April 1, 2013 by Kennedy Torch

John F. Kennedy High School

Volume 46, Issue 7

April 1, 2013

Contents

the

Editorial

Feature

Staying positive through the negative

News 07 Downtown under construction

Profile 09

Student takes home $15,000 win

Photo

April foolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

A&E 16

The art of pizza

Health 18 Organic living: from free range to fresh produce

Sports

22 Acdemics or athletics: how is the money divided?

10 See the difference?

torch John F. Kennedy High School 4545 Wenig Rd. NE Cedar Rapids, IA 52402 Volume 46, Issue 7

Mission Statement

The student staff and adviser are committed to producing top quality student publications, applying high standards of writing, editing, and production. These media seek to fairly serve the Kennedy High School faculty, students, and staff showing no favoritism to any particular interest, individual, or group. Final decisions about content are the responsibility of the individual editors, and the Editorial Board.

Non-Discrimination policy

It is the Torch policy not to illegally discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, disability, religion, creed, age (employment only), marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and socioeconomic status (students/program only) in its educational programs and its employment practices.

Ownership

The Torch publication, website, official social media, and broadcasts serve as a public forum produced by the students in Journalism - Newspaper. Student editors make content decisions consistent with the Torch Editorial Policy, Iowa law and the ethics of journalism.

10 Cover by Tara Mittelberg

Letter from the editor We are well into third term and at this point in the year that many of us can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Underclassmen are excited to get a break from the overcrowded hallways and seniors are excited to move on to bigger and better things. Teachers have been hounding us to not give up and work even harder than we did all year. I am not going to give you the typical cliché advice to not lose focus and to just push through these last few weeks because I, like many of you, have already given up. Last Monday when we came back from break, many teachers threw assignments and potential quizzes along with their anger at us because we did not open our backpacks to review material we learned prior to break. I did in fact open up my backpack, to take all the items out, and leave them at home, so I could use it as a carry-on bag for spring break. Teachers if you wish to take your anger out on someone, take it out on the person who invented spring break. It was not our idea to put a week in which many families travel during the “crucial” part of the school year. This time of the year is hard for everyone involved. As students some could care less if their GPA tanks, I mean how bad can failing all of your classes one term hurt you in the long run? Teachers we all know that you are incredibly sick of us and are dying to get rid of us. And Dr. W is on the verge of a breakdown from trying to shove an abnormal amount of AP tests in our hands. My family spent spring break in the Dominican Republic, and since then all I want to do is lay on the beach and sleep. I am sure many of you who traveled would rather be wherever you were than be here at school. Even if you stayed home over break you would probably much rather be hiding in your basement then sitting in class. So teachers, no matter how loud you yell or how many assignments you give us that could negatively impact our grade, it’s time to face reality that your students have officially given up.

Torch Staff: Darcey Altschwager Editor-In-Chief

Mohammad Cheetany Managing Editor Hanna Krivit Photo Editor Tara Mittelberg Feature Editor Spencer Grekoff Business Editor Amy Brause News Editor Alli Nemecek News Editor Steph Mercer Profile Editor Bailey Zaputil Profile Editor Michael Abramson Arts & Entertainment Editor Sam Nordstrom Arts & Entertainment Editor Grace King Health Editor Rachel Langholz Health Editor Norm Althoff Sports Editor Annie Feltes Sports Editor Zack Goodall Copy Editor

Isabel Neff Online Editor Ethan Divis Online Editor Mary Mathis Photographer Hannah Bruns Writer Maddy Crist Writer Jason Grobstich Writer Terin Kane Writer Lydia Martin Writer Emma Moss Writer Arthur Piret Writer Xander Riley Writer Morgan Schwab Writer David Hynek Podcast Jordan Lunsford Podcast Trevor Melsha Podcast Stacy Haynes-Moore Adviser

Editorial

Education needs an overhaul

I am going to follow the adolescent stereotype and say that I really don’t enjoy school or the education system. I won’t go as far as to say that it is complete poop, people do become educated and feel more confident to take on the real world. But at the cost of 14,256 hours of my childhood spent in a single building forced to follow a flawed system isn’t worth it to me. Education should have more choice. Grades K-9 seem pretty necessary and essential for basic skills like work ethic and general information needed for everyday activities (math, writing, reading) but past that if a student feels confident in certain subjects and thinks he would pursue something in those fields than he should be able to base his classes on that. High schools would offer more specific classes for each type of student. Each high school would be more specific depending on the classes they offer, a school for math and science, one for engineering, one for the arts etc. This would lower the cost of college and the degree at the end of high school would

be specific to the discipline studied. I have always been as curious as a common feline. At this point in my life I have a lot of things I’m interested in doing none of which involve most the information I am made to attain. Yes, I am only a junior, but I am fully aware of what I want to pursue after I am done with school. I won’t need to know Stoichiometry, logarithms, or about how Germany invaded Poland, in order to be successful in the life I long to live. I want to be a graphic designer and a professional dancer/choreographer. These fields require only a specific set of classes such as learning software, art classes, marketing/advertisement classes, and dance education. I could honestly take those classes right now in my life for however long that takes and need no other knowledge to be successful in my lifetime. I would save time, a lot of money and I could start my life at the age of 20. Again Education needs a change, until then I will join my fellow prison mates and follow the system.

Jordan Lunsford

Staying positive through the negative

Norm Althoff 4

In today’s life, many things are wrong in the world. Whether it is as simple as not getting a long enough spring break or as serious as the Sandy Hook shooting, there is a lot to be negative about. With all this going on, there needs to be more positivity. Thinking on the bright side can give you hope, which is what a lot of people need right now. Not getting good grades and having too much homework is very common to get upset about. But it’s alright; you can do better next time! You may not get a retake on that test or credit for late homework, but all you can do is go on to the next one. Put in a lot of effort to the next assignment and if that goes well, reward yourself. There’s nothing wrong with being excited about grades. If you’re weighted down by homework, just remember there is a due date. If you get a lot of assignments, stay positive by knowing it will be off your hands soon. Sports can be a great stress reliever, but

they can also cause stress. Every athlete goes through a slump. Professional baseball players are paid millions to fail seven times out of ten. I’d gladly take that job! I mean, who wouldn’t want to be rewarded, even if you fail? Sports teams are little bit of a different subject. It’s pretty easy to be a fan and get excited when your team wins and get upset when they lose. However, it’s just a game and professional teams always play more games then they should, so there’s always be another game! For Cubs fans like me, we not only have the next game, we have next year and next century. Staying positive not only will help you in those areas, it leads to a higher quality of life. I consider myself a positive person and being positive helps me deal with all the negative things. Be positive friends and don’t worry, be happy.

Editorial

Kindness goes a long way I work at a retail store as a sales associate, and for the most part, I actually enjoy it. My coworkers are all nice, I get a good discount, and usually, the customers are alright. But as anyone who’s ever had a job dealing with the public knows, sometimes we can get some rather rude shoppers. People almost always get angry when we don’t carry certain items, or when coupons won’t apply on some things, for instance, I once had two customers, who were angry at some of their items not getting the discount, try to embarrass me by reading aloud a couple of the exclusions on their coupon, “I don’t see anything on there, do you?” and then ask me to call my manager so they could read, apparently, what I could not. It ended with another one of my coworkers taking the coupon and then calmly pointing out the exclusion, right in the list. Then the customers got their stuff, glaring at me the entire time, like I had somehow humiliated them for doing my job. And that? Not even the worst of it. Most sales associates will try to help you the best they can, but yelling and

Bailey Zaputil mocking them when certain coupons don’t apply to items (which, by the way, are always clearly printed in the exclusions section) will get you nothing but a distraught employee. We are literally the lowest link on the chain. We’re pretty much powerless in terms of pricing, and we can’t exactly snap our fingers and change the black blouse you’re asking for into a size 2X with pink polka dots. Trust me, we’ll be a lot

more willing to help if you’re kind and considerate than if you’re rude. While it’s part of our job description to handle people that are more or less bullies, I also think it’s the customer’s job to at least try to be a decent human being. At one point in our life or the other, many of us will have to work either as cashiers or waiters or in the food service, so I would think that at least something of empathy would come from the experience. Honestly, I don’t think it’s too much to ask for. Getting mad at a worker for something they can’t help or control in the long-term gets no one anywhere and only proves to serve to the idea that you’re probably jerk. So, if you’re one of those people who thinks that getting angry will get you results, maybe try placing yourself in the employee’s shoes, and you’ll find that a little bit of kindness will get you a long way.

Staff editorial: division of funds depends on department Over the past few school years the Cedar Rapids Community School District, CRCSD, has undergone many budget cuts. The Torch has covered these cuts last year when decisions were being made to change the boundaries of many of the schools to potentially close an elementary school to save money. In this issue The Torch investigated the division of funds in academics and sports for the CRCSD and Linn-Mar Community School District. The breakdown on how funds are spent depends on how each district wishes to divide the money among departments and where the funds are coming from. The CRCSD receives $6,000 per student enrolled in the district from the state, but that money must be put toward aca-

demics. Each school in the district has an activity in which money from things like fundraising and athletics are then used to support their athletics program. Basically, this means that if a sports team decided to buy new uniforms, that does not mean a teacher will be fired because the funding of the two departments are separate. When the major budget cuts began last year, many where quick to point a finger at one department or the other in order to save money so schools would not have to be closed or travel expenses for sporting teams would not have to be cut. The Torch has also experienced a cut in the funds that we receive every year from the district in order to publish. Emotions were running high at first because as a staff we were

not sure how we would be able to fund The Torch for the remainder of the year. But we became informed about where the funds were coming from and with the help from Dr. Wilcynski we have solved the problem. But in order to fit in with the new budget that we are now under as a publication we must cut back on the pages printed and increase our advertisement sales. Many other departments like ours have unfortunately had to undergo budget cuts. But when it happens it is important to do some research and become informed about where the funds are coming from and potentially steps you can take in order to help out your club, sports team,or whichever activity you choose to be involved in.

Pages by Darcey Altschwager 5

News

N O N O S I CA S I Graphic by Tara Mittelberg

Linn County approves casino, waiting on approval from gaming commission As of March 5, the public of Linn County approved of a casino to be placed near downtown Cedar Rapids. Although the casino still needs to be approved by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, supporters say that the economic benefits to Linn County make the approval an easy decision. Investors for the casino need to draft an application and submit it to the commission within the next four to six months. Emily Arbore, sr., first became interested in the casino when she chose to write a paper on the vote for her AP Language and Composition class. She says she Emily Arbore, sr.

supports the casino because of the positive effects on our community, such as providing jobs and boosting the economy. “Like everyone else, I’ve seen all the commercials and debates on TV and in the newspaper and I agreed with those who wanted to build the casino because it just made sense.” Arbore said. Even though the vote has passed, opponents to the casino still believe that it would produce more harmful effects than benefit the community. “The people who support the casino are only looking at the big picture, as in, the revenue our town would receive. They aren’t thinking about how it could affect people’s individual lives.” Jessica Darland, jr., said. “I want Cedar Rapids to be a good town for families like it is now. Casinos aren’t family oriented.” If passed by the Gaming Commission, the casino will be placed on a 3.5 acre lot

between the south side of Interstate 380 and First Avenue NW, and nearly all of the two city blocks across First Avenue Jessica Darland, jr. West. The casino building would sit between First and Second Avenues SW. “I think that the casino will provide lots of jobs that our community really needs which I think is the most important thing.” Arbore said. “The money made from the casino will hopefully bring Linn county to it’s feet, and people will see Cedar Rapids as more of a destination than a pit-stop.” Amy Brause

Downtown

News

Construction

under

Amphitheater

The City of Cedar Rapids is in the process of building an amphitheater and a levee both to open at the end of summer. The amphitheater is set to seat around 3,000 to 5,000 people with the first big event around Labor Day, depending on the weather. Gail Loskill, Public Information Officer for the Cedar Rapids Parks & Recreation Department, said that they hope to have events for different age groups such as community programs and national touring concerts. The city decided to build the amphitheater because of public support and to add something new to Cedar Rapids. “There was a lot of public support for an outdoor event space, like an amphitheater,” Loskill said, “we saw the potential to build it into a levee so that we could do both flood protection and an amphitheater at one time.” The city hopes to bring people together downtown to watch fireworks, have performances, and enjoy the downtown area. “We’re hoping that it is something that people will really enjoy and that it helps to really be a great addition to Cedar Rapids,” Loskill said. The entire project is estimated to cost $7.8 million and is located on Third Avenue SW next to the police station. The amphitheater is planned to have about 20 events per year.

The U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids is undergoing renovations and will open on June 1 with a Lady Antebellum concert. Sarah Madalinski, Director of Sales and Marketing for the Cellular Center, said the response for Lady Antebellum tickets is really good. “We have less than 1500 tickets left and we’ve sold out of two of our ticket prices,” Madalinski said. The Cellular Center is set to have at least 65 events this upcoming year, including the return of state volleyball. “We have an expanded seating capacity, renovated bathrooms, new concourses, and new dressing rooms,” Madalinski said. “We’ve also redone the atrium and the lobby.” Mati Schwartzhoff, sr., is attending the Lady Antebellum concert and is excited for the events to come back to the center. “I’m excited for all of the concerts,” Schwartzhoff said. “I’ll be going to Kirkwood for two years, so I can go to all of the concerts there.”

US Cellular Center Top Left: The amphitheater is in the process of being built on the border of the Cedar River in downtown Cedar Rapids. Middle Right: The U.S. Cellular Center reopens June 1 with a concert by Lady Antebellum. Both the center and attached hotel are being remodeled. Bottom Left: Following the flood of 2008, Theatre Cedar Rapids was remodeled and is now open while showcasing local talent. Bottom Right: The Cedar Rapids public library is being rebuilt across from Greene Square Park off of 3rd St. SE. Photos and stories by Alli Nemecek

pages by alli nemecek & amy brause 7

Profile

Left: Daniel Canfield, so., uses a CCTV to help him read an assignment. Canfield has a variety of tools to help him with school. Middle: Canfield receives assistance to read a class assignment. Right: Canfield practices writing his letters. Photos by Darcey Altschwager

Vision-impaired student uses technology to learn

Navigating through the halls is a daunting task for any student at Kennedy, but for Daniel Canfield, so., the task is even more difficult. Canfield suffers from cortical vision loss, which means that his eyes are capable of seeing everything but his brain cannot process what he sees. Until Canfield was 8 years old he was an average boy. He was reaching milestones and developed a talent for drawing detailed pictures at the age of three. He loves to read and was able to read chapter books before he entered kindergarten. Eventually Canfield began to struggle in school and became extremely frustrated. Canfield’s mother, Sylvia Anspach, noticed these changes and took him to the doctor. “The diagnosis was missed initially because it is so rare, but ultimately we found out that he had the cerebral form of Adrenoleukodystrophy,” Anspach said. She was told that if Canfield did not receive a bone marrow transplant within two years, he would die from ALD. Canfield received a bone marrow transplant and the disease was stopped, but the ALD had already left behind damage including vision loss, difficulty with movement of his right arm and leg, speech difficulty, and difficulty processing information. The biggest challenge that Canfield faces everyday is being independent. He struggles with multiple everyday tasks that the average teenager would take for granted. “Have you ever tried brushing your teeth, getting dressed, fixing your breakfast, or doing your homework with one arm tied behind your back and blindfolded?” Anspach said. Julie Anderson has served as Canfield’s support person at Kennedy for the past two years. Anderson assists Canfield with physical needs. “We work on a lot of skills that people take for granted

like getting things out of your backpack, writing notes, and just being able to see things,” Anderson said. Although Kennedy is not a building that fits the needs of a vision impaired person, the school provides many tools for Canfield to use during the school day. He is provided with his own room in which he can go take tests and get extra help from Anderson. Inside this room he has a CCTV where he places worksheets or textbooks underneath, which are then magnified on the screen in front of him. The screen colors are set to blue and yellow, “the best colors ever,” Canfield said, because he sees those colors very well. Inside the classroom Canfield uses a travel size version of the CCTV, called a Visiobook, as well as an iPad which helps him to see what is on the Smartboard. Overall, Anderson and Canfield agree that Kennedy has gone to great lengths to make sure that this environment is the best for Canfield’s needs and learning. The hardest part of Canfield being at Kennedy is getting through the hallways during passing time, but he tries to avoid this by leaving for his classes five minutes early. Outside of school, Canfield is like every other teenage boy who loves to play video games and discuss Harry Potter. He even had his ears pierced recently so he could look more like his brother. Getting them pierced hurt but “not as much as getting a Botox injection in my thumb muscle,” Canfield said. Anspach is grateful for the opportunities and people that have helped Canfield in his life. “When you look at Daniel, don’t look at the disability. Look beyond that and see the joy,” Anspach said. “He’s a survivor and he is making the best of everyday.” darcey altschwager

Profile

Student takes home $15,000 win 18-year-old hits it big in Wisconsin casino

craping up some cash is hard for many high school students, but with some luck Tony Snyder, sr., won $15,000 from a slot machine jackpot. Snyder put in his bet of $5 in the slot machine, Green Machine at the Ho-Chunk Gaming in Wisconsin Dells on March 3. Little did he know that he would win a jackpot. “I was still getting used to the machine when I won, and my dad and I just looked at each other and couldn’t believe it,” Snyder said. The Green Machine has five active reels, either blank or with dollar values such as $1, $5, $50. The player gets to take home the added value of all winning reels, no matching required. In Snyder’s case, he hit three $5,000 reels. Snyder was a first-time gambler, and he came out a winner. According to the Online Slots Bonus Organization, the odds of someone winning a jackpot on a slot machine is 1 out of 3, 375. In other words, Snyder had less than 0.03% chance of success. “It just popped up on the screen and then the attendant came over and said congratulations and then I had to fill out the paperwork,” Snyder said. “Everybody was crowded around to see what was going on and I was just shocked,” It’s not very common for high school students to gamble and its even uncommon for one to win a jackpot. “My first thought was ‘how much does the government take?’” Snyder said. He found out later that the state takes 15 percent and the federal tax is also 15 percent. That takes out $4,500 out of his $15,000 prize. He plans to save most of his money for college, but still plans to invest some of it and buying a truck and bike.

“It’s stupid to just blow it all, because it’s nice to invest in something and I’m investing in my education,” Snyder said. Winning the jackpot is what every gambler wishes for, but it’s not a very common occurrence. That doesn’t stop people from continuing to put money in, hoping for the best. Though Snyder may have hit it big, he doesn’t advise it for everyone. “I wouldn’t really recommend gambling to anyone because it normally doesn’t pay off, but it did for me,” he said. Maddy Crist

Your chances are... Odds of Getting Struck by Lightning: 1 in 1,000,ooo Odds of winning the Powerball: 1 in 175,223,510 Having Identical Quadruplets: 1 in 15,000,000 Becoming a Movie Star: 1 in 1,505,000 Dying in an Asteroid Apocalypse: 1 in 12, 500

Lucky. Tony Snyder, sr., plans on investing his jackpot into future education. Photo by Bailey Zaputil Information provided by The Daily Beast and Powerball.com

Pages by STEPH Mercer & Bailey Zaputil 9

Jady Tanner Boyle, sr., with his cat, Lily.

See the difference?

Kayl with

Kennedy pet owners submitted their pictures showing them and their animal twins. Sam Fogliano, jr., with her dog, Jack.

Daniel Neff, fr., with his dog, Zero .

Mati S

Bryonne Feddern, sr., with her dog, Palo. Jadyn Gilson, jr., with her dog ,Lady. Kaylee Scheer, fr., with her dog, Cooper.

Mati Schwatzhoff, sr., with her dog, Lucy.

Brooke Nunemaker, so., with her dog ,Mylee.

Pages by Hanna Krivit

Feature

Cedar Rapids schools to compete in hunger games

Apr Foo Foo

The city of Cedar Rapids has announced the day for the reaping for the first annual Hunger Games to be Monday, June 3. The four public high schools, Kennedy, Washington, Metro, and Jefferson have each been asked to supply eight tributes from each school. Those eight will be consisted of two students from each grade level, one boy and one girl. Students, instead of taking finals, will be spending that Monday getting signed in to the gym and getting ready for our school sponsor Dr. Wilcynski to draw the names of the students competing. If students put their name into the drawing more than once to represent the school, the district has agreed to offer a .05 GPA boost for each time the name has been entered. To lighten the mood of this emotional day, the improv team has agreed to perform before the names are drawn. The Games don’t officially begin until June 17, which gives the tributes two weeks to prepare for the games to come. During their two week stay at the Brucemore estate, the tributes will be getting primped and preened for their camera interviews set to air June 14. The rest of their time will be spent training their physicality, mental strength, and their ability to survive on nothing but school cafeteria lunches for weeks on end. They will be fighting against each other not only to represent their school, grade, and gender, but to also prove to the world that Cedar Rapids can do something great. The arena selected was Kingston Stadium, which will be transformed into the May the odds be ever in your favor. Ryan design that the head game maker, whose name will be anonymous until the games Walker, jr., participates in mandatory training begin, has chosen. No one has released official information on what the arena will look for the Metro-Schools first annual Hunger like, but organizers mention that it’ll capture the true life of Cedar Rapids. games. Photo by Hanna Krivit Isabel Neff

Due to budget issues, prom to be held Due to a lower budget and stricter rules on dancing, Senior Prom for Kennedy will now be taking place at the local Super Skate Roller Skating Rink on Saturday, May 1. John Hill, sr., head of the Prom Committee, admits that while it may not be everyone’s first choice, he still has a positive outlook on the dance. “It will be a really great way to end the year,” he said. “Everyone remembers when they used to go with their friends in middle school to skate and hang out with their friends. It will be a way to stir those memories while having fun, and remaining completely appropriate.” Grand March will be also livened up, as students will be presented after going through the limbo-line in skates with their date. Limbo will be opened periodically throughout the night for students to

compete for prizes, along with Four Corners and Hokey Pokey. Rebecca Long, owner of Super Skate, is ecstatic to be hosting this year’s senior prom, and has even bought a new Claw Machine filled with prizes in preparation, along with several new disco balls. Long also notes the price differences between a traditional prom and this year’s, stating that financially the choice is obvious. “At a [traditional] prom, you usually have to buy tickets for just about everything, from dinner to seats to post prom. It can get kind of expensive; almost as much as $80 sometimes. Our tickets are only $7,” Long said. Students are advised to call ahead to reserve a locker to place personal possessions and shoes. One worry students may have now is what to wear. Jessica Blade, sr., discusses how she came to her decision. “At first, I was really

12 Are the stories on pages 12-14 factual? Don’t be a fool! They’re just for fun, but all other content in this magazine is completely true.

pril pril ol’s! ol’s!

Feature

en change, pre-teen e, pre-te AP style rules chang Facebook rejoice e ook users rejoic Faceb

Prompted by changes in social media expression, the Associated Press announced Wednesday that their next writing style handbook will look a little different. For the first time ever, professional writing will contain non-letter characters in place of normal letters. Beginning July 1, all newspapers, magazines, scientific journals, and other publications following AP Style guidelines will use “@” in place of “a”, “+” in place of “t”, “3” in place of “E”, “$” in place of “S”, and “0” (zero) in place of “O”. This change was enacted to appeal to teenage girls who commonly use this style of writing on Facebook and other social networking sites. It began with recent studies that determined that only 9% of teenagers ages 13-18 and 14% of individuals under 30 regularly read educational publications such as newspapers, magazines, and scientific publications. The Associated Press enacted these new regulations to encourage young people to read more publications. “The current pre-teen population is aging,” Associated Press

president Dan Miller said. “And as much as we like sticking to tradition, if we’re going to keep selling magazines and newspapers we need to appeal to this aging generation of teeny-boppers – ahem, young adults.” Although it took a lot of retweeting for the official message from the Associate Press to reach its intended audience, across the country, pre-teens are rejoicing. “I’m like, totes excited for this new change,” said Lulu Jonez, fr. “Now maybe I’ll try to read kind of tough magazines like Teen Vogue and stuff. I’ll admit I’m not the brightest crayon in the toolbox, but now I’ll be able to manage a little easier.” Josephina Hina, so., is excited for the change for a different reason. “I think I’m going to change my name to Jo$seph!na,” she said. “It’s a really organic mixture of the styles of Ke$ha and P!nk. Those two are just such classy role models to me.” Tara Mittelberg

held at skating rink

. g this filled Long d this ditionhing, e; ong place

Blade, lly

worried because I kept thinking, ‘what if my dress gets caught in my skates? What if it gets stuck in all that duct tape that’s keeping the floor together there?’. But I decided to go with a sleeveless princess dress that stops right at my knees, and now I’m really excited. Plus, now I don’t have to worry about spending a ton of money on heels, my friends and I are calling it ‘Heels in Wheels Prom’.” Music will be played through the loudspeakers, with classics like “Let the Bodies Hit the Floor” by Drowning Pool, “Barbie Girl” by Aqua, and “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” in tribute to special new events, like Girls Only Skate Round. “And, of course, you can’t top off a night at Super Skate without the Chicken Dance,” Hill said. Bailey Zaputil

Super date. Students prepare for prom at Super Skate. Photo by Hanna Krivit

Pages by tara mittelberg 13

Feature

Producer ucer of yoga pants Pope tricks out his ride Prod bankrupt, outraged ged rupt, men outra bank As 1.2 billion Catholics rejoiced after the selection of the new Pope Francis I, plans were already in the making to make this pope more appealing to youth. In a surprising move by the Catholic Church just shortly after Pope Francis I was selected, it was decided that the pope was in need of a more bumpin’ ride. “The conclave that decided that the next pope would have to appeal to the who encompassment of the Catholic church and not just the European section,” The Archbishop of Khartoum, Gabriael Zubeir Wakoand said. In the end the cardinals decided that a Latin American pope with a ride that would make Xzibit cry was just the shake up the Catholic Church needed. The drawings for the new Pope-mobile are still in the early stages, but Archbishop of Manila, Philippians, Luis Antonio Tagle, provided us with a rough outline of what the new “Swagmobile” would look like. “It would have the body of a Mercedes Benz E class, but with specially in designed features to give crowds a show. The vehicle will have double thrusters with nitrous so the pope can do really cool burnouts and stuff, it will also have an advanced hydraulic lift system to, again, appeal to today’s youth. It will also have a white Siberian tiger with some super sweet flames trailing him on the sides,” Tagle said. Other features included are white wall tires with neon spinners, a state of the art sub system with surround sound, and a deployable clap-on disco-ball. David Hynek

Today the manufacturer and sole provider of yoga pants for major retail stores announced that they have recently hit financial troubles due to bad accounting practices and will no longer be able to produce the most sought after substitution to pants. Initial reaction to the bankruptcy came from mostly younger aged males. Alexander Zebuhrhut, an 18-year-old who has become particularly outraged said that this was a “complete devastation to mankind. And by mankind, I mean men.” Zebuhrhut has spent a majority of his morning trying to encourage other males his age to try and assist the company by purchasing the yoga pants themselves and giving them to females to wear. “If we all band together and use our resources to buy yoga pants then there is no way that the manufacturer will go bankrupt,” Zebuhrhut said. Females, the half of the population that actually wear the pants, are slightly less outragged than the males, but feel inconvineced. “I have to get up, like, a whole extra minute earlier in order to button and zip normal pants,” Kerri Mooseflag said. Josh Claysheltter, CEO of the manufacturing company, is trying to ease the devastation among young females by encouraging them to wear jeans or dresses or anything that covers their bottoms appropriately. It seems though it will take a while for young females and males to get used to clothing in which innocent bystanders cannot see everything at first glance. Darcey Altschwager

Artist of the Month: The Shrimp Boaters The Shrimp Boaters first rose to fame in early 2009 when they released their first album, The Shrimp Boaters EP. After coming together in Charleston, South Carolina on an actual shrimp boat, while shrimp fishing, the band decided that an electroindie rap group was one that was never seen before and they wanted to do something extreme. After their debut single, “On the Sea Again” was released it got raging reviews from critics. “On The Sea Again” topped the charts and set out for an entire world tour (via boat) for their upcoming EP. In late 2012, The Shrimp Boaters released their second studio album, Sloppy Boat. The album became a huge hit and became one of the top Grammy nominated albums, second to Mumford & Son’s Babel. This summer, The Shrimp Boaters are planning one of their biggest tours yet. This tour will include stops at Pitchfork,

Lollapalooza, Electric Forest and Bonaroo. Although the Shrimp Boaters may be landlocked for this upcoming tour, they’re excited to be headlining some of the biggest shows of the year. With The Shrimp Boaters, you can expect a lot of different experimental sounds. Since they’re an electroindie rap group, they’ve perfected the art of mixing several genres interchangeably. One of the things they’re most notable for with their sound is giving an old school feel with an electro new school buzz. Overall, The Shrimp Boaters are a promising up and coming band that is sweeping the hearts of fans around the nation. They’re upcoming tour and their prominence in the music scene is leading to one of the freshest groups around. Mohammad Cheetany

14 Page by tara mittelberg

Sloppy Boat. The cover to Shrimp Boaters 2012 album Sloppy Boat. Artist: The Shrimp Boaters Genre: Electroindie Rap Hometown: Charleston, South Carolina Members: Nicolai Leningrad Marceline Queen Ibrahim Moizoos Twitter: @Shrimpboats

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Sports

Left and top right photo provided by Bonnie Palomo. Bottom right photo by Mohammad Cheetany

Great Expectations Girls’ soccer looks to reclaim state this season

With spring comes the birth of a brand new soccer season at Kennedy. After the girls team had successful seasons last year, they’re looking to strike back this season with high expectations. Last season the girls soccer team was successful in winning the 3a state tournament against Ankeny. “I feel that last season, the girls on the team for the most part got along really well and enjoyed their soccer season from a soccer and social standpoint and had winning on top of all that, which can always be a good thing,” Head Coach, Andrew McKnight said. The girls recently kicked off their season with tryouts over spring break and will have their first matchup on April 5 against Muscatine and will follow that game in the 3a state championship game rematch against Ankeny. With a new season comes new expectations of the season and after a successful season, the girls are looking with high expectations to return to state. “Our biggest expectation this season is to pretty much win the games we lost last year and

to win state again, but that’s a huge expec- ally help us this season, but they will have tation,” Center defender, Mac Stump, Sr. to want to play and have to work to make that position of the said. Although the team has a lot of re- “If we can come together as a team,” Stump said. The team is hopturning players from team and not allow other things ing to get together last year, the biggest change this year to get in the way, I feel that the and play with the confidence is that they don’t soccer aspect will always be there same have a set-in-stone and we can come back to the type as last year but at keeper like last year. of winning team like last year.” a high level. The team also looks to “The biggest change -Coach Andrew McKnight have fun hanging would probably be out and bonding that we lost Hutch [Allie Hutcheson, 2012 season goalkeep- together as usual. “We definitely work well er] but she is returning to be a volunteer together and are pretty close,” Stump said. Overall, the team hopes to be in a simikeeper coach which will be helpful,” With the higher expectations, the girls lar position as the state tournament at the soccer team is looking to step up their ef- end of this season. “If we can come togethfort this season. “Being defending cham- er as a team and not allow other things to pions, we can’t really sneak up on anyone get in the way, I feel that the soccer aspect anymore. The biggest difference will be will always be there and we can come back that that we’ll expect every game to a bit of to the type of winning team like last year,” a battle,” McKnight said. The team is also McKnight said. Mohammad Cheetany looking to younger players to show their effort and help develop the younger freshman players. “The freshman class will re-

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Sports

Academics or athletics: how

he relationship between academics and athletics in schools will forever be ongoing. While the high school aspect of academics and athletics will be different than college, it is still confusing. Seeing a school build a brand new football stadium or gymnasium may seem odd if the resources at school, such as textbooks and computers, are falling behind. The Torch compared how the Cedar Rapids Community School District (CRCSD) gets and spends money for academics and athletics compared to how the Linn-Mar school district does. Linn-Mar was chosen because they are a growing district that goes right up to Kennedy’s district boundary and have been expanding their athletic facilities with a new football stadium that opened two years ago and the addition of a pool and new baseball/softball complex that are under construction right now.

Quick facts: Each high school in the district has its own activity fund for athletics. Upgrades to school buildings and athletic facilities like Kingston are funding through PPEL funds and SILO funds. The district gets about $6,000 per student from the state. Teacher salary and academic resources are paid through the state and the general fund. SILO brought in $14,000,000 last year. Enrollment has been falling which means less money for the schools and a tighter budget.

Cedar Rapids Schools The Cedar Rapids Community School District has been losing numbers. Despite declining numbers, the district is still pretty big, with over 16,000 students from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Like Linn Mar, the CRCSD gets about $6,000 per student from the state aid for academics. However, the athletic budgets for the three high schools are completely separate from each other. Each high school has an activity fund. Steve Graham, Exectutive Director of Business Services for the CRCSD, explains how the activity fund is used. “The activity fund is a another place where moneys are accounted for, like a bucket. The moneys coming in for that come from all kinds of places…from fundraising, clubs, the arts, and of course the athletics. As a district we spend about $5 million a year on activity funds,” Graham said. This means that Jefferson, Washington, and Kennedy all control when they upgrade their athletic facilities, get new uniforms, etc. Since all three are on their own, this could lead to one school having nicer athletic facilities than another. Kingston stadium is a little different. It’s owned and operated by the district so they are the ones that have to upgrade it. The money to maintain Kingston facility doesn’t come from the activity fund; it comes from another fund, called the PPEL, which is local

property tax. “They repair the buildings, upgrades to buildings, like Kingston Stadium,” Graham said. PPEL stands for Physical Plant Equipment Levy and it is its own bucket. The CRCSD also has a SILO tax and that helped repair Kingston. Academics continue to get its fair share of money to. “The general fund expenditures add up to about $185 million dollars, which is a lot of money. It’s safe to say that two thirds of that money is for direct instruction and instructional support,” Graham said. This goes towards teacher’s pay and resources in the classroom. Because of the district is losing numbers, the money that the CRCSD receives for the general fund from the state will start to decline and teacher layoffs are a possibility. A raise in property tax may also happen due to the decline. In the near future Highway 100 will be extended all the way to Highway 30 and Graham thinks that will help bring numbers back up. “All that area out to the west is in the Cedar Rapids School District. A lot of home will be built and new homes will be built, which will bring in more students. About half of our district lies in this undeveloped area,” Graham said. With the incline of numbers, more money will be able to be brought in for academics and their resources. Nathan Althoff

Sports

how is the money divided?

Linn-Mar

The Linn-Mar school district has been growing since the year it opened. This year 6,879.88 students kindergarten through twelfth are enrolled. A home schooled student counts as .1 in the enrollment numbers. Superintendent Dr. Katie Mulholland works with their board of education to draw a budget every year. “Depending on the variables, it could take up to two to three months. We start with our board and we work them through models because we want them to see the impact of their decisions,” Mulholland said. Money for academics comes from state aid and property tax. This money pays for teacher’s salary, which at Linn-Mar is $4.4 million per month, and for resources at the school, such as technology and textbooks. A big money contributor for athletics comes from SILO Tax or School Infrastructure Local Option Sales Tax. “It’s [the money] assigned to certain buckets is how I can describe it [state aid and SILO]. You can only spend out of a bucket for a certain thing,” Mulholland said. SILO can only be used for projects like renovations for buildings and things like the football stadium that Linn Mar opened in 2011. Even though the stadium was expensive, the money used for it couldn’t have been used for teacher salary or resources in the school. The process in preparing budget is very complex. The board has workshops every

photos by Amy Brause

month to go over what possible amounts of money they could get from the state. They measure this by 0%, 2%, 3%, and 4% allowance growth. “When the state tells us how much we’ll receive then we’ll create our budget models because that ultimately sets the tax levy,” Mulholland said. The tax levy is the property tax that will be issued to people living in the district. The property tax for the upcoming fiscal year for every thousand dollars will be between $17.09-$17.31, which will be known for sure on April 1 when the budget gets approved. In the near future, several renovations will take place. “Oak Ridge, our newest middle school, is capacity 750 students. Excelsior, our older middle school, is capacity 1000 students, so we are going to add on to Oak Ridge and make it capacity 1000 students,” Mulholland said. In addition to the football stadium that was built, a new Olympic-sized pool is under construction and a new baseball/softball complex is being built out by Oak Ridge. Because the money for one department can’t be used for the other, one may excel in facilities and resources over the other Linn Mar gets its money for academics and athletics from two completely different sources. It does not show that they are favoring athletics or academics over the other. Nathan Althoff

Quick facts: The enrollment has increased 5.7% since the 2008-2009 school year. Several budget are proposed by different amounts of money that could be received by the state. Property tax levy by year depends on money received from government The district receives about $6,000 per student that attends the schools and a little less for each home schooled student. SILO taxes brought in $5,852,614 for 2012-2013 Once Linn Mar hits 2100 students, they will have to split into two high schools.

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