Issue 4

PW

P O W W O W

6450 US Highway 6, Portage Volume 78 - Issue 4 - February 2018

A Real Show-Stopper Members of the senior class compete in the 26th annual Outstanding Young Man competition in hopes of winning scholarships to further their education. Senior RJ Ruiz took home the top prize.

Story | Page 5

Table of Contents - February

In this Issue...

News 03 Teachers earn masters for Dual Credit classes 04 Porta-BOTZ! teams quality for state 05 Senior RJ Ruiz named 2018 OYM 06 Students try to avoid phone scams

Features

08 Lack of diversity in Indiana teaching staffs affects students

10 Are you sweet or sour? Take our Valentines Day quiz to find out 12 Check out our Spring Break advice 13 Learn about odd Olympic sports

Sports 14 JV G. Basketball undefeated in DAC 15 Seniors ready to finish swim season 16 Gymnastics season kicks off 17 Wrestling aiming for state win

Opinions 18 Climate change has to be addressed

19 Hall-of-Famers should be drug-free

PW

P O W W O W

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Editor-in-Chief Tori Henderson

Design Editor Kaylee Darnell

Managing Editor of Print Trenton Haraminac

Social Media Editor Jessica Butz

Managing Editor of Web Evan Gerike

Staff Photographers Bri Fravel Gracie Hansen Hope Anderson

Photography Editor Madison Perez

Staff Writers Emily Extin Darius Owens Becca Rosado Jamie Valadez Chloe Frey Staff Designers McKenzie Price Sarah Russ

News - February

Teachers “master” Dual Credit

Portage High School faculty members take classes to obtain higher degree, meet new state requirements Becca Rosado

Schools across Indiana have the new requirement of Staff Writer filling Dual Credit classes with teachers who have a master’s @becca_rosado01 degree in the content area.

This has been a difficult task in the past, but some Portage High School teachers are taking advantage of a new program at Indiana University that makes the process much easier.

The Indiana Department of Education changed their requirements on who can teach dual credit classes at the high school level, meaning that all teachers who taught these certain classes for dual credit, such as advanced English and Spanish III and IV classes, could only teach dual credit if they had a masters in that specific subject or 18 additional content area graduate credits.

Spanish III and IV teacher Brighitte Snemis was one of the teachers at PHS who took these classes to be certified. She’s been teaching for 21 years and says that she felt she needed to take these classes for the students.

“I made the commitment to do this,” Snemis said. “The students here at the high school should get the dual credit. This year there were 82 kids able to get dual credit for a semester, and if I didn’t take classes these kids wouldn’t have been able to get that.”

Snemis stresses the fact that these classes she takes are not easy. She has put in her own time and money in order to do good things for her students. However, now with this new program for dual credit, many teachers will be able to take the classes, like Snemis did, for free to benefit the PHS student body.

Indiana University Bloomington has developed a new program for high school teachers so that they can receive their certification for dual credit. This new program is called the IU Pipeline and it entails that high school teachers will be able to go back to IU during the summer for an orientation as well as take online classes, for free, so that they can teach dual credit classes.

From PHS alone, there are around 13 teachers who are planning on taking advantage of this program. Two out of those 13 teachers have already taken classes through Purdue and will not need to take more classes, but they all will be traveling down to IUB in the summer to learn more information.

A variety of subjects will be included in this program, such as English, World Language, math, government, and U.S. history.

Kathy Shrader is a guidance counselor and is the coordinator of the dual credit program for PHS. She said some of the new dual credit classes will have prerequisites.

“For example, in [dual credit] speech, students must be taking English 10 with a first level speech class under their belt or at least have completed a full year of English 10,” Shrader said.

English teacher Jodi Newby will be teaching this course next year after completing the program.

English teacher Joshua Keirn, who is currently teaching English 12 as well as English 10 pre-AP and plans to be teaching advanced English 12 next year, is excited for this new change.

“This year is my first year teaching an honors class, and it’s been great,” Keirn said, “and if this goes through I’d be excited to be able to go into a different layer of text as well as going into more complex text.”

Many students who are planning on dual credit are encouraged strongly to listen to the announcements or go to guidance with any questions. Students as well need to know how to sign up for dual credit.

Since the students of 2018-2019 school year have already been scheduling, those students who want to be enrolled in dual credit will still have the opportunity to do so. This is not 100 percent approved, but according to Shrader, she might be able to go into the classes that will then offer dual credit the first week of school to help sign students up at the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year. This is not a guarantee, but she is hoping to do so.

Transferring credits will remain the same throughout the switch. If students are planning on attending an Indiana University campus, their credits will be transferred automatically. However, if they are attending another state college they will have to check with that college to ensure that their credits will transfer. With private colleges, student will need to check with that college to see if they will accept the credits because some private colleges do not.

To check to see about college credits transferring, students should refer to the Core Transfer Library.

There are fees and requirements for these classes. For certain classes there will be requirements that contain having to have taken a prerequisite class, like mentioned earlier about speech. Overall, students applying for these dual credit classes will have to have a GPA of at least 2.7 and grades in certain classes of a C or better. There will be a fee of $25 unless students receive textbook class assistance.

All changes are not finalized but students should be listening to announcements for any changes as well as talk to Shrader in the guidance office or their guidance counselor.

Spanish teacher Brighitte Snemis works with her dual credit class. She is working on getting her master’s degree through Purdue University. Photo by Becca Rosado

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News - February

Porta-Botz qualify for state competition

Porta-Botz try to make it back to back years in World Championship As high school kids we tend to focus on our big sports teams like football or basketball, and we sometimes forget Managing Editor of Print how many clubs and group we have @haraminac here at Portage High School.

One club that deserves more talk is our robotics team, the Porta-Botz. Out of eight high school teams, seven have already qualified for the state tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 10.

In order to advance to the state tournament you have to win a tournament, or win the design or excellence award.

Last year team 2567X consisting of Josh Meiss, Connor Edwards, Payton Bailey, and Seniors Mikey Sobczak, and Chris Schaefer were the only team to make it to the world tournament in Louisville Kentucky.

This year with a the return of Meiss, Edwards, and Bailey and new additions Scott Watson, and Niko Janes to the team, they hope to once again qualify for worlds after winning the design award at state last year.

“I’m confident that we can make it back to worlds this year because of our experience last year” said Senior Josh Meiss “also it is easier to qualify. Last year you had to win an award at state or be in the finals at the state tournament however this year you just need to make it to the semi-finals or win an award at state so our chances are better.”

“I think what separates us is our team work. Me and Connor have a lot of practice and we work well together.” Said Meiss “one thing that we have had to overcome is our change in teammates. Without Chris on our team, Connor had to take over as our programmer and without Mikey, Niko and Scott have had to step up and be our builders.”

“I feel like we have more teamwork this year, and cooperation with the other teams in the state to build more relationships for a better alliance at certain competitions.” Said Senior Connor Edwards Like Meiss, Edwards says that since they both control half the bot, communication is key. Meiss has to control the robot to be in the correct spot for Edwards to do the stacking portion.

“The team understands that this is a process and your not going to excel immediately. Your going to eventually work your way through it.” Coach James Kirk said “they took their experience from last year and they built on it. They understand that if they don’t accomplish something right away then they will do what they need to do to accomplish it. They are always there tirelessly working.”

Kirk also stated “The end game is to go to worlds. Their bot is ready it’s just a matter of how they perform.”

As the season comes to a close they are in top shape heading into their “post season”.

The team has one final tournament at Crown Point High School on February 10 before the State Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium.

If the team prevails there, they will continue to the Robotics Nationals Top: Portabot members Connor Edwards, Scott Watson, and Josh Meiss tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa from April 5-7. competing in a competition being held at PHS. Finally to achieve their goal the team would compete in Louisville, Kentucky at Bottom: Members Connor Edwards, Scott Watson, and Niko Janes focus the World Robotic Championship from April 25-28. on fixing their bot.

Photos by Madison Perez

Trenton Haraminac

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News - February

Outstanding Young Man Students compete in 26th annual OYM competition

Jamie Valadez

The 26th year of Portage’s Outstanding Young Man program Staff Writer is going to be one for the books.

Chief Troy Williams is returning @jswagggiee for his 8th year to direct the program and he is looking forward to seeing the young men come together and put on the show of their lives.

“Each group has their own distinct personality. This is one of the smaller groups, but they are close, support each other and have fun doing what they do,” said Williams.

16 seniors will be competing in the program this year, and they are each excited to perform for family and friends while having a good time doing it.

Each contestant will be judged in several categories, including Academics, Physical Fitness, Judge’s Interview, Casual Segment and Presentation and Address.

“I did OYM because I wanted to have fun and make friends. I also wanted a chance at the enticing scholarship opportunities,” said RJ Ruiz.

Ruiz will be performing a special talent, and he is very excited to show his skills to a large crowd.

“I’m most nervous to perform my talent which is singing, but I know I’ll be fine and I’ll really enjoy it,” said Ruiz.

Everardo Zuniga is most nervous for the fitness routine.

“I’m most nervous for messing up the fitness routine and making myself look like a fool,” said Zuniga.

James Craven is really happy he decided to participate in the Outstanding Young Man program.

“I saw the competition in previous years and I thought it looked like a good time,” said Craven.

RJ Ruiz standing with his mom after being awarded as the outstanding young man Photos by: Gracie Hansen

Each participant has a different trait or skill that makes them stand out to the judges and the crowd, but they can all agree on the fact that the group of guys they are performing with are great people.

According to Williams, an outstanding young man is someone who always looks to do the right thing, supports his fellow participants, and possesses a giving mindset.

The boys each have a different idea of what an outstanding young man is but they are all walking away with something they learned while being a part of the Outstanding Young Man program.

“I feel like I got closer relationships with people I’ve previously been friends with and I started good relationships with people I didn’t know before,” said Zuniga.

Craven, Ruiz and Zuniga are all glad that the program is directed by Williams.

“Chief Troy does a great job and cares about all of the guys doing the show,” said Craven. Ruiz agrees with Craven and expresses how grateful he is that Williams is the master of ceremonies for the program.

“Chief Troy completely broke my perception of a stereotypical police officer. You can tell when someone truly wants to be there and is being genuine. He has put many hours into OYM and has always made sure all of us were happy and made accommodations for us. I no longer see him as just a police officer but as a role model and a trusted adult,” said Ruiz.

RJ Ruiz ended up winning the program and was on top of the world.

“When I heard my name I felt empowered. I knew that all the work I put in finally paid off and people actually knew my name,” Ruiz said.

Ruiz encourages all junior boys to come out and participate in OYM next year because they won’t want to miss it.

“Outstanding Young Man is a great program and next year we need more senior boys to come out and participate,” said Williams.

Senior RJ Ruiz smiling as the judges chose their winner.

Senior Jimmy Craven is being asked personal questions

by Police Chief Troy Williams

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Feature - February

Decline that call

Scammers use similar but incorrect numbers, social media to make calls Chloe Frey

It’s an all-too Staff Writer familiar situation: @phspress An unknown phone number appears on your screen and the number is similar to one you may already know. However, the person on the other end is a scammer, someone trying to obtain your personal information or talk you into completing a certain task.

Portage Township Schools Resource Officer John Wright said tracking the scammer is possible.

“Obviously, if they are operating locally that helps a lot,” Wright said. “Some have very complex technology and procedures to conceal their identity and location which makes it more difficult.”

Wright said that scammers can obtain

phone numbers in a variety of ways. Those who use social media and make their phone numbers public are more susceptible.

Oftentimes our phone numbers are taken off of our social media. When you’re scrolling through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. you can frequently find a phone number listed on a status if that person gets a new phone, or due to them losing their contacts when transitioning to a different device and or number. Although it may be a lot more time consuming, it is much safer to give your phone number out personally to the people that want it instead of allowing strangers and scammers to come across it and use it to their advantage. They can’t get your number if it is only set up with your account as easily as they an if you post it, so be wise about what information you put out there.

According to Wright, scam reports and complaints increase the most around income tax filing season. There is so much talk of scammers

right now because that’s the time of year we are entering. A wise suggestion is to ignore any calls from a number you don’t recognize. If it’s important, you’ll most likely receive a voicemail.

This is also a way to keep yourself safe in general, it isn’t advisable to answer random numbers.

Wright said the main goal of a scammer is to gather as much personal information from you as they can from each call so they can sell it to someone overseas for different illegal purposes, one being identity theft. Another reason they may be trying to scam you is for money. An example is when they try to trick you into donations by saying it’s for a charity. Even something as simple as a Gofundme can be a total hoax for your cash.

Overall, it’s easy to say that scamming mostly only occurs when you let it happen.

Do not answer unknown calls, do not put your phone numbers out publicly, and most of all stay wise.

BE (seriously...follow A FOLLOWER us!)

Twitter: @PHSPress facebook.com/portagehspress Instagram: @PHSPress Snapchat: PortageHSPress 6

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Feature - February

Wrestle like a girl

Sophomore Kaylee Adams wins title at Indiana High School Girls State Finals Emily Extin

As a child, sophomore Kaylee Adams watched her older brother wrestle and developed Staff Writer an interest in the sport. After convincing her parents to allow her to join a wrestling team in @extin_emily sixth grade, her career has flourished and finally led to a state title.

Adams recently won the state wrestling title at the Indiana High School Girls State Finals. The finals took place on Jan. 19 at Lawrence High School in Indianapolis.

Adams attended many of her brother’s wrestling practices and tournaments as a child.

“There was just something about it that caught my eye,” Adams said.

Adams attends private sessions where she works one-on-one with a coach, along with being a member on two national teams.

She is aiming for a win at state all four years, along with winning the eagle trophy for a tournament that takes place in Michigan this summer.

Wrestling coach Thomas Baulos, who has been coaching since 2009 and coaching at Portage High School since 2011, says Adams is a hard worker and is the first girl that did not quit the first week after trying out. Because the team does not make cuts, they have a motto that says you just have to survive and make it through the season.

“She’s always willing to learn. She works for it,” Baulos said.

Adams does not get any special treatment, and can do everything everyone else can do.

“She’s stronger than her brother,” Baulos said.

Having someone he has trained win a state title gives him a “good satisfaction feeling.

You get to see them keep going and not give up.”

Going into the tournament, Adams said she worked too hard to let anyone take it away from her.

“During the finals match I gave it 110% to make sure I had it for sure,” Adams said.

She was thrilled when she saw the score as she had proved herself to everyone, including herself.

Adams had some difficulties starting wrestling, as there were people who did not want her in the wrestling room.

“Honestly I just let that fuel me to go even harder,” Adams said. However, she had people who supported her no matter what.

Adams won 3rd at JV DAC, which is the conference tournament for the JV team, 3rd place at the regional qualifier on Jan. 5, and now 1st at this state tournament. Her overall record is 25-33 mainly against the boys.

Adams says that there is a possibility that she will continue wrestling through college, but she still has time to decide.

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Feature - February

Teachers speak about how diversity affects the education process “It’s never bothered me because I’ve lived here for so long. I’ve gone to school here. To me it’s never been a big deal in regards to anything negative or positive.

To me, it’s Portage. I think students can appreciate learning from people who look like them and are like them.” -John Arredondo

Be You

“I’ve been teaching since 2004 and even in my past district, even though I taught in a predominantly black neighborhood, the staff was predominantly white. And again, the same thing here.

I get along with everyone.

For me, I’m fine. I try to get to C D S F F W S Q A know everyone on a personal Q B U E R T D S D outside Qlevel S K even T E Q B Q P[of] the Qclassroom.”

V Z X H M -Tammy Y D B Jones

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Be Different

“I guess I’m just in my own little world and I don’t even think about the lack of [diversity.] Other students see it and that happens and then they bring it up to me and I feel like I have to be a really good role model. What I do like is if there’s a new Spanish speaking student other students will say ‘Oh Mrs. Krause teaches Spanish and she’s Mexican so you guys can talk, you have something in common.”

-Natalie Krause

Be Diverse

Feature - February

Indiana teaching staffs lack

DIVERSITY

Portage nearly falls in line with state trend of few minority groups represented

Diversity is a topic that is prevalent in our society and has made its way into education.

Managing Editor of Web From training for teachers to @evangerike sponsoring clubs, schools are attempting to better reach their diverse populations. However, the diversity of faculties of Indiana schools often do not match their diverse student populations.

There is a lack of diversity in teaching staffs of schools in both Portage and the state of Indiana, according to data released by the Indiana Department of Education.

In 2017, Portage Township Schools employed three African American teachers, 12 Hispanic teachers, one multiracial teacher, one Native American teacher and one native Hawaiian teacher, compared to 441 white teachers. This translates to 3.92 percent of the township’s staff being racially diverse; .65 percent is black, 2.6 percent is Hispanic and .22 percent is Hawaiian, Native American, or multiracial.

According to a study done by The Times of Northwest Indiana, Portage is the most diverse city in Porter County, with 29 percent of the city being of an ethnicity different than white. In the school district, only 57 percent of students are white.

The lack of diversity in schools could possibly lead to problems when students try to form personal connections with teachers, according to Portage High School Dean of Students and former Home School Adviser Tim Kunstek.

According to Kunstek, people build connections to those they can relate to. In fact, Kunstek said that the student-teacher connection is one of the most important types of relationships in which diversity makes a difference. It becomes much harder for a student to relate to a teacher if they never have one of a similar ethnicity. In 2017, only students who went to Fegely or the high school would have seen an African American teacher in their halls. For the twelve percent of students of African American descent in the school corporation, they might never have an African American teacher to create a personal bond with.

It may not only affect their education, but it might improve the quality of the students’ lives. .

Junior Diego Navarro has noticed how not having teachers of his ethnicity has affected his schooling. “[Having mostly white teachers] only affects me in how I relate to the teacher,” Navarro said. “The learning experience is mostly the same, but I feel like I’d be able to relate more with people that share the same background.”

The lack of diversity in Portage does not stem from a lack of effort in the hiring process, however.

“When people apply for a [teaching] job, you can’t say what race you are, so it’s hard to decipher diverse population,” said Portage High

Evan Gerike

School principal Max Gill. “I want diversity in teachers because we have a diverse population, so I’m always trying to get diversity into our teaching corps. I try to get teaching candidates with much diversity.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”

For Gill, while having a diverse staff is important, it is not the main priority.

“When we hire teachers, there’s always a team,” Gill said. “We always try to hire the best teacher possible at Portage High School, regardless of diversity.”

The diversity issue is not strictly limited to Portage; the problem resonates throughout the state. Just over ninety-three percent of teachers in the state are white. While better than Portage’s ninety-six percent, a problem is still visible. According to the Indiana University Education School’s website, the 2017 freshman class had a 23.6 percent diversity rate.

Indiana University’s Education School could not be reached to comment on the lack of correlation between their school’s diversity and the state’s. “[Addressing] this is not only good for Portage High School, but for the city of Portage, the state of Indiana, and the country, because we’re a microorganism of everywhere else,” Kunstek said.

Kunstek believes the best way to bring change is to educate throughout the school system.

“Coming from Chicago, where I worked at a school where I was the minority, I don’t think people have spent enough time with people with differences to get to understand and know them,” Kunstek said.

“Different scares people. And instead of trying to learn and get to know them, it’s easier to shun them and push them away, and that’s a problem we need to address somehow. The key about diversity is getting to know people outside your comfort zone.”

Portage used to have a diversity club, according to Kunstek, but it disbanded when the sponsor left the high school.

For Kunstek, changing how people see diversity is about more than just race.

“Diversity is tough because you talk about not only skin color, but then you have different kinds of diversity,” Kunstek said. “Socioeconomic, racial, gender, sexual identity; that’s diverse, all those different things.”

Kunstek used to lead a program at the elementary schools called I-Care Kitty, which focused on educating young students on treating others equally, caring for others and being responsible for one’s own actions.

Kunstek found an old shirt for the program in one of his drawers, and reminisced upon the lessons it taught.

“If we could only teach that again,” Kunstek said. “In that program, I was trying to teach the kids ‘I bleed red, you bleed red, you bleed red, we all have the same feelings and the same problems, so let’s work together.’”

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Feature - February

Love is in the air Students share how long they have been together

Evan Szabo and Hailey Guzman 2 years and 6 months

Jimmy Valadez and Sophia Hernandez 1 year

Truman Edwards and Hannah Doell 1 year and 7 months

Nate Partin and Alexa Burney 1 year and 8 months Photos by Bri Fravel

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Are you sweet or SOUR about Valentines Day? Feature - February

1. Favorite Candy?

A. Chocolates B. Gummies 3. Favorite plant?

A. Roses B. Cacti

2. What does Feb. 14 mean to you?

A. Valentines Day B. Another Wednesday 4. Favorite place to go for dinner?

A. Fancy restaurant B. Take-out

5. Favorite dessert?

A. Chocolate covered strawberries B. Bag of chips MOSTLY A’S: You’re sweet about Valentines Day MOSTLY B’S: You’re sour about Valentines Day

Design by Jessica Butz and McKenzie Price

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Feature - February

Spring break guide Top 8 places to go over Spring Break

Traveling around

Students share where they are going on spring break.

1. Cancun, Mexico 2. Nassau, Bahamas 3. South Padre Island, Texas 4. Freeport, Bahamas Cruise 5. Puna Cana, Dominican Republic 6. Panama City Beach, Florida 7. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico 8. Daytona Beach, Florida Information provided by studentcity.com

Alyssa Melendez and Cierra Simpson, 11 Puerto Rico cruise

Abigal Walton, 9 Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

What to pack in your carry on 101 Electronics Neck Pillow Headphones Toiletries Reading material Gum Sunglasses

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Design by Sarah Russ and Jessica Butz Photos by Bri Fravel

Feature - February

Wacky olympic sports

Biathlon is a sport in the winter Olympics. It is raced by skiing and also shooting at a target. While shooting they are racing at their top speed. It originated in Norway in 1776 but it was then brought up again by Norweigan people as a alternate training for their military. It was added to the winter Olympics in 1960.

Biathlon

Skeleton is a winter sport that is in the Olympic games.

Skeleton is raced in which a person rides down a frozen track on a small bobsled or sleigh lying face down. The sport originated St. Moritz as a remake of a British sport called Cresta sledding. Skeleton was officially added to the Olympic games in 2002.

Skeleton

Curling is a sport where players are on a sheet of ice and slide stones toward a targeted area. The sport is alike shuffleboard or bowls. It is played within teams of four players, once one slides the stone two others use brooms to accompany it and help it go faster or slower.

The earliest recorded contest of curling was in 1541 by Paisley Abbey, it was later added to the Olympic games in 2006.

Design by Sarah Russ

Curling

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Sports - February

JV Lady Indians go undefeated in the DAC Darius Owens Staff Writer @_antwann_

Trenton Haraminac Managing Editor of Print @haraminac

The Portage High School JV girls basketball team earned their time in the spotlight this season by finishing with not only a strong season record but an undefeated one in the Duneland Athletic Conference.

The team has been playing together since they were in sixth grade, and their winning streak has continued to thrive.

Four out of the starting five JV players were conference champions when finishing their middle school career with as Willowcreek Middle

School.

“I have played with the same five girls since I was in sixth grade and I would not want to play with a different set of girls,” freshman and first year JV team captain Jordan Barnes said.

Transitioning into a new season and a new set a rules was not challenging to freshman Diamond Powell.

“I had to start getting used to high school coaching and also get used to the plays me and my teammates had to learn as well as giving 100 percent on the court every day,” Powell said.

The team got off to a rocky start when one of their players tore her ACL in the team’s first game of the season.

“She was one of the good players on the team, and it was scary trying to adapt to playing without having her, but we got it done,” junior Halle Rosado said.

According to Barnes, coaches Nathan Ramian and Nicky Monahan

put a lot of pressure on them as a team, but they could see that that only made them play stronger as a team and win.

The team showed that their genuine love for the game of basketball helped them win against the teams they went up against.

“I was shocked at how well I [saw] us playing as a team because we would finish the game winning by at least 30 points to even sometimes 50 points a game,” Barnes said.

With coming off such a strong season the team has to continue to fill the shoes of the team while playing on varsity.

“I know as a team have to keep practicing to strengthen or playing skills as well as continue to work together as a team and make sure that we win every chance we get next year,” Powell said.

Rosado said that going undefeated with her team was the best way to end her season.

“It felt like we had accomplished so much in just this season as a team and it was a great feeling knowing we did just that,” Rosado said.

“We worked very hard at practice and never showed mercy even with our winning record.”

Diamond loves the feeling of making not only her coaches proud but also her team.

“This was such a wonderful accomplishment for me and my team and it makes me feel great as a player to know that we did so well in our season,” Powell said.

Basketball has just started to become one of Barnes’ favorite sports, but she sees that practice makes perfect.

“I started playing basketball in sixth grade and it was hard maintaining our undefeated reign in the DAC but we put in work everyday. We learned all types of plays, we scrimmaged with the varsity players, and even played the freshman girls and even though things started to get rough it all paid off in the end and that's all that matters,” Barnes said.

Left: Diamond Powell shot a free throw. Middle: Jordan Barnes gets into position before the play Right: Jaedyn Lowe returned the ball, taking it to the hoop. Photos taken by: Gracie Hancen

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Sports - February

Swimming Seniors Seniors on the swim team give insight on how it felt to end the season Kaylee Darnell Design Editor @_kayleedarnell The Portage boys and girls swim and dive team consisted of ten seniors, three of them being on the girls team and the other seven being on the boys.

Senior night was Jan. 17, and all ten of the seniors were recognized with their parents and a small speech was said about each of them as. The seniors were Daniela Demko, Lea DeYoung, Alexa Burney, Nikolaus Janes, Jacob Mendoza, Myles Davis, Alex Clemons, Frank Cervantes, Noah Gutierrez, and Jacob Breault.

Senior night gives the swimmers and divers all different types of feelings throughout the night. To some seniors, they were excited for it to end, but for others they were saddened.

“It was a different meet all around.

It was bittersweet because it shows me how close the season is to ending and I’ve been doing swimming for 13 years and it was sad to see a big part of my life coming to an end so soon,” Niko Janes said.

Most of the swimmers had been swimming for over ten years, so watching it end, was pretty hard for them, knowing that their athletic season is over, and they may never swim competitively again.

“It was very bittersweet, it’s a lot of work and I’m ready to be done but I’ll miss it a lot. I’m going to miss my team and swimming a lot, but I just really couldn’t believe that it was actually over,” Lea DeYoung said.

DeYoung had been swimming for six years and was offered a scholarship to swim, but her right shoulder

is injured and decided it would be best for her health to retire before she would need surgery, so having to end her career after all those years was hard for her.

“I was really anxious the whole time, I was just thinking about how I’ve been swimming for a long time and it’s coming to an end after 12 years,” senior Jacob Mendoza said.

Senior Noah Gutierrez felt shocked that his high school swim career was ending. “‘Well dang, this is really happening’ was my first thought, but mainly it was just crazy and hard to believe that I’m at this point in my life,” Gutierrez said.

Senior Alexa Burney was feeling a mix of emotions on senior night.

“I was excited, but I was also sad because I am going to miss all of the friends that I’ve made and it hit me that this is it, it’s my last season as an athlete after 11 years,” Burney said.

Senior Myles Davis said also felt conflicted about senior night.

“Like I was happy to know this signals the end of my four-year journey but sad to be leaving everything behind. I don’t think I was emotional as some of my teammates who have been swimming longer than me,” Myles Davis said.

Senior Dani Demko is going to miss working with her coaches and teammates.

“I always try to look optimistically towards the future, but leaving this behind is going to be hard, and I hope I always stay close to my old coaches and teammates. I also thought about how my swimming in college will compare to my high school experience,” Dani Demko said.

“I was filled with a mix of emotions.”

-Myles Davis

Top: Dani Demko walks with her parents on senior night.

Middle: Jacob Mendoza walks with his parents on senior night.

Bottom: Lea DeYoung walks with her parents on senior night.

Photos taken by: Madison Perez

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Sports - February

Small team, big dreams The 12 members of the gymnastics team work to achieve personal bests throughout the season

Left: Cassie Prohl on bar during the first home competition for the Indians. Middle: Shasha Hancock practiced her back walkover while she waited to start.

Right: Emma Garzella on the beam for the first time this season. Photos by: Bri Fravel

Jamie Valadez

Strength does not always come in large numbers, and Staff Writer the gymnastics team is proof @jswagggiee of that.

The Portage gymnastics team consists of 12 determined girls who work hard in and out of the gym in order to have the most successful season possible.

Senior Emma Garzella had a strong start to her season scoring 9’s on all of her events at the first home meet against Lake Central.

Garzella competes all-around which means a lot of the team’s scores, depend on her performances. Garzella has competed for Portage High School gymnastics for four years and she is locked in on making her final season her best one.

Senior Cassie Prohl has also been competing for Portage for all four years of high school and has the same determination as Garzella.

The two have a big roll on the team considering there are only 12 girls and they both compete in all four events.

Prohl spends her season balancing cheerleading and gymnastics.

Prohl has practice every day a week unless there is a meet, along with two or three basketball games.

“This keeps me very busy in the middle of the season with a meet or game to cheer at almost every day,” said Prohl. Garzella agrees

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and says the most difficult part of her season is balancing school and gymnastics.

Garzella and Prohl are focusing on the same goal this season, which is going to state.

“We have to keep working hard and make it down to state as a whole team,” said Garzella. In gymnastics, each gymnast has the opportunity to qualify for state as an individual or as the whole team.

“The main goal for me is to make it to state of course, but the team has to stay focused and take each meet one at a time,” said Prohl.

Garzella and Prohl both agree with the fact that the team has to stay focused and keep their eye on the prize, which is qualifying for the State meet down at Ball State University in Muncie, IN. “Our biggest challenge is to not let our nerves and our minds get in the way of us going to state,” said Garzella.

All of the hard work leads up to the performances at each meet, and Garzella and Prohl each love to compete.

“In competition we are all cheering and yelling for each other during every routine no matter what. I also love how supportive the team is no matter how each individual does,” said Prohl.

Garzella and Prohl have set the bar high for their final season as Indians, and they are pushing themselves along with the other ten girls to the best of their ability in hopes to make it to the state meet.

Sports - February

Revenge is best served on the mat

Washington pushed through the competition to get the win for Portage Kaylee Darnell

On January 13, the varsity wrestling team had their annual Design Editor DAC tournament. This year it was held at Portage. Seven different @_kayleedarnell schools were there, which made for a long day for wrestlers and fans, but Portage was able to take the win, with the second place team being over 100 points behind.

The DAC was a big win for Portage, with seven of their wrestlers being DAC champions for their weight classes, Jacob Moran, 11, who is weight class is 106, Ricky Hegedus, 11, who is weight class is 113, Brock Peele, 11, who is weight class is 120, Donnel (DJ) Washington, 11, who is weight class is 152, Kris Rumph, 12, who is weight class is 138, Kasper Mcintosh, 12, who is weight class is 145, and Colin Poynter, 12, who is weight class is 126.

A few weeks before the DAC tournament, Portage had a home meet against Crown Point. Washington had to wrestle an opponent for his weight class, and things got intense. Before the match started Washington said he had the same thoughts as he does before every match.

“I was just thinking about what kind of style wrestler this kid was, and I was focusing on winning,” Washington said.

The match started off as a normal match, two kids competing to win. Then words were said during the match, which started a flame.

Washington ended up with a bloody nose from his opponent and the fans were going wild. The match got heated very quickly and the fans from both teams were going at it. The teams stayed still cheering on for their own to win.

Washington ended up losing the match, which then made his opponent laugh in his face, and the two being held away from each other. The loss for Washington left a big mark and impact on him and the rest of the team.

Portage ended up winning the meet against Crown Point, but the entire team knew that that was not going to be the last time that Washington and the Crown Point kid would face.

When the DAC tournament was here, it gave a big win for portage, but a fire was soon to be started.

The tournament stayed pretty level headed throughout almost the entire time, until it was Washington’s and the boy from Crown Point’s match.

Fans jumped to their feet, and the rest of the Portage team ran to the mat that Washington was wrestling on to be there for him and support him.

“The second match was a lot more personal for me and everyone on the team, including all the parents, and I just couldn’t let everyone

Donell (DJ) Washington posing with his ribbon alongside his opponent from Crown Point after beating him. . Photo provided by Liz Moran down,” Washington said.

The score went back and forth between the two, and the entire time you could hear all of Portage’s fans, and some fans from the other schools chanting, over and over, “DJ DJ DJ” throughout the entire match.

“It was great hearing all the fans, but I was also super nervous at the same time but having my teammates by the mat helped me a lot,” Washington said.

When the match finally ended, the score was 7-7, the boys were tied.

DJ ended up winning the match in overtime 8-7, and the fans and teams went wild.

“It felt great. I was so happy but didn’t want to show it inside because it would look bad to everyone else but it’s probably one of the best feelings in the world you can have,” Washington added.

DJ got to get revenge on the boy from Crown Point, and also became a DAC champ.

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Opinion - February

Climate change is not a hoax Global warming needs to be addressed before it’s too late

Tori Henderson Editor-in-Chief @torixhenderson As temperatures hover in the single digits and snow continues to bombard many regions across the country, skeptics of global warming are voicing their opinions and questioning the validity of the argument presented by scientists and believers. If we don’t convince these disbelievers that this is a problem that needs to be dealt with now, it could spell bad news for the future of Earth as we know it.

Given the fact that the weather forecast hasn’t climbed above freezing or shown us a forecast with no snow in quite some time, it’s hard for many to comprehend that global warming is still a crucial issue that needs to be handled; we are anything but warm right now. Global warming, or climate change, isn’t about what’s going on outside today, this month or even this year. In order to accurately gauge the climate patterns on Earth, we have to look back decades.

According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 16 of the 17 warmest years have occurred since 2001. If we look back even farther, we can see this trend growing even before then.

Climate change has been around

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even longer than humans, considering the modern climate era began just about 7,000 years ago, when the ice age came to an end.

This ice age met its end because the climate was affected by small variations in Earth’s orbit, which changed the amount of sunlight that was hitting the planet. This wasn’t a speedy process by any means. According to NASA, there have been seven cycles of glacial advance and retreat over the course of the last 650,000 years. The earth has always been going through climate change, but now humans are adding to the process and making things much worse than it would have been if we weren’t here.

The industrial revolution holds much of the blame for our planet’s rising temperatures. The surge in carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere since the late 19th century has caused the Earth’s temperature to increase about 2.0 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius). In retrospect, this doesn’t seem like much, but the consequences are much more serious than one would initially imagine.

In the mid-19th century, greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, were proven to trap heat in the atmosphere. Ice cores across the globe serve as proof that the climate responds to these changes in greenhouse gas levels. Ancient evidence found in tree rings, coral reefs and many other aspects of nature shows that current warming is ten times faster than the average rate of ice age recovery warming. There is an abundance of indisputable evidence that climate change is a matter that needs to be dealt with, yet there are still people who dismiss the hard facts and refuse to admit that we are destroying this planet.

The repercussions of the increase in Earth’s temperature have varying effects across the map. Not only are sea levels rising, our oceans are also becoming more acidic,

all the while various forms of extreme weather are sweeping sectors of the Earth and causing varying degrees of damage. At the same time, Arctic sea ice is declining, ice sheets are shrinking, glaciers are retreating and snow cover is decreasing across the Northern hemisphere. Humans as a whole need to step in to protect our planet and preserve the environment; without it we wouldn’t be here.

While many countries are already taking action to reduce the rising temperature of the planet, the United States is not doing much to fill its role. Not only did the current administration choose not to ratify The Paris Agreement, the current head of the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), Scott Pruitt, says that global warming is not necessarily a “bad thing” and that “humans flourish” because of it. Humanity is being forced into an environment it has never experienced before. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the last time temperatures were this warm was during the Eemian Interglacial period, which was about 125,000 years ago; humans didn’t come about until the end of the ice age approximately 7,000 years ago.

As much as many people want to make a difference and help save the environment, it’s a lot easier said than done.

Many “green” alternatives are far more expensive than their more environmentally damaging counterparts. Until we can make things more environmentally-friendly and less expensive, it will be hard for people to get involved in the movement on an individual level. For now, we have to speak up. We have to make sure our voices are heard, and demand a change from our representatives. We have to put pressure on the big businesses that are fueling this flame, and keep persisting until we see the change we want. We only have one Earth to live on, so why don’t more people care that we’re killing it?

Opinion - February

Players who use steroids ruin the game of baseball Players who use PEDs should not get into the Hall Of Fame

In recent Trenton Haraminac days Managing Editor of Print Major League @haraminac Baseball has added four new additions to its Hall Of Fame.

Chipper Jones 97.2 percent, Vladimir Guerrero 92.9 percent, Jim Thome 89.8 percent, and Trevor Hoffman 79.9 percent. All reaching the necessary 75 percent needed to be inducted.

Players who just missed include Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, Roger Clemens, and Barry Bonds.

Even though Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens have both been linked to steroids they continue to gather support for the Hall Of Fame.

This year Clemens received 57.3 percent and Bonds received slightly less at 56.4 percent. However that is up from last years vote where Clemens received 54.1 percent and Bonds received 53.8 percent. Although the increase from year to year has slowed for both of these players they still inch ever so close to the necessary 75 percent need to get in the Hall, and it looks like it might happen with this being only their sixth year on the ballot out of the possible ten years you can be on the ballot.

I believe that these so called “superstars” do not deserve to be in the Hall Of

Fame and not only Bonds and Clemens but all players who have been linked to Performance Enhancing Drugs or PED’s.

Not only have they disgraced the integrity of the game of baseball, but they have damaged the stats of other players during that era who did not abuse PED’s and played by the MLB’s rules. Also players who have used PED’s who get in the Hall Of Fame might push someone who deserves to be in, out.

I am not saying that Bonds and Clemens are bad players. However when you use Performance enhancing drugs you trade your stats for a chance to get into the Hall of Fame.

Not only have players like Bonds and Clemens hurt other Hall Of Fame hopefuls but they have damaged the history of baseball.

Currently Barry Bonds holds the record for most Homeruns in baseball history with 762, passing Hank Aaron (755) by just seven home runs.

He also holds the record for most Home Runs in a single season with 73 back in 2001. He is followed

by Mark McGwire 70 in 1998, Sammy Sosa 66 in 1998, Mark McGwire 65 in 1999, and Sammy Sosa 64 in 2001 and 63 in 1999. Both also have been linked to PED’s. The top six single season records for homeruns are taken by players who decided to cheat Major League Baseball and we are just going to reward them? I don’t think so, and that is why many still act as if Roger Maris’s 61 back in 1961 is still the record. This past season When Giancarlo Stanton hit 59 many people were rooting for him to get to 62 to beat Maris and earn the single season non

“when you use Performance enhancing drugs you trade your stats for a chance to get into the Hall of Fame.”

PED record for Homeruns in a single season.

Not only has Bonds damaged Homerun stats, but he has damaged an unknown amount of baseball history. The Homeruns he hit could have damaged the ERA of opposing pitcher.

Not only have players who use steroids impacted the offensive side of the ball, but also the defensive side. Clemens a pitcher for Boston, New York, Toronto, and Houston faced many batters over a 24 year career. Not only could his use of performance enhancing drugs benefit him and his stats but it can decrease the productivity of other players he faced over that 24 years career.

If we let players who blatantly disregard the rules of baseball and reward them for it then others will continue to push the rules. Although the MLB has started to give harsh punishments for PED use, players are still getting suspended for it. In one case a player was even banned from baseball.

I think it is best for the writers to not vote anyone connected with PEDs into the Hall Of Fame. Avoid the question of “well he didn’t do it as much as someone else”. If they used PEDs at all they should not be aloud into the Hall.

Other players connected to PED use are Manny Ramirez, Ryan Braun, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez, and Jose Canseco.

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College signing updates as of 1/25/18

Kasper McIntosh signs to University of Minnesota for wrestling Layla Melendez signs to South Suburban College for softball

Letter to the editor To submit a letter to the editor, story ideas, corrections, or to place an advertisement, write your submission with your name signed and place it in the suggestion box in front of room 153.

Mission statement Our mission is to present the student body of Portage High School timely information by reaching deeper, broader and closer with the content we put out to our readers.

First amendment

Colin Poynter signs to United States Air Force Academy for wrestling

Kaylee Darnell signs to Indiana University South Bend for softball

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

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