Volume 50, Issue 8
Friday, April 8, 2011
TheVoice of Prospect since 1960
ROSPECTOR
Most teenagers are familiar with pop artists like Ke$ha or Lady Gaga, but some indie artists like Regina Spektor are a highlight of the music scene, too. For a take on lesserknown artists, see...
Entertainment, page 12
801 West Kensington Road, Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056
Looking to the bright side It’s often easier to look at the glass half empty rather than half full. But being positive can be more helpful than one might expect. For an opinion on !"#$%#&#'(!)$*+$ optimism, turn to...
Going green
Opinion, page 6
Adventures in rap music A lot of teenagers like rap music with artists like Eminem and JayZ topping the charts, but senior Zac O’Hara doesn’t just listen to rap — he writes it. For more on O’Hara and his experience recording rap music, check out... Features, page 7
The struggle to lose weight In a society that emphasizes physical beauty, some go to extreme lengths in an attempt to lose weight, even when it may not necessarily be healthy. For a look at weight and the healthy ways to lose it, see... InDepth, pages 89
Photo by Ian Magnuson
School copes with sudden tragedy, sophomore’s death By Gina O’Neill and Kate Schroeder Copy Editor and Editor-in-Chief Sophomore Jack Gavin was at volleyball practice last year, “screwing around” with his friends, when he hit freshman and JV coach Dan Puglisi purposely in the head with a volleyball. According to Gavin’s friend, sophomore and teammate Adrian Wojtowicz, Puglisi then made Gavin run about 30 laps around the gym. Later, when Gavin hit him once again, on accident this time, he didn’t even wait for Puglisi to punish him. “He just got up and started run-
for Gavin
ning,” Wojtowicz said. “We were all laughing.” “He definitely was the comedian of the team,” Puglisi said. “Our team photo was supposed to be serious faces, and he was the one kid smiling. During practices, he would be the kid that would run to the ball cart and knock all the balls down. [He would] just create laughs.” Over spring break, on Thursday, March 24, Gavin didn’t show up to morning volleyball practice. According to assistant varsity boys’ volleyball coach Daria Schaffeld, a couple of his friends and teammates tried calling him, figuring he had just overslept. But 30 minutes into practice, Assistant Principal Greg Minter came into the gym to give the coaches a message, with varsity coach Mike Riedy as the first recipient. Schaffeld saw Riedy crouch down and put his head in his hands.
At that point, the team was informed there had been a serious, life-threatening car accident involving Gavin early that morning, around 12:40 a.m. Thirty minutes after the first message, Minter and Assistant Principal for Student Services Lee Stanley returned, relaying the tragic news that Gavin had died. “First was ... shock,” Puglisi said. “Riedy told me, and he was already choking up, [but] as I first heard the name come across, it didn’t really register. After 30 seconds or a minute, then that’s when my eyes started welling up, just thinking, ‘Jack’s not here.’ “It was a lot of tears from the coaches. ... When we told the team all together, a few of them started crying at that point; a couple of them got up and started walking away crying.” After Gavin’s death, the student
See GREEN, page 3
The long road to graduation day Prospect goes extra mile to keep students in school By Sharon Lee and Maddie Conway Associate Editor-in-Chief and Executive News Editor Fifth-year senior Kevin Neubauer came to Prospect last year out of his element: new to the environment — and the inevitable idea he would not graduate with his class. Neubauer, then a senior who had already gone to two other high schools, had previously failed a couple classes and couldn’t start at Prospect first semester because he had moved to the district too late. Because of that late start into his year at Prospect, he wasn’t able to graduate with the senior class last year. But instead of dropping out of Prospect when he failed to get his diploma, Neubauer stayed in school, and in May, he’ll finally get it — because, he said, of the support he’s received from Prospect.
More than at his past schools, Neubauer said students and staff at Prospect encouraged him to finish high school because they really do want to help him graduate. To help students like Neubauer walk across the stage on graduation day, the school goes to great lengths to keep students in school, contributing to Prospect’s high graduation rate — 98 percent for the class of 2010. With 21 credits combined in certain subject areas needed to earn a diploma, graduating, according to Dean Dr. Patricia Tedaldi-Monti, isn’t as easy as one might expect. If students don’t keep track of their credits, it’s easy to fall short of that “magic number” of 21. Even so, students running into issues with graduating is an “infrequently occurring phenomenon,” she said. Prospect’s approach to helping students graduate on time begins from the day they start high school — not when they fall behind in their classes as upperclassmen, according
See DIPLOMA, page 2
Photo courtesy of Tom Brennan With a tsunami in Japan in March, the world has felt the impact of natural disaster this past month — and so has Prospect. An earthquake hit former English teacher Tom Brennan’s hometown in Christland, New Zealand (above), on Feb. 22.
For the full story, see Features, page 11