November 20, 2015

John F. Kennedy High School

Volume 49, Issue 3

Nov. 20, 2015

Contents Opinion John F. Kennedy High School 4545 Wenig Rd. NE Cedar Rapids, IA, 52402 Volume 49, Issue 2

04 Feminism worldwide-Khadidja Elkeurti 05 Staff Editorial: Cost. College. Congress.

05 Freedom of irresponsibility-Xander Riley

News 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’s 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.

06 An end in sight-Madeline Jamrok 07 A call for non-violence-Naomi Hofferber

Culture 08 The health epidemic no one is talking aboutAbby Donovan 10 Vape hype-Gabby Olejniczak 11 Before we kick it-Naomi Hofferber

Feature 14 Game of Life: College Edition-Elianna Novitch

Profile 16 Embracing Diversity-Jenna Anderson 17 Just a search for stories-Jake Corkery

Photo 18 Sports successes-Macy Anderson Xander Riley Editor-in-Chief Elianna Novitch Editor-in-Chief Macy Anderson Photo Editor Abby Donovan Opinion Editor Erica Gouchee News Editor Naomi Hofferber Culture Editor Gabby Olejniczak Sports Editor Jayden Bisson Staff Writer Mary Liscum Staff Writer Colby Manley Staff Writer John Nolan Staff Writer Jenna Anderson Contributor Jake Corkery Contributor Khadidja Elkeurti Contributor Madeline Jamrok Contributor Stacy Haynes-Moore Adviser 2|

Sports 20 Tyler Dralle-Gabby Olejniczak 21 One game away-Gabby Olejniczak and John Nolan 22 The squad at state-Xander Riley 23 Cougar cross country-Macy Anderson 23 Women’s swimming and diving take on stateXander Riley Find more content online: kennedytorch.org Twitter: @kennedytorch Twitter (sports): @jfktorchcenter Instagram: @jfktorch

Letters from the Editors

I’ve been watching what has been happening at the University of Missouri closely. It can be easy to look at the whole situation and see only the negatives; racism, lack of intervention by superiors, and a divide amongst students.

But there is something bigger going on that we should be paying attention to.

We should be looking at all the voices that are coming together. These are the voices of the students and they have power.

Hunger strikes, protests, and speeches have been used to make the voices of students at the University heard.

Now this fight has moved beyond the University of Missouri and students all around the nation are using their own voices to fight against these issues that are causing harm for other students that aren’t unlike themselves.

So if other students are using their voices to make a difference in their community, why can’t you and I? It is so easy to feel like what we say doesn’t matter or that it doesn’t have an impact. But let’s stop thinking about what we “can’t” do.

We are old enough to stand up for what we believe in and actively speak out against what we don’t.

Use what is happening in Missouri as a sign that you can make an impact; what you say does matter and has power.

You can make just as much of a change as the students in Missouri are doing right now.

Find your issue and fight for it.

Our school is always very happy to help us plan out our future. As seniors in particular have seen over the past few weeks, we have a veritable army of staff, counselors, and administrators that are only too willing to assist us in getting done what we need in order to go to college, get scholarships, get a job, and have a life.

I trust that these hard-working people won’t take what I’m about to say as a criticism. I honestly appreciate the effort they put forth, and I think that it is helpful for a lot of students.

However, I think it’s important for we as highschoolers to remember that there is more than one path open to us. For years, we have had universities set before us as an ultimate goal, the best place to be for a happy and successful future. And I don’t doubt that many people from our school will go on to do well in college, get a four-year degree or maybe more, get a good job, and enjoy themselves.

I hope everyone keeps in mind, though, that this is not the only path before us, nor is it necessarily the “best” path for all of us.

Speaking from personal experience, my plan has always been to attend a community college like Kirkwood and learn a trade that will allow me to support myself while pursuing my goals in life, which center around full-time religious ministry. While I have always felt that my personal goals have been respected, there is usually a certain underlying idea in the minds of those I talk to, who feel that this path won’t work out for me as well as the four-year university.

With graduation looming nearer than ever before, and with college and real life no longer simply a theoretical concept in the dim mists of the future, I hope everyone will take the time to not just go with the flow, but to find the path that’s best for them.

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Opinion

Feminism worldwide T his summer, was not spent like many of my previous small town, state fair Iowan summers. This summer, I instead boarded a flight to a far off, distant country vaguely known by many of my fellow Iowans. That country was Algeria and I went to visit family, practice my native Arabic, and most importantly, reconnect with my culture.

Consequently, reconnecting with my culture proved to be the hardest feat to accomplish.

On the flight, I was giddy with excitement.

For a long time Algeria had just been a distant, far off memory, almost like a dream. I was excited to experience the culture, go on adventures often, and take a lot of photos.

The moment I stepped off the flight, however, I was hit with an entirely different climate that I wasn’t used to in Iowa. The air was hot and dry, the landscape was rugged, and there were cacti everywhere. It wasn’t only the vastly differing Algerian climate that I would need to get used to.

Something that hit me pretty hard, maybe harder than the change in my climate, was what it was like to be a woman in Algerian society, and how that differed from what it was like to be a woman in my familiar Iowan society. I didn’t notice it at first, but after a while, I realized something was up.

It might have all started when I was sitting with my aunts at the kitchen table, listening to their regular late night gossip. That night, the topic was the amount of shameful women they knew and what they had done: women who partied, women who were caught with men who weren’t their family members, women who were wearing improper clothing, women who belly dance, women who were drinking, women doing this, women doing that, women, women, women.

They then began to move on to discussing women who had cheated on their husbands.

Obviously cheating is an awful thing to do, regardless of whether that person was a woman or a man. What I noticed though, was that they had only talked about women cheating. Surely if they knew this many women cheating they obviously knew a few men who were doing the same. Then, at the end of the discussion, I figured why they didn’t bother to talk about it.

My aunt said something along the lines of “you know, I can understand why a man would do something like this, because it’s in his nature, but for a woman? just sickening…” At that point I was so angry I had to say something. I looked at my mom and I said “are you kidding me? Are you hearing what she’s saying?” My mom, while also slightly perplexed by the state-

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ment my aunt said, decided to brush it off and tell me “sweetie, you’ll understand when you’re older.”

I didn’t want to start a fight because that’s not what I was in Algeria for, so I decided to go to the room I was staying in for the summer and cool off steam by ranting about it to my fellow Lebanese friend back home, who I figured had similar experiences. We then began to discuss sexism in our similar societies back home and how it can incredibly detrimental to us as women.

To me it seemed women had to fit into tight and strict expectations while men had the room to choose what they wanted to do in life and had the privilege of making mistakes along the way. A woman’s expectations included being accompanied by a male during the night time, making sure to wear things that wouldn’t incite men before going out, going to and finishing college, staying at home if it didn’t involve school or work, being married and having kids before 30, and respecting and asking permission from parents and her husband before going out. Women always had to ask for permission. Whether it was finishing college, asking to work instead of staying at home- since many newlywed women decide to give up their jobs and stop going to college once they are married- permission is always the priority.

One afternoon I was helping another one of my aunts in the kitchen while she was preparing a Ramadan feast. After a while we got on the topic of her college experience and school.

She told me that while in school she absolutely loved computer science and wanted to pursue it as a career. I asked her why she didn’t. She then became a little more quiet and embarrassed and responded with “I suppose things just happened.”

I responded with a simple “oh” and the conversation died down. It was a conversation that upset me, and would continue to upset me incredibly.

After talking about it with my mother, she told me that as depressing as it was, my uncle was letting her go to culinary school where they had plans of opening a bakery. While I was happy for her because she had always enjoyed baking, it upset me that she was only able to pursue it because she had my uncle’s permission, and that she wouldn’t ever be able to pursue her true passion, technology & computer science, because it was simply not permissible by her family and her husband.

Another priority in the everyday life of an Algerian woman is not to shame her family: it’s critical. It doesn’t matter if it’s against what she

wants out of her life, or what she feels is best for herself, it’s the shame that it might bring to her family if it happens that’s most important.

Whether it’s if she doesn’t want to marry or have kids, if she wants to live by herself, if she wants to wear shorts and a tank top, have a romantic life before marriage, or have a job not considered appropriate for women.

One day I was sitting with one of my uncles on his balcony that overlooked the Mediterranean. With the sound of waves crashing in the background, he began to discuss with me that a man should always be the head of the house to ensure a stable family. Needless to say, I disagreed.

From there stemmed a debate, that soon included my entire family becoming involved.

At the end of the argument, my uncle declared that the west had poisoned my morals and beliefs. I didn’t form these opinions and outlooks because someone from the west taught me, they formed once I had access to the outlooks and experiences of women from all over the world, whether through intersectional literature, online magazines, documentaries, and social media, specifically various blogs on Tumblr.

When I got back home and told my Iowan friends about the experiences I made and the situations I witnessed they would respond with something along the lines of “that’s unfortunate, I’m glad we don’t deal with that here.” The thing is, we did at one point, and we came a very long way to get here. Many people, mostly those who disagree with feminism, like to point out that American women have it lucky, and that western feminists should have no place to complain when third-world countries feminists, those seeking a more just future for women, were the ones who changed Iowa and America as a whole for the better. Even now, in Algeria, it will be those feminists who will challenge and reform preconceived notions and political beliefs to make Algeria become a more just place.

Khadidja Elkeurti

This editorial was originally posted on SuccessShe and then submitted to the Torch for publication.

Cost. College. Congress.

The Torch staff editorial is a topic important to the students of Kennedy. This editorial represents our students editorial board’s opinion.

The argument can be made that college just isn’t worth it.

Hundreds of dollars are spent in the application process alone and after all of those costs are paid, the more serious costs of college hits; tuition, room and board, books, and so on.

The cost of college has the potential to weigh down a graduate for more than half their life due to students loans having to be paid back.

So why do we put ourselves under such stress and financial burden for four or so years of supposed higher and better education?

One obvious answer is that most jobs, or at least most good paying jobs, nowadays demand a college degree. If anyone wants to make it anywhere in the world, they need to be willing to put in time at college.

While community college is an option for some, there are plenty who can’t even cover those costs. The option of higher education is not open to everyone.

So what can be said to the bright student whose education is going to be cut short due to the staggering fees of a college education?

The upcoming election has sparked more serious conversations about what can be done to help make college affordable for all.

Unless something is done, tuition prices will continue to rise and students will continue to fall under the financial pressure that college causes.

While the actual worth of college can be argued, it is important to remember what doors education can open for you.

There are things that can be done individually to help manage the growing cost of college but to truly make a difference in the affordability of it for all, something must be done by the people in power.

For too long universities have been allowed to grow into big business. Families have been forced to decide what they must sacrifice in order to send their children to college in hopes of a better life for them.

Young people, uncertain of their futures, are held back by the daunting charge of what a better life might cost.

What actions have been taken to help the working family send their kids to college? What solace is there for those who fear their lives might begin and end in either minimum wage or crushing debt?

It’s no big secret that congress is a house divided, almost to the point of incompetency. Everything is overly politicized to the point where legislature isn’t passed; the American people forfeited for the sake of drawing party lines.

If America is truly the land of opportunity, this must mean opportunity for all, not just for those who can afford it.

Freedom of irresponsibility

L

iving in a country like the United States, we have abundant rights. We can think, say, and do quite nearly anything we want to do. Some people, though, handle these rights incredibly irresponsibly.

For example, let’s look at most people’s favorite right, the freedom of speech. According to the First Amendment, Congress isn’t allowed to interfere with an individual’s freedom of speech.

So congratulations, you can say whatever you want, with very little exception. But here’s my advice: don’t.

True, you have the right to say whatever stupid, hurtful thing crosses your mind. But let’s focus for a moment on the other side of that coin, the side a lot of people like to ignore: our responsibility. You and I have the responsibility to use whatever rights we have in responsible and intelligent ways.

For example, let’s look at an incident that took place earlier this school year in Vinton. Some students made the decision to come to school displaying a confederate flag.

Were these students within their rights? Absolutely. Was this a responsible or intelligent decision on their part? Absolutely not.

The confederate flag has come to be seen as a symbol of racism, and rightly so. Therefore, waving it gives the impression that an individual is supporting racism.

This may not always be the intention; I realize the Civil War was not just about slavery, and a confederate flag could be incorporated into any number of political statements that have little or nothing to do with race. But of all the issues involved in that war, race and slavery is the one that will most readily come to the mind of anyone who mentions the Civil War or sees a confederate flag.

Whether or not these individuals in Vinton, or anyone else, intended for their statement to be one of racism, trying to use a confederate flag to represent something other than racism is like giving someone a middle finger and then saying that you were only using it to mean hello.

Free will is a gift, and freedom to choose what we say and do is part of what makes us human. Don’t abuse that gift. Every one of us needs to remember that just because we can do something, doesn’t mean we should. Good taste and responsibility should always be used along with rights, to make a more pleasant environment for all of us to live in.

Xander Riley

Pages by Abby Donovan | 5

News

An end in sight Road construction on Edgewood Road should be completed within 2015 “Every day the construction on Edgewood road is increasing my commute time about 5-10 minutes,” Connor Crippes, jr., said. Crippes drives east on Blairs Ferry Road, then goes south on Edgewood Road, leading him through the construction every day to get to school.

This extra time waiting in the construction is supposed to be coming to an end. The Edgewood Road construction should be done by the end of 2015, and the work under the bridge will be finished sometime in 2016.

Douglas McDonald is the district construction engineer for Cedar Rapids.

“The original plan when we started was for the project to be completed sometime later this year or sometime next year depending on the weather,” McDonald said. “As of right now, everything is on track as to when the project will be finished.”

On average there are 35 construction employees working on the project each day. The workers put in 50-60 hours a week and sometime work Saturdays.

The cost for this project is $17.9 million. A single-point urban interchange, hooking Edgewood Road to the new Highway 100, will be accomplished. Right now, Highway 100 ends at Edgewood but eventually it will be extended to Covington.

“This single-point urban interchange is only found one other place in Iowa, in West Des Moines,” McDonald said.

At completion, students will see two ramps curving up to the

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bridge and crossing at the top. The project will eliminate one of the two traffic signals, leaving one traffic signal at the top of the interchange over the bridge.

Students may be curious as to why there has been so many traffic switch ups week to week.

“We have had to reconstruct the pavement from Hy-Vee to North River Boulevard which is why the traffic had to be shifted around so much,” McDonald said.

Alex Paustian, sr., has to drive through all the construction on a regular basis as well. “When I was driving home from soccer, I thought I was in the wrong lane. The traffic switch ups are super confusing and frustrating,” Paustian said.

Several Kennedy High School students have been affected by this project. Many students have arrived late to classes.

“Although this year has been better, the problem with tardiness was worse in the 2014-2015 school year,” Brighid Smith, attendance office staff at Kennedy High School said.

For the remainder of the 2015-2016 school year, students need to allow extra travel time and remain patient while driving through the construction. The workers are equally excited for the construction headaches to be over.

“We are confident on the project and ready to be out of people’s everyday travel,” McDonald said.

Madeline Jamrok

Photo by Xander Riley.

Photo by Naomi Hofferber.

A call for non-violence Kennedy students pledge to resolve conflicts peacefully “Cougars pledge to resolve conflicts without violence.”

The large banner that hung in the Kennedy High School foyer October 21 stood as a call for anti violence in and out of the Kennedy halls, as part of a Cedar Rapids Community School district effort to promote healthy conflict resolution in their schools last week.

“Every school did something different,” Jason Kline, Kennedy High School principal said. “We chose to do a banner. That gets more students involved than to sit and listen to a video or something like that.”

The poster was signed by various Kennedy students throughout the day, each pledging to work toward nonviolent conflict resolution.

While Kline remarked that Kennedy High School may not have as many instances of conflict resolution ending in violence as some schools, he notes the importance of the movement.

“They’re (the students) going to have relationship is-

sues. They’re going to have instances where they feel like someone is picking on them. We need to teach them how to deal with them and how to prevent them.”

Activities throughout the year may take place in homeroom to follow up on the anti-violence message the district has sent.

Schools throughout the district also participated in the Day of National Concern about Young People and Gun Violence. Washington High School students listened to various speakers who spoke on gun violence, including Denisha Davis, a Washington alumnus who was shot and injured while attending a party, and is now paraplegic.

Jefferson High School held a panel discussion with Cedar Rapids Police chief Wayne Jerman and other representatives from local community support agencies, who responded to questions asked by students.

Naomi Hofferber Pages by Erica Gouchee | 7

Culture

The health epidemic no one is talking about

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According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in every five adults in the United States experiences mental illness in a given year. Mental illness is defined as a person’s condition regarding their physiological and emotional well-being.

Taya Floyd, a senior at Kennedy, knows what it’s like to struggle with a mental illness.

Floyd has suffered from depression ever since she was young.

She dealt with bullying until her sophomore year in high school.

When the bullying seemed as if it were over, it was all she knew, so she began bullying herself. In March of 2015 Floyd seemed as if she had improved, but this school year the depression only seemed to get worse.

Over the summer Floyd had lost two close friends from suicide, so when school began, Floyd felt hopeless. Suicide was something she had begun to consider, so she told her cheer coach who then contacted the police. She was taken to the hospital where she spent over 30 hours. She was prescribed medicine there, but soon after she was taken out of the hospital. It just wasn’t helping.

“One day I broke. I went to get ready for work, but instead started cutting and taking pills,” Floyd said.

She was on the phone with her friend who contacted her mom.

Floyd says she doesn’t remember very much, except waking up in the hospital with an IV that was pumping the drugs out of her system. While she was at the hospital Floyd became determined to get better.

She began to recover for about a week where she met new people, started new medicine, began therapy, saw a physiologist, and put forth the effort.

“I couldn’t live this way. Unless you have been the lowest of low, you have no idea how agonizing it is. So I had to try,” Floyd said. “Finally now I am happy for the first time. When it comes down to it people need to know it is possible to overcome. I hope I can inspire at least one person by sharing my story.”

Floyd was lucky enough to receive the help she needed, but others aren’t as lucky.

Within the past year the state of Iowa has taken part in defunding mental health. Not only is this a problem, but it also leads to more serious issues. An estimated 26% of homeless adults staying in shelters live with a serious mental illness and an estimated 46% live with a severe mental illness and/or a substance abuse problem.

Earlier this year Governor Terry Branstad proposed closing the Mount Pleasant and Clarinda institutions which are two of the four mental institutions in Iowa including one in Independence and another in Chero-

kee. Branstad said that most patients there only stay for a short time and that in the future they would be served in their communities or at the remaining state institutions.

Branstad stated that the annual cost per patient at the Mount Pleasant institution in 2014 was $126,791.

He says that the resources can best be used to provide better, more modern mental health services to more Iowans. The program that was at Mount Pleasant hospitals was called “dual diagnosis” it treated people for addictions and severe mental illnesses. Branstad noted that there were other private agencies that could provide similar services like this one.

With nowhere to go, some flee to the streets others continue admitting themselves to the hospital and the problem seems to get worse. It is like a cycle, when deinstitutionalization a lot of people with disorders become homeless or end up in prison. While the methods of resolving this issue vary, one thing is for certain; ignoring this epidemic will never help those who suffer.

Abby Donovan

According to the National Alliance On Mental Illness:

1 in 5 Youth aged 13-18 Experiences a severe Mental disorder at some point in their lives

193.2 Billion cost of lost earnings due to mental disorders

2nd leading cause of death in the U.S. is suicide in people aged 15-24: 90% of children who commit suicide have mental disorders

Pages by Naomi Hofferber | 9

Culture

Vape Hype

A look at vape pens, their popularity, and consequences It is common knowledge in 2015 that smoking is indeed detrimental to a person’s health and well-being, but now the game has changed and consumers are being presented with opportunities which allow them to have an experience similar to that of smoking a cigarette through supposedly more health-conscious ways, such as vaping using electronic/e-cigarettes or vape pens.

Despite companies claiming that e-cigarettes are a healthier alternative to using cigarettes, Dawn Sabin, certified Mayo Clinic tobacco treatment specialist and respiratory care practitioner for Mercy Hospital wants people to know that there is nothing healthy about them.

“90% of companies selling these products are owned by tobacco companies,” Sabin said. “And because they aren’t FDA regulated, they can say whatever they want to make you think their products are better for you.”

Sabin describes e-cigarette use as a nation-wide epidemic.

“The vapor is very harmful to your lungs and can cause airway resistance similar to an asthma attack. Some have even four times more nicotine than a pack of cigarettes. It is especially dangerous when used by teenagers because their brain is not fully matured and it affects the pre-frontal cortex which stores your memory and attention,” Sabin said.

Vaping via e-cigarettes or by other means is a trend that in recent years has seen an influx in popularity among people of all ages. There are laws set in place regulating who is able to use e-cigarettes. The legal age for the use and purchase of ecigarettes in the United States varies depending on the state, however no one under the age of 18 is allowed to purchase or use e-cigarettes in any state.

In Iowa the legal age for e-cigarettes is 18 due to the fact that e-cigarettes are designed to deliver nicotine, the addictive property found in cigarettes.

But some under 18 are still able to get their hands on ecigarettes.

“I started using a vape-pen freshman year, but I stopped the summer before sophomore year once I realized that it contained nicotine,” said a Kennedy junior who chose to remain anonymous.

This student was very candid in her interview but because she was and is still currently under the legal age required to be using such drugs, she declined to give her name out of fear

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for the backlash she may face from teachers and family members.

“I originally thought there was no drugs involved but when I found out that the fluid had nicotine in it, I immediately quit”, she said.

E-cigarettes are designed to look like cigarettes. When someone puffs on the e-cigarette, the system delivers a mist of liquid, flavorings, and nicotine resembling smoke. The smoker inhales it like they would cigarette smoke, and the nicotine is absorbed into the lungs.

Nicotine is absorbed into the bloodstream rather quickly. Within 10 seconds of entering the body, nicotine reaches the brain. It causes the brain to release the hormone adrenaline, creating a buzz of energy and pleasure.

The buzz fades quickly, leaving the user tired, gloomy, and craving more.

Since the human body is able to build up a high tolerance to nicotine, one needs to smoke more and more cigarettes in order to get the nicotine’s pleasurable effects and prevent themselves from experiencing withdrawal symptoms.

The end result of this repetitive cycle is addiction. Addiction keeps people smoking even when they want to quit.

The Manager of Hawkeye Vapor, a shop in Cedar Rapids that specializes in the selling of e-cigarettes, e-liquid, and accessories, says that 70% of people that come into the store are people that are trying to quit smoking.

“Most people that I see are older people that have been smoking for a long time and are trying to quit. 30% are kids that just turned 18 and they usually just consider vaping a hobby. We do not allow anyone under the age of 18 to purchase anything from our store, something we firmly stand by.”

The manager said that he recently heard of a study done in the UK that allegedly revealed that using e-cigarettes is 90% less harmful than using actual cigarettes, but he still acknowledges that they aren’t 100% healthy.

“I would say they are better for you than cigarettes but in the end you are still putting stuff into your body which can always result in health issues, but they are a lot less dangerous than real cigarettes.”

Gabby Olejniczak

Before we kick it: KHS shares what’s on their bucket lists Before I die...

1. Marry my best Friend 2. Go home and sleep 3. Ride all the Roller coasters in the world 4. Eat a Triple Whopper 5. Gamble and win on the underdog 6. Immortality 7. Make Dank Memes 8. Eat 100 Chicken Nuggets in a week 9. To go into the Marines 10. Go inside the Cinderella Castle at Disney World 11. Meet Channing Tatum and all the men in Magic Mike 12. Swim with Sharks 13. Own a bookstore 14. See the Cubs win the World Series 15. Win the state football championship 16. Drive a Ferrari 17. Buy a Rolex 18. Play Fallout 4 19. Go to Coachella 20. Go skydiving 21. Live alone in an apartment with 20 dogs 22. Live like I was dying 23. Go on a mission trip to Africa 24. Ride a bull 25. Save a life

16.5% of Students said skydiving 27.5% of Students said travel 3% of Students said do well in school Pages by Naomi Hofferber | 11

Ads

12 | Page by Xander Riley

The Game of Life: College Edition

Feature

Page by Elianna Novitch | 13

Feature

Are you ready to play?

Start

“It’s really exciting because I can finally start looking forward to next year but also very stressful at the same time as I try to decide where I want to go and what I should include on my application.”

-Sydney Rieckhoff, sr.

SAT Test Dates Scholarships search engines:

Dec. 5, 2015: SAT and Subject Tests

FastWeb

Jan. 23, 2016: SAT and Subject Tests

CollegeNet

March 5, 2016: SAT only

College Board

May 7, 2016: SAT and Subject Tests

ACT Test Dates Dec. 12, 2015 Feb. 6, 2016 April 9, 2016

FAFSA Federal Deadline: Online applications due by midnight Central Time, June 30, 2016.

State Deadline: Iowa - July 1, 2015 by midnight, Central Time.

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Applications due dates for Iowa regent schools are due May 1

Class of 2016 Kennedy Scholarship Application due Dec. 4 in main office

“Some of the applications can be fairly lengthy so you need to make sure to set aside ample time to complete them.”

- Counselor Andy Jacobson

RAI Score (1 x Percentile class rank) + (2 x ACT composite score) + (20 x Cumulative GPA) + (5 x Number of years of high school courses completed in core subject areas)

How to win:

A

pplying to college and all that comes with it can sometimes seem like a game. Multiple players are involved, there is a certain risk to it all, and there are rules you have to follow in order to successfully make it through.

However unlike the board games that people play, after all of it is over, college can determine how your future will go.

“You spend a lot of money on college so you want to make a good decision and that typically requires you to do some research and investigation,” Counselor Andy Jacobson said. “By doing research up front, hopefully you can find a good fit and be happy at the school you choose to go to.”

The whole process of applying for college can be stressful for some.

Some advice that senior Sydney Rieckhoff had for students who are currently going through the application process was to, “take a deep breath and remember that wherever you end up, it’s going to be great as long as you make the most of what they have to offer.”

While there may not be a true way to win the game of college, there are things students can do to make the process easier, like using a scholarship search engine to find potential scholarships or meeting their application deadline.

It’s time for students to make their move and play the game of life.

Finish Pages by Elianna Novitch | 15

Profile

Embracing diversityAshlynn Greer

Photo by Erica Gouchee.

For freshman Ashlynn Greer, growing up wasn’t easy. She was born to Michael and Priscilla in Austin, Texas in January of 2001.

Priscilla was poor with no steady job and couldn’t support another person. Priscilla also wanted a two-parent home for her baby, so the morning after Greer’s birth, she was already with her adoptive parents. A few days before her due date, Priscilla flew to Texas so that it would be easier to transport her baby.

“My parents Amy and Phillip Greer loved me immediately and thought I was the cutest thing they’d ever seen,” Greer said.

After waiting six months to go to court, the adoption was made .official. Greer still has to wait a few more years until she is older to find out her mother’s last name and where her new parents found her.

“When I found out I was adopted, I was upset and all of these questions went rushing through my mind,” Greer said.

She wondered why she didn’t look like her brown haired and fair-skinned parents, with her dark skin and long black hair. Greer also didn’t like being different from all of her friends, being the only one adopted. She knew at a very young age that she was adopted and her adoptive parents tried to raise her so that she always aware.

“We would look at pictures from when I was born and talked about my story when I was a toddler. They never wanted it to be surprise news,” Greer said.

Greer explained that as a child she blamed herself and got upset about the fact that her mother had put her up for adoption.

“I told myself I never did anything that caused her to give me up,” Greer said.

She now can recognize that Priscilla put her up for adoption for her own good. Greer’s mother didn’t want to raise a child being poor and without a home.

“I love my parents Amy and Phillip so much… I just sometimes think to myself they’re “not really” my parents. And that’s a feeling nobody would understand if they weren’t adopted,” Greer said.

Today, Greer has started to understand and welcome her differences, rather than think badly of them.

“Growing up, I learned to embrace it. I started to value diversity more, and learned that being different was okay,” Greer said.

Jenna Anderson

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Just a search for storiesCraig Mallicoat At the age of 28, Science Teacher Craig Mallicoat was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. It was one week before the new school year.

“One day I was doing some crunches and I wasn’t able to do it right so I went to the doctor,” Mallicoat said.

Mallicoat first wanted to know the percentage of survival which was 40 to 45 percent.

“There is no way a couple of bumps in my body are going to kill me,” Mallicoat said. “This is not going to be what kills me. I will survive this.”

The doctor asked Mallicoat if he wanted a second opinion on the diagnosis, but Mallicoat wanted to start treatment right away and began intensive radiation therapy. The process was nearly as bad as chemo with treatments five times a week that left Mallicoat feeling like the flu afterwards. The treatments took 18 weeks to complete. “Looking back I should have done chemo,” Mallicoat said.

He only missed four days of school during the treatment process because he liked teaching and didn’t want to sit at home dwelling on his situation. “I would sleep through my prep period and lunch, go do treatment, and sleep, then repeat the cycle,” Mallicoat said.

Two months after he was clear of cancer the first time, it returned. He was able to fight it off again this time using Monoclonal antibody treatment for two months. He still returns annually to get checked out because he is at a higher risk of getting cancer.

Mallicoat teaches Anatomy and Physiology so he is aware of medical terminology and had a better understanding of the process. “I was able to understand what the doctor was saying. It made me comfortable because I understood my anatomy,” Mallicoat said.

He also coaches wrestling and has wrestled since he was 10 years old. “I always would have thought my favorite moment wrestling would be something I have done but it is honestly watching the kids I have worked succeed,” Mallicoat said.

Mallicoat’s advice for people with cancer: “Tell people, be around positive supporting people who can make you laugh and don’t dwell on your situation.”

In the lobby waiting for treatment Mallicoat often saw the same patients, one of them being an old man who shared that he was terminal and was getting treatment so that he could live long enough to see his granddaughter be born. “It helped put my situation in perspective,” Mallicoat said.

Mallicoat is open about his experience with cancer but doesn’t want it to define him. “I don’t want introduce myself like: Hi I’m Craig Mallicoat I will be your Anatomy and Physiology teacher and I survived cancer,” Mallicoat said. “Life is just a search for stories and this is one of them.”

Jake Corkery Photo by Jayden Bisson.

Pages by Xander Riley | 17

Sports successes

Photo Photo

Jordan Weiss, sr., swings at a Kennedy varsity golf meet.

Photo provided by Jordan Weiss.

Hannah Fussleman, so., runs at the state cross country meet.

Photo provided by Hannah Fusselman.

Kirsten Siebenga, sr., dives in at the state swim meet.

Photo by Naomi Hofferber.

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Cougar fans cheer on the football team in their playoff game against Washingon High School.

Photo by Naomi Hofferber.

The volleyball team celebrates after a point during the state quarter final game.

Photo by Naomi Hofferber.

Cross Country runners start their race.

Photo provided by the Men’s Cross Country team.

Shaun Beyer, sr., catches a pass in the third round playoff game.

Photo by Naomi Hofferber.

Pages by Macy Anderson | 19

Tyler Dralle

Sports

Senior Running Back Height: 5’11” Weight: 180 lbs 380 attempts 2117 yards 24 touchdowns

Averages 5.6 yards per carry He holds the school records for attempts, yards and touchdowns.

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One more game

Cougars pounce on a Bettendorf player for a tackle. Photo by Naomi Hofferber.

The UNI Dome student section was packed tightly with supporters Friday night all clad in green and gold. There was an enormous turnout to watch the Cougars take down the Bettendorf Bulldogs in the semi-finals of the class 4A playoffs and bring home yet another win.

The Cougars won the game 31-14, bringing their record to a never before accomplished 13-0 record. This win led to the the team advancing to the finals, which takes place tonight against Dowling at 7:06pm in the UNI Dome.

The game against Bettendorf was much anticipated as the team looked to seek vengeance against the team that beat them 31-7 last season.

Shaun Beyer started the game off with a touchdown, giving the Cougars a 7-0 lead which they held to the end of the first quarter.

The game was tied 7-7 in the third quarter when Dalles Jacobus, sr., allegedly was hit in the stomach by a Bettendorf player on a long run by Tyler Dralle after a block.

Jacobus was able to get his helmet off just in time before he threw up on the field.

Dralle scored two plays later on a 13-yard burst for a 13-7 lead and the Cougars finished strong from there.

“They ignited a fire under Dalles,” Coach Brian White said.

“Watch the film and see what happened, but you don’t want to motivate him. He got everybody else motivated. Dalles was hot.

That was as good as a penalty for me.”

No call was made against Bettendorf but despite being motivated on the field after the incident occurred, Jacobus doesn’t hold any resentment towards the other team.

“Emotions get to you and sometimes you do stuff that you regret,” Jacobus said, in reference to the player who allegedly hit him. “Thankfully it was nothing that was too big.”

In the third quarter, Alex Stone, so., kicked a 37-yard field goal to give Kennedy a 17-7 lead.

Bettendorf came back with an 18-yard touchdown run to make it 17-14 with 10 seconds left in the third.

With 8:30 left in the game, Brandon Niemeier, sr., intercepted a pass and sprinted 55 yards for a touchdown, giving Kennedy a 24-14 lead.

Later in quarter, Austin Bailey,sr., caught a 10-yard touchdown pass, his first of the season, from Nick Duehr,jr., making it 31-14 with 3:04 left to go.

“It felt very good. I was very happy to finally score a touchdown and couldn’t keep a smile off my face,” Bailey said.

Niemeier’s interception gave the Cougars some leeway. Later in the game, the ball was stripped and recovered by Kennedy at the Bettendorf 28-yard line.

“We are going to do what we always do to prepare for the next game, we will study film all week, learn how Dowling operates and runs its offense and defense and practice hard,” Bailey said.

“All week we will mentally prepare and think through all of our assignments… winning the state championship would mean the world to me and all my teammates.”

Gabby Olejniczak and John Nolan

Pages by Gabby Olejniczak | 21

Sports

Cougar players cheer after a point in the quarter final game.

Photo by Naomi Hofferber.

Gabbie Meyer, jr., serves during the second set.

Photo by Naomi Hofferber

The squad at state

Kennedy volleyball qualifies for state for the first time in four years Volleyball took the floor at the U.S. Cellular Center for the first round of state on Tuesday, Nov. 10. Their game against Cedar Falls was the program’s first trip to state since 2011, and the first trip for any of the players currently on the team.

The team had quite a season that built up to this match, with the team going undefeated in dual matches, and making a habit of defeating their opponents in three straight sets-their only loss of a set in a dual match was their first set of the year, against Linn-Mar, a game they won in the fourth set. They won thirty straight conference sets this season.

As state got closer and closer, anticipation built among the students. The regional final game against Ankeny saw a packed student section flood the floor in a cheering frenzy when a kill by Brinley Milbrath ended the game and sent the team to state.

The day of the state match, a limo escorted the team downtown, and an early dismissal allowed for a big student section to crowd into the balcony of the arena.

With Kennedy volleyball having defeated Cedar Falls earlier in the season (in three straight sets), confidence ran high among the fans.

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At 2 p.m., starters Kayla Joyner, Brinley Milbrath, Macy Anderson, Gabbie Meyer, Paige Franck, and Anna Fluent scored the first four points of the match.

After one of the Cougars’ hits went out, giving Cedar Falls the opportunity to serve, the game quickly got very close. For most of the first set, the two teams were within only a couple points of each other. In the end, set one went to Cedar Falls, 25-22.

Set two saw Cedar Falls in a longer lead for a good portion of the time, usually ahead by around five points, which ultimately led to their winning another set, this one 25-20.

The Cougars rallied in set three and kept a sizeable lead throughout, winning their first set of the day 2516.

Kennedy took an early lead in set four, but Cedar Falls came up from behind and passed the Cougars, going on to win set four and the match 25-20, ending a great season for Kennedy Volleyball.

Xander Riley

Hannah Fusselman is the only cross country athlete in 2015 to qualify for state

Cougar Cross Country

When running a race, one always leads the pack. That one for the Cougars was Hannah Fusselman.

Fusselman was the only cross country athlete at Kennedy this year to qualify for state.

“It was a little lonely since I didn’t have the rest of my team to warm up with,” Fusselman, so., said, “I still had my coach and friends on other teams to talk to.”

Not only did Fusselman lead the women’s cross country team, but she led the Mississippi Valley conference.

She was the winner of this year’s conference meet. Fusselman ran the race in 18 minutes and 50 seconds, which is her personal record for a 5K. “It really made my season feel worthwhile [winning the conference meet],” Fusselman said, “I often like to use better or more fun races as inspiration because I can tell myself: that is what you can do. Now go out and do that again.”

Fusselman is a large part of the cougar cross country team, but she also is actively involved in triathlons. As an athlete, her goal is to make the USA Triathlon World Championships this coming season.

“I spend a lot of time cross training and not just running,” Fusselman said, “The ability to have a group of other strong athletes that I can meet and train with all the time really helps keep me focused and enthusiastic about reaching my goals.”

Although Fusselman is the only runner who qualified for state this year, she says cross country is a very team based sport.

“A team, a cross country team especially, since it’s such an individual-based sport, will have people on it who are there for different reasons,” Fusselman said, “But the thing we all have in common is that we love running with each other and that’s really all you need I think.”

Macy Anderson

Women’s swimming and diving travelled from Cedar Rapids to Marshalltown on Saturday, Nov. 7 to compete in the state tournament.

The team scored in 10 of 11 events, and they placed ninth overall, their first top ten finish in five years.

Placewinners for the Cougars were Madeline Bagby, Jessica Williams, Mackinzee Macho, Taylor Golden and Kirsten Siebenga.

Jayden Lovell placed 16th in diving. Of these swimmers, both Bagby and Williams reached the podium in their individual events; Bagby for the 100 free, Williams for the 100 backstroke. The medley relay team of Williams, Macho, Golden, and Siebenga placed sixth in the state.

Women’s swim and dive takes on state Taylor Golden, sr., cheers on her teammate at the state swim meet.

Xander Riley

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