The Common GroundVolume 15 , Issue 6Friday, November 14, 2008

Burris Laboratory School2201 W. University Ave. Muncie, IN 47306-1062765-285-1131

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Cont

ents Page Two-May term trips-soccer wrap-ups

Page Three- Thanksgiving-Food Drives

Page Four-Election-Lil sibs-Scrubs

Barack Obama takes office in JanuarySee page four for story...

Soccer team victorious in “beat-down”

Emma Reichlestaff writer

The high school boys’ soccer and tennis teams had their first annual “beat down” in Guthrie Park on Friday the 7th to settle an ongoing debate the two teams have had all year.

The teams have been debat-ing since their seasons started about which team has more natural talent and athletic ability. Seniors on each team agreed to settle their dis-pute in a winner-take-all football match. Although the game was postponed many times from the original set date, they finally set-tled it in their Friday match with the soccer team walking away victorious with a score of 10-7.

The game was originally set to take place in the field across from Ball Memorial Hospital but the players were surprised in pulling up to their field and finding the Ball State band prac-ticing. Senior, Francis Muhiga decided to take the match else-

where and chose Guthrie for the new field. Neither team had particular dispute over the new location.

“I didn’t mind because it was close to my house so I could walk home from it,” said Bur-

ris Junior Will Spengler.

The game, starting at four, continued until dark and was a long match for fans and play-ers alike. Many fans from Burris and the Acad-emy cheered on their friends until the early evening when cold set in. Although the

match was set to be the decid-ing factor in the two team’s end-less debates, the tennis team has reconsidered football as being a positive deciding factor.

“The tennis team could ab-solutely beat the soccer team in paintball,” said Burris Senior John Phipps. We are yet to find out about any plans for future paintball tournaments between the two teams.

CG Photos/ Emma Reichle

Above: Burris senior Amos Shroll tackles a tennis player during Friday’s “beat-down.”Left: Burris senior David Morgan runs for touchdown with soccer team’s Travis Stamp and Kamer-on “Macky” McBride in pursuit.

“I’m just waiting for the paintball match we’ll be beating them in. I hope it will be soon.”-Burris senior David Morgan

CG Photo/ Emma Reichle

Burris senior Francis Muhiga runs for a touchdown while members of the soccer team attempt to catch and tackle him during the match.

2 The Common Ground Issue 5

Burris and academy soccer seasons come to an endTyler BauchertEmma Reichlestaff writers

The boys’ and girls’ soccer seasons both come to a close during sectional championships.

The Burris soccer team ad-vanced through their first sec-tional game against Southside, only to be beat in the sectional final against Muncie Central. This made Muncie Central’s 2nd consecutive sectional champion-ship, and their 7th total sectional championship.

“We didn’t have a great sea-son, but as a team we pulled it together during sectionals,” said Burris senior Drew Coelho. Bur-ris defeated Southside 5-4 in overtime in their first sectional game. Coelho scored four of these five goals for Burris one of which during overtime to win the game, while Burris Junior Will Spengler scored one for the owls. After this win Burris advanced to the sectional final against Muncie Central.

“I think the team improved a lot over the whole season, and it was very evident in sectional,” said Burris senior Mac Trechsel. Burris lost the sectional final 6-0.

The Burris soccer team fin-ished their season with a 3-14-1 total record.

The girl’s soccer team fin-ished this season with 8 wins, 1

tie, and 8 losses. Many members of the team were disappointed to lose in sectional finals to Muncie Central with a final score of 0-2. It was the first time in 7 years the team made it to sectional finals and many players thought they had the potential to go all the way.

“I really thought we were go-ing to beat central,” said Acad-emy Senior Samantha Kimsey. Kimsey was unable to play in sectionals due to an ACL in-jury obtained during her Junior year. Kimsey was not the only injured player on the team. Four of the five returning seniors on the team were injured during this season and had only limited playtime. Injuries were in abun-dance among the girls soccer team this year.

“I feel like there were a ton of ankle injuries this season. There are usually some but it seemed like everyone was getting taped up before each game,” said Bur-ris Junior Megan Hartley. The players did what they could to recover their injuries quickly so they would be permitted play time during the final game. Kim-sey was the only player unable to make it on to the field during the final match but still cheered her team on as the soccer season came to a close on Saturday, Oc-tober 18th at the Central soccer fields.

Not only has the season end-ed, reign of coach Adam Abu-bakr also ends as he prepares to graduate and move closer to his work. The soccer team has focused on evolving the pro-gram and image of the soccer team under Abubakr. Abubakr achieved multiple feats includ-ing new uniforms, raising funds for the program, purchasing a new ball machine, getting new nets, and becoming a well re-spected team and competitor in the local high school girls soccer program. Players are sad to see him go and curious about what the next year will bring.

“I had a lot of fun this season and I think the team as a whole achieved a lot. Abubakr was a good coach and I’m glad I got to have him,” said Academy Junior, Jesica Andres

Burris upset about May term optionsTed Shidelerstaff writerNo Owls will be venturing

away from school this spring. Due to lack of interest, the three proposed May Term trips were all cancelled, leaving some students and teachers disillusioned.

“I really wasn’t surprised, due to the current state of the economy,” social studies teacher Brad Canada remarked about the cancellation of his proposed trip to Philadelphia. The trip, which would involve students taking a train to the historic city to expe-

rience, among other things, In-dependence Hall, Philly chees-esteak sandwiches, and patriotic miniature golf.

“I wasn’t planning on going to Philadelphia,” said Burris se-nior Tyler Bauchert, “but I’m dis-appointed to see all these trips cancelled.”

The Philadelphia trip was the least expensive, costing ap-proximately $650 if student in-terest was suitable. Other trips cancelled were math teacher Katy Debbink’s proposed voy-age to Pennsylvania, and Span-

ish teacher Judith Sponseller’s planned excursion to Central America.

Debbink’s trip, which would involve horseback riding, back-packing, rock climbing, and other adventurous pursuits, had grabbed the attention of students. Burris Senior Caleb North said, “I don’t have a job right now so I can’t put money away for a trip, but I think going to Pennsylva-nia would have been a blast. I also think that Mr. Canada’s trip would have been interesting, but I wasn’t able to secure the mon-

ey in time.” Sponseller’s trip, which

planned to encompass the Ma-yan ruins of Chichen Itza, the island of Cozumel, and other aspects and attractions of Mexi-can culture, would have cost ap-proximately $2700.

“I think the price was outra-geous for a May Term trip, but I think it would have been a good one,” said Senior Daniel Chees-man, a member of Sponseller’s Spanish III class.

CG Photo/ Tyler Bauchert

Burris senior Mac Trechsel runs for a ball during an in-season match, played at Heath Fields.

CG Photo/ Colin Cross

The Burris girls’ soccer team battles against Central in hopes of sec-tional title during their final match of the season, played at Central.

3 The Common Ground Issue 5

-Sarah Josepha Hale, the enormously in-fluential magazine editor and author who waged a tireless campaign to make Thanks-giving a national holiday in the mid-19th century, was also the author of the classic nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”

-The National Turkey Federation es-timated that 46 million turkeys—one fifth of the annual total of 235 mil-lion consumed in the United States in 2007—were eaten at Thanksgiving.

-Californians are the largest con-sumers of turkey in the United States.

-Originally known as Macy’s Christ-mas Parade—to signify the launch of the Christmas shopping season—the first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade took place in New York City in 1924. It was launched by Macy’s employees and featured animals from the Cen-tral Park Zoo. Today, some 3 million people attend the annual parade and another 44 million watch it on televi-sion.

-Snoopy has appeared as a giant balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade more times than any other character in history.

-According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest pumpkin pie ever baked weighed 2,020 pounds and measured just over 12 feet long. It was baked on October 8, 2005 by the New Bremen Giant Pumpkin Growers in Ohio, and included 900 pounds of pumpkin, 62 gallons of evaporated milk, 155 dozen eggs, 300 pounds of sugar, 3.5 pounds of salt, 7 pounds of cinnamon, 2 pounds of pumpkin spice and 250 pounds of crust.

-The heaviest turkey ever raised weighed in at 86 pounds – about the size of a German Shepherd.

-The first National Football League game held on Thanksgiving Day was in 1934, when the Detroit Lions played the Chicago Bears at the University of Detroit stadium, in front of 26,000 fans.

-Only male (tom) turkeys gobble. Females make a clicking noise. The famous gobble is actually a seasonal mating call.

Provided by http://www.history.com/minisites/thanksgiving

Sour Cream Banana BreadINGREDIENTS

1/4 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3/4 cup butter 3 cups white sugar 3 eggs 6 very ripe bananas, mashed 1 (16 ounce) container sour cream 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 teaspoons baking soda 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease four 7x3 inch loaf pans. In a small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup white sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Dust pans lightly with cinnamon and sugar mixture.

2. In a large bowl, cream butter and 3 cups sugar. Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix in salt, baking soda and flour. Stir in nuts. Divide into prepared pans.

3. Bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Provided by http://www.history.com/minisites/thanksgiving

Fun Thanksgiving Facts

Erica ZookStaff Writer

The Middle School Student Council is holding a food drive for grades K-12. The Student Council is collecting canned and non-perishable food items beginning November 3 and will continue until December 12. High School students should take any donated items to their class sponsors. “I think it’s a really great cause and I’m glad I could be apart of it. As the leader

of the Senior class, I’m nearly positive we’re going to pull through and dominate the food drive altogether,” said Senior Tyler Bauchert

A pizza party will be awarded to the grade level that contributes the most items. All proceeds will most likely benefit the Salvation Army, “The Salvation Army keeps the best records and reaches the most families overall instead of giving a lot to few families”, said Crehan.

Food drive persists

Picture provided by http://www.sizarfood.com

The Common Ground Staff

Staff WritersKelli AndersonTyler BauchertBrittany DavisJohanna HillgroveJillian MiersJohn PhippsEmma ReichleTed ShidelerJoseph ZeilerErica Zook

Business ManagerDaniel Cheesman

AdviserBetsy Ahlersmeyer

Contact us at:bahlersmeyer@bsu.edu orin Burris room 123

Purpose of the NewspaperThe Common Ground began publication in 1994 as an open forum for students, staff, parents and other interested readers. The Common Ground is designed to provide both a source of information as well as an academic tool by which student staff members explore journalistic skills and cooperation. Its duty is to inform students about events, and ideas that are pertinent to them, their school and their community. The content of the Common Ground will inform, entertain, persuade, and analyze. The Common Ground will strive for accuracy and responsibility in this endeavor, as well as fairness and impartiality.

Jillian MiersStaff Writer

Illinois senator Barack Obama won the 2008 presidential election.

After much hype for two years, Obama won the hearts of 63,243,881 Americans. During this election, Republican states “went blue” for the first time in several years. Obama took the lead in electoral votes from the very beginning of the poll closings.

While Obama took the New England states and most of the Midwest, John McCain won the votes of the Southern states. McCain won the majority of the western states with the exception of Nevada, New Mexico, and Colorado. Obama won the election immediately following the poll results from California and Washington. He also took Oregon.

Our upcoming president, Barack Obama, won the election with 349 electoral votes, against his opponent who had 163.

Throughout the election,

Obama has seen much criticism. Controversies about his religion and race have hindered his campaign.

“I think you should give everyone a chance, despite their religion or race,” said Burris freshman Ranshitha Devendran.

On Tuesday, the Indiana Academy staff held an election party from 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. in Jeep lounge. Many students came and watched through the poll results.

Indiana polls closed at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. The majority of the votes came in by 7 p.m. but the state wasn’t decided until around 11 p.m. The vote went back and forth between 51 percent to 48 percent for both candidates. For the past 44 years, Indiana has voted Republican in the presidential election, but this year they voted blue.

“This whole election has been historic: the first African- American president and Indiana went blue,” said IA junior Grace Minton-Morgan.

Presidential election decided

4 The Common Ground Issue 5

Lil sibs visit provides weekendentertainment for Academy students

Brittany DavisStaff Writer

The weekend of Halloween meant more than trick or treat-ing for Academy students as siblings from all over the state arrived for the annual Lil Sibs weekend.

Lil Sibs weekend is an activ-ity packed event where students can invite younger siblings to stay the night and see what Academy student life is all about. Some of this year’s activi-ties included a costume contest, Halloween themed movies, and a pumpkin decorating contest. Some siblings also trick or treat-ed in nearby neighborhoods.

The Academy Carnival also took place as part of Lil Sibs weekend. With various booths and activities, the carnival afforded entire families the chance to hang out and have a good time together. Attrarctions

included a pillow joust, face painting, three-legged races, and an egg throw.

“There didn’t seem to be nearly as many siblings as last year, but they all seemed to have a great time anyway,” said Student Life Counselor Shanise Smith.

One sibling trying her hand at the egg throw at the Academy Carnival on November 1.

CG Photo/Brittany Davis

Maya HalleyStaff Writer

The hit television show, ‘Scrubs’, supposedly had its last season this past year on ABC. The year before it had been on NBC but they dropped it, then ABC came in to allow it to have a finale like the fans expected.

There have been rumors cir-culating that there could be a ninth season. Not only do these rumors include that there could be a ninth season but that stars of the show Zach Braff and Judy Reyes would likely not be return-ing to the show. Bill Lawrence the director of Scrubs would also not be returning.

The show is mainly based on JD’s point of view of everything you often hear his inner mono-logue. Sometimes on special episodes just to switch it up a bit they make it from someone else’s perspective.

They always have interesting

illnesses showing up in the show. But they always display them in a playful mannor. They show the seriousness of that certain illness and then try to heal that person and are playful about it.

They are having talk about having a ninth season of the show.

Denise Stevenson said, “I love the show, I have been watching it since it started and I would really enjoy if they made a ninth sea-son but not if they didn’t bring back the same characters. It just wouldn’t be the same.”

Skylar Etchison, freshman, said “I would be okay with them making a spin off like they previously mentioned. But to continue on with the season calling it Scrubs without Zach Braff wouldn’t be Scrubs at all it would be a large disapointment and i don’t think the show would continue to flourish as it has over the past 8 years.”

One last season for ‘Scrubs’?