Volume 51, Issue 8
Monday, April 9, 2012
TheVoice of Prospect since 1960
ROSPECTOR
While writing about them may be too mainstream, this issue takes a deeper look at the recent trend of hipsters. Check out...
In-Depth, pages 8 and 9
801 West Kensington Road, Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056 * prospectornow.com
District ends quartile ranking District 214 eliminated quartile reporting at the recent board meeting on March 15. Seniors this year will continue to have class rank on transcripts as the elimination of quartile reporting begins with the class of 2013. Quartile reporting is the system that replaced numerical class rank last year. This year, freshmen, sophomores and juniors were split into four quartiles of their classes, according to their weighted GPAs. For example, students who would have previously been ranked 20th in their class were now placed into the first quartile, or top 25 percent, of their class. At a board meeting last year, members decided that all district schools would begin using the quartile system, starting with the class of 2013. It would be recorded on students’ report cards and transcripts. However, District 214 board members then discussed whether quartile reporting was the best idea for the high-achieving district. Making the final decision of eliminating class rank and quartile reporting was met with controversy over which option would best benefit the students. One reason why some people argued that quartile reporting should be eliminated is how competitive the district is. “You can be a excellent student and be really successful in college, but still be at the bottom of your class,” guidance counselor Diane Bourn said. According to Bourn, for the class of 2011, the top 50 percent of students had a GPA of 4.25 out of 5 or higher. If students had a 4.24, they were at the bottom of their class. “Usually schools that get rid of class rank are high-achieving schools where students have amazing GPAs,” Bourn said. “To try to put all the GPAs within a rank, some of them have to fall at the bottom.” Bourn feels some students do not take classes that appeal to them because it is not an AP class, and taking it will negatively affect their GPA and class rank. Bourn spoke with members of the College Counseling Association from the Chicago area that had already gotten rid of class rank. Schools feel it benefits the student, and they have yet to find a downside. Districts that have eliminated class rank in recent years include Township High School District 211, Stevenson District 125, Maine Township High School District 207, Naperville District 204 and Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200. According to Bourn, districts that already decided not to include class rank on transcripts asked colleges at a college fair what would happen if class rank was not provided to them. A lot of colleges said they do not even look at class ranking that is sent to them. Other colleges that look
See CLASS RANK, page 2
Photo illustration by Ian Magnuson
By Jenny Johnson News Editor
Losing control Eating disorders leave students with low self-confidence, struggling with self-image
By Maggie Devereux and Maddy Moloney Online Managing Editor and In-Depth Editor With blonde hair, long legs and an impressive chest, Barbie holds high authority in modern culture of dictating young girls’ perception of women. However, standing in real life at 5”9’, 110 pounds and with a bust of 30 inches, if Barbie were created in human proportions, she would have a body mass index of 16, which would classify her with an eating disorder, according to CBS News. As girls’ perception of the average woman becomes unrealistic, it sends the message that they are
Bunch of beats
Kony 2012 took social media by storm last month, but what’s more important, the message or the messenger? Turn to.... Opinion, page 6
Dubstep has hit the American music scene with full force, but its history starts far beyond U.S. borders. To learn about the origins of Dubstep, see... Entertainment, page 13
not good enough, which can lead to low self-esteem and low confidence, two major factors that lead to eating disorders. The week of Feb. 26 was National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, but there’s more to eating disorders than just knowing they exist. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Other Associated Eating Disorders, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Despite the tragedies surrounding this illness, it is still shadowed with misconceptions. Though “eating” is in the title, a common misconception about eating disorders is that the disease is centered around a person’s diet or appearance; however, the disorder
is focused more around control. “The whole thing behind an eating disorder is you want to feel you have control over something,” said junior Joanna Orzel, who was diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa last May. “That’s our addiction — the feeling of being in control. I felt like I was out of control of my life, so I just took charge of something, and it manifested itself in a way that I would restrict [what I ate],” she said. Clinical psychologist Wilhelmina Shoger, who specializes in eating disorders, explained that eating disorders are an obsession with using food to control one’s weight, feelings or mood.
See EATING DISORDERS, page 2
Taste test Caffeine helps students stay awake during the day. To hear students sound off on their choice of caffeine, turn to... Features, page 11
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