Volume 87 Issue 2Faribault High School 330 9th Ave SW Faribault, MN 55021

e2c0h0o8 11.19

PPPPPaaaaaggggges 7-10es 7-10es 7-10es 7-10es 7-10

“ I knewthe odds

presented to me would create the biggest

challenges I’d face.”

Photo by Jeff Meyer

-Kimi Wilson

Coexistence club to start in December

news echo11-19-08Page 2

By Amanda VanHarenNews Editor

FHS students are starting a new anti-racism club.Senior Molly Steffen and sophomore Cody Dunn are trying to pull

together the Coexistence Club, which will focus on helping educatepeople about racism in the community.

The club idea started after a heated conversation between Dunn andSteffen about hating the presence of racism in Faribault. What essen-tially started out as a joke became an idea for a club.

The main goal of the club is to make an impression on the commu-nity and to try to eradicate and prevent racism among young people.Club members hope to speak to young children, who are much morewilling to be influenced by the opinions of older students.

“As far as changing minds, it’s easier to try to change the minds ofyoung people. [Young people] are impressionable, unlike older students,who are more likely to be set in their ways. We want to reach out to theyounger generation and stop racism at its roots,” Dunn said.

Although STOPS Coordinator Martha Schultz is helping the Coex-istence Club get off the ground, the club is not going to have an affilia-tion with STOPS.

“We’re using Martha as a base, because we had no way to organizeon our own. We plan to be student run and separate,” Dunn said.

Since the Coexistence Club is a brand new organization, theyhave not yet talked about any fundraising ideas but hope to make ita topic of their first meeting.

“We’re in the infant stage right now, so we don’t have anyactivities planned as of yet,” Dunn said.

Since Steffen and Dunn started the club they are now the tem-porary leaders, although the position of leadership might changewhen enough members are gathered.

The club is aiming for a sizable group of members. About adozen people have expressed interest in the club so far.

“As many as we can have, I think in the mid-twenties to low-thirties, enough to make a dent in the community,” Dunn said.

Anyone is welcome to join the club and may come and go asthey please. Dunn hopes that the club will be multicultural andeventually have even younger students.

“We wouldn’t mind middle school students joining too, butwe haven’t touched on that yet,” Dunn said.

The first meeting for the club is at 3:20 on Dec. 4 in the PAC.The meeting is primarily to gather interest and see who would pos-sibly want to join. People will brainstorm and plan activities forthe year.

“Come sign up! Get started!” Dunn said.

By Alex DeGezelleReporter

Faribault was once a very in-dustrial city producing flour andother natural goods, and FaribaultHigh School’s Minnesota Past,Present and Future class had achance to literally touch the city’shistory.

Social Studies teacher BobRempfert’s Minnesota Past, Presentand Future class took a trip toFaribault’s Historical Society Mu-seum where they will have thechance to learn more in depth aboutthe city’s history.

“It reinforces what we havelearned out of the book in the class-room, and the students can actuallytouch and smell the artifacts; espe-cially the Bruce Smith Heisman tro-phy. It’s hard to believe an athletethat good came out of Faribault, andI believe that it inspires the kids,”Rempfert said.

The trip is free for the studentsand it is probably not some place thestudents would normally want tospend their money, Rempfert said.

The students participated in ascavenger hunt for extra credit. Thehunt involved both the inside and theoutside of the museum.

“I focus on something differentevery time whether I’m inside oroutside, allowing me to learn some-thing new on every trip. There is somuch to see!” Rempfert said.

Social studiesstudents to taketrip to museum

By Liesa HergethReporter

The language teachers at FHS are motivated to teach the foreignlanguages with a lot of fun.

The two German teachers, Vicki Swedeen and Vicki Olson, are veryinvolved in helping the students and sharing the many opportunities avail-able for them to study or do internships in Germany.

“Some students are planning on applying for Congress scholarshipsand are looking into studying at our GAPP partner school in Wurzburg,Germany, and some of them will be applying for monetary scholarshipsavailable to students in Minnesota studying German,” Sweeden said

In early December, the German III classes will be making ginger-bread houses. The students will bake the gingerbread at home, and thenthey will build and decorate the houses at school.

“[I wanted to learn German] because my family is German and some-times I feel left out,” Sophomore Katie Dickison said,

The German IV students are participating in a program from theUniversity of Minnesota called “College in the Schools.”

“The students are taking the exact same course offered at the Uni-versity of Minnesota, German 1003, and are doing well. They are earn-

ing five college credits this semester,” Swedeen said.A number of German IV students are also planning on start-

ing a German club. They want to have T-shirts made and are be-ginning to plan activities for the rest of the year. Some ideas in-clude setting up a German Facebook account on the internet atthe Website www.studivz.de, visiting the German American Insti-tute in St. Paul, volunteering at the German Immersion Elemen-tary School in St. Paul, and organizing a ski trip in the winter.

Spanish teacher Barbra Sorum knows that learning a languagetakes time and a lot of practice.

“Learning a language is another way to open your mind tonew ideas,” Sorum said.

Sorum’s Spanish III students are working more on express-ing their speaking and writing in Spanish on their own.

Spanish I students are working on basic sentence structureswhile learning vocabulary of descriptions, school and time. Span-ish II will also be working on sentence structures but will be fo-cusing on vocabulary of the family and daily routine.

“I enjoy teaching Spanish, and my favorite times are hearingstories of students using Spanish outside of class,” Sorum said.

World language classeswant to create German club

Abby ScherfenbergReporter

Math teacher Tammy Lessmanhas returned from Japan.

After visiting Japan from Oct.12 to Oct. 30, Lessman feels she hasa deeper understanding, respect, andappreciation for the Japanese peopleand their culture.

The daily life at a school in Ja-pan is far different from what hap-pens at FHS. Students have muchmore free time. In between classes,the teachers leave to receive suppliesfor class, which results in 15 min-utes of unsupervised time. Theteachers trust their students andknow they will behave.

Lessman said she had a fantas-tic time in Japan, but she is glad tobe back home and back in classworking with her students.

“My youngest daughter ran tome at the airport just like in the mov-ies, and it felt absolutely wonderfulto be with my family and hug them,”Lessman said.

Lessman said she would con-sider doing something like the Japa-nese Fulbright Memorial Fund againin the future, and she encourages ev-eryone to be more understanding ofother cultures.

Information about Lessman’strip to Japan is posted on the school’sweb site. People can read dailyblogs, see pictures of her trip andread brief descriptions of her visit.

Math teacherreturns from

Japan

By Dan GonzalezReporter

From Sadie Hawkins to Toys-for-Tots,prom to graduation, many of the events thatstudents enjoy are planned and coordinatedby the people elected to student council.

The theme for this year’s Penny Warsis “Making Change for Children” whichgoes great with president-elect Obama’sslogan “Change.” There will be large con-tainers for every grade to donate change.The bins will be filled with pennies, and the class with the most moneywins.

“We hold as many fundraisers as possible, including Sadie Hawkins,to raise money that we use to buy toys for tots,” Senior Class PresidentEmily Batchelder said.

The money that is collected from events like Sadie Hawkins andPenny Wars goes toward buying toys for kids whose parents can’t affordto buy gifts for them.

Another fundraising event for Toys-for-Tots is a button raffle. But-tons will be sold for $1, and students may buy as many as they like.

There will be a drawing, and the win-ner of this event will accompany stu-dent council members to buy toys.

Not all the money collected thisyear is going to Toys-for-tots.

“We want to fundraise for a brand-spankin’-new Freddy the Falcon cos-tume,” Batchelder said.

Freddy the Falcon is the schools’mascot. Freddy has been around for aslong as anyone can remember. The es-timated cost to replace Freddy is

$1,000. Fundraising will begin in mid to late January.“Student council is important to make sure students are repre-

sented and that events continue to be planned with the faculties’ help,”Batchelder said.

Other big events that student council will plan include promand graduation.

Prom will be on April 25 and graduation on June 7.“We address issues that we think pertain to the student body

and plan for all of the events that everyone can participate in,”Batchelder said.

Student councilplans fundraising events

“We address issues that wethink pertain to the

student body and plan forall of the events that everyone

can participate in.”-Emily Batchelder

student council member

What’s happenin’

news11-19-08 Page 3echo

National HonorSociety

By Josh HeineReporter

The National Honor Society organized a food shelfcontest during primetimes from Oct. 27-31; the winningprimetime received a pizza party.

Boxes were delivered during primetimes on Oct. 23.Each item donated for the food shelf received one point.Some items were higher in points than others, for example;cereal was five points; canned fruit and juice was threepoints; rice, soda crackers, and pasta were two points; anda five pack of Ramen Noodles was one point. Students couldalso have donated money, and each dollar received wasworth two points.

The total primetime points were divided by the num-ber of students in the class for a total score. The winningprimetime received a pizza party. The company makingthe pizza was Godfathers All the food and cash that wasdonated were collected during primetime on Oct. 31 andbrought to the loading docks.

The food and money that was collected went to thefood shelf. The primetime that placed first was Heidi Onaes’primetime.

The reason kids should join the NHS group, “is to bet-ter serve their community, plus it looks great on a collegeapplication,” said Shelby Larson of NHS.

It costs nothing to join NHS, but students must have a3.5 grade point average or better to be in NHS. NHS meetsanywhere from once a month to more than once a week.

“My favorite parts of NHS are raising money for theMS walk, and also the food drive because you can actuallysee your contribution,” Larson said.

For the month of November NHS planned the Veter-ans Day Assembly, as well as the stars to represent anyVeterans that people know.

AccountingBy Alyssa VaubelBack Page Editor

Accounting is one of the business classes offered tostudents taught by instructor LuAnn Giles at FHS.

This month students are working with checking ac-counts, petty cash, adjusting and closing entries, and fi-nancial statements.

“I wouldn’t want the class to change, because it’s agood level course that most students can take,” said se-nior Lindsey Steeves, a student in Accounting.

FHS currently has two sections of Accounting I thissemester, and Accounting II will be taught during secondsemester. There are four different Accounting coursesoffered at FHS.

“The Accounting I class is being taught every year,and some years we have been able to offer Accounting IIclasses,” Giles said.

Accounting is a good class to take in high school forany student who is considering a business career in theirfuture. Accounting is open as an elective to 10th, 11th and12th graders.

Giles said that in the past there have been severalstudents who have chosen to continue their Accountingknowledge and take Accounting III and IV as indepen-dent study courses. All four levels of Accounting offersome experience in using Automated Accounting, as wellas paper forms.

“Next semester I hope to continue taking anotherlevel in Accounting for learning a higher course,” saidsenior Libby Moen, a student in Accounting.

Metals Trade-offBy Kasey MohrfeldReporter

Metals and welding classes are finally being offeredagain at FHS.

This year the metals shop has traded in five pieces ofequipment in order to acquire a new ironworker in orderto teach the students about metals and welding. After thefive machines, the trade-in value to acquire the ironworkertotaled $1,500.

Automotive instructor Mark Lessman is teachingWelding, which is being divided into sub-categories: arcweld, gas weld, MIG weld, and the plasma cut. After trad-ing in the equipment to continue teaching these classes,Lessman had to make a few hard decisions on which piecesto keep.

“I really wanted to keep the horizontal band saw, butwe tried our best due to the school’s money and situa-tions,” Lessman said.

The metals shop has also acquired six new shieldedmetal arc welders in addition to the ironworker. Lessmanhas spent over 47 hours of fabricating welding all the sta-tions and new equipment in order to teach welding.

“I would like to personally thank all of the studentswho have helped me clean and organize the metals shop,”Lessman said.

Lessman is teaching welding for his first time afterteaching autos for most of his years at FHS.

College DeadlinesBy Megan LeMieuxNews Editor

College deadlines are coming up fast for the fall2009 semester.

Students have been using the computers in the Ca-reer Resource Center a lot during study halls, accord-ing to Mary McNelis,to work on college materials.

“The kids have been great about coming in to usetheir resources,” McNelis said.

According to Nanci Fielitz, this year’s seniors aredoing careless and sloppy work on their written collegeapplications.

“Students are forgetting simple things like signingtheir name at the end of the application, which is delay-ing the process,” Fielitz said.

Fielitz did see many applications turned in on timeearlier last month, but the office needs two weeks be-fore mailing out the corrected applications and tran-scripts, so many applications will be cutting the timeshort on hitting deadlines as they are being turned in atthe last minute.

“We are fair to everyone. I go through the applica-tions in the order I receive them; no one gets to jump inline,” Fielitz explained.

The early deadline for private schools like St. Olafand Gustavus was Nov 15. Larger public schools likethe University of Minnesota are accepting applicationsuntil their deadline Dec. 15.

South Central College, however, is already start-ing next year’s schedules, so post secondary studentsshould get their applications in now.

Students and parents are also reminded to attendFinancial Aid Night at 7 p.m. on Dec. 8 in the P.A.C.

Psych ClubBy Drake KarowReporter

Early in the morning in a classroom, AP Psych Clubstudents talk about the skills that will help them throughcollege and help with exam preparation.

AP Psych Club is for Advanced Placement Psychol-ogy students. The 20 club members occasionally meetwith Psych Club Adviser Rachel Fitzgerald to discussand work on psychology material. During club meetingsthey often talk and study for the AP Psych Test. This is tihelp in the spring of this year.

Psych Club also interacts with school and commu-nity. Psych Club is currently planning a clothing drivethat will begin Nov. 24 and end Dec. 12. The club wouldalso like to sponsor a local child of a family over theholiday season.

The students in Psych Club benefit from being inthe club because they learn valuable tips and pointersthat will help the students while taking the AP Test.

One thing some of the students really enjoy in PsychClub are the T-shirts.

“I like the T-shirt,” said Katie Favro.Tamarae Hildebrandt also said that she enjoyed find-

ing T-shirt designs.

Are youexcited

forsnow?

1. Business Administration/1. Business Administration/1. Business Administration/1. Business Administration/1. Business Administration/

M a n a g e m e n tM a n a g e m e n tM a n a g e m e n tM a n a g e m e n tM a n a g e m e n t

2. Psychology2. Psychology2. Psychology2. Psychology2. Psychology

3. Nursing3. Nursing3. Nursing3. Nursing3. Nursing

4. Biology/Biological Sciences4. Biology/Biological Sciences4. Biology/Biological Sciences4. Biology/Biological Sciences4. Biology/Biological Sciences

5. Education5. Education5. Education5. Education5. Education

6. English Language6. English Language6. English Language6. English Language6. English Language

and Literatureand Literatureand Literatureand Literatureand Literature

7. Economics7. Economics7. Economics7. Economics7. Economics

8. Communication Studies8. Communication Studies8. Communication Studies8. Communication Studies8. Communication Studies

9. Political Sciences/9. Political Sciences/9. Political Sciences/9. Political Sciences/9. Political Sciences/

G o v e r n m e n tG o v e r n m e n tG o v e r n m e n tG o v e r n m e n tG o v e r n m e n t

10. Computer/Inf10. Computer/Inf10. Computer/Inf10. Computer/Inf10. Computer/Infooooo. Sciences. Sciences. Sciences. Sciences. Sciences

Top 10 College Majors

“”I love snow; it’s thegreatest thing aboutliving in Minnesota.”

Asha Hullet, 10th

“I’m definatley excitedfor the snow.I love

having a good reasonto cuddle up under a

blanket by thefireplace.”

Ellen Lambert, 12th

“I hate winter, it’stoo cold!”

Annie Lechtenberg, 9th

“It means hockeystarts, which means

DOMINATION.”Jackie Johnson, 11th

“Nope, I’ve gotten frostbitten feet!”

Nya Kouth, 12th

“No, not at allbecause I have to

drive in it.”Anthony Gustafson, 10th

“Yes, I love snow.”Molly Davies, 9th

“

“Snow hurts.”Dat Truong, 9th

““With winter andsnow comes

Christmas ... So I canlisten to all the

Christmas tunes Iwant!”

Maria Markman,12h

“

“I hate cold.”Shelby Dwyer, 11th

“I’m excited aboutthe snow but not the

coldness.”Kenzie Knutson, 10th

““We need asnow day.”

Jagger Brake, 10th“

“

“I love snow.”Amber Hallet, 10th

““Yes, sledding isawesome.”

Seth Hummel, 11th

Random Facts

Hall Talk Quotes“Hey, I dyed

my hand white!”

Cockroaches can live fornine days after their head

has been cut off.

In Cleveland, Ohio it is illegalto catch mice

without a hunting license.

“I’m discreative.”

A violin contains70 different pieces of wood.

No president of the United Stateswas ever an only child .

“You can text Google nowat 466453.”

“I didn’t know you could letterin Pep Band.”

Mosquitoes have 47 teeth.

“Yeah, one time there was a wafflein my hair.”

The average bed is home to over6 billion dust mites.

“Don’t worry, I have my Nike’s onso we’ll get there supa-fast!”

The dot over the letter “i”is called a tittle.

“My friends and I were doingour nails and I got stuck

with eight thumbs.”

A pig in Japan says “moo-moo.”

“My hair turned orange, but the boxsaid brown!”

Maine is the toothpick capitalof the world.

“He had 11 fingers?”

Americans eat about18 billion hot dogs a year.

“My word of the day is frowzy; itmeans dirty or untidy.”

“We made you a birthday cake,but then we ate it!”

Women blink twice as much asmen.

“I flushed it,and I wasn’t even done peeing.”

Feeling the pressureof college deadlines

·to Twilight the movie coming out Nov. 21st · to Thanks-giving dinners · to hockey season starting · to snow · toChristmas sales · to fuzz boots · to Starbucks stayingopen · to tie blankets · to naps · to Veterans · to beingaccepted to college · to better ACT scores · to low gasprices · to intramural volleyball · to no more campaigncommercials · to Barack Obama · to the iTouch · to TeamGrizz winning · to fourth hour study hall

· to so many fights · to bathroom graffiti· to car heaternot working · to Sadies being in January · to boyfriendsin the military · to getting text messages at 3 a.m · togreasy hair · to dry skin · to getting jumped · to Germanpackets · to lockers in bad locations · to teaching yourparents how to text · to sport injuries · to orange hair ·to second hour study hall · to missed calls

NAYS

YAYS

op/ed echo11-19-08Page 4

&By Vicky CarrilloEditor-in-Chief

I am sure I am not theonly senior feeling the pres-sure of college applicationand scholarship deadlines.

We have to rememberthat our high school tran-scripts take two weeks to besent so everyone needs toplan accordingly when turn-ing in their applications to

the guidance office.I have searched long and hard online for any schol-

arship that I am eligible for. I have been accepted at theUniversity of Minnesota Morris so their Web site is whereI initially started my search. I have just finished my Com-petitive Scholarship application for UMM and feel re-lieved. I recommend that other seniors should searchwithin the college of their choice as well.

I really appreciate the help of Mary McNelis in theCareer Resource Center and our guidance counselors atFaribault High School. Nanci Fielitz in the guidence of-fice is also a great help. Fielitz sends out our transcriptsand written applications. I have also had the opportunityto email the admissions adviser at UMM. I email him with

questions regarding scholarships, dorm rooms or any-thing else. He has been such a great help.

The first quarter is over and the next thing ahead ofus are the semester finals. There is about a month leftuntill application deadlines. For those of you who haven’tstarted or don’t know where to start, I advise making anappointment with your guidence counselor as soon aspossible. Time goes by fast whether we want it to or not.

By Benjamin JacksonEditor-in-Chief

Have student rights reallycome to this; to where a pieceof tape is “distracting” andimpacting other students abil-ity to learn?

On Oct. 21 a group of FHSstudents took part in the Na-tional Pro-life Day of Silence.Part of the student’s protest

was a piece of tape over their mouth to symbolize the“silenced babies” who “never got a chance.”

Even though, I’m pro-choice these students have aright to peacefully protest in school. Just because I donot agree with their politics on this view does not mean Ithink it’s OK to deny them their rights.

The FHS administration does not agree with me. Prin-cipal Lyle Turtle had the students participating in theprotest sent to the office and told them to remove thetape from their mouths if they wished to return to class.

You’re telling me that a person who is not talking onone annual set day because of a piece of tape over theirmouth is distracting?

Personally, I think the administration was upset be-

cause of the topic and the supporters’ religious under-tones

I guess administration never sees that distractinglab partner who is taking a seemingly endless nap everyday because they simply don’t care where life is takingthem. I’m sure they haven’t notice little Johnny sniffing“pixie stix” in the social studies hallway bathroom stall?It’s possible they have never seen little Tommy, whoyou’re sure hasn’t washed his mullet since the day heleft the womb.

So, what’s next: “I’m sorry, Susie, but you’re toopregnant, and you’re distracting the other children”? Or“Greg, you’re just too fat and others can’t learn becauseyour obesity is ‘distracting’ them”?

I think the overweight emotionally frustrated middle-aged teacher wearing a shirt so tight that the buttons arebusting at the seams exposing an up-close and personalview of their white lacy bra is more of a distraction than asmall piece of tape.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Tinker v. DesMoines Independent Community School District thatstudents did not lose their rights of free expressionwhen they passed through the school house doors.The last time I checked, we walk through school doorsevery day.

Reaction to so-calleddistractions

AdviserKelly Zwagerman, 333-6165

kelly_zwagerman@faribault.k12.mn.us

Superintendent Bob Stepaniak

Principal Lyle Turtle

The Echo is distributed free to studentsand faculty. Views expressed in theEcho are those of writers and do notnecessarily represent views of the

school’s staff, students or the district.

Editors-in-ChiefVicky Carrillo

Christen Hildebrandt

Benjamin Jackson

Echo EditorsKatie Grems: Front Page

Amanda VanHaren: News

Megan LeMieux: News

Vicky Carrillo: Opinion

Daniel Gonzalez: Opinion

Christen Hildebrandt: Issues

Brianna Kern: Feature

Raelene Carver: Feature

Benjamin Jackson: Arts

Ashley Florian: A & E

Megan Ness: Profile

Cody Dunn: Profile

Kayla Ludivig: Profile

Jake Ableman: Sports

Jenna Halvorson: Sports

Alyssa Vaubel: Back Page

echo staff editorial

Reporters

echoFaribault High School

330 9th Ave. SWPhone: (507) 333-6165

Fax: (507) 333-6248

Marcus Ableman

Wyatt Andreas

Amanda Arens

Kendra Aube

Alyssa Benes

Kelsey Benton

Cody Burkhartzmeyer

Ashley Caron

Leah Creger

Alex Degezelle

Ali DuPay

Capri Fuller

Jordan Gamradt

Josh Heine

Liesa Hergeth

Haley Horsfall

Drake Karow

Brady Lombard

Jaliza Marlin

Kasey Mohrfeld

Abby Scherfenberg

Jairus Sullivan

Tayler Swanson

Kelsey Van Dam

Brody Wagner

news11-19-08 Page 5echo

Letters

LettersPolicy

Letters to the Echo can be submitted to Room B106, the journalism room.

All letters must be signed. Letters will be edited for length, grammar and

spelling. The Echo welcomes a variety of opinions.

What’s with all the fighting?

People can attend S.A.V.E. meetings

Juniors and open lunch

Signs taken away

Fighting is a problem

Recently I attended a sporting event with a signsupporting my fellow Falcons. This sign had noth-ing bad written on it. The sign just said “put in theseniors.”

I didn’t think it was that bad given the fact itwas senior night. Well, less than five minutes after Iarrived to the game my sign was taken away with noexplanation for their actions. A week later I went tothe same sporting event with another sign, and itwasn’t taken away.

Granted, the second sporting event was held atFarmington High School, but I still don’t believe mysign should’ve gotten taken away. Why can’t I ex-press my feelings on a sign; isn’t that the First Amend-ment that they’re not granting me?

The sign wasn’t tended to harm anyone anddidn’t say anything bad. People need to chill outabout signs. Unless they have a threat written on themor inappropriate language, they should be ok to showat sporting events.

-Jake Ableman, 12th

Stop sign is needed at intersectionI have a problem with walking to and from school every day and almost

getting hit by cars.There is a three-way intersection at the back of the high school going to the

college. I know several students who have the same problem I do. A lot of drivers

don’t even slow down when they see us standing there waiting to cross.After school is the worst because of all the traffic. We need to get a stop sign

put up, or one of these days someone is going to get hurt.- Alyssa Benes, 12th

The Echo covers differnent stories from classes, activities, events and muchmore.

The group S.A.V.E. had started last year beginning of second semester, so Ithink it would be a good idea to do a story about the group because they havestarted activities again.

S.A.V.E. members are hoping to see new members at the meeting on Thurs-days at 3:15 in Room C011.

- Alyssa Vaubel, 12th

The number of juniors I see coming back fromopen lunch is increasing more everyday. It’s a privi-lege to seniors only.

Seniors like myself have waited our whole highschool career for open lunch, and it’s unfair that jun-iors think they are cool enough to go out for openlunch, ahh NO. They will get their opportunity nextyear. (Maybe). If the administration wanted the jun-iors to go out for lunch they would say so. I’m prettysure I haven’t heard anything about juniors beingable to go out for lunch.

Saturday school and detention doesn’t seem likea big threat to juniors since they all keep leavingafter they are dismissed from class. If teachers wouldjust pay a little more attention to the students goingout the side doors they would realize that it’s mostlyjuniors who are not suppose to be leaving.

Open lunch has been a senior thing and a seniorthing only for years and juniors are going to ruinthat opportunity. Juniors you know who you are.Know your place. Stop leaving for open lunch.

Senior girls made homecoming shirts that state“know your place”; we did that for a reason. To alljuniors, you are not seniors yet. Wait your turn.

If juniors cause too much trouble and the ad-ministration ends senior open lunch its really goingto make all seniors extremely upset and you don’twant that.

-Ali DuPay, 12th

I am not “complaining” about the amount of fights that happen in our schoolbecause of race or ethnicity. I am saying I think it is ridiculous. The amount of fightscaused because of some sort of racism is immense. Why does it matter if a brother iswhite or black, Somalian or Hispanic?

Everybody has their own way of living, so who is anybody to judge the wayanother lives? They should be more worried about themselves!

Saying offensive material and judging are the two main reasons a fight starts.Nobody likes to be judged by how they live their life, and I think we, as a studentbody, need to work on keeping our mouth shut to others.

If you have a problem with how someone does something, keep it to yourself. Ithink we need to work on that.

I blame myself and everyone else in the student body for how “politically” wrongsome school days go. Even if you think you’re not doing or saying anything I ampositive that we are all wrong in thinking that.

We all can find some way to help the cause. Whether it is racism from colored towhite or white to colored, everybody should be treated with some decency. Just re-member that nobody in the entire world is perfect, and if you think you are then youare quite mistaken.

I just think if we work on not offending people so much I believe a lot lessAmerican Pie bull would happen, and school would be more fun for some peopleand fewer fights would happen.

-Alex DeGezelle,12th

Last week there were several fights involving freshmengirls. Has our school tried to figure out what the cause is be-hind all this tension? What is our school doing to prevent morefights from happening?

Suspension is a common consequence for students in-volved in fights, but some students might return to school withan “I don’t care” attitude or “I am glad I had that early week-end.” To avoid this attitude we should have in-school suspen-sion as a consequence for fights.

There are some students who feel frustrated with conver-sations they have had with our principal last week about fight-ing. They feel as though nothing is being done and that ad-ministration isn’t taking them seriously.

A solution to this problem could be an open forum discus-

sion involving each primetime with Principal Lyle Turtle inthe PAC on why there are fights and how to address them asa school. This would be a great way to open a dialogue onthe matter. It would help administration be proactive andnot reactive, which is mostly the case.

We can only imagine how parents feel when hearingthat their child was “jumped” at school. These types of situ-ations make our school look bad. Our school isn’t a badplace, but fighting does raise questions with parents aboutwhether this building is always safe for their child.

One thing we can all do is lead by example. Stop fight-ing. Use your words as your preschool teacher taught you.And if you hear about a fight, yell for a teacher to comehelp break it up.

What distractsyou in the

classroom?

3

issuesPage 6 11-19-08echo

By Christen HildebrandtEditor-in-Chief

Principal Lyle Turtle told studentsinvolved in an anti-abortion protest at FHSto stop.

The protest started on the morning ofOct. 21 with a student passing out red ducttape with “Life” written on it. Several stu-dents wore the tape across their mouth;while others made the tape into wrist bans.Protesters were having a day of silence toshow they opposed abortion.

This was called the day of SilentSolidarity.They had a leaflet to hand topeople to explain why they were silent.

The red duct tape with life written onit was to show that the protesters spokefor the unborn children. The stance againstabortion has been endorsed by DivineMercy Catholic Church.

Before 4th hour an announcement wasmade for teachers to check their e-mailfor a message from Turtle. This e-mail toldteachers to hand in all names of studentswho had red tape across their mouth.MaryClare Stroh, a 9th grader, was one of afew protesters called down to the officeto meet with both Turtle and AssistantPrincipal Dennis Germann.

Stroh said she had a 30-minute meet-

ing with Turtle. She was told that she hadto remove her tape. In addition, she wastold she couldn’t pass out anti-abortionleaflets.

“They called my leaflets propaganda,”Stroh said.

Stroh did as she was told. The dayafter the protest she wore a shirt coveredwith “Life” duct tape from the previousday. Stroh was not punished for this anti-abortion protest.

The Echo did ask Turtle for a com-ment, but he declined saying he wouldn’tcomment on student discipline.

“It’s ridiculous. It’s freedom ofspeech,” said 12th grader Sarah Cloutierin reference to the protesters forced tostop.

Most students at FHS didn’t find theanti-abortion protest distracting or a dis-ruption to their learning process. UnderTinker v. Des Moines (1969) wearingblack armbands did not a cause disrup-tion, and the court held that student activ-ity represented constitutionally protectedsymbolic speech.

Being a disruption is how adminis-trators can limit students’ First Amend-ment protest rights in the school.

Last spring, the administration al-lowed a STOPS activity that involved be-ing silent for a day. This activity was forremembering those who died in drunkdriving accidents. The situation was al-lowed because of prior approval by theadministration.

Anti-abortion protest stopped

Faribault School District administrators commentBy Christen HildebrandtEditor-in-Chief

Students participate in protests thattake various forms, but in our nation nomatter if a person attends an elementaryschool, high school or even college, lawsare in place about what kinds of protestsare allowed.

Faribault School District Superinten-dent Bob Stepaniak said, “I believe thatthe rights of students to protest are usu-ally very limited since they would be dis-ruptive during the school day. I think thatthe particular issue being protested wouldhave some bearing on how the protest isviewed and whether or not the districtwould take any disciplinary action againstthe protestors. Other factors enter into thissuch as damage to property or persons andhow badly did the protest interrupt the edu-cational process.”

Stepaniak suggests that if studentshave an issue that they feel should be pro-tested, “I think they should discuss it with

the administration first. This would helpthe principals understand the nature of thecomplaint. If it is about how the school isrun or some school policy, students shouldgive the district a chance to review theirconcerns. In cases like these, I think it iswrong to protest without making the at-tempt at dialogue first. For other outsideissues (ex. the war in Iraq), perhaps theschool can find a way to support a studentprotest with minimal disruption to classes.”

Principal Lyle Turtle agrees that stu-dents should talk to administration beforeprotesting because the issue might be ableto be worked out.Turtle said that protestsare often disruptive and are rarely in thebest interest of the students.Turtle said itis possible for students to be suspened oreven expelled if they are involved with aprotest that disrupts the school environ-ment.

Stepaniak said that in all protest cases,the students run the risk of disciplinary

action (usually suspension) if they disobeythe directives of the school.

“Again, this sort of depends on theissue. When I was a principal, I had a pro-test over the lunch program. It was well-organized, non-disruptive, and very effec-tive for getting change. Most protests, tobe honest, are over certain rules thatschools may have. They also usually in-volve a small number of students. In mostcases, these protests result in suspensionsfor students. Schools officials do not liketo see the educational process disrupted.Students like more freedom than typicallyhigh schools can give. Communities wantfirmly-controlled high schools for safetyand educational reasons.”

In his experience, Stepaniak said, ithas been the seniors who feel they are toorestricted in high school. They do not takeinto account that a high school has largenumbers of 15- and 16 year-old studentswho need a stricter environment.

“Mr. Gavin’s gorgeous eyes.”Kris Custer, 12th

“A student that won’t take thingsserious in the classroom,and make jokes about it.”

Thac Nyuyen, 9th

“Enormous distraction when someoneis tapping their pencil, hand,

or feet on the floor.”Abbie Christensen, 9th

“Annoying people blurting things out.People getting up every 5 minutes

is a distraction, and rude comments.”Mariah Bokman, 9th

“When people like yell random stuffthat makes no sense!”

Anne Bates, 9th

“ People who are annoying.”Jake Salaba, 9th

“Frau’s big hair in the way.”Peter Tinaglia, 12th

“The windows.”Zach Clemmensen, 12th

“The fact that my fat folds over the desk.”Josh Karow, 12th

“Whenever I start talking.”Zoe Hoaglund, 10th

“When you can hear the clickingof cell phones when people text!”

Paige Brewer, 10th

“When some hot chick walks by!”Nick Thomas, 11th

“Heather Thomas.”Amin Dalmer, 12th

“Sarah Dugan.”Ben Putrah, 12th

“Fat girls in skirts.”Derek Glynn, 12th

“Me.”Jon Flicek, 12th

“When someone has major B.O.”Jackie Johnson, 11th

“Mr. Rempfert’s chair.”Dan Forcelle, 12th

“The hot guy that sits in my class.”Ashley Rota, 12th

arts11-19-08 Page 11echo

ChoirBy Jordan GamradtReporter

The choir program has three fundraisers everyyear and the money raised is for activities in choir.

Recently, all three choirs participated in SweetTreats and Century Rich, a fundraiser to raise moneyfor a possible chance to attend the musical “Wicked”Nov. 20.

The items sold consisted of chocolate and cookiedough. Each year the choirs raise an average of $5,000.There were 50 tickets available, which quickly soldout. Students had the option to pay for the ticketswith the money raised from their fundraiser earnings.

The Holiday Concert is scheduled for 7 p.m. Dec.22, at the Performing Arts Center. The Concert Choirwill also be performing with the Rochester Choral ArtsEnsemble for their yearly Christmas Concert at 7 p.m.Dec. 13 in Rochester.

The Rochester Choral Arts Ensemble is one ofthe best choirs in the state of Minnesota.

“This is a major honor to share a stage with sucha wonderful group of singers,” Choir teacher, ErikZinter said.

All three choirs work with exercises thatstrengthen their voice, breath support, management,tone quality, flexibility, vowel formation, diction andindependence.

“I like the warm ups because my voice becomesless tense and I’m able to sing the songs better thanI would without it,” Jamie Ernste said.

Occasionally there are assignments that aremeant to help students become more aware of theelements of music; along with required lessons withZinter.

ArtBy Leah CregerReporter

Drawing and Painting students are working ondrawing the human body.

They have been learning to draw each part of thehuman figure. Art teacher, Jan Nelson, said this is hismost complex project he is teaching. From this project,students are supposed to learn each proportion of thehuman body and how to correctly draw each part.

In Art Exploration A students are working on atwo-point perspective drawing, which Nelson said isfavorite unit to teach.

“It’s a chance for students to learn spacial rea-soning and learn how to make their drawings morerealistic,” Nelson said.

Nelson said his students are talented.“All classes behave well. The talent level in my

drawing and painting classes is much higher than lastyear’s classes.”

Through December, Drawing and Painting stu-dents will be working on an advanced level of two-point perspective. Art A students will be moving on toa ceramics unit.

Liz Fritz, an art student, said, “My favorite projectin my art class [Drawing and Painting] so far was do-ing the charcoal drawings; it was really fun.”

Fine Arts

TheatreBy Jaliza MarlinReporter

The cast of “Rebel Without a Cause” is workingon their last rehersals to make finishing touches ontheir show before opening night tomorrow.

The performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursdaythrough Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday in the Michael J.Hanson Performing Arts Center.

Director Paul Johnson said, “We hope to have alot of people come and see this performance.”

Morgan Melton, a sophomore who plays Buzz,said, “This play will be epic; I cannot wait to die.”

After the performance, the Theatre Departmentwill move onto the next shows; the One Act plays. TheTheatre Department normally does a competition, butthey decided not to this year so that they could getmore people involved in the shows. The names of theOne Act plays are “Check Please” and “This is a Test.”

Students need to hand in proposals to be the di-rector by Nov. 25. The auditions for the shows areDec. 1.

The Children’s Theatre is having auditions for“Alice in Wonderland” on Dec. 3-4.

There are many things that the Theatre Depart-ment does that are not always recognized; for example,“Enchanted Trails” was performed at the River BendNature Center and students helped at a Haunted Housein Faribo West Mall.

“The Theatre Arts class has been working on ‘Pro-ducing a Play and Musical’ terminology, and then theyare going to do a promotion campaign for a show oftheir choosing,” Johnson said.

BandBy Benjamin JacksonEditor-In-Chief

The band has been busy the last fewmonths preparing for their Rotary Con-cert and Veteran’s Day program.

On the Faribault band Web site,Band Director Chris Dibble wrote in hisblog about how the Rotary Concert went.

“It is always a push to get the musicready in such a short time, but I felt themusic was well performed and the stu-dents did an amazing job for such a shortrehearsal period... I would love to hearsome reactions to the concert from ourpatrons.”

Now they have other events to pre-pare and look forward to; after the suc-cess of the Rotary Concert and Veteran’sDay program.

Pep band members are now prepar-ing for events like hockey and basketballgames. They are performing at the up-coming girls hockey game at 7 p.m. Nov.25at the Faribault Ice Arena.

a&e echo11-19-08

Page 12

By AshleyFlorianA&Eeditor

NintendoWii haschanged theway peopleplay videogames, andWii is grow-ing in popu-larity with allages and is afun way toget in shape.

P e o p l eplay whilestanding andmoving ind i f f e r e n tways for dif-ferent activities. While playing the Wii, exercise and funare the obvious purposes for playing the game.

Many teenagers and younger children in the UnitedStates are becoming more obese; statistics show that 16percent of children and adolescents ages 6-19 are over-weight, according to National Center for Health Statistics.

Video games like XBOX 360, Playstation,internet gaming and all other sorts of gaming devicesare primarily sedentary activities, and for somethinglike the Wii to change those habits and get teens ac-tive and stay healthy is a great investment. Nintendodidn’t stop at just the Wii; the Wii Fit was released inMay 2008.

Wii Fit is a combination of fitness and games for allages. The game system comes with Yoga, aerobics,strengthening exercises, and balance games.

“I love the Wii, I’ve been working with the yoga alot, I can see definite results in my body image,” said,senior Cassie Sjoren.

The Mii on Wii Fit is also an interesting twist to thevideo game. A Mii is a personal cartoon character peopleuse in the games they play. After creating a Mii, the con-sole will automatically tests a player’s BMI (body massindex) throughout the game giving updates on healthand fitness abilities. The Mii is a permanent characterplayers use to play games every time they play. By doingthis players can see improvement and areas to work on.

The hottest and most anticipated games are madefor the Wii. Nintendo came out with a Wi-Fi connectionright to the console on a television screen. The Wi-Fi

Twilight the movieout in theaters

Nov. 21

Celtics vs.Timberwolves

7 p.m. Nov. 21at the

Target Center$39

DJ BenjaminMichaels8 p.m. Nov 21

at the Myth Nightclubages 16-20

$15

Nine Inch Nails7:30 p.m. Nov. 25

at theTarget Center

$90

Hinder8 p.m. Dec. 2

at theTarget Center

$80

Monster Jam7:30 p.m. Dec. 6

at the Metrodome

$55

Disney on IceMinnies Magical

Journey1 p.m. Dec. 14

at the Xcel Energy Center

$65

Jeff Dunham7 p.m. Dec. 31

at the Target Center

$97 “The Tales of Beedlethe Bard”J.K. Rowling

Available Dec. 4

“The White Tiger”Aravind Adiqa

Available Nov. 17

“The Girl with theDragon Tattoo”

Steig LarssonAvailable today

International new releases to put on your reading list

System: Wii

Number of players:

2 players simultaneous

Release Date:

Nov 18, 2008

Publisher:

Electronic Arts Inc

Genre: Racing

System: Wii

Number of players:

1 to 4

Release date:

Oct. 12, 2008

Genre: music

connection isso players canplay oppo-nents over theinternet andsurf the net.

Any-body with theconnec t ioncan also geton the WiiShop Channeland buy clas-sic games,new games,and otheritems for theWii and WiiFit. Thegames forWii cost frombetween $30-

$60, there are also discount games and deals if a personbuys on the Wi-Fi connection.

A new game that just hit the shelf is Jillian MichaelsFitness Ultimatum 2009. This high energy, great actiongame came out Oct. 28, and is made for Wii Fit. Thegame is hosted by celebrity Jillian Michaels and is mod-eled after a boot-camp style workout to keep people inshape while playing a fun-packed game. The game canhave up to two players per console. It cost $30 at anyBest Buy, Wal-Mart or Target.

There are many other popular games coming out forWii like Rock Band and Mario Racing games. Rock Bandhas become popular on the Wii console; many teenagersprefer to play Rock Band on Wii than on Playstation.

Nintendo came out with its latest and greatest gameconsole on Oct. 20, Wii Music. Wii Music is a uniquetool, with over 60 musical instruments to choose from.The game was made for people who can’t play any in-struments because they think they’re too hard.

Wii Music helps players to appreciate music andlearn while having fun. Players use the game in a varietyof ways, to make a band and perform or just play alongwhile learning the basics.

“I made my own band with a bunch of friends, I don’thave the Wii console but I so want to get one now thatWii Music is out,” said junior Tricia Johnson.

This console is priced at $175 and can be purchasedonline at Amazon.com, or at Best Buy stores.

“The price may be high, but it’s worth it; it’s some-thing you won’t regret,” said junior Seth Hummel.

Needfor Speed:

Undercover

Wii Music

What to do

Books

Games

Nintendo Wii continuesto come out with great games

Juniors Jake Degen,Seth Hummel, Sean Sisler play the Wii as a way to stay in shape.Photo by Ashley Florian

EARTIST Jeff Curtis Meyer

Name: Jeff MeyerGrade: SeniorAge: 17Siblings: Billy, 20; Harris, 18;Russell, 14

Food: Pizza

Band: Motion City Soundtrack

TV show: Invader Zim

Movie: Requiem for a Dream

Quote to live by: Talk is cheap, sois Subway.

Class: Study Hall

Sport: Diving

Restaurant: Taco Bell

Candy: Reese’s

Color: Blue

Who or what got you interested inphotography?A Kodak Easy-Share that almost mademe give up because it was such apiece. I had to send it in three times inone year.

What is your favorite thing tophotograph?Anything that I can look at on thescreen of my camera and say, “That’s akeeper.”

Are you interested in a career inphotography or are you going tocollege for photography?I plan on attending an Art Institute forphotgraphy.

Is there any advice you would give toothers who are trying to find theirown photography styles?Don’t try too hard, improvementcomes naturally in time.

What kind of camera do you use?Fujifilm Finepix 5700

E

profile11-19-08 Page 13echo

Movie: She’s the Man

Song: Sussudio- Phil Collins

Candy: Laffy Taffy

Food: Spaghetti with Meat balls

Color: Yellow Fever

Place to go: Denver, Colorado

Sport: Football

Name: Alek Axel Johnson

Birthday: July 17th 1991

Age: 17

Siblings: Megan, 15. Jamie, 27.

Eye Color: Blue

What people don’t know about you?

I’m really into computer stuff.

I like to paint in my free time.

I have double jointed thumbs

I was neglected as a child and was raised by wolves.

BasicsFavorites

ATHLETE Alek Johnson

FavoritesQ&AWhy did you decide to start playing footballand when did you start?In 7th grade, to get in better shape.

What is your favorite quote?“Destroy everyone on your path to greatness.” –

Joey Clapp

What is your greatest achievement?Scoring my first Varsity touchdown.

What is your most embarrassing moment?Tripping face first into third base during ninthgrade baseball.

Q&A

Basics

Danceline

sports 11-19-08Page 14 echo

Boysbasketball

Wrestling

By Kendra AubeReporter

Girls devoting their summer for captainpractices and hard technique camps is just onestep the Emeralds dance team is doing to im-prove from last year.

Head Coach, Lois Krinke, said that thisyear’s team is extremely strong with new cho-reography ideas; they work very well together,and also help each other out.

The captains this year are seniors: Jenni-fer Bachrach, Jessica Dube, Krystal Dube, TessKlemer, Kallie Stepka, and Kylie Winkelman.

Stepka said, “We lost some really strongseniors last year, but we are working hard toget everyone ready. One weakness is we have asmaller team, but that may be an advantage inthe end.”

The team this year consists of twenty-fourdancers; fourteen of them will be dancing jazz.They are dancing to mixes of several differentsongs. They will also be having a theme thisyear for jazz, which will make the routine morefun.

“What we plan to do this year is bringback the fun in jazz. In the last couple of yearswe tried to fill our jazz dances with skills, skills,and more skills. This year we will have fun skillsin our dance, but will be adding more of the funfactor back into our routine,” Krinke said.

The team’s goal this year is to do betterthan they did last year. They hope to take backthe Big 9 championship, make it to state withjazz, and top 2 in high kick at state.

The emeralds will be competing at theirfirst competition Dec. 6 at Apple Valley highschool.

By Megan LeMieuxReporter

Captains’ practices are helping members ofthe boys swimming and diving team prepare forthe upcoming season.

Seniors Blake Halvorson, Joey Clapp andJeff Meyer are doing their best as this year’s cap-tains to get the swimmers in good shape beforethe first official practices start on Dec. 1. Captain’spractices are held after school but are not required.

“We are very excited and ready for the sea-son, but also very nervous because of the gaps weneed to fill in from the swimmers we lost last year,”Halvorson said.

Halvorson also has some personal goals hewould like to achieve. He competes in the 100yard breaststroke, 200 yard medley relay, and heis a diver.

“My personal goals are to be all state in the100 yard breaststroke and to make it to state fordiving,” Halvorson said.

By Brady LombardReporter

The boys basketball team, leadby Head Coach Steve Lansing, willbe looking forward to a great season,with all the confidence Lansing hasin the team.

The basketball team has lostthree players on their roster due tothem moving away. The players lostinclude Guelord Mpagazihe to Roch-ester JM, Blayze Petersen toOwatonna, and T.C. to Hutchison.

“However,” Lansing said, “wehave some kids that had a greatoffseason and have prepared well forthe season through summer leagues,open gym and fall league atBloomington Kennedy.”

Lansing’s go-to guys from longrange will be Evan Knutson, AdamJensen and Dan Fredenberg, anddown low they will have Seth Egge,Andy Hein, Chad Hansen and MikeEmge. He also said that DerekDriessen is probably there best de-fender.

Lansing anticipates his starterswill include three returning players.

“We have three kids back whostarted at one time last year. EvanKnutson is back after being Honor-able Mention All Conference lastyear. Seth Egge and Andy Hein alsostarted a few games each last year andhave some excellent experience. SoI hope they will be there for us. Guyslike seniors Adam Jensen, DerekDriessen, Colin Anderson, JaredSammon; juniors Zach Tinaglia, DanFredenberg, Brady Lombard, JoeyGrote; and sophomores Mike Emge,Chad Hansen, and AnthonyGustafson should all compete fortime.”

This year the basketball asso-ciation and the coaches would likeour student body to get more in-volved.

“Going to high school sport-ing events is one of the greatest op-portunities for high school students,and we need to get the home courtrockin this year! Maybe we can havesome promotional nights or blackouts (wear all black) or white outs(wear all white) this year. It needsto become the fun thing to do again,”Lansing said.

Boys swimming

By Marcus AblemanReporter

The Faribault girls basketball team began prac-tice on Monday, starting a new season with optimismand eagerness to work hard and accomplish goals thathave been set by the team.

“Our goal is to get back to the Rochester CivicCenter for the section semi-finals,” said Head CoachBrian Cherwinka. Team chemistry is also something thatthe team would like to improve on.

“I think this year we will have better team chem-istry and get along a lot better and have more fun,” saidsenior captain Whitney Gillen.

One new addition that the team will have this yearis a full junior varsity schedule.

The Falcons also want value each offensive pos-session and limit turnovers.

“We are looking to reduce turning the ball overto our opponents so many times,” Cherwinka said.

Cherwinka also has high expectations for one ofthe senior captains.

“I think Whitney Gillen is ready for a “breakout”year offensively, netting double figures every night.”Cherwinka said.

The Falcons will begin their regular season play,Dec. 4, at Owatonna.

By Wyatt AndreasReporter

This year the boyshigh school hockey seasonstarting Monday.

Head Coach of theteam Brad Ryan said thatto get ready for the seasonthis year he is getting hiscoaching staff together andhe is putting together aplayer’s book of hockeypolicies, systems, remind-ers, diagrams and question-naires.

Between 40-50 aretrying out for varsity spotsand only 36+ players willget spots on either varsityor junior varsity.

Ryan said, “Tryoutswill determine the exactnumber or players kept forthe two programs.”

Captain Alex Larsonsaid the team, which is incaptains’ practice is look-ing really good and reallystrong. Larson said theteam is very exited for theseason to begin. He saidone big goal this season isto win the Big 9 but themain goal is to make it tothe state tournament. Larson said, “Ithink we have a very goodshot at doing so.”

Ryan, as a newcoach, feels that this sea-son the team will very com-petitive and will competefor the Big 9 title as wellas the sectional championchip.

Before this year,Ryan has been coachinghockey for 20 years.

He said “I coachedcollege hockey (WCHA,MIAC, and WIAC) at thejunior level in the UnitedStates Hockey League(USHL), and the highschool level for the past 10years.”

By Tayler SwansonReporter

30 to 40 wrestlers will be at the first wrestlingpractice of a 15-week season starting Nov. 24.

A typical practice consists of conditioning work,followed by some technique, demonstrations, somepractice and then some live wrestling and more condi-tioning.

“They should be another year older and bigger;they should be improved,” said David Wieber. Wieberwill be a coach of the Falcons along with JesseArmbruster and Jan Nelson.

“I’ve been in the weight room every chance Iget and I run a lot,” freshman Matt Becker said. Thisis Mat Becker’s fourth year in wrestling.

Wieber said that the most common inju-ries for wrestlers are finger sprains and knee sprains,and that the best ways to prevent those injuries is withstrength and flexibility.

“Overall, we have got some pretty good wres-tlers coming back; Adam Hallet, Cole Wilson, CalebBreyer and Mat Becker,” Wieber said.

The Falcon’s first meet is Dec. 6 at home for theFaribault Invite.

Falcon pride!

Boyshockey

Girls basketball

sports11-19-08 Page 15echo

IntrIntrIntrIntrIntramamamamamururururural val val val val volleolleolleolleolleyballyballyballyballyball

Team GrizzRecord: 7-1“We’re that good.”

CensoredRecord: 2-6“We da bomb.”

Team HeinRecord: 5-3“We’re better than team grizz.”

Soggy CerealRecord: 4--4“It’s soggy cereal get it right.”

Dream TeamRecord: 7-1“Don’t ‘f’ with the dream team.”

Lyle’s BeautiesRecord: 2-7“Season’s been tough but we’re improving.”

Scene KidsRecord: 4-4“We don’t give a sheet.”

Moscow VandalsRecord: 6-3“We’re unreal, you can’t beat us.”

Awesome PossumsRecord: 1-8“We may be tough to beat but we’re some tough meat.”

Team DominateRecord: 2-7“We definitely don’t play to win.”

Truck’N’HardRecord: 8-0“We’re undefeated and beat the teachers. You can’tstop us.”

Denny’s GermansRecord: 7-1“We have the best team name and best team spirit.”

D-LineRecord: 4-4“We’re one heavily set team.”

Blazen PheasantsRecord: 2-6“We blaze our own paths to victory.”

Fleigen KneesRecord: 1-7“Let’s go play some halo.”

final echo11-19-08Page 16

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour1/2 cup brown sugar1/2 cup white sugar1 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/2 teaspoon ground ginger1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg1 teaspoon baking soda1/4 teaspoon baking powder1/2 teaspoon salt2 eggs1/2 cup melted butter1 cup canned pumpkin1 (6 ounce) package butterscotch chips

Recipes to try for Thanksgiving

· Preheat oven to 350 degrees.· Grease mini-muffin pan with cooking spray. Sift togetherthe flour, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg,baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl.· Whisk together the eggs, butter, and pumpkin in aseparate bowl. Mix the flour mixture with the egg mixture.· Stir in the butterscotch chips; pour into each cup of themuffin pan to about 3/4 full. Bake in preheated oven until atoothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 10to 12 minutes.

Mini PumpkinButterscotch Muffins

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree1 (12 fluid ounce) canevaporated milk3 eggs1 cup white sugar4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice1 (18.25 ounce) package yellowcake mix3/4 cup butter, melted1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

Great PumpkinDessert

· Preheat oven to 350 degrees.· Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.· In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, milk, eggs,sugar and spice. Mix well, and pour into a 9x13 inch pan.· Sprinkle dry cake mix over the top, then drizzlewith melted butter. Top with walnuts.· Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a knifeinserted near the center comes out clean.

· Preheat oven to 350 degrees.· Mix cream cheese and condensed milktogether until smooth. Stir in the pureed pumpkin,pumpkin pie spice and eggs.· Mix until well combined. Pour batter into thepie shell.· Bake at 350 degrees or 45 minutes or until aknife inserted 1 inch from the edge comes out clean.

Serve warm.

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese2 cups pumpkin puree14 ounces sweetened condensed milk3 eggs1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

PumpkinCheesecake Pie

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder1 1/2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice2 teaspoons baking powder1 teaspoon baking soda3/4 cup butter2 cups white sugar1/3 cup applesauce3 eggs, beaten1/2 cup heavy cream1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin

· Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9inch bundt pan. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, cocoapowder, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and bakingsoda.· In a large bowl, beat together 3/4 cup butter, 2cups sugar, applesauce, and eggs. Mix in 1/2 cup heavycream and pumpkin. Stir into the flour mixture just untilblended. Spread evenly in the prepared pan.· Bake 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until atoothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes outclean. Allow to cool in the pan over a wire rack. Invertcake onto a serving plate.

Pumpkin ChocolateDessert Cake

How do youcelebrate

Thanksgiving?

How do you feel about shopping the day after Thanksgiving?

“I have never goneshopping after

Thanksgiving, and Iprobably never will.

It’s a reason not to go.”David Wieber,

science teacher

“It’s scary.”Erica Anderson, 11th

“People run overworkers.”Juan Vega, 12th

“I got a black eyeonce;

I now know whythey call it

Black Friday.”Kyle Campbell, 11th

“Old ladies runningaround like lunatics!

Grabbing,pushing, shoving…not a pretty sight.”

Miranda Lambert, 12th

“I love it.”Niki Reineke, 9th

“People shove you outof the way to get

things before you.”Cassie Ohnstad, 12th

“Chaotic.”Desiree Caballero, 12th

“I might as well noteven go to bedbecause I have

to get up so early to getthe good deals.”

Doreen Sanborn,media services

“Wake up way early;it’s madness.”

Shannon Byers, 12th

“It’s lots of fun, and Ialways get

bunches of stuff.”Tiffany Hill, 9th

“I love waiting in lines.”Nate Kastner, 11th

“I don’t go shopping; Ihave to work that

morning, so I’ll be theone seeing crazy people

in the store.”Alyssa Yule, 12th

“We get togetherand eat cheesy potatoes.”

Desiree Caballero, 12th

“Get the whole family togetherand eat tons of food

then sleep afterwards.”Sarah Letcher, 11th

“Eat lots of food.”Britnee Gare, 9th

“Food, football, long nap.”Paul Knoff, 10th

“I go to my grandma’s.”Brent Stensrude, 12th

“My whole family gets together,eats a lot, and then we dance

and play card games.”Miranda Krenske, 9th

“Eating a nice big turkey.”Tony Martinez, 10th

“I eat so much that I pass out, thenI wake up and eat some more.”

Cody Wagner, 11th

“We have a giant family gatheringat one of my aunt’s or uncle’shouses. It’s great. There is so

much food, and we have a lot offun when we’re all together.”

Sarah Cloutier, 12th

“Eat with my family and trail ridewith my horses for like

an hour and a half.”Ashley Peters, 9th

“All alone.”Ryan Geiger, 11th

“I switch every year between myparents, and we go to our

grandparent’s house where there isthe best food I have ever tasted.”

Kayla Ermer, 9th

“We eat a lot, and then work it all offby doing Dance Dance Revolution.”

Molly Sartor, 9th

“Go to my grandma’sand eat a ton of food.”

Jake Stocker, 12th

“Bet on football and eat.”Sam Pineur, 10th

“Lunch with dad’s side of the family,then dinner with my mom’s side.”

Stacy Bauer, 12th

“My family and I go to my grandmaand grandpa’s house for dinner

along with my cousins.”Cullen Trnka, 9th

“I go to my grandma’s house andeat lots of mashed potatoes.”

Jessica Meyer, 10th

“I stay at home,and my family comes over.”

Alyssa Moraver, 10th

“M.O.A. with my dad,it was loaded

with people shopping.It was crazy

and the storeswere packed

but it was fun.” Breezy Paro, 9th

“I usually avoid it if atall possible. I don’thave the energy towake up at 2 a.m.and wait in line.”

Julie Petersen,teacher

Cortney Bishopworking on a busyday at Nelson’s.Photo byMichelle Kuball

“It’s tons of fun goingshopping

the day afterThanksgiving.You get to see

people go crazy.”Natalie Tatge, 10th

“Crazy.”Chad Hansen, 10th

“It’s just a hasslefinding Hollister T’s.”Marcus Wiershem, 10th

focusPage 7echo

11-19-08

hysical education teacher Kimi Wilson was diagnosed this

past summer with pancreatic cancer. She is 46 years old.

Wilson had noticed toward the end of the 2008-2009

school year she was often feeling tired and weak. After going

to her cabin over Memorial Day weekend, not only did she

feel exhausted again, but she noticed that her legs and

ankles were swollen. The next day she decided to go into the

doctor; this is when the start of her struggle to fight

pancreatic cancer began.

P

See WILSON on Page 8

“ ...I knew the odds presentedto me would create the

biggest challenges I’d face.”

Photo provided by Kimi Wilson

At first Wilson was told by her doctor in Owatonna that

her hemoglobin was low; it was somewhere in the 5 range.

This was unusual since Wilson’s normal number is 14.8.

Wilson was also told that she had internal bleeding, but they

needed to find out what had caused the bleeding. Wilson

stayed in the hospital for the remainder of the school year

and received four blood transfusions and a variety of tests.

Teacher takes time offfrom school to battle cancerBy Brianna KernFeature Editor

- Kimi Wilson- Kimi Wilson- Kimi Wilson- Kimi Wilson- Kimi Wilson

focus11-19-08 Page 8echo

Wilson’s next step was to have anappointment in Mayo, but before that she ended up inSt. Mary’s emergency room because yet again herhemoglobin had dropped; this time to 7.4.

While in St. Mary’s, Wilson had even moretests done. On June 30, the results of her biopsydelivered the devastating news; Wilson had pancreaticcancer.

Wilson said, “I felt extremely empty with noemotion or feeling [when getting the news]. The lookin my gastrointestinal doctor’s eyes said it all. Iremember tears slowly sliding down my face from theoutside corners of my eyes and not saying a word.Knowing that this is one of the worst cancers, I knewthe odds presented to me would create the biggestchallenge I’d face.”

Wilson went to Mayo on July 1 to visit herdoctor and discuss what to do next. She was told thatif she was extremely lucky she would be able to havea surgery called the “Whipple.” The “Whipple” surgeryinvolves removing the cancer, but it is only performedif the patient’s cancer hasn’t spread to the liver.Since the chance of not yet having cancer in the liveris highly unlikely, this is the reason why only 1-2percent of pancreatic cancer victims get this surgery.

At 1:34 p.m. on July 7, Wilson and her familywere excited to hear the news that Wilson was part ofthe lucky 1-2 percent and was able to get the“Whipple” surgery.

“I got my chance. I am very fortunate and verygrateful,” Wilson said.

Getting surgeryWilson underwent a successful six-hour

surgery. During the surgery, doctors were able toreconstruct the mesenteric vein and remove the entiretumor. Four of her six peripancreatic lymph nodes hadcancer but the rest of the lymph nodes in the areawere negative. The surgery results also showed thatWilson had grade three pancreatic adenocarcinoma,which means that the cancer had spread to the majorblood vessels around the pancreas and possibly thelymph nodes along with the pancreas.

Wilson recovered quickly from her surgery, injust six days, when they thought it would take atleast seven.

During the rest of July and until Aug. 10,Wilson enjoyed spending time with her friends Sherrieand Shirley, and her dad at her dad’s cabin. Her goalsduring this time were to rest, relax, fish, get preparedfor the upcoming teaching year, get stronger and gainweight.

In order to gain weight, Wilson had to eat sixto eight times per day, but she could not eat fruits,vegetables, nuts or foods with skin. During this timeshe was able to gain two pounds, a major feat.

WILSON

“I am like a little kid that gets up two times atnight for feeding. Except, I don’t need my daddy or mymommy,” Wilson said of her eating habits.

Wilson showed progress over this time andended up being able to do more house work likepainting even though she wasn’t able to lift anythingover 10 pounds. She also gained back her sense ofhumor.

Wilson likes to tease her friends about lettingher go bike and work on the roof. She particularlyenjoys being outside.

“There was a bald eagle that flew over meFriday morning. This is a ‘sign’ and the second time Ihave seen the eagle. Earlier in the month it was in atree near me and flew off. It returned later that eveningand it flew low over me. I could hear the wingsworking...so cool,” Wilson said of one experience whilebeing outside and hunting.

On August 15, Wilson had yet anothersuccessful appointment. Her hemoglobin was good at12.1 as well as her glucose, which was at 100, whichmeans she wasn’t having any trouble producing insulin.Her other tests were a chest X-ray, CT body scan andcontrast dye test, and they all showed that she wascancer-free.

Her incision from surgery also healed well, andher doctor told her that she could eat what shewanted. Wilson soon started strenuous exercise,including bungee jumping with a friend.

Starting treatmentWilson began chemotherapy on Aug. 29. The

only side effect she experienced from it was fatigue.On Sept. 5, she had her second chemotherapyappointment with the same results.

The plan for chemotherapy was to have oneappointment per week for three weeks in a row,followed by a week off from chemotherapy. This cyclerepeated itself for two months.

Throughout the beginning of September Wilsonenjoyed getting back into her teaching routine andpreparing for a canoe trip with one class. On Sept. 3,she went on what she considers her first good exercisesince Father’s Day, which included a power walk and afew minutes of very slow running.

“Feeling my heart beat fast again for the good,felt good, even though I am starting all over,” Wilson said.

On Sept. 12, for her third chemotherapyappointment in Mayo, Wilson got bad news. First shewas told that her healing and recovery was doing greatbut that she wouldn’t be able to do chemotherapy thethird time because her white blood cell count was lowat 1.9, and she needed at the very least for it to be 2.0.The second reason was her neutrophil count, or babywhite blood cells, which were extremely low at .3 whenthey need to be at least at 1.5.

“I didn’t handle this well at first. I was verydisappointed and caught completely off guard,” Wilsonsaid about not being able to do her third chemotherapytreatment.

However, the thing to do next was to continuewith the second month of treatment and in themeantime raise her white blood cell count andneutrophil count.

Although Wilson was able to go through withthe first week of her second month of chemotherapy onSept. 26, she wasn’t able to go through with thesecond week. It turned out that although her whiteblood cell count was fine, her neutrophil count was lowyet again at .8. This not only meant no treatment thatweek, but it also meant she had to stay home withminimal contact with others, especially sick peoplebecause her immune system was so weak.

At this point in time Wilson was feelingmentally wiped out by the end of the day but doing wellotherwise since she was able to gain another twopounds and also gained a lot of strength.

On Oct. 13, she had another CT body scan,which turned out to be successful; there was still nosigns of tumors.

Leaving the classroom“Phase Two” of the treatment plan was starting

chemotherapy and radiation treatment on Oct. 20. Thisis a routine that she is following for five weeks.

Right now, Wilson is unable to teach for twomonths. She was disappointed that she wasn’t able totell her students “goodbye,” but she was happy to hearthat no one got lost on their adventures through the BigWoods State Park on their field trip.

Wilson is continuing the new chemotherapyand radiation for six weeks and then recovering from itfor four weeks after that. After that she has what shecalls “Phase Three,” which is another two months ofchemotherapy where she has it once a week for threeweeks and then a week off just like before. PhaseThree will begin around the end of December, and shewill also be missing school during this time, too.

Sometimes pancreatic cancer patients havesome of the factors that increased their chance ofgetting the cancer, but Wilson is not one of them.

“I am not your ‘typical pancreatic cancer’ person.I do not fit the profile. I do not smoke nor am I overweightor obese. I have no personal or family history ofpancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, or genetic syndromesthat can increase this cancer risk,” Wilson said.

She still enjoys hunting and watching naturewhen she can, as well as deepening her faith andspirituality.

Wilson said, “I would say my faith andspirituality has grown deeper. It has always been a partof me. Now it is in the front seat. Previoulsy, I’d say itwas there, but more in the back seat. I am grateful andthankful every day to be given another chance. Thereare some situations you experience, and you do thebest you can. There are others where it is best to leaveit to a higher power/spiritual being, and letting faith, thepower of believing, and a postiive attitude help carryyou through.”

Wilson is very thankful for all the cards, bakedgoods, phone calls and e-mails that she is getting, andshe knows that they are helping her. She has twoweeks of chemotherapy with radiation left.

“Even though it is still hard to believe I havecancer at times, it does not have me. ...I have alwaysknown that life is short. It is vital that we take everyopportunity given to take time for ourselves and begood to ourselves,” she said.

Photo provided by Kimi Wilson

Continued from page 7Continued from page 7Continued from page 7Continued from page 7Continued from page 7

“Feeling my heart beat fastagain for the good, felt good, eventhough I am starting all over.”

may not have had to overcome anything big, for example a familymember with cancer, but I have had a pretty big experience of my own that Ihad to overcome about a year ago.

I was a sophomore at the time; it was in the middle of October overMEA. I had a school project I had to do with a friend who was in the sameclass as me. Since I lived out of town, my friend came out to pick me up. Myfriend came and got me around noon. When she arrived she had three otherfriends in the car with her. I got in the car just thinking that we were drivingback to town, but boy was I wrong.

You know how people say peer pressure gets the best of you? Well,it got the best of me. One of the girls pulled a bag of pot out of her purse andthe other two just smiled as they looked at me.

They asked me if I minded that they smoked pot in the car, and Isaid, “No, I don’t care.”

I was stupid at the time; I wanted everyone to like me. I thought thatif I said, “No, don’t smoke with me in the car,” that those girls would hate me.

They passed it around, and then it came to me. I froze and didn’tknow what to do. They all looked at me and my friend said, “You wantsome?”

Under peer pressure I said yes.The next thing I know, I was smoking pot; a good girl who never does

anything wrong. When we finally got into town, we dropped two of the girls offand they looked at me said, “I can’t believe you just smoked with us; that’sawesome.”

I felt so sweet, like I fit in with them, and I realized I was a whole newperson.

We got to my friend’s house and started the project. Her mom hadordered pizza for the family and me. When the pizza came, my friend and Ieach ate a whole pizza. I was amazed and then learned that that’s what youdo when you are high--you eat. We finished the project with no problem, andthen she brought me home. When I got home everything seemed normal; myparents didn’t suspect anything, and I just went about my normal things athome.

The next day at school, though, was a whole different story. Everyoneknew, and everyone was giving me such a hard time for what I had done. I felthorrible. My friends looked at me in disgust; they would have never thought Iwould have done something like that. Then about a week later, my realchallenge hit me.

I got home late that night; both my parents were standing in thedoorway waiting for me. I remember it so well; they told me to go upstairsbecause they needed to have a serious talk with me. I went upstairs, andeverything in my life came crashing down. My parents knew about mesmoking pot. I got grounded, my phone got taken away, and some otherpunishments. I cried that whole night not only because my parents knew, butbecause I lost my parents’ trust that night, and I also lost a bunch of myfriends, too.

Out of this whole experience, my challenge overcoming all of thiswas to gain back my parents’ trust and also gain back my friends. I learnedthat falling under peer pressure is no good; it leads to bad things. I alsolearned that when you go through your hardest times, you find out who yourtrue friends are. They are the ones who stay by your side no matter whatpeople say, and no matter what the situation is.

Even though about a year ago I would have said that this is sohorrible, I am actually glad I went through all of it. I learned a lot about people,learned a lot about myself, and learned about life experiences.

hen I was attending FHS in 10th grade. I was abusing marijuana during thatstage in my life, and I was stupid enough to bring my drugs with me to school.

We were watching a movie in Biology and I pulled out my drugs from mypocket and smelled it and told my friends to smell it, too. During that stage of my life Iwas getting horrible grades. After I pulled it out and smelled it, I put it back into mypocket.

A girl in the class got up and ran out of the room, followed by Mrs. Johnson.Nobody knew what was going on, but I knew deep down that I was going to get introuble. But we had an early out, so when the last bell rang I thought I was safe.

So the next day I brought my drugs with me again to school. I had them withme 1st hour when I was in my automotive class, and I was escorted out by OfficerLehmann and Mr. Germann. They brought me to a room where they searched me.They asked what was in the Jones candy case. I said candy, but really it was weedand a homemade one-hitter. Right there, I knew I was in deep trouble.

After they searched me I took them to all of my lockers, and they had tosearch them, too. Then I was taken to Mr. Germann’s office, and he asked mequestions while Officer Lehmann wrote me a ticket. I was suspended for five days andgot a ticket for possession of a small amount of marijuana and paraphernalia.

After my mother picked me up from school, she took me to court and tried toget me sent away, but I convinced her to not send me. I promised I wouldn’t eversmoke again. So she took the offer. When I went to court, I was put on 25 hours ofcommunity service and six months of supervised probation and random drug tests.And I passed every test and still do to this day.

I am glad this happened because if it didn’t, I probably would still be gettinghigh. Right now I have all A’s in my classes, except for one C-. So to the person whotold on me; thanks.

By Josh HeineBy Josh HeineBy Josh HeineBy Josh HeineBy Josh Heine

By FHS junior girlBy FHS junior girlBy FHS junior girlBy FHS junior girlBy FHS junior girl

Caught in action

Pressure gets to you

ne of the most challenging things that has happened in my life was when Iwas a little baby. When I was born, I had bilateral club feet, which technicallymeans that my feet were backwards.

I went into surgery when I was eight months old, but chances of me everbeing able to walk were very slim. When I got out of surgery I had to go throughvery intense physical therapy, and I had casts that went around my foot all the wayup to my thigh. Probably the most challenging thing was all the therapy I had to gothrough. I really don’t remember too much, but I know it couldn’t have been easy,especially on my family.

Once every year I have to go up to Shriners Hospital for check ups, andthey tell me how much progress I have made throughout my life. They are veryimpressed with what I have accomplished.

My doctor has told me he thought that I would never be able to play sportsor even run because of all the pressure I would be putting on my feet, but Iaccomplished that. I played baseball for many years, along with basketball andbowling.

I believe this was the biggest challenge I have ever dealt with.

By Matt TrumanBy Matt TrumanBy Matt TrumanBy Matt TrumanBy Matt Truman

Born with It

O

I

WPhoto by Jeff Meyer

Photo by Jeff Meyer

Page 9echo

11-19-08focus

iabetes is a challenge that is growing in America. It is caused by obesity,genetics, and too much sugar consumption.

I have Diabetes Type 1. It is not hard to control if I follow the rules of mydoctors, and I don’t eat so much sugar. I was diagnosed with diabetes when I wasin 4th grade or about when I was 10 years of age.

It was extremely hard to control when I was 10 because at my school inLa Crosse, we had breakfast provided by the school. Since I ate breakfast at homethen I had the school provide one, my blood sugar (BG) was so high that I had totake another shot; think flu shot in your stomach.

When I played sports I became low, and I regurgitated what I had forbreakfast and lunch. It happened only once when I played basketball. I went to theparking lot waiting for my mom who I called to pick me up, and when we got homeI did the deed.

In middle school in Onalaska, it became a lot easier because I got theMedtronic insulin pump, and I didn’t have to take anymore shots every day onlyonce a week. So I became more involved in school sports still playing basketballand football. Football was different because it was the first time we had pads andmy sight (pump with needle in my stomach) came out, so I had to go home andchange after practice. Basketball was the same.

In high school, here in Faribault, when I moved at the end of the 8th. I stillplay football, but I don’t play basketball. I lift and run instead, and that help mydiabetes even more.

Now the doctors are basically praising me with the control that I have overmy disease. My doctors want my A1C (the average of my blood sugar over aperiod of time) to be between 6-7, and my A1C is 5.7.

I know there are more challenges waiting for me after high school and Iknow they will be tough, but I am ready no matter what happens.

By Adam BahrBy Adam BahrBy Adam BahrBy Adam BahrBy Adam Bahr

It Keeps Going and Going

D

Photo by Jeff Meyer

focus11-19-08 Page 10echo

Throughout my life I have had to overcome my dad leaving the house forawhile because my mom and dad were arguing. They could not overcome theirdisagreements.

My dad would get so aggravated that he would throw things to get hisway. He would repeatedly call my mom and me names, every one you couldthink of in the book. When my dad would throw these tantrums the police wouldhave to come to our house. This all began right after Christmas the year of 2007,up until now.

Since Christmas in the year of 2007, my family has had the police to ourhouse a total of six times. My dad had to leave the house in August and now heis back living in our house. He has changed a lot since he left in August.

My mom had a restraining order on my dad, but we had to lift the order ofprotection in order for him to come back and live with us. Throughout this wholetime my mom was going to divorce my dad so it was a lot of stress on me.

Now that our family is back together, my grandparents don’t want us tocome over anymore because my dad is back. They also un-invited us toThanksgiving and Christmas. My grandma doesn’t even want to give my mom anequal share of her money when she passes. She wrote in her will that she onlywants it divided among my mom’s children, which would be me and my two oldersisters.

Throughout this experience, I think I have learned a great deal. I learnedthat family does matter, but the ones around you should love you for thedecisions you decide to make throughout your life. That is how I overcame mystruggle.

By FHS junior girlBy FHS junior girlBy FHS junior girlBy FHS junior girlBy FHS junior girl

Family Feud