the student voice of Irmo High SchoolTINGERSTHE

volume 44 • issue 5

Congratulations!Seniors and Eddie Walker

graduate from Irmo High SchoolMay 28, 2010

Sports19 Jock Shorts20 Seniors sign to colleges21 Sports traditions at IHS

Entertainment 5 Reflection on seniors’ lives 6 Talent Night at IHS 7 TV/CD/Book reviews

2 The Stinger

STAFFeditor in chief

business/circulation managerproduction manager

webmasternews editor

entertainment editorfeatures editor

sports editorphotography editor

staff coordinatoradviser

Annie ParhamCarson BedenbaughErin SavageRyan WilliamsKristi JuszkiewiczMichael NorthingtonSavanna BowersJames ThomasJessica SmithTylor BrownShannon Jaindl

The purpose of The Stinger is to inform the student body of Irmo High School about events affecting them, influence readers through respon-sible editorials, to entertain through features and to provide a medium for advertisers and consum-ers. These goals will be achieved through fair and accurate reporting.

The Stinger is published six times a year, in-cluding a prom supplement published in March and a senior supplement, to commemorate the graduating class, in May, by Journalism II-IV newspaper students at Irmo High School.

Unbylined editorials reflect the view of a majority of the Stinger senior editorial board. All bylined editorials, cartoons and personal columns reflect the opinion of the writer or artist.

The Stinger encourages letters to the editor as they constitute a constructive avenue for opinion. Letters to the editor must be signed by the writer to be considered for publication.

Letters may be brought to the Stinger room

(room 107) or sent by e-mail.The authenticity of the writer will be

verified before publication and letters may be edited for poor taste, libel, grammar, space, and style.

Special requests to withhold a name may be submitted if the topic is sensitive enough to warrant anonymity.

For advertising information or to request a subscription, please call (803) 476-3071.

School District 5 of Lexington and Richland Counties does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, creed, religion, sex, age, disability, or handicap in admission to, or access to, or treatment or employment in its programs or activities. Inquires should be di-rected to the Chief Officer of Human Resource Services (Title IX Coordinator) and the Director of Special Services (504/ ADACoordinator) at P.O. Box 938, Ballentine, SC 29002, (803) 476-8110 www.lex5.k12.sc.us

INDEX

Features 8 New officers elected10 Senior Supplement13 Blackboard Confessional

News 3 IHS Blood drive a success 4 Administrative changes

Irmo High School6671 St. Andrews Rd.Columbia, SC 29212

(803) 476-3071

TINGERSTHE

is now on the web!

www.ihsstinger.comVisit us at Editor’s note:

The school year is almostover—this is the last day for

seniors and just a few more days of exams for underclassmen.

Good luck, and have agreat summer!

- Annie

FIELD DAY: Field Day 2010 took place Fri-day, May 14 with the theme “Get Wild.” In the opening cer-emonies, drama students per-formed a dance to animal-re-lated songs.

NEWS

May 28, 2010 News - 3

Irmo High School works to save livesStudent Council helps students give back by organizing blood drive for Red Cross

JESSICA SMITH, photography editorjsmith@ihsstinger.com

THE RED CROSS ARRIVES: Shayla Baker, senior, vol-unteers her arm to the nurses to help save lives. As a whole, the students of Irmo High School worked together to collect over 200 units of blood, suc-cessfully reaching the school ’s goal.

As she sits patiently, senior Katie Hurt thinks about the decision she just made: the decision to give blood. She waits in line, gets to the desk, provides her personal information and receives a big sticker with her name on it. She’s nervous as she waits even though she has given blood five times before.

“I’m scared because I’m tired when I get home every time,” Hurt said.

This year alone, hundreds of students have chosen to give blood to the American Red Cross. They put aside worries associated with needles and blood and give, because they know the reward will be much greater.

“I want to save lives, and I know people who need it,” Hurt said.

Saving lives is the reason Hurt says she returns to give blood at Irmo, no matter how how she feels, because living in fear will not save the lives of her family and her friends.

Over 208 students decided to give blood this spring, reaching the school’s goal of 200 units of blood. Last Fall, Irmo surpassed its goal by 204 units of blood.

A lot of work is required for the blood drives to exist each semester. Student Coun-cil representatives schedule the blood drive a year in advance. Then the Red Cross plans the events during a Leadership class. The day be-fore, Student Council spends most of its free time covering the gym in mats, tables, chairs and then cleaning up after the event.

Sibela Pinochet, Student Council adviser, has been supporting the cause for 10 years, 20 blood drives in all.

“After the blood drive students stayed un-til late hours putting things away and return-

ing equipment,” Pinochet said. “We borrowed tables from local churches and the chairs from Ms. Marcou.”

Jeremiah Santiago, junior and a member of Student Council, signed up to help with the blood drive. In the process, he learned a little more about how the Red Cross and donating blood really make a impact on society.

“I learned that the Red Cross is a reputa-ble institution,” Santiago said. “They provide a great deal of help to the community with its volunteer efforts.”

Pinochet and Student Council are also in charge of making sure students meet require-ments to give blood.

“Schedules of donors, passes to class, teachers’ and parents’ permissions are done in advance,” Pinochet said. “Everything takes time, good planning, effective team work and positive attitudes to help save lives.”

Along with being a good charity, the blood drive is another reason for students to take pride in Irmo High School.

“It is an example of what our Irmo nation is capable of doing when we all work togeth-er,” Pinochet said.

Many students pursuing medical careers take advantage of the blood drive by talking to nurses and learn about the field. Pinochet says the event helps students learn the impor-tance of service, helping make a difference in our school and in our community.

“The Blood Drive is an opportunity to make a difference beyond our school’s walls,” Pinochet said. “Through the Red Cross Blood Drive students learn how to save lives.”

Ask Mr. Walker

?Why can’t students wear pajama pants to

school?

One of our goals at Irmo High School is to get students in the habit of “Dressing for Success” to assist them once they

go into the job market.I don’t know of very

many jobs where people can wear pajama pants to work.

4 - News The Stinger

The 2009-2010 school year is coming to an end with some big changes in store for Irmo High School’s administration.

Principal Eddie Walker is retiring, and Rob Weinkle will become Irmo’s new prin-cipal.

Leadership changes are coming to other administrative staff as well. Paul Shealy, ad-ministrative assistant, and Dan McGehee, as-sistant principal, are retiring at the end of this school year along with Walker.

Other staff members who will not return next school year are Ann Pilat, administra-tive assistant, and Amy Warren, who came to Irmo this school year as an assistant principal and ninth-grade girls’ administrator.

“Mr. McGehee, Mr. Walker and my-self decided to retire at the end of this year,” Shealy said.

“The administration was asked if anyone wanted to stay on the staff, they would have to reapply by writing a letter to Mr. Weinkle about why they want to have the position they have now,” Shealy said.

“After that, he would read the letters and interview everyone on the following Satur-

Changes come to Irmo High administrationday.”

Weinkle held his interviews with the ad-ministrative staff members from Irmo on Sat-urday, April 24. With him was the District 5 director of secondary education Reggie Dean.

Shealy said that the purpose of doing this was so Weinkle would be confident in his staff next year and the work that they do with the students and the parents.

Buddy Price, director of community ser-vices for District 5, explained more about the coming changes in Irmo’s administration.

“Two of the four administrators on year-by-year agreements have indicated they do not wish to return next year, and two have indicated an interest in returning,” Price said.

“It’s not uncommon for a new leader in a school, in the school district or in a business environment to edit his staff to get the best possible staff,” Price said.

Shealy agreed and said he is comfortable with the outcome.

“I think the three coming back will play a major role because of their knowledge and experience with the students and staff and also their skills developed over the many years

Plans for the futureRYAN WILLIAMS, webmasterrwilliams@ihsstinger.com

they have worked here,” Shealy said.Tom Wise, assistant principal, Beth Fish-

er, assistant principal, and Willie Olawsky, administrative assistant, will be returning next year.

Shealy also said he thinks Weinkle is a very capable and very fair decision maker.

“He will hold everyone accountable for their actions and will have high expectations,” Shealy said. “It will take everyone working to-gether to achieve that.”

Olawsky came up with an analogy to de-scribe the staff changes.

“It’s kind of a like a kickball team,” Olawsky said. “You know how when the cap-tains pick the the players, they [choose who they] know they’re going to win with.

“I guess the purpose is for the new prin-cipal to choose who he wanted for working on his team.”

Olawsky said he is glad to be coming back to work at Irmo. “I love my job. [I’m] looking forward to working with Mr. Weinkle.”

Paul Shealy

10th and 11th grade boys administrator

3 years at IrmoMr. Shealy said he plans to spend more time with his granddaughter, spend time in the mountains and fix his house there. He also said he would like to do more volunteer work.

Dan McGehee

12th grade boys and girls administrator

7 years at IrmoMr. McGehee would like to spend more time in the moun-tains and spend a lot of time doing whatever he wants to do.

Amy Warren Eddie Walker

9th grade girls administrator

1 year at IrmoMrs. Warren will continue work-ing as the Field Ambassador for the National Beta club. She has also started a company with her family that designs souvenirs for tourists on cruises.

Principal5 years at Irmo

is enjoying not having any plans. He plans to begin work-ing on his wife’s “honey-do” list. He also plans to get some rest after he helps his youngest son move to New Orleans for college.

Entertainment - 5May 28, 2010

ENTERTAINMENT

SAVANNA BOWERS, features editorsbowers@ihsstinger.com

Looking back to look ahead:Looking back on the happenings throughout the Class of 2010’s lives

Desert Storm begins.Magic Johnson announces his HIV problem.

Real World and Beavis and Butthead debut on MTV.Jay Leno makes his Tonight Show debut as per-manent host, succeeding Johnny Carson.

Bill Clinton becomes president.World Trade Center in New York is bombed.World Wide Web is established.Michael Jordan retires from pro-basketball (only to return in 1995).

OJ Simpson is charged with the murders of Nicole Simp-son and Ronald Goldman.

Sony Play Station Consul released in USA.Last strip of Calvin and Hobbes is pub-

lished.

Criminal trial of OJ Simpson is opened.Senior class of 2010 enters kindergarten. After 24 years, Disneyland Main Street Electrical Pa-rade, ends

President Bill Clinton was impeached for charges stem-ming from an affair with intern Monica Lewinski.At 21-years-old, Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to win the Masters. ID Tags were required at Irmo.Google is launched.

President Clinton was acquitted on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.SpongeBob SquarePants made its debut on Nickelodeon with its first three episodes: “Help Wanted,” “Reef Blower” and “Tea at the Treedome.”

World population reaches 6 billion people, as the 6 bil-lionth person is born. Y2K scare is over after an uneventful New Year’s Eve

George W. Bush is announced President of the United States. Wikipedia is launched on the Internet.The Twin Towers were attacked by two al-Qaeda airplanes.

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

The No Child Left Behind Act is signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush.The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City, Utah.

United States plans for an invasion of Iraq due to an im-minent threat from weapons of mass destruction.

Facebook was founded at Cam-bridge, Massachusetts.

George W. Bush beat John Kerry for the presidential election.

George W. Bush is inaugurated in Washington, D.C. for his second term as the 43rd President of the United States.

Senior class of 2010 enters high school.A total solar eclipse occurred. Google buys YouTube for USD $1.65 billion.NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft makes its second fly-by of Venus en route to Mercury.

Apple introduces iPhoneand iTouch.

Barack Obama wins the presidential election, becoming the first African-American president of the United States.

Outbreak of the H1N1 (swine flu) illness.Michael Jackson, King of Pop, passes away.

We say farewell to the Senior Class of 2010.

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Congratulations!

6 - Entertainment The Stinger

preesh int. – to appreciate, to express gratitude to one who has done you a favor

ex: Person 1: “Hey, I copied those papers for you.” Person 2: “Preesh!”

bestie n. – term given to someone who is your best friend or who has obtained best friend status

ex: Person 1: “Who is it that I always see you with?” Person 2: “Oh, that’s just my bestie, Earl!”

Sophomore wins talent competitionIrmo High School’s cafeteria

is a place that’s normally used to provide food for Irmo stu-dents; however; it was recently transformed into a stage where students danced, sang, and per-formed at the second annual tal-ent showcase.

Joseph Carrobotta, sopho-more, win first place for the fourth year in a row for is orginal guitar solo.

Some students who partici-pated in the showcase said they did it, to show their talent, others said they did it for the experi-ence.

Students of all grades and with different talents made up the six acts that performed April 29.

Carrobotta, kicked off the event by performing a guitar solo.

He was followed by freshmen, Joshua Pressley and Darique Anderson’ Hamm, who rapped an orignal piece. Third was Tia Nash and Antaria Austin, both sophomores, who performed a hip-hop dance duet. Following Nash and Austin, was freshman, Kidja Bookman, who sang “Cast All Your Cares Away.” Trevor Wilkins, freshman and Tevin Trapp, sophomore, then per-formed a hip hop dance. Dequan Watkins, senior, ended the show-case by performing a rap.

Carrobotta received a cash prize of $50. That talent show-case was hosted by The D.I.V.A. Dance Team.

IRMO’S GOT TALENT: Joseph Carrobotta, sophomore, won first place in the talent show for the second year in a row. Five acts competed in the April showcase put on by the D.I.V.A Dancers.

Kristi Juszkiewicz

KRISTI JUSZKIEWICZ, news editorkjuszkiewicz@ihsstinger.com

Field Day Events and Class WinnersFreshmen

Juniors

Battle of the BrainsBoys 4x100 Relay

Boys Weight liftingDance Contest

Doubles TennisFirefighter Mission

Girls Obstacle CourseSoccer

Boys Obstacle CourseDance Dance Revolution

Dodgeball

Musical ChairsSoccer Tennis

Sophomores

200m DashBeach Volleyball

Break dancingHoley Bucket

Human Body RollKickball

Ninja ContestPiggy Back Race

Sidewalk ChalkSoccer

The Great PyramidTumbling

Ultimate FrisbeeWheelbarrow Race

You Won’t Eat it

SeniorsBoys BasketballEating Contest

Football

Slide for LifeSoftball

Water Balloon Contest

PIE IN THE EYE: Principal Eddie Walker and Amy War-ren, administrative assistant, take a pie to the face on camera. Walker and Warren did this to motivate students to donate blood at the Red Cross Blood Drive held by Student Council.

May 28, 2010 Reviews - 7

TELEVISION

REVIEWSViolent show returns for another season of battles

“Deadliest Warrior”

JEREMIAH PRINCE, guest writer

BOOKS

MUSIC

self, Fergie. That’s right, Fergie arrived on the album with some sexy vocals and rocker attitude on the song “Beau-tiful Dangerous.” M. Shadows blows up the mic beside solo-shredding Slash on the song “Nothing to Say.” Slash goes back to his fast and wild guitar riffs in my favor-ite song on the album “Doctor Alibi,” featuring Lemmy Kilmister of the metal band Motorhead.

Slash’s new album shreds to #3 on the Billboard 200 charts and #1 on Rock and Hard rock album charts. This album was released March 31, 2010, and released 61,000 copies in the first week of its release. This album combines different genres and targets a wide variety audience. If you have been searching for an album to start off your summer or just finding a fresh new album to blow your eardrums out to, I strongly recommend picking up a copy of Slash’s solo album or buying it on iTunes.

Legendary rock guitarist Slash has unleashed his solo album on the masses. His new solo album, titled “Slash,” is already debuting at the top of the Billboard charts. The album features the fragments of the old school Guns N’ Roses line up (excluding Axl Rose) with collaborations of other great singers. Slash has already been inducted in the rock hall of fame next to his idols Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page. Slash climbed his way to guitar god status af-ter joining Guns N’ Roses, a snarling band that thrived in the gritty underground pits of 1980s L.A. and riot-filled stadiums of the 1990s.

The top-hat-donning guitarist can play a mean guitar but met one obstacle before he could unveil his vicious solo album: he can’t sing. Instead of seeing it as a flaw in his plans, Slash saw an opportunity. He would collabo-rate with different singers on each song ranging from the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne, to the duchess her-

Guns N’ Roses’s Slash returns solo in self-titled album“Slash” by Slash

KEVIN MONTENEGRO, guest writer

Spike’s “Deadliest Warrior” has returned for a new season of skull-smashing, spine-splitting, ballistics gel-shooting science sure to please the blood-crazed nerd in all of us.

Season two began in April, with “Deadliest Warrior” answering the all-important question: “Who would win in a fight?” Pitting modern and ancient warriors--who have never met on a battlefield--against each other, the show uses weapon tests, computer programs and medical science to determine who the deadliest warriors are.

Surely every group of guys has at least once debated whether a viking would beat a samurai or whether a Spar-tan would beat a ninja. Those conversations probably in-cluded little medical or scientific evidence, were based on false facts and unsupported opinions and undoubtedly yielded no conclusion. This show offers a nicely informa-

tive bloodbath that doesn’t let the education aspect get in the way of the violence.

Each show begins with an introduction of two com-batants, dramatized by stunt men with weapons. Then, each warrior’s weapons are tested on pig carcasses, ballis-tics gel torsos, human skulls and other targets. After every test is completed, data is entered into a computer program that simulates 1,000 battles between the two warriors. Whoever gets the most kills is portrayed by a stunt man against his opponent in a “final battle.”

An aspect of the show that has gained it a lot of popu-larity would have to be the ballistics gel torsos, filled with fake blood and organs for the warrior representatives to bludgeon, stab, chop, slice and shoot. “Deadliest Warrior” is sure to start many raucous and obnoxious arguments regarding the winner.

Do you know your horoscope sign? The Element En-cyclopedia of Birthdays by Theresa Cheung has all twelve horoscope signs, but it goes deeper than that. It looks at the readers date of birth (It has all 366 days of the year.) and gives them a personality evaluation based on their special day. If they were to look up their birthday they would find out what their greatest challenge is, what they may act like as a child and adult, and their best and worst traits.

It also has all the horoscope signs which include: Ar-ies, Leo, Sagittarius, Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn, Gemini,

New encyclopedia analyzes birthday meanings“The Element Encyclopedia of Birthdays”

AMANDA PAGE, guest writer

Libra, Aquarius, Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces.They are all based on the month and day people were

born. Every sign has different traits that make people un-der that sign unique.

Whether an Aries to Pises people discover their sup-posed darkest secret, health problems, love matches, and many more interesting things about themselves. Whether it’s a bunch of bologna (like some people say) or surpris-ingly accurate, this book is fun to read when with friends, or just bored.

8 - Features The Stinger

FEATURES

YOUSEF IBREAKpresident

ANTHONY SANTIAGOvice president

CAROLINE GARRISsecretary

Caroline Garris, sophomore, had no problem running for her position: Secre-tary for the 2012-2011 school year. Being unopposed, Garris felt none of the stress of campaigning and competition.

Nevertheless Garris is fully prepared and experienced to fulfill the position of secretary.

“I was on the executive board this year, and I do the books (one giant binder that

Yousef Ibreak, junior, was elected as the President of the Irmo student body for the 2010-2011 school year.

Ibreak steps into the position with nu-merous ideas and much enthusiasm.

“I plan on focusing on improving cur-rent activities and projects such as pep ral-lies, dances, the bonfire, blood drives, and more,” Ibreak said. “I also plan on intro-ducing more projects such as ‘homeless for a night,’ where students raise money and clothing for Columbia’s homeless by hav-ing a fundraiser where student camp out in the parking lot.”

Ibreak has experience being the student body treasurer for the 2009-2010 school year and on the South Carolina Associa-tion of Student Council’s District 3 chair. He wants to improve Irmo for the better.

Student Council Officers elected for 2010-2011 “I know I can increase the spirit, the

school, and hope to simply create a better vibe at Irmo,” Ibreak said.

Like many others Ibreak used flyers, posters, stickers, facebook, car paint, and candy to campaign against opponent Ke-nai McFadden, junior. Candy seemed to be the one of the best used tactic.

“Passing out the candy allowed me to meet a bunch of cool people and talk to them about why I was running,” Ibreak said.

Ibreak’s video, however, had some problems in the making.

“Well at 1:30 in class I found out my video was due at 4:00 that day,” Ibreak said. “With almost nothing planned, I asked whoever I knew was free to meet me after school to tape something,THe slogan ‘Call me Yousef Ibreak, I can make your school rock!’ became the theme and we made the best video possible with the 30 minutes we had.”

Many candidates videos persuaded the voters, and although Ibreak’s wasn’t up to par, he still outshined in the elec-tions.

“Those who came after school really helped me and have no idea how much that meant to me that they came,” Ibreak said.

Ibreak says he owes his win to his friends, supporters, and voters of course.

“I’d like to say ‘thank you’ to everyone who supported me in any way during this campaign, and I am honored to be Irmo’s Student Body President,” Ibreak said.

Sophomore Anthony Santiago has been elected next year’s vice president.

“I’ve been helping with student council a lot lately, and I finally decided that I wanted to be in office,” Santiago said.

Santiago has done much work around the district as well as throughout the state.

“I’ve helped with the blood drive, field day, SCASC District 3 Rally, SCASC Cherry Grove and SCASC State.” Santiago said.

Santiago took a traditional route cam-paigning by handing out flags, stickers, posters and water bottles. Overall Santiago feels his video is what contributed most to his win.

“I believe it was the campaign video that helped me win because the rest of the school that I wasn’t able to reach during the week of the campaign got to see who I was,” Santiago said.

Santiago’s video included some students tumbling and dancing for him, many stu-dents and faculty telling people to vote for Anthony, and some famous guests.

“I asked Sean Foreman from 3OH!3 to do me a favor, and he did,” Santiago said. “DjProstyle, the radio guy or DJ, is family.”

Santiago says he is prepared to take on the job as vice president for the 2010-2011 school year.

“I plan to make a more efficient blood drive next year, and help Yousef as much as I can with other events,” Santiago said.

keeps records of important forms), so it was something I already knew how to do,” Garris said.

As well as secretary-like duties, Gar-ris has been an active member of Student Council in other areas.

“I was spirit chair this past year, and I was in student council my freshman year,” Garris said.

Garris says she has plans to help stu-dent council next year.

“[I plan to] kick people out of student council when they don’t do what they’re supposed to and get student council more organized,” Garris said.

May 28, 2010 Features - 9

OLIVIA CURREY AND GRACE LAY

public relationsOlivia Currey and Grace Lay, juniors,

were elected Public Relations officers for the 2010-2011 school year. From the start Currey and Lay knew they would be a great partnership.

“Grace is great,” Currey said. “We’ve worked together before so we knew we’d be able to compliment each other.”

As results show, Lay and Currey put

Jordan Fulton, sophomore, is going to be Irmo High’s new treasurer for the 2010-2011 school year. Fulton is well ex-perienced with financial management.

“I have been in the fund raising sec-tion of student council for two years now,” Fulton said, “and feel as though I would be qualified to take over.”

Fulton has also had other various jobs with Student Council.

“I have been on the Executive board and PR section of the Student Council,” Fulton said.

Unlike Ibreak and Santiago, Fulton had no competition in running for such a prestigious position, but still enjoyed running.

“It was obviously quite easy,” Fulton said. “I still wanted to get my name and face out to the student body, but running was a really nice experience overall.”

Fulton already has many plans and ideas to improve Irmo High School.

“Next year I will plan many fund rais-ers such as ice cream sales, t-shirt sales, car washes and food sales, as well as gath-ering the support of the entire student council to help raise a lot of money for our school and our schools activities,”

He acquired these ideas from past treasurers as well as treasurers from other schools in order to have a well rounded perspective of being a treasurer.

With Fulton, people have no prob-lems worrying about Irmo’s treasury.

“I would also like to say that the stu-dent body can safely trust me as treasurer next year,” Fulton said.

JORDAN FULTONtreasurer

JARRETT EASON AND PHILLIP SMITH spirit chair

up a great campaign and used many different strategies to make sure their names would be known by the Irmo Student body.

“Grace and I used banners, buttons, fly-ers, stickers, candy, t-shirts, and we gave out leis and Lay’s chips since Grace’s last name is Lay,” Currey said.

Currey and Lay contribute a lot of their win to their supportive friends.

“They were awesome!” Currey said. Many of Currey and Lay’s friends also let

them paint “Vote for Olivia and Grace!” all over their cars.

Both girls have some experience when it comes to Public relations and leadership roles.

“I’ve done a lot with PR this year with

making the banners that go up around the school, Currey said. “We both were in charge of the Decoration Committee for District Rally in October.”

Currey and Lay are already making plans to improve PR for next year. “[We need] more energy and enthusiasm,” Cur-rey said. “We want the school spirit back to the way it was when we were freshmen.”

These two girls say they are not worried about the job.

“Public relations is something we both know we can improve and take to the next level,” Currey said.

CARSON BEDENBAUGH, business/circulationcbedenbaugh@ihsstinger.com

Jarrett Eason and Phillip Smith, juniors were elected the Spirit Chairs for the 2010-2011 School Year.

Both say they found it easy to campaign with no competition.

“It was great,” Eason said. “We both didn’t have to spend money campaigning, but, even if we were opposed, we would still win.”

Eason says her and Smith are great part-ners.

“Phillip and I are both members of stu-dent council and have grown up together since we were in first grade,” Eason said. “We both have really great ideas and know how to have a good time.”

Eason and Smith both went to the Stu-dent Council State convention, a weekend-long student council function in Laurens, South Carolina, in March, and they say they

have gotten many good ideas for the up-coming year. They have also been very ac-tive members of student council for some time now.

Eason and Smith say they plan to make the school more spirited.

“Phillip and I plan to actually have spirit,” Eason said. “Our goal is to get the entire school involved and want to come to pep rallies and sporting events. We want to make some changes that will hopefully allow us to have more freedom to try new things.” Eason said

Eason and Smith say they have big plans for next year.

“Were planning on making next year, our senior year, the best yet,” Eason said. “We want everyone to be united as one school in order to make school and sports events better,” Eason said.

10 - Features The Stinger

Academy of Art UniversityKatie Crumpton

graduatingclassthe

of Irmo High School

Appalachian StateJohn Walters

Augusta StateUniversity

Brooke McCants

Benedict CollegeJade Woolley

Bethune-CookmanEbony Nylash Folkes

Daisha HudsonDeborrah SmithEricka Toomer

Central CarolinaTechnical College

Ronair Jasper-Felder

Charleston Southern University

Marquesha GillJanea Chipp

Claflin UniversityRebecca Ali-Cassim

Michael JenningsClemson University

Shayla Baker

Clemson University –Calhoun Honors College

Erin WesterkamCoastal Carolina

Bradley LloydJamal-Malik Mitchell

Kuantyce PryorStephen RodgersAntonio Stewart

Coker CollegeBethany Bracy

College of CharlestonAudrey HackerAmanda WattsKaitlyn White

Columbia CollegeFarron Gordon

Kailyn ScottTamia Truesdale

Columbia International University

Kevin KeckeisenCaleb Wimberly

Columbia UniversityMariam Gadjiko

Delta State UniversityHeidi NicholsLaura Nichols

Cara White

Duke UniversityJuanita Hazel

Margaret OliverEckard College

Colleen RastEmbry-Riddle

Aeronautical UniversityRico DeLa Rosa

Erica BaskinRobert Baxley

Ross BurnsClinton ButlerBlake CalamasAndrew ChanJustin ChilesJohn Clamp

Kayla DicksonKorynn Duke

Bailey HamlettHeyana HawkinsStephen Johnson

George KitchukovKyle Manross

Raven NesmithAustin PellJohn Ranly

Stephen SamsElane SimmonJoseph Vinson

May 28, 2010 Features - 11

Florence-DarlingtonAnthony Ford

Francis MarionUniversity

Tyquaisha DavisShakila Reid

Shanique SimpsonJazz Washington

Furman UniversityEliza Ballou

Georgia Military CollegeAmanda Evans

Georgia SouthernU niversity

DeAndre Williams

Greenville TechnicalCollege

Danielle ExcellJustin Roberts

Howard UniversityRachel KershawCiara Robinson

Johnson & WalesAubriaunna Guinyard

Lander UniversityJoseph Ali-Cassim

Paige RaileyBrianna Stanton

Liberty UniversityLia Grist

Limestone CollegeGarrett Ciriello

Midlands TechnicalCollege

Michael AssiniGinnie BarbeAlivia Binyard

Nicholas CarnabuciTomothy CartinSonovia CastilloMichael ChaffinRichard ChaffinWilliam Chavis

Ashley CodyShaQuetta DavisDesiree DzambaHeather DzambaBlane Edwards

Olivia Gasque-CarterDwayne GrahamClaudia GuytonKelli Hamilton

Gregory HarmonBrion Hayes

Karey JohnsonBrandon JordanJordan Kirven

Spencer LourieMichael Mars

Joshua McElveenBrandon MillerMadison Owens

Joshua RichardsonTimothy Riley

Tithirat TipvareeJonathan Vaughns

Kayla WatkinsNakiya WilsonJulia Wittorf

Kourtnee AndersonChawnise DuBard

MilitaryChyenne Bouknight

Travis HiltonWilliam Yarber

Newberry CollegeParis Richardson

Katherine SimpsonBianca Warder

North GreenvilleUniversity

Stephen ArnesonMason MartinezLauren Shealy

Northwestern UniversityJalen Motes

Presbyterian CollegeLauren BookoutMargaret CarsonRachel Hartman

Heather McGowanQueens UniversityChristopher TroyerSanta Fe CollegeMorgan Adams

Savannah College of Art and DesignEvan Allen

Kimberly Ware

Krystal HiltonKhristian Williams

SC State UniversityAntwan Williamson

Spartanburg Methodist College

Bryce DouglassTodd Knight

12 - Features The Stinger

The CitadelWilliam BurnBrian Milhous

Tri-County TechnicalCollege

Emily FranchukAlexa Hamilton

Courtney JacksonAshley Jenkins

Katrina McGaugheyKelly VanderHeideJoseph Robinson

University of AlabamaMorgan Fields

University of GeorgiaRadha Patel

University of KentuckySarah Otte

University of NorthCarolina – Chapel Hill

Elizabeth VanlueUniversity of South Carolina

Ibrahim AskarAlison BarberJeffery Berger

Amanda BrownJohn ChapmanAndre ClemonsJames Cranford

Biyun CuiJonathan CurtisCullen DaltonLouvenia Davis

Christopher DoucettJohn EckstromPreston Gainey

Selma HadziametovicLisa Johns

Heather JohnsonMatthew Long

Ashley LordJacob Lord

Mallory MacgargleMeredith MelvenSamantha MillerKitra Monnier

Sara MooreJacob Morgan

Amanda MyersMary-Catherine Newell

James ParsonsMatthew Pecorella

Taelor PryorKaitlyn PurcellAadell Ragaban

John RoofStuart Sands

Alexander ShatalovJeffery ShuffieldHaley Stinson

Mayghen StockerCharles TedderAngelica TeranChanel TinsleyCaitlyn ViarsTori White

Byron WilliamsAverrie WilsonDavid Tolleson

USC – AikenOlajuwan WilkinsUSC – Beaufort

Taryn BrownUSC – Capstone

Vanessa Lindower

USC – Honors CollegeTyler Feldt

Ra’na HeidariCharles HoodAndrew JordanEric LeonhardtTaylor TsuboiUSC – SumterTaylor BoydMelissa Britt

USC – UpstateDominic Boyd

Jena BrownErica Hunter

Haylee HunterAshley Kosobucki

Cherie MurrayJulianna Pangle

Alexandra PontikasMegan Robinson

Daniella SpanUniversity of South Florida

Elizabeth NagyWayne State University

Chemere KimpsonWingate University

Jeffrey AutenWinthrop University

Ayles HerringtonJessica IrvinAshley Lake

Jessica PrenticeZachary Woods

Amanda Haselden

Stanford UniversityDavid Olson

Wofford CollegeAmanda Boyeson

Heather Rossi

May 28, 2010 Opinions - 13

Blackboardc o n f e s s i o n a l

Debbie Wellslager, English teacher, is almost always smiling when you pass by. Why is she so positive? Well, one reason is she lives by the serenity prayer.

This prayer is about accepting life the way it is and taking action when it is the right thing to do. This is something Mrs. Wellslager tries to do throughout her life.

“I feel like things that I’ve learned or that have happened to me have happened so I can help someone else,” she said.

She’s been at Irmo for three years and she has helped and sponsored Civinettes for about two. Lisa Burgin, teacher and Civinettes director be-lieves Mrs. Wellslager is very dependable and gives her all in everything she does.

“She helped me out with the special edu-cation dance (something Civinettes do every year), she organized that. She also helps out at meetings. It’s good to have a second opin-ion,” Burgin said

Even though Wellslager won’t be a primary Civinettes co-sponsor next year, she hopes she will still be able to help out.

This is he third year teaching and her third year at Irmo. She majored in English in college, and her favor-ite works of literature are Shake-speare’s.

“I chose to be a teacher be-cause that’s what I studied in col-lege and it was a way to give back to the community,” she said.

She also has students’ best in-terests at heart according to Mrs. Burgin.

“She really cares about her students. For example, if someone doesn’t have something they need for class she’ll call them and ask them what’s going on. Not many teachers would do that. She’s a real asset to the school,”Burgin said.

Beside working with the Civinettes and teaching, Mrs. Wellslager has other hobbies and enjoys working out.

Paul DuPre Loved by his real family and his school family, Paul DuPre doubles as a

special education assistant as well as a member of the U.S. Army Reserve. At school, DuPre works primarily with Autistic special education stu-

dents. “I love seeing each student making progress in their own special way,”

DuPre said. What some may not know about DuPre is that in 2006-2007 he spent

over a year on active duty with the Army Reserve as the Chief of Network Security for South West Asia. He worked in Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan and Qatar.

DuPre had many experiences overseas that were very different and eye-opening.

“On one trip I flew from Baghdad to Kuwait with two Marines on board who had been

killed in combat. It was a really sad experi-ence for everyone on the aircraft, and I will never forget it,” DuPre said.

He also said that, on the same trip, they lost an engine which can

be very dangerous. DuPre said it was

tough leaving his family for a long period of time, and it was

difficult on his wife and four kids not knowing where he was and what he was doing.

DuPre has been involved in the military for over 30 years.

“My father served in World War II, and I grew up around the military. That’s

how I became interested in the military,” DuPre Said.

DuPre is married to Carla Du-Pre, and they have four children: John Paul, 20, Wiles, 17, Clara, 16, and Patrick, 13.

Outside of school DuPre spends time with his fam-ily, enjoys his sons’ baseball and his daughter’s dance competitions and he enjoys hunting.

Debbie Wellslager

AMANDA PAGE, guest writer EMMA BLANKS, guest writer

14 - Opinions The Stinger

OPINIONS

Savanna Bowers

The downside of Formspring.medrawn by Michael Northington

formspring

Why do you smell like

my dead grandma?What the ...?

If you have a Formspring.me account, you’re probably discovering how some people really feel about you.

If you have been living under a rock for the past few weeks and you’re wondering

what Formspring.me is, I’ll tell you. Form-spring.me is a new social networking web site that’s similar to the truth box that appeared on MySpace a few years ago. Its actual pur-pose is for anyone to be able to ask you any question, either anonymously or not. What it comes down to is the fact that you can be as mean or as nice as you want to a person and they never have to know it’s you.

Personally, I’ve received a few questions and comments that might send an insecure person over the top. I also know some people who have received very inappropriate and threatening comments. It’s kind of disturbing and scary what people come up with to post on someone else’s wall when they can hide behind anonymity.

The one thing that really bothers me about Formspring.me is that you can never know who is saying what if they choose to be anonymous. Your best friend could very easily

be on the other side of the computer trashing you just because they want to.

I think the people that are anonymously trashing others are extremely cowardly. They make others feel inferior because they’re ei-ther self-conscious or jealous of the person.

Formspring.me was not made for cyber-bullying, but that’s exactly what people use it for. Cyber bullying on websites like Form-spring.me and Myspace.com has become a serious issue and is thought to be the cause of a few recent suicides.

Formspring.me and other social network-ing sites shouldn’t be used for breaking people down.

They should be used for their intended purposes - finding old friends, meeting new people, sharing pictures and stories, and net-working with people who share common in-terests and goals.

Kristi Juszkiewicz“Why can’t you be more like your sister?”Maybe because I want to live my own life,

Mom!Okay, so my mom doesn’t just flat-out ask

me to be more like my sister. But, it’s definite-ly implied in the talks that we tend to have a lot.

These talks generally fall into three dif-ferent categories of comparisons. Those three categories are the Grade Talk, the Room Talk and the Car Talk, and they are all torturous to me.

The Grade TalkIt seems that my mom is always compar-

ing my grades to my sister’s grades. When-ever we are having the Grade Talk, she always brings up things like, “When your sister was in this class, she had an A in it,” and “How come your sister gets good grades and you can’t?”

I’m so sick of my mom always telling me about my sister’s achievements in school. It’s not like I’m not trying my hardest to do the best that I can do. It’s just that my hardest effort doesn’t seem to produce the kind of grades that match the grades my sister, Me-lissa, gets.

Take math, for example. I hate math, un-like my sister who loves math . . . or at least she passes it. All the numbers and rules just don’t click in my brain, like they do in my sister’s.

The Room TalkMy mom is always on my back about the

cleanliness and neatness of my room at home. She tells me that I need to clean it and get

my stuff up off the floor, that it needs to be more organized-like my sister’s room is--and that it should stay just as clean as Melissa’s room stays.

Well, first off, Mom, if you would just stay out of my room, then there wouldn’t be a problem at all.

Secondly, my sister Melissa is in college, so most of the time she isn’t even at home. So yeah, obviously her room is going to stay cleaner than mine, because no one is ever in there!

In addition to that, Mom, I could remind you that we moved in last May--a whole year ago--and you still haven’t put up the shelves that I need in my room, so I can get the stuff off the floor.

It isn’t even like my stuff is just sitting there, either. At least it stays in its own little corner.

The Car TalkNow that I am at the age where I can drive

by myself, all I need is a car to be able to get where I need to go. But, you guessed it, my mom will not budge at all when we discuss this subject.

So, since my sister got her car during her junior year of high school, I figured that I would probably get my car during my junior year at Irmo, too. Well, guess what? My mom said that if I want a car, I will have to pay for it myself.

Way to be senile, Mom.She defends this decision by saying stuff

like, “Your sister is more responsible.” No, I don’t think this is about Melissa being more responsible. I think my sister just happened to be the right age at the right time.

Also, if my mom was to get me a car . . . hello! She wouldn’t have to drive me any-where anymore. This would be especially good since she’s always complaining about how she has to drop me off at dance, pick me up at dance, take me to my friend’s house, and get me anywhere else I need to go. Well, if I have my own car, Mom, you won’t have to worry about it.

I’m not saying that my mom is constantly comparing me to my sister. Mainly, it’s just those three particular categories. It’s just that my mom doesn’t know when to stop.

I love my sister, but I don’t want to be her.

Suffering from secondsibling syndrome

May 28, 2010 Opinions - 15

KIDS INTHEHALL

?Politicians hope to decrease the dropout rate by revoking the licenses of dropouts under 18. How do you

feel about this?

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“That’s really stupid, because they should drive. It’s not fair for them not to.”- Danil Weih

“That’s a good idea, because it will keep people in school. And they don’t need to be driving around with so much

free time because they can get into trouble.- Abby Frick

“That’d be stupid because if you drop out you’ll need a job and you can’t drive to it.”

- Everett Nickles

“I can understand why because if you’re not smart enough to be in high school, how could you feel smart to drive?

- Beatrice Britton

16 - Opinions The Stinger

Vanessa Lindower

Good advice for the rest of your life

So generally how this works is the seniors on the staff write a column known as their “senior column.” This usually consists of what they have learned in high school, words of wisdom, or funny childhood stories all rolled up into a nostalgic reflection of life. But ya know, I don’t have many good lessons I’ve learned at Irmo and my childhood stories are same old to me, so that leaves words of wis-dom. This is a compilation of my best advice that I wish to pass on to you rising sopho-mores, juniors and seniors, enjoy!

Act your age. There comes a time in every person’s life when it becomes unacceptable to drop food in your lap or let it dribble down your chin. If you cannot twirl spaghetti noo-dles successfully on a fork and then proceed to put it in your mouth, either don’t eat it in public or learn how to cut it! There is noth-ing more repulsive than to watch someone attempt to eat and instead become bathed in

the food. Learn table manners!Learn how to study now! As freshman

and sophomores, your class material isn’t what I would classify as rigorous, but study anyway! Find out what works for you so that later, when you actually need to study, you know how. I made this mistake and I still struggle with studying.

Be prepared! If you use Microsoft Office 2007 at home, make sure you always convert the file to 2003 before you save it onto your flash drive or cd. Most of the computers at Irmo aren’t compatible with Word 2003 and it would be in your best interest to think ahead…unless you’re looking to stall your presentation, in that case, only save it as a 2007 document!

Don’t conform. It may seem like the end of the world now if you’re different than other people, but really, it’s not. Always be open to change, but as long as it is healthy and keeps your best interest in mind. Don’t change for anyone else, stay true to yourself.

Don’t get caught up in all the drama. Re-member in elementary school, when everyone was friends with everyone? Well, when your senior year rolls around, you’ll see that come back. This past year the drama has stopped and the whole senior class has gotten along for the most part. Watch who you’re hurt-ing now, is it really worth it? Are these high school problems actually worth getting worked up about, or are you blowing it out of proportion?

Don’t procrastinate! Procrastination is evil! I have realized that if you put everything off, your tasks build up while your time dwin-dles and then all of a sudden, you’re crunched

for time. This is an easy way to stress yourself out when really, if you had completed each task when it was assigned, you wouldn’t be in this situation. I’m preaching to the choir at Irmo on this one.

Dress in layers. No matter what the sea-son, it always seems like you’ve got at least one class that blasts the air conditioning. If you dress in layers, then you are able to adjust for each classroom temperature. I would al-ways forget how cold my third block class was and when I got there, always regretted not carrying along a jacket.

Relax. Make it a point to take at least one mental health day a semester. Sometimes, the best therapy is to just stay home for abso-lutely no reason. Sleep in and lay around the house all day, you would be surprised how it recharges you!

Quick grammar lesson: Alright, this is a very important lesson, it will help you when you find yourself writing college admissions essays and papers for your upcoming lan-guage classes. “You’re” does not equal “your.” “You’re” is a contraction of “you” and “are,” so here it is properly used in a sentence, You’re very funny. “Your” is possessive, so properly used in a sentence, Your face is funny. Now you are prepared to fill in the blank, a). ______ house is on the left next to Jimmy’s house. b). I told Lincoln that _____ not coming to the party. Feel confident?

Quick grammar lesson number two: “They’re” does not equal “their,” which in turn, does not equal “there.” “They’re” is a contraction of “they” and “are,” so to use it in a sentence, They’re not going to wear formal wear. “Their” is possessive, used in a sentence,

thumbs up

thumbs down

- To summer vacation – ‘nuff said.

- To field day – and the opportunity to Slip ‘n Slide without being laughed at by the neigh-

bors.

- To graduation – congratulations seniors!-To attendance make-up -the best school-related way to spend a Saturday.

- To final exams – too busy studying to think of something witty to write here

- To faculty changes – what will Irmo be without the people who make it what it is?

- To Dutch Fork’s tainted cupcakes – there’s nothing good about Dutch Fork, not even their cupcakes.

May 28, 2010 Opinions - 17

The Stinger en-courages letters to the editor as they con-stitute a constructive avenue for opinion. Letters to the editor must be signed by the writer to be considered for publication.

Special requests to withhold a name may be submitted if the topic is sensitive enough to warrant

anonymity. The authenticity of

the writer will be veri-fied before publication and letters may be edited for poor taste, libel, grammar, space, and style.

Letters should be no longer than 350 words. Longer submis-sions will be consid-ered for publication as guest columns.

We want to hear them.

GOTOPINIONS?

LETTER TO THE EDITORHow to submit your letter:- bring to the Stinger room (room

107)

- send by e-mail toadviser@ihsstinger.com

OR

Taking real friends, memories into real world

Maggie OliverTimes are a-changin’. In this day and age,

when Apple can cause worldwide riots by re-leasing a shiny new product (only to release a thinner, smaller, better version months later) it’s hard to say that technology isn’t moving forward.

Often described as the next frontier to conquer, improvements to these new gadgets and online resources appear to have no limit. Today, you can even order a pizza through the Internet. You can listen to music and make your own personalized radio station, watch videos of people you never knew existed, ap-ply for a job, apply for a spouse, catch the lat-est episode of “Lost,” chat with friends, stalk friends of friends, etc.

As the school year nears an end, I can’t help but wonder how all of this online com-munication and networking will affect our friendships.

Rewind 10 to 12 years . . . If I wanted to contact any friends, I called their house phone (the number of which I had either written down on a crumpled sticky note from the bottom of my bookbag, looked up in the Irmo Elementary School directory, or just memorized) or just walked over to their house. Weekend movies and play dates would be scheduled days in advance. When one of my best friends moved, I was heartbroken, because I realized that I’d never see her again.

This is what we can call the “dark age,” illuminated in a triumphant leap for online communication when Facebook was made public in September 2006. So much has changed since then.

We take more pictures so we can have things to post online for our friends (and not our friends) to see and talk about; we find a long-lost friend from middle school and see how they’ve changed since moving halfway across the country; we send a funny link to

a friend while updating the world with a de-scription of our breakfast and schedule for the day. With all the texting and messaging, I never know what I’m doing until hours before it happens (unless, of course, someone made a Facebook event for it).

I can’t imagine not checking my Facebook page at least once a week. (Well, let’s be hon-est; most of you probably know I can’t go a day without logging in for a minute.) When I’m bored, I open an Internet tab of Facebook rather than opening a book for school; if I need a study break, this web site is the first thing I check. I hate how addicting it is. To me, the good far outweighs the bad, for now at least. I wonder, though, when will this end?

I love being able to keep in touch with some of my camp friends who are scattered throughout the country, or even announcing to the world what song I’m currently obsessed with by putting it as my status. But after graduation, will this continue?

Surely I won’t keep in touch with all 900-something of my “friends”; I don’t even talk to most of them now.

And do I really need an online confirma-tion of friendship for every person I will meet the rest of my life? What happens when we have 35,391 friends and don’t talk to but a few of them?

Will I still be taking pictures at age 34 when I’m probably married, working and raising a family . . . does the world really need to see the pictures of my new minivan and my son’s pet hamster?

Further down the road, will our kids be looking at our Facebook pictures from these past four years while they’re in high school decades from now?

These days, we never delete anything for fear of losing it forever; but isn’t that how it’s always been in the past? I have my yearbooks; I have some pictures (too many, probably). Most importantly, though, I have the memo-ries.

I remember the feeling of adrenalin puls-ing through me at a national marching band competition; I remember goofing off in per-cussion ensemble, stressing out in IB, win-ning the Science Team State Olympiad and going on a 24-hour bus ride to Kansas for nationals (then to Washington, D.C., for na-tionals the next year). I remember becoming good friends with people in the grades above me only to fall out of touch when they gradu-ated.

Facebook and email have allowed me to reconnect with many of these people, even

for a 10-sentence conversation about what we’re up to these days. Being the sentimental person that I am, I sincerely enjoy that. As for everyone else, I’ve already begun “hiding” people on my newsfeed; I don’t care if you like a page called “French Fries” or “I’m Awesome! I’m Awesome! I’m Awesome! I’m Awesome! I’m Awesome! I’m Awesome! I’m Awesome! I’m Awesome! I’m Awesome! I’m Awesome!”

I have the phone numbers of my closest friends, and I plan on still seeing them on a regular basis after graduation. But overall, I’m ready to let go.

I’m ready to move beyond these hallowed halls of painted cement blocks and 12-year- old gum wads embedded in every square of the cement sidewalk. I am looking forward to meeting hundreds of new people and mak-ing new friends in college, with or without a friend confirmation on Facebook.

18 - Sports The Stinger

I love their taste in home furnishings. Almost done, last one! “There” is used as a reference to a place- I went there when I was in Eu-rope. Here is your quiz: a). How often do you go _____? b). Tomorrow I’m going over to ______ house for the cook out. c). _____ so funny together, they feed off of each other.

Think for yourself! Don’t base your opin-ion of a movie, or a book, or a point of view off of someone else’s. Something that is true for you may not be true for someone else. My sister and I grew up in the same household, yet we have completely different movie tastes.

Michael Hood

Michael’s words of wisdom

Dang! It was such a long time ago, but I began my schooling experience at the cor-ner of St. Andrews Road and Lake Mur-ray Boulevard, at the ever-awesome Irmo Elementary.

In the 12 years since then, I’ve moved slowly through each school, my school days moving further and further down St. An-drews Road. Now that my senior year of high school is only a few days away from its end, it’s an odd feeling to know that next year my new school days will begin on the campus of USC instead!

Irmo High School has been a fantastic experience for me—I got to do everything I wanted to do, through fun classes and clubs. It’s been my seven-hour home each school day for four years, and now the only thing I can do is share some of the facts I’ve

come to learn.So here are some truisms I’ve collected

during this ride:1. Freshmen are identifiable in the halls

by their need to lean forward to counteract the weight of the 30-pound bookbag that hangs too low on their back.

2. Yeah, you’ve never taken a harder class before AP US History.

3. The first-floor bathrooms in the main hall are to be avoided pretty much always.

4. Groups of people will always congre-gate in the most high-traffic areas, such as hallway intersections and stairwells.

5. The most frustrating teachers are also the best teachers.

6. That door is always locked.7. The cookies may range from crunchy

to a lump of dough, but the tater tots are nearly always good.

8. The amount of time the computer takes to boot up is directly proportional to your impatience to get that essay finished before last block.

9. The week without a late Wednesday is approximately twice as long.

10. At least once, you will use a useless fact from your agenda to contribute to a conversation.

11. Yellow and black are actually the best school colors!

Thanks, Irmo, for making these past years awesome. I’m proud to be a Yellow Jacket!

Eliza BallouI still remember my first day at Irmo High

School.I was in Mr. Orr’s class, and he showed

us a slide show that said that our high school years would be the fastest four years of our lives, and soon enough we would be graduat-ing.

Of course, I didn’t believe him. It would be four whole years before it was time to gradu-ate! And four years previous to where I was at that particular moment, I was only 10 years old.

But what can I say? The man was right, because I am about to graduate, and I feel as if the time has just flown by.

The past four years of my life have been filled with some of the most important things in my life so far. I realize that since I have only lived for 17 years, this is probably inevitable, but nonetheless, it is true. I have lost friends and I have gained friends; I have learned more about myself; and I have realized what I truly like and dislike.

In all four years at Irmo High School, I have faced difficulties, but each time I was

able to overcome them with the help of the caring people around me—my family and my friends. I am very grateful for having these people who have come in and out of my life, because they have helped to shape the person that I am.

During my first two years at Irmo High School, I really had no idea what I was doing. I joined far too many clubs and organizations, in order to (hopefully) figure out what I’m good at and to find out what kinds of things I enjoy.

I’m happy that I did join those groups, though, because I met many of my friends through them.

During my junior year, I started the Inter-national Baccalaureate Diploma Programme at Irmo, and I feel like this experience has re-ally helped me to become the person that I am today. It has also had the most dramatic impact on me of any of my high school ex-periences.

Through IB, I was able to take the types

High school goes by quickly—get

involved

of classes that I really enjoyed, and I have had small classes. I have grown very close to the six seniors who have completed this program with me. I really cannot express how grateful I am that I did IB. I have really loved the pro-gram, and it was the best experience I have had at school.

Back in Mr. Orr’s class, on that very first day of school, I never thought that I would be sad to leave Irmo High. I never thought that it would be a very important place to me. I mean, it’s just another school.

But I was wrong. I am grateful that I went to Irmo High School. Where else would a principal care enough to know almost every student’s name?

The experiences I have had here will never be forgotten because of how they have shaped me as a person. I’m excited about the future, because I have many opportunities ahead, but I am definitely going to miss the halls of Irmo and the people who have walked them with me.

May 28, 2010 Sports - 19

Jock ShortsIrmo SoccerIrmo soccer finished second in the state

playoffs. They lost to Northwestern 4-2 on Saturday May 22, 2010. This is the second year straight that Irmo soccer is state run-ner up. Both years Irmo has lost the state title game to Northwestern High School in Rock Hill. This is Irmo’s second loss this year, and only their third loss in the past

SPORTS

two years.Emmett Lunceford, junior, was a nominee

for Gatorade National Player of the Year. He represented the state of South Carolina. As of May 6, 2010 Luceford had scored 6 goals and 12 assists. Lunceford has given a ver-bal commitment to play soccer at the Uni-versity of South Carolina.

Irmo Track and FieldIrmo’s track and field team had several

players place at the individual state cham-pionship meet. Kevin Baxter won the state championship in the 110 meter hurdles.

Track coach Alisa Long was proud of the way the track team performed.

“We had a very good season this year,” Long said. “The boy’s were region cham-pions and the girls came second in the re-gion.”

Jemekia Wilson placed in three events. Wilson came in 2nd in the 400 meter hur-dles, 3rd in the 100 meter hurdles, and 6th in the high jump. Cara White qualified for

the 400 meter dash. Shaquille Counts came in 3rd in the shot put. Andrew Jordan qual-ified for the 3200 meter run. Tamar Sow-ell qualified for the long and triple jump. Sowell came in 6th for both. Will Cheung qualified for the pole vault and Jack Lewis qualified for the 800.

The team MVP’s were Tamar Sowell and Jemekia Wilson, both juniors. The coache’s award winners were Cara White and Jack Lewis, both seniors.

Irmo’s boys qualified for the 4 X 100 and the 4 X 800 relays. The boy’s 4 X 800 broke the school record. The girls qualified for the 4 X 800 and the 4 X 400 relays.

20 - Sports The Stinger

Irmo produces more collegiate athletesSecond signing day ends with nine commitments to playing college ball

Every year high school athletes sign their names saying they will commit to playing for a certain school in hopes of becoming that schools next best athlete.

Every year Irmo High School has two separate signing days, one for winter sports and one for spring sports. This spring’s sign-ing contained about half of the total signees this year. The signees included two swim-mers (Heidi and Laura Nichols, who signed to Delta State), one girls’ basketball player (Brooke McCants, who signed to Augusta State University), one girls’ soccer player (Ashley Kosbucki, who signed to USC-Up-state), two softball players (Melissa Britt, who signed to USC-Sumter) and (Amanda Evans, who signed to Georgia Military College), one football player (Anthony Long, who signed to Coffeeville, Kansas), and one lacrosse player (Chris Troyer, who signed to Queens Univer-sity of Charlotte).

“We have two signing days every year and between the two are averaging about 18 to 25 kids every year, which speaks well for us coaches,” said athletic director, Bob Hanna.

To get signed to a school is no small feat, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication.

“Our two signing days represent five to six percent of the total athletes here at Irmo, so it’s obvious that the few who do get signed have done the right thing in the classroom and on the field,” Hanna said.

The responsibilities of being a top-notch athlete don’t stop just because you signed a piece of paper either.

“The signing of your name is saying you still have certain things to do before you get the scholarship,” Hanna said. “They have to make the grades, get a certain GPA and finish the year strong.”

Although responsibility is a word an ath-lete is used to hearing there’s another word they’re used to hearing as well, commitment.

“When an athlete commits to a school they need to make sure they’ve made the right choice, it’s hard on kids and coaches when a kid makes a commitment to a school and then backs out,” Hanna said.

Also all the actions of the athletes, who sign, are a direct reflection on the school from which they come.

“Those who sign need to realize that they are ambassadors for Irmo, they need to make the school and the coaches want to come back for more Irmo kids,” Hanna said.

Girls’ varsity soccer player Ashley Koso-bucki signed to University of South Carolina: Upstate, on April 28.

Although Kosobucki had other offers, the goal of playing Division I soccer helped her make her choice.

“I had offers from a few other Division II schools, but I wanted to play Division I and Upstate is close to home,” Kosobucki said.

There are also other factors that played a part in making her decision.

“I know a player there, Catherine Nolff, who I used to play with a few years ago when she was in high school,” Kosobucki said.

Having signed to her college of choice Kosobucki has a lot to look forward to.

“I look forward to making new friends and teammates as well as playing at a higher level,” Kosobucki said.

Even with the joys that come with signing, there are always a few things athletes say they will always miss about playing high school sports.

“The worst part of signing is that I’m go-ing to miss all of my friends on my team,” Kosobucki said.

One other player who signed was varsity lacrosse player Chris Troyer, who signed to Queens University of Charlotte.

“I signed there because it was close to home and they’re ranked in the top ten,” Troyer said.

Unlike Kosobucki and the others who were signed, Troyer is the first in his sport to be signed from Irmo.

“It’s an honor being the first lacrosse play-er to sign, and I also hope many more lacrosse players sign in the future,” Troyer said.

MICHAEL NORTHINGTON, entertainment editormdoyle@ihsstinger.com

SECOND SIGNING: Irmo athlets signed to play for the college of their choice on April 28 in the gym. Nine athletes signed on this day, and 10 athletes signed on the other signing day which took place in February.

May 28, 2010 Sports - 21

Irmo sports teams continue traditions

JAMES THOMAS, sports editorjthomas@ihsstinger.com

Traditions and superstitions are abundant in sports. The types of superstitions vary from being individual to team.

Irmo’s Boy’s Soccer team takes part in cer-tain traditions every year. Every year if the boy’s soccer team makes the playoffs, they bleach their hair.

“A couple of players were at their house, getting excited for the playoffs and they started dying their hair,” Phil Savitz, soccer coach said. “They won the first game so more and more players started dying their hair, and they won the state championship and by then every player had bleached their hair.”

Since that year bleaching hair has become a tradition.

“Now every year, a part of the team at least dyes their hair when we get to the playoffs,” Savitz said.

The soccer team also does something for good luck before every game.

“Before games we pass around a wooden four leaf clover, kiss it and tap cleats with it,” Josh Jenkins, sophomore soccer player said.

In soccer the team has rituals, in baseball it is much more individual. Some of the coaches and players, have their own routines to keep good things going.

“If we're winning we’re going to keep doing the same things,” baseball coach Jeremiah Duffy said. “If were winning I'll keep the same lineup. If a guy is hitting well in a spot, I'll keep him in that spot. I'm so supersti-tious that I'll try to wear the same clothes, eat the same foods. If we hit in the cage and we win, we're going to keep hitting in the cage before games. If we lose, we might change things up like hitting in the outfield instead.”

Jon Curtis, senior baseball player, has the same routine before every game. It ranges from in game routine to pre-game routine.

“I have to use the same body wash in morning,” Curtis said. “I also have to use the same deodorant before each game. I work out my abs the day before the game. I have to wear white socks.”

Curtis also has in-game routines to prepare for plate appearances.

“I have the same routine for an at bat,” Curtis said. “When I'm on deck I take four swings with the heavy bat, then I pick up my regular bat. The way I raise my bat is the same every time.”

Irmo’s baseball team also does something to

commemorate making the playoffs, only the coaches don’t go along with it,

“Our coach made us cut the mohawks off because it wasn’t appropriate,” Taylor Boyd, senior baseball player said. “He said we wouldn’t play if we didn’t cut them off. It was the first time in three years we got to the playoffs.”

“The players have to have short cut hair, can’t be over your ears,” Duffy said. “They can’t have facial hair. It’s because baseball’s a special game and you need to be able to look the part to play the part.”

Baseball is filled with codes. Many are unwritten such as you don’t talk to a pitcher throwing a no-hitter, or you don’t cross the pitchers mound.

“One of the big things is when you go on and off the field; you make sure that you don't step on the lines,” Duffy said.

The baseball team has dress codes for game day. They used to wear a shirt and a tie on game day. Following a loss, the team stopped dressing up.

“It’s the team’s choice to dress up,” Boyd said. “We say shirt and tie just because. The coach doesn’t really require it. If we do it and we lose, we aren’t going to do it again because of superstition.”

Irmo’s cross country team also dyes their

hair as a team.“We dye our hair black every year,” Andrew

Jordan, sophomore cross country runner said. “It shows team unity and that we’re crazy.”

Irmo volleyball traditions center around team unity. They range from eating the same team meal to getting gifts for each other.

“During the playoffs we eat spaghetti the night before each game,” Riley McCullough, junior volleyball player said. “We’ve done it for years.”

The volleyball team also celebrates new members to the team every year with rookie week.

It’s a week where rookies dress up,” Mc-Cullough said. It’s like man day, or animal or tacky day and we come that morning and we dress them up and make them sing songs.”

Secret sisters is a way to create team unity and feel at home on road trips.

“For away games we have a secret sister, we get them a present, candy, drinks and stuff, McCullough said. “But its only for away games. You pick a name out of a hat and thats who your secret sister is.”

IRMO TRADITIONS: Irmo Boy’s Soccer team celebrates a goal during the playoffs. They bleached their hair to celebrate making the playoffs.

Ryan Williams

22 The Stinger

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Mr. Ammons and his carpentry studentsMrs. Smylie and her art students

Irmo Hi-SteppersIrmo CheerleadersVanessa Lindower

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2009-2010 Stinger Staff Awards

Individual Awards

SCSPA Fall ESNAAnnie Parham -3rd Columns

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Ryan Williams - 1st PhotographyMichael Northington - 2nd Cartoons,

3rd Columns

Publication Awards

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SCSPA ratingSuperior

SCSPAPalmetto Award

May 28, 2010 23

GAMES

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9.

sudoku7

2

2

19 36

485 4 2

9

4

2

1

37

5

36 81

7 6

mad lib

crossword All crossword puzzle answers can be found in articles or column in this issue of The Stinger.

ACROSS2. The college where the most people from IHS enrolled this year.4. 208 students decided to give ____ this spring.5. Irmo Boys’ Varsity Soccer players ____ their hair each year.6. Shealy and McGehee say that they plan on spending more time here.7. This website allows people to ask each other questions anonymously.9. In 1998, ____ became required at Irmo.

DOWN1. ____ was voted student body president for the 2010-2011 year.3. This former guitarist of Guns N’ Roses just released a solo, self-titled album.8. Nine people signed to be collegiate athletes in this season.10. There are ____ signing days each year.

3

______! It’s summertime, and I am feeling ______. I’m

so ready to forget about ______ and ______ into the

______ months of summer. I can’t wait to ______ out on

my ______ and serve all of my ______ ______ to every-

one. I’ll even let them ______ my ______! This summer

will be pretty ______, so I’m definitely eager to cool off in my

______. The thought just brings ______ to my ______.

______, this summer will be ______ indeed.

PLURAL NOUN

FOOD

INTERJECTION

INTERJECTION

ADJECTIVE

ADJECTIVE

ADJECTIVE

ADJECTIVE

ADJECTIVE

VERB

VERB

VERB

PLURAL NOUN BODY PART

FOOD

NOUN

NOUN

1 2 3

4

5

6

7 8

9 10

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY01

Half Day3A, 4A ExamsVarsity Boys’ Soc-cer Banquet

02Half Day7B, 8B ExamsLast day of schoolReport Cards issued

03Graduation

04 05SAT testing

06 07 08 09 10 11 12ACT testing

13 14 15 16 17 18 19Irmo Cheerleading car wash fundraiser

20 21 22 23 24 25 26Irmo Cheerleading fundrasier at Beef O’Brady’s

27 28Senior class 2011 formal yearbook pictures

29Senior class 2011 formal yearbook pictures

30Senior class 2011 formal yearbook pictures

J U N E

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