THURSDAY APRIL 21, 2011 | VOLUME LVIII ISSUE 9 | 7400 CORNELL RD. CINCINNATI, OHIO 45242, 513.686.1770 EXT. 3089 | GOAVES.COM

Preventing sudden death of high school athletes

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NEWS 3-4 SPORTS 17-19FORUM 6-8SNAPSHOTS 5CALENDAR 2 FEATURE 9-12 A&E 14-16 SPOTLIGHT 20FUN & GAMES 13

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Why you should - or should not - visit the creation museum

image by jimmy chau

TSUNAMI GROUNDS RISING SUNPeople are suffering. The 8.9 magnitude earthquake that battered

the coast of Japan and triggered a tsunami has currently left 12,600 dead and 14,700 missing – and the statistics keep rising. When considering the 7.1 Mar. 11 earth-

quake that ravaged the archipelago and the af-tershocks that struck Apr. 7 and Apr. 11, the tragedy seems to be one that even Japan, a nation with significant safeguards against natural disasters, could not have anticipated. Japan is located at the in-tersection of four different tectonic plates. As a result, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are relatively common. The majority of recorded seismic ac-tivities in Japan are quite minor. Even so, Japan has a history of major earth-quakes. In fact, it was a 6.8 magnitude tremor in 1996 that largely spurred Japan’s earthquake and tsunami preparedness. That seismic event, unlike the Mar. 11 earthquake, hit close to the southern city of Kobe. Notably, the Kobe earth-quake was much different than its 2011 cousin. In terms of the earthquakes themselves, the Kobe event’s losses were mainly economic, compared to the much greater havoc wreaked by the Mar. 11 earthquake.

Chernobyl In addition to leaving an estimated 12,600 people dead, the earthquake also damaged several nuclear reactors in the affected area. Cooling systems in the Fukushima Daiichi plant were the first to be de-stroyed. Later, nuclear waste leaked out of the facility. While there was initially some optimism about Japan’s ability to suppress

the meltdown, on Apr. 12, the Japanese government ranked the contamina-tion level outside of the Fukushima plants to be the same as the infamous Chernobyl accident of the 1980s. The Japanese disaster is all-encompassing. It proves that even a ‘devel-

oped’ nation can be immersed in tragedy, and that catastrophe is not exclusive to nations such as Haiti.

Considerable attention has been paid to the impli-cations that the disaster may have on the United

States. The safety of American nuclear reactors

has been called into question as Japa-nese engineers at Fukushima Daiichi

scramble to avert yet another disaster. Like Japan, America

houses many of its nuclear reactors on the coast. These 104 reactors are designed to withstand earthquakes and tremors, but anxiety has been difficult to quell. In response, Rep. Ed Markey (MA-D) recommended a compre-hensive safety plan for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Congress will vote on this plan in the coming months.

Social Media Dubbed the Great To-

hoku Kanto, the Japanese earthquake sent thousands

of civilians into a search for family and friends. Mass confu-

sion and a fervent desire to reach loved ones led many Japanese

people to use social media devises – like Twitter.

Through social networks, those within the quake’s impact zone connected with others

continents away. Panicked relatives and friends received imperative and largely accurate information

from those in Japan using social media. On March 16, Japanese Emperor Akihito took the unprecedented

step of addressing his people via television broadcast. While relaying his concern about the nuclear crisis, he urged Japanese citizens “to act with compassion to overcome these difficult times.” Americans must do no less.

smDIPALIeditor-in-chief & associate editor

moriahKRAWEC

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sunday monday tuesday wednesday thursday friday saturday

CalendarThursday, April 21, 2011

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kelcieGREGAassociate editor

May

SAT

Boys Varsity Gold Tennis vs. Springboro4:00 p.m.

Boys Varsity Lacrosse vs. Summit Country7:30 p.m.

Boys Volleyball vs. Fairmont5:45-7:00 p.m.

Boys JV Tennis vs. Wyoming4:00 p.m.

Girls JV Lacrosse vs. Anderson6:00 p.m.

Girls JV Softball vs. Talawanda5:00 p.m.

Boys JV B Lacrosse vs. St. Xavier4:00 p.m.

Boys Varsity Baseball vs. Northwest Cincinnati 12:00 p.m. Boys Varsity

Baseball vs. Middletown4:30 p.m.

Holiday: National Teachers Day

Boys Volleyball vs. Lakota East5:45-7:00 p.m.

Boys JV Tennis vs. Archbishop Moeller4:00 p.m.

Girls Softball vs. Lakota East4:30 p.m.

History: Israel’s Independence Day Famous

Birthday:Malcom X

Holiday: Cinco de Mayo

Holiday: May Day

SHS Event: Senior Capstone Expo5:30 p.m.

SHS Event: Band Concert7:30 p.m.

SHS Event: Orchestra Concert7:30 p.m.

SHS Event: PTO Meeting9:00 a.m.

Interim Reports Distributed

SHS Event: Jazz Band Concert 7:30 p.m.

Boys Varsity Green Tennis vs. Centerville4:00 p.m.

Holiday: Mothers Day

SHS Event: Band Awards Ceremony6:00 p.m.

Weird Holiday: Dinosaur Day

SHS Event: Spring Sports Awards7:00 p.m.

SHS Event: Underclass-men Awards Ceremony8:00 a.m.

SHS Event: Choir Concert7:30 p.m.

SHS Event: Senior Recog-nition Night6:00 p.m.

Holiday: Memorial DayNo School

SHS Event: Graduation @ Cintas Center7:30 p.m. Exams

SHS Event: Senior Picnic7:30 p.m.

SHS Event: Senior Athletic Awards9:00 a.m.

Famous Birthday: Mr. T

AP Exams

AP Exams

Senior ExamsSophomore Debate

Text these numbers to help save lives by making an automatic donation to the Japan effort:

-Save the Children- text Japan to 20222-American Red Cross- text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10-Salvation Army – text QUAKE to 80888 to donate $10-International Medical Corps – text MED to 80888 to donate $10-Global Giving – text JAPAN to 50555 to donate $10-World Vision – text 4JAPAN to 20222 to donate $10-Doctors Without Borders- Visit www.doctorswithoutborders.org for information

images by sarah may

3thursday, april 21, 2011news

Around 200,000 people have been displaced by the tsunami. Thousands are still unaccounted for, and the number of fatalities is only expected to rise. Relief efforts are expected to last for months, with many international organizations offering assistance. Even as volunteers pour in, many feel that little can be done to have a significant impact on these humanitarian efforts. From the other side of the world, many feel helpless. “I do wish I could do something. It’s one of those

things where you don’t want to just sit and watch, but you don’t really know what to do to help,” said

Dor’thea Lumpkin, 9.

Disaster Reliefassociate editor

janeFINOCHARO

Helping Japanese victims ALICEemmaOHeditor-in-chief

smDIPALIeditor-in-chief

&

Reaction training administered to SHS

Circle Tail

8834 Carey LanePleasant Plain, OH 45162

Phone: 513-877-3325www.CircleTail.org

Circle Tail provides service dogs and hearing dogs to people with disabilities. We also provide dogs for adoption, as well as offer dog obedience training, behavior management and boarding

services. Circle Tail is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located near

Cincinnati, Ohio.

The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life is an annual event that allows local high school students to get involved in the fight against a disease that never sleeps: cancer.

Students from Indian Hill, Madeira, Mount Notre Dame, Moeller, Sycamore, and Ursuline will be participating in this year’s Relay for Life of the Montgomery Area, which will be held at SHS. This is an overnight event that will take place on May

13-14 from 4 p.m. to 10 a.m. Teams are composed of eight to ten people from participating schools.

Each team is asked to have one person on the track at all times throughout the event –

symbolizing Relay for Life’s motto that “cancer never sleeps.”

The teams will camp out

on the fields in their school’s designated areas. Various activities will take place throughout the course of the night, such as music, dancing, games, and contests. Relay creates a sense of a community of people fighting for a common cause. Teams have fundraising goals to meet by the week of the event. Informational meetings are coordinated through the Relay committee designated for each school. To ensure the safety of students, each team must have a chaperone at all times. Meetings for team chaperones are scheduled and listed on www. relayforlife.org/montgomeryoh. Half of all men and one-third of all women in the US will develop cancer in their lifetimes. The American Cancer Society hopes that events such as Relay for Life will reduce these numbers in the future.

staff writerdenaeBELILLTI

Racing toward Relay for Life‘Cancer never sleeps’

As the 12th anniversary of the Columbine shooting passed, SHS implemented ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) training: a new approach to self-defense that promotes active reaction. “In the last 15 years times have changed – now we have to talk about school safety,” said Mr. Chris Davis, prin-cipal. Prior to ALICE, the standard procedure in the event of an intruder was to enter into a lockdown. During lock-down mode, students would lock the door, turn off the lights and hide in the classroom. Unfortunately, past school shootings like the one at Virginia Tech ha that the lockdown procedure was ineffective. “No one ever told the students to evacuate the building, so the shooter was able to return to the same classroom three or four times,” said Davis. ALICE was designed to improve the procedure followed when an intruder enters the building. Using ALICE, Davis encouraged students to be more proactive when threat-ened by a violent individual. Instead of sitting underneath tables, ALICE advocates looking for a way to evacuate the building. Instead of remaining under the intruder’s control, Davis urges students to counterattack and distract. Instead of blindly following a school procedure, the program encourages students to effectively react to the situation at hand. While the program recommended that students always be aware of their surroundings, it was not intended to cause panic. “I don’t share this with you today to have you walk around in fear; we just have to be prepared,” said Davis. Furthermore, the methods taught within ALICE extend far beyond the classroom. Davis stressed that these were “lifelong lessons that can be effective any time or any place.”

image by sm dipali and emma oh

Do you think ALICE training was beneficial for the student body?

Poll on Alice training at:www.goaves.com/multimedia

THIRTY YEARS AGO, the Oakland Raiders won the Super Bowl, Justin Timberlake was born, MTV hit cable television, and Mr. Joseph Villari, social studies teacher, began his three-decade reign in the SHS social studies department. When it comes to Villari, with his almost perfect attendance, his disgust of modern technology, his perfectly groomed mustache, and the love of his life, ‘Libby the Wonder Dog,’ he will forever be remembered. The years to come at SHS will not be the same as Villari’s sanctuary will no longer be Room 127, but wherever his dignity leads him.

4thursday, april 21, 2011news

Mrs. Judy Klefas, English teacher, on retiring

What are you going to miss the most about SHS?My students. There is no doubt that my students are my favorite part of working here. I also enjoy the people I work with, and love the ‘people-part’ of my job – the relationships I built with the teachers and students.What are you going to miss the least about SHS?There is very little in SHS that I didn’t find something good in. There is, however, one thing – I spend more time dragging stuff back and forth from the high school to my basement than anything else. The one thing that I would change in this school is to put cupboards in the classrooms. The only thing that saved me in the past years was the ‘bowling alley’ in my room. But this is my own fault, seeing as I am a packrat supreme.What is your favorite memory from your years teaching?On the first day that I started teaching in Deerpark High School, I met the woman who would be my best friend. I was very talkative, and no one really wanted to sit next to me at lunch. Leslie Knots, former drama teacher, was looking for a place to sit so I offered her a seat next to me. I could tell that she was fighting her way to my table, and it was obvious that she didn’t want to be there with me. After the end of the day, however, we were best friends. We were so close that when she transferred to SHS, so did I. This memory has definitely had the best ripple effect of my years of teaching.

How many years have you worked in SHS?I started working here in the 1986-1987 school year, when the high school still had no walls between classrooms. So about 25 years.

What do you plan on doing with the newly-acquired free time you will have?Playing with my grandchildren and volunteering, mostly at SHS. I know that there will always be something for me to do here, whether it is answering the phone or carrying books back and forth, that teachers do not have time to do. This will also give me a chance to visit my students, and will make the change a lot easier.

Any last words?I just wish for everyone a vocation that is also an avocation; I spent 40 years doing what I love to do, and having so much fun with it. If everyone could do that, the world would be a happy place.

Mr. Joseph Villari, history teacher, on retiringHow many years have you been teaching at SHS?30 years. What was your most memorable experience at SHS?Something I will never forget was 9/11. When it happened, I was teaching, and the teachers were instructed to not show their students what was happening on the TV throughout the school day. Everyone was confused and worried about the situation.

What are you excited to do during your retirement?I am excited to do absolutely nothing and to be left alone. I have a lot to do around the house, including watch movies, read books, and of course, take nice, long walks with ‘Libby The Wonder Dog.’

What would you say is your favorite part of your job?I have always been interested in history and geography. I majored in history and it has been a joy to teach and have a job that involves one of my interests. It is nice to have a job where I can teach what I love every day.

What advice would you give to students at SHS?Read and write. If you can read and write, you can teach yourself anything. Few people read for pleasure anymore. Everyone seems to think that the internet and the television are the best sources of information. The best writers and readers are those who are successful in their careers and later in life.

What advice would you give to young teachers?Treat the kids like they are your children. You should want them to succeed. If you are nice and fair with them, they will treat you the same way. You also must punish them when necessary. It seems like discipline is becoming a lost art. And last, but not least, you must always adjust to your students. Never solely rely on your lesson plan and curriculum. Your students are the utmost priority.

Mrs. Klefas

THERE ARE THOSE who work for the money. There are those who work for the fame. And there are those who work for the sheer joy of doing what they love. Mrs. Judy Klefas, English teacher, is one such person. She has taught 25 of her 40 years teaching at SHS, and since the beginning she has loved every minute of it. Klefas leaves a mark in all the lives she touches, and those lucky enough to have been her students agree that it is hard to find someone who enjoys her job as much as she does. At the end of this school year she will be retiring, but her place in the hearts of students will not.

How long have you been here at SHS?I joined the district in 1988 as Associate to the Director of Information Services at our Central Office, working with him for five years. Eventually I assumed the position when he retired, writing and editing the district publications until 1996, when I was reassigned to the high school. Since then I have worked year round in the front office, the print room in the summer, and as administrative assistant in the district music office.

What are your thoughts on retirement?I think a lot like Ernest Hemingway, who said, ‘retirement is the ugliest word in the language’. I don’t think of this change in my life as ‘retirement’, but moving on to a different kind of work situation. I don’t want to leave, there are many ambiguous feelings. But there is a time to move forward.

What work will you be doing?I will have a new, ‘full time’ job freelance editing for the Southwestern Publishing Co. When not doing that, I will be volunteer dog grooming for the Clermont County Animal Shelter (I’m a certified dog groomer), in the hopes of finding animals homes. This shelter is a no-kill facility and many of the pets have been there as much as five years.

What kind of editing will you do?Well, I would love to write the synopsis that goes in the cover. It has to be unique and as intriguing as the book.

What are some things you will miss?I’ve really enjoyed working with many different personalities over the 25 years here at Sycamore. I will especially miss interacting with our wonderful students and hearing all about their families and post graduate plans.

What are you hoping for in retirement?I need a lot of challenge in my day, I hope to find that in retirement. I don’t want to be bored, I don’t think I’ve been bored any day in my whole life.

Mrs. Jo Anne Calland, administrative assistant, on retiring

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Mrs. CallandMr. Villari

THOUGH NOT ALL could identify her by name, the students of SHS recognize Mrs. Jo Anne Calland in a few ways. They may know her as the friendly woman in the front office in the mornings, where she tries to “add levity to the lobby” by generally “being pleasant”. All students are familiar with her voice, as she delivers the daily announcement bulletin. Always an approachable character, Calland has been working behind the scenes of the school day for years. Though she is retiring, Calland plans to stay busy doing things that she enjoys.

ollipops, mustache, smilesegacies left behind by retiring teachers will last foreverL

all images by ana barros

business manager

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‘Taking the stage’

FASHION FOR THE CURE, which occurred on March 23, raised over $20,000 for Cancer Family Care. This organization provides care for cancer patients and their families. LEFT: Artur Meller, 11, surprises Sally Evans, 11, with rose on the runway. ABOVE: Students present the winning student-designed dresses. BELOW LEFT: Ryan Stoneberger, 9, speaks about his experience with his father, Rob Stoneberger, whose experience with cancer was the inspiration for this event. BELOW: Juniors Carla Ibarra and Ryan Reid pose at the end of the runway. RIGHT: shoppers peruse the raffle baskets. Raffles were a major contribution to the funds raised at this event thanks to donations from businesses.

associative editorjaneFINOCHARO

Students participate in Fashion for the Cure to fight cancer

all photos courtesy of mcdaniels photography

We know you have them!Opinions.

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Sycamore High School7400 Cornell RoadCincinnati, OH 45242

Editors-in-chief: S.M. Dipali, Emma OhAssociate Editors: Jane Finocharo, Kelcie Grega, Moriah Krawec

Managing Editor: Jimmy Chau, Aditi SharmaBusiness Managers: Ana Barros, Ellie Goldman the

Sycamoreleaf

staffeditorial

Mission Statement: The Leaf, the official newspaper of Sycamore High School, serves as an educational tool in the training of student journalists to provide information and editorial leadership concerning school, national, and world issues, to provide a public forum for the exchange of ideas and viewpoints, and to give coverage to newsworthy events directly related to the diverse school population.Editorial Policy: Although students work under the guidance of a professional faculty member, the content is ultimately determined by the student staff and should reflect all areas of student interest, including topics about which there may be dissent and controversy. Students cannot publish material that is obscene, libelous, or will cause “a substantial disruption of the educational process.” Content that may stimulate heated debate or discussion is not included in this definition.

PhotographerJeremy McDanielAdviserCheralyn JardineAbout usProfessional memberships:• Columbia Scholastic Press Association• Journalism Education Association• National Scholastic High School Press Association• Ohio Scholastic Media Association• Ohio Professional Writers (National Federation of Women Writers)• Quill & Scroll International Journalism Honorary

The Leaf operates as an open forum for the healthy, robust exchange of ideas. Opinions expressed in the editorials are those of The Leaf staff. Letters to the editor are encouraged. All letters must be signed. The letters, not to exceed 300 words, may be edited for clarity, spelling, and grammar. Letters may be placed in Mrs. Chera-lyn Jardine’s mailbox, dropped off in room 115, or e-mailed to jardinec@sycamoreschools.org. The Leaf reserves the right to decide not to cover a death based on relevance, timeliness, and circum-stances decided on by the editorial board. In cases that the editorial board decides not to cover a death, letters to the editor in regard to that death will be printed. The Leaf’s complete editorial policies can be found at www.goaves.com. For comments about columns, please write to writetotheleaf@gmail.com

NewsSarah MayForumKelcie GregaFeatureLina CardenasA&EAditi SharmaSportsDaniel Bayliss Bennett KaplanCalendarKelcie GregaSpotlight Madi Ashley

Alexx Lazar SnapshotsCasey RayburnFun & GamesClayton HamreCartoonistLilly LeftonAmaji FinnellWeb MastersJacob DeitloffRoss Johnstal

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Staff WritersDilnoza AbdusamatovaIrfanuddin AijazEmily BegleyDenae BelliltiAlec BochnerJohn CarrollKrittika ChatterjeeRishi ChoubeyBrian ClearyGariauna Daniels Michael DeMaioGabriela Godinez-FeregrinoDevon GrubbaAaron IshidaAlexandria LazarShea LothropOrion RadtkeCailin RogersMichael SaxonShayna SiegelIlana VinnikSanika Vaidya

For comments on this column, please write to WritetoTheLeaf@gmail.com

Although it occured about two months ago, Japan’s massive earthquake and nuclear crisis are quickly becoming old news. The death toll of 13,498 has been declared, and the search for 14,734 missing citizens has been aborted. Japan has been left with a battered eastern coast and the devastated Fukushima nuclear plant. A decade of aftershocks of equal intensity await. Thankfully, the global com-munity was quick to offer their monetary support in many forms; some similar to the texted donation that was popular during Haiti’s 2010 earthquake, others through blogging communities like Tumblr. However, these monetary donations have yet to be distributed (as of April 14). Regardless, the Japanese government has decided that villages reduced to rubble will not be rebuilt. April 13 was the first time an airplane was allowed to land and offer relief in Japan – over a month since the disaster. Japan cannot afford to lose this kind of help from outside countries over the coming months. America has a moral

obligation to aid this vulner-able nation. The Fukushima blast has re-leased a barrage of radioactive agents into the atmosphere. While the definite effects of the radioactivity are, as of yet unknown, these isotopes could potentially wreak havoc on land and marine ecosys-tems, as well as human health and food supplies. Taking into account the growing nuclear power usage in America, lessons must be learned from the problem that is doomed to plague Ja-pan, and possibly surround-ing countries, for an indefi-nite period. America must be prepared, if Japan was not. Six plants reside in Cali-fornia alone, a prime loca-tion for tsunamis and other catastrophes similar to those that have struck Japan in the past couple months. If our country cannot adapt its current plants to condi-tions that would be optimal in the event of a disaster, we are destined to suffer the same fate. America does not have the luxury to ignore these tragedies. We can only hope that our country will not wait to take action to preserve our safety until we are the nation in a wreck.

Q:leafing through the masses

What do you think people will remember most about

the earthquake?

People will remember the destruction and lives lost.

-Jon Ota, 11

-Jake Ciricillo, 10

-Mrs. Christine Allen, English teacher

The Japanese government made a wise choice by reaching out to the world and asking for help - allowing other nations to do what they can to

assuage the inconceivable horrors.

The help that was pro-vided. They needed it. I have relatives there and we’re lucky that nobody was injured.

In my final column for The Leaf in March, I explained that if a student wanted something changed at SHS, the administration would listen. That part is still true. I went on to say that if that student could prove to the administration that the proposed change would be beneficial, it had a chance of being ad-opted. That is what I would like to retract. Let us back up. In September of this year, three seniors and I created a one hour discus-sion-based exercise for students to perform during Diversity Month because we felt that diversity was an issue was not being addressed at SHS. The result of ignoring the unpleasant aspects of diversity is that students segregate them-selves by race, economic class, and academic level. This fact is evident to anyone who has ever set foot in our cafeteria at lunch. Our plan was intentionally modest, including only an ice-breaker and a chart where students would label themselves and explain how each label made them feel. In November, the four of us presented our plan to Ms. Renee Hevia, the administrator in charge of organizing Diversity Month. She was very enthusiastic about our plan, calling us back numerous times to discuss the details. After these meetings, Hevia decided that if a diversity trainer spent ten minutes in the April 12 staff meeting explaining to teachers how to conduct the two exercises with students, the one hour discussion would take place on April 18. Everything was settled, with a diversity trainer available and ten minutes set aside in the April 12 staff meeting. But on April 7, Hevia definitively informed me that the ten minutes in the April 12 staff meeting were no longer available, because the administration now needed the time to talk about ALICE, a state-mandated program designed to reduce violence in schools. I am sure this is an important program, but if this administration had really wanted to add the hour long discussion, that had already been planned for months, they could have found the time. With the death of any honest conversation on diversity, it seems that Diversity Month is doomed to revive the meaningless superficial-ity of past Diversity Days. It is important to celebrate diversity, but if we ignore the problems diversity causes, like intolerance and discrimination, we dishonor it. And though students may enjoy the ethnic food and performances, it is certain that the real issues of diversity will continue to be danced around by this administration. While some administrators claim they want to end the divisions between students based on race, economic class, and academic level, their desires are as superficial and meaningless as this year’s Diversity Month will surely be.

senior staff writergabeENGLANDER

7thursday, april 21, 2011forum

In the week of Mar. 14-18, while seniors and juniors enjoyed sleeping in an extra two hours, sophomores took the state wide Ohio Graduation Test (OGT) and freshmen took the practice OGT. The OGTs are something all teachers have talked about or briefly mentioned throughout the year. They have been giving test taking tips, study help, and practice worksheets to help the students prepare for the big test. SHS has received an “Excellent with Distinction” rating for 11 years, which shows the high quality of preparation for the OGT. While some teachers have proclaimed that the tests would be difficult and that students needed to study, stu-dents actually thought otherwise. “I was surprised. I thought they would be hard but the tests were actually pretty simple and the time amount was enough, almost too much,” said Kelsie Larkin, 10. Was the time too much? Sophomores were allotted two and a half hours to complete a one subject test each day. Most students did not take all the time given and spent their time catching up on much needed rest. “I loved the sleeping. It was so nice to just sleep for an hour after taking a test. There was plenty of time to just relax. I didn’t like the fact we couldn’t have iPods or phones after we were done though,” said Jenna Lema, 10. Overall, students were pleased with the tests. They were given plenty of time to take the test (perhaps too much) and thought it was pretty easy. “For a test that teachers urged us to prepare for, it was surprisingly easy,” said Trey Phipps, 10.

Within two weeks, three high school athletes died. Not because of a car accident, the leading cause of death in children under eighteen years old, but because of heart ailment.

Heart ailment is a general name for heart disease, but in this specific case, it is called heart enlargement. Heart enlargement is usually something that cannot be detected. It is also the disease that killed high school athletes Wes Leonard, Matthew Hammerdorfer, and Robert Garza. “It’s different from the person who has chest pains or the elderly. These are young, healthy people who, unfor-tunately, have heart failure,” said Mr. Perry Denehy, athletic trainer at SHS. On Mar. 3, 2011, Fenville High School was playing its last regular season basketball game. An undefeated season was on the line. In overtime, Fenville player Wes Leonard made the game winning lay-up to complete a 20-0 season. It would be the last shot Leonard would ever take. Shortly after, Leonard collapsed in front of the entire gym. On his way to the hospital, he was pronounced dead. There were no warnings. Leonard’s previous physical did not raise any red flags. He was in near perfect shape at six feet, two inches, and 220 pounds. It is as if the invincible, crumbled to nothing. Two days later, on Mar. 5, high school rugby player Matthew Hammerdorfer passed away in the middle of a match. Like Leonard, it happened all of the sudden with-out warning. But, Hammerdorfer was aware of his unique heart condition and had taken multiple steps to try and defeat it. When many people thought this tragedy was over, another high school athlete fell. Again, it was a basketball player. His name was Robert Garza. After high fiving his teammate, Garza suddenly collapsed. Paramedics tried CPR but without any luck. He was pronounced dead shortly after. Garza appeared perfectly healthy before the game. In fact, he was even dunking in warm-ups. The question is, are there more athletes out there with this disease that are not aware of it? If Leonard or Garza knew about their unusual condition, would they still be alive today?

staff writermichaelSAXON

staff writeralexxLAZAR

Heart ailment hammers high school athletes

Suffield Or-thodontics

OGT tests students’ patience

It’s different from the person who has chest pains or the elderly. These are young, healthy people who, unfortunately, have heart failure.

Mr. Perry Denehy, athletic trainer

Athletes’ sudden deaths can be prevented

Sophomores say state test is ‘surprisingly easy’

The required physical is not enough to detect an irregu-lar heartbeat. According to Mr. Denehy, some states do not even require physicals for high school athletes. A normal physical usually costs about $25. An EKG or ultrasound that can detect an irregular heartbeat can cost up to $200. If this EKG or ultrasound can save the lives of high school athletes by making them aware of their condition,

why isn’t it included in a routine physical? One would think it would be worth the $200. Will a family pay $200 to get their son or daughter tested for this? Unfortunately, probably not, but they should. Everyone deserves to get tested but more importantly, not pay an expen-sive amount to do so. Imagine playing your favor-ite high school sport. Imagine scoring the game winning shot.

Now, imagine passing out and falling to the ground. This is exactly what happened to Hammerdorfer, Leonard, and Garza. Do not let this happen to you. Get tested. “The debate right now in sports medicine is whether physicals should include an EKG to detect an irregular

heartbeat,” said Denehy. Because there is no way to prevent heart enlargement, organizations have switched from prevention to reaction. “Maybe we’re not going to be able to detect those that it’s going to occur with, but we want to quickly be able to recognize the seriousness and respond to an event….which is why we require coaches to be trained in CPR, which some states don’t,” said Denehy. If an athlete does collapse while playing, one thing that can save his or her life is an AED. An AED is a comput-erized machine (about the size of a laptop) that quickly checks a person’s heart rate. It can recognize an irregular rhythm and “shock it” to put the heart back on track. Most AEDs cost around $2,500. Also, there is no guar-antee that the AED will work. There is a small window of time that an AED can be used in and if it is not located quickly enough, it will be too late. SHS has five AEDs located throughout the school but not everyone is certified to use them. “No special training is required of AEDs although taking a CPR/AED is highly recommended,” said Denehy. In all fairness, the odds of collapsing because a heart is-sue is slim. However, that does not mean that high school athletes should not be screened regularly. The bottom line is, the cost to get screened is worth it if a life is saved.

ON OCT. 26, senior Jose Cerda was at swim practice with the Cincinnati Marlins when he suddenly clutched the wall and be-gan shaking. His teammates pulled him out of the water, where he was unconscious. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. Doctors are unsure of exactly why he died - his heart suddenly stopped, but the cause is unknown.

photo courtesy of mcdaniel’s photography

photo courtesy of flickr.com

8thursday, april 21, 2011forum

Do you want to know more about the origins of the universe? Where we all came from? Humankind’s early history? If so, I would suggest visting the Creation Museum...to find out what not to believe.

Located northeast of Petersburg, KY, the Creation Museum is a site of pilgrimage for believers in Young Earth creationism, having attracted over a million visitors since its May 2007 opening. The Creation Museum was established by the Christian apologetics organization Answers in Genesis and its president, Ken Ham. Answers in Genesis supports a literal reading of the Bible, with a focus on its first book, Genesis. I visited the Creation Museum on Mar. 28, with my friends Vibhor Kumar, 11, and Victor Hu, 11. My mission was to investigate and disprove its claims. “I thought it would be, well, an interesting experience,” said Kumar. “The only reason I went was to ride a camel,” said Hu. “And I did.” The museum featured a petting zoo with a camel guests could ride.

Museum promotes political agenda When we arrived at the museum, we immediately noticed we were on unfamilliar territory, as we had expected. The cars around us had Christian bumper stickers, and it seemed there were virtually no people of minority backgrounds present. It was quite a change from the diverse environment we were used to. After purchasing our tickets and having our pictures taken with a green screen, we decided to head to the first attraction. This attraction was a multimedia presentation entitled “Men in White.” “Men in White” introduced us to the museum’s unabashedly fundamentalist Christian view on science, society, and history. The presentation - mainly video - featured a young woman named Wendy, sitting at a campfire and pondering the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. She is apparently shackled to a false dichotomy of creationism, and a world full of meaning, versus evolution, and a meaningless, Godless world. Suddenly, two wisecracking angels show up. They begin explaining to Wendy and the audience that “if you use the Bible as your starting point, everything makes sense.” Hu, Kumar, and I were then treated to a supremely hostile assault on modern science. Science teachers were mocked with grotesque carcicatures, portrayed as bumbling, nerdy toadies of the evil scientific establishment, using circular logic and appeals to authority to prove evolution - we seemed to be the only ones to notice the irony. “But what if I don’t believe the Earth is billions and billions of years old?” asked a schoolgirl in the video. “Then you’re in violation of the constitutional separation of church and state!” her science teacher frantically screeched back. Besides showing a poor understanding of constitutional law, “Men in White” gave us our first look at the worldview of Young Earth creationists.

Bad science, vague ideas predominate The primary section of the museum’s main exhibit focuses on presenting evidence for a young Earth and reinterpreting the geological and evolutionary history of the Earth through the lense of a literal Biblical worldview. Several concepts introduced were especially important to the museum’s view of creation. Firstly, the exhibit repeatedly insisted that “natural selection is not evolution” – it was claimed that while organisms had the ability to change to a degree over the generations, they could not develop drastically – no lungfish developing limbs, for example. This was essential to their understanding of the animals on Noah’s Ark. After creation, each animal type could have branched off into different varieties, with only one type being taken onto the Ark, subsequently developing into modernvarieties after the Flood. This evolution – sorry, natural selection – of separately created species (called the “orchard of life”) could happen over mere centuries, it was explained, because God is kind and granted organisms the ability to adapt to their environments. That idea leads to a contradiction – if a bird can develop into many types of birds over only centuries, then why, as it was vehemently proclaimed, is it impossible for

Creationism evolved:Creation Museum gives ancient dogma modern makeover

EXAMINING A PLAQUE explaining the creationist view of the fossilized skeleton of a mastodon, Hu, left, and Kumar, left, begin to explore the Creation Museum. In addition to the main exhibits, the Creation Museum features a bookstore, planetarium, petting zoo, café, and gardens. The bookstore includes gems of literature and cinema such as “Erosion of Christian America,” which claims that that President Obama is complicit in a plot to destroy American Christianity.

Creationist claims - true or false?Scientific claims:

Biblical claims:

“No Biblical prophecy has ever been disproven.”

False. There are many failed prophecies in the Bible. For example, Ezekiel 29:10-11 states that Egypt will be uninhabited for forty years. This has never happened in all of history.

“Archaeology has confirmed the historical accuracy of the Bible.”

False. Many passages of the Bible are historically inaccurate. For example, Hosea 5:13 states that the Assyrian king at that time was named Jareb. There was never any Assyrian king named Jareb, and the actual king who reigned at the time was Tiglath-Pileser III.

Creationists appeal to their belief in the inerrancy of the Bible to support their claims.

When I arrived at the Creation Museum, I was expecting to be pummeled with a barrage of half-truths and misleading suggestions, all easily disprovable. What I found instead were huge amounts of speculatory statements with no supporting statements to refute, relying simply on an assumption that a literal reading of the Bible is true.Many ideas were contradictory - for example, the Museum claims that the Grand

fun&games chiefclaytonHAMRE

image by clayton hamre

entirely new species to descend from others, even over billions of years? Additionally, the quickly-naturally-selecting “orchard of life” posits one of the only testable hypotheses provided at the museum – that we should see very different types of elephants, or sharks, or oaks appearing within the next century or two. However, I have a feeling that the folks at Answers in Genesis will not be betting on that idea anytime soon.

Deep hostility Another notable area of the museum focused on percieved problems in American society arising from a non-Biblically based worldview. The panels in the exhibit mourned the prevalence of gossip, abortions, pornography, evolution-accepting churches, and “human reason.” Yes, they disapprove of humans examining the world with their own ideas. A large sign charted the decline of western civilization over the past five centuries. With Martin Luther’s idea of “Sola Scriptura” as a starting point, successive philosophers such as Francis Bacon, Pierre-Simon Laplace, and Charles Darwin degraded the state of scholarship with un-Biblical ideas such as an old Earth. This culminated with the moral and rhetorical victory of the ACLU - vilified as aggressive atheists - at the Scopes Trial in 1925.

Law should not promote faith Lastly, I would like to make it clear that I am not attacking Christianity, or religion in general. I am only criticizing a particular belief, shared by a variety of fundamentalist faiths, that I see as especially absurd. I have no problems with religion as long as it is not used to justify violence or oppression. I have no problem with people believing in and building museums about creationism, either, regardless of how irrational I find it. I do, however, have a problem with the ultimate agenda of the Creation Museum: to introduce a religion into a place it does not belong - the classroom - and to impose that religion upon society through the US government.

Canyon was carved out of preexistingrock by the Great Flood, yet also claims that the sedimentary walls of the canyon were laid down during the Flood. Fantastically, after presenting these arguments about the Grand Canton’s origin, the museum jumps to the conclusion that because radioactive decay rates put the age of the Grand Canyons’s rocks at millions of years old, “radioactive decay must have been much faster in the past.”

FeatureThursday, April 21, 2011

9

Like many students going into spring break, Nick Schraffenberger, 11 was not sure how his week off from school would go. “I knew there was a lot of excitement about it, but there was also some debate regarding some

of the events,” said Schraffenberger. The trip he is referring to was the Costa Rica trip. 26 high school students and four teachers were graced with a week in the beautiful South American country. The students were greeted with “Pura Vida”, meaning many things including “pure life”, in every corner of the country. For the entire week the students traveled via tour bus through windy roads. Despite the long treks between stops, the views were worth it.

The 52 students were prepared to visit the Louvre, eat gelato, and recite their Julius Caesar monologues in the streets of Rome. They were not prepared to miss the flight back to Cincinnati, a fate that befell four AP Euro pupils. To conclude their adventure across England, France, and Italy, the group flew from Rome to the JFK airport in New York. It was at this location that the trouble began.“There was only a 1 hour 5 minute connection between our two flights, which was not enough time to get 52 students on the next plane,” said Aditi Jain, 10. Jain and three fellow sophomores hold citizenship in a country other than the United States. They are per-manent residents with green cards, but this required them to gothrough a dif-ferent line at Customs/Immi-gration station at the air-port. “We were not moving

“Please! This is supposed to be a happy occasion. Let’s not bicker about who killed who,” said the King of Swamp Castle in the movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” On Mar. 12, students and their par-ents who attended this year’s annual Odd Couple dance were welcomed into a completely transformed SHS. Decorations depicting the popular movies “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” “Robin Hood Men in Tights,” and “The Princess Bride” made the Commons nearly unrecognizable for the dance, dubbed “Merry Odde England.” “I thought the decorations, as always, were very nicely done,” said Bailey Dowlin, 12. The dance created many memories for those who decided to attend – after enjoying a buffet dinner in the gym, students and their parents danced to live music provided by The Re-Bops. Among various members, the band featured the musical talent of SJHS

On the second day of the trip the tour group hiked up to check out the crater of a volcano. They enjoyed the Kodak moment, but some were deterred by the sulfuric smell of the volcano. Bursting with green rolling hills and sparkling blue bodies of water, Costa Rica’s wildlife was also a source of entertainment. On many occurrences, whether it was hiking or road-side trips, howler monkeys and two and three-toed sloths were easily spotted hanging in the trees. The students also received a tour of one of the country’s rivers, which contained mammoth crocodiles. Aside from the scenic views, the students were pam-pered by their luxurious accommodations. Of the four hotels the group stayed at, some of the amenities in the rooms included personal hot tubs, queen and king-sized beds, rainfall and waterfall showers, etc. One of the hotels contained a miniature soccer field,

where some of the students and teachers played until the lights went out. While at the hotels, the group enjoyed gallo pinto, a rice and bean dish, and other traditional Costa Rican delica-cies. Although some meals were repeated multiple times, the students were given the chance to try new foods and venture to restaurants for some meals of choice, as well. When the students were not driving, eating or sight-seeing, activities were at the center of the trip. The trip featured a zip line adventure through the forests of Costa Rica, and included a surprise ending. A bungee swing over 100 feet above the ground provided scares, screams, and memories for many. The trip, like most fun events, had to come to a close. Students brought home good memories, souvenirs, and even some bad sunburns. Still, despite the pain, the trip was dubbed an overall success, and had all of the students and teachers shouting “Pura Vida!”

ellieGOLDMANbusiness manager

sports chiefdannyBAYLISS

senior staff writeremilyBEGLEY

quickly enough. By the time the rest of the stu-dents got through, we were still in line,” Jain said. “When we finally got through our line,

our flight had already taken off.” Luckily, teacher Ms. Marilyn Ray was

still in the airport and they were able to reunite after a series of confusing lo-

gistics. All remaining flights home were booked, so the group had no choice but to stay the night. “We went to Times Square,

since [a classmate] had never been before, and had dinner at TGI Friday's, which was really nice. Unfortunately, we were all so jet lagged that we fell asleep at din-ner,” said Jain.

The group stayed at the JFK International Hotel.

After three hours of sleep, the group travelled to La-Guardia Airport,

this time with ample time to catch a flight

back to Cincin-nati. Though

they arrived home a full 13 hours after

the rest of the class, the experience was not too traumatizing.

“Overall, it wasn’t that terrible, and we ended up getting a lot of

fame for it,” said Jain.

‘Merry Odde England’Students and parents enjoy unique danceStuck: AP Euro students miss connection,

spend night in New York City

Students engage in local motto, embrace new culture

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reHIGHLIGHTS:Barbie doll sparks global con-troversy

teacher Mr. Paul Alexander as well as band director Mr. David Swift. Students and parents also took advan-tage of a number of photo opportunities made available by the many creative decorations displayed at the dance. These decorations would have been an impossibility without the unwaver-ing dedication of the many volunteers who devoted their time and effort to creating them. The Odd Couples Committee held their first meeting in Dec. and began working on creating the various decora-tions that served to bring “Merry Odde England” to life in January. The enthusiasm of these volunteers gave the many parents and students who attended the dance an opportunity to enjoy a unique event. The memories made at “Merry Odde England” will prove to be unforgettable.

Students travel through Europe

image by shea lothrop

Additional articles on Odd Couples

http://www.goaves.com/

WHILE ON THE Spanish trip to Costa Rica students were exposed to new cultural experiences. Monkeys are one of the most exhibited animals in the country, seen very often by tourists. The students and falculty encountered crocodiles, extraordinary zip lines, and saddled up to horseback ride while navigating through Costa Rica.

photo courtesy of michael vega

Pura Vida!

Most girls started with one or two. She came as a second birthday present from a great aunt or as a spur of the moment buy at local toy store. She became a favorite toy, a compan-ion, a role model.

She was Barbie®. As the girls grew taller, their collections grew as well. What started out as one or two ended as a monstrous pile of seemingly limitless plastic dolls, complete with match-ing houses, purses, and everything in between. “I probably have about 50 [Barbie] dolls. We also have like seven Barbie cars and one limo, two big houses, a lot of furniture, a lot of clothes, and a lot of shoes,” said Katherine Demarest, 10. Mattel Corporation® estimates that over one billion Barbies have been sold since her release in 1959. Every two seconds, another Barbie doll is added to this market. And the average American girl, ages three to 11, owns ten – making Barbie the most popular fashion doll worldwide.

Barbie Begins It all started when an ordinary mother saw her daughter playing with infant sized dolls one day. She noticed that her daughter gave the baby dolls adult roles and it struck her: there was a huge gap in the market. During a trip to Germany, the mother, Ruth Handler, noticed an adult-bodied doll. She brought the idea back to the Mattel toy company, which her husband co-founded. At first her husband, along with the entire Mattel company, opposed the idea. Nevertheless, Handler persisted, and Barbara ‘Barbie’ Millicent Rogers, named after Handler’s daughter, made her debut in 1959. The doll featured a full chest, along with heavy makeup and curly blonde hair. She came in a zebra- striped swimsuit revealing her long legs. Such an adult- figured doll was a relatively new invention in the United States, but Handler was well aware of the impact she was making. “When I conceived Barbie, I believed it was important to a little girl’s self-esteem to play with a doll that has breasts,” said Handler to a reporter in the early 1980s.

Anti- Barbie One of the most common criticisms of Barbie is that she promotes an un-realistic body image for young girls. A standard Barbie stands 11.5 inch-es tall, giving her a human height of 5’9” at a 1/6 scale. Estimations vary, yet it is accepted that if Barbie were a real person, she would have a chest

of around 36”, hips of 33”, yet an impossibly small waist of only 18”. The average woman, by comparison, stands at 5’4”, weighs 145 lbs, and measures 36”/ 30”/41”. Statistics show that Barbie’s body type is likely to occur in one out of every 100,000 women. Additionally, accord-ing to the University Central Hospital in Helsinki, Fin-land, a life size Barbie would lack at least 17% of the body fat required to menstruate. In other words, she would be nearly fatally underweight. “When you’re a little girl, I don’t think it affects you because you’re just little and having fun, but I think when you get older and realize they all have the same body type, it can become engrained in your mind and start to affect you,” said Demarest. In 2000, Mattel finally responded to the numerous com-plaints. Barbie’s figure was changed, and her breasts were reduced to more naturally match her small hips. Her figure, however, was not the only subject of protest. In 1965 Mattel released a Slumber Party Barbie®. With the Barbie came a miniature bathroom scale permanently set to 110 lbs, as well as a doll-sized book entitled “How to Lose Weight,” which granted the advice “Don’t eat.” A corresponding Slumber Party Ken® was also sold, but his night time accessories were milk and cookies, sending quite a different message. Protestors again spoke out in 1992 against the newly re-leased Teen Talk Barbie®. While most of the recordings on this ‘talking’ doll included harmless chatter about shop-ping or friends, the line “Math Class is Tough!” caused an uproar. The American Association of University Women bashed Barbie and Mattel for implying girls could not do math. As a result, only two months after her release, Mattel recalled the Barbie and offered a replacement to any offended by the phrase. Only five years after the famous Teen Talk scandal, Mat-tel teamed up with Nabisco to create an Oreo Fun Barbie®, in honor of the illustrious cookie. The doll was produced in two versions, and buyers could choose between a white, Caucasian Barbie, and a black, African American Barbie. Mattel did not keep in mind, however, that the word “oreo” is, by some, applied as a derogatory term to people who are considered “black on the outside, but white on the inside,” like the chocolate cookie itself. Critics accused Mattel of racism, and the doll was heav-ily reviled. All unsold stock was eventually recalled.

Barbie Today Through her ups and downs, Barbie has overcome many controversies. Now with her 50th anniversary underway, she remains the most popular fashion doll in the world. Available in more than 45 nationalities and sold in more than 150 nations around the world, Barbie has come a long way since her debut in 1959. For better or for worse, she has become known as the international symbol of beauty. “Today, Barbie is important because she helps spread cultural awareness and diversity to little kids through the play of dolls,” said Avni Bapat, 11. Though criticism of the doll will likely never cease, she will undoubtably remain an icon of American culture for years to come.

10 a&e

managing editoraditiSHARMAsarahMAY

news chief&

SAUDI ARABIA BANNED Barbies in 2003. The Committee for the Propa-gation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice had this to say: “Jewish Barbie dolls, with their revealing clothes and shameful postures, accessories and tools are a symbol of deca-dence to the perverted West. Let us beware of her dangers and be care-ful.” The Fulla doll was developed as a replacement, sold complete with her own abaya.

THE 1992 TEEN Talk Barbie® caused an uproar. While most of the record-ings on this “talking” doll were harm-less chatter about boys or shopping, the phrase “Math Class is Tough!” was strongly condemned by the American Association of University Women for implying girls could not do math.

IN 1997, THE Oreo Fun Barbie® was released. It came in two versions: both Caucasian and African Ameri-can. Mattel was accused of racism after her release as the term “oreo” is, by some, used to berate those who appear “black on the outside, but white on the inside.” The doll was unpopular, and Mattel recalled all unsold stock.

THE HAPPY FAMILY® set, which featured Barbie’s oldest friend, Midge, as pregnant was first sold in 2002. Children could open up the doll’s belly, which then popped out a curled up baby. Parents objected, and the entire series was removed from Wal-Mart shelves.

BARBARA ‘BARBIE’ MILLICENT Rogers made her debut in 1959. Her appearance, characterized by her demure glance and full- busted figure, sparked an immediate scan-dal among mothers and feminists across the country.

Controversy: History’s most problematic Barbies all images by aditi sharma

-cueDolls get grilled for controversy

thursday, april 21, 2011

TM

11thursday, april 21, 2011a&e

Woman shocks all with more than 100 cosmetic procedures One only has to search the name “Sarah Burge” on Google to see just how much Barbie has impacted the lives of women around the world. Sarah Burge has had more than 100 cosmetic and plastic surgery procedures to date - because of which she won the Guinness World Record for the most cosmetic procedures. She is now known by her world-famous nickname: The Human Barbie. She had her nose made smaller, her cheekbones bigger, her chin made more prominent, and her breasts lifted. She has even had fat taken from her thighs and injected into her hands. “The hands are another give-away [of age]. Before, they were looking a bit scrawny. Now, the skin is nice and plump again,” said Burge to a British reporter

for MailOnline. The expense of these operations reportedly totals over $850,000, but, according to Burge, it was worth it. “This operation lifts everything up a bit,” she said to the same reporter. “It’s sore, God yes, but worth it - don’t you think?” In March of 2010, Burge’s daughter, Hannah, became Britain’s youngest Botox user at just 15 years old. She was then injected with half the usual dose given to adults, with the belief that this will prevent her from developing wrinkles in the future. Burge, who is a trained aesthet-ic practitioner, administered the Botox to her daughter at home. “I was thrilled Hannah was open and honest with me about having Botox. I’d much rather know about it than have her do it behind my back,” said Burge to a reporter.

SARAH BURGE HOLDS the record for the most plastic surgeries, and has spent over $850,000 on cosmetic procedures to date. Her obsession with physical perfection has earned her the title, ‘The Human Barbie.’ Top: Burge before any operations. Bottom: Burge after over 100 cosmetic procedures.

What do you think? Does Barbie affect the way girls view themselves, or is she just a harmless doll? Let us know your opinions at http://www.goaves.com

I’ve only had three plastic surgeries to look like Barbie, so 100 seems a little bit overboard. Nick Setser, 10

The aesthics of beauty are best defined by Mattel.

Sam Dhiman, 10

That lady needs to go to a mental facility.

Drew Hugenburg, 11

1. What toy company produces the Barbie doll?A. Hasbro B. Parker Brothers C. Mattel D. Tyco

2. Who created the Barbie doll?A. Ruth Handler B. Hedy Lamarr C. Betty Nesmith D. Walt Disney

3. Who was the first Barbie celebrity doll?A. Cher B. Jean Shrimpton C. Blossom D. Twiggy

4. What is Barbie doll’s last name?A. Dahl B. Handler C. Roberts D. Klaus

5. What year was Barbie introduced?A. 1955 B. 1959 C. 1961 D. 1963

6. How much did the first Barbie doll sell for?A. 3 cents B. 33 cents C. 3 dollars D. 33 dollars

7. What is Barbie’s favorite color?A. Magenta B. Rose C. Pink D. Purple

8. Barbie has appeared in how many different nationalities?A. 5 B. 25 C. 30 D. 40+

Answers: 1. C 2. A 3. D 4. C 5. B 6. C 7. C 8. D

before

after

Barbie girl in human worldWho cares what she does? It’s her body and she can do what she wants with it.

Jordan Schneider, 9

That is probably the creepiest thing I’ve ever heard.

Sara Hammer, 12

Barbie has owned 43 pets throughout her lifetime, includ-ing 21 dogs, 12 horses, 6 cats, 3 ponies, a parrot, a chimpanzee, a panda, a lion cub, a giraffe, and a zebra.

If Barbie were a real person, she would have a chest of around 36”, hips of 33”, yet an impossi-bly small waist of only 18”. The average women measures 36”/30”/41”.

After her first career as a teenage fashion model, Barbie has had more than 80 careers -- everything from a rock star to a paleontologist to a presidential candidate.

The best selling Barbie doll ever was Totally Hair Barbie®, with hair from the top of her head to her toes.

Barbie has had more than a billion pair of shoes and over one hundred new additions to her wardrobe annually.

The first Barbie had a demure side glance, made famous by feminist critism. In 1971, Mattel adjusted Barbie’s eyes so she viewed the world head on.

all images by aditi sharma

How well do you know Barbie?

Barbie’s anatomy

12thursday, april 21, 2011

feature

THESE ARE JUST a few of the many highlights from the AP European history class’ ten day trek through three countries. Clockwise (all students sophomores): TOP ROW: A rally in

Florence. Rallies were a trend for the Euro students, who seemed to be following a trail of rallies from. TOP MIDDLE: Students Chris Coffel, Amelia Wells, and Amy Ham posing for a photo outside of a chateau in France. TOP RIGHT: Koffel and Jay Burgin having some fun with Ms. Marilyn Ray inside the Duomo in Florence. MIDDLE LEFT: The view of the Italian Countryside from an alleyway in Assisi. BOTTOM RIGHT: Koffel, Jessica Rabin, Burgin, Keely Buckley and Aditi Jain taking some time off from learning to have fun in London. BOTTOM LEFT: A bench that sits in London very close to the Deatheaters bridge (for Harry Potter fans). MIDDLE LEFT: A street performer showing off his skills at the Picadilly circus in London. This trip is a chance for students to bring their European history lessons to life. They had the opportunity to widen their perspectives of the world from the small dot on the map that is Cinncinati to encompass some of the culture, traditions, and languages of Europe.

staff writermichaelDEMAIO

Euro trip: takes teens touring, teaches history

all images by michael demaio

Fun & GamesThursday, April 21, 2011

13Wordles

Answers: 1. Scatterbrained 2. Musically inclined 3. One in a million 4.Warm up5. West Indies 6. Multiple choice 7. Top secret 8. Feedback 9. Excuse me10. Forgive and forget 11. Painless operation

Chapter 10: Trying Againfun&games chief

claytonHAMRE

Comics by Lilly Lefton

Crossword Puzzle

The officers of the UNSS Starship were pleased with the plan the Diandians had drawn up to defeat the United Allied Earldoms and retake Mount Everest. “I think very highly of the Diandians,” Roger said to Carlotta. “They’re very efficient and very kind – aside

from the fact that they’re going to destroy dozens of planets.” “We’ll have to confront that issue,” she responded. So, later that day, they did. “I understand your concerns,” said Jonguaguor, Supreme Com-mander of the Diandian Armed Forces. “However, I’m not sure you fully appreciate our situation. The UAE desecrated our star system and forced us into hiding for centuries. They conquered hundreds of planets, gobbling up their resources and enslaving their peoples for profit. All citizens of the UAE are accomplices in these crimes, and they will not be spared.” Roger blinked, and looked silently at the alien general. “But what about all the beings who are enslaved? Don’t you want to free them and give them back their independence?” “They’re gone now,” Jonguaguor stated flatly. “How are all the citizens of the UAE responsible for the crimes of their leaders – some of those events took place hundreds of years ago!” Carlotta exclaimed. “Maybe humans have a different view of morality than us. Maybe you don’t understand how exactly the political system of the UAE works,” the commander replied. “A plutocratic confederal monarchy?” “I don’t have to explain all this to you. If you want your moun-tain back, then stick to the plan.” Roger and Carlotta returned to the building where they were staying, dejected. “Seti,” Roger asked his medical attendant, “Are you familiar with your government’s intentions to destroy every UAE planet after the Tetrahedron is taken out?” “Of course,” Seti explained. “As a citizen of Diand, I helped formulate our overall military and foreign policies.” “You approve of that?” “Well…,” Seti hesitated for a moment. “I can’t say I have abso-lutely no misgivings, but it seems fair.” That evening, the humans met again. “So are we going to go through with this?” asked Luke. “The attack will begin in two days.” “I…really don’t like it,” said Roger, “but we have to remember what we’re here for. The UAE stole Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth, and we were sent on a mission by the United Nations to retake it. If we can get it back by doing what the Dian-dians tell us, I don’t think we should have to bear any responsibil-ity for the actions the Diandians take on their own.” “So you’d rather bear the guilt of hundreds of millions – bil-lions, probably – of innocent deaths?” Ralia responded indig-nantly. “If we don’t cooperate with this, we might be stranded on Diand for a long time,” Carlotta said worriedly. “They’re very welcoming and generous people – but now we know what they do to people who get on their bad side. I think we’re just going to have to make the best out of what we have to deal with.” After a few more minutes of discussion, the others gave in. They had to get Everest back. Two days later, the humans carried out the first stages of the plan. Things were going fine. “What in space is going on?!” exclaimed John Gompers, a high-ranking crew member of the Starship, as the officers entered the Tetrahedron’s prison area to free them. “First you leave the ship and don’t come back, then we’re thrown in prison, then we’re force-fed sugar, and now we’ve got this idea that money isn’t actually worth anything!” “Sorry, sorry,” Roger muttered nervously. “There’s kind of a lot to explain, but you’re being affected by the Gigantic Destructive Protractor – the GDP. But get back on the Starship and get out of here. We’ve got to do some other things before we leave the Tetrahedron.” Roger, using the cardkey he had bartered for with a frantic se-curity guard, came around and unlocked the cells, their occupants flooding out into the corridors. As Roger, Carlotta, Luke, James, and Ralia made their way to the artificial gravity control center, the Tetrahedron’s financially-worried residents swarmed around them, running to nearby stores, futilely attempting to foist their credit cards on each other. The gravity fields were easily turned off, and the officers made their way to the upper landing bay of the Tetrahedron to be picked up by a Diandian spacecraft. “What are you doing?” asked Roger annoyedly, looking at the various crew members gathered in the Starship’s bridge the next day. “You were sent instructions to go to Diand. Why are you making me come here?” “Roger,” one woman said, “don’t you remember?” “Remember what?” “You’re the only one who knows how to drive it.”

Across1. Moon of Saturn, has gained fame because of its re-semblance to the Death Star from Star Wars 4. Dwarf planet named after Geek goddess of strife discord, only known moon is named Dysnomia, mean-ing “lawlessness” 5. Largest moon of Neptune, has retrograde orbit, has geysers believed to erupt nitrogen 6. Dwarf planet in the asteroid belt, formerly considered an asteroid 8. A type of stellar explosion resulting from a variety of causes, extremely luminous, gives off more energy than the total output of the sun during its existence 9. A type of stellar explosion resulting from a variety of causes, extremely luminous, gives off more energy than the total output of the sun during its existence 12. Distance from a star where a terrestrial planet can maintain liquid water, allowing for the possibility of life 13. Largest moon of dwarf planet Pluto 15. Moon of Jupiter, named after cupbearer of Zeus, lighter areas of surface covered with grooves and ridges 16. Nebula resulting from the supernova of 1054, which occurred relatively close to Earth and appeared brighter than the sun, illuminating the night 17. Red dwarf star or large sub-stellar object hypoth-esized to exist beyond the solar system’s Oort cloud by some paleontologists and astronomers, used to explain mass extinctions and other eccentricities in solar system

18. Largest moon of Saturn, only moon with dense atmosphere, has Earth-like weather and hydrocarbon lakes Down1. A type of neutron star with an exceptionally powerful magnetic field, causing atoms to deform into cylinders and the vacuum of space to take on a crystal-like struc-ture within its range. 2. Smallest of the four Galilean satellites of Jupiter, surface composed of ice, it is thought likely an ocean of liquid water lies beneath its surface, a possible location for extraterrestrial life 3. Name of the star usually referred to as “the sun” 4. Term applied to planets orbiting around stars other than the sun 7. Most geologically active object in the solar system, moon of Jupiter, has hundreds of volcanoes, producing huge lava flows 10. Hypothetical type of planet that has been ejected from its solar system, not gravitationally bound to any star, would orbit galaxy directly 11. Objects between the size of large gas giants and small stars, cannot sustain hydrogen fusion reactions, give off some heat and light 13. Nebula resulting from the supernova of 1054, which occurred relatively close to Earth and appeared brighter than the sun, illuminating the night 14. Third-largest moon of Saturn, has an equatorial ridge, known for “two-tone” coloration

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senior staff writerginaROMEO

It all started with the Beatles, as most great things do. “You heard the song and you just couldn’t help yourself. Next thing we knew you were up on the table at Maury’s Family Restaurant belting out the song ‘Ticket to Ride.’ You didn’t miss one word.” I was two years old. My mom likes to tell this story whenever the chance arises, and honestly, I’ve always enjoyed hearing it. Nothing makes me happier than knowing that I could identify good music from such a young age. Throughout my lifetime, I have been exposed to such a wide variety of music in my house alone that it only makes sense that my music taste is so eclectic. While my dad, an ex-rock n’ roll musician, liked to play Prince, Todd Rundgren, and of course, The Beatles, my mom was a fan of a young Mariah Carey. My five sib-lings have provided me with plenty of listening material: from Japanese rock to garage punk to show tunes. When I first began writing this column last school year, it was with the hope that I could serve the same purpose for SHS students that my family served for me. I wanted to be an endless source of great music of all kinds. I am still so incredibly humbled by the fact that people actually read my work. To be recognized as SHS’s resi-dent “music expert” is the best title I could ever ask for. Writing Gina’s Jams has not always been all sunshine and daisies though. While seeing my words printed for the whole school to read has surely been rewarding, I have had to over-come many obstacles to get where I am today. (Please excuse my cliché.) My frequent procrastination has prevented my column from being printed not once, but twice, and has managed to turn me into the black sheep of The Leaf staff. So in the spirit of every Gina’s Jams I have ever written, I’m writing this on deadline day, just hours before the newspaper goes to the printer. Some things never change. Although I would love to be able to say that this column has been my brainchild in its entirety, there are a few people who need to be recognized for helping to make this possible. Shivani Parikh, 12, Sam Ham-mer, 12, Shayna Siegel, 11, and Michael Saxon, 9, you have made the stress that is journalism class so much more bearable. Without you four there is no way that I ever would have been able to make it through three years of deadlines, weekly beats, and staying after school way too late. Thanks to John Kazior, 12, for being a truly Joycean friend. And thank you to James Chris-man, 12, who has been my biggest fan, as well as my biggest critic. Someday, I will be writing about you for Rolling Stone Magazine, my friend. Finally, thank you to everyone who has read my column for the past two years; I write for you.

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eHIGHLIGHTS:

page 16

As the rehearsal and performance aspects of “Phantom of the Opera” draw to a close, the cast reminisces

about the experience. “A lot of the fun of being in a show is in the rehearsals,” said Caroline Bresnahan, 11. There was plenty of time to have fun for the ‘Phantom’ cast this year. They have been rehearsing since October. That’s a solid seven months of rehearsal. Also, the bonds established between the cast members were apparent in the performances. “Ever since John Carroll, 9, and I were cast as business partners in the show, we’ve pretty much been bros,” said Bradley Kirkendall, 10. These bonds seem to be a common theme with most of the shows this year “I felt like the ‘All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergar-ten’ and ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ casts were tons of fun,” said Bresnahan. Although most of the cast members are veterans of the Aves Theatre Department, there are many new freshman and a few upperclassmen who are giving it their first try this year.

“I feel like the whole atmo-sphere is very kind and welcom-ing. As an incoming freshman in the theatre department it was nice to know that I was working with a group of great people,” said Gil Kaplan, 9. A spectacular set, combined with the epic scale of the show only added to the excitement. “The chandelier was amazing, no doubt about it,” said Griffin Levy, 10. But the chandelier wasn’t the only great set piece. “I thoroughly enjoyed the boat scene when the Phantom and Christine are going down to the lair,” said Gabe Schenker, 9. Of course, there was the grand proscenium and the theatre boxes mounted upon it. However, Kirkendall soon found that it can be a dangerous chore to exit those boxes. “I fell out of the box when I was getting out during a dress rehearsal and fell six feet to a horrible fate. I suffered several scrapes,” said Kirkendall. Kirkendall was not the only one to suffer an injury on the set. Bresnahan fell down the stairs at the end of “Masquerade” dur-ing a dress rehearsal before the third show and broke her fibula. She was unable to perform in the next three shows, but she still observed from the audience and

staff writerjohnCARROLL

Photo gallery of Phantom of the Opera

www.goaves.com/multimedia

‘It was nice to know that I was working with a group of great people,’

image by emma oh

I say hello

Thursday, April 21, 2011

helped Emily Kissela, 10, style her hair for the part of Christine. “I’m kind of excited to see it from the audience. I’ve never really been able to watch the whole show from the audi-ence before,” said a good-natured Bresnahan before the show on Apr. 14. Another nugget deep in the pages of the Aves Theatre storybook is the remounting of the chandelier during a small principle rehearsal in late March. “It was pretty hilarious actually. Carroll had to climb inside the chande-lier and reach up to fasten it to a cable since he’s the tallest. But he was so cramped inside the chan-delier that he looked like a fetus in the womb,” said James Reece, 10. In all, a combination of love, danger, and the stress of performance has forged meaningful connections amongst the members of Aves Theatre.

Cast reminisces after curtain falls on ‘Phantom’

THE ‘MASQUERADE’ SEQUENCE featured a large portion of the ‘Phantom’ cast. However, the production required many more people than the ones pictured here. Others involved in ‘Phantom’ helped build the set and create the colorful costumes.

JEFF SILVERSTEIN, 12 performs during the ‘Masquerade’ sequence. Silverstein starred as the infamous phantom of the opera. ‘Phantom’ was his last Aves Theatre show.

image by emma oh

page 15Prom, After Prom sure to impressArt students recieve national

Silver Medals

15thursday, april 21, 2011a&eSilver halides shine brightHayden, Hess achieve national Silver Medals

staff writershaynaSIEGEL

In the 2011 Scholastics Competition 180,000 pieces were submitted. 50,000 were selected at a regional level, but only 2,700 won a medal at the national level. Two were SHS students.

The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers Scholastics Competition has been held for the past 88 years. It is a prestigious nationwide contest which includes grades 7-12, involving different types of arts and writing medias. Although Scholastics has been going on for many years, there are three things that remain consistent. Since 1923 criteria, blind judging, and freedom of expression have been constant. Meaning that work is based on originality, technical skill, and personal interpretation of the artist. The submitters’ work is kept anonymous from the judges and can only be disqualified based on content alone. Rachel Hayden, 12, had two pieces se-lected at the national level, and each received a Silver Medal. “I was ecstatic when Mrs. Copfer told me I made it. Having my work selected regionally was a huge deal for me, but being a national winner was incredible. I called my dad from school just to tell him,” said Hayden. Both of her pieces focused on her concentra-tion: the loss of childhood. One is a scratch board piece titled “Father Figure”, the other an oil painting titled “Mother, Before”. “‘Mother, Before’ is a collection of objects that remind me of how I viewed my mother when I was a child. It was an exploration of the mother I remember before her can-cer and the mother she became afterward,” said Hayden. Hailey Hess, 12, also received a national Silver Medal for her photography portfolio which included eight images. “I wasn’t even ex-pecting to advance past the regional level because there are a lot of pres-tigious works in this com-petition,” said Hess. These winnings are not based on luck; hard work and creativity were put into each piece submitted. Both these artists have been practicing their skills from a very young age. “I can’t remember not drawing and painting. My mom always says that when I was little, she’d buy a ream of paper and I’d have crayon drawings on every sheet by the end of the week,” said Hayden. These young artists dedicate much of their time to their work. They spend numerous hours in and out of school perfecting their

ONE OF THE pieces selected from Rachel Hayden, 12 for the Young Artists & Writers Scholastics Competition is called “Father Figure.” “‘Fa-ther Figure’ is a scratchboard, so I wanted to depict something that scratched the visible surface and exposed something just slightly below the visible. The image is of the pressure I see my father under despite his determination,” said Hayden.

THE PHOTO TO to the left and above were submitted by Hess to the prestigious Scholastic Competition. They are two of the eight included in her photography portfolio which were selected for a Silver Medal at the national level. These art pieces explore the theme of cycles of life and death. All of the items in the portfolio exhibit a unique and personal printing style. “Lately I’ve been burning the edges of some of my photographs or putting clay on top of them,” said Hess.

photo courtesy of rachel hayden

Photo gallery of Hayden’s and Hess’ National Scholastic artwork

www.goaves.com/multimedia

pieces. “I spend most of my time working on my photos, I spend a lot of time in the photo

room working on my prints. I also take pictures a couple of days a

week,” said Hess. To these students, art

is not just a hobby. It is much more, some-

thing they work hard at everyday, just as athletes spend numerous hours perfecting their sport. Art means everything to them - it is an enormous part of their lives. “I remember coming to Pan-cake Day when I was in kin-dergarten and seeing the AP students’ portfo-lios and thinking

I would never be good enough to

have a display like that. Setting up my

portfolio for the show this year was a dream

come true. For me, it was bigger than graduation,”

said Hayden. All of the hard work that

has been put in over the years has proved to be advantageous. After

months of judging and anticipation these two girls each won national recognition. After a prestigious celebration at Carnegie Hall on May 31, Hayden and Hess’s work will be put on display in NYC at the World Financial Center Courtyard Gallery in Lower Manhattan from June 1 to the 19.

photos courtesy of hailey hess

16 a&ethursday, april 21, 2011

Prom committee goes all in

Throughout the year, SHS dances have continu-ally provided students with memories that will remain with them far beyond their high school careers – whether experiencing a night with friends, a date, or a parent, the events often

prove to be unforgettable. With Prom rapidly approaching, students have the option of attending only one more dance this year. For graduating seniors, Prom will be a final opportunity to

senior staff writermarkEILERS experience a high school dance.

The dance will be held at the Oasis on April 30 from 9 pm to 12 am. Afterwards, students are encouraged to return to the high school for After Prom, which will take place from 12:30 am to 5 am. After Prom is supported by the PTO, booster groups and athletic teams, parent groups, community organiza-tions, local businesses, SHS staff and administration, and numerous parents. These volunteers strive to create a fun and safe environ-

ment for students to enjoy after the dance.

After Prom is open to all juniors and seniors who wish to be a part of it regardless of whether or not they attended the dance. Although underclassmen are also welcome, they must be accompanied by an upperclassman. The theme of this year’s event will be “Vegas Nights,” in which students will have the opportunity to enjoy a casino area, inflatable games, prizes, food, and live entertain-ment - among many other options. As the final dance of the school year draws near, students are looking forward to enjoying a memorable night. For seniors, Prom will make a lasting impression.

‘Vegas Nights’ promises entertainment for SHS

image by aditi sharma

SportsThursday, April 21, 2011

17

For the SHS lacrosse team, one thing will always be constant:

success. The team has been one of the most

successful lacrosse teams in the state of Ohio,

and coming into the 2011 season,

seniors could not have been more

prepared to take the field. One thing however, would be different. Longtime head coach Tom Nugent took a job coaching at Elder high school, leaving not only a vacancy, but also uneasiness in the stomachs of every player in the program. For several months, the team went without a coach, until it was announced that longtime assistant coach Greg Cole would take reign of the team. Players were not completely comfortable with the change at first, but have since embraced it. “I know that the players, especially the seniors, were surprised by the coaching change,” Cole said. “The seniors have re-sponded very well by working hard to adapt to the new coaches. I think the players in general are on board—and it helped that I was a coach in the system that they have played for before. The other coaches we brought on have coached at great programs, so having new ideas mixed with the comfort of a similar system has been a great formula for success.” With the change in coaching, came a change in philosophy. Cole has chosen to take a new approach towards the team, holding each player responsible for their actions on and off the field. “This year we adapted the Air Force Core Values: Integrity First, Ser-vice before Self and Excellence in all we do,” Cole said. “I believe, as most coaches do, that if you give your best effort and listen to coaching you will have the best chance to reach your potential. As we have seen in the news, this is only possible if you get it done in the class-room and are a respectful young person in the community. This year our motto is ‘Take Charge,’ which means that each individual is responsible for making sure things get done, whether that is homework, chasing a ground ball, or taking care of teammates.”

Leading the way The SHS lacrosse team does not fall short in terms of experience. With seven returning seniors, there is no lack of leadership on the team. With the coaching change, it has been important for seniors to aid in the transition. “Our Seniors are great. Aaron Grzegorze-wski, 12, Josh Toney, 12, Chase Spicer, 12, and Jeff Wolkoff,12, are our captains and not only because they are four of our

best players,” said Cole. “They are vocal leaders and leaders by example. Our other seniors Steve Froh, 12, Trevor Kress, 12, and Sam Stewart, 12, are providing great examples of how hard work and dedication can create great strides on and off the field. These 7 seniors are going to have a huge impact on the direction of this program for years to come.” Although there is an abun-dance of senior leadership on the team, one player stands out from the rest. Junior Der-rick Kihembo, 12, has been offered a scholarship to play at Johns Hopkins University, and has consistently been one of the better players on the team over the past few years. “It goes without saying that Derrick is a great athlete,” Cole said. “His speed and agility would make him a threat on most sports fields. He has been playing lacrosse for a number of years and his lacrosse IQ and stick handling skills have really surpassed much of the local competition.” With senior leadership and aid from Kihembo, the SHS men's lacrosse team has all the ingredients for a successful season. If the players are able to buy into Cole’s philosophy, a regional championship may be in the making for the Aviators. “Our goal from the off season was a Regional Championship,” Cole said. “We knew coming in that we would have a young team both in age and varsity ex-

perience and expected to have some struggles early in the season as we got over some jit-ters. I think that as we become more comfort-able playing as a team, you will see great things happen.”

Long time no see The Sycamore Ju-nior High stadium was packed just under ca-pacity onFriday night for the men’s varsity lacrosse game against SHS’s new rival, Elder - who is led by the

team’s old coach Nugent. The event was more than just a lacrosse game; it was to help support Tommy Ri-vera, 11, with his recent head injury. The two teams both raised an impressive amount of $850 dollars to contribute to Rivera’s fund. “The whole event and game was great, I’m so happy for Tommy and glad he pushed through everything and is doing okay now,” said Peter Gianetti, 11. Each side, both Sycamore and Elder, had to bring as many people to the game as possible for donations to the Traumatic Head Injury Organization (THI), an organization that Rivera chose. Both teams stormed the field in excitement

Oh, to be a Reds fan in 1990. I wish I had the opportunity to appreciate a wire-to-wire run. The feeling of constant jubilation, anxi-ety, and pride all wrapped into one 162-game season must be exhilarat-ing. To watch the Nasty Boys accel game after game must have been music to a kid’s ears. I can only imagine some of the shenanigans Sweet Lou conjured up during one of his infamous rants against the man behind the plate. Aside from the Big Red Machine, that is as good as is got for Cincin-nati and baseball. Success of any aspect is excit-ing, but when it comes to baseball, America’s pastime, there’s just something oh-so-special that turns the occasional observers into the obsessed. As fans, we are proud to live vicariously through any positive stretch. When the stretch is for a whole season, we can hardly con-tain ourselves. I know I’d be that iconic child, sitting cross-legged not even a foot away from the television screen; I’d hope that being that “close” to the action would pay dividends towards the outcome. To fans, a wire-to-wire season is both a distraction and a delight. To the players it is the sign of ultimate division dominance in baseball. Even before the season started, every nook and cranny of Cincinnati was bursting with Reds hype. Whether it be the past season’s success, the divisional injuries, or the trash talking, people were talking something up about the 2011 Reds. Of course, I was one of those peo-ple, and I still am. I love to drink the Reds Kool-Aid, no pun intended. We’re crowning them kings before they earn the spot on the throne. And for this instance that’s OK. For a city desperately needing some sort of sports success, the Reds are the outlet to the struggles of Cincinnati. Hard days at work and school suddenly drift to the back of one’s mind by the time the first pitch rolls around. Just like any other major event, I found myself to be an honorary insomniac the night prior to Opening Day. The fact that I was in a beauti-ful hotel in Costa Rica didn’t help either. But despite the many miles separating me and Great Ameri-can Ball Park, my heart yearned to catch the action. As the Battlin Redlegs stormed out of the gate 5-0, they gained a bit more publicity on SportsCenter. And they definitely deserve even more. This proved to be a great break amidst all the Barry Bonds news (We all know he lied. No one’s neck grows that much from just drinking a lot of milk and occasionally hitting the gym). But that’s the special thing about this team. Aside from Brandon Phillips doing his best Chad OchoCinco imitations, this is a humble team. They know they’re part of bringing success back to the organization. So after wire-to-wire aspirations returned from a twenty-one year hiatus, don’t expect too much out of the players. Especially the supersti-tious ones. Nonetheless, it’s good to see that quality baseball has returned to Cincinnati.

sports chiefbennettKAPLAN

Uneasiness settles as Cole takes controlTeam on board with new coach; philosophy

HIGHLIGHTS:

page 18 page 19

FROM LEFT: DERRICK KIHEMBO, 11, JOSH Toney, 12, and Jack Busch, 11, along with their teammates, have attained a 3-3 record for SHS through six games. In thier fifth game, the team faced off against Elder High school. It was the teams first game against former head coach Tom Nugent since he left SHS to coach the panthers. SHS came out victorious, winning 13-4. This, however, was not the biggest highlight of the night. Former SHS lacrosse player, Tommy Rivera, 11, who suffered a brain injury in the offseason, filmed an inspirational speech discussing his injury and helmet safety. The game was a fund-raiser for Rivera’s fund, and over $800 was raised.

Soundslides of men’s lacrosse team

www.goaves.com/multimedia

We knew coming in that we would have a young team both in age and versity experience and expected to have some struggle. I think as we become more comfortable playing as a team, you will see great things happen.

Coach Greg Cole

of this historic, never-before-played match. This match-up was not disappointing from SHS’s side of the field. Sycamore scored three unanswered goals in the first period and a single one in the second to make the score 4-0. Elder soon found their way through the fog of that Friday night and put two goals of their own past the outstanding goalie, Wolkoff, to make the score 4-2. “It was great to play Elder. I think this game will be a new rivalry each year for now on. I’m glad I was a part of it,” said Wolkoff. Despite making another uncontested goal, Elder was still behind by 3 after SHS threw in three of their own; leaving a score of 7-4, go-ing into the locker room at the half. SHS came out riled up with the fans on their feet; scoring off of the first faceoff after halftime and then another two, leaving the Panthers in an even bigger hole with a score of 10-4. The fourth quarter rolled around and the Panthers could not get any offense going. The Aviators poured on more shots and more goals, leaving the final score 13-4 and giving Wolkoff a shutout for the second, third and fourth quarter. “It was a hard fought game. We need to bring that same energy for the rest of the season,” Jack Bernard, 11.

sports chiefdannyBAYLISS

True Reds carpet treatmentsenior staff writerchaseSPICER&

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Justin Murray, 12, has record breaking performance

Seniors take talents to college

Tennis team plays for postseason

page 19

It is 2012, and a full year into the NFL lockout. On a cold December Sunday in Cincinnati, Paul Brown Stadium is a dark, empty structure. What once was a bustling metropolis of sports fans stands dead. If you dare stroll down Second Street, you may come across Mike Brown begging for change. See, ever since the NFL locked out for the sea-son, Brown has gone from billionaire to broke. How, you ask, does a rich man lose everything in the matter of a year? I couldn’t tell you, for this story isn’t written by me. It is written by the NFL owners of 2011, depicting the horrors of what would happen to them if they didn’t get their “deal.” The truth however paints quite a different picture. The average net worth of an NFL team owner hovers somewhere around $1 billion. The av-erage salary for an NFL player usually ranges from $700,000 to $800,000. The average salary of a camera-man? No more than $40,000 a year. Stadium janitors? No more than $20 an hour. Stadium concession stands workers? Minimum wage. If the NFL were to shut down for the 2011-2012 season, the Brown family would be able to survive. Jerry Jones wouldn’t go on food stamps, and Arthur Blank wouldn’t lose his home. Let’s be honest. In the case of a lockout, the owners, players, and coaches would barely be affected. The ones who would truly be harmed by a lockout would be the ones who make their living working for the league. Aside from league and team employees, many local businesses would lose significant business. Bars, restaurants, and all businesses that profit from the NFL would lose their source of income. TV stations would lose advertising revenue generated by games, and announcers, producers, promoters, and all people who make a living creating NFL broadcasts would be out of work. In their constant debates over rev-enue, the NFL owners fail to realize that their paychecks are not the only thing at stake. If the owners choose to not come to an agreement, thousands of people all over the country will be out of work. Players, coaches, and owners would be able to survive with-out pay for a year, but low income employees would be in trouble. Not only would people lose their jobs, but their way of life. Business owners would be forced to find a new source of income, and fans would never be the same. People who have spent decades attending football games would suddenly be without their pastime. If we were a year into a lockout, Paul Brown Stadium would still be dark and empty, the streets once filled with sports fans would be dead, and the sounds of game day would be but a memory. Brown, however, would not be begging for money on the street, but watching the chaos unfold as he always does: with a grin on his face. Because as we all know, when everything seems to be at its worst, is when Mike Brown is happiest of all.

18thursday, april 21, 2011

sports

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Coach Chris Shrimpton, on varsity baseballHow do you feel about the team this year? What does this year’s team bring you that last years may not have, or vice versa?I feel very good about the team. I have a strong core of veteran players that are very competitive, want to win, know how to play the game, and are very talented baseball players.

What can you say about Kyle Hart, and what he brings to the team?Kyle is one of the best left-handed pitchers in the city. He knows how to pitch and we have a chance to win every time he takes the mound.

Besides Kyle, what other players on the team would you con-sider leaders and why?Jake Michalak, 12, is the captain of the team. He is our shortstop and number two hit-ter in the batting order. He’s determined to win and will do whatever it takes to get the job done. Thomas Meier, 12 is our senior second baseman. He is very competitive and loves the game. Jason DeFevers, 11 is our junior catcher, who was all-GMC last year. His leadership skills are invaluable behind the plate. Kevin Clark,12 is a senior pitcher and third baseman, and a winner on the mound. Alec Diersing, 12 is a senior outfielder, our closer, and another Sycamore all-GMC player. If we can get to him in the seventh inning we have an excellent chance to win the game.

What is your strategy as a coach to get players motivated, and what is your message to the playersBaseball is a game, I want my players to have fun when they play, but at the same time, I want them to win. I keep my players motivated by being positive and focusing on the good things they accomplish rather than the “dumb” things they do in a game. My mes-sage is to have fun, play hard, and never give up.

What do you expect from your team this year, what are your goals?I expect them to play hard every game. Team goals are to win the GMC and advance in the state tournament

Spirited seniors swing into season:Varsity baseball veterans lead by example

ON APR. 8 SHS held signings for three senior football players. On top from left, Cody Sadler signed to play at the College of Mount St. Joseph, Michael Streicher signed to play at Case Western Reserve University, and Robert Stein signed to play at The University of Akron. During the signing, SHS athletic director Jim Stoll, as well as varsity football head coach Scott Datillo, spoke to the audience about the signees success at SHS. Datillo, a Mount St. Joseph graduate, made a point to the audience that he was extremely proud of Sadler, being one of the first players he had coached to attend his alma mater. Following the coahces speeches, the parents of the players each spoke. During the speeches, several of the parents broke into tears, as they recounted their childrens journey through high school.

Signing celebrates seniors success

sports chiefbennettKAPLAN

AFTER FINISHING FIFTH in the GMC (Greater Miami Conference) with a record of 12-14, the SHS men’s baseball team has been preparing for this season since November. With several returning seniors, Coach Chris Shrimpton will be leading one of the best teams to take the field for SHS in several years.

May 27, 2010. That Thursday night stays embedded in the memories of the girls lacrosse team. It was the day they hoped to avenge their 11-10 loss against New Albany. The girls were hungry, many had been there for the 2009 state championship, but none had been out on the field playing for the title. However, luck was not on their side, as once again, they lost to New Albany by one, also losing their bid into the final four. From every misfortune, there is a lesson to be learned. The girls return to the field once again, hungrier than ever as their chances at that coveted state tournament were cut short last year. For eleven of them, it will be the last time that they will play together as a team, and they all have the same goal set in sight. “We have been working so hard this year. Some of us were on the team in 2009 but it really was not our title. We all want to actu-ally play a part this time. It’s our year to win,” said Emily Bell, 12. It is not easy to be great. It takes serious dedication, self-sacrifice, and drive. It requires players to skip out on staying out late, sleeping in, and even enjoying a full seven days of warm weather on their spring breaks. But in the end, once that medal is hanging around their necks, it will all seem to be worth it. “This season we have tough games and high expectations, but the eleven seniors are all determined and de-voted to doing whatever we can to achieve our goal and win state in our last season together. I am so glad to be a part of this group of seniors and this team,” said Grace Hulett, 12. The girls began their season in Chicago, where they played the top

two teams in the Midwest: Loyola Academy, New Trier. Although they were turned home with two disappointing losses, the girls were reminded of the intensity and skill level needed to play top-notch lacrosse. “It was a learning experience. Chi-cago was a challenge for us. It was disappointing to lose some games, but it helped in exposing what our team needed to improve on for the season,” said Katie MacLachlan, 11. However, the girls did not let the Chicago losses mar their performance in Cincinnati. Upon returning home, the girls demolished Loveland in a lopsided 20-1 victory. Followed by a ruthless week of practice, the girls perfected their various plays and sets, and played Upper Arlington in what was one of the biggest games of the season.

Unfortunately, SHS was unable to clinch the win, losing 13-6. “It was frustrat-ing how we played. We have so much potential but we just couldn’t play our

best,” said Marisa Merk, 12. On April 12, the girls took on La-kota West. Despite their rocky start to the season, the SHS squad soared past the Firebirds, winning 9-4. Coach Eddie Clark commended the girls after a game well played. “Everything came together. The de-fense was unbelievable and it started with the attackers all the way to the goal. Our midfield was absolutely dominant,” said Clark. At press time, the girls were 3-3, and ranked first in their division.

feature chieflinaCARDENAS

Girls lacrosse off to slow startTeam still hopes to regain title

For more coverage of SHS athletics, visit

http://www.goaves.com/news/athletics/FRIDAY FEBRUARY 25, 2011 | VOLUME LVIII ISSUE 7 | 7400 CORNELL RD. CINCINNATI, OHIO 45242, 513.686.1770 EXT. 3089

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NEWS 4 SPORTS 21-23FORUM 7-10SNAPSHOTS 6CALENDAR 5EGYPT 2-3 FEATURE 11-16 A&E 18-20 SPOTLIGHT 24FUN & GAMES 17

Freddy Essam saw a man get beaten to death. Armed with only a knife, Essam was work-ing one of his 17 hour shifts guarding his street when a

group of men drove up in a stolen car. Essam, along with 30 other

men, stopped and searched the

car when they

discovered that their month long fear had finally materialized – the men were looters; violent protesters looking for more supplies. Suddenly, one of the looters shot a man. The situation became frantic. The men from the streets grabbed the looters’ weapons and started throwing punches. After the violent frenzy, one of the intruders lay on the floor, dead from the continuous beating he had received.*

Cincinnati, OH

image by jimmy chau

Cairo, Egypt

53 degrees of separationMiddle Eastern revolution hits close to home

smDIPALInews chief

emmaOHbusiness manager, feature chiefsnapshots editor

janeFINOCHARO& &

What we learned from Tuscon

>> See pages 2 and 3 for more coverage on the situation in Middle East

*all information was gathered prior to february 18

39° 9’ 43” N, 84° 27’ 25” W

30° 3’ 29” N, 31° 13’ 44” E

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We have been working so hard this year. Some of us were on the team in 2009 but it really was not our title. We all want to actually play a part this time. Its our year to win.

Emily Bell, 12

BK

sportsKAPITOLLockout leaves league employees in dust

Entering a year filled with high expec-tations, the varsity gold tennis team’s campaign is in full stride. With a spring break that included five matches across the state against teams from Toledo and Columbus, the gold team has been tested early and often. The team is currently (6-2) and lost two close matches: against the defend-ing state champions, Upper Arlington, and the state finalists, Toledo St. John’s. “We had many chances to win both of these dual matches but we came just short,” said Mike Teets, coach. “I am proud of the way these guys fought though and these hardships will only bring rewards later in the season.”

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After a grueling spring break, the team had a few practice days and a chance to regroup. Starting on Apr. 6, varsity gold began a stretch of three matches against the top teams in the Greater Miami Con-ference (GMC): Lakota East, Princeton, and Mason. At the end of the week, the team went three for three, taking down their rivals in dominant fashion. “Those were our biggest obstacles in trying to win the GMC title and we came through victoriously,” said Nikhil Grandhi, 10. With a third of the season complete, the team now shifts its focus toward winning the rest of its league matches, the annual GCTCA tournament in which the top eight teams in the city compete

It is not every day that a student breaks a school record. Justin Murray, 12, did it. After the first meet of the season, the track team brought home their first batch of rankings from the Coach’s Classic,

including awards for athletes who placed in the finals at Winton Woods. Other local schools competing were: Mt. Healthy, Finneytown, Indian Hill, Walnut Hills, McNicholas, St. Xavier, MND, Alken, Winton Woods and Coving-

ton Catholic. The men’s team placed eleventh out of 27

teams and the girls placed tenth out of 31. From there, qualifying events from each school advanced to the finals held on Apr. 8. Murray broke the school’s shot put record

at the finals while coming in first place with 55-06.50. He broke the record of John Rowan,

Gold tennis team bounces into postseasonagainst each other, and the team state tournament for a chance to advance to the State Final Four in Columbus. The draw for varsity gold is favorable and if they take it one match at a time, the team has a chance to make a deep run in the postseason. “We have big goals for the future, but we’re taking it one step at a time,” said Jeffrey Kaplan, 12. Key matches that remain for varsity gold include: Centerville on Apr. 21, and back-to-back home matches against St. Xavier and Springboro on May 3 and 4 respectively. Home matches usually begin at 4:00 p.m. at the tennis courts. Be sure to come out and support a team with high expectations.

SHS PLAYER ADAM Reinhart, 12, volleys a ball. Re-inhart plays a key role on the gold team this year and is one of the few seniors on the team. The gold team has hopes of making a deep run in the post season tournament.

class of 1989. Adam Kapuscinski, 12, is attempting to do the same in the 400 meter dash with a few more seconds to shave off as he came in fifth at Winton Woods with 5o.5 seconds. Placing in the top five at finals were Angela Harris, 10, coming second in long jump, Samantha Siler, 10, com-ing in third on the two mile, Murray, and Kapuscinski. On Apr. 12, SHS hosted a meet inviting all varsity and JV runners as a way to allow runners to compete for Varsity spots. While athletes compete and records break, the team is pushing each other onto victory in the coming weeks.

mariaMARBALLIsenior staff writer

Additional articles on track

http://www.goaves.com/group/mens-track

19sports

IN HIS FINAL year at SHS, Justin Murray, 12, has accom-plished many things, including a football scholarship to the University of Cincinnati. His most recent accomplishment is breaking a shot put record in track. The record was previously held by John Rowan, class of 1989.

Track star breaks 21 year record

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e by

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thursday, april 21, 2011

SpotlightThursday, April 21, 2011

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Kara Cornist, 11Q. Where do you work?A. I am now working at the Children’s Mu-seum as a volunteer. It is very loud and full of children, but also very hands-on. It is like going to school but always having fun while learning.

Q. What is your job there?A. I do lots of things there, like watching the slides and doing demos for the kids. That can be really messy, depending on the kids. I’ll have been there a year this June.

Q. What are your most and least favorite parts of the job?A. Sometimes it can be frustrating because kids don’t like to be patient. You get asked to do a lot of things at once, and I try, but I like to do things one at a time. Also, I would like to work full time at a real job. But I make a lot of new friends, so I’ll keep working there.

Q. What do you do in your free time?A. I’ll get on the computer and play video games a lot. I also like to crochet and cross-stitch. I just finished a multi-colored scarf, but I’ll have to wait for winter to wear it. Cross stitching is where you follow a pattern, and when you’re done, if you don’t mess up, you get a picture. It calms my nerves.

Q. What else do you do after school?A. I like to do afterschool activities- I do Step [Team]. It’s something different, and I like rhythm.

Q. Why does it appeal to you?A. I learn to do what I never thought I would. It was my first time performing, so I had to get over being nervous. I’ll do it again next year.

Q. What would you change about school?A. I think you should get paid to go because you can’t work when you’re here. Also I would change the food at lunch.

Q. What is your family like?A. My family is wild and sometimes really loud, like when it comes to talking about the past. I just like to listen to them. They are basi-cally half ghetto, half organized and neat, but all very, very nice.

Q. Do you have plans for after high school?A. I am going to go to Raymond Walters to become a dental hygienist, and then I’m transferring to UC to get more hands-on experience. I decided that because two of my cousins are doing this and I want to follow in their footsteps.

Kara knuckles down:Junior speaks on hobbies, opinions about school, family dynamic

KARA DESCRIBES HERSELF as kind, caring, funny, quiet, shy, and smart. Middle left- Cornist performs a demo in her work uniform for the Cincinnati Children’s Museum. Far right- Showing off an art piece selected for display.

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