September 19, 2014 by The Scarlette

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SCARLETTE

September 19, 2014

Volume 72-No.1

West Lafayette High School

activism IN THE TWITTER ERA Students speak up through social media.

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NEWS

SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

Students adapt to new offices BY LUKE FRASER not here, we’re probably just out making our rounds during the passing periods so we’re available to all of you guys. It’s either that, or just checking the doors.” West Lafayette Jr Sr High School has made it mandatory that any student or parent go through the “ﬂag pole” entrance on Grant Street if they are coming to school after 8:05. “So far this year, we haven’t had any problems with the entrance,” said Kirby. “Usually it’s just students that woke up late and are late getting to school or a parent that is bringing their kid’s lunch” “The only bad thing that I’ve seen go wrong this year is a kid opening a locked door for someone, but everything else has been ﬁne,” said Kirby. “Everything we have done since the spring, it’s been for you guys. We are all trying to make this a safer place for all of you, and this was just a start.” PHOTO BY DUNCAN MEYER

SAFETY FIRST: The high school office and guidance office have drastically changed, including the main office area. All visitors after 8:05 must come through the new entrance.

Starting this past spring break, West Side “The thing is, something bad could haphas certainpen anyly done its where in NEW OFFICE RULES fair share of the Unitimproving ed States. the school. That is Visitors after 8:05 come through the the One of pretty obthe biggest vious with main of•ice. improvew h a t ’s ments, perhappened All doors remain locked, except for high haps, is the in the newly inlast few school lunch. stalled safeyears,” ty entrance. said safeStudents who open locked doors are subThe new ty ofﬁentrance, cer, Jeff ject to discipline. and the new K i r b y. rules that “Most of come with the time it, have rewe have quired some getting used to for students. someone sitting here by the door, but if we’re

The office during construction

SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

NEWS

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WL football tries new sensors

New guidance of•ice debuts

BY NICO FRIEDMAN The West Side football team took a big step in concussion research this off season and will continue throughout this season with sensors that measure the intensity of sustained hits. While players aren’t required to wear the sensors, the ones who decided to volunteer are now feeling safer playing football. “Knowing that if i had a concussion the sensor would give enough information to the researchers to tell me that i did have one does make feel safer,” said Alex Delworth ‘16. The sensors alone are not good enough right now, and probably won’t be for quite some time, to diagnose concussions. That’s why the team still has medical professionals around at all times. “The sensors do not diagnose concussions. They can tell you if there has been a big hit, but not all big hits mean you have a concussion. A trained doctor is the only one who can ofﬁcially diagnose a concussion. If a big hit occurs or a player gets injured, our medical professionals let the

BY DUNCAN MEYER coaches know if it is safe for a player to return to the game,” said football coach Shane Fry. Since the players wear the sensor behind their ears, it could become a problem if it is not sitting right or falls off easily, but this is not the case. “After it’s on and you start playing, we barely notice it unless it falls off,” said Delworth “Which doesn’t happen that often for me, but it does for some players.” Even though the players may feel safer, the sensors don’t change the way Coach Fry looks at the game or how he teaches the team. The coaching staff makes sure to keep the same tactics as they would use without sensors available to them. “Our players are taught and use proper technique when blocking and tackling to keep the head away from contact. We would do it the same way if we did not have players wearing sensors,” said Fry “Our players and coaches know that concussions are serious.”

PHOTO BY ALEX ZABIT

HEAVY HIT: Players for the football team take a hit during their game. Coach Fry teaches his team proper form to reduce the chance of injury.

PHOTO BY DUNCAN MEYER

GUIDANCE: The new guidance offices debut with completion of the safe entrance construction

This coming year the student body will get to know two new guidance counselors and the revamped guidance system. What does this mean for this years’s senior class? What good can students expect from this new system, but also what issues can arise? “Accessible” is how new guidance counselor Mrs. Shefﬁeld described the new guidance system. Now students can come in during any time of the day and meet with their counselor, if the counselor is not already busy. The idea is that with doing away with the old sign-up and “take what you get” system, students can pop in and ask any question they need to. From a small, quick answer to a long help session, the guidance counselors want to be able to ﬁt all time slots. “Having the counselors readily

available is an improvement from last year,” said Justin Couetil ‘15. With this new system guidance hopes to relieve some stress that seniors may be feeling. “We just want students to feel like they can come and talk to us,” said Mrs. McClamroch about the new system. If a senior walks in and the guidance counselor is busy, there is a back up plan, an exclusive signup sheet for seniors. This gives seniors the priority and allows seniors to ﬁt their questions in around their crammed schedules. This new system gives seniors the priority over the rest of the student body. Seniors should be prepared to follow the senior checklist and meet deadlines. “Stay on top of things” is Mrs. McClammroch’s recommendation for seniors this year.

SPORTS

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SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

Boys soccer team has experience BY AUBREY KRUSE This season, the West Lafayette boys’ soccer team is comprised of mostly seniors, and with that comes experience and leadership, something that they have displayed so far this season. With summer now gone, many students look forward to enjoying fall events, some of which include football, soccer, and volleyball. While all of these teams have impressed, the boys’ soccer team is especially one to watch. “With nine seniors it brings a lot of experience to the team. I thinks what’s exciting is some of these guys have been playing varsity for four years so they’re able to teach some of the younger guys,” said Coach Kiernan. Not only does the team have experience, but there are also some underclassmen who look promising. Three freshmen are playing varsity this year, which will help out the team throughout the rest of this season as well as next season, especially since they will already have a year of experience under their belts. Leadership is another key component of the team, especially through the camaraderie of the seniors.

VARSITY STARTERS

GRAPHIC BY AUBREY KRUSE

PHOTO BY AUBREY KRUSE

CORNER KICK: Lev Zemlyanov kicks a corner kick during a Hoosier Conference game against Benton Central. Zemlyanov is one of the team’s main corner kickers.

“We’ve played with each other for four years so we’re going to know how to work together...we’re all like brothers, we bleed together,” said Free Burton ‘15. Since most of them have been playing with each other for several years, the team chemistry strong and they can rely on and trust each other on and off the ﬁeld. Because of this they are then able to set a good example for some of the younger players to follow. “I think the biggest thing is leading by example, showing the younger guys everything I’ve learned over the four years... experience is crucial,” said Stephen Sutton ‘15. “We have a lot of talented younger guys. I think that they can hopefully take some of the things they’ve learned from us and to put that into practice next year.” With the experience of the seniors and the talent of the underclassmen, the Red Devils are entering the season ready and prepared.

They hope to make it a season to remember. “We haven’t had a team, in my opinion, as good as this. This is the best team in four years,” said Kiernan.

BY THE NUMBERS BY: ALEX ZABIT

297-Pounds of Peyton Truitt 200-Yards by Kyle Turner 4-Concussions sustained by Earl Anderson 500-Miles Rachel Bales ran over the summer

SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

Sports

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Girls’ Soccer Team defends their title BY DESMOND WILLIAMS November 2nd, 2013 will forever be a wonderful day for the West Lafayette girls’ Soccer team and will go in West Lafayette Jr. Sr. High history as a great award to add to the school. This is the day that the West Lafayette girls Soccer Team went to the State Championship, beat Gibson Southern 2-0 and became Champions. Since last season, the girls’ soccer team has gone through a lot of changes. The girls have lost their head coach, Aaron Blessing, who in four years went 56-18-7. They have also lost a lot of their seniors that played key roles in the girls becoming state champions, like Shelby

Mann, Emily Field, and Erin Brophy. These valuable losses leave the team to go through some adversity in the season. This year the girls have begun with a 11 start with a tremendous victory against Northwestern 7-0 and a devastating loss against McCutcheon 0-7. The girls have a new coach named Shaunna Stapleton who was an assistant coach for Aaron Blessing last year. The girls also have learned a new formation which Emma Burley said “it’s really different from the past.” Since Coach Shaunna isn’t all that new to the team, they don’t have to adjust to a whole

different way of play. Coach Shaunna said,” We still follow a lot of Mr. Blessing’s rules and policies, and I still speak to him.” The girls still have a lot of assets from last year. Sara Suisman said “We lost players but we still have a lot of starters. I think that this year the defense are the veterans of the team rather than last year.” Other than Sara Suisman, the girls also have senior Kasey Toloukian who has 7 shots and two goals in two games, senior Hayley Karpick with two assists and junior Kylie Tracanna with 1 goal and 3 shots.

Peyton Truitt commits to Purdue Football BY KELSIE HESSION What makes you love football as much as you do? “I get to spend a lot of time with my friends. It’s something that is fun.”

Favorite Quote; “As soon as you want to breathe as bad as you want to be successful then you will succeed.”

What are you looking forward to the most this senior year? “I am most looking forward to graduating with my friends.”

When I asked where he would see himself in 10 years, “Working a good job and having the ﬁnancial security for my family.”

Peyton also talked about his time at the Nike Football Training Camp “At ﬁrst it was intimidating, but then as the day progressed, I realized my talent was at the same level as theirs so the intimidation went away.”

Frozen Yogurt or Ice Cream? “Ice Cream, chocolate swirl.”

Why did you end up choosing Purdue? “I really like the coaches at Miami, but in the end Purdue is home. And I just also really like Purdue’s coaches, plus the fact that its in the Big Ten, so it is just the perfect combination.” He is also looking forward to studying Supply Chain Management.

Favorite movie? “Oh man, my favorite movie is Saving Private Ryan.”

FEATURES

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SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

HOMECOMING COURT PROFILES BY NICO FRIEDMAN AND KATIE ALLINGTON

ALLISON GREEN Favorite color: Blue Favorite food: Pasta Favorite show: Once Upon A Time Favorite movie: Just Wright Favorite class: History Favorite animal: Penguin

RAINBOW YEUNG Favorite color: Rainbow Favorite food: Chocolate Favorite show: Doctor Who, Sherlock Favorite movie: Back to the Future Favorite class: Biology, English Favorite animal: Moby Dick

OLIVIA KIRCHNER Favorite color: Blue Favorite food: Fiesta Favorite show: The Bachelor Favorite movie: 21 Jump Street Favorite class: CNA nursing program Favorite animal: Dog

SARAH WATERS Favorite color: Pink Favorite food: Pineapple Favorite show: The Bachelorette Favorite movie: 13 Going on 30 Favorite class: German Favorite animal: Monkey

JOY GRAY Favorite color: Blue Favorite food: Mexican Favorite show: Lost Favorite movie: 7 Pounds Favorite class: German Favorite animal: Turtle

SEAN CONNELL Favorite color: Red Favorite food: Mac and cheese Favorite show: Cops Favorite movie: Mall Cop Favorite class: P.E. Favorite animal: Dog

KAMERON LUTES Favorite color: Purple Favorite food: Pasta Favorite show: House of Cards Favorite movie: Perks of Being a WallďŹ&#x201A;ower Favorite class: Debate Favorite animal: Tiger

GRIFFIN SMITH Favorite color: Scarlet and Grey Favorite food: PB&J Favorite show: M.A.S.H Favorite movie: 21 Jump Street Favorite class: Economics Favorite animal: Dog

LUKE FANKHAUSER Favorite color: Navy blue Favorite food: Southern BBQ Favorite show: House of Cards Favorite movie: Napoleon Dynamite Favorite class: Art Favorite animal: Mastodon

FREELAND BURTON Favorite color: Mystical sea Favorite food: Chinese Favorite show: Dragonball Z Favorite movie: The Fifth Element Favorite class: Comp tech Favorite animal: Spectral bat

SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

FEATURES

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Freshmen adjust to high school BY DESMOND WILLIAMS Everyone understands how hard it can be to come from Junior high school to officially becoming a high schooler. Since West Lafayette has the Jr. High and Sr. High connected, the move isn’t very far, but the harder classes make up for the not very far move. Aden Sanders ‘18 said “In high school the teachers jump right into school work and in junior high the teachers eased you in to the work and the teachers are a lot harder on you too.” He also said “The homework is actually important for the class and the teachers care about it more and aren’t as lenient as they are in junior high.” Kaylah Krintz ‘18 said,” There is a lot more homework.” The freshman that were interviewed gen-

“You’re still in the same school with all of your friends from last year just in a diﬀerent position” erally had a consensus on the teachers and how difficult the homework is compared to junior high. Jimmy Towns ‘18 said, “The grades matter now so that equals more stress.” That is also a difference from junior high to senior high, the grades a person gets have an effect on what that person will be able to do later in life and it depends on one’s will to work. Sanjan Badhya ‘18 agreed with the general opinion on the classes are harder but she said,” It’s not that much different because you’re still in the same school with all of your friends from last year just in a different position.” Though most of the students agreed to the teachers being more strict and the homework being more difficult, Shoamagai ‘18 suprisingly said,” Not as much as I expected.” He was the only outlier of the freshman that were interviewed. It seems that he was well prepared for highschool.

6 tips for freshmen 1. Procrastination, though tempting, is not always the best policy.

“A survival guide” 4. Join clubs and activities early. CHeck the announcements for callout dates.

2. Don’t hold yourself to only 5. It’s okay to bring snacks a freshman, it’s okay to make friends with upperclassmen.

3. There’s 5 whole minutes

to class but not a whole meal.

6. Make frequent locker

between class, no need to sprint stops. It’s no fun to feel like your back is about to break. from class to class.

Best cookies on campus BY MAIA RABENOLD AND JESSE SASSER

SOCIAL ACTIVISM IN THE TWITTER ERA PAGE 8

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Students use social media to address issues they care about

a specific organization,” said Kameron Lutes ‘15. Others have criticized the challenge’s efficiency. Rainbow Yeung ‘15 wrote on Facebook in response to her nomination that “I think that’s pretty silly to dump gallons of ice water on my head in light of California’s drought and water shortage around the world so I’ll be donating to different causes I believe in instead.” The organization’s official stance is that those in areas affected by drought should consider only making a donation.

BY JESSE SASSER AND SARA JOHNSON Cold water suddenly running down their backs, thousands of people have posted videos shivering under cold water doing the Ice Bucket Challenge. Social activists have long engaged their communities in order to achieve their goals, but in a world where community outreach has changed, how does that affect activism? In recent months, the connective power of social media has been put to use by dedicated activists and common people alike in order to

The ALS Association received $943 million dollars in a single month (July 29 and August 27) as a result of the challenge. Source: Official ALS Association Website

Of the students surveyed only two donated any money without also making a video

STUDENT BREAKDOWN: Pictured above are the results of an un-scientific poll conducted by the Scarlette. Of the 24 students surveyed, exactly half completed the Ice Bucket Challenge. PHOTO PROVIDED BY KYLE TURNER

affect change. One clear example is the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease after the baseball star who helped raise initial aware-

ness that the disease existed, and causes rapid decay of muscle function. The exact origin of the challenge is contested, but the idea behind the challenge has remained fairly consistent. Those who are challenged

FROZEN: WL Football Team captains Kyle Turner ‘15, Peyton Truitt ‘15, and Peter Vasil i ‘15 complete the challenge for their team. The team was challeneged by the girls volleyball team and they challenged

must either dump ice water on their heads, donate to ALS research or both. After completing the challenge, the video maker challenges a new set of people to participate. According to the ALS Association official webpage (http://www.alsa.org/fight-als/icebucket-challenge.html) the association received $94.3 million dollars between July 29 and August 27 as a result of the Ice Bucket Challenge. Though its impossible to say who started the challenge for sure, the ALS Association recommends using the specific hashtags “#icebucketchallenge, #alsicebucketchallenge, and #strikeoutals” for any videos. “It’s kind of an interesting intersection between what it means to have something be grassroots and also led by

In some cases, the challenge can be simply impracitacl to complete. When the West Lafayette Football team was challenged they had a shortage of buckets and a game the next day. All of their members were asked to donate at least ﬁve dollars instead, which shows that while it may be beneﬁcial to take a cause online, doing so is not the only way that one can make a positive difference. ALS may have entered into the maintsream with Lou Gehrig, but it took a social media push to bring donation numbers up.

FEATURES

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SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

Cooper Williams joggles BY SARA JOHNSON

PHOTO BY SARA JOHNSON

SECOND CHANCE: In a joggling competition, there is no penalty for dropped balls. The runner can simply go back and pick them up. Williams dropped them three times.

Running is hard in itself. Now just add three balls to it and it’s nearly impossible. Yet Cooper Williams ‘16 did just that. It’s called joggling, the combination of jogging and juggling. On August 2nd at the Purdue University track, the 34th annual IJA World Joggling Championships was held. Lane Custer was the meet director and said that when he ﬁrst found out about this event, he thought it was kind of weird but cool. After he agreed to help out with the meet, he immediately thought of Cooper. “I knew that he would be great in it,” Mr. Custer said. Williams participated in the 4x100 meter 3 ball, the 800 meter 3 ball, and the 1600 meter 3 ball. He was the World Champion in the 1600 meter run with a time of 5:45 and in the 800 meter run for the age group 17 and under. Just imagine a regular track meet...but with balls and pins. “It’s really fascinating,” he said. When he joggles, all that goes through his mind is the juggling aspect. “It blurs out my vision.” He worries about the balls and the people

Blackout conspiracy BY AUBREY KRUSE

around him so that he doesn’t run into them. His brother Dylan Williams ‘16 can also joggle but did not participate in the competition and instead just stood by the sidelines cheering on his brother. “I was pretty surprised that people came from Russia, France, and Canada,” Dylan’16 said. Williams started juggling about a year ago when his half-sister taught him the unique skill. However, Mr. Custer was the one who proposed the idea of this peculiar sport to Williams. Williams thought that if he could run and juggle, why not just do them at the same time? “It [joggling] really shows his personality because he can do so much,” Hayley Karpick ‘15 said.

JOGGLING TIPS 1. Watch the balls while you run 2. Keep them close to your body 3. When you get more experience, you can start zoning out and focus on running 4. Practice makes perfect!

SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

FEATURES

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Meet the new teachers BY ABBEE WESTBROOK AND AUBREY KRUSE

Get an inside look at the new superheroes of West Side Mr. Thompson Department: Business

Mr. Standish Department: Technology

Ms. Leffert Department: FACS

Mrs. DeFreese Department: FACS

Superpower: To make technology do all of my bidding

Superpower: Flying

Superpower: To fly

Superpower: To read minds

Favorite Thing about West Side: The academic atmosphere

Favorite Thing about West Side: The group of students that I have to work with

Ms. Landers Department: Science

Mrs. Stephens Department: Special Education

Favorite Thing about West Side: The students have been very nice and respectful

Favorite Thing about West Side: The students

Mr. Calandro Department: English

Mrs. Calandro Department: Science

Superpower: A superpower where I could have any superpower

Superpower: To make all the poor people have money

Superpower: Organization

Superpower: Telekinesis

Favorite Thing about West Side: Everyone has been so welcoming and supportive

Favorite Thing about West Side: The staff is friendly and the kids are so well-behaved

Favorite Thing about West Side: The kids and the internal motivation

Favorite Thing about West Side: Everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nice and supportive

Mrs. McClamroch Department: Guidance

Mrs. Sheffield Department: Guidance

Mr. Gaspar Department: Social Studies

Superpower: Play lots of instruments and read minds

Superpower: A magic wand that makes all of the studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; problems go away

Superpower: To always be neat

Superpower: Telekinesis

Favorite Thing about West Side: The diverse student body

Favorite Thing about West Side: How welcoming everyone is

Favorite Thing about West Side: The students!

Favorite Thing about West Side: The motivated students and the welcoming staff

Mr. Tetrault Departments: Math and World Language

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A&E

SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

Kelsey Towers-Jones takes inspiration from comics BY KATIE ALLINGTON “[Art] gives you a reason to really see the world. You can look at things, but art lets you actually see it. It gives you a reason to study things and see how they fit together,” Kelsey Towers-Jones ‘15 said regarding her experiences with art. Towers-Jones’ drawings and artwork are inspired by the art in superhero comics, such as the Marvel artist Paola Rivera. In fact, Towers-Jones sees becoming a comic book artist to be a possible backup plan for her future. She also finds inspiration in artist Kenna Fair’s wood carvings and paintings as well as various other artists and artwork. Alicia Cheng, one of Towers-Jones’ peers and friends, says that Towers-Jones’ artwork varies from piece to piece. Some of her artwork can be extremely detailed and complex, while others are simplified. “Sometimes she can be so seriously into art that her drawings are really complicated, but then sometimes she’ll just make a piece of art that’s just stick figures, and it’s so simple yet it’s still cool and amazing.” Tower-Jones started out drawing and creating art when she was given art supplies from her parents when she was younger, and from there it blossomed into taking art classes like Intro to 2D Art, Drawing, and Photography. “I always had the tools there, and I guess if you’re given the stuff it’s kind of hard not to use it.” Towers-Jones has always been doodling and sketching as a hobby, and when she received praise and compliments about her doodles from others there was nothing to discourage her from continuing to draw. Mrs. Yoder, one of Kelsey Towers-Jones’ previous art teachers, said “When we did portraits or any kind of studio project, she was If you want to see some of Kelsey TowersJones’ art, check out this QR code using your smartphone to view a gallery slideshow of Kelsey’s artwork at Scarletteonline.com.

PHOTO BY KATIE ALLINGTON

DOODLING AWAY: Kelsey enjoys doodling in her freetime. Her style is inspired by comic books.

really great at bringing on that realism.” To other artists wishing to draw people realistically, Towers-Jones suggests studying speciﬁc features on the people around you and take into account how the the features work so you’re able to reproduce them onto paper. She ﬁnds her personal favorite medium to be simple, mechanical pencil and printer paper,

I did that? Embarassing celebrity pasts BY MAIA RABENOLD

although she is starting to try out other more complex art supplies or methods. Yoder also added, “Kelsey just has a natural artistic gift.” In Yoder’s classes, she’s seen Towers-Jones be a very dedicated student and individual. “She does her best and is concerned about improvement and just doing what she can do.”

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A&E

SEPTEMBER 19 2014

Summer movies bring in big audiences BY NICO FRIEDMAN The summer of 2014 may not have been the best year for movies at the box ofﬁce with a decrease in sales of nearly 20%, but there were still movies that the world fell in love with. The theaters had people crying while watching “The Fault in our Stars”, laughing alongside Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum in “22 Jump Street”, and sitting on the edge of their seats with “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”, “Transformers: Age of Extinction”, and “Guardians of the Galaxy”.

Transformers: Age of Extinction The newest “Transformers” movie didn’t have the best success in the states, even though it raked in nearly 250 million dollars but what it lacked in domestic sales it soared in sales overseas with over 763 million dollars. Not only did it eclipse the 1 billion dollar mark, a major feat in the movie production industry, but it is now the second best “Transformers” movie in sales and will likely become the ﬁrst soon.

The more you know BY LUKE FRASER

•In the average lifetime, a person will walk the equivalent of ﬁve times around the world. •The most common name in the world is Mohammad. •Cats sleep 16-18 hours a day. •It would take 11 Empire State buildings, stacked on top of each other, to measure the Gulf of Mexico at its deepest point. •The average person spends about 2 years on the phone in their lifetime.

22 Jump Street “22 Jump Street” was one of the hottest movies of the summer both in pre-release hype and while it was in theaters. With over 57 million in the opening weekend and over 190 million gross income overall, it’s easy to see how the comedy by Chris Miller and Phil Lord, who also gained success as the duo who directed “The Lego Movie” (which couldn’t be considered for this list as it came out before the start of summer) was viewed by many as the best comedy this summer. maybe break it up into two separate sentences. In “22 Jump Street” the main characters, Jenko and Schmidt, make their way through college on their second undercover mission.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Reeling in over 205 million dollars at the box ofﬁce, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” became the highest grossing movie in the “Planet of the Apes” series. In a world overrun by genetically enhanced apes, the two species, humans and apes, go to war for global supremacy. The action ﬂick directed by Matt Reeves bested all of its “Apes” predecessors both on success and in ratings overall.

Guardians of the Galaxy James Gunn’s action ﬂick was extremely successful as it turned in a great opening weekend with nearly 100 million dollars taken in. Their big opening weekend got them to number 23 in opening weekends all time and number 2 this year, behind only the new “Transformers” movie. The star cast of acclaimed action movie actors did their best to ﬁght battles in the galaxy and bring “Guardians of the Galaxy” to the top of the summer lists. They did just that.

The Fault in our Stars Josh Boone struck directorial gold when he made John Green’s popular novel come to life on the big screen. Boone’s adaptation of the 2012 book hit the box ofﬁces and raised over 124 million dollars in sales. “The Fault in our Stars” follows Hazel and Gus, two teenagers who meet at a cancer support group and fall in love due to their similarities.

Making tank tops equal BY KELSIE HESSION Girls’ tank tops seem to be getting smaller and smaller and the school is cracking down on the dress code. As the summer heat simmers on, tank tops seem to be the logical thing to wear. Both genders wear tank tops, but are the rules more aimed at females? 2 out of 5 guys that were asked said that they got a warning, but 5 out of the 5 girls said that they got in trouble for wearing a tank top. The punishments include warning, detentions, asking the student to put on a sweatshirt over it or being sent home to change. “Girls want to dress the way they want and

guys are no different.” said Kristin Dill. When asked about the dress code in general, Mr. Slauter said, “The dress code comes down to an article of clothing that is a potential disruption, or if it would take away from students learning.” When asked about tank tops, “If I give you 8 or 10 pictures, both guys and girls, there is no clear cut deﬁnition, it comes down to what teachers decide is disruptive or inappropriate.” Either way Mr. Slauter said he would be more lenient when temperatures rise but other than that, save them for weekends. Since talking to Slauter, he has began equally cracking down on both genders with the tank tops.

PAGE 14

OPINIONS

Wonder food . . . Or is it? BY ALEX ZABIT The school we all call home is back in session for another exciting year, and as always, there are exciting new improvements to this wonderous establishment. We have a beautiful (and secure) new entrance, new guidance counselors, and….new food. The once crowded shelves of the snack bar are now barren. Bright wrappers and bags of all kinds have been replaced by drab, “healthy choice” snacks. This new development has not only been focused on the snack bar, or even the breakfast bar, but all food dispensaries across

the school. While I am entirely against this measure because I enjoy my junk food desserts during my lunch, it is probably good that school food is improving in quality in the long run, and most interviewed students felt the same. I just wish that they had waited just one more year. “You can barely get a regular soda anymore,” said Reed Shriner ’15, cheer captain. “The vending machines almost don’t even have real Gatorade anymore, which is ridiculous.” Many interviewed seniors felt the same way, with several saying that as a result of the new food policies, they have been buying fewer snacks and assorted refreshments from the school. It turns out this whole health food initiative is part of a broad reform of the national

SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

school cafeteria programs. The school system actually receives increased funding from the federal government for their compliance with the new national food standards. This whole strategy has been proposed and integrated with the help of First Lady Michelle Obama, so if any particular student feels either gratitude or anger toward the school administration for the switch-up of the menu, they should make sure to redirect whatever feelings they have toward the current Presidential Administration, because it is entirely their fault. When I was a freshman, it was my understanding that lunch would be my free hour, and I could do just about anything that I wanted to. I certainly didn’t imagine that as a senior I would have fewer choices, especially in respect to the food I choose to consume.

What makes a good teacher? BY LUKE FRASER At West Side, there are a lot of great teachers who make their respective subjects very interesting. Then, there are some teachers that are not so interesting, and students are often lost in their class. One of the most common phrases I hear in the hallways is, “He/she is such a bad teacher.” What exactly makes a good teacher? “A good teacher can take any subject or material, no matter how mind-numbingly stupid or boring, and teach it to students in an interesting way, that does not make them want to fall asleep,” said Tim Blaisdell ‘16. “Not only should they make the material interesting, they should make sure that we understand it.” “I really liked Mr. Shaeffer’s English class,” said Blaisdell. “Even though I only had it in 8th grade, so it has been forever since I have had it, I remember really liking it. He could take a subject that I didn’t really like, and made it fun. It was actually really hard to not pay attention in that class.” Most of the time, students ﬁnd that a fun teacher is also a good teacher. But he/she still has to know that material, and teach it to the students in a way that can make them understand and apply it. That should be the teach-

ILLUSTRATION BY AUBREY KRUSE

A TEACHING MOMENT: There has been a slew of new teachers here at West Side, and students agree a good teacher cares about their work. Students also agree a good teacher puts the students’ interest before their own.

er’s ﬁrst goal. “I think that good teachers are really passionate about what they teach, and they care about their subject,” said Seba Kaakeh ‘16. “To be a good teacher, you have to know what you are talking about because you are teaching other people that. So if the teacher doesn’t get it, then the students won’t get it.”

So in order to become a good teacher, they should have a strong balance of knowing the material that they are teaching, ﬁnd a way to teach it to their students, and care if their students understand. That’s all there is to it.

SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

OPINIONS

STAFF EDITORIAL The Scarlette makes new changes Welcome to the ﬁrst issue of the newly revised Scarlette. This year The Scarlette is moving in a different direction, which we are excited to show you. First we are changing the layout of the paper. The Scarlette will be a news magazine instead of a newspaper. We hope to

Be careful where you donate BY ABBEE WESTBROOK Whoever created the ice bucket challenge should be proud. Since its beginning the challenge has raised over one hundred million dollars, which will go to funding research on ALS. I encourage people to donate money to charities, but I also encourage people to research where they’re money is going ﬁrst. It is a misconception that when

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make the paper more unique and not only entertaining and insightful to read but also aesthetically appealing. The staff is still committed to journalistic integrity, though our focus will be more on timely news whereas fresh breaking news will be updated frequently on our website, scarletteonline.com. Along with our website, we will be incorporating different aspects of social media to add different dimensions to our story-telling. Follow us on twitter (@scarletteonline) and instagram (@ wlscarlette) for more news. Also new this year, Scarlette staff members, Desmond Williams ‘15, Alex Zabit ‘15, and Duncan Meyer ‘15 will be reviving RDTV. The new RDTV will come out every two weeks with news about current

events, local gatherings, and interviews. We hope that this new format and changes of the Scarlette will encourage more student input and interactions. As always, anyone who wishes can write a letter to the editors as per our guidelines, and discourse on any of our articles is welcome on our site or Facebook page. Have a great year!

you donate to a charity the money you donate to will go straight to the source, but that is not always true. When you donate money to a charity, it becomes the charity’s money; you have no control over what they will do with it. This makes sense because in order to keep a charitable foundation running it needs money to employ workers and pay bills, but it’s important to make sure they don’t take too much of that money. I suggest that you only donate money to foundations and charities that spend seventy percent or more on actual projects that will help whatever the foundation is set up for. For example, the ALS Association puts at least seventy three percent of its donations towards funding projects and research associ-

ated with ALS. Some charities are not as smart with their money as others. The Kid Wish Network advertises itself to be like the better known Make-A-Wish Foundation. Unlike the MakeA-Wish who spends almost seventy three percent of its funds on wishes for kids, Kid Wish Network only spends around three percent of its donations on the actual cause. At the end of the day everyone who donates to charity has the same goal in mind, to help people. It’s important to look in to where the money you donate is actually going. Websites like Charity Navigator tell you where your money is going, and which ones are fraudulent. So go ahead and dump the bucket of water on your head, and donate money.

Staff of The Scarlette Mission: Editors-in-Chief Opinions Abbee Westbrook The Scarlette strives to create a publication that is informative, entertaining, accurate, and professional. Our mission is to serve as a valuable archive of the happenings of the school . Features Maia Rabenold The Scarlette News Kelsie Hession Editorial Policy: Duncan Meyer Aubrey Kruse Alex Zabit The Scarlette provides a limited forum for reader expression. Letters to the editor must be received People seven days prior to publication date at editor@scarletteonline.com. All are subject to editing for Sports Nico Friedman content and length and must be 250 words or fewer. Personal attacks and unfair attacks on businesses Luke Fraser or unsigned letters will not be published. The editorial represents the views of the majority of the Desmond Williams Web Editors staff. Views printed do not necessarily reﬂect the opinions of the faculty, staff, or administration of Maia Rabenold the WLCSC. A&E A full version of our editorial policy can be found at www. scarletteonline.com Nico Friedman Special thanks to the Journal and Courier for sponsoring the Scarlette. Katie Allington

Jesse Sasser Sara Johnson

SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

PEOPLE

All hail Lindsey Haehl BY ALEX ZABIT

As a school, our marching band is known throughout the community as a presence, both in the gymnasium and on the football ﬁeld. The team supports the sports with great music when our athletics are winning, and are a beacon of light and entertainment when they are not. This skilled group is led by none other than Lindsey Haehl. “Lindsey is really talented, she plays like 60 instruments,” said Monica Bravo(’15), one of Lindsey’s close friends. “She is kind of a cool cat, and is pretty fantastic at music. She can pick up an instrument magically and start playing it, and it sounds beautiful every single time.” No wonder she is the drum major of the marching band. “I started playing ﬂute with private lessons in 4th grade, and I just started adding instruments from their,” said Lindsey. “Music a great way for me to express my-

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self without words, and it’s something that I’ve found I can succeed with.” “She is really nice, and is really good at helping you learn stuff in general,” said Alex Lowe ’15, one of Lindsey’s band pals. “Back when I started band, she helped me learn how to read music. She is doing a great job as Band Major.” “I’ve wanted to be drum major since probably about my second year of marching band, just seeing how being the leader of the band is such a big deal, with the younger kids looking up to you, and you can inspire them to do great things.” Lindsey has worked hard at climbing up the administrative pole and is proud to have a leadership role. All this experience helping students out in the bandroom is helping Lindsey learn the skills she needs for her dream job. “I’m hoping to go into nursing, and also staying with music and marching band during college.” Clearly, our new band major is up to the job, and her leadership has not gone unnoticed, as the band has already had several stellar performances at two football games.

Seriously Speaking

You know Purdue students are back when...

“When Friday night li is lively, not boring.” Sydney Williams Freshman

“Panda Express is crazy crowded.” Mathew Marley Sophomore

“Jaywalking is out of control.” Maria Scott Junior

“You walk down the street and all you can see are pairs of colored frat boy shorts.” Reed Shriner Senior

“When you can’t park at Walmart.” Mrs. Yoder Photo Teacher

Seriously Speaking Compiled By Duncan Meyer