LC students now have the option to request weighted transcripts to send to colleges, in addition to their regular transcripts. The school board hopes this option will make students more competitive at top colleges. According to Assistant Principal Theresa Meyer, the weighted grades allow a five point scale for AP classes, rather than the traditional four point scale, and a 4.5 scale for honors classes students take in ninth and tenth grade. Therefore an A in an AP class would be a 5, and would average into students’ GPAs appropriately. No student could achieve a 5.0, but many students would manage to get higher than the traditional 4.0 maximum grade. Meyer said “Our state makes it pretty clear on the official transcript that we’re a four point district, that an A equals a 4.0. So the weighted transcript is more of an addendum to the official transcript. No matter what a school will get their real transcript, and the weighted grades will be on page two.” However, guidance counselor Marty Frazier reported glitches with the system

that computes these weighted grades. “I don’t think they’re working the way they’re supposed to. I’m not sure what I expected, but I didn’t expect to have to print the transcript with just the weighted grades, and then another transcript that has everything else on it,” she said. Traditionally, weighted transcripts include all of students’ regular classes on a four point scale in addition to the 4.5 and 5.0 honors and AP scales. “The schools know anyway, because they take a look at your transcript and they can see honors and AP,” Frazier said. “That information is already there; they can weight it themselves if they want to.” “Our students need to be competitive,” English teacher Andy Lang said. “Counselors

have done weighted transcripts for individual students over the years, and it’s only fair that all students have the same opportunity nationally. Other districts have offered [weighted transcripts] for years.” Most students thought weighted transcripts were unnecessary, but many expressed interest in using the new GPAs to change class rank. Senior Grace Woodard said, “Most of my colleges specifically requested an un-weighted GPA and transcript, but I wished they used weighted GPA in terms of graduation and honors. Right now, it’s all about the grades and not about how hard you’re pushing yourself, how challenging your classes are. An A in an AP class is worth more than an A in a

non-honors class, and that should matter, both for honoring students at graduation and for choosing a single valedictorian.” Senior Alicia Burg had similar sentiments. “I didn’t send any weighted transcripts, but some schools weight class rank more than GPA. I think weighted transcripts would help a lot with creating an accurate class rank, which could definitely have a positive impact for students applying to competitive schools.” Junior Malcolm Teel said, “I’d use a weighted transcript if it helped me get into college, but I’m not sure that it would. Everyone I’ve talked to says that colleges ask for un-weighted transcripts.” Frazier said that requesting a weighted transcript would not be worth the time for this year’s seniors. “Maybe next year. The district will get it down, because they know that it’s important, and because they know other schools are doing weighted transcripts.” Students who have yet to send their transcripts can talk to Guidance Secretary Tracy Van Halderen in the student office if they want to request a weighted transcript. Next year, Van Halderen said, there should be a special transcript request form for students who want weighted transcripts.

Keep waiting for weighted grades by Katherine Lawlor

Co-Editor-In-Chief

Cory CogleyInstruments: Guitar, violin, piano, bass, vocalsPlayed for: 10 yearsSE involvement: Guitar solo, vocal solo, two vocal ensem-bles, two string ensembles, and piano accompaniment

“Solo/Ensemble is a good environment to be judged in a helpful way, and it’s the only way to move on to the next level of competition.”

Factoid: Last year, Cogley played violin in a chamber or-chestra that went on to win 1st place in the state.

Matthew WildmanInstruments: Bassoon, alto saxophone, flutePlayed for: eight yearsSE Involvement: Bassoon solo, reed trio, bassoon and cello duet

“Preparing a solo advances you as a player, and playing in small ensembles improves every aspect of your playing. You’re really held to a higher standard.”

Factoid: Wildman played in a trio called Almost a Quartet and a quintet called Five last year at Solo/Ensemble. Five won 1st place in the state competition, and Almost a Quar-tet took 2nd.

Jacob ShafferInstruments: Baritone saxophone, contra alto clarinet, bass clarinet, flutePlayed for: eight yearsSE involvement: Flute Choir

“It’s nice to play in small groups. Your part is more ex-posed and you have more responsibility.”

Factoid: Shaffer is involved in the 2015 Spokane Area Wind Ensemble, a group of select music students from the Spokane area that performs high-level classical music.

Christine WolvertonInstruments: FlutePlayed for: eight yearsSE Involvement: Flute solo, flute choir

“We get good critique from the judges so it’s a great learning experience. It’s also really fun to be creative with instrumentation and music choice.”

Factoid: Wolverton has been involved in Solo/Ensemble for three years playing flute in small groups.

by Mike HowardOpinions editor

PHOTOS COURTESY OF GARY PETERSON, CHRISTINE WOLVERTON, JACOB SHAFFER, AND THE INTERNET

LC Students rock Solo/Ensemble“The WIAA/WMEA State Solo and Ensemble Contest is presented in Ellensburg the last Friday and Saturday in April each year. This event provides the opportunity for the finest of Washington’s high school music students to hear each other in a competitive situation.” -Washington Music Educators Association

AP: 5.0Honors: 4.5

Issue 3january 2015

JOURNALThe

The doors opened at 4:30 and hordes of students flooded the student section to save their seats. At 5:30 the girls’ game began with LC down 9-10 after the first quarter and Ferris up by 11 at the half. LC took the game though, with a final score of 73-56. Senior Michaela Kay scored 22 points, the most of any player of the night. The boys’ game began at 7:30 on solid footing. Tigers were up 31-13 at half and ended up with a 57-34 final score, with senior Isaiah Hernandez leading the scorers with a game-high 14 points. LC’s spirit stayed energetic throughout the evening, with cheer and Spooh leading a mixture of classic cheers (like “Let’s get fired up! We are fired up!” and “Hey Burrito!”), Cirque du Chuck themed cheers and Spooh originals (“We don’t get tired!”) to keep students pumped up.

LC takes both games and Chuck! Ferris’s Chuck of Oz theme gave LC a run for its money with Oz-themed props and pompoms, but LC’s Cirque du Chuck prevailed with props including gold streamers, signs, balloons, gloves, and top hats. “I thought the theme was good, what they did with it not so much,” senior Ray Gillis said. “I thought it was going to be more Cirque du Soleil inspired rather than a more traditional circus route.” “The theme was great!! I think that really helped us win Chuck, because Ferris’s theme was much more limiting,” senior and cheerleader Hanna Fahsholtz said. “Personally I would love to see a Harry Potter theme for Rubber Chicken next year.” Rubber Chicken is an annual spirit competition between LC and its closest rival, Ferris. Points are awarded for spirit, doing well in the games, cheering in unison, good sportsmanship, and noise level. The winner takes home Chuck, an actual rubber chicken. Ferris has won the

by Katherine Lawlor Co-Editor-In-Chief

past two years. “I’ve never attended a Rubber Chicken before, and for this being my first one, it wasn’t bad,” senior Adriaan Luu said. “I don’t really have much school spirit, so I felt that it was a kind of lame idea. I was surprised how hyped I was when we won! Overall, I was impressed, and I’m glad that I went.” “Everyone involved did an outstanding job!” Senior class president Mykal McDirmid said. “Shout out to leadership for great and creative props plus the good looking shirts! Drill was amazing as always, and cheer and Spooh had the best routine I’ve seen at Rubber Chicken! It’s always a pleasure to cheer and yell until I can’t talk anymore with the number one student body n the nation!” The food drive, another competition affiliated with Rubber Chicken, was a huge success this year. LC doubled its donations from last year to over 10,000 pounds of food with Michelle Grafos’s class coming in first, Emily Haxton’s second, and Ashley

Crowley’s in third. Junior cheerleader Maggie Ray said that her favorite parts of Rubber Chicken are the chants, and that she was “ridiculously excited” to win Chuck back. Chuck even brought non-traditional students back to support LC. Senior Abigail Stickney, who transferred to St. George’s her junior year from LC, attended Rubber Chicken this year anyway. “I’m here to support LC because it’s a great school. I love the energy of the Rubber Chicken!” Stickney said. Full-time Running Start student senior Emma Braks said. “I didn’t have a science teacher this year to assign a big test the day after Rubber Chicken, so this is the first time I’ve gone in high school. It’s fun!!” Upon the victory announcement, LC students broke into the school fight song: “LC fights for victory/LC fights for fame...” “I’d prefer a live chicken, but it’ll do,” senior Ava Walter said. Senior Sophia Gilimer added, “Rubber Chicken is the bomb dot com!”

PHOTO BY SCOTT MARTINEZ

Issue 3January 2015

NEWSPage 2

LC’s Robotics Club, the Titanium Tigers, found out this year’s robot challenge the Saturday after New Year’s Day, Jan. 3, 2015 during a meeting at school where they ate pancakes and watched a video depicting the challenge. Every year, an international organization sets a new challenge and the team creates a robot who can meet it. This year’s challenge is themed “recycling rush.” Robots need to be able to stack a series of crates on top of each other and place a recycling bin with a pool noodle inside of it on the top of the crates. The Titanium Tigers are part of FIRST, an international organization which organizes the robotics competitions and sets the challenges for students from kindergarten to their senior year in high school. FIRST puts an emphasis on students in the program practicing “gracious and professional” behavior and working well together, according to advisor and math teacher Megan Willingham. Because of the focus on team work, during competitions teams are put into an alliance with two other teams, and they use their robots together to score points. Willingham said the club has many areas of focus including business plans, fund raising, and robot systems. Within Robotics Club, students are in different sub teams which all do different tasks to help ensure the robot and the club continue to function. One such sub team is a scouting team whose job it is to find out which teams are best to join in an alliance with in the later rounds of competition when the top 18 teams get to choose their own alliances. A member of this team is freshman Matt Cotter. Cotter said he decided to join Robotics Club because he is interested in engineering and thought that robotics would be a good place to explore that interest. Besides the scouting sub team, Cotter is also part of the electronics and

manipulators sub team. The students control the robots with remote controls, and do all of the building process themselves. Part of building includes programming. Junior Luke Laxton is a third year member of Robotics Club and the head of the programming sub team as well as the team historian. Laxton said that he is “the most knowledgeable in charge of programming” and that it is his job to teach freshmen the language of programming called labview. Sophomore Breezy Desormier joined the club her freshman year and is on leadership as the team event coordinator. It is her job to find events for the team to go to, particularly STEM outreach in the community. For example, the team led a mini robotics competition at Glover middle school. Club president junior Calvin Raymond said he does “a lot of project management” with all the sub teams to make sure that all the team’s goals are being met. Creating the robots is a huge time commitment. Willingham said that some students are here seven day a week during the six week building season potentially all the way until 7:00. According to Willingham, last year the students clocked in over 1,000 hours of work on the robot. About 15 students get to attend competitions, and those who attend earn a letter in Robotics. This year the team has two competitions: one at West Valley March 5 through 7 and another at Central Washington University on March 19 through 21. Students in Robotics Club have access to scholarships, and many large corporations such as Boeing and Microsoft offer internships to students who participate in FIRST. Robotics participation also looks great on college applications and shows that students have developed “twenty-first century skills,” according to Willingham. Robotics Club meets at lunch on Wednesdays in room 333. All students are welcome and no prior experience is needed to join.

by Zoë BrownSports Editor

Last year’s robot rests in the back of room 333 while not visiting local businesses. The Titanium Tigers began building a new robot for the theme “recycling rush” after coming back from winter break.

PHOTO BY ZOE BROWN

Robotics team rollstoward a new challenge

• Abraham Lincoln’s birthday is Feb. 12. • Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States.• Although the holiday recognizes all presidents, people often celebrate Lincoln specifically because his birthday is so close.

• George Washington’s birthday is Feb. 22.• Washington was the first president of the United States.• President’s Day was originally made to recognize Washington and occurred on his actual birthday.

President’s Day is Feb. 16 this year and celebrates our nation’s presidents. It is al-ways the third Monday of February and was established in 1885 to recognize Wash-ington’s birthday. After being moved from Feb. 22 to always being on a Monday, the holiday started being used to recognize all presidents, according to history.com. There will be a four day weekend for President’s Day with Friday and Monday off.

PHOTOs fROm THE iNTERNET

The presidents provide a day off

by Katy Schermerhorn Copy Editor

James Wilburn recreates MLK’s last speech and relates tear-jerker tales of Wilburn’s own family. Wilburn grew up in the South and had three homes burned down by racist south-erners. He has spoken in Africa and Paris.

PHOTO BY JUsTiN sPRiNGER

by Justin SpringerStaff Writer

LC con celebrates MLK’s legacy

Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and social activist who led the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968. Martin grew up in a poor society. African Americans were set free of slavery on December 1865, when the 13th amendment eliminated slavery in the United States. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended all state and local laws requiring segregation of African Americans. For little over one hundred years African Americans had to deal with segregation and discrimination. Martin Luther King’s dream of African Americans being treated as equal to Caucasians is still alive, but many doubt whether it has been realized. Senior Nikki Jones said, “Racism is still an issue in America and obviously around the world. Segregation and inequality for African Americans is a lot less severe now than it ever was when Martin Luther King was around. I took a lot in at the con and it inspired me to look back at how things were and how they have changed dramatically.” Spokane NAACP President James Wilburn is a man who grew up in the time of segregation. He has had three houses burn to the ground, been forced to move by threats of murder, and seen his own mother almost burned to death while running back inside his flaming house to save his little sister. Wilburn spoke at this year’s MLK con. Wilburn said, “I always get a little emotional while speaking. The feeling that overcomes me every time is nervousness, if you don’t get nervous than you are going to be up there thinking you know everything and no one knows everything. Racism is still around and people need to address it instead of saying it doesn’t exists because if we deny it than we can never address it.” Sophomore Donovan Davis said, “The con was nice and it made me feel sad. Racism is still around but not as much as it

used to be.” Debates can go on forever on whether or not racism is still around. Many enjoyed the con and were moved by James Wilburn’s speech. Junior Noah Buckley said, “I felt emotionally moved by James Wilburn’s speech and I want to change lives the way Martin Luther King Jr did. I feel like our generation needs to step up their maturity and become better than what we are. I do not believe racism is still around but I feel like Caucasians are being treated unfairly now. We have groups in America like MESA which is a group of scientist and doctors who are only African American. If we want people to be treated equally we have to end clubs that are black only.” The con delivered entertainment in the form of music and dramatic performances, sadness during the speech, and a sense of pride in America and in the positive changes we have made towards ending racism. Sophomore Bennie Brooks said, “The con was too long because of the acts, I felt like the play sample of Aladdin was a bit pointless in such a serious con. The con made me look back on racism, but I have never seen or participated in it so I’m not even so sure if racism is still around.”

Issue 3January 2015

FeaturesPage 3

JOURNALThe

Global Connections: different name, same mission

by Taylor HinshawStaff Writer

How long have you been doing theater?“My whole life. Right out of the womb I was reciting Shakespeare.”What do you love about theater?“I really like the family dynamic that hap-pens when you’re in a cast. You get really close to everyone”“I love performing in front of people. The feeling of being on stage is really great”

Megan Rosenau, JuniorTheater

Where do you like to shop?K: “My number one store is Forever 21. H&M and Zumiez, too.”J: “Red Fox for their pants.”Is there a specific item you’ve been shop-ping for recently?K:“Shoes! I have at least 27 pairs of shoes and at least half of them are Vans, but I definitely need more Vans.”Have you always liked shopping?K:“I started shopping when I was like 10. I hated it before then.”J:“I love it! It’s like a gift from me to me!”

Kymani Kelly and Justice Katruska, Sophomores

Shopping

When did you start skiing?“I started when I was three, so for about twelve years.”Where’s your favorite place to ski?“Schweitzer”Why do you enjoy skiing?“I like the atmosphere and I have nothing else to do in the winter.”

Truman Tolivier, FreshmanSkiing

How do LC students spend their time outside of school and clubs?

We hit the halls to find out:

Tiger Hobbies

by Jaden YoungNews Editor

Room 305Tuesdays 2:30-3:00Thursdays at lunch

Feminism Club–Lead by sophomores Annie Ward and Ashley Amado–Main goal is to explain what feminism means, educate about stereotypes and the troubles faced by many every day–Most members of the club are women, but all are welcome to join and participate“We don’t want to just sit and

complain. We want to go out and actually make a change, by volun-

teering locally or by educating others.”

—Annie Ward

Photo courtesy of internetInfographic by Myia Price, Ad Manager

New to LC this year is Geopolitical club, a group giving members the opportunity to discuss global issues. Geopolitical club meets Fridays at lunch in room 027. Debate and AP European History teacher Sean Flaherty is the club’s supervisor. Flaherty is adamant that all he does is supervise; the students lead discussions and run the club. Flaherty said that he

was happy to supervise the club when freshman Sam Cebula came to him with the idea for the club. “I’m all about people having a forum to speak their opinion and discuss world issues.” “I’ve always enjoyed discussions about world events so I thought it would be a good idea to start a club about it,” said Cebula. Cebula has had some luck, according to him the club has had a turnout of about ten people at meetings. Meetings are sometimes sporadic; many of the club’s members are also members of the debate team, and debate events sometimes pull them from school on Fridays. At a meeting on January 16, the club was a skeleton crew of five underclassmen girls. About half of the club was absent, with many, including Cebula, out sick for the day. Flaherty’s room at lunchtime is absolute chaos. Students and teachers zip in and out of the room eating lunch or finishing assignments. Geopolitics club occupies two tables in the corner of the room. Immersed in excitable debate over the meeting’s topic, members seem oblivious to the pandemonium surrounding them. The meeting starts when freshman Libby Palmer, the club’s vice president, scrawls the club’s name and the day’s topic, “discrimination,” on the adjacent whiteboard. Rather than focusing discussion on specific world events, the

Geopolitics club encourages students to discuss global issues

by Jaden YoungNews Editor

club uses broader topics to open up discussion and bring in multiple global examples. According to Cebula, past topics have included, “ ‘What is the ideal government?’ and ‘How should society treat the disabled?’.” As club members launch into discussion, each brings a unique perspective to the issue at hand. Palmer’s “As a Buddhist…” starts off a discussion concerning the woes of Tibet, before freshman Fiona Powers-Beggs‘s “I was watching the TV show ‘What Would You Do?’ Last night…” brings the conversation back to instances of discrimination closer to home. The discussion flows organically, and it is evident that the club’s members get along well despite any differences of opinion. Though occasionally sidetracked, they readily return to their designated topic, with Palmer throwing out thought-provoking questions about discrimination when lulls in discussion occur. Through it all the club members maintain a thoughtful discussion about discrimination both at home and abroad, but are careful to acknowledge their own privileged perspectives. A good portion of lunch is devoted to discussing what exactly the role of an ally is in combating discrimination. One club member jokes, “We spend all lunch yelling at each other,” but Palmer tells the honest truth; in Geopolitical club, “there’s never any arguing, there’s only debating.”

PHOTO BY JADEN YOUNG

Freshman Libby Palmer leads the discussion at Geopolitics Club on Jan 16. Geopolitics club is new to LC this year and meets Fridays at lunch in advisor Sean Flaherty’s room, 027.

Global Connections Club, supervised by English teacher Cory Davis, recently donated toiletries to St. Margaret’s Women’s Shelter on East Hartson Ave. Global Connections, which is held on Wednesdays during lunch, runs through a program called Face to Faith and holds video conferences with students from around the world. Face to Faith has connected more than 10,000 students from 30 different countries. According to the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, the organization aims to “counter religious prejudice, conflict and extremism.” The goal of the program is to “create a generation that embraces an open minded approach to others, to

diversity and to difference that can lead to tolerant, stable societies.” The club recently held conferences with schools from the Philippines and India. Freshman Libby Palmer said, “It’s always fun to see the unique differences…we talked about global warming and brainstormed different solutions.” Video conferences are sometimes difficult due to language barriers but some students in other countries have learned English to communicate better. Sophomore Hanna Herzog said, “Although the students are different, there are also many similarities, like social media.” Herzog believes that more LC students should join because it gives a “wider perspective” of the world and you get to discuss topics that you do not normally talk about in class.

Junior Ian McCarthy said he “joined the club as a freshman because my brother was in it and was very interested in the video conferences.” In order to set up these conferences, Davis contacts teachers from around the world through Face to Faith. Davis said that through this club students have a better “understanding of self” and how “we fit in the global community.” Although the group may talk about religious topics, it is not a religious club. Video conferences are held outside of school. Davis said, “It is a unique opportunity, not a lot of things we do are available elsewhere.” In the future the club is planning on continuing to “give back to the community more,” said senior club member Bryn Hines. To join the club, visit Cory Davis in room 229.

PHOTOS BY JADEN SMITH

Issue 3January 2015

FeaturesPage 4

Valentine’s Day can

sometimes be the loneliest day of the year, but if you spend it right, you

can have just as much fun as any couple.

One way for you to spend Valentine’s Day alone is to do what you always do. Valentine’s Day does not have to be a

holiday, you could act like it is Thanksgiving or Independence Day for somebody who does not live in America. Just pretend it is any other day.

Another tactic is to be brave. Ask that special someone (who does not know

they are that special someone) out. If you are not brave, that is okay, they do not have to know that they are your soul mate until you are ready to tell them.

Always remember, you have friends; your great buds will support you no matter what. Unless you have no friends or all of your friends have plans, you should have a date night with your amigos. Go out to eat, see a movie, or just stay home and play a board game with them. You do not have to be sad about being single, be proud and embrace it. If you frequently forget about what the date is, you should not

have to mope around and be depressed. The day might even pass without you even knowing it. It doesn’t have to be a very special day.

Be your own special someone. Send yourself flowers,

chocolates, or maybe a little stuffed bear. You can’t love anyone until you learn to love yourself.

Have a good day. Stay home, cuddle up in a big blanket

and watch seventeen hours of your favorite show on Netflix, order a pizza, and eat your weight

in chocolate. All the chocolates will be on sale so go to the store, buy some

and eat them in front of the TV.

Freshman Kendra Rosema said that she plans to

sit in her room with her cat watching

Bob’s Burgers on

Valentine’s Day. Watching movies

is a great idea for a way to spend Valentine’s Day. Sophomore Charlotte Wall

said that she is probably going to watch some

of the Harry Potter movies and in past years she has watched the TV show, The Walking Dead.

If you like to watch romance movies to remind yourself

that you’re single, Rosema said that her favorite romance movie to watch on Valentine’s Day is Titanic. Wall said that she doesn’t like romance movies but she likes Love Actually. This year, Valentine’s Day is on a Saturday so you do not have to worry about bringing gifts to school for all of your friends, or making an effort to still look good despite your sadness, you do not even have to leave the house. You can be a normal human being and sleep for half the day and not even have to worry about spending the day doing anything else. Go on social media like Facebook or Instagram and read all the things your friends and celebrities (who don’t know they are your friends) have to say about being single on Valentine’s Day. It helps to know that you are not alone. Do what you want to do. If you feel like moping around and being depressed is what you want to do, then do it. If you feel that going to dinner and a movie is what you want to do, then do it. And if you feel that ordering a pizza and watching Netflix is what you, want to do then do it. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s Day: how to celebrate when you’re single

by: Madi Nesbitt

Staff Writer

English teacher Cory Davis keeps goats in his yard. He currently owns two goats, whose names are Totes and Puck. According to earthlink.net, around ten common breeds of goat exist. Totes is a female Nigerian dwarf and Puck is a male pigmy. Both of those breeds are relatively small compared to the rest of the average goat population. Davis explained that goats are “a pretty easy animal to take care of as long as the water is heated…they’re pretty self-sufficient.” He keeps the goats in his backyard and says that he checks on them often. According to Davis the biggest challenge for having goats is that because they live outside, he actually has to go outside and check on them daily to make sure that they have everything that they need. They are not like dogs where you can keep them inside and see them around the house. Currently, Davis is not breeding his goats, however he said that his wife is very into nutrition so she would like to breed them in order to milk Totes. His wife also wants to breed the goats because she has a brother that wants to start owning goats, and she would like to give him one. At the moment, Davis is maxed out on the number of goats that he can have. The city does not allow for one house to have more than two goats within city limits. Davis’s son freshman Nick Davis said, “we play with them…they love jumping on stuff so we put out tables and have

them eat leaves that they like to eat and make them walk on their hind legs.” Although the Davis family is quite attached to their goats, some students do not think that having goats is a good idea. Sophomore Sydney Spacek said that she would not want goats at her house because not only is she not very fond of animals, but she also feels that they might be more work than she is willing to put into them. Junior Sam Adequate said, “I hate animals” is why he would not have any goats, ever.

Mr. Davis owns goats!by: Maddi Johnston

Staff Writer

Maddi Johnston worries about her Valentine’s Day as she realizes that shewill be alone. There areplenty of fun things to do by yourself though!

PHOTO BY MADI NESBITT

LC students hold English teacher Cory Da-vis’ goats while attending a Knowledge Bowl party. Totes and Puck are both smaller sized goats, allowing for fun interactions.

PHOTO BY KATHERINE LAWLOR

PHOTO BY KATHERINE LAWLOR

Freshman Jacob Laxton said that he would have goats under the conditions that two would be African, one would be Australian, and that they could not have any tooth decay or lung disease.

More than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate

are sold for Valentine’s Day each year

Worldwide, over 50 million roses are given

for Valentine’s Day each year

The oldest surviving love poem is written in a clay tablet from the

time of the Sumerians, around 3500 BC

Over 8 billion candy hearts were

made in 2009

The Italian city of Verona

receives about 1,000 letters ad-dressed to Juliet every Valentine’s

Day

In Victorian times it was considered bad luck to sign a Valen-

tine’s Day card

Over 50 percent of all Valentine’s Day cards are purchased in the six days prior to the observance

INFOGRAPHIC BY SARAH WIERValentines Facts courtesy of the internet

3 per cent of pet owners will give Valentine’s Day

gifts to their pets

Foodie’s Digest

American: -Picabu Bistro ($$) -Red Robin ($$) -Satellite Diner & Lounge ($$)

Japanese: -Sushi.com ($$)-Suki Yaki Inn ($$)-Sushi Maru ($)

Breakfast: -Molly’s ($) -Frank’s Diner($$) -Jenny’s ($$)

Mexican:-Fiesta Mexicana ($$)-Mi Casa ($$)-Casa De Oro ($$)

Italian:

-Luigi’s ($$)-Tomato Street ($$)

-Spaghetti Factory ($$)

Pizza:-MacKenzie River Pizza ($$)-Benedito’s Pizza ($$)-Rocky Rococo’s ($$)

Seafood -Anthony’s ($$)

-Red Lobster ($$$)-Milford’s Fish House ($$$)

Chinese:-Vina Asian ($$)-Gordy’s Szechuan Cafe ($$)-China Dragon ($$)

Vegan/Vegetarian:-Mizuna Restaurant ($$) -Boots Bakery & Lounge ($$)-Stella’s Cafe ($)

All of these favorite restaurants are family-friendly and have been re-viewed on either Yelp, UrbanSpoon, or www.VisitSpokane.com. Restaurants are also categorized by price on a scale of one to three dollar signs Prom time is just around the corner, these restaurants can be great loca-tions for an LC Tiger dinner.

Infographic by Cecelia Sutton

Issue 3January 2015

SportsPage 5

JOURNALThe

Basketball players shoot for success

Girls basket-ball is cur-rently 10-3 as of Jan. 22 in conference play.

The girls are tied for second place in the conference with Central Valley.

“I think we are showing growth and improvement every week,” said Coach Pfeifer

“This is a great group of young women to coach. They are very dedicat-ed and they put in a lot of time and energy,” said Coach Pfeifer.

The team is learning more about how to share the ball and embracing being scrappy, according to Coach Pfeifer.

Senior shooting guard Hannah Szendre said a high point of the season so far came when the team beat Mead on the road for the first time in three years.

Szendre said she hopes to con-tinue to improve as it gets closer to state.

PHOTO BY ZOE BROWN

PHOTO B

Y ZO

E BROW

N

Boys are9-4 and ranked fourth in the GSL as of Jan. 22.

“I think overall the guys are getting better, and we’ve gone through a lot of adversity with injuries. We’ve lost Isaac Reason and right now Dom Oliveri has hurt his ankle,” said Coach Jim Redmon.

The boys are adjusting to a new coaching staff this year,which coach Jim Redmon said has been this season’s biggest challenge.

The boys are working on learning to “not run offences and run defenses, but to play the game”, according to Coach Redmon.

Infographic by Zoe Brownand Kurtis EbelingSenior Hadyn Gabbert

Junior Isaiah Hernandez

Students share memorable ski adventuresby Maddy Pincock and Taylor Hinshaw

Staff Writers

Sophomore Halle Cambell“As you may know, she is a ski racer for Schweitzer Alpine Racing School. She is one of the top athletes her age in the Western Region of the United States. She has enjoyed great success throughout her 12 years of ski racing (her first race was at age four). The commitment continues to grow. This past year she went to ski camp

at both Bachelor and Whistler in June and Mt. Hood in August. She completed two camps in Canada in Nov. and Dec.”

Sophomore Grace Ralston “One time when I was at Ski Camp two years ago in Idaho, we roller skied to the top of the hill and once we got there, our coach told us to ski back down. The hill was re-ally steep, but I went down. At the time I didn’t know how to stop. I tried traversing to slow down, but I started to get out of control. I was go-ing straight down the hill and yelled at my coach, ‘I can’t stop!’ So he came running up the hill and clothes lined me to stop!”

Junior Allegra Vanderwilde Since she was only 18-months-old, Al-legra Vanderwilde has loved the sport of skiing. She learned at Mt. Spokane but said she will be a Schweitzer girl for life. Vanderwilde enjoys go-ing to the outer limits to find some p o w - p o w , ( p o w d e r ) Backcountry skiing is her favorite way to perform in the sport, e s p e c i a l l y hiking up and skiing down. Just recently, she became a member of “She Jumps”, which is an organization with a mission to increase female participation in outdoor activi-ties. Also, one of her thought-provoking quotes has been featured in the well known “Backcountry Magazine.”

by Maddy Pincock Staff Writer

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRISTIAN SMITH

PHOTO COURTESY OFTRISH CAMBELL

PHOTO COURTESY OF GRACE RALSTON

LC is known for its rigorous programs, brilliant students, and beautiful architec-ture. Along with these, extracurricular activities are also a big part of our school and within the nine months of the school year, LC offers thirteen different sports and many different clubs for students to join. With so many different options, you would think that every student would want to participate in at least one of them, but we still see kids who do not have any extracurricular activities they are inter-ested in joining. Adding a ski club could change that. Adding a ski club to LC would persuade kids to try something new. The faculty

members are always encouraging kids to get involved, and adding a ski team to LC would increase the number of students enrolled in after school activities. Picture yourself in the dead of winter. Beautiful snow falling outside your win-dow, kids building snowmen in their front yards. Like me, I am sure you would much rather be embracing the beauty of winter by shredding the slopes after a long day at school. Freshman Abby Smith said, “I would join a ski club if LC had one because skiing is my favorite thing to do in the winter.” Dur-ing the winter, there are only three sports to choose from including basketball, gym-nastics and wrestling. Many students have little going on in the winter and need something to keep them going through

the dark three months. According to sophomore Adam Blake, adding a ski club would be a great idea be-cause so many students would join. Along with increased enrollment and par-ticipation in after school sports and activi-ties, skiing is a very social sport and would allow students to meet new friends. When you meet new people, going to school ev-ery day seems a lot more enjoyable and makes for a better high school experience overall. Spokane is a prime skiing city because all of the local mountains just a couple hours away, at most. Starting a ski club would help grow the skiing community and influ-ence not only students, but their families and friends to get up on the mountain. Senior Maddy Dickson said, “I think LC

should add a ski club because there’s no reason not to. Skiing is so relevant in Spo-kane and I’m sure a lot of people would join.” Here at LC, a prominent issue seems to be the budget and obviously, adding a ski club would make the budget even tighter, maybe even wipe it out. However, many of the kids that would join the club would probably already have the gear needed to join. As for the kids who do not own any ski gear, they could probably obtain much of it through donations. Fundraisers are al-ways an option as well. Whether you’ve never been on skis be-fore or you’re on the road to the Olympics, this after school activity would be equally as fun and beneficial.

LC needs ski club to increase involvement

Senior Christian Smith “Once when I was 14, I was on one of the biggest chair lifts at Switzer with a wom-an who I didn’t know. I could tell she was afraid of heights, so I started laughing when the chair lift stopped. I told her that the lift should start moving again in a couple of minutes. Then she started freaking out and hyperventilating and I had to try and calm her down. After a little while the lift started moving again and she yelled out, obviously really relieved, ‘Thank god!’”

PHOTO COURTESY OF AL-LEGRA VANDERWILDE

Issue 3January 2015

SportsPage 6

REGIONALS2/

14

DISTRICTS2/

16

“I love the entire team. All of the girls are

incredibly supportive!” Sophomore Linnea Love

Captains - Felicia Athos and Celeste Gray

Gymnastics spins, flips, leaps to success

Junior Miranda

Butler

Wrestling awaits King of the Hill vs. Ferris

Regionals are at Mt. Rainier on Jan 14

Take down Take opposing wrestler off of their

feet

PinBoth shoulder blades are held to the

mat for 3 secondsEscape

A wrestler is pined on the mat but is able to get back on their feet

Near fallThe wrestler’s back is at 45° angle to

the mat for 2 seconds.

ScoringEscape- 1 pt.

Take down - 2 pt.Near fall - 3/2 pt.

Pin - Automatic Win

3 2 minute rounds per match

Although Spokane Public Schools does not offer hockey through school as a GSL sport, many LC students get involved with the sport through clubs during the winter months. For a small city, Spokane has a good hockey scene, with many clubs as well as a WHL team based in our Spokane Arena, the Spokane Chiefs. Some Spokane natives have managed to reach NHL status throughout the years, such as Tyler Johnson, and Spokane has many up-and-coming players, like the Yamamoto brothers. LC has some up-and-coming players of its own.

Learning the rules of wrestling

Students like sophomores Hunter Varney and Teagan Ball, juniors David King and Hank Armstrong, and senior Bailey Doubet take advantage of the clubs and arenas around the Spokane area. These students play for varies club teams throughout the Spokane Area, but every spring, these boys can join a club team with teams separated based on schools, which gives our LC players the chance to play together due to a wider age range. Hockey can be a violent, rough sport, but King, who plays left wing for Spokane House Hockey, said that hockey “is such a team effort that everyone has to be close.” Bailey Doubet describes hockey as a “chivalrous sport” and that on the ice, doing the right thing matters more than winning or losing. “Everyone is pretty much friends,” King

Local hockey clubs open to studentsby Sarah Wier

Feature’s Editor

said. The LC players even spend time “playing pond hockey at Cannon Hill or Manito.” LC players also describe how playing hockey has helped them learn many valuable lessons. Lessons such as patience, anger control, and awareness are big ones. “When I step on the ice my worries and problems just go away really,” said Varney. www.livestrong.com mentions other health and mental benefits of the game, including the lessons of good decision making, and an increase of mental agility. The Eagles Ice Arena offers classes for all abilities along with the Spokane American Youth Hockey.

The LC wrestling team has been preparing all sea-son for a King of the Hill match against Ferris on Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. at Ferris High School. Morale and intensity are high, and sophomore Bryan Krych said that the team has “been competi-tive in all matches” and is “training hard and doing well.” The team’s season record as of Jan. 23 was 3 wins, 2 losses, according to team manager sopho-more Andrea White. Krych said that “It was really exciting to beat U-High. We knocked off the first team in the GSL.” Coach Matt Orndorff keeps the attitude disci-plined and competitive. “The best part of wrestling is winning. The rest is just hard work, but it is worth it,” said Orndorff. One sophomore and two freshmen girls wres-tle for the team this year. After their Jan. 22 win against Rogers, White said, “We did really good. We even had a girl wrestle. We won most of the matches and the ones we lost were not all by pins.” With the age-old rivalry between LC and Ferris, tensions are high for the upcoming match.

by Katy Schermerhorn & Michael Howard Copy Editor & Opinions Editor

by Bryn Hines & Mike HowardCo-Editor-in-Chief & Opinions editor

The next gymnastics meet is on Jan. 29 at U-High at 6 pm. The Tigers will then compete Jan. 31 at Shadle. While the girls team standings were not avail-able as of Jan. 22, Coach Holly Power said, “Gymnastics scoring is incredibly complex. The standard is that each gymnast performs a routine with a 10.0 start value. Deductions are then taken for execution errors, falls, dynam-ics, rhythm, and artistry.” Coach Holly Power said that she wants “all the girls to learn something new and develop character traits that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.” Members of the team are optimistic about the season. Sophomore Linnea Love said the teams has “lots of great gymnasts that have all contributed to our first 2nd place in a meet in a long time.”

Junior Chase Long gets readiy for an NC opponent.

VaultA gymnast runs full speed to a table perched at the end of a runway, then springs off the vaulting table while flipping, according to

USAGym.com

FloorGymnasts perform routines choreographed

to music. Performances include flips and danceBeam

Competitors execute multiple spins, flips and leaps across a four inch wide balance

beam.

BarsGymnasts perform multiple flips, twists and

release moves to transition between two bars of different heights

PHOTO BY TAYLOR WIL-LIAMSON &CHANTEL RATTLER

WHAT ARE THE GYMNASTIC EVENTS?

Editing & WritingEagle Eye

509.838.6720www.eagleeyeediting.com

Sophomore Hunter Varney prepares for the puck in hopes of making a goal. Varney is one of four LC boys who play hockey outside of school. The Eagles Ice Arena in North Spokane offers classes with Spokane American Youth Hockey for beginning learners.

PHOTO CURTESY OF HUNTER VARNEY

Issue 3January 2015

OpinionsPage 7

by Peter ErwinStaff Writer

The alternative-rock band Coldplay released their EP “Prospekt’s March” in the United States on Nov. 24, 2008. It included all the extra songs recorded during the Viva la Vida session that were not included on the “Viva la Vida” album. The album still deserves attention seven years later because few people know about it and it has many great songs to appreciate. The first song is entitled “Life in Technicolor II” and is by far the best song and one of my personal favorites. It is the vocal version of the first track to the Viva la Vida album song “Life in Technicolor” hence the “II” on the end. The first thought that entered my head after hearing it for the first time was why this song was not on “Viva la Vida.” The song is a thousand times better than its instrumental counterpart on the Viva la Vida album. Whether it was formatting or personal choice by the band, I do not

know, but what I do know it this song is fantastic and should have found a spot on the main album. I do not really know whether to love or hate this song. “Glass of Water” has everything going for it, good guitar work, well written vocals, but it simply does not sound great. For all its strengths it is just not something you are going to fall in love with. The song “Rainy Day” is different. It simply starts out weird, but like a good bottle of red wine, it only gets better with time. Like I said, it is weird at the beginning but as the song goes on it gets inexplicably catchy, and with a killer string feature in the middle it is hard to do anything but play it again once it is over. “Lost+” is the same song “Lost” off of Viva la Vida with the “+” meaning a feature by Jay-Z. If you like Jay-Z it was alright, but honestly it did not make an already forgettable song any better. “Now My Feet Won’t Touch the Ground”

Revisit Coldplay’s B-sides

is a very relaxed and kind of elegant song, but nothing I would care to listen to. Overall I really enjoyed “Prospekt’s March.” It introduced me two new favorites: “Life in Technicolor II”, and “Rainy Day”, but also a nice remix of “Lovers in Japan.” With the only real loser being “Lost+” I would rate Prospekt’s March a solid 8/10.

The album’s cover art is a piece entitled “Battle of the Poitiers” by Eugène Dela-croix, the same artist who painted “Lib-erty Leading the People,” the painting used as the cover art for “Viva la Vida.”

The United States’ political system is best described as a Republican Democracy or a Democratic Republic (take your pick) that derives legitimacy from the consent of the governed and professes to place the power with the people - yet in practice our system of government represents few people and concentrates the power of the government into an even smaller group. The system is broken, and every American, young or old, should know why and how. Who does our government represent? Most people would be tempted to answer that everyone is, as we all have an equal right to vote. However, our system does not turn out this way; elections in the United States operate on single-member districts that are won based on a plurality of votes. Simply stated, there is only one winner. The results of this setup are striking: first of all, a two-party system (what we have) is unavoidable, as people want their votes to “count” - third-parties that more closely model the views of segments of the population are marginalized, and existing majorities, no matter how small a fraction of the population they are, are reinforced. At this point all of the people who care about politics and have strong personal views about what should be done have voted for one of our two parties. These people do not matter. Republican and Democratic Party identification remains somewhat constant at around 30% for each party, according to Gallup, who has kept polls on the subject since 1988. Consequently, about 60% of the electorate votes predictably and never decides the election. Who does matter? The 40% of the population that votes variably matters.

At this point, I would like to point out we now have less than a majority of the population. Majoritarian rule is out the window. The real question is this: What is the character of the 40% that is undecided? When most people in the United States, that is, people with a party affiliation or a driving ideology, watch a blatantly manipulative political advertisement, we dismiss it. No advertisement or manipulation of emotion will get us to change our deeply-held beliefs. So why do politicians spend so much money on campaigns, if it does not affect the majority of the population? It is because the 40% of our population that are independents are far more easily swayed by appeals to emotion or manipulated statements or manufactured scandals. Another Gallup poll series from the past 13 years broke down ideological

identification among independents, and found that around 30% of independents consider themselves conservatives, and about 20% consider themselves liberals. This leaves the remaining portion of the independents, half of them, as people who identify as moderates, moderates who already have no party identification or driving political ideology The frightening conclusion drawn here is that the same group of people who know and care the least have the decisive vote in elections, and make up 20% of the electorate. One fifth of the voting public de-facto determines the representation for all of us. Unfortunately, I am not finished with my exposé on our government system, as the processes of party structure, legislation, and media in this nation reinforce the misrepresentative nature of the United States government.

Paul-itics Part 1: Who runs the show?

Paul OrmsbyStaff Writer

This Gallup pole series breaks down the American electorate by political party iden-tification and ideology. While party identification numbers clearly do rise and fall with election cycles, they have remained relatively stable for the past half century.

PHOTO COURTESY OF INTERNET

POLL COURTESY OF INTERNET

There are many holidays in the year that are way too under celebrated, so I have decided to shine light on all of the holidays that I feel are deserving of more recognition in January/ February. Tuesday, January 27 is National Chocolate Cake Day. Try baking a chocolate cake and then smash it on your friend’s heads, just for the fun of it. Wednesday, January 28 is National kazoo day. Get yourself a kazoo, start playing it whenever someone asks “when is this class over?” Thursday, January 29 is National corn chip day. Purchase a jumbo bag of corn chips and eat every last one not sharing with anyone; this is a challenge. Sunday, February 1 is National Freedom Day. Go outside wearing the most ridiculous outfit you can put together with a group of friends and chant “USA” because we have freedom in ‘Merica. Tuesday, February 3 is The Day the Music Died Day. Listen to the song “American Pie” by Don McLean on repeat. Wednesday, February 4 is Thank a Mailman Day. When your mail carrier comes by to drop off your mail give him/her a small token of your appreciation (cosmic brownies, a can of soda pop, etc) attached with a kind note; they definitely deserve it! Thursday, February 5 is National Weatherman’s Day. Dress like a weatherman, act like a weatherman. Sunday, February 9 is Toothache Day. Give yourself a toothache! Eat all of the sweets and sugar-coated happiness and don’t even worry about how many extra push-ups you will have to do.

Source: http://www.holidayin-sights.com

CelebrateWeird

Holidays

Colter Kaley looks sharp for Weather-man’s Day. Kaley believes he has a knack for predicting the Washington weather.

by Maddi JohnstonStaff Writer

PHOTO BY MADDI JOHNSTON

Issue 3January 2015

OpinionsPage 8JOURNALThe

informed

literacymediajournalistic integrity

public honestydomain

bias influenceawareness

by Bryn HinesCo-Editor-In-Chief

Let me preface this by saying that every compliment given to “Ulysses” in this review should be taken with a grain of salt; that grain being that they are given by a snobbish geek who once won a t-shirt for answering the most questions about Irish literature correctly… in Dublin. I don’t expect everyone (or anyone, really) to share my enthusiasm for classic Irish lit, and that’s okay. But with all that said, everyone should read “Ulysses” by James Joyce at least once in their lives. Warning: “Ulysses” is dense. Very dense. So dense that it’s earned the informal title of the ‘most started and least finished book in Western literature,’ in the words of English researcher Christopher Roy. A skin-deep plot summary of “Ulysses” would raise questions about how anyone could stretch its events into 800 pages. Frankly, nothing happens. The protagonist, a Jewish Dubliner named Leopold Bloom, goes to a funeral, rides in a carriage, makes eye contact with a girl in a park, cooks a kidney… and not much else. So what makes it so brilliant? Is this another one of those post-modern, hipster nonsense dreamscapes? Another one of those throw-words-on-a-page-like-Pollock-threw-paint-on-a- canvas tests of sanity? Yes. Yes it is, and I loved it. This novel, in which Joyce uses stream-of-consciousness prose to parallel each chapter with a story from “The Odyssey” and make an ordinary 18 hours seem like

an epic journey, is a jewel of 20th century Western literature and well worth the 2 years it took me to read. The structure of this book is so circuitous and complex and the plot structure so unconventional that it doesn’t really matter the order in which you read the chapters (or the pages, for that matter). Does it ever really matter which path you take through a maze with no exit? That maze is this novel. The very creative and speculative may be able to form a theory of what is actually happening or what Joyce MAY have meant when he wrote the syntax-strophy, “The spiked and winding cold seahorn. Have you the? Each and for other plash and silent roar.” But I doubt it. My only tip I can offer for reading this book (for I can’t claim to have understood it nearly well enough to give any other tips) is as follows: Google. Don’t try to get every word of it or you will go mad, but when you really want to find out the English translation of the first line of dialogue in the book, Google is your friend. When you can’t for the life of you figure out who is who or what is going on or what language you’re reading, Google is your friend. And so on. Getting through this book will be one of the most difficult, maddening, frustrating tasks you’ve ever set out to accomplish… and I couldn’t recommend it highly enough. That’s how beautiful and unique this novel is. Call it effort justification, pretentiousness, or masochism, but there is something deeply satisfying about reading (and survivng) “Ulysses.”

by Mike HowardOpinions Editor

Whether you aspire to become the next Poe, Shakespeare, Rowling, or Tolkien, creative writing is a great way for teens to express themselves and have fun. While it is fun to write news stories for our very own LC Journal, nothing compares to sitting down and creating a new world just by pressing a pen to paper. Whether you are into poetry, creepy short stories, or long romance novels, writing is a great way to express yourself. LC even has creative writing classes taught by the English department head, Andy Lang. Creative writing has always been a major part of our world. Fiction and narrative non-fiction books outsell all others genres. Individuals like to express themselves. Many teens spend hours writing stories to post online for others to read. While Wordpress, Wattpad and Tumblr are known as social networking sites, part of their appeal is the fact that you can publish stories for others to see. There is a reason why there are 56 million Wordpress blogs and 76 million Tumblr pages. People are looking for ways to express themselves. Teens are told again and again that reading will help them learn and grow. Is

not learning to write and create just as important? We should be encouraging teens to write creative stories. While the knowledge children are taught in science and math will help them later in life it would helpful if they were taught how to solve new and different problems in a creative way as well. Creative writing would do nothing but help with this. However we don’t need to rewrite entire courses and make all core classes creative. We do not need to have Creative Chemistry, Creative Physics, or Creative Geometry; we just need one class to challenge children on a different level. If all we teach students in English is how to spell something correctly, how to write a correct answer, or how to detect a stories theme, we are teaching them how to correct writing but not create writing. In a way, they are becoming grammar repairmen. A car repairman corrects the car, they don’t engineer it. If we are really trying to prepare students for the real world, we need them to think on both a creative and logical scale. While writing might seem like a strange way to go about this, it truly helps. Creative writing challenges students to create a new world, a new character, and even express feelings that might not be their own.

Creative Writingby Katherine Davis

Staff Writer

Clear your calendar for Ulysses, nerds

First published in 1922, “Ulysses” is currently ranked the number one English novel of all time by ModernLibrary.com and the third greatest book of all time by thegreatestbooks.org.

A generation ago, Americans turned on the TV to either ABC, CBS, or NBC. Regard-less of their choice, the channels were more or less the same, presenting the hard facts and little opinion. Watched by the general population, these stations steered clear of ideologies so as to avoid alienating any viewers. This is currently not the case. Many popular news stations, along with print and online publications, focus less on the facts than on affirming audience’s beliefs. This trend supports a smart business plan: we all want to be right and if a publication tells us so, we will repeatedly go back to that same comforting reassurance. The truth is a small sacrifice to make. “[The Federal Government] had a bunch of conferences for pin heads, and they ordered 250 muffins at 16 bucks a piece. There goes our federal money," said Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly in 2011. "Rick Perry has now come up with his own version of a flat tax that accomplishes the

same goal of huge tax cuts for rich people and big tax hikes for everyone else," said MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow, also in 2011. Both statements, though from differ-ent sides of the political spectrum, have one thing in common: the statements are “mostly false”, according to the nonpar-tisan PolitiFact.com, a Pulitzer Prize-win-ning production of the Tampa Bay Times. In 2014, O'Reilly and Maddow combined had 2.4 million viewers per day according to the Nielsen rankings. 2.4 million people who may vote, campaign, or act on the foundation of a false statement. While of course the stations are not en-tirely untruthful and can at times provide credible news, the reliability of informa-tion is seldom clear. In 2012, Pew Research

T h a n k y o u t o o u r S p o n s o r s : Marty Frazier The LCHS English Department Theresa and Rich Meyer Infinite Events The Hines Family The Showalter Family LCHS DECA Jo Lynn and Michael O’Malley Alene Zander Drs. Wesley and Cora Stone Kristine Mietzner

Center found that CNN, Fox, and MSNBC all had 46, 55, and 85% opinion reporting respectively. Cable news has diverted from hard facts, blurring the line between the truth and opinion. Our political system has grouped togeth-er unrelated issues for expedient voting. Media has followed along, with certain channels and publications becoming ideo-logical trademarks. With the click of a but-ton, you are safely away from any informa-tion that could challenge your world view. However, that same button, computer mouse, or newsstand also has the poten-tial for truth, but only if you are willing to find it. Question all information. Strive for Media Literacy. Click through every chan-nel and page, listen to every viewpoint. Control the media, don't let it control you.

Enjoy Fox? Try NPR. Like The Hunting-ton Post? Pick up the Wall Street Journal. Know that you and your self-affirming sources may be incorrect. Ideologies are not good vs. bad. They are well-intended, well-thought-out, and well-deserving of attention, regardless of your personal preferences. By definition, "news" must give "new" information, not reinforce already held beliefs. If your news source upholds your original opinions, open yourself up to dis-senting ideas. How can you verify the truth of your beliefs if you ignore the other side? If you are correct, what is there to lose? We all like to be right. Challenge yourself to be wrong.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE INTERNET

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE INTERNET

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