News

INKLI NGSVolume 75 Issue 8 • Crown Point High School • 1500 S. Main Street Crown Point, IN 46307 • inklings@cps.k12.in.us

ARCTIC MONKEYS: Staffer reviews the indie band’s concert in Covington, KY page 12

ThE dANgERS Of TANNINg: Recent studies show the deadly effects of indoor tanning page 6

ChIldhOOd NOSTAlgIA: See what’s changed since the 1990s page 10

April 30, 2010

pg. 2

News

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Check it Out!

With a wide range of music updated regularly, you’re sure to find something you like at...

Inklings has a music blog!

http://inklings music.blog spot.com

Third-hand smoke arises as new risk

VEX Robotics competesnationally

pg. 3

“Day of Silence” overviewApril 16 marked the first CPHS-sponsored day for awareness of hate crimes due to sexual orientation.

Cheating electronically

The team finishes 16th of 100 teams inthe Engineering division.

Prom Proposals

pg. 7

Students share creative ways to ask dates to the dance.

Feature

pg. 8

Top Phone Apps

Check out some of today’s best phone apps for all cell carriers.

Feature

These are the direct words of the www.free-essays.us website. Through the internet, students are now able to order an original essay and pay for their grades. And because these essays are cus-tom, teachers are unable to check online and see if the papers are plagiarized.

“Technology is a double-edged sword. The internet is great to use because it allows people so much information, but it’s terrible because people are able to abuse the system,” English teacher John Lambersie said.

But plagiarized essay writing is only one as-pect to the entire electronic cheating manifesto. With new online classes and various tests taken electronically, students are finding ways to cheat the system and snatch their answers from the World Wide Web. Science teacher Kelly Loving, who uses the program “Brain Honey,” admits to having to deal with such cheaters.

“Students will open up a new window and look for the answers online. Because of this, I have to make sure I’m watching like a hawk,” he said.

But according to some, trying to cheat by find-ing the answers online may take too much time.

“We only have a certain amount of time to take the tests,” senior Nicole Vega said, who has Loving first hour. “If students were to spend time looking up the answers, there’s no way they’d ever finish the test,” she said.

Yet if cheating is still possible, some wonder why schools would consider switching to online classes.

“Brain Honey is a great program. It allows students to find out their grade immediately, and some say they are able to work faster,” Loving

said.Plus, other teachers admit that online pro-

grams like Brain Honey are great tools to master before college. Spanish teacher Stephanie Laman-na said that a lot of college work is done online. Because of this, learning how to thoroughly use the programs in high school is a great advantage.

“It really is a huge stepping-stone. You need to master the tools before college where you’re doing (work) like that all the time,” she said.

Lamanna visits the computer labs with her classes once a week. To eliminate cheating while her students are on the computers, Lamanna uses a program called Genesis.

“From my desk computer, I’m able to monitor the student’s individual computer screens to make sure they’re are on track. This way I can watch to see what they’re doing. Also, if I wanted, the program can also allow me to listen in and even talk with the student’s conversations through the

headphones,” she said. Still, students attempt to find ways to cheat. If

not during class, they find ways to get the answers through their computers at home.

For Lamanna’s class, the curriculum for Span-ish I stays basically the same. Because the infor-mation doesn’t change, technology has been able to evolve into ways that “appear” to enable stu-dents to skip the work. According to Lamanna, students don’t realize how unreliable these trans-lating sites can be.

“Online translators are terrible. Students think they can just plug in the words and get the work done easily. But I will read three words of a paper and can tell at once if they used a website,” she said.

But apart from simple translators, hundreds of sites exist online that allow students to re-

“Can't find an essay here? Order a Custom Essay from us! We are focused on high quality writing and timely deliv-ery. You can be sure that when you order an essay from us, you get a completely original, authentic piece of work deliv-ered as per your requirements.”

By Cori Novellico-editor-in-chief

Students can find ways to cheat by ordering custom essays online, while cell phones and other hand held devices allow students to relay answers in a matter of seconds.

As technology flourishes, students find more creative ways to cheat

Every year, 440,000 people die due to the affects of smoking, according to the American Cancer Society. Multiple studies done throughout the years have proven the effects of smoking to be harmful.

Now, next to first and second-hand smoke, a newly discovered third-hand smoke has also been proven as a substantial risk. With recent smoking bans and the newly discovered third hand smoke, smoking is proving to be a greater risk than what was previously understood.

According to “Science Daily,” residue from tobacco smoke tends to react with common indoor air pollutants and results in dangerous carcinogens now referred to as “third-hand smoke.” This means that in many public places, these addictive substances could be clinging on

virtually any surface, which is a problem due to the health risks they create.

“The risks of smoking (can include) developing lung disease and cancer as well as other diseases,” said school nurse Carrie Ready.

Apart from being a hazard to health, the residue left behind by smoke can also be a nuisance to those who come in contact with it.

“It really bothers me when we are seated (in a restaurant) by the bar; I can’t enjoy my meal, smoking is disgusting and pointless,” said senior Maddie Chambers.

Smoking in some public places is being banned by not only the United States, but in other countries as well, such as Australia, and also some in Asia.

“I don’t think there is any good reason to smoke, not only is it cancer causing, but it is expensive and unattractive,” said sophomore Paul Kendall.

story continued on pg. 2

By Lauren McCarrollstaff reporter

photo by g. otte

There are approximately 250 known carcinogens found in third-hand smoke.

Even at low levels, compounds in third-hand tobacco smoke can effect nerve and brain tissue.

Facts:

According to www.air-purifier-power.com

News April 30, 20102

5.7Evening of One Acts

5.9Mother’s Day

5.15Prom

5.18.Spring Sing Concert

5.19Spring Sing Concert

5.31Memorial Day

INthe know

Publication students take Ball State honors

Inklings and Excalibur stu-dents brought home ten honors from Ball State’s annual high school Journalism Day on April 23.

Earning superior recog-nition were seniors Deanna Sheafer and Cori Novelli for news story writing and junior Catherine Fleszewski for fea-ture photography. Superior rankings went to Sheafer for front page newspaper design; then-seniors Kyle Kujawshi and Taylor Verbich for year-book cover and theme; and the yearbook staff for organiza-tion spread. Students earn-ing honorable mentions were sophomore Haajar Shaaban for newspaper writing; junior Vin-nie Needham for newspaper sports photography; Kujawski for yearbook photo illustra-tion; and the yearbook staff for sports and student life spreads.

Students silent for tolerance

request an essay-topic and “buy” the essay already written online.

Sites such as www.123helpme.com and www.cheathouse.com are just a few examples of these

websites. Students are able to read sections of these pre-written essays and decide if it fits their requirements. From there, they can choose to download and purchase the essay. But if a teacher chooses to use Turni-tin.com, these can be caught plagiarized.

Now, websites like www.free-essays.us offer students the ability to order an original, custom essay for a nominal fee.

According to the site, “For over five years our company has been providing high quality custom writing services. Every semester, thou-sands of students from different high schools, colleges and universities use our essay writing service. Our professional writing team develops different kinds of projects, no matter of its level of difficulty. Whether you need an analytical essay, book report or a challenging dissertation -- we are always ready to help.”

For some, realizing this process exists so easily for students is nerve-raking.

“It’s scary to think who’s behind the computer doing the work. And now we’re moving towards more online classes. Who says even at this school the person doing the work is really the right student?” Lamanna said.

For those students who attempt to stay above cheating, witnessing others cheat can be extremely aggravating.

“It really makes me mad when I know others are cheating. It’s so unfair when I’m struggling while another kid has it easy cheating off a sheet,” sophomore Blake Pals said.

For Vega, cheating is never an option no matter what the circum-stances.

“It really makes me upset. I know that if I didn’t study, I take the

test and get the grade I deserve,” she said.And teachers understand that students are busy. According to La-

manna, it’s important to figure out a plan so that cheating never sounds appealing.

“We push after school activities; involvement is so important, but if you’re having trouble with homework or studying, talk to your teach-er,” she said.

But situations can turn uncomfortable when a friend asks directly to cheat.

“You don’t want to be mean, but if you’ve spent a lot of time work-ing, you don’t want even a friend having it easy and cheating off of you,” Elston said.

If students are put in that situation, and they don’t want to come off sounding offensive, Lambersie claims it may be OK to lie.

“Say, ‘Oh, I haven’t gotten it done either,’ or ‘I don’t have it on me,’” he said.

Pals agreed. “Even though it’s a white lie, you can say something like, ‘I don’t

think so. I heard that the teacher is watching harder to make sure no one is cheating off of this,” he said.

According to Lambersie, “This way, you’re keeping your integrity, but your friend isn’t able to get by riding on your coattails.”

If a student falls into the trap of allowing a friend to cheat, accord-ing to Lamanna, staying honest is key.

“If you feel guilty, talk to your teacher. They will respect you if you come to them and explain yourself. For me, this will help me reflect on myself and question if my homework was written too easily to be cop-ied, or if I need more free response questions,” she said.

In addition to this effort, teachers and students will continue to attempt to combat cheating by both electronic and traditional means, with the confidence that one day, “they (cheaters) will eventually get caught,” Pals said.

Electronic Cheatingcontinued from pg. 1

Fourteen years since stu-dents at the University of Vir-ginia started the event, Crown Point has joined the hundreds of high schools and colleges that participate in the Day of Silence. Since that day in 1996, the month of April has designated a day to promote tolerance and spread awareness about the bullying of students based on sexual orienta-tion.

Several students chose to remain silent for the entirety of the day, some even putting tape across their mouths to empha-size their devotion to the cause. Traditionally, those participating can hold up a “speaking card” explaining why they chose to stay silent.

Crown Point students have participated in this day in the past years; however, this year it was publicized with posters and an-

nouncements through the school.“This is the first year the

school organized it because we wanted greater school wide awareness. Last year, I didn’t even know it existed. Getting the school involved would be a great way to inform more students about it,” sophomore Garret Hogan said.

Sophomore Mary-Katherine Lemon, who worked with Hogan and various faculty members to facilitate the school sponsored event, claims she felt satisfied with how the day unfolded.

“Overall, I was happy with how the day went. There were no major conflicts and most people were respectful,” Lemon said.

In the weeks leading up to the day, Hogan made posters and spent several meetings collaborat-ing with principal Eric Ban and others covering the logistics of the day.

“I made the yellow posters around school telling stories of homosexual hate crimes and I talked to faculty members to get

everything approved by the ad-ministration. I learned how to go about informing the students about such a controversial sub-ject,” he said.

However, because of the na-ture of the event, some students reacted with a negative attitude. Despite this, according to resource officer Chuck Noonan, there was never a real threat breaching stu-dent safety.

“There were no major threats and no viable leads; anything that came up always turned out blank,” he said. “From the first to the last incident brought to the awareness of school administra-tion, it all led back to students hearing that ‘someone might or they may’ do something. All were checked with negative results.”

Next year, activists hope to further promote the day’s mes-sage.

“We hope to get it all orga-nized plenty of time in advance to enable us to do a better job,” Lemon said.

However the event plays out next year, Lemon claims that she’ll make sure students are giv-en enough time to prepare.

This includes giving students adequate time to return any form of permission slips if they are re-quired. With more time to orga-nize, Lemon hopes for the best next year.

“I hope that the real message of Day of Silence is put across clearly next year, and I hope peo-ple will receive it better. This was the first year it was done through the school, so we expected people would be harsh. In years to come, hopefully the day will be calmer,” Lemon said.

For Hogan, the future brings hope that there will be less nega-tive publicity.

“Students will hopefully real-ize it’s a day to remember those who have suffered from all types of hate crimes in attempt to bring about equal rights for all,” he said.

By Cori Novelliand Deanna Sheaferco-editors-in-chief

Students participate in day of silence by putting pieces of tape over their mouths to signify the silence some students must face. Far left: A student (left) shakes hands with junior Christopher Bragiel (right). Top right: sophomores Donald Mori (sitting) and Anthony Salazar (standing). Bottom right: sophomores Donald Mori (left) and Cortney Grove (right).

Matt Smith named Academic all-star

Senior Matt Smith was named one of 40 academic All-Stars in the state of Indiana. On April 20, he traveled to India-napolis in order to receive the award. Every school in Indiana was able to nominate one stu-dent for the honor. The selection process was based on a combi-nation of test scores, academic courses, academic achievement, extracurricular activities, and community involvement.

At the award ceremony, Smith received one of two $250 Citizenship awards in recogni-tion of outstanding community involvement and leadership. Smith is top ten of his class and has been active in numerous athletic and extracurricular ac-tivities.

Photo by M. LeMon

Photo by d. cAsiLLAs

Photo by d. cAsiLLAs

News 3April 30, 2010

The fall play is long gone, and the spring musical has come and passed, but that isn’t the end of the theater depart-ment’s activity. An Evening of One Acts is the next produc-tion that the theater depart-ment will put on.

One Acts are student-di-rected one act plays, usually lasting between 10-40 minutes each. This year’s Evening of One Acts will be the eighth Evening of One Acts for our theater department.

There will be seven stu-dent-directed plays shown at this year’s Evening of One Acts. Seniors Brenna Werm-ers, Anna Bucci, Blake Zolfo, Amanda Reid, Katie Klein, Emma Baker, Cally Kline, Jenny Jacques, Steven Polacek, Lucas Groff, and Matt Smith are all directing a One Act, with Reid and Klein, Baker and Kline, Jacques and Polacek, and Groff and Smith each pair-ing up to direct theirs.

One Act tryouts took place on March 25 after school. For the directors, it was a differ-ent experience sitting “on the other side of the desk.”

“It was definitely weird, because all four years I’d al-ways been trying out for pro-ductions, but this year I was the one that they were trying out for,” senior Emma Baker.

Because there are so many One Acts being directed, there are many opportunities for students who don’t usually participate in the theater de-partment to be able to.

“One Acts are a really great way for students who have never been in a produc-tion before to get time on stage,” Klein said.

Senior Jake Tasher has never been in a show with the theater department, but has a lead role in a One Act this year.

“Acting is something that I’ve always wanted to do, and One Acts gives me the chance to be in a production without it being a full-length play.”

One Acts will take place in the auditorium on May 5 at 7 p.m.

By Brittany Curtismanaging editor

Students direct an “Evening of One Acts”

Winners of the VEX Robotics Competition World Championship were crowned on April 26 by Grant Imahara, host of the Discovery Channel’s hit show “MythBusters.”

Elite VEX teams from middle schools, high schools and universities representing 14 countries competed at the Dallas Convention Center on April 22-24 with innovative robots they designed and built using the VEX Robotics Design System.

The Crown Point High School VEX Robotics Team 1233 finished 16 out of 100 Robotics teams in the Engineering Division with a qualifying score of 6-2 in Teleoperated and 8-0 in Autonomous.

The VEX robots were engineered to play the game “Clean Sweep” with students

applying their programming skills and strategic thinking to defeat the opposition. Participants of the VEX program compete throughout the year and learn critical life skills including leadership, teamwork, and technical problem solving.

The VEX Robotics Competition World Championship included qualifying teams from 14 countries including Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States for three days of non-stop robotics challenges. The VEX Robotics program is the largest and fastest growing middle and high school robotics competition in the world, featuring 200 events with 2,600 teams representing 20 countries.

“At the VEX Robotics World

Championship, students get to be the stars and are celebrated for applying what they learn in the classroom,” president of VEX Robotics Paul Copiolo said. “Our commitment is to engage students in science, technology, engineering, and math education to get them excited about pursuing technology careers.”

Partnering with Innovation First International as presenting co-sponsors are Autodesk, NASA, EMC Corporation and the Robotics Education and Competition (REC) Foundation. Additional supporting partners include Technology students Students Association (TSA), Intelitek, Robotics Academy at Carnegie Mellon University, FUTURE Foundation, ST Micro, Math Works, ID Tech Camps, and Hyatt Regency Dallas.

VEX Robotics team competes at world championship in Dallas

Photo Provided

Not more than 40 years ago, Gaylord Nelson, a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, proposed a day that could be dedicated to pro-moting a greener earth by bring-ing public concerns, such as pol-lution, into the limelight. Even nowadays, public concerns for a greener earth are in full swing.

On April 22, 2010, this tradi-tion of encouraging respect for life on earth was again celebrated as “Earth Day”, and the school took part in the movement to go green. In honor of the day, AP Environmental Science classes (APES) took the entire month to implement a movement they call “Ditch the Switch”.

Senior Grace Snooks is a past student of the APES class.

"This was our second year doing Ditch the Switch. All par-ticipating teachers had to use only one light switch to conserve energy in the month of April,” Snooks said.

Last year, the program proved successful as it saved the school money on energy bills. Out of 53 teachers who participated, 7350k Wh of energy were saved over the month. This translates to 15,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emis-sions saved from ditching the switch.

APES classes not only par-ticipate in Ditch the Switch, but

help to stay “green” all year long. Students enrolled in the class stay after school every Friday to col-lect recycled items from the black recycle bins located in select class-rooms at the school. Sophomore Ethan Delaughter is one of the participants.

“Everyone needs to do their part to make the world a better place,” Delaughter said. “It’s im-portant to recycle more and throw away less. People should help the world; not tear it apart.”

Other students in the school are promoting the ideals of Earth Day in their everyday lives. Se-nior Ani Chan is among these eco-friendly teens.

“I've replaced all the lights in

my room with energy-efficient light bulbs. Usually, I only keep my desk lamp on instead of all my lights on when I'm doing work. I make sure to turn off the lights when I leave rooms and un-plug things that don't need to be plugged in,” Chan said.

In order to be more environ-mentally friendly, Chan also gets creative with everyday tasks and items, such as paper.

“I take all my old papers from school work and keep them as random scrap paper to write or draw on or to print things that I don't need to turn in on. I've also been trying to take shorter show-ers and, the hardest change for me, to try to eat vegetarian when-

ever I can.”Snooks joined the “green

bandwagon”, and founded the school’s first Environmental Club.

"The club was founded to raise awareness about creating a more environmentally friendly school,” Snooks said.

While the club is still new, Snooks hopes that it will grow in the next few years.

“We hope to get involved with the community and we want to make the school a greener envi-ronment.”

Chan is a charter member of the environmental club.

“I want to spread awareness about why it's important to be a self-conscious consumer and citi-zen. A lot of the things we do, we do without thinking about when a little more awareness would help us make better decisions that would help the environment,” Chan said. I want to help make Go Green Week something sig-nificant that CPHS will celebrate every year, make our school more eco-friendly, and even make some money for a good cause.”

Overall, students are work-ing towards a greener Earth, and Chan believes that it’s simple to take part in the quest to go green.

“I think that there are a lot of small things that people don't realize they can do to help. It's really amazing how small things add up to make a difference.”

School saves money, energyBy Kelly Rostinopinion editor

NHS inducts new members at ceremony

Michael Albrecht Allison Amodeo Kayla Ballard Allison Ban Kelsey Batz Iqra Beg Savanna Bordui William Brown

Nathan Byrd Marija Cacovski Lauren Cain Dale Caldwell Mary Carpenter Zarah Cecich Amelia Claus Victoria Connelly

Sofija Cucuz Sarah Davis Robert Dillon Tara Durant Rachel Dykstra Nathan Ellingsen Kelsey Emery Daniel Fallon Emily FeatherstoneWilliam Franklin Rachael Fronek Timothy Fronek Alexandria Geisen Chelsea Groff Evan HenderlongLindsay Howarth Zoey Huizenga Chloe JaranowskiFaiza Javed Fabiola Jimenez Brittany Krowiarz Patrick Kvachkoff Nickolas Ladowicz Eric Landers

Evan Langbehn Caitlyn Lowry Eryn MacNeil Rebekah Maddack Kelly MaddaloneCassandra Marshall Jordan McRae Anita Mendoza Matthew Moehl Madeline Moore Jacob Negele Kristin Overbey Sarah Parker Bradley Qualizza Rebecca Reed Elizabeth Rettig Justin Ritter Kelly Rostin Elizabeth Rothrock John Rotroff Ryan Santelik Holly SchoenbeckDallas Schurg Hannah Schutter

Stephanie Sekuloski Janice Sewell Carmen Siew Rebekah Smith David Sotirovski Scott SouthworthAmanda StagowskiAshlee Stanley Emma Stein Reed Stofko Angeles Suarez Ashley Torres Gabrielle Touchette Marcus Trybula Nicole Vega Mattew Wagner Katelyn WhiteheadEvan Wilson Mackenzie Wornhoff Laura Yokovich Kaley YoungAlicia ZaberdacJennifer Zarate

the following students wereinducted into the National honor Society onWednesday evening:

Freshman Eugene Brzezinski, sophomore Jack Holland, junior Jesse Cervantes, and freshman Milan Trisic pose alonside Mark Querry at the VEX Robotics Competition World Championship on April 26. The team finished 16 out of 100 teams in the Engineering division.

Photo by M. LeMoN

Years ago, there were such shows as “Family Matters,” “All in the Family,” and “Full House.” These shows portrayed the characters

facing everyday problems with their families. Today, they have been replaced by are shows such as “Jersey Shore” and “Gossip Girl,” where the characters are living lives entirely separate from their families. This represents a shift in this generations’ attitude toward family life.

Do not get me wrong. I am in full support of teenage independence. Hanging out with friends and doing things on our own are top priorities during our teenage years. However, I cannot help but notice a growing apathy toward the issue of families. There was an uproar when Kate Gosselin left her children with a nanny to pursue her own hobbies, yet I do not know any teenagers who would willingly babysit their siblings over going to the movies. The fact is that many teens put friends before families on their list of priorities.

This is not always how teens should view their families. Families are the group that are with you from birth, that raise you, that teach you life lessons, and that instill values in you. If you are fortunate to have this kind of family in your life who loves you, then that should not be wasted. Some teens would give anything to have a stable home life, and too many teens are throwing away their amazing luck to have such a thing.

A stable family life leads to stability everywhere else. Having the support and love of a family provides one the confidence to try new things, pursue goals, become social, and believe in oneself. A family gives one of the resources one needs to be prosperous in life. By ignoring this invaluable resource, teens are wasting what could be the inspiration to pursue a specific career.

I am not saying all teens should ditch their friends and hang out solely with their families. Just eating dinner at home can help. Talking to parents or guardians for more than five minutes can help. Making a card for a sibling’s birthday instead of forgetting it can help. Teens should appreciate the support system they have, whoever it may be, and they need to show it.

April 30, 2010OpiniOn4Family ties bind lives together

View:

editorial

heard in the halls

Inklings

Inklings is a student publication distributed to students, faculty, and staff of Crown Point High School. It is published monthly by the newspaper and advanced journalism students. Opinions ex-pressed in Inklings do not reflect those of the CPHS faculty, staff, or the admin-istration.

Inklings welcomes and encourages signed letters-to-the-editor. Letters may be edited for space or clar-ity. Letters must be signed and turned in to room E107 one week prior to publications and must not contain personal attacks. Letters may also be sent via e-mail at inklings@cps.k12.in.us. Not all letters may be printed. Such decisions are the sole discretion of the Inklings editors and staff.

Advertising is subject to the applicable rate, cop-ies of which are available from Inklings advertising department or by contact-ing 663-4885 ext. 11349.

Inklings is a member of the Indiana High School Press Association, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, National Scho-lastic Press Association and Quill and Scroll.

Inklings may be contacted at 1500 S. Main, Crown Point, IN, 46307; 219-663-4885 ext. 11349; fax 219-662-5663; or inklings@cps.k12.in.us.

EditorsCori NovelliDeanna Sheafer

editors-in-chiefMichele Bates

associate editorBrittany Curtis

managing editorLauren CainMatt Smith

copy editorsBecca Duggan

entertainment editorKelly Rostin

opinion editorHunter McKee

sports editorMilan SavichColin Likas

sports assistantsAnna Ortiz

graphics editorBecca Iddings

advertising editorAlyssa Blahunka

advertising assistantGeorgia Otte

chief photographerJoe NejmanAlex ParrishVinnie NeedhamMary-Katherine LemonDonnella Casillas

photographers

StaffAmmy EastoArley GomezGarret HoganLauren McCarrollDanielle McCuanMarwa NourHaajar Shaaban

AdviserJulie Elston

It seems like “going green” is everywhere at present. The trend to decrease our carbon footprint is more popular than ever, and it seems that our school is attempting to do its part.

Unfortunately, all of our school’s efforts are nowhere near enough. We have “Ditch the Switch,” which refers to turning off one light in the classroom for the month of April. This would be well and good, but regrettably not every teacher participates in “Ditch the Switch.”

There are several other little things that are being done, and with all of this change, one would assume that we are making progress. However, there are still additional measures that should be taken. Let’s encourage recycling efforts where they are needed the most. Why do we not have recycling bins for bottles and paper where the most is inarguably produced: the lunchroom? With over 2,000 students and over 100 faculty, we are bound to produce a hefty amount of recyclable materials just at lunch alone.

We have recyclable napkins in the lunchroom, but what good are they if we have no place to actually recycle them? The cafeteria is undoubtedly the place where the most garbage is produced. With the addition of recycling bins in the cafeteria, we could cut back on not only the amount of garbage we create, but also on the amount of garbage bags we consume.

Additionally, let’s take the conservation efforts a step further. Why have only one month where one light is encouraged to be turned off in each classroom? We challenge our school to encourage eco-friendliness all year long, not for just one month out of the year. Going green needs to be a continuous effort to try to reduce our carbon footprint. Not only that, but decreasing the use of energy will undoubtedly lower costs as schools throughout the state deal with major budget cuts and are looking for ways to save.

It’s great that the school is committed to going green, but more can certainly be done. We all must make a conscious effort to reduce our carbon footprint. It’s not enough to talk the going green talk; it’s time to actually walk the walk.

By Becca Dugganarts & entertainment editor

“Going green” needs to be a continous effort by our school to try and reduce our carbon footprint,

instead of dedicating only a month or a day.

“Summer needs to be here sooner. The school year has felt so much longer than

last year.”

-sophomore Kaity Molden

Summer break

Smoking

Prom dates

cartoon by anna ortiz

“I think it’s a personal choice. If you choose to do it, you should understand that you

will have problems later in life.”

-freshman Frank Strino

“I’d rather go with a good friend because you’ll have more fun with them than going with someone you just have a crush on.”

-junior Sondra Eisler

I

Second semester hits students particularly hard, but no grade is more greatly affected than

senior class. Looking around, the lack of motivation is obvious. Homework is left in lockers without a second thought as kids leave the building. And the tardies? Who cares about showing up at all? And for those who do show up, sleep seems much more important than timeliness.

But above all, final exam grades suffer the most. By that point summer is in reach and most students have lined up a job or been accepted into college. Honestly, some already believe they’re as good as graduated and gone. So how can the administration keep us motivated? Just like in elementary school, the answer is simple. Rewards.

No, candy no longer does the trick like it did back in the day. Seniors want exemptions from second semester finals. On the surface, it seems like a good plan only for students. But, if done correctly, the administration can see benefits from this as well.

Our school’s leaders have set a goal of improving attendance. So, if they set a rule that mandates good attendance in return for exam exemptions, students would be more motivated to show up to school.

In addition, teachers and faculty alike have the hope that seniors will keep their GPA up even though it is the end of the year. The best way to do this is to mandate that seniors must have an “A” or “B” average for the semester in order to not take the final. If this plan or one like it was enacted, you’d see those second semester scores shoot up.

If this was known in advance, students would never even start to slack off. Then when May comes, they could be focusing on college preparations instead of a test over material they have a good grasp on, as proven by their grade in the class.

Both attendance rates and second semester scores would improve if this plan was implemented. Exempting students from second semester exams may very well be the only known cure for the contagious disease known as senioritis.

Opinion 5April 30, 2010

The recent devastating earthquakes in Haiti, Chile and southern

California have raised

concerns about the amount of money that the

U.S. uses to aid struggling

countries during difficult times. Is our ability

to help others overshadowing our own needs?

Consider exemptions for seniors

By Lauren McCarrollstaff reporter

The U.S. is still able to be humanitarian despitetrying economic times

The U.S. should focus onits own needs before aiding other countries

Soph

omor

e

“It can sometimes, but it’s pretty difficult to cheat using cell phones.”

Sarah MaddackKelli Wagner

Fres

hman

“Yes. I have seen people text during tests.”

Stephen Saricos

Juni

or

“Yes, because you can save notes in iPods and in cell phones.”

Jeff Erskine

Seni

or

“Absolutely; picture messages and texting can easily give away answers.”

ssue:

Does technology

aid cheating at our

school?

speak up

Should money go elsewhere or stay in U.S.?

By Deanna Sheaferco-editor-in-chief

The economic down fall in the U.S., plus giving money to restore Haiti, plus money to aid Chile, leaves no money for the USA. The recent earthquake that took place in California offered us insight as to what would happen to the U.S. if we had a catastrophic natural disaster. It turned out to be just another extraordinary expense on top of our current issues that are plastered all over the news.

The United States is known to be an independent and strong country that runs to the rescue of other countries that are in need, but there has to come a time eventually when we use some of that money on our own issues. If we have the power to play Mom to all the other countries, we need to help ourselves out every once in a while as well.

The situation in Haiti was devastating and there were many in desperate need of assistance, but the people in Chile also needed help. If we constantly focus all our attention and money on other countries, we will not be able to help those in our own country, or get out of this economic struggle.

If there is another earthquake in another country we will be inclined to help them, and the next one, and the next one continuously, which is the kind hearted thing to do, but eventually we need to take a look at our own country.

It’s not a matter of selfishness. If we truly are in such a state of economic shock we need to ask ourselves where this money is coming from. If we are able to lift up other nations, we should be able to pull ourselves out of the hole we dug ourselves into.

By Alex Parrishphotographer

Cartoon by Danny MCCuan

The act of giving and helping others is not a new one, nor is it an outdated one. That’s why I have become absolutely astounded at how many people are enraged that our country and some of its citizens are giving to less fortunate countries that have undergone some type of disaster or misfortune.

It is so crucial for America to play the “big brother”, because if we didn’t rise to the occasion and help, who would the needy and vulnerable countries turn to? Certainly our enemies, and that does nothing productive for our country.

It seems that a common complaint against helping other countries is the very childish and even more selfish, “What about me?” however, even in one of our weaker economic times, America is still one of the most powerful nations on this planet. So it is clear that we do have enough to go around for ourselves and others.

I have trust in President Obama, I feel like he is smart man and he knew what he was doing when he gave $115 million to help to restore Haiti after their life shattering earthquake. And then a few months later when we had our own earthquake on the home front, there was still enough to go around.

It really seems that a new kind of “humanitarian theme” is developing in recent times. The passing of a bill for free health care for every American, and the global responsibility tied into the “going green” movement, in my mind at least, makes sense as standing supports for this humanitarian movement. So all in all, I guess my real point is, if you are able to help someone and enjoy doing it, whether it be your classmate or the country of Haiti, why wouldn’t you?

April 30, 20106

AskLaugh

ExploreWonderInspireIIonlife

Tanning takes its toll by the numbers

71percent of tanning salon patrons are girls and women aged 16-29.

75percent

The first exposure to tan-ning beds in youth increases

melanoma risk by

All facts from the Skin Cancer Foundation.

estimated revenue of the indoor tanning industry per year.

$5 billion

20percent of people will develop skin

cancer in the course of a lifetime.

Skin cancer, premature skin aging, and eye damage to the extent of blindness. Every time someone steps into a tanning bed, he or she is exposing themselves to risks such as these.

A recent report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) con-cluded that tanning devices are more dan-gerous than previously thought. This report states that the chance of getting melanoma, a form of skin cancer, is increased by 75 per-cent when the use of tanning beds is started before the age of 30.

“(Tanning beds) are linked to skin can-cer, especially melanoma, which is rising in the young population (ages 15-29). Mela-noma is the number one type of cancer in people aged 25-29 and second most common type of cancer in people aged 15-29,” said dermatology assistant physician Megan Mo-ser of Dermatology and Cosmetic Specialists of Indiana.

Tanning beds specifically are more harm-ful than regular tanning due to the UV radia-tion. According to Moser, the rays emitted by tanning beds are 15 times more potent than regular UV radiation. UV radiation was clas-sified as a human carcinogen (cancer causing agent) by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and was also classified as a

Group I (carcinogenic to humans) carcinogen by the World Health Organization as of July 2009.

“Tanning beds have been linked directly to skin cancer (particularly melanoma), im-munosuppression (weakening of immune system), aging of the skin, cataracts, and macular degeneration of the eyes (a form of blindness),” Moser said.

Despite these risks, some students still visit tanning beds often. Sophomore Emily Balicki says she is aware of the risks of tan-ning, but continues to go anyway.

“I’ve never really heard of anyone dying directly from tanning,” Balicki said. “Some-times I worry about the risks, but not enough to stop tanning.”

While tanning naturally by laying out is dangerous, it is less dangerous than tan-ning beds due to the fact that the UV rays are not as close to the skin as they are when in a tanning bed. However, if laying out, precau-tions still need to be taken, such as wearing sunscreen. Moser instructs that a broad spec-trum sunscreen that blocks UVA and UVB rays with an SPF of 30 or higher should be used for daily use, and should be applied 15 to 30 minutes before going outdoors. Reap-plication should occur after every 2 hours in the sun, or after heavy exercise or after being in the water.

Junior Nate Ellingsen is a lifeguard dur-ing the summer, and has more reason to be

worried about the dangers the sun causes.“I protect my skin first of all, because I

am in the sun all day, but also because skin cancer is relatively prominent in my dad’s side of the family so I try to be safe,” Elling-sen said. “I have a cousin that used to go tan-ning frequently and ended up having to have chunks of skin on her arm removed because she had skin cancer.”

Moser stresses that there is no such thing as a “safe tan,” and believes firmly in no tan-ning at all, indoor or outdoor. According to her, their office sees 50 to 75 cases of mela-noma a year, and 25 percent of these cases are in people under the age of 30.

“We can never determine if a melanoma case diagnosed in our office is due to tan-ning, excessive outdoor sun exposure, a com-ponent of both, or genetics; however, we are seeing a large jump in the incidence in mela-noma in young people in our practice and also nationwide,” Moser said. “Skin cancer is rising at epidemic numbers, especially in young people, and melanoma kills people.”

While some teens still ignore these facts, other students still see the importance of staying out of tanning beds.

“I think it’s ignorant to an extent (to go to tanning beds frequently). If you go multiple times a week, it puts you at a higher risk for things such as skin cancer,” Ellingsen said. “I’d rather be a little more pale than end up with permanent scars.”

Teens tan indoors, ignoring damaging effects on skin

By Lauren Cainco-copy editor

Sophomore Blake Pals, seniors Jake Tasher and Anna Bucci, and junior Lexi Diamond rehearse for their One Act. An Evening of One Acts will take place on May 7.

Tanning beds, like the one shown above, have recently been discovered to increase risk for melanoma by 75 percent. The Skin Cancer Foundation reports that 2.3 million teens tan in indoor tanning beds every year.

Rehe

arsin

g

Cr e

atin

g

Senior Sonya du Bernard makes an intaglio ink print in Karen Cox’s Printmaking class.

2.3million

teens use indoor tanning beds every year.

Rays emitted by tan-ning beds are

15times more potent than UV radiation.

April 30, 2010 7Feature

Perfect, personal prom proposals

Student I.D. Required

Students come up with increasingly creative ways to issue invitation

Remember that adrenaline rush and sweaty palmed senti-ment one gets when knowing something is about to happen, but not knowing exactly what? That is the sensation of prom sea-son; of finally breathing the sigh of relief once being asked to the big dance.

With prom being fifteen days away, recent weeks have been filled with many instances of cre-ative invitations.

When witnessing high school prom seasons, there are typically two types of prom proposals--classic and creative. Ways such as finding a rose in each class to have a bouquet at the end of the day are considered timeless and romantic.

Or, some take a different ap-proach and write “Prom?” on back car windows. Imaginative students often go to great lengths to come up with a memorable in-vite for their prospective dates.

Bigger and better are just un-derstatements. Unique, charming, and innovative ways are grasp-ing everyone’s interest, including the guys of Crown Point High School.

Senior Billy Davis made his date sophomore Katelyn Reno pop her own question.

“I wanted to do something different, something she would remember. So, I filled her locker with balloons spelling Prom and one said ‘pop me’,” Davis said. “A prom ticket was inside. She couldn’t stop smiling afterwards,” Davis said.

Others have been asking in sweet ways such as stuffing build-a-bears, writing poems and

songs, strumming guitars, asking through post-it notes, or even re-arranging the letters on the Crown Theatre to form the famous ques-tion.

Junior Gracie Argenta had a story of her own from when se-nior Jeff Limbaugh projected his prom question.

“It was late and I usually don’t go places after work, but since I was leaving for the weekend I de-cided to take up his offer and see him. When I pulled into his cul-de-sac I saw his front yard was lit with lawn lights that spelled out ‘PROM’,” Argenta said.

Senior Ryan Ruderschmidt used senior Skye Sawa’s favorite sport as a gateway to popping the question to her.

“We were playing catch with a softball one day and I got the idea to write “Prom?” on the ball and throw it to her. I attached a pen so she could reply. She re-plied but ran it back with a huge smile,” Ruderschmidt said.

Many girls want the perfect dress, the perfect guy, and the perfect fairy tale proposal. Teach-ers have even begun to witness the new found glory and inven-tive ways of asking someone out for this year’s “A Night At Sea.”

Art teacher Lindsay Cox has witnessed multiple proposals.

“I’ve had a couple kids in my class make things out of clay and

then write or carve the question ‘Will you go to the dance with me?’ on it. Then you see the kids with the posters and most recently balloons and cookies,” Cox said.

Senior Mary Jacobs, an avid Harry Potter fan, was prom pro-posed to by junior Andy Vanden-berg in a classic fanatic way.

“During lunch, in the ‘Great Hall’, I opened my lunch box to find an owl with a note attached to its foot saying ‘Prom?’. It was just like owl mail, which made me excited,” Jacobs said.

The adrenaline rush of one’s significant other, date for the night, or just friend, finally pro-posing that awaited question is a feeling some will never forget.

But English teacher Ashley Monroe noted that high school prom was not always all about the fairy tales.

“When I was in high school, most people weren’t asked in these creative ways. I went with a group of friends,” Monroe said.

Nonetheless, as prom ap-proaches students shouldn’t be surprised to witness grand ges-tures displayed by hopeful prom-goers.

Need ideas for next year? Check out http://www.es-sortment.com/all/funway-sasksom_tvhx.htm to find something that suits you.

By Ammy Eastostaff reporter

I wanted to do something different, some-thing she would remember. So, I filled her locker with balloons spelling Prom and one said ‘pop me’. A prom ticket was inside. She

couldn’t stop smiling afterwards.

“ “

senior Billy Davis

April 30, 2010Feature8

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Cellular applications spark a satellite struck maniaIn a network of cell phone signals clamoring with the newest craze, cell phone applications are the booming at-

traction. They were originally created for businessmen and women to network within the company, then it spread to the simplicity of Tetris and brick-breaker showing up on Nokia screens. Now apps have spanned far beyond miniaturized arcade games. There are apps for accessing internet on the go, twittering at the speed of light, for the music collector, the calorie counter, and the obsessive gamer. The question is, which will be your latest obses-sion? By Anna Ortiz/ graphics editor

For the high-tech audiophile, Shazam is a phone app worth the satellite signal. Over 50 mil-lion people in 150 different countries use Shazam to boost their music library. If there’s a song playing that you don’t know information on, the app can record a 15 second sound byte, recognize the song, and allow you to buy it on iTunes.

If you’re shaping up for summer (or prom) this application is the perfect shape up side-kick. It is designed to improve outdoor exercises such as running, walking, biking, rollerblading and even skiing by mapping your path, calculating distance, pace, position, altitude, and calories burned. It in-cludes a chart making feature to track performance and easy to share access to Twitter and Facebook so you can compete with or brag to your friends.

The Top Five:

The popular virtual-life game that was once confined to a computer screen now can be enjoyed on an iPhone. Sims 3 brings on a new network of fun 3-D world environments and lets you be your own eccentric Sim .

Shazam

SportyPal

Mark Fiore, the first online-only journalist to win a Pu-litzer Prize, is being recon-sidered by Apple as creator of a new app. Originally Fiore had created a cartoon app that would feature his satirical political cartoons to the app user. However, Apple rejected it on the grounds that it “ridiculed public figures,” in which Fiore recently actually won his Pulitzer because of his editorial cartoons. Due to public outcry, an Apple representative contacted Fiore recently, suggesting that he resubmit his app to the company. Yet this isn’t the first time that Apple has censored a service poking fun at the govern-ment. They had rejected Mad Magazine cartoonist Tom Richmond’s “Bobble Rep” app that showed U.S. senators and representa-tives as bobble-head-like caricatures. Developer Alec Vance’s “Freedom Time” app, which counted down to the end of the Bush administration, was also among the discarded. Which ironically shows, winning a Pulitzer is easier than passing a political satire through Apple.

Also in app news:

Sims 3

Voted by Apple users on bestapps.com as the best application for Twittering, Tweetie is the social butterfly’s best friend. It can easily navigate through the Twitter network and send and receive lightning fast messages and pictures. Shortcuts make for easy browsing and updates keep up with the social current.

Tweetie

Even if you’re not allowed to get a

tattoo, this artsy app features tattoo designs of the day as well as the latest celebrity tats.

Smart shoppers can use this app to scan a product’s barcode and get the best deals and infor-mation.

Stressed? Tired? This application is nirvana via mobile mediation. Using brain wave tech-nology, it uses sound frequencies to alter your current state.

For the got-to-have-it music collector, this app plugs into the audio world with the largest database of mu-sic files, music videos, cover art, artist bios, and song info.

Phone Apps

Pandora Radio2.

BrainBooster 1.53.

Tat Tap4.

The Microsoft Tag Reader

5.

iGift4u1.The 2009 “Best App Ever Award” winner combines Facebook, Twitter,YouTube, Bing, and e-mail all in one.photo by m. lemon

April 30, 2010 Feature 9Advanced Placement testing nears

LISA GRADY219-308-6237

LISA@LISAGRADYHOMES.COM

Each Keller Williams Realty Office is Independently Owned and Operated

“ALWAYS WEAR A SMILE-IT IS YOUR BEST FASHION ACCESSORY”

Teachers, students share tips on how to do well on the AP tests starting May 3

PHOTO BY D. CASILLAS

As a soldier prepares for battle, training day after day to achieve victory, so does an AP student readying himself for the AP test, a battle in itself. All year, teachers have prepared their students for the day of this “battle,” imparting every bit of knowledge they possess, and the day is almost here. Starting May 3, almost 700 tests will be taken to separate the victors from the victims. Without a doubt, it is a stressful time for many.

Despite this stress, AP Eng-lish Literature teacher John Lam-bersie believes that every student

should make an attempt.“It is my firm belief that if

you can afford an exam, you should take it,” Lambersie said. “Why even be in an AP class if you are not going to face the challenge at the end?”

Each test costs $86 to take, but the school eliminates this cost completely for the math and science tests.

Still, for the tests that re-quire payment, some worry that they may be wasting their mon-ey. However, in the days leading up to the exam, there are many ways to get ready and feel pre-pared to do well.

“Each test has something you can prepare, such as going

over Sparknotes to brush up on the books you read or doing some old Calculus practice tests. Collegeboard.com has practice questions galore that you can get into,” Lambersie said.

Aside from the common preparations, some students have their own personalized ways of getting ready for the tests. Senior Lucas Groff, who received a five, the highest score possible, on the AP Chemistry test, has a unique way of prepar-ing immediately before the test.

“I like to get myself pumped up right before I go into the test-ing area,” Groff said. “For the AP Literature test, I even wore a sweatband and work-out attire

to get myself in the competitive mind-set.”

From study habits to inter-nal motivators, students have many diverse ways of preparing prior to the test. However, Lam-bersie says that there is one tip everyone should keep in mind.

“Take the test seriously,” Lambersie said. “You better be using every second to lengthen those essays or fine tune your problems. Don’t spend a half hour doing nothing on the test. When you get your failed grade in the mail, I hope you enjoyed that extra half an hour of nap-ping. The student who used all his time will get a lot more nap-ping in college.”

By Matt Smithco-copy editor

“Rugrats” rocked. “Power Rangers” were the rage. Everyone had their exclusive collection of beanie babies or Pokémon cards. Yup, it was the 90’s.

“The 90’s were the ‘bomb-diggity,’ and way better than the two-thousands,” sophomore David Raymond said.

There were plenty of remarkable features of the 90’s. For one, there were many memorable TV shows, from “Hey Arnold” to “Boy meets World.”

“I loved the ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ because it was hu-morous and always had a meaningful lesson at the end,” freshman Karen Kukla said.

90’s kids also had their fair share of amusing toys, such as the original Bop It, the Skip-It, and the Tamagotchi.

“I had a Buzz Lightyear doll that was pretty awesome,” junior Derek Hutchinson said.

Although not all of the 90’s toys were enjoyed by ev-eryone.

“Furbies scare me. They’re creepy,” Raymond said.Another property of the 1990’s was the music world as

a whole. *NSYNC, Blink 182, and the Spice Girls are just a few hit musicians of the 90’s.

“ I liked (90’s) music, like Britney spears. I wanted to be just like her,” sophomore Amanda Wester-hoff said.

Kids of the 1990’s haven’t forgotten their favorite pas-times. However, times have changed, and our old hobbies have been switched with more contemporary, high-tech re-placements-- some for better, some for worse. For example, greater advancements have led to less waiting and more convenience.

“I can’t imagine not having high-speed internet,” Ray-mond said.

However, some think that technological advancements have taken away from time spent in other ways.

“You don’t see many people outside now; then there was a balance between technology and going outside,” se-nior Chelsea Masolak said.

Yeah, the 90’s were great.

Feature10 April 30, 2010

By Haajar Shaaban staff reporter

1990 to 2010Remember when?From Y2K to 2012, the differences between a 90’s kid to 2010 teen are evident

1990Then... 2010Now...• Y2K • Dec. 21, 2012

• Passing notes

• Nintendo 64

• “Friends”

• Walkman

• Beanie Babies

• Goosebumps

• VHS tapes

• Furbies

• Texting

• Wii

• “Modern Family”

• iPod

• Webkins

• Twilight

• Blu-Ray

• Tickle- Me- Elmo

• Rock Band• Karaoke

• Lady Gaga• Christina Aguilera

• “The Notebook”• “Titanic”

• Jonas Brothers • Hanson

• Netflix• Video Stores

• “Spongebob”• “Rugrats”

Walkman

BeanieBabies

Bop It

Insert your CD, put on your headphones, and go. Walk-

mans were the epitome of convenience in the 90’s, until iPods made their appearance.

Now replaced by Web-kins, Beanie Babies were a stuffed animal turned collector’s item and could be picked up at nearly any toy store or McDonald’s.

• Four square • Ultimate frisbee

• Tamagotchi • Phone apps

3-D technology has been around since the early 1900s, but in the past decade its popularity has been growing. 3-D is the next big thing, or at least that is what the entertainment industries seem to be pounding at us.

What started out as a different way of enjoying an occasional movie or two is now everywhere. In the last few months there have been movie releases such as “Avatar,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Clash of the Titans,” and “How to Train your Dragon” available in 3-D as well as traditional versions. The 3-D trend is growing, but it seems like the industry is going overboard.

The theaters are not the only ones trying to monopolize on the 3-D experience; now the TV companies are trying to get in on the money that is coming from this new trend. Many of big name brands like Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, are creating a new line of 3-D TV. Cable providers are even providing channels and programs offered in 3-D. This technology allows the viewers to get the 3-D experience from the comfort of their home, but half of the fun of the 3-D experience is going out and seeing it in the movie theater. It is the novelty of the experience that makes it worthwhile.

Also, the vast entertainment industry is hammering the old idea of 3-D at us, trying to pass it off as something new. The desperate attempt to please the consumers by doing a throw back to 3-D is going overboard. Every industry seems to be reintroducing products. Even old-school coloring is being pumped up by the 3D hype. Crayola is buying into the hype by introducing the new 3-D Color Explosion line which allows children to see their art work come to life. This new twist is allowing another entrance into the children’s market for 3-D.

Although the occasional movie in 3-D is good, the ex-cessive exposure that the 3-D experience is receiving is only working to lower the value and excitement of it.

A common date night for most people includes a romantic dinner and a relaxing movie, but try telling that to the Fosters.

In “Date Night,” Phil and Claire Foster (played by Steve Carell and Tina Fey, respectively) are the typical American middle class family. Claire is a hardwork-ing housewife who participates in the local book club, while her husband, Phil, works long hours to make end’s meet for his wife and two kids, Oliver and Char-lotte. A number of people would do anything to have the kind of peaceful, prosperous life that the Fosters have, but the married couple find themselves strug-gling with restlessness, boredom, and the ominous topic of divorce when a couple they know decides to separate.

In an attempt to enliven the marriage, Phil tries to take his wife to a fancy dinner at the most prestigious restaurant in the city- a seafood place known as The Claw, where the food and service is so grand that the work-ers answer the phone by saying, “You’re welcome.” However, frustrated with being unable to get a seat, Phil impulsively de-cides to take the reservation of Mr. and Mrs. Triplehorn. Claire is uneasy at first, but the couple enjoys their very expensive meal just the same. The blissful night is interrupted when a classic case of mistaken identity unfolds, with the Fosters in the middle of it.

They are accidentally identified as the Triplehorns by two goons who would rather shoot first and deal with the consequences later. The date night takes many twists and turns from there, always leav-ing the viewer guessing as to how such a misunderstanding could ever be resolved.

Without question, Carell and Fey steal the show. There are many celebrities that make guest appearances, such as Mark Wahl-berg and Leighton Meester, but they are the funniest pair by far.

With a knack to play any role with finesse and innate comedic talent, Fey is hilarious and bril-liant as an eccentric yet devoted wife who merely wants to be ap-preciated. Her comedic timing is impeccable, and the way she is able to add hilarious quirks to an otherwise normal character is highly entertaining. Anyone who is a fan of “30 Rock,” a show she stars in, will be delighted to see her performance; although, admittedly, she is funnier in “30 Rock” than in “Date Night.”

Adding to Fey’s own humor with his own eccentricities, Carell delves into his character so well, the viewer forgets all about his role in “The Office.” The focus is solely on his fantastic portrayal of a father trying to prove himself as a trustworthy provider. His hu-morously awkward mannerisms and phrasings (such as “zip your face”) make his character come to life in various amusing ways.

Together, Carell and Fey have an unmatched chemistry that be-comes so dominant that all other

characters simply blend into the background. They are a dynamic comedy duo that make every scene a hilarious and unique one.

With the action-packed plot and brilliantly developed char-

acters, a moviegoer will find everything they need in “Date Night.” This is a movie that can be watched multiple times and a viewer can discover something funny every time.

Arts & EntErtAinmEnt 11April 30, 2010

InformatIon compIled by InklIngs edItors

favorite things

a few of our

3-D Movies jumping into too much mediaBy Arley Gomezstaff reporter

myview

dIsneynature “oceans”“The Little Mermaid” hardly

scratched the surface of what is truly under the sea compared to Disneynature’s “Oceans.” Re-leased pointedly on Earth Day, “Oceans” is a documentary on some of the sea’s most majestic and unique creatures. It artfully displays the underwater world, showing some of the most mes-merizing nature scenes caught on film. To capture some creatures on film, the filmmakers some-times had to wait months at a time to get the perfect shot. Their hard work was not wasted; every scene is rare and engrossing in its natural beauty.

Earth Day is a popular holiday in April, so much so that Arbor Day can be overlooked. How-ever, the supposed “minor” holiday should not be overlooked. Established as early as 1872, this day is for celebrating the aspect of Earth that gives it

life and undeniable beauty- trees.

Jamba JuIce 20th annIversaryMost people knew about

Dairy Queen’s celebration of the Blizzard’s 25th year in creation, but not as many knew about Jamba Juice’s 20th Anniversa-

ry. However, the better deal was clearly with Jamba Juice, for if a customer printed out a coupon available from the Jamba Juice

web site, they could have gotten a smoothie free with the purchase of

another smoothie. The deal is over now, but Jamba Juice has special deals for each day of the week that any smoothie lover can enjoy.

“Date Night” proves eventfulBy Becca Dugganarts & entertainment editor

arbor day

Comedic team stars as other actors fade to background

If you love a cer-tain show, book, video game, CD, or movie and have ever tried to find something similar that you know you would enjoy, look no further. In addition to broaden-ing your horizons of the entertainment industry, check out similar prod-ucts that you are almost guaranteed to like.

If you liked the film“Date Night”...

Check out “Fun with Dick and Jane,” a comedy about a couple that deal with their dire financial status through comically illegal means. Dick is played by Jim Carrey, and Tea Leoni plays his wife, Jane.

If you like CD“Brand New Eyes” by Paramore...

Look up the recently released album, “For Those Who Wait,” by Fireflight. The bands are alike with their passionate female singers and Christan rock style.

If you like the game“Dante’s Inferno”...

Plug into the game “Darksid-ers,” which is also made for the Xbox console. Both games are played from a single-play-er perspective that puts the player at the forefront of non-stop action.

If you like the book“Twilight” by Stephanie Meyer...

Turn to the book series called “House of Night” written by P.C. Cast. The books follow a female main character who deals with vampire-related ro-mances.

If you liked the sitePostSecret...

Click on the site cardboard-love.com, where people post messages they wrote on piec-es of cardboard to the people they love. The anonymous nature of the sites give an air of intimate secrecy.

If you like the show “Keeping up with the Kardashians”...

Flip to the new show, “Pretty Wild,” which is also on the E! channel. Starring three sis-ters with family issues and constant drama, both shows are definitely fun to watch.

Like That? You’ll Love

This!

After 26 awards through vari-ous European foundations and seven years since finding their start streaming MP3s through MySpace, the indie group known as the Arctic Monkeys gained even further monumental success after recently wrapping up their final leg of their Humbug tour in America.

The indie rock quartet out of Sheffield, England performed at the Madison Theatre in Coving-ton, Kentucky. Because the seating was general admission, I was able to experience this concert from the first row for $35 in a rather small venue. It was truly an honor to

be able to view currently one of the most ac-

claimed bands in Europe. Following the opening act of

Sleepy Sun, a San Francisco based band with a funky bass groove, smooth psychedelic sounds and howling cries of singing, the crowd waited in anticipation for the Arctic Monkeys to take the stage.

Sleepy Sun’s final song ends, and the lights black out minutes later. The crowd cheers ecstati-cally, and out from the darkness

comes the shrieking, reverberat-ing, slow sound of “Dance Little Liar.” In the concluding mo-ments of the song, drummer Matt Helders slows down the tempo and then hit his crash on the first beat and the band plays directly into the fast 8/4 time of “Brain-storm.” During this next song, waves of crowd surfers make their way from the back all the way to the main stage. The crowd contin-ues their erratic, thrilled behavior throughout the set.

The Arctic Monkey’s per-formed all of the singles from their most recent album, Humbug, such as the love ballad “Corner-stone,” which calmed the crowd and turned the concert into a sing-a-long, “Crying Lightning,” and “My Propeller.” The Monkey’s also incorporated a few classics from their debut album, What-ever People Say I am, That is What I’m Not, such as “I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor,” and “The View From the Afternoon.” The band completed their set with the song “505,” which turned the concert into a universal mosh pit.

For Arctic Monkeys fans and “Humbug-lovers,” this concert was spectacular. However, for the fans of their perky, British indie-pop songs, the concert might have been a little disappointing.

For example, the Monkeys slowed down their hit single “Flu-orescent Adolescent,” which was played as an encore, and played it in a minor key rather than a ma-jor, which gave the song a darker tone instead of the original upbeat nature.

Despite this, the majority of the crowd was very pleased at

the end of their performance. On the way out of the theatre, many patrons were smiling and con-versing about their favorite songs throughout the set.

However, this was the last time we will see the Monkeys live for quite some time. They are cur-rently on a break and plan to start recording in the fall.

Arts & EntErtAinmEnt12 April 30, 2010

By Michele Batesassociate editor

New season of ‘Dancing’ causes drama

What’s on your iPod?

Arctic Monkeys inspire By Hunter McKeesports editor

Careless Whispers Seether

Scars Papa Roach

Women Lie Men Lie Lil’ Wayne

Tuba Mirzasenior

Resistance Muse

Fired Up Thousand Foot Crutch

Break Three Days Grace

Derek Hutchinson junior

Paul Kendallsophomore

In My Head Jason Derulo

Lollipop Lil’ Wayne

Paradise Lil’ Wayne

Heather Mallardfreshman

English indie group wraps-up successful Humbug Tour in U.S.

Review

Casanova Rodeo The World Alive

Assistant to the Regional Manager The Devil Wears Prada

A Prophecy Asking Alexandria

Review

Last month during “The Bachelor” finale, I anxiously awaited for the commercial break. Bachelor Jake Palveka picked Vienna Giraldi and I was much more interested in hearing the line-up for season 10 of “Dancing with the Stars” during the commercials. After the cast was announced, I was pleasantly surprised to hear who was dancing this season. ABC chose celebrities of all ages and I couldn’t wait for the show to begin. However, like all reality shows out there, drama and controversy quickly unfolded.

Just five days before the show was set to premiere, ESPN reporter and “Dancing With the Stars” contestant Erin Andrews learned the man who was accused of stalking her was sentenced to 30 months in prison. I thought it was great to see Erin get the settlement she wanted and was able to compete on one of the most popular shows on television. Unfortunately, just a week after the competition began, Erin began receiving e-mails containing death threats. Ac-cording to several reports, the FBI is currently trying to deal with the issue. I admire Erin Andrews for continuing on with the competition. In my opinion, “Dancing with the Stars” is the best thing Erin can do right now. It gets her mind off the issues that surround her and gives her fans a chance to see a different side to her.

Since I have been an avid viewer since the beginning, I have also noticed that voting has caused even more drama. I believe there are many viewers out there who vote just because they are fans of the star’s career and not because of their danc-ing talents. Take Kate Gosselin for example. Though I respect her for giving the show a shot, the viewers voted for her for the wrong reasons. I know she has been through a lot this past year, but her votes prevented talented couples from staying in the competition.

It is hard to tell right now who could win the Mirror Ball Trophy at the end of the season. There is tremendous talent and I cannot wait to see the outcome.

“The Price of Beauty” is Jessica Simpson’s latest venture into the entertainment world and this time Simpson is targeting an extremely popular topic: beauty. Every Monday on VH1, viewers watch as Simpson travels the world with her two best friends, Cacee Cobb and Ken Paves, and discovers the lengths women are willing to go to achieve beauty.

On recent episodes, the trio traveled to Morocco and had a taste of just

about everything from the exotic culture. From the tea tray dancing to the traditional washing in the hammam, a communal bathhouse, usually with separate baths for men and women, Simpson sees how women view themselves as beautiful dressed in jellabas, a loose-fitting hooded gown or robe, and kaftans, long garments having long sleeves and tied at the waist by a girdle. Simpson also

travels to Uganda where she is surprised to find out that women are viewed as beautiful the fatter they are. The episode actually documents a bride before her wedding as she spends months in a “fattening hut” drinking milk and “ghee” until she becomes fat.

The concepts of beauty explored in the show are truly

unconventional and might sometimes surprise the viewer, but Simpson sees the show as a way to find beauty in herself. After months of critique about her weight gain, she saw it as a way to reconnect with herself and find what beauty means to her instead of what the media expects beauty to look like.

Another aspect of this show that truly caught my attention was the amount of time and degree of pain women all over the world are willing to spend on making themselves beautiful. In the first episode, Simpson travels to Thailand where she discovers that women want their skin to be as fair as possible to be beautiful. On the trip she meets a woman who has bleached her skin multiple times just to achieve this beauty. Along with the bleaching of the skin was the “ringing” of the neck. The cast watches as a little girl gets her first of many rings in her neck in an attempt to have the beauty that the people believe in.

Besides documenting different cultures and exploring different sides of beauty, Simpson tries to prove the point that everyone has their own definition of beauty. This show keeps the viewer entertained while playing up to the big message that Simpson was hoping to get across. Women are all beautiful as long as they see themselves as beautiful.

Simpson discovers beauty in new show By Marwa Nourstaff reporter

As the boys’ track season has moved from indoor to out-door and from March to April, meet results are getting better and better.

The ‘Dogs have competed in eight meets in the last month (March 26-April 27) and con-tinue to improve. Head coach Keith Iddings feels that team has learned a lot throughout the sea-son.

“The team is developing a better understanding of how to be successful in the various events,” Iddings said.

The boys closed out the in-door season with contests at East Proviso, Illinois and Portage.

In the Proviso East Relays on March 26, the ‘Dogs were the only team from Indiana compet-ing. The boys took eighth place of 16 teams overall.

Strong showings were put up by junior Israel Mercado, who finished seventh in the 55 meter dash and second in the 200 me-ter dash, freshman Zack Sneider-wine, who finished fourth in the 200 meter dash and third in the 400 meter dash, and junior Ryan Santelik, who captured fourth in the 3200 meter run.

“Except for pulling my groin, the races were awesome,” Mercado said. “They were over before I knew it.”

Also doing well in the meet were seniors Chris Shellenberger

[eighth in the 1600 meter run] and Zack Brueckman [sixth in the shot put].

On March 30, the boys trav-eled to Portage for the DAC In-door Championships. Out of the seven teams in the meet [Michi-gan City did not show], the ‘Dogs finished fifth.

Mercado finished second in the 55 meter dash, while Sneider-wine took second in the 400 me-ter dash.

Following the indoor cham-pionships, there was a short lay-off for the ‘Dogs. However, they got back into action on April 8, taking on Munster, East Chicago Central, and Hanover Central.

The boys defeated all three of their non-conference oppo-nents, capturing their first home victory of the season in the pro-cess.

On April 13, the ‘Dogs com-peted against Valparaiso and

Merrillville at home. It was tough going for the boys, as they fell to both conference op-ponents. The scores were 73-59 against Merrillville and 86-46 against Valparaiso.

The next team event was another conference matchup against both Michigan City and Chesterton. The Trojans defeat-ed the ‘Dogs by a 98-34 margin. However, the team was able to pick up its first, and so far only, conference victory of the year by conquering the Wolves 81-46.

The most successful meet thus far for the boys was the Talon Relays in Brown County on April 24. The team team took second out of ten teams, with the other nine teams coming out of central and southern Indiana.

The 4x1600 meter relay team of Santelik, Shellenberger, soph-omore Tor Jansson, and fresh-man Alex Ray got the ‘Dogs off

on the right foot, taking second in the event.

Good individual showings were put forth by Mercado in the 100 meter dash [4th], Santelik in the 3200 meter run [5th], juniors Drew Horjus and Joel Johnson in the long jump [2nd], junior Mike Ciesielski and senior Brad Pusateri in the discus [3rd], and Pusateri and Brueckman in the shot put [2nd].

“I’ve enjoyed watching the team improve and seeing my teammates reach their maximum potential,” Pusateri said.

The other relay teams also came up big at Brown County. The 4x100 throwers relay team took home the team’s only first place award. The 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, and 4x800 meter relay teams all took fourth, the dis-tance medely relay finished run-ner-up, the 800 meter sprint me-dely ended up in third, and the 4x110 shuttle hurdle relay team placed fifth.

The ‘Dogs’ most recent meet was on April 27 against Lake Central and LaPorte. The night ended in disappointment, with the boys falling to both teams.

The boys will have three more meets before beginning the postseason, which kicks off on May 12 with the conference meet at Chesterton. Mercado has a plan that he hopes will lead him to a successful postseason.

“I have to eat right, get plen-ty of sleep, train hard,” Mercado said.

SportS 13April 30, 2010

Boys track team approaching postseasonTeam picks up one conference win, works towards end of regular season

BaseballCP-3Carl Sandburg-1 (Mar. 30)

CP-12Highland-0 (Apr. 5)

CP-15Lowell-4 (Apr. 6)

CP-12Portage-2 (Apr. 13)

CP-8Valparaiso-4 (Apr. 15)

Chesterton-5CP-4 (Apr. 19)

LaPorte-4CP-5 (Apr. 21)

CP-3Michigan City-1 (Apr. 24)

SoftballCP-12Hobart-0 (Mar. 29)

Penn-6CP-4 (Apr. 1)

CP-3Merrillville-1 (Apr. 6)

Lake Central-0CP-2 (Apr. 10)

CP-1Portage-0 (Apr. 13)

CP-12Valparaiso-1 (Apr. 15)

CP-7Chesterton-0 (Apr. 19)

CP-14LaPorte-2 (Apr. 21)

Boys Track5th @ DAC IndoorChampionships (Mar. 31)

Loss vs. Valparaiso andMerrillville (Apr. 13)

Loss vs. Chesterton, Win @ Michigan City (Apr. 20)

Girls TrackWin @ Merrillville, Loss vs. Val-paraiso (Apr. 13)

Win @ Lowell, Win vs. East Chicago Central, Win vs. Hanover Central (Apr. 15)

Win vs. Michigan City, Win vs.Chesterton (Apr. 20)

7th @ West Lafayette Relays (Apr. 24)

Loss @ Lake Central, Win vs. LaPorte (Apr. 27)

Girls TennisWin vs. Hobart (Apr. 12)

Loss @ Culver (Apr. 19)

Win vs. Merrillville (Apr. 22)

Loss @ Portage (Apr. 27)

Boys GolfLoss @ Renssalaer Quad (Apr. 19)

Win @ CP Invitational (Apr. 24)

Win @ Lowell, vs. Hanover Central (Apr. 26)

Sscoreboard

By Colin Likasasst. sports editor

Senior Chris Shellenberger competes in his leg of the 4x800 meter relay in a DAC contest against Michigan City and Chesterton. Shellenberger and his teammates took second in the event. Chesterton defeated the ‘Dogs overall in the meet, but the boys were able to take down Michigan City. The next conference meet for the team will take place on May 4 at Portage.

photo by j. nejman

I’ve enjoyed watch-ing the team improve and seeing my team-

mates reach their maximum potential.

senior thrower Brad Pusateri

“ “

With a record of 9-1, [7-0 in the conference] the girls’ softball team have found themselves atop the DAC.

“We have been playing pretty good softball so far because we have been doing it from all sides of the game,” head coach Brett Crutchfield said. “our pitching has been consistent, our hitting is coming along, and our defense has been stellar.”

The Lady Bulldogs have a new mentality about their season. The girls have been playing their schedule on a game-by-game ba-sis which carries the motto “Nine girls name Sally.”

“What this saying means is that no game is important than any other.” Crutchfield said. “Ev-erytime we go out there, we want the girls thinking that way. ‘Who are we playing today? Nine girls named Sally’, because it doesn’t matter. We just need to play our

game everytime out and not over-look any team, because that is when you can get too comfortable, and a team that gets too comfort-able is a team that is susceptible to the upset.”

In the Lady Bulldogs’ most recent DAC match-up, the Lady Bulldogs cruised to an easy 15-0 win over Merrillville. Senior pitcher Jackie Beilfuss allowed only 3 hits in the game.

On April 21, the Lady ‘Dogs defeated the LaPorte Slicers in a rather easy contest 14-2.

The girls had a 6-2 lead going into the seventh inning, however, the Lady ‘Dogs amassed eight runs in the top of the seventh to seal the game.

In a highly anticipated game against Chesterton on April 19, the girls had no problem defeat-ing the Trojans, who are currently second in the DAC.

The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead after two innings. And then in the fifth the girls scored another three runs to

put the game out of reach and ul-timately win the game 7-0.

“Chesterton is a very good softball team; they had a little hiccup against us, however, they have been rolling through the DAC since then,” Crutchfield said. “I expect a very competetive game when we see them again.”

On the defensive side of the game the girls had a successful night. Senior pitcher Taylor Perry threw a one-hitter and struck-out ten.

“I tried to keep it out of the strike zone and have them [Ches-terton] chase balls,” Perry said.

In a highly defensive game, the Lady ‘Dogs slipped by the Portage Indians 1-0.

The lone run of the game was scored to junior Allison Amodeo who was batted in by sophomore RaeAnna Jenks.

Against Lake Central, the Lady ‘Dogs again found them-selves in yet another close game as they eclipsed the Indians 2-0.

The Indians held the Lady

‘Dogs scoreless until the bottom of the fifth when Amodeo bat-ted into a fielder’s choice, scoring freshman Courtney Holm.

Then, in the following inning, Jenks reached first on an error and scored later on another error by Lake Central.

In the only loss of the season, the Lady Bulldogs had a tough defensive game as they recorded four errors and fell to Penn High School 6-4.

After trailing to Penn 2-1 after four innings, the Lady Bulldogs quickly bounced back and took a 3-2 lead in the fifth. However, in the sixth and seventh innings Penn scored two runs and from there, the girls could not make up any ground.

The girls had their second and final game against Lake Central yesterday; however, the results were unavailable at press time.

Tonight the Lady Bulldogs will play in a non-conference game at home against Illiana Christian.

SportS14 April 30, 2010

Softball in the driver’s seat in the DAC

By Hunter McKeesports editor

Tennis team seeks momentum to over-come strugglesBy Milan Savichasst. sports editor

The Lady Bulldogs’ tennis team are starting off their sea-son 3-4 with three of those losses coming from state-ranked oppo-nents.

In Duneland Athletic Con-ference play the Lady Bulldogs stand at 1-1 with a victory over Merrillville and a loss to Portage on Tuesday night.

“[Portage] was 6-1 going into this match so we knew we had tough competition,” head coach Brian Elston said.

The Lady Bulldogs lost the nail-biting DAC match 3-2 hand-ing them their first conference loss.

“Before our match against Portage we had a 3-3 record, so we had an idea what we had go-ing for us,” Elston said. “I was pleased with the girls’ overall ef-fort and that they fought through struggles they had early on.”

The doubles team of junior Kristin Overbey and senior Nee-da Malik had a close match, com-ing back in the second set but los-ing in the first.

“We pushed really hard [against Portage], but we need to learn how to stay focused,” Over-bey said. “I was happy with our doubles play. We communicated very well and had a lot of well deserved points.”

Throughout the match there were constant momentum chang-es between both teams.

“Momentum was a big key factor in our match,” Overbey said. “I didn’t know we had the option of taking a ten minute break. That can be a good tool to slow things down and shift the momentum your way.”

Even though the season is early, the team is already excited for the post-season.

“I’m really looking forward to doing well in sectionals and in regionals.

Sophomore Courtney Kvachkoff bats in a game against Merrillville on April 27. The Lady ‘Dogs were victorious over the pirates 15-0. The girls are currently 11-1 on the regular season and 7-0 in the DAC. The Lady Bulldogs played yesterday against Lake Central, however, the results were unavailable at press time. The girls play tonight at home against Illiana Christian at 4:30 p.m.

photo by v. needham

The boys’ baseball team has continued to showcase its win-ning tradition season after sea-son. The Bulldogs currently hold a record of 14-1 [4-1 in the DAC], and are also ranked first in the state by the IHSBCA. However, because of these accolades the ‘Dogs still are not satisfied with their overall performance.

“We have a long way to go; the players are going to have to get more of a ‘team first attitude’ if we are going to have a chance to develop any chemistry to make a post-season run.” head coach Steve Strayer said.

In the season opener, the Bulldogs recorded their first win of the season in a 3-1 victory over Carl Sandburg High School in Il-linois.

Senior pitcher Josh Negele allowed two hits and struck out nine through six innings. Offen-sively, the ‘Dogs received runs from seniors Jeff Limbaugh and Scott Donley and sophomore Joe Hopman.

On April 21, the Bulldogs beat IHSBCA’s No. 2 ranked LaPorte by the slimmest of margins. Through five innings the ‘Dogs had a strong 4-1 lead over the Slicers. However, LaPorte scored three runs through the sixth and seventh innings, which tied the

game at four. Luckily, in the bot-tom of the seventh, with two run-ners on and junior Mike Manion up to bat, Manion hit a grounder to a LaPorte fielder and the ‘Dogs were able to score on a Slicer error for the 5-4 win.

“It felt great to bring in the winning run; it was a big win because they are a good team,” Manion said.

On April 19, the Bulldogs fought in a tough game against Chesterton which resulted in their only loss thus far. The ‘Dogs could not keep the Trojans in check as they fell 5-4.

Chesterton had a 3-1 lead through six and a half innings. However, the Bulldogs bounced back in the bottom of the sixth and scored two runs to tie the game. But in the seventh, the ‘Dogs failed to keep the Trojans down and allowed two more runs to score. In the bottom of the sev-enth, the boys’ efforts were not enough to pull out a win, as they only scored one run.

“We lost the game early. It gave Chesterton confidence and put us back on our heels,” Strayer said. “We did not dictate the pace of the game,” he added.

Yesterday the ‘Dogs played against Lake Central. The results were unavailable at press time.

Tonight, the Bulldogs play against Illiana Christian, with the first pitch set for 4:30 p.m.

Getting back into the swing of things after a long time off isn’t always so easy, even for those who are used to it.

“We’ve really been struggling with our ball striking,” junior Nick Grubnich said. “We haven’t been hitting the ball well and, personally, I’ve just been having problems with my swing.”

Grubnich, who has been to state and named player of the week multiple times, is a third year varsity player.

The golf team has started their season on an up-and-down note with a record of 2-2.

“We should bounce back,” Grubnich said. “We just haven’t gotten into a good rythm yet.”

The ‘Dogs have a four o’clock tee time to start their fifth match this year, which is tonight at LaPorte with Lake Central. This will be the first conference com-petition the boys have faced this season.

“To be successful in the DAC, we’re going to need to choose the right five guys for the var-

sity line up,” Grubnich said. “We got a solid win on Saturday, but we haven’t been tested with any tough teams yet.”

The team picked up a victory during the Crown Point Invita-tional, which was held at their home course, Youche Coutry Club.

“It’s really nice to play at Youche because it’s a private country club, so most other teams don’t get the chance to practice there unless they have golfers who are members,” Grubnich said. “We know the course really well and that can be a big advan-tage.”

The ‘Dogs lost both their sea-son opener at Rensselaer and their following match at Boone Grove. However, they turned around and won their next two matches.

“Losing matches early on is tough, but we bounced back and are getting ready to be tested in conference play,” Grubnich said.

After tonight, the boys’ will participate in the Kankakee Val-ley Invitational on May 1. The team will resume conference play on May 4, when they go to Ches-terton to take on the Trojans with Portage.

SportS 15April 30, 2010

Girls track off to strong start

As the girls’ track sea-son rolls along, it’s safe to say that the Lady ‘Dogs were glad to make the transition from indoors to outdoors.

The team is off to a strong start in the DAC, sporting a 4-2 record thus far.

Coach Lindsay Hatten-dorf feels good about how the team has done in the out-door season.

“We’re doing great as a team,” Hattendorf said. “We’re still young, and every meet is a learning experi-ence.”

On April 13, the Lady ‘Dogs opened their outdoor season with a win against Merrillville and a loss to Val-paraiso.

The girls also competed in a non-conference contest on April 15 against Lowell, East Chicago Central, and Hanover Central. The Lady Bulldogs were able to defeat all three teams.

The Midwest Prep Invi-tational took place on April 17. Notable individual finish-ers for the Lady ‘Dogs were freshman Bailey Beckham in the 400 meter dash (5th) and juniors Laicee Pierce in the 3200 meter run (1st) and Augusta Schrader in the 300 meter intermediate hurdles (9th).

Then, on April 20, the girls took on Michigan City and Chesterton at home, coming out victorious over both opponents. Good per-formances were displayed by senior Ashley Torres, who was first for the team in the 100 and 200 meter dashes as well as the long jump. Junior Mackenzie Wornhoff led the Lady ‘Dogs in the shot put.

The girls also fared well in the West Lafayette Relays, which were held on April 24. The team placed seventh place overall. Torres finished third in the long jump, while Schrader took home third in the 300 meter hurdles.

Other strong showings came from all five of the re-lay teams, which all cracked the top six in their respective races. The 4x400 relay, con-sisting of Schrader, Beckham, sophomores Abi Small and Whitney Mitchell, was the top team, finishing third.

The most recent contest for the Lady ‘Dogs took place on April 27 against Lake Central and LaPorte. The girls came out on top against LaPorte by a 96-36 margin, but were toppled by the Lady Indians by a score of 84-48.

By Hunter McKeesports editor

By Colin Likasasst. sports editor

Boys golf wins own invitational, prepares for conference play By Mil Savichasst. sports editor

Baseball remains the top dog in the state

Bradshaw CollegeConsulting

College Admissions ConsultingPSAT/SAT tutoring

Gerald M. Bradshawwww.BradshawCollegeConsulting.comGerald_bradshaw@post.harvard.edu

219.663.3041Crown Point, IN

Educated Advice ColumnistPost-Tribune

Lincoln ’WayAnimal Complex

Dr. Pamela Vergin-Green & Associates

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Complete “Quality” Animal Care Facility

6400 W. Lincoln Hwy. (US 30)One Mile East of Cline Ave.

Crown Point, IN 46307

(219) 865-1201Manager - C.D. Green

Juinor Golfer Nick Grubnich tees off at Youche country club.

Crown College of Cosmetology InC.

192 West Joliet Street Crown POint, Indiana 46307

www.crowncosmo.com

ATTENTION JUNIORSDid you know that you can start a career in

cosmetology this summer andfi Finish During your senior year?

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT THE GUIDANCE OFFICE

Photo by Vinnie needham

Photo by Vinnie needham

Photo by Vinnie needham

Senior pitcher Josh Negele pitches in a game against Val-paraiso. The Dog’s were victorious over the Vikings 8-4.

Official IHSBCA Rankings

1) Crown Point2) LaPorte3) Hamilton SE4) Cathedral 5) Bloomington South

School Points6355514745

*Class 4A

Photo by Vinnie needham

While some teens play video games and go to the mall every weekend, junior Evan Babcock chose to craft wooden pens and take up carpentry as a hobby and a potential career.

Babcock became interested with carpentry when renovating various parts of his house, especially when building a deck after his new pool was installed.

“I like to work with my hands,” Babcock said. “I also did a lot of stuff around the house, so when I found out the high school had a wood shop class I decided to try it out.”

When first starting out with beginning wood shop as a freshman, Babcock enjoyed the class and decided to take it for the rest of his high school years.

“After taking the beginning class, I decided to take two periods of wood shop when signing up for the advanced class,” Babcock said.

Throughout his high school career, Babcock has gotten many compliments on the furniture he has created within the school.

“I believe my greatest accomplishment so far is a tile-top coffee table I made. It was black with a light oak stain to it, and had two end tables accompanying the main table,” Babcock said. “The table was my greatest achievement is because I was young and I got so many compliments on how good it looked.”

Although Babcock takes only one hour of the same advanced wood shop class this year, he plans to take it further next year as a senior.

“I’m taking a class at Hanover next year that’s called ‘building trades,’” Babcock said. “In that class I’m going to be building a house that can be legitimately sold after we have completed the project.”

Babcock has many plans for himself in the future, going from

college to a career in carpentry. “I plan to attend carpentry classes

at Purdue Calumet for college, but I also want to have an apprenticeship while attending those classes as well,” Babcock said. “I plan to specifically major in business construction management.”

Besides carpentry, Babcock also has an interest in constructing pens.

“I got into making pens about a year ago,” Babcock said. “I started out with making wooden pens, and this past fall I started to be interested in making acrylic pens too. Although the acrylic pens look very nice, they don’t have the grainy texture the wooden pens that I really like.”

Although the kits to help him make the pens are about $10 a piece, the pens themselves that Babcock creates can value up to $40 each.

“The reason why the pens sell for so much is because of the way the pen feels and the fact that people just appreciate that the pens are

handmade,” Babcock said. “I sell my pens for only $20, and my family friends usually buy them.”

Even though Babcock does make a profit out of selling his handmade pens, he also gives the pens and his own carpentry projects as gifts for his friends and family.

“I’ve made an acrylic purple pen for my girlfriend, Shana Wrigley, and I also made her a little jewelry bowl,” Babcock said. “I’m also now in the process of making my mom a medium-sized jewelry box as well.”

Because of his deep interest in carpentry and pen making, Babcock plans to pursue both talents throughout the rest of his life.

“I have to thank Mr. Topp for in-spiring me so much throughout high school and for everything that he’s done for me,” Babcock said. “Because of him, I plan to learn about furniture making for the rest of my life, and eventually have a successful career in carpentry.”

Personalities16 April 30, 2010

Getting to know...Junior Katie Meyers

865 Madison street Crown Point, in 219-662-7733(one bloCk west of broadway on the Corner of suMMit and Madison)

Certified driving sChool

Babcock finds hobby, career in carpentry

Program Overview:30 hours classroom plus 6 hours of driving (home pick-up for most drives)

Licensed by the State of Indiana’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles and Dept. of EducationThe State of Indiana requires all Driver Education classroom and driving must be

completed in a maximum of 120 days!Student must be 15 years of age (until July 1st, 2010 then 15 years 6 months old) &

show copy of birth certificate

Cost: $365.00 (check or cash only)CLASS OPTIONS(ALL CLASSES ARE ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASES)

EVENING CLASS: 3 DAYS A WEEK FOR 5 WEEKS MONDAY & WEDNESDAY 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.SATURDAY 10:00 a.m. – Noon

(NEW CLASSES START EVERY MONDAY) 2 DAYS A WEEK FOR 7 ½TUESDAY & THURSDAY 6:00 - 8:00 P.M.START – APRIL 15, 2010 TO JUNE 3, 2010

WEEKEND CLASSES: WEEKENDS FROM 1:00 – 4:00 P.M.

START END SATURDAY, APRIL 24TH, 2010 SATURDAY, JUNE 5TH, 2010 MIN. 15 STUDENTS NEEDED (NO CLASSES – MAY 9TH, MAY 29TH, & MAY 30TH, 2010

SUMMER CLASSES:MORNING - 10:00A.M. TO NOONSTART END

JUNE 7 JUNE 25JUNE 14 JULY 2JUNE 21 JULY 9JUNE 28 JULY 16JULY 5 JULY 23JULY 12 JULY 30JULY 19 AUG 6

AFTERNOON – 1:00 P.M. TO 4:00 P.M.

START END

JUNE 14 JUNE 25JULY 12 JULY 23

*IMPORTANT INFORMATION*If you don’t have a license in your hand by close of BMV business day on June 30, 2010, your permit would have had to be held 6 months (180 days) to obtain a license (pertains to all ages.) April 30, 2010 – Last day to have 60 days for permitMay 30, 2010 – Last day to be 16 years oldJune 30, 2010 – Last day to get permit age 15Fully licensed by the State of Indiana’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles and Department of Education. All instructors are teachers certified in driver education.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?If I could go anywhere in the world I would go to Ireland because I’m Irish and I’ve always wanted to go there.

Who are three people you would love to spend a day with and why?I would love to spend the day with probably my two best friends Amanda and Joci and then James Roday, the actor from “Psych.”

What is your biggest pet peeve and why?I absolutely hate it when people chew with their mouth open. It’s very annoying to hear and disgusting to look at.

Name a major issue you think teens deal with everyday.Bad peer pressure, because I think teens these days are being pressured daily with sex, drugs and alcohol.

What type of music are you interested in?I actually listen and enjoy almost every genre, but I’d have to say I like alternative the most.

photo by m.K. Lemon

By Donnella Casillasphotographer

Junior Evan Babcock assembles a wooden jewelry box while his instructor, Ed Topp, guides him through the process.

photo by D. CAsiLLAs