wii because most consumers realized that there were not many. Honestly, if they have to go through all this trouble to try to get people to buy it, then the Wii U clearly is not worth buying.

Some consumers may call the “Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2013” one of the best features of the Wii U, (So, obviously it’s awesome just because of that), but it actually does not differ much from the Wii’s “Wii Fit”. Furthermore, how many video games are there to help consumers lose weight? The whole being “fit” combined with video games is over done. Nintendo might as well take all the non-exercise games off the Wii U and develop its own weight loss program. They have already started a free Wii Fit U trial.

Wii U players mostly consist of girls and kids in middle and elementary school. Nintendo needs to come up with something else to compete against the Xbox One and the PS4, which attracts not only students of all ages but also adults.

William Hatczel Sports Editor

V

ideo game fanatics will enjoy this holiday season with the releases of two brand new consoles. Microsoft released the Xbox One last Friday while Sony released their PS4 on Nov. 15. Gamers should definitely consider purchasing the Xbox One prior to purchasing any other consoles.

While the Xbox One costs $499, the PS4 will be cheaper at the price of $399. However, gamers should consider investing the extra $100 in the Xbox One because of the many features this console holds.

Although the Xbox One has a slightly new designed remote, the controller still provides the challenge of using both your hands entirely when trying to grasp the controller. The controller has no new features to it besides its slight appearance change, so gamers should not expect any new enjoyment in the controller aspect.

The PS4 controller, however gives players smoother Analog sticks and provides an easier grip in gamers’ hands. Another interesting feature to the controller is that it will also have a touch pad on it. The touch pad looks and feels like a laptop touch pad. Sony hasn’t mentioned how this will be used in actual gameplay yet, but some games will likely incorporate this feature into the gameplay.

The biggest debate gamers will encounter when deciding what console to buy will come from each console’s online features. The Xbox 360 had many things to do such as watch movies, buy more games, and even listen to music.

These features will be included into the Xbox One along with the addition of a Blu-ray player built into the console.

The console comes with a built in Wi-Fi system that allows players to connect to Xbox live without an ethernet cord.

The PS4 will also allow players to watch movies and download games, but they do add a new feature that will make life easier for gamers. PS4 gamers will be able to download games and play at the same time while Xbox gamers will have to wait a long period of time possibly while their game finishes downloading. Gamers cannot however listen to music on the PS4 unless they subscribe to a feature called Music Unlimited which requires additional payment. They will now have to pay for the Playstation Network just like Microsoft users do for Xbox live.

PS3 and Xbox 360 games cannot be played on the new systems. Gamers will have to buy new versions of the game to continue to play. Another big challenge gamers must overcome is the fact that some games are exclusive for one particular system. New games like Warframe and Killzone can only be played on the PS4. The Xbox One also has exclusive games such as Halo and Titanfall. Gamers must decide what game they would rather play.

Over the years, fans of the Xbox and PS4 have argued over which one is better. The rivalry has been renewed this month and it appears the Xbox One has won the bragging rights this time. While the PS4 has modified their controller and online capabilities, the Xbox One has also added more to their online content as well. Gamers will keep themselves busy with every aspect of the Xbox One, while other games look for more with the PS4. Although gamers will pay more for the Xbox One, it seems like a smarter buy this holiday season.

Console Comparison Newly released video game consoles compete against each other based on differing costs, features Xbox One

Playstation 4

Wii U

Cost: $499.99 Released: Nov. 22, 2013

Cost: $399.99 Released: Nov. 15, 2013

Cost: $499.99 Released: Oct. 25, 2013

Online gameplay requires paid subscription

Online gameplay requires paid subscription

Free Online Gameplay

Controllers: Included

Controllers: Included

USB ports: 3

USB ports: 2

Controllers: Gamepad included but remotes sold separately USB ports: 4

Bluetooth: No

Bluetooth: Yes

Bluetooth: Yes

Paid access to Netflix and Hulu Plus

Free access to Netflix and Hulu Plus

Free access to Netflix and Hulu Plus source: www.ign.com

10

SPORTS Crier / Nov. 27, 2013

Cheering on champs

SWIMMING WITH THE BIG LEAGUES

Boys’ Swim team requests more support from fans to keep up momentum

Girl’s Swim team looks for fast starts to season while one of their own strives for more

Jordan Cockrum Managing Editor

Vrusha Patel Business Manager

Coach Mathew Pavlovich

Girls’ Swim team currently stands 2-2 in their season. They raced a dual meet against Highland yesterday.

The team practicCoach’s Corner es before and after school proved beneficial in preparation for meets, according to Emily Lagestee, senior.

“We try to stay positive and we are working hard everyday and motivating the girls to keep working hard at What are your biggest practice,” Lagestee achievements? said.

“The biggest achievements The dual meet prewere when the boys’ swim pares the girls for team was state runner up future events, such 2009 and 2010.” as the Sectionals and What are you favorite Conference meets. coaching moments?

This meet was not “I’ve always liked to see the the only opportunity kids excel at the sectional Nikki Smith, junior, meet because of all their had in racing against hard work and dedication her competitors. throughout the years.”

Smith trained for How does your experiher competition this ence help your coaching summer for a week abilities? at Olympic Training “It helps because you have been their and you can relate Center in Colorado Springs. to the challenges and the “I think it was realdemands of the sport.” ly cool because I got to train with most of the people I compete with at state meets,” Smith said.

photo by Cesar Camacho

ONWARD Swimming with some fellow teammates Nikki Smith, junior, swims the Breaststroke kick. “We manage to swim in the same lanes through circle swimming,” Smith said.

In two weeks, she will compete in the Junior National Competition, which represents the highest level competitive meet for eighteen year olds and younger in the nation.

“It was my first national level meet,” Smith said. “I think the most important thing I got out of it was the experience because you’re competing against the best 18 and under in the nation.”

Smith was able to improve on her best events over the summer, according to Coach Mathew Pavlovich, life saving teacher.

“Being with athletes of her caliber and having the best coaches in the country there was a good mixture for her,” Coach Pavlovich said.

Due to the practice schedule and school work, Smith has gained time management skills in order to balance the busy swim practice schedule and school work.

“It’s taught me if you put in the time, effort and work hard for it you can achieve it,” Smith said.

At the race, the Junior Varsity and Varsity teams worked hard to ensure that the depth of the team was not affected.

“It shows us how big the competition is. We need to succeed as a team and we need every last one of us girls to win because we lost a lot of good seniors but we also gained a lot of good in coming freshmen,” Emily Lagestee, senior, said.

As the race comes to a close, the top two contenders from first place remain within a few seconds of each other. Munster pushes ahead, and the crowd continues to cheer and shout, the volume in the natatorium increasing with each passing second.

Over his Boys’ Varsity Swim Team career, Joey Gardner, junior, sees an increase in attendance and support of sporting events within the student body this year. The increase in support and attendance aids in the swim team’s performance, according to Gardner.

“I think it’s (student support of sports teams) starting to grow this year and just knowing people care helps a lot,” Gardner said Matt Specht, senior, believes that having a crowd cheering at meets would better the team.

“If the atmosphere is high and people are there and cheering, the adrenaline is going to get going and you’re going to do well,” Specht said.

However, keeping the score close will prove a significant challenge for the team.

“They have always been a well-rounded team and have depth within their team,” Weston said. “Depth as in other swimmers besides their lights out swimmers. People who can step up and out swim us, and that’s why we need to take it seriously and swim to our maximum ability.”

Students extend their athletic careers

Six students signed forms to complete their college sign ups; look forward to continuing their careers Sign ups

List of athletes who have committed

Baseball Alex Del Rio University of Missouri

Joe Jumonville Northern Illinois

Softball Sadie Conner Calumet College Taylor Michalski Boston College

Swimming Mary Beth Blocher Pittsburgh University

Golf Matt Specht Bradley University

Lauren Rouse Social Media Director With her family surrounding her and pictures of previous athletes on the walls behind her, Taylor Michalski, senior, picked up a pen and signed along a line, confirming her commitment to Boston College.

Michalski took part in signing on Nov. 13, along with 6 other seniors. They include: Sadie Connor (Calumet College), Matt Specht (Bradley Univ.), Joe Jumonville (Northern Illinois Univ.) and Mary Beth Blocher (Univ. of Pittsburgh).

“For signing, it depends on the circumstances when you sign,” Michalski said. “The coaches can put limitations on when you can sign and how long you get for the decision. I knew Boston College was where I wanted to play softball, so I signed the week after I got the offer.”

Alex Del Rio, senior, believes that commit-

ting at the beginning of senior year or at the end of junior year remains the best time to sign because the window for commitment remains small.

“If you commit too late, the college could have found someone else,” Del Rio said. “If you commit too early then they school could lose interest. You have to make sure they want you and that they’re not going to go look for someone else to give your spot to.”

Both visited their college before signing for camps, which acts as a major reason why he wanted to attend Missouri University, according to Del Rio. “I went to Missouri (University) for the first time for a camp,” Del Rio said. “I then was invited back during my junior year for a Junior Day, where they took us to a basketball game. It was then that I realized that Mizzou was where I wanted to be.”

Factors in deciding where many athletes attend college include their family’s opinion

and the offer they get from the school. However, the decision of the school remained her decision, according to Michalski.

“I knew I wanted to go to Boston College,” Michalski said. “I love everything about the campus and the city. Also the coach and I get along really well and I feel comfortable playing for the team.”

However, the desire to play on the team also contributes to the selection of a college, according to Del Rio. “I want to play baseball as long as possible,” Del Rio said. “I’m going to see where it takes me. And the reason you commit is to play. So if you’re good, you’ll play. If you’re not. You won’t.”

For Michalski, committing remains one of the best options for high school athletes who plan to play their sport in college.

“It takes a lot of stress off of you,” Michalski said. “You’re able to relax more at college tournaments and play the game you love.”

SPORTS

Crier / Nov. 27, 2013

Scoreboard

11

GROUNDED Struggling to get his opponent off of him, Jeremy Sarnowski, sophomore, tries to get a better grasp on his opponent in order to try and break the hold.

Boys’ JV Basketball

0 - 0 Highlights: “I am looking forward

to winning a lot of games because we have a really good team this year.” Antoine Van Dyke, sophomore Upcoming action: Tonight at Gavit at 6pm

photo by Alisa Muñoz

Girls’ JV Basketball

2 - 1 Highlights: “I am looking forward

to the girls increasing their skill levels throughout the season.” - Coach Patrick Spohr, WWMS teacher Upcoming action: Dec. 2 against Chesterton

Boys’ JV Swimming 0 - 0

Highlights: “We have really improved.

They always are a nice group of young men. I am excited to see what they can do.”

- Coach Pavlovich

Upcoming action: Saturday at Penn

Highlights: “We hope to make it to Sectionals and win, which I believe we can do with hard work.” - Coach Pavlovich Upcoming games: Saturday at Penn

Girls’ Diving 1-2

Highlights: “We have a new coach

this year. It has been a tough transition, but our team as a whole has made drastic improvements since last season.” - Emily Anderson, senior

Upcoming action: Dec. 3 at Griffith

Boys’ Diving

0-0

Highlights: I am really looking forward to improving and placing in Regionals to hopefully go to the State.” - Jake Camance, junior

Upcoming action: Nov. 30 at Penn

Boys’ JV Wrestling

0-0 Highlights: “It is a group of freshmen

wrestlers who are getting better each time out.” - Coach Gelarden

Upcoming action: Saturday

Freshmen Invite

DETERMINED TO CONTINUE Wrestling team struggles in tournament; one player looks to make career comeback Victoria Avina Associate Editor Underneath his opponent, Eliott Maul, senior, grabs the wrestler’s leg trying to get in top position.

The Valparaiso wrestler continued to force his weight on top of him and with one minute left in the match, Maul with his face red from frustration, could not lift his opponent off him.

“I was hoping to do more than what I was able to do,” Maul said. “I knew going into that match that I was not conditioned as well as I should be.”

The team lost against Kankakee Valley, won against Hobart and then faced Valparaiso (Valpo) in the third round of the tournament Friday. While facing Hobart, Maul won his match due to the opponent forfeiting, but then felt unprepared in the first period of the match against the Valpo wrestler.

“It was exhausting wrestling him. He was fast. He was strong. He knew what he was doing,” Maul said.

“I stayed off my back the first period. I made sure that he had to work hard for every point he earned. I fought to win.”

During the second period of the match, Maul’s teammates cheered “Come on Eliott” as he grunted trying to stand up. The 220 pounds wrestler finally stood up and faced the Valpo wrestler head on, just to get slammed to the floor.

“I was exerting myself more than I normally do,” Maul said. “I had to wrestle up one weight class higher than I expected which means my opponent is heavier.”

The team lost against Valpo. Zach Slosser, senior, hopes that the team learned from the meet.

“We need to perfect on getting up more and building our base. We struggle on that,” Slosser said.

Although the tournament served as Maul’s first high school wrestling competition, he actually started wrestling in first grade, but stopped after devel-

oping multi-directional instability to his shoulders in seventh grade.

“Growing up, I was always really flexible in my shoulders and when they Coach’s Corner would do the half nelson (in wrestling),” Maul said, “I would let my arm go where ever they wanted it to go which caused hyper extension to my shoulder joint.”

Going into eighth grade, Maul decided to skip a year of wrestling to partake in physical therapy for two month.

“I was hoping that if I could take a year off then my shoulders would heal and that I could join back up again later on,” Maul said. “I did physical therapy What made you want to for my shoulders, but found out that my coach wrestling? shoulder would never heal. I would have “It’s a sport I enjoyed in high this problem for the rest of my life. Lucky school. I was coached by really good coaches, so I have me.”

Still wanting to continue wrestling, that to give to Munster.”

Maul asked his doctor, an upper body What do you like about specialist, about going under explorato- wrestling? ry surgery. However, the doctor told him “It’s about seeing growth in that she would not do it. His muscles people. It’s part athletic and were too loose and she could not tighten it’s part maturity. It’s a hard them. She also told Maul that his muscles sport and you see those guys take on that challenge.” would never revert back to normal even What do you like about if he underwent surgery.

“I didn’t expect that my shoulders coaching? would never get better,” Maul said. “I “We get a lot of support from figured that if I had stopped doing the our athletic department. They let us not only coach but do activity, wrestling, my shoulders would what’s best for our program.” heal themselves.”

Although Maul did not do as well as he hoped to in the tournament, he plans to condition more for the next one.

“I have missed wrestling because I love to do it,” Maul said. “My brother had done wrestling all four years of high school and I wanted to do it like him.”

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Girls’ JV Swimming

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12

SPORTS Crier / Nov. 27, 2013

CHANGING OF

THE GUARD William Hatczel Sports Editor

Sam Toth

senior

#32 6-1

Guard Height

A

fter coming off an undefeated season and holding the number one rank in the state, the Boys’ Basketball team now looks for-

Boys’ Varsity Basketball kicks off season tonight against Gavit while adjusting to new lineup

ward to a new season while losing some players.

The team starts their season tonight against Gavit. Coach Michael Hackett, health teacher, knows he coaches a different team this year.

“Last year is over,” Coach

Last season stats .87 PPG .80 RPG

Cody Grzybowski senior

#35 6-4

Forward Height

Last season stats 1.35 1.1 RPG

Drew Hackett junior

#22 6-1

Forward Height

Last season stats 12.5 PPG 3.5RPG

Patrick McCarthy senior

Forward Height

#40 6-5

Last season stats 2.65 PPG 1.87 RPG

Luke Wuchenich senior

Forward Height

#20 6-1

Last season stats 7.5 PPG 44% 3-pt shooting Source: Coach Hackett

photos by Gabrielle Dore

REACHING UP Trying to finish a layup during a scrimmage at practice Monday night, Pat McCarthy, tries to fight past his teammate defending him. “I just try to go up strong and finish through contact,” McCarthy said. “The biggest challenge is to not fade away and go straight up and not to shy away from contact.”

Hackett said. “We have a whole new team and a whole new season now. We have to develop our identity.”

The team lost some of its core members in Michael Schlotman ’13, Nathan Bubash ’13, and Craig Dedelow ’13 after last season. The team feels the loss of these three impact players, according to Coach Hackett.

“Mike and Nate were threeyear players on Varsity,” Coach Hackett said. “Replacing their experience is going to be hard.”

With players coming and going on the roster, Coach Hackett knows that he must find the right strategy to implement with his current team.

Every year you have to figure out a style of play that fits your personal,” Coach Hackett said.

“We will use some of the same stuff and use some different things. It is still kind of a work in progress.”

Patrick McCarthy, senior believes the team can still continue their success from last year.

“We can definitely keep up the winning streak we have had since last year,” McCarthy said.

After losing three influential seniors, the seniors this year need to step up to fill their place, according to McCarthy.

“It is placed on the seniors to take over the leadership from Schlotman, Bubash, and Dedelow,” McCarthy said.

Although the lineup has changed, the team’s goals remain the same, according to Drew Hackett, junior.

“We want to win conference by going undefeated,” Hackett said.

“We haven’t lost in conference since 2006. We also want to beat Lake Central in Sectionals.”

The team practiced a lot before today and the practices really do contribute to the team’s performance.

“We have done a lot of drills to work on our skills, conditioning,”McCarthy said. “We also began working on our offensive plays and our defense so we are ready to stop other teams. This is why early practices are important.”

Sam Toth, senior, considers Gavit a pretty dangerous team.

“They are really athletic,” Toth said. “They take care of the ball well and are good at getting layups during fast breaks.”

In order to start the season off right, the team needs to just play what they call Munster Basketball, according to Coach Hackett.

“We want to play Munster Basketball,” Coach Hackett. “We focus on three things, playing hard, smart and together.”