Crown Point High School Oct. 25, 2012 Vol. 77 Issue 21500 S. Main St. Crown Point, IN 46307 inklings@cps.k12.in.us

inkL I N G S

Presidential Election 2012See results of mock election and why students vote

Pro/Con I on Life A&E

“Taken 2”Sequel proves just as action-packed as the first

Read different views on which schedule is best

page5 page6 page12

Sectionals‘Dogs to face Lake Central in second round of sectionalstomorrow night

Read about the football team on page 14

With election day being Nov. 6, voters will not only vote for the presi-dent and state and city officials, but voters in Crown Point will also vote for school board candidates, either B.J. Hubbard or Jerry Caravana.

Both B.J. Hubbard and Jerry Car-avana have had experience teaching or administrating students in the Crown Point school district.

“I was principal at Solon Robin-son Elementary School from 1990 to 1993. I was then principal at MacAr-thur from 1993-1996,” Hubbard said. “I volunteer at the schools, but mostly at Lake Street where I have been vol-unteering at for four years. I work at Indiana University Northwest as a su-pervisor of administrative interns.”

While Hubbard took on an ad-ministrative position in the schools, Caravana also directed students, aca-demically and athletically.

“I was a teacher at CPHS for 40 years and was the athletic director there for 14 years,” Caravana said.

Because the two candidates have been a part of the school corporation, both have knowledge on what they would like to modify in order for the betterment of the student population.

“My goals (for the school corpo-ration) are to control spending so we won’t have to have another referen-dum,” Hubbard said. “I want to re-duce costs and control how we (school corporation) spend our money. I am concerned why we pulled out of the (special education) co-op and if we are using the same services as we were us-ing before,” Hubbard said.

In contrast, Caravana is focused more on the continued success of the school clubs and programs.

“My goals are to continue with what we, as a school corporation, are doing well in. We (school corpora-tion) have received many awards, and our high school is one of the nation’s best. I’m excited about the CP 2.0 program, which is a blended learning

B.J. Hubbard

School board position on the line in election

Jerry Caravana

By Katie Shermancopy editor

See School Board on p. 2

My goals are to control

spending so we won’t have to have another referendum. I

want to reduce costs and

control how we spend our

money.

‘‘

My goals are to continue

with what we, as a school corporation,

are doing well in. I also want to make sure

the set things the

corporation has planned get

accomplished.

‘‘

ust as testing can be a nerve-wracking situation for many students, recent-

ly implemented evaluation laws may make student test-ing and grades increasingly nerve-wracking for the teach-ers themselves.

Indiana law now states that by the conclusion of this year, all teachers must be rated as either highly effec-tive, effective, improvement necessary or ineffective. The rating will be determined by administrative observations and by student achievement and growth.

“The state of Indiana, last legislative session, de-cided that they would change the way that teachers are eval-

uated,” Department Chair Dottie Johnson said.

The educational reforms call for a more thorough evaluation of teachers’ ef-fectiveness and offers broad “guidelines and guardrails.” The state produced a model rubric called RISE but al-lowed individual districts to choose their own system of evaluation if they so choose.

“The essence of the legis-lation is to allow for highly effective teachers to be award-ed for effectiveness, but it’s largely up to the districts how to implement it,” Crown Point Schools Director of Curriculum and Instruction James Hardman said.

Crown Point ultimately decided to forego RISE and institute a system based on leading education researcher

By Dylan taylormaggie gelonmanaging editor

copy editor

Making

evaluationquick

hits

Principal Chip Pettit uses his iPad while documenting an in-class teacher observation.

English teacher Lisa Keene presents to her class while being observed by Principal Chip Pettit. Educators will now receive a rating based on their teaching that may determine their pay. Changes were brought about by the Indiana state legislature.

PhoToS by brITTany PEdErSEn

District teachers begin transitionto state-mandated evaluations

gradEthe

See evaluation on p. 3

All teachers must be rated as either highly effective, effec-tive, improvement necessary or ineffective.

The details of a merit-based pay system will be negotiated between the district and the teacher’s union.

The district’s evaluations will be based on “The Art and Sci-ence of Teaching.”

J

alternative or Traditional?

novemberfacts• ElectionDayisthefirstTuesdayin

November.GetyourballotsreadyonNov.6.

• ThefamousAmericanauthorMarkTwain(SamuelClemens)wasbornNov.30.

• ThefalloftheBerlinWallbeganNov.9.

• NovemberisNativeAmericanheritagemonth

novembercalendar

Town library begins new chapter2 news inklings 10/25/12

program where there is a teacher in the class-room and students do their homework and school work on the internet,” Caravana said. “I also want to make sure the set things the corporation has planned get accomplished.”

Though the two candidates have different goals and viewpoints, if they were to be elected on the school board both have high standards for the district.

“(I ran for school board because) I have been on the school board three times since 1977. I want to know if we are saving money, how much we are saving and how we are using the money we are saving,” Hubbard said.

Caravana has different reasoning for run-ning for school board.

“I am running for school board because the school corporation gives me great satisfac-tion,” Caravana said. “The clubs at the high school drive the academic programs which provide creativity and help students be con-fident in the classroom and outside of the classroom.

From what I have seen from teaching at the high school, there are great kids in the school. I have always thought that CP kids are great with supportive families which lead to great success,” Caravana said.

4Dance

Showcase

9-10, 16-17Fall Play

(Arsenic and Old Lace)

14Fall Sports Awards

Program

16Student Council

Blood Drive

22-23Fall Break

(No School)

26-27Bulldog Holiday

Shoppe

School Boardcontinued from p. 1

After numerous redesigns and renovations, the Crown Point Community Library has found a new building and location on the square to ac-commodate the growing needs of the community.

“This wasn’t something we thought that we wanted. It was something we needed,” Director of the Community Li-brary Lynn Frank said. “It became clear that we weren’t going to make it (in the previous loca-tion). Our needs became much more extensive than the older building could accommodate.”

The major prompt-ing factor in making the new building was the concern over meet-ing the current standards set in place for libraries mandated by the size, which are based on the population. The Crown Point branch serves 40,000 people across the area which meant that a greater number of programs, computers and other equipment were needed to keep up with the cur-rent state regulations.

The most noticeable difference between the two buildings is the size. The new one is two-and-a-half times the size of the old one. Having al-ready toured the facility, senior Samantha Konicki believes that the library was worth the expense.

“Having been inside it, the library is a great addition to the community,” Konicki said. “Ev-erything is much easier to get to, and it is full of

a lot of attractive things.”The new library is located on Main Street on

the north side of the square, only a short walk away from the library’s previous location. The lo-cation was decided based on the feedback received from people in the community.

“Everyone we talked to wanted the library around the square,” Frank said. “We found that this was a great spot for us to be.”

Students who will be exposed to the ex-panding use of tech-nology throughout the school curriculum will be accommodated by the new facility, which has full Wi-Fi, an inter-net cafe and computers.

Another techno-logical improvement is the increasing use of “e-books.” The library will offer a wide variety of books to be checked out that are download-able for Kindles and other reading devices.

“Part of being a library is adapting to the changes in technol-

ogy,” Frank said. “We are doing our best to ac-commodate all types of people by offering a vari-ety of options.”

Konicki believes that students will be able to utilize the library.

“I think kids will appreciate it because of all the things it has,” Konicki said. “The Wi-Fi con-nects, and different activity areas make it more teen-friendly.”

After opening Monday, the library is fully op-erational and available to the public.

TheviewfromthemainpublicentranceofthenewlybuiltCrownPointcommunitylibrary,whichopenedtothepublicMonday.Itwasbuilttoaccommodatethegrowingneedsofthecommunity.Thisbranchserves40,000throughoutthearea.

BY SAM BEISHUIZENeditor-in-chief

PHOTOSBYOLIVIAELSTON

Accessible book drop from the street

Functioning used book store

Three public meeting rooms

Quiet rooms for silent reading

Children’s story room

Video game room with Wii gaming systems

Newly renovated Indiana Heritage room accessible to the public

Teen computer area

intheknow

Inklings was recognized as one of the state’s best high school newspapers by earning the Division 3 Hoosier Star at the annual Indiana High School Press Association convention. The Excalibur yearbook was a finalist in its di-vision. In addition, newspaper received eight Harvey awards in individual categories, in-cluding two first place; and yearbook brought home seven, including one first place.

In on-site competition, seniors Abby Elston, Alexa Grady and junior Dylan Tay-lor earned firsts; juniors Maggie Gelon, Ellie Burrell, and senior Lexi Nordin won seconds; and junior Katie Sherman and senior RaeAn-na Morgan took thirds.

Inklings adviser Julie Elston received the Ella Sengenberger Award which honors Indi-ana’s Journalism Adviser of the Year

School publications bring home state recognition

LibraryHighlights

Membersofthe InklingsstaffreceivetheHoo-sierStarawardrecognizingthebestpublica-tions in thestateat theIndianaHighSchoolPress Association convention. Newspaperand yearbook students also earned numer-ousindividualhonors.

PHOTOPROVIDEDBYIHSPA

ThelibraryhasfullWi-fi,aninternetcafe,com-putersandavarietyofprintand“e-books.”

3newsinklings 10/25/12

Area

Student reaction to events in our world

IUN has the highest student loan average in the state, the amount totaling to $31,686. Indiana University follows IUN with an average debt of $28,434 and Purdue University close by at $27,268. With such debt, the state of Indiana ranks 11th in the nation.

As a senior going into college, I don’t want the first thing I have to worry about is being in debt.Monica Torres

Indiana state police can now easily track highway drivers who tend to speed and follow cars too closely. The new laser device helps officers detect such drivers up to 4,000 feet away, eliminating the potential of crashes on I-65 and I-80 that were caused by such factors.

Felix Baumgartner leaped from 24 miles above Earth, breaking the sound barrier and hitting 833.9 mph on his way down. Baumgartner because the first person to reach supersonic speed wihout traveling in a jet or spacecraft.

I was amazed at what he was able to do. It really shows how much technology has improved.

Malala Yousufzai was shot in the head and neck by Taliban members in Pakistan while coming home from school. The Taliban believe women should not be educated, and when Malala spoke up for her rights, the Taliban aimed to harm her.

I think that’s unfair. Girls should be given the opportunity to get an education just like men can.

IUN ranks first in state for high student loan debt

State Indiana police unleash new highway speed weapon

Nation Extreme athlete completes record-setting jump

World Fourteen-year-old girl nearly killed by Taliban

‘‘senior

Taylor Schoolerjunior

Kayla Millersophomore

This will make driv-ing on highways a lot safer. People will be more cautious when driving now.

‘‘‘‘‘‘Austin Velazquez

freshman

ViewSonnewS

The CPHS theatre de-partment will present “Arse-nic and Old Lace” as their annual fall play. With open-ing night less than a month away, preparation is well under way.

“We try to rehearse three days a week. We’re doing something basically from three o’clock up to five o’clock when we leave. Right now we’re piecing together the show little by little. As we get closer (to opening night), we’ll do larger chunks together,” di-rector Kit Degenhart said.

The cast is hard at work memorizing lines and get-ting into character. Senior Emily Papamihalakis found that creating a character

identity to be the toughest part of this year’s produc-tion.

“The thing that I’m struggling with is establish-ing a character voice and of course memorizing lines,” Papamihalakis said.

Senior Casey Kitchen, who plays Mortimer Brew-ster, the main characters’ nephew, agreed.

“Definitely memo-rizing lines and getting choreography down, like stage direction, is one of the tougher things to deal with,” Kitchen said.

Putting on “Arsenic and Old Lace” was both an obvious and yet not so ob-vious choice for Degenhart.

“It was nearing the end of July and I was still read-ing through plays. I didn’t

think of putting (“Arsenic and Old Lace”) on until my wife suggested it. It’s one of those shows that everyone does at least once in their career,” Degenhart said.

Being a comedy, this year’s production was some-what of an adjustment for the department and re-quired a bit of an adjust-ment. Junior Corey Kuhl-man had some difficulty coming up with a character voice.

“It’s definitely differ-ent. I have to do a character voice, which is something I’ve never done before, so it’s a bit of a challenge,” Kuhlman said.

The show opens on Fri. Nov. 9 and the cast puts on their closing per-formance on Sat. Nov. 17.

BY RAeAnnA MORGAneditor-at-large

PHOTO BY BRITTANY PEDERSON

Senior Katie Fenn and junior Cory Kuhlman rehearse lines for the upcoming play.

Theatre department presents “Arsenic and Old Lace”

Robert Marzano’s “The Art and Science of Teaching.”“The thing that drew us toward the (Marzano model)

was the clarity of it. Robert Marzano is a leader in research in education, he’s done a number of meta-analyses and looked at data across the board and drawn some conclu-sions about what is effective instruction. He also provides evidence of what an effective classroom would look like, which is good for teachers and administrators because it is so transparent,” Hardman said.

This year is being treated as a practice year for both teachers and administrators. Teachers are being educated on what criteria they will be judged on, while adminis-tration is gaining experience in how to conduct effective evaluations.

“(Administrators) will either come to class or look at artifacts (like quizzes, tests and projects). It’s a learning year for both teachers and administrators,” Johnson said.

To further eliminate bias, several administrative rat-ers will be grading the same teacher.

“We’re trying to promote ‘inter-rater reliability’ by al-lowing two different raters the opportunity to rate the same class. It is intended to remove personal bias as much as we possibly can,” Hardman said.

“Inter-rater reliability” is intended to denote the trans-parency and credibility that may result from using multiple raters during the evaluation.

“Our goal is to try to keep it transparent, use appropri-ate measures to measure student growth and achievement, be clear on classroom expectations to eliminate potential for bias, be open so teachers can respond to an observation or can submit artifacts to display that they’ve been hitting the target that they’re supposed to so that we can have an effective evaluation for all teachers,” Hardman said.

The evaluation process has raised some concern re-garding classes that are not heavily based around concrete, quantitative academic outcomes, such as orchestra, band

and other arts classes. “Other classes may have traditional testing, but judg-

ing a music class is much more complicated,” orchestra director James Deal said. “Administrating music classes has always been like trying to put a square peg in a round hole. Music isn’t paperwork – it incorporates the students’ skill and physical and mental ability.”

In order to ensure that music students are evaluat-ed fairly, outside musical experts and educators may be brought in to do evaluations based on musical perfor-mance, with a rubric that might be similar to ISSMA con-test rubrics.

“Good teaching is good teaching, but how do you mea-sure the quality of a performance? Music classes are work-ing with the administration to build a rubric that will be the most accurate evaluation,” Deal said.

Also under the legislative reforms, paychecks may be subject to change. Exactly how performance

translates into pay has been also left up to districts to de-termine.

“If you read some of the research and criticism of merit-pay, you really don’t want to drive motivation by money - that can get competitive and get nasty. You really have to be cautious as to how you implement a system,” Hardman said.

Monetary compensation will be negotiated as part of the teachers’ contracts. Exactly what the compensation model will be has yet to be determined through a collab-orative effort between the teachers’ union and the district.

The reforms have caught the attention -- and opinions -- of many students as well.

“I am for merit-based pay,” junior Aleks Kajmakoski said. “Teachers that put a lot of work into teaching a class should be rewarded, especially if their students do well. I just don’t think it’s fair that teachers who don’t put as much work in get paid as much as those who do.”

Still, others hold opinions that reflect that of sopho-more Brynna Riese.

“It’s hard to do well under pressure. It’s almost de-meaning to teachers; it’s like lowering them to the students’ positions. Yeah, they need to be evaluated, but why belittle them?”

Despite doubts, the state mandates are in place and Crown Point administrators must continue to

implement them. “I hope that the system will positively affect the level

of learning that students engage in. Will you see changes in classrooms? Possibly, if you’re aware of your classroom surroundings or the research of what effective teaching is, you may start to notice your teachers do some things that you haven’t seen before,” Hardman said. “It will work re-ally well if it’s an ethical system. If it’s not an ethical sys-tem and it brings about competitiveness, bias, nastiness and other things like that, it could definitely be a negative experience.”

Indeed, the general sentiment seems to be if the evalu-ation system is implemented correctly, it could be benefi-cial to both teachers and students. While the details and outcome of the implementation of more thorough teacher evaluations remain to be seen, change itself is definite.

“Change is always difficult. I like things that make me a better teacher, but right now I feel a little overwhelmed,” Johnson said.

Teacher evaluationcontinued from p. 1

It will work really well if it’s an ethical sys-tem. If it’s not an ethical system and it brings about competitiveness, bias, nas-tiness and other things like that, it could definitely be a negative experience.

James Hardman Director of Curriculum and Instruction

‘‘

4 opinion inklings 10/25/12

As of late, the most trusted people in politics to many of the youth of America right now might just be “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart and “The Colbert Report” host Stephen Colbert, and that might be just what our country needs.

Stewart and Colbert’s shows have grabbed a firm hold on much of the youth in terms of influencing the public percep-tion of political figures. Their parodies, satires and tabloid style journalism can lead to major swings in political power across the board.

Both personalities have a huge fan base ready to support them when called upon. Stewart carries with him two million ded-icated nightly viewers who hang on his every word when they tune in. Colbert began a Super PAC that hauled in more than $1 mil-lion in funds which, ironically, was more earnings than former presidential candidate Ron Paul’s Super PAC had brought in.

Although the main purpose of their shows is entertainment, the comedians still educate their viewers. Although they make light of political situations, they are still informing their audiences and keeping them interested in what they are talking about.

If it takes Stewart using puppet versions of former Repub-lican Candidate Herman Cain to get his various points across, then so be it. It keeps the viewers involved and could create more interest in the stories that Stewart is covering. That could spark interest in the topics and lead to a group of more informed voters as a whole.

These comedians are just as important to the political results of our elections as those at Fox, NBC or CNN. They present in-formation in a fun, hip way that keeps young audiences involved while reporting current, popu-lar media related news. And on top of that, these shows remain relatively unbiased. Both are out to make fun of anyone, regardless of political agenda.

The truth is, people like Stewart and Colbert make young people interested in politics. Although they do not always follow the conventional rules of journalism, like displaying bal-ance for example, these comedic shows do present information to their viewers in a fun, easy-to-understand format. These shows and programs similar to it make politics fun which leads to more people into the voting booths. That is when democracy works at its finest.

BY SAM BEISHUIZENeditor-in-chief

Sam BeishuizenAbby Elstoneditors-in-chiefRaeAnna Morganeditor-at-largeDylan Taylormanaging editorMaggie GelonKatie Shermancopy editorsMolly Gracefeature editorShannon Rostinasst. feature editor

Alex McLeanAlexa Gradysports editorsKara Biernatsports asst.Yazzmyne Lopezadvertising editorHannah Colbyadvertising asst.Brittany PedersenAmy SchuchAnnie Swansonphotographers

Ellie BurrellartistAlaa AbdeldaiemMaddie AdducciAlexis BerdineEmily BestPaige BuelowOlivia ElstonDavid KepshireVerda MirzaTina WinfreystaffJulie Elstonadviser

Inklings is a student publication created by the newspaper and advanced journalism students and distributed monthly to students, faculty and staff of Crown Point High School. Opinions do not necessarily reflect those of CPHS faculty, staff or administration.

Letters-to-the-editor are welcomed provided they are signed and submit-ted one week prior to publication and do not contain personal attacks. Inklings reserves the right to edit for space, clarity and legal and ethical concerns.

Advertising is subject to applicable rates available by contacting Inklings.Inklings has been recognized as an Indiana High School Press Associa-

tion Hoosier Star, National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker, Columbia Scholastic Press Association Silver Crown, and Quill and Scroll George H. Gallup publication.

1500 S. Main St. Crown Point, IN 46307

219-663-4885 ex. 11349fax 219-662-5663

inklings@cps.k12.in.us

Vol. 77 Issue 2 Oct. 25, 2012

editorial

speakup

View:

Angie Wellssophomore

Madison DeGoeysenior

Daniel Gjikoskifreshman

Chris Reedjunior

“I think it’s important where the military is going and how our troops are getting here from Iraq.”

“I think the most important topic is Medicare because Obama said he could fix it, but a lot of people don’t think he did, so it’s very controversial.”

“Romney made a big part (on the debate) about Iran having nuclear weapons, so I think their plan for U.S. safety is important.”

“I’d say the biggest part is what the government is going to do with their money.”

What’s the most important topic of this year’s presidentialelection?

As recent Indiana education mandates surface from the state house, it becomes increasingly apparent that the state’s ties to public schools can put them at the mercy of poor, disconnected legislative decisions from government officials that, more often than not, have no direct experience in the field of public education. This problem has unfortunately seeped into the educative forefront with the state’s recent, reckless teacher evaluation law.

Sure, evaluation has always been an important measure in regulating any public school. Even before these laws were considered at legislative levels, administrators have already had every opportunity to observe classrooms, student scores and teaching strategies. Concerned parents or students were already able to come in with concerns, and in many situations conferences were already occurring in case students’ or administrator’s concerns with a teacher’s competence needed to be further discussed. Sadly, these new laws bear no immediate connection to teachers, nor administrators, nor students. These mandates were, rather, based around a sweeping ideological “reform” of public education that stems from statistics and, most tellingly, from state legislators – things that aren’t directly indicative of the complexities and subjectivities of what a “good” education is.

Instead, these laws project an idea of education upon schools that will do little other than overstress the teachers attempting to comply with them. In striving to meet every aspect of the evaluation rubrics to appear a “good teacher” to the state or district, teachers may actually decrease the quality of education. As many students who have had their lives positively affected by a teacher, truly incredible teaching is not something that can be gauged with a cold, objective rubric based on such vagueness as “student achievement and growth.” Rather, such evaluative methods, especially if combined with merit-based pay, will lead to little more than confusion, competitiveness and bias.

It is undeniable that there are problems inherent in public education, and teaching may be one of those things. Still, it is irresponsible to deduce that threatening teachers with strict evaluations and the possibility of monetary penalties will somehow fix any of the problems at hand.

CARTOOn BY ELLIE BURRELL

New teacher evaluationmandates are flawed from all perspectives and should be reconsidered

inkL I N G S

Crown Point High School, IN

Satirical media plays influential role in election

If you were to give a speech about a famous inventor, you would most likely have to research why he was important, what he did and anything else that might be interesting or rel-evant to know. Given that logic, why should voting for a president be any different?

The presidency is a job that should be handled with care and ideally given to the person most suitable for the job. For the same reason, it is extremely necessary that potential voters do the research on the candidates so they know exactly for whom they are voting.

It simply is not enough these days to rely entirely on party platforms. Although that serves as a useful starting point, a voter must learn about the candidates as individuals and each one’s per-sonal standpoint. A voter should know if a candidate is willing to be bipartisan on certain issues where it is somewhat necessary to do so to satisfy a majority of the country. Sometimes a candidate may even share slightly differing perspectives than his respective party (if he belongs to one).

Watching debates and campaigns is also imperative to wholly comprehend what the can-didate is planning to do in a nut-shell. A candidate must instantly reply to the other in a debate, so it is a useful way to know about the details of a candidate’s plan. It’s also useful to understand how a candidate is able to func-tion under pressure. Campaigns provide insight into what exactly a candidate is planning to do for different issues if elected.

Additionally, it is always advisable to keep a close eye on the news, especially for student voters. Candidates’ opinions may change, and it is vital to know how they respond to certain situ-ations to understand how they would handle similar instances as president. However, a voter must watch the news from the Repub-lican, Democratic and moderate perspectives. And if this is done, it’s usually easier to understand fun satirical shows such as “SNL,” “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report.”

Being informed is argu-ably one of the most important responsibilities of an American citizen. Even if you cannot vote this time around, it is necessary to know who your future presi-dent is. If not, you may as well let anybody walk right into The White House and take charge.

BY ABBY ELSTONeditor-in-chief

Be informed citizen in upcoming election

Cartoon by ElliE burrEll

Kids on the new block?issue:

15 Inklings staffers agree11 Inklings staffers agree

Don’t mess with success;seven periods work

“you would get two days to do your as-signments instead of one. there is more time for studying too.”

“There are some subjects that benefit from the routine of meeting as often as possible.”

Dori SortirovkaJohann Sletto

juniorband director

Pro: Con:

“if you have more time in class, you can do activities you don’t normally have time to do. it builds time in the schedule as a resource period.”

Bruce Sharp math teacher “ i don’t want an alternative schedule. ninety minutes is way too long for one class.”

Leo Zdanowicz freshman

Block scheduling allows studentsto step outside the box

5opinioninklings 10/25/12

There is no magic scheduling system that perfects education. Still, that does not mean that a flexible, effective approach to scheduling should not be strived for, and that appropriate agenda can be found in block scheduling.

While supporters of traditional scheduling may argue that repeti-tion and daily exposure to material is beneficial to students, block scheduling allows for more time for students to digest information and ask thoughtful questions. Extended class periods permit students to develop a greater grasp on the material which eliminates the entire need for reiteration in the first place. The result is a positive feedback cycle. Improved comprehension the first time taught generates more time to learn new material and less time spent pressing the teacher’s rewind button.

Longer class periods will allow for a less stressful, more conducive learning environment. Logistically, teachers will be able to incorporate more labs and discussions. Under the current schedule, by the time the microscope is out, and the cords are unwound, and the rules are gone over, and the goggles are on, the bell rings. Likewise, discussions will be allotted time to flourish, rather than just cover shallow ground.

According to research done at Brown University, block schedul-ing is proven to boost grades and reduce failing grades and drop-out rates. Furthermore, students are made more responsible for their time management. Homework may not be due the very next day, and stu-dents will have to adjust to an agenda more like college. Students may not have a music class each day and will assume the responsibility of practicing each day on their own time. These skills are an education in themselves. Time management and personal responsibility are abili-ties that everyone needs to have in order to succeed in high school, in college and in life. If the goal of education is to teach students how to be successful and responsible, block scheduling is the clear choice for schools.

Thomas Bertram coined the phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” which is appropriate in discussing the possible change from a conventional seven class period school day to a block schedule day. The school’s current seven period format is exactly what our school needs, and with a new focus on progression, switching to a block schedule would certainly be a digression in the advancement of the school.

There simply never seems to be enough room in student’s schedules for classes they want as is. Students wanting to be a part of electives like choir, art or business classes need to somehow find a balance between those classes and their other rigorous electives. With at least four classes a year mandated to graduate for students going down the honors track, and a possible study hall, students only have room for two electives. Implementing a block schedule could take out one of those classes all together, forcing some students to make the choice between their rigorous AP classes and classes that may prepare them for future career paths.

Implementing a block schedule would only reduce the overall learning capacity of the students at the school. Longer periods would make for excruciatingly long periods of notes, which in classes that require daily note taking like AP Biology or AP U. S. History, a rigor on students who might struggle just to pay attention for the hour-and-a-half long class. More teachers would need to be hired to meet the needs and to fill the holes left when current staff members need room for their preparation periods. The addition of new teachers would make the school less efficient and bring the school closer to the financial crisis it experienced last year.

When it all boils down to it, the current seven period format works just fine. There is nothing wrong with it, and no real push factor that is powerful enough to prompt change. The current system ain’t broke, so why would anyone try to fix it?

BY MAGGIE GELONcopy editor

BY SAM BEISHUIZENeditor-in-chief

Cartoon by ElliE burrEll

ROMNEYsays:

6 feature inklings 10/25/12

ionlife

To vote or not to vote-- that is the question that a number of eligible students are faced with this year.

On Nov. 6, some seniors will be able to vote for the first time for presi-dent, senator, governor, school board and other positions.

“Well it’s my first opportunity to vote, and I feel like it’s a good expe-rience to have. It’s one of your civil duties, and it’s a way to get involved in government,” senior Courtney Far-rell said.

Aside from being involved in the government, voting is also a way to take control of one’s own future.

“It’s important that young people participate more politically because it affects our future more than people realize. The adults, of course, most of them vote, but we have more time in the future that it’s going to affect us than they do,” senior Kyle Przyborski said.

Even said adults would agree with this statement.

“It’s important when students are of age that they vote because the decisions that are going to be made in this election will affect them sig-nificantly too,” social studies teacher Paula Barancyk said. “There are a lot of issues with the economy that are on the line, and as you go to college, look for student loans, enter the workforce or whatever, you know whatever deci-sions are made by the next president will have a direct effect on you and your economic situation.”

Because the choices made by the winner of this election will affect the youth, some who are not eligible to

vote still keep up with politics.“It’s always kind of important

to keep up with it because it’s good to know things now so that you have experience when you go to vote later. The earlier you get involved, the bet-ter off you’ll be in the future,” junior Dominic Peretin said. “Plus, say you go to vote for the first time and you’re like, ‘What’s a democrat? And what’s a republican?’ and you have no idea.”

This proves true with Farrell, as she is now catching up with watching election material to cast an informed vote.

“I have not recently (watched de-bates and campaigns), but I’m going to so I can start getting informed,” Farrell said. “I think it really gives you an idea of what each person or each candidate has in mind and what their policies are, and you can figure out their stance on everything. It’ll give you an idea of who you want to vote for. You can’t just go in blind and just say, ‘Oh, I like your name.’ You have to have an idea going into it.”

Przyborski agrees and also em-phasizes forming personal views of the candidates and their plans.

“You need to know what you’re voting for. You can’t just vote for someone based off someone else’s opinions. It’s important to kind of see things and develop your own opin-ion,” Przyborski said.

Seeking this information does not prove difficult for most who are wishing to develop their own view-points, and it comes in many forms, including satire.

“I keep up with the campaign by watching ‘The Daily Show’ and stuff like that,” Peretin said.

Barancyk also believes that there are plenty of ways for anyone to learn about candidates and their beliefs.

“A student is like anybody, that you can be as informed as you want to be. There’s such an abundance of information that’s out there for you (students),” Barancyk said.

Barancyk has been seeking infor-mation and voting since she was 18.

“(I first voted when I was) 18. It was exciting. I came from a very polit-ically-based family; my mother was a local precinct captain in Hammond. They were always involved in local politics. It was just something I was raised with, to be an informed person, to be involved in politics, know who the candidates were. So when I had the opportunity, I never missed an elec-tion. I vote all the time,” Barancyk said.

The significance of voting is also shared by some 18-year-olds as well.

“You definitely have a voice. It kind of like inspires other people. It’s like when you buy something; buying something is making a choice. Well, voting is making a choice. It’s what you want,” Przyborski said.

In addition to having a voice, according to Farrell, voting is a right that should be exercised.

“You are given the right to vote, so you should use it; you shouldn’t just waste it away. You can get into politics even if you’re as young as a teenager, and it will just continue through the rest of your life. I think if (teenagers) apply themselves and re-ally kind of learn what they’re talking about and understand everything that they can make a pretty big difference,” Farrell said.

A page dedicated to celebrating student life.Senior Hope Hobgood stops at the Graduation Fair in the cafeteria held on Oct. 23. Hobgood receives a t-shirt while visiting one of the booths.

PHOTO BY OLIVIA ELSTON

BY ABBY ELSTONeditor-in-chief

(Marginal tax) rates must be brought down to stimluate entrepre-neurship, job creation and investment.

Americans have a moral duty to up-hold the sanctity of life and protect the weakest, most vulnerable and most innocent among us.

It is important to preserve traditional marriage-- the joining together of one man and one woman.

(We should) empower states to de-termine their own healthcare futures.

Senior Payton Lewis votes in the Inklings staff’s mock presidential election while sports editor, senior Alex McLean, regu-lates the voting. The election was run on Oct. 15 during all lunch hours. Students chose Obama by ten votes.

PHOTO BY AMY SCHUCH

No household making more than $1 million each year should pay a smaller share of their income in taxes than a middle-class family pays.

A woman’s healthcare choices are personal decisions, best made with her doctor-- without interference from politicians.

(I have) always believed LGBT Americans should be treated fairly and equally.

(Obamacare ensures) access to free preventive care and protecting consumers from insurance company abuses.

Rocking the vote for the first timeEligible senior students plan to vote in Nov. 6 election

120

10

20304050

607080

90100110

OBAMA

ROMNEY S

TEIN

JOHNSON

GOODE

(104)(94)

(6)

(10)

(1)

Out of 215 students who voted

The Inklings staff held a mock election on Oct. 15 during all lunch hours to “vote” for the president. Here are the results:

(Quoted from each candidate’s official website)

OBAMAsays:

7featureinklings 10/25/12

Have a

After a long month of studying and wrap-ping up grades, fall break is finally here and students are looking for ways to make the most of it.

“I have plans to go to Fright Fest with my friends and family this fall break,” sophomore Valerie Jones said. “It was so much fun last year that we decided to go again.”

Six Flags Great America turns into a Halloween-filled environment for the month of October, giving its visitors a thrill as they travel through the park.

“There are a ton of people dressed up in costumes who will come up to your face and scare you,” Jones said.

Junior Jake Kraft and his friends had an up-close encounter with one of the people Jones mentions.

“There was a chainsaw guy who chased my friends and me out of the haunted house,” Kraft said. “I was frightened because I thought I was going to die.”

Fright Fest is not the only place fit for get-ting scared at this time of year. Haunted houses such as Amhurst Asylum and Statesville Haunt-ed Prison have a reputation of being close to unbearable.

“I was standing in line when a creepy clown came walking over to me,” sophomore Hannah Helmstetter said. “Just waiting to enter was scary.”

Once inside the house, beaten up clowns and uncanny murderers come from all angles of the house, tormenting their visitors sometimes

to the point of tears. “I cried when the clowns were around me; it

was so creepy,” Helmstetter said.Helmstetter was unarguably scared during

her visit to the haunted house, but sophomore Zack Greenburg had a different experience.

“I worked in the old Lake County Jail last Halloween,” Greenburg said. “I had a cannibalis-tic mask and a strait jacket with blood covering my hands. I got to scare tons of little kids.”

His scary act in the kid’s area of the jail had the little ones coming back through again and again. They enjoyed his act so much that once he was done, people would acknowledge how daunting he was.

“There were people coming through three times just to see me,” Greenberg said.

Being around friends and taking time to un-load the stresses of school plays a large role in

senior Auston Pavlinac’s fall break. Pavlinac and his friends enjoy their free time at a costume party on the Ball State University campus. They ride down and join the crowds of college stu-dents dressed up in various getups.

“Last year I dressed up in a sailor suite,” Pavlinac said. “It was fun seeing all the differ-ent costumes, but a really cool one was a pirate outfit.”

Some people would argue that dressing up is only for young kids, let alone going to a costume party. However, Pavlinac has his own opinions on the topic.

“You’re never too old to dress up. You can always have fun,” Pavlinac said.

Instead of heading out to the haunted hous-es and Halloween parties this fall break, senior Steven Medina plans on having an overnight ac-tivity with members of his church youth group. Sophomore, junior and senior boys who attend Bethel church are going to come together for a night of fun and bonding.

“We’re going to watch movies, play capture the flag, fellowship and eat, which we like to do a lot of,” Medina said.

The activities will start at 8 p.m. and are expected to continue late into the night, leaving those who fall asleep vulnerable.

“To sleep, people lock themselves in a room so no one will mess with them,” Medina said. “I’ll just go home Saturday and sleep all day.”

These four days of break will give students the opportunity to do what they want and enjoy this time of year.

“I’m really looking forward to having a few days off school,” Medina said. “Fall break is go-ing to be great this year.”

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Sophomore Nick Mahaffey roasts a hot dog at Norm’s Pumpkin patch while there for a bonfire with friends. they also took the haunted hayride.

alk into room D129 on any weekday and one may see a frenzy of organized chaos and a number of creative-minded students work-ing toward a common goal. These students

plan to work toward a much different cause than most required classes. This class is Technical Communications, a music management class led by Chris Gloff.

The students of this class are currently building their record label, Crown City Records. This course is structured to teach music management to interested students through hands-on and project-based learning.

“I’m taking this class because I wanted to learn more about music and recording. It’s a fun class and you get a taste of professional music management,” senior Sarah Reed said.

Technical communications will be a class that is flex-ible around student interests. This year’s class was based off student interest in music and band management. The goal of the class is to find a student artist (or artists), promote them and get them signed to a record label. This will in-volve setting up a photo shoot, calls to radio stations and record companies and publicizing the artist.

“Mr. Pettit and Dr. Ban and I were like ‘well, what kind of course can we create that can be flexible every year, that can fit a niche, an interest of the students, and that can give them an idea of what it’s really like to be in that world?’ We were looking for something that would feed a niche and that students didn’t have,” Gloff said. “The idea for this year was band management.”

Unlike a typical core class, this is structured by project-based learning and creating a hands-on experience.

“Our hope is to provide an opportunity that provides sense of what it is to do in publicity, marketing, to create a brand name and present it to the public, to deal with public relations and talent, to record, to get on the phone and make cold calls to college radio stations, record com-panies,” Gloff said.

In order to complete its job, the class auditioned artists Sept. 17-21.

“We want to do a talent search, and it has to be in school, so it’s limited. It’s not really the real world, it’s

still school. We’re doing a talent search of the school, and we’re concerned. A lot of really talented students left the school last year. We have to go and find a band, if they exist in this school, or an individual soloist talent, singer song writer, who then we can back with a band that we put together; then we create the image,” Gloff said.

Though Gloff provided guidance, the audition was student-run with a table of 12 voters from the students of the class. Roughly 30 student artists were seen. The process involved much debating over the amount of talent they witnessed.

“The process was so hard for them because there were a lot of truly talented kids, and they each had different people they liked, and we could have done something with all of them,” Gloff said.

The class ultimately decided to sign sophomore Becca Olesk, sophomore Roman Ruiz, and junior Dylan Taylor. Olesek and Ruiz will be signed as a collaboration, while Taylor will perform as a solo artist. The class selected the three artists based on their performing as well as songwrit-ing ability.

“All three know how to perform, and all performed original songs they had written. They had proficient per-forming and writing skills,” Gloff said.

The artists are looking forward to being able to share their music and talent.

“I am excited to be given the opportunity to get my

ideas out as well as make awesome music. It’s extremely ex-citing. I think what Mr. Gloff and the class are doing gives a great opportunity to kids that don’t necessarily fit in the mold of band, orchestra or choir,” Taylor said.

Taylor was described as having an eccentric style. He is looking forward to the freedom of being a solo artist.

“(My music) is sort of a cosmic take on folk music. I’m trying to communicate impulses that aren’t always compre-hensible,” Taylor said.

Olesek is excited to be part of this experience. “It’s amazing, and I’m really excited to be given this

experience. I just love music and cannot picture myself do-ing anything else,” Olesek said.

Ruiz is hoping to use this as an opportunity to start his career in music.

“I’m really excited to get my name out there and pur-sue a career in music, which is exactly what I want to do,” Ruiz said.

Both Olesek and Taylor want to be able to impact people through their music.

“It doesn’t matter what kind of emotion they feel, I just want it to provoke emotion through my songs,” Olesek said.

Taylor has similar goals for his music.“I don’t really care about fame or cash, I’m just glad I

was given the opportunity to make music,” Taylor said. “If people catch on, though, it’d definitely be a plus.”

Ruiz feels similarly about his experience as well.“Starting my career will be awesome,” Ruiz said. This talent search was a large task for the students.

However, the class as a whole is eager to work with these artists as well as apply their skills.

“I like this class because it’s different. It’s extraordinary because of the people in it, and we all have a common goal,” senior Alex Nickla said.

The students hope to promote what they predict au-diences will be interested in and listen to. The class will provide students with a real-life situation for students and artists to apply their skills.

“The thing that makes this class one of the greatest classes at this school is the learning style. We don’t learn by taking notes, we learn by taking action,” senior Austin Cundiff said.

8 feature inklings 10/25/12

BY SHANNON ROSTINasst. feature editor

Setting RecoRdS

Our hope is to provide them with an opportunity that gives them a sense of what it is to do publicity, marketing, to create a brand name and present it to the public, to deal with public rela-tions and talent, to record, to get on the phone and make cold calls to college radio stations, record companies.

Chris Gloff Technical Communications Teacher

‘‘

Musically-minded

students work to

pioneer school

record label

through new

communications

class

It’s a great way to hit the ground running.‘‘Roman Ruiz sophomore

phOTOs by amy sChuCh

sophomore

Roman RuizsophomoreBecca Olesek

junior

Dylan Taylor

W

It is an oft-repeated phrase that freshmen are resembling middle school students more and more each new school year. Reality is, some of the students at CPHS actually are.

Every school year, select eighth graders from Wheeler Middle School, Taft Middle School and St. Mary’s have the opportunity to enroll in different advanced classes at the high school. The various courses offered include ,but are not limited to, honors geometry, honors biology, freshman honors English and honors world history. Before the students are eligible to take high school courses, they must undergo

processes of evaluation that can start as early as beginning levels of elementary school.

“(Eighth graders) are targeted in elementary levels for different programs such as accelerated math and science,” guidance counselor Kim Swan said. “When they get to the middle schools, if they’re still on that accelerated track, they simply progress towards taking classes at the high school as eighth graders.”

Eighth grader Sabrina Siew takes all of the courses available to middle school students at the high school. Compared to Wheeler Middle School, Siew finds the pace at the high school more accelerated.

“The curriculum is way faster here,” Siew said. “We have a quiz almost every day, and it’s a lot

more work than classes at the middle school.”

According to biology teacher Kelley Nelson, teaching the eighth graders is not a challenge. She finds that the biggest difficulty for them is not having trouble understanding the material given to them but finding a way to adjust to attending two different schools with two different schedules during the same day.

“They’re smart enough to handle the content,” Nelson said. “It’s just a matter of balancing between two different environments here and at the middle school.”

Having the opportunity to experience the atmosphere at the high school a year earlier than usual was helpful to many incoming freshmen. Because he

took high school courses last year, freshman Saym Imtiaz found his transition from middle school to high school much easier and more

comfortable than most freshmen students.

“My experience definitely prepared me for high school,” Imtiaz said. “It was a lot easier to

get around and understand things this year because we had that experience last year.”

Despite the heavier work load and faster curriculum they endure during their first year at the high school, eighth graders have never failed to succeed in the higher placement classes they decided to enroll at CPHS. Through her four years of working with them, the middle school students have never approached Swan to say it was too much for them to handle and they would like to drop. They have always continued on with the program.

“I’ve never had a kid come to me and say they can’t do it anymore,” Swan said. “There’s no doubt that they’re ready, or we wouldn’t have them here. They’re always successful.”

Jumping

Eighth grade students use the opportunity to enroll in courses at CPHS

9featureinklings 10/25/12

BY ALAA ABDELDAIEMOLIVIA ELSTON

reporters

Taft student Hunter Briggs is enrolled in sophomore level geometry class at the high school. Briggs is only an eighth grader, but has qualified to be in attendance at CPHS for his advanced courses.

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They’re smart enough to handle the content. It’s just a matter of balancing be-tween two different envi-ronments here and at the

middle school.Kelley Nelson biology teacher

‘‘

AHEADin their

ACADEMICS

Running 26.2 miles is considered to be an impressive and difficult achievement. Running a distance of that length often requires intense physical preparation and time to train. This, for some teachers, de-fines their passion.

Physics teacher Jerome Flewelling and math teacher Adam Piaskowy ran the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Oct. 7. For Piaskowy, participating in a race of this distance was a new experience.

“I wanted to do (the Chicago Mara-thon) for several years, and a lot of my friends were doing it, so they helped con-vince me as well,” Piaskowy said. “I’ve been a spectator at the marathon for 10 years, so I thought I was due to participate.”

Flewelling, on the other hand, also participated in 2004.

“I really just wanted to run (the Chicago Marathon) again this year. My kids are now old enough for me to not feel guilty about leaving them home while I train, so it just seemed like a good time to run it,” Flewelling said.

Along with running the 26.2 mile race for the first time, Piaskowy also reached a personal goal he set for himself.

“I did well. I got a 2:48:30 time, which is good for a first marathon. During my training, I timed my goal as a 6:30 pace per mile, and I definitely surpassed that. It was a really great experience,” Piaskowy said.

Flewelling was unable to beat his per-sonal record, but he managed to overcome personal difficulties to finish the marathon.

“I didn’t hit my personal record; I ripped my quads while training and was un-able to train for 6 weeks. Still, I was happy to run it all the way and not have to stop,” Flewelling said. “I didn’t hit that ‘wall’ of tiredness at 20 or so miles in like a lot of

people do, and I was definitely more aware of the spectators, neighborhoods and deco-rations (for the marathon).”

For both Flewelling and Piaskowy, intense training was necessary, which was mostly accomplished over the summer. Piaskowy’s position as girls cross country coach allowed him many opportunities to train alongside his team.

“Running a fall marathon as a teacher is good, because you get the entire summer to train,” Piaskowy said. “I did my running mostly with the cross country girls, and I did a long run every Sunday. I wish I could have trained more; next time I would prob-ably incorporate more marathon-specific training instead of just long runs.”

Flewelling ran consistently on his own to condition for the race.

“For training, I run every other day, every week adding more mile-age to my runs. I do two short runs, a medium-length run and a long run every week,” Flewel-ling said.

Besides Pias-kowy and Flewelling’s marathon runs, Math teacher Michael David is currently preparing to run his first 26.2 mile run at the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon on Nov. 3. David, who heard about the marathon when running a mini-marathon in Indianapolis, is running the event with a group of friends he met through running.

“Through starting to run, I met a group of people with similar interests, and we’re all running the marathon,” David said. “I participated in a running program at the YMCA to train for the Hub Run, and through that have participated in other programs to train for other small races and mini-marathons. But this is my first ever full marathon.”

David and his group follow an inten-sive training schedule to prepare.

“I train with other people on a specific

training schedule put together by an ac-complished marathon runner,” David said. “Some days it has me running in areas with a lot of hills, some areas that are flat, some speed work and so on. We run 5 days a week, 20-40 miles every week.”

David said, “I think that after doing 20 mile runs, I’ll be able to do a 26.2 mile run.”

David said his experiences with dis-tance running have been very positive.

“Running has brought me neat friend-ships, a more positive attitude toward exer-cise, better health and a feeling of accom-

plishment.”As David prepares for the upcom-

ing Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, Flewelling and Piaskowy are both eager to run a marathon again.

“I’d like to do another one, and next time I’ll definitely train harder. But all in all, it was a good experience for a first mara-thon,” Piaskowy said.

“I’m definitely planning on running again,” Flewelling said. I didn’t think I would want to, but I changed my mind after I ran this year. It really gets in your

blood.”

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Teachers take on various marathons

PHOTO COURTESY OF JEROME FLEWELLING

Physics teacher Jerome Flewelling runs the Chicago Marathon. The Marathon was on Oct. 7 and was 26.2 miles long. Math teacher Adam Piaskowy also completed the race.

I didn’t think I would want to, but I changed my mind after I ran this year. It really gets in your blood.

Jerome Flewelling physics teacher

‘‘

lifesocial

This Halloween, “Sinister” is a must see for fans of scary movies.

When crime writer Ellison Oswalt and his family move into a house a family was murdered, Oswalt is excited. He is hoping to get information on the murdered family to start writing a new non-fiction novel.

Upon moving in,

Oswalt finds some disturbing home movies in the attic but decides to keep them from his family.

After finding the movies, Oswalt dives head first into an investigation about the murders that soon puts himself and his family in danger.

The film resembles the urban legend of Slender Man, a paranormal figure who feeds off of the lives

of children. While the movie follows the legend closely, there are some twists and turns one might not see coming.

The film has been rated “R” for disturbing violent images and some terror. After seeing the movie, a rating of “R” seemed to give the movie a little more credit than it deserved regarding the scare factor.

The only negative

about “Sinister” would have to be its predictable plot line. This may be due to the fact that the film very closely follows the well-known legend of Slender Man. Even with the predictable plot line, “Sinister” is still a must see.

While the film has some frightening moments, chances are it won’t end in a sleepless night.

From “Slender Man” to “Sinister,” the legend lives onBY EMILY BEST

Reporter

Ubisoft came out with yet another Just Dance game. This newest addition includes much more recent songs such as “Call Me

Maybe” and “What Makes You Beautiful.” It also has some oldies so it reaches

more than one age group like “You’re The First, The Last, My Everything” and “Time Wrap.” Just Dance 4 beats out the previous games by far.

The delicious Apple Caramel Muffin at Dunkin’ Donuts is the perfect mix between a refreshing apple taste and a caramel sweetness. To make this snack even more appealing, the total amount of fat is only three grams. It is the perfect amount of fall flavor for the low price of $1.39.

By the sixth season the bar fights and break ups

are getting old. The house mates have all turned for the

best with Mike overcom-ing his drinking addiction and Snooki being pregnant While this all may help the house mates become better people, it has made it somewhat boring.

The idea of having a game console controller for your smart phone is just wasteful. It is inconvenient to carry around. The point of games on smart devices is to add convenient, little games. Having a controller makes the devices harder to carry when traveling and it is much more difficult to go unnoticed playing. This is over the top.

11a&einklings 10/25/12

This new program allows people to jam out to the same playlist at the same time, allowing for the ulti-mate sharing experience.

“Don’t lose.” The most encouraging words you could tell a person.

tweetsbestBoy, I’m full of women #debates

Lance Armstrong now has the same number of Tour de France titles as A-Rod.

Gary the snail has the wisest sayings

appsbest

This app allows the user to locate their iPhone when it is misplaced. All that is needed is another device to log onto, and the app will tell the user exactly where their phone is.

followsbest

The Dark Lord has an entertaining sarcastic side.

Common problems girls in Indiana face.

A section devoted to social media

inreviewJust Dance

Apple Caramel Muffin

Jersey Shore

Discovery Bay Games Gamer

Taylor Swift is the queen of love songs. Her new

song “Red is the typical Swift sound, which is an upbeat tune with catchy

lyrics. It is hard to top her previous single “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” but this new single may come close.

“Red” by Taylor Swift

@IndianaGirlProb

Seedio

Find My iPhone

@Lord_Voldemort7@RomneysBinder

@SportsCenter

@ JonahCampbell

Romney’s Binder

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sophomore Jonah Campbell

junior Jake Jenks @JakeJenks23

Fall is the season for hayrides, bonfires and warm apple cider. One way to celebrate the season is to visit local pumpkin patches

and apple orchards. Our staff ranked the local farms to visit.

Norm’s Pumpkin patch located in Lowell, Indiana offers a unique version of a tradi-tional hayride. During the day, a traditional hayride is offered to those of all ages to enjoy. The hayride stops for the riders to select a pumpkin. However, their hayride that is of-fered exclusively at night is a much different experience. This is a haunted hayride, which travels through the patch, full of scares and lurking shadows. The ride does not stop and is sure to give customers a scare.

A giant corn husk tee-pee, a farmer’s market feel and a classic off-the-vine pumpkin picking experience are all definitive features of Kregel’s Pumpkin Patch. Though last year the patch moved from Crown Point to Lowell, In-diana, the features that visitors come for have survived the move. Kregel’s boasts an indoor market with “teddy bear” pumpkins and warty gourds. Also inside, the “snack shack” serves fresh doughnuts as well as homemade kettle corn.

Outside, pre-picked pumpkins are orga-nized for convenient selection. Spread about are pony rides, farm animals, corn mazes, hayrides and a pumpkin slingshot. Kregel’s visitors can fire mini pumpkins at a target, and if the pumpkin goes through the hole, the visitor wins a large pumpkin. For the classic pumpkin patch goers, Kregel’s offers a huge pumpkin field where they can pick their own pumpkin. Check it out over fall break, and the slingshot comes highly recommended.

During the sunny days this fall when it is warm, take a drive with family or friends over to County Line Orchard. The orchard is located in Hobart and is only 20 minutes from Crown Point. The orchard includes a petting zoo, a pumpkin patch, a bakery with a gift shop and a country kitchen. Upon entering, stop by the Check-In Barn where one can buy an admission passes that range from $1 to $10. The apple orchard offers Gala, Jonathon and McIntosh apples that can be picked and a variety of apples that can be bought in the gift shop. After picking apples and pump-kins, make sure to stop into the gift shop for a warm cup of apple cider along with their famous apple spiced doughnut or pumpkin spiced doughnuts. These doughnuts are made fresh daily and are “to die for.” There are many more fabulous fall treats that can be purchased to take home such as apple cider, kettle corn, fudge, pies, delicious homemade bread and caramel apples. County Line is surely a must when looking for a fun-filled afternoon.

Good.

Better. Best.

Norm’s Pumpkin Patch

Kregel’s Pumpkin Patch County Line Orchard

PHOTO BY BRITTANY PEDERSENThe view from the outside of the back of the County Line Apple orchard gift shop that is located in Hobart. The orchard runs through Oct. 31.

Season’s best pickings Pumpkin patches, apple orchards popular hot spots for outdoor fun

BY SHANNON ROSTIN, MAGGIE GELONand KATIE SHERMAN

You may already know the story of Nor-man Bates from Alfred Hitchcock’s famous movie adaptation of this psychological horror novel, but the original script has secrets of its own. The infamous shower death scene revo-lutionized the horror film industry’s vision and terrified the generation before us. The story follows Norman Bates after the murder of Mary Crane, a young woman who was stay-ing in the Bates’ hotel. Suspicions that Nor-man’s mother was the killer fall through and a much more sickening truth is brought to life. Even if you have seen the movie, reading Bloch’s classic novel is a must.

Scary books that will send shivers down the spine

If you are a fan of bloody, gory hor-ror with a twist of dark humor, this is the series for you. “The Demonata” is a ten-book chronicle of the life of Grubbs Grady, a young man whose former life is mutilated and left to rot after he discovers that a demon lord had placed a curse on his family. The curse challenges the children to a seem-ingly innocent chess match. However, if the child loses they are tured into a wherewolf. Grubbs goes to live with his uncle who once faced the game and lived. Together, they take up arms against the game. Shan’s humor shines through in a captivating

series guaranteed to keep you reading.

BY ELLIE BURRELL & OLIVIA ELSTONreporters

“Psycho” By Robert Bloch

Haunted hotels and evil clowns are not even the beginning of the terrifying things that come to life in Stephen King’s horror novels, “It” and “The Shining”. These classics are the perfect books to get anyone in the scary mood for Halloween.

King does an outstanding job making his audience terrified as he brings together Pennywise, the evil clown, who terrorizes little children in the town of Derry, Maine. King’s writing style is a more difficult reading level than most, and it is not a light read. With a little over 1000 pages, make sure to set aside some free time before reading this extensive horror story. There is no clowning around in King’s “It”.

“It” By Stephen King

“The Demonata” Series By Darren Shan

12 a&e inklings 10/25/12

It has been a wish for many to have something that simply tells one where there stuff is located. Now, that is a real possibility. The BiKN is an iPhone cover that syncs with tags that you put on things you loose on a regular basis. The BiKN is being sold online; however, it costs $120. Depending on how often things get lost though, it may be well worth the money.

A website that saves one up to 60% on anything from food to travel sounds too good to be true. A little known website, livingso-cial.com, does just that. Daily the website is updated and promotes special deals in the area that you live in. With black Friday coming up, livingsocial.com allows for the same bargains, without all the waiting.

Just as quickly as new iPhones come out so do cases to match. The iPhone Wallet case allows one to keep their phone, money and ID all in one convenient place. The iPhone wallet case is available both online and in stores and it usually runs about $39.99. It comes in many different colors to match your style.

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the wallet case

bikn

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This song by Gotye has played over and over on the radio lately. While it has a good beat, the repetitive lyrics drag the song along. Take this song off your iPod and try listening to a new Gotye song such as “Eyes Wide Open.”

“somebody that i used to know”

we’reSOover

ourFAVES

livingsocial.com

Liam Neeson is at it again. “Taken 2,” although widely unpopular among many critics, was well received by the masses, according to high box office numbers. Neeson's thrilling performance in the first “Taken” film left audience members at the edge of their seats for the entire length of the movie. The second installment was just as much of a nail biter as the first, if not more.

Like many others, one may have assumed there would be no differences between the two. Honestly, what are the odds that another family member of an ex-government agent who is licensed to kill would get kidnapped, not once, but twice? Apparently, under the right circumstances, it can happen more than once in a lifetime and can be done in a quite convincing manner. As Bry-an Mills (Neeson) takes a trip to Istanbul with his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) and daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) he is hunted down by the father of the man Mills killed in the first film in an attempt to rescue his daugh-ter from being trafficked. When Mills and his ex-wife are taken by the father and his accomplices, it is up to their daughter Kim to help Mills escape so he can find and save his ex-wife.

The film is jam-packed with car chases, fist fights, shoot outs and those incredibly intimidat-ing speeches only Liam Neeson himself could deliver. “Taken 2” took me by surprise. Many were surprised when the plot was actually substantial and capable of holding someone’s interest rather than painfully cheesy. As someone who is not particu-larly fond of the action genre in general, I was shocked when I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was not overdone nor did it lose my attention at any point in time. For those who are action junkies, you may not think “Taken 2” was quite up to par, but for those who only dabble in the genre, it was entertaining.

Audiences “Taken 2” adventure BY RAEANNA MORGAN

editor-at-large

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Foreign pop music has been making its way to the United States recently. Many of these new artists are dominating the charts and have acquired an expanding American fan base.

These songs have become popular among Americans even though some of the songs like “Gangnam Style” by PSY are a bit obscure to the American ears, considering most Ameri-cans are not fluent in Korean.

“Gangnam Style” is a Korean song that has recently been rated one of the top ten on iTunes in the U.S., while in South Korea it has become a cultural phenomenon. Also, in New Zealand, ballet director Ethan Steifel and dancer-choreographer Johan Kobbog developed a video of

themselves using PSY in their new production of Giselle.

The only thing that has made the song really popular is the music video with the Korean dancers doing new age Western style dance moves. The downside to this is that the lyrics are not easy to comprehend. The only lyrics that can be heard in Eng-lish are “eh- sexy lady.”

Aside from that the song does have a fun and upbeat tone to it. PSY’s spin on hip-hop is very colorful. The hip-hop in the song is a remix of beat boxing and traditional Korean zither. Korean zither is a Korean musi-cal instrument resembling a harp.

PSY is not the only artist to have become famous overseas. Another huge sensation in the music industry is a British boy band called One Direction.

The former X-Factor boy band chose "What Makes You Beautiful" as their official debut single.

“What Makes You Beautiful”

is the pop/rock type of music that has fans screaming for more. The song is about how some girls do not know the beauty and confidence they possess. In this day and age some girls do need that confidence boost.

Endorsed by fellow Cana-dian pop star Justin Bieber, Carly Rae Jepsen has recently made her debut in the states. Released in December of 2011 in Canada, her hit single “Call Me Maybe” did not make it to the big times until the song went viral in 2012.

“Call Me Maybe” has a very catchy yet annoying quality to it. It is a really repetitive song, but it is one of those songs that stick in one’s head no matter how hard they try to get rid of it.

Foreign music has been in United States in the past before. However, it seems like 2012 is a year with a great increase in foreign music, and Americans are not complaining.

BY VERDA MIRZAreporter

Pop gets foreign culture shock

“Gangnam Style” singer PSY

“The Shining” By Stephen King

PHOTO BY OLiViA ELSTON

“The Shining” is a great horror novel. It brings the scary aspects of the Halloween spir-it out. It is about a family of three (husband, wife and their three year old son) who live at The Overlook Hotel. Jack Torrance loses his regular job and resorts to finding work as a caretaker for the hotel. During the Torrance’s stay, weird disturbances happen at the hotel that end up making Jack go crazy. This novel truly shines above the rest.

13sportsinklings 10/25/12

Passion goes a long way with the right amount of heart behind it. Physically able and mentally driven Alyssa Kvarta has proven she has the heart and passion necessary to suc-ceed. When stepping on the court, the sophomore strives to do more than just play a volleyball game.

”My cousin got me into volley-ball at a young age, so I tried it and instantly fell in love with it,” Kvarta said.

Kvarta’s hard work and dedica-tion paid off her freshman year as she landed herself a spot on the var-sity squad. Not settling for a meager position, Kvarta led the team and earned Setter of the Year, Server of the Year, and All-Conference recogni-tion.

“It was a huge adjustment and very intimidating to come in on var-sity, but I got used to it fast and got along great with all the girls,” Kvarta said.

Kvarta has been playing on the courts since she was eight years old and has always been open to enhanc-ing her performance.

“I train with my cousin a lot, especially on my vertical, and play for a Dunes travel team in the off-season,” Kvarta said.

Guiding her training are a num-ber of goals Kvarta put in place for herself. She hopes to get MVP this year, stay healthy and continue play-ing like at the same high level per-formance. Her long-term goal is to play volleyball at the collegiate level for Purdue or Michigan State. Head coach Allison Duncan considers Kvarta an essential part of the team.

“With her great physical abil-ity, she helps lead our offense,” head coach Allison Duncan said.

While most sports rely heav-ily on upperclassmen leadership, the Lady ‘Dogs have had to make do with only three seniors, making con-tributions from younger classmen a necessity.

“At one point in the season I have had all of the seniors injured,” Duncan said. “There has been a great opportunity for the underclassmen

to step up and do their part.”The Lady Bulldogs headed into

sectionals with high hopes after fin-ishing their regular season at 17-15. The first opponent they met was the Chesterton Trojans, who beat the Lady ‘Dogs twice in the regular sea-son.

The Bulldogs started off hot in the first set taking it from the Tro-jans 25-19. Kvarta and senior Emma Ogden both led the way with the scoring attack. The ladies then fell the next two sets, 20-25 then 23-25. The Trojans then jumped ahead of the Lady ‘Dogs taking a 17-21 lead, and things seemed grim for the girls.

“I let the girls figure it out in the huddle after calling a time-out,” Duncan said. “Senior leadership then took over.”

After the team gathered their composure, Kvarta went on a scoring run to force a game five. The team, having momentum, took the fifth set 15-10 to win the match.

“We lost to Chesterton twice in the regular season so coming back to beat them when it counted meant a lot to the team,” Ogden said.

The ladies then met Valparaiso in the sectional semifinal. They started off by taking the first set 25-21 with Kvarta leading the offensive charge with seven kills. Senior Taylor Equihua also added five kills to get the Lady ‘Dogs on the right foot.

The Vikings charged back, how-ever, and claimed the next two sets. They fell 10-25 as the Vikings attack was too much for the team.

“We didn’t do many things right, too many errors were commit-ted and against a good team like that we can’t make those,” Duncan said.

The Lady Bulldogs rebounded and took the fourth set 25-19. The scoring was spread out for the ‘Dogs with junior Caley Rainford leading the way with four kills.

The momentum from the fourth set quickly ended as the girls fell in their final set 12-15.In spite of an ear-ly exit from the post-season, the girls still view the season as a success.”This season has definitely had a lot of ad-versities, but we pulled through in the end and accomplished more than we expected to,” senior Sloane Alex-ander said.

Kvarta sets up team for success

AlyssaKvartaAge: 15

Height: 5’7

Grade: Sophomore

Position: Setter and Right Sight Hitter

Biggest Accomplishment: Making varsity as a freshman; Being named Top 100 Rising Stars in the Country

BY KARA BIERNATDAVID KEPSHIREasst. sports editor

reporter

PHOTO BY ANNIE SWANSON

The ‘Dogs survived a first round scare against Valpo last Friday. They took an ear-ly lead and held off a series of late charges by the Vikings to advance in sectional play.

“Our performance against Valpo was encouraging. It showed us how much all of our hard work has paid off,” sophomore Nick Isaacs said.

Crown Point started off strong in the first half, with a five yard rushing touch down from senior Tyler Smith and a 23 yard score in the second quarter from ju-nior Tristan Peterson.

“We did exactly what we needed to do to hold back Valpo, ” Smith said.

Bulldog defense stepped up, stopping two key fourth downs late in the game last Friday to hold onto a 23-15 victory.

“It felt great. We knew that we needed to put the offense back on the field to give them another opportunity to score,” junior Brendyn McKinnon said.

Valpo repetitively used the wild cat of-fense throughout the game.

“The wild cat didn’t really change much. They were still running the same plays, but just with a different pre-snap look,” linebacker coach Nick Ciochina said.

Peterson contributed to the Bulldog victory, finishing with 129 yards on 26 car-ries against the Vikings.

Tomorrow the Bulldogs will travel to Lake Central.

“We are prepared to play a very physi-cal game,” senior captain Anthony Geisen said.

Earlier in the season Lake Central de-feated the ‘Dogs with a score of 27-7. De-spite the previous defeat head coach Kevin Enright is preparing for Friday’s game.

“We need to play mistake free football game. We can’t have a lot of turnovers or penalties. It’s going to come down to who plays 48 minutes of better football.”

The ‘Dogs travel to Lake Central to-morrow night for round two of sectionals.

14 sports inklings 10/25/12

When the senior girls soccer class first stepped on the field as a unit, King of Pop Michael Jackson had just died, the world found out Tiger Woods was a ladies man and Kanye West was not letting Taylor Swift finish her acceptance speech. Now four years later, the girls are walking off the field for the last time as the most decorated class in Crown Point soccer history.

Three DAC titles, three sectional titles and two regional titles have been earned by the senior class. The girls have gone deeper into the postseason than any team of the past, making semistate each of the last two years.

“What these girls have is a great mix-ture of skill and athleticism. Even as fresh-men, they got respect from the upperclass-men. They’re all very talented,” head coach

Chris Mikrut said. The Lady ‘Dogs headed into this year’s

postseason with a 14-3 record. After breez-ing past Kankakee Valley, the girls hosted Merrillville. The Pirates failed to land a single shot in net the entire game, while the girls found the back of the net four times on their way to their second consecutive sectional title.

“We played well as a team, it was more than just a great defensive performance,” senior Sarah Rivich said. “We weren’t plan-ning on stopping there.”

From there the girls travelled to Val-paraiso for the regional opener against Munster. The Mustangs went on the attack and the Bulldogs found themselves down 2-0 at half time. Freshman Anna Eksten put the Lady ‘Dogs on the board early in the second half, followed closely by a goal from Rivich to tie the game. The teams went deep

into the first overtime before Eksten found the net again to give the girls a 3-2 win.

“We realized at halftime that we could be playing our last game. We had 40 min-utes left to keep our season alive. I’m proud of how all the girls came out and fought into overtime,” Rivich said.

In the regional final the girls were matched up against Valparaiso. The game showed all signs of going into overtime, but with 39 seconds remaining, sophomore Lauren O’Keefe connected on a shot from outside the goal box that found its way to the top right corner of the net, giving the girls a 2-1 win and the regional title.

“I really was speechless after the shot,” O’Keefe said. “I just wasn’t thinking about anything besides getting the team a goal.”

The win advanced the Bulldogs to the semistate semifinal; the same place where the team’s season was cut short last year.

Despite limited playing time from Rivich and an injury to sophomore goalie Meghan Morasan, the girls grinded out a 3-2 win over Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger.

“We came out more mentally prepared. We’ve never advanced out of the first round of semistate, so we were determined to win,” junior Jenna Arnold said.

The girls were then matched up against the team that sent them home last year; South Bend St. Joe’s. The Bulldogs were hindered by injuries to key players. The Indians scored three times in five minutes and the girls were unable to get back in the game, losing 4-0.

“The girls accomplished a lot this year, and over these past few years,” Mi-krut said. “Our seniors were unbelievable leaders. They brought the team together and through that made their performance stronger. It’s been a great year.”

Team advances to face Lake Central tomorrow

BY ALEX McLEANsports editor

BY ALEXIS BERDINEstaff reporter

Junior Maddie McConnell drives for open field on home turf in the sectional final against Merrillville. The girls shut down the Pirate offense and senior Rachel Marczewski scored twice on route to a 4-0 victory. The win gave the Lady Dogs their second consecutive sectional title and their third in four years.

PHOTO BY DIONNA CASILLAS

Girls soccer team falls in semi-state finals

Junior Connor Miller lunges for a fumbled ball in the sectional opener against Valparaiso. The Dogs defeated the Vikings 23-15 on Friday night. They will face the Lake Central Indians tomorrow in the sectional semifinal game.

PHOTO BY AMY SCHUCH

Dogs defense holds off second half push by Valpo in 23-15 playoff victory

Injury-plagued teamends season 18-4after capturing DAC,sectional, regional titles

The girls cross country team has earned the sectional title for the seventh year in a row. Consid-ering the times that the girls have been running, winning did not come as a shock for the team.

“We have been bringing home the sectional title for the past six years, so we all expected to win,” sophomore Jill Zimmerman said.

Expecting the win did not mean that the girls were not proud to bring home another victory.

“I was glad that we were able to add another sectional title to the cross country girls’ record,” Zimmerman said.

Pack running was the girls strongest characteristic this sea-son, and helped them get the vic-tory at sectionals. In addition to that, there has been one runner who has really stepped it up this season.

“Kayla McGurk became our

number one runner this season,” sophomore Alex St. Amour said.

The girls team then took on regionals. The Lady Dogs’ did not seem to keep their winning streak when they fell short.

“We had a runner fall, the weather was bad and we didn’t run three of our varsity runners,” St. Amour said.

The girls suffered the loss at regionals and are expecting a bet-

ter season next year. “This season didn’t compare

to previous seasons, we were just adjusting to different styles of training, but we still had fun,” St. Amour said.

The boys cross country team also anticipated bringing home the sectional title.

“We knew that we would take the title home again. It wasn’t a surprise when we won at section-als,” senior Travis Kucic said.

The boys ran the next week-end at regionals and claimed the title of regional champions. How-ever, one runner made a time that would reserve him a spot at the state meet.

“I’m really happy that I made it, but at the same time it kills me knowing that the guys that I have been running with all year don’t get to,” senior Alex Ray said.

When it comes to the state meet, Ray has no expectations.

“Anything can happen, but I know that I’m going to go out there and try my hardest to place as high as I can and represent Crown Point as best as I can,” Ray said.

Head coach Keith Iddings was pleased with his team as they wrapped up their season.

“The boys did a great job this year. They are DAC runner-ups, sectional champions and regional champions,” Iddings said.

Alex says “The Tigers not only have the best pitcher in the league, they have the best hitter as well. Verlander has won seven straight starts and only gave up multiple runs in one. Detroit will come out on top in seven.”

David says “The Tigers had a great series against the Yan-kees but have run into the hot Giants. With home field advan-tage on their side, the Giants will win in six games.”

a second with

After many years of critisicm from fans and media alike, the NBA announced new rules aimed at cracking down on “flopping.”

So what exactly is flop-ping? The league defines it as “an attempt to fool referees into calling undeserved fouls… by exaggerating the effect of contact with an opposing player” (via NBA.com).

The main factor is said to be whether the player’s reac-tion to the play is consistent with what would be expected.

Instead of stopping the game to call a flop, the plays will be reviewed after the game and penalties awarded as necessary.

Immediately there are several problems with the rule. First, who will make these calls? Jeff Van Gundy seems to think every third foul is a flop. After watching the video released by the league detail-ing flops, that may not prove true.

By the penalties the league has set up, guys like James Harden will certainly be due for a suspension. Will the league be willing to take its stars out of the game?

The biggest problem is that of enforcing the rules. If game officials are not making the calls about flopping dur-ing games, how do we know they actually will?

In a game, great players rely on instinct. Great players also flop. Unless a whistle is blown and the call made on the spot, the new rules will not impact the game.

Flopping is a regrettable part of the game. In such a fast paced game, it is hard for refs to make an accurate judgement. While this is an issue, the league is taking the wrong approach.

BY Alex McleAnsports editor

ALEX

Who will win the World Series? The 2012 Major League Baseball World Series has the Detroit Tigers against the San Francisco Giants. The Giants won the Fall Classic two years ago and are coming off of a seven game series win against the Cardinals. The Tigers, who swept their series against the Yankees, have had a five day rest prior to the start of the series on Wednesday.

The Tigers will rely on last years AL MVP Justin Verlander to carry the pitching throughout the

series. Max Scherzer and Doug Fister look to sure up their strong pitching rotation. They also look to get contribution from Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera and first basemen Prince Fielder.

The Giants look for their strong pitching to carry them throughout the series. They also will rely on mid-season acquisitions Hunter Pence and Marco Scutaro to carry the Giants offense with NL batting champion Buster Posey.

inside MLB Playoffs

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15sportsinklings 10/25/12

Cross Country finishes strong

Boys soccer wins sectional, falls in regional semifinalReigning state champion Bulldogs come up short against Lake Central

As they wrapped up the regular season last year, the boys soccer team was under the radar, labeled as underdogs heading into the playoffs. This season was clearly different; the ‘Dogs entered the postseason with targets on their backs.

As the reigning state champions, head coach Mike Bazin knew his team was the very center of attention and that this year the team would not go unnoticed.

“We entered the playoffs knowing that everybody had our games circled on their schedules,” Bazin said. “Any time you win a championship the previous season you will enter with a target on your back.”

Winning the state title during the previous season helped to

give the boys confidence as the playoffs began. The ‘Dogs started with a 2-0 win over the Merrillville Pirates, junior Carmelo Morales and senior Martin Mitreski helping lead the team towards the victory.

The boys took another step closer to another state championship by beating Kankakee Valley 7-3. Senior Anthony Zervos believes the team’s mindset helped them win the sectional title for the second straight year.

“It was a great team effort,” Zervos said. “We came out ready to win and we did just that.”

Despite beating them in the regular season, Bazin knew his team could not enter their regional semi-final against Lake Central expecting to win.

“Everything changes in the playoffs,” Bazin said. “You can’t measure somebody’s success in the

postseason based on their regular season.”

The boys started the game strong, taking a quick 2-0 lead heading into halftime. As the ‘Dogs entered the second half, however, the wind began to pick up, swinging the game’s momentum with it. Lake Central rallied to tie the game 3-3 at the end of regulation and defeated the ‘Dogs 5-4 in overtime. Senior Zach Sneiderwine believes the team’s early lead affected their urgency, causing them to loosen their play and allow the Indians to gain the lead.

“We let our quick goals take our minds off the game,” Sneiderwine said. “We slowed down and didn’t give it 100 percent the entire match. If we had, we could have pulled off the win.”

Losing in such a match-up in any circumstance is not easy,

but after coming off of a state championship, Bazin believes this loss had a much larger impact on his team.

“Last year, it was a very different feeling ending a season on a high note,” Bazin said. “Every other team has lost at the end of their season except for you. That’s a pretty unique experience that probably made it far more difficult for the kids to handle the loss.”

The team was able to take away lessons from the regional loss. Bazin views the defeat as motivation heading into next year, bringing the boys back ready to redeem their title.

“I don’t anticipate us missing a beat next season,” Bazin said. “We will lose a talented senior class, but I think we’ve got the people to step up and take care of it.”

Seniors Allison Carpenter and Allison Wortel and junior Kayla McGurk run in the sectional meet. McGurk was the top finisher for the girls.

PHOTO BY LARRY TITAK

BY AlexA GRADYsports editor

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BY AlAA ABDelDAIeMreporter

Boys and girls teams end their seasons at semi-stateNBA cracks

down on Floppers

BY MollY Gracefeature editor

BY MollY Gracefeature editor

Nobody teaches you how to deal with having cancer. There is no class that prepares you for the emotions of receiving your diag-nosis or the hardships of treatment. Special needs teacher Liz Hanlon, however, seems to have a pretty good idea of how to do it.

Hanlon was told at her first yearly breast exam that she had dense breasts, which made her mammograms harder to read. Knowing this, she began doing regular self-checks for abnormalities. When she did one last March, she found a big lump.

“I was in the shower and my heart just sank because I knew. It took me a week to get the courage to call for an appointment, because I was scared to death,” Hanlon said.

According to breastcancer.org, one in eight women will develop invasive breast cancer over their lifetimes. Eighty-five per-cent of breast cancer occurs in women with no family history.

Hanlon made an appointment and was diagnosed with estrogen-receptive-positive breast cancer in April. Hanlon recalls receiv-ing the phone call with her biopsy results.

“It’s almost like you don’t hear a word

that they say. I tried to write down all the information that I could, but I hung up the phone and I was in total shock and disbe-lief,” Hanlon said.

Even going through such a life-changing thing, Hanlon refused to become bitter.

“I had the attitude of ‘I’m going to fight this thing, I’m going to beat this thing, I’m going to live my life as normally as pos-sible,’” Hanlon said. “I have to go with it because I want to be with my family and I don’t want to miss out on anything.”

Hanlon has the support of her family, especially her sons, senior Nick and fresh-man Nate, who help around the house and leave her encouraging words.

“From day one they’ve just been real positive and supportive. My son Nick, ev-ery morning leaves me a quote of the day,” Hanlon said.

Hanlon sought a second opinion at Northwestern in Chicago, where a 3D mam-mogram that gave a more accurate reading was used. It found more cancer in both breasts which was missed during a normal mammogram, something that happens for about every 20 out of 1000 women. Hanlon decided to have a double mastectomy.

Hanlon says that she has accepted her

cancer and refused to become negative.“I’ve just said this is the way it is and

I’ve got to fight and move on,” Hanlon said.Hanlon just finished four months of

chemotherapy and starts her radiation thera-py at the end of the month. She has a good prognosis.

Throughout this experience, what has helped Hanlon the most is the support of those around her. She says people have vis-ited her, brought gifts and, in the case of senior Taylor Equihua, made t-shirts for her.

The Equihua and Hanlon families are very close, so when Hanlon was diagnosed Equihua and her mother were sad but want-ed to help and motivate Hanlon to fight her illness. Equihua’s mother came up with “Liz-strong” using Hanlon’s first name, Liz.

“My mom said ‘well now instead of Livestrong it’s Lizstrong,’ and took a Sharpie and put Z’s on all our Livestrong bands for her,” Equihua said.

Equihua then took pink Livestrong t-shirts and changed them to say “Lizstrong.”

Hanlon said she has learned from her illness; rather than being bitter, it has made her a stronger person.

“It’s been a blessing in disguise. I can’t say enough about that.”

Sophomore ashley Trent

Gilligan’s GirlGilligan’s Island is my favorite show! I own the whole series. I love funny classics.

If the Shoe FitsI wear a women’s size 13 shoe. I have to specially order all my shoes off the internet.

Band GeekI play the flute in marching band, pep band, woodwind choir and I hope to be in jazz band. It’s home to me.

Sister, SisterMy sister and I love to watch independent movies together.

On the FenceIn seventh grade gym class I hopped a fence, and my shorts got stuck on it. The whole class had to help me down; it was so embarrassing.

You know it is election time when...

16 people inklings 10/25/12

take5

...there are election posters everywhere.

Matt Muddsenior

Sophie Nonosfreshman

...you see political commercials on TV.

Kyle Stroufeksophomore

Stephanie Boydjunior

...the SNL election specials are on.

...everyone starts fighting on facebook.

Hanlon inspires “LIZSTRONG”

Special needs teacher shares her story of her battle with breast cancer

PhoTo by AMy SChUCh