mill stream

01.27.2011

www.mill-stream.org

v41.518111 Cumberland Rd. Noblesville IN, 46060

Story continued on page 7Illustrations by A. Echarry

Matt Loriaeditor-in-chief

Katie Soudersproduction editor

Jayde Klavephotography editorcirculation manager

Zach Hopperbusiness manager

Jace Hodsonfeatures editor

Jenna Larsonopinions editor

Brittany Burkhaltersports editor

Kendra FoleySidney HuberMadi McNewphotographers

Abraham EcharryQuinn ReiffNavar Watsonartists/cartoonists

Alejandra CoarRachel CoxAinee JeongCarlie JordanAnna KreutzAndrew MusselmanAustin Northwriters

Krista Shieldsadviser

2010-2011Mill Stream Staff

Q&A with Q&A:

BasketballPage 11

Students prove their knowledge of German culture Page 6

Ahn-young Texting and driving remains a problemPage 5

Ni hao

Hallo

Hello

Hola

Bienvenido! Bienvenue! Wilkommen! Huānyíng! Depending on which foreign language club he or she is taking, a student may recognize these greetings. In English, all of these words mean “welcome,” which is what prospective club members may hear when they join one (or two) of the different language clubs available here at NHS.

There is a club for every language taught here: Spanish, French, and German. While these courses teach students the language, the clubs let students learn and experience these cultures further, whether through food, movies, festivals, and more.

Join the club, we’ve got jackets

Mill Stream is published by Block 5 journalism students and distributed free of charge. The staff will publish 13 issues during the 2010-2011 school year.

Mill Stream is a student newspaper, run for students, by students. We provide a public forum to serve as an outlet for student ideas and opinions; we work as an agent for change and provide credible, objective reporting to inform, entertain, educate the reader and better serve the reader.

We welcome both signed letters to the editor and guest columns, which cannot exceed 350 words in length.

Mill Stream reserves the right to correct grammatical errors and ask for the au-thor’s assistance in editing. Mill Stream will not print letters that attack individuals or that contain obscene language. Letters may be submitted to room 137, the Mill Stream mailbox located in the commons or via www.mill-stream.org.

The staff reserves the right to reject advertisements that are political in nature, false, promote illegal substances to minors, misleading, harmful, or not in the best interest of its readers.

Mill Stream is a member of the Indiana High School Press Association.

Mill

Str

eam

Pol

icy

18111 Cumberland Rd. Noblesville IN, 46060

2 opinion Mill Stream01.27.2011

[the way we see it] Mill Stream staff editorial

Four thousand miles away, stu-dents get ready for school. Waiters don their skinny ties and their balancing acts. Adults brace themselves for another day at the work place.

Four thousand miles away, give or take, is Paris, France. Recently, I had the opportunity to travel across the Atlantic Ocean, arrive in the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and immerse myself in the European culture. My experience went something like this.

People eat really excel-lent food in Paris. If the food was graded there, it would get an A+ and then some ex-tra credit. My first experience in a typical cafe was rough since after three years of Spanish, my use of that language is limit-ed at best; however, my French is nonexis-tent. My aunt, who traveled with me, was fluent, but I was insistent on ordering my own meals. Unfortunately, this resulted

in pointing at the menu most of the time. This tactic luckily did not hinder the deli-

ciousness. If you ever

travel to France, you NEED to know these three words: bonjour (hello), merci (thank you), and au revoir (goodbye). Everyone is polite and greets one an-other in every situ-ation. After master-ing the above three words, locals would then continue on with the conversa-tion in French. My response was smil-

ing. It’s possible I looked slightly insane; hopefully, in the future, I would be more capable to respond.

Fashion is incredibly important. I’d bore many of you with the details so let me simplify the daily attire to just scarfs and trench coats. There were some

Lady Gaga imitators, but the locals just breezed by them like it was nothing.

I first saw the Eiffel Tower on ac-cident when I was sitting on the metro, and it suddenly went above ground. I looked up, and it right in front of me. It was spectacular and tall and looked just like the pictures. At night, it was even better. They had light shows every ten minutes that lit up the entire city.

Art museums are everywhere. The Louvre, the most visited art museum in the world, held the “Mona Lisa”, which was surprisingly little; I entered this crowded room to find that the painting itself takes up the smallest fraction of an entire wall, and there were dozens of wannabe photographers swarming the bulletproof glass at all times.

Somewhere between stepping into the city and leaving it, Paris amazed me. For any future travelers, I’d greatly ad-vise you to go and see for yourself.

Bonjour, merci, au revoir...

According to dicitonary.com, the word “multilingual” means using or able to speak several or many languages with some facility. According to statistics, that word doesn’t apply to many people here in America.

How many languages can you speak? Is “multilingual” a word that defines you? For most of us, the number of languages we’re fluent in probably isn’t very high, nor is multilingual an accurate characteristic.

Becoming a multilingual person may seem like a far-fetched idea, but in reality, the opportunity is lurking right in front of us. There are several ways to learn a foreign language at NHS. Utilizing these ways of learning supplies students with endless benefits for his or her future, as well as benefits that apply to high school.

The Mill Stream staff believes speaking more than one language has a positive effect on one’s intellectual growth, es-pecially in youth. By learning a foreign language in high school, students’ mental development is likely to be enriched and enhanced by a great amount. It also expands flexibility in thinking, gives a greater sensitivity to language, and helps to better listening.

Even colleges greatly appreciate students who are articulate in languages other than English. These students can also have a head start in language requirements during college. Not only do foreign languages help with college, but they help with getting into college. Taking foreign language classes can lead to getting a higher diploma.

Statistics say that only one in five Americans can hold a conversation in a language other than their primary language. If one is in that 20 percent of Americans, he or she has an advantage over the other 80 percent. This can lead to better jobs, and therefore, a brighter future.

In Columbus, Ohio, there has been controversy over the decision to allow the teaching of Mandarin in their schools. Some citizens think that allowing students to learn the language and culture of the Chinese will press communist ideas and ways of the Chinese government upon the students.. The idea is completely absurd. Even more of a reason NHS students should jump on the opportunity to take a foreign language; no one here is plotting against it.

The Mill Stream staff encourages all NHS students to take a second language. The benefits of it never end and taking the steps to become multilingual are simple. Join a foreign language club, or next year while filling out schedules, take a language class. It requires some work, but the outcome will be worth it.

The Mill Stream staff also inspires students to be accepting of students who are slower with English, such as foreign exchange students that have moved here from another country. Those students are trying to broaden their horizon and expand the capacity of languages they speak, as the rest of us should be doing.

Anna Kreutzanna.lkreutz@gmail.com

Comic by A. Echarry

?saywhat

Eavesdroppingat its funniest

3opinionMill Stream01.27.2011

“Segways make me giggle.”- Library

“Why can’t you hear a pterodactyl going to the bathroom? ‘Cause the “p” is silent.” - English 10 Honors

“I still have my training bra.” - Art Hallway

“This banana is tripping me out.” - Jr./Sr. Cafeteria

“This file is going to rise out of the trash like a phoenix.” - Lab 107

“Hey, guys, good news... I just saved a bunch of money on my lunch by switching to Geico.”- Chemistry

“I can’t! There are too many dogs in my head.”- Comp. ACP

“ I hope that big toad swallows you”- Math Hallway

Hollywood sacrifices quality for popularity

These past few years, Hollywood has been on a pop-culture kick, covering everything from Michael Jackson to recre-ating classics, such as Gil-liver’s Travels and Tron. In some cases, however, Hol-lywood seems to be more concerned with making a quick buck than creating a good film.

Granted, many movies fresh out of the theaters are excellent, but more recently, there have been movies that place more emphasis on flashy effects and impressive explosions than the plot and character development that make movies worth watching.

Although the very mentioning of the name causes me to cringe, I have to admit that I have read the infamous Twilight series. When I read them, they weren’t half bad for the modern teen novels that they were, so I can’t complain too much about that. The movies, though, however popular they seemed to be, are not at all what I had anticipated. Mediocre actors with overdone, unrealistic effects and digital sparkling men that resemble deep sea fish made it all too obvious that the directors were

not looking past the pop culture value in order to create a decent film.

This happens all too of-ten in the world of movie-making, and the numbers of films that are truly wor-thy of watching is dwin-dling at an alarming rate.. Another prime example of this is that of the cinema classic Dracula. A fan of the creepy and macabre, I very swiftly bought my copy of the 1931 version when it went on sale at Wal-Mart last Halloween.

Despite the grainy pic-ture quality and the faint sound of the film reel, it has become one of my absolute favorite movies. Bela Lugosi, who played the leading role of Dracule himself, was superb in his

role, and the film provided a wonderfully dark atmosphere that gave the movie the same gothic feel as the book.

Since the release of this movie, countless re-makes have been made as technology and pop culture changes. Not only this, but the world of movie magic has taken it upon itself to use the names and create their own original spin-offs to

the goth classic. In a recent remake, Dracula 2000, the directors focus solely on the presence of fa-mous faces and the fact that they updated the set-ting from 19th century Europe to 21st century New Orleans to carry the movie from the director’s imagination to the big screen. The movie itself strays completely away from the original story, making it utterly unrecognizable aside from the names Dracula and Van Helsing popping up a couple times in passing.

Every since my run-in with the cinematic un-dead, I have become exceedingly cautious when buying tickets at the movie theater. I hardly feel the need to go to the movies anymore, since most of them are completely devoid of the proper plot, mood and character development that I love in movies.

Every once in a while I find a diamond in the rough, including the new movie Black Swan that played on my background of the pressure of mu-sical competition. While there was not necessar-ily world-wide appeal for it, but plot moved along and the main character went through a wonder-ful transition from timid ballerina to outspoken and skilled preformer.

Sadly though, these are hard to come by nowa-days, even with the incredible technology that is available to film directors. While my faith in the movie business is stifled beneath layers of doubt, I have hopes that, sooner or later, directors will return to making entertaining, complex, and ac-tually viewable films.

Alejandra Coarcoar.alejandra@gmail.com

Diddy makes himself some “dirty money”

Sean Combs- Known aliases: Did-dy, P. Diddy, Puff Daddy, Puffy, Sean John. Associated acts: Faith Evans, Lil’ Kim, Mase, Da Band (from Mak-ing the Band), The Notorious B.I.G., Usher, DJ Khaled, and his latest Did-dy-Dirty Money featuring himself.

After finding all the famous and popular artists this business mogul is responsible for, it came clear to me how Diddy is still making money be-cause I did not understand how he made it big in the music biz. After hearing his own music on Last Train to Paris, an album released recently starring two of his finest protégés from the latest installment of “Mak-ing the Band:” Dawn Richard and Kalenna Harper, I was less than im-pressed.

The beats on each track are very well put together and sound like they are leading up to a great song, but they become repetitive and most of the tracks eventually become bor-ing because there are not very many lyrics that seem to match the hard-hitting rhythm and bass.

Only with the exceptions of pre-

viously released singles “Hello Good Morn-ing (feat. T.I.)” and “Angels (feat. The Notorious B.I.G.).” On top of that, the vocals are usually stacked on top of each other in a fluster, adding up to a strange sounding album.

I also didn’t hear or see much of the other two band members on the album, which I found strange considering they make the band. If Did-dy wanted to make a new album, he should have just dropped the Dirty Money part of his “band” name.

Nonetheless, the songs on this album obvi-ously needed work so Diddy decided to enlist as many other recording artists as he could.

Many well known musicians and rappers join this new album, including Lil Wayne, Usher, T.I., Drake, and others, but none of their collab-orations release any of their true potentials. Lil Wayne did not rap as fast or as much as I would have liked, and Usher’s magical voice only seems like background noise.

The other featured artists, as you can imag-ine, followed the same regime. Over all, the al-bum seemed to be lacking the special “x” factor to make the songs really stick out above the rest. The one song released exclusively on the album I would listen to is “Coming Home (feat. Skylar Grey).” But, that’s what God invented iTunes for. The rest of this album was just not my cup of tea, but I recommend looking into the rest of “Last Train to Paris” on YouTube or iTunes to see if it’s for you.

Quinn Reiffquinn.reiff@gmail.com

Photo from bloginity.com

Combs said that Diddy Dirty Money is “a look, a sound, a movement, and a crew.” In Last Train to Paris, he wanted to tell a love story, but not only in the male point of view. Last Train to Paris hit stores on December 13th, and has sold over 172,00 copies.

4 reviews Mill Stream01.27.2011

“The Dilemma” has a dilemma

A character realizes his life means nothing then de-cides to make it mean something after his father’s death. What do you know? An-other comic book story. Well...not quite.

The Green Hornet opens up with humor, ends with humor, and the middle is full of, well, not much humor.

Britt Reid’s father passes away and leaves a family-run newspaper business in the hands of Britt, who just happens to be the most irresponsible man in the city. Britt par-ties by night and sleeps by day, but then his fa-ther dies and out of an-ger Britt fires nearly all of the cleaning staff which works in their house. The mistake rests in the fir-ing of Kato, the mechanic who also makes Britt’s ex-quisite coffee.

Kato is best described as the Asian Justin Timberlake, or as Britt puts it, a hu-man Swiss Army knife. Kato and Britt discuss Britt’s fa-ther and his short-comings over a few drinks. The drinks lead to irrational thinking, and the plot hatches.

The two men decide to team up and fight evil! But this actually wasn’t their intention at the start. What actually happened was the two men decide to team up to behead a statue of Britt’s father. Coincidentally, a couple is mugged in the same area. Britt and Kato decide to get involved, and then the two men decide to strike up a crime-fighting

duo by posing as the villains in or-der to get closer to them.

Throughout the film the two men enter numerous conflicts involving women and of course, who gets to be the superhero and who is stuck as the sidekick. Ironically, Britt fills the shoes of the Green Hornet and Kato poses as his chauffeur, despite Kato performing most of the crime-fighting.

The movie opens with enough humor to catch the audience’s atten-tion and hold it through the first half hour, but the humor begins to get re-petitive and the action begins to get far-fetched throughout the middle of the flick. By the time I had been in the theatre for an hour my atten-tion span was waning. The movie just wasn’t that funny anymore. I was ready for something new. Sure, there was lots of action involved but nothing really attention-grabbing.

And then the ending hit. The ending of the movie was fantastic. It

was funny and mixed with action and just goofy enough to fit my own personality. However, it was not worth the two hour-long wait to get there.

Matt Lorialoria.matt@gmail.com

When I walked into the movie theater to spend nearly two hours in order to see a romantic comedy that, based on the trailers, seemed to be fairly cliché, I was hoping to be pleasantly surprised. And I was…kind of.

No Strings Attached starring Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman was charming and emotional at best. At worst, it was overbearingly cliché and explicitly sexual, which is why it has an ‘R’ rating. There were also raun-chy jokes interspersed throughout the movie paired with tear-jerker moments.

One of these tear-jerkers would be at the end when Portman’s character, Emma, discovers that she’s desper-ately in love with Kutcher’s character, Adam, and makes a mad dash to tell him the news. Did I say cliché?

Coming from a movie that is completely based around two people that agree to have a “friends with benefits” relationship, I wasn’t surprised about the jokes or emo-tional turmoil that the characters go through.

I was surprised, however, that the movie accomplished the task of getting me to care about the characters and what was happening in their lives. The two main roles were not only amusing but also complex and believable, which impressed me. They seemed like actual people

with actual problems, which made them relatable.I was also amazed by Kutcher’s performance. In other

movies that I’ve seen of his, he hasn’t been quite the actor, always being the stereotypical goofball. And although he does have his goofball moments in this movie, his por-trayal goes toe-to-toe to that of Academy Award nominee Portman’s.

But, when push comes to shove, I want my time and money back. The movie, although cute, simply isn’t worth the money. I recommend waiting and renting it in a few months. This is the type of movie that is entertaining for a couple of hours on a lazy day when there is nothing else to be done.

Mainly, I want my money back because the film was as painfully predictable as I thought it was going to be (reference running, crying Emma to a heartbroken Adam). It has some hilarious mo-ments; I give it that, but at the cost of movie tickets these days, I try to save expensive trips to the theater for movies that can keep me think-ing about them long after the end credits. And this movie is almost instantaneously forgettable.

Heartstrings loosely attachedRachel Coxre.cox1992@gmail.com

Comedy movies are supposed to be funny, right? They typically have cast members who are known for comedy and get the audience in full on giggle fits. Usually when Vince Vaughn and Kevin James appear on screen it is expected to be a hilarious movie that leaves you laughing long after the final credits have rolled.

That was what I was hoping for when I purchased my ticket to see The Dilemma, starring Vaughn and James as Ronny Valentine and Nick Brannen. I was very stunned to see that this comedy was anything but funny.

Ronny and Nick are partners in a small car company where they make engines for cars. They take the engines they create and try to sell them to the big car industries such as Dodge and Ford. The two have been best friends since col-lege and have been through tough times together.

Set in Chicago, the movie starts off with Ronny and his girlfriend Beth,

and Nick and his wife Geneva, discussing if someone re-ally knows someone completely. This whole discussion sets up the entire movie. Geneva has a little secret and Ronny soon makes a discovery he later wishes he had not.

When Ronny starts planning to propose to his girlfriend, he sees Nick’s wife with Channing Tatum’s character, Zip. With Ronny and Nick working together, Ronny goes through a series of challenges while battling the idea of telling Nick that his wife is cheating, and this is where the comedy disas-ter starts.

There were some parts when Vaughn’s character tried to be funny but failed. He falls into a pile of poisonous plants and to be quite honest it really is not that funny. Other than the almost forced “funny” moments such as this, the movie had no humor to it.

One instance were the movie was remotely funny was towards the very end. Nick was mad at Ronny for everything that he had found out about his wife and randomly started to hit Ronny. He was more or less taking his anger out on Ronny when he found out his wife was nothing but a cheater who liked black mailing people. But you can find more about that part later when you see this movie.

Over all the mood of the movie had a very serious tone. Think about it, how could a director incorporate comedy into a movie where a wife is cheating on the husband? The seri-ous mood the movie portrays ruins all hopes for it to be the least bit funny.

With a cast full of actors known for comedy, it is hard to believe that this movie was a comedy disaster. Along-side Vaughn and James, the cast included Queen Latifah, so I was shocked to see that the movie had little funny characteris-tics.

Despite the lack of comedy this movie is a good drama movie. I enjoyed the characters and the plot but the fact that it was supposed to be a comedy left me disappointed when the movie had ended. Although I do not recommend this movie to anyone who is looking for a comedy, I do suggest the dra-ma loving movie-goers to give this movie a try.

Brittany Burkhalterburkhalter.brittany@gmail.com

The Hornet doesn’t pack much sting

photo from www.moviepostershop.com

5featuresMill Stream01.27.2011

Teenage rebellion is a common thing. Teenagers, espe-cially in the 80s, were famous for “stickin’ it to the man.” Nowadays, teen rebellion comes in the form of texting...and driving.

Even though there are laws put in place to stop people from texting while driving, therefore limiting distractions and the accidents they cause, students and adults alike still do it.

“I think [texting while driving] is some-thing that people prob-ably shouldn’t do, but it’s like smoking, people will do it anyways,” se-nior Kayla Cross said.

Ever since texting be-came the popular mode of communication that it is today, the topic of texting while driving has been a controversy. Along the same lines, simply talking on the phone while driving has been examined more closely.

People can be seen talking on the phone while driving all the time, but it is harder to tell if people are texting while driving. In a survey taken by 100 juniors and seniors, 37 students admitted that they text while driving.

“I think it’s the fact that their phone beeped. It is just that feeling that someone is thinking of you at that moment, and if you wait to text back, they might think you do not care, or

you might miss something,” junior Aly Briggs said.It is a fact that texting and talking on the phone while

driving slows down a driver’s reaction time. In fact, the Uni-versity of Utah reported that using a cell phone while driv-ing delays reaction time as much as having a blood alcohol concentration of .08 percent, which is the legal limit.

“It drives me completely nuts when I see others text and drive, especially when I’m in the car with that person. My life is in their hands, and they can’t put the phone down for ten minutes so that we can make it to our destination

safely? Really?” junior Stephanie Uggen said.

According to the Insrance Insti-tute for Highway Safety, “drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to i n j u r e

themselves.”The current law pro-

hibits drivers who are 18 or younger from us-ing cell phones, text messaging devices or other “wireless telecom-

munications devices” while driving.“It doesn’t stop people whatsoever. There are laws for

speeding, and yet people still get pulled over all of the time for speeding,” junior Mara Shell said.

Sen. Travis Holdman’s Senate Bill would prohibit all drivers from using any kind of personal communication devices while driving. If caught, a violator could expect a Class C infraction, which is similar to a traffic ticket.

While multiple bills that would have made texting while driving illegal in Indiana failed to pass in 2010, Gov. Mitch Daniels says he will approve of such bills that come from the General Assembly.

However, the fact that the government is taking notice of the issue does not mean that drivers will take heed of the law.

“The law is fruitless. It was probably made to get the state a tax break, but it serves no real purpose or is

any kind of deterrent,” senior Matt Estrada said.

“Most of the time it takes something bad to happen to someone they know. Hundreds of accidents last year were linked to the use of cell phones,” Officer Jim Crask said. “Most people have the mentality that it won’t happen to them.”

Madi McNewmcnew.madi@gmail.com

Photo illustration by M. McNew

“We try to teach them as much as we can...but there’s just so much more out there than what we can do,” Mrs. Valerie Phillips said of her German classes.

Phillips’ students learn vocabu-lary, grammar, and German cus-toms in school, but they do not re-ceive many chances to experience the culture for themselves. How-ever, this opportunity will be given to students at Staatskongress, which will take place at Ball State Univer-sity on Feb. 19. According to Phil-lips, about 14 students are interested in attending the event. “Everyone from all the schools gets together and celebrates German,” she said of the upcoming day.

This year marks the first that the German department is involved in such a competition, though many French students have done some-thing similar in the past.

Participating students have been meeting in AL with Phillips to be-gin preparing for the competition.

Also, individual students are brush-ing up on their German skills to be in top shape by the day of the event. “I’m trying to speak more German around the house, and pretty much everywhere,” sophomore Ethan Rogers said.

The first part of Staatskongress will be similar to a trivia game. Students will answer questions per-taining to the theme of the compe-tition, famous German speakers of the 20th and 21st centuries.

The day then divides into mul-tiple breakout sessions in which students may choose what they want to do. Activities offered will include German music, dancing, and games.

Various competitions will take place as the day goes on, and stu-dents will be able to compete with a German-themed project of their choice.

Junior Shandell Foust, a third year German student, is participat-ing in a musical contest with junior Jacob Harris. “We are singing a Beat-les song in German,” Foust said.

In addition to performing a mu-

sical number, Foust is planning on making a PowerPoint highlighting famous Germans in history for an-other competition.

Rogers and sophomore Elliott Groves are teaming up to create a video to enter in a contest. While they’re not sure what the subject matter will be, they’re confident that their finished product will have success. “I can promise greatness,” Rogers said. “We hope that it can be funny and informative.”

Staatskongress will conclude with students getting to experience an authentic German meal, polka music, a dance, and a short awards ceremony.

“It’s going to be pretty awesome,” Foust said.

While students such as Foust and Rogers agree that the German food tops their list of things to look for-ward to, Phillips says she’s excited to see what her students will take away from the event as a whole. “I hope they have fun experiencing German,” she said. “I hope they be-come curious.”

Jenna Larsonlarson.jennac@gmail.com

6 the focus 01.27.2011

Over the years, schools in America have become full of a myriad of cultures and languag-es. Anything from rapid Spanish conversations to chatter about the newest Vietnamese restaurant can be heard down the halls. For stu-dents who speak two languages, life can be different from that of their unilingual peers.

Some students, like seniors Na-dith Rodriguez and Leticia Her-nandez, learned English as their second language and didn’t have too much difficulty learning to speak it.

“You pick [English] up pretty easily from school, especially if you’re in kindergarten when you start,” Rodriguez said.

Not all students, however, dis-play quite this same ease with learning a second language, par-ticularly when starting to learn it at an older age, like junior Yan Truong.

“It was especially hard to learn how to speak English when I moved here from Vietnam. I was 12,” Truong said.

However, students notice dis-tinct differences between the lan-guages. They acknowledge both major differences, like structure, and minor differences, like word meanings.

“There’s no feminine or mascu-line words in English. In Spanish, every word has a gender,” Hernan-dez said.

“English structures sentences differently. Plus, there are words that sound the same but are spelled different or have different mean-ings,” Rodriguez said.

“English is completely back-wards from my language’s struc-ture,” Truong said in agreement.

Switching between languages can be different for each individ-ual, whether it be in the spoken word or even in thought.

“It’s pretty easy for me to go between languages. Like, if I’m

at work and a Hispanic customer comes in right after an English-speaking customer,” Hernandez said.

While switching back and forth can be easy at times, the vast vo-cabulary of each language may prove difficult to master.

“It’s kind of difficult sometimes. There are times when you can’t think of certain words in one lan-guages, but know it in the other,” Rodriguez said.

While some people who speak two languages fluently are just bi-lingual, many are bicultural, and honor two cultures as well as two languages.

“I love Hispanic food! Latino food has so much flavor. American food can be so bland with just one flavor,” Hernandez said.

“I love the food in Vietnam!” Truong said.

The food is not the only uni-versally enjoyed aspect of other cultures. Activities such as parties and dancing can easily cross lan-guage boundaries.

“At Latino parties...we do dance like at American parties, but we communicate more. It’s like we celebrate life at each party; we en-joy each other’s company; we feel blessed,” Rodriguez said.

Bilingual students can also cel-ebrate other aspects of American culture, such as music, history and the American dream.

“American music is good, but its history, like the Revolution, is fascinating, too,” Hernandez said.

“My favorite thing about Amer-ica is you always have a chance to do what you want, to study what you want to be,” Truong said.

Bilingual members of the stu-dent body can be vastly different in their way of life as well as their languages. Here at NHS, most of us not only welcome these dif-ferences but celebrate them, as is showcased by the abundance of flags from different countries and cultures that line the walls of the NHS commons.

There is an ice cream cone on the ground in New York City. The man responsible for accidentally dropping this afternoon treat is seen nearby, shouting and cursing his misfor-tune. Then, he says something like “What a waste of money!” or “I paid $3.75 for that!”

Many Americans can relate to such a loss, and oftentimes they would agree that such an accident is indeed a terrible misfortune.

Americans do not always understand how fortunate they actually are, and when crises like dropping ice cream cones strike, they do not understand how minor their issues are compared to issues natives in other countries face.

According to mybudget360.com, the average American resident makes an approximate $46,000 income per year, whereas citizens of other countries do not even make enough to feed their own family.

For almost fifteen years, Spanish teacher Mr. Kevin Cole has helped donate through Compassion International, a “child advocacy ministry that releases children from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enables them to become responsible [adults],” as stated on the organization’s official site, in order to help sponsor and support foreign children whose families are not so privileged.

Mr. Cole is now sponsoring a girl named Alexandra in the Dominican Republic. “I normally donate at least thirty dollars a month which will provide [Alexandra] with

Graphic by N. Watson

Navar Watsonnavar.watson@gmail.com

Jace Hodsonhodson.jace@gmail.com

sical number, Foust is planning on making a PowerPoint highlighting famous Germans in history for an-other competition.

Rogers and sophomore Elliott Groves are teaming up to create a video to enter in a contest. While they’re not sure what the subject matter will be, they’re confident that their finished product will have success. “I can promise greatness,” Rogers said. “We hope that it can be funny and informative.”

Staatskongress will conclude with students getting to experience an authentic German meal, polka music, a dance, and a short awards ceremony.

“It’s going to be pretty awesome,” Foust said.

While students such as Foust and Rogers agree that the German food tops their list of things to look for-ward to, Phillips says she’s excited to see what her students will take away from the event as a whole. “I hope they have fun experiencing German,” she said. “I hope they be-come curious.”

the focus 701.27.2011

(Continued from cover)“Students don’t really get the chance to experience the culture, so these

little [club] get-togethers help,” junior Aysha Ahmed, the Spanish Club’s secretary, said. “Classes are good for learning the actual language, but the clubs take it to a new level.”

The Spanish Club does just that through its various meetings in the caf-eteria and LGI. With about 60 members, the club holds meetings where stu-dents can taste Hispanic food, learn how to salsa dance, and can go Christ-mas caroling in Spanish.

The club celebrates Cinco de Mayo and usually has an end-of-the-year fiesta at a local Mexican restaurant. Any student is eligible to join the club, whether or not he or she is taking a Spanish class.

On the other hand, only students who are taking French can join the French club. With over 100 members, the French Club strives to help French students experience aspects of the culture.

“Through the club, we get French students to try and experience French culture. We take different trips to French places, such as the Melting Pot...and we’ve been to Cirque du Soleil before,” junior Karla Sorto, the club’s vice president, said. “We want the students to have a fun French experience together.”

The club not only takes field trips together, but also holds meetings in the LGI to celebrate Mardi Gras or to watch movies in French. The French Club also does fundraisers, which include the sale of “bon-bons,” Lindor chocolates, and Eiffel Tower gummies. But one of the biggest events in which they participate is Congrés.

“Congrés is like a competition where different schools [French Clubs] compete. There are skits, dances, music, art…there are also academic com-petitions for all levels in French. So you can be in French I or French V, but still participate,” Sorto said.

Similar to the French Congrés, there is a German competition called Staatskongress at Ball State University. The German Club will be attending this year for the first time and have already had meetings in room 217 to prepare.

Although only 14 students are currently interested in attending Staatskon-gress, the German Club virtually consists of all German students.

“The club is open to anyone taking German. We don’t really have an en-rollment process or anything,” German teacher Mrs. Valerie Phillips said. “So basically, if you’re taking a German class, you’re in the German Club.”

This is the case because German students experience the culture in class. Students have had opportunities to cook and eat German food, listen to German music, and celebrate German holidays in the classroom.

But outside of the classroom, every fall, they celebrate Oktoberfest, an event where the number of participants ranges from 50 to 110 students.

Aside from the Spanish, French, and German clubs, which have been

around for some time, there is now a new club on the block. The Chinese Club had its first meeting Jan. 18 in room 102, and instead of having an academic course as its foundation, at the base of the club are two Chinese exchange students: senior Yefeng Yuan and sophomore Yang Zheng.

“I want to help students understand more about Chinese culture,” said Yuan. “It is unique, especially compared to the American atmosphere.”

With English teacher Ms. Natalie Gilbert as their sponsor, Yuan and Zheng successfully kicked off the club’s opening, with an attendance of about 20 students.

Yuan presented pictures of his hometown in China and talked about his life back home. Members also were briefly exposed to Mandarin pronun-ciation and played a relay game involving holding a ping pong ball with chopsticks.

The club will celebrate the Chinese New Year, which is in February, and also plans to attend the Chinese New Year/Spring Festival in Carmel.

Whether to Europe or Asia, NHS students can “travel” to foreign cul-tures through the little glimpses provided by these clubs. Students can ex-pand their knowledge of the culture whose language they are learning and each club agrees that students can join at any time. And with that, adiós, au revoir, tschüss, and zàijiàn.

There is an ice cream cone on the ground in New York City. The man responsible for accidentally dropping this afternoon treat is seen nearby, shouting and cursing his misfor-tune. Then, he says something like “What a waste of money!” or “I paid $3.75 for that!”

Many Americans can relate to such a loss, and oftentimes they would agree that such an accident is indeed a terrible misfortune.

Americans do not always understand how fortunate they actually are, and when crises like dropping ice cream cones strike, they do not understand how minor their issues are compared to issues natives in other countries face.

According to mybudget360.com, the average American resident makes an approximate $46,000 income per year, whereas citizens of other countries do not even make enough to feed their own family.

For almost fifteen years, Spanish teacher Mr. Kevin Cole has helped donate through Compassion International, a “child advocacy ministry that releases children from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enables them to become responsible [adults],” as stated on the organization’s official site, in order to help sponsor and support foreign children whose families are not so privileged.

Mr. Cole is now sponsoring a girl named Alexandra in the Dominican Republic. “I normally donate at least thirty dollars a month which will provide [Alexandra] with

essentials such as clothing, school supplies, medicine, and sometimes birthday or Christmas gifts,” Cole said.

Allowing students in his Spanish class to donate, he said that it’s not all about the money but the relationship as well. When able to, Alexandra sends Cole letters thank-ing him and the students for donating.

Junior Malinda Standerfer sponsors a Kenyan child through World Vision, an or-ganization similar to Compassion International. “[The organization] is so interesting and neat. People don’t get to see what different cultures are like on a daily basis,” Standerfer said.

“Not only do you learn about their culture,” Cole said, “but you also learn a lot about your own culture too.”

“[Americans] are kind of selfish,” Standerfer said after comparing the differences between the American culture and the cultures of the sponsored kids. “We say we have nothing, but those who are less fortunate really do have nothing.”

Standerfer stated that watching the child get exited to receive her donations is one of the best parts of sponsoring.

“It’s inspiring to see them so grateful for something that is so little,” Standerfer said.Organizations, like Compassion International (which just reached its one millionth

sponsored child in 2008) and World Vision, continue donating and sponsoring to children of third-world countries everyday and hope to connect even more Americans to a world outside of their own.

Ainee Jeongjeong.ainee@gmail.com

Photo by A. Jeong

Photo by S. Huber

Navar Watsonnavar.watson@gmail.com

Mr. Cole receives letters from the child he sponsors (Alexandra) through Compassion International. Alexandra was grateful to receive the dona-tions.

8 features Mill Stream01.27.2011

Walking through the halls of NHS, it is always easy to spot acts of vandalism, and the administration is starting to take action about what the students seem to say on the bathroom walls.

In the past few years, vandalism has become a higher priority to the NHS admin-istration. Students have been defacing and breaking things within the bathroom and many other areas of the building.

“In the years past, it was unusual to discover damage or defaced surfaces. In the fall of 2010, we received repeated reports of vandalism inside the main campus,” Principal Annetta Petty said.

Petty says that people have made messes in the restrooms of the NHS main campus. The surfaces were marked or smeared in different ways. Only a couple of times has someone damaged fixtures.

Freshman Clay Schultze feels that vandalism could be distracting to students.“I think it has happened more this year because of the lack of hall monitors or be-

cause some students are just not as respectful of other people’s property,” said Schul-tze.

Schultze believes that even though he has witnessed only one act of vandalism so far this year, it is still too much. The students that were responsible were caught.

To try to put a stop to this growing problem, Petty says that teachers and administra-tors are going to be watching the hallways and the bathrooms. There will be a supervi-sor during lunch to make sure that students stay in the cafeteria or commons.

Sophomore Ethan Puckett, also feels that grafitti can be distracting at times.“No, I haven’t seen a lot at NHS...” Puckett said, “mostly in bathrooms.”Other preventive measures the administration has taken include the “Do the Right

Thing” posters. These posters give an email address to tell administrators via doth-erightthing@mail.nobl.k12.in.us.

“For the actions that are reported, Do the Right Thing has been a success. We have yet to receive [more] information regarding recent vandalism in our restrooms,” Petty said.

Drew Musselmanmusselman.drew@gmail.com

Photo by D. Musselman

9featuresMill Stream01.27.2011

Imagine running six to seven days a week in temperatures below 30 through the snow and slush. This is the Polar Bear Club. The club might take home the award for most hard-core club at Noblesville High School.

Most people have never heard of the club or didn’t know what it was.” A loosley orgaznized group of boys who run during the winter to prepare for track,” Coach Kent Graham the supervisor of the club said.

Coach Graham also coaches the boys cross country and track team along with James Peirce.

Besides getting exercise, the club serves as track preparation. “We start our [track] conditioning early, after Thanksgiving and we try to run a certain number of mile by the time track starts, “ junior Nathaniel Taff said.

The Polar Bear Club has a goal for each of its members, to run between 500 and 700 total miles before track season starts. “If you run a certain amount of miles, you can get three different types of t-shirts. The t-shirts are better the more you run,” fresh-men Jacob Overton said.

An average of 20 dedicated runners

show up daily. Most of them participated in the past cross country season and will run the upcoming track season. “If you show up just about everyday and work hard when your there, then improvements is guaran-teed,” senior Christian Bowers said.

Many people might be wondering why a running club is call the Polar Bear Club.

“This title indicates cold weather. We run outside every day, we have limited ac-cess indoors as our track surround the up-stairs basketball court and is not a running track. It was built for physical education classes,” Graham said.

However, the boys do not mind run-ning outside in the bitter cold air.

“In the winter, we try to make practice enjoyable. Sometimes, we start snowball fights while were running,”Taff said.

During runs the boys begin thinking about the upcoming track season and al-ready set goals. “I really want to run a fast mile and have a shot at the school record. It’s going to be tough but I think a couple of us can get it,” Bowers said.

“Considering what we do each day, we have only the Elite runners with us. Most high school boys do not have the discipline or desire to do the crazy running that we do. I will admit many people think we are crazy,” Graham said.

Intense, inspired, and maybe insaneKendra Foleyfoley.ckendra@gmail.com

Noblesville plans for redistricting

Graphic by K. SoudersPhoto provided by www.noblesvilleschools.org

Katie Souderssouders.katie@gmail.com

Anniversary Special $1.50 Tans

Jan. 17- Feb. 13

50% off FREE Mystic tan all bottled lotions with purchase of one

$5 Mega Tan 773-2979

http://www.atotaltan.net

With the community continuing to expand, Noblesville Schools are required to make improvements to accommodate the increasing class sizes.

Forest Hill Elementary School will be closing down after the 2010-11 school year, so the need for new districts is dire. Nobles-ville Schools has created a ridistricting committee made up of parents of elementary students.

The committee has presented their plan for the new elemen-tary districts to the Noblesville Board of School Trustees. The plan features a map of the new districts for the 2011-2012 school year.

The criteria for the redistricting plan ensures that no student will move more than once and that neighborhoods will be kept together.

This proposal moves most of the Forest Hill students to Hin-kle Creek Elementary, and the rest to either North Elementary or White River.

The 2011-2012 redistricting proposal will help prepare No-blesville Schools for the 2012-2013 changes, when an additional elementary school will be built on Promise Road and the middle school will be divided into East and West campuses.

Beginning January 6, the preliminary map for the 2012-13 school year was presented during PTO meetings at each elemen-tary school. There are two meetings left and they are scheduled as follows:

-White River - 7 p.m. Thursday, January 27-Hinkle Creek - 7 p.m. Tuesday, February 1The Noblesville School’s website offers a link to a PowerPoint

presentation over the redistricing plans.

10 sports Mill Stream01.27.2011

He has been swimming for Noblesville High School since the sixth grade and he has never missed a section-al.

This was not always true for senior swimmer Ryan Clark though. Clark said he only began swimming in the first place to keep himself from drowning.

‘I ended up loving the water once I was comfortable in it and participated in a swim camp at IU over that same summer,” Clark said.

Today he is just a stroke away from breaking the 200 and 400 free relay records, alongside his teammates.

Clark said that Noblesville has been successful in both of the relays all throughout the season and that they could make it to the top 8 in the IHSAA sectionals this year.

Although Clark gives credit to his teammates, senior Phil May knows he is only being humble.

“He’s good at everything,” said May, “If it needs to be done, he can go out and do it, and do it well.”

Clark, himself, said he enjoys the competitive aspect of the sport.

“It always keeps me pumped knowing that there are hundreds of other swimmers out there training just to beat you,” Clark said.

Clark’s drive to win, actually comes from his biggest competitors.

“My favorite part about swimming competitively is

beating opponents you know that are going through the same difficult training that you are,” Clark said.

Still, every sport has its flaw, and for Clark, it’s that all the pressure put on you.

“You can’t depend on other teammates to come help you out,” Clark said.

When Clark leaves NHS Coach Wolfred hopes to see him continue to swim in college on the Saint Louis University swim team, and Clark could not agree with him more.

“I am planning on walking onto the Saint Louis University swim team,” Clark said. “I couldn’t imagine myself being done after high school.”

Ryan wants to walk away with his coaches and teammates remembering him for always being a driven competitor and still being able to have a good time while swimming.

“I have always tried to find a balance between work and play,” said Clark.

Don’t forget to cheer on Clark and the whole NHS guys swim team January 31 at 6 p.m. when they take on the Zionsville Eagles.

It’s hard to lose 12 pounds. It’s even harder to lose 12 pounds in one day. Just ask the friends and family of 21-year-old Michigan University wrestler Jeff Reese, who lost his life in 1997 due to heart and kidney failure as a re-sult of trying to make weight.

Although this is an extreme case of weight cutting, it ac-curately demonstrates the potential dangers of rapid weight loss in amateur-level wrestling. Although the subject is rarely discussed in the media, the effects of cutting weight are well known by those who participate in it.

“After cutting weight, I feel pretty crappy until I get to eat and drink again,” senior wrestler Patrick Mangan said. “I have, like, no energy at all, and I just feel weak.”

The aspects of cutting weight aren’t all negative, though, according to some. Some wrestlers think the health risks are well worth the reward gained by weight loss.

“I feel tired, but energized at the same time because I don’t have any food in me, but I’m happy because I made the weight,” senior Alex Bowers said.

Both Patrick and Alex admitted that cutting weight was “definitely worth it,” and they continue to run and exer-cise heavily during the season to lose weight. However, the negative effects of rapid weight loss often go far beyond the wrestling mat.

The NCAA has banned the use of laxatives and rubber exercise suits for losing weight, but cutting still seems to be a problem that can greatly affect every aspect of an ama-teur wrestler’s life. However, coaches like Tom Knotts take measures to make sure the amount of weight cut stays at a minimum. “We don’t allow our wrestlers to cut more than 7% body fat in any period, and no more than 1.5% per week.

The kids are stupid sometimes though, and try to lose 8% per week.”

“My family hates me when I’m cutting weight because I’m always in a bad mood,” said Bowers, who had to drop 12 pounds in a week this summer. “After lunch, I get to sit in class and listen about how peo-ple get to go to McDon-alds and Qdoba and stuff their faces when all I ate at lunch was a granola bar, so that sucks,” said Mangan.

After all the turmoil and struggle, though, many wrestlers agree with that old, time-tested cliché, “no pain, no gain.”

“It’s worth the ef-fort because if you care about it enough to make weight, then you care about it enough to win, which can really take you far,” junior wrestler Wayne Specht said. Specht once had to cut 15 pounds in a week. Clearly, this practice of cutting weight isn’t going away.

As long as wrestling remains a major amateur sport, ath-letes like Reese will continue to walk the fine line between devotion and danger for the love of the sport, no matter what the cost.

Austin Northaustin.k.north@gmail.com

Photo provided by B. DennyJunior Wayne Specht attempts to perform a take-down at a recent meet. Specht is one of the wrestlers who had to deal with the issue of dropping weight in order to make a certain class.

Ryan ClarkA day in the life of: Boys’ Swimming Schedule

Jan. 31: Zionsville (at home)

Feb. 17 and 19: Sectionals

Feb. 22: Diving Regionals

Feb. 25 and 26: State Finals

Pho

to b

y K

. Fol

eyCarlie Jordancarlie.sjordan@gmail.com

11sportsMill Stream01.27.2011

This week, Q&A walks onto the court with the boys’ basketball team. We’ll be shooting the J and knocking down the 3-point fade away in these interviews featuring seniors Andy Sumner and Brendan Elmore, and junior Neil Dotson.

Smith’s Jewelers98 N. 9th Street

Noblesville, IN 46060

317-773-3383

www.smiths-onthesquare.com

SEIKOSeikoUSA.com

Seniors Adam Frye and Katie Bitter take a deep breath and prepare to dive during practice on Monday.

Sophomore Zach Hall flips gracefully into the pool. Hall is one of the three boys on the team.

Freshman Andra Pavich takes a dive during practice after school on Jan. 24 while coach Molly Parker observes.

Photos by S. Le

Q&A with Q&AQuinn Reiff Austin North

Q&A:What kinds of injuries have you had from basketball?Andy Sumner: We get a lot of back injuries and knee injuries, just from running a lot and doing running drills.We got Philpott out right nowwith a back injury.Q&A: Is that painful? Andy: Oh! It’s very painful, very painful. Brendan Elmore: I don’t really get in-juries so...Q&A: Lucked out on that one. Neal Dotson: Well most of the time I get groin injuries.Q&A: Does that hurt?Neal: It’s pretty painful.

Q&A: Who would you most like to

dunk on? Andy: I’d definitely like to dump- I mean dunk on...Q&A: But seriously, who would you most like to dunk on?Andy: I would say Brendan Elmore or Dominique Burris are the people I would like to dunk on most.Q&A: Any famous people? You can dunk on anyone you want?Andy: Oh! Famous people? Well I would like to dunk on Austin North if I was being honest.Austin North: I’m game.Brendan: Dante Smith-Rivera from North Central.Q&A: Is he like the “Head-Honcho”?Brendan: Yeah he’s really good.Neal: If I could dunk on anyone, I

would dunk on president Obama.

Q&A: Have you ever broken a backboard?Andy: I never have broken a back-board, but I would like to, yes. I have broken the backboard on NBA Street Vol. 2 a few times though.Q&A: That counts.Brendan: If I could break a backboard I would.Q&A: Just breaking every backboard you see.Brendan: Oh yeah.Q&A: Like get a membership at every YMCA.

Q&A: Alright, now were going to do

a little word association. Just say the first thing that comes to your mind.

Q&A: Coach Mac.Andy: Running.Brendan: Win.Neal: Beast.

Q&A: Top Gun.Andy: Tom Cruise.Q&A: Tom Cruise.Neal: Tom Cruise.

Q&A: Roller Derby.Andy: Roller Coaster.Brendan: Physical.Neal: Intense.

12 caboose Mill Stream01.27.2010

plan ahead...

school events

movie releasesIn TheatresThe MechanicJan. 28

The RiteJan. 28

The RoommateFeb. 4

SanctumFeb. 4

Gnomeo & JulietFeb. 11

Student 1 Month of Tanning and 1 Bottle of

Lotion(a $76 value) for

$40.00 must present coupon, expries 12/7/2010, 10% tax added

at purchase, premier bed & student lotion

50% Off Any 5 Visit Package

Save up to $63

must present coupon, expries 12/7/2010, 10% tax added at purchase

1 Airbrush $15 (Large) smaller

save $10

must present coupon, expries 12/7/2010

our salons also feature:*premium tanning and airbrush services

*knowledgeable, friendly staff

Stop by today for a tour.Appointments and walk-ins welcome.

Locations:

Indianapolis. 823.1895. 10625 Pendleton Pike

Fishers. 595.94029783 East 116th Street

Carmel. 687.8839 2450 East 146th Street

On DVDBeverly Hills Chihuahua 2Feb. 1

Let Me InFeb. 1

Life As We Know ItFeb. 8

You AgainFeb. 8

National Honor Society MeetingFeb. 3

Early Release DayFeb. 9

Presidents Day- No SchoolFeb. 21

cd releases

Feb. 1George MichaelFaith

Feb. 8Nick CarterI’m Taking Off

by Jenna Larson