Volume 102 Issue 1

www.bloomingtonsouth.org@SouthOptimist

Bloomington South Optimist NewspaperptimistOthe Sept. 20, 2013

Julia HerrmannCo-editor-in-chief

The students in Lucas Schroed-er’s third period Spanish class were in for a surprise when their teacher took his seat. As he sat, a deafening sound startled him and the rest of the class; an air horn had been taped to the bottom of his chair. When the noise blared out, Schroeder was holding a pair of scissors. “I almost put my eye out,” he said. “It was quite a dan-gerous time.” The blame—or credit—for the prank has fallen upon social sciences teacher Jerry Farrar, who initially denied it. Farrar later listed five past vic-tims of the air horn prank, saying this was Schroeder’s first involve-ment. Although he did not disclose any names, Farrar said he was “definitely not working alone.” “[Schroeder’s] name was sug-gested,” Farrar said. He did not know why and wouldn’t say by whom. Schroeder, too, could only guess at the motive. “I can only assume jealousy,” he said. “You know, I have a lot more hair than [Farrar]. I’ve certainly never wished him ill until now.” Schroeder declined to comment on plans for retaliation.

“[The pranks] are all well-deserved,” Farrar said, citing one example of history teacher Phil Kluesner making fun of Farrar’s hair. Kluesner was later on the receiving end of an air horn. Joel McKay was also in on the air horn pranks. “Someone got me last year,” he said. “I got hit by the horn.” Last May, he and Farrar tar-geted teacher Dustin Carver. Video of the incident can be found on the Optimist website. The air horns started around six years ago, according to math teacher Drew Frey. “[Farrar] prob-ably found an air horn and saw

something on YouTube.” Farrar said he’d heard about the prank and thought it would be fun. “I might have had my wife go out and buy a couple air horns,” he said. Seemingly separate from the string of air horn pranks is a nearly 12 year long prank war between Farrar and Frey. Guidance coun-selor John Livingston is also occa-sionally involved, though Frey said “he’s not very good at it.” “It all started when [Frey] pur-chased eight boxes of Girl Scout cookies without realizing it,” Far-rar said, laughing. “My clock went

Teachers just wanna have funmissing, his chair was somehow disassembled…” “The car prank was the most memorable for me,” Frey said. He and Farrar coached football together during one summer, and Frey left his car unlocked. It ended up parked near a dumpster. “It somehow rolled away,” Far-rar said. Frey described how a picture message suddenly showed up on his phone that didn’t receive pictures. “I had to go online and make this long account just to see it. When I did, I was like, ‘Is that my car?!’” The air horn incident was the most recent in the string of attacks, though Farrar was recently sub-ject to a failed attempt at the same prank. Junior Hannah Shirley was in Farrar’s class at the time. “There was an air horn really badly taped to his chair,” she said. “He saw it right away.” “It was a meager attempt to prank me,” Farrar said, adding that he thought it was Schroeder at first. He is now aware that it was the work of a few students. It’s the first time students have been involved. “They shouldn’t be directly involved,” Farrar said. “Although indirectly is another matter.”Is he planning anything else in the near future? “Possibly... probably.”

COURTESY PHOTO Teacher Dustin Carver reacts to the noise of an air horn. See our website for the full video.

News Othepage 2

on September 28 at IU Memorial Stadium, where festivities begin at 9:15 a.m. with speeches from cancer survivors.

HOC. “Cameron brought it

closer to home than it’s ever been in the past,” PAC sponsor Cindy Chrzastows-ki said. The school is ral-lying around him this year to raise money for cancer research and treatment.

“We’re doing more ad-vertising and I think we’re really getting the word out better this year,” senior Kirby Anstead, co-chairper-son of the committee, said. They had a booth at all of the North/South games and sign up for the race is avail-able during lunches and online.

“HOC’s typical colors are the primaries: red, yel-low, and blue. This year we’re throwing in our own orange,” Chrzastowski said.

The color orange is unique to Bland and his battle. It is the color that represents kidney cancer.

Everyone is encouraged to participate by taking part in the 5k walk/run or kids’ one mile run. There is a

booth at all lunches outside the cafeteria. Spirit run-ners are welcome if there is a conflict with the actual day so that you can still be there in spirit. Registra-tion is $25 per person. The event will be taking place

Addie KautzStaff Writer

At this year’s Hoosiers Outrun Cancer (HOC) event, the South team will be a sea of orange as op-posed to the typical purple. As each South member par-ticipates, all will have one person in mind: junior Cam-eron Bland who is currently battling kidney cancer.

Panther Activity Coun-cil, or PAC, is the group that coordinates the South HOC team. This year, they are focusing on showing their support for Bland. He said he wanted to be a part of it to help spread awareness, so he was appointed as an hon-orary member of the PAC steering committee which is in charge of planning for

Team South outruns cancer

PHOTO BY RACHEL TOWELLMembers of South’s Hoosiers Outrun Cancer leadership committee make a pro-motional video for the SRT show.

Boxers and BriefsOptimist grant

Addie KautzStaff Writer

The American Society of Newspaper Editors awarded the Optimist with the Youth Journalism Initiative Partnership Program. They will partner with the Herald-Times and meet for monthly mentorship on photography and website content. The Optimist will receive $2,000 to go towards purchasing a new camera and laptop as well. These pur-chases will help improve the quality and timeliness of the website.

Lotus music festival coming upPhilip BrewerStaff Writer

The 20th annual Lotus World Music Festival will be September 25th-29th at downtown venues. Musicians from Mongolia, Ukraine, Ethiopia and other global locations will offer folk, jazz, fusion, pop and other style of music. Tickets are available at Bloomingfoods and the Buskirk-Chumley. Student tickets for Friday the 27th and Saturday the 28th are $31 and $33 respective-ly. Ticket prices will go up on the day of the show. See lotusfest.org.

Feature Othepage 3

Claire LawLayout Editor

When summer nears end each year and fair fliers ap-pear on Bloomington street corners, most people im-mediately think of parading farm animals and carnival rides. Less known is the large number of nontradi-tional 4-H exhibits and com-petitions.

Most animals are kept at the fair where all the visiting families can interact with them, except one. Cats are a part of 4-H, but you wouldn’t know it by visiting the fair because their judging is held

before the Monroe Country Fair opens to the public.

Freshman Kirsten Chan-dler has been showing her cats for six years. She feels similarly about her 4-H ex-perience as most other com-petitors do.

“I think it’s really fun to see how the judge thinks you’ve been working with them.”

These cats can be judged on their cleanliness, over-all health, brushing and re-sponse to their owner. Cats often connect to the ones that feed and interact with them on a daily basis, helping make someone like Chan-

dler, who tends to her cats everyday, a third year grand champion.

Chandler was also en-tered in many other projects, such as leadership initia-tives, crafts, creative writ-ing and cake decorating. All of these projects lay outside of animal competition, but they still attract many con-testants.

Sophomore Tasia Todd entered in nine different cat-egories this past summer. Todd took home “Grand Champion” with her cre-ative gift wrapping project. She had been looking for a new activity and hadn’t

been expecting to win at all when she first entered this year. She largely credits her success to good guidance, saying that her “4-H leader taught [her] a lot.”

Todd proved to be a fast learner. She wrapped a gift so that it appeared to be a baby carriage, using only two boxes and some baby themed material. Afterward, Todd gave this first-prize project as a baby shower gift to her mom’s friend.

Todd isn’t the only one to use 4-H skills outside of the club. 4-H member, senior Reese Clark, grew up weld-ing alongside his father and

now finds himself welding on his own as well.

“I watched him and asked him about it,” Clarke said, speaking of his earliest memories of welding with his father.

Clarke has won “Grand Champion” in welding the past four years, during which time he has made a horseshoe lamp and a circle brand, and has fixed various things outside of his actual 4-H projects, using his skills to the best of his advantage.

Allison NealStaff Writer

This school year has brought many new things, includng new schedules, new teachers and three new ways for students to get in-volved.

The Imprint Project is starting its first year at South. The project partners with Cambodian girls who have been rescued from the horrors of sex trafficking. These girls make goods that are shipped here and sold by club members. All the mon-ey earned from these sales

is sent back to Cambodia, raising awareness and sup-porting the victims of sex trafficking.

Junior Caitlin Chang first got involved in the project through IU.

“I thought it would be re-ally cool to bring it here,” she said. The club helps raise awareness of the issue on a larger scale while giv-ing club members a personal connection to the girls they are helping. “You’ll be able to connect with the cause,” said Chang.

Interact, a partner of the Imprint Project, is also be-

ginning here at South. It is a part of a worldwide network dedicated to charity work.

“Our goal is to give peo-ple who want to start a fund-raiser a place to do it,” senior member Devin May said. He is looking for support from other South students to brainstorm ideas for local fundraisers. This year the club will focus on an inter-national, national and local cause, an approach similar to North’s chapter of Inter-act. The club already plans to support IU’s Giving Back to Africa, an organization dedicated to “creating and

implementing a community-based servant leadership ed-ucational program,” accord-ing to the charity’s website.

Lastly, South now has its own chapter of Future Farm-ers of America, or FFA. The club teaches its members leadership and agricultural skills. Though the club was originally founded to teach young farmers, the orga-nization has branched out, educating students to be-come “the future biologists, future chemists, future vet-erinarians, future engineers and future entrepreneurs of America,” according to their

website. Freshman Wyatt Law

helped begin FFA at South. He worked with the club sponsor at North to bring FFA here. He explained how club members will partici-pate in agricultural events and listen to speakers on the subject this year.

Though the prospect of a new club is exciting, all three students agreed that starting up a club is a long process. May explained that Interact went through the school board, as well as the principal. “It’s been in the process since the end of last year,” he said.

New clubs bring new opportunities

4-H Club: Think outside the barn

SportsOthepage 4

Mady Keller: My favorite pump up song is “The Show Goes On” because that was a song that Abby Karcher and I used to always listen to before big games together.

Optimist: What song gets you pumped up for games?

O: Are you planning on doing soccer in college?

O: Do you know what college you want to go to or what you want to do?

O: What about senior year excites you the most?

O: What is it like playing soccer with your sister?

O: What is it like to have a new head coach this year?

O: What is your favorite high school memory?MK: Dance Marathon was a really good expe-

rience and now it is cool looking back to when I looked up to the seniors. This year, I get to be a big part of it just like they were.

MK: He is really great. He has a lot of experience when it comes to coaching so he knows what he is talking about. He is also very fair and is not biased towards certain players.

MK: It is fun playing with her just because of the age gap. We are about four years apart, so we have never been able to play together before.

MK: I’m most excited about increased involvement with extracurricular and the school work isn’t quite as bad as ju-nior year. Also, my sister is here now so that is fun.

MK: No, I don’t know for sure, I’m definitely looking at IU because it is a really great school. As far as what I want to do, I’ve always had an interest in education and I know they have a good program for that.

MK: I’m not planning on playing college soccer because I would have to go to a small school and it has never been my top priority. I want my college experience to be focused on stuff outside of athletics.

Kickin’ it with KellerStaff writer Alissa Aders sat down with varsity girls soccer player, senior Mady Keller, to ask about her

plans for the future and life on the soccer team.

Senior Mady Keller runs for the ball during the varsity girls soccer game against Southport.The game took place at South on Wednesday, September 11.

PHOTO BY RACHEL TOWELL

Feature Othepage 5

Emily Barber Staff Writer

They are in the hallways, the cafeteria and the gym. They open jammed lock-ers, mop up spills and clean bathrooms. They play a vital role in maintaining the safe-ty and cleanliness of South, yet most students don’t even notice them.

They are the janitors, and they have a story to tell.

Eric May has worked as a janitor at South for 37 and a half years, and he has seen it transform from one school into an almost entirely dif-ferent one.

“It’s improved over the years,” he said. “That’s largely attributed to the ad-ministration. They want to give the most they can to their students so that these students can go on and achieve. That’s a pretty high standard.”

May began working in construction immediately after graduating from South. Shortly after, he accepted a job as a janitor here, where he is now the head janitor.

A full-time employee of MCCSC, May works from 3 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays.

“Our job is strictly the

business of cleaning,” he said. “We clean up after 1,800 students each day. There are 11 of us here at night that turn this building over from one end to the other so that it’s ready to go for the next morning.”

May and his colleagues must do most of their night-time work in the dark be-cause South’s hallway lights automatically turn off at 4 p.m., and only one light stays on in the bathroom.

As the head janitor, May checks that every area in the school is being covered and

makes sure everyone is do-ing their job. He also helps out at various school func-tions, such as Dance Mara-thon and school plays.

“I’m right there to see what I can do and go above and beyond my duties. I’ll build things, fix things. It can be a lot of pressure.”

May was a janitor at South when Principal Mark Fletcher and Assistant Prin-cipal Jay True were students here.

“They were typical car-ing students,” he said. “They cared about their sports, who

they were and what they’d done.”

May has maintained a good working relationship with both Fletcher and True.

Occasionally, True will ask May to talk to a kid who seems to be having behav-ioral problems.

“A lot of it has to do with home life,” May said. “It’s like they are reaching out for help. Some [of the kids] take an interest in me and listen to me. There have been a few of them to come back and say thanks. It kind of gives you a sense of gratification. Maybe [I] helped save this person, or got him back on the right track.”

The janitor likens his job to that of a guardian angel; he helps students through tough situations and watches out for them.

“It’s not part of our job, but we’re here for the kids- to create a healthy, safe en-vironment for them.”

May said some students don’t know all the work that goes into keeping the school clean and safe.

“Some students just don’t clean up after themselves,” he said. “They think it’s someone else’s job to clean up after them. That’s not our job. We’re not here to be the

‘house dad,’ or nursemaid, but lots of times we end up doing that stuff.”

Each day brings new challenges and tasks for May and his staff.

“There are no typical days,” he said. “Every day is different, and that’s what makes the job enjoyable- it’s not routine.”

According to May, one of the biggest misconceptions people have about janitors is that they are not very clean

people.“It’s just not true,” he

said. “We may have the nas-tiest jobs here, but every morning [the students] come to school, it’s fresh and ready to go for them. People have no idea what janitors do. They think all we do is ‘dig around in the trash.’ I hate that more than anything. We are not that way. We are your friends.”

South’s janitors more than just cafeteria cleaners

PHOTO BY JAVIER FUENTES-ROHWERJanitor Eric May mops the cafeteria. This is one the various tasks he completes every day.

“It’s not part of our job, but we’re here for the kids.”

Janitor Eric May

Feature Othepage 6

Ivy MooreCo-editor-in-chief

Walking into South on the first day of school, the hallway teems with excited conversation and friends reuniting; everybody knows somebody, right? For South’s exchange students, this is not the case.

These particular students have left everything they know half a world away in exchange for a year abroad. They don’t just juggle new classes at South, but a new language and culture as well. Second time exchange student from Spain, senior

Carlos Garcia, described his first days at South: “It was hard in the beginning. I didn’t want to say anything wrong.”

Exchange students’ chal-lenges do not begin or end with the school day, howev-er. They must also learn to live new lives in the outside world, with new circum-stances and a new family. Junior Daniel Bastos, who is from Brazil, said that his host family seemed “strange and very different” when he first met them.

The good news is that most exchange students eventually find their place

in their Indiana homes. Garcia, who was originally forced by his parents to attend school in the United States to further his English studies, now finds himself very comfortable with his host family.

“They’re like my parents now. I’m a member of the family and help out with anything I can,” Garcia said.

Mongolian sophomore Enkhjargal Uuganbayer also feels comfortable with her hosts, describing them as more friendly than many of the people she knows in Mongolia. She came here to

learn English, and she said that her hosts have been “teaching [her] a lot.”

Garcia and Bastos also said that their host families have made an effort to make them feel comfortable and supported, showing them around Bloomington and answering all of their ques-tions. None of the students, however, failed to miss something about home.

First, they all deemed their own country’s food as superior to that of the United States. The type and quality of the food here, and the methods with which it is prepared, often differ greatly from that of foreign countries. For instance, Gar-cia’s host family typically serves a lot of meat, which

From one home to anotherwasn’t something he was used to in his coastal Span-ish location.

“I used to eat a lot of fish, but there’s no good fish here,” Garcia said.

Uuganbayer misses more of her home in Mongolia than just its food. “I miss my friends, my family, my country,” she said. She calls her parents every day, even though the 12 hour time dif-ference sometimes makes it difficult.

For Bastos, leaving his girlfriend behind was the biggest challenge.

“I don’t talk to my fam-ily very often, but I talk to my girl every day,” he said.

Senior Carlos Garcia talks to biology teacher Barbara Suthers. Garcia’s English speaking abilities have im-proved dramatically since coming to South.

(855) 404-7037K Luke Eades DDS2810 S. Walnut Steet PikeBloomington IN47401

PHOTO BY NICOLE CUMMINGS

OpinionOthepage 7

Teenagers love to spend time with their friends. However, in Indiana, teen-agers cannot drive anyone under 18, with the exception of siblings, until the driver has had his or her license for 180 days.

Teens know about this law, yet some neglect to fol-low it. In a small and unsci-entific survey, 36 out of 40 South students admitted to driving friends before per-mitted. Many also neglect to follow the law against texting and driving. The law

Driving laws violatedThe Optimist

-our opinion- Panther Plus has been going on at South for three years now. Statistics show that 16 percent of students at South were failing a class before Panther Plus. That number has now dropped to 10 percent, according to As-sistant Principal Joe Doyle.

This clearly shows that Panther Plus is beneficial for students who need help, but what about the other 90 per-cent?

When first introduced, Panther Plus promised it would provide extra enrich-ment for excelling students. Now, there seems to be a lack of such things being provided.

against texting or talking on the phone while driving is enforced in 41 states, includ-ing Indiana.

In a survey taken of 2,000 new drivers conducted by Bridgestone Americas, 45 percent admitted to texting while driving. A surpris-ing drop in this number oc-cured when the same drivers were asked if they text with friends in the car. Only 32 percent said they would do this.

The government should focus on preventing texting rather than regulating who teens drive with. If your friends are in the car with you, you are less likely to be texting them.

Junior Calvin Anderson does well in school and is a student who would benefit from extra enrichment. How-ever, he says he has not seen any special enrichment.

Although students don’t, realize it, enrichment is be-ing offered. Last year, the English department offered a Greek reading of Hamlet, and Catharine Rademacher had an improv professional come in to her Panther Plus to talk about the profession.

The problem is teach-ers are offering enrichment but perhaps students aren’t aware of the options.

Because it is the begin-ning of the year, enrichment has been slim, but the Eng-lish, P.E., health and math

departments are planning upcoming opportunities. The science department will is offering a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) program called Profiles in Science where students interested in sci-ence can expand on what they learn in class.

Putting enrichment on the announcements sim-ply is not enough. Teachers should ask their colleagues to make announcements to their classes and reach out to students excelling in a cer-tain subject to take part in that area of enrichment. Stu-dents should also be active in suggesting and seeking out enrichment opportuni-ties if they are interested..

The reality of Panther Plus

South Speaks:What do you do in Panther Plus?

Sam Askren, senior“I just go to classes I need help in.”

Kristen Eads, junior“I go to Mrs. Tresslar’s room to decorate my cake.”

Nick Davidoff, junior“Silent study all the way.”

Back Othepage 8

Lucas Hickey and Philip BrewerStaff Writers

If you are like most of us, you’re struggling to stay on top of this year’s workload. Here are some tips to keep up with the flow.

Ditch the planner; live in the mo-ment.

Procrastination is just a myth. We all do better under pressure.

The Internet is a great tool; just copy and paste.

Life is short. Have fun after school.

Wait until the night before to study so the information will be fresh in your mind.

Back pain? Leave the backpack at home. And the books.

Keep papers in your textbooks to save money on folders.

rite in slang 2 save time.

“I forgot” is always a viable ex-cuse.

OTHE

Julia Herrmann Co-editor-in-chief

Say goodbye to your hallway faux pas by following these simple rules!

1) Everyone understands that you’ll sometimes get lost. So if you need to stop or turn around, by all means, do it in the middle of the hallway. Those behind you are un-derstanding and more than happy to move around you. Stairwells are ac-tually the best place to turn around or pause. Try to wait until you’re in the middle of a crowd to do so.

2) Stairwells are also fantastic places to socialize. Since there’s always plenty of room for people to get where they’re going, and pass-ing periods are so long, feel free to take your time and chat whenever you want.

3) Since popularity is the most important aspect of your high school career, make sure to let people know just how many friends you have. The best way to do this in the hallways is to spread out with your friends across the hall. That way, it’s not easy to get past your

group, so those behind you have to notice how many friends you have.

4) When you see someone approaching you from behind, especially if their hands are full, letting the door close behind you is the best course of action. This saves precious air conditioning. It also grants your peers with a better work ethic.

Follow these guidelines to hallways at South, and you’re sure to be respected and well-liked throughout the school.

Hallway etiquette

The OptimistThe Optimist is a student publication

of Bloomington High School South, 1965 S.Walnut St. Bloomington, IN 47401 (812) 320-7714, ext. 51093. It is printed at The Herald-Times in Bloomington. All com-ments should be emailed to kmills@mccsc.edu. Website: www.bloomingtonsouth.org

Editors-in-Chief: Maggie Hopkins, Julia Her-rmann, Ivy Moore

Opinion Editor: Kim GreinerLayout Editor: Claire LawStaff Writers: Alissa Aders, Emily Barber,

Laura Barber, Philip Brewer, Adeline Kautz, Allison Neal, Erin O’Loughlin, Maria Tiwari

Photo Editor: Felix Chaoulideer Photographers: Nicole Cummings, Jake

Frederickson, Javier Fuentes-Rohwer, Lucas Hickey, Rachel Towell

Business Manager: Ethan HamiltonAdviser: Kathleen MIlls

Assistant Principal Jay True models his hat collection, some of which were taken from students violating the no hat rule.

Ways to get work done

PHOTO BY FELIX CHAOULIDEER