March 15, 2013

The fhsroyalbanner.com

Friday, March 15, 2013 Vol. 53 No. VI

The newly elected Head Boy, Zach Swenson and Head Girl, Jaime Zhu take on a victorious pose outside of Fairview.

Photo by Emily Ellis.

Fairview High School 1515 Greenbriar Blvd.

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Royal Banner

news

Bits and Pieces

Up & Coming Today

school safety in the wake of sandy hook 3-4 making fairview less vulnerable 5

Friday the 15th: Boy’s Varsity Lacrosse Vs. Friendswood (6 pm @ Home)

in-depth6

This Weekend

the pressure to be perfect

fairview’s academic pressure 7

humor

intimacy in adolescence 8

struggling with sexuality 9

denizens of whole foods 11 ask aunt moophie 12

Saturday the 16th: Winter Guard competition (@ Prarie View High School) Concert: Hoodie Allen (@ The Fox) Sunday the 17th: Saint Patrick’s Day

meet the interventionist 10

entertainment social media for dummies 13

sports

z-tunes: macklemore’s “thrift shop” 14 from rock to hip-hop: the great pop music shift

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spring sports questionnaire 16

knights make deep playoff run 17

opinions

music pulse: the beat of our generation 18 dubsteppin’ it up 19

student life

a backstage pass to fairview’s pops 20 the impossible maze 21

Graduation Count Down:

65 Days

extras 22, 23

advertisments

knight memes 24

All Week

“We Are Fairview” Week

Next Week

Tuesday the 19th: Snowman Burning Day Varsity Baseball Vs. Prarie View (4pm @ Home) Girl’s Tennis Vs. Broomfield (@ Home) Wednesday the 20th: First Day of Spring Boy’s Varsity Lacrosse Vs. Boulder (7pm @Recht Field) Thursday the 21st: Boy’s Swimming Vs. Mountain Range (@ South Boulder Rec.) Friday the 22nd: “We Are Fairview” Day - Assembly Schedule Calling all Dawns Encore Performance (7:30 pm @ Temple Buell Theater) Movie release: Admission

Over Spring Break...

Saturday 3/23: Concert: Imagine Dragons (@ The Fillmore Auditorium) Varsity Baseball Vs. Bear Creek (12pm @ Home) Monday 3/25: International Waffle Day Sunday 3/31: Easter Monday 4/1: April Fool’s Day

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School Safety in the Wake of Sandy Hook

By Sharone Goldman and Raine Kennedy

THE ROYAL BANNER

“It just kills you.”

12-13 STAFF

EDITORIAL BOARD Print Editors-In-Chief

These were the words social studies teacher Leigh Campbell-Hale used to summarize her reaction towards the Sandy Hook Shooting, which, a few months ago, claimed the lives of twenty children in their elementary school, and six adults.

The shooting has raised many questions and stirred strong opinions. A nationwide discussion about gun control, mental health, and school safety has ensued.

MEGAN DEBRUYN PAIGE REISMAN Web Editors-In-Chief JANET CHEN ELIANA GOLDSTEIN

SECTION EDITORS News SHARONE GOLDMAN Opinions KALI CROSSEN Student Life SAVARONE AMMANN

But what does this mean for Fairview?

Entertainment ALEX FLYNN Sports CASON MCHOSE

Through a series of interviews the Royal Banner conducted with students, teachers, Principal Stensrud, and School Resource Officer Heath, we sought to find out.

In-Depth SHOSHANA POLLACK Copy PAIGE LINDGREN

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LINDSAY BARNES, NATALIE BOWES, KIMBERLY BROWN, OWYN COOPER, MELISSA CUDDINGTON, EMILY ELLIS, JJ EVANOFF, CONOR HALL, RAINE KENNEDY, ELISE MACLEAN, KEENAN MARRINAN, EAMONN MORRIS, RACHEL PERLEY, ALEX RAY, LUCIA ROSE, DAVID SACHS, LUKE SCHNEIDER, RYAN SHUMAN, MADDIE STACHNIAK, REBECCA VICKERS

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About the Banner

The Royal Banner Newspaper is a 12 to 24 page newspaper.

The Banner is written primarily for the over 2000 students attending Fairview High School and is distributed free of charge to all members of the school community. Accurate reporting of fact is the goal of the staff. Commentaries, opinion columns and letters to the editor are the expressed opinion of the author and not of

The Royal Banner and its Editorial Board or its adviser. *Disclaimer: Under Colorado law, no expression made by students in the exercise of free speech or freedom of the press shall be deemed to be an expression of school policy. No school district, employee, legal guardian or official of such a district shall be held liable in any criminal action for any expression made or published by a student. The Royal Banner sells advertisements for publicity and to pay for printing costs. We reserve the right to refuse to run any advertisement deemed inappropriate to the Fairview community.

A Sense of Security

Photo by Wikimedia Commons

At its best, high school should be a place where we, as students, can thrive, academically and so“Every time I hear about cially. It should be a place where we can foster our [shootings] on the news, passions. A safe place.

I look around and wonEach Fairview student we spoke to individually der, could this happen? I expressed feeling varying levels of security within honestly don’t know my the school walls. classmates that well. AnyEthan Cohen, a junior, said, “I don’t feel scared.

We live in a community that is fairly educated as far one could come in with a as safety and respecting others, so, no, I don’t think gun.” -Audrey Hearn, Junior [a shooting] could happen” he said.

Audrey Hearn, also a junior, shared a different point of view. Said Hearn, “Every time I hear about [shootings] on the news, I look around and wonder, could this happen? I honestly don’t know my classmates that well. Anyone could come in with a gun.”

BVSD Safety Measures The BVSD has created both preventive and protective efforts to shield its students, to the best of its ability, from a shooting situation.

Foremost, the faculty has been training hard. Math teacher Brad White spoke about prior training he received for lockdown situations.“We [simulated] various scenarios and Boulder police men with real guns staged [them]. Then we would get called back into a meeting place to discuss what happened and what should happen,” he said.

(Continued on page 4)

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(Continued from Page 3) Campbell-Hale questioned the extent to which training would be effective in the case of a real-life lockdown. “I think a lot of training is programmatic. It’s like history. You are always preparing for your last war. We prepared for a Columbine situation and then you get a Newtown situation.”

The Fairview administration has also been taking measures to keep Fairview safe, but often, progress in such a large school can be difficult.

“It’s like turning the Titanic,” said Principal Don Stensrud.

However, small changes here and there have been made to increase Fairview’s “You are always preparsafety. ing for your last war. We Said Stensrud, “We prepared for a Columbine put a security guard situation and then you get a full time at the back Newtown situation.”

Leigh door. We are trying to Cambell-Hale, Teacher keep doors closed and are being very diligent about making sure there are no doors propped open. We have been reiterating with the faculty the need to wear their badge and ask adults that they don’t know in the hallways what they are doing.”

According to Superintendent Bruce Messinger, “BVSD staff is actively reviewing several areas related to safety. The district is in the process of standardizing lockdown, lockout, shelter-in-place, evacuation drills, and actively working with administrators, teachers, custodians, cooks, paraprofes- Photo by Raine Kennedy sionals, students, and law enforcement officials to make sure everyone understands their roles “(A threat) could be and responsibilities.” anywhere from a parent to a disgruntled employee to Risk Identification a student or a random perThere is no foolproof way to spot a potential shooter. General son. It could be anyone.”

Officer Heath awareness of one’s peers and surroundings could, however, help identify someone planning to inflict harm.

When asked about strategies for spotting suspicious behavior/potential risk behavior, Fairview High School’s resource officer, Heath, said, “With your peers, you’re going to know better than I’m going to know.

You’re going to see things on Facebook that I’m never going to see.”

News Heath said that suspicious behavior might include bulky clothing, saying or posting threats, and out-of-place actions.

He pointed out that there isn’t a single procedure for identifying risk-behavior because there are many different types of potential shooters. “(A threat) could be anywhere from a parent to a disgruntled employee to a student or a random person. It could be anyone,” he said.

Heath reiterated that it might not always be a concrete thing that makes students feel uneasy, but rather “those gut-feeling things... things that make you do a double take.”

He urged Fairview students to rely on the feeling that something’s “not right” and then report their suspicions to an administrator.

Teachers and Administration in a Lockdown Scenario In a real-life lockdown situation, teachers and administrators are supposed to protect their students, but also take similar actions to protect themselves.

Said Stensrud, “I’m supposed to do exactly the same things that you guys do… go on lockdown. Shut my door and hide underneath my desk.”

However, there was sometimes a difference between those procedures and what the Fairview staff said they’d actually do.

Stensrud said, “My natural instinct would be making sure everyone is safe. I’d be hard-pressed to do what I’m supposed to do. My son goes here.”

White also agreed that he doesn’t know if he could follow safety procedures to-the-book if the shooting nightmare were to become reality.

Said White, “No one can say in a bunch of rules what to do if that happened. For me personally if it came down to that, I would rather fight than get picked off like a sitting duck.”

What a Lockdown Might Look like for Students No one can truly prepare for a school shooting. What students can prepare for is that a lockdown might not be like what they would think.

Said Officer Heath, “(During a lockdown) you might not hear anything at all, especially since it’s a big school. But there could be some serious stuff happening.”

Heath described his role in a lockdown situation: “My first priority would be to stop and neutralize the threat. If somebody right now started shooting, my primary goal would be to stop them. I’m not in rescue mode, and that’s one of the things we do a ton of training on... we have to bypass injured people to get that person who could injure more people. I’m not waiting for other officers to come in. The tactics have evolved since Columbine.”

(Continued on page 5)

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Royal Banner (Continued from Page 3) We all know the general lockdown procedure: Lock the doors, close the lights, get out of the line-of-sight, and stay quiet.

With regards to general lockdown behavior, however, Heath said, “Students should silence phones completely.

Don’t put them on vibrate, because as we all know that sound can still be pretty loud.”

He added, “Don’t communicate with other students that are in the school, because you might be giving information to the wrong person. The shooter might grab the phone and see that information. We realize you might be texting your parents, and that’s OK as long as your phone is on silent. We just don’t want students exchanging which class people are in.”

But what if you aren’t in a classroom? What if you are caught in a bathroom or hallway when a lockdown begins?

Heath admitted that there is no single way to stay safe if you are outside of a classroom when a shooter enters the premises. “There are so many grey areas. You could get right out of there and get into a classroom, but those rooms get locked up pretty quickly. If you can’t get your-

News

self into a locked, secure place, and you feel like you have a good option to evacuate, then get out of the school and get away from the school,” he said.

The Larger Picture How far should Fairview go to guarantee the safety of it’s students? Do we close the campus? Do we remodel the building? Do we make every student wear ID cards? When does the risk surpass the costs? Teachers and students weighed in about what the Sandy Hook massacre means for the future of how we handle shootings.

“Now we have teachers thinking creatively. We need to have announcement capabilities throughout the building. We need to use cell-phones better,” said Campbell-Hale.

Cohen believes that, “we need to take action on gun control and that doesn’t mean arming every teacher in the school.”

White agreed. “I am adamantly against suggestions that teachers should carry guns,” he said. “I’m a teacher. I’m trying to educate kids. I’m not here to be Rambo.”

How to deal with guns isn’t the only variable in question with regards to school shooting. Said Campbell-Hale, “I think it’s going to bring us all to rethink guns and mental illness.”

Ultimately, though, Stensrud said, “Safety is everyone’s concern. We want everybody to be safe, but it takes everybody to be safe.”

Making Fairview Less Vulnerable

Fairview’s Many Entrances (Photos by Raine Kennedy)

How do you feel about recent school shootings? Do you feel secure? What do you think can be done to prevent further shootings? The Royal Banner wants to hear your opinion! Email sharone.goldman@fhsroyalbanner.com your thoughts and you might be featured in the paper.

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Royal Banner

In-Depth

Teen Issues

By Maddie Stachniak During high school, most people begin the struggle of understanding themselves.They straddle a chasm of sorts, one foot still in their childhood, the other beginning to take a tentative step toward adulthood.

However, as they begin the never-ending process of attempting to make sense of things (also known as life), almost every teen faces some sort of struggle. Whether it be academic pressure, coming to terms with sexuality, depression, eating disorders, or family problems, teens are all dealing with something.

Many kids facing these problems feel as if they are alone, as if they are the only person who has gone through this situation. However, the one thing teens have in common is that they are all dealing with the challenges life presents them. They are all trying to grow up and find themselves in their own way.

Photo by Raine Kennedy

The Pressure to be Perfect

By Rebecca Vickers The pressures that society presents us with are infinite, but one of the biggest one’s is the definition of beauty. A lot of billboards, commercials, movies, etc. tell us what we have to look like. Girls have to be the perfect type of skinny and guys must have the perfectly chiseled abs. Our media has put on the table a blurred vision of perfection.

They don’t give you a chance to look at yourself in the mirror without seeing your flaws. Both girls and guys try and find a way to look like these “beauties” that they will do anything to get there, sometimes by developing an eating disorder.

Fairview Student and model at Donna Baldwin Talent Agency in Denver, Junior Crosby Chipman said that she has come across many models in her industry that feel a lot of pressure to be skinny.

“A lot of people you don’t know if they have an eating disorder, but you can guess.

Especially when we’re given lunch and some girls say they aren’t hungry, and then the next day they say the same thing,” Crosby said.

Crosby explains that modeling is a job, and part of the job is maintaining the body that they want you to have. “It’s not fair that people look to models and sometimes blame them for their body image problems, you know? Most girls who model are born with that body. Tall and skinny, simply put.”

Eating disorders aren’t solely caused by the pressure of the media, but also by stress, depression, anxiety, and low self esteem. According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), eating disorders can also be passed down genetically. NEDA explains that researchers and scientists are still trying to figure out the underlying causes of eating disorders, but there are definitely some general causes that contribute to them.

“You can’t try to change who you are.” Chipman says. “If you want to lose some weight, there are healthy ways to do it.”

Photo by Wikimedia Commons

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In-Depth

Fairview’s Academic Pressure

By Melissa Cuddington Fairview can definitely be seen as a stressful and high-pressure environment when it comes to academics, athletics, and socializing. Many students at Fairview are involved in the AP or IB Program, therefore expecting straight A’s and an acceptance into a top-Ivy League school. “Sometimes being a member of advanced placement classes at Fairview is challenging because everyone is so wrapped up in getting straight A’s” said Junior Ellie Lupo.

With all of these things going on, many students feel quite a bit of academic pressure at school no matter what academic program they are part of.

“When I have a test the next day and soccer that night, it stresses me out” said Junior Issi Stahl. Stahl also said: “I feel like Fairview is really competitive in the academic category and teachers should give less homework.”

Lupo, like many students at Fairview, is taking IB language, advanced math, and AP language arts, among many other classes. Many students feel pressures that are similar to Lupo and Stahl simply because they have a lot of advanced placement and international baccalaureate classes.

Photo by Sharone Goldman

Problems at Home

By Natalie Bowes Family issues are something that at one time or another everyone has struggled with because the fact remains that if you’re around someone constantly from time to time you are bound to get on each others nerves.

Said Fairview’s interventionist, Jennie Hecht, “when people come to see me a big issue is often divorce.

Disputes over visitation can cause teens to feel disempowered because they find themselves caught in the middle of a problem they did not cause nor want.”

“At a stage where you have the skills and confidence to live independently but can’t, often what i call a ‘chinese finger trap’ ensues. Parents hold

tighter to their control out of fear while teens attempt to pull away for independance,” said Hecht.

Having family issues can place a severe strain on students by not having a comforting place to return to at the end of a long day.

“I lack motivation and confidence and rarely partake in normal social events because I am frequently grounded,” said an anonymous Fairview student when asked about the effect of stress in the home.

“Home is supposed to be the place to recharge. When a student has an unhealthy relationship with a parent, home is no longer a place where this ‘recharging’ can happen and often

one finds they are running on empty,” said Hecht.

However, thankfully there are methods to cope to improve the situation.

“I find solace in eating and talking to my friends or my counselor,” said a Fairview student.

“When individuals become anxious or depressed they turn off their sensations, and the key to being mindful is bringing sensation back. Trying a short body scan from head toe and checking in with how your body is feeling calms nerves and make unpleasant situations easier to handle,” Hecht said.

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In-Depth

Intimacy in Adolescence

By Elise Maclean

As seen throughout many social groups in high school, there are many pressures to be one way or another. One of those pressures is the decision of whether or not to abstain from having sex.

Junior Lauren Winchester said, “The Bible also speaks pretty strongly against sex outside of marriage, and I don't know a lot of people who are married in high school. I wouldn't say having sex in high school makes you a bad person though, and certainly no matter what your choice, life is going to turn out alright. It just might be a lot less tumultuous if you abstain.”

According to a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2011, 47.4% of teenagers in high school have en-

gaged in sexual intercourse. That means that about 1 in every 2 teenagers in high school has had sex. If this survey applied to Fairview, that would mean that out of the 2,082 students at Fairview, 987 have been sexually active.

“I feel like there is a whole emotional impact that high schoolers aren’t ready for,” said Fairview choir teacher, Janice Vlachos.

Sex affects a person both physically and emotionally. Each time you have sex, you are putting yourself in danger of being exposed to sexually transmitted infections and becoming pregnant. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “an estimated 8,300 young people aged 13–24 years in the 40 states reporting to CDC had HIV infection in 2009

and more than 400,000 teen girls aged 15–19 years gave birth in 2009.”

“You can get a LOT of judgment from people when they find out you're no longer a virgin, especially as a girl. And that's really not very super either, but we're all a little judgmental,” said Winchester.

Judgement from one teenager to another is not uncommon, but’s it’s not your place to judge someone for their choice. Name calling comes into play, and that’s a hard hit on the emotional side.

No matter what you decide, it should always be your own personal decision. “If you're confident in your decision, you can make it and let everyone else just deal with it,” said Winchester.

Self Harm

By Maddie Stachniak

“I always like picturing the rib cage because I really like the human skeletal structure.

It’s like if you picture just a cage that’s trapping all of this stuff in and you can't let it out.

I couldn’t understand why I was so sad because I really felt like I had no reason to be feeling like that and having something to physically represent that, having a reason to be in pain, having a reason to say ‘this is my pain’...I can show you my pain...It’s easier to understand.”

These are the words of an anonymous Fairview student describing why they resorted to self harm. According to a youth risk behavior survey conducted by BVSD in 2011, 21% of BVSD students have intentionally self-injured.

In addition to dealing with all the typical stresses that teenagers face, teens that selfharm battle with depression as well as physical and emotional pain. In particular, stereotypes against cutting or ‘emos’ can make kids actively dealing with this real issue feel as if they are being minimized.

“Society puts on this pressure that if you’re doing that, you’re just an attention seeker, it’s just a part of your image. Like when people say only emo people do it, it makes me feel like it’s just part of an image to keep up, but it’s not. ... It takes a lot to be able to hurt yourself,” said our source.

As to teens who are currently dealing with this issue, our source had this to say: “Just know that you’re not alone and that it doesn’t matter what’s going on in your life, you don’t need to rationalize this. You don’t need to have a really horrid life or have serious, serious issues, whatever a serious issue is defined as. Anyone can can get driven to this, and it doesn't make you a bad person.”

Photo by Shoshana Pollack

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In-Depth

Boys Hurt Too

By Alex Ray While it is not uncommon, especially in high school, “Guys want to fit the ‘ideal’ body type as much as to find girls who have any of a number of emotional and women do,” says Anonymous. “It’s really important for physical problems including depression, self harm, and everyone to understand that this is not just a ‘woman’s especially eating disorders, very few people consider the disease’, it can affect anyone.” fact that males have the same problems.

The fact that there is a stigma surrounding male self A study from Kings College London from 1992 to harm is only the start of the problem. Due to the lack of 2008 showed that a full 10% of the 1800 participating awareness, the American Psychological Association is girls between the ages of 13 and 19 admitted to some adamant that men are less likely to seek out treatment form of self harm. A 2002 study by the British Medical for their issues due to the perception of eating disorders Journal found that 13% of 15 and 16 year olds in the as ‘women's diseases’.

UK self harm. It is widely accepted that about 1 in 12 “The hardest thing in my struggles with anorexia is teeneagers self harm. probably the fact that it’s not just a disease. It’s not like The vast majority of the population does not consider the flu or the chicken pox; you don’t want to get better. the fact that 30% of these teenagers are male.

The sicker I got, the sicker I needed to be. It’s a vicious The truth is that there is an undeniable stigma around cycle that's near impossible to break.” males and unhealthy methods of coping with everyday problems.

A male high school student that wants to remain anonymous freely admits to suffering from anorexia. “I hate the stigma...my doctor tested for every possible cause to medically explain my weight loss before he even thought to ask what I had for lunch.”

With males, there is an expectation that you are automatically too strong to be insecure--especially insecure enough to resort to eating disorders. Yet that is clearly not the case. In reality, 10-15% of males are anorexic or bulimic according to the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Photo by Sharone Goldman

Struggling with Sexuality

By Shoshana Pollack

Matt Eckl, senior, has always known that he is gay. “In middle school, people sent me notes telling me that I was worthless and to kill myself,” said Eckl. Middle school is never easy, but it’s especially hard if you’re lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or any other less typical sexuality or gender orientation. While we all struggle to come to terms with who we are throughout middle and high school, it is especially difficult if who you are is not readily accepted by all of society.

“It got pretty bad at one point- it caused me to fall into depression,” said Eckl. The media doesn’t make things any easier. “In the media, you’re either flamboyantly gay or you're not. That’s not how it is,” Eckl explained.

Just because you’re gay doesn’t mean that you’re going to act the same way that every single other gay person does.

Not all gay men are flamboyant and feminine, and not all lesbians are masculine and butch. There are plenty of in-betweens.

If you’re struggling with your sexuality, “Take it slow, there’s no rush. You don’t need to decide anything,” Eckl advised. “Sexuality is very fluid.” There’s no need to be sure of exactly what your sexuality is, there’s no hurry, and there’s no pressure.

There’s a lot of pressure in our society to know exactly who you’re attracted to, and to label yourself so that others understand your sexuality. But that’s not how it needs to be. “It’s not anyone else’s business in the first place,” Eckl said.

Most importantly, said Eckl, “Don’t look at the stereotypes and try to see where you fit in- because you won’t.”

10 Meet the Interventionist:

Royal Banner

he Interventionist: Jenny Hecht

By Page Reisman

Location: Counseling Office Official Title: Prevention and Intervention Specialist Friendlier Title (Self Decided): Jenny

Photo by Kimberly Brown What’s your job in a nutshell? To be here for stu dents...for support, for information, for resources...or simply to provide a space to vent or decompress. And of course, to provide a constant supply of Laffy Taffy.

What is the biggest misconception you’d like to debunk about your role? I think a lot of students feel that there must be something wrong with you if you have to go to see a counselor or therapist. I remind them that there are hundreds and hundreds of therapists in Boulder County and all are seeing enough clients to keep them in business...so it is far more common to seek counseling support than they might think. I also strongly believe that spending time reflecting on and observing what is going on for you in your life, while in a quiet space, with someone who is not directly connected to your life and can offer objective support, is beneficial to everyone.

What is your goal in talking to a student? For them to feel comfortable, safe, and respected...so they can feel free to be real and honest about what is going on for them.

How do you draw the line between a student who needs intervention vs. a student who can fight through strugglwes on their own? If a student is in imminent danger of harming themselves or someone else, or is in danger of being hurt by someone, then it is critical that they receive intervention in order to ensure their safety. Beyond these factors, it is entirely up to the student... if they feel they can fight through their struggles on their own and they are not in imminent danger, that is their right. I am here to serve and support our students.

In-Depth

We Are Fairview Week

By Paige Reisman

“We Are Fairview” is a chance for students to celebrate their differences. This week features a variety of events Tuesday, March 19: "Voices Out of Silence" Periods 2,3,4 in the Choir Room This program will present readings of stories written by young people who have attempted suicide and thankfully failed, along with personal accounts from the parents, family, and friends who are left behind when suicide has been the tragic outcome. The ultimate message will be one of hope -- that there is help available, that you are not alone and that things will get better.

Wednesday, March 20 and Thursday March 21 -Awareness Drive Resource Fair -- Block Lunch in the Student Center Representatives from organizations centered around student health will set up booths in the student center, covering topics such as suicide prevention, LGBTQ support, body peace, non-violence, and drug abuse.

MESA (Moving to End Sexual Assault): Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Non-Violence: Boulder Youth Body Alliance Boulder Valley Women's Health Clinic/Teen Clinic/ SHAPE (Sexual Health Awareness and Prevention Education) HOPE Coalition - Colie's Closet Second Wind Fund Sources of Strength Boulder County Alcohol Diversion Program OASOS Natural Highs Thursday, March 21 -- Denver Gay Men's Chorus (Outreach Program and Performance) -- Block Lunch in the Auditorium Friday, March 22 -- "We Are Fairview" Day” Presentations throughout the day Assembly Schedule Speakers from the organizations participating in the Awareness Drive Resource Fairs, among several others, will be presenting in various classes throughout the day.

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Humor

The Court Jester Denizens of Whole Foods

By Alex Ray and Maddie Stachniak Boulder is the self-proclaimed Hippie capital of the world. Republicans are openly shunned, weed and granola are abundant, and people actually care about their health. While this whole “health” and “wellbeing” thing may be alien to some of you, to the patrons of Whole Foods, it’s an essential part of life. The inhabitants of Whole Foods come in many forms, and these next six specimens are some of the most commonly found in the wild.

1) Self-proclaimed vegan purchasing only almond milk and quinoa (whatever that is). Yes, we realize that being a vegan is a perfectly acceptable life choice. However, the rest of us are set in our ways and don’t want you preaching to us while we gorge ourselves with grotesque amounts of steak and pepperoni pizza.

2) Tall, leggy 40-something wearing skinny jeans and large sunglasses. She’s in a hurry and you’re in her way. Because she has had multiple botox procedures and face lifts, it is hard for her to speak, so instead of saying ‘excuse me’, she will push her cart into you until you move. It’s her only way to effectively communicate.

3) A recent east coast transplant, fighting at the seafood counter for $40 per pound crab legs. If you see any of these people, run away, unless you are prepared for a brawl over the choicest sushi.

They tend to conglomerate in pods, where they proceed to battle it out over the best food items.

Fun fact: this is the official state sport of Rhode Island!

4) 17 year old girl speeding through the parking lot in her Audi. While we find these unfortunate human beings in the wild outside Whole Foods as well, we feel they deserve a special mention in this list. Everyone knows that slowing down in parking lots is mandatory if you drive an Audi. This girl is the girl that you swoon over in high school, attempt to talk to, proceed to get coldly, publicly rejected, and then spend the rest of your days in a deep depression. But maybe if you buy her some quinoa she’ll come around.

5) Young, college-age trustafarian, just in from the west coast. He’s currently growing dreadlocks and learning to tear up the slopes, because skiing is just like surfing. He’s “keeping it real,” as he has told multiple friends, by being totally granola and organic in Boulder.

6) Finally, the one member of this list that we feel bad for: the poor, humiliated husband of a Whole Foods enthusiast. It isn’t uncommon to see these poor fellows struggling to decide to buy the gluten-free tofu or the low-calorie almond butter for his overbearing wife, all the while having fantasies of his former life eating pizza.

Illustrations by Jake Garland

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Humor

Ask Aunt Moophie

Dear Aunt Moophie, Everyone wants me to go to prom. Except I don’t. I know. I’m lame. But I just don’t want to go. I want to spend prom night watching The Princess Diaries with my cat. My question is, how do I give myself appendicitis so I have a legitimate excuse for not going to prom?

Also, my mom wanted me to let you know that she reads your column all the time.

From Nonsocial Cat Lover Dear Nonsocial, Are you a junior or senior? If you’re a junior then I’m sure it wouldn’t be the end of the world if you missed prom. You probably have no friends if that is what you intend to do. If you’re a senior then I would really suggest going.

Don’t be your usual loner self. Trust me pumpkin, in 50 years, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do in high school more than the things you did do. It’s time to emerge from your cocoon into the beautiful butterfly you are. From, Aunt Moophie Dear Aunt Moophie, I am an IB diploma candidate at Fairview. This is my junior year and I am starting to look at colleges. My parents expect nothing less that an Ivy League school. I want to go to CU Boulder. How do I tell my parents this?

From Stressed Student Dear Stressed, You need to be grateful that you have the gift of such intelligence that most people do not. I wanted to attend CU after I graduated from Fairview in 1962, but lacked the grades. To be honest if you’re not in Harvard in two years, your parents probably won’t speak to you again. If you aren’t a doctor at a prestigious hospital in New York City by the age of 22 then you will be a failure. The chances of your parents not talking to you for a while are very high if you become anything other than what they want you to be.

But don’t listen to them. Be proud to be a Buff even if your parents aren’t!

From Aunt Moophie

Freshman Create Small Space In Hallway

By David Sachs and Rachel Perley

The group of freshman boys who usually congregate at the entrance to the 400 hallway allowed a small number of students through on Thursday creating a wave of confusion to radiate through Fairview High School. At approximately 1:47 in the afternoon, a group of three Junior girls were able to penetrate the formerly impassable barrier between the student center and the science hallway.

By 2:15, word of the passage had spread to the rest of the school, causing a number of classes to be interrupted and delayed for as long as 15 minutes as students were unable to contain their joy and amazement. “I couldn't

get control of my class for over half an hour,” said Sr. Parada. “I had to completely cut out my lecture on the health benefits of slowly crushing cats with tractors.”

Felinicidal teachers were not the only ones affected by the passing of the barrier. Jenna Bower, a member of the “Breakfree Three,” as they are now known, said, “I was actually on time.

I’m not used to sitting through an entire class period.”

The two freshman boys responsible Left to right: Bridger Fedor, Elijah Crespi for this incident declined to comment and Chance Ubel for this story, however in a statement released early Friday morning they any inconvenience we caused, we will were quoted saying, “We apologise for return to our obnoxious ways as soon as possible.”

13 ologically-ignotalk to people. So I decided to help out the techn

Entertainment

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to Thanks to the internet, there are now so many ways methods of commuwebsites that I know of, along with describing their rant and summarize the major Social Networking to be a user on that site. nication and giving the stereotypical expectations

So ci al M ed ia for

By Owyn Cooper Summary: You can use this site to look through predetermined categories ranging from “movies” to “DIY” or even “Geek”. This place has EVERYTHING. Instead of something like “hashtag” or “repost,” you can “repin” which is liking something on this site so much that your followers just have to see it.

Communication: While you can follow people, all you do is repin things from random people that you probably don’t have anything in common with other than that one thing you repinned.

Expectations: This site usually belongs to middle-age housewives and Bridezillas-to-be, but if you’re in highschool, you can try to break that demographic’s hold on this site and use it anyway.

Summary: You can use this to take pictures and share them with your followers. But they’re special pictures because you can make them black and white, vintage, or better using “filters.” You also use hashtags as a means of tracking topics or ideas. But some teenage girls lie when they say “#Nofilter” when they’re obviously using the “Mayfair” filter.

Communication: Since most social networks are set up like cults, you can also follow people on this site and become “instagram Summary:Th :The new famous.” But seriously, who are you kidding? and better MySpace. You can Requirements: If you like hipster picuse the Internet to stalk your friends’ tures of sunsets or really pretty girls covplaces (with the location feature) and their ered in makeup and edited by filters relationships (with people updating their relasaying “OMG I am SOOOOOOO tionship status every freaking minute). uglllyyyy :((((“ then this is the Communication: You can use this to connect with place for you! your friend from Paraguay or talk to your friend who lives in the same neighborhood since you’re too lazy to move.

Expectations: You either need to be a whiny middle schooler who reposts deep/”funny” stuff or an adult desperate to find the love of your life and must stalk all viable options.

Just don’t get a Tumblr. It will honestly ruin your life. You will spend the rest of your life reblogging things onto your dash until you die. Save yourself.

It’s too late for me. *Reblogs picture of a cat*

Summary: Basically Facebook with a 140-character limit. With Twitter, you can “follow” your “friends” and find out what they did or are doing something, whether that be something earth-shattering like “Just watched Magic Mike OMG Channing Tatum’s absss!!!!!” or the everyday “Just ate McDonald’s even though Im on a diet. #YOLO.” Communication: Hashtags are a great way to track topics that can occasionally trend. For example the fan accounts use hashtags like this: “#JustinBieberFOLLOWME” and normal people use general ones like: “#IBrokeUpWithYouBecause you smell.”

Expectations: For one, you must have the ability to hashtag. This is for people too busy to read more than 140 characters or a celebrity with 12 million twitter followers who wants to check on their “little people”.

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Entertainment

ZtUnEs

With�Dr.�Zerwin:�An�English�Teacher�takes�on�modern�music

What is this Gangnam Style?

Thrift Shop Photos from Wikimedia Commons Picture me listening to “Thrift Shop” for the first time: “I’ma take your grandpa’s style, I’ma take your grandpa’s style, No for real - ask your grandpa - can I have his hand-me-downs? (Thank you)” My first thought: is this song making fun of people who shop at thrift shops?

I’m not sure what I think about that.

Second thought: What’s with all the gratuitous obscenities? The song could still be what it is without the f-bombs.

Seriously.

Third thought: who is this Macklemore anyhow?

Out of all of the music my students have asked me to review for Ztunes, they have seemed the most concerned that I would actually see the awesomeness that they consider Macklemore to be. And not just awesomeness because of a song like “Thrift Shop” that is funny, catchy, witty with the words, and accompanied by a hilarious music video, but the pure awesome that students see in an artist who uses his work as a platform to instigate real conversation about the issues that are important to them.

Mostly, I think my s t u dents choose music for me to review for the pure hilarity of forcing an English teacher to confront “modern music.” They giggled uncontrollably about sending me to see the Justin Bieber movie. They delighted in forcing a literature geek such as I to spend serious time with “Gangnam Style.” The most tortuous thing they have made me review

was “Moves Like Jagger.” Even though that was over a year ago, I still go to dark places where I cannot get that song out of my head.

My students never really cared if I walked away with any kind of appreciation for Maroon Five or the Biebster.

But they want me to know Macklemore. This reveals some important things about my students.

If all I knew about Macklemore was “Thrift Shop,” I might write him off as a potty-mouthed adolescent man who, using a very catchy song, makes fun of people who legitimately need to shop at thrift shops.

But that is a pretty unfair take on Macklemore and ignores the body of his work and the effect it has had. As a team with Ryan Lewis, Macklemore has achieved his number one song status (for “Thrift Shop”) on his own independent label. Impressive. His song “Same Love” takes on homopho- bia, even in his own rap/hip hop culture, and argues for marriage equality. “Otherside” and “Starting Over” together make an honest and coura-

geous statement on addiction, getting sober, relapsing, and getting sober again, where Macklemore draws on his own struggles with addiction to become a model for those who are also trying to conquer it. In “Starting Over,” he says: “When you tell your dad you relapsed then look him directly in the face.” This is the kind of advice that means the most coming from someone who has been there.

My students admire Macklemore because of his honesty, because of his ability to look inward at his own life and share with his listeners what he finds there, because of how he uses his work to demand equality, because of the personal integrity he demonstrates as a human being. And I admire my students for holding up this artist for all of these reasons.

What people value says a lot about who they are.

And as for my questions about whether or not “Thrift Shop” makes fun of people who legitimately need to shop at thrift shops, I found on Macklemore’s official website his explanation of an“Wings”: “The other song, song is about the pursuit of identity through the means of consumerism. The attempt is to dissect our infatuation and attachment to logos, labels, brands and the fleeting happiness that is intrinsically linked to the almighty power of the purchase.”

This sounds like someone who frequents thrift shops as a matter of principle. And I respect that.

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Entertainment

From Rock to Hip-Hop: The Great Pop Music Shiſt

By Eamonn Morris

Think about what you were hearing on the radio in 2006. There was some Fergie, sure, and even Paris Hilton managed to make the charts, but by and large the names on the Top 40 list were rock bands. My Chemical Romance scored a huge hit that year with “Welcome to the Black Parade,” and The Fray and Panic! at the Disco were still making waves in the pop music scene. Green Day was riding off of the success of 2004’s “American Idiot.” Rock, really, was the basis for the sounds we were hearing at that juncture in the mid2000s.

Skip to today. Only one of the big Grammy winners this year, Mumford and Sons, was a band.

And Mumford and Sons is not a straight rock group either-they wborrow heavily from folk idioms rather than sticking to the usual pop-punk formula favored by groups seven years ago. These days Hip-Hop, or derivatives thereof, forms the nexus of the pop music world. Electronic Dance Music is starting to complete its long journey from the underground into the mainstream as well, with Skrillex, Kaskade, and Deadmau5 becoming well-known among pop music’s fanbase, young people.

So what happened? Where is rock music, and why did hip-hop rise to take its place?

2008 and 2009, I believe, are Ground Zero for this shift in popular music, and the chief actors in the drama are exactly two songs: “Viva La Vida,” Coldplay’s magnum opus, and “I Gotta Feeling,” by

the Black-Eyed Peas.

“Viva La Vida” was the last truly big thing to happen in rock music. It was rock on a monumental scale-- no group had yet gone so self-consciously symphonic and Romantic and made it work.

From that effort we got an album that was essentially a culmination of the Beatles’ ambition of album-as-art, but also

a perfect death-knell for the relevance of bands like Coldplay in the popular domain. Sure, everybody liked to hate on “Viva La Vida” for its overwrought lyrics and kitschy string arrangement, but it really was the most artful statement pop-rock had made in a long, long time. And for just that reason, it would effectively kill the genre in the public sphere. Why? Because people want to listen to fun music that makes

them feel better, and “Viva La Vida” could do neither of those things.

Enter the Black-Eyed Peas. In 2009, just seven months after Coldplay delivered popular rock and roll to its resting place, their smash hit “I Gotta Feeling” hit the scene and promptly stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 for fourteen consecutive weeks.

Why was this song such a hit? There are two main reasons-- the first of which being that the song is fun, catchy, and idealized the livefor-today party culture that has subsequently become the formula for Top 40 music of the 2010’s.

The second reason is that the sound was fresh. The BlackEyed Peas have always had a (commercial) hip-hop sound, but on the 2009 singles they diluted that approach and made room for more bubblegum pop elements.

That approach turned out to be a gold mine, because the single ended up staying in the public consciousness for well over a year, which in today’s culture is a very long time.

We almost never hear about rock music anymore. It has retreated into the same market space currently occupied

by Jazz and classical music, meaning that the artists play more out of a reverence for tradition than to be popular. Meanwhile, Hip-hop is enjoying its long-deserved heyday, even if it will soon be supplanted by EDM. It seems that when it comes to music, you can’t stop progress.

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Sports

SPRING SPORTS QUESTIONNAIRE

How many years have you been playing this sport?

Who are your team captains this year?

Favorite athletes in your sport?

Favorite pump up song?

Best game last season?

Attractive athletes in your sport?

How do you think your team will do this year?

Upcoming star on your team?

Lilian Bitner

SOCCERTwelve Years

N/A

Alex Morgan & Abby Wambach

“Boyfriend” -JB & “Make it Nasty” -Tyga

Boulder vs. Fairview 1-0

Jackson Wojo

We will make a good playoff run

Savannah Beetcher and Issi Stahl

Caitlyn Lee

GIRLS ULTIMATE Two and a Half years

Two girl captains are me and Jen Forrister.

Jimmy Mickel because well, he’s Jimmy Mickel

Toss up between “Can’t Hold Us” and “We Danced”

Well... beating Boulder for third place at state!

Jen Forrister

We have a solid team and I think we are gonna give Monarch a run for their money

Kelsea Killbride, she’s fast, always looks cool, goes hard, and has the best game face.

Hannah Embree

Five years

Katie Kousman and Jessee Clauson

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer

“See You Again” --- Miley Cyrus

Playing Cherry Creek for the first time! It was really intense.

Same as my favorite athletes, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer

We are starting from scratch this year, but so far I think we will be great!

No clue! There are so many new faces and it’s so early in the season I can’t tell!

Mona Kamath

TRACKNine Years

I am for field events, Katie Kowal for sprints, Bridger Tomlin for long distance.

Ryan Hartzell, Joris Van Zeghbroeck, Emily Barnes

“Harlem Shake.”

Or anything

by Ludacris #thuggin

BOCO!!!

All of them.

Especially Ryan Hartzell

We’re winning state for sure. Our team is sick!

Jonathan Swartzwelter and Justine Sherman

Answered Above

Alice Bonan, Neal Kornreich, Emma Sanchez, Cory Munsch, and Kendall Richarz.

“Lose yourself ” ---Eminem

The best team meet was State, we got 2nd. For me, league was my fastest race for the 3200m.

Well, me of course.

Really well. We have a very strong team, both boys and girls teams are looking in excellent shape.

Rich Sanchez, Justine Sherman, Ryan Prinster, Heather Harrower.

Bridger Tomlin TRACKFour Years

Miles MacKenzie

BOYS SWIMMING Ten Years

Connor Corrigan, Gabe Muir, Even Kober, Ben Morrissey

Natalie Coughlin

N/A

50 freestyle, memorable because I broke school record, it’s on the wall in the rec-center.

N/A

Last year got team 7th in state, and I hope to break top 10 again

This freshman Fox Anderson should be really good.

Ryan Kokora

BASEBALL Ten Years

Don’t know team captains... probably Jeremy Katz

My favorite baseball players are Greg Maddux and Jason Verlander

N/A

Best game last season was when we beat Paradise Valley to get into the Arizona State playoffs

Most attractive athlete in my sport is Cameron Frazier

I think we will have a winning record this year and hopefully get a playoff spot

Cannon Casey... if Walker doesn’t start every game as our catcher and Cannon gets a chance to play I think he’ll do really good

Jordan Sunset

GIRLS GOLFSince I was four years old

Kelly Moran, Megan McCambridge, and myself

Annika Sorentsem and Natalie Gulbus

“Hall of Fame” by the Script and “Kings and Queens” by Somo

Won CJGA tournament series and most memorable was the Optimist Tournament in Florida

Rickie Fowler and Adam Scott

We are hoping to win state

Madison McCambridge (Freshman)

Piper Nylen

GIRLS LACROSSE One and a Half years

Sarah Brown

N/A

“Call Me Maybe” & “Drive”

by Train

Regis playoffs won by 7 points

Matt Wantz

It’s hard to tell after losing Emma Lazaroff

Sarah Myers

Matt Wantz

BOYS LACROSSESix Years

Sean Levine and Austin Davie

Mark Matthews

“Here Comes the Boom” ---Nelly

Prairie view 9-8

Sarah Myers and Piper Nylen

This year we should Blake Josenhans be much stronger!

Aaron Kennedy

ULTIMATETwo Years

Self & Sam Black & MacLean Freund

Brady Smith

“Death by Robot” ---Feed “Me & Party Boy” -Jackass

State championship won 15-14

N/A

We can make another run for state champs!

David Sachs

Photos by Lindsay Barnes

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Sports

The Knights, 22-4, surpassed their effort last year as they reached the Great Eight. The following is a full season review, including the Knight’s postseason efforts.

All statistics credited to MaxPreps.com.

Knights Make Deep Playoff Run

By Cason McHose

Fairview once again had high hopes going into this year’s CHSAA State Tournament. Led by senior captain Brent Wrapp, and senior center Austin Sparks, the Knights strived to better last year’s second place performance.

The Knights were able to finish the season strong after losing two of their first four games. The Knights pulled off a 20-3 overall regular season record while suffering only one league loss early in the season, a heartbreaker to Monarch. The Knights ended the season with 12 consecutive wins, most in dominating fashion. Throughout the regular season, Wrapp led the team in almost every category. Wrapp collected 17 points per game, almost seven assists, nine rebounds, and three steals, not to mention the overwhelming confidence and maturity he has exemplified for the duration of the season.

However, not all this season’s success was credited to Wrapp. Austin Sparks, recent Valor Christian transfer helped the Knights greatly. “He is an athletic presence inside offensively and defensively,” said Wrapp. Since his first game against cross-town rival Boulder High, Sparks averaged 18 points, eight rebounds, and almost three blocks per game. Not all Sparks’ contributions were visible in the stats, “he’s been able to bring the team together and have a lot of energy in practices and games. He’s a vital part of the team,” said junior forward Gabe Tierney.

The Knights finished their regular season defeating Monarch at home, undoubtedly one of the most important games of the season. “I think the last game against Monarch was big. The league championship was on the line, and it prepared us for the upcoming state tournament atmosphere,” said junior guard Matt Twist.

The Knights were looking for a solid ranking this year heading into the State Tournament, and they snatched a second seed and received a bye through the first Trevor McQueeney shoots over a Boulder defender earlier round. No matter what seed the Knights would have received, the tournament vibe this season. differs drastically than that of the regular season. “The tournament is always more intense, it’s win or go home,” said Wrapp. Nerves will be high and all teams will be fighting to the end. Although the Knights have high hopes they can not get ahead of themselves, “we need to focus on one game at a time,” said Tierney, “ we have to try to do our best in any situation that is presented to us.”

Even though the Knight’s record showed few flaws, they still had much to work on. As the Knights progressed farther into the postseason they needed to continue not only to perform, but improve. “One thing we will need to work on is communicating on defense,” said Twist, “we need to be ready to play by coming out strong and having a good start right from the tip.” The Knights averaged 27 first half points in their last last five regular season games, while scoring more than 33 in the second. In those games the Knights also averaged a slim 10 points per game in the first quarter, and scored as little as six.

In their first postseason game, the Knights defeated 7th seed Liberty 65-57. The Knights started the game out strong scoring 21 of their 65 points in the first quarter. “It was good to get the first win out of the way, we need to keep building on the positives and work hard to correct the negatives,” said Tierney. The Knights collected 56 points from starters Wrapp (14), Tierney (16), Sparks (26), and were able to manage an effective offensive scheme. “We really need a balanced offensive attack,” said Tierney, “with Sparks getting doubled down low, it opens up opportunities for others to score.”

The Knights pulled off a slim win in the sweet-sixteen, facing third seed Thunder Ridge. In their first game against the Grizzlies, the Knights were able to win by six points starting off their season in a good way. This time around though, it was a bit closer. With only seconds left in regulation, Senior Dakota Pilkington stepped up in a big way. “That was probably the biggest shot of my life,” said the six foot one guard. Pilkington drained his final three pointer in the “Dungeon,” and helped propel the Knights into the Great Eight. Wrapp and Sparks, both added a modest 18 points, but Pilkington’s shot swept the show. “I’ve grown tremendously as a basketball player and this has been the greatest season I’ve gotten to play. I’ve had a tremendous amount of fun with this team and I think that was showcased tonight.”

Unfortunately the Knight’s State efforts fell short last Friday. The Knights fell to Legend High School 45-46 in a heartbreaker at the Denver Coliseum. The Knights struggled offensively, and foul trouble on Sparks and McQueeney gave Legend the ability to continue scoring late in the game.

The Knights graduate 10 of their 14 players this year, three of which started most of the year.

The Fairview reserves look on at Coors Event “We stuck together and played like a team like always. I’m proud of my teammates to invest all this time and effort toward one cause. It’s been a great year,” said Pilkington. The hope next year Center against Boulder. is to improve on this year, and continue to grow as a program. “I’ll miss this team. Playing with all the seniors that are on the team now. I’ve played with these kids for a long time and I’ve learned a lot from them and it’s always been fun playing with them. Next year we will still be a solid team with high expectations,” said Twist.

Photo by Emily Ellis

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Opinion

Music Pulse: The Beat of Our Generation

By Luke Schneider

With the arrival of a new semester comes the continuous fresh wave of music trends. The electric-infused acoustic sub-genre has continued to earn a share in the spotlight, led in 2012 by Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know,” which spent significant time on the Billboard Hot 100 list in the fall.

But recently Gotye has slipped significantly in radio play, dropping to No. 41 in Channel 93.3’s Most Played listings. It is common for catchy songs like “Somebody That I Used to Know” to spend a few weeks on the charts and then quietly drop off, but there seems to be a growing trend of songs with short-lived shelf lives.

The question is, what makes 2012’s most unforgettable break-up ballad an afterthought in 2013?

Conservative music listeners will argue that many of these one-hit-wonder songs lack depth in their sound.

Featuring heavy, simplistic basslines, throbbing beats, and catchy melodies, all the songs we hear these days are too easily reproducible and leave themselves vulnerable to the next wave of feel-good singles.

Though I won’t dispute the weary repetitiveness of singles that dominate secular radio, this argument is an easy cop-out and a cheap shot to damn the great songwriters of this generation to the same mainstream garbage disposal bin as the fakers who spend their fifteen minutes in the sun and then inevitably drift away.

More important than staking claims on what music should be recognized and which artists deserve the fame is understanding the driving forces of these music “fads.”

People listen to music to create and recreate the mood of an event or experience; to provide the appropriate audio-snapshot of that point in time. Especially as teenagers, we are drawn to music that can draw us together.

Our music is representative of the collective consciousness of a generation. As our thoughts rapidly shift from social trauma, to growing pains, to plans of our future, we reelect with our attention the artists we allow to speak for us.

In a time where liking what is cool is entirely uncool, music tastes change on a dime. Music is a movement, and each song or artist that rises and falls is reflective of our generation. Anyone confused by our inner workings need only listen to our songs to feel the pulse of this generation, even if we will only remember their tunes for the semester.

What is the most forgotten song of 2012?

“Boyfriend” by Justin Bieber - Pyrenee Steiner “Work Hard Play Hard” by Wiz Khalifa Kevin Sharr “Can’t Get Enough” by J. Cole - Austin Sparks

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Opinion

Deadmau5, an infaEven 10 mous dubstep artist, years ago, it would have been is recognized by his hard to believe that electronic music production mouse like head. would have taken over the top 40, and that dubstep was to become the soundtrack for this generation’s youth. Just as technology in general has been developing at an extremely fast rate in the last decade, the music scene has been changing rapidly as well. Jim Morrison predicted back in the 1970’s that the music of the future would be made with computers, and he couldn’t have been more right. Due to the development of musical technology it is almost rare that albums these days are produced without computers, and many are even composed completely without real instruments.

As a musician who currently plays multiple instruments and has also spent time studying Electronic Dance Music (EDM) production, I can assure you that it takes much more time and effort to coordinate a song composed of real instruments than one made pushing buttons on a laptop. In this day and age, you don’t even need a band or record label because anyone with a little bit of musical background can go buy a macbook pro and put a remix up on youtube... but that doesn’t mean you’re the next Porter Robinson.

Easy accessibility to producing music is something that can be both good and bad. The vast amount of poor dubstep remixes that are scattered all over the internet is rather dumbfounding. It has in a sense lowered the level of talented people associated with those that call themselves ‘musicians’. While EDM concerts can be a whole lot of fun due to the intensity of the atmosphere and the extensive visual show, going on stage and pushing play on your laptop isn’t exactly performing, at least not like it used to be. However, there are a lot of very talented and professionally trained musicians who are going into the EDM scene and producing amazing music. It surprised me actually to learn that many of the DJ’s/Producers that I have on my iPod such as Justice, Feed me, and Flying Lotus, are actually classically trained musicians who found it easier to express their creativity through a genre without as many creative constraints.

When the idea of synthesizers and sound technology were introduced back in the 70’s, the future was full of hope for where this could take sound production and songwriting. Instead of being completely developed into its own genre and repeating the same 4/4 beat over and over, it could have been used to expand the complexity of modern music. Fairview Senior Conner Skeen-Gaar had a similar opinion, “It’s messed up where electronic music ended up going instead of where it could have gone... collaboration with other instruments and other styles of music, just like STS9 or Big Gigantic.”

All in all, I feel like Dubstep is just another one of those temporary musical trends like hair metal was in the 80’s and grunge rock was in the 90’s. This means we should enjoy and take advantage of it while it lasts,because shows like Skrillex’s epic overproduction of setting off fireworks at Red Rocks Amphitheater while performing music in a mobile spaceship looking module in front of a 60 foot LED screen are not going to be around forever.

For those that can’t stand this subgenre of electronic music, you don’t have to worry. Music and people’s perception of music is changing constantly. But for now, instead of judging with preconceived notions, get out and attend a live dubstep show that you think you might be able to handle because they really are a wonderful experience that is at least worth having once, and then maybe you’ll begin to understand why dubstep happens to be all the ‘rage’ right now.

By JJ Evanoff

“Yo Skrill Drop It Hard!” -Kevin Sharr

“I have like 1300 electronic songs on my Ipod.” -Cameron Siemens

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Student Life

A Backstage Pass to Fairview’s Pops

By Lucia Rose, Kimberly Brown, and Rachel Perley

This year’s Pops Show, iPop Shuffle, was a huge success. Here, the Royal Banner takes you behind the scenes of the show in interviews with three of its key performers, Michael Stahli, Chelo Ramierez, and David Bass. They reveal their secrets of preparing for the show and their most embarrassing moments during the show.

Photos by Emily Ellis

What did you do to prepare?

Michael Stahli I practiced a bunch with all of my acts, and listened to the tunes a lot always before we went up and they just became a part of my system.

Chelo Ramierez I practiced constantly I actually started on my dance before pops started, just rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed.

David Bass I practiced constantly I actually started on my dance before pops started, just rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed.

We forgot some of our steps When I was in “hello” and it started off weird beand all the mics didn’t cause one of the members of work all at once. our crew forgot the beat.

What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened on pops?

At last week’s show I made a huge mistake, I thought we were an act ahead and I started it.

What is your role on the show?

I’m the drummer for eleven Breakdance and do some of the acts, and then I have a light up stuff. solo in the first song.

Why do you do pops?

Why should someone come to pops?

I sing opening for man in the mirror, michael buble melody and i sing with a bunch of guys in “hello.”

I love drumming, and I love The theme was really aweI love the people, it’s singing, it’s just my passion some this year and I figured a family away from and what I love to do.

I could show my breakdanc- home, everyone is ing talents. great everyone is really nice. It’s great to perform on stage with everyone.

Fairview in general had It’s a real good show, evIt’s an amazing show, amazing talent, it’s almost eryone’s great, from the there is so much talat a professional level, if not boyband to Beyonce to the ent at Fairview, you’ll already, because this show breakdancing to the the have a wonderful has every genre, everyone opener and closer everything time if you go. can take a piece of it and feel is contently exciting. connected.

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Student Life

The Impossible Maze

By Lindsay Barnes and Savarone Ammann

Round two! An expert level maze that will blow your mind. Filled with twists and turns, jagged edges, and intricate paths. Attempting this maze is your decision and the Royal Banner cannot be held liable for extreme frustration and mental discomfort.

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Knight Memes

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Meme Credits (From Left to Right) - Across Top: Lulu Chaker, Allie Bartholomew Second Row: Allie Bartholomew , David Sachs (X2) Bottom Row: Allie Bartholomew, David Sachs