the torch In with the new The Torch investigates culture of the New Bohemia district and Czech Village of downtown Cedar Rapids. Pages 24-25
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John F. Kennedy High School
Volume 45, Issue 2
Rach
el Gil
November 11, 2011
man
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torch John F. Kennedy High School 4545 Wenig Rd. NE Cedar Rapids, IA 52402 Volume 45, Issue 2
mission
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The Torch staff and advisor are committed to producing a top quality student newspaper applying high standards of writing, editing, and production. The Torch seeks to fairly serve the Kennedy High School faculty, students, and staff, showing no favoritism to decisions about content are the responsibility of the individual editors and the Editorial Board.
editorial board Editor-In-Chief Rachel Gilman and Riley Galbraith Managing Editor Jessica Rowan Photo Editor Sarah Sickles Feature Editor Allie Sindlinger Online Editor Darcey Altschwager
editors Steph Mercer, Bailey Zaputil, Amy Brause, Norm Althoff, Annie Feltes, Katie Hefflefinger, Tara Mittelberg, Mo Cheetany, Hanna Krivit
writers
Jordan Lunsford, Isabel Neff, Ethan Divis, Zach Goodall, Spencer Grekoff
photographers Sam Nordstrom, Nick Appleget, Ben Feltes
copy editors Grace King, Kelsey Rindfleisch, Stephanie Wenclawski
advisor Stacy Haynes-Moore
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CONTENTS Editorial 04 06 07
Letter from the editor Stop the hate, ladies The Dark Knight
News 08 10 11
Redistricting Challenging yourself Cougars show leadership
Profile 12 13 14 14
Hat trick Stroke of a genius Dr. Tyler prevails Life as she knows it Day in the life of a Janitor
Feature 16
Cyber warfare
Photo 20
Artistic intelligence
Arts & Entertainment 26
ON THE COVER 24
In with the new
Cedar Rapids Titans
Health 28 30 31
Catching Z’s Strike a pose Healthy Thanksgiving living
Sports 32 33 34 35
Running into history The tradition continues Sportsmanship Moving forward
Letters from the editors
There sure seems to be a lot of trash blowing through the halls at Kennedy these days. No janitors, I don’t mean you. You’re doing a great job! This trash, instead, comes in the form of tweets, messages and backstabbing comments. It’s like I fell asleep and woke up in Mean Girls’ world. The immature behavior seems to be hitting everyone now-a-days, but you know what, I don’t see it. When I walk down the hallways I see unique people that deserve to be complimented rather than put down. It seems like some people (cough, cough JohnFKHoes twitter creator(s)) need to figure that out. A few weeks back a Kennedy twitter site appeared that posted horrible, hurtful lies about students at the school. The following the site created was shocking. Soon after similar sites were popping up at all of the Cedar Rapids area. Sad, right? So today I will change things up a bit. I will be taking on the persona of another famous tweeter- JFK Hugs. Twitter as it should be. @sweaterboy: Nobody walking through these cluttered halls looks better in an argyle sweater with the sparkling white shoes than you do. What I’m really trying to say is can I borrow one sometime? #yougotswag @fatchihuahua: You’re the furthest thing from fat. Go home, devour 30 cookies, and you still wouldn’t be close. What were you seeing @JohnFKHoes? #beautifulgirl @gingerqueens: Let’s be honest, red beats blonde and brown any day. Embrace it; I mean you chose it. Hair color is a choice right? #ordinaryisboring @barefootgirl: I completely understand walking without shoes on. If my feet smelled as good as yours I would probably do it too. #youhaveprettyfeet In all seriousness every single person that was tweeted about has millions of special things about them. I pity those who can’t see them. There is one good thing that came out of this - you brought everyone closer together. Not how you thought it would work out, was it? If I could make one wish - oh wait I can, Happy 11/11/11 everyone! But anyways my wish is simple - I wish to spend my last exciting year in this school with all the people who have made it special, without all of the side drama ofcourse. No more twitter fights, no more petty problems, let’s glide to a happy finish. It’s 11/11/11, and dreams do come true. You make me proud to be a cougar! Shhhhh, it’s almost time, countdown, now make a wish. #cougarnationlove
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It is soon to be 11:11 on 11/11/11. Let’s be real, that’s kind of a big deal. It’s the ultimate day of wishes. In this spirit, I have compiled my own list of eleven (excessive? I’m American) wishes that I would like to have granted right nowish. 1. The perfect (p)leather dress. Is that too much for a girl to ask for? Animal friendly of course, which leads me to my next wish…. 2. Vegetarian options at KHS. Sometimes (everyday) I don’t get to make it home for lunch and instead sit in the Torch Mac lab (with Ben and Nick of course). I would like to be able to eat something other than pretzels for once. It’s like, where did the popcorn go? 3. Seth Cohen. I mean, I don’t really know if much explanation is necessary. Seth Cohen, marry me? 4. Every student will visit the Torch website at least once a week. It has great content that is constantly updated. Check it out at torch. kennedymedia.org (follow us on twitter while you’re at it). 5. Everyone to experience a tech-free day. Is the every fifteen-minute Facebook check really necessary? Unplug yourself for the day. 6. More Troy Boltons in this world. Go for the HSM (High School Musical for those not in on the lingo) risk; try something completely new and outside your comfort zone. You have to risk it to get the biscuit, right? 7. An acceptance letter. It would be kind of sweet to get into school next year. Colleges, get at me. 8. A day without the pressure. We are all trying to balance a ka-jillion activities along with our AP (insert name here) class and not to mention our struggle of maintaining some sort of social life. A day of just living would be nice. 9. For Torch to again be the most fun staff at the JEA convention next week. (Sometimes the keynote speaker calls out a group for their revolving door habits to the entire national convention. We are fun.) 10. To bring home more state titles. Yes, journalism kids win state titles too. Where is our banner? 11. An endless supply of coffee. Is a personal barista possible? That fourth hour caffeine crash is the worst. I would love to be that thriving creature you see first hour, all day. That’s it. That’s all I wish for. (I hope the whole, ‘you can’t say your wish out loud or it doesn’t come true’ thing doesn’t apply here…) It’s 11/11/11 Kennedy High School, so make a wish.
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PAGE BY Spencer Grekoff
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Editorial
“Lola Phalangee” Sarah Sickles: Photo Editor
Stop the hate ladies G
irls, gals, females, ladies. We all stead of moving on, the girls came back at know how we can be. When it is me again. It was an endless cycle. Then one that time of month we get super day I just stopped. I realized how unhappy duper cranky; when we feel as I was and how much effort I was putting though a friend as betrayed us, into the situation. I realized that it wasn’t we feel the need to betray them; when worth my time. jealousy gets in the way of reality, we turn I believe that we, women, can do betinto green monsters. This is a fragile time ter. We are all women and we can all do in our lives. We are trying to discover who pretty fantastic stuff, so we need to treat we are and become our own people. We all each other a little better. We all go through have problems. rough times in But sometimes we high school, but “It is said that high school is the need to step out using our words best four years of our lives. Who of our comfort or attitudes to said that? There is no way it was zone and look at hurt others won’t a female.” the bigger picture. help our own isThere are other sues and it will girls with probmake more for lems, too. someone else. It is said that high school is the best When we get into a sticky situation, four years of our lives. Who said that? we need to step back, take a deep breath, There is no way it was a female. For me, and clear our heads. Making drastic, lifehigh school has consisted of a lot of prob- changing decisions when we are angry is lems that I wish never would have hap- the opposite of beneficial, though it may pened. But, we are in high school, there- seem the opposite of the opposite of benfore, we are subjected to drama, drama, eficial at the time. If we can’t calm down drama. The mood swings and ugly words in that moment, we should remove ourspewed can be nearly unbearable, but it selves from the situation until our heads has happened to everyone, and everyone are clear. Then we can revisit the situation has done it, even if not on purpose. with an open mind. The outcome will be Last year I felt like other girls in much more positive. That is a promise. school were targeting me, so I retaliated. I know that this is nearly impossible, I am not proud of this. I said mean things but my hope is that if we can put ourselves about them. Sometimes I said things that in the other person’s shoes, and respect weren’t even true, just because I thought it each other, we can make Kennedy a better would help me feel better. It didn’t. I end- place for six hours a day, five days a week. ed up adding to my problems because in-
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REDISTRICTING S
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ince the announcement school enrollment boundaries changing, parents and students have been sweating over the fact that the schools they planned to enroll in may change. Trade in the that Kennedy Jersey for a Washington Sweatshirt? Replace all of your Washington bumper stickers with Jefferson ones? But fear not; this is not in store. Plans to develop a new system for enrollment in the Cedar Rapids Community School District are currently being considered and studied and aren’t expected to be decided until early 2012. The early supposals that had caused such concerns in the community have been rejected, according to Cedar Rapids Community School District Superintendent Dr. David Bensen. “Well we really don’t have a plan yet. What we have is what we call a ‘supposal’. What we have is a set of criteria. We have a consultant, and we’re using the data we have on enrollment to look at our criteria to determine if our criteria can be met,” Bensen said. “One of the criteria that we have been charged to look at by the Board of Education is whether or not a ‘theatre system’ [also called a pure feeder system] can be established. A theatre system means the same kids from elementary school go to the same middle school that all go to the same high school. Right now we do not have a true theatre system.”
news
The breakdown: At 15,975 students, the district enrollment is at its lowest level since 1960. The problem is people moving north and west, causing certain schools to be more densely populated than others. For example, where Van Buren is at 101 percent, Kenwood is at 43 percent capacity. The boundary scenario created odd circumstances reSuperintendent. sulting in problems such for Picture of Dr. David the homes south of 42 Street, Benson provided by routing them to Washington, Marcia Hughes even if they were right down the street from Kennedy raising concerns and questions of the community. Dr. Mary Wilcynski, Kennedy Principal voiced her thoughts on the supposal. “I think that there is just no final picture whatsoever, and I think that I believe that what the leadership of that committee is trying to do is help the committee members realize that pure feeder middle school into the high school is probably not something about results,” Wilcynski said, “They can’t probably do two middle schools to every high school in a pure way and still do all the other things they need to try to do. That supposal was pretty crazy that they had kids across the street from Kennedy going to Wash. And I think that it was just kind of a shock thing of, “come on guys, we have to get off this dead center idea that there has to be a pure feeder.” Benson said that they had presented what a true theatre system would look like, but that the Comittee had rejected it. He noted that since they believe in transparency, they posted the work on the web, and people are taking it as a proposal or a reccomendation, when [the idea] is a long way away. “I think that ultimately they’ll get a supposal that they feel pretty confident in that will go to the school board, it will come to the public, people will have a chance to react and it will go through there,” Wilcynski said.
a look at what’s (possibly) in store
Fa s t Fa c t s
From the Cedar Rapids School Community District website, Oct. 4 powerpoint Visualizing Success. None of the following are official plans. This is part of the supposal. • Complete Feeder Pattern following ES Supposal 2a (October 4, 2011) • Jefferson Feeder (Taft, Wilson) • Kennedy Feeder (Harding, Roosevelt) • Washington Feeder (Franklin, McKinley)
Gabby Giebelstein, so., who would go to Jefferson if the supposal was implemented, said,“I don’t think they should do that. You wouldn’t get the diversity of people that you do. They should just keep it how it is, because I think it’s fine.” As for implementation of the final plans, Benson said they may start as early as August 2012, but it may string out for several years. “You wouldn’t want to do anything to go in and at last minute to tell the kid, nah, you only thought you were going to that school, you’re going to this school instead, but you might do that to students if you gave them a years,” Benson said. He also said that as for siblings, he can make a reccomendation on whether or not they can follow their older brothers and sisters to their old high school, but that ultimately it was up to the Board of Education. The committee has meetings every two weeks to discuss plans and ideas for the enrollment study. The Cedar Rapids Community School District has stated that in November, parents, staff members, and the community will be invited to provide input through an online survey. For more details, check their website cr.k12.ia.us/ FacilitiesStudy which features PowerPoint’s and minutes for the meetings. bailey zaputil
PAGES BY Katie Hefflefinger and Bailey zaputil
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News
Challenging Yourself Taking AP classes teach students to work hard Advanced Placement classes are positive ways for advanced students to better themselves within theschool environment, and are encouraged by adults in the school. AP classes are for high school students looking for a challenging class that could also potentially give them college credit. Those who take AP hope to score high on the AP exam at the end of the year, but to make the score count for college credit, for most schools, students have to score at least a three out of five. This can be a big task for students, considering they learn out of a college textbook, but Dr. Mary Wilcynski, college administrators, and counselors all agree taking AP classes will benefit students even if they don’t score well on the exam at the end of the year. Phil Caffrey, Director of Admissions at Iowa State University, said, “My primary concern is admitting students who have a good chance of being academically successful.” Caffrey is responsible for reviewing students’ applications at Iowa State. Students can prepare themselves by taking AP classes and learning good study habits. “The most important factor is the student’s overall academic record in high school,” Caffrey said. Having AP classes appear on a student’s transcript makes them look like a successful student, therefor colleges will be more likely to consider their application. Admission to most schools is based on a student’s Regent Admission Index (RAI) score that takes four things into account: cumulative GPA, class rank, ACT or SAT scores, and number of years of core courses the student will complete in high school. “While admission to Iowa State University is based primarily on the RAI score, students who are not automatically admissible and whose applications must undergo indi- Sanjay Sudhir sr., posing with some vidual review are more likely to receive favor-AP textbooks. Photo by Katie Hefable consideration if they’ve complet flefinger.
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ed AP courses,” Caffery said. Dan Schofield, associate director of admissions at the University of Northern Iowa, advised students to know their RAI ahead of time and to ask your consolers for help. “The higher the RAI score, the more your application will stand out, and AP classes often help,” Schofield said. Caffery also recommends beginning the application process early. “Start visiting colleges during your junior year so that by the end of 11th grade you’ve narrowed your list down to a small manageable number,” said Caffery. Also, Dr. Wilcynski advises students to take AP classes to make their college life easier, and to avoid spending the extra money in college when students can complete it for free in high school. “You pay $87 for the exam vs. $500 per credit for the course,” said Dr. Wilcynski. Learning how to take a college level class benefits students in ways that they probably won’t see until they are studying for their first college exam. “The fact that you took a rigorous study and that you learned how to study for a comprehensive exam, and that you understand that preparation and what is required of that, is very valuable,” said Dr. Wilcynski. Going above and beyond is hard work on the students’ behalf, but it will not go unnoticed by colleges. Students like Sanjay Sudhir sr., who has taken a total of 14 AP classes during his high school experience, understands how hard students have to work to succeed. This year, he spends about 1 to 4 hours on the 6 AP classes he is in right now. “I take AP classes to challenge myself and makes me want to do my best,” Sanjay said. There are many ways that taking AP classes will help you in the long and short term, but most importantly it will improve students, in ways that just doing the bare minimum won’t. Students can learn skills that they are going to need beyond school and in everyday life. Katie Hefflefinger
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Cooperation. Emily O’Brien, sr., and Adam Parker Goldberg, jr., smile as they toy with the hula-hoop.
Photos by Jess Rowan.
Cougars show leadership Fall Retreat teaches students how to bring more leadership to Kennedy
Maddy Crist, fr., said, “I have a positive attitude, people seem to The Kennedy Fall Leadership Retreat on Oct. 27 at Squaw Creek park taught 115 freshman and sophomore students what follow positive people,” Crist said, “My favorite activity was the blind folded obstacle course, it shows good teamwork and was it means to be a leader and how they can be leaders at Kennedy. Both freshman and sophomores were taught leadership skills just a lot of fun.” There was an activity for humility, trust, communication, teamfrom 32 juniors and seniors, and 15 staff members. Students work, school spirit and ‘stepping out of your box’ or spent the entire day together taking part in comfort zone. group activities, discussions, and team-building “Being a leader Hunter Schoenauer, fr., said, “my favorite activity events. Each activity emphasized a certain leadmeans being a was the hula hoop activity. It showed good communiership skill for the students to learn. positive influence cation skills and teamwork.” AJ Losch, so., said, “being a leader means and reaching out to “I liked learning new leadership skills,” Schoenauer standing up for what is right and not being others.” said, “I do what I am supposed to do in the classroom afraid to speak your mind I liked making the and really step up, that’s what makes me a leader.” video, I hope it gives out a good message.” The leadership retreat is an annual event for Kennedy students Abby Hill, fr., said, “it was really fun meeting new people in the who have shown good leadership and have good grades, hand- school that I didn’t know before” and that she appreciated learnpicked from staff. This year’s retreat was organized by teachers ing about leadership. Jenny Wagner and Katie Bova although, the original event was “To me, being a leader means being a positive influence and organized by teacher Colleen Kollasch. reaching out to others, I will continue to be well behaved and have “The teachers submitted good leaders and people who could a positive attitude through out my years at Kennedy.” benefit from being around positive leaders,” Bova said. “Hopefully those students on the retreat will pass on their leadership LYDIA MARTIN skills to others and set good examples.”
PAGES BY Katie Hefflefinger and Bailey zaputil
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Kennedy student shows off his magical skills
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ack Green, jr., hopes to one day turn his passion into a career. “I have been doing [magic] excessively for five years,” Green said. At just five years of age, Green learned how to make a coin disappear and then reappear from behind someone’s ear. He learns tricks from books and DVDs fast but practices them for months sometimes even years before he thinks he is ready to perform it. Green enjoys magic because he likes fooling people and seeing the look on their face when they see something amazing. If Green plans on turning his passion for magic into a career he would attend college for psychology, theater and public speaking. Not only does Green need to know all of the magic tricks inside and out, he would also need to know what his audience is thinking or how they will react. At this point, Green doesn’t really see himself in any other career besides magic. Over the Summer, Green performed at the Downtown Farmer’s Market for anyone who wanted to see him do a few tricks. Because of this, he was offered a job at Ushers Ferry for all of their special
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events such as their Easter egg hunt, fairy tale festival, and their Halloween trick-ortreat. Green only performs on-the-street magic at these performances. “I would really really like to do a lot of stage magic but not only do I not have the opportunity to buy those big props, they are probably also really expensive and I am just a lifeguard. I don’t make a lot of money,” Green said. His dream stage trick is metamorphosis that was first performed by Houdini which involves trading places with someone who is handcuffed, inside a bag, and locked in a trunk in just four seconds. His second dream trick is cutting someone in half while the are laying down. Although he would want to be the person inside the box. Green performs for a wide variety of audiences depending on where he is performing. At the farmer’s market he gets a variety of people that stop by his booth to watch. When he is on stage performing he gets a more cooperative audience because they specifically came to watch him on stage.
“The problem is always when you get the hecklers who are always shouting at you ‘I know how you do that’ or ‘Do that again right in front of my face’,” Green said. The hecklers are mainly older kids trying to be clever or the occasional drunks at a wedding or party. Green has performed in Kennedy’s talent show and hopes that next year he will be able to have his own all magic show. He also performs for the men’s swimming team before and after meets to help them get pumped up or to pass the time faster. “If we are on the bus to somewhere I’ll do it on the bus to. It’s always funny because on the way back it will be like midnight and everyone will be like ‘Jack you should do some magic’ I’m like it’s dark, I can’t see anything, and everyone automatically brings out all their phones and shines it right over me,” Green said. Darcey Altschwager
profile
Dr. Tyler prevails Tyler Rothenberger, jr. has Asperger’s syndrome, which is a syndrome that often results in difficulty with social interactions and has repetitive patterns in behavior and interests. Rothenberger doesn’t let Asperger’s bother him and is a rather large part of the Kennedy community. “Life hasn’t always been necessarily easy for me,” Rothenberger said. Rothenberger moved a lot as a child, he started off his first four years through public school, then was removed from school due to is-
sues of rehabilitation of his parents and was home-schooled. After which Rothenberger had to live with his Grandparents in Tennessee then went back to public schooling. “It definitely wasn’t an easy transformation.” Rothenberger has been involved in drama and theater at Kennedy since his freshman year. He has been in numerous plays, part of speech team, and was recently in this fall’s play, Suessical. “My favorite part about it [drama and theater] is that I get to meet a lot of new people and get a lot of opportunities,” Rothenberger said. Through theater Rothenberger has developed the famous nickname of Dr. Tyler. “It’s hard to say this about any school, but it’s really great here [Kennedy], there is a lot of opportunities here, and has definitely taught me a lot.” Rothenberger said. Even though Rothenberger doesn’t let his Asperger’s syndrome bother him, he still gets a lot inconvenience from it.
“I still get made fun of from time to time, but its not as bad as it used to be,” Rothenberger said. Rothenberger has been known for wearing the hat. “The first two years at Kennedy you couldn’t wear hats at all, but since they changed that I said that I’m going to wear the hat everyday,” Rothenberger said. Rothenberger also hopes to one day become a filmmaker and has allowed for the hat to symbolize accomplishing a dream. “My lifelong dream is to be a filmmaker, and once I make a film, I’ll take the hat off for good.” Even through the hardships and adversity Rothenberger has faced growing up, he isn’t that much different after all. “I like to think that I’m one step ahead of everyone else, and not that much different because of Asperger’s at all.” Mohammad Cheetany
Stroke of a genius S e p tember 8, brought on a scare on Kennedy High School. Joe Bunch, a social studies teacher, suffered a stroke that effected the right half of his brain. He was found by the teachers in his area of learning.”The people in my department saved my life. I am very thankful,” Bunch says. It didn’t have an impact on his memory, but it did affect his left arm, leg, and his ability to swallow. He has been going through medical rehab at St. Lukes hospi-
tal and has made a very remarkable recovery. He mentioned that lifting one finger was one of the hardest things he had to re-learn to do because of all of the muscle connections to the brain. “It’s just hard sometimes, but I’m not quitting.” Bunch said. He is doing much better than was expected. He has been going through hours of therapy a day to try and get better and return to school. He feels very grateful to all of the teachers and students who came to visit him during his stay at the hospital. “The reason I’m working so hard here, is because of the people back at Kennedy. I love my students. I’ve always told them how hard they have to work to be successful and to never give up on themselves. Now i have to be the student and I’m doing the same thing,” Bunch said. Bunch feels that being in the position of having to learn instead of teach has had
a large impact on him. He has had to adjust the way he thinks and has had to look at things through different eyes. He is planning on returning third trimester, and is very excited to be back to normal. While Bunch was still teaching he was loved by many students. “He was a really laid back person, and he taught really well,” Spencer Leach, fr.,said. In his experience, Bunch has learned alot about life and the pressure put on the human body. “Stress is one of the things that causes strokes and blood pressure problems. Have fun, do something you enjoy even if it’s hanging out with your friends. To much work is not a good balance.” Steph Mercer
PAGES BY AMY BRAUSE 13
Profile
Life as she knows it
Photo provided by Jocelyn Nelson
“Currently just watched my dad get arrested in my house #notok”
Jocelyn Nelson, so., Tweeted this message on Oct. 6 just after her father had been arrested for not paying child support bills. This wasn’t the first time he has been convicted. When Nelson got home from school on that Friday, she witnessed the shocking event. “It was crazy to think about, but he got out the next day so it wasn’t so bad.” Nelson said. “It was hard to watch because it was really sad.” More than half of the 1.4 million adults who are in jail are parents of minor children with overwhelming number of those beingmales. Students can have a disconnection with that parent. Judy Mcintosh, a counselor said, “I guess the thing I always feel bad about it getting them [students] reconnected with their parents and making sure they stay solid and intact. It’s a hard relationship when you don’t see someone everyday.” Some students need to make a change
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in life, whether it is moving out of the situation, or talking to a counselor for help. Some words of wisdom Officer Lacina would give to students who have incarcerated parents, or just students in general is that: “The mistakes you make when your in high school can truly effect your future. When you’re kids, you guy’s age, you don’t think of the reprucutions down the road and so my biggest thing to get the kids to understand is that, yeah some things can get corrected, but others can’t.” With hopes of having a better future than her dad, Nelson tries to do better in school and do her best in everything she does. “It’s hard, it makes me want to do more in school. And be more successful than him so I can get a good job because he hasn’t really gone anywhere with his life.” Nelson said. “My dad doesn’t really work, he does little side jobs because having jail as a record doesn’t get him anywhere.” Nelson’s mom never really wants her to go to her dad’s house, but Nelson still does because it doesn’t really bother her. “I always feel bad for the kids because they just don’t get that constant interac-
tion with their parents,” Mcintosh said. “When people go to jail it can change their personality, and when they get out of jail they have huge changes they need to make in their lifestyle to make sure they stay out of jail.” Students may say that, ‘I do everything like my parents’ or ‘my parents are my idol’ maybe you shouldn’t say that if there in jail for doing something that got them in trouble. “I hope for the kids that just because their parents are like that doesn’t mean you have to be like that,” Officer Lacina says. If students know how to control themselves so that they won’t get in trouble then they could have a bigger chance of being successful when their older. Nelson’s siblings don’t realize how much impact going to jail could have on a person life. “My brothers think it’s funny. They don’t think it’s a big deal,” Nelson said. “But it’s affecting our reputation as a family.” Hanna Krivit
Profile
Mission: a day in the life of a janitor
Cleaning up after 2,000 high school students everyday seems to be a very tedious task. But for two janitors at Kennedy this is not the case. Lisa Middlekauff, janitor, has been working at Kennedy for the past seven years. She works the second shift that runs from 2:30 p.m. until 11 p.m. Middlekauff has been a janitor for the Cedar Rapids School District for 21 years. She has worked at the various elementaries as well as McKinley, Taft, and Wilson middle schools. “Kennedy is the best. I love the high schools the best,” Middlekauff said. The students and staff treat her well which makes Kennedy an enjoyable environment for her to work in. Middlekauff is in charge of cleaning bathrooms, taking care of trash, and setting
up for various sporting events. She enjoys her job for the most part but has some least favorite tasks as well. “Well, bathroom cleaning for obvious reasons,” Middlekauff said with laughter. Her pet peeve is when students write on the bathroom walls because it is extremely hard to remove, and she has to use harsh smelling chemicals. This year Middlekauff and other janitorial staff have come across a lot of mice throughout the school. Middlekauff believes that the weather or the new geothermal system is stirring them up. She also has come across other rodents, such as bats, in the other schools she has worked. “I have never seen one here, in other schools I have and that will freak you out at night,” Middlekauff said. Outside of school Middlekauff enjoys going camping, being outdoors, and listening to music from the 60’s and 70’s. “I would have graduated here so it was weird to come back and work here,” Middlekauff said. Lisa Rowray, janitor, has worked at Kennedy for five years and enjoys it as much as Middlekauff because the students and staff treat her well. Her favorite part is the impendence that the job allows her to have. Her least favorite part is cleaning the bathrooms and cleaning up after a nasty senior prank one year that a male student caused. “He took catfish bait and smeared it under the stairs. That was not fun [to clean up],” Rowray said. Rowray is in charge of cleaning bathrooms, classrooms, and the hallways as well as setting up for various sporting events. She enjoys her work and Rowrays not have any pet peeves that students or staff do. “Nothing really sticks out. I am pretty easy going. It’s just part of the job,” Rowray said. Outside of working at Kennedy, Rowray enjoys gardening and reading suspense novels. Middlekauff and Rowray are part of a large janitorial staff that allow Kennedy to run smoothly. There are three janitors on the day shift that work from 6:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. There are three janitors that work second shift from 2:30 p.m. until 11 p.m. along with engineers. And there are three janitors that work the third shift from 11 p.m. until 7 a.m. and are in charge of the gyms, locker rooms, and fine arts department. Darcey Altschwager & Mohammad Cheetany
PAGES BY AMY BRAUSE 15
Photo Illustration by Rachel Gilman
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An in-depth look at bullying via twitter at local high schools
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rmed with a keyboard and hidden by an anonymous Twitter account, JohnFKHoes became infamous at Kennedy High School on Oct.3. Just about a month ago the account began to post tweets harassing a number of students. Nobody was safe from the harassment. The tweets started about senior girls but quickly progressed to both boys and girls from the sophomore, junior, and senior classes. “It was harder for people to focus [in class] because everywhere I went people were talking about it and that’s all the school was worried about,” Kate Ross, so. said. Ross was one of the students targeted by the tweets. The distraction was obvious and as the tweets kept multiplying, so did the following, making it increasingly difficult for those who were tweeted about to feel comfortable in their school environment. “I felt awkward because I thought people knew what had happened and I didn’t know if they believed what was said and thought of me differently because of it. Other than that I just had to try to ignore it,” Ross said. The problem worsened when copycat twitter accounts began to pop up in multiple nearby schools. Other accounts included LinnmarHoes, WashHoes, and the theroast_ofCR (which covered the entire Cedar Rapids area). “The whole situation was ridiculous. You have to be really low to do something like that,” Ross said. Overall, the accounts were not up for more than a few days, but the impact was enough for the police to get involved and area TV media to spin reports. Although the buzz did leave the gossip trail for the
time being, the creators of the sites are not completely off the hook. The battle is not over.
Zero Tolerance Many schools around the nation associate themselves with a zero-tolerance policy; a policy punishing any infraction of a rule, despite accidental mistakes, ignorance, or extenuating circumstances. Kennedy High School recently dealt with bullying infractions have led the school administration to make crucial decisions regarding the guilty. “I have a policy that people have to be nice to each other, and if they’re not, we have to address that,” Mary Wilcynski, principal of Kennedy High School, said.
“I have a policy that people have to be nice to each other, and if they’re not, we have to address that.” -Dr. Wilcynski Following the Twitter investigation of multiple twitter accounts,along with the many ‘tweeters’, school officials had their speculations as to who may be behind the cyberbullying. The students under suspicion were pulled out of class and talked to individually about the Twitter situation and questioned about their possible involvement. The following day, the account created solely for Kennedy High School shut down. School officials never involved the police in the punishment towards those who were found guilty.
“It [johnfk_hoes] did not get dealt with police action, because it was stopped when we determined what was going on,” Wilcynski said. A step by step process is taken into effect when someone is accused of bullying; *Scott is the bully *Johnny is the bullied 1.)Johnny fills out a form that describes the situation as to how he has been bullied by Scott. 2.)The form is looked at by the school officials, who then go to Scott and ask him to explain his side of the story that has been addressed in the form filled out by Johnny. 3.)If Scott is proven to be bullying Johnny for no apparent reason, disciplinary action will be taken in accordance to the severity of the situation. “We do not tolerate that kind of thing but we also need to investigate it and determine what happened and how it happened and why it happened and what we can do about it,” Wilcynski said.
Into the mind AP psychology teacher Dana Melone, was willing to offer some potential psychological traits of bullies. There are many different types of bullies, physical, emotional, and cyber. “I think sometimes people don’t think they’re bullying because they think it’s physical. I don’t know if people are born bullies, but I think it is a learned behavior. It can come from a lot of things,” Melone said. The first influence on a bully is something called the ingroup-outgroup bias.
PAGES BY Allie Sindlinger
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Feature
Photo Illustration by Rachel Gilman
This theory states that when in a group of and cuts you off. The first thing that pops friends, we tend to think more favorably into your head may be something along towards them. When we aren’t in a group the lines of what a tool, attributing the acwe don’t view those people as favorably. tion of cutting you off to their personalExamples can be seen everywhere. In a ity. We tend to overlook the circumstanchigh school classroom, students prefer to es that the driver may have been in. The driver might have choose their partners, just received a call often a friend, com“It is normal for people to pared to the teacher gossip and talk about each that their son was in the hospital, or they choosing the partners, other, but when you go just really needed to where the students may over the edge it turns into get into your lane. not get along. This apharassment.” Bullies do the same plies to bullies because thing. They witness they view others who -Sgt. Cristy Hamblin or hear something are not in their group bad about someone less favorably, making and attribute it to the victim’s personalothers targets to prey on. Another characteristic of a bully could ity, justifying their actions. The bully overbe the fundamental attribution error. This looks the circumstances and feels the need theory can be explained through a simple to correct the situation. example. While driving down Edgewood Feeling a need to correct the situaRoad., the vehicle to your right speeds up tion is called cognitive dissonance. When
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an observer witnesses an act that goes against their beliefs, they may attempt to correct the situation, using a wrongful act as justification. A bully may see something they don’t like, so they bully in order to make themselves feel better about the situation.
Effects of bullying On the other hand, victims can suffer and develop some serious psychological issues. A major problem with bullying is the stress it puts on the victims. Loss of sleep, depression, and loss or gain of weight can result. Bullying also brings down a victim’s self esteem. This can result in something called the “self-fulfilling prophecy.” The idea is that as a victim is called stupid, fat, or a low life, the victim will become stupid, fat, or a low life.
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Under investigation Punishment is just about the last thing that most think about when they are doing something wrong, but that lack of judgment could be detrimental the creator(s) of JohnFKHoes. Although it has been nearly a month since the insult outbreak over Twitter, but the culprits are still not in the clear. “The case is not closed by any means,” Cedar Rapids Police spokeswoman sergeant Cristy Hamblin said. According to Hamblin harassment occurs when you pick on or tease someone with the intent to annoy and when the things being said or done is ‘over the top, ‘ being slanderous and expanding on the truth. It is normal for people to gossip and talk about each other, but when you go over the edge it turns into harassment,” Hamblin said. Repercussions of the tweets could be a simple misdemeanor and would go on the offender’s record (although jail time is a possibility), but it is hard to say how exactly how far the punishments could go, plus that may not be the worst of the punishment. With this being a school related incident punishment would likely come from the school as well, which Hamblin believes could be the more costly of the two especially with the zero tolerance policy that is currently in place. The police are still looking into who is behind the Kennedy Twitter site as well as the other ones from around the city. Although the creator(s) are unknown, the moment that charges are filed arrests can be made and the information will become public making students able to find out who was behind the online persona. At the time of the interview there had been charges filed against the roast_ofCR and LinnMarHoes, but no charges had been filed against the JohnFKHoes. The investigation continues. Intro Riley Galbraith Zero Tolerance Jessica Rowan Into the mind Sarah Sickles Effects of bullying Sarah Sickles Under investigation Riley Galbraith
In order to find the anonymous creator(s) of the Twitter account JFKHoes, The Cedar Rapids Police department took the following steps to identify the creators of the harassing Twitter accounts. Once charges are pressed the police can then make arrests of the offenders.
Process analysis Get in contact with the Internet Crimes Division and give them all of the information you have as far as what the name was of the account is and the problems they’re creating
Contact Twitter with the problem and request information such as the IP address. (Twitter can’t release any information without a subpoena from a judge.)
File reports to get the judge to sign off and to appeal the subpoena
Information takes one to three weeks to return (all of the information comes in at separate times)
Comes back to a certain area where it’s then pinpointed to the exact location
A search warrant on the house/location, where any electronic media device is going to be seized and forfeited that the person has access to, and they won’t be getting them back Info gathered by Allie Sindlinger
PAGES BY Allie Sindlinger
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20 You can check out more art students work at www.kennedytorch.org
Photos by Sarah Sickles.
AP Studio Art student, James Kern, sr., completesd his imitation of a Bob Marley photo. Kern used graphite (pencil), colored pencil to create this lifelike image on 50% recycled paper.
Artistic Intelligence photo
AP Studio Art student, Whitney Jungjohann, sr., painted this piece with acrylic paint on paper. It was chosen by Erin Ennis, AP Stuido Art teacher, to hang in the showcase by the cafeteria. You can see Jungjohann’s and the other AP Studio Art students work on the left side of the cafeteria showcase. AP Studio Art student, Peggy Wang, sr., used her creativity to porduce this skeleton piece from water color, charcol, and paper. Wang’s portfolio is full of pieces from different aspects of art ranging from photography, to sketches, to paintings. Wang is a 4 year art student and president of photo club.
photo
PAGES BY Sarah Sickles 21
Photo by Mohammad Cheetany Page by Sarah Sickles
This is a section of a mural on a garage in New Bohemia. There are many murals like this one on buildings downtown. There are many run down structures to explore and the people are very hospitable.
Photo of the month
ads
PAGE BY Spencer Grekoff
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Arts and Entertainment
IN WITH TH Culture comes to life in New Bohemia district C
Left side of Main Street, New Bohemia Photo by Rachel Gilman
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edar Rapids usually has a reputation for being a rather boring place, but one historic district of downtown is hoping to commercially renovate part of Cedar Rapids culturally. New Bohemia, otherwise known as the Bohemian Commercial Historic District of Cedar Rapids, is planning on restoring cultural and artistic value into the once completely Czech neighborhood. “Ten years ago, The Gazette and the city of Cedar Rapids asked suggestions on 25 ways people could make Cedar Rapids better, and I submitted the idea of improving the Bohemian Commercial Historic District and surprisingly it was chosen as one of the 25,” Michael Richards, the last original member of the district who has been apart of it since he was born, said. Due to the Cedar Rapids flood of 2008, a lot of the New Bohemian District was ravaged, but district officials are hoping to rebuild the district and restore the artistic and cultural value that there once was with some help. “Being an art district, we challenge the status quo. Since artists are visionaries and usually atop the social and cultural aspects, we just hope to restore those aspects,” Richards said. New Bohemia has many upcoming plans, including the New Bohemian
market which will be a year-long indoor and outdoor market that focuses on local food, art and entertainment, which has been planning to open in fall of 2012 Currently New Bohemia has several restaurants, many historical buildings, and a lot of projects being worked on but is restoring the art in the district. Throughout the district, buildings are painted with large murals and many buildings include an art feature of New Bohemia through art bikes. Along with the artistic value, culturally, most original buildings are still being occupied and are named by the original creators of the buildings. New Bohemia is also home to the new Occupy Cedar Rapids movement (Cedar Rapids equivalent of Occupy Wall Street). New Bohemia is located on Third Street SE and stretches from Eighth Avenue to 14th Avenue southeast of downtown Cedar Rapids. The district still has a lot of work to be done with the many projects and rebuilding after the flood, but is working to add a cultural and art hub of Cedar Rapids. “Most people look at the world as it is and wonder why? We look at the world as it could be and say why not?” Richards said. Mohammad Cheetany
arts and entertainment
THE NEW Czech Village renovates long-lived traditions V
itáme vás! That’s how the sign 12 years. “The museum was made in greets visitors entering the 1974 because the local Czechs and Czech Village. Vitáme vás, meaning Slovaks felt that they had a story welcome, is just one of many phrases that needed to be told,” Stoffer said. The floods of 2008 had a lasting in Czech that visitors can see around impact on the village. Eight feet of the village. As visitors go down 16th Avenue water filled the stores and streets. they see different The stores had to decide shops, sites, and res“I want everyone whether to come back or taurants. There are a leave. Some businesses to realize that few antique stores, were open only a few days saying there’s some embroidery after the floodwaters had shops, and even a bak- never anything to cleared. Also, a lot of new ery. One of the stores do around here is businesses have opened in the village is the wrong, there’s al- since the flood. They are currently esNational Czech and Slovak Museum and ways something.” tablishing a new build-Jan Stoffer Library. ing higher off the ground The Sykora Bakery so they don’t have the has been in the village same problem if the city since 1903 and its current owners were to flood again. “The floods have bought it ten years ago. “The bakery helped us to do things before that we is an escape,” John Rocarek, bakery never could have before the flood,” owner, said. “It’s a nice quiet place Stoffer said. The new building is where you can just sit and talk.” The planning to open in the summer of bakery sells everything from Czech 2012 with an exhibition on the artist desserts to deli sandwiches to books Alphonse Mucha. “I would like to invite everyone to and t-shirts. “Everything is made from scratch which is something not come down to visit the museum, ena lot of places can say,” Rocarek said. joy a meal, see a concert, or listen to Other places to get food include the a program,” Stoffer said. “I want evRed Frog, Al’s Blue Toad, and the re- eryone to realize that saying there’s cently opened Smuggler’s Warf. never anything to do around here is Jan Stoffer, Director of Educa- wrong, there’s always something evtion and Visitor Services, has been ery weekend.” working at the museum for almost Isabel Neff
Right side Main Street, New Bohemia Photo by Rachel Gilman
PAGES BY steph mercer 25
Arts and entertainment
Cedar Rapids Titanss The new indoor football team of Iowa
name suggests, all the games are indoors. Mike Polaski, the team’s future kicker, has high hopes for the team. “I feel that the team will be a huge success,” said Polaski. “I cannot wait for our first game.” Polaski got involved with indoor football when he was referred to it by some NFL kickers he worked with last year. “I’m excited to play pro football in my home town and hopefully win a championship,” said Polaski. The team will be made up of 25 players, a majority of them from Iowa universities.
Kameron Beets on the sidelines during a past Kennedy football game. Photo Provided by Kameron Beets.
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new team from Cedar Rap- Rapids. There is a huge weight on ids, the Titans, will be play- my shoulders to do well. I believe ing in the Indoor Football League I am also the youngest player on this March. “The training camp the team and possibly the league, for the Titans starts in early Feb- at age 19,” Beets said. ruary,” said Kameron Beets, KenFor those unfamiliar with the nedy alum, and future defensive Indoor Footall League, it is conend and linebacker for the Titans. sidered Coached by a “DKyle Moore“I’m one of the few players l e a g u e ”, Brown, The or develactually from Cedar Rapids. Titans’ first game will be There is a huge weight on o p m e n t league, held on March my shoulders to do well.” for the 3 at the Cedar -Kameron Beets NFL. It Rapids Ice has rules Arena, where extremely they will play similar to against Lehigh Valley team. the NFL, with the exception of Kameron is very excited for the being played on a 50 yard indoor season to kick off. “I’m one of the field, instead of the standard 100 few players actually from Cedar yard outdoor field. As the league
The Titans have seven home games of their 14 games this season. The season runs from early March to mid June. Tickets are already being sold for the 2012 season. Purchase your tickets today and be prepared to head down to the Ice Arena and watch the Titans journey to victory. Zack Goodall
Photo Provided by The Cedar Rapids Titans
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Z Zcatching ZZ z’s Health
Graphic by Rachel Gilman
Kennedy Students are becoming sleep deprived As students are encouraged to take to bed between 11 p.m. and 12 a.m. “If on advanced classes and extracurricuI’m more tired, I’m not as good at soclar activities, they often neglect sleep, cer,” Feltes said. “I can tell the difference cutting back on one of the body’s most compared to when I get a good amount of important restorative devices. Sleep desleep.” According to Bennett, a night or privation can negatively affect student’s two of sleep deprivation has few adverse academics, athletics, and social lives. effects on student’s athletic perforAccording to pediatrician Dr. Greg mances, however chronic lack of sleep Bennett, high school students require can cause physical fatigue and impaired seven to eight hours of sleep per night. concentration. When students don’t get this amount Little is known about the long term for a prolonged period of time, adverse health effects of sleep deprivation, but effects can occur. “Sleep some studies have indicated deprivation causes a correlation between sleep “I’m different from students to have difdeprivation and impaired everyone else ficulty concentrating, physical growth and cognibecause I don’t need tive abilities. “Less time for poor focus, increased caffeine to stay forgetfulness, and mood brain tissue repair ties into swings,” Bennett said. a decline in memory loss, awake.” These effects can negaArjun Venkatesh Sr. creative thinking, and probtively influence student’s lem solving,” Patrick Cory, academic performances an AP Psychology teacher and social interactions. Students may also at Kennedy High School, said. Long term have impaired driving abilities, especially sleep deprivation is gradual in onset, the when sleep deprivation is combined with rate depending on the amount of sleep an drugs or alcohol. individual lacks per night. “Sleeping four Students lacking in sleep may also hours per night would cause problems notice a decline in their athletic performore quickly than sleeping six hours per mances. Emily Feltes, so., commutes to night, but both would eventually cause Des Moines three nights per week to problems,” said Bennett. attend soccer practice; she usually goes Arjun Venkatesh, sr., often stays up
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until 1 a.m. working on homework for his six AP classes. “I’m so used to it that it doesn’t affect me,” Venkatesh said. “I’m different from everyone else because I don’t need caffeine to stay awake.” Venkatesh often starts his homework late at night because he’s distracted by Facebook or television. Technology is the major reason that high school students lack in sleep. “Not only do students stay up too late on actual ‘screen time,’ but these activities excite the brain, making it hard to fall asleep,” said Bennett. According to Cory, hormones can cause teenagers to feel alert late at night. This prevents students from going to bed, leading to fatigue the next day. Sleep deprivation affects every person differently, but to reduce its adverse effects, it’s important for students to be conscious of their body’s needs. “You have to listen to your body and follow your body cues,” Bennett said. “If you feel tired, sleep. Sleep deprivation is a real problem, just more real for some than others.” Tara Mittelberg
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health
True life: I’m sleep deprived
A quiz to leave your mind at rest about sleep deprivation 1. I need an alarm clock in order to wake up at the appropriate time. T or F 2. It’s a struggle for me to get out of bed in the morning. T or F 3. Weekday mornings I hit the snooze bar several times to get more sleep. T or F 4. I feel tired, irritable, and stressed out during the week. T or F 5. I have trouble concentrating and remembering. T or F 6. I feel slow with critical thinking, problem solving, and being creative. T or F 7. I often fall asleep watching TV. T or F 8. I often fall asleep in boring meetings or lectures or in warm rooms. T or F 9. I often fall asleep after heavy meals. T or F
10. I often fall asleep while relaxing after dinner. T or F 11. I often fall asleep within five minutes of getting into bed. T or F 12. I often feel drowsy while driving. T or F 13. I often sleep extra hours on weekend mornings. T or F 14. I often need a nap to get through the day. T or F 15. I have dark circles around my eyes. T or F
If you answered true to three or more items, you probably are not getting enough sleep. To determine your sleep needs, Maas recommends that you go to bed 15 minutes earlier than usual every night for the next week and continue this practice by adding 15 more minutes each week until you wake without an alarm clock and feel alert all day. (Quiz reprinted with permission from James B. Maas, Power Sleep: The revolutionary program that prepares your mind and body for peak performance [New York: HarperCollins, 1999].)
Cartoon by Nick Appleget
PAGES BY ANNIE FELTES AND HANNA KRIVIT
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health
Strike a pose
Teachers relax with yoga C
lass starts at 3:15 p.m. The with grace”. The practice is a combination women walk in laughing and gig- of stretching and relaxation techniques. gling, and sit down to get ready for the “Yoga can help us relax in a lot of lesson. They calm down as they begin ways,” Hack said. “You know how someto concentrate, and the instructor be- times your just really tense and uptight gins her introduction on today’s plan. and going for a walk can help clear They’re all teachers and it’s not chairs your head? Yoga can kind of be that for they’re sitting on, it’s yoga mats, for you also because you’re physically getKennedy teacher’s weekly yoga session. ting into your body you’re connecting Brenda Hack, spethat with your breathe, cial education teacher, “I really enjoyed [yoga] you’re attaching a great and instructor of the focus on your breathand it was kind of a class, has been doing ing and movement.” yoga for ten years. natural progression as I Joan Steinmetz, She has been teach- applied to be a teacher science teacher, talked ing yoga at Kennedy and to teaching yoga as about why she joined. for about six years. “I have never been well.” “I first started very flexible and I Brenda Hack yoga when my husthought it was time to band had a heart do something about that. attack and he was Having the class offered doing some therapy and recovery at school made it possible for me to fit kind of stuff,” Hack said, “I really en- it into my schedule,” Steinmetz said. joyed [yoga] and it was kind of a natuBoth Steinmetz and Zwanziger ral progression as I applied to be a agreed that yoga helps them with their teacher and to teaching yoga as well.” balance, which Zwanziger confessed Heather Zwanziger, social stud- she was horrible at. All teachers agreed ies teacher, is an active member as well. they would recommend it to anyone, “It helps you calm down, it male or female. Hack noted it would helps remind you of what’s impor- be especially helpful for young peotant, and to get rid of the negativ- ple with their back and neck injuries. ity,” Zwanziger said. “It gets you “I’m very thankful for my group toned, it focuses on positive energy.” of teachers that do yoga with me The class practices a young style called every Tuesday,” Zwanziger said. Bailey Zaputil “anusara” yoga, which means “flowing
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Brenda Hack, Kennedy teacher demonstrating different yoga poses: Above : Standing tree pose Left: Planking pose Middle: Partner yoga with Joan Steinmetz Right: Step ten of Sun Salutation Photos by Bailey Zaputil
health
Thanksgiving workouts 1. Before working-out what is the first thing you should do? a. Eat a meal b. Do a warm-up c. Start off with sprints d. Mentally prepare yourself
5. When your done with your ab exercise, what should you do next? a. Sleep b. Skips c. Superman back exercise d. Lunges
2. When you do push-ups what should you do to balance it? a. Pull-ups b. Basic abdominal crunches c. Nothing at all d. Drink a glass of water
6. Which is a great way to gain leg muscle? a. Lunges b. Sitting down c. Hop-scotch d. Push-ups 7. How can you work-out your hips? a. With a workout rubber band b. With a hip flexor machine c. Doing around the world d. A and C are both correct
3. Which exercise what is as important as others but people don’t usually do it? a. Cardio b. skips c. Weights d. Jumping 4. When doing your basic crunch what are the ab exercises you should do? a. Side abs b. Pecs c. Tummy d. Oblique’s Information Provided by Kyle Lichthardt, Republic
8. Which of these is not an arm muscle workout? a. Bicep curls b. Shoulder press c. Bench sitting d. Tricep extensions
Athletic
Answers: b a b d c a d c
A quiz to keep the Thanksgiving pounds off
Hanna Krivit Photos by Jessica Rowan
The healthy choice
Pick pumpkin pie over apple pie Pumpkin
Pumpkin pie is healthier for you. It is healthier because it contains betacarotene which fights cancer and the apple contains fiber.
Information provided by Amy Brause
Apple
Apple pie crust is typically thicker and flakier than pumpkin pie crust, therefore it has more calories, hydrogenated oils, and trans fats.
Photos by Annie Feltes
PAGES BY ANNIE FELTES AND HANNA KRIVIT
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sports
Running into history
Sprinting. Girls Cross Country members take off at the state meet.
Photo by Cathy Thompson
Girls cross country makes school history Smashed by a total of 22 seconds, riously. I am constantly pushing myself. I Alyssa Averhoff, so., set the new girls have a passion for running. I started cross cross-country record at state when she ran country in eighth grade and really sucked,” Averhoff said. for Kennedy. Her hard work paid off and she beat “I couldn’t believe my time when I saw the timer as I ran through the finish the record set by Andrea Wacker in 2005 line. I couldn’t stop smiling even though at 14:56. Katie Wampole, jr., achieved that I was dead and laying on the ground and time last year at state. “Alyssa has an couldn’t get up. My amazing work ethic. teammates were all “If you would have told me I congratulating me would break the school record But her one proband hugging me. lem is that she never last year I would have laughed.” wants to lead interMy dad, my inspi-Alyssa Averhoff, so. vals during practice ration for running, and for most of the was so happy. I got a season she would lot of hugs and high fives, even from people I didn’t know or start too slow in our races,” Wample said. After Averhoff was told by numerous recognize,” Averhoff said. Averhoff achieved 16th place in the people that she started too slow she began race overall, and the team placed 12th out to run faster and became more competiof 15th. She beat her personal record by tive. Alyssa Barnes, so., is a teammate 40 seconds and worked hard to get there “I work really hard and take it very se- of Averhoff. “She works hard and ran all
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summer. She encourages everyone and she doesn’t give up, even when it hurts and she has a ton of team spirit,” Barnes said. Carolyn Stone, so., also noted on Averhoff’s team spirit, and said that the coach, Mark Jensen, had wanted her to be in the top ten but was still happy that she ran so fast. Averhoff said that she had more confidence and faith in herself, and challenges anyone to break it again, but warns them that she’ll just break it again first. “If you would have told me I would break the school record last year I would have laughed,” Averhoff said. Averhoff said she feels like next year she’ll try harder too and that even though she is only a sophomore she wants to do well the next two years and get a scholarship to Iowa State University. Bailey Zapitul
sports
The tradition continues
Photo by Lauren Boyer Spike. Lexi Rogers, jr. spikes the ball in a regular season game against Prairie.
Volleyball team makes fourth straight trip to state Most teams would dream for the opportunity to go to the State tournament, but now that has become the expectation for the volleyball team. The Cougars advanced to State for the fourth consecutive year behind a strong balanced attack, beating Bettendorf in the regional final 3-0. At press time the Cougars were preparing to face Dubuque Hempstead in the first round at State. “(Regional play) has been really exciting this year, especially since last year I got moved up but I didn’t play. It’s been fun playing for a ranked team,” Madi Meier, so., said. Meier has been playing middle back lately but has also played libero this year. Teams elevate their play in regionals knowing that each game could be their last. “We knew we had to go, that it was
expected of us. We felt like we needed to accomplish something.” The Cougars played a tough regional to get to state. “(Regional play) has been really fun. We’ve played a lot of good teams. There have been a lot of fans supporting us and there’s been good energy,” Allie Hutcheson, sr., said. The keys to success for the team are pretty simple. “Maintaining a good balance, staying together and having the drive to win,” Hutcheson said. Keeping balance has been a main focus all year and was a deciding factor at state. State brings a new challenge to the team; they have lost the last three years in the semi-finals to Iowa City West. Their first opponent is Dubuque Hempstead, who is ranked number four in the state.
“I’m hoping we play West because we can beat them. I think we’ve played them twice this year and lost both. We also lost to them three times in a row at state,” Meier said. Since the state tournament is the final destination, this will be the last time the seniors will play volleyball for Kennedy. “(I’ve elevated my play) by being more aggressive and doing whatever it takes to get to the final,” Hutcheson said. Hutcheson brings great experience to the team, having played in three previous State tournaments. Now as a senior, she has a defined role. “My role is keeping everyone calm and confident,” Next year she will play volleyball for division one Northern Colorado. Nathan Althoff
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sports
Sportsmanship
Photo by Sarah Sickles
Controversy of sportsmanship raises questions On September 16 during the football game between Iowa City, City High and Xavier, a derogatory comment was made by a Xavier player that ultimately resulted in his suspension. This story has sparked a lot of controversy and many have been asking the question; Is sportsmanship still being used on the field? “I think most of the time players do [show good sportsmanship]; but I think athletes, high school athletes especially, can get caught up in the moment, and not show great sportsmanship,” Kennedy athletic director, Aaron Stecker said. “Athletes are athletes and get competitive and sometimes that gets the better of us.” According to Ryan Unash, sr., Kennedy coaches and upperclassmen make a point to promote good sportsmanship. “I think it’s tough for our coaches, especially in high energy, highly competitive sports it’s a tough balance. You want that edge and you want that chip on your shoulder attitude while you’re competing. You have to want to beat that person across from you so badly, but it can’t cross
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that line of being a poor sport.” Stecker said. “You have to teach a high level of execution but you also have to respect the game and that can be hard to teach.”
“I think most of the time players do [show good sportsmanship]; but I think athletes, high school athletes especially, can get caught up in the moment, and not show great sportsmanship.” -Mr. Stecker, Athletic Director
So are the views of the fans, parents, and friends of the players on the field different than what actually happens? Unash doesn’t think so. “I don’t think it [the view] is different. Sportsmanship is just helping a guy up or something like that, and that’s what most people think of and see.” He said. However, it isn’t just players that need to reevaluate their sportsmanship habits. In a study originally reported in Associated Press, 76% of respondents
from 60 high school athletic associations said increased spectator interference is causing many officials to quit. “It’s tough on our students in the stands, they see what other students are doing at the college level and at professional games we hold them to a higher standard than what they see on TV and that can be frustrating.” Stecker said. “I’d like to take some the fun things they do but I guess I would just like our students to keep in mind when they get into the taunting that the people they are taunting are you. They are high school students just like you are and although they wear a different color jersey and cheer for a different team we can still be respectful and not result to that taunting.” So how does Kennedy perform when it comes to having good attitudes? Both Stecker and Unash agree we do pretty well. “I think we pride ourselves on our sportsmanship,” Unash said. “We definitely take it seriously.” Amy Brause
sports
Moving forward after state An amazing performance at the regional swim meet left the girls swimming and diving team disappointed with the results of the state meet in Marshalltown on Nov. 5. Sam Jacobsen, fr., swam in the 200-medley relay which placed seventh She also swam in the 100 backstroke, and 400 free relay. Going into state the 200-medley relay was the forth-fastest time in the state. Overall the team placed 12th out of 36 teams. “I think it was just hard to follow up such a good meet like regionals was,” Jacobsen said. All of the team’s relays did not place as high as they were expected to. Hannah Botkin, so., also swam in the 200- medley relay as well as the 200 free relay. This is her second year swimming at state. “It was a chain reaction. You see your teammates not do well and that is not exactly motivating for you,” Botkin said.
Botkin felt that the team might have been overwhelmed when they arrived. Lexi Scharmer, senior captain, was also disappointed with the results of the state meet. “A lot of people missed their goal times,” Scharmer said. Scharmer believes that some goals were set to high and that much of the focus was set on getting to state and not considering what would happen after making it to state. This was Jordan Muir’s, senior captain, third year participating in the state swim meet. The results at state were not what she was hoping for. “We did well but not what we wanted,” Muir said. Muir said she felt good during the warm ups but the energy did not transfer over into the events. She also noted that when your first few events don’t do so well, it is extremely hard to get pumped up for your events after that. All teammates felt that they were well
prepared for the meet mentally and physically, regardless the state meet. They have been training since August and using little tricks such as buying fast suits in order to make them swim faster. Mentally they visualize their races in their heads or huddle up if it is a relay event and tell each other what to do and what not to do. Next year Botkin hopes to change their focus to the state meet instead of just regionals. “Honestly I think this year worked out really well, we had a great season as a team,” Botkin said. The team also agrees that overall they had a great season. There was a lot of team support and bonding which allowed them to become closer and stronger. They broke school records and swam a very impressive regional meet. If the focus changes to the state meet next year instead of regionals, the team will also swim an impressive state meet as well. Darcey Altschwager
Photo by Rachel GIlman Stroke. Kennedy swimmer swims to the finish at the state meet on Nov. 5.
Photo by Sarah Sickles Start. Jordan Muir, sr. Gets ready to take off in the 400 free relay at the state meet in Marshalltown on Nov. 5.
Photo by Sarah Sickles Breathe. Jessica Schmeiser, jr. Takes a breath during the 200 free relay event.
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