10.28.16

CRI ER ANation vol. 51/issue 4/oct. 28, 2016

MUNSTER HIGH SCHOOL

inside look

page 9

upcoming Trick-or-treating begins Monday from 4-7 p.m.

Page 6: Students prepare for upcoming Indian Festival Diwali

Girls’ Basketball has first game against Hammond at 7 p.m. next Friday

Page 5: Crier reviews best haunted houses

8808 Columbia Ave. Munster, IN 46321

Tonight at Highland, Football takes on the Trojans in second round of Sectionals at 7 p.m. The theme is a blue out.

The votes are in

F

elect their next president. It is time to decide, yet this decision has not come easily. With this year’s controversial candidates, few people want to talk about their inevitable responsibility: the vote.

With supporters torn between Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, and Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate, the nation finds itself divided. Munster’s former five-term District 12 Representative, Mrs. Mara Candelaria Reardon, explains the consequence of a decision many citizens may surprisingly make—not voting at all.

“Last election, here in Indiana, we had the lowest voter turnout (in the nation),” Mrs. Candelaria Reardon said. “The most important thing is to remember that if you don’t vote, you let others make decisions for you. Those people are making decisions for you if you do not make your voice heard.”

Voters express concerns for both parties. But despite Trump’s controversial actions, some still find him a more desirable candidate than Clinton.

“I lean more toward libertarian viewpoints,” Scott Kenning, junior, said. “And the biggest thing is that he isn’t Hillary Clinton. I do disagree with him on a lot of issues, like his trading policy, but I have a few voting issues that I agree with him on like gun rights, economic policy and national security. Essentially, those issues will probably affect me some point in the future—it’s not an immediate issue for me, but it will be in the future.”

Weighing both options, many citizens find themselves choosing the least undesirable candidate and do not find this election to be a true democracy.

“I think this election is really unfair to us,” Tori Gary, senior, said. “We don’t have much to choose from, and it is like we are forced to choose the lesser of two evils. I am voting for

Government 101

We elect our president as 50 states of students voted for plus Washington D.C.

69.3 % Hillary Clinton

With Election Day November 8, students, state representative discuss this year’s candidates, voting responsibilities inally, it is time. In ten days, after months of conversation, controversy and debates, Americans will

Fall Break will be Nov. 7-8

In Crier’s survey

Divided

Jordan Szymanski Editor-in-Chief

Best Buddies holds annual Friendship Walk tomorrow at the high school track

Hillary because, yes, she has done her wrongs, but Trump is trying to change the whole structure of the system, and I don’t think we are safe with him as president.”

This election swarms with controversy and many are casting their votes away from the two parties and leaning toward a third party candidate.

“I think this is the strangest election ever,” Henry Wolf, senior, said. “There are no real good choices, so I think this would have been a good year for a third party candidate, but third party candidates like (Libertarian) Gary Johnson are goofballs, as well.”

Despite Indiana’s low voter turnout and this divided presidential race, Matt Georgas, senior, will be casting his vote for the better of his immediate community.

“I don’t think any of the candidates are qualified,” Matt said. “Trump: he is obviously very unpresidential. Hilary: I question her integrity and her past. And Gary Johnson has no world affair knowledge. But I still want to vote because I think that (local elections) directly affect me a lot more. I would have to say I align more with Hillary Clinton on most issues because when Donald Trump takes on an issue, he brings up some valid points, but he radicalizes everything. That makes me feel like I can’t support him because he takes the extremes and doesn’t see the other side.

But, I question Hilary’s integrity, so I’m not voting for either one.”

The popular vote is determined by the majority of individual votes The candidate winning the popular vote receives the elector’s votes of the state The electors making up the electoral college are given certain votes, equaling the state’s representatives plus two senators.

Indiana has 11 votes (9 representatives & 2 senators) Typically, the electoral college votes the way of the majority vote We choose the president indirectly state by state

What voters need to know before

Nov. 8

Know what’s happening on

Election Day

1

Where am I voting?

Google provides an address search which will provide your designated voting polls

Know what’s on

the Ballot

A number of elected positions are on this year’s ballot in addition to President p 

School Board

District 12 State Representative p  Attorney General of Indiana p 

p 

Circuit Court of Indiana

p 

US House Indiana District 1 Representative

What time do I go?

All polling places in Indiana will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

p 

Lieutenant Governor

p 

Governor

Who am I voting for?

The candidate’s voting history and platform can be found online; look up issues important to you before going to the polls

p 

Senator

p 

President

3

What do I bring?

Your photo I.D. issued as a Indiana resident

4

photo illustration by Danijela Kaurin

source: Crier survey of 535 student on Google Forms; Mr. Michael Gordon, social studies teacher; www.Indianavoters.com

2

news

oct. 28, 2016

SIDE NOTE on news DOC 200 What: DOC 200 beginning Who: Ms. Leigh Ann Westland, English teacher and Dr. Louise Chiki-Wolf, former teacher When: Talk to Ms. Westland by Nov. 15 For students looking for an activity that will help them become the best citizens possible, the DOC 200 is an ideal option, according to Ms. Westland. It is comprised of 50 activities that students must complete and document four times each over the course of 130 days. Dr. Chiki-Wolf started the program in order to encourage students to be the best citizen they can be.

There are four different components to the DOC 200: integrity, acceptance of others, patriotism and service. The program is open to kindergartners through seniors in high school. Students interested in taking part in the DOC 200 should contact Ms. Westland.

“I like the concept of it. It doesn’t have to be the top student, a student who achieves on the field or on stage,” Ms. Westland said. “It can be anyone.

It sounds cliché, but we have so many good kids (who are) capable of so many good things, and with a little more effort they can be recognized as good citizens for doing so.”

Teacher Awards What: University of Chicago Outstanding Educator Award and Ithaca College S’Park Media Mentor Award Who: Mr. Patrick O’Neill, science teacher, and Ms. Sarah-Anne Lanman, publications adviser Mr. O’Neill and Ms. Lanman both received the University of Chicago Outstanding Educator Award. Freshmen at University of Chicago nominate teachers who had a significant impact on their lives for the award; Ms. Lanman was nominated by Meena Kandallu, ‘16, and Mr. O’Neill was nominated by Julia Chael, ‘16.

“It’s really a boost,” Mr. O’Neill said.

“It’s nice to be recognized. It’s a career that takes a lot of energy and time. You really have to put your heart and soul into teaching to do it well, and so it’s energizing to be recognized and to feel like people value what you’re doing.”

Ms. Lanman also won Ithaca College’s S’Park Media Mentor Award for high school teachers and advisers who instill a passion for media in their students.

Ms. Lanman received the award along with three other winners who are involved in a variety of media. Ms. Lanman was nominated by Elena Piech, ‘15.

“For me, my senior year, I was on both (Paragon and Crier) staffs, so I really had the opportunity to see how she works in both learning environments,” Elena said. “I think it’s great that she has a policy where she is not our teacher, she’s our adviser. And she really pushes for both publications to be student-led, student-run publications; she creates an environment that fosters learning and independence at the same time.”

Corrections

In issue 3 of Crier, Luciano Medina, junior, was incorrectly identified as a senior on page 2. Verania Rivera, junior, was incorrectly identified as a sophomore on page 6. Additionally, “Hitting the Stage” on page 8 should say that Munster Theatre Company was not performing their novice show. Finally, the Dig Pink event on Page 11 took place at LaPorte High School. Crier regrets these errors.

Students re-sign drug pledge for updated list Joseph Bermudez Copy Editor This month, all members of extracurricular activities and parking will sign an updated drug pledge, whether one has been signed a previous year or not.

“What we had done is, you sign it one time and kind of go from there,” Mr. Morgan Nolan, assistant principal, said.

“Last year, there were a few kids who fell through the cracks. There were also a couple typos on the form. We got those cleaned up and we decided to start all over. We thought we were going to do it next year, but we thought, ‘You know

...again

what, let’s just go ahead and do it now.’

So our records are 100 percent accurate by the time 2017 rolls around.”

Five years ago, the school and the Munster Police Department agreed upon the shared information agreement and merged it into the drug pledge form.

Since the merge, though, some sponsors of extracurricular activities have been either distributing out-of-date drug pledges, a separate form involving the agreement, or not the agreement form at all, according to Mr. Nolan.

“Some clubs were using an old form from five or six years ago; that was another thing that glared up that we noticed,” Mr. Nolan said. “The only thing that’s different was the shared information agreement. So we added that. It used to be a completely separate form, but five years

ago we merged it into one form. Some clubs were using the new form, some weren’t, so we wanted to make sure everyone is on the new form.”

In order to keep control of the pledges on file, a new list of students who signed the pledge was created. Pledges from previous years are now invalid due to the new list, according to Mr. Nolan.

“This is going to be a one time thing,” Mr. Nolan said. “(The drug pledges) will be valid for all four years. If you sign one this year, that should be it.”

Despite the inconvenience, Josh Perez, senior, believes the student body will not have an issue re-signing the drug pledges.

“I don’t think, in general, people won’t have a problem re-signing for parking spaces because that’s something we need,” Josh said. “Some students might object to sign it again, if they already did, but will do it because they have to park their car somewhere.”

Go big or go home

Marching Band attends State Finals in Indianapolis, hopes to improve from last year’s 10th place finish Danie Oberman Page Editor

compared to MHS’s 140. However, Elliott does not find Concord unbeatable.

“This year what I found interesting is usually when you have a big band, you usually get bigger sounds,” Elliott said.

“But the weird part about our band is not only are we a little bigger, but the sounds we’re generating are just as large as those bands of 200-plus.”

Another surprise occurred at Semistate when Greenwood High School, who has made it to State for the past 33 years, did not advance to State.

“In my opinion, I think that was a mes-

sage that something weird’s going on, and I feel like it’s in our favor,” Elliott said.

Color Guard Captain Briana Lopez, senior, knows how unpredictable Marching Band can be. However, this does not affect her goal of simply leaving State Finals with no regrets.

“Each run is so different, and so many expressions can be put into each run, but it’s probably going to go really well if we focus on everything that (Mr. Winternheimer) has been telling us to focus on,” Briana said. “The saying we like to say is ‘Leave it all on the field.’”

The bright lights of Lucas Oil Stadium blare down. The announcer states the band name, school, performance title, pieces being performed, principal, director, and drum majors. Finally, they hear the words that start their performance: “Drum majors, the field is yours.”

It is the Marching Band State Finals, and as 10 bands compete for the top spot, anything can happen.

“We’re not just here to go to State Finals, we’re here to win,” Drum Major Elliott Fus, senior, said. “I consider it a ‘go big (or) go home’ year. Everyone just seems so in the moment right now, and I really think it’s going to pay off in the end.”

To their disappointment, the band placed 10th at State last year. Many factors contributed to their loss, including an unfavorable performance slot, being smaller in size than their competitors and simply not playing to their full potential, according to Mr. Bret Winternheimer, Marching Band director. However, with the State Finals tomorrow, Mr. Winternheimer thinks the band can redeem themselves.

“Essentially, we can do no worse than we did last year,” Mr. Winternheimer said. “I think there is a sense of urgency to kind of make a statement about last year maybe not being where we wanted to be or should have been, and then seeing how high we can actually be. “ MHS has competed at State for the past five years, and Elliott has participated each time.

“I think this year’s going to be different: the music, the energy, the kids,” Elliott said. “I mean, we’re just all in the moment right now, and I feel like we’re going to have a positive unexpected outcome. Hopefully (there will be) a nice ring on everyone’s finger when we come back home.” photo by Olivia Hesterman One of the band’s biggest competi- MARCHIN’ IN During a practice for Semi-state, Genesis Tienstra, senior, plays her flute and works on tors is Concord High School, who are her choreography. Marching Band will compete at State at Lucas Oil Stadium tomorrow. “(State has) the current defending State Champi- always been a really cool experience, especially watching the underclassmen’s reactions to being ons, with about 260 band members on the Jumbotron and their general reaction about going to State,” Genesis said.

oct. 28, 2016

news

3

Home

sweet DECA

MHS alumni, former DECA member discusses role as new coach Mariah Villaroman Editor-in-Chief When Mr. David Kaplan participated in DECA at MHS, there may have been one pushing factor for his success.

“I never really got to travel as a kid. I went to a leadership conference with Mr. (Kent) Lewis (former business teacher), and they talked about how you get to go to Anaheim, California,” Mr. Kaplan said.

“I came home that day and I thought ‘I’m going to California. I’m going to work hard. I’m going to study.’ And I got to go.”

A 2002 graduate of MHS, Mr. Kaplan will act as head coach for DECA this year.

During his high school career in DECA, he placed first at State in retail merchandising as a junior and attended Internationals. After graduating, he went to Purdue University Calumet and received his business degree in management.

“I’ve been around Munster DECA forever. I love seeing the progress of the kids who do practice role plays, especially if they haven’t really done a role play before,” Mr. Kaplan said. “It’s usually really shaky. They’re really nervous, but having them hear the feedback that you give them and use it to improve and seeing them up on stage is awesome.”

Mr. Kaplan’s goals include preparing the first-year DECA members for competition and introducing students to networking opportunities through DECA. DECA will start practices next month and their first competition is in January.

“Obviously, I want the kids to do well in competition, but I want them to get something out of DECA. There’s networking opportunities in DECA, but it’s also a lot of fun,” Mr. Kaplan said. “I think a lot of people don’t really understand.

They think it’s all about competition, but I made friends that I still talk to in high school DECA. So as long as everything goes smoothly, I want the kids to do well and I want to prepare them as best I can, but I want them to have fun. I want them to get something out of the experience.”

photo by Olivia Hesterman

SMILES ALL AROUND Listening to one of five groups preparing for Districts Tuesday, Mr. Michael Dempsey, study hall supervisor, works with seniors Caia Trykall (left) and Alex Raycroft (right). Mr. Dempsey is enthusiastic to work with the team and believes he has much to teach and much to learn. “It’s nice to be a coach—to have a group of students that I can get to know better and work with,” Mr. Dempsey said. “I especially like that I’m doing something I enjoy, both learning about and teaching about, in government and social studies.”

New coach, new law We the People fills empty coach position for competitions Josh Kim Page Editor In order to work on obtaining an administrator’s license, Mr. Michael Gordon, social studies teacher, decided to step down from his position as head coach of We the People.

To replace him, Mr. Richard Miller, a local lawyer who has worked with the team in the past, was to be the new head coach for the team, until he stepped down due to health issues. The position of head coach was empty, and the team would not be able to participate in competitions beyond Districts Tuesday.

Then Mr. Michael Dempsey, study hall supervisor, decided to fill the role and become the coach.

“They kind of had an immediate opening, trying to scramble and find a coach. This is my first year as the study hall teacher, and I told the students that I am a licensed social studies teacher,” Mr. Dempsey said.

“Once the We the People students knew they needed a coach, they knew I was licensed in social studies, and I probably had the free time to do it, so they asked me to take over.”

Alex Raycroft, senior, explains how Mr. Dempsey is preparing for the future competitions. “(Mr. Gordon) is showing (Mr. Dempsey) the ropes of coaching.” Alex said. “I think the situation is all of us just learning together on what’s coming next.”

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Mr. Dempsey continues to explain how the coaching system, and how it will change in the near future.

“So me and Mr. Gordon, who was Role change the coach for the last 15 years, are sort Different coaches of co-coaching right now.” Mr. Dempsey advised We the said “And then, in like the next week or People this year two, I will fully take over as the full head Mr. Gordon coach of We the People.”

Has been coaching the If Mr. Dempsey was not the head team for 15 years but coach of We the People, Alex describes stepped down this year how people would not be as concerned if this were to happen to a sport.

“Mr. Gordon said he could take us to Mr. Miller Took over coaching for Districts, which is Nov. 1, but after that, nine weeks but left due he can no longer coach,” Alex said. “If to health issues this was happening to the football team, there would be outrage in the communiMr. Gordon ty. There would be parents in an uproar.”

Filled next two weeks after Mr. Miller left With a coach to take the team to competitions, Connor Meyer, junior, has faith in Mr. Dempsey and believes the team Mr. Dempsey will benefit from the change.

Will coach the team for “I honestly think that he’s going to be the rest of the year very competent. Once he gets the hang of things it’s going to be a good season,” source: Connor Meyer, junior Connor said. “I think that he’s very proficient on the know ledge that we need, and he’s going to be a great coach.”

4

speakout

oct. 28, 2016

Everything isn’t black and white column Jordan Szymanski Editor-in-Chief

cartoon by Gavin Hamilton

REPEAT AFTER ME Everything you see on the internet is credible. Anything with over 100 likes is fact. Santa Claus is real. So is the Easter Bunny; I saw it on Instagram. And a square is definitely a triangle if Twitter says so. After all, isn’t everything I read on the internet true?

editorial

Full of misinformation

When the second presidential debate Oct. 9 aired, many viewers noticed one odd, distracting factor: Donald Trump’s stage presence. He often would walk around the stage while Hillary Clinton spoke, standing close behind her or pacing in the background.

Of course, his peculiar behavior attracted a large amount of attention. Viewers took to social media, tweeting one-liners about Trump or uploading short videos for Instagram followers to see.

While this popularity may show an increase in voters’ interest for this election, it simultaneously a negative situation.

OUR Students suggests With ever-growing accessibilion TAKE rely ty and familiarity of social media, social media as a source good-old news sources just do not of news, which is make the cut, such as that Sunday often not entirely paper waiting on the front porch accurate, if at all or the Channel 5 newscaster relaying the quick must-know’s of the day. And this is really not that bad. Simply, it’s a sign of the times.

It is bad that news consumers rely on social media for their everyday, credible news source.

According to Keyhole, an online tracker of media trends, around 91 million people read tweets about the second presidential debate, yet only 69 million people actually watched the televised debates.

This creates a large group of people who received information about the debate through Twitter.

CRI ER

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. Crier is published through 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, integrity, honesty, responsibility, objectivity, fairness and independence. Corrections, when necessary, will be published on page 2.

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

Letters to the editor and reader suggestions are welcomed, but should be limited to 250 words. All letters must be signed and should be given

Furthermore, the most trended topic on Twitter surrounding the debate was about Trump’s strange demeanor and Clinton’s comical attempt at ignoring it. While an interesting part of the debate, certainly there were more components to read about that did not make it into those 140 characters.

Obviously, social media have benefits when it comes to releasing breaking news or summarizing complicated issues. With anyone and everyone on social media, the opinions and retellings create a diverse sharing unprecedented until recently.

The problem happens when social media users do not double check “sensational” news or use social media as an all-encompassing guide to news.

Often a popular social media post can gain immediate credibility because of the many people who share it. But sensational news does not mean real news. For these types of information, it does not hurt to see what NBC televises or what the Chicago Tribune writes. Even just checking what parents or teachers are saying works, too.

Social media users should continue using their accounts as the quick news updates and public forum they are; however, if any users receive news solely by refreshing their Instagram feed, they need to open themselves up to more, diverse sources.

Following this, a popular tweet about the debate can be all-in-one: comical, informative and 100 percent true.

directly to any staff member or delivered to the Publications room, 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. Feedback may also be submitted on Twitter @munstermedia.

Mailed subscriptions cost $25 per year. Ad rates and policies are available to anyone upon request. Crier is published 13 times a school year.

The Staff

She had 13k retweets, but millions of hate tweets. She went viral and then shut down her Twitter account. People from across the world, many who will never know this girl’s middle name, hometown or favorite color, decided she was a racist. Labeled as a bigot, the teenage girl deletes her photo of her Homecoming Spirit Week character day costume: a popular rapper, Kodak Black.

Today, almost everything is a racial issue.

With Halloween approaching, many people address concerns and complaints for poor taste in costumes that disrespect certain cultures. If one placed a photo of the high schooler side by side with the rapper, their appearance is almost identical. Except she is white and he is black. Users flooded her feed with threats and statements all under the general umbrella statement: stop appropriating a culture, race or heritage you are not a part of.

But this particular girl did nothing wrong.

She dressed up as a celebrity for Homecoming and posted a picture on social media. She is not synonymous with the girls from Pennsylvania College who dressed up by painting their faces black and over lining their lips, posting it with a caption that read: “feels good to finally be a n*gga.”

Situations like that should be race issues.

Calling Brock Turner, a white convicted rapist a “troubled youth” and Trayvon Martin, a black teen who was killed walking with Skittles and his hood up with no criminal record a “thug” is a race issue. The fashion industry calling Kim Kardashian’s corn rows “boxer braids” and “a new trend” instead of a hairstyle black men and women have worn for generations is cultural appropriation.

More importantly, until we recognize what deserves an uproar and what is harmless, we will continue to experience this strife in America between races.

Stop persecuting a girl for wearing a costume and start reacting to the alarming statistic that a black American will live on average five years less than a white American.

Be outraged that 1 in every 15 black men and 1 in every 36 Hispanic men will be incarcerated in their lifetime compared to the 1 in 106 white men. Protest that Black Lives Matter is labeled as a hate group while our Presidential candidate speaks freely about his sexist tendencies toward women and his fear of Muslims. Create an uproar over real race issues instead of what trends on Twitter.

That girl did not deserve the attention she received for her Twitter post. However, so many events that are racial issues happen every day that do. Where are their 13k retweets?

Graphics Editor Ian Brundige Graphics Assistant Gavin Hamilton Page Editors Mimi Brody, Josh Kim, Sofía Navarro, Danie Oberman, Carey Scott Business Manager Nathalie De La Torre Head Photographer Weronika Bilek Chief Photographer Danijela Kaurin

Design Chief Chloe Wineinger

Photographers Joseph Bellahcen, Olivia Hesterman, Lauren Kozy, Vrusti Patel, Melanie Powers, Austin Skeens, Kess Vaitkus, Easan Venkat, Summer Witvoet

Copy Editor Joseph Bermudez

Adviser Ms. Sarah-Anne Lanman

Editors-in-Chief Jordan Szymanski, Mariah Villaroman

oct. 28, 2016

Fright Night

spotlight

5

Crier staffers review local haunted house, attraction

Halloween season screams excitement and fright. And probably more terrifying than any ghosts and ghouls is the possibility of being trapped in a house with the haunted. This fall, Crier reviews the most scream worthy haunted houses around, how to survive and where to go to scare you the most.

Jordan Szymanski Editor-in-Chief

Ian Brundige Graphics Editor

Reaper’s Realm Cost: $40 (all inclusive, 1 free

photo by Weronika Bilek

6

carnival ride & speed pass) Location: 626 177th St., Hammond, IN 46324

Fear Factor:

Scream-o-meter

A chorus of screams hits you in the face as you enter the most local haunted attraction, Reaper’s Realm. Whether they are coming from the rickety carnival rides, the eerie woods or the creaky haunted mansion, this attraction ranks a six on our Scream-o-meter, evenly dispensed across the multiple events throughout the attraction.

The Mansion The actual haunted house was my first event of the night. After paying for the speed pass, which let me skip the line, I was more scared of the angry guests who I bypassed in line then I was of any monsters.

That soon changed after I stepped inside the house and felt the door slam shut. Immediately, I covered my eyes and lowered my head, but then I realized I needed to pay attention to review the experience. It was not my first time in Reaper’s Realm; however, I could honestly say it was my first time paying that close of attention.

Particularly, my favorite room of the house was a clown infested mirror room mid-way through the house. I had almost entirely lost my breath, but I still managed to scream louder than I have in my life. A small girl in bright pink with black dark eyes and a knife popped out from behind a mirror and laughed hysterically in my ear. Making it out of this room was difficult, to say the least. I lost my group (which was mostly composed of strangers) and I was stumbling into mirrors and creatures and clowns. Finally, I just stopped moving and gave up. I reasoned with myself that this was my new home among the clowns— until a complete stranger to whom I awkwardly clung to all night saved me. I noted that this was true friendship, bonded by fear, and we continued through the house.

I probably fell three times and hit my head twice throughout the whole night. There are so many weird areas of the house, including a spongy and a moving floor that is slightly dangerous. I heard from a friend that she broke her nose in the house a few years ago. Overall, the mansion is a frightful adventure full of mirrors, clowns and great special effects.

The Woods Without knowing better, you might think this part of Reaper’s Realm was in a horror movie. It begins in a small, half-open shack with a loud man drenched in blood shouting directions. Besides the odd smell of gas and bad breath, nothing about the woods will make you shake in fright until the end when Michael Meyers chases with a chainsaw.

In between the blood and a chainsaw, you will find yourself twisting and turning between plywood boards and screaming teenage girls. Allin-all, The Woods was a mild let down; however, I found it refreshing being outside after sweating through my clothes inside the mansion.

That was the best part though, it was like a cool down lap after a long workout: refreshing but all it really does it let you down.

Zombie Revolt This new edition to Reaper’s Realm was overall the worst part. I waited in line, and once I got to the front, I was handed a flashlight.

Excited, I waited in a literal cage with maybe twenty other people. It was weird. It smelled like sweat. And it really was not scary. The whole experience was like my time in the cage. The best part was that it was over in 10 minutes, but the worst part was it cost me $10.

Freak Show inside of a local haunted house, Reaper’s Realm in Hammond is a terrifying clown swings from a giant wooden rocking horse. Reaper’s Realm runs in October offering terrifying scenes through this Sunday.

Survival guide

Statesville Prison

There are a number of Cost: $30 (all inclusive) ways to stay unfrighted Location: 17250 S. Weber Rd., in a haunted house Crest Hill, IL 60441

1

Double vision:

By looking up and making eye contact with the actors, it becomes increasingly less scary and more hilarious

2

Or

Look down, turn the other direction as if you do not see the actors you cannot be scared by their looks

3

Layer up:

From the chilling fall air outside to the cramped hot insides of the attractions, you will want your clothing to be able to adjust with your environment

4

Tie your shoes:

The floor often moves and there are a number of areas with obstacles to step over and duck under

5

Go in a group:

If you’re with others, then you avoid awkwardly clinging to strangers and getting lost and left behind

6

Watch your back:

In the line at Statesville, actors are there to scare you so stay alert and always be on the look out

7

Wear pockets:

Bring a jacket with zipper pockets for a safe place to put your phone and money.

No one wants to look for their phone while screaming in terror

8

Scream-o-meter

Fear Factor:

Groups of about 30 lined up in a cage, the metallic ping of fake gun shots above, actors in amazing visual effects makeup surround you. You have made it through the line (which is terrifying because you are surrounded by actors), and now there is nowhere to go but into the fictitious prison. While Statesville haunted prison is a further drive, about 50 minutes, it’s worth it for more intense fear seekers. For all of this, it receives an eight on Scream-o-meter.

The Prison

Once you actually make it into the prison, you are greeted by the living dead, the warden of the prison sitting in his throne. When it slowly stands up and steps towards you, you realize it truly is not alive. It is the first of many amazing animatronics.

After that every step you take deeper into the prison you become more and more disorientated. The prison uses darkness to its advantage in concealing the actors. There is an obscene number of actors and mannequins throughout the prison that there is virtually no way to know what is real and what is a prop— what is until it jumps up and scares you.

The darkness, like any good haunted attraction, leaves you with no clue of where you are going. More than once you have to duck under barriers and squeeze between slim spaces.

It is never really clear whether the actors are supposed to be guards or other prisoners, but since when has the plot of a haunted house mattered. They are all there with one job: to scare you.

The mirrored clown rave room towards the end of the prison is the highlight of the entire attraction. The music throughout the entire prison is amazing but paired with the slow strobe lights the and almost fun clowns it becomes the center of attention reminding you just how fun being scared can be.

The City of the Dead The second half of Statesville feels shorter and anticlimactic compared to the spectacle that is the actual prison.

However, there are understandable reasons of why the City of the Dead might fall flat for you. It is a riskier fantasy concept that relies heavily on a fear of snakes, spiders and the living dead—which may not scare everyone.

They claim that there are live snakes and tarantulas running throughout this section of the haunted attraction but I did not actually see any, other than a couple that the actors were holding. And trust me, after the warning that they would be there, I was looking for them. So I guess it worked in getting me to freak out a little, even though it was all for nothing.

Throughout the City of the Dead there are large animatronic snakes and prop spiders but they do not deliver the intended fright because, while they look cool, they are not believable.

After the brisk walk through this section you are not left feeling haunted or like you will not be able to sleep at night or even a little spooked. You just feel empty and disappointed.

But then you remember how amazing the first section was and you want to do it all over again.

6 Festival of infocus

oct. 28, 2016

Student volunteers work for orphanage, prepare dances for coming up festivals

lights

of the dances.”

Still some may wonder ‘What is Diwali?’ Perima explains the story behind the There are students that have been festival comes from history.

“It’s kind of like our version of Christhelping the kids from the Carmel orphanage by preparing meals or doing Henna mas, it’s also known as the Festival of on the kids. Recently, they have been Lights,” Perima said. “One of the kings performing dances for the orphans and went off to war and when he came back from the exile or war, the whole town set teaching them how to do dance as well.

They are HUM, and they’ve been up candles to light his path — to come back — and that’s what dancing for the orphans this festival is about, him because of the upcoming coming back.” festival called Diwali.

These are the same “HUM is essentially a dances that the students youth group organizawill perform at Diwali. tion, and we’re mainly “For the one that we’re focused on the Indian doing at Diwali, it’s more Hindu culture. We’re batraditional. It’s called sically a volunteer organiRaas, so that’s like a tradization,” HUM’s president Perima Shah, senior, said. HISTORY LESSON The Festival of tional form of dance. It’s “It’s kind of a short form Lights use candles to await the re- with the sticks,” Anusuya for a Hindu word called turn of the King after his 14 years said. “So it’s really fast fighting at war. beat and it’s really tiring, ‘humera’, which means but it’s really fun to do.” ‘our.’”

Perima describes how there is a meanWhen volunteering in the orphanage, HUM’s job is to keep the children con- ing behind each dance they do.

“It’s important to know that in the tent, according to Anusuya BandyopadHindu religion, we don’t have the sit and hyay, junior.

“We usually help the workers make pius, the prayer kind of thing.” Perima food, and we serve it to the orphans,“ said. “For us, it’s more like we do all of Anusuya said. “Sometimes we do Henna our prayers in festivals and ceremonies on them, and the kids will be like ‘Can by singing and dancing.”

To learn the dance, it requires time-conyou write our parent’s names?’ or a desuming practice out of the students, but sign.”

Since one of their biggest festivals is Anusuya thinks that every practice is coming up, HUM decided to do some- worth it in the end.

“This is definitely something that you thing more.

“October, for one of our holidays, Di- bond through because you’re spending wali is coming up. We’re celebrating by so much time together. It’s like you’re bringing Indian food, and we’re doing a bound to bond,” Anusuya said. “It’s a culture show,” Perima said. “We’re show- really fun time. Those dance forms are ing the kids dances and how to do some really fast. I just really enjoy it. “

Josh Kim Page Editor

photo by Easan Venkat

ON BEAT Practicing a fast and upbeat dance called Raas with her Diwali group, Ria Shah, junior, prepares for in the upcoming Diwali Festival. “To me Diwali is a holiday spent with friends and family filled with laughter and happiness,” Ria said. “We still need significant polishing for our dance, but it is almost ready for the big night on the 12th.”

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infocus

oct. 28, 2016

7

MASTERING PHOTOSHOP Cheerleader Jillian Dixon, senior, stands ready to perform at a football game in the ASL room. Through Photoshop functions, a Crier photographer added in Jillian. Originally in the photo are (from left) Danny Zuccarelli, senior; Elliot Fus, senior; Ms. Hannah Fus, ASL teacher; Gaby Ramirez, senior; and Thomas Beckman, senior. photo illustration by Danijela Kaurin

Sending the right message Students discuss how miscommunication spreads at school Mariah Villaroman Editor-in-Chief

W

hen talk of killer clowns stalking the Region exploded on social media

photo illustration by Joseph Bellahcen

SKILLED DECEPTION From left, Fayth Schutter, junior; Ani Arzumanian, senior; Lucas Newell, ‘16; and Chloe Jancosek, junior, sing together in the choir room.

Lucas, a graduate and never in choir, was added in with Photoshop features.

Making manipulation easy

Multiple features come together to create photo above

Step 1

First, the photographer cut out Lucas from a Creative Writing Club photo taken last year. Then, the photographer copied the part with Lucas and pasted it into the choir photo.

Step 2

Then, the photographer cut out a strand of Ani’s hair and pasted it over Lucas. The photographer blurred Ani’s hair so it blended into the photo.

.... .. .... .... .. ....

Step 3 .... ......

Finally, the photographer added grain (little dots) to the photo. He also adjusted the white balance, making the photo more grey, so Lucas matched with the whole photo.

Social media affects how students consume news

96.1%

Social impact

of students use social media

source: Joseph Bellahcen, photographer

just a few weeks ago, Obie Oniah, senior, saw how easily the school can become overrun by fake news.

“A lot of people are just making videos to get retweets and likes even though they’re not real, but they know a lot of people are going to see them since they’re on social media,” Obie said. “I heard a rumor—I don’t even know if it was true— but I think it was last week or two weeks ago that when we went out to our cars, there were going to be clowns waiting in the parking lot. I thought ‘Can I trust this? Should I be concerned?’”

More teenagers are starting to use social media has their primary news source. According to statistics from Pew Research Center, 49 percent of Millennials call Twitter their main news source.

However, Obie recognized with her Twitter account how social media can give false validity.

One of her tweets about WWMS students using cocaine during school later proved incorrect.

“Everyone has social media so whatever’s out there, everyone’s going to see it to spread news and all that stuff,” Obie said. “(With) the credibility, it depends I guess on who it’s coming from.

Sometimes it’s a little shady. People will believe anything if it’s interesting. My (WWMS) tweet got 70 favorites and 4 retweets, so that’s a lot. When they saw that (they thought) ‘Oh, it must be true.’”

of the students who use social media

90% 79.4%

have used it as a news source

have seen and believed something on social media that then turned out to be untrue

Students believe that newspapers are the most trustworthy news sources

Obie explains how social media accounts still do not differentiate content when it comes to either the latest gossip or the most pressing news.

“Well, a lot of times the social media is just drama and people aren’t really like giving actual news. The only type of accounts that do that are accounts made for, well, news,” Obie said.

“I know that on Snapchat they have the news stories and stuff like that and so people would just use that as their daily dose of news meanwhile there’s actual real important stuff that’s happening on Channel 5 News.”

After leaving sick from the Homecoming Dance due to her diabetes, Erin Gonzalez, sophomore, could not believe she returned to school the next Tuesday hearing fake rumors about why she left the dance.

“I was just kind of frustrated. All of my good friends knew that it was because I was diabetic, but other people didn’t (know) and they just need to be educated is what I was thinking,” Erin said.

“It is kind of frustrating when rumors get spread, but you just kind of have to set them straight.”

Luckily, Erin’s misinterpreted situation resolved itself quickly; however, now she and other students question how accurately MHS shares news.

“There’s a couple situations where I’ve been like ‘There’s no way.’ You know the person or the group of people, and you’re just like, ‘Well, either they always spread rumors like this’ or ‘I just know them that they wouldn’t do that,’” Erin said. “People definitely never go back to the source when they’re spreading these rumors.”

48.8%

68.9% newspaper (print or online) 12% social media 6% peers, friends, family 13% other electronic sources 05

0

100

150

200

250

300

350

of students believe social media negatively affects how teens receive news

source: Crier survey of 519 students on GoogleForms from Oct. 17-21

We gotcha covered Ian Brundige Graphics Editor Four weeks of planning, interviewing, writing, designing and building. We distribute the paper, critique ourselves, correct our mistakes, then do it again. That is how we make Crier, your high school’s newspaper.

Twenty-three students decide content in the paper based on relevance to the student body and the community at meeting called Editorial Board. From there, an issue of Crier begins.

We assign ourselves stories and set up our teams. We combine our individual talents to create what you hopefully read on Friday. Each of us have a job and a role.

Eleven photographers: who crouch on the football field and stand behind you in math class, capturing every moment.

Eleven writers: who show up to your MRT and ask to record you. Who send you text messages and emails asking for a time to hear your story. Who write. Who design. Who build the 12 pages in our issues. One business manager who designs advertisements from your favorite businesses.

Thirteen issues will be “built” on Adobe InDesign in a little known Mac lab tucked in N155. During “build week” from Monday to Thursday, consuming our time and energy.

All of this has a single purpose.

Crier is here to inform you about what you want to know about, what you should know about, and what you need to know about.

We are your open forum for communication. We help tell your stories and experiences. We do not create them, we only publish them. We are Crier, your student newspaper.

What’s news Crier uses many terms while building the newspaper EB (Editorial Board) group of students who decide what is covered in the paper Build Week distribution week when the paper is built on professional design software Photog photographer Pub publications department

8

infocus

oct. 28, 2016

Self(ie)

Confidence @Kennedy Clark, sophomore Caption if photo was for beauty campaign: “Embrace your quirks and love your body. It’s the only one you got.”

Students discuss social media’s effect on body image

@Justin Goshen, senior Caption if photo was for beauty campaign: “Just do you. Do what you want and whatever makes you happy. If you want to, change what you want to about yourself.”

Mimi Brody Page Editor

W

hile scrolling through her Instagram feed, Sara Wenzel, sophomore, finds half-naked girls with blonde

@Nick Swanson, junior Caption if photo was for beauty campaign: “Just be yourself and be proud of it.”

@Mallory Grim, senior Caption if photo was for beauty campaign: “Love your body and be proud of who you are.”

YOUR TAKE on beauty standards “I think social media has a negative effect because it encourages people to all look the same. It can be positive though because it allows people to develop their own personal style.”

-April Roberts, freshman

“I think social media has had both a negative and a positive effect because you constantly see images of beautiful women that are not realistic, but there’s also a lot of positive messages out there.”

-Samantha Barraza, sophomore

hair, blue eyes, tan skin and stomachs as flat as paper.

“It makes my friends and I angry when we see all these pretty girls on Instagram that are super skinny and apparently beautiful that all look the same,” Sara said. “We understand that there are different body styles that should be appreciated; everyone is built different.”

Reebok recently created a #PerfectNever campaign, which celebrated various body types and promotes self-worth and appreciation. Reebok chose slim, blonde-haired and blue-eyed supermodel Gigi Hadid as the face of the movement. This received substantial criticism because instead of celebrating flaws, Reebok chose a conventional representation of beauty to head the campaign.

“I think they should have done multiple girls and featured different body types because putting a standard ‘beautiful girl’ defeats the purpose of the campaign,” said Sara. “Featuring only one image of beauty is misrepresenting the majority of girls out there, and that isn’t good for girls who are not represented.”

Where Reebok went wrong, other companies are going right.

Companies such as Aerie, a popular underwear brand, use social media to promote photos that are not retouched or photoshopped.

In their campaign #AerieReal, they feature Iskra Lawrence, a plussize model. They also strive to represent different body shapes and ethnicities. This body positivity is a big inspiration to Sara, especially when she posts a picture on Instagram.

“When I post a picture of myself I think ‘Does anyone else really care what I look like?’ They might deep down inside, but that doesn’t matter to me. That’s on them, I don’t care,” Sara said. “I post my pictures because I like how I look, not for everyone else to give their opinions on them.”

Men are also increasingly finding themselves oppressed by standards of perfection. While females are lauded for having a slim stomach, men are pressured to be muscular and have “V” shaped torsos.

On social media seldom are many male models under six feet tall or not ridden with muscle. Milan Obradovic, senior, believes this is unrealistic for men.

“I think advertising in relation to male bodies is highly idealized,” Milan said. “Not every guy is walking around with a perfect six pack or a ‘V’ shape. We would all like to, but very few actually have that.”

Unlike female beauty standards, there has been little push to combat the unrealistic standards placed on males, according to Milan.

“I haven’t heard a lot in regard for changing standards,” Milan said. “For women, there has been a huge push for plus size models among other things. With men, you don’t hear about that same social change.”

Adam Richard, junior, has experienced looking different. In seventh grade, Adam noticed his skin start to change. He developed white patches on his body, which he learned was vitiligo.

“When it first started breaking out in seventh grade, I was very self conscious,” said Adam. “I used to think people looked at me a certain way.”

Vitiligo is an autoimmune disorder in which a person’s immune system attacks their melatonin cells, making their skin less pigmented in some areas. Through all the sideways glances, Adam realized that what he looked like did not matter to him.

“Over time you get used to it. I used to treat it, but then I realized that I didn’t really care if it went away or not, so I stopped and moved on,” Adam said. “People didn’t treat me any differently, and I didn’t lose any friends over it.”

When it comes to representation, Adam believes that it is becoming more common in media and is hopeful that it will encourage others to feel comfortable in their own skin.

“I think there is a really big push to have more diversity in the media,” Adam said. “If you act like yourself you will really just be happier.”

@Sara Wenzel, sophomore Caption if photo was for beauty campaign: “Life is too short to not be happy with yourself.”

@Bryce Bullock, sophomore Caption if photo was for beauty campaign: “Keep it 100 with yourself.”

#PerfectNever

Model: Gigi Hadid p Reebok Apparel p Reebok’s mission statement: “A commanding and inspirational call to action that asks women around the world to ignore their critics" p Controversial because Gigi Hadid fits traditional representation of beauty p

source: Reebok.com

#AerieReal

source: Aerie.com

p

Aerie Brand lingerie

p

Model: Iskra Lawrence

p

Refuses to retouch pictures

p

NEDA (National Eating Disorder Association) seal of approval

oct. 28, 2016

The first one

down

Football advances to next Sectional game against Highland tonight Chloe Wineinger Design Chief

A

s the football team fights their way

photos by Vrusti Patel

UP IN ARMS (top) Munster prevents Chesterton from getting the first down during the home game against Chesterton Aug. 26. EYE ON THE PRIZE (bottom) During the home game against Chesterton Aug. 26, Jaylan Scott, senior, (18) escapes from defender Keegan Fulk, senior, (3) while carrying the ball. Scott enjoys playing the game the most when the situation is high-stakes. “The best part (of the game) is fourth quarter when the game’s on the line because of the excitement,” Scott said. “Everyone’s curious about the play call and what’s going to happen. The adrenaline’s just rushing.”

through the last leg of their season, they make no mistake in playing each game like it’s their last.

Especially when they continue on to their next game in Sectionals against Highland tonight.

This will be the second time the team will play against Highland, after Munster first defeated the team 47-7 in the regular season.

“We beat them pretty well last time,” Andrew Jumonville, senior, said. “But it’s hard to beat a team twice, especially because they know you a lot better now. They want to get some revenge for the last time we played them.”

The team has confidence in winning due to Highland’s inexperience, since there are a few

sports

9

strong Highland players, according to Coach Leroy Marsh, health teacher.

“Highland is young, and they’re struggling, but they do have a few individuals that are pretty explosive,” Coach Marsh said. “In one play, they can go 80 yards.”

Coming off of a 28-22 win against East Chicago in the first round of Sectionals, the team surges with confidence.

“I was really excited to win that game because East Chicago was ranked 10th in the state— they were supposed to be really good that year,” Jumonville said. “After that game we kind of felt our team coming together. It’s become a lot more exciting coming into playoffs.”

Most of the team’s success came from focusing on preventing East Chicago’s plays and taking advantage of their linebackers’ inattentiveness, according to Danny Stanley, senior. “(We did really well at) containing their spontaneity,” Stanley said. “When their play breaks down, they’re going to run around, try to make something happen, so we really tried to limit their playmaking.”

The first Sectional game was instrumental in the teams’ eyes because it saw a major shift in the team’s attitude between players.

“Everyone played together. They were more about the other person than themselves,” Jumonville said. “They would sacrifice themselves for someone else to do well, and our linemen— you could just see more effort from them. Even though they were tired, and they were hurt, they’re playing through. And people playing through injuries and stuff, it’s awesome to see.”

Although they have mastered the integral feat of playing as a team, they still have to improve their gameplay before tonight. “(We want to improve on) limiting our penalties,” Stanley said. “We’ve had a couple penalties last couple weeks that have been taking away big plays, so we have to make sure that we keep that under control.”

If the team maintains their focus as they did in the East Chicago game, they should have little difficulty advancing, according to Jumonville.

“I think we need to be a little bit better conditioned, and we need to make no mental mistakes,” Jumonville said. “Know what we’re doing every single play. Know how the defense is lined up, know how the offense is lined up. Make sure you’re in your position doing the right job. If everyone does their job, we’ll be fine”

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10

sports

oct. 28, 2016

Starting

Girls’ Basketball starts season, loses seniors, but gains freshman players Gavin Hamilton Graphics Assistant

height as well. Although this does have some strengths to it, having less height will be a big obstacle to overcome, according to Izzy Bednarowski, freshman. ust last week, the team was just “(Having a shorter team) is gonna be the coming together, with try-outs at the most difficult part because we don’t have beginning of the week and only a few a lot of big girls,” Bednarowski said. “But, days of practice, but now they have a game we’re gonna have to work on it and we’re coming up next week against Hammond probably going to be a lot faster than the High on Friday at 7pm. other teams because we’re smaller, so we “Since there is a short time between trycan steal the ball more, but it is going to outs and our first game, we’ve been learning be difficult, not having that much height our offense and a lot of plays at once,” Kim but we’re just gonna have to push through Giannini, junior, said. and see what we can do.”

Although Girls’ Basketball did not have Some members of the team, who are much time to prepare for the game, Giannini involved in other sports, namely soccer is confident about their chances in the game because of post-season competitions, did against Hammond. not attend try-outs, but are ex“I’m personally not really Fresh faces pected to have a spot on the nervous because I know the team because of being on the girls and that we are going to Girls’ Basketball team previous years and beplay well together and that gains new players, cause of Coach Davidson alwe’ll come out strong,” Gi- loses seniors ready knowing their skill levels. annini said.

Seniors: 2 Despite this, at the first The team has started this sea- Juniors: 4 practice they can attend, they son with a few younger players Sophomores: 4 will be evaluated and placed in to make up for the five seniors Freshmen: 4 a team accordingly, according they lost last year. Although the to Kya Vesa, freshman. team has lost experience, they New “I feel like they should be have gained a positive attitude players (playing the other sports), beand Coach Jim Davidson , PLTW cause they are doing what teacher, expects the team’s will Returning players they love and they want to have potential this season. play basketball and soccer, but “If we stay as positive as we source: Coach Davidson they can’t start basketball until have and work as hard as we soccer is over,” Vesa said. “I think it’s good have these past three days, we’re going to for them, but it’s also kind of bad because do nothing but get better every day. Where the kids who come in later won’t know we’re at the beginning of the year as opwhat they are doing.” posed to where we could potentially be Although the team has newer players at the end of the year I think is gonna be who are not as experienced this year, Gia big change,” Coach Davidson said. “I annini expects the season to go well due think you’re gonna see a big improvement photo by Kess Vaitkus to their attitudes. over the year. I’m really excited about that BALL UP Jumping for a field goal shot, “I really like the group of girls this year it remains to be seen how good we can be.

Taneigh Boyd, junior, practices for Girls’ and I think the fact that we all have posiI definitely see this group improving a lot Basketball. “I think we’re going to do well tive attitudes this year is going to affect the (this year) because we’re faster,” Boyd over the course of this year.” said. “We’ll get up and down the court season overall. Its going to be a good thing With the loss of last year’s seniors, the a lot quicker than usual, like how we did team had not just lost experience, but for the season,” Giannini said.

J

35.7% 64.3%

last year, and defensive wise, we have better defenders.”

Hitting the ice Mimi Brody Page Editor Hockey club is no stranger to late nights. They practice three times a week at their home rink, Midwest Ice Arena in St. John. Typically, they arrive at the rink at 8:50 p.m. to start their off-ice warms ups, such as running and frisbee. By 9:50 p.m., the boys are quickly gliding around the ice, running through conditioning and situational drills. At 11:00 p.m., they hang up their skates and head home for the night.

Although they do not go home until almost midnight, the late night practices seem to be working as the team begins its season.

“You know the conditioning is work-

Hockey club players discuss late practice, Roper Cup

ing because we are faster than most of the teams in our league,” Frankie Zahariadis, senior, said.

As a result of their improvement, Hockey defeated their biggest rival, Lake Central, a feat that has not been accomplished in four years.

“It was really big (beating Lake Central). Even the coaches got really excited, they were maybe even happier than we were,” Zahariadis said. “It has been a couple of years since we’ve beat them, and everyone just wanted that game really bad.”

As the season progresses, Blake Gardiner, senior, thinks this might be their year.

“One of our biggest focuses that we hope to accomplish this year is winning the state championship. With that being

said, we also focus on the Roper Cup, which consists of Lake Central, Crown Point and Bishop Noll,” Gardiner said. “I think we could win it because our team is pretty solid all around and we don’t have too many weak spots.”

Winning the Roper Cup is no small feat. In years previous the team has fallen to Lake Central, but after pulling out an early win against them this season Coach Rick Rubino is confident that they could bring the cup back to Munster.

“It’s one of the things that always slips through our fingers,” Coach Rubino said.

“For some reason or another we are alway outmatched by Lake Central. It’s always been a good battle, a very close one goal game. Our chances are good, but it’s up to the boys.”

sports column

fresh

Not taking the hit

Joseph Bermudez Copy Editor One hit. That is all it takes. One hit can bounce, shake or destroy the brain. The trauma one endures in a concussion kills brain cells, which ultimately kills the concussed person.

In the NFL, concussions are a common topic of interest. Commissioner Roger Goodell, in his decade of holding that position, has made it clear he cares about the players’ safety by implementing a new personal foul penalty, the helmet-to-helmet hit, in 2010, awarding 15 yards to the team of the player hit.

Despite implementing the new personal foul penalty, there has been a dramatic increase in concussions over the last two years.

From having a staggering 261 concussions in 2012, a stronger concussion protocol was implemented by Goodell. The protocol contains a symptom checklist, a neurological examination and a balance assessment.

The league number then dropped dramatically in 2013 (229 concussions) and again in 2014 (206 concussions).

After two years of a decrease in these numbers, the league saw a 58 percent spike in the numbers.

In 2015, there was a total of 271 concussions reported league-wide and that number is projected to rise 32 percent this season, according to ESPN. How could this have happened?

In the first game of the year, Carolina Panthers Quarterback Cam Newton was sacked by the Denver Broncos three times. He was knocked down eight more times and tackled after each of the 11 times he ran past the line of scrimmage by the Denver defense.

After getting sacked 10 more times in three games, Newton left during the loss against the Atlanta Falcons Oct. 2 prior to his diagnoses of a concussion.

Though showing signs of a possible concussion in the first game, Newton never underwent the necessary concussion protocol.

The blame could be placed on Newton for not asking to be checked, but it is the Panthers trainers’ responsibility to make sure their star quarterback is 100 percent healthy.

Because he never entered the protocol, the Panthers were forced to miss their Newton in a loss to division rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Though Newton was inactive for only one game, he is now prone to more serious concussions if he is not continuously monitored.

With the 15-yard personal foul, possibility of a fine and the strict, clear protocol established in 2012, the number of concussions should not be increasing.

The fact is Newton’s injury could have been easily prevented if the Panthers trainers examined him as soon as possible. The concussion protocol in the NLF has become looser and looser as the years go by, and that is not only unfair, but incredibly dangerous for the players who devote their lives and bodies to play.

sports

oct. 28, 2016

11

Coming to a

close

Students make committing decision, will graduate one semester early

photos by Weronika Bilek

ON THE BALL During one of her last games playing as a part of the Volleyball team, Alyssa Chronowski, senior, (3) celebrates with teammate Brooke Dills, junior, (7) after a play. “Sectionals were a good beginning to our post-game series,” Chronowski said. “I think that it gave us an opportunity to play talented teams, but also practice on things we need to work on going to Regionals.” LOOKING FORWARD Marijke Van Dyke, senior, hugs her teammate Maddie Horin, sophomore, (#21). “When I visit (Illinois University) I always get this excited feeling knowing that it’s going to be my home for the next four years,” Van Dyke said.

Carey Scott Page Editor With winter break quickly approaching, MHS will prepare to lose some valuable athletes. Alyssa Chronowski, senior, will graduate after the first semester of her senior year, as will Marijke Van Dyke, senior.

Chronowski and Van Dyke both committed to their future colleges in the same week. Van Dyke will be attending Illinois University, and Chronowski will be attending Michigan State. Given the fact that both girls had many schools interested in signing them, the decision was a difficult one, according to Chronowski.

“I was thinking about college as a freshman, what I want to do in college, what I’m going to major in, which means I also have to think about what job I want to go into, so in terms of that, I had to be a future thinker,” Chronowski said.

Most students verbally commit to their school in their junior year; however, both Chronowski and Van Dyke committed in October of their sophomore year.

Chronowski had her doubts about committing after the fact, although she had only verbally agreed, players

sign a National Letter of Intent, which ends the recruiting process because participating schools are prohibited from recruiting student-athletes who have already signed letters with other participating schools.

“Obviously, I have had a good time at Munster High School, but now (the) volleyball season is coming to a close. The next plausible decision is going to Michigan State, so I can start preparing for next season,” Chronowski said.

Van Dyke, on the other hand, is getting to work in her time between graduating early and starting her freshman year at Illinois University.

“I’m actually going to play in a club in Aurora (Illinois), which is the top club in the country, and I’ll go and train there all day.” Van Dyke said. “We have practice after school, and I had surgery last year, and I want to make

Fall Sports

Season Recaps

Boys’ Tennis

Girls’ Soccer

Boys’ Soccer

Highlights: p Defending

regional

champions p Defended at sectionals

p Defending

regional

champions p Defended

Semi-state

p Defended

Conference

p Defending

regional

champions

up that time.”

Both girls are intent on keeping good grades, and trying their best academically, although they have both been accepted to their college of choice.

Graduating early was also an incentive to commit, Chronowski said. Chronowski was also motivated to graduate early in order to take a trip to Italy with some of her friends, something she couldn’t do unless she graduated early. After some minor regret post committing, Chronowski eventually came to terms that Michigan State was best for her.

“Obviously, wishful thinking is that I can play my freshman year, but just increasing the depth of the team that they do have now, and hoping that the team can do better with me there. It’s something I definitely want to be a part of,” Chronowski said.

Fall sports come to a close; each sport wraps up their season

Girls’ Cross Country Boys’ Cross Country Volleyball p

Defended Semi-state

p Defending

regional

champions

p Defending

regional

champions p Defended

Semi-state

p Defending

sectionals

champions p Defended

Conference

Record:

17-4 18-4-1 15-2-4 10th 17th 28-10

Boys’ Tennis competed at Semi-state Oct. 8 where they lost in the first round to the number one ranked team in the state and eventual State Champions Carmel High School.

“

We fought (Carmel), we fought them hard.

They were just a team with a little too much talent for us, but I am exceedingly proud of (Munster’s) performance. The way they fought, they never gave up and they were never intimidated.”

Coach Steven Lopez, social studies teacher

Girls’ Soccer lost the final Semi-state game of the season, but the team seems to be strong as ever, granted mildly disappointed about the win since they have won back-to-back regionals titles in past years, however they manage to stay proud in what they have accomplished.

“

I loved playing with my best friends every day. It ended in a loss but we all worked so hard and so well together and that made the season worth it.”

Anastasia Cipowski-Smith, sophomore

Boys’ Soccer ended their season on a good record with 15 wins, 2 ties, and 4 losses. They have won their conference game against Lake Central And also their Sectional streak for the 15th consecutive year.

“

It was the most fun I have ever had while playing soccer. I made memories I will never forget like beating Lake Central. The team this year was unique because it was treated like a family and we all have each other’s back no matter what.”

Kosta Karagon, senior

at Semi-state Girls’ Cross Country’s season came to a close when they placed 10th in Semi-state. Girls’ Cross Country had a relatively good season, according to Emma Stevens sophomore; however, they were defeated by Lake Central at Regionals.

“

I’m so incredibly proud of all the girls who put forth all the effort it took to come this far.

As disappointing as it is to come so far and lose, I still think it was an incredibly valuable experience.”

Emma Stevens, sophomore

at Semi-state Boys’ Cross Country finished their season placing 17th in Semistate. Although the team experienced a number of injuries this year, many of the runners, like Matthew Georgas, senior, were able to drop their times.

“

I would say this year was one of the most fun years (to be on the Cross Country team).

We might not be here as accomplished as past years, but the guys on the team made it a really enjoyable experience.”

Matthew Georgas, senior

Volleyball ended their season Tuesday after losing in Regionals to Crown Point High School. While the team is disappointed, they remain positive, according to Maddie Foley, senior.

“

Crown Point’s a really strong team. They’ve been strong for the past two years; they’ve had the same exact team for the past two years. And we’ve had some struggles this year, but we played as hard as we could. We left it all out there. It’s probably the best we’ve played in a really long time.”

Maddie Foley, senior

12

student life

Oct. 28, 2016

Forever a mustang

In loving memory of Yiorgo Karnezis (‘16), who passed away last weekend, students write letters and condolences