NS Times 7th edition

Local band wins Battle of the Bands, advances to state competition

NS softball team begins season with new head coach -story on page 9

21 mar 2017

see story on page 6

www.nstimes.org

volume 9 issue 7

WELL SAID “I guess it comes down to that I’m genuinely interested in what this school has to offer, and that really helps my performance.”

–Dustin Angerhofer

UPCOMING EVENTS Tuesday, Mar 21 Region Sterling Scholar @ Richfield High School 7:00 pm Softball Carbon @ NS 3:30 pm-7:00 pm Boys Tennis Manti @ NS 4:00 pm-7:00 pm Wednesday, Mar 22 Softball Gunnision @ NS 3:30 pm-7:00 pm Cheer Red & White Night 7:00 pm-8:00 pm Thursday, Mar 23 Drama Showcase (Auditorium) March 27-31 Spring Break

BY THE NUMBERS

2 Number of NS students who are going to Washington DC with the Beehive Drive organization

6 Amount of years Melting Rain has been together

12-4 Score of the baseball team’s win against North Sevier

CONTENTS Features................5 Sports...................8 Arts......................11 Crossword...........12

Proposed schedule changes cause controversy districtwide BY

M AKENZY PALMER

NS could be in for a big change in the 2017-18 year as principals and teachers discuss eliminating early-out Mondays and possibly changing the schedule. Based on the feedback from schools, the decision on this change will be presented to the school board for approval today, March 21.

Anytime a change of this magnitude is addressed, it brings controversy, and many have reacted positively and negatively to the idea of changing the schedule.

The proposal currently on the table is for a shortened schedule every day for the high school and middle school, with the elementaries maintaining the same schedule, with an ear-

ly-out Monday.

The idea of the entire district moving to early-out Fridays was quickly dismissed at the beginning of the process by the district, and the discussions that most school principals had with their faculty only included the possibility of a shortened schedule every day.

Both the NS counselors and Principal Nan Ault believe any schedule change should help a large percentage of students who take concurrent enrollment college classes, and it should also help students miss fewer classes because of sports and other activities.

One of the biggest concerns in the schedule change is making concurrent enrollment more convenient. Snow College concurrent enrollment

Current Schedule

Leave district schedules as they currently are: Monday-8:15-1:00 Tuesday-Friday-8:15-3:00

Early-Out Friday

Students, parents, and schools are pushing to make early-out Fridays an option: Monday-Thursday-8:15-3:00 Friday-8:15-1:00 Elementary schools keep current schedule, secondary schools have equal hours every day: Monday-Friday-8:05-2:30

Equal Days

A table showing three options the NSSD can choose between when deciding what schedule to use for the 2017-18 school year.

courses are either offered Mon- schedule so that concurrent enday and Wednesday or Tuesday rollment classes are no longer and Thursday and are at the same time every day. Snow Col- See Changes, page 2 lege also recently changed their

Three NS students place at state FBLA competition BY

LUCY A NDERSON

On Mar. 6-8, sophomores Abigail Clawson, Coldir Cox, and freshman Colby Orton placed at the state Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) competition at the Davis Conference Center in Layton UT. Clawson competed in the journalism category, taking ninth place.

This is the first year that FBLA has offered this photo provided by Justin Morley category. Clawson was Students recently attended state FBLA competition. pleased with her results, and credits much of her journalism class offered “I was pretty happy success to taking the at NS. that I got it,” Claw- See FBLA, page 2

Junior takes f irst in region, second at state Poetry Out Loud M AK ADE TALBOT

BY

On Feb. 27, NS junior Cody Howell took first at region in this year’s Poetry Out Loud competition.

Poetry Out Loud is a national competition, held by schools from all around the country that invites students to competitively recite poetry. Howell decided to take up the competition this year, and his efforts have been rewarded.

Starting at the school competition, Howell beat out three other NS students with his two poems: “Diameter” by Michelle Burke and “The Affliction of Richard by Robert Bridges.”

One of his competitors, Mayzie Talbot, who was runner-

up to Howell at the school level, graciously accepted defeat because of Howell’s outstanding performance.

“He was freaking amazing.

He deserved to win 200%,” said Talbot. “He seemed a little bit nervous, but he still managed to win the judges over with his powerful poems.”

This is Howell’s first year competing in the competition, and he was motivated by guilt for not doing it the past few years.

“I felt bad for not doing it last year, so I did it this year,” said Howell. “Both of the language arts teachers have asked me to do it.”

After taking first at NS, Howell moved on to the region competition which was held at

photo by

Kaylene Johnson

Junior Cody Howell, right, took second place in the state Poetry Out Loud competition after winning at the school and region levels.

See POL, page 3

NS, first responders to create mock casualty BY

A BIGAIL C LAWSON

Alongside other emergency responders from around the county, NS has been preparing for a mock casualty to take place at the school on Mar. 21.

The school teamed up with Sanpete Valley Hospital and other groups from Sanpete to create a mock casualty event all parties would benefit from.

A few months ago Principal Nan Ault was approached by one of the surgeons at the hospital who asked if the high school would be willing to help create a mock mass casualty to help the hospital practice their response to an event that would end in such results. “[The hospital asked] would the high school be interested in helping us create a mock casualty event so that the hospital

See Casualty, page 3

2 news FBLA, continued from page 1 son said. “People from other schools took the test, and I thought they would have done better than me.”

Cox competed in the speech and debate category, taking fifth place. Cox has prepared all year by taking the speech and debate class and competing with his classmates. He also reads and listens to successful speakers and bases his speeches on what they do.

“I’m kind of a little disappointed,” Cox said. “I’ve been doing speaking events basically this entire year, and I’ve been placing really really high.”

Although Cox wasn’t entirely happy with his score, he still has pride in his accomplishment and believes that he will be able to do better next

year.

“It was my first year as far as FBLA goes,” Cox said. “So I think it was probably pretty good.”

Orton took seventh in spreadsheet. He took first place in the category last year in middle school, and thought he would be able to do well again this year. He has spent a lot of time learning about spreadsheets and applying what he has learned in FBLA. “I felt bad, but I knew why,” Orton said. “I didn’t save one of my things that I needed to.”

First year club advisor Justin Morley feels satisfied with the members’ performance, but feels that there is always room for improvement.

“I was hoping we would have more students qualify

for competitions at state, but it didn’t work out that way,” Morley said. “It was still a great learning experience for the students and myself.”

Next year, dedicated FBLA members will have the opportunity to take a class provided in the regular school day. Those students will receive a leadership credit first semester and an entrepreneurship credit second semester.

“We will be able to work on our events and competitions,” Morley said. “We should also be managing the school store we’re hoping to get set up.”

Morley knows that for many students in FBLA, working in the club along with other extracurricular activities has been difficult and time consuming.

“A lot of our students in FBLA are extremely stretched,” Morley said.

“They’re Sterling Scholars, they’re a part of football, soccer, basketball. They’re very committed students to the school.”

Morley feels confident that having the class as an option will help not only the students involved in extracurricular activities, but all students who have other classes and events to worry about.

“Having the class makes it so where we don’t have to have extra practice time after school,” Morley said. “[It] doesn’t take away from their schooling and other events and gives them time to prepare and to work on as well as learn what can make them better in the events.”

Morley encourages any student who is interested in business and is willing to work, to join FBLA. “Students that are wanting to take it serious and that are wanting to go and compete will have a spot in FBLA,” Morley said.

Joining FBLA brings many fun and educational benefits.

“For students considering [FBLA], it’s an awesome opportunity to gain real world application,” Morley said. “It will prepare you for college as well as careers. It’s also a fun organization that allows students to meet friends and go and have fun while gaining experience.”

will be leaving,” Ault said, “then they don’t miss so much class time. This can help reduce stress associated with missing class.”

Although this change will benefit the high school, the other schools around the district don’t have any reason to change.

“The biggest problem is everyone in the district has to jump on board if we change the hours because of bussing,” Cox said.

The possibility of only changing the high school was discussed but was originally dismissed because running separate busses would be too expensive. However, after eliminating the early-out Friday, the district reversed course and suggested two different schedules for the elementary and secondary schools.

Changing the entire district would require a big change for elementary schools.

“What we’re asking them to do is make all these changes to benefit our high school kids, which is a big sacrifice,” Ault said. “At the high school, we’ll adapt very well but it’s harder for [the other schools] because their demands are different.”

Losing an early-out day eliminates teachers’ time for professional development which was cause for some concern, but four professional development days will be added to the calendar to help alleviate those concerns. On those days, teachers will be able to come without students and have meetings on those four days to compensate.

Many parents, students, and teachers are in favor of an early-out Friday schedule.

Though this schedule was dismissed originally, Superintendent Sam Ray sent an email to parents last Friday saying that they are considering all options.

“I’m grateful to see all options on the table,” Cox said.

“I think the early-out Friday schedule will help the greatest number of students, and from conversations I have with both elementary and high school teachers and parents, it’s overwhelmingly supported.”

Elementary schools were presented as having the greatest opposition for the change to early-out Fridays; however, the majority say they are willing to make the sacrifice for the best interest of students.

“Change is always going to be difficult, but if the change is better for everybody in the

long run then we have to do what’s best for everybody, not just what’s best for us,” Orton said. “It is going to be hard for us to adjust, but we are willing to do work it out if we need to.”

North Sanpete Middle School principal O’Dee Hansen agrees.

“As a school district, we’re always concerned about each other and we want to help each other out as much as possible and when we make decisions like this we need to realize what kind of effect it’s going to have on the entire school district,” Hansen said.

“We have all worked hard to find a solution that will work for everyone.”

If the administrators decide to make this change, Hansen and his staff will look at different possibilities including cutting down flex time or passing periods to maximize instruction time.

The story has changed drastically in the past week of reporting. The NS Times will continue to post updates to the website as information becomes available. Please visit www.nstimes.org for updates to the story.

Changes continued from page 1 held on Friday.

“They did that because every school in our surrounding area has short day on Friday but us,” Cox said. “It really creates problems for us because we have short days on Mondays which means our Monday schedule is totally out of whack with theirs.”

With the class times different on Monday, and alternating days for A and B days, students often have overlapping and conflicting classes that make taking concurrent enrollment classes difficult. The proposed schedule change will help the problem by making all Mondays and Wednesdays A-days, and all Tuesdays and Thursdays Bdays. Fridays would either alternate every week or students would attend all eight of their classes.

“The A-B block schedule is something that we really benefit from, but we also want to expand our opportunities to connect to these higher level classes,” Principal Nan Ault said. “Snow College has picked up their game, they’re adding more courses, they’re adding more vocational opportunities, and now here we are without a schedule that works well.”

Cox is also concerned

Ice cream

Drinks

about the concurrent enrollment situation. He believes that changing the schedule will help the concurrent enrollment program grow.

“There are over 100 concurrent enrollment students this year,” Cox said. “We want to increase that number, and changing our schedule will help us do that because fewer students will have scheduling conflicts.”

This proposed schedule change can also benefit all involved in athletics as well.

Coaches and teachers alike will have the opportunity to miss less class time. Additionally, any student athlete can arrange his or her schedule to stay caught up during demanding athletic schedules.

“As far as sports are concerned it’s a great advantage because, for example, if a team plays Tuesday-Thursday games, students can now schedule a class on B-day, like weights, that they know they can miss,” Cox said.

Coaches can also schedule prep-periods for 4A or 4B, depending on when those games are.

“If you set the schedule, for example, we could have a fourth period cheer class Tuesday and Thursday when the cheerleaders know they

Snacks

1050 S State Mt. Pleasant, UT (435) 462-3388 MAIN STREET, MORONI

Your hometown grocer 1050 South State Street Mt. Pleasant, UT

(435) 462-2832

3

news POL, continued from page 1

Gunnison High School. He was faced with only one other competitor, from Wasatch Academy. Beating his competition, Howell took first place at region.

Howell attributes his success in the competition on the emotion he puts into his poetry.

“I think emotions have a lot to do with poetry,” Howell said. “You need to understand the poem and feel the poem, and then you say it with more emotion.”

Because of his victories locally and at region,

Casualty, continued from page 1 can practice their response to a major event,” Ault said.

“What we did was decided that if we created a shooting situation where we have casualties then they get to practice their response to that.”

According to a post on the NS Facebook page, those involved are all who would need to assist in a real casualty situation. They include Mount Pleasant Police Department, Sanpete County Sheriff ’s Office, Snow College, Utah Department of Emergency Management, Risk Management, Utah Highway Patrol, North Sanpete Ambulance Association, Ephraim Ambulance, and Manti Ambulance.

The event serves to help both NS and Sanpete County first responders see where they stand in regards to preparedness for any situation where casualties may occur and how well they can work together to accomplish what needs to be done in those circumstances.

As the focus is towards preparedness in the case of casualties, the active shooter plays a small role. The shooting will be contained to a small part of the school, and end quickly, as to allow the focus on the events afterwards,

Howell had the opportunity to attend the state competition for Poetry Out Loud. Region winners from across Utah met on March 14 to compete for a spot on nationals, including Howell.

Competing against six other people and with a third poem in his arsenal, Howell placed second at the state competition. For Howell, this means a few things; first, if the state winner isn’t able to go to nationals, then Howell gets to take his place and compete in Washington D.C.

and caring for those “injured”, and allowing the hospital to practice their care.

“One of the big goals with this is the hospital wanted to be overran with a lot of patients,” said resource officer Greg Peterson. “We’re going to take a lot of patients down there so that they can test their emergency plan and make sure they’re able to handle mass casualties. All of us are working together to try and test our plans and make sure that we’re prepared for any kind of incident that happens.”

The active shooter plays a role in helping both NS and Sanpete Valley Hospital put their plans to a test, but the “casualties” that will occur will allow first responders and other groups to practice their emergency preparedness.

“We’re trying to make sure that every part of the community is ready,” said superintendent Sam Ray. “There are groups coming in from as far away as Ephraim and Manti to join in the activity because if there was a real event and a lot of people were injured, one hospital couldn’t handle it all.’

In order to increase the similarities to a mass casualty event, the first responders will

have to deal with those “injured” due to the mock shooting, including nine NS students who were hand selected

by Peterson to go through the process of treating them and taking them to the hospital.

“Before the event happens, the hospital is coming over and making [the students] up with the injuries the hospital wants them to have,” Ray said. “As the hospital and the emergency and the police and everybody comes, they’ll have to deal with those people.”

This is to see if the ambulance and hospital can care for the given injuries. For this event, the hospital will need to test and see if they are truly prepared to treat patients on such a large scale.

Aside from being the location of this mock event, NS plays another role, to put the school district’s emergency preparedness plan to the test, and see if it can be properly executed.

“The biggest thing that I hope is that we’re able to come together... and work together... especially with the teachers,” Peterson said. “We have a plan, they know what the plan is, but being able to actually

Also, for taking second at state, NS received two hundred dollars to use in the English department, and Howell was given one hundred dollars to spend on whatever he pleases.

Howell made an excellent run in this year’s competition, but he couldn’t have done it without his effective tactics.

“I either analyzed the poems really well, or I understood and accepted the poems as if I had written them,” Howell said.

use the plan, being able to see how it works, instead of just reading about it, I’m hoping that that pays off a lot.”

This preparation is cause for the school treating this as close as possible to a real event; the school will start by calling for a lockdown, then move on to evacuating the necessary students to the Mt. Pleasant Elementary School, having the counselors respond and call a crisis team, calling 911. This is to ensure that in case of a real incident, everyone will know what needs to happen, and be able to do their jobs properly to ensure the safety of everyone.

The hope is to find that the plan will work, but there is a chance that this mock event will uncover flaws otherwise overlooked.

“We may find that it’s chaos and the ambulances have a hard time getting in here,” Ault said. “That’s something we want to know. If we really had a problem can we get these ambulances in here and get these kids out of here? We want to practice. We practice fire drills, we practice earthquake drills, we practice a lockdown, we practice all of it, but there’s still a lot of ques-

tions we have, and we haven’t even answered them all.”

Whether the plan is executed perfectly and is found to work, or needs some adjustments, NS and those involved will gain valuable knowledge as to how prepared they are for a real situation.

“This is a reality of the world we live in, hopefully it’ll never be a reality here, but it is a reality in the world we live in,” Ray said. “In the case of a mass casualty caused by something other than a shooter, such as a natural disaster, the hope is that this preparation will save lives in the aftermath of the event.”

That is perhaps the ultimate goal: to be able to save lives. Schools do fire, earthquake, and lockdown drills on a regular basis, so it seems natural to want to practice other drills and situations. “[Planning] saves lives,” Peterson said. “You know that’s the ultimate goal, is to make sure that we’re saving lives in the long run instead of running around like a chicken with its head cut off.”

NS Booster Club helps supplement athletic budgets BY

AVERY BRIGGS

Many sports enthusiasts at NS would agree that part of attending an athletic event and absorbing the atmosphere of a game includes a trip to the concession stand.

Chowing down on a bag of popcorn while watching basketball makes the competition a little sweeter, well, saltier.

At NS, the responsibility of running the concession stand belongs to the Booster Club, a parent-run organization that helps get funds for the high school.

For the past four years Booster Club and the name Kandy Beebe have been synonymous as Beebe filled the role of Booster Club president.

However, few people realize the amount of time and effort that goes into preparing concessions.

“The first time people volunteer they can’t believe what all it entails to get all the food out to the public,” Beebe said.

Many were willing to serve as the president of the Booster Club before her, but Beebe made changes in an effort to generate more funds.

“First off, I’m a pretty thrifty spender, so I would always make sure I could get my supplies for the best price possible,” Beebe said. “If I couldn’t get something for a good price then I wouldn’t buy it.”

When nearing the end of a season, Beebe also wanted to cut down on waste so she would sell whatever was left rather than ordering something new.

According to Beebe, getting supplies at a lower rate and doing better at not having things that would be thrown out helped the Booster Club become more frugal.

The Booster Club raises about $15,000 every year by running the concession stand. This money is essential for NS athletic teams, and has bought things like

the bleachers for the soccer field, the end zone camera for the football field, boys and girls basketball uniforms, golf balls for the golf teams, and a summer soccer camp for the girls’ team.

In addition, Booster Club funds the sports awards assemblies at the end of each season.

In order for a program to receive money, coaches can make requests for things they need but can’t afford. According to Cheryl Hadley, one of the athletic directors, Booster Club is a key factor in fulfilling equipment needs.

“The athletic budgets themselves are not very big and it takes a lot of money to fund a sport,” Hadley said.

Monetary benefits aside, Hadley believes the concession stand is a great service to those who attend sporting events.

“It’s good to have food and drinks and refreshments available at

the games; that’s a good service to have,” Hadley said. “If you go to a gym and there’s no food or drink it’s a long night.”

The Booster Club is also great for public relations purposes as it creates a relationship between the community and the school. The community supports the Booster Club and in turn the Booster Club can support the different programs.

Beebe and Hadley agree that volunteering at the concession stand is a great way for parents and community members to be involved. The Booster Club is always looking for volunteers, especially during football season.

“I think people are usually a little shocked at how much it does take to do those football games,” Beebe said, “But it also brings in the majority of the money so we have to make sure we take really good care of it and that we’re doing

photo by

avery briggs

Volunteers, under the direction of Kandy Beebe, run the concession stand at one of the boys basketball games. On average, the Booster Club raises $15,000 a year.

a good job. That money is what funds everybody else.”

After serving for double the expected time, Beebe was ready to hand the job over, and she did to Matt and Erika Briggs.

“Kandy has turned running the concession

stand into a fine science,” Erika Briggs said. “She kept detailed account books that make it easy for me to know what to buy, how much to buy, and what constitutes a good deal. She’s a hard act to follow but I’m doing my best.”

4 news Four students place at state speech & debate, one qualifies for nationals BY

SALEM K IMBALL

On Mar. 11 and 12, students from the NS speech and debate class, headed by Alex Barlow, participated in the state competition held at Stansbury High School.

Senior Abraham Bunting took first in Lincoln Douglas debating, senior Jessica Boekweg took eighth in Oratory speech, junior Emily Hill took sixteenth in Extemporaneous (Extemp) speaking, and sophomore Colder Cox took seventeenth in Impromptu speaking. Bunting qualified for Nationals, which will be held in Birmingham, Alabama in June.

Lincoln Douglas debating is a moral debate, where contestants argue the pros and cons of a given situation to decide which would be better for the greater good. Oratory, Extemp, and Impromptu are all public speaking events. Oratory is a prepared speech about set controversial topics. Extemp is a speech prepared in thirty minutes using previously

found news articles, with the topic chosen from five the judges offer. Impromptu is an improvisation speech given on one of three different topics.

Many of the topics chosen for these speeches are political in essence and contain arguments such as the death penalty, building a wall at the border, and climate change. Impromptu is a bit different as it also contains quotes.

Competitions like these give students a chance to show off their public speaking and debating skills, which include things such as picking out errors in your opponent’s reasoning.

Bunting believes that all high school students should participate in speech and debate as it teaches students the techniques that they will need in the future to become more effective interviewers, thinkers, and speakers.

“I think that speech and debate is the class with the most applicability to post high school life,” Bunting said.

photo taKen from

ns facebooK page

Senior Abraham Bunting, sophomore Coldir Cox, junior Emily Hill, and senior Jessica Boekweg all placed at State speech and debate. Bunting qualified to compete at Nationals in June.

He enjoys the class not only for the competitive aspect, but also for the more critical thought processes that it teaches.

New CTE pathways create chances for students to f ind career interests BY

CARLI JOHANSEN

Thanks to the interest of many NS students, the district has opted to open up several new career pathways and classes for this upcoming school year, including medical and computer science pathways.

CTE pathways offer a gateway to future careers students might be interested in, a foot in the door, so to speak.

While there are currently several pathways available, the need for new courses was plain to see. “[The new pathways] helps kids know where they want to go,” said principal Nan

Ault. “The subjects are no longer foreign to you.”

With many students taking the Certified Nursing Assistance course (CNA) at Snow, and because many students planning on entering the medical field after high school, NS decided to open a Therapeutic Rehabilitation/ Exercise pathway.

This pathway would open the door for students who have an interest in the medical field. These classes would give students experience, and send students to college not so blind to what they are entering. “[CNA] gave me a head start in my nursing career and

it got me excited to get into the medical field,” said senior Heather Mickel.

With the new courses offered, more students like Mickel will be able to discover if a future in the medical field is really for them.

Even though many students do not plan on pursuing such a career, the skills taught in these classes can be useful to know for all. These classes teach skills such as Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), how to respond at a crash, and how to help an injured loved one in multiple situations.

“Whether or not you will go into the medical field,” said Cami Hathaway, teacher and

EMR. “We all have loved ones that we’d want to help.”

Some courses offered in this pathway are Medical Terminology, Introduction to Health Sciences, and Sports Medicine/Exercise Science.

But medicine isn’t the only new pathway for students. In the world we live in, technology plays an essential part in everything we do. In order to keep improving technology, we need people who have a clue about how to handle it.

Therefore, a computer science pathway was developed to help NS students on their way to having a career in that field.

“Computer Science is important because we don’t do

anything without technology, we don’t go anywhere without technology, we don’t function without technology,” said business and computer teacher, Justin Morley.

Like the medical classes, the computer science classes give students a foothold on a future career, and develop skills that would be useful in any day life.

These programs are an ideal way to get a head start on your future. They offer a way to explore the world outside of small town Sanpete.

Let’s face it. You’re ready for more speed.

Upgrade your Internet today. visit: centracom.com/moreSpeed 427-3331

5

features 21 mar 17

Senior brings his love of math to NS

photo by Abraham Bunting

Senior Dustin Angerhofer presents to the NS math club. Angerhofer is president of the math club. He also heads the chess club, is a math tutor, and participates in tennis. Angerhofer will serve an LDS mission to Denmark and plans on attending SUU. BY

A BR AHAM BUNTING

Gladiator battles are something one never hopes to see on the the playground of Fairview Elementary. For senior Dustin Angerhofer, though, these gladiator battles were a common occurrence and proved one of his favorite elementary pastimes and competitions.

“We would capture insects and put them in a jar and see which would eat each other,” Angerhofer said. “The praying mantis was by far the best.”

These days, Angerhofer is not regularly found torturing insects.

Luckily for them, he now spends his time in quite different pastimes. Angerhofer is most visible as one of the math tutors for the high school, but

he also leads the math and chess clubs as well as participating in the tennis team.

A self-described “thinker,” Angerhofer excels in the math and science courses NS offers and is the current math Sterling Scholar. In the college-level Calculus course, Angerhofer scored a 93 percent on the mid-term, a score fifteen points higher than any other in the class, and one higher than any student teacher John Sadler had ever had in his class.

“He’s a bright kid,” Sadler said. “He is passionate about math.”

Despite what some see as a gift for math, Angerhofer doesn’t see himself intellectually superior to others. He attributes his success to another source.

“I don’t think of myself as smarter than others, [but] I don’t really work that hard either,” Angerhofer said. “I guess it comes down to that I’m genuinely interested in what this school has to offer and that really helps my performance.”

Angerhofer’s interest in mathematics started early. He recounts a time in Kindergarten when he was learning to count. Angerhofer became fascinated with the idea of one million, so he decided to sit in a corner and count to one million.

“Once I got to two or three thousand, I started counting by thousands,” Angerhofer said. “I figured I knew how to count to a thousand, so I didn’t need to do it a thousand times.”

Even now, Anger-

Mt. Pleasant Branch 210 S State Mt. Pleasant, UT 84647 (435) 462-2457

hofer is rarely without a problem to consume his time. He even has a whiteboard in his bedroom where he works on math or physics problems.

“I just erased my solution to the ‘Tour Knight’ problem,” Angerhofer said. “[That] is a problem that asks for a system to move a knight [chess piece] to all 64 squares on a chessboard.

I developed my own algorithm to do that.”

Angerhofer also spends his time solving puzzle cubes, though he admits they can be infuriating occasionally.

“I do these puzzles to torture myself,” Angerhofer said. “I’m a masochist.”

More seriously, though, Angerhofer finds accomplishment in solving problems and

finding patterns that can be cross-applied.

“You solve a Rubik’s cube like you solve a matrix,” Angerhofer said.

“That’s the most relatable way I can explain it.”

This type of problem solving has also led Angerhofer to enjoy the Snow College computer science course. Angerhofer finds this class one application of mathematics in the real world.

“There are patterns in everything, especially in computers and networks,” Angerhofer said. “[This class] really opened up my eyes to applications of math in the real world.”

Angerhofer’s interest in mathematics is leading him to major in mathematical science at Southern Utah University after he serves an LDS mission. He hopes to be a professional mathematician.

“Mathematicians start at somewhere around 100,000 dollars a year,” Angerhofer said.

“There is money to be made there.”

Whether it be as a business consultant, or a statistician, Angerhofer certainly plans on a different career than most student here at NS. For now, though, Angerhofer spends a lot of his time as a math tutor. Although Angerhofer does not plan on becoming a teacher anytime soon, he believes in the value and purpose of an education.

“Learn to enjoy school,” Angerhofer said.

“If [students] want to be anything more than a farmer, they are going to

have to go to school. To excel, they will have to enjoy it.”

Angerhofer credits some of his enjoyment of academics to his earliest teachers, and he wishes he saw more passion for teaching at NS. “I had really good teachers in preschool and kindergarten,” Angerhofer said. “One flaw I see in some teachers here is that they are unenthusiastic about teaching.”

Angerhofer’s enthusiasm for math has even caught the eyes and impressed many of his teachers.

“If there were a personification of math, Dustin would be it,” said counselor Ben Cox. “He has a depth of passion for math that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before.”

One reason Angerhofer believes he has been successful in academics is his lack of interest in other people.

He believes this is a small price to pay, though.

“I’m not a sociallyoriented person,” Angerhofer said. “I don’t really care about the people around me. They don’t intersect my world; I’m just in my own world.”

Despite his apathy towards others, Angerhofer doesn’t consider himself anti-social or awkward. He just chooses not to voluntarily engage with others.

“I don’t have problems dealing with people,” Angerhofer said.

“It’s just not my default setting. I would rather just sit back and think.”

Fairview Branch 300 N Milburn Rd Fairview, UT 84629 (435) 427-3361

features

6

Band wins multi-region competition, reflects on history

BY

M EGAN A LDRIDGE

On Mar. 4, nine high school bands competed in Multi-Region Battle of the Bands at Corner Canyon High School, including seniors Brantly Green, Gavin Cox, and Brenden Blackham. Their band, Melting Rain won the competition.

“We didn’t think that we played super well,” Cox said. “The other bands were super talented, and we knew that we had to be pretty much perfect in order to win.”

After the third and second place winners were announced, Melting Rain was almost positive that they didn’t win anything. They were surprised when their name was announced first place, but winning first place showed the band the importance of hard work.

“If you put in the work, once in a while, it pays off,” Blackham said.

The band won $250 in cash along and a $25 iTunes gift card, as well as the chance to play at state.

This is the third year that Melting Rain has competed in Battle of the Bands, and every year they have made it to state. This is the first time they won the multi-region level. They’ve also competed in Sanpete’s Got Talent, but they find competitions much more stressful than concerts.

“Usually in concerts we have thirty plus minutes to play so if there’s something wrong like maybe with the sound you have time get it right,” Green said.

“When we do a competition we can only play two songs so everything has to be perfect. We have to nail those two songs.”

However, the story of the band and its creation began long before these competitions.

“In seventh grade, I was obsessed with wanting to start a band because I had been playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band religiously for years,” Blackham said.

Blackham describes how he met Green in middle school and how they

were both taking guitar lessons and discovered they had similar tastes in music. They agreed to start a band together. Blackham later mentioned the band to Cox who was originally meant to be the drummer. However, when they actually played together they saw that the lineup of the band needed to be changed to Blackham on drums, Cox on bass, and Green on guitar.

When they first got the band together, they had a hard time getting along.

“We were in a band together for two years before we actually liked each other,” Cox said.

Cox especially didn’t like being in the band at first. Sometimes he even avoided the other members to get out of practice. However, from day one Green knew they could become something great.

“We all kind of hit it off really well," Green said. "None of us were super great at our instruments. When we first started playing we just started pounding out some songs and we were together. I feel like the chemistry was really good from the beginning.”

As time went on and the band members spent more time together, their friendship grew to extend beyond their love of music.

“Music didn’t form our friendship, it started it,” Blackham said. “We are friends for different reasons other than music.”

However, the members agree that being in the band has made their friendship stronger as they’ve gotten to know each other’s creative sides.

Melting Rain is heavily influenced by other artists, and they draw a lot of the structure for their music from the bands Blink-182 and Neon Trees.

According to Blackham, they are in the “alternative rock bubble," but whatever specific type of music they play within that bubble depends on whatever they are listening to that week.

“I love writing songs together and getting all of the different aspects of

photo provided by Brenden Blackham

Seniors Brenden Blackham, Brantly Green, and Gavin Cox pose for their album cover. Melting Rain has been successful in several Battle of the Bands competitions.

our influences,” Green said. “We each listen to different music so we come together and we can each give our own input.”

They also try to write their music to reflect what is going on in their personal lives. One example is their song “One Day” is about Green’s personal experiences he’s recently had with his family. The band finds that putting struggles to music is one of the best ways to deal with their emotions, and they want their listeners to be able to relate to them.

Something that makes Melting Rain unique is that they try to have each of the three band members sing in every song.

Forming the band both boosted the members’ confidence and made them humble. For example, the times when they thought they did an amazing job but the results showed otherwise always kept them working. “[The band] has kept me ground-

ed, and it has made me a better person for sure,” Blackham said.

The boys describe the band as a job that they don’t get paid for. Time, or lack of it, is the hardest part of having a band, but the amount of time that the band practices varies upon if a show is coming up or not. Usually they practice about two to three times a week. For Battle of the Bands they practiced every day for two weeks.

Melting Rain’s future as a band is a bit uncertain as all three members plan on serving two-year LDS missions.

However, the members all have the intention of keeping the band together when they return home and plan on attending colleges in Utah.

For now, Melting Rain is preparing for state Battle of the Bands on April 29 at Salt Lake Community College. They are also promoting and selling their recently released album “Revamp.”

"Beehive Drive" organization sponsors trip to Washington D.C. BY

A DDIE A NDERSON

For the past twelve years, Beehive Drive has offered high school students from across the state the chance to attend an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. NS has sent students every year for the past five years and this year juniors Alex Larsen and Mackensie Blackhurst will get to go on the week-long trip to the nation’s capital.

“I’m pretty excited to go,” junior Alex Larsen said. “It’s

photo provided by Allyssa Ericksen

Junior Allyssa Ericksen poses in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.

obviously a once-in-a-lifetime experience to go take a fullypaid trip to D.C. and tour everything. It’s pretty exciting.”

Beehive Drive is a nonprofit charity event that has many different goals. These goals include honoring heroes in the highway patrol, giving scholarships to students in the communities, as well as annually taking 32 students on an a tour of the nation’s capital.

To pay for the Beehive Drive scholarships, the foundation holds a “It’s a four-day event, where it brings together exotic car owners from around the United States and they donate money to our communities,” said History and Education Coordinator Angie Lavender. “We want to give back to Utah.”

The late Larry H. Miller and his wife started the event with the hopes of earning money to give back to the state in not only helping students and highway patrol but also in helping to create

and maintain parks and to better help the communities throughout Utah.

“We spent a full week doing everything, everything there is to do in Washington,” senior Abraham Bunting said.

“I can honestly say that it was probably the best experiences that I’ve had in all of high school.”

Bunting attended the event last year with junior Allyssa Ericksen. Senior Lydia Madsen went to D.C. her sophomore year.

“I got my calculator taken out of my wallet that was sewn in when we went to congress,” Madsen said.

“Apparently you can’t have a calculator, they get mad at you. I never got it back and she ripped my wallet.”

While Madsen ended up without a calculator, she overall enjoyed the whole experience.

“We went to every memorial there was,” Madsen said. “It was just really cool.”

What makes this program different than just another tour of Washington is that

the students are to fill out booklets and reflect on how the ideals of early founding fathers affect them currently in their lives.

“They’re kind of soupedup history lessons with purpose in the place where it all happened,” counselor Ben Cox said. “It can be pretty powerful.”

Cox had the opportunity to go back with a group of students as a chaperone a couple of years ago and thinks highly of the charity.

“I love the program; I think it’s incredible,” Cox said.

“It really is a great opportunity to go spend time in the nation’s capital and learn about the ideals of government and being a good citizen.”

Many students that are selected to attend haven’t traveled much or haven’t flown in an airplane.

“I’m scared” Blackhurst said. “I’ve never been on an airplane before but neither has Alex so we’re going to do it together.”

Bunting had never been on an airplane until his trip

last year and is grateful for the opportunity to travel.

“I think it’s a really good program, especially for kids in a place like this,” Bunting said. “Here in Sanpete, there are people who never leave Sanpete, they don’t ever leave Utah.”

Lavender agrees with Bunting and is thrilled that the organization offers that opportunity.

“Some may never have the chance to travel out of their own little city or any of that,” Lavender said.

There is a lot of heart that goes into the charity event from the participants of the drive itself to those that are in charge of the event.

“I’ve intermixed with the participants at the galas on the last nights for the last six years and they are an amazing, wonderful group of people who love Utah.” Lavender said.

“Everyone that is involved loves and feels for this program, the love of Utah and the love of the kids and the love of the highway patrol. It’s an amazing, amazing thing.”

features

Come in for sandwiches, sodas, ice cream, candy, and more!

76 S. Main, Spring City, (435) 462-SODA

7

8

sports 21 mar 17

Boys Tennis gets off to strong 2-0 start to season

photo by Kaleb Cox

Senior Brendan Blackham serves during his and senior Tanner Morley’s match against Uintah. NS beat Uintah 4-1 two days after beating region rival Juab 3-2.

BY

H ANNAH O STR AFF

The NS boys tennis team is off to a good start this season with a 3-2 region win against Juab and a 4-1 win against Uintah. Going into the matches, the boys were ready out on the court.

“I played well. I’m looking forward to my next matches, and hopefully fixing my consistency and a few other little things in the matches to come,” said senior and

first singles’ player Benjamin Palmer.

Although the team has been successful thus far, the season has not been without its challenges. One of the biggest obstacles the team has faced is the sheer size of the team. Thirty-four boys tried out for the team this year, a record number. Because tennis at NS is no-cut, getting nearly three dozen tennis players adequate practice and playing

time is understandably difficult.

To try and give players more instruction time, the practices have been split in two; the less experienced players practice immediately after school, from 3:305:30, and the more experienced players practice later in the afternoon, from 4:30-6:30.

“The split practice times are going to create more of a one on one or individual time between

the coaches and players,” said assistant coach Sterling Whipple.

Not only does it allow for more oneon-one time between coaches and players, but it has created an extra incentive for the boys.

“I think it adds incentive to the JV boys to challenge up and make it to the later practice,” Palmer said.

One of the most logistically challenging aspects of the team is

weeks of practice, Christensen was able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the team and started to adapt in the hopes of bettering the team.

“I think our defense is going to be actually pretty good, our outfielders, they can track down balls pretty well [and] our infielders are pretty solid,” Christensen said, “Our weakness is probably the same as it’s been every year, and that’s hitting.”

Christensen has found that the boys are lacking in the hitting department and has been making goals in the past, and now to improve.

“Last year we had a goal to raise our team batting average from the year before,” Christensen said, “and we actually did that, we raised it by about thirty points [and] this year I’d like to raise it again by about another twenty to thirty points as a team batting average… that would put us as a team batting average somewhere in the low 270s, high 260s, that’s the goal.”

On the weekend of Mar. 10 the team traveled to Kanab to play in a tournament, and although they came out of the tournament with two wins and two losses, Christensen felt the

tournament was great for them.

“I was actually very happy with the tournament in Kanab,” Christensen said. “All in all, the tournament was a success, we learned some things and could we have come out of that tournament 4-0, yeah, very easily, but we came out 2-2 and I’m happy with that.”

At the Kanab tournament, the boys won 4-2 against Millard, and 15-4 against Fredonia and lost 2-5 against Kanab and 7-8 to Gunnison after going into extra innings. Regardless, the boys are off to a very steady season with many

initially ranking the players and putting them in a ladder of experience, the varsity players at the top, and the most inexperienced at the bottom.

The ladder was decided this year by separating the team into four groups in alphabetical order, and each person played everyone within the group. In these games, players gain points and then placed in the general ladder based solely on these points.

“I had an easy group, but other players that should be on varsity got put in groups with other varsity players,” said senior Brenden Blackham. “so they are placed lower on the ladder, and have to fight for the spot they should be at.”

The method of deciding the ladder has created some temporary problems, but the coaches have been trying to improve the program.

They have been working hard to help the boys become players in every aspect of the word from losing to winning.

“I want the boys to be strong players in the sense that they are strong

mentally, physically, and able to move on from a mistake,” Whipple said.

As the varsity team prepares to take region this year, they plan to hit practices hard and learn as much from practice as they can.

“We’re going to take it one day at a time, not just through matches but practices also,” Whipple said. “The boys need to put full effort in every day in order to win region this year and work on the basics like footwork, follow throughs, serves, and contact points.”

The coaches have bought equipment to help the boys achieve the goal of becoming strong, including medicine balls, agility ladders, and a new ball machine.

They are hoping that the new equipment will help the boys, and with a region match behind the boys they are starting to feel confident for the season ahead.

“I’m hoping that with the new equipment the players will improve faster than they have in the past,” Whipple said.

goals and aspirations in mind.

“We go out and try to do the best we can every game, and we play hard and try to not focus as much on wins and losses as much as we focus on playing hard

and playing the game of baseball the right way,” Christensen said, “and if we do that… the wins and losses will come.”

Baseball sees some improvement from past seasons

by Alex Larsen

Another season of NS baseball is under way and the boys are off to a great start according to head coach Dan Christensen.

“Well a new season is always a challenge because you just never know how the team is going to get together, you never know which players have improved and what ones haven’t improved and then you never know what the other teams lost as seniors and what they still have as far as players on their team,” Christensen said.

After a few short

photo by Alex Larsen

Junior catcher Wyatt Black tags a North Sevier runner out as he tries to steal home.

The Hawks beat the Wolves 12-4.

sports

9

Softball returns with new coach, experienced team BY

NICOLE DAY

As girls at NS tried out for softball this year, they noticed a big difference in the coaching staff. At the end of last year head coach, Tyler Bailey resigned leaving an open spot as the head softball coach.

The district decided to fill this spot with NS physical education teacher, Sharon Christensen. Christensen has been at the school for over 30 years and in the past, she has coached volleyball, and more recently, girls golf. However, this year she decided to change it up and coach softball instead.

The biggest influence behind this change for Christensen is her daughter.

“She plays softball and I’d rather watch her play,” Christensen said.

Along with Christensen, there are several new additions to the coaching staff including Rich Gillans, Bob Olson, and Sharon Kendall.

However, there will also be some familiar faces including Landon Bailey and Stephanie Blain.

Overall the girls are optimistic about the change in coaching.

“It’s going to be a good year,” said junior Lexie Olson.

“It’ll be new and more intense, but it’ll be great to have it intense, I don’t like it when it’s relaxed.”

The team enjoyed a suc-

photo by Addie Anderson

Sophomore Kylee Christensen makes it safely to first base during the Lady Hawks’ huge 17-1 victory over Emery.

cessful season last year finishing it off at the state tournament. They’re hoping to build on this success throughout the coming season.

“We had a young team last year and we’re much more experienced this year,” Christensen said.

They have a tough preseason schedule including several 4A and 5A schools.

Christensen believes it’s a good schedule that will prepare them for region.

“We have the most competitive region by far,” Olson said, “but I think we can win region if we work really hard,” Some of the toughest competition will include Juab and Carbon.

“Juab has a really strong pitcher coming back and Carbon is strong, but North Sanpete is strong too,” Christensen said.

Throughout the season Olson hopes that the team can be more united.

“Everyone has those social

minimum of two goals a game.

Another one of his goals is to The NS boys soccer team become a unified team and started off their season with a work as a whole. major win in getting their old “Once we gain more coach Julio Tapia back. He chemistry as a team, we will was deployed for a year serv- become very successful,” ing our country in Afghani- Coach Tapia said. stan, but he’s come back this Switching coaches poses year ready to take on the chal- a problem. Last year the team lenges of coaching once again. had to adjust to a new way of “If we’re gonna take state coaching and they have to do any year it’s this year because it again this year. Every coach we got our coach back and he’s has his own style of coaching straight out of the military,” ju- with different drills and exnior Makade Talbot said. pectations. Coach Tapia has a Coach Tapia’s goals for true passion for soccer and he this season are to become a genuinely cares about his playpassing team and to score a ers and his team.

“I try to pass down to everybody the things I’ve learned and hopefully they will learn more than just soccer,” Tapia said.

The team started off the preseason with a cancelled game against Tooele and a hard loss against Bear River, 5-0. There are many players new to varsity and the soccer team as a whole. Many of the players were only subs last year.

The freshmen this year are very determined to prove themselves and cut a path of their own.

“I feel as if they have an

groups but if we’re more united we’ll play better,” Olson said.

Softball had a big win Tuesday against Emery. They beat the Lady Spartans by an impressive amount, 17-1. Overall the team played well but Christensen was very happy with the way the girls were hitting.

“We’re just getting started so everyone can only improve from here,” said Christensen, “I’m excited for this season we have a lot of potential and a lot

of good players.”

These talented players aren’t just juniors and seniors they have a lot of good freshman and sophomores. “We’re deep in talent from all the way across the board,” said Christensen, “this is a good problem to have.”

The team won their second game at Hurricane, 13-5.

Last weekend, they attended the SunRoc invitational, where they lost all three games they played.

Boys soccer off to bumpy start with young team

BY

M AYZIE TALBOT

Dine in or take out

3 East 700 S, Ephraim, UT, (435) 283-5675

photo by Mayzie Talbot

Junior Christian Sanchez drives the ball during a recent scrimmage at practice.

amazing amount of potential,” they can achieve their goals.” junior Christian Sanchez said.

“With sacrifice and integrity

sports

10

photo by Emi Palmer

Although this season for NS drill team did not go as planned, taking fourth at region, the season must come to an end. With one last hurrah, the drill team showcased their talent on March 10. They performed many dances as a team along with some solos. Also performing that night were other dance companies. Near the end they had a competition called the Daddy Drilldown. Calling all the dads down to test their knowledge. Many knew what to do, while others were completely lost. Overall it was a good night as they got a chance to dance together as a team one last time.

Head soccer coach returns to NS after time with National Guard BY

C HRISTIAN SANCHEZ

Julio Tapia was brought to be a coach here at NS. Tapia was born in Guanajuato, San Andreas, Mexico and was raised there until the age of seven until he moved to the United States of America and lived in Utah. He was then raised in Sanpete County. Tapia has two younger brothers and one older sister.

Tapia attended high school here at NS from the years, 2004 - 08. Tapia was involved in many extracurricular activities but his favorite has always been soccer. Tapia played all four years of high school.

After his moments in high school Tapia joined the Military and stayed in the Utah National Guard. He has worked there ever since. Tapia currently works in a location named Camp Williams which is located in Riverton.

Tapia says that playing all four years of soccer was not what lead him to become a soccer coach.

“My coaches were the ones that

lead me to be a coach,” Tapia said. “I had very many coaches; basically a new one every year.”

Tapia said what really gave him that push was when he coached little league soccer and his team beat his current coach’s team. He really enjoyed the tactical and strategic side of soccer that he saw.

“My favorite part about coaching is the impact I have on the players in their lives growing up, seeing a different part of life, not just in soccer,” Tapia said. “Seeing the growth, not just in soccer, but in life.”

Although the coaching life may seem like a walk in the park, it always has it’s downside.

“Losing is hard to come back [from] and make your team come out of a losing slump sometimes,” Tapia said.

Many ask how long a coach can take without giving up, but Tapia seems to love what he does.

“I’m gonna keep coaching until my family can no longer support it,” Tapia

photo by Mayzie Talbot

Head coach Julio Tapia observes during a recent practice. This is his first year back at NS.

said.

Tapia is currently married to Amanda Stewart Tapia. They are happily the parents of one newborn baby named Rayven K. Vanessa Tapia.

All in all, Tapia is a father and a working man. What seems most interesting about him is the drive that gets

him up in the morning.

“My family, supporting my daughter and my wife [is what gets me up every morning],” Tapia said. “I’m here to support my family, and everything I do, will be for them.”

Fast Track Support Local Buy Local Fast track Supports NS

Serving Central Utah for over 30 years Whether you need a new road, a water line, or a decorative landscape feature, we have the experience and equipment to complete any sized project.

We also deliver sand, gravel, road base, top soil and landscaping boulders.

Is your smile not making the grade?

We can help!

Fillings, Crowns, Bridges Root Canals Implants Emergencies Welcome

Dentures, Partials Extractions Veneers, Clear Braces Se hable español

Like us on Facebook for a chance to win FREE TOOTH WHITENING huntingtondental.net

11

arts 21 mar 17

Well-known author finds success with new series and daring characters. With the long awaited release of “Dragonwatch,” the first of five books in a sequel series to “Fablehaven,” readers return to the world of magic preserves.

Kendra and Seth Sorenson reprise their roles as viewpoint characters and main protagonists. They’re joined by well known characters from the prequel series, such as Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson, Bracken, and the satyrs, Newel and Doren.

More than a few new faces joined the cast, many of whom will be

BY NICOLE B URTON playing major roles in the coming series.

In Brandon Mull’s first book, Focusing on the aftermath of “Fablehaven,” readers were introthe “Fablehaven” series, “Dragonduced to an amazing world full watch” opens only months after of magical beings, adventures, the close of the final installment

of the original series. I was disappointed that Mull wasn’t gearing the new series to past readers but instead to the new generation of readers. The protagonists remain on the young side, Kendra being fifteen and Seth being thirteen, and unchanged. Both protagonists rarely stray from their original characterization.

Sticking to well received characters, Mull doesn’t push any boundaries with his latest release.

Staying true to the formula used in in the original series, he sets up a problem within the first ten pages, gives readers a taste of life in his magical universe, and sets up Kendra and Seth to save the day.

Keeping in mind that the series is intended for nine to thirteen year olds, the formula works, though

it has become slightly monotonous. That routine is saved by Mull’s meticulous attention to detail.

Almost everything mentioned about the Fablehaven universe is crucial to the plot. This detail of his writing was one of the things that kept me so interested in the series when I originally read it and I wasn’t disappointed to see him employ this technique again.

Along with being detail oriented, Mull has a knack for opening new plots before entering the climax. This leaves readers with questions that need to be answered without making the next book predictable.

Perhaps the greatest part of “Dragonwatch” was the nostalgia

of returning to a childhood favorite. The book is best enjoyed by returning readers who enjoyed the original series. Brushing up on the plot of the prequel series and the characters in it wouldn’t hurt, either, as “Dragonwatch” relies heavily on events that previously happened in the Fablehaven universe.

Overall, I’d give “Dragonwatch” a five out of five for nostalgia and the thrill of returning to the preserves. However, for new readers, I’d only rate it as a three out of five as the book is meant for a younger audience that requires less character development and fewer plot twists.

Nintendo excites with release of new console BY

TR AYSON THOMPSON

Nintendo has finally released their newest video game console, the Nintendo Switch, a console that is a very powerful home console, but is also one of the most powerful portable consoles on the market. The console has two modes, docked mode and portable mode. Docked mode is like having any other home console, you hook it up to the television, make sure the Switch is in the dock, and you’re ready to go. Portable mode, on the other hand, is a bit different, if you put the little controllers that come with the console on the sides of the Switch itself, you’ll be able to pull it out of the dock and have its screen turn on to keep your gaming session going wherever you are.

I’ve had the Switch for a few weeks now, and I’ve formed my full opinion on it and how it all works. Let’s start off with the main feature of the system, switching from the television to a portable system. I honestly think that it works really well. I’ve been playing the new Zelda on the system in docked mode, and whenever I have to go somewhere, be it a road trip or a quick trip to a store, I can just slide the little controllers onto the console and keep on playing the game with absolutely no interruptions--it’s awesome!

Although, if you’re taking it on a long

road trip, you may want to bring a USB power bank along, because the battery life on the Switch is not the best. Depending on what game you’re playing, you’ll probably be able to squeeze about four to six hours of playtime on the console. However, I usually just pull out the Nintendo Switch while I’m waiting for something, or when I just have a few minutes of spare time to kill, so if you can manage your time with it, you can keep the Switch alive for an entire day.

The controllers, otherwise known as “Joy-Cons,” can be very comfortable or very cumbersome depending on which mode you use the Switch in. While in portable mode, the controllers are right at the sides of the console, they’re keeping the console together, and the layout of the controllers in this setting really work well, it just feels natural. Using the controllers in television mode is a bit of a different story.

The controllers are small and hard to grip when you just use them separate from the console. While the console also comes with a grip attachment that combines the two controllers to feel more like a traditional controller, that doesn’t really work very well either, everything just feels really squished together and, again, hard to grip.

However, Nintendo has an official “Pro Controller”, a more traditional con-

troller that, supposedly, feels much better to use while the console is in docked mode, but I wouldn’t know if it feels better or not because I wasn’t able to get one. The controllers are priced at $70, so I’m not getting one anytime soon. The Joy-Cons are able to get the job done, but they just aren’t as good as they could be. Although, once you start playing some of the games on the Switch, the controller doesn’t really bother you, especially with a game like Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Even though the Switch just came out, it already has many stand-out games that are absolute must-haves if you plan on getting the system, one of these games being, again, Zelda: Breath of the Wild. To keep this very brief, Zelda: Breath of the

Wild is, in my opinion, the greatest game ever made, period. It has more content, charm, and character than any other game I’ve played, and I can’t put it down. The Nintendo Switch’s portable functionality makes playing this game absolutely amazing, you don’t have to stop playing as long as you have battery life.

All in all, I think that the Nintendo Switch is a console with a ton of potential to become the gaming system to own, but it also has the potential to fall flat on it’s face. The battery life and small controllers are notable problems. However, I think that if Nintendo can really kick it into high gear, they’ll be able to make people look past these problems and love the system.

Newsest Disney live action remake creates debate

BY

K ALEB C OX

Disney’s live action remake of the 1991 classic “Beauty and the Beast” was released last Friday in the theaters worldwide. Though many fans were excited to see a film they love reimagined, there has been a controversy surrounding the film.

In a recent interview with UK’s Attitude Magazine, director Bill Condon said that the character LeFou (played by Josh Gad) would be gay in this new version

of the movie.

“LeFou is somebody who on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston,” Condon said. “He’s confused about what he wants. It’s somebody who’s just realizing that he has these feelings.”

These comments divided the internet into two main camps. Many were upset and believed that Disney was trying to push an unnecessary agenda. Others believe that it was a much needed decision to help add diversity to the movie.

This decision to have what Condon called a “nice, exclusively gay moment in a Disney movie” had many up in arms over what it could be. Many parents, mostly coming from the right wing, were very concerned on what this could mean.

People have always accused Hollywood of pushing their own agendas in films, but it seems to have been more prominent in recent years. Those boycotting the film are worried about how Disney could be trying to influence their children through this movie.

Those on the other side of things (including some who are involved with the movie) believe the whole situation has been blown way out of proportion.

Condon claims that there was no agenda being pushed, he was simply trying to make the movie more diverse, without making too big of a change from the source material.

Lefou is not the only way Condon and the rest of the crew plan to make Beauty and the Beast cast more varied. “[Diversity] was so important,” Condon said. “We have interracial couples — this is a celebration of everybody’s individuality, and that’s what’s exciting about it.”

Despite this controversy, the film is still expected to be a hit at the box office, with many big name actors headlining.

Beauty and the Beast is the fifth installment in Disney’s upcoming line of live action remakes of their animated classics.

arts

12

The 50 States

F IND ALL 50 STATES WITH RIDICULOUS LAWS. NICKNAMES ARE PROVIDED TO HELP. BY

A DDIE A NDERSON

Heard in the

Halls ”Oh, there was more than one reason for him to spit in my hand.”

-“My toes are falling off again.”

-“My earlobes smell weird.“ -”I think I’m going to throw up.

Either that or I’m just reeeeally happy.”

-“I appreciate the reference, but don’t steal my kidneys.”

-”I’d ride a segway if I were a frozen turkey.”

-”I want a blender that screams.”

-”His skin tastes like pesticides.”

-”She’s physically hurting you men tally.”

-”Did you just say your family had pot for dinner?”

Across

Down

4. It it illegal to sleep on top of a refrigerator outdoors (Keystone State) 5. It is illegal to ride a horse while under the influence (Centennial State) 9. It is illegal to pick seaweed up off of the beach (Granite State) 10. Persons may not spit on the steps of the opera house (Land of Enchantment) 11. It is illegal to rob a bank and then shoot at the bank teller with a water gun (Pelican State) 12. A person must be eighteen years old to play a pinball machine (Palmetto State) 13. For a pickle to legally be called a pickle, it must bounce (Constitution State) 20. X-rays may not be used to fit shoes (Evergreen State) 22. Mispronouncing the state name is strictly forbidden (Natural State) 25. Taking a snooze in a cheese factory, bake shop, confectionery, or creamery is illegal (Land of Lincoln) 26. It is considered an offense to throw pickle juice on a trolley (Ocean State) 27. After January 14th you will be charged a fine for having your Christmas decorations still up (Pine State) 29. A person may not cross state lines with a duck atop his head (10,000 Lakes) 30. It is a misdemeanor to shoot at any kind of game from a moving vehicle, unless the target is a whale (Golden State) 31. It’s illegal to take a lion to the movies (Old Line State) 35. If a child burps during church, his parent may be arrested (Cornhusker State) 36. Spitting on a sea gull is not tolerated (Old Dominion) 38. A woman isn’t allowed to cut her own hair without her husband’s permission (Great Lakes State) 39. It is illegal to drive a camel on the highway (Silver State) 40. Worrying squirrels will not be tolerated (Big Sky Country) 42. It is illegal for one to shoot a buffalo from the second story of a hotel (Lone Star State) 43. Fish may not be contained in fishbowls while on a public bus (Sooner State) 44. Donkeys may not be kept in bathtubs (Peach State) 45. It’s illegal to walk down a sidewalk and knock a snakes head off with your cane (Beaver State) 46. You may not take a picture of a rabbit from January to April without an official permit (Equality State) 47. It is against the law to give a moose a beer (Last Frontier)

1. It is against the law for a man to knit during the fishing season (Garden State) 2. Tomatoes may not be used in the production of clam chowder (Bay State) 3. Elephants may not be used to plow cotton fields (First in Flight) 6. It is illegal to lie down and fall asleep with your shoes on (Peace Garden State) 7. One may not walk a lion, tiger or leopard, even on a leash (Mountain State) 8. A man with a mustache may never kiss a woman in public (Hawkeye State) 14. You may not fish on a camel’s back (Gem State) 15. It is a crime to share your Netflix password (Volunteer State) 16. Coins are not allowed to be placed in one’s ears (Aloha State) 17. It is illegal to spit on a sidewalk (Sunflower State) 18. Tattooing is illegal unless it is done for medical purposes (Badger State) 19. No horses are allowed into inns unless they are wearing pants (Mount Rushmore State) 22. It is unlawful to shave in the center of main street (Magnolia State) 23. It’s illegal to dye a baby chick, duckling, or rabbit a different color (Bluegrass State) 24. It is illegal to have a picnic on a highway (First State) 28. Mustaches are illegal if the bearer has a tendency to habitually kiss other humans (Hoosier State) 32. You may not have an ice cream cone in your back pocket at any time (Heart of Dixie) 33. There is a possible 25 years in prison for cutting down a cactus (Grand Canyon State) 34. It is considered an offense to hunt whales (Beehive State) 35. Citizens may not greet each other by “putting one’s thumb to the nose and wiggling the fingers” (Empire State) 37. It is illegal to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole (Green Mountain State) 38. Installation of bathtubs with four legs resembling animal paws is prohibited (Show-Me State) 41. It is illegal to sell your children (Sunshine State) 43. Giving fish alcohol is prohibited (Buckeye State)

Cafe

Das

33 N Main Street Spring City, UT (435) 462-7484

-”I am sorry your hair is just longer than my sisters backpack.” _ “Your phone is burping.”

-”I love pooping in the corner!”