Prospector Issue 2 (2012-13)

Page 1

THE

Volume 52, Issue 2

Friday, October 12, 2012

The voice of Prospect since 1960

ROSPECTOR

As this year’s boys’ golf season comes to a close, read a reflection on their season. see... Sports, page 13

801 West Kensington Road, Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056

Principal expresses disappointment in students’ behavior

“I think [the seniors] were trying to be united but then other [students] saw it, and tried to be better than us, leading [to] everything to get out of hand,” senior Angel Kuikstra said. What was meant to unify one class, ended up disrupting the whole school. Administration was appalled by the behavior students were taking part in (see Principal Kurt Laakso’s open letter, right).

It is often observed that common sense is far from common, and the same is sometimes said of common decency. Neither was much in evidence at Prospect High School on Color Day, Oct. 3, 2012—a day of misguided mayhem that marred an otherwise wonderful week of homecoming celebrations. While several positive activities took place during Knight Times, we had a difficult day on Wednesday, with many seniors choosing to Kurt Laakso demonstrate their class unity Principal in ways that were essentially oppositional, defiant and polarizing. The sit-downs and chants that they organized on Color Day were disrespectful and potentially dangerous, and the behavior that they exhibited and provoked at Knight Games was unpleasant to behold. Color Day 2012 will go down in my memory as a low point in our progress as an institution, representing a step backward for our school, since the attitudes and behavior on display that day undermined the norms of a community defined by cooperation, collaboration and mutual care. Fortunately, the contrary posturing was mostly contained to one day, though some ill-advised individuals persist in believing that they did nothing wrong in participating in such mob-like activities. I find this self-justifying profession of ignorance both immature and disingenuous, and anyone expressing “pride” in such regressive, childish behavior grossly undervalues the Prospect community.

See STUDENT REACTION, page 2

See PRINCIPAL REACTION, page 2

s ALL IN GOOD FUN?: The junior and senior classes clash at the Knight Games competition on Oct. 3. During last week’s Homecoming week, events like senior sit-downs and froshing raised questions about the line between harmless class competition and student endangerment. photo by Ian Magnuson

Knightimes stirs students By Jenny Johnson

Online Managing Editor Homecoming week started off with the true meaning of homecoming. The coronation ceremony brought back alumni as the school celebrated its Homecoming King and Queen, seniors Shola George and Maggie Murphy. On the morning of Color Day, Oct. 3, seniors brought their pride in the form of marching from the commons all the way up the main

staircase, chanting “Seniors, seniors.” The seniors then sat down at the base of the main staircase, completely blocking the foyer, leaving the rest of the school to watch. In past years, seniors stopped at that, but this year, one sit-down would not cut it. Throughout the day, seniors had a total of seven. “I was shocked by all the commotion,” freshman Marisa Romanelli said. “These are the oldest kids in the school, yet they are acting so immature.”

Alumni run local businesses By Nabi Dressler and Danielle Church News Editors

‘96 graduate Bill Lagattolla began working part-time at Mt. Prospect Paint, Inc./Benjamin Moore Paints in Mount Prospect in high school to save up money for college. At the time, he didn’t plan on owning the store. Lagattolla took industrial classes like auto shop during high school and studied mechanical engineering at University of Illinois at Chicago. When the owner of Mt. Prospect Paint, Inc. retired in 2006, he took it over. Since the job deals with chemistry and physics, it was a “natural fit.” “It’s funny because the classes you take, you don’t realize you will use

them,” Lagattolla said. Lagattolla and most other alumni who own local businesses fell into their businesses and therefore didn’t take business classes to prepare them for their current jobs. ‘84 graduate Hank Friedrichs played football and baseball and wrote on the Prospector. He majored in communications and planned on becoming a fireman after college but now is the fourth generation of his family to own Friedrichs Funeral Home. Friedrichs’ father, Henry, who always wanted Hank to take over the business, passed away 13 years ago and Hank decided to give it a try for a few years.

See ALUMNI BUSINESSES, page 2

s WATCHING PAINT MIX: Mt. Prospect Paint, Inc. owner and ‘96 graduate Bill Lagattolla mixes a paint can. Lagattolla worked part-time at the store in high school and now hires Prospect students to work part-time. photo by Ian Magnuson

Favorite hair and makeup products

A day as a Mustang

Pets galore

Students selected their top hair and makeup picks. To find out whether your favorites made the list, turn to...

Senior and Executive Opinion Editor Anna Boratyn attended Rolling Meadows High School for a day. See Boratyn compare and contrast RMHS with our school on...

Both students and classes have pets. To read about students’ pets like Murphy, junior Michael Gattuso’s dog (right), class pets and Kay’s Animal Shelter, see...

Entertainment, page 12

Opinion, page 5

In-Depth, pages 8-9

Want all Prospect, all the time? * Check out our online publication: www.ProspectorNow.com * Follow us on Twitter: @ProspectorNow * Like us on Facebook: ProspectorNow


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