Apr i l2 Berea High Focus

T h e B e r e a H i g h S c h o o l F o c u s The Focus Staff Adviser: Mrs. Marcia Roach

Editor in Chief: Michael AnguilanoCo-Editor: Sophie Hopps-Weber Design Editor: Marriah RodgersCo-Design Editor: Megan Causey

Cover Design: Marriah Rodgers

Staff: Michael Anguilano, Demira Berbiglia, Megan Causey, Janika Cook, Alexandria Fathauer, Jacob Fischer, Patrice Hannon, Greg-gory Henson, Christina Hickey, Keith Hochevar, Savannah Hopkins, Sophie Hopps-Weber, Kelly Johnson, Elise Lipfird, Aaron Martin, Monica Moody, Charlena Rakes, Marriah Rodgers, Robert Rody, Daniel Salzgeber, Bryce Schwandt, Brandon Soeder-Penner, Cadale Thomas, Tiara Westervelt, A’skia Wingfield

Berea High School 165 East Bagley Rd. Berea, OH 44017

E d i t o r i a l P o l i c y The purpose of the Berea Focus is to protect and promote free speech by creating a forum for student expression and a positive educational environment for students. Con-tent of The Focus reflects only the views of the student staff and individual students and not school officials. Therefore, The Focus will not be reviewed or restrained prior to pub-lication. An editorial board made up of students on the staff of The Focus will make all decisions of content for each issue. The role of the adviser is to educate the students about journalism, including laws, ethics, and practices, as well as to guide students toward publication. The adviser is not a decision maker. The students will not publish any material that falls under the category of unprotected speech, and the adviser will help the students to recognize unprotected speech. These areas include libel, unwarranted invasion of privacy, ob-scenity, copyright violations, and a material or substantial disruption of the school day. To find a complete explana-

tion of these refer to the Student Press Law Center website at www.splc.org. Students are able to publish and report any topic within the bounds of protected speech (so long as the re-porters do it in a way that accurately, thoroughly and completely covers the story.) In case of conflict between adminis-tration, adviser and students, students may use the Student Press Law Center (SPLC) for legal help. Any photo manipulation that could not feasibly be done in a dark room must be marked as a photo illustration. Students on The Focus staff reserve the right to accept or reject any ad-vertising.

As the days drag on, The Strongsville strike contin-ues, leaving everyone, including Senior Lexi Kluhn won-dering when school will resume to its normal settings.On Monday, March 5, teachers closed their classrooms and marched outside, beginning their strike against the school board. After a 10 day strike notice to the board, the Strongsville Teacher Strike stared that Monday at 12:01 amTeachers were upset after being prom-ised changes to their contract and not receiv-ing them when it was time for a contract renewal. Strongsville teachers said that they did not want to do this, but they had to. “We want to be in the classrooms with the students, not out here on the street,” Center Middle School Teachers said “We thought this would be over yesterday, but nothing has happened, and we plan on being out here until it is over.”Center Middle School is just one of the two mid-dle schools in the Strongsville School District, both on strike, and in passing by Albion Middle School, it showed their situation was just as bad.“It’s so real, seeing educators on the streets, fighting for their job;it’s almost sad” A Fresh-man at Strongsville High School told us. But seeing this strike was not a first for us here in Cuyahoga County. In the early 1980s The Berea High School teachers went on their own strike. “Both of my parents were teachers at the time of the strike. I remember I would walk down Bagley and bring them cof-fee in my wagon,” Guidance counselor Bob Schuff said. The strike was an outcome of working conditions being re-newed, and after being on strike for some time, the issue was re-solved with an adopted idea called “Win-Win” negotiations. “Everybody who was in it, felt it was bad all the way around. They wished things could be differ-ent and out of that, we now use what the union calls win-win negotiations. Berea has been a leader in those contracts ever since the strike,” Chris Reynolds said. “Berea has been recognized nationally for it.”

Seeing the outcome of Berea’s strike in the 1980’s we can only hope that things turn out the same for Strongs-ville City Schools, before violence and misunderstand-ings become a main part of the students’ educations. “There has been a lot of upperclassmen vio-lence, because a lot of students are for it and a lot are against it. There are no middle grounds” soph-omore at Strongsville High said “It’s stopping a lot of students from actually coming into school.” With reports of students being written up for strik-ing with the teachers, students are beginning to fol-low by example and stand up for what they believe in. “When you are around something like this, you have to have an opinion. It is not going to sit qui-etly,” a sophomore at Strongsville High said. Either way this goes, we do know that this situation could possibly go even further out of hand then they already have. “I just miss having my teachers in the classroom, I thought it was nice at first to not have class, but now it just seems to be more of an annoyance,” Senior Lexi Kluhn said. “I wish there would be a resolution because I need to graduate, and this is not really helping my situation.

Marriah RodgersStaff WriterDesign Editor

AprilNews3

Apri l4 News

DisneyPrep!

embers of the Berea High School Marching Band got back from Disney World on Thursday, March 28. They

spent their entire spring break down in Florida enjoying the multiple Dis-ney parks and beautiful weather. The preparation for the trip wasn’t easy, though-they don’t let just anyone perform down Main Street.

Believe it or not, the preparation for a trip to Disney starts almost two years early with reserving busses and applying for a performance time.

The two band directors, Jeff Fudale and Dan Barth, must submit pictures, audio and video recordings of the band in order to be accepted.Then, Mrs. Fudale (Jeff Fudale’s mother) will make contact with the bus company, Disney World, Universal Studio, and also Shoney’s; the band’s breakfast stop on Saturday, March 23.

Once the dates for the trip are chosen, the fundrais-ing begins.

The band has two hoagie drives a year in order to fundraise. After members of the band sell the limit of 25 hoagies, the rest starts to go towards their Dis-ney fund. Making an exact cost guess for Disney is difficult since general prices change and gas prices fluctuate. This year, the trip cost $700 and included transportation, accommodation, food and entertain-ment.

Mr. Fudale must then collect medical forms from ev-eryone in case an illness occurs. Some students must turn in a form for any prescriptions they may take so that the nurse can carry them. If students were to keep these prescriptions in their luggage or carry-on, the drug dog may come across them.

Since all school rules apply to the trip, if the drug dog was to find an illegal substance or a prescription drug in a student’s bag, they will not go on the trip--no refund. If there is a violation of school policy (drugs, alcohol, smoking, theft, vandalism etc.) during the trip, the student will be sent home at the parent’s expense. Fortunately, this does not happen often.

As far as preparing goes, tuba player and senior Chanse Gvist told us, “I didn’t really do much preparing for the trip other than making sure I had that week off of work and enough clothes to pack.”

However, not everyone felt this way.

“Before we left, I was very excited and I couldn’t wait, but I dreaded packing because I despise it,” says senior flute player Sophie Hudimac.

Caroline Flaesgarten, a junior trumpet player in the band, shared a tip on how she prepared for the Disney trip: “Plan your time wisely when preparing to leave because it would suck having to get all of your stuff last minute.”

In an interview with Mr. Fudale and Mr. Barth, they both shared the band march-ing down Main St. as the best experience and their favorite part of the Disney trip.

“The pride in your students, school and community is incredible,” says Fudale, while Barth states, “For me, seeing the excitement from the students and hearing the comments from the thousands of people along the parade route is something you always remember. I also think that this trip provides some of our students the possibility of going to Disney World when they may never be able to expe-rience that in the future.”

M

Staff WriterDemira Berbiglia

Apri l

5 News

they’reYoung!and theyHate Pants!

The poster is un-assuming and simple in design, with noth-

ing but a name and showdates on it. Lo-cated in the auditorium lobby, the poster for Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie is the final show announcement of the BHS Drama Club, where they are performing their final stage production before the high school’s—and the club’s—pending merger with oth-er Berea City School District (BCSD) high school, Midpark.

Across a 68 year Thespian-certified history, the BHS Drama Club will be debut on April 12th, 13th, and 14th the musical Bye Bye Birdie, their final musical production. Over the years, the most often produced shows of the club includeGuys and Dolls, South Pacific, The Wizard of Oz, Grease, and Footloose. In 2007, the BHS Theater performed a single production of Godspell, whose author—John Michael Tebelak—was a graduate of BHS and for whom the auditorium is named.

Bye Bye Birdie, a story of teenage love, the virtues and vices of fame and the effects it has on those famous, is directed this year by Josh Landis, a choreographer for the Olmsted Performing Arts Center. The musical will employ 37 cast members.

“Josh is a choreographer, something we’ve never really had before,” junior Brandon Baciak, who is cast as a main male character in the production, said“so we’re going to be really able to have some strong and fairly large dance numbers.”

In addition to having larger-than-normal dance numbers, there will be no pit orchestra to provide live music for the production.

“We’ll be doing what’s called a ‘canned’ musical,” Maddie Krucek, BHS se-nior and student director for the produc-tion, said “We’re going to be able to work

merger with the other Berea City School Dis-trict high school, Midpark.”

Some important traditions that casts have done across the ages are when the se-niors sign the backstage wall after their final show, and before every show, a production’s cast and crew will sing and dance the “Time Warp” from Rocky Horror Picture Show.

“[The dancing and singing] gets every-body warmed up and pumped for the show,” said Krucek.

In a way similar to the rallying cry of a baseball team before a game, or a football team before a play, the BHS Drama Club screams to the heavens their own war cry: “we’re young, we’re ruthless and we hate pants!!”

Mama believes that there are two large areas of improvement that will be sought as the school’s combine for the new Drama program. “The first on is very impor-tant and that there is ‘ONE continuous’ di-rector.” Since 2009, there have been more than five different directors for different shows.

She hopes that a single director, staffed at the school, will provide kids with “better communication and [a stronger] con-nection to the program.”

The second aspect that Mama identi-fied as to be changing next year are new curtains, lighting, and sound equipment for the auditorium and performance space.

“But then again,” continues Ms. Sopko, “it doesn’t matter if the students in the pro-gram are not excited about a show they are working on.”

with the same music right now that we’ll have on shownight.” However, there is some fall-out from that decision on other aspects of the musical.

“It cuts down participation, and if there’s one thing Drama Club needs, it’s more peo-ple—especially males,” Krucek said.

Although casting for the main character parts is completed, if one wanted to get in-volved through acting, they would be able to be part of the “ensemble” (background characters).

“Drama Club is not a club that you need to sign up for at the beginning,” Baciak said. “If you want to get involved, show up and [the director] will put you to work.”

Drama Club is growing in popularity, and

will play an important part in students’ abil-ity to establish lasting relationships with the incoming Midpark Students. “It is an art form that more and more students are wanting to learn, participate in, and enjoy as a career,” said Rosanne Sopko, aka Mama Sopko, the Drama Booster President and Producer.

Even as this musical is the final pro-duction of the BHS Drama Club, no special goodbye performances will be presented at its debut.

“Everything special was done during the [Senior-Directed] One Acts in January,” said BrandenBaciak, who is cast as the main male character in the production. The cast performed the musical number “So Long, Fare Well” made popular from The Sound of Music.

“Some of the traditions will also be dis-appearing with the high school’s pending

they’reRuthless!D.J. SalzgeberStaff Writer

Apr i l6 News

the great Debaters

f someone had said that Berea High School has had competitors in a state sport the past three years, a wide-eyed and bewildered look would be the natural response. However, that someone would be correct, and not because the football or basketball teams played a secret season. The BHS Speech and Debate team is regarded as one of the more successful ones in the school’s recent history. According to “Speechwire”, a website dedicated to displaying records and results of the entire Speech and Debate season, BHS has had state qualifiers in three of the past four seasons and tournament champions in the last five seasons. With all of this success, how does an organization go unnoticed?

“We don’t get disrespected or anything like that, but flying under the radar is certainly something we have been good at,” said a chuckling Mr. Ryan Peoples, the BHS Speech and Debate Coach. Mr. Peoples as been the administrator of the team for the last twelve years and has seen the recent success first hand.

“We had a lot of young talent as well as some really good seniors. We even had some people who competed for the first time, including some seniors that did really well. I am looking forward to the next few years,” said Mr. Peoples. With numerous victorious competitors roaming the halls of BHS essentially going unnoticed, you can imagine creating interest is something the team wishes they had done all season. But having commercial praise is not essential to enjoying Speech and Debate. Just ask its President, Senior Anthony Kleem, a qualifier for the State tournament.

“With all of my teammates walking away with a trophy, I was the happiest President I could be,” Kleem said, referring to the States novice tournament in which every BHS competitor placed.

“I only wish I had more time to experience it,” Kleem, who only competed for two years said. Fellow Senior Dominick Nardozzi also qualified for states, missing the finals by only a few places. This was Nardozzi’s first season as a Speech and Debate competitor.

Despite not requiring pads or a helmet, Speech and Debate is a daunting sport.

“You must be willing to devote A LOT of time and energy,” said Nicole Edwards, another senior who competed for the first time in the speech portion.

“I would definitely join and start preparing as soon as possible if I was a competitor,” Edwards said. Students began preparations for the season as early as July.

Sophomore Nicolas Anguilano, a first year competitor, would agree that work outside of practice is essential to victory. “I felt at times that people were way ahead of the game, on my team and on the opposing. I think if I did more research, I would have been more successful,” Anguilano said.

What may not be known about Speech and Debate is that a varsity letter can be obtained, putting it on the same level as other sports during the fall and winter seasons. Mr. Peoples hopes to have more people joining and competing, but he says hard-working kids make the best competitors.

“Somebody who has a chip on their shoulder, self-motivated, willing to get better, those are the best kinds of people for Speech and Debate,” Mr. Peoples said.

President Kleem may have put it best: “Work hard, and have fun.”

Michael AnguilanoEditor in Chief

I

You’reNot

better than

Studetnt Spotlight Challenge Day at Brunswick High School was a success! According to Marriah Rodgers the Brunswick stu-dents were scared at first, because they never did this before. Even though they weren’t eager they got into it once the Berea student started sharing things about them. The role the Berea students did was going around to the small groups, asking the questions for Crossing the Line and shared during the Open Mic.

Athlete or band geeks, we all have baggage that we carry around throughout high school. Mrs. Fox and Mrs. Draves have been doing a program called Challenge Day at BHS, with the help of some students, and are going to Bruns-wick High School on March 15 to introduce it there.

Mrs. better, a Social Studies teacher at BHS, and Mrs. Draves, a Science teach-er at BHS, thought of doing this program after they saw the MTV show “Chal-lenge Day”. It was a series that gave teens the chance to “break down the walls” and see how much alike everyone is. Students are able to let go of thoughts that they have built up inside through small activities. “Mrs. Draves and I are working with 250 students in East Gym. We will have Brunswick leaders read the goals and statistics about bullying. The students will be assigned to their small groups and share something about themselves ‘If you really knew me you would know…’ Then we come together as a large group and do the Cross the Line Activity. At the end, students sign a banner about their participation” Mrs. Fox said.

Mrs. Draves had found this program to be very successful at BHS. “Students really break themselves down emotionally and psychologically to heal their wounds and cross barriers to understand and respect each other at a whole new level.” she said.

Danny Medvetz, senior at BHS and student that helped out at last year’s Chal-lenge Day at BHS, has also thought that this program goes extremely well. Last year when he helped out he saw that the students said a lot and it was much better than when he was a freshman. The expectations for Brunswick High School are heading in a positive direction from both the teachers, students helping and the 9th grade assistant principal.

“I care about my students and many students carry a lot of baggage with them as they get through high school.” says Mr. Draves, the 9th grade assistant principal at Brunswick High School. “I feel I need and must do my part to not only teach the curriculum but also address the emotional needs of our student body”.

meChrisitna HickeyStaff Writer

Mrs Draves (left) and Mrs. Fox (right)Photographed by Marriah Rodgers

Students doing the Open Mic. activityPhotographed by Marriah Rodgers

7 News

he Ohio Graduation Test, or OGT as it is commonly known, is usually deemed negative by sophomores, but in fact they actually come with a positive twist. During the week of March 11 BHS sophomores took the

five subject OGT, testing for three hours a day, with the intention of passing, al-lowing them to graduate high school. The sophomores also have an incentive to pass these tests outside of personal motivation. Many students have the opportunity to be excused from their second semester finals if they met requirements outlined in the Final Exam Exemp-tion Guide. In order to be exempt students, whether in honors or regular classes, must have an average of an A or B in the subject area. If students are in regular courses they must also score Proficient or above on the subject test. Sophomores in honors classes must score in the Accelerated or Advanced ranges to be excused. Most students are in favor of the exemption and think of it as an upside of having to come in earlier than the rest of the school to test. Some think of it as a motivator to do well on the test. “The exemption will motivate me to focus and do my best, which I would do anyways,” sophomore Kayla Drager said. Classmate Jaime Fisher agreed with Kayla that the exemption will help encourage test takers. She thinks that if having to take failed subjects again wasn’t a big enough motivator to do well then she thinks the possibility of being exempt from exams will. Not only can the OGT test be used as a motivator to help students want to do well on finals but to keep their grades up in the class. Maintaining an A or B average is something students can do throughout the rest of the semester.“It will encourage them not to fail and keep doing well,” guidance counselor Mr. Bob Schuff said. However the exemption from finals does have its downsides and re-ceives questions about whether it is a fair incentive for students. The subject matter on the OGT is much more basic than the material being taught in classes. Ms. Christa Myers, the honors chemistry teacher, finds the fact that there is less chemisty and biology on the test to be an issue with her class.

8 News

OGT’s:Stressoror

Savior

“The OGT material is basic, it’s CPE, students shouldn’t be exempt from mastery of much more dif-ficult material,” Ms. Myers said. She also points out that some students try very hard in school to keep their grades up and are poor test takers. The OGT tests may not be a good evaluation of their skills and learning ability. Many classes also have a combination of grades, mostly sci-ence and math classes. This can make final exam ex-emptions difficult for some teachers. These required tests can be a stressor for many students but in the long run there could be a reward of less stress later in the year. The bigger question though is not whether the exemption is a mo-tivator and stress reliever, but whether they should be allowed at all.

Apr i l

EX EMPT

Monica MoodyStaff Writer

T

9 Feature

Prom-ManiaHollywood:The Final Act

Prom-Some would call it the best part of senior year, others would refer to it as the best part of high school period. So what’s go-ing on with the seniors at Berea High? With prom two months away, how are the seniors preparing for prom? What trends are in? What kind of dresses are girls looking at? Prom is taking place at Michaud’s Towne ’N’ Country on May eleventh this year.ThemesYou can never get started talking about prom too early. In November, the seniors were pre-sented with a list of possible prom themes, and the theme has been decided. . This year’s prom theme is Hollywood: The last act (which makes sense, considering this is Berea’s last prom before the merge)‘If I go to prom, I can’t wait to see what the decorations look like. it’ll be very exciting to see how everything came together,’ Christina Samol said when asked for her opinion of the Hollywood theme.

AttireThe trends this year for girls tend to be long dresses. A lot of the senior girls are start-ing to get their dresses now, if they haven’t already. A lot of the stores are local, like David’s Bridal and The Winner in Sharon, Pennsylvania. The cool thing about the win-ner is that the workers there right down your information and school name, so that no one else from your school can have the same dress as you/ Some girls are even looking online. Victoria Switlick said she’s looking at light colored dresses. ‘Probably blue or pink if I end up going.’ she said. ‘I like dresses that are out there. I’d like to find a lime green one with a pretty design.’ Samol said. She said she’ll probably go somewhere in a different part of Ohio so she doesn’t end up wearing the same dress as anyone.A lot of girls incorporate their favorite colors into their prom outfit. ‘My dress is a strap-less dark purple dress from David’s Bridal.’ Demira Berbilga said. Plans/PreparingA lot of prom plans aren’t set in stone. Ac-tually most people are just starting now to plan. ‘I plan on going with a date and in a group. We haven’t talked about it much yet though.’ Dennis Fossett explains.With this being Berea’s last prom before the merge with Midpark, it’s interesting to see how everything is going to come together on the big day.

Fatima Lipfird

Prom schedule:Doors open at 6 p.m. Dinner is served at 7 p.m.Dinner includes chicken, beef, and spaghetti.

Fatima LipfirdStaff Writer

THEGRANDFINALE

April

Apr i l 10 Feature

T he combining of Berea High School and Midpark High School next year is going to be a drastic change. There are a lot of steps to take in order to make this combination a suc-cessful one. Teacher assignments, transporta-tion routes, and bell schedules are just a few things that definitely need to undergo change. But what about the student disciplinary policy? With such a higher student population, one would question if the staff and the administra-tion are going to become stricter on one policy and more lenient on another. Issues like hallway behav-ior and electronic device policies could be hard to enforce with such a dramatic increase in population. Senior Erin Teutsch who regularly attends BHS, but attends MHS in the morning for AP Biol-ogy said “MHS’s hallways are more crowded.” However, Biomedical Sciences teacher Mrs. Matthews who teaches five classes at BHS and one at MHS said “Berea has louder hallways.” With the combo of the large popula-tion and the loud students, will hallway behav-ior be more difficult to deal with than it is now? “If teachers and administration are pres-ent, it will not be an issue” said BHS math teach-er Mrs. Rice. She explained that if the teachers are standing at their doors while students are in the hall and administration is monitoring the hall, hallway behavior should not be a problem. Regarding electronic devices, Mrs. Matthews thought that MHS is stricter.

“I see more kids wearing headphones in the hallway here [BHS] than there [MHS]” she said. Erin Teutsch pointed out that the use of cell phones at MHS depends on the teacher, just like BHS. This is the idea of teacher discrepancy. “I think if it’s for educational purposes only, but if the teacher says no, the administration should back them up” Mrs. Rice said, regarding the use of electronic devices. She added that both BHS and MHS have the same rule regarding the use of electronic devices by leaving it to teacher discretion. However, it is not set in stone if the electron-ic device policy or any rules will change or remain the same.

“ N o o f f i c i a l d e -c i s i o n s h a v e b e e n m a d e r e g a r d i n g d i s -c i p l i n e f o r n e x t y e a r ” administrator Mr. Mucha said. He explained that the district is currently working on staffing for the new merger. He said that after Spring break is when they should start focusing on the disciplinary policy for next year.

NewSchool,NewRules?

Savannah HopkinsStaff Writer

et’s face it: Whether through association or not, everyone has heard of the student council, the drama club, speech and de-bate, and key club. But what about those clubs that no one knows about? Is it entirely possible that there are many students inter-

ested in these clubs who simply do not know they exist? Clubs like like robotics, academic challenge, anime club, and environmental club are all out there. Most students wouldn’t be able to tell you much about any of these, so it’s time to shine some light on some of Berea High’s less popular (but still awesome) clubs and activities.

Academic Challenge: The BHS Academic Challenge Team has been in existence for a very long time. Academic Challenge is a “Jeopardy” style competition in which two teams of four competitors square off in a battle of the wits. The team has weekly matches between January and March, facing off against each school in the South West Conference. Midpark is traditionally the last match of the year, right before the annual SWC tournament. This year Berea finished with a 2-5 record, but ended on a high note as Berea defeated Midpark in the final Academic Challenge match between them. The contest was not even close, as Berea jumped to an early 20 point lead, questions being 2 points each, and never looked back.

“I suggest this club to people who want to expand their knowledge”, senior member Emily Volz says, “and to people who like Jeopardy.” Anyone who wants more information or is interested in joining the team next year, con-tact the team advisor Mr. Stevens in room 101.

The Environmental Club: Founded by biology teacher Mrs. Draves several years ago, the environmental club is in charge of maintaining the na-ture display in front of BHS year round.

“It’s pretty much a club for anyone who loves gardening and weed-ing.” Senior Sophie Hopps-Weber says. Even over the summer, the group tire-lessly weeds, waters, and cuts the various plants in the garden. There is even a small section of the garden dedicated to vegetables, which the environmental club picks during the harvest season. The club typically meets on Tuesdays year-round. Anyone interested in joining should contact Mrs. Draves down in

CLUB(S)

Apr i l 11 Feature

700

Lroom 155.

The Robotics Team: “What brought me to this club? Well, I was asked. Then I fell in love with the robots.” robotics captain Max Wieneke proclaims. As the name gives away, the robotics team builds robots for various competitions. The team has existed since 2003. Over the years they have built everything from climbing bots to hockey bots, and everything in between. One of the key aspects of the team is the time commitment. During “build season”, the time allowed by the competition for the building of the robots, members are expected to be at robotics ev-ery day after school for very long periods of time. Of course, school work still takes priority, and time is allotted for students to get this done. The club houses some self proclaimed crazy and colorful personali-ties, but they welcome any new members with open arms. If in-terested in joining, contact se-nior captain Max Wieneke for details.

Anime Club: One of the newer additions to the BHS club repertoire is the anime club. Started only a couple of years ago by BHS students, the an-ime club caters to those with a passion for anime and manga. “Naruto”, “Soul Eater”, and “Hetalia” are just a few of the series discussed during meeting, but pretty much all anime topics are up for discussion.

“This (club) would be best for lovers of man-ga and anime, or people who want to know more about it.” year-long member Victoria Switlyk said. The anime club is open to any and all students, and if you are interested in joining, contact club president and BHS senior Brandi Hayes.

So despite popular belief, there really is a club for everyone here at BHS. They may not all be on the surface, but with a little digging students can find a group that they can flourish in. So dive in, try something new, and test the all the waters that BHS has to offer.

Brandon Soeder-PennerStaff Writer

THE

The logo of the BHS robotics team.

Apr i l 12 Feature

Why is the food changing?

any students are noticing that their food at the lunchroom feels a little lighter in their stomachs. Others may notice that the wigwam is no longer

open during the school day. Why is that? Well, there’s reason for it. Congress passed an act called Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 which mandates that items sold at a school cafeteria must “Be either a fruit, a vegetable, a dairy product, a protein food, a ‘whole-grain rich’ grain product (50% or more whole grains by weight or have whole grains as the first ingredi-ent), or a combination food that contains at least ¼ cup of fruit or vegetable; or contain 10% of the Daily Value (DV) of a nutrient cited as a public health concern in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) (calcium, potas-sium, vitamin D, or fiber).

‘Also, food sold must meet a range of calorie and nutrient require-ments: Total fat must be less than or equal to 35% of calories; saturated fat must be less than 10% of calories; and Trans fat must be 0g. Exceptions are provided for reduced fat cheese; nuts and nut butters without other ingredients and seafood with no added fat. Snack items shall contain less than or equal to 200 milligrams of sodium. For entrée items, sodium levels must be less than or equal to 480 milligrams per portion, for non-standard lunch entrée items.

‘For total sugar levels the proposal includes two alternatives: one is less than or equal to 35% of calories and the other is less than or equal to 35% of weight. Exemptions are provided for fruits and vegetables packed in juice or extra-light syrup and for certain yogurts. Snack items have a limit on calories of less than or equal to 200 calories per portion. Non-standard lunch entrée items have a calorie limit of less than or equal to 350 calories.” usda.gov.

This means that what the cafeteria has restrictions on what they can sell. “These new re-quirement are intended to: bring the lunch pro-gram in line with the U.S. dietary guidelines by adding more fruits and veggies, whole grains and calorie restrictions,” said Beth Spinks, BCSD supervisor of nutrition services. It must meet the requirements aforementioned.

You didn’t hear the wigwam mentioned any-where in there.

The wigwam isn’t open during the school day because “The board has a policy that only the Nutritional Service department may sell food to students during the school day,” Beth Spinks said. This is probably so that the wigwam doesn’t have to be so stringently regulated as the cafeteria.

These changes obviously affect the students. Many that eat the school lunches feel hungrier because of the lighter calorie lunches.

“I feel hungry two class periods after. The standard lunch is not satisfying,” Brandon Soeder-Penner, senior at BHS, said. Many of the foods have had to be changed, taking content out and changing how their prepared.

Continued on next page...

MStudents in the BHS cafeteria during 4/5 lunch period

Cadale ThomasStaff Writer

“The pizza went from really good to com-plete garbage,” Brandon said. “The barbeque sauce in the BBQ pulled pork sandwich was also removed,” Added Bryce Fulmer, also a BHS senior. There are several accounts of food that will be missed if you ask around the school.

The school lunches sold in the cafeteria are meant to be eaten in their entirety in order to satisfy a student’s hunger. Even breakfast is offered at the cafeteria in the morning.

“If the kids eat everything they’re offered, they shouldn’t go hungry,” Ms. Grugle said, assistant manager of the cafeteria, though many students opt out to eating some of the school’s food items as they simply do not like what is offered. So they don’t eat it resulting in hunger.

Many of the foods in the cafeteria that the students called “good” a couple of years ago do not fit in the guidelines for the items offered for this school year. For example, the fruit punch, iced tea, lemonade or the cappuccinos offered a couple years ago did not fit in the guidelines due to sugar content.

“Everything must fit within the guidelines,” Ms. Grugle said. If it doesn’t, it must go.

Well hopefully, these are all the changes there are, right?

Actually, there seems that there are going to be even more changes. Ms. Grugle suggested that there are going to be even more changes to the items sold down at the cafeteria.

Maybe these changes will be for the better. It is too early to tell is if these changes are working but maybe it will reduce the amount of obese stu-dents. Of course, this depends on other factors but every little bit of improvement will help.

Apr i l 13 Feature

“I feel hungry two class periods after. The standard lunch is not satisfying.” ~Brandon Soeder-Penner

Apr i l 14 Feature

Why Not Drive New This Year?Char Rakes Staff Writer

The Auto Show features concept, pre-production and creation

vehicles from the world’s automobile manufacturers. Showings of all dif-

ferent venues can be seen from 11am to 10pm Monday through Saturday

and from 11am to 8pm Sunday. Admission prices include an official 2013

Auto Show Program and free parking. Adults $12.50, Seniors and pre-

teens $10.50 and children six and under are free with accompanied by

an adult. The show is held yearly at the IX Center, located in Cleveland,

Ohio, with nearly 1.2 million square feet of exhibits. Plus, the Auto Show

is well-known to be one of the major shows in the United States, equally in

audience and venue size. Auto Show enthusiasts can expect to see a wide

range of domestic and imported passenger cars, trucks and wagons, sport

utility vehicles, pickups, crossovers, experimental and concept cars. Roughly

1,000 different vehicles are on display in state – of – the – art exhibits

attracting more than 600,000 visitors each year.

Over the past 100 years the looks and safety of them have

changed drastically and have for many reasons. Speed made for faster

timing to a destination, safety for less injury or killed in such an event of

a crash, comfort for passengers, entertainment such as satellite, television

and radio, efficiency intake when it comes to the cost in materials, fuels –

unleaded fuels and various electric fuels to perform at best and laws are

continually changed as the manufacturing of vehicles are updated.

Also, the change in tires, horsepower and color has increased

within the last 100 years. Tires weren’t that different from the tires on a

bicycle which caused frequent flats, but as for tires today, they are created

thicker and better endure the weight of the vehicle creating fewer flats.

Horsepower has even doubled compared to a 1910 engine. And color has

expanded from very little to a wide variety.

Throughout the auto show, a diversity of displays was shown

from various venues like Jeep, Ford, Toyota, Chevy and more. Having a

base price of an average at $23,500, many vehicles had a high price

from $45,000 to $95,000.

Test driving of different Jeeps was set up for the public to

experience. During the test drive, the professional explained about the

structure of the vehicle, why that is and what parts of the test drive the

community will go through. From up and down a 30 degree angled hill to

a logged terrain all the way to a 30 degree tilt to the left to a mountain

terrain, the Jeep is the only vehicle that has a straight axle and a low

center of gravity, plus, is used by the Military Services, has a base cost

of $22,000.00.

“Jeep is the ONLY vehicle that is created with a straight axle

and having a low center of gravity. Now, as we head up this hill at a 30

degree angle, the Jeep will not roll back nor roll forward because of

the lower center in gravity it has; which makes them great for off road

usage. Plus, if you are the type to be on the rough type of land, it will be

recommended by Jeep companies to do 30 degrees in any direction for

the maximum altitude/ degree for the human body, specifically the stom-

ach, is 40 degrees,” John stated from Jeep. “As we continue to proceed

down at a 30 degree angle, I will be able to apply this bottom here as

what you would call ‘brake assistance,’ which will allow me to lift off the

breaks completely and this feature will kick in and do the rest of the job

for me. It will allow you to let off the brake in other terms, help lessen

the damage in your brakes so that way, the brakes won’t need frequent

replacements,” John said. “Here at the logged terrain, you will notice

that Jeep is more capable in going through types of land compared

to others because of the shocks Jeeps has that’ll be absorbed. Next, is

the 30 degree tilt. Once again, Jeep has a lower center of gravity and

straight axle, which is why it will not tip over or roll over just like when

going over the 30 degree hill. And lastly, is the rough mountain/ river

land. Jeep has a high rate of going through compared to others because

it is capable of draining water out of where our feet are located and of

course make it over the rough land,” John stated.

“It is simple, so no need to worry. Here is the trick to the simu-

lator. . . one lap, automatic, keep hitting the gas because the computer

automatically slows you down and best time was a minute and fifty sec-

onds. For this race, the 2013 yellow Fusion will be the vehicle driven by

all, including you. Surprises will not be said; that’s for everyone to find

out.” Justin from a Ford Dealership said.

As the Auto Show ended on March 3, 2013 and will return

again next year, many Clevelanders and people from out of state

seemed rather satisfied with this year’s new venues and more to show in

this year’s 2013 vehicles and future prototypes.

Apri l 15 Sports

The Berea girls’ basketball team had their season end early in the first round of the tournament to Lakewood but still were able to have a successful year.

The previous season (2011-2012) ended on a bitter note with only three wins on record and a total of nineteen losses. Coach Kevin Braat-en was able to help the Braves improve to a record of 11-12 this season. The team broke a 50 game losing streak in the South Western Conference (5 conf. wins). Their 11 wins were the most win since the 2005-2006 season.

Despite having four freshman starting most of the year and losing two key returning starters (Kyla Paster due to a back injury and Alexandria Irvin due to a torn ACL) the team was still able to make the most out of this year.

“Losing Kyla Paster and Alex Irvin for a significant portion of the season really put a lot of pressure on freshman guards,” Said Assistant Coach Barb.The Lady Braves still managed to break two school records this season. The team scored 87 vs. Normandy to break the points in a game record and made 12 three point shots vs. Avon Lake which is the most three point shots made in one game in Lady Brave history.

Alexis Hope thinks a lot of the success came from team chemistry and getting better throughout the year.

“In the beginning of the season we didn’t know how everyone played but as the season went on we grew. We found everyone’s jobs on the floor,” Said Hope. The team didn’t get discouraged by losses. They used them as motivation to win the next game.

“After a loss, we practiced even harder to get the “w” for the next game,” said Megan Causey.

Three of our players lead the SWC in eight stat catego-ries this season and all three were freshman. Alexis Hope led in assists with 146, Lexy Siggers led in rebounds with 257, and Savana Jankowski led in three pointers with 48. A lot of the success these three players had this sea-son came from the help of senior Kali Abel.

“Kali Abel’s hard work ethic really left an imprint on the expectations we had for our players,” said Coach Barb.

The Lady Braves should be proud of all the accomplish-ments made this season.

“We bonded and got really close as a team. We weren’t just a team, but a family. It helped the team gel on the court as well. We made a lot great memories,” Said Alexis.

Coach Braaten said he is “Proud of the girls’ effort and dedication this year at all levels.”

Lady Braves

Basketball

Bobby Rody Staff Writer

Apr i l 16 Sports

ports have always been a huge part of American culture, and almost as important and popular as the sports them-

selves is betting on games. Most people who have attended a Super Bowl party have seen a box pool – a 10 by 10 grid of small squares that are each sold to add to a big “pot” which will go to the winning bettor. At each quarter, a win-ning bettor is determined by the amount of points each team has scored, and the

corresponding box with that score.

Another typical betting style is bracketing. In a bracket, teams are seeded, or given a rank, and then in a round of elimination, the pools become smaller and smaller until there are two teams left competing for first place.

Many spectators participate in placing bets, sometimes just for fun, and sometimes for money. Var-sity basketball coach Darren Collins said he has bet on NCAA’s March Madness as well as NFL football games. He also says he used to play fantasy football – which is an online draft where each member of a league drafts his or her favorite plays to create the ideal “dream team.”

Many spectators have different ways of placing bets and choosing their winning teams. Some base their predictions solely on statistics: numbers and facts. Sure, numbers show a lot about a team’s playing ability, but perhaps there is something more to choosing a winning team. Loyalty to a team can change a person’s bets.

Senior Zach Smith says he “always supports his favorite teams, until I definitely know they will lose based on statistics.” And many other fans place bets this way, keeping faith in their own teams before they have to give in.

When asked if he forms brackets based on statistic or heart, Coach Collins said “Both. I try not to use my heart too much.”

March Madness fan Roger O’Connor is a fan of relating mathematics to sports betting. “The 64 teams are divided into four groups, or “regions,” so the odds that any one team makes it to the final four are not 1/64, but rather 1/16.” He says, also noting that he takes into consideration luck and chance to help him place bets.

Senior sports fan Mike Anguilano, who has bet on March Madness as well as MLB games in the past leans more toward the numbers and team standings. “I’m all about statis-tics and records, not heart. Guessing with heart is a big risk.”

Many fans enjoy just watching the game, but for those select few who appreciate a good bet, there are many ways they go about putting money down.

Bracketology

SSenior Mike Anguilano participates in bracket betting online

Elise KourisStudent Writer

Apr i l 17 Sports

To Cutor not

To Cut?That Is The Question

Two teams in particular that are going to be impacted tremendously by the combining of the schools are the boys and girls tennis teams.One concern many people have while considering the impact of the merge on the teams is the probable change in the “no cut” policy.Dawn Rhodes, reporter for the Chicago Tribune described cut day as “a painful ritual for the coaches who deliver the news and to the students who receive it”.For the past few years the coaches of the tennis teams have structured the pro-gram so that everyone who tries out for the team has a chance to participate.“I personally like the policy because it gives everyone a chance to play,” Senior Brandon Soeder-Penner said. With the current policy anyone can join the team without having to feel inadequate for not having played before.While not everyone who joined the BHS boys team was able to play every match, everyone could still go to practice and the second doubles position of the junior varsity (jv) team was rotated every meet to give everyone an opportunity to play. This no cut policy has also had a very positive effect on the girl’s tennis team, a team entirely comprised of new players. One hundred percent of the girl’s varsity teams this fall were girls who had never played the sport seriously until their freshman or sophomore years.“I think it’s a good thing [be]cause everyone gets to play” junior Rachel Budzilek said, “it’s not as competitive so it’s more fun”.

• by Sophie Hopps-Weber

ith the merge of BHS and Midpark High School quickly approaching, many people have turned their attention to it’s impact on BHS’s sports teams.

W

If the team were to cut, the coach would be forced to choose between rookie players, taking people who had more “potential” in beginning. With the current system, the coach can keep everyone on the team and can rotate the positions on the court de-pending on player’s level of improvement through-out the season.“I will not cut. One of my goals is to make tennis accessible for everyone,” Coach Scott Barber, the current varsity tennis coach, said. “If the numbers get large we will figure something out”.However, “no cut” policies might not be best for high school athletic teams.“I personally don’t like it. It is great to have all the people on the team, but at times it can bring down the teams ability” senior Josiah Denson said.Tryouts would encourage more playing outside of the season and more preparation among the play-ers.

In the past BHS’s tennis teams have not been very competitive, but the team is optimistic. With the merge next year there will be a larger amount of players to choose from for the seven varsity and seven jv positions.But the no cut policy has also provided many op-portunities to students who have had no prior tennis experience before joining the team. Both Mike and Josiah were not familiar with the sport until Josiah’s freshman year and Mike’s sophomore year.As a student athlete myself, I have found the no cut policy to be a very good thing. I had no experi-ence with tennis before my freshman year and was greeted the first day of practice with a smiling coach and an open spot on varsity. The no cut policy gave me the chance to discover something I loved, and while our team might not have been as competitive as others, we still had fun. After all, it is not always about winning, but how you play the game.

“Honestly, I wish there were cuts” senior Michael Anguilano said, “it would force play-ers to be more accountable for their plays on the court. It would make the team much more competitive”.

Apr i l 18 Entertainment

Part TwoBreaking Dawn

n Saturday, March 2, a popular series was finally completed. The release of Breaking Dawn Part II, the last movie in the Twilight Saga, became available at midnight to all of the dedicated fans.

For this event, many stores predicted a high turnout number. Many stores opened a few hours early or at midnight to start selling the new movie. “The store opened an hour early. We were supposed to have a party, but we cancelled it so not many people lined up,” Christopher Cameron, an employee at the movie and music store FYE in South Park mall said. “People came to the store all day to receive the movie that they reserved.” At FYE, if a person reserved a movie, they received free tee shirts, posters, and wrist bands.

By Sunday, the store sold out of Breaking Dawn Part II and ordered 100 more to be delivered the next day. But the last section of the saga was not the only movie that was selling quickly.

At Wal-Mart, Breaking Dawn Part II was not the only high selling movie. “When people came to buy part two, a lot of people bought all of them,” Janika Cook, an employee at Wal-Mart, said.

At Wal-Mart, similar to FYE, a lot of posters were sold. Unlike FYE, Wal-Mart does not sell a lot of soundtracks for the Twilight series. At FYE, Chris said that he sees soundtracks being sold “more than one would think”.

Both employees said that they have heard great reviews about the movie and Janika Cook said, “I saw the movie. It was my favorite out of all of them”.

Abigail Sarver-Verhey, a junior at BHS, also has seen the part two of Breaking Dawn.

“The movie was terrible, but I read the books and I really enjoyed those, so then I had to see the movies,” Abigail said. “The kid was really cute but Kristen Stewart was still awkward like she always was”.

“I did not see, or buy, the last movie. I saw Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn Part I but I did not buy any of them” said Anna Render, a BHS senior.

There were different reviews of the movie and also different outcomes on the customers’ experience depending on which store they purchased the movie.

In 2001, the first Harry Potter book was released as a movie. Much

like the Harry Potter series, the Twilight series has sparked interest in many people.

“For Harry Potter the customers dressed up as Harry. They would like to talk to you and hold up the line and act like they are in the movie,” Cameron said. “But I’d say more people dressed up for the Twilight movies”.

If you purchased the movie at FYE, some of the customers put on a little show.

“People dressed up and talked like them. People get too into some movies,” Cameron said.

People of all ages all across the United States were purchasing the film.

“In over 3,000 stores across the United States, the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn- Part 2 sold an estimated 3.85 million combined DVD and Blu-ray units in its home entertainment launch over the weekend,” according to movieweb.com.

OMegan CauseyStaff Writer

Senior Christopher Cameron, emploee at FYE at South Park Mall, holding Breaking Dawn Part 2.