Cultural views block blood donation

words of a feather
The Official Student Newspaper of
the Crete High School Cardinals
1500 E. 15th St.
Crete, Neb. 68333
December 21, 2010
Volume 5 Issue 5
Cultural views block blood donation
Dulce Castañeda
Copy/Content Editor
In one minute, thirty people in the United Stated will
be in need of blood donation.
While this is true, only
five percent of U.S. inhabitants actually donate. Furthermore, only one percent
of Hispanics in the country are registered donors.
What many Hispanic families have not realized is that
they can save more blood
than any other ethnic group
through blood donation. Hispanics and Latinos are 57
percent likely to have type O
blood, the only universal type,
according to redcross.org.
Various reasons for a lack
of blood donation among
Hispanics are presented.
Among them is the common
misconception that one will
gain weight after donating.
“My mom told me once
that you gain weight (from
donating) because you don’t
have enough vitamins in
the body. My aunt also told
me the same thing, so with
both of them telling me,
they scared me out of it,”
junior Wendy Cevallos said.
Culture also plays a role in
choosing to donate. Although
schools try to encourage students to do so, parents who
migrated to the U.S. may have
different views on the subject.
“I was going to; I was so
close. I thought I was doing
a good thing. I already had
the form filled out. Then I
talked to my dad about it and
he said that ‘they were going
to take a lot of blood…that
they would keep doing it until I died.’ He scared me out
of it,” sophomore Mayelin
Carranza said about her intentions of donating. “My
mom didn’t sign the paperwork because she told me I
was going to get very weak.”
Various Hispanic parents
do encourage their children to donate, however.
“They (my parents) just
said that it was good that
I was doing something to
save someone’s life,” junior
Yesenia
Escalante
said about her parents’ beliefs on blood donation.
Others
Latino
parents consider it a matter of whether or not their
children wish to donate.
“They said it was
my
choice,”
junior
Bryan
Guardado
said.
Donating blood is not a
priority on everyone’s mind.
“In the future, I might
like to, but I have many
things running through my
mind right now and so I
didn’t choose to donate,”
junior Dimas Adame said.
Some students above the
age of sixteen not needing
parental consent still choose
to donate even if their parents are in disagreement.
“My mom thinks that I’m
too weak and I don’t need to
donate blood. I think that they
have that misunderstanding
that I’m going to get infected,” senior Yannet Ortiz said.
Despite a general “lack of
trust” in medication among
Hispanics, stated the South
Texas Blood and Tissue Center in a 2005 study, individuals believe that blood donation should not be feared.
“I felt like it was the right
thing to do,” Guardado said
about having donated blood.
“I think it’s important, and
I know that I made a difference,” Ortiz said, knowledgeable of the impact blood
donation has on its recipients.
On the Net:
Photo by Will Veguilla
http://www.southtexasblood.org/PDF/Facts.pdf
Senior Rachael Ronk donates blood at the last CHS blood drive. Hispanics are deemed to be less
http://www.cruzrojaamer- likely to donate blood due to cultural views. Although some students are active donators, their
icana.org
parents are not always in agreement on doing so.
Parents illegally procure alcohol to minors
Number of
precollege
students
who have fake
IDs:
Parents who
don’t believe
that alcohol is
present at
parties:
nt
pe 80
rce
nt
.5
12
ce
er
p
A Bad Mix
In This Issue...
Infographic by Jake White
Page 2:
New businesses
emerge in town
Mercy Thatcher
Staff Reporter
Underage drinking has
grown into the lives of teenagers over the years. Every year
underage drinking has become
more and more common.
Minor in possessions or
“MIP’s” have been multiplying and the age keeps getting younger and younger.
“Getting MIP’d ruins a
lot of things for you, with
a lot of different people.”
Freshman Rudy Lima said.
In Nebraska the drinking age is set at 21. To buy
alcohol from anywhere, by
law a person would have to
be twenty one years of age.
According to Jane Simpson at alcoholtips.org, the law
also says that those stores are
required to have seen the person buying the alcohol’s ID.
If they cannot present
some form of ID stating that
they are of age to buy the
alcohol, then they are not
to leave the store with it.
However, in all stores
this is not always the case.
Some stores’ employees
have been caught selling and
Page 4:
Tecnología aumenta
comunicación
providing alcohol to minors.
This happens because the
employees are under the assumption that the teenager
is in fact of age or they simply just don’t check IDs.
This act is illegal according to Officer Eric Mercer
of the Crete Police Department. It can result in many
different consequences such
as a fine, jail time, loss of
license, or loss of a job.
According to Julia A
Martinez, a social specialist, 12.5 percent of precollege students have fake ID’s.
“I have seen
people
use fake ID’s but I haven’t
seen anyone get caught.”
sophomore Jacob Wohl said
This crime is a misdemeanor; the consequences vary
from jail time to community
service to the suspension of
a real license. More recently
in some states this has turned
into a felony which is more
serious than a misdemeanor.
In Nebraska this crime
is still considered a misdemeanor
states
Diane
Shane
of
teenlife.net.
There are a lot of instances
where stores that sell alcohol
will not turn in the person
who was using the fake ID.
It is illegal not only for
a person to use a fake ID,
but also for a store employee or bar tender to
give out alcohol to minors.
It is a law that if a person is buying any form of
alcohol the employer is supposed to see some form of ID
stating that they are at least
the age of 21 (in Nebraska).
If the person gets caught
by a law enforcement official
and the ID is said to be fake,
it could cost the employee his
or her job or a business loss.
In today’s society parents are attempting to play
the “friend role” to their
teens thinking that it will
make their teens closer to
them and want to be more
straight forward and honest.
According to Rachael
Strong of localschooldirectory.com, this is getting interpreted the wrong way.
Teen’s parents have started
procuring alcohol to minors.
“Even though it’s wrong
for parents to give us alcohol
I would feel somewhat safer
with an adult supervising.”
sophomore Alex Weber said.
While some students feel
Page 7:
Engebretson
socializes on stage
like it is a better idea to have
adult supervision, others feel
like it’s one big, bad idea.
“It’s stupid that an
adult would help you disobey the law.” sophomore Emily Wood said.
According to Strong,
one in five adults say it is
okay to provide alcohol and
drugs to minors as long as
they are being supervised.
Approximately 80 percent of parents think that
when their son or daughter goes to a party, alcohol
will not be present there.
“Parents
these
days
are
blind,”
sophomore
Nick
Clement
said.
And according to Strong
that is how most kids these
days feel. Therefore, they
use it to their advantage.
“Our society has become
uncontrolled, the police can’t
stop everyone all on their
own. The parents and adults
need to step up and be the
parent or the adult.” Mercer
said. “If we don’t start gaining
control now, this problem will
just continue to get worse.”
On the Net:
http://abovetheinfluence.
com
Page 10:
Storeowners’ children
counteract trends
December 21, 2010
Page 2
words of a feather
News
Sugar content unhealthy for society
Soda is one of the primary
sources of sugar in the average American diet, according
to Dr. Dan Peterson of Gering, Nebraska.
In fact, one can of regular soda per day contains the
maximum amount of recommended intake of sugar each
day.
Excessive intake of soda
also contributes to dental,
health, and mental problems.
D.D.S Jim Jirovec of Crete
says that Jirovec and Jirovec
are seeing more dental problems due to sports and energy
drinks in addition to sodas,
both diet and regular.
“Teenagers consume too
much Mountain Dew which
is essentially hard on the
teeth,” Jirovec said.
Jirovec suggests that teenagers and even adults keep
good hygeine and don’t
consume ‘too much’ sugary
drinks.
Both diet and regular sodas are considered unhealthy
for teeth.
Soda can cause cavaties,
break down enamel and can
cause soreness to the gums.
In diet sodas, acid is what
breaks down enamel, which
can lead to cavaties.
The lower the number the
acid, the worse it is. Root
beer, with a 4.61 pH of acid
is said to be the “safest” for
dental enamel. Other sodas
have less than 4 pH.
The regular pH levels are
normally about 6.2-7.0, according to Peterson.
Regular sodas, for example Mountain Dew, contain a
high amount of sugar estimating 11 tsp. in 12 oz. bottle.
High sugar contents potentially are cavity causing.
One suggestion to avoid
soda contact to the teeth is to
drink soda from a strawand
while a way to avoid enamel
breakdown is to drink soda
during meal time.
Excessive intake of diet or
regular soda can contribute
to an increase in obesity as
well.
According to the FDA,
diet soda could possibly be
the reason many American
diets aren’t working.
A majority of diet sodas
contain an artificial sweetener called aspartame. Aspartame is a low-calorie sweetener used to rid diet sodas of
sugar.
According to aspartame.
org, before the use of aspartame, obesity in America
was roughly 24 percent, now
obesity has risen to about 54
percent.
There is no direct relation
except the fact that 75 percent of Americans drink diet
sodas daily.
Aspartame contains potentially harmful ingredients including glutamine, which can
kill neurons in the brain, phenylalanine, which can lead to
depression, diketopiperazine,
which has been found in
brain tumors, and methanol
,which is a deadly poison in
high levels.
A large amount of these
ingredients is the only way
to notice any negative effects
according to FDA.org.
Carbonated soft drinks,
including soda, have also
been linked to decreased
bone mineral density according to Peterson. This is because soda intake often takes
the place of milk, which is a
source of calcium.
Believe it or not, sodas can
contribute to mental health
problems as well.
According to staff writer
David Gutierrez of naturalnews.com, teenagers who
drink more soda have more
mental health difficulties,
including hyperactivity and
mental distress.
In a study done in Norway,
researchers found that teenagers who consumed soda
daily were more likely to
skip meals or eat less nutri-
Milk, an important source of calcium, has
three teaspoons of sugar in an eight ounce
glass.
The popular soft drink Mountain Dew
contains 11 teaspoons of sugar in a 12 ounce
bottle.
ent-dense foods.
Sugared sodas have been
singled out as a major culprit
to health related problems,
such as diabetes, Gutierrez
said. Along with other diet
soda ingredients, phenylalanine can be a cause for depression.
Nutritionist Mike Adams,
author of The Five Soft Drink
New businesses not worried
Jerri Casteel
Staff reporter
There are many new businesses starting up in Crete.
For example, the restaurants San Jose and Tutti Fruiti
just opened up last month. San
Jose was the latest restaurant
to open; Mr. And Mrs. Juan
(Ben) Adame opened the restaurant November 5th.
“Business is doing well so
far, but since we just opened
there aren’t many regular
customers,” Adame said.
Other businesses have also
opened up, too. Roesler’s
Corner Store, owned by Sandy and Monty Roesler sells
clothes and accessories.
It’s a consignment store
where donations are accepted.
“I wanted to have a business of my own and do what I
liked,” he said, “This type of
store is necessary for the people’s needs,” Roesler said.
Entrenprenuership isn’t
just happening in Crete,
though.
“Entrepreneurship is happening all over,” Secretary of
the Chamber of Commerce,
Shar Siek said.
There is some doubt that
all of the new businesses in
town are really helping to
boost the economy, however.
It’s an iffy subject because
if the store or restaurant is
successful, then it’s helpful.
However, if the store or restaurant fails, it hurts the entrepreneur and the economy.
“I think there is no harm
in starting your own business,” Siek said, “The rea-
son why entrepreneurship is
up is because the economy
is down and businesses are
failing all over. When someone works for someone else
they have that fear the business will fail. They feel more
comfortable writing out their
own checks, than if someone
else was doing it,” Siek said.
Even though there is a possibility of failing, some business owners think differently
about how their business is
going to do.
“I’m not worried about my
business failing because the
needs for this store is higher
than that of the name brand
stores,” Roesler said, “I think
most people would settle for
these kind of clothes with the
economy the way it is.”
Kids today who have parents who are entrepreneurs
Sandy Roesler helps a customer at Roesler’s Corner, a new consignment store which
opened October 16.
Photo by Jerri Casteel
San Jose opened late November. The owners are Mr. And Mrs.
Juan Adame.
Water contains no sugar and therefore is
considered a healthy alternative.
Infographic by Jessica Thatcher
might follow in their footsteps in the future.
“If someone is willing to
put in the time and not be
lazy then they will be a good
entrepreneur,” Siek said.
The Crete Chamber of
Commerce plays a big part
in the making of an Entrepreneur in town.
Although they don’t give
out loans, they show a future
entrepreneur where to go and
who to go to to receive the
money for start-up costs.
“The Chamber of Commerce encourages entrepreneurship because the businesses that do well help fund
us,” Siek said.
“What we do is help find
the people who can give the
entrepreneur a loan. Plus we
are a great source of networking.”
Photo by Jerri Casteel
Photo by Jerri Casteel
Tutti Frutti opened November 5, 2010.
On the Net:
Monsters, says drinking liqwww.dukehealth.org
uid sugars or artificial chemiwww.dentalgental.com
cal sweeteners is much like
www.aspartame.org/aspoisoning the human body
partame_faq.html#1
and mind.
www.fda.gov/
“Most children diagnosed
www.mercola.com/article/
with ADHD are actually suffering from severe nutritional aspartame/dangers/htm
www.naturalnews.com
imbalances that can easily be
corrected through changes in
diet,” Adams said.
Rise in entrepreneurship
nationally and in Crete
35
30
Percent Increase
Jessica Thatcher
Layout/Design Editor
25
20
15
10
5
0
Nation
Crete
1979
2003
1997
Infographic by Jessica Thatcher
Nationally there has been a 31 percent
rise in entrepreneurship compared to Saline County’s 17 percent rise.
Sources: www.gaebler.com, www.rupri.org
Senior
Pictures
are
due to
Room 412
TODAY!
Opinion
Page 3
December 21, 2010
words of a feather
Veguilla ponders the cyber culture
I formulated my first anthropological theory: in
Will, With a Hint of Lemon cyberspace,
sunglasses are indestructible and can
Will Veguilla
Staff Reporter/Columnist
Last month, I
put my degree in
social anthropology to work and
infiltrated one of
those “virtual reality” worlds in
order to study the
cyber culture and
understand how it
becomes the center
of one’s life.
So.
I created a cyber representative – or “avatar”
– named Aloysius Greene who lives in a virtual
world called Happy Life. He looks exactly like me
– except his nose is slightly smaller, his muscles
are a touch bulgier, and he has a goatee. He’s a virtual poet with a virtual cabin in the woods. Also,
he speaks French.
With a click, Aloysius found himself in Cyber
Park. The computer-animated sun was shining brilliantly, but, weirdly, he was wearing sunglasses.
be worn by cosmic balls of explosions.
Aloysius, naturally attracted to pixel-perfect
hotness, approached a well-constructed female
avatar with purple hair near a cy-fountain. Her
name appeared above her head: Sillie Salamander.
He struck up a textual conversation with her.
Greene: <Bonjour, petite. Tu es perdue?> Aloysius, unlike Will Veguilla, is incredibly suave.
Salamander: <wat is dat? french?> I’d seen this
before – the virtual community’s violent abuse of
the English language. Maybe that’s why people
spend so much time here, I thought. Being illiterate is so much easier.
I also thought: Mrs. Hiemer wouldn’t last a second here. Not without having strangled someone.
Greene: <Yes, I’m French. Now listen, ma chèrie, I think I love you…>
Suddenly, a cyber policeman appeared; he held
an animated laser cannon – which was just ridiculous, even by virtual reality standards.
Officer Tiersen: <Freeze, Salamander!>
Greene: <Howdy, Officer.>
Salamander: <argg! git off meh copz!>
Salamander seized Greene’s hand and ran.
Officer Tiersen fired, but his aim was off due to
communication latency – or “lag” in colloquial
terms. You’ll learn to do that – always blame lag,
I mean.
As lasers zoomed past them, Sillie Salaman-
der led Aloysius into a cy-cathedral on the other
side of the cy-park. There he discovered that his
beloved Salamander was a notorious virtual bank
thief known among the Cy-FBI as “Slippery Salamander”. But I wasn’t surprised – the pretty ones
are always villains.
And I thought it’d be sweet to be a criminal in a
world of no consequences – so Monsieur Aloysius
Greene turned to a life of cyber crime.
On the day of the Greene-Salamander wedding, two cy-casinos, a cy-bank, and a cy-watermelon merchant in Cy-Vegas were robbed. Virtual
witnesses agree that a “purple-haired psychopath”
and a “muscular French poet” were the perpetrators. This is why folks like it here, I decided. Immorality without the guilt is great.
Then, abruptly, the lawless couple fell off the
public grid. This was mostly because Aloysius had
impregnated Salamander.
Yeah. Oops. Aloysius’ carefree virtual life was
ruined – now he had to raise some baby-thing.
Greene: <Sorry about this.>
Salamander: <is ok *morning sickness* ha-haha.> On a pleasant mid-November day, Bèbè-Accidentelle Greene-Salamander was fully programmed and loaded. She consisted of one megabyte.
To celebrate, Aloysius cooked Greek cuisine at
his woodland cabin. Luckily, in cyberspace, cooking isn’t a skill; it’s a series of clicks.
Salamander: <dis sum good cheez potaytos..>
Greene: <It’s pastitsio. More like lasagna, really.>
Salamander: <wateverr.>
Bèbè-Accidentelle: <I think it resembles spilt
guts and misery.> The infant, for whatever reason,
was emotionally depressed.
But her parents chose to ignore her darker remarks.
Salamander: <u knaw, in r33l life, imma rushun supermodel.> This was, of course, a lie. Everyone in Happy Life claimed to be a Russian
model of some sort, as if Russian models weren’t
busy enough being on Victoria’s Secret Fashion
Shows.
Greene: <Hey, me too!> (What did I tell you?)
Bèbè-Accidentelle: <Your relationship is
lies.>
Right then, after the child had piped in, I finally
knew the true reason people get sucked into virtual reality: it’s not to escape reality and live in a
realm of lies. Actually, it’s because, when things
go wrong and you end up with a pessimistic baby
and a wife who doesn’t appreciate your Greek
cooking, you can just log off. Forever.
Greene: <Adieu, my sweet. Adieu forever.>
Salamander: <were u goan boy?>
Bèbè-Accidentelle: <Where everybody goes to
die.>
But the child was wrong. I was definitely not
going to Florida.
Editorial Policy:
The Words of a Feather staff gladly accepts letters to the editor and news releases from students, faculty, administration, community residents, and the general public. We ask these submissions be of
300 words or less and contain the author’s name, address, phone number and signature. All submissions will be verified in person and in writing. Our editorial staff withholds the right to refuse any
letter, and/or parts of any letter and may return a letter for revision if it contains unprotected speech or errors that could hamper its meaning. Please submit letters to Mrs. Wright in room 412.
words of a feather
Crete High School Journalism
c/o Crete High School
1500 E. 15th Street
Crete, NE 68333
Phone: (402) 826-5811
Editorial Staff:
Layout/Design Editors:
Jessica Thatcher
Marilyn Bolaños
Copy/Content Editors:
Jessalyn Holdcraft
Jake White
Dulce Castañeda
Sports/Photography
Editor:
Nicole Reetz
Business Manager:
Nicole Reetz
Circulation Manager:
Christina Jackson
Staff Coordinator:
Jessalyn Holdcraft
General Staff:
Christmas mugs parents
How society sells out Christmas values
A Few Words
from
the Words Staff...
“Ho ho ho Merry
Christmas,” Santa Claus says. “What’s your
name?”
“I’m Jimmy,” the little boy with big hazel
eyes says.
“What would you like for Christmas?”
“Santa, I made a list for you.”
The List: The X-box Kinect, the Fast Lane
Wild Fire Monster Truck, a Justin Beiber singing doll, an aquarium, and all the Kung Zhu
Battle Hamsters, and it goes on and on…
Christmas is just around the corner and
parents are starting to dread the end of the
year. Why? They are thinking about the two
hour long waiting lines they are going to have
to face in order to get Jimmy’s X-box 360
instead of the happiness of being with their
family.
Teenagers are worrying about whether or
not they are getting an iPod, a pair of boots,
a Samsung Fascinate, a digital camera, a laptop, a Lamborghini, a pair of rock rivals jeans,
an acoustic guitar, or the iPad.
What is the real idea for Christmas? Is it
getting presents or being with your
family?
Let’s face
it: some of
us do take
advantage of
the commercials and the
“specials” to
get what we
want. Parents are buying their kids presents
regardless of the price.
And that’s just ridiculous.
Christmas has become way too commercialized. What happened to going to church in
the morning and then having dinner with the
family? Isn’t Christmas a celebration of Jesus
Christ’s birth, hence the name Christmas?
It’s not bad to receive presents for Christmas, but some teens go overboard asking for
expensive gifts, thinking if they don’t receive
those items their Christmas will be ‘terrible’.
Many teens
have become
very
selfish
and do not appreciate what
they have in
comparison
to what others don’t have
at this time of
year.
How about
instead of asking so much from parents
and family why don’t we make something
for them? Don’t go buy a tie for dad or an
apron for mom, but make something from the
heart.
Okay, maybe not that mushy, but how
about for once make Christmas more about
what you can give instead of what you’ll get.
“Lets’s face it: some of
us do take advantage
of the commercials and
the specials.”
Jerri Casteel
Skyler Doremus
Cord Egger
Rachel Hoesche
Emily Potter
Mercedes Thatcher
Will Veguilla
Adviser:
Mrs. Katie Wright
Words of a Feather is the official
monthly, student-produced
publication by and for students
in the journalism program
at Crete High School
in Crete, Nebraska.
This paper has been established
as a designated public forum
for student journalists to inform
and educate, and to act
as a catalyst for thought
and discussion.
Content in Words of a Feather
is determined by and reflects only
the views of the student staff
and not school officials,
faculty or staff.
The intent of this publication
is to act as an agent
to facilitate the learning
of the principles of journalism,
including writing,
photography, design
and editing.
21 de diciembre del 2010
Página 4
words of a feather
La Voz Hispana
Internet conecta a familiares distantes
Edith Rivas-Baños y
Sonia López
Reporteras
Aunque en la época
navideña muchas familias estarán lejos unos de los otros,
los medios de comunicación
modernos ayudarán a cerrar
el hueco entre ellas.
La comunicación entre familiares en diferentes países
ahora es más frecuente debido a la tecnología moderna
que facilita la comunicación
distante.
“Las cosas han cambiado mucho desde los días de
Marco Polo, (viajero italiano
y escritor del siglo XIII)”
según Señora Conway, profesora de historia.
En el pasado las personas
se escribían cartas.
Cuando Marco Polo estaba en China las cartas que él
enviaba a su familia tardaban
dos a seis meses en llegar.
Mandar cartas era lo mejor
que se podían hacer. Personas analfabetas mandaban
sus mensajes con otras personas que podían morir en el
camino.
“Uno podría haber muerto
y tal vez el marido no le dice
a los padres que uno estaba
muerto. Estos métodos
no eran nada seguros.
¿Quién tiene la paciencia
para eso hoy en día?” explicó la Señora Conway.
Hoy, gracias a los métodos de comunicación,
muchas familias estarán
más unidas durante sus
fiestas navideñas.
La comunicación ha
cambiado en muchas
formas. Los medios más
frecuentes de comunicación hoy en día son a
través del teléfono e Internet.
En una encuesta de
más de 35 estudiantes
hispanos de la preparatoria de Crete, 97 por
ciento están en contacto
con familiares de otros
países. El 83 por ciento
de ellos prefieren usar el
teléfono para hablar con
la familia, el otro 17 por
ciento prefriere el Internet.
Guadalupe
Pérez,
sophomore, en los fines
de semana habla con sus
padres por teléfono y casi
a diario por computadora
Foto: Sonia López
con sus amigas. Ellas se
conocen desde cuando El uso del internet ha incrementado la comunicación que familias tienen.
sus mamás se ponían a Ahora es más facil mantenerse en contacto a pesar de la distancia.
platicar en México.
La mejor amiga
de Lupita trabaja
con computadoras
y por lo tanto casi
siempre la puede
encontrar en línea.
“Para la Navidad
voy
para
México y si por
alguna razón yo
no hubiera podido
ir para México le
hubiera
hablado
por teléfono para
la Navidad,” dijo
Guadalupe Pérez.
Brenda López,
sophomore, dijo
que se mantiene
en contacto con
amigos y la familia
en otros países.
Brenda, al igual
que
Guadalupe,
prefiere el teléfono para hablar
con la familia y la
computadora para
hablar con los amigos.
De acuerdo a
Luciano
Insua,
esposo de Señora
Eckerson, se comunica una o dos
veces a la semana
con su madre quien vive en
Argentina. Con sus hermanos, cada vez que pueden, se
ponen en contacto por Chat.
“Desafortunadamente no
solemos viajar a Argentina
para la navidad porque el
tiempo es corto y los pasajes
son muy caro. Siempre terminamos pasando la navidad
con mi familia,” dijo Eckerson.
Su marido siempre llama
para el año nuevo porque
toda su familia se reúne. Él
trata de llamar a las 12 en
punto para el año nuevo.
“No sería lo mismo felicitar por una carta o en el Internet que es una cosa que se
hace por teléfono. Además
con lo que cuestan las tarjetas telefónicas es mucho mas
fácil de comunicarse,” dijo.
Sin duda alguna el teléfono y la computadora unen a
las familias distanciadas. Sin
éstos, la comunicación sería
menos frecuente.
“Claro que sería menos
porque recibir una cata toma
tiempo y luego mandar otra
de regreso toma más tiempo”
dijo Brenda, agradecida por
la facilidad de hablar por
teléfono.
Confiscan más celulares Latinos se inspiran
celular tres veces el año pasado. La tercera vez mi mamá
lo tenía que venir a traer pero
Algunos maestros de Crete ella no pudo venir a recogerHigh School opinan que ya no lo y me tocó esperar hasta el
hay tanto problema con el uso final del año para poder recude los celulares entre medio perarlo,” dijo Adrián Bello,
de las clases o hasta durante senior.
clase. Pero una conversación
Maestros comentaron que
con el director de Crete High una de las razones por la cual
reveló lo contrario.
está aumentando el número
La administración con- de estudiantes ilícitamente
firmó que este año el numero en posesión de celulares es
de estudiantes en posesión porque ya permiten el uso de
de celulares en contra de las sudaderas (hoodies) en clase.
reglamentaciones
ha incrementado a
1 0 2 estudiantes
por semana y sigue
subiendo.
“Al
principio
de este año escolar no parecía que
fuéramos a tener
un problema con
La regla que las prohibía
los celulares, pero ahora había sido impuesto por la
los números indican lo con- administración hace dos años
trario,” dijo Señor Conway.
y este año fue anulada en el
Por razones de la privaci- reglamento de la escuela. La
dad de los estudiantes la ad- prohibición había generado
ministración no puede revelar controversia los años pasalos nombres de estudiantes a dos.
quienes les han confiscado
“Este año he confiscado
sus celulares.
cuatro celulares y es sólo el
Pero se pueden encontrar principio del año. El año
estudiantes que han pasado pasado confisqué cerca de
por esta experiencia.
quince celulares en total por
“A mí me confiscaron mi todo el año. Esto me quiere
Ingris López
Reportera
decir que usan los celulares más y que voy por buen
camino para romper el récord
del año pasado,” dijo Señora
Koerner.
La señora Koerner es
reconocida por haber confiscado la mayor cantidad de
celulares en todo un año escolar. Ella también comentó
que el lugar donde ha confiscado la mayoría de celulares
es en los pasillos entre medio
de clase.
“Yo estaba en la clase de
Mr. Hintz para
Study Hall y me
encontraron texteando en clase
y me lo quitó
todo el día,” dijo
Michaela Martin, freshman y
otra estudiante
que pasó por la experiencia
de haber perdido su celular
después que se lo confiscaron
en clase hace aproximadamente dos semanas.
La administración advierte
que los estudiantes no abusen de el privilegio de usar
sudaderas en clase metiendo
sus celulares a los bolsillos.
Sino, según Conway, esto
puede aumentar las posibilidades de que la regla que prohibe las sudaderas regrese.
“A mí me confiscaron mi
celular tres veces el año
pasado...”
-Adrián Bello
después de excursión
Wendy Cevallos
Reportera
Con el objetivo de inspirar a los latinos a asistir a la
universidad y proveer información sobre como solicitar
ingreso a la Universidad de
Nebraska-Lincoln (UN-L),
treinta y cinco estudiantes de
Crete High asistieron al Latino Leadership Symposium
en el campus del mismo.
El día empezó con risas y
chistes con la presentación de
Eva Vega, educadora de diversidad y Directora de Educación de un instituto en Los
Ángeles, California. Vega no
sólo habló de la historia que
la llevó al camino de su carrera sino que también trató de
identificarse con los estudiantes que estaban presentes.
“Estaba muy bien porque
dio muchos ejemplos de la
vida de muchos hispanos y
inspiró a muchos hispanos
a seguir progresando en la
vida”, dijo sophomore Evelyn Segura sobre la presentación de Vega.
Luego los estudiantes
fueron separados en grupos
para asistir a varias reuniones
educativas con títulos como
“Quienes Somos”, “The Future of Latinos in America”,
“Mi Vida Loca”, “Your Career, Your Future”, y “Free to
Be Me”.
“Mi Vida Loca” fue presentada por Niko Aguirre
quien trabaja reclutando estudiantes para UN-L. Hizo
una presentación sobre su
vida y trató de comunicar
un mensaje simple: que no
importa de dónde uno viene, siempre es posible una
educación universitaria. Él,
al igual que Vega, capturó la
atención de los estudiantes a
través de chistes y la cultura
popular.
“Me interesó mucho y me
puso a pensar en mi futuro”,
dijo sophomore Enrique
Reyes sobre la presentación
de Mi Vida Loca.
Otras presentaciones también recibieron elogios de los
estudiantes quienes las presenciaron.
“Nos hablaron de cómo
creer en uno miso y concentrarte en tus propias metas”,
dijo sophomore Mayelín Carranza sobre la sesión “Free to
Be Me”.
Después de las cuatro sesiones hubo una feria universitaria con información
sobre distintas universidades
e información del ejército.
Los estudiantes tuvieron la
oportunidad de hablar con los
representantes de las universidades.
Luego los estudiantes fueron puestos en diferentes grupos para obtener información
sobre UN-L y los requisitos
para poder ser aceptado ahí.
Según su grado escolar, los
estudiantes recibieron distinta información sobre los pasos que seguir al prepararse
para solicitar ingreso a la
universidad.
El día se concluyó con una
alegre presentación de baile
por el grupo Kumbé Colombian Folkloric. Los bailarines
ostraron varios tipos de música y bailes tradicionales de
Colombia. Señora Eckerson,
organizadora de la excursión,
denominó el evento un éxito.
“Me parece muy valiosa
cualquiera oportunidad que
pueda darles a los estudiantes
para conocer más las posibilidades educativas para sus
futuros”, dijo.
Cardinal Countdown beneficia a más seniors
Sonia López
Reportera
Cardinal Countdown to
College es un programa nuevo de la escuela para ayudar
a seniors a prepararse para la
universidad.
Toma lugar en la oficina
todos los martes durante
MAP, desde el doce de octubre. Para los seniors que no
tienen información o quieren
más información sobre los
pasos que hay que tomar para
prepararse para la universidad
o conseguir ayuda financiera,
CCC es donde las consejeras
proveen respuestas.
El programa es para ayudar a los seniors e informarles sobre las universidades.
En estas conferencias conversan, paso por paso, cómo
prepararse para la universidad.
La señora Stec dijo que se
organizaron las juntas según
la orden en que suelen preparase los seniors: primero,
visitar una universidad, luego,
aplicar a una y cómo escoger
una universidad. También se
hablará de ayuda financiera
en juntas futuras.
De acuerdo a la consejera
Stec, el programa ya existía
pero no tenía un día o un
horario fijo y por lo tanto,
pocos estudiantes podían
asistir.
Algunos de los seniors
iban después de la escuela en
ese entonces, pero otros no
podían porque tenían que trabajar o tenían otras responsabilidades.
Ahora las juntas son durante MAP para la conveniencia de los seniors quienes
no tienen clase.
La señora Stec dijo que
el nombre Cardinal Countdown to College fue escogi-
do porque se podría abreviar
CCC, lo cual sería más fácil
de recordar.
Estudiantes que asistieron
a las juntas dijeron que obtuvieron nueva información.
“Si ayuda porque ahora
sé cosas que no sabía antes.”
dijo Janneth López, senior,
quien asiste a las conferencias regularmente.
La Consejera Stec dijo,
“En CCC hay temas diferentes para que la gente pueda
ir a una sesión, y ustedes no
tienen que ir a todas las sesiones en orden, cada sesión
contienen (diferente) información.”
La señora Stec informó
que si nadie asiste a las juntas
de CCC no habría CCC para
el 2011.
Tomando en cuenta a los
seniors que tienen MAP asignada, la señora Stec afirmó
que les firmaría un permiso
para que asistan a las juntas
de CCC.
“Los estudiantes
deben sentirse libres
de entrar
a una sesión como
mejor les
quede en
su horario
porque
cada sesión es un
tema nuevo.”
P a r a
más información sobre CCC,
se puede
preguntar
en el centro de las
Foto: Dulce Castañeda
consejeras
o en la ofi- Cardinal Countdown to College es un programa nu vo que se implementó a la escina cen- cuela este año. Su meta es que los seniors lleguen a la universidad con ayuda de las
consejeras.
tral.
La Voz Hispana
Página 5
21 de diciembre del 2010
words of a feather
CHS aprende de errores
Edith Rivas-Baños y
Assenet García
Reporteras
Nadie es perfecto, todos
cometemos errores. Sin embargo, los errores que cometemos no siempre son para
mal, ellos nos pueden servir
de valiosas lecciones para el
resto de la vida. Ya que el
año 2010 está por terminar,
para muchas personas es el
tiempo perfecto para reflexionar sobre los errores que
han cometido y cómo pla-
Foto: Marilyn Bolaños
Foto: Marilyn Bolaños
Foto: Marilyn Bolaños
Foto: Marilyn Bolaños
Señora García
Para-educadora
Yo aprendí por haber cometiendo
los errores.
Cuando yo estaba en California
trabajé muchas horas y no les di
mucho tiempo a mis hijos.
Es el error que nunca me puedo
perdonar.
Quisiera regresar el tiempo para
estar más con ellos, pero ahora no
puedo.
Yesenia Azucena
Sophomore:
Cuando yo estaba pequeña como
4 o 5 anos no me quería bañar y mi
papa me pegó con la manguera y
desde esa vez me comienza a bañar
sola todos los días.
Otro error en cual yo aprendí fue
cuando a mí me gustaba saltar en
charcos y una vez me resbalé y me
caí. Pasé horas inconsciente, eso me
enseñó a no hacerlo.
cuentan de cómo aprenden de
los errores que han cometido
y que cómo los han hecho
madurar.
Laura Juárez
Senior:
Luz Ávalos
Senior:
Foto:Marilyn Bolaños
nean no repetirlos.
Una maestra con mucha
experiencia de la vida y cuatro jóvencitas con menos,
Un día yo decidí faltar a la escuela
y ir de compras a la tienda de ropa.
Y no les dije nada a mis papás sobre
esto.Al próximo día cuando fui a la
escuela me llamaron a la oficina y
me metí en muchos problemas.
Me suspendieron por tres días y
después cuando llegué a casa mis
papás recibieron una llamada de la
escuela y me castigaron, no podría
salir por un buen tiempo.
Cristal Cardona
Junior:
Mi mamá siempre me decía que
apagara la máquina de alaciar el pelo.
Pero yo siempre la dejaba prendida.
Una vez se me olvidó de apagarla
y la dejé encima de la cama.
Cuando andaba buscando zapatos
puse la mano en la cama y me quemé.
Eso me enseñó a nunca dejar la
máquina prendida.
Yo me arrepiento de haber llegado
a la casa muy tarde por dos semanas seguidas. Llegaba muchas veces
tarde, y mis papás se cansaban de lo
mismo todas las noches.
Lo hacía muy frecuente que un
día mis papás decidieron llamar a los
policías y mis papás le dijeron que si
me podrían encontrar y traer a casa.
Estuve en KVC por un tiempo.
‘Mi Casita’ sirve comidas rápidas
a mi acompañante y a mí en
sólo diez minutos, lo cual nos
pareció rápido y agradable.
La comida que nosotros
Por diferentes motivos el ordenamos fue una quesadillugar donde se encuentra el
restaurante ‘Mi Casita’ ha
cambiado de dueño tres veces en los útlimos años.
Al principio el local que
está ubicado en la esquina de
la 14 y Main, ahora conocido
como el restaurante ‘Mi Casita’, era una tienda de ropa
que se llamaba ‘Novedades
la Princesa’.
La nueva dueña, Sonia
López, abrió el restaurante
‘Mi Casita’ en octubre del
2009 y así se ha mantenido
desde entonces.
Tuve la ocasión de cenar
en local recientemente.
la de asada y unos tacos.
El restaurante está en muy
Los tacos estaban muy
buen estado, muy limpio y grasosos y con poca carne.
organizado. Las meseras no La quesadilla tenía mas vegfueron muy amables pero etales que queso y carne, un
fueron eficientes en su tra- poco sin sabor y de igual
bajo.
manera con mucha grasa.
La comida nos fue servida
La horchata fue servida
Ingris López
Reportera
para acompañar la comida
De todos los postres anunpero se sentía muy artificial ciados solamente tenía pequey nada de sabor natural como ñas tajadas de flan mexicano.
la recomendaron al servirla.
Para pedir el postre perLa mesera no nos preguntó sonalmente les fuimos a decir
a la cajera que queríamos un
postre.
Los precios en ‘Mi Casita’
son muy accesibles. Por ejemplo, los tacos valen $1.25 y la
quesadilla vale $4.50. Los
platillos principales estaban
a $8.50.
La especialidad de la casa
son las enchiladas y bistecs a
la mexicana. Estos dos platillos son los que más se venden y los más pedidos por la
gente, según el personal.
Este restaurante se lo recomiendo a aquellas personas
Foto: Marilyn Bolaños
que anden de prisa porque la
si necesitábamos algo o si comida la preparan rápidadeseábamos algo más. Sola- mente y sus precios no son
mente hasta que se le llamó demasiado altos, aptos para
llegó a ayudarnos.
todo tipo de público.
Mi acompañante deseaba
Sin embargo, en nuestra
un postre que aparecía en el experiencia la comida tenía
menú llamado Esquite, pero un exceso de grasa y poca
no lo tenían.
carne y sabor.
Se necesitan maestros hispanos
La Voz Hispana
A Crete Public Schools le
faltan más profesores latinos.
En la ciudad de Crete hay tres
escuelas públicas. Sumando
todos los estudiantes, aproximadamente el cuarenta y cuatro por ciento son hispanos.
Sin embargo, la única
maestra hispana que tenemos
en Crete, Sra. Díaz enseña en
la escuela media. Debido al
alto porcentaje de estudiantes
hispanos deberíamos de tener
más maestros latinos.
Necesitamos
maestros
hispanos para ayudar a esos
estudiantes que no sepan
mucho inglés y tienen clases
como matemáticas o ciencia.
También hay unos estudiantes que saben hablar inglés
pero beneficiarían de algunas
explicaciones en español para
tener un mejor entendimiento. Si tenemos 40 por ciento
de estudiantes hispanos, ¿por
qué no tener igual número de
maestros hispanos?
Los maestros hispanos podrían ser modelos de conducta y empujar a los estudiantes
hispanos para que asistan a la
universidad y prepararse para
la carrera que ellos quieran
en el futuro.
Un estudio en el Policy
Studies Journal muestra que
maestros latinos tienen un
impacto positivo sobre las
medidas de comportamiento
de los estudiantes latinos.
Un maestro hispano podría
entender mejor a un estudiante hispano que un maestro
norteamericano porque saben
mucho más de su cultura.
Maestros latinos pueden
saber más de lo que pasa en
la casa y comprender a los
estudiantes. Es posible que
un estudiante hispano tenga
más confianza con un maestro hispano.
Esto no es un problema
únicamente en Crete. El
número de maestros que son
minorías ha aumentado en
los últimos años, de un 5 por
ciento a un 7 por ciento en
las escuelas secundarias nacionalmente desde el 2000. A
pesar de esto el porcentaje no
se acerca a la proporción de
estudiantes que hispanos en
las escuelas: nacionalmente
son el 16.3 por ciento.
La administración de Crete
Schools debería de contratar
y buscar más maestros latinos para que los estudiantes
hispanos se sientan más cómodos y aprendan mejor. Los
de la administración deberían
de ir a buscar a los maestros
en otros lugares en vez de esperar que vengan a solicitar
empleo.
También es necesario que
más latinos piensen en el
bien de sus comunidades y
consideren carreras de educación. Si no nos convertimos en profesores, no habrá
suficientes maestros latinos
para contratar.
Póliza de cartas al editor
La Voz Hispana acepta gustosamente cartas al editor y noticias actuales de estudiantes, docentes, administración, residentes de la comunidad y público en general. Pedimos que estas cartas no consistan de más de 300 palabras y que incluyan
el nombre del autor, dirección, número telefónico y firma original. Todo material entregado será verificado en persona y por
escrito. Nuestro equipo editorial tiene el derecho de rechazar cualquier carta y/o partes de cualquier carta y podrá devolverla
para revisión si contiene lenguaje inapropiado o errores que cambien el significado. Favor de enviar sus cartas a Sra. Eckerson en el salón 708.
La Voz Hispana
Personal de la Voz Hispana
c/o Crete High School
1500 E. 15th Street
Crete, NE 68333
Teléfono: (402) 826-5811
Correo electrónico:
[email protected]
Personal Editorial:
Diseño, Redacción
y Coordinación:
Marilyn Bolaños
Dulce Castañeda
Reporteros:
Edith Rivas Baños
Wendy Cevallos
Nancy Elizalde
Assenet García
Bryan Guardado
Ingris López
Sonia López
Consejera:
Sra. Janet Eckerson
‘La Voz Hispana’ dentro de ‘Words of a
Feather’es producida por la clase de hispanohablantes nivel III/IV de la secundaria
de Crete. Esta sección del periódico se ha
diseñado para que estudiantes periodistas
informen y eduquen, específicamente en
español y procuren reflección y discusión
en la comunidad. El contenido de ‘La Voz
Hispana’ se determina por la clase de hispanohablantes nivel III/IV, con el apoyo del
personal de periodismo escolar, y el contenido no refleja la opinión del personal de
la secundaria, únicamente de los estudiantes
quienes lo crearon.El propósito de esta sección es publicar la escritura de estudiantes
hispanos en una vía pública para facilitar el
aprendizaje de los fundamentos de escritura
y fotografía periodística escolar en conjunto
con la clase de español para hispanohablantes nivel III/IV.
December 21, 2010
Page 6
words of a feather
Robotics: boys v. girls
Photo by Jerri Casteel
Megan Shrewsbery works on writing the day’s progression of
the robot. She is the only girl in robotics this year.
junior Dulce Castañeda said,
Rachel Hoesche
Staff Reporter
about what the girls’ jobs
were. They felt that they had
been misunderstood by the
girls and that they were trying to include them in more
than just recording the progression of the robot.
“There is only one girl
in robotics and she does the
same job as everyone else.
We tried (last year) to teach
them about engineering, programming, and building but
they just weren’t interested
so we left them to take care
of the notebooks,” junior Lukas Renker said.
“They fit well in the notebook thing since they are organized, but they didn’t seem
interested in building, programming, and engineering,”
junior Aaron Braunberger
said.
The boys felt indignant
about thier actions being the
possible reason both Casteñeda and junior Amy Hung
did not return to the robotics
team this season.
“I felt the guys already
knew what they were doing
and I didn’t so I got stuck
doing the notebooks. I wish
that I would have gotten the
chance to learn and to participate in building the robot,”
Hung said, “They wanted to
use their time to work on the
robot instead of trying to help
us learn the process of building and programming the robot.”
“That is not true. I would
not allow that in my classroom,” robotics sponsor
Kathy Koerner said.
According to Hung and
Castaneda, the girls were
asked by their male teammates to ‘flirt with’ the competiton at robotics meets to
gather information about the
other teams’ robots.
According to Koerner, the
allegations are false.The girls
may have missinturpreted
the boys’ actions, Koerner
said, stating that the coaches
did not see any of that kind
of treatment of unfair work
division in room 606, where
robotics takes place.
Koerner and fellow sponsor Mike Smith let the students on the team work independently.
The robot is built, programed, and maintatined by
the students while the sponsors keep watch, answer any
questions that arise, and take
care of the paperwork for going to competitions
Despite the allegations, the
team looks forward to thier
next competition scheduled
for January 8 in Hastings, according to http://robotevents.
com.
“I wish I could have been
more involved with the actual making of the robot. Some
Despite going to a national of the guys did try to help, if
competition and faring bet- we asked them to help, they
ter than any other Nebraska would try to help us at least a
school last
little bit.”
season, the
A l number
though
of girls on
girls
in
the robotprevious
ics team is
years eifewer than
ther gradever beuated or
fore.
had other
T h e
reasons
robotics
not to be
team has
in robotone girl on
ics, 2/3 of
the team
the girls
this seaon
the
son.
team last
The reason for the decline year chose not to return for
of girls in robotics, according another season. In contrast
to former female memebrs of to team members in the past
the team, is that often times, who wanted to work on the
the girls were given the role robot, there were also some
of being book keeper.
girls who preferred to work
“My major role last year on recording instead.
was doing the notebook,
“I just help with getting
which is basically recording tools and parts and what not,”
a detailed account of the pro- current team member Megan
Photo by Rachel Hoesche
gression of the robot. I was Shrewsbury, junior, said.
fine with that, but I also felt
The boys in robotics were Senior Fransico Padilla and juniors Aaron Braunberger and Lukas
like that was my only job,” forthcoming in their opinions Renker work on perfecting the robot. The boys dominated the team
“I wish I could
have been more
involved with the
actual making of
the robot.”
-junior
Dulce Casteñeda-
Prizm club grants Christmas Wishes
Cord Egger
Staff Reporter
Christmas Wishes is a cooperative effort between Blue
Valley Community Action
and Prizm Club. It is an effort
to get some clothes and toys
to some children in Crete.
The wishes were already
sent to Blue Valley before
the event and Prizm club distributed the wish lists to the
MAP classes.
The responsibility of the
MAP classes was simple. All
they had to do was collect the
required amount of money in
order to meet the price of the
child’s toy request.
Every MAP class had a
different little boy or girl.
The toy requests ranged from
Barbie dolls to Tonka trucks.
The maximum amount
that one MAP class could
raise was 25 dollars.
The newspaper staff asked
some people from Prizm Club
about Christmas Wishes before and after the week-long
event.
The MAP rooms that gathered the money received
word on Tuesday, December
7 and had until the following
Wednesday, December 15, to
gather all of the MAPs’ gifts.
When asked about his
outlook on the project, Senior
Marco Oritz said, “I hope it
goes well.”
After the donation was
complete, Counselor Karen
Buchfinck said regarding
the MAPs, “Some MAPs did
fine, but some didn’t participate. I think around eight of
ten didn’t participate; but
overall it was good.”
“It could have been better
because some students didn’t
donate,” junior Roxana
Dominguez said, “ I feel like
they should be more caring;
it makes them look extremely
selfish because this was for a
good cause.”
Many students, including
some Prizm Club members,
are unaware that this donation has had numerous other
names in previous years.
It has been called Lights
of Hope and the Angel Tree
Project in previous years.
To explain the Angel Tree
project, Prizm Club was, and
continues to be, connected
with Blue Valley. They had a
donation to ensure that families who were less fortunate
than others had basic necessities. These included coats,
warm clothes, and other winter apparel; it didn’t focus so
much on the toys.
When asked about the
name changes Mrs. Buchfinck said. “The project used
to be called the Angel Tree
Project and it started eight
or nine years ago. Then, for
a couple of years Blue Valley
didn’t contact us with names
of children in need, so we decided to do a different project.”
“We were going to call
that Lights of Hope but then
Blue Valley contacted us this
year, and we decided to call
it Christmas Wishes because
of the kids having wishes,”
Buchfinck said.
There are multiple reasons
Activities
Clubs/Activities Calendar
December 27
No School
December 28
No School
December 29
No School
December 30
No School
December 31
No School
New Year’s Eve
January 1
New year’s day
Weekend
January 3
No School
January 4
Start of 3rd Quarter
FBLA Meeting
3:30 pm
January 7
ACT Registration
Deadline
Forensics- Millard North
January 8
Forensics- Norris
January 10
FFA Meeting
7 pm
Photo by Cord Egger
These people in MAP give money to help pay for a gift for
someone in need. This is a tradition for Prizm club.
why Prizm Club organizes
Christmas Wishes.
“There are four facets to
Prizm Club and community service is one of them,”
Buckfink said.
“It is tradition to do Christmas Wishes,” Marco Ortiz
said.
When asked her opinion
of Christmas Wishes, junior
Amy Hung said, “I think it’s
a great idea that we’re thinking of others over the holiday
season.”
Sophomore Enrique Reyes
said “I think it is a good because it helps people who
can’t celebrate to celebrate.”
The children who turned
in their wish lists were from
11 months to 16 years of age.
Many of the wish lists were
from children in elementary
school. They were all from
Crete.
“Some kids didn’t donate
at all, so the teachers mainly
donated and bought the toy.”
When asked if Prizm Club
was going to continue this
donation in upcoming years,
Buchfinck said, “Yes, this is
something taht we definitely
want to tdo next year. However, instead of just breaking
out, she wants to talk to the
kids in advance and plan better for it”
Jerri Casteel and Jake
White contriubted to this article.
Prizm Club Meeting
7 pm
January 15
Forensics- Raymond Central
January 22
SAT Test
Forensics- Lincoln Southwest
January 29
Forensics- Lincoln Northeast
People
Page 7
December 21, 2010
words of a feather
Senior Spotlight Anthony is animated on stage
Jerri Casteel
Staff Reporter
Michael Tran
Q: Do you plan on
going to college, if so
what college?
A: The Hogwarts School
of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Q:What was your favorite class throughout
high school?
A: Welding.
Q: What do you think
your class will be remembered for?
A: Being geniune B.A.s.
Q: Do you plan on staying in Nebraska or moving out after you graduate ?
A: No, I plan on going to
Mars and making lots of
babies.
Morgan Fahrnbruch
Q: Do you plan on
going to college, if so
what college?
A: SCC Lincoln or CC
in Hastings, then transfer to Hastings College.
Q:What was your
favorite class throughout high school?
A: Choir.
Q: What is do you
think your class will
be remembered for?
A: Our spirit at games
of all sports
Q: Do you plan on
staying in Nebraska or
moving out after you
graduate ?
A: I’m staying in Nebraska; I’m a family person.
Nick Youssef
Q: Do you plan on
going to college, if so
what college?
A: UNL.
Q:What was your favorite class throughout
high school?
A: Probably chemistry.
Mr. Anderson knows
everything.
Q: What do you think
your class will be remembered for?
Besides being really, really good looking? I don’t
know.
Q: Do you plan on staying
in Nebraska or moving
out after you graduate ?
A: Staying because I’ve
been to a big city; I
wouldn’t like it there.
Felicia Douglas
Q: Do you plan on
going to college, if so
what college?
A: Yes, wherever the
money takes me.
Q:What was your favorite class throughout high school?
A: P.E.
Q: What do you think
your class will be
remembered for?
A: Football.
Q: Do you plan on
staying in Nebraska or
moving out after you
graduate ?
A: Nope, I’m taking off to
the clouds.
egorized under the autistic
disorders, according to the
Mayo Clinic. Symptoms can
include problems with social
skills, difficulties with comOn stage is his comfort munication such as decipherzone. Participating in plays ing body language, unusual
and musical performances, rituals or habits; unconvensenior Anthony Engebretson tional behaviors, limited asis at home in the auditorium. sortment of interests, skills or
said.
was that same environment. I
For Engrebretson, he has just went with it and got out
found his niche in the arts.
there.”
“I’m pretty fine when I go
Going off script is his only
up on stage; I just do what public speaking hurdle.
I do,” he said. “As long as I
“When I know what I’m
know what I’m doing, then doing, it doesn’t scare me.
I’m very comfortable up But if I have no idea what
there.”
I’m going to do or if I have to
His time in the spotlight improvise, then I freeze up a
includes four roles in fall bit,” Engebretson said.
plays plus choir.
He plans to keep his future
The fall play has provided in the realm of the arts, but
Engrebretson with multiple instead of acting out anothopportunities to have all eyes er’s work, he wants to direct
on him.
his own visions.
“I enjoyed my role last
“I want to go into filmmakyear because it was the first ing,” Engebretson said. “I altime I got to go all out,” he ready applied to a film school
said. “I played Benny in Epic in Colorado. It’s always been
Proportions. It was a pretty my ambition.”
big role and it was pretty
fun.”
This year was his time to
On the Net:
take center stage singing.
h t t p : / / w w w. m a y o c l i n “I’ve been in choir all four i c . c o m / h e a l t h / a s p e r g Photo by Marilyn Bolanos years, and I haven’t actu- e r s - s y n d ro m e / D S 0 0 5 5 1 /
The Clumsy Custard Horror Show Director Paul Peterson helps ally gone up front and done DSECTION=symptoms
something, so it was a lot of
http://www.webmd.com/
to transform senior Anthony Engebretson into his character
fun to do Tres Cantos,” Enge- brain/autism/tc/aspergersWorfle.
bretson said. “Like theater, it syndrome-topic-overview
“When I’m in that envi- talents in specific areas like
ronment on stage, I’m very math or music; or coordinacomfortable just going all out tion problems.
“I usually don’t start the
and being crazy,” Engebretson said. “I couldn’t do that conversation; I usually wait
during lunch or something.” and see what people are talkThat off-stage behavior ing about and see if I can
comes from his Asperger’s contribute at all. I just go
with it,” he said.
Syndrome.
This disorder is typically
“It’s on the autism spectrum. For me, it’s harder to diagnosed between the ages
socialize and think of what to of two to five. For Engebretsay,” he said. “Some people son, he was diagnosed in
get obsessed and have hob- sixth grade.
“In preschool, I was very
bies. A lot of people with
Photo by Jessica Thatcher
Asperger’s will study and do social. Then, in elementary
Senior
Anthony
Engebretson
as
the
Worfle
tells gypsies sophoand middle school, I wasn’t.
homework a lot.”
more
Heather
DiNapoli
and
senior
Rachel
Hoesche
the story of
Asperger’s Syndrome is a I think I’ve gotten a little betthe
Clumsy
Custard.
developmental disorder cat- ter since then,” Engebretson
Jessalyn Holdcraft
Copy/Content Editor
and Staff Coordinator
Tissues to the rescue
said.
Actually, don’t touch
faces at all. It not only transfers grease from the hands to
It’s that time of year the face, it transfers germs
again—cold and flu season. as well. The eyes, nose, and
Students are coughing and mouth are extremely sucsneezing up a storm. With cespible to infection. Toucheveryone getting sick,
it’s easy to succumb to
germs and viruses.
So how does one stay
ahead of the common
cold?
Handwashing. Think
about it—how many
things does the average
person touch every day?
If a student were to touch
a desk on which someone
had sneezed in the previous period then touched
their face, someone’s
sneeze germs would be
on that student’s face.
No one is saying students should wipe down their ing someone’s face is the
desks with a WetNap before most common way of spreadsitting in it; however, hand ing germs and viruses.
washing should be observed
Drink lots of fluids. Water
regularly according to web- is the body’s natural cleansmd.com.
er—drink lots of it and plan
“I think especially after bathroom breaks accordingyou do something ‘dirty’, you ly.
should wash your hands,”
Junior Melissa Dittbrenner
senior Morgan Fahrnbruch needs to drink more water.
Emily Potter
Staff Reporter
Dittbrenner said, “I just
got told last night by my
grandma that I need to push
fluids, and that would probably get everything out of my
system.”
Cough into a tissue, not
a hand. Again, how many
goner already does this.
“It’s the easiest place to
go,” Waggoner said.
Clean surfaces often. Wipe
off household objects that
harbor the most germs: countertops, door handles, and so
on.
Don’t share dishes,
glasses, or utentsils.
Sharing is not caring
when the person in
question is sharing a
cold or flu.
If someone gets really sick, they shouldn’t
expose others. Staying
home for a day is better than getting three or
four more people sick
and exposing countless
others to germs.
Consider getting a flu
shot. It doesn’t help with
all strains of the flu, but
it will help against the
things do students touch ev- most common.
ery day? When one muffles
Senior Kara Seidhoff got
a sneeze or cough with their the mist this year.
hand, they are just passing on
“I don’t like shots, so I get
their cold. Sneeze and cough the mist. I haven’t been sick
into a tissue, then immediate- yet,” Siedhoff said.
ly throw it away. Don’t have
It’s that time of year
a tissue? Sneeze or cough again—and people don’t
into an elbow.
have to sniffle and sneeze
Sophomore Emily Wag- their way through it.
“I think especially
after you do something
‘dirty’, you should wash
your hands.”
-Morgan Fahrnbruch
Cardinal Quotations
Freshman Jace Ourada
“Rudolf because that’s my German
name.”
Senior Janneth Lopez
“Rudolf because he’s the only one
I’ve heard of.”
Jerri Casteel
Staff Reporter
Out of all of Santa’s reindeer,
which is your favorite and why?
Sophomore Trenton Bluford
“Rudolph because he’s different.”
Teacher Kathy Boyes
“Prancer because he seems like a cool
dancer.”
Junior Emily Manning
“Blitzen because it’s a cool name.”
Page 8
December 21, 2010
words of a feather
Sports
NSAA says “no” to style in sports
bands,
or multicolored
accessories during game
time.
“ We
follow
the rules
of
the
National
Federation of
H i g h
School
Officials
Photo By Skyler Doremus A s s o c i a t i o n ’s
rules,” NSAA Softball direcSkyler Doremus
tor Jim Angele said. “Many
Staff Reporter
of the rules are made or subAs she dribbles down the mitted by high school sports
court she notices that the ref- coaches. We then take those
eree is watching her awfully submitions and meet each
closely. He picks up his whis- July to dicuss and vote on
tle and blows it, stopping the what we think of the newly
game. The referee pulls her submitted rule changes.
over to the side and kindly That’s when we make the
asks her to remove all of the rules. Then each year we try
bobby pins from her hair.
to come out with a new rule
She removes them from book to make sure each rule
her hair and looks at her is clearly known.”
coach.
All rules that have recentHer coach sits her for the ly been changed or added are
rest of the game for not fol- submitted by coaches to the
lowing the rules.
NSAA.
According to the Nebraska
Old bans, recently lifted,
Schools Activies Association, have allowed the use of bobbasketball, track, and soccer by pins in high school softplayers are not allowed to ball and volleyball.
wear bobby pins, hard head“I have to wear bobby pins
“I always think about
wearing it (lucky necklace)
under my uniform, but I
always get scared and take
it off because I don’t want
to get in trouble.”
-Nikki Muff
in my hair, or else I got really
ditracted because I’ll be trying to fix it instead of playing,
which means I’m not playing
to my full potential,” junior
Shaylen Doremus said.
Many players are frustrated with tight uniform restrictions.
“Sometimes I get scared to
even walk on to the track to
compete, because I’m afraid
that I’ll get disqualified for
breaking a uniform rule that
I don’t even know I’m breaking. I trust my coaches, but
I’m always a little worried,”
Junior Nicole Muff said.
Complicated rules in track
dealing with spike length in
the athletes’ shoes, logo size
on sports bras, underarmor,
or uniforms themselves, head
band width, and accessory
colors, all create confusing
problems for many of the
high school’s athletes.
Most coaches, like assistant Track coach Doug
Dolezal, usually do not have
many problems with the
restrictions. According to
Dolezal, many coaches make
it very clear of what the rules
are.
“From day one we let all
of our athletes know what the
rules are,” Dolezal said. “Us
coaches are used to the rules.
They’ve been enforced for
years, and we’ve been following them for years, and
it’s becoming to be less and
less of a problem among our
rules, so why would it
matter if I broke them
too?” junior Natasha
Kingston said.
“My family asks
me why I can’t to wear
certain things in my
sports, but I can’t tell
them because I don’t
know the rules very
well,” Doremus said.
“Some rules make
sense to me, like not
allowing jewelry, but
others, like logo size,
don’t really make sense
to me,” Dolezal said.
Photo by Nicole Reetz While many athletes
Senior Ben Muff shows off his new question the rules, many
style of head gear. Muff has used vari- people have questions
ous methods to control his locks over as to why the rules are
the past two years.
less strict towards colathletes. Of course, we have
lege- level athletics.
had problems, but it’s not
College athletes are alsomething that happens to lowed to wear jewelry and
our team very often,” Dolezal bobby pins while playing
said.
sports.
If an athlete doesn’t follow
“I think they are less strict
the uniform rules, he or she in college because they’re
can be disqualified from their older, more responsible athevent and even from the rest letes. Either way we still have
of the meet.
to follow the rules,” Dolezal
Though the restrictions said.
are not a big problem for
“I wish I could wear jewelcoaches, they raise question ry when I play. I have a lucky
amoung the athletes and their necklace that I wear. I’d be
parents.
more comfortable playing if
“I don’t see why tucking in I could wear it. I think about
my uniform or the stitching wearing it under my uniform,
of my under armour matters. I get scared and I take it off
It doesn’t distract me when because I don’t want to get
other people break those into trouble,” Muff said.
‘Boys of Fall’ transfer to ‘Boys of Winter’
Nicole Reetz
Sports/ Photography
Editor
Business Manager
From running the ball to
shooting the ball they can do
it all.
“They are still adapting
from the football season.
They have done a good job so
far, but we won’t be in complete basketball shape until
January,” Head Coach Brent
Cole.
“I enjoy winning. That’s
it,” Junior Derek McGinnis
said. The boys of fall transitioned to the boys of winter.
“For the first couple games
our legs weren’t under us,”
Senior Grant Harms said.”
But now we got our stride
back.”
They rolled past Columbus Lakeview with a score of
59- 51. McGinnis had a game
high of points with 15 point
by halftime and finished with
“Lack of practice time has
been a huge obstacle,” Cole
said.
“More than anything, we
are not in basketball shape. It
will take a while to transfer
from football to basketball,
but we are getting there,” Ju-
nior Mitchell Marvin.
In front of an intense
crowd, the Cardinals defeated Puis X.
The team was lead by McGinnis with 25 points.
“My team mates find a way
to give me the ball when I’m
open,” McGinnis said. “I’ve
been working on my shot so
it has been helping.”
The boys faced the Orangemen on the 10th but
couldn’t hold the Orangemen
back. The Cardinals were defeated with a score of 51-70.
McGinnis was the leading
scorer with 17 points.
The Cards blew past the
Bulldogs with a score of 5216.
They were led by Marvin
and McGinnis with 13 points
each.
Mcginnis has been the
leading scorer this season
with 78 points.
“Having won a state
championship already should
excite them about basketball
season. It should give the
guys confidence in the fact
that they know how to win
games. Even though it is a
different sport, having a winning attitude is the same in all
sports,” Cole said.
The cagers faced the Jeffs
of Fairbury after press time.
“ I feel good about our 31 record. We need to have
Photo By Nicole Reetz
Photo By Nicole Reetz
Junior Ian McGowan looks
for an open defender. This is
McGowan’s third year on the
team.
good practices leading up to
our game Friday as well as
preparing ourselves for the
Holiday tournament,” Cole
said.
The boys will be back in
action over Christmas Break,
held at Doane College in
George and Sally Recreation
and Athletic Center where
they take on Elkhorn Mount
Michael.
Photo By Nicole Reetz
Junior Derek McGinnis chases a loose ball in the game against Pius X. McGinnis currently leads
the team in points.
Senior Aaron Paulsen defends a Thunderbold gaurd. Paulsen has made
the transfer from football to basketball.
Male Athlete
of the Month
Ryne Reeves
Senior Ryne Reeves was chosen
as the December’s Student Council
Athlete of the Month.Reeves was
selected Super State in the Lincoln
Journal Star in football.
Reeves finished his senior year
with 21 unassisted tackles and 25
assited.
Reeves has made a commitment
to the University of Nebraska- Lincoln to participate in Football.
Reeves is no stranger to the state
games. He has went to state in track
the past three years.Getting his first
gold metal as a Junior in shot put.
“Ryne reminds me of the other
throwers that were state cahmipions,
They all worked hard, were coachable, and they were overall good
kids,” Throwing coach Doug Dozal
said.
Reeves has been a three sport
athlete for the past 3 years. Reeves
has recently underwent shoulder
surgerey and is unable to participate
in Basketball this winter.
“ I wouldn’t have made it here
withouth my teammates help,”
Reevs said.
Photo by Nicole Reetz
Sports
Page 9
December 21, 2010
words of a feather
Wrestlers top tournaments
was either a football player
with how our younger kids warf, junior, won 2-1; and mouth (No.5), and Syracuse.
said. “Vince Thatcher was
emerged victorious on the
night. State runner-up Brock
Sherman, senior, won 9-3,
state medalist Corey Kalk-
upset the eight, fourth, and
second seeds to win the tournaments.”
Junior Tyler Stinson placed
fourth, Kalkwarf second, and
a Cardinal quartet of Poteet,
Thatcher, C. Sherman, and B.
Sherman defeated opponents
to gain first places in their
championship matches.
“I was excited when I got
first because I working hard
in practice,” Poteet said. “I
felt all my hard work paid
off.”
Duals continued to be a
devil for the team. Beatrice
beat Crete 39-30.
The dual was highlighted
by six grapplers. Thatcher
and Phommavongsa won by
decision, and senior Khanh
Do, Betke, C. Sherman and
B. Sherman all pinned their
opponents.
Crete traveled to the Platteview Invite on Dec. 17 after
press time.
The final dual of 2010 is
tonight at 5pm against Auburn.
Jessalyn Holdcraft
B. Sherman’s first loss for probably the biggest standout
with three days of wrestling competed,” head coach Matt freshman Hunter Poteet and
Copy/Content Editor/Staff practice or a freshman. Inex- Anderson said.
junior Chase Sherman were this season came at the York of the day. He started off the
Coordinator
Four Crete grapplers the first Cardinals to get pins Invite championship finals day as the ninth seed and he
perience and lack of practice
For the first dual which led to Schuyler winning 47pitted the No. 10 Cardinals 18.
against the No. 3 Schuyler
“Our guys competed pretty
Warriors, the varsity line-up well and I was really happy
on the season finishing their
matches in 4:37 and 4:54, respectively.
Six Cardinals ended the
York Invite on podiums.
Freshman Vince Thatcher
and senior Sunny Phommavongsa placed fourth, Poteet
third, Kalkwarf and B. Sherman second, and C. Sherman
earned the top spot as well as
keeping a perfect record for
his season.
“It feels really good knowing that I’m the one still undefeated because the other
Sherman couldn’t get first, so
I had to,” C. Sherman said.
“I thought that was pretty
exciting for Chase; that was
his first varsity championship
and wrestled great. I thought
a lot of people were probably
surprised that that Sherman
won and the other one didn’t,
but I think Chase is going to
be a force this year,” Anderson said.
Photo by Jessalyn Holdcraft
The team placed fourth
Junior Chase Sherman wrestles a Fairbury opponent in the championship match for 285 lbs. C. behind two ranked teams,
Sherman won 11-2 major decision.
Schuyler (No. 3) and Platts-
in a rematch of from his first
dual two days earlier.
“I just wasn’t in wrestling shape and I didn’t have
enough practice,” B. Sherman said.
The team traveled to Waverly to take on the Vikings
in a dual. The Vikings won
45-31.
Seven Cardinals won their
Waverly matches. Freshman Jace Ourada, Kalkwarf,
and Poteet won by decision,
while freshmen Isaac Betke
and Thatcher and both Shermans also pinned to wins.
“My first varsity win felt
awesome because I knew I
did well and I got something
positive out of it,” Ourada
said.
Six Cardinals medaled on
Dec. 11 at the annual Crete
Invite and led the team to
third place in the 13-team
tournament.
“I was happy with our
third place finish. We put
five guys in the finals and
had four champs” Anderson
Girls’ basketball battles to 2-1
Jessalyn Holdcraft
Copy/Content Editor/
Staff Coordinator
The No. 6 ranked Lady
Cardinals started their season
off to the right start sinking
the Lakeview Vikings 40-30.
“I think that we found out
a lot of stuff that we need to
work on,” head coach Marcus Gillespie said. “I thought
we played pretty well defensively. Offensively, we need
to do some figuring on how
to break a 2-3 zone.”
Sophomore Kaitlin Bradley had Crete’s first doubledouble of the season with 19
points and 10 rebounds and
three steals.
“I didn’t even know I could
that in the first game because
I just played the game,” Bradley said. “I wasn’t paying at-
tention to that stuff (stats).”
While Bradley led the
team in points and rebounds,
sophomore Alex Edwards led
the ladies with six assists and
five points on the night, and
sophomore Morgan Hill was
the team thief with four steals
and seven points.
“I think defense is more
important than offense, so I
try to work harder when I’m
on defense and it pays off,”
Hill said.
The first test for the Cardinal cagers came when they
took on No. 8 ranked Beatrice. The ladies fell to fellow
ranked foes 35-29.
“We needed to do a better
job of checking out because
we gave up way too many offensive rebounds. The other
thing we struggled with was
our shooting; we missed
12 layups,” Gillespie said.
“If we did one of those two
things differently, we probably could have come away
with a win.”
Another struggle for the
Cardinals has been their third
quarter play.
“Our third quarter right
now is atrocious. We’ve had
the lead in every game going
into halftime; I think it’s lack
of intensity coming out of the
half,” Gillespie said.
Senior Nicole Reetz sank
three threes to lead the girls
with nine points on the night.
Bradley consistently hit
the boards with eight rebounds, and Hill burglarized
Beatrice with three steals.
“I had to do what I had to
do,” Reetz said. “I just shot
and they went in.”
Crete bulldozed the Auburn Bulldogs to a 55-34
win.
Female Athlete
of the Month
Lydia Magnuson
Senior Lydia Magnuson was
chosen as the November’s Student
Council Athlete of the Month.
“I put hard work into cross country, so I feel accomplished,” Magnuson said.
She medaled in two meets.
Magnuson was 18th at the Aquinas
Invitational and ninth at the Lincoln
East Invite in the 11th and 12th
grade division.
Within the Cardinal harriers, she
was the recipient of the Julie Sullivan Award. This honor is presented
to the female runner who runs the
most total miles. Magnuson ran 438
miles in ther 2010 season preparations .
“I’m super excited for Lydia
because she is hard working,” head
coach Kyle Royuk said. “The last
three years in cross country she’s
been really dedicated to the sport.
She’s worked during both the season
and in the off season so all of this is
a reward for her hard work.”
Photo by Christina Jackson
esne on Tuesday, Dec. 28 at
“I thought they played press time.
The
girls
will
be
back
in
4:30pm at the new George
really well for most of the
action
over
break
at
the
Doand Sally Haddix Recreation
game. They came out in the
ane
Athletic
Club
Holiday
and Athletic Center. They will
fourth quarter and played
Tournament.
Their
first
game
play either Pierce or Elkhorn
really hard and finished the
will
be
against
Omaha
Duchon Wednesday, Dec. 29.
game,”
Gillespie
said.
The
Cardinal
cagers put up big
numbers on the
night. Hill was the
high scorer with 16
points and nine rebounds.
Bradley accounted for 15 points,
nine rebounds and
five steals. Edwards
had five steals and
six assists, and
Reetz added six
more assists.
“I’ve had to take
on a different role
this year as point
guard,”
Edwards
said. “I have to
be in charge and
make sure everyone
knows what offense
we’re in.”
The Lady Cardinals took on the
Photo by Jessalyn Holdcraft
Lady Jeffs on Fri- Sophomore Morgan Hill challenges a Beatrice player in a rundown for
day, Dec. 17 after the ball. The Cardinals lost to the Lady O 35-29.
Freshman Poteet Wins Home Invite With Pin
Photo by Jessalyn Holdcraft
Freshman Hunter Poteet puts his Waverly opponent into the ‘banana split’ move in the 145 lbs.
championship match at the Crete Invite. Poteet won with a pin in 4:33.
December 21, 2010
Page 10
words of a feather
Features
Suicides bring light to intolerance issues
Students wear purple to recognize ‘No Hate Day’
Christina Jackson
Circulation Manager
Recent incidents of gay
teen suicides in America have
put a spotlight on gay teens
being bullied and treated unfairly in school systems along
with the public eye.
At Rutgers University,
18 year old Tyler Clement
jumped off the George Washington Bridge in New Jersey,
and 13 year old Seth Walsh
hanged himself a week after
the Rutgers University incident.
Some students could put
up and deal with the bullying
and some students like Clement or Walsh cannot.
“I noticed there are more
gay and lesbian students
coming out but I don’t think
people are picking on them,”
sophomore Daria Bukovnik
said.
Sophomore Josselyn Escobar headed up an activist
project for Spanish teacher Janet Eckerson, Native
Speaker Spanish II.
Escobar and others went
around to different MAP
classes to ask students to
wear purple to contribute to
the hate day and show that
they were with it.
Wearing purple on October 24 would represent students who have died because
of people making fun of their
sexual orientation.
However, some students
didn’t know what the day
was about.
“All I knew was that it was
anti-hate and people wore
purple,” senior Nick Youssef
said.
Others expressed the
meaning and how important
this was to them as a student.
“I knew what it was because of the posters around
school, got a paper from Ms.
Eckerson’s Spanish class,
and researched it,” Sophomore Victor Arvizo said.
In the hallways students
say many things and use
words like gay, homosexual,
and fag as either being funny
and humorous or actually feel
that way towards someone
they consider homosexual
whether it is true or not.
“It’s not like people wear
sexual ID tags around as high
school students saying “gay,”
“straight,” “potential date
rapist,” Social Studies teacher Conway said.
“My students don’t use
those words in the range of
my hearing and they are seniors and they know it’s not
appropriate,” English teacher
Mary Georgi said. “It may be
more of a thing with younger
students.”
“I use it in a funny way,
not a serious and feel that
way about people who are,”
sophomore Taylor Groathouse said.
Verbal harassment is the
second common type of harassment among students who
are gay, lesbian, or bisexual.
The leading harassment is
physical harrassment.
According to Youth Pride
Inc, 84 percent of students report being verbally harassed
including being called names
and threatened because of
their sexual orientation while
73 percent of high school
students report hearing homophobic remarks such as
“faggot”, “gay,” or used the
phrase “that’s so gay.”
In 2005 GLSEN (Gay,
Lesbian, and Straight Edu-
cation Network) surveyed
LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) students
who reported that 90 percent
had experienced physical or
verbal harassment in the past
year.
At least 75 percent of
crimes against gay or lesbian
students are not reported to
anyone.
“I think that they are either embarrassed or they are
scared,” Arvizo said, “If they
do tell, something even worse
will happen; they just want
the problem to go away.”
“They
probably
are
ashamed of it because they
might not want people to
know they are getting picked
on for it,” sophomore Jackie
Ourada said.
Being that the gay teen
suicides have been circulating the media, many teachers and school administrators around the United States
have deemed this an issue.
“I know a lot of people
don’t like homosexuals
or speak out about them,”
Youssef said.
However, from a teacher’s
point of view, many do not
hear about students getting
bullied or label kids because
they are strictly there to teach
and educate the students.
“When I first began teaching, I had students that I
thought were probably gay,
but I’m not really sure that
they had a clue because there
was no way really for them
to know because the idea of
being gay was so closed, so
under norm.” Conway said.
The word “norm” means
“the normal way”. States like
Iowa, which recently voted
to allow gay marriages, have
made the Midwest seem to
National Stats:
Students experience
varying forms of abuse
Crime against gay or
lesbian students 75%
Experienced physical
harassment
90%
Report hearing
homophobic remarks 73%
Report being verbally
harassed
84%
Infographic by Christina Jackson
drift off the norm. Some students believe that man and
woman marriage is the correct way to live life, according to religious principles
“I do believe that marriage
should be man and woman but
I don’t think that gays should
be discriminated against for
who they are,” Senior Emily
Hintz said.
“Society has made a man
become so masculine so
when people see two guys
together, it’s like bashing on
every other guy’s manhood,”
senior Jake White said.
The issue of gays in
schools has become controversial with high school students across the nation.
“I can see no ill that can
come from love in any form,”
Conway said, “Just because
it’s not what we choose to
practice or to understand
doesn’t make it wrong.”
Students’ parents take on business ventures
Business owners’
kids overcome
stigmas of sub-par
school involvement
Courtesy Photo
Junior Karly Phipps poses with her mother,Tracy, who owns
Massage Therapy. Tracy runs Massage Therapy out of the
Phipps’ home.
Jake White
Copy/Content Editor
If one were to walk down
the streets of Crete, he or she
would see new businesses
seemingly popping out of the
pavement.
The city of Crete seems
to be on a streak of creating
original businesses; each trying to please a diverse customer base.
Many of those customers
are teenagers. Even more,
some of them are the children
of the owners.
“My mom owns Top Ten
Nails,” Junior Macy Sorensen
said. “Since the spa is right
there, I go to both places.”
Contrary to observations
that entrepreneurship in
families can have a negative
effect on their children, that
doesn’t seem to be the case
with many of the students
with parents who own a business in Crete.
“It doesn’t really affect
my school work,” Junior Julie Jirovec, whose dad owns
his own dental practice, said.
“I don’t usually have to help
around because there’s not a
Photo By Jake White
Photo By Jake White
Junior Julie Jirovec stands outside the Jirovec, Jirovec Dental
Center. Jirovec’s father and grandfather have been running
the Crete Dental Center for many years.
Junior Macy Sorensen stands outside the Top Ten Nails owned
by her mother Vicki Sorensen. It’s convient for students to get
their nails done and go to the Spa right next to Tpo Ten Nails.
lot I can do to help him since
he’s the dentist.”
Jirovec is an active member of National Honor Society, Future Scientists of
America, Student Council,
Future Business Leaders of
America, World Language
Club and Gymnastics.
Jirovec thinks “it’s convenient” for her because whenever she has a tooth problem,
she can go to her dad, the
dentist.
“I got my braces for free
because my dad sends all of
his customers to this orthodontist, so I got a discount,”
have to go to work, but then
there are times when she
needs to get out of the house,”
Phipps said.
Sorensen is an active
member of National Honor
Society, Student Council,
Future Business Leaders of
America, choir, cheerleading,
dance, and works at Dairy
Queen.
Sorensen is involved with
her mom’s business if it gets
busy. She puts materials
away and picks up the store;
also, she’ll help with cleaning the tanning beds.
With the work she puts in,
Jirovec said.
Junior Karly Phipps is an
active manager on the Crete
Wrestling team and works at
Dairy Queen.
Phipps doesn’t need to
help out too much with her
mom’s massaging business;
however, she doesn’t get
massages.
Traci Phipps brings her
work home with her; as a
massage therapist, she has her
office in her home to provide
a comfortable environment.
Phipps states that her mom
is “there too much.”
“It’s nice how she doesn’t
something does come out of
it. She receives tans for free,
nails for free, and hair done
for free.
“I like being there because
I learn how to do a lot of the
things she does,” Sorensen
said. “I learned how to do my
own nails.”
Although they own their
own businesses, most teenage
children look at their parents
as just having jobs. Except
with slightly more stress.
“My dad owning Jirovec
Dental doesn’t bother me too
much,” Jirovec said. “Sometimes he’s just gone a lot.”