Vol 43 issue 9

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1111 S. t)Hh ROAD • PARK RSOGE. li.iJNOts 60068

Voi. 43, No. 9%

Acktm Jepsen (right) and Gus Steiner act out a difficult scene while

balancing

on top of an eight-foot-tall stair step.

— ' -^ " -^ -— — NEWS FEATURES ENTERTAINMENT Amnestytiisplay The winterplay "Smofctn' Aces" •nptj • case censored sweep>s onto the folds stage

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— COMMENTARY Eikction 2fX)8: The scoop on

, , L^ , r^- ,photo by Kelsey Urcindi SPORTS Girls' and bo\s' track begin tbeir seasons on pace

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NEWS FEBRUARY

23, 2007 • VOL. 43, No. 9

Amnesty display case censored

Guantanamo Bay. The first photograph was of prisoners with bags over their heads, chained Recently, there was a rather unusually to trucks flying the American flag. The other decorated display case in the A-wing of Maine photographs portrayed a soldier pointing his South. Where there were once pictures chosen gun at the head of a prisoner, and two soldiers

by Amnesty International were signs stating, dragging a prisoner across the street.

"Under construction due to censorship."

Soon after the display was completed, Around January 24, the photographs were Amnesty International removed. A department prepared a display case chair, representing several raising the question teachers, had contacted Mr "Is this the America C laypool and Mrs. Rutschke, you believe in?'" asking that the photographs Amnesty International be removed from the display is a political action case. Their reasons were organization that works that the pictures were too to raise awareness graphic and disrespectful about various issues of American soldiers. Mr. involving human rights Claypool and Mrs. Rutschke through letter-writing agreed. campaigns and protests.

"The message that The Maine South club [Amnesty International] photo by Alexa Karas is sponsored by Emma was trying to get across The signs in the display case read Visee and led by the [of the mistreatment of Under Construction due to censorpresident, junior Nadia prisoners of war] can ship. be done diflFerently," stated Mrs. Rutschke Askar. regarding the incident.

The display case in the A-wing was an effort to raise awareness about the mistreatment What some members of the faculty found of prisoners of war Designed by vice president offensive was the manner in which the flag Lindsey Ruiz, it included facts concerning was portrayed. They also protested the display American treatment of prisoners of war as of the faces of the American soldiers. well as three depictions of American actions in "The identities of American soldiers

by Katherine Gaudyn

should have been protected," said Mrs. Rutschke.

AccordingtoNadiaAskar, the photographs were meant to spread awareness and were serving their purpose.

"People need to know about it," said Askar regarding the mistreatment of prisoners

by American soldiers. "People are in denial."

Amnesty International contends it would have been willing to adjust or change the pictures to make them less objectionable had they been given the opportunity. However, what its officers and sponsor are most concerned about was that the pictures were removed without their knowledge. They were later informed by school administrators in an email that the display had been changed.

As a result of the incident, school administrators have taken steps to prevent similar situations in the future. Prior to Amnesty International's display case, all posters, advertisements, etc. had to be approved by Dn Garlasco before going up around the school. But what went into display cases did not. The school has now amended its rules to necessitate Dr. Garlasco's approval on materials in display cases as well.

The members ofAmnesty International are currently working to replace the pictures and further educate Maine South High School on the abuse of prisoners of war. Dr Garlasco simply has to approve of their methods in the future.

Maine South sends seven to IMEA

by Alexandra Wojciechowski

Just as student athletes have their state championship, student musicians have something of their own, too. Young musicians attend the IMEA All-State Conference in Peoria if they qualify—a prestigious honor.

IMEA (Illinois Music Educators' Association) All-State Conference is at first a competition for the students. At the beginning of the year, IMEA District was held, where student musicians had to pass a blind audition to be accepted to play with others in the music district. District 7. Once a student has made District IMEA, they may audition again to be chosen for IMEA All-State, where their competitors are from their district and all over the state. IMEA All-State has many of the best players from the whole state. Only a few hundred students attend while thousands and thousands auditioned.

This year. School District 207 sent a total of

ten, a strong amount of student representatives, to IMEA. Maine South, West, and East sent seven, two and one, respectively. From Maine South, Meredith Bonk and Bobby Hemphill took part in the All-State Choir, Ellen Mangan (harp) in All-State Orchestra, Keith Nelson in Honors Choir, Dan Bergren (double bass) and Tim Berg (percussion) in Honors Orchestra, and Alex Wojciechowski in the Future Music Educators Seminar (FMES).

While the students were busy with rehearsals and practicing (or seminars, lectures, and reviews), teachers, professors, and other music educators were around mingling and getting business done, in the Convention Center. Inside, there were booths for music companies.

The FMES department was extremely small. Members attended various lessons, and meetings. Several of them focused on elementary and secondary education.

There was one on sound recording

technology for those who plan to work in a recording studio. Students got to see some basics maneuvers and learned what was important for succeeding in the field. It is hard to get a job as a recording artist but the tips that were given were key, and having a musical background was something promising.

The most moving of all the seminars was the one on special music education The hours were filled with stories that warmed your heart on how music can enrich anyone's and everyone's life. Students learned a story about a man who is around the age of 29. and has cerebral palsy. He has an IQ of a three year old. cannot hold a conversation, and is blind.

However, there is one thing he can do. He can play the piano at professional level, if not better Not only can he play well, but he can dictate anything that he hears, and he owes it all to his patient music teacher.

IMEA was more than just a competition. It was an experience.

FEBRUARY

23, 2007 • VOL. 43. No. 9

Attention Seniors:

'a£u^%001 UPDATE

PROM (

Phonc-A-Thon March 14 $ 15 from 6 pm to 9 pm Maine South students will be making phone calls, asking for eontributions to sponsor the 2007 post prow celebration. ^f^

If you are wlllmg to volunteer to make phone calls YAm ^orski at

/I .''•°'^ " during the phone-a-thon, contact > " ^ ^ t X i ^ J l O i ^ {S47)69S'4482.

"" ^ V * i = > ^ > ^ 2 0 1 ^ Students will meet at various local real estate / ^ V ^ c ; y^^^\r agewcles to make the calls.

Your generosity is greatly appreciated, Maine South.

We're counting on you.

Presidential candidates for 2008

by Nicky

Priovolos

It's alread> 2007, and before we know it, it will be 2008. For many high school students, thougths of the next presidential election are the last thing on our minds. However, it is an issue that concerns a small majorit\ of high schoolers, as some of us will be able to vote in the next presidential election.

As publicized, Illinois Senator Barack Obama has announced his decision to run for president in the 2008 elections. Democratic Obama's campaign has been focused on his policy on the war in Iraq. If elected, Obama plans to bring U.S. troops home as soon as f)ossible. He is also an advocate of health care for everyone and equal benefits for everyone. For example, he wants to make it easier for immigrants and others to have access to social security. Obama hop)es to decrease the nation's reliance on foreign oil, as well.

New York Senator Hilary Rodham Clinton has also declared herself to be in the running for president. Hilary Clinton, an Illinois native and

Maine South alumna, is a Democrat who supf)orts and hojjes to condtinue her husband Bill Clinton's policies if elected to office.

However, Senator Clinton's 2002 approval vote for the war in Iraq stirred some trouble during a recent visit to New Hampshire. In her resfXJnse to a reporter's request for Clinton to "apologize for her vote," according to the Chicago Tribune she adamantly responded, " I have taken respwnsiblity for my vote." On the contrary, Clinton doesn't support President Bush's decision to send more troops to Iraq. If elected, Clinton plans to get troops out of there as soon as possbile.

On the Republican side, three-time governor of Massachusettes Matt Romney made the public announcement that he will also be running for president in 2008. A devoulty religious man. Romney surprisingK supports the use of embryonic stem cells to be used for treatment of certain illnesses. Romney has been called indecisive by critics because he has changed his mind about abortion, deciding that he is no longer pro-choice. If elected to the White House,

Romney will be the first Mormon president that the United States has ever had.

Although it hasn't officially been announced yet, Americans are anticipating former New York City Mayor Rudolph "Rudy" Giuliani to run for presidential nomination in the 2008 campaign as well. Giuliani gained public respect and admiration for his quick response to the tragedy of September 11, 2001. In his two terms as mayor, he cut taxes in New York City, made the city an overall better place to live through his efforts to crack down on crimes against the "quality of life," created a number of welfare agencies and reforms, and transformed the city schools by the addition of new teachers, computers, and p)ermantent education in the arts. Even though he is a Republican, he is a very moderate conser\ative.

Other (Xjssible candidates include John Edwards (D-ex North Carolina Senator), Senator Christopher Dodd (D- Connecticut), Senator Joseph Biden (D-Delaware), Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), and Representative Duncan Hunter (R-Califomia).

FEBRUARY 23. 2007

• VOL. 43, No. 9

District 64's future one referendum away rate would lower to a level below the tax cap and cooking. Teachers fear that if this decision is presented to students, fewer will chose to laws.

It seems like everywhere you turn, there are The money gained from this referendum participate in music programs. This could also money issues. Flip on the news: the stock mar- could prove to be exceedingly beneficial. Funds lead to a decrease in size for Maine South band ket's gone down. Open a fashion magazine: could go to restoring cuts that have been made and orchestra programs.

Another way the school would cut back sales have dropped. Turn on the radio: huge in the past three or four years. In addition, sales at stores that are going under. Now, it's technology upgrades deferred due to the budget on money if the referendum isn't passed is by serious money issues that are aflfecting District crisis could be funded to help enhance programs making personnel cuts, such as main office 64 schools in Park Ridge. and services. These enhancements would be personnel, curriculum specialists, reductions in staff development budget, and eliminating a It comes as no surprise to District 64—the sustainable for as long as nine years.

On April 17, Park Ridge citizens will couple of school days off the calendar, therefore district the majority of Maine South students attended for grades K-8—that money has vote on this referendum on the general ballot. saving teacher salaries for those days. The final become a serious problem. Over the last few Despite the numerous pros, there is still the possibility is increasing class size. Each class years, District 64 has been forced to cut 12.2 possibility this hypothetical solution will meet would have an extra two to six students added. million dollars from their budget because the defeat. In that case, serious cuts will be made This could end up saving the district nearly 600,000 dollars every year. money the district receives isn't amounting to to the district and all that it entails.

A meeting will be held on February 26 at how much it needs.

District 64 offers a Franklin School to discuss which scenarios will There is a key reason as • • • • • • • • • • wmmmmmmmmmmam variety of classes that to why this is happening. numerous students enjoy be enacted if the referendum does not pass. This "It comes as no The schools in the area face taking, but aren't required meeting is open to the public and welcomes the surprise...that money a tax cap—a limit to how by the state, including community's opinions. much money can be collected art, early intervention has become a serious from taxes—that limits the for a c a d e m i c a l l y problem." amount of profit revenue to needy students, foreign SOUTH WORDS 5 percent or to the cost of mmmmmmmmm ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ language, general music, A student-produced newspaper of: living, whichever is smaller. gifted student activities, Because of this, the amount instrumental music, Maine South High School of money coming into the district has only learning resource centers, and middle school 1111 South Dee Road increased by 2.3 percent over the past few years. electives. All of these classes could potentially Park Ridge, IL 60068 District expenses have risen considerably more be altered or even eliminated from District than that in the same period of time.

64 curriculum if the referendum isn't passed.

Signed letters to the editor should IK; delivered to r(K)in V-131 or given to a member of Over the past decade, district enrollment It is a grim possibility that most hope will be the editorial staff. SOUTHWORDS reserves has increased by 675 students, which is avoided. the right to edit material for clarity and brevEmerson Middle School principal Dr. Vicki practically a whole school's worth of kids. ity and to reject obsccne/iibelous submissions.

This obviously increases expenses, including Mogil said, "I think any of the cuts that are on the cost of benefits for district staff. In order the table at present will affect our students' dayEditors-in-Chicf Alexa Karas to break even. District 64 needs to cut another to-day life now and their readiness to make use Kelsey Keith 1.2 million dollars or raise additional money. of future opportunities."

News Editors Annette Dean Administrators have proposed a way of doing The most likely cuts in instrumental music Nicky Priovolos both. would be eliminating fourth and fifth grade Features Fxiilors Katherine Gaudyn The district has created a referendum band and orchestra. If this happens, beginning Anna Wolonciej that would negate costs that the district finds band and orchestra programs will start in sixth Entertainment lEditors Mart\ Diamond burdensome under the present financing grade, and instead of being a before-school Ron Feiereisel model. After lengthy financial discussions at activity, they would be a class. This could Commentary Editors Bettina Chang monthly board meetings, as well as meeting prove to be a major setback for the music Joe Micotto with numerous members of the community at program. Because students would be starting Sports Editors Meghan O'Keefe various public forums, the district drew up a an instrument later, they would leave District Nick Ryter 64 with less knowledge of their instrument than new financial plan.

Production Editor Joshua Sissman District 64 is asking for a 44-cent per-square- current eighth graders do. When they enter Photographers Carleton Gartner foot increase in its property tax limiting rate Maine South, they'd be at a lower level than Kelse\ Grandi for a period of two years. If the referendum present day fi^eshman.

Chelsea Zivkovic In addition, because band and orchestra is approved, a Park Ridge citizen owning a Staff Artists Leah Art wick would be offered as a class, the quantity of 400,000 dollars home would see their property GinaTingas tax increase by about 335 dollars annually students could significantly decrease. Students Kevin Verre or about 670 dollars over a two-year period. would be forced to choose between band or Mr. Ellefson Advisors After the two years have passed, the district's orchestra and classes like industrial technology Mr. Stathakis

by Jacqueline O 'Reilly

5 Chess team checkmates state •JiMUIMI

FEBRUARY

23, 2007 • VOL. 43, No. 9

by James Jaffe On Februar\ ^> and 10, the Maine South chess team participated in the IHSA state tournament and managed to brii home a first-pku trophy.

Coached by Kevin Bachler and Clint Poskozim, the team consists of Dan McNally, GreLi Peterson, Jonathan Lung, James Jaffc.

Brian Enders.

Kevin Stark, Wilsoi Funkhouser. Jimni\ Kryger, Bobb\ H e m p h i l l , Jasiu Freeman, and Taylor Humphries.

The team competed in seven matches on Friday, February 9 and Saturday, February 10, scoring a total of 6'/2 points out of a possible seven. Individuals recognized include Dan McNally, who placed seventh on Board I, and James Jaffe, who placed fifth on Board 4, with

of the team had at least one crucial Liame during the tournament."

The tournament ^ame down to Kevin Stark in the •lal match. With ere seconds left ' play, he forced le r e s i g n a t i o n ol a despondent Whitney Young player, s e a l i n g Maine S o u t h ' s \ ictory.

Though this is :lie third time Maine South has won state >r chess in the past JIX years, this win was by far the most difficult. The other 120 teams forced The champion chess team poses with their first -place Maine South to earn state trophy. the championship, allowing Maine South to only win by half a six points each. point.

There was certainly little room for error as However, the phenomenal effort put forth by the team took down such powerful opponents all of the players allowed them to accomplish as Urbana and Whitney Young. According to something truly spectacular. team captain Greg Peterson. "Every member

A t t 6 H t i o n * ^^^ '^ v^"** ^i"!^' opportunity procrastinators " to loin Southwoms this y

SOUTHWORDS Mid-YtoirCallHi|ls If you missed your chance to join tne staff iast year, we are offerduring the 2007-2008 schooi year.

Please stop liy the Southwoms office IV131) or contact Mr. Ellefson or Mr. Stathakis for details.

6

lEMtrWES'" FHBRUARY

23, 2067 • VOL. 43, No. 9

Let "The Witches" fly into your imagination She explains to him the concept of witches, how they exist, and that are evil creatures.

With a stellar cast, unusual props, and a clever Unfortunately, the boy and his friend, Bruno twist, "The Witches," a play by Roald Dahl, will (Gus Steiner), run into the Grand High Witch be performed this Friday and (Megan Meredith) and she Saturday at Maine South. This turns them into mice. From whimsical story of fantasy will then on the two boys must stir up the imagination of every attempt to save the lives of the guest, including the entire fourth rest of the children from being grade class of District 64. turned into mice.

"The Witches" is unlike most Many of the cast members plays because of the difficulties had to push their maturity aside associated with props and to act on a different level. "It makeup. The idea is to create is meant to be crazy and fun; a children's theatre feel while the whole cast has to be very also keeping an adult audience childlike," said cast member p/mro h\ Kel\e\ (iraiuli entertained. Trouble starts j ^ ^ ^^^^^ ^^i^^ „^ ^„^ ^^,/,^ Danielle Kapoinek. for an orphaned boy (Adam ,„g^;^^„.^^/^-^^ ^^^^ •„ ..j^^^ "1 love being a part of children's theatre," said Jepsen.

Jepsen) who goes to ive with Witches It's very over-the-top and fun his grandmother (Alex orio) o watch."

When the boy and Bruno turn into mice, the set must change accordingly.

That is when the crew takes over.

"We tried to convey what the w o r l d of a mouse w o u l d look like," said stage director Joe Lynch.

The set is designed with largert h a n - 1 i fe terns such as the eightfoot tall stair step and the large bed the mice play beneath.

"Music has also been a big challenge because

by Alexa Karas

there is no exact era, so we used a lot of underscoring and transition music," said Lynch.

Another element of the show will be changing people into mice. "There will be a lot of smokeand-mirrors going on," adds Lynch.

The cast and crew must familiarize themselves with unusual equipment, such as puppets and remote control mice. "It's really weird to act with a thing that isn't alive," said lorio.

Makeup crew will need patience and practice to adjust to changing conditions and the complexities of this production. The witches

photo h\ Kfl\f\ (rruiuli

All Timin works carefully on bald caps necessary for the play. are portrayed as ugly women with bald heads and no fingernails. So, makeup crew is busy creating several bald caps by dabbing liquid latex over Styrofoam heads.

Crew heads Ali Timm, Ceci Garcia, and Katie Daniels are accustomed to typical theater makeup but, explain that this play will require much more time and effort. The makeup has to be overstated and bright. "Eyes are really the focal point [in this production] because of the intense colors we will be using," said Garcia.

"For normal shows the casting call is two hours before it starts, but for this one we will probably be here four hours before." said Timm.

Every element of the play must be carefully crafted and the entire company is working long hours to perfect it. The show premieres on Thursday, February' 22, but can also be seen on February 23 and 24. All ages are expected to attend because as Kapoinek explains, "It's children's theatre, but there's something for everyone."

ENTERIAINMENT FEBRUARY

23,2007 • Voi„ 43, No. 9

7

"Aces" a few cards short of a full deck ^v Ron Feiereisel

In the directors commentary from the unrated version of "Miami Vice," Michael Mann states that he thinks that movie-going audiences toda> are more perceptive and well informed than studio heads give them credit for.

"Miami Vice" was something of a flop, but that doesn't mean that Mann was wrong. ".Smokin" Aces," however, doesn't subscribe to Mann's assessment of audiences. "Vice" was somewhat understated; it didn't sp<x)n-feed viewers evervthing they needed to know when they needed to know it. It was a very introverted film. "Aces" is anything but. Viewers arent expected to mentally engage themselves in the plot: rather, the plot is used to pave the wa\ for the next action sequence.

The movie as advertised seems relatively simple—a bunch of hit men ail want to off drugged out, paranoid. Las Vegas performer Budd) "Aces" Israel (a name dropped so much in the movie. I've grown sick of hearing it) who is the key witness in a trial against the mob.

"Aces" is so packed w ith characters that each of them has their ow n little title card thai gives the viewer the character's name and occupation. This is a neat little stylistic touch, but reallj does nothing to flesh out the characters. It seems like more of a necessity, because without it, the audience would know each character as nothing more than "that guy " or in some cases, the actor that is portraying him.

The cast is mostly hit or miss, simply because of its size. Characters aren't on the screen for a very long time, and because of this, they all feel ver\ simplistic instead of truly developed characters. The simple nature of each character also makes it harder for the audience to become emotionally in\cstcd in each character .Some of the assassins even blend together because of the similarity of their tactics. For example. three of the assassins infiltrate the hotel usini: disguises. And their tradecraft is uniforml> sloppy to boot. None of them are the calm, y ei intense, super as-sassin that Tom Cruise played in "Collateral." or the poised, tactical assassin that Jason Bourne supposedly was before losing his memory.

The most interesting characters are the ones the audience spends the least time with.

Because each of them are so one-dimensional, the more screen time they ha\ c, the longer the audience has to notice that lhc\ "re such onenote characters. Some of the best pert'ormances come from "Arrested Development" alum Jason Bateman, whose awkwardly hilarious scenes make him memorable, and rapper Common, who plays the loyal but deadly Sir Ivy. Martin Henderson (from "Torque") has a revenge driven subplot thai w orks w ell. but the other two actors who play his partners, Ben Affleck and Peter Berg, are largely wasted.

Ryan Revnolds and Ray Liotta play decent FBI agents, who try to head off the assassins, but like many of the others, they don't get enough screen lime and ultimately never gain the audience's sympathies, which is a shame because Reynolds actually seems to be

but doesn't really seem to .serve a purpose, other than to sit around and wait to be offed by one of the mvriad assassins headed his way. The onh conflict his character has seems to be whether or not he'll be granted immunity by the state. Ever then, the conflict is only brought to the viewer's attention by wav of Israel's agent, played by Curtis Armstrong (Booger from "Revenge of the Nerds"), who is typecast as the harping, worrying guy. Piven's part calls for some sort of introspection, or rumination by the character that just isn't there. This isn't Piven's fault: the blame lies with the v\riter. J(x; Camahan. who didn't provide it.

On top of that, the mo\ ies scemingh simple plot is bogged down with another plot thread, which involves an undercover FBI agent who undenvent extensive plastic surgery in the '50s to infiltrate the Cosa Nostra hierarchy. Not only is that second plot thread cumbersome enough, but the film hits the viewer over the head with so many ham-fisted clues that by second time the movie brings it up, the direction that the movie evemualK lakes it is already painfully obvious. The twist that is thrown to the viewers at the end of the film is also unnecessary. In fact, it works to more or less invalidate the rest of the film.

"Smokin' Aces " amounts lo nothing more than 108 minutes of mindless popcorn entertainment. Despite the nitimrUfiV <>fmltenli»ai»ttesj titii picking that's been done about the movie Jeremv Piven stars in "Smokin 'Aces.' throughout the course of this very article, morphing into .something more than "the new the action sequences are pretty well-done.

Chevy Chase." Their superior is played by Yes. some of them are way too excessive or Andy Garcia, who turns in a borderiine-awful pointless, but they all are pretty slickly directed. performance, complete with an on-again. ofT- There's also a good bit of comedy to the film, again southern accent.

Bateman is funny, and some of Piven's lines are The cast is rounded out by afevv unremarkable decently funny. The movie's not a total waste, others and Jeremy Piven. Piven is good as Israel, but it comes dangerously close to being one.

New on "The Prestige" Christopher Nolan's adaptation of Christopher fViest's novel proves lo be one of the most complex and intricately-plotted films of last year The actors' performances are stellar and worth the trip that the mo\ie provides.

Available Fcbruarv 20.

"Borat: Cultural Leamings of America for Make . ^ Benefit Glorious Nation 1 i * ^ of Kazakhstan" f

Hand's down, this was last year's funniest movie. Sacha Baron C ohen literally becomes his character set loose lo confuse and amuse the masses. Available March 6.

8

iSi&iiilii^Lisai FEBRUARY

23, 2007 â&#x20AC;˘ VOL. 43, No. 9 j

"The Enemy Chorus" sings a unique song

by Marty Diamond The song builds, much like the first The Earlies' first record in 2004. track does, and by the time "When llie "These were the Earlies" was little Wind Blows" comes, the downtime more than a simple mix of EP's that on the record is forgotten. showed the potential of the Texas"When the Wind Blows" packs a rooted band. Their new album, "Tlie kind of punch not previously heard on Enemy Chorus," does that potent! i the album. It's refreshing and seems justice, for the most part. to be alive. It sets the stage well for the odd-but-fulfilling ending that the "The Enemy Chorus" opens album has. magnificently with "No Love in Your Heart." Molding electronica Using techniques from the rest with conventional instruments, they of the album and more computers manage a unique sound. Probablv (and instruments, too) than the band the strongest track on the album, had used yet, "Breaking Point" is a "No Love in Your Heart" delivers strangely satisfying ending. It is hard and creates anticipation for the rest to pinpoint exactly what the band was of the album. going for, but the song's end is so gratifying that it makes that not really The kind of electronica thai matter much. appears in the opening track f>ltinoi (nirlfw of ctllitiusii .mm dominates the whole record. Guitars Though the Earlies' "The Enemy The Earlies 'first album is upbeat and unique. and drums can still be heard, but Chorus" may not stand up to the dearth the layers of digitization are the of big name bands releasing new bad, but seem stale and boring. The album loses strengths of the album. The band never lets the its flow, and the tracks seem more like filler albums this year, it is currently a contender for computer overtake the music, instead using it than actual, important songs. "Little Trooper" album of the year. Granted, ifs only a month to enhance the songs. starts to bring the album up again, but does not into this year, but the album is just that worth it. Though it falters around the middle, the The album stays consistent until about redeem these tracks entirely. half\vay through. It idles around the songs.

"Broken Chain," another highlight of the beginning and end are good enough to make "Gone for the Most Part," "Foundation and record, starts to redeem the downtime. With up for it. While the album may not be able to Earth," and "Little Trooper." it is during these its simple guitar and soft synthesizer work in stand up to the test that time will unfold for it, songs, especially the first two, that the music the background, it brings back the airiness of it is certainly worth the small investment for tlie takes an uninteresting turn. The songs are not the album that was .started at the beginning. wonderfuliv redeeming songs on it.

Beyond Cynicism

bv Ron Feiereisel

FEBRUARY

9

23, 2006 â&#x20AC;˘ VOL. 43, No. 9

Obama not ready for presidency

by Joe Micotto

With election fever on the rise, (after all, we're only a little less than two years away) it seems everybody has their pet candidate whose "exploratory committees" and public press conferences are cause for celebration. The most popular of them all is Illinois" own Barack "The Golden Boy" Obama. However, Td like to make a few points as to why this "Obamania" is not only over the top, but also in the vein of silly fanfare for a candidate who's simply not as great as everybody seems to think.

First things first: Barack has very little experience within government. As a freshman senator, he's been doing things like being assigned to useless, boring, and otherwise stupid senatorial committees whose compositions are determined by seniority and party leadership, which means he's had almost zero effect upon any important bills. Any experience he may have gleaned from his position lies with the legislative process and not any sort of executive decision-making whatsoever. He hasn't even had a leadership position within his party; how can anybody expect him to run the world's only superpower?

Second, Obama is not a moderate, like many people who've hopped on the bandwagon

seem to think. The populace at large has had little time to analyze his voting record simply because he's so new to the game. He could stand for demolishing Israel, and nobody would have a clue at this point because the topic may have never come up.

Blindly following any politician (and don't try to draw a distinction between him and

"He hasn 't even had a leadership position within his party; how can anybody expect him to run the world's only superpower?" other politicians; he's just as bad as the rest), especially when nobody's even sure where he stands, can never lead to a positive outcome.

Another selling point of Obama seems to be that his landslide victory a few years ago was some sort of national referendum on his popularity.

The fact of the matter is that anybody and his/her grandma (who would serve as the

campaign manager, of course) could have handily beaten Alan "Machine Guns" Keyes.

Keyes was practically forced to step in when the Republicans ran out of other possible candidates to shove into an almost certainly unwinnable race, and he then proceeded to remove the "practically" from my previous statement by going into what almost looked to be a "selfdestruct" mode, making the most ridiculous statements anyone has heard this side of John Lennon stating "We're bigger than Jesus."

Although Barack would seem to pose a slightly better alternative to the radical Hillary Clinton, that still doesn't make him a good candidate for the most powerful position in the world.

That said, the point of this whole article is this: don't just jump on the bandwagon of the local golden-boy because he happens to be getting a lot of media coverage.

Look at the factsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;he's incredibly inexperienced, he's more of a fad than anything, and he's almost certainly not as moderate as people seem to think. He's made a single speech in the national spotlight, and now, all of a sudden, he's America's savior? Get real, people. Barack may be here to stay, but he's just not presidential material yet; we can only hope the rest of America realizes this fact, too.

Pressure from more than just peers byXander Tapling Most of our parents, teachers, and counselors will tell us not to give in to peer pressure. But at the same time, isn't that pressuring us?

Some adults will tell you it's not, because some adults are only looking out for our best interests and have more experience and are, overall, wiser than teens. However, looking at some of the most famous people in our world today, 1 beg to differ.

Just because adults are older than us, doesn't necessarily mean that they are smarter, too.

Sure, they may have had more experience growing up. But let's face it; the problems in their time are pretty different from the problems and decisions we have growing up today.

For instance, a running conflict that I've been having is deciding between finishing schoolwork on time (which my parents support and. whether they know it or not. pressure me into doing), and just messing around until the last minute (which my friends say is the "cool" thing to do). While messing around seems like

a lot more ftin, I've been under the parental pressure much longer, so it seems to have taken deeper roots in me than the peer pressure can grab.

I'm not here to whine about adults, because teens (believe it or not) do a lot of stupid stuff, too. Kids our age will tell us that if you do a certain thing, it will make you cool. One of the various slogans used when people try to teach us how to deal with pressure is "use your head."

However, does this always work? Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't.

Common sense is a great thing to possess.

However, it's not always the only way to get out from under the oppressive thumb of pressure.

One of the somewhat older examples of this is when finals descended upon us. A lot of us had the following options; stay home and study, or go out and hang out with friends during your days off.

Your parents will tell you that studying is obviously the best choice; this is pressure source number one. Meanwhile, some of your friends might urge you that finals aren't that

much of a bother and that you should go hang out with them, thus creating pressure source number two.

Here is where the fun starts. Both of the sources of pressure have strong impacts in your life. However, the choice will be up to you.

The final question comes down to this: whose pressure will you give in to? Most adults will automatically say, "Do what you think is right," which, conveniently enough, is exactly what they have been trying to hammer into our brains since we could understand the concept.

Meanwhile, teens will sometimes say that doing what is cool is probably best. Here is where you have two choices: you can give in to elder pressure and show that you are weak, but only to a certain group of people, or you can give in to peer pressure and disappoint your parents and adult friends while seeming "cool."

Ultimately, the choice is yours, but it should really depend upon the situation. The only pressure you should give in to is whatever pressure your common sense says.

I

COMMENTARY FEBRUARY

23, 2007 â&#x20AC;˘ VOL. 43, No. 9

Obama smoked by the media

by Michael Coyne

in America who haven't heard of this rising political star As such. Obama wiseK decided Senator Barack Obama has committed a to surface his own closet's skeletons before horrendous offense against society: he smokes the tabloid press attacked him like piranhas. cigarettes. Whafs worse, he had the gall to be And. for whatever it's worth, his skeletons straight forward about his smoking. What's the aren't that big of a deal. matter with this man? Doesn't he know that Barack Obama smokes; so what? If I had we expect our politicians to lie about every to deal with the stress of public office, I'd aspect of their lives? probably develop some sort of vice myself From President Bush the elder's infamous He's human. Nobody's perfect. Cigarettes policy claim, "read my lips, no new taxes," don't affect his ability to make policy or form to the Bill Clinton debacle, "I did not have opinions, so why should it affect our opinions sexual relations with that woman," we need of him? If this man's worst vice is a cigarette, our elected officials to be then 1 truly hope that he completely dishonest. What is wins the Democratic wrong with Senator Obama? nomination.

Do we really want to live in Pol itical ly, I see Barack a nation where our elected Obama as a moderate. leaders actually give us the He's obviously a liberal, straight truth? but he's not a radical.

For the readers who did not He's against completely catch the complete sarcasm opening the U.S./Mexico of the previous paragraph. border, although he does I'll clarify. I applaud Senator support a "guest worker Obama for his apparent program" for currently honesty. He's confessed to illegal aliens.

His phnlfi using cocaine in the past, and immigration reform plan now it has become public Senator Obama promotes his upcom calls for issuing tamperknowledge that he smokes ing presidential run at a local rally. proof identification cards cigarettes. Since this news broke. Senator to all legal American citizens, and having Obama has gone down in the popularity polls. employers check for these cards before Near the beginning of the year, Obama was hiring an applicant. Anyone who can't show tied with Senator Hillary Clinton, but he now these cards is placed into the "guest worker trails her by 14 points. program."

His view on the Iraq war is not quite as I do not understand why Americans are so concerned with this. Senator Obama is a simple as the "cut-and-run" label that some big boy. He is intelligent enough to know the of my fellow conservatives paste on him, risks of smoking, which I'm sure he does, and although he would have American troops out he has made the decision to start smoking. It of the war by mid-2008. Rather, he calls for a phased redeployment of American troops, would be his decision to quit.

Let's face it; one can't get out of the third which is more than reasonable, so long as it grade in today's America without knowing the is implemented only if President Bush's troop dangers of tobacco and nicotine. Any given surge fails. The Senator and I would probably ten-year-old could describe lung cancer, and agree that this surge is the President's "last any thirteen-year-old is familiar with the chance," with only one-third of the nation still concept of emphysema. I'm sure that the 45- supporting Bush. year-old senator has a good grasp on these I don't care if he smokes. It's his life, his basic ideas. What I don't understand is why body, and his choice. If someone thinks that anyone on any point on the political spectrum for some bizarre reason Obama would make a would seriously use this as a reason not to bad President based solely on the idea that he support Obama. smokes, I'd like to know what exactly makes The Senator, who officially announced this individual so perfect. If those Americans his bid for the 2008 Democratic presidential who feel this way continue down their narrownomination on February 10, has described minded path, maybe we'll be able to deny a his life in great detail in his two books. As candidate a nomination based on the amount the media's flavor-of-the-week. and Oprah of hair on his or her back in 2012. I'm looking Winfrey's favorite candidate, there are few forward to it.

WD

"He needs to work up his political career first."

-Dan Bergren '07

u

s C3 "It's good because he's opinionated and listens to the people."

-George Aguilar '08

u

o "He's a great speaker and 1 think he'll be America's first black president."

-Hannah Johnson '08

o o "I think we need a change in the government, and he'll make a good president."

-Danny K a i t i s ' l O

COMMENIARY FEBRUARY

23, 2007 • VOL. 43, No. 9

News flash: things are changing say this because I see it happening all around me. People change, and the things you held I think the problem we're all having lately to be perpetual—that everyone thought to be is with letting go of things we've worked so perpetual—are, well, not. hard for.

Perhaps it's because of the climate we face Our lives up to now appear more important daily as seniors. We think about the future. We to us than they ever will again. When you're know ourselves now, or at least I sure hope we in kindergarten, a year is one fifth of your life. do. We are to take action upon this new selfWhen you graduated fi^om middle school, the enlightenment and it's supposed to improve three years you spent there comprised almost our lives. The change is fine. It's normal. It's one quarter of your life. Here, at age eighteen, expected, even; so why does it feel so weird? my four years at South have occupied all of my I tried very hard to drop my math class this teenage time. semester. A lot of people were shocked because For the friends you made along the way, it just seemed like a lot of work to have done for the time you spent with them, laughing or without finishing out the accelerated program. crying or yelling or joking, this might be the end It began in third grade with the multiplication of the line. For your spot on the varsity squad tables, and culminated in multivariable calculus as captain or your collection ofmusic awards or last semester. In between was a whole lot your love for astronomy, those might lie behind of pencilling, just as much erasing, and a significant amount of TI-89ing. you in the dust.

How do you let go?

I won't deny that I'm proud of coming I'm not saying this solely because 1 am going this far, and I understood when everyone else to college soon (1 mean, I've got another four complained to me about giving up right before months to go and I plan on making them good), it was all over. But hey— I'd done it for as long but because in general, things are changing. I as I needed to realize that I didn't like it, and I've learned enough to cover CLt'OilMl*/ jaHia/Dilc- a*iC«MNJ>i^. me for the rest of my life. After that January final, 1 was ready to take my four hours of MVC '' You know those terrible credit and skip the next course, "American Idol" auditions?

It may be because of a thank you very much. rare medical condition Unfortunately, that plan fell •/ through because of certain kinks inherent in institutionalized education, but regardless of the outcome, the logic still remains. 1 could have dropped kpreview of the news during American Idol) math, and it would have been the right choice. And though \ What might becorhe. this particular choice was easy to make, there are plenty of Yeah, I'm not situations out there that are a terrible much more "grey." singer. I It's hard because all our have a dislives, they say "hard work ease. pays off," "no pain no gain," "happiness lies in the journey, not at the destination." We're here at the destination and fantastic. wondering if we should move on or just stand at that finish line, gazing back, admiring our accomplishments. But if we don't turn our heads forward again and push through, we'll never move on to the possibilities that lie ahead.

11

by Bettina Chang

•

~

\

by Aiexa Karas There are no two more opposite emotions than the rush you get from winning and the sadness you feel from losing. When it is the final moments of a game, when the ball goes over the fence, when a pass is caught in the end zone, or when the athlete is the first to cross the finish line, something inside a fan erupts.

It is happiness, surprise, and confusion all at the same time. How could this happen to me? A person questions reality and is not fully convinced of the outcome until the following morning when they wake up and realize the win really did happen.

Suddenly, an\thing is possible. If your team could win, could be victorious over everyone else, then \ou. loo. could do anything. The immediate e.\citement leads to feelings of hope, power, and invincibility.

Time stands still, and you see the world in a different light because we are the champions, my friend.

However, the alternative seems almost fatal. When, in those final moments, the ball is caught at the wall, the pass in the end zone is intercepted, or feet get tangled just inches before the finish, something inside a person crumbles.

The small thought, the wish that an individual's team could win is crushed by the loss. It is the lowest of the lows. It is second best. This may seem depressing, but the feeling of defeat becomes a black cloud raining on a person for days. It is unfair that fans, especial!} the die hards, have to experience such pain. It is tcx) difficult to wash off the war paint, pack up your favorite jersey, and show \our face at school the next day.

In the midst of all that sorrow, there is good news. Another season is just around the comer. The champions may hold the glory for a little v\hilc. but what's sweeter than the possibility of watching your home team win next vear? We torture ourselves by standing by our team, our heroes because a part of them is inside of us.

My solution is to not think of it as a loss, but as a new beginning. Wear \ our war paint and jersey to school the next da\. The only thing left to do is shuffle on back next vear and try again. Go Bears.

12 High hopes for boys' track FEBRUARY

by Jimmy Grizzell

Last year's boys' track team was very successful. but this year's team is alread\ on its way to matching that success. In their most recent meet, both the varsit) and junior varsity teams beat Lev den and John Marshall to start the season on a positive note.

Coach Brian Fee has high hopes for this team. His goals for this year include building off last year's success, having his athletes make the state meet and helping each team member build character.

"Coming off of our clean sweep of the Central Suburban League South Conference last year on all levels, we have

Andrew Zwicke coils for the shotput.

23, 2007 â&#x20AC;˘ VOL. 43, No.9

man\ athletes returning to us with big meet experience."

Fee said when asked about the team's strength.

This experience should be very helpful for upcoming meets, conference, sectionals and hopefully the state finals at Eastern Illinois University.

Coach Fee. a Maine South alum, was on track for all four years of high school and competed in discus and shot put, eventually going to State as a senior. He's assisted by coaches Lonergan. Nordahl.

Kacprowski, and an able group of volunteer coaches.

The team's next meet is at Wheeling on February 24 at 9:30 am, where the team photo by Nick Ryier hopes to continue its climb to excellence.

Girls get share of conference title

by Nick Ryter

ence, with both of their losses coming at the hands of the other.

Although the Trevians won in The girls finished their regular the first head-to-head match-up in season 23-6. In their 23 wins, they I double overtime 51-54, the Hawks won by an average margin of 16.5 made sure they didn't get swept in points. In tournament play, they an inspired win, 69-54. Three playwon 12 of 15 games. These tourers finished in double figures for naments were where the girls got a the Hawks, who shot 75 percent lot of great experience for the state from the field. tournament, in which a bunch of Angle Rieger added four asgames are played over a stretch o j sists to her 15 points, Karen Soa weekend.

I lari reached 10 points, and Ashley In tournament wins, the average I Tomzik scored 22 points with four margin of victory was 15.7 points, I assists and two rebounds. which means that the girls play Head Coach Mark Smith didn't consistently, not up to or down to I have to explain to the girls the imthe level of the competition. portance of beating the Wolves of The team had only two games Niles West in the conference fiin the last week of their season. nale. The seniors went out on top First on the menu was the Titans at home, blowing out Niles West of Glenbrook South. In the 56-44 >2-l3. win. Michelle Tourtillot scored 18 The girls are seeded number one points and ended the game with five in the Elgin High School Sectional. assists. Karen Solari had a wellrhe girls beat Leyden on February rounded game. Her six rebounds, photo uexaKaras ]4 54.35^ to move on against the four assists, one steal, and four Tilt Ui/i^jiiiiMi afastbreak in pu^i.->cu.\un practice. number-eight seed Conant. Conant points pushed the Hawks past the Titans.

CSL South with rival New Trier. Both New will have to play the Hawks after sqeaking by In their last conference game against Niles West, the Hawks had the chance to split the Trier and Maine South finished 9-1 in confer- Elk Grove, 40-39.

SPOR FEBRUARY

23, 2007 â&#x20AC;˘ VOL. 43, No. 9

13

Will Grossman get the Bears to Phoenix?

by Nick Ryter

It killed me to watch Rex Grossman fumble away, throw away, and act like a stow away during the Bears magnificent season. If you were like me on Super Bowl Sunday, you had to ask yourself isn't there anybody in the entire NFL who we could be watching instead of Rex Grossman?

Speculation is all we have on this guy in terms of potential. Look back on this last season, his first full, healthy season in the NFL. He looked great in the beginning of the season, but who did they play in the first eight games? Green Bay, Detroit, Minnesota, Seattle, Buffalo, Arizona, San Francisco, and Miami. Of those eight, one made the playoffs: Seattle.

Of course, we remember the elation we felt when we blew the Seahawks out in week four, 37-6. Although Grossman threw for 232 yards and two touchdowns, he did so against the Seahawks secondary, which came into the game ranked 22nd in the league in yards allowed. In the playoffs, the Seahawks were so depleted at comer that they had to signed a guy named Pete Hunter to start for them after he spent the regular season working as a mortgage officer.

Here is the bottom line: Rex isn't a Super Bowl quarterback. Quarterbacks who throw 20 picks in a season rarely even get to the Super Bowl, let alone win it.

The Bears have a team that is full of young talent, but this team is ready to win now. Teams don't return to Super Bowls annually â&#x20AC;&#x201D;just ask Dan Marino. So, to do so will take even more leadership from the quarterback position.

That's why we need a quarterback that can manage a game and keep the defense off the field. The Bears defense was on the field way too much this season. Super Bowl XLI is exhibit A when they held the field for a fifty-minute stretch.

Grossman has a lot of proving and improving to do this off-season. He needs to earn enough trust that he can be counted on to not turn the ball over in big games.

I'm praying to see Jeff Garcia in a Bears jersey by September. After stepping in for the injured Donovan McNabb in the middle of last season, the proven free agent led the Eagles to five straight wins and a win over a more talented team in New York. In those six games, he threw 10 touchdowns and only two interceptions.

The Bears are a great defensive team with an offense that just has to break even. An average NFL quarterback could fit that description; just look at Trent Dilfer with the 2001 Ravens.

by Tommy Joyce

Rex Grossman is the Chicago Bears quarterback of the future. Plenty of famous Hall of Fame quarterbacks have started their careers off on the wrong foot. For example.

Hall of Fame inductee Troy Aikman started his rookie season with his rookie season with a record of 1-15. A few years later, Aikman won three straight Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys.

With Grossman on the team, they did win 13 regular season games and two playoff games over quality teams. Grossman did not lose those playoff games, and he did not make many mental mistakes.

While many people blame the Super Bowl loss exclusively on Rex Grossman, there are other reasons the Bears lost. For example, if not pholo cdiirteiy o/ilasca.a, for the key fumbles by Gabe Reid and Cedric Grossman will have to prove that he deserves Benson, the Bears would be in better position, his spot on the Bears roster. without losing key momentum. The Colts also got points off of the key turnovers, which were not Grossman's fault.

The Bears defense also gave up 190 yards "Here is the bottom line: rushing and lost momentum by giving up several key third-down conversions. The defense was Rex isn 't a Super Bowl left on the field and eventually got fatigued. Pro quarterback. Quarterbacks Bowl quarterback Peyton Manning was able to who throw 20 picks in a slowly pick apart the Bears' defense on several short yardage third downs. season rarely even get to the If Grossman is given time, he can develop Super Bowl, let alone win it. " into a quality quarterback. He will work on the mistakes that he has made as a rookie. Other quarterbacks have gotten off to a slow start, and most are able to rebound.

Grossman can become a better quarterback if he is better protected. The Bears need to revamp their offensive line. Backup quarterback Brian Griese is not the answer to the Bears' quarterback problem. Griese is 30 years old; Grossman is much younger, with lots of room to improve. Griese is only a mediocre quarterback who does not have enough skill to help carry the Bears' to the Super Bowl victory.

Grossman also has the opportunity to improve, while potential free agents, such as Jeff Garcia, will not improve. Garcia is also getting older, and he is not very much of a deep threat to any serious team.

Rex Grossman is a good enough quarterback to help the Bears get back to the playoffs. He has downfalls, but that is expected of someone with only one fully completed NFL season.

With a new offensive line, the revamped Bears could move through the NFL playoffs and win pholo courlesx ojfoxsporti.com the Super Bowl.

Would Jeff Garcia's magic work in Chicago?

W^iivj I I : K

2 0 0 6

BOYS' BASKETBALL • GIRLS' BASKETBALL • INDOOR TRACK • Bo^ s' S\VIMMIN(; • GIRLS' G\M\ASTIC S • WRESTLIVG

Girls' track off and running

by Meghan O 'Keefe The first meet of the girls' track team occurred on February 6. 2007 against Lane Tech and Niles North and lead to a decisive Hawks victory.

The team won on both varsity and JV. Varsity earned 81 points over Niles North's .39 points and Lane Tech's 33 points. Significant athletes include first-place pole-vaulter and captain Erin Mulligan; long jump, triple jump, and 440-dash champ and captain Lauren Alpert with 15'8-3/4", 32"31/4", and 1:03.9 respectively; Kaitlin O'Shanna with first place in the 880 run with 2:56.9; one-mile winner Jessie Gremer with 6:16.9; and captain Caitlin Eskevv with a 29.5 time in the 220 dash. Team victory was achieved in the two-mile relay with 11:41.

JV accumulated 69 points, defeating Lane Tech's 40 points and Niles North's 33 points by a large margin. Event winners include Abby Christiansen in high jump with 4'8"; junior triple jumper Carrie Lacomek with26'101/2"; freshmen Liz Brown in high and low hurdles with 8.9 and 9.1 respectively; a tie between Maris Witry and Olivia Witry in 50 yard dash with 7.4; and Gina Colletti in the 440 dash with 1:14.4. Maine South also claimed the two-mile relay, 880 relay, and mile relay with times of 12:49.9, 2:10 and 5:02.6, respectively.

Prior to the meet, two weeks of intensive workouts prepped the athletes for the competition. These consisted of stair workouts, outdoor runs, and individual event prep within the hurdles, shot put, long/triple jumps, and pole vault. Over the course of this preparation, numerous injuries came up and continue to occur because of the hard surface of the indoor track. Among them are shin splints (painful separation of the calf muscle from the shin bone) as well as tears and pulls.

The team has experienced some changes since last year's season. A new coach has joined the coaching staff, joining the returning sprint and long distance coaches, who are working together for only the second year. Mr. Brad Wolcott has taken over as the shot put coach.

and has also assumed half of the high jump responsibilities, originally part of Coach K"s duties. This has led to more regular high jump practice, a previously neglected area, with this wider distribution of coaching responsibility.

Wolcott is dealing with totally raw talent, though, as all four shot putters graduated last year and are replaced with this \ ear's promising 8-10 rookie shot putters.

A rule change this year allow s athletes going

"We have a lot of good seniors. We still expect to be good, but replacing points is harder than replacing the leadership. We can teach people to be good leaders and force them to step up and take the baton " -Coach Downing

out for a spring sport to participate. Met with considerable hostility among full-season track athletes, it has proven to aid to the massive size of the team. Coach Jeff Downing estimates 120 athletes are currently participating with the track team.

There have also been some considerable losses, though. The six senior captains who led the team last year were all major contributors in the matter of meet points, the majority, if not all, received the first-place title in their event. While this makes room for new talent, it also leaves gaps in certain areas, including the obvious leadership they displayed.

"We had a lot of good seniors. We still expect to be good, but replacing points is harder than replacing the leadership. We can teach people to be good leaders and force them to step up and take the baton," says Coach Downing.

Five captains have been named for this season: junior Lauren Sheehy, junior Lauren Alpert, junior Caitlin Eskevv, junior Erin Mulligan, and senior Kaley Maloney are all striding to be distinguished team leaders as well as keep the points flowing in.

The area Downing has the most faith in is the middle-distance categories, specifically the 4-40 and the 880. This is due to the significant talent shown in Lauren Alpert, a returning junior and third-year varsit\ member, in the 4-10 as well as newcomer Kristen Zillmer, a freshman who proved unstoppable in cross country and made her way to state last fall. Alpert, in fact, beat her previous record at the first meet in the 440-yard dash, landing her an improved time featured on the Wall of Records in the field house.

Besides these two outstanding athletes are the numerous cross country runners which have carried over into track, an intentional goal of Downing's, who coached his first cross country season this past year.

Another area of hope is in the relay races.

Badl> timed hand-offs were a downfall at the first meet, giving Maine South a narrow second place instead of their usual first in the 4 x 100 relay.

Yet Downing still says he "can never know for sure" if the talent will materialize into success. This unpredictability lies in injury and overall commitment of the runners to the team.

Says Downing of his coaching tactics, "I do things totally differently than most," which, judging by the giant leap in success with his tide-turning first season of cross country coaching and momentous first meet win, should pay off for the team.

You can catch the girls track runners in action at their upcoming home meets, the varsity Hawk Relays on Friday, March 2 and JV Hawk Invite on Tuesday, March 6, both at 4:30 in the field house.