ECHOES Issue 7 | Volume 114Early March 2015

2014-15

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The Independent Voice of Abraham Lincoln High School | Council Bluffs, Iowa | ALechoes.com

March 6:End of Trimester

March 9:

No School

March 10:Start of new Trimester

LYNX UNITED

Ranked 7 in the 4A division in the state, the boys basketball team shot up the ranks before falling March 3 to Sioux City North, 47-46.

With 19 strong wins and 3 losses, the team had the state competition within its grasp. The boys put up an astonishing and goal-shattering season.

With the regular season concluding on Feb. 19, with AL defeating Sioux City Heelan, the Lynx ended the 2014-2015 season as Missouri River Conference Boy’s Basketball regular

season champions. Shortly after the regular season victory, the Lynx defeated their city rival Lewis Central--before a full Abraham Lincoln Fieldhouse--75-57 in the first substate matchup.

Regardless, the boys have had a successful season and have earned a reputation foreign to Lynx Basketball since 2000. With an average of 67 points per game, the team has produced impressive control of the ball. A large part of this production was from senior Joe Northup and junior Kyle Crowl. During the Feb. 19 game against Bishop Heelan, Crowl scored 33 points, and the first half concluded with Northup nabbing a half court shot at the buzzer.

“When I made that shot the crowd went nuts. I’ve never made a big shot like that before,” senior Joe Northup said.

The Lynx also have accumulated over 140 three pointers throughout the season from the main three point shooters: senior Nick Pomernackas and junior Tony Bonner.

“The summer workouts really made a difference. Coming in we knew we could do something special. We had three goals; city, conference, and state,” Northrup said.

The boys have brought back a reputation unknown to the school. Since 2000, the Lynx haven’t even had the opportunity to make it to state, let alone sub state. The

sad conclusion of the March 3 game leaves the young men with some time to reflect on this year’s events.

“We wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for everything that coach has done for us,” junior Kyle Crowl said.

Whether it’s the memories or the athletic performance of the guys, the boys left the court with some food for thought.

“I’m going to miss the

coaches and being in the gym a lot with this group of guys,” Northup said. “My favorite memory is dunking against Sioux City East. I turned around and my teammates and crowd were going crazy,” Northup added.

“We wanted to give the seniors a season that they will never forget, and to make a run that hasn’t happened in a long time at AL,” junior Adam Barrett said.

This year marks a

successful turnaround for the players and coaches. The spirit and unwillingness to give up has caused the the boys to gain a huge advantage in the competition. With a very memorable season in the books, the boys can start a new chapter. No matter the circumstances, the AL community is a family, and as one, the Lynx will continue to be proud and fight on.

Will SchademanSports Editor

See page 12: •basketball photo gallery

•reaction from Coach Jason Isaacson

Fans react to a call made at a substate finals basketball game between the Lynx and Sioux City North on March 3 at Thomas Jefferson High School.

Tanner HochstetlerSports Editor

ALHS fans bond as school, community following loss

Photos by Tanner Hochstetler

News2 EchoesNathan Vorce | News Editor Early March 2015

LSC gains prominence in community

The Latino Success Club was started at AL back in

2012. In the past two years, the club has established itself as a positive group which volunteers often, and has a stake in activities at AL, including the selling of Mexican hot chocolate before school during November and December. This group is sponsored by spanish instructor Megan Coppola and biology teacher Brian Moritz, and was previously sponsored by counselor Larella Rangel, who helped the club plan volunteer days and organize fundraisers to help support the club and school.

“Right now, they are working on charitable work. They want to raise money for a charity fundraiser,” Coppola said. “They want to do something to give back to the community.”

To give back to the community, the club is seizing opportunities to do volunteer work. Member Ricardo Lopez thinks volunteering is key to getting involved in the community.

“Beginning March 23, we’ll be volunteering at Children’s Square. Latino parents will go to night school, and we will watch their kids while they learn at the night classes,” Lopez said.

Larella Rangel believes that the students in the Latino Success Club are very

driven, and the club is very student led.

“Last year, I presented options and activity options to them. This year they’ve been making their own connections, they contact administrators directly to set up event times, and they create their own schedule,” Rangel said.

Aside from the regular club meetings and selling of goods, the club also has social activities outside of school, including a movie night that was hosted recently. The group will also be a part of the Celebrate Council Bluffs Parade in May.

Aside from giving back to the community, the club also provides incentive to its own members. With some of the funds acquired from Photo submitted by Ricardo Lopez.

Read all about it: Novel Book Club starts

The Novel Idea Book Club is providing students with an opportunity to choose from a unique list of books that have gathered a lot of recent attention.

“The book club’s pretty laid back and it’s not a typical book club. Our attendees chose 15 of the books that are in the running for the Printz Award at the end of the season. Also, the public library supplies those books for us,” School Librarian Jennifer Misbach said.

Many students enjoy attending the club for its benefits relating to social interactions with others and meeting new people.

“I think it brings a lot of different kids together and it has definitely inspired me to read more,” sophomore Katie Pregon said.

Other students appreciate the club for its sense of independence and its relaxed atmosphere.

“We don’t focus on a single book but Misbach

choses 10-20 books and we get to chose which one we want to read. Afterwards, we are able to rate the book on a 1-5 scale,” junior Collin Smith said.

In addition to benefiting students socially through student interactions, the Novel Idea Book Club offers another outlet for educational improvements in the area of reading and comprehension.

“The obvious benefit to kids who participate is that they talk about what they read, which makes them better readers and

Calab HolderBusiness Manager

Nathan VorceCo-editor in chief

the fundraising events, the group is seeking to grant a scholarship to one of its members.

“We’re trying to fundraise enough money for a scholarship, but we don’t have enough for it yet,” Lopez said.

Another activity the club would like to do is a donation drive for El Día Del Niño, or Children’s Day, celebrated on April 30 in Mexico.

“We’d like to ask teachers and students to bring in toys for an organization that helps children, although it’s not certain yet,” Lopez said.

The club continues to be a positive presence at AL, doing altruistic acts and performing charity work within the school and community.

College fair offers help to students

College Cross-roads is a college and career fair

for 8th grade through 11th grade students from Wilson, Kirn, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson. The pur-pose of the event is to learn about planning for college and careers. Counsellor Lar-ella Rangel wants students and parents to be aware of this event.

“Everyone is welcome, and they should bring their

family,” Rangel said.There will be 14 ses-

sions over college and career topics. For example, career pathway and college test-ing and numerous other top-ics. Questions that students might have will be answered during the sessions. Three of the sessions can be attended, and those who attend are put in a drawing for an iPad, as well as free college gear. The event will be held on March 25, from 4:30pm to 6:30 pm. It will be hosted at Thomas Jefferson High School. Fly-ers will be sent out and par-ents will be contacted to let students and their family know about this event.

Taylor BeverReporter

helps with their reading comprehension,” Misbach said.

For some students who may not have the opportunity to discuss what they’re currently reading, the club provides them with ample opportunities to externalize their thoughts.

“For me I don’t usually have time to go to the public library to check out books. I

know that for many people, including myself, this is an easy and convenient way to read and discuss books,” Pregon said.

Being part of the book club has inspired students to achieve new heights of individuality in the books that they choose to read.

“I like the book club because it motivates me to read and it’s a lot more independent than other activities,” Smith said.

Since the club began, it has given students new opportunities to learn

and interact with new faces. Choosing from the books gives its members a chance to read popular teen literature. This year, the book

“I’ll Give You the Sun” won the Printz award. Check out this book, along with many

Megan Healy reads a novel. Photo submitted by Jennifer Misbach.

“I like the book club because it motivates me to read and it’s a lot more independent than other activities.” -Collin Smith, junior

other greatly anticipated teen novels at the next meeting on March 12.

College Crossroads promotional poster. Photo submitted by Larella Rangel.

3Echoes Nathan Vorce | News EditorEarly March 2015 News

AL speech sights shift to solo contests

Abraham Lincoln is nearing the conclusion of its speech season, and the group competitions just finished. With Dirk Waller as the coach, participating students have been busy preparing in their selected categories since November for their next chance to take the spotlight. There are ten different categories in group speech, such as Radio News Broadcasting, Improv, Choral Reading, and Musical Theater.

The AL Speech Team heads to Districts and present their work in front of a judge for them to evaluate it. One is the highest rating, and if they receive that they move onto a state level contest. The competitions are bi-weekly, so it gives the team a chance

to review the comments from the judges and adjust anything they need to before the next competition. They look at speaking ability, presence, knowledge of the process, but each category is slightly different.

One category of speech is Radio Broadcasting, where students select an international, national, and state story from the past year, then record themselves broadcasting it. When preparing for the season, they listen to past radio recordings from AL, then practice their stories. One of the groups this year had the theme set up as a game show and one of their news stories is about the host of Jeopardy discussing leaving the show. Their special feature is a quiz about everything they had talked about on the broadcast. They had celebrities such as

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Yogi Bear “call” in.

“My category is already pre recorded so we just go stand in front of the judge and press play on a radio,” junior Abigail Otten said. “Other categories read it to the judges.”

Other teams have different routines. Improv does practice rounds to get comfortable working with each other. One game they play is called “Scenes Out of A Hat”. Musical Theater rehearses their choreography and vocals.

Saturday, Feb. 7, the team headed to West Valley High School in Des Moines for the state competition, and both Radio Broadcasting teams scored in division 1, but only Otten’s team made it on to All-State from AL. At the competition they will perform along 15 other teams

for a special guest, an expert in the field.

“All-state is a festival,” Waller said. “The best of the state come together for performances.”

They will give the team comments and at the end of the day, each categories special guest will hand out a banner to who they think did the best, which according to Waller, is the worst part.

“I never expect them to go to All-State. Kids have fun and that is just extra fun.” Waller said.

After the group competitions conclude, the process starts again with individuals, but there is a wider selection of categories with the addition of four. There is a group of about 20 kids that do both, but about 45-50 kids participate total. Speech season will wrap up in late March.

The AL group speech team celebrates in Audubon after the district speech contest. Photo submitted by Dirk Waller.

Kirn Night showcases AL activities

Just starting out high school can be hard with finding friends and things to do. Luckily, Kirn Night is an event where eighth graders can meet new people and start choosing electives and clubs. The event took place on Feb. 9 at AL. Multiple clubs were there, ranging from journalism to choir. Club involvement is massively important to high schoolers, as they assist with earning awards and scholarships, with will be beneficial in the future. This event helped upcoming freshmen choose their courses and experience what Abraham Lincoln High

School has to offer. “The main purpose is to

start the class registration process for them and their families,” Athletic Director Jeff Novotny said. “Elective classes are there to answer questions, along with the activity sponsors and athletic coaches.”

As a student, participating in extracurricular activities creates a sense of involvement and responsibility. Sports such as football and cheer are very popular, but there are also other groups including speech, AFJ-ROTC, and the musical courses: band, orchestra, and choir. Most of the clubs fall under three main categories: athletics, musical programs, and

electives.The athletics category

encapsulates all types of

sports, such as basketball and soccer. Working together as a team is usually key in these sports. With an abundance of coaches at AL, finding a great mentor is easy.

“With the coaches and staff here, they’ve made me a more humble person.

They showed me how to stay dedicated in life,” junior Tre’Vonte Jones said.

The musical programs include: choir, band, and orchestra. There are multiple

New gas tax drills consumer’s wallets

On Feb. 25, G o v e r n o r T e r r y B r a n s t a d

signed into law a proposition to increase a tax on gasoline in the state of Iowa. This law taxes gasoline by ten cents a gallon, and took effect on Sunday, March 1. Many were taken by surprise by the tax; it comes at a time when gas prices seem to be on the steady rise, and has many wondering why this tax is necessary.

“I don’t really like it. Gas prices are at a price right now where they’re ideal for the producer and the consumer,” junior Brendan Hartman said.

Others share Hartman’s concern, including junior Ben Addison, who also believes the tax will make driving more costly, leaving less money for other things.

“Gas prices right now are pretty nice all around, at the optimal price for everyone. I feel like the ten cents is a bit of an overcharge. Gas prices are low right now, but if they go up, I wish they’d get rid of the tax,” Addison said.

However, the tax is not set to simply give the state government more money. The income generated from the tax will go towards the degenerate bridges and streets in the state. This tax is expected to generate nearly 200 million dollars annually to help with this tranquil crisis; it will improve many roads and accelerate certain

road projects. Economics teacher Myron Wilder believes that the tax is

necessary, although he believes the funding could come from other place- not

taxing gasoline purchases.“As a driver, I don’t like

to pay more for gas. I see the

need for road maintenance. Obviously you have to find a way to pay for road

Hailey CarsonReporter

Logan ErwinCirculation Manager

subdivisions, such as: solo ensemble, group ensemble, show choir, jazz choir and jazz band. Throughout the programs, there are many different styles of music. Show choir usually is more modern while concert choir is more vintage. Band and orchestra are nonverbal, but, they too play modern music sometimes. Orchestra played “Let It Go” from Frozen just a few months ago and Show Choir sang Royals by Lorde last year.

“Choir has really helped me out of my comfort zone,” senior Madison Kinney said. “Learning about choir in depth has helped me become a better singer.”

Finally, the electives

category has the widest selection of courses. Foods, AFJ-ROTC, wood shop, and art just to name a few. Depending on your course selection, the experience of each course is different.

“Industrial Tech has taught how to be safe in woodwork and metalwork,” junior Mitch Wooley said. “Even simple things like using a drill or measuring have to be done a certain way.”

Kirn Night was a very simple event, but the process of helping the new students find a class helps them out a ton. It’s very important to stay involved in school clubs, it can help students with future plans or even college.

“The main purpose is to start the class registration process for them and their families.”-Jeffrey Novotny, Athletic Director

Nathan VorceCo-editor in chief

With group contests over speech turns to individual events

construction, but I’d rather see cuts in other areas,” Wilder said.

Wilder also identified how the tax will affect consumers in other ways than the direct cost of ten cents a gallon.

“The tax isn’t just a tax on gas, it’s also a tax on food. The drivers who deliver food and get taxed will simply pass that tax onto the consumers who purchase that food.”

Some students see the economic benefits to the government, with the money fixing road obstacles.

“I’d rather have the tax, I’m paying a small portion that will fix problems like potholes so I won’t have to worry about them later,” Addison said.

It has been a long time

since Iowa gas has been taxed, with the last one occurring back in 1989. The tax has been in discussion for over 10 years, but hasn’t been enacted until March 1. There was a three day time span between when the tax was signed into law and when the tax took effect. Many say they didn’t realize the tax was even in discussion.

“it didn’t seem to me like the tax was being talked about on the front page of any newspapers around here- I think it caught many people by surprise,” Wilder said.

Drivers seem to be divided on the topic: some would rather have the tax and have roads fixed, while others would prefer to save their money over time. Regardless of public opinion, the tax is still in effect.

“I don’t really like it. Gas prices are at a price right now where they’re ideal for the producer and the consumer.”- Brendan Hartman, junior

Opinion4 EchoesDani Rambo | Opinion Editor

The America’s College PromiseAll for the college plan College promise a no go

Don VinkenbergReporter

Sean VeazieReporter

Everyone is hooked on this topic, but will it happen and how will it affect the world? President Barack Obama wants to pass a law to make the first two years of a community college free. For me, I am all for this. I am very poor. There are also a lot of kids like me that struggle with not having enough money. I am getting no s c h o l a r s h i p s I apply for and I have no idea how I am going to pay for college and I’m sure other students are thinking the same way as I am. But, is this a bad thing or not? This will come with both pros and cons if it does end up becoming a thing but which one outways the other one?

It was said by the time around the year 2020, 35% of almost all job openings will require at least a bachelor’s degree if not higher than that. Around 40% of college students today are enrolled in more than 1,100 community colleges around the United States alone. If this gets passed then more people will be able to go to college and

get a degree for free. It offers people who are entering college an affordable tuition, admission policies, and convenient locations that are good for anybody that needs them. Around 9 million students if not more will be helped out by the American College Promise and a full time community college student could save up to $3,800 every year on tuition if not more. These are all facts from the White House’s

personal fact sheet so how could this be a bad thing? More people need this to help them survive in their future and it would also make the world a smarter place. I’m seeing more positive things then I am negative at this moment.

People are saying that this will be just like high school because it’s free but that is quite wrong. College is a much different place

than high school for one. The stakes are higher and what you do in college affects your future and where you will go from there. The environment is different and there will be way more opportunities People need these two free years, especially for the people who can not pay for college because it costs to much money. The ones who are very poor and want a college degree will live much better lives with this

and go farther in life than they ever will. Many would consider this is nothing but a blessing.

The nation debt right now is up to $18 trillion and it’s only rising. I get it, if the first two years become free it will just rise up even more. In the long run this could possibly

go down because there will be more people getting jobs and they will be able to help pay for everything and get our country back in debt. For all we know this could be the start of a new beginning that we need to have to help this world get better. We need this really badly and we should trust that our President is making the right decision by doing this for us.

President Barack Obama has proposed several new ideas, reforms, and proposals over his presidency, many of which have performed spectacularly. A new promise he is making is the America’s College Promise, a proposal that will allow students to have two full years of college for free. This is a bad idea for several reasons, such as the fact that college isn’t free someone has to be paying for these tuitions and those dorms and those books. Another reason this seemingly fantastic idea will create even more unprepared i r r e s p o n s i b l e young adults who at this point in their life should be paying for those books, tuition, and the housing. They got through high school with nobody paying and now they can get through the same way. But thats not what college is about.

$18,120,437,588,052 is the amount of money we, the people of the United States of America, owe the government to get out of the hole we call National Debt. And that number has already

been outdated since you read it. We are slowly working off that debt it would take, with the current rate, over 300,000 years to pay off. What we really do not need is another $60 billion added to that. While the money is supposedly going to help students who want to learn and can’t afford an education with this new proposal the money will be paying for kids who are using $3,800 a year to mess around. It will

just be an extended high school, but this time it will be costing taxpayers billions of dollars to keep them in school. In some cases it may be needed to give financial aid maybe even paying for schooling. But that is in specific cases, where the cost of education is out of the question. This system would be abused and mistreated and would give college students more of a chance to slack off.

Irresponsibility is running rampant in today’s society. When The Hot 100 is full of songs with lyrics saying in the middle of the week going and getting wasted instead of doing actual work. These kinds of messages are being shown to our youth and they pick these habits up and thats how they think they must act. Society does not hold young adults accountable now more than ever. They are handed things

that they do not work towards and get hit with a big shock when the world must be dealt with. This is prolonged long enough with high school and now two years of college are added into the irresponsibility of these new citizens.

Yes, two years of free

college seems like a very good idea, and in certain circumstances it would be. But, the ramifications of these actions are not beneficial but crippling. Taxes from federal and state will skyrocket and the youth will be missing two full years of training to be responsible. We postpone the inevitable realization that we must grow up at some point. Why put it off for another two years?

‘American Sniper’ the conception of a heroTanner Hochstetler

Sports Co-Editor

Today’s communication ruining online relationshipsNathan VorceEditor-in-Chief

Chris Kyle: U.S. Navy SEAL, a father, and an author of the bestseller “American Sniper” has brought unintentional publicity shortly after his death. The veteran is known as the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history, with 160 confirmed kills and 4 tours in the Iraq War. Kyle was recognized for his lethal reputation and for his achievements as a soldier and gained numerous awards and medals during his time, including two Silver Star Medals, five

Bronze Star medals, one Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals. Chris opened a local shooting range for PTSD Veterans in Glen Rose Texas shortly after his 4 tours. Heartbreakingly, Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield were murdered by a client Eddie Ray Routh. Routh plead guilty to the murders on Feb. 24.

In America, our conception of a hero is fictional compared to that of

a real hero. People believe heroes are without flaw, they’re strong, and that they possess some sort of unrealistic power. In reality, heroes surround us. A hero is someone who has flaws and weakness. No one is perfect in this world. The world is blatant to the fact that heroes are all around us. Chris Kyle is a hero. In fact, I believe he is an example of one of the greatest heroes America has seen. The world is making him out to be an enemy just because of some

discretionary actions written in his autobiography. Truth be told, these events made Kyle the soldier he is. The events are not dramatized. Every day our men and women overseas voyage into the corruption of the Middle-East and witness very similar things. For critics to degrade Chris Kyle and continue to allegate him is absurd. Allegations similar to what The Washington Post published questioning the validity of Chris’s stories. These allegations may very

well be true, however, Chris gave his life to the Navy. He went in and at the end of the day he was only doing his job.

Being in a family full of military veterans I can only fathom the amount of pain Chris Kyle’s family must endure. Fighting your own battle inside is enough, but fighting the battle with your family is much worse. The legacy of Chris Kyle will be remembered. He will forever remain a hero in my eyes.

If I was told 15 years ago that now, in 2015, I would be able to communicate with my friends in the military who live hundreds of miles away, or share a picture that thousands of people could view instantaneously, I would’ve looked at you like you were crazy. Then again, 15 years ago, I was only one year old, so those words wouldn’t have meant much to me anyway. Regardless, here we are, with such technological power at our fingertips. While having the capability to communicate

with nearly anyone at anytime is fantastic, the power social media possesses is often unnecessarily overused, especially in the relationship realm.

Relationships, whether they be with a high school boyfriend or girlfriend, or with an adult-life matrimony candidate, should not be lived online. The temptation is great to go home after a long day, log on to Facebook, and chat away with your significant other. But where is the line drawn between talking online and dating

online? For starters, if you and

your partner converse for hours upon end over instant messaging, and then say only a quick “hey” in the halls to each other, there is a great chance that you are misusing technology, and not taking advantage of all that person has to offer.

Some people are shy, and use technology as a method communicate with another person; while this is a nice method to break out of a anti-social slump, or to ease your way into talking to people

face-to-face, in my opinion, it is not the ideal way to have a relationship.

Relationships require a great deal of communication, and not just verbal. The importance of body language cannot be underemphasized. Failure to communicate effectively can lead to a rocky relationship. Without the ability to visualize your communicant’s face, many problems can occur: sarcastic remarks can be misinterpreted, emotion is lost, and important decisions can seem insignificant. In

general, it is difficult to convey one’s feelings by typing on a screen.

If the argument is made that you and your partner get along better online, perhaps an analysis of your relationship is in order. Provided you have the necessary resources to see your partner face-to-face, online communications should be avoided whenever possible. Just because we live in a technological age does not mean that all aspects of our lives must be run by technology.

ECHOESEditors-in-Chief

Jessi BorwickNathan Vorce

Section EditorsDani Rambo

Kendal BainbridgeWill Schademann

Tanner Hochstetler

Graphic Design EditorDon Vinkenberg

Business ManagerCalab Holder

Circulation Manager Logan Erwin

ReportersKelly HickeySean Veazie

Hailey CarsonAlyssa ClaytonAudrey HaysJake PetersonAnthony Ruiz

Taylor DaughertyJaime HuertaTaylor Bever

Emma Seilstad

Los EcosFrancisca Aguilar-Padilla

Jazmine MartinezRicardo LopezRaquel LopezJuan Nunez

AdviserGerry Appel

The Echoes is published by the newspaper staff at Abraham Lincoln High School, and exists to serve as an open forum for the students, faculty, administration and community.

All state and federal laws regarding the publications of student materials shall apply, and the Echoes will not publish materials which also fall under the guidelines established by the Council Bluffs Public Schools system, and are deemed libelous, obscene, or a material and substantial disruption to normal classroom activities.

The views expressed are not those of the Council Bluffs Public Schools, faculty, or administration.

Any student, faculty, or staff member wishing to contribute materials will need to submit a letter to the editor within deadline restriction; however, final publications is at the discretion of the staff. Letters to the editor are encouraged, and must be 400 words or less in length and signed; letters will be printed as received. Every attempt will be made to verify the authenticity of the author and no anonymous letters will be published.

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Opinion 5Echoes Dani Rambo | Opinion Editor

Staff Editorial

Past leaders hope for brighter futureBeginning with the time

of our founding fathers, Americans struggled to earn and protect their freedoms. Two hundred and thirty-nine years since the Declaration of Independence was signed, are we living up to the expectations set for us?

The past leaders of our nation hoped for a better government and better lives when they broke away from England. They believed that a better life awaited them and that the future Americans would live a life full of freedom and peace. We have achieved this ideal, with some bumps along the road in our past. In the history of America, many events have

occurred; disastrous ones, hopeful ones. There has been a handful of wars, and we’ve seen other countries struggle for the same rights we often take for granted. The United States has become a world power, and is a prosperous country, so much so that there are immigrants coming from everywhere to have the same opportunities we have.

It would be fair to say that the founding fathers expected us, the future generations of America, to treat each other with respect. Even now we should abide by the principles on which our country was founded: The rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Equality should and has been a main concern. The people of this nation are united with a common bond; the gift of freedom.

The way of life here would most likely not be easily accepted by our historical leaders. While they might be satisfied with the technological advances, they probably wouldn’t look too kindly on the obsession with our hand-held entertainment devices. The vast amount of information the media puts out would shock them, whether that would be for the better or the worse. The founders would be proud of the places we’ve gone, and the frontiers we have

explored. The cultural diversity in the U.S. would impress them, but they might be disappointed by the division between the cultures. They probably wouldn’t approve of every decision the government has made, or every person that was brought into positions of power, but the government efficiency would be something they could be proud of.

The politics of the United States are slightly more complicated than they were back then. The founding fathers probably would have wanted to keep it a little more simple. George Washington once said, and

this is paraphrasing here, that if the country were to divide into separate political parties, it would only result in ruin. It is true what he said; when we split into republican and democrat parties, it created division among the people. This is not a major thing, but it shows that the founding fathers knew what they were doing when they set the guidelines for a nation. Would the men who built up this country be happy with what they see today? We can be sure that we would be in a very different place if they still had a say in how America is run.

Celebrities’ looks take a toll on fansLogan Erwin

Reporter

In this age of modern culture, we highly idolize celebrities and what they do. We aspire to be dressed in the coolest clothes or act as if we’re the top dog, but in all honesty that’s

destroying our culture. Yes, of course it’s okay to have a source of inspiration but only in a positive manner. For example, training on swim team to be like Michael Phelps is great but using substances like O.T. Genasis is not a healthy aspiration. There are many reasons why celebrities are revered; fortune, looks, and charisma to name a few. But this endeavor of creating an exorbitant ego has ruined our values and has created a society without community.

First, let’s explain the mental complex of a celebrity. People trying to act like a certain celebrity and gluttonous amounts of that celebrity’s wealth are

probably the biggest two contributors to their massive ego. Living every day full of fame is actually hazardous to your integrity. Actors, actresses, music stars, or anyone with a claim to stardom can begin to think they’re better than everyone else. Some of them even believe they’re invincible and they begin doing things that compromises their image; drugs, having affairs, or even committing crimes. The saddest part about all of this? Us as teens actually aspire to be like those celebrities, wasting our time with drama. People associate the enjoyment of a movie to the actual actor and follow them as a role model, even

pursuing in drug use or having affairs. Some of these celebrities have dropped out of high school yet most of us follow their opinions and advice on anything from politics to health advice.

There are some exceptions to celebrities and their destructive lives such as Ellen DeGeneres helping out everyday people in tough times and Scarlett Johannson working for a more ethical world. For some reason, teens idolize people with a lot of fame rather than a lot of values. Why would someone to aspire to use substances and rap rather than win a Nobel Prize?

Away from the opinion part of this story, let’s look at

a few facts from some polls from Teenink.com; 40% of nine and ten year olds have tried to lose weight, 53% of 13 year olds are unhappy with their image, and up to 77% of Americans think celebrities have too much of an influence on youth. In that exact same article, a first grade teacher noticed her students using “derogatory language, singing suggestive song lyrics, and even flirting”.

These trends are getting way out of hand, even though celebrities aren’t the only cause. Our morals should mean more to us than our self-esteem. So next time you’d rather work on your ego, focus on your morals.

The evolution of conspiracy theoriesBreana Rocha

Reporter

Paul is dead, the JFK Assassination, and Bigfoot, these are some of the most well known conspiracy theories and personally my favorites. Conspiracy theories go from reasonable to outright crazy. Most people

aren’t big fans of conspiracy theories, they change the way people see thing for better or for worse. They can be entertaining, reasonable, and can make you think do people really have this much time on their hands?

Through time, conspiracy theories have evolved and have become a way for people to entertain themselves or to give their opinion on what people think happened. For example Paul is dead has been a big conspiracy theory since 1967. This started when Paul McCartney (member of The Beatles) got into a car accident. People thought he died in the accident and that the Beatles found a look

alike to take his place. From this conspiracy Ideas and theories erupted worldwide. People thought if a certain song is played backwards it would say Paul is dead. Some people went as far as not writing, “Maybe I’m Amazed”.

Another conspiracy that almost everybody wonders about is the JFK assassination. John F. Kennedy was one of the most well known presidents. John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald. But some people don’t believe this is true. Conspiracy theories have sprung up since his death one well known conspiracy theory. Many

people believe that their was a second shooter others believe that it was the CIA, the theories kept springing up and still are.

Lastly a conspiracy theory that is incredibly well known is Bigfoot. Everybody has heard of bigfoot. The gigantic human like animal that is covered in thick brown hair, that usually lives in the forest (also looks like taylor). People say that they have sited the gigantic beast from rural communities to deep in the woods while they were on a camping trip. Josh Gates ,host of the former Destination Truth, has investigated the theory, and although he had some convincing

evidence his results came out inconclusive, and the theory is still up in the air. Whether people believe in the the theory or think it is a huge hoax it is still fun to hope for the weird.

From the awesome to the weird many people can say they have at least heard one conspiracy theory. These theories can make you laugh, question reality and question your sanity, but they’re fun and they can give a little light in a dark situation. We all have those weird ideas and thoughts that are attached to an event that has happened personally or in the world so, will your next experience turn into a conspiracy theory?

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Feature6 7Spread Design By Jessi Borwick Early March 2015

Class pets Provide twist to classroom learning

BRIAN MORITZ’s SNAKES:

Buttons: 4 years old

Jobin: 4 years old

Olaf: 3 years old

•Moritz has had his snakes in the classroom for 3 years. What students enjoy most about having pets in the classroom is watching them eat.

DAN WHALEY’s PETS:

Rosie: 4 years old (tarantula)

Lizzy: 4 years old (bearded Dragon)

Spike: 3 years old (bearded Dragon)

•Whaley has had his tarantula, Rosie, for a year and his bearded dragons, lizzy and spike, for three months. Students enjoy watching how they do things and how

they eat.

Feature8 EchoesJessi Borwick | Co-Editor-in-Chief Early March 2015

Lenny the Lynx inspires secret admirer pageAndrea’ Milstead

Introduction to Journalism

There has been raving lately about the ALHS Admirer twitter page that Lenny the Lynx runs. It originally started last year just as an idea from a few students. Students submit anonymous forms to the link found on the ALHS Admirer page’s bio and Lenny then posts the text onto the twitter page. Not everyone’s form is posted though as the page must be kept appropriate. Also just to keep a variety of pick up lines, if a line is overused, it’s not posted as Lenny likes to keep a variety for your entertainment.

“I enjoy running the page. It’s fun to see what people have to say,” Lenny the Lynx said. “My favorite post submitted asked if someone had 11 protons because they were sodium fine.”

Lenny does not know who submits the forms though, it is completely anonymous and only the time and date can be seen as to when the form was sent. There tends to be certain times where people send more admirer notes in. It started out with several forms being sent, but as time has went on people tend to send

more in on Friday nights and during advisement, or any other time where people aren’t as busy.

The page is not only enjoyed by Lenny, but seems to be something students like to participate in as many forms are sent in.

“I do think that the page

brings school spirit out. It is a very postive page and I feel it lifts spirits up,” Lenny said. “It’s enjoyable to see our school be uplifted in a way like this.”

Many students are always looking for posts that are directed towards them as each form submitted usually has someone’s name submitted along with what

Can drive promotes helping hand

Throughout the year, there can come a time

families struggle to make it through. With many possible reasons to lead a family to live that way, The Council Bluffs Pantry Association is a local and non-profit group of organizations that are aware of the problem and have decided to reach out a helping hand in order to offer almost any necessity. A few of these names may be familiar as advertising and television plays a big part in spreading

the word and how it needs to be done. Representatives of each pantry meet regularly to address common concerns, opportunities, develop shared policies to gain efficiency and avoid duplication, and seek grants and donations to distribute among the pantries. The pantries work together to promote community, organization, and business food drives. Places like Care & Share, First Baptist Church, MICAH House-Shelter, The Salvation Army, and many more have put ideas together with the community to start stripping away what seems to be a growing worry that more could lack what some cherish. President of The

CBPA, Josh Weesner, was appointed as pantry director in 2011.

“I started helping out at my church’s pantry, Our Savior’s Lutheran in 2010,” Weesner said. “I represented Our Savior’s Lutheran at the pantry association meetings starting in 2011 and became president in January 2014.”

Not only perishable foods of canned goods and boxed products are wanted, there comes requests of personal care items like paper products, toiletries, household cleaners, simple things most humans depend on. Cash donations can also be accepted and all the proceeds will benefit the CBPA.

It’s never too late to offer another pair of hands that will do more work if given the chance. Following their mission statement, “Working together to address the critical needs of families in transition; reducing hunger; providing support; connecting resources; and inspiring hope.” Volunteers are always welcome and one can find out more at that specific organization to find out about its volunteer process. Donations are accepted in one of these local areas:

*Hy-Vee Food Stores- 2323 West Broadway & 1745 Madison Ave

*Fareway- 301 McKenzie Ave

* Super Saver- 1141 North Broadway

*No Frills- 1817 West Broadway & Valley View Road

N e c e s s a r y documentation needed to qualify for pantry or food stamps is: picture ID for all adults, social security cards of all members in the home, notice of decision from Human Services, and proof of current address. Call for information to be verified. In the previous year for all organizations combined, each lent a hand to 60,754 people out of 24,295 households alone. The CBPA’s mission might have the possibility to help thousands more in years to come. By volunteering for

Audrey HaysReporter

her church to help those in need of food get fed, junior Kim Elston viewed the feelings of those who might suffer.

“I’d feel it to be a blessing, it’s not everyday you see that, and not many people care,” Elston said. “I think they’d feel pretty grateful.”

Whether the act one does be an hour of the twenty-four or on a daily basis, the results could build to create something cherished, supported and overall valued. One may never fully grasp the kindness waiting until the effect branded a life for years.

Attendance improving district wideCalab HolderBusiness Manager

At t e n d a n c e awareness is a major pillar

of the Council Bluffs Community School District’s efforts to improve the learning environment for students. Student incentives and other initiatives have pushed attendance to the forefront of district policy. One of the reasons for a major push for attendance cognizance can be connected to collection of data directed by the district.

“We have carefully tracked attendance - both at the school and district level and at the individual student level. There are expectations that we share.

Some schools reward good, excellent, perfect or improved attendance at school through assemblies, raffles, or class celebrations. Our Community Education Foundation has provided incentives for schools to use as they see fit to encourage students to be at school. We hold an annual “attendance press conference” - sometimes with statewide leaders - to proclaim the importance of school attendance. We invite students with perfect attendance to march in the city parade in May,” Superintendent Martha Bruckner said.

The history of attendance tracking in the district can be traced back to recent years, as described by Attendance Facilitator Kathy Hanafan.

“Attendance has always been an high priority in

the district. Students need to be present to learn. An intentional focus began in 2009 when the district began creating a new strategic plan that heavily involved the community. A renewed focus began in 2012 when the CBCSD was chosen as a finalist in the Grade-Level

reading campaign. This primarily focused on PK-third grade, but all strategies were used across grade levels.”

And while much progress has been made in improving attendance district-wide, there is still much more room for improvement, according

to Assistant Principal Mike McLaughlin.

“The district goal is 95 percent and we’ve increased all of the past four years, but we still haven’t met that 95

percent yet. As of last week we’re at 93.8 percent which is an increase from last year, but we are still below 95 percent.”

The importance of

attendance has also been highlighted through recent changes in district-wide policies, as explained by Principal Todd Barnett.

“We have been working to improve attendance in the district for three years and now if a student misses more than ten days of school without an excused absence, they are given a pass or fail grade in each of their classes.”

Furthermore, student incentives can also act as powerful tools in improving attendance and recognizing positive strides forward.

“September is Attendance Awareness Month and at lunch we have a lot of giveaways. I don’t think there’s a lot of other schools that do as much as we do to create awareness and reward good attendance. One of the reasons why we

include perfect attendance is because it is just as important as being on the honor roll,” McLaughlin said.

The recognition of attendance figures is also a key component in advancing the efforts of district leaders by garnering attention in a publicized setting.

“Attendance is a pretty high priority and its across every billboard in the district. If you go to every elementary school in the district, their ADA is shown on their marquee. Middle schools do it too,” Barnett said.

Regardless of the way in which attendance is discussed in the district, positively influencing student participation and avoiding truancy will continue to serve as a major focus of district-wide attempts to reward tangible increases in average daily attendance.

“The district goal is 95 percent and we’ve increased all of the past four years, but we still haven’t met that 95 percent yet...”

-Assistant Principal Mike McLaughlin

they’d like to say to that person.

“One of my favorite posts that was sent to me was ‘Alea Dorsett, Do you know what my shirt is made of? Boyfriend material.’,” said sophomore, Alea Dorsett. “I also like ‘Alea Dorsett, being without you is like being

afflicted with the Cruciatus Curse.’ because I really like Harry Potter.”

Some of the twitter posts on the admirer page are pick up lines that could be applied to any person and are easy to decipher for all, but others like the Harry Potter one sent to Alea Dorsett, it would be helpful to know that she was a Harry Potter fan for it to make sense.

People not only are trying to decipher what the posts mean, but also who sent what to who. Some people have been sending them to friends as a joke, but others have no clue who sent an “admirer note” to them.

“It’s flattering that someone would send in the tweets, but it would be nice to know who did it,” said sophomore, Makenna Murray. “Personally I love the idea of being able to send them in anonymously so you can get your feelings out there.”

“Alea Dorsett, Do you know what my shirt is made of? Boyfriend material.”

-Anonymous tweet

Arts & Entertainment 9Echoes Kendal Bainbridge | A&E page editorEarly March 2015

Jaime Huerta Reporter

Crayons can be crafty way to spread a little light

‘Viner’ Shawn Mendes goes pro, joins tour

Crossing north borders, many people have found several great Canadian art-ists. The newest addition is 16 year old Shawn Mendes. Mendes started out on an app called Vine where he posted a brief six second video of him singing “As Long as You Love Me” by fellow Cana-dian, Justin Bieber. This was his first of many videos to get featured on the Vine popular page, where it collected thou-sands of likes and comments.

Shortly after his rise in popularity, Mendes signed on to perform with the Mag-con Tour. This Tour featured several other Vine and You-Tube artists such as Nash Grier, Cameron Dallas, Jack Gilinsky, and Jack Johnson.

After being with Magcon for two years, Shawn returned home and worked more on his music.

According to billboard.com, Mendes was discovered by his now-manager Andrew Gertler via his cover of “Say Something” by A Great Big World. This cover not only won him a manager, it also won him Ryan Seacrest’s “Best Cover Song”.

When Gertler discov-ered Mendes’ video, he sent it to Island Records. After meeting with the team at Is-land Records, Mendes signed on and went to song-writing. His single “Life of the Party” was released in June 2014, topping the iTunes chart and Billboard’s Trending 140 Re-al-Time Chart at No. 1.

Because of Mendes’ start on social media, many

have discovered him via Vine, Twitter, and Instagram.

“I was being persuaded because literally every day my feed was either Shawn’s face or his song, so then I de-cided to hear it and it is really amazing,” freshman Genesis Obando said.

Other fans have dis-covered Mendes from Jack & Jack, an equally, social medial famous, dynamic duo. They shared several of Shawn’s Vines having grown up musically with him.

“I discovered Shawn because of Vine. I followed Jack & Jack and they re-Vined one of his Vines,” sophomore Savannah Quinn said.

Mendes owes some of his popularity to many big wig artists like Austin Ma-hone and Taylor Swift, who

took the new artist under their wings. Shawn toured with Mahone this past late Summer and early Fall, as one of the opening acts. Mendes will also tour with Taylor Swift for the North American part of her “1989” tour as an opening act.

Shawn is currently get-ting ready for his first head-line tour, which has sold out several stadiums already. The tour will run from February to August, if no impromptu concerts get added.

“The headline tour is going to be his very first tour singing all of his songs to his fans interacting with them, and going to new places,” Obando said.

Things we can look for-ward to seeing from Shawn Mendes in the near future is his first album, “Handwrit-

‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ action packed

Emma SeilstadReporter

James Bond, Jason Bourne, Ethan Hunt, and Eggsy? “Kingsman: The Se-cret Service” brings a more retro spin to the modern day spy movie. From umbrella-guns to knife-tipped shoes, the Kingsman has it all. Di-rector Matthew Vaughn re-members the spy era where anything could hide a weap-on and a watch did more than tell time. Most people will be in for a shock when it comes to this film. The Kingsman aren’t your everyday Brit-

ish geezers dressed in fancy suits. One thing to remember when going to this film is that the director is the same man who directed “Kick-Ass.” Within the first ten minutes the viewer will most likely change the idea of what they expect to see as they will wit-ness a man getting sliced in half. Not exactly a spoiler, there will be many more dis-membered body parts where that came from.

The movie takes place in London tracking the life of Eggsy (Taron Egerton), a young man with a particular skill set destined for a life behind bars. What Eggsy doesn’t know is that his late father was part of an elite group of spies known as the Kingsmen. When agent Har-

ry Hart (Colin Firth) sees the skills possessed by Eggsy he feels a sense of responsibil-ity for him so he gives him a chance to turn his life around and become a Kingsman as long as he can survive the intense training course and beat out his fellow recruits and impress the leader of the Kingsmen, Arthur (Michael Caine). Now nobody needs to see the movie to infer that things are probably going to work out okay for Eggsy.

Like all good Bond mov-ies there is a crazy villain, and in the Kingsmen’s case it is tech billionaire Rod-erick Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) fixated on creating a plan to control the world’s climate. Just like every retro spy movie with the crazy vil-

lain with a ridiculous plan comes the evil sidekick with an extraordinary ability and the Kingsman are no differ-ent the part of the evil side-kick is taken by Gazelle, a girl with a couple particular-ly special amputations (Sofia Boutella). The camera angles were chosen very well, the fluidity of the fight scenes is superb making it nearly im-possible to miss any bad guys getting blown up.

The body count in this film is absurd, it’s all in the numbers if you kill a single person one on one. It’ll per-sonalize the kill but say you were to explode the heads of dozens of people? Then you may just enter the twisted world of Matthew Vaughn.

Audrey Hays Reporter

Photo by Emma Seilstad

ten”, which comes out April 28th.

“I’m hyped and excited

about his new album and I’m very proud of him,” sopho-more Marisa DeMare said.

Illustrations by Kelly Hickey

First, gather clear Mason jars or other brand of

jar (any size will work), Dixie cups or any paper cups,

popsicle sticks (for stirring), number of wicks to use,

how many crayons; different colors, and a small bowl

of white wax. Make sure to have a microwave that is

unoccupied.

Second, start to peel the paper from the cray-

ons. This can be done using either an x-acto knife or

by soaking the crayons in water so that they are easy

to peel.

The use of an X-acto knife is optional if one doesn’t

feel it is necessary.

Third, fill a Dixie cup (paper cup) with wax

and microwave for 1 minute. Give it a stir and mi-

crowave again in 30-second intervals until wax is

completely melted. Pour a thin layer or wax into the

bottom of each glass and place the candlewick in the

center; let harden.

Ever find those annoying loose cray-ons that have decided the box wasn’t good enough? While others would throw them in the trash, here’s a handy project to use for a hobby starter, passing time, or just plain fun.

Lastly, using one crayon per color, fill a Dixie

cup with wax and top with a broken up crayon. Mi-

crowave for 2 minutes and then in 30 second intervals

until completely liquified. Let cool for 30 seconds or

so and pour colored wax into the glass. Let the first

layer dry for 20-30 minutes. Then repeat this process

and continue to pour layers of colored wax into each

glass, making sure to let them dry between each layer.

Arts & Entertainment10 Echoes Kendal Bainbridge | A&E page editor Early March 2015

Breana RochaReporter

Review:

‘Jupiter Ascending’ descends into mediocrity

‘Ghostbusters’ being brought back from the past

“Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters!” This is one of the most well known clas-sic phrases that people hear. And this phrase will be com-ing back when the “Ghost-busters” reboot hits the big screen in 2016. This reboot of “Ghostbusters” will fea-ture Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones as the four main characters in the origi-nal “Ghostbusters.”

Almost everyone re-members “Ghostbusters”, the action packed movie filled with special effects, action scenes, and most of all, the sometimes creepy ghosts. With the new “Ghost-busters”, there are many things that the viewers want to see. “I want to see these girls get goofy like the guys did.” said sophomore Saman-tha Schultz. Many fans of the

original movies are hoping that Paul Feig, the director of the reboot, won’t ruin the “Ghostbusters” reputation. Roles made famous by Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Har-old Ramis and Ernie Hud-son, have people wondering can the females live up to the roles that the male counter-parts have set.

“I’ll be biased to Ayk-royd, Ramis, Hudson, and Murray and will probably continue to prefer their origi-nal films over this reboot,” said senior Noah Larsen.

There is lots of contro-versy on whether the movie will be good? Do we really need a reboot of an already good movie? Fans of the original movies have mixed feeling, while new fans are excited to see lead female roles. People are questioning the casting choice also. Some people think that having lead female roles will ruin the movie, while others be-lieve that it is finally giving women a chance to compare their roles with the opposite sex. Comments about the ac-

tresses playing the lead roles have been all over the place. One comment had been made saying that the “Ghost-busters” reboot would just be a sci-fi Bridesmaids.

Some people want to see the movie but are afraid

While I prepared myself to watch “Jupiter Ascend-ing,” I felt compelled to con-duct a little research about the film and its inception (I could at least be an informed,

embittered critic). I was in-terested to know that the film was written, produced, and directed by the Wachowski Brothers, a group known for “The Matrix” trilogy, “Cloud Atlas,” and “V for Vendetta.” I thoroughly enjoyed all of these films, so I thought, why would it be any differ-ent with this one? However,

what I witnessed was a film that was obviously support-ed by humongous finances (some sources cited as much as $175 million spent to cover the production costs) that went towards costly and fruitless sequences of nau-seating and mindless CGI battle scenes.

Although these comput-

er generated moments may appease some movie-goers, Jupiter’s unabashed triteness is sure to give others an un-settling sense of déjà vu - - Jupiter Ascending is essen-tially the same film as “The Matrix.”

First, let’s analyze the world in which each of the films take place. During the course of Jupiter, Jupi-ter (played by Mila Kunis) becomes aware of the fact that royal alien dynasties maintain control of count-less planets, intentionally prolonging intervention un-til the time arrives to claim as much energy as possible from the inhabitants of each planet through the practice of “harvesting.” Similarly, in “The Matrix” artificial intelligence and mechanic overlords maintain control over humanity through the implementation of a simulat-ed reality that gives the sub-jugated a positive perception of a grim reality.

Additionally, in both films, life is being used as a source of energy to maintain the power and influence of

evil. In Jupiter, living crea-tures are “harvested” once they reach the pinnacle of evolutionary development. Likewise, in “The Matrix,” machines harvest the bio-electricity of humans to feed their aspirations.

Another parallel can be drawn between both movie’s main characters. In both “The Matrix” and “Jupiter Ascend-ing” the main character is represented by a medley of traits that categorize them as an antihero. In Jupiter, Mila Kunis’s character is a down and out cleaning woman who becomes mired in the hum-drum work of daily life. In “The Matrix” the main char-acter Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, is a down-on-his-luck computer programmer turned hacker who’s on the verge of losing his job.

The acting (or lack thereof) that’s exhibited in “Jupiter Ascending” is noth-ing to write home about. Channing Tatum has suc-cessfully reverted to his realm of masculine bravado so convincingly exemplified in 2005’s “Coach Carter”

and 2013’s “White House Down.” So much for terse psychological thrillers like 2014’s “Foxcatcher” or man-ageable comedies like 2012’s “21 Jump Street…” But, wait a second. Many may argue that Tatum’s frequent type-casts haven’t impeded the progress of his cinematic ca-reer. Apart from identifying with admirers of the action/adventure genre, he has also garnered support from the female community for his roles in “Magic Mike” and “The Vow.” However, just because an actor or actress is commercially successful, it doesn’t mean that they are worth watching.

These comparisons between films may not be alarming to movie-goers, but if “Jupiter Ascending” was able to maintain even a scrap of originality, these parallels would not matter. Unfortu-nately, the film sticks to the same formulaic plot-line de-vised by the Wachowskis in another one of their films, and becomes utterly stymied by a confused series of shoot-em-up digressions.

‘Breaking Bad’, ‘Walking Dead’ spinoffs come to TV

Two highly anticipated TV shows are “Cobalt” (“The Walking Dead” spin-off) and “Better Call Saul” (“The Breaking Bad” spin-off). “Cobalt” has yet to air but the pilot episode for “Better Call Saul” was on Feb. 8. Mean-while, the date for the pilot episode for “Cobalt” has yet to be announced. Although the first episode of “Cobalt” is expected to air sometime in Fall 2015. Now the ques-tion is, will either of them live up to the main series in

each of their storylines?“Better Call Saul” was

announced in July 2012 as a possible spinoff series of Breaking Bad. It was cre-ated and directed by Vince Gilligan, (the creator of the main series Breaking Bad) and Peter Gould. The setting of this show takes place six years before the events of its main series “Breaking Bad.” The show takes place in Al-buquerque, New Mexico in the year 2002 where instead of the main character being Walter White like in “Break-ing Bad,” it focuses more on his lawyer, Saul Goodman.

The whole point of the show is to show how Saul Goodman became the lawyer in “Breaking Bad”, how he got his drug connections, and a backstory all the way up to the events of the main series “Breaking Bad.” The pilot episode set the record for best series premiere in cable history, consisting of 4.4 mil-lion views. Season two of the show was announced on June 2014 but is set to air in early 2016.

“Cobalt,” also known as “Fear The Walking Dead,” the show takes place during the same time as the main

series “The Walking Dead,” but in a different part of the United States. in L.A., Co-balt takes place during the very beginning of the zombie apocalypse around the time when the main character from “The Walking Dead” gets into a coma due to a gunshot wound. The show is supposed to have brand new characters and some of those characters are supposed to be in the 6th season of “The Walking Dead.” The main character of the show is a teacher named Sean Cabrera who’s “just trying to do the right thing to everyone he

ever comes across with.”A divorced teacher, a

former guidance counselor, a drug addicted son, and a highly ambitious daughter fight for their survival, this is the main plot of “Cobalt.” The show is all about filling in the void, filling in an entire time frame of history of the zombie apocalypse. It starts from the very beginning all the way up to the point of time where the main charac-ter from the main series Rick Grimes wakes up from his coma.

Both are highly antici-pated and they are the off-

spring of two of the most famous and successful TV shows in cable history. Will they live up to the hype? So far “Better Call Saul” is the most viewed series premiere in cable history and “Cobalt” is yet to air, but fans are sal-vaging through the internet just trying to find leaks and information about the shows. Each one airs on AMC, and stay tuned to Monday nights at 10 pm for “Better Call Saul,” and we all have to wait patiently for the series premiere of “Cobalt.”

Anthony RuizReporter

CalabHolderReporter

of that the movie is going to be dragged out and pro-longed. “Honestly, I’m not too excited over the idea of rebooting the ‘Ghostbusters’. It just seems like too timeless of a film/franchise to try re-booting,” Larsen said. With

people’s opinions like they are, writers and director Paul Feig have pressure on them to make the movie as good as it sounds.

With this movie coming out in 2016 many people are hoping the movie will live up

to everybody’s expectations. The movie has only just passed casting, but with the participation and the hope for an iconic movie, the Ghost-busters reboot is the movie to talk about. Will you be going to see this movie in theaters?

Columbia posted this picture on their Twitter feed announing the realease date of the new “Ghostbusters” film.

Sports 11Echoes Tanner Hochstetler | Sports Editor Early March 2015

Creighton struggling through Big East Jake Peterson

Reporter

C r e i g h t o n basketball is continuing to fight through the brutal Big East schedule. Creighton has also had some bad luck along the way, with some bad injuries, and inconsistency. Creighton has had some bad losses and some good wins among the bad losses: Depaul, North Texas, Saint Mary’s, and Marquette. Some of the impressive wins include beating Oklahoma and St. John’s. Creighton has fought through adversity before, but never quite like this. They broke a franchise record with 9 losses in a row.

And losing Doug McDermott does not need to be reminded in Omaha. So where will Creighton go from here? A lot of answers, but no proof as to what exactly they are going to do. Losing Austin Chatman won’t be easy to overcome, many people think it’s going to be a blessing, but in reality it won’t. Devin Brooks will be gone as well, perhaps if Isaiah Zierden is healthy next season, he will step up next season and lead his team to a few wins. Nevertheless, Austin Chatman continues to be leader of this year’s Creighton team which is something very positive to look at that this Creighton team is doing all but giving up. Perhaps the most devastating loss

that Creighton has suffered was the buzzer beating loss

to Butler as Roosevelt Jones laid it in. With Creighton’s

long season it just can’t end soon enough. “This last whatever-it’s-been, it seems like an eternity, it’s been hard on the fans, it’s been hard on our coaching staff,” Greg McDermott said to the Washington Post. “But that doesn’t compare to what it does to our players, the guys that keep going to work every day and keep trying to do what we ask them to do and come up a little short almost every time”. “I think we expected certainly to have to rebuild the program in some ways simply because even though we have five seniors, four of them have never played the role we were asking them to play,” McDermott said to the Washington Post. “They were backups in the past,

and obviously we relied a lot on what Doug did with his movement to create things for our offense.” Perhaps the most quality win of the season for the Jays was back in November when they beat Oklahoma at the Centurylink Center, Oklahoma’s star player Buddy Hield was held to 21 points which is still impressive, but he has had much better games, and Creighton also limited Tashawn Thomas and Isaiah Cousins. Oklahoma’s Jordan Woodard’s attempted buzzer beater fell short and Creighton pulled off a shocker and it even got them ranked. Creighton has shown potential for next season, the question is: now will they be able to execute?

Wet and wild: a record breaking seasonTaylor Daughtery

Reporter

New head coach to start seasonAndrea’ MilsteadIntro to Journalism

This year the AL girl’s soccer team has a new head coach, Robert Miller, and he is ready to lead the team. “Of course there’s more pressure. With more power there’s more responsibility,” Miller said. “I think that’s a Spider-Man quote.” Miller is starting the team off with offseason lifting to help the team get stronger along with open gyms for conditioning. They have been lifting Tuesday and Thursday mornings and have open gyms on Monday

and Thursday nights. Some of the girls have also gotten together to go on runs prepping for the season. Miller’s coaching style is different than the previous coach, but team members say it appears to be a good change. Senior Alexa Murphy is one of the varsity team captains and started playing soccer at age three. Her parents got her into it and she had dad her dad as her coach. She says soccer is her favorite sport. “Now that I’m a senior, I hope to do really well. We’ve definitely improved over the years and we have a strong team,” Murphy said. “Hopefully we

will go to state.” Fans hope Miller is leading the team in the right direction in leading his girls to what they have set as goals. “His coaching style is different because he cares about us individually,” junior varsity captain, Maddy Wendland said. “He helps us work for what we want to accomplish and we have a lot of fun. He also pushes us to work hard at the same time.” According to Wendland, the team has a goal of being the city champion and hopefully making it to state. She has been playing for eleven years and plays just because she

loves to and her parents got her into it. The girls soccer team has around 50 players

and will practice two hours every night starting March 23. Their first game will

be home on April 7 against Sioux City West. Come out and support them!

Photo by Brenna Wilhite, Crimson and Blue Yearbook. senior Jack Weiss and freshman Adam Dreseilheimer prepare for their heat.

Photo Courtesy of MTC Campus: Creightons’ Tyler Clemet (11) fouls against Villanova’s Phil Booth (5).

As the 2014-15 boys swim season comes to an end, the swimmers are taking time to reflect on their accomplishments. “This is the best team we’ve ever had,” senior Jack Weiss said. “We’ve gained points at meets, we’ve also had the most people make it to varsity.”This past season has been a fantastic one for all of the swimmers. One major accomplishment is that the boys finished another great season.

“I have survived another season of the greatest sport known to man: swimming,” sophomore Cole Gallo said. On a more serious note, a major accomplishment was the amount of time that has been dropped by the team. Alone, some swimmers have dropped roughly 13 seconds off of their times. “I have gone from a 1.19 to a 1.06 in the 100 fly,” freshman Connor Garges said. Another astonishing drop was done by senior Jack Weiss who dropped 15 seconds off of his breaststroke. The boys have dropped an incredible amount of time. So much time that the team has broken five records.“We’ve broken five but our goal for the end of the season is seven,” Weiss said.While the boys may not have broken seven records they placed 4th in districts with

over 130 points. Gaining over 130 points is quite impressive, and really shows how dedicated the boys are to their team and the sport. Another major accomplishment was having one of their team members make it to state. Freshman Jackson Allmon goes to St. Albert and has made it to state during his first year on a high school team. While the others have not made it to state this year, they have high hopes for next year’s team. As a team they also already have goals for the next season. “I’d like to have a date with state,” Gallo said. “Break the teams 100 yard freestyle record and 50 yard freestyle record.”With the season ending, the swimmers, coaches, and fans have high expectations for the boy’s team next year. Hopefully they will be able to have their date with state.

Pictured above: Junior Girl’s Captain Maddy Wendland juggles the ball.

Echoes Will Schademann | Sports EditorSports12 Early March 2015

Do You Believe In Miracles? Team unites 35 years laterJake Peterson

Reporter

It had been 35 years as of Feb. 22 when the U.S. hockey team

beat the ultimate Soviet team in Lake Placid, New York in 1980. The U.S. hockey team came into the 1980 Olympics as huge underdogs to just about everyone they had to play.

The reason was that the U.S. hockey team was full of college kids, and the idea came from head coach Herb Brooks, who, though creat-ing a hybrid team that would give them the best chance of winning a gold medal and beating the Soviets.

On February 22, 1980 the U.S. went up against the Soviets who had won the gold medal in ‘64, ‘68, ‘72, and ‘76, and hadn’t lost a game since 1960 to the Unit-ed States. Some of the So-viet players had been playing with each other for as long as 20 some years, and that was the U.S. players average age. Some believed the Sovi-ets had the best goalie in the world in Vladislav Tretiak.

The game started with a Soviet goal, but then the U.S. answered with Buzz Sch-neider, with a blasting shot and a rare, uncharacteristic goal given up by Tretiak. The Soviets then quickly answered to put themselves back in the lead at 2-1, but

then with no time left in the first period, Mark Johnson scores on a rebound from an initial Dave Christian shot to end the first period.

Starting in the second period the Soviets pulled Vladislav Tretiak, Herb Brooks looked to his players and said: “Boys, they just put the best goalie in the world on the bench,” Brooks said. It got the team fired up how-ever the backup was capable and held the U.S. scoreless in the second period, and after the second the Soviets led 3-2.

And then the third peri-od started and it belonged to the U.S. Starting with anoth-er Mark Johnson goal on the

powerplay, as it tied things back up at three apiece. Not much later, Mark Pavelich makes a great pass to the captain Mike Eruzione. Eru-zione took a wrist shot from up top and buries it to put the U.S. in the lead for the first time that night at 4-3. The U.S. and goalie Jim Craig dealt with tremendous pres-sure from the Soviets for 10 minutes, but they were able to hold on and win it.

After you would watch the game you would truly un-derstand Al Michaels most famous quotes, “Do you be-lieve in miracles? YES!” To this day it is considered to be the biggest upset in sports history. Coach of the 1980 Olympic team, Herb Brooks

Courtesy of MCT Campus

SEASON TO REMEMBER

Photos by Tanner Hochstetler

“The joy of a season is not in the final result, but in the process.

Working with your teammates everyday, developing relationships,

sacrificing yourself for the team. That is where your joy comes

from. We would have loved to have won that game and made it

to State... but that does not make this season any less successful.

This group of seniors have set the bar high for our younger players.

They have led by example in showing kids the type of commitment

it takes to compete at the top level. I am forever grateful for that.

They have left an impact that will benefit many Abraham Lincoln

teams after this one. That is something to be proud of.”

-Coach Jason Isaacson