J o h n H e r s e y H i g h S c h o o l

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Week of WishesOn

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Groups provide hopeful initiatives for school causes

Jessica Lynk

Runners and walkers around the community will come together on Sunday to support Gina Gianc-ola Suicide Awareness For Every-one (SAFE) Foundation on May 20 at 8 am. The 5k run and one mile walk will take place at Thomas Middle School.

The event and foundation were created by the Bailey fam-ily in order to promote awareness about suicide prevention, raise money, and award a female ath-lete with a college scholarship. The Giancola family has been thor-oughly involved with the planning of this race.

“This will hopefully make it easier and more comfortable for a child to seek out help. Knowing that help and support is available at school is huge when a child feels they have no one else to turn to,” Domenica Giancola, G. Ginanco-la’s older sister, said.

The run will help raise student awareness that people are out there to help them, and also will help other students heal.

“I’m looking forward to par-ticipating in the run with the Hersey family and doing some-thing special to remember Gina,” sophomore Lauren Solberg said.

Tim Griffin

A comedy, improv show is always a great way to end the year. Lots of laughs, great humor, and a good cause. The Big Bonanza premiered last night and continues to-night at 7:30 in the theater. All the proceeds to this show go to the Anderluh family and Shea’s fight against cancer.

Not only is this show for a terrific cause, it also is some-what seen as a tribute to the senior class. All of the actors or players of The Big Bonanza consists of seniors making the show more relevant to their class.

The creators of the show are seniors Tyler Zanona and Matt Left, who created this show almost as a spin-off of the 2010 End of the Year Ex-travaganza comedy show held here created by Ian Hamilton and Mike Capra.

This show is also featur-ing other senior actors Carlos Andina, Molly Jahrling, and Meghan Griffin, (she was part of the original cast in End of the Year Extravaganza.)

“I think people will have a really good time and hope-fully we will get a good crowd and raise some money for Shea’s family,” Andina said.

Even though it seems as a senior event, it’s open to all age groups. The Big Bonanza is being advertised for every-one.

The Big Bonanza is a sketch-based show with dif-ferent scenes and different plots at each sketch. It is a Sat-urday Night Live type of show.

Even though they have rehearsed, in these type of shows there’s always room for some improv.

As part of The Week of Wishes, The Big Bonanza is for a great cause-to support the Anderluh family.

Tickets can be purchase on lunch hours or at the door for $5.

Big Bonanza brings entertainment, hope

Flowers for Shea

5k in memory of Gina

Front lawn garden for Christenson

Brian Loomis

Every so often a teacher comes along who has the ability to impact with her students. English teacher Sarah (Kathy) Christenson was the perfect example of a teacher who embodied that trait.

The school lost Christenson to cancer on Nov. 18. Following that loss, students and staff were in-spired by the goal of creating a gar-den in her honor. Next Wednesday, the dream will become a reality with the dedication of the garden as a close to the ‘Week of Wishes.’

She pushed for each student to be an individual and supported them in their efforts. Christenson was a key member in developing the snowboarding club. She was quite the snowboarder and looked to give students the opportunity to tear up the slopes.

As the idea has progressed, there have been a variety of efforts to generate money for the proj-ect. National Honor Society had a bowling fundraiser to support the garden. “We had a great turnout at bowling, and we are now selling shirts for the garden as well,” senior Claire O’Donnell said.

The support from former stu-dents has been a great showing of showcased how those she taught were impacted by her teaching.

Continue reading about Week of Wishes on Correspondent Live

Freshmen learn about school’s namesake

Band wins Super State ‘ The Avengers’ soars to five stars

Yearbook hosts release party next week

The memorial garden dedication will take place next Wednesday

during all lunch hours. The garden was set up in memory of English teacher Sarah (Kathy) Christenson.

• PHOTOS AND GRAPHICS BY JESSICA LYNK

Mili Pandya

The Week of Wishes continues tomorrow and Sunday with Flower Power for Shea. Red’s Garden Cen-ter donated flowers that the Cor-respondent will be selling for five dollars to help raise donations for the Anderluh family. Shea Ander-luh, an editor-in-chief, has been fighting nodular sclerosing lym-phoma for the past three and a half years.

The Correspondent is hoping to raise as many donations as pos-sible to help the Anderluh family. Send checks in made out to John Hersey High School, care of The Correspondent or come to the fun-draiser from 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. tomorrow and Sunday on the west side of the school. “I think this fun-draiser is perfect for her because it connects with Shea and how much she loves nature,” Kelley said.

In April, teachers from Thom-as Middle School and South Mid-dle School teamed up to play a vol-leyball game here to raise funds. This event, Showdown for Shea, raised $12,000 for the Anderluhs to help cover the costs of traveling back and forth from New York for hospital visits.

These flowers can be planted just about anywhere- at school, at home, or even in the Ander-luhs’ backyard around the “Corre Tree,” a willow tree planted by The Correspondent in the Anderluhs’ backyard for Earth Day in 2008. Anderluh, a nature lover, is excited to see the flowers planted around her tree.

News May 18, 2012The Correspondent2

Mackenzie Francis

Kindhearted, considerate, and jubilant are three words that greatly described campus security guard Joe Kuszynski, also known as “Kush.”

Kuszynski passed away on the evening of April 26 from pancreatic cancer.

Only diagnosed a few weeks from then, this loss has been very unexpected and hard to compre-hend for not only Kush’s family and friends, but also the staff and stu-

dents.“After we heard the announce-

ment over the P.A, me and a securi-ty guard talked about how he was a nice guy and always wanted to help out. We will sure miss him,” junior Ryan Gustafson said.

Irv Burgraff, who is a campus security guard here, was a close friend of Kush’s and speaks highly of him.

“He was a great guy to work with and good friend. He loved life, his daughter and son, his grand-children, and his houseboat. He was a very kind, fair individual,” Burgraff said.

Kush was an Arlington Heights police officer for 30 years and joined the Hersey family after that.

He worked here for 10 years, and was often seen at the security desk in the front of the school or walking throughout the hallways.

Kush brought a grin to stu-dents and faculties’ faces. Everyday, Kush’s sense of humor shined, often filling the hallways with a joke and a smile.

Kush handled stressful situa-tions well. Even when serious situ-ations arose, he stayed calm and positive about the ordeal.

“I thought that Kush was a great security guard because when he got mad, he was nice about it.

There’s not many people that I can say that about,” Gustafson said.

He viewed his job as fun, not work, because he enjoyed the non-stressful atmosphere that this school has to offer.

Being surrounded by students, Kush liked to frequently strike up a conversation with new people.

Whether they were students being pulled out of class or just stu-dents walking down the hallway, he always made sure to say “hi.”

“Me and my friends would talk to him in the halls when we’d pass by. It’s so sad to see him pass, es-pecially since he had grandchildren earlier this year, that will never get to know Kush,” sophomore Angelo Tenerelli said.

Although most knew him for his duties at school, Kush had many hobbies such as fishing, golfing, and boating.

He enjoyed engaging in these activities with both family and friends.

“One of my greatest memories with Kush was when we played golf together in the summer and then went on a ride on his houseboat,” Burgraff said.

Kush’s friendly attitude and willingness to help staff and stu-dents will surely be missed through-out the halls.

New Jersey town banstexting while walking

Chicago to host NATO summit

The NATO summit is coming to Chicago May 20-21 and is hosted by President Obama. According to NATO’s website, Chicago is the second city in the United States, after Washington, to host a summit.

“It’s really important that Chicago can take part in such a global event,” freshman Gretchen Lundstrom said.

The summits are especially important because unlike regu-lar NATO meetings, summits reflect the alliance’s decision making on the highest level.

NATO is a supranational organization of 28 alliances. The Alliance’s purpose is to guarantee the freedom and se-curity of its members.

Chicago has already closed roads, parking changes, and service disruptions for the summit weekend, so stu-dents should plan their week-ends with the knowledge of the changes.

•Isabella Murray

School family loses security guardStudents share memories of Kuszynski

Principal to retire after seven successful years

News You

Need To

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Brian Loomis

Dr. Tina Cantrell’s seven year career as head of the school is com-ing to a close following the end of June. In the time that Cantrell was principal, the school has had a se-ries of makeovers including the makeover of the main entrance as well as the addition of the turf field.

However, the changes have not just been in appearance. In the past seven years, Cantrell was proud of the school adding a Mandarin Chinese program, the introduction and success of DECA, as well as an increase in CLS programming. The whole school has been impacted by Cantrell during her time here.

Cantrell came to this school after moving from California with-out a job. Despite being offered jobs at a number of schools, she chose Hersey as her new workplace. “I found that it matched my skills well,” Cantrell said.

Over these seven years, 51 staff members have retired, frequently bringing in a new variety of work-ers. “They always bring new ideas to the table which is always nice to hear,” Cantrell said.

Along with the new ideas that each individual brought to the building, the new arrivals had no problem working with the existing curriculum

Cantrell often interacted with the student body through the Prin-cipal’s Advisory Council (PAC). This group allows students to voice what they see, and it allowed Cantrell to gain a different perspec-

tive of the building. “The PAC has helped by meet-

ing in a smaller setting and letting each of us bring different sugges-tions to her face-to-face,” sopho-more Emma Mallers said.

When Cantrell wasn’t busy with her other duties, she frequent-ly made a point to drop by in class-rooms. “It really showed how she cared about our education,” Mallers said.

Cantrell added, “It allows me to understand what really goes on in the classroom.” Cantrell said that this may be one of the things she will miss most.

It was also never hard to find Cantrell at various extra curricular activities. “She was so supportive of every activity and it showed by her presence,” junior Ally Neff said.

Being at these activities often showed her support. “I will miss all the performances: athletic, theatri-cal, and musical,” Cantrell said.

Some of these performances have led to a variety of accomplish-ments.

During the seven years with Cantrell in charge, the school has had many achievements through-out the student body. The girls basketball won fourth in state, the school play went to state, as well as numerous other awards in other departments.

Even as the her days of work wind down, the school is still re-ceiving honors. Most recently, the school was placed as number ten on U.S. News’ list of the best schools in Illinois. “This truly reflects on how

all aspects of the building can come together,” Cantrell said in regards to the award.

Although after June, Cantrell will no longer hold the spot as prin-cipal, she says that she will continue to be present at events such as plays and concerts.

Gordon Sisson will replace Cantrell next year, who she laves these words for him, “ You have landed in an amazing school, but until you get here, you have no idea how amazing it really is.”

•Courtesy of Janet Kuszynski

Former security guard Joe Kuszyniski, “Kush,” passed away

April 26. Kush enjoyed going on his houseboat during his free time with family and friends.

•Isabella Murray

Dr. Cantrell will be retiring at the this year, leaving with the class

of 2012. She has worked for the past seven years.

The police department in Fort Lee, New Jersey h a s recently banned tex-ting and walking to raise awareness of the distractions that texting causes. Three fatal pedestri-a n - i nv o l v e d a c -cidents in the town of 35,000 residents fueled the decision for this ban.

“It doesn’t surprise me because people could be stu-pid with technology and aren’t aware of their surroundings,” junior Angela Andolfi said.

In addition, a study at Stony Brook University in New York revealed that pedestrians were 60 percent more likely to veer off line while texting as opposed to not texting.

Jaywalking tickets for $85 are issued to any “dangerous walkers,” that is, anyone who walks and texts at the same time.

According to New Jersey Records, 117 tickets were al-ready issued.

However, not everyone agrees with this ban. “It’s ri-diculous. Next thing you know, they’ll be banning walking and talking,” senior Belinda Oomen said.

•Natalie Czarnota

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NewsMay18, 2012 The Correspondent 3

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School nurse leaves after 19 years of health servicesClaudia Caplan

A woman who has become a staple of the school as the school nurse, Martha Messer, will be retiring after this school year.

Fighting back happy tears, Messer reflect-ed on her 19 years here and has mixed feelings about her retirement.

“I will surely miss the students and staff, but I do believe it is the right time in my life to retire,” Messer said.“One of the things I will miss most about being the nurse at Hersey is the people.”

After having worked here from the start of the fall of 1993, Messer has become a perma-nent face in the building .

“Mrs. Messer is such a kind-hearted person and I always felt comfortable coming to her with a headache or injury,” junior Michelle Bolker said.

“Martha will be incredibly missed by our Hersey family. Even though she is leaving Hersey, she will always be a part of the Hersey family. She was always such a big part of the school and I hope she has a fun retirement with her own family,” Messer’s secretary Paula Volpe said.

Many special memories have been shared with Messer at her time here.

“I have so many amazing mem-ories with Mrs. Messer. One in par-ticular that I would have to narrow down is when Martha painted the nurse’s wall orange and the office was newly remodeled,” Volpe said.

For Messer, one of her most memorable times here was a reluc-tant response.

“ I probably shouldn’t share my most memorable moment, but one of my favorite would have to be all of the staff having a squirt gun fight with squirt guns that were confis-cated from students. All of this fun was done after hours, of course,” Messer said.

Messer will surely be missed by all students, staff, and graduates. Although retiring, Messer will still be here for her son (science teach-er, Steve) and grandsons (sopho-more Michael and freshman Kevin) whom work and attend here.

Kevin Hyde

“The Endeavor is not just a yearbook, it’s a high school memory in and of itself,” editor ju-nior Lauren Nagle said. The yearbook is said to be one of the most monumental books due to its recollection of the year and its events. The 44th volume of the Endeavor will be released next Wednesday to students who attend the year-book party.

The party will take place in the Titre room at 2:50 p.m. and will give students a unique op-

portunity. “Students are able to get their year-book a week in advance this year. Instead of waiting an entire week to get it, for only five dol-lars you can get your yearbook and a free pen,” Nagle said.

Students who choose to attend this party, gain ample signing time and get a sneak peak before the yearbook is released to the rest of the school.

Students are beginning to gain excitement about the release of the yearbook. “I’m really ex-cited for the yearbook to come out. It gives me a

chance to look at all of the events that took place throughout the year and is just an overall great memory piece,” junior Elizabeth Odegard said.

Others feel the effects of receiving their yearbook early firsthand. “I got my yearbook early last year, and I definitely would recom-mend getting it this year. More time to look it over with friends, have people sign it, where can you go wrong? Nowhere,” junior Nicole Borst said.

•Erika Murillo

After 19 years of healing headaches, injuries, and stomach aches, school nurse Martha Messer is retiring. “I have

learned the most in these years of my life,” Messer said.

Yearbook party provides unique opportunity, sneak peek

Opinions

Editors-in-ChiefAshley Hawkins

Kevin Hyde

Online Editor-in-ChiefGarret Matchen

Editorial BoardAbby Fesl

Mackenzie FrancisBrin LoomisJessica Lynk

Emily Swanson

Managing EditorClaudia Caplan

Online Editorial BoardMax Bestvina Michael MillerCopy Editor

Melanie Cohodes

News EditorsNatalie Czarnota

Erika MurilloIsabella Murry

In-Depth EditorsNicole Cecala Mili Pandya

Caitlin StrozewskiJulia Kedzior

Entertainment Editors

Bryan BoyleMichelle Chester

Erin HorneSam Kronon

Jana Lopuszanksi

Graphics EditorsJack Hargett

Sports EditorsScott Bakal

Anthony BellafioreTim Griffin

David Milligan

Opinion EditorsNick Diaz

Dino LjubijankicDrew SnelsonRachel Terry

Feature EditorsMiranda FanellaKevin SchroederSusannah Sinard

Matt Stadnicki

AdviserJanet Levin

May 18, 2012The Correspondent4

is published 11 times a year by the journalism students of John Hersey High School, 1900 East Thomas Street, Arlington Heights, Illinois 60004. Subscription rate is $15 a year. Call for advertising rates. Phone (847) 718-4945. The Correspondent welcomes a free exchange of ideas. Letters

to the editor may be sent to correspondent@d214.org. Because school officials do not engage in prior review, and the content of The Correspondent is determined by, and reflects only the views of the student staff and not school officials or the school itself, its student editorial board and responsible student staff members as-sume complete legal and financial liability for the content of the publication. The Correspondent will not publish any material determined

by student editors or the student editorial board to be unprotected, that is, material that is libelous, obscene, materially disruptive to the educational process, and unwarranted invasion of privacy, a violation of copyright or a promotion of products or services un-lawful (illegal) as to minors as defined by state or federal law. All unsigned editorial area the opinion of The Correspondent

staff. Materials in this newspaper are the property of The Corre-spondent 2011-2012. The Correspondent is a member of numerous press associations. Some material courtesy of American Society of Newspaper Editors/KRT Campus High School Newspaper Service.Two thousand copies are made each issue to be distributed to stu-

dents during their second hour classes. Two hundred are printed and given to subscribing parents.

The Correspondent

Caitlin Strozewski

Coming into Hersey on my first day was quite a shock. Being from a small private school, I knew it would be a difficult transition, but I wasn’t prepared for high school.

If anyone had previously warned me about the struggle of getting myself through the hall-ways between classes, I would have been drink-ing protein shakes and going to the gym all summer.

At least then, by the time school started, I would be strong enough to hold my ground when getting caught in the flow of students get-ting to class, which is nearly impossible for a freshman girl to escape. Something that fresh-men orientation should prepare us for is the hallways.

Navigating through an obstacle course complete with people shoving on both sides, being repeatedly hit by backpacks, having five

minute time limit to get to the end would have been a pretty accurate representation of what we would be going through.

Getting through the hallways, especially near the commons after a lunch hour, is defi-nitely not the highlight of my day. Ask anyone who isn’t a football player or over six feet tall, and they will agree with me.

In addition to the hallways, I would also have liked a heads up about the schoolwork. Through middle school, I was pretty much able to coast my way through homework after a sports practice, not really caring if my answers were right.

Little did I know that when I brought my procrastination tendencies to high school, I would find myself still awake into the hours of the morning, cursing the person who came up with abomination that is MEL-Con.

I know a lot of people take this route any-way, staying up until 2 a.m. doing homework or maybe not doing it at all, but I prefer not to be struggling to keep my eyes open the next day.

Luckily, most of my difficult classes are af-

ter lunch, which has saved my grade multiple times. Once again, a little heads up at frosh ori-entation would have helped.

Understandably probably students wouldn’t have listened if a teacher tried to lecture us about not procrastinating, but having an upper-classman talk about his or her experience of be-ing overloaded with work might have gotten the message into our brains--procrastinating will do nothing but create a mess of problems.

One last thing I wasn’t prepared for was P.E. I first began to worry when, after being asked by upperclassman who my gym teacher was, and then I told them who I had, I received com-ments like “Oh, you’ll be running.”

Some people warned me not to try too hard on my first 12 minute run because I would have to improve later, but I didn’t listen. Now it takes all my strength to improve every fitness testing.

Now I admit I exaggerated some about the ‘horrors’ that freshman go through, but they aren’t too off track. Maybe these wouldn’t have even phased me if I had been given insights on the real things that freshman should know.

What I would have liked to know before I was a freshman

Teachers and students walk into this brown, jail like buliding everyday. Why not make it pretty?

During the week of wishes, it would be great for students to participate in a number of charity events, but the more each student could do, the better.

This weekend The Correspondent staff, along with former staff members and friends of Shea Anderluh, will be selling and planting flowers. Flowers will be sold for $5 each from 9 a.m. un-til noon on Saturday and Sunday.

Each flower sold will help the An-derluh family and their expenses from traveling to New York and back for Shea’s treatments.

All flowers were donated to this fundrasier by Red’s Gardens Center, so all profits will go to the Anderluh family.

Money made during this fundrais-

er will be given to the Anderluh family to help with their finances.

Also, the 5K run and 1K walk in memory of Gina Giancola will be held by the Gina Giancola SAFE founda-tion on May 20 at 8 a.m. at Thomas Middle School.

The run will help get depression out of the dark and make more people aware of teenage depression and how common suicide really is. Some of the money raised will be given to a teenage girl as future scholarship money.

The race is also being held to help the soccer team run for Gina and to come together for one more time be-fore the seniors graduate.

So participate. Buying a simple flower will help a family. OR help the Anderluh family by attending tonight’s Big Bonanza at 7:30. All proceeds go to their foundation.

Finish the Week of Wishes by pur-

chasing a $10 t-shirt in memory of English teacher, Sarah (Kathy) Chris-tenson.

Students should wear them next Wednesday to the dedication ceremo-nies during all lunch hours.

Every part of Week of Wishes w i l l h e l p people in the c o m m u -nity. Why not par-ticipate?

April showers bring Shea flowers (and much more)OpinionIn Our

Drew Snelson

Making a list of all the things one wants to do in life seems like an impossible task. But that’s what a bucket list does, right? A bucket list refers to the slang term of “kicking

the bucket” (i.e., dying). Knowing how lazy I am, I would probably never get around to mak-ing one.

It’s like one of those things when two friends decide to do something fun but never end up doing it. Life should be spontaneous and full of surprises, not scripted. When an oppor-tunity presents itself, I should take it, no matter if it’s a wish I had for a long time or if I had never even considered doing it.

But I still didn’t get why the bucket list be-came so popular. Did people used to be bur-ied in buckets? Did they collect dead bodies in buckets in the Middle Ages? Why did they make such big buckets? I had to find out.

The first official recognition of the term “kicking the bucket” was in the 1785 edition of the Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. Delightful, isn’t it? But it gets better.

Whether there was some freak accident or a suspicious fire at the stool warehouse, there must have been some shortage of stools because instead of using them to suspend criminals on the noose, they used buckets. When the time came for the hoodlum to be executed, they would simply kick the bucket out from under them. State of the art technology going on there.

Bucket lists can be fun if the things on the list are actually real and worth doing. Which is a very small percentage from what I’ve read and heard from other people’s bucket lists.

Unfortunately, though, most fun things cost money. Just like everything else in the world. But Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson did one in the 2007 “The Bucket List,” though, so its got to be cool, right? Wrong. The only reason they got any of those things done was because Jack Nich-olson was a billionaire hospital magnate while Morgan Freeman was a mechanic.

The moral of the story there is that rich people do whatever they want and poor people just hop on for the ride. All I’m saying is that people don’t need a bucket list to have a good time and live life to the fullest. They need a can-do attitude and/or a billion dollars. Really, ei-ther one of those would work just fine.

Bucket lists inspire future accomplishments

• Graphic by jessica lynk

Somethin’ toabouttalk

OpinionsJ U S T S AY I N ’

The promised time is drawing near once again for students everywhere. With only about a month left in school, the prospect of summer vacation is building in the minds of the student body and ensuing fidgeting and giddiness galore. Summer is the reward given after all the hard work during the school year. Yet, over the years I’ve come to notice that there is always a returning issue once the time actually comes.

Obviously, there are the default options: swimming pool, theme parks, and sports. Those options are not as durable these days though. There is an increasing diffi-culty in finding things to do without them being illegal or too boring.

This lack of activity, however, is sustained only by a person’s refusal to embrace the power of youth and try something they aren’t too used to. As part of the teen-age population, there are possibilities out there that can make this summer spectacular, to put it lightly. Not that being a middle aged adult is some sort of curse, at least I hope it isn’t, but it’s clear that the interests of middle aged adults differ slightly from those of 15 to 18 year olds.

Imagination is also key. Take, for instance, the new phenomena grasping parts of the Hersey population known as “Fugitive”. The game, which is more like a fight for survival, consists of a group of players, who are the fugitives, that have to travel on foot to a designated area, sometimes over a mile away.

The other group is in charge of hunting down and tagging the fugitives in order to stop their advance, and get full use of whatever automobiles are available. The game becomes a full on battle and man hunt, somewhat reminiscent of “The Hunger Games.” This is just one example of how teenagers can engage in fun, physical activity that is full of exhilarating action. With a little imagination and a refusal to sit around and do nothing, Fugitive was born.

If creating a full on game/race for survival isn’t a fa-vorable option, don’t stop there. Adventure is never too far away. Exploring areas not previously traversed can re-sult in seemingly unlimited excitement. Try researching a different town with some interesting locales, and get there in whatever mode of transportation desired.

Taking a train to a foreign area or trying a cross country bike ride there can really heighten the sense of adventure. Exploring the natural world is, of course, chocked full of wonder and awe inspiring phenomena. Of course, this should all be done within the realm of safety. There’s a fine line between being adventurous and young and being stupid and fool hearty.

The point is, youth should be cherished and em-braced, and there’s no better time to do that then over the summer. With a young mind and body, and a free and adventurous spirit, the world can be a playground.

• Nick Diaz

Summer: aspire adventures

-Read more opinions online and then sound off yourself!Visit www.CorrespondentLive.org-

Many students associate May with rolling down their car windows and en-joying the spring breeze as they drive home from school. However, a better way to enjoy this weather is to bike. May is National Bike Month, and this provides the perfect opportunity to try something new by ditching the car and biking instead.

I know that high school students want to show off their new cars and driving licenses, but by putting aside their pride for a few weeks and biking everywhere, they will save money on gas, enjoy the outdoors, and get exercise, all while help-ing the environment.

Sure, it might take a bit longer to bike than to drive, but sometimes we all need to slow down, take a deep breath of the crisp air perfumed with flowers, and enjoy the flying sensation that a bike ride brings. Just Sayin’.

• NaTaLie CzarnOTa

In this era of technology and being able to connect with family and friends across the world, it has become easier to judge people by their covers now that it is the picture of a person that defies them. An individual’s Facebook profile picture is the single most important first impression that is given to a requesting friend once he or she has sought them out on networking sites. The time has come where it has become too easy to judge someone within seconds of seeing their face in pictures and albums. The single thought pops into everyone’s head, “Wow, Debra got fat” or “Luke’s face really broke out this year.”

Making judgments about others isn’t always necessarily a bad thing, but at what point does it become over hypocritical to make comments about someone else, when you yourself might struggle behind those same skin problems or weight issues. We all do it, it’s just being human, but be nice. Just Sayin’.

•CLaUDia CapLan

New saying disappoints sophomoreMackenzie Francis

Y.O.L.O. is an acro-nym created by singer/rapper Drake, but used by many. YOLO stands for “You Only Live Once,” and has become a

very popular saying- or should I say, an excuse- this year.

Drake first used YOLO in his song “The Motto,” and meant for it to be a mo-tivational term to show that life is short, and that it should be lived to the fullest. Although it started out that way, it has transformed into an excuse for students to use when mistakes are made.

In my classes, I constantly hear crazy stories about how my classmates engaged

in inappropriate activities over the week-end. As if that’s not bad enough, the story always ends with, “Oh well... YOLO!”

What YOLO means to me is doing things like making a bucket list and ac-complishing it, telling someone what they mean to me, conquering fears, dancing in the rain, staying up all night to watch the sun rise, and most importantly, living in the moment.

When a term that has so much po-tential to remind someone to embrace life’s opportunities is abused, it’s disap-pointing.

If students wish to use the term YOLO to ease their guilt or regret, then so be it. Just don’t be mad at me when these foolish life choices come back for a bite in the butt.

May 18, 2012 The Correspondent 5

“I’m looking forward to relaxing on the beach

with my family.”

Sophomore

Busayo Ajayi“I’m scuba diving

in Florida with my brother. ”

Junior

Natalie Karasinska“I’m going on a mission trip to

Indiana.”

Senior

Grace Sinopoli“I’m looking forward to

going to summer school.”

Freshman

Dimitrije Markovic

Student

What unique things are you

doing over the

summer?

Biking replaces gas guzzlers all month

Facebook pictures prompt judging

Sass

Abby Fesl

Ears, noses, eyebrows, navels, lips, and tongues are common places for students to get piercings. Many girls get ear piercings in young-er years of grade school.

“I got my ears pierced in second grade but they closed in third,” junior Sarah Mulroe said. “I got them repierced freshman year.”

Ears, commonly pierced at Claire’s at a young age, are free, but the earrings cost any-where from $20 to $60.

“I was in fourth grade, and I got my ears pierced at Claire’s for Christmas,” junior Aman-da Petro said.

However, once high school begins, boys start to get ear piercings as well. “I have one

[ear] pierced because I wanted to [get it done],” junior Mateusz Obstoj said.

As students go through their high school years, it is common for more piercings in more visible places.

Senior Natalie Byron has her ears, cartilage, nose and belly button pierced. “I got them be-cause I could, and I like the way they look.”

While some teens have no problems with piercings, other students can’t have them. Rejec-tion is one common side effect of a piercing.

According to poundedink.com, rejection is how the body removes something it is not used to having in it.

Junior Allie Mueller got her belly button pierced, but metal was rejected by her body.

“[I was upset] a little but then I never had

to worry about infections or getting it caught on anything,” Mueller said.

Some students, however, are not satisfied with the piercings they have and wish for more.

Junior Andrea Marti has her ears pierced but wishes for her belly button and nose to be pierced.

“I think they look cute, and it’s something to do when I’m young,” Marti said.

“I was thinking about getting my cartilage but everyone has that, so I got my industrial,” junior Carla Casillas said.

Anywhere a piercing is, they show some-thing about a person, whether it be their unique-ness or style.

In-Depth May 18, 2012The Correspondent6

What’s your dream tattoo?

Freshman Kim Alzarez

“A flower bomb with ‘respect, hope, and

peace’ on the petal on my ankle.”

Hersey Gets Inked

Sophomore Emily Butler

“ ‘Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game’

on my rib cage.”

Junior Zach Trunda

“I would get a Man-dalorian Skull on my

bicep.”

Senior Haley Fitzgerald

“ ‘Whatever doesn’t kill you always makes your

stronger’ on my shoulder.”

ier ing redi amentsStudents debate multiple piercings, display creativity

May 18, 2012 The Correspondent 7In-Depth

Ashley HawkinsKevin Hyde

The decision to get a tattoo is diffi-cult to make. Having a needle pierce the skin and leave a permanent design is not something to take lightly. But for senior Lauren Lemanski, the decision was easy.

Lemanski has been involved with Camp Soar for the past six years. Here she spends two weeks working with spe-cial needs kids. The symbol for Camp Soar is a kite, which is what Lemanski got inked on her torso.

“I had the design all planned out. At the tattoo place, they did the finish-ing touches,” Lemanski said. “The words [included on the tattoo]-Find the pos-sibilities, conquer the impossible-I thought of those. They came to me, sort of representing ev-erything I’ve been through.”

It took Lemanski about six months to final-ize the tattoo. “I always drew it out during class,” Lemanski said.

Once the procedure began, Lemanski had two thoughts going through her mind: pain and permanence. But she was able to endure the pain throughout the 30 minutes.

“It really hurt. But once it started, there was no going back,” Lemanski said.

Senior Ismael Najera has a cross with wings tattooed on his arm, the words ‘In Memory of Adan’ are above it. Adan was his cousin, a per-son who Najera found very inspiring. Adan also had a tattoo of a cross with wings; Najera want-ed something similar.

“He helped me and my family out,” Najera said. “He changed my life and made me the per-son I am today. When he died, I knew I wanted to get the tattoo that my cousin had.”

Other students have found other meanings to get inked. Whether it be for personal reasons or reflection, more and more students are be-ginning to get these permanent pieces of art on

their bodies.Junior Sarah Majcher recently got a tattoo

on the side of her body. The words “pure trust” are surrounded by birds, something that Majch-er thinks will help keep her motivated through-out her upcoming endeavors.

“I think that pure trust is something that’s necessary. By getting it tattooed, it’s just a con-stant reminder. I mean, you need trust for every-thing, like boyfriends, friends, and other things. It helps keep me motivated,” Majcher said.

Like Majcher, other students are begin-ning to ponder the thought of acquiring tattoos. Most students recognize that the commitment is large, and are thinking the decision over before getting one.

“I think that I am going to get a cross on my wrist or somewhere on my arm. It represents my faith, and it’s a constant reminder for me. Cer-tain events have happened that require faith, so I think this cross is a good option for me. I know it’s a big deal and it’s permanent, but I think it’s worth it,” junior Carly Bell said.

Lemanski is aware of the consequences that may follow in the future, but she doesn’t seem to

mind.“ A s

camp goes on, I gained friends and m e m o r i e s that I won’t forget. My other sib-lings have tattoos. The permanence doesn’t af-fect me be-cause the m e m o r i e s are perma-nent,” Le-manski said.

Being a high school student, rebellion and growth are two instinctive characteristics that also reflect the tattoo process.

“I don’t know what I’m going to get, but I know that I want to get one eventually. I guess it shows that I’m all grown up. High school is all about change, and I think I’m definitely ma-turing, so making the decision to get a tattoo is an example of that. It’s my decision and I think that’s really nice,” junior Jenna Callahan said

Students often feel that getting a tattoo is a big step towards adulthood. Each tattoo reflects a personal, intrinsic meaning that helps foster maturity.

Tattoos leave lasting impression (Ouch!)

Hersey Gets Inked

Above: senior Lauren Kelley embraces the pain in order to get her tattoo.

Right: senior Lauren Lemanski’s tattoo reads, “find the possibilities, con-

quer the impossible.” Lemanski drew her inspiration from her past experiences at places like Camp Soar, which is why the words are attached to a kite.

Students brave pain to reflect maturity and individuality

•COURTESY OF LAUREN LEMANSKI

•COURTESY OF LAUREN KELLEY

OR

Gotta

Notta

with Ashley Hawkins

May 18, 2012The Correspondent8 Reviews

Brian Boyle

Ever since 2008, the super-hero sub-genre of films has struggled to live up to the critical and commercial success of Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece “The Dark Knight.” On May 4, the latest comic-book film was released in the form of “The Avengers.” And one thing’s for sure, “The Dark Knight” has finally met its match.

The movie is the next chapter in Marvel’s “Cinematic Universe,” which was established with 2008’s “Iron Man,” and included subse-quent films “The In-credible Hulk” (2008), “Iron Man 2” (2010), “Thor” (2011), and “Captain America: The First Avenger” (2011).

Though all these films have been leading up to “The Avengers,” none of them are nec-essary to comprehend the basic plot, and the film does a phenom-enal job of reintroduc-ing and reestablishing these already devel-oped characters.

The plot centers around Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson, a one-eyed di-rector of S.H.I.E.L.D., a government agency in charge of keeping tabs on Earth’s superheroes and villains. Thor’s dangerous and angry adop-tive brother Loki, god of all things devious, in-filtrates S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters and steals a mystical source of unlimited energy called The Tesseract. With this incredible power, Loki leads an alien army on an invasion of Earth, thus lead-ing to the assembling of the Avengers.

The story is basic enough, but it’s almost used as an excuse to get these brilliantly por-trayed characters to interact with each other.

The dialogue and banter is quick, witty, and in-triguing. Often times scenes with only conversa-tions between the heroes are just as exciting as action heavy set-pieces.

This is mostly due to the film’s humor and color. The movie is flat out hilarious. Joss Whedon’s direction and script fully embraces the slightly goofy side of superheroes. It’s flashy, lively, and vivid. This allows for all the char-acters to mesh, and seeing Thor in full battle

armor and a bright red cape standing next to the mechanical Iron Man, or the star-spangled Captain America, doesn’t seem as out of place as expected.

Don’t fear though, “The Avengers” is sure to satisfy any needs for a all-out action experience. In fact, “The Avengers” has some of the most spec-tacular and entertaining action scenes I’ve ever ex-perienced.

The real fun comes in the final act, when Loki leads his alien invasion on Manhattan. The entire team comes together and desperately tries to protect the city and its civilians. The special effects are top

notch, the fight scenes are delightfully amusing, rewarding, intense yet comprehendible.

There is so much to love about “The Aveng-ers.” The characters are compelling, especially Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk and Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man.

The writing is great, with witty banter and a hilarious script. The action is incredibly exciting without being overwhelming. The heart, humor, and characters really set “The Avengers” apart from not only super-hero films, but most mov-ies in general. It’s the epitome of summer block-busters and a must see.

•marvel.com

Chris Evans stars as patriotic hero Captain America in the latest comic book based

movie, “The Avengers.”

Movies

My

W

ay

Comic book heroes finally live up to hype

A month ago, Insta-gram took the app store by storm, and now, Gifboom seems to be giving it a run for its money.

Gifboom is an app created by TapMojo LLC, that allows users to take videos and se-lect up to 20 images from it, therefore, creat-ing a gif.

The user can put text, filters, and borders on it, and if that’s not similar enough, it also copied Instagram’s icon and layout. An Ins-

tagram user would easily be able to navigate around Gifboom because of the similar de-sign. Although, users must figure out how to favorite a gif, delete a gif, and follow people all on their own, something that Instagram doesn’t lack.

Face it, it’s a good idea, but Gifboom is just a knock off Instagram with bugs that need to be fixed. Sorry Gifboom, but I’m ‘booming’ you out of my iPhone.

•mackenzie francis

Gene and Jude’s in Riverside is a great place to grab a hotdog at anytime. The food is great, and it doesn’t cost much.

Although the menu can be limiting, they have perfected each item, such as hot-dogs, toppings; sport peppers, fries that are smashed on top of the hotdogs, mustard, and onions. They also have tamales.

While the fries are greasy, they compli-

ment the hotdog’s taste and make them even better. The combination of the two is amaz-ing. Due to lack of seating, customers have to stand at the counter, however; most people eat their meals in their cars.

This place only takes cash, and do not ever ask for ketchup…it’s just a Chicago thing.

• cara malok

Old time favorite still serves the goods

Copycat app fails to impress

“Alone in the Dark”

When action-adventure meets horror, the result is never good. Directed by Uwe Boll, 2005 film “Alone in the Dark” was dis-appointing from the opening credits until the final scene.

For a $20 million budget, the film didn’t invest enough in editing. In one scene, a bullet is visibly shot a distance from a zombie, yet the zombie instantly cries out in pain and collapses.

At other points in the movie, a boom mic and a camera are visible. These blun-ders strayed away from the focus of the movie and caused me to laugh in ridicule.

The editing wasn’t the only poor qual-ity of the film. The acting failed to carry the plot and keep me engaged. While leading actor Christian Slater brought some cred-ibility to the film, it was hard to enjoy with the horrid acting of Tara Reid. She lacked emotion, speaking in a monotonous tone. It sounded like she was reading from cards the entire time.

“Alone in the Dark” also featured nu-merous fight scenes, packed with slow mo-tion back flips and kicks, and supplied by a soundtrack of metal music and gun shots. These fights were out of place and very dragged out. It was monotonous and unen-tertaining.

The film received a one percent rat-ing from Rotten Tomatoes. I wouldn’t even give it that. Unlike other bad horror films, this one didn’t have any sort of humor to make it worth watching.

“Beauty and the Briefcase”

It doesn’t get anymore cliche than 2010’s “Beauty & the Briefcase.” A beauti-ful blonde journalist pitches the ultimate story idea to land her dream job- working for “Cosmopolitan” magazine. Lane Dan-iels, played by Hilary Duff, has to bring her ‘Magic Man Checklist’ into the business world and find a guy in a suit who contains every quality on said list.

Hoping to find love in the process, she documents her adventures at the office and writes the story for Cosmo. Of course, she finds love. Of course, she lands the job. Of course, she learns an important moral les-son and matures along the way. Totally pre-dictable. But I loved everything about this movie.

Hilary Duff has been my girl since her Lizzie McGuire days. She’s grown up quite a bit over the past few years, but she was perfect for this role. Her quirkiness really shined in the film, bringing Lane Daniels to life.

The supporting roles of Jaime Pressly and Jennifer Coolidge bring additional star power and humor to the cast, adding depth and excitement to the plot.

The realm of chick-flicks is new to me, and I’m not sure why I liked this movie so much. Maybe it’s because I’m an aspiring journalist like Lane. Or maybe it’s because a majority of the characters are attractive business men.

It might not have horror, but “Beauty & the Briefcase” has romance, comedy, and fashion and was a refreshing break from my beloved slasher films.

9The CorrespondentEntertainmentMay 18, 2012

Jessica Lynk

Every year, the choir puts on mul-tiple performances throughout the year. Last Monday and Tuesday, the choir per-formed its final concert of the year showcas-ing the progress made throughout the year.

“From Treble Choir, to Concert Choir, to Women’s Chorale, and finally Chamber Singers, we have all improved in our own groups dras-tically from August when we first started. Choir is about work-ing together with those around you, and by this point we’ve mastered that, so it’s incredible to see what is able to be accomplished,” se-nior Brad Grochocin-ski said.

The concert start-ed off with seniors honoring their favor-ite teacher, as the night was focused around those receiving their graduation diplomas.

“It was emotional because it was senior night, and we have such a large graduating class (43 seniors) this year,” senior Kelsey Martin said

Knowing that this would be their final performance at this school took its toll on many of the seniors.

“It has been such a privilege to be apart of choir these past four years and it is so sad that this is our last concert ever,” senior Christa Antuma said.

The night included many solo-ists chosen by judges at the annual Broadway workshops after choir director Sara Micheals asked who impressed the judges

One soloist was senior Kristin Kapinos, who sang “Beyond my Wildest Dreams” on Monday.

“I liked my song because it’s cute and upbeat and fun to act out,” Kapinos said.

Another solo group consisted of seniors Joe Farrell, Grochoin-ski, and Martin, who performed “Those You’ve Known.”

“I loved singing with Brad and Joe because that was something I was never able to do; I also love that song, so finding two talented guys to sing with was awesome,” Martin said. “It just shows that this song that meant so much to us had a lasting effect on our judge, and that’s the greatest accomplishment you can make as a singer.”

An additional soloist was ju-nior Mike Perlongo, who sang a combination “Flesh Failures/Let the Sunshine in.”

“Having a solo was really cool. Its always fun to perform in front of a big crowd, especially when it’s comprised of all your friends and family because everyone is so sup-portive,” Perlongo said.

The night ended with the Chamber Singers singing “Dae-mom Irrepit Callidus,” “Prayer of the Children,” and “Rejoice and Sing Out his Praises.”

“My favorite song is ‘Daemon.’ It’s a very difficult song musically, and to add to the chaos of the piece it’s in Latin; It’s a fast, harsh, piece, but so fun to perform,” Grochocin-ski said.

Senior Jeremey Huene guest directed “Prayer of the Children,” which provoked emotion through-out the audience.

“My favorite moment was get-ting to conduct my peers, see their smiles, and have them blow me away at how absolutely amazing they were,” Huene said.

“It [‘Prayer of the Children’] has such a deep meaning, and you could tell that we moved a lot of people, which was really cool,” Per-longo said.

For some seniors, seeing the song performed their freshman year gave them a great opportunity to end their senior year with a fa-vorite.

“That song [‘Prayer of the Children’] has an extraordinary message and I have dreamed about singing it ever since I was a fresh-man. Getting to sing it at my last choir concert ever was an amazing privilege that Mrs. Michael gave us,” Martin said.

This concert was a great end-ing to most of the seniors’ career as choir students. Many hope that stu-dents and staff will remember this group of singers.

“I want people to remember the class of 2012 as being one of the most talented group of kids this school has seen,” Huene said.

Choir finale sends off seniorsSummer concerts allow students to simmer down

•Jessica Lynk

Senior Jeremy Huene leads the choir in his final performance. The choir had their spring con-

cert on May 14 and 15.

Erin Horne

Between lovers of B96 and devotees of obscure indie bands, there are summer concert events to fit everyone’s taste. Senior Lindsay Boivin plans to go to Summerfest, Kenny Chesney & Tim McGraw, and Warped Tour. “I like the type of music at Summerfest, and I’ve gotten into country music recently, so [Kenny Chesney & Tim Mc-Graw] should be fun,” Boivin said.

For newcomers to the summer music scene, navigating the differ-ent events can be tricky. For a close-to-home venue, the B96 Sum-mer Bash offers upbeat tunes that many are familiar with.

“I love the music and the ex-p e r i e n c e . Plus, it’s a great time with f r i e n d s ,” j u n i o r K a y l a D a l e said.

The S u m -m e r B a s h boasts h e a d l i n -ers like Flo Rida, Big Time Rush, The Wanted, and Mike Pos-ner. “It’s easy to see everything,” Dale said. “It’s at Toyota Park, is very clean, and runs very smooth-ly.”

Lollapalooza is also held year-ly in Chicago, but the fundamental difference between the two con-certs is the type of music. Lolla, while bringing in a few big-name bands, mostly sticks to the indie scene. Florence + The Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, FUN, and The Black Keyes will all be playing at Grant Park this August.

Chicago’s Ravinia is great for those looking to spend time with friends, and enjoy music as well. “I really liked how fun the atmo-sphere of the lawn seating is,” se-nior Sara Voinivich said of her Ra-vinia experience. “A lot of people bring food and have picnics and it’s a lot of fun.”

Another upside to Ravinia is its pricing. Tickets are far less ex-pensive than larger concerts, and free passes are offered to college

students for all Martin Theater and Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerts. “It’s just a lot more re-laxed, and you can hang out with your friends and have a good time,” Voinivich said.

Country lovers can get their fill at Country Thunder in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin. Blake Shelton, Toby Keith, Jason Aldean, and Luke Bry-an are headliners, and are joined by an abundance of other country artists, including The Farm, Wade Bowen, and Easton Corbin.

At First Midwest Bank Ampi-theater in Tinley Park, Warped Tour will be held. What separates this concert event from others is

that it travels around the na-

t i o n , and is i n t e r -act ive. Attend-ees can vote for w h i c h b a n d

they’d like to see play longer.

In ad-dition, each year the Tour has a

“BBQ Band”, an up-and-coming group that is allowed

t o play in the lineup. In return, they’re required to grill meals for all the other bands nearly every night of the tour.

“Warped Tour has a ton of good bands, and I think it will be fun,” Boivin said. The lineup in-cludes many alternative and pop punk bands. Rise Against and All Time Low are two of the better-known groups.

The epitome of all concert events is Summerfest, which is an eleven-day event that includes ev-erything from Ben Fold Five to the Beach Boys to Motion City Soundtrack. Held in Milwaukee, the event has an incredible range of music, and seems to resemble a mash-up of all the other concerts this summer holds.

Whatever the price range, time limit, or distance, a concert event is available to please nearly everyone. “Summer concerts are a great ex-perience and always so much fun,” Dale said.

•lolllapaloozaColdplay rocks out at a Lollapalooza 2011.

The band will be back performing in Chi-

cago over the summer.

Caitlin Strozewski

When people think about summer, they think of no school, relaxation, hang-ing with friends, swimming, and tanning. What they may not think about is the risk of skin cancer.

According to SkinCan-cer.org, when people tan, they sustain skin cell dam-age. The UV radiation from

the sun can cause premature skin aging and cancer. It doesn’t matter whether the tanning is done naturally or in a tanning bed, they both can cause damage to skin.

Most think that tanning can’t hurt them or that it’s not that serious if they tan now. They don’t think about the consequences later.

“I know I can get cancer, but I don’t really care,” sophomore Nadine Bunni said.

For those who think ‘I don’t look good when I’m pale,’ there are other options. Getting a spray tan can look just as natural as a real tan and does no harm to the skin.

“I’ve only gone four times, but I really don’t like being pale,” Bunni said.

Many places offer spray tans, and although they aren’t free like tanning in the sun is, they are a much better alternative to skin damage. In fact, L.A. Tan in Arlington Heights offers $10 spray tans on Mondays.

Some people (mainly those whose income comes from the tanning industry) claim that all of this is debatable, that tanning isn’t bad. The FDA states that exposure to UV radiation can cause skin cancer, skin burns, premature skin aging, and eye damage.

Governmental health organizations aren’t the only people promoting keeping skin healthy by not tanning; some celebrities have their own anti-tanning campaigns, including iCarly star Miranda Cosgrove.

Cosgrove is teaming up with Neutrogena to advise teens not to use tanning beds. She ex-plains that teens need to be aware of the dangers that come with tanning and wants teens to be careful.

According to SkinCancer.org, a report is-sued by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce has found that tanning salons fre-quently don’t provide all the facts on the risks

of tanning. They sometimes even claim that it is beneficial.

The investigators found many alarming things, including that many salons don’t follow the FDA’s regulations on tanning frequency, the salons denying the negative consequences of tanning, and specifically targeting teenage girls in their campaigns.

Skincancer.org also features young people talking about their real-life experiences of being hurt because of tanning. A 22-year-old named Natalie explains her experience with frequently using tanning beds, until one day her doctor di-agnosed her with melanoma on her back.

Luckily for her, it was curable with a three hour surgery. Natalie recalls how, before mela-noma, she had heard about the bad effects tan-ning could cause, but she never thought it could happen to her.

Students should take Natalie’s advice into consideration. The risk is not worth it, and stu-dents will regret it for the rest of their lives if something terrible comes out of their tanning habits.

“I never go tanning,” junior Anna Freitag said. “It’s not good for your skin and I don’t want cancer.”

Features May 18, 2012The Correspondent10 Love the skin you’re inThink about the consequences of tanning over time

Stress relievers fail before finals, students search for ways to copeKevin Schroeder

Walking through the halls and hearing people vent to their friends or seeing tears roll down students’ faces are not unusual experienc-es. Stress proves too much for some students to handle, but some are able to find a cure to this end of the year anxiety.

“I listen to music when I am stressed. It helps me relax,” junior Mitch Roth said.

Many students recommend calming music when dealing with testing season. Jazz and soft rock are known to calm the mind and help stu-dents concentrate.

Some of the most common advice given to relieve stress would be to get plenty of sleep. According to The Sleep Foundation, teenagers need about 9 hours of sleep a night. Although

this is more than a typical adult, most students do not get this much sleep. As a result, many find their ability to learn, listen, or concentrate severely weakened.

Exercise is a recommended stress reliever for students. Physical activity helps the brain produce endorphins, which make people feel happy and relaxed.

Some students have experimented with yoga to help their stress. Yoga poses loosen the tension in muscles that carry the most stress such as the neck, shoulders, and back. Even simple poses can help the mind and body feel at peace.

“I like to play a sport when I’m stressed out,” sophomore Brendan Cunningham said.

Writing is also a form of stress relief for the brain. Some students feel that venting their

problems down on paper sends the negative en-ergy through their pens and out of their minds.

“I eat a lot of food when I’m stressed,” fresh-man Will Fine said.

Changes in eating patterns are common for students when under a lot of stress. Some students resort to eating more “comfort” food, while some students don’t eat enough. It is rec-ommended to keep eating patterns as normal as possible. It is important to keep both the mind and the body healthy during stressful times.

“I eat a lot of food when I’m stressed,” Fine said. End of the year stress is not something to take lightly. Stress can help cause some serious effects such as headaches, high blood pressure, heart problems, or depression. It is important for students to find a healthy way to deal with the last month of school grind.

Out of the ten schools in the state to par-ticipate, the Symphonic Band won the title of “Honor Band” in the Superstate competition on May 5.

The fact that the band was chosen to play in the competition was an honor in itself, as only select schools from the state were chosen from audition tapes they sent in.

This was the 12th year in a row that the band was chosen to play, and it was the first time they won “Honor Band” since 2008.

“It felt awesome to win honor band at Superstate, especially after the band worked so hard to be able to play the way we did,” junior saxo-phone player Monika Mroz said.

At the competition, the band played “Scheherazade” and “Starry Crown.”

“We were more worried about ‘Starry Crown’ since we had so little time to prepare for it, not nearly as much time as ‘Schehe-razade,’ ” junior Eric Chung said.

Fortunately, the band had nothing to fear, as they dominated the two pieces they chose.

“I knew we could pull it off anyway be-cause we have an amazing saxophone section and our band as a whole always makes it work in the end,” Chung said.

“All our hard work really paid off at Su-perstate,” junior Claire Hynes said.

•NATALIE CZARNOTA

Band takes super state Funner Olympics brings smiles

The fieldhouse was filled with lots of smiles last Wednesday, as Fun-

ner Olympics took place hosted by Service Over Self.

Students were paired up with a special needs child to bring them a day full of fun and laughter.

Booths, also ran by stu-dents, were set up with games ranging from baggos to pine-wood derby.

“Overall, everyone is very enthusiastic about the kids. Everyone is doing a good job,” senior Lauren Lemanski, who

was running the event, said.Other things to do included a

dance floor, eating snow cones or popcorn, and jumping in a bounce house.

The day gave a unique opportunity for stu-dents to make new friends and to experience what SOS is about.

•JESSICA LYNK

• BRIAN LOOMIS

Senior Mandy Toljanic blows bubbles with her kid Abran outside on the side field at

Funner Olympics. “It was great seeing him smile and have a good time,” Toljanic said.

Visit CorrespondentLive to see more pictures of the Funner Olympics

Claudia CaplanEmily Swanson

The girls track season is coming to a close, and the athletes find themselves able to cheer on fellow team-mates seniors Nora Gawlik, Hannah Hel-miniak, junior Carolyn Crost, and freshman Kelly Hill at the state competition today and tomorrow in Charles-ton.

Gawlik will com-pete at 3200 meter run. While the other three will take on the state in field events. Helminiak hopes to throw into a top finish after her first place sectional discus throw of 130’ 8”.

Crost is excited to try and beat her sec-tional shot put toss of 34’ 1” which earned her second place.

“It was complete-ly unexpected. I’m so proud of my team-mates. I couldn’t have done it without them,” Crost said.

Hill placed fifth at sectionals and will com-pete in the pole vault at state, hoping to top her prior 10’ 3”.

“I placed in every conference meet,” Hill said. “State qualifying was a little over a foot from my personal best, and I didn’t think I’d be able to improve that much during the season.”

The team is extremely supportive for all the girls competing at state.

“I’m so happy for her [Kelly],” junior and older sister Erica Hill said. “I’m really proud of her and her accomplishments.”

“This year we’ve had a great team. We’re all so excited to root on Nora Gawlik in state, and she’s been working really hard,” junior Liz Smith said.

All the runners are determined to complete

the season with a bang. “I am excited to finish the year out strong. Nora has been working so hard this year and deserves to go to state,” junior Sara Bayerle said.

Gawlik has been preparing for this day for years, and hopes to finish strong at state.

“When I’m running I feel on top of the world, that is once I’ve caught my breath after the sprint to the finish line and I feel like dying. I have been running since sixth grade and loved it ever since,” Gawlik said.

“Track has had some nice surprises this year. After graduating several leader seniors, this next class of juniors and sophomores have done a great job at taking the lead and pushing us in the direction of success,” coach Danielle Freeman said.

Sportsmay 18, 2012 The Correspondent11

SP R SS R S

Michelle ChesterErika Murillo

Waking up at 6 a.m. everyday of the week is a challenge for most students. However, for some athletes, 6 a.m. isn’t all that bad.

Throughout the school year, some athletes must show up on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays before school for morning practices.

Many don’t mind having to wake up earlier than the normal school time, but others after years of morning practice still can’t get used to it.

“I have definitely not gotten used to the practices. I don’t think any of us are used to waking up at five in the morning to swim,” ju-nior swimmer Abby Johnson said.

Aside from waking up extra early three days a week, many view morning practice non-beneficial.

Evidently, coaches are trying to make their players more prepared for the actual season, but players still think 5 a.m. is too early for practice.

“I’ve had morning practices for swimming. I don’t think they’re beneficial at all. We’re all tired and not functioning properly enough to get into the pool,” sophomore Hannah Lipp-streuer said.

Many other athletes might agree with John-

son and Lippstreuer, but others think differently.Morning practice has some benefits that

help the players get in shape and enhance their performance during games.

“The morning practices have made me stronger for football, and they shape the body,” junior Jim Thomsen said.

Lifting before school stimulates the brain and helps build muscles, preparing athletes for the events that will occur later in the day.

“Lifting practice in the morning is tiring, but in the end, it pays off and helps our perfor-mance,” sophomore San Hwang said.

“Yeah, we’re tired, but [practice] boosts your energy to start your day,” Johnson said.

For a few sports, morning practice takes place on the weekend. Very few athletes prefer Saturday morning practices over before school practices.

Junior Christy Chacko, who is on the bad-minton team, is one who must rise and shine on a Saturday morning.

“Saturday morning practices are okay I guess. I wish [practice] was in the afternoon though because it’s too early and I like to sleep in,” Chacko said.

While staying fit and preparing hard for a big win is important, for athletes, sleep seems to be an even bigger priority.

Track stars head to state

Tired athletes stumble to early practice, search for benefits

Tennis finishes tough

•TIM GRIFFIN

Freshman Kelly Hill practices pole vaulting to prepare for the state meet with help from her sister, junior Erica Hill.

Athletes get in shape combat injuries

Negative effects are usually talked about when it comes to sport injuries.

Sports can have a more positive effect on one’s health, rather than negative.

While some athletes do get injured, most get into much better shape during the season.

“During a sport you get in better shape, because you are active every day at practice or a game,” sophomore Mitch Smelser said.

Practice and games are not the only times students get into shape during a sport.

Many times a team will lift after prac-tice or when the weather isn’t good enough to go outside.

“I think the neighborhood runs after a baseball game is rained out get us in the best shape,” Smelser said.

Another advantage of being in shape from sports is the decreasing risk of injury.

“I feel I am less injury prone because I work out at sports and outside of sports,” sophomore Mike Messer said.

If someone comes into a sport out of shape, they’re more likely to get injured be-cause his body is not use to the vigorous ac-tivity they go through in a sport.

The negative effects of being an athlete do not compare to the positive effects.

•SCOTT BAKAL

After a good spring season, the confer-ence meet has come and gone for the boys tennis team. They head to sectionals tonight at Stevenson.

“We had some pretty tough compe-tition,” senior Robin Shin said. The team placed fifth out of 12.

“We put in a good amount of work,” Shin said. “We could have practiced harder.”

The meet was hosted by Bar-rington High School, and after it, the athletes had to concentrate on improving their play for sectionals and state.

“I’ve been working every day,” senior Kyle Magnuson said. “I have to work on my serve.”

“I need to work on staying in the mo-ment- not focusing on the bigger picture, not caring whether I win or lose, just playing every point the best I can,” junior Andrew Napora said.

Despite a rocky season, the players have had an educational and fun year.

•MELANIE COHODES

Check out CorrespondentLive

for more sports coverage as it happens

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SportsThe Correspondent12

TIMEOUT! Q:

Q:

Q:

How do you feel about making it to sectionals?

How far do you anticipate you can go this year?

It’s exciting to get to this point of the season. I’m look-ing forward to making some noise in this sectional tournament.

How much better is it that you’ve gotten to this point with your partner, Owen Connor?

Sometimes expectations can hurt more than they help. I would like to build on where I was last year and gain experience for a long state run next year.

Track SecTionalS @ FreMd

“We’ve got a young but talented team, but we’re ready to

make some noise and have people notice us.” -junior Robert Somary

It makes a huge difference. Owen is only a freshman, and he has made great strides this year both mentally and physically.

Scott Bakal

The baseball team has maintained a 23-7 record and is ranked 32 in the state according to prep baseball report, as of press. The team is determined to make a long run in the playoffs starting next Wednesday.

“From the beginning of the year, we have wanted to make a deep playoff run. We want to be playing our best baseball come playoff time,” junior Alex Sutrinaitis said.

Taking two games Saturday against Cle-mente added to the winning streak. “[Senior]Brad Moore throwing a no-hitter going into the seventh against Clemente was pretty awe-some,” senior Pat Nix said.

Leaving no doubt about where they stand in the MSL East, the Huskies beat Barrington Friday by a score 7-5. “Aaron DeGeorge com-ing in to pitch, after arm surgery, against Bar-rington, to help us clinch the East on Friday,

was unbelievable,” Nix said.The coaches’ advice has been, “keep the

blinders on. Don’t pay attention to what’s go-ing on with other teams, rankings, scores, etc. Take care of your own business,” senior Tyler Perkowitz said.

“Being ranked number nine in state was unbelievable. We believed that we could beat anybody,” Nix said.

The team was ranked top 10 in the state after defeating another top 10 team, Simeon on April 14.

The boys found only one negative about being ranked ninth in the state. “It put a target on our back because people wanted to beat the number nine ranked team in state,” Sutrinaitis said.

The team began the season winning 10 of their first 11 games. “It was great to get off to the start that we did because it gave us confi-dence going into conference,” Perkowitz said.

The team understands that it takes team-work to win, however, standout individual per-formances are a big part of any successful team.

“There has been a lot of good individual performances. Sean Hardiman’s game winning hit in the bottom of the 11th to beat Stevenson 2-1 was huge,” Nix said about the April 2 game.

A successful trip to Springfield during spring break improved their record and their confidence. “I took the trip with the varsity team, and it helped me a lot. I played in four J.V. games and it helped my confidence more than anything else in my entire career,” sopho-more C.J Reichel said.

The team is made up of mostly seniors, which has benefited the underclassmen. “Hav-ing mostly seniors is really great for the whole team. They are great leaders and mentors to the juniors. They have been through a lot and they teach us some of the details of the game,” Sutri-naitis said.

May 18, 2012

BaSeBall @ FreMd

“Overall, with the work we’ve put in, I’m confident we’re going

to come out on top.” -senior James Ioriatti

•Mackenzie Francis

Baseball earns state ranking, clinches MSL East

SoFTBall @ Mundelein

“I think we’re pretty confident, we’re coming in strong.”

-senior Haley Henriksen

Pitchers contribute to winning streak

Junior Sarah Platt pitches the ball at the May 14 game against Wheeling. Senior Melissa Cecala positions herself for an infield hit. The girls will take on Mundelein tonight, which they are feeling confident about. “I think we have a good chance,” senior Haley Henriksen said.

with Bran

don Stas

sen May