february 24, 2011

“They both reach for the gun” is the infamous line that AHS students won’t be able to stop thinking about. On Feb. 23, the Ashland High School Performing Arts’ rendition of “Chicago” is moving into the Mountain Avenue Theatre. The sexy tone of “all that jazz” will be ringing through the ears of starstruck students un-til they can’t handle it anymore. The anticipation of “Chicago” has al-ready started. Tickets are available online at showtix4u.com as well as at Paddington Station, Treehouse Books and the Music Coop in downtown Ashland. “Chica-go” has been advertised through posters

around school and AHS students have taken notice. “I bought my ticket early be-cause I’ve heard the tickets were going to sell out quick,” AHS sophomore Kia Par-rish-Haim said. Tickets are $17 for gen-eral admission and $12 for AHS students and senior citizens. The cast members have been hard at work since the third week of December. “I counted 300 hours of practice, not includ-ing the performances. It’s fun, hard work that is all worth it in the end because it’s our work that puts the play together,” AHS sophomore and lead cast member Josette Saydah said. The audience is expected to

be large and the orchestra loud as the ac-tors sing their well rehearsed lines. According to AHS sophomore and cast member Maya Zundel, “Chicago” will not only be entertaining for the audience but also the actors. “It is going to be really en-joyable. The music is stunning, the band is amazing and visually, the set and costumes are breathetaking.” Zundel elaborated. Director Lenny Neimark has each and every cast member swept off their feet with exhaustion from practice but ready to hit the big stage. The preview showing is at 7:30p.m. on Wed. Feb. 23. On Feb. 24-26, March

3-6 and 10-13, “Chicago” will be the main attraction at AHS. The actors will be performing at 7:30p.m. on Thursdays through Saturdays, and at 2p.m. for the Sunday matinees. “AHS normally features plays that reach out to young adults, it will be cool to see a mature rendition of ‘Chicago.’” junior Logan McKelvey said. The tickets are sell-ing quickly so order your ticket now. The drama ends on March 16 when “Chicago” packs up and leaves Ashland High, so come to the Mountain Avenue Theatre to watch Roxy rock “Chicago” before it’s too late!

Jazz, crime and fame are promi-nent themes of the racy 1920s play, Chicago. When fame hungry Roxie Hart ( Josette Saydah) murders her lover, Fred Casely (Nick Mckernan), she is thrown into the slammer to join the many other women, or the Six Merry Murderesses, and the scheming Matron Mama Morton (Aurelia Grierson). Once in jail, Roxie meets famous Vaudeville performer Velma Kelly (Sophie Javna), whom she had al-ways idolized. The two women begin

competing for the spotlight, using their committed murders as spring-boards to fame. The gossip-hungry public feeds upon the two ladies’ trials, which are led by the manipulative and powerful Mr. Billy Flynn (Charlie Bass). All of this is observed by Roxie’s naïve hus-band, Amos Hart (Drew Starmer). The entire show is a feast for the eyes as realities are transformed into Vaudeville fantasies with the help of the jazz era where anything goes.

by Megan Ganim

February 23

February 24, 25 & 26March 3, 4, 5, 10, 11 & 12

March 6 & 13

Wednesday preview at 7:30 p.m.................

Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m................

Matinee Sundays at 2 p.m............................

Name: Velma Kelly

Age: 23

Hometown: Chicago, IL

Occupation: Vaudeville entertainer/jazz slayer

Spouse: Charlie Hanson

Charged with: The murder of her husband and sister.What she’s famous for: Originally, Velma was a well known jazz performer with her younger sister, Veronica. After murdering Veronica and Charlie, Velma became even better known

Tag line: “Come on babe, we’re gonna brush the sky.”

Name: Roxie Hart

Age: 21

Hometown: Ripley, Mississippi

Occupation: Chorus member of the speakeasy

Spouse: Amos Hart

Charged with: Murder of Fred Casely, her lover.What she’s famous for: Roxie is the sweet girl who got mixed up with the wrong crowd and ended up

murdering her lover- out of defense of course

Tag line: “The name on everybody’s lips is gonna be Roxie.”

Photo by Debra Thornton

Vol. V, Issue VIFebruary 24, 2011Online at theroguenews.com

February 24, 2011 Rogue News

by Elle Swarttouw

AHS is Unplugged again

by Halie Haynes

Local philanthropists out for blood

Dancing has become quite the controversy at Ashland High. Stu-dents who dance in a “dirty” or “sexual” manner have many parents worried over the inappropriate “moves,” and in some cases parents have voiced their concerns to the school. “All across the country, high schools are having issues with students dancing “dirty”,” leadership teacher Reed Sorensen said. Ashland High is attempting to reduce the amount of grinding or “dirty” dancing with dance lessons at the beginning of school sponsored dances. Although there isn’t an official policy enforced at AHS regarding grinding, there’s the possibility that a policy will be developed if the students, continue our inappropriate moves. Grants Pass High School recently published rules to eliminate grinding. These rule consist of things such as “no touching breasts, buttocks or genitals,” “no bending over,” “both feet on the ground,” “no straddling each other’s legs,” and “no prolonged public displays of affection.” “The main objective is to have fun! We also want to teach students how to dance together with a wider range of moves,” Michelle Zundel said. Student body Co-President Kathryn Reynolds, who participated in the dance lessons at homecoming, reflected “I enjoyed the dance lesson because partner dancing is very fun, but is a dwindling activity. It was great to see such a big turn out, however they weren’t administered as well as they could have been, so if we could do it again differently we definitely would” Community members are chosen to instruct by their dancing style expertise. Instruction takes place during the half hour to hour of the dance. Mrs. Zundel is hoping that the lessons will also take place at prom, so if you would like to learn some new moves there’s still a chance!

photo illustration by Taylor Patterson

by Olivia Fidler

On March 2, a blood drive will be held in the upper commons from 9am to 1pm. Throughout the day, students can be excused from class to donate to the cause. Although this blood drive is arranged by the Red Cross, it is different than most blood drives held at AHS because it is the senior project of Caitlin Stacey and Melissa Lema. Most students choose a personal topic when doing their se-nior project, a graduation requirement at AHS. “We have chosen this project because people always need blood. Every two seconds someone in the world is in need of a blood transfusion. Donating blood is a fast and easy way to give back to the community and save lives which is unfortunately something many people don’t think about doing.” Lema, said. Stacey and Lema’s goal for the blood drive is to collect at least fifty-six pints of blood by the end of the day; a seemingly simple feat due to that fact that many students at AHS are willing to participate. “We want to let people know just how valuable something this easy can be,” Stacey Said. Donating one pint of blood can save up to three lives. During the winter sea-son, donations are usually in short supply, so right now is the perfect time to give blood. “Giving blood makes me feel good about myself. Knowing that I could potentially help save three lives is a very rewarding experience,” Ashlynn Tapp, a freshman at AHS, said. With the help of AHS students, Stacey and Lema’s aspirations of donating fifty-six pints of blood can be met.

Get out your planners singers and musicians, Ashland High School’s setting the stage yet again with Ashland’s Unplugged event open to students, staff and parents on March 10 after school in the upper-commons. There can only be one talent show, but AHS gives live performers the chance to be seen and heard every few months through our new ‘outlet’ Ashland Unplugged. Principle Michelle Zundell recognized the great lack in performance opportunities after watching AHS’s talent show in winter 2010 and created a way for entertainers of the next generation to perform live with a comfortable audience. “My priority is to have fun activities for the students,” Zundell said.

Ashland’s Unplugged was a success earlier this school year and featured ten per-formers, including two teachers. To prearrange your spot in round two of

Ashland’s Unplugged sign up in the main office. In these short years they call the ‘best of our lives’, little time should be wasted in bashful-ness, the spot light is ours AHS so don’t let this opportunity burn

out.

Ladies and gentlemen, America is a country based on freedom. I strongly believe that in honoring this glorious tradition, Ashland High School should ensure our children have the liberty to be pro-tected from dangerous and disturbing motion pictures. School policy currently requires that students bring a permis-

sion slip to class, allowing them to view movies rated over PG. My friends, I fear that this hard working, but embarrassingly small measure, is far too impotent and inadequate to satisfy what your mothers are demanding: a rigid policy against sexual in-nuendos and a firm stance against graphic displays of violence and drugs. Ladies and gentlemen, students are being scarred by the hideous displays of drug addiction in “Sherlock Hol-

mes” episodes, the depiction of nuclear holocaust in “Dr. Strangelove” or the twisted acts of lust, debauchery, mur-der, suicide and underage drinking in Franco Zeffirelli’s film adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet.” Our current policies let these insidious seeds of lech-ery and moral degradation slither and squirm into the impressionable minds of our youth, irrevocably corrupting previously upstanding citizens. I am reluctant to talk about it, but I myself have endured an unsettling cinemato-

graphic experience in my time at Ashland High School. Freshman year, during a viewing of that same film of “Romeo and Juliet,” certain portions of the actress playing Juliet were revealed. This degenerate spectacle deeply traumatized me; time stopped, I be-came disoriented, I refused to accept what I was seeing—I remember thinking: no, this isn’t happening, this can’t be happening, not to me, not to me! I left class that day profoundly shaken. Thankfully, I am fortunate enough to have never witnessed such a shameful sight ever again.

Clearly, this problem requires a deep and penetrating investigation of the films deemed appropriate by our current policy. Our school must plug the crack of the ruptured dam, to keep the trickle of Hollywood smut from bursting forth into a flood. We, as a society, have an obligation to protect the virtues of our future leaders by making sure they are never exposed to the gritty realities of, well, reality.


Rogue News is published by the newspaper classes of Ashland High School, 201 South Mountain Ave., Ashland, Oregon 97520. (541) 482-8771 ext. 195. The editorials written by the Rogue News express the opinions of the editorial staff on issues relevant to the staff, the school and the community. Personal columns do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the entire staff and are written as the opinion of the individual author. Letters to the editor, which should be under 250 words, are encouraged. They can be dropped off outside of Room 202, put in Mr. William Gabriel’s box in the main office or emailed to [email protected]. No letters will be printed without a verified signature. Letters received in the second week of production will not appear until the next issue. The Rogue News staff reserves the right to refuse to print any poten-tially libelous or obscene material, anything that would invade the privacy of others, or anything that could cause a disruption of the school environment.

Rogue NewsEditorial/Designer BoardEditors-in-Chief................................Grace Riley-Adams, Taylor Patterson, ............................................................................................Elias OpgenorthFront Page.......................................................Angelica Florio/ Ian SmeenkNews Page..................................................Megan Ganim/ Taylor PattersonOpinion Page..........................................Michaela Anderson/ Sadie SheltonIn-Depth page...............................................Annika Hearn/ Elle SwarttouwArts and Entertainment...................................Amelia Farber/ Anya LudwigSports Page......................................................Neil Presicci/ Zack Hartman Backpage.........................................................Olivia Fidler/ Hannah MillerOnline Editors...................................................Mack Conroy/ Dante ToppoManaging Editor......................................................................Sadie SheltonPhotography Editor..................................................................Laurel SagerBusiness Manager…….…..…..................................................Talen HeaterCopy Editor................................................................................Caytie SieglChief Designer.....................................................................Taylor Patterson

Angelic Messages

Inappropriately Appropriate?by Ryan Mills

Like it or not, taboo subjects such as sex and swearing are integral parts of the real world. Ashland High School has fails to acknowledge this when faculty smothers artistic expression in pursuit of political correct-ness. This has caused the controversy around the upcoming production of Chicago. “When we do a show we want it to keep it PG so we can open it up to younger audiences,” Betsy Bishop said on behalf of the theatre de-partment. This perspective raises a question: How do you do a show about sex, murder, and language without including sex, murder and language? The administration justified the decision to produce the show by claim-ing that it expressed historical events. Bishop has made most of the changes herself, and some of the cuts are raising serious questions. The editors have eliminated any word harsher than “damn” or “hell;” this seriously affects the subject matter of the production. During the satirical song “Class,” two women are singing about the lack of class in society while they inap-

propriately swear. When they cut out words such as sh*t and a** (oh the irony) from the song, then it loses its ironic message. The script readers have also cut the scantily clad outfits and sexual innuendos, which added to the representation of the sexual revolution of independent women dur-ing the 1920s. Even the historical side of the show is now lacking. A simi-lar problem occurred last year when the production of “Grease” lacked continuity because of the edits made to the script. Picking controversial productions and censoring them for younger au-diences (who probably don’t understand it anyway) is a dangerous habit that the school should seriously consider shaking. While the students have worked hard to make these excellent productions, you can’t help but won-der if the themes the writers were attempting to express are actually be-ing included. If the production does not accurately represent the original work, it may be best to leave these shows up to professional theatres and universities and exempt them from the sterile high-school environment.

photo by Laurel sager photo by Sierra Kistler

by Angelica Florio

by Dante Toppo

Dante’s InfernoR-Rated

Watching movies in class is often far more ex-citing than listening to a lecture or reading about a specific topic, even if it is one of those unrealistic reenact-ment videos that make you feel awkward. Nothing is worse than that horrible moment when the screen goes blue right when the movie is getting interesting. This is called censorship. Censorship is a

synonym for lies. It is a lie to make us believe that, right when Romeo and Juliet realize their true passion, all they did was gaze into each other’s sweet seductive eyes, and it is a lie to imply that there is no blood in war. Students are missing out on the full cinematic experience, which leads to greater confusion in the end. Fast forwarding through the “bad” parts of movies just doesn’t cut it. I mean, really, what kind of message is that? When life gets hard you can simply fast for-ward through it and pretend it never happened? When someone is about to get killed you can simply fast forward through it and then go out, eat a donut and feel fine? It seems like this is setting up our students for even greater failure. I will never forget the time when we watched a scene from “The Godfather, Part II” in class, only to have it butchered to make it seem like we were watching a mash between “The Brady Bunch” and “Jersey Shore.” No matter what the case is, limiting our sources of knowledge is causing inaccurate portrayals of important historical events and lessons. I think it is more dangerous to allow our students to go out into the world not knowing what happens in the end of (insert movie here) than it is to let them see a little violence or read and hear profanity, especially for the older high school students.

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Q&A with Dylan Shink in Wood Shop

Artists in the making

Tabby Oddo,

RN: What inspires your art? Shink: I’m pretty much just like: Does that look good? If the answer is no, I change the shape, and if it’s yes I leave it as is. RN: How did you get involved in this art? When?Shink: I took Woodshop as a freshman, and I wasn’t really into it. However, this past summer I was at the national Yoyo convention and there were some people there who were turning tops. I decided top give woodshop another try and now I’ve learned to make them through a lot of trial and error.RN: What does art mean to you?Shink: I wouldn’t really consider this art… I feel that art has to me impactful and withdraw emotions whereas I just consider my tops to be pretty.

by Nayeon Kim

Drawing by Tabby Oddo

Drawing by Tabby Oddo

photo by Laurel Sager



painting by Kendra Farber

“[I paint because] It’s what I can’t express with words,”-Kendra Farber

PainterPainter

Wood worker

Painting by Max Estes

Painting byMia O’Daugherty

On March 4 from 5 to 8 p.m., nineteen students – nominated by teachers John Weston, Mark Schoenleber, Samar Dawisha and Laura Davidson – will be featured in

Ashland’s Art Walk.

Kendra Farber,

Dylan Shink,


Painting’s by

CLARA MUNRO

Chris CaliseWoodshop-Wizz,

Q&A with Chris Calise in Wood-

shop

RN: What does art mean to you?Calise: It’s my Gateway. No matter your mood art is a gateway to good feelings.RN: How did you get involved in this art? When?Calise: I started taking it seriously 3 years ago. Woodshop is new to me. When I transferred here I was asked to take wood shop, and I thought it would be fun to try something new.

by Nayeon Kim

Adelante! Gallery & Tea House:Misha Lake, paintingsAshland Art WorksDylan Schink, lathe work/spinning tops & hollow formsChris Calise, furniture – small table & turned custom pens, large ink & watercolor pieces, some smaller piecesAshland Art CenterMaxwell Plotkin, abstract minimalistEnoteca Wine Bar & BistroAngelique Brownlie, figure drawings Zena Coffman, oil pastels & paintingsBoulevard CoffeeKendra Farber, chalk pastel paintingsJega Gallery & Sculpture GardenEmily Kamrath, paintingsIllahe Studios & GalleryJackson Davis, video production Nalani Thiel, drawings & paintingsLiquid Assets Wine BarDjaruna Smith, chalks, ink, watercolorsMia O’Dougherty, painting, oil pastels NimbusKevin Schilling, lathe work/turned bottle stoppers & pens/vessels Chad Bernard, furniture. Painting byMisha Lake

The Drawing and Painting class of Ashland High School offers many styles of art, from abstract art and realistic art to portraits. This class offers a wide range of artistic freedom and students are encouraged to broaden their artistic abilities by experimenting with sketching, acrylic painting and more. This course can be taken multiple times for repeat credits and the costs covering supplies require a $15 enrollment fee. It is taught by the outgoing Fresh Start guru Mark Schoenleber, who welcomes all students and supports the arts with a passionate energy.

Drawing and Painting at AHSWhere the magic happensby Nayeon Kim

Drawing by Djaruna Smith

Art Walk Assignments

Ashland High School has a hidden jewel of a program, one that most high schools just dream of having. John Weston, the resident expert in woodwork-ing, is also the instructor of the stained glass/jewelry/woodworking class. The class involves three main projects: a stained glass lamp that is made of four panels constructed by the students, a pure-silver ring constructed using the lost-wax method of carving and designing your own ring, and a carved-wood panel or piece created using a scroll saw, a pattern (or an original design) and

wood stains and dyes. Students learn how to cut colored glass, solder the glass together, and set up the electrics to make the lamp work; carve hard wax into the shape and design of a ring, use a centrifuge to spin the silver into the hollow mold, and polish the finished product; use a scroll saw, sand down small pieces of wood, and fit them together to create an intricately designed wood puzzle-sculpture.


It often surprises students to run into a teacher while grocery shopping or anywhere off campus. As students, we frequently forget that our teachers have lives outside of working hard to make academic classes interesting for us. More often than not, their oth-er talents go unnoticed. Brenda Paustian has one such talent. For the past year, Paustian has been fashioning jew-elry and other creations from fused glass in her spare time. “It’s fun to do something different from teaching,” Paustian said. Tammy Anderson ini-tially sparked Paustian’s interest in fused glass jew-elry. The pair spent a few days making pendants in John Weston’s shop be-fore the holidays last year, and it wasn’t long before Paustian was in the shop

whenever possible. Even-tually, Paustian purchased her own kiln, which she ul-timately paid for by selling her artwork on the Fourth of July. She has now set up a small workshop in her own garage and created a name for her business: Laughing Glass. The process for making fused glass jewelry is rela-tively simple. It is a matter of layering different types and colors of glass in a way that, hopefully, will be ap-pealing in the end. Paus-tian is the first to admit that the process is far from an exact science, and she is constantly experimenting.

The layers of glass are then fired in the kiln at ex-treme temperatures, fusing the layers together and are sometimes fired multiple times to achieve certain ef-fects. “It’s just so fun to see how everything turns out; part of it you have control over, part of you have no control over,” Paustian comment-ed. In recent months, she has branched out to make sushi dishes, coasters, pic-ture frames and trivets along with pendants and earrings. If you’re ever in need of a unique gift, you don’t have to look any fur-ther than math class.

Laughing Glass

Teague Teece slides down the wall and sits outside the AHS sewing room. M&M cookie in hand, she seems per-fectly at ease and promptly states, “I cre-ate animals.” To date, Teece has made an octopus, turtle, dog and monster, with the turtle even having a pink leg to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month. “When I say ‘pattern’ for knitting I mean instruc-tions. The ones I sew I use a pattern and attach the fab-ric to it,” explained Teece. Teece has been knitting since she was nine years old. “My neighbor, Kathy Sager, Laurel Sager’s mom, taught me,” she laughed. “I took my first sewing class here sophomore year,” she said. And she hasn’t looked back. Teece is quick to point out that while for her, “the patterns are pretty easy,” there are “so many amazing people with skills in this class. Logan McKelvey can whip out a sweatshirt in half an hour, and Ali Claypool-Conrad

makes beautiful dresses.” As for the future, Teece harbors hopes of starting her own line with junior Lo-gan McKelvey. “It kind of started out as a joke at first, but now we’re getting more serious,” she said. Teece recalls McKelvey joking that, “When we make our first million, we’ll give it to Mrs. Davidson. Mrs. David-son really has inspired us to become art-ists in this way.” It is apparent that there is

something else at work in Teece’s making animal dolls. Teece loves bring-

ing humor and happi-ness to the lives of those

around her, as well as to her own life. “My mom’s favor-ite is the monster,” she

said with a smile. Teece is a pleasant reminder of the ‘joy of the simple things in

life’ that far too many people have for-gotten these days. She tells us all to fol-low your passions and do what pleases us, even if it’s at the expense of fame or money.

by Michaela Andersonby Morgan Carne

Photo by Laurel Sager

Photos by Caitlin Stacey

by Amelia Farber

Ashland

Who: Students from Samar Dawi-

sha’s Video 1 and 2 classes

are submitting films, as well

as kids from outside of class.

What: Short movies (no longer than 6 minutes) made by AHS students are showcased on the big-screen

When: The short films will be shown April 29

in the IVC room at 6:00 pm. Filmmak-

ers will be working on their projects for

the next several weeks, in and outside

of class.

How much:

Admission for family members is $5,

and students get a 2-for-1 discount

with photo ID.

High School Annual5th Film Festival

Mrs. Paustian flaunts her jewelery

Feb 24, 2011 Rogue News

In a sport that often takes guts for glory, Alex Frol, an avid ski racer, has found success de-spite a disadvantageous physical condition. She has had to over-come far more obstacles than her teammates on the Ashland High School ski team. Frol lives and skis with only one leg. Frol was 9 years old when she first became interested in skiing. Because she was born with her condition, living with only one leg felt commonplace, and she was ready to break free of some of her limits. Her first inspira-tion was her brother, Connor Frol, a snowboarder. Unfortu-nately, it is virtually impossible to snowboard with one leg. “I wanted to do something in the snow. So I turned to skiing, the

best alternative to snow-

boarding.” In recent years, the sport of skiing has adapted to accommo-date a multitude of disabilities.

For Frol, three-track skiing al-lows her to maneuver down Mt. Ashland on a single ski, using special poles, called outriggers, for support. Outriggers are s u p p o r t i v e c r u t c h e s w h i c h l o o k s im-ilar t o

poles, but have ski tips at the bottom to aid in turning and bal-

ance. With three-tracks, a skier can eventually learn to ski independently on the most challenging ter-rain. But at 9 years old,

Frol had to learn where every skier or snowboarder begins- the Bunny Hill. It wasn’t until two years

after her first nerve-racking experience on Sonnet that skiing really “clicked” for Frol. She and her coach,

Sam Sturgeon, stood at the lip of The Bowl, staring down the ra-

vine. Frol was terrified. “Okay, Alex,” Sam

said to her, “We’re going to try some-

thing different now.” Frol

remembers s a i l i n g

down the

drop. “I started skiing, and I couldn’t hear anything. Pretty soon I made it to the bottom. The next time I bombed down it and went all the way up the other side of the hill.” Since, Frol has been passion-ate about skiing. She grew to love racing with MARA (Mt. Ashland Racing Association). In this program, she had to con-front the differences between her and other racers. Skiers with two legs had an evident advantage. Looking back, Frol notes that she “wasn’t the best,” yet she is still satisfied that she was able to improve her fastest racing time by an incredible 30 seconds. Today, Frol actively partici-pates in Ashland High’s Alpine Ski Team. During dry land prac-tice, Frol found herself faced with another hardship. Some of the team’s training activities were impossible for Frol to participate in with one leg. “I was the one who stayed back and tried to do [the exercises], which made me

feel ‘outside-ish,’” she recounts when trying unsuccessfully to

join in at practice. Nevertheless, it is all worth it when Frol gets to race. “I love to race,” she explains. “You get into a zone.” To people born with two legs, having just one might seem like a torment and a nuisance. But for Frol, neither of these words describe her condition. Not only does she feel entirely accepted and admired on the mountain, but living one-legged seems completely natural to Frol. In fact, when her friends or brother tease her about her condition, she is momentarily confused. “I sometimes forget other peo-ple have two legs, as opposed to just one. You just learn to accept it and get on with your life.”

by Isobel Whitcomb and Jonathan Mills

Photo courtesy of Alex Frol

With the new “conferences” in many of the sports this year, the Grizzlies’ season is almost completely dependent on the games between them and Eagle Point. In basketball, the Grizzlies play the Eagles twice, and head to head deter-mines seeding for playoffs. The scenario of a tie is brought up if the games are split. What is the tiebreaker? Is it a coin toss? Is it point dif-ferential? Is it strength of schedule? It is none of these; the tiebreaker goes to the team with the higher power ranking. The power rankings are new this year in high school sports. OSAA factors in winning percentage, opponents winning percentage and opponent’s opponent’s winning percentage. The team with the higher power ranking will be seeded as a number one seed in the play-in round of the state playoffs. In some cases the power rankings can result in an unde-sirable match up. For instance, this past fall, the football team felt the wrath of the power rankings as they got sent on the road to face the eventual state champion Sherwood Bowman, where they suffered a crushing 63-14 defeat. In Volleyball, the power rankings did not come into effect this season, though the Eagles and Grizz split matches. The Grizzlies won three games and the Eagles, four.

Because the Grizzlies won in fewer games, they advanced as the number one 5A seed from Southern Oregon. “The power rankings don’t take into consideration which players play each game, it’s all based on who beats who, and if your superstar gets hurt, you can still be ridiculously ranked but be losing ev-ery game. It’s a faulty system that has advantages, but not for high school,” said senior football player, Jackson Volz. Since the boys basketball team split their meetings with the Eagles on a heroic buzzer beater by Billy Hansen, the battle is now for the better seed in the power rankings. “It would have been better if we swept EP, but we split, which means it will come down to the power rankings. I wish we could have played a third game to decide who takes the number one seed, but now it just really comes down to these last few games,” said junior Jake McCoy. The Grizz currently sit at 16, and the Eagles are at 17. The Grizz boys and girls teams both finished with the higher power ranking and number one seed, and will therefore each host a playoff game. The new system is creating an unlikely rivalry between the underdog Eagles and the historically powerful Grizzles; the term ‘battle royale’ has been redefined.

Illustration by Kailey Cockelll

Photo by Laurel Sager

by Dylan Molnar

Fever Sweat by Ryan Mills

You know each bead of sweatBetter than your high school senior classYour sheets are soaking wetAnd your heart pumps blood like overpriced gasTake the knife in your handAnd use it to slice your hairMake them all understand Make them all want to careAnd as your fever reaches its climaxYou reach out your fist Your mother is to slow to reactYour aim is good, you never missAnd the window shatteredAlong with your future plansThe things you thought really matteredBut you’ve forfeited the use of your handsAnd you never thought your life would changeMonotony, you bragged, was not for youBut secretly you wanted it to stay the sameWhat you loved, you can no longer doBut bad attention is still attentionIsn’t that what you want?Unfortunately failure doesn’t come with compensationNow your lingering ideas are ghosts sent to hauntAnd the walls are now also thick with sweatPerspiration from your luke warm breathGod has created a zoo for his petA lab rat who begs for deathBut you only have a hollow hopeThat a stranger will set you freeIn the meantime you are forced to cope With the feeling that you are trapped for eternityYou’ve resorted to staring at the wallsBegging them to catch on fireYou pray that jesus will answer your callsAnd force the smoke to take you higherAt least away from the public restroom where you resideThe previous occupant’s chicken scratchOn the walls, are the words that you subscribe toAnd you sit for hours with a locked latchAnd your legs perfectly crossedListening for the sounds of the outsideHoping that your mind isn’t completely lostHoping that your instincts haven’t liedIn this wasteland where you striveAnd your only attempts at conservationIs to try and surviveBut you lack the power of observationSo good luck is my only adviceYour world is not for meI prefer to gamble and roll the diceBut I will let you sit, I will let you be

I look deep into your eyes I wonder if you have a hidden mindhave you ever stopped time to understand someone’s personal rhyme hidden truth commonly hidden behind eyes there is no rhyme just rhythm and wonder claps of thunder and question marks surround my thoughts rain drops stop slow the mind come back to time I see your mind she said silence is a language when you listen The Tundra

by Nick Mckernan A dark moon quests cross the tundra sky and marks its stars guidance as met, while wolves signal prayer in the darkness so that their God will never forget That it breathes for the body I’ve taken as I move in these feet that aren’t mine; they were grown from those old and forsaken who fell upon death in a line It’s the same line that birthed my own venture past these sheets in the mid afterglow under clouds that have hovered forever, past the worldly things I could know So maybe I walk for the Wolf God and it sleeps at the end my path and the one-day that I’ll meet upon it It will welcome me home with a laugh In the back of my crown I know you though, I’m the king and the queen of our goal and even if that means forever than forever will live for a soul

Onion Words. by Taylor Zehren

The days that lack the time to write

feel so restless, without ease. No comfort of the glaring white

or the rhythm of the keys. Some prefer the scribbled script

with stiff pencil felt in hand. It doesn’t matter how equipped, the words are the will of the man.

The sentences are fluid like the blood within our veins;

as it flows throughout our bodies the verbs take away the pain.

As she watches the people breathing, the adjectives tell her why.

Some phrases are cut short the same moment someone dies.

Shiny metal scrapes on metal just as redundancy can.

The feelings that you hold within pour out, regardless of prior plan. Its the temperance of the colons

when recollection hits. As the poetry bends

all worry of names has fled, like the layers of an onion,

the layers that it sheds.

Graphic by Kailey Cockell

Graphic by Kailey Cockell

I look Deep Into Your Eyesby Sage Whorton

february 24, 2011

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