From March 15th to

March 17th, the West Side

Robotics team will be

participating in their fi rst

competition of the year at

the Purdue Armory. The

team, consisting of ap-

proximately forty to fi fty

people, has been prepar-

ing for this competition all

year.

From January to Feb-

ruary they worked on the

robot for three to six hours

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Melissa’s

batons reach

new heightsPEOPLE, PAGE 8

SPORTS,

PAGE 3

The robot is ready

Science Olympiad wins regionals

Students learn to

master manners

BY ARTHI PURI

BY EMILY MACK

BY KATHRINE SCHULZE

daily. As soon as the game

is released at the begin-

ning of build season, the

team designs the robot and

decides what the best ap-

proach is to win.

For the next seven to

eight weeks, the team gets

down to work and actually

builds the robot.

From March to April,

they prepare for multiple

future competitions by

making adjustments and

upgrades to the robot.

Currently, since the build

season is over, they are

building a practice robot

which is identical to the

actual robot. This year, the

task of the robot is to be

able to shoot baskets and

push down a bridge.

The competition is in-

ternational and the world

championship has been

sponsored by many ce-

lebrities. “Will.I.Am is a

big sponsor, and last year

Morgan Freeman was ac-

tually commentating one

of our fi elds.” said Albert

Hwang, a sophomore who

helps with the wiring and

electronics. “This year

we actually have Barack

Obama, both Bushes and

Clinton coming to our

world championship com-

petition.” Sponsors rang-

ing from NASA to Ford

GEARING UP: Freshman Andrew Moser and Sophomore Jerry Sha examine the robot’s progress at a meeting in

Mr. Florence’s room.

Knowing which fork to use for the salad can

go a long way to success in college, while looking

for jobs, and beyond. Anthony Cawdron, house

manager and events coordinator for Westwood, the

residence of Purdue’s president, says that employ-

ers “are looking to see if you can multitask--if you

can handle a fork and a conversation.”

On Monday February 20th, around 50 juniors

and seniors arrived at Purdue’s Marriott Hall for

the fi rst annual etiquette dinner. Before it started,

many were less than excited for the coming event,

citing their parents as the only reason for attend-

ing.

The etiquette dinner was not a new idea, but one

that had been considered for the past few years by

the parent council. This year it was put into motion

when the parent council, who, according to council

member Nancy Gatmaitan, approached the Hotel

and Tourism Management department at Purdue.

The dinner was planned to coincide with a class in

the department as a project.

Before the actual dinner, students had to learn

how to properly conduct themselves in social and

dinner settings. And who better to teach etiquette

but an Englishman who had planned events for

two of the most stately homes in Britain?

According to RHEA: A Student Driven Learning

Source, in addition to being the events coordinator

at Westwood, Professor Anthony Cawdron also

teaches business etiquette and advanced service at

Purdue. Growing up in England, Cawdron traveled

throughout his childhood.

PLEASE AND THANK YOU: Seniors Wylie Gorup

and Adrienne Potts practice the skills they learned at

the dinner following Cawdron’s lecture in Purdue’s

Mariot Hall on February 20th.

PHOTO BY KATHRINE SCHULZE

On Saturday, Febru-

ary 25, eight teams from

seven schools across the

state (Park Tudor had two

teams) brought their all to

the Science Olympiad re-

gional competition. West

Side’s team of ten was

among one of the smallest

there, but took fi rst place

with 54 points and 10 out

of 23 fi rst place medals.

There were twenty-

three events, all of which

could be categorized in

the broad categories of

biology, chemistry, phys-

ics, earth science or tech-

nology. About two-thirds

of these events had some

type of hands-on or build-

ing component. Some of

the building projects had

to be built beforehand, like

the “Gravity Vehicle,” a

car run down a steep ramp

and set to stop at certain

points. Other events in-

“We each have to pull our weight as

part of a team in order to succeed.

That’s what makes it so rewarding.”

cluded chemistry labs,

analyzing rock samples,

forensic experiments and a

variety of what coach Mr.

von Werder referred to as

“pencil and paper type of

activities” requiring lots

of math and fact based

knowledge.

When asked how much

time the team spent pre-

paring, Mr. von Werder

chuckled. “We actually

didn’t meet very regularly

until recently,” he said.

Sophomore Phoebe Moh

explained that most of the

preparation is individual

work, like studying for the

- Lucy HanSenior

continued on page 2 continued on page 2

continued on page 2

PHOTO PROVIDED BY BOILERINVASION.ORG

How do you spell

S-U-C-C-E-S-S?

Just ask Senior

Sameer Mishra.

Mrs. Mom: the pros

and cons of having a

parent at school

FEATURES, PAGE 4

PAGE 2 NewsWest Side

MARCH 7, 2012

BY NEHA RAMANI

Schools sever free speech

Prepare to dance till you drop

BY GRACE PALMIERI

Science olympiadcontinued from page 1

Students master the

art of manners

continued from page 1

Although dance mara-

thons have been going

on since the Jazz Age of

the Roaring ‘20s, this year

marks the fi rst time West

Side is hosting one of its

own. The West Lafayette

Dance Marathon will take

place throughout the high

school, in the gyms and

commons area, on March

31st from four to ten p.m.

The goal is to stay stand-

ing for the entire six hours.

Several activities will be

going on during the event

so that there will be things

to do for people who do

and don’t like to dance.

Last summer, Junior

Cailey Daluga originally

got the idea to have a dance

marathon at West Side

from her brother, who is

in charge of the mini mar-

athons happening at Pur-

due. She thought it would

be a great thing to do here

too, and that’s when the

planning began. “It’s been

stressful, but when you

do the events you realize

the impact you’re having

and see how much people

care,” said Cailey.

The executive board

of West Lafayette Dance

Marathon consists of

Cailey Daluga, Katie Sig-

urdson, Amber Harriger,

Katie Bittner, and Chase

Lewark, who are in charge

of fundraising before the

marathon, as well as at the

event itself. Some events

being organized for the

event include a dodge ball

tournament, speeches giv-

en by children who have

undergone treatment at

Riley Hospital talking

about their experience,

and a dance lesson taught

by members of the club.

“It’s good to do something around the

community that profi ts families here”

Megan Moodysophomore

In order to raise money

during the months prior

to the actual dance mara-

thon, members of the club

have done things such as

Christmas caroling in the

neighborhoods of Univer-

sity Farms and Barberry

Heights, canning at Wal-

mart, organizing a Rat Trap

dance, and running the

“Miracle Minute” during

which they went through

the stands at a basketball

game for a minute col-

lecting as many dona-

tions as possible. “It’s

good to do something

around the community

that profi ts families

here,” said sophomore

Meghan Moody. So far,

$3,000 has been raised,

not including the mon-

ey not yet accounted

for. Organizers hope to

raise much more at the

big event. All donations

and money raised will go

to Riley Children’s Hos-

pital.

For those interested

in attending the West

Lafayette Dance Mara-

thon, registration forms

are available outside the

high school offi ce un-

til March 9th. A ticket

to the event costs $10

dollars. An addition of

a bag and t-shirt is $10

more.

Robotics

continued from page 1

PASS THE SALT: Professor Anthony Cawdron illustrates

the proper etiquette for dealing with a formal table at

Purdue’s Marriot Hall during the Etiquette Dinner.

PHOTO BY KATHRINE SCHULZE

Traveling to different

countries was a major rea-

son for his pursuit of a

career in hospitality. After

his schooling he served the

Duke of Marlborough be-

fore going on to serve at

the Sutton Place, a home

of an American billion-

aire. His work at the Sut-

ton Place brought him into

contact with a vast number

of famous artists as well

as several members of the

royal family including Prin-

cess Diana. He later went

on to Switerzland before

traveling to the US to work

at Iowa State under former

Purdue president Martin

Jischke. When the Jischke

family made the move to

Purdue, Cawdron accepted

the position as the West-

wood events coordinate.

Professor Cawdron

guided students through

social etiquette as well as

the proper etiquette for

a business dinner “Ev-

eryone is watching,” said

Cawdron. “Anyone could

be fi lming you.” Cawdron

started the lecture with the

proper way to respond to

an invitation and carried

on through an entire eve-

ning of greeting strangers,

eating food off platters,

and properly giving toasts.

“It was defi nitely a lot

more focused on the little

things that make a big im-

pression,” commented se-

nior Wylie Gorup.

Cawdron kept students

entertained with a dry

sense of humor and an

abundance of pop culture

references. When speaking

of responding to an RSVP,

Cawdron said, “You can’t

do the Katy Perry thing:

Your yes then your no

then your yes then your no

then your yes.” His effec-

tive style of teaching kept

students awake and ready

for dinner.

With the warning that

they would be taped during

dinner students sat down at

their assigned tables look-

ing a little apprehensive. “I

felt really judged,” said se-

nior Adrian Potts, but she

“liked that the servers were

the students.”

The four-course meal

of salad, soup, a main

course, and desert was

highly praised by many of

the students. Senior Tyler

Smith said that the desert

was the “best chocolate

bread pudding I’ve ever

eaten.”

Cancer awareness

is a cause supported by

most schools. At West

Side, the Hoops for

Hope event, the volley-

ball team’s “Dig Pink”

games, and the annual

blood drives all aim to

raise awareness about

and aid cancer research.

Most other schools

have similar events and

fundraisers. However,

in early January, Roos-

evelt Middle School

in Monticello, Indiana

banned an eighth grade

student from wearing a

bracelet in support of

breast cancer.

The bracelet said, “I

heart boobies” and was

deemed inappropriate

and lewd by school of-

fi cials. Although the

bracelet did not cause

any disruption for the

two days it was worn to

school by the boy, the

vice principal spotted

it and asked the student

to turn it inside out. The

student’s parents fi led a

lawsiut against Roosevelt

Middle School saying

that their son had a First

Amendment right to wear

the bracelet.

Several schools around

the nation have banned

the same bracelet. Contro-

versy has arisen in districts

in California, Pennsylvania

and Texas. In Pennsylva-

nia, a case over the right

to wear the bracelet went

to the district court, where

it was ruled that the First

Amendment protected

its wearing. Offi cials said

that since the bracelet was

being worn for a cause, it

could not be deemed a dis-

ruption.

West Side sophomore

Chris Zhang agreed that

a bracelet in support of

breast cancer had to be al-

lowed, because it cannot

be determined why How-

ever, he said, “If people

are abusing that right and

fl aunting it, it should be

taken away.”

Senior Lucy Han feels

it is diffi cult to determine

where the line should be

drawn. She said, “I think

it has to be stopped when

whatever is happening is

“Freedom of speech should be limited

in schools if it becomes a disruption.”

Will Rankinsenior

Students are warming up for the West Lafayette Dance Marathon.

trivia and working on the

building projects.

West Side also had a

small team, only taking ten

of the fi fteen people al-

lowed. Almost all of the

team members were com-

peting in four or fi ve events

over the course of the day.

Melinda Crane, who has

been involved in Science

Olympiad since seventh

grade, attributed this to

State ISSMA being on the

same day, leaving her and

several others unable to

participate. Melinda said

most of these teammates

are planning to attend the

State competition at IU on

March 24th.

Moh said she took

place in fi ve events this

year: Experimental design,

thermodynamics, game

on, sounds of music, and

rocks and minerals. She

explained her favorite of

these was Game On. “It’s

basically where you pro-

gram a short computer

game, and you only have

15 minutes to do it. It was

really fun for me because

I like programming.” She

also said that Game On

wasn’t a “real” event, but a

trial challenge that is a test

to see how participants re-

act to these possible future

events. “We’re like guinea

pigs.” Phoebe said. When

asked her favorite part, she

said the awards ceremony.

“It’s over; it’s done, so you

can just cross your fi ngers.

There’s always this mo-

ment of “did we do it”?”

support the many teams

of the multimillion dollar

competition.

As for the team mem-

bers in charge of the top

responsibilities, David

Afolabi is the president.

Darian Williams holds the

chairman position which is

the most prestigious award

in robotics, and concerns

what can be done to im-

prove. Henry Williams

is the head of technol-

ogy, while Ben Carson also

helps to build the robot.

John McDougall does the

main programming while

the animation job goes to

Duri Park, Anand Hastak,

and Chris Strickler.

Sophomore Brian

French said that despite

all the hard work, “the

competitions are defi nite-

ly worth going to; it’s fun

meeting people from many

different places. It’s also

fun to work with the robot

and try to fi gure out how

to win the competition.”

West Side usually does

well in the robotics compe-

titions. Hwang said, “We’ve

won the world champion-

ship website award twice,

and we are one of the best

in the area.” West Side

has also won the CAGE

award twice, and this

year they were runner-

ups. French says, “We’re

really good at being fi -

nalists, but we’re usually

outplayed during fi nals

due to bad luck. Other

than that, we’ve im-

proved every year.”

actually inappropriate or

offends someone.”

In most cases, when the

school environment is be-

ing disrupted by freedom

of speech, then a court

will rule on the side of the

school and the administra-

tion. However, it becomes

harder to determine when

the reason for exerting the

“speech” is rooted in a

positive action.

If the controversial

bracelet were to be worn

by a West Side student,

Principal Shriner said

that “I’d ask them to

fi nd a different way to

show their support.”

According to Shri-

ner, while “freedom of

speech” controversies

are not alien to West

Side, there hasn’t been

an occurence in the past

few months. Shiner said

that if an incident were

to occur, students who

were to wear what might

be considered offensive

would never be given

disciplinary action, but

would simply be asked

to re-evaluate their

choices.

Want to know more? Check out

www.boilerinvasion.org!

PAGE 3SportsWest Side

MARCH 7, 2012

West Side’s sports teams

are pretty intense. From

warm-ups to condition-

ing sessions, the season

seems like a blur that ends

abruptly. So what do ath-

letes do when their sport

isn’t in season? Some stu-

dents choose to partici-

pate in other school teams,

while others choose to

continue in their sport, but

off season.

The purpose of off-sea-

son sports is to maintain

the players’ profi ciency.

Two of the most popular

sports that carry on into

the off season are tennis

and swimming.

Most tennis players

play at Purdue’s Schwartz

Tennis Center for their Ju-

nior Tennis program. The

season, however, isn’t as

intense as the school’s sea-

son; the group meets on

three days of the week for

an hour and a half.

The program consists

of a group of local players,

not just from West Side.

Another school represent-

ed is Harrison.

West Side’s tennis coach,

Tim Wright, encourages

the players to participate

in the program. Junior and

tennis player, Lucas Owen,

explains, “he helps run the

lessons. He also encour-

ages us to play in as many

tournaments as we can.”

The center offers seven

tournaments throughout

the winter months for an

assortment of ages.

Swimmers that partici-

pate in Boilermaker Aquat-

ics during the off season

have a much more intense

schedule. “We practice

two times a day, fi ve days

a week, and on Saturdays,”

sophomore Rachel Ho

says. The swimmers com-

pete in numerous meets

in an Olympic size pool.

“[We’re] not just training

for nothing,” she says.

Not as many of the

swimmers on West Side’s

team participate in the

program as past years. “We

have a lot of swimmers

that are younger... that are

coming up,” Rachel ex-

plains, “Pretty much all

of our top swimmers all

swim BA or have swam

BA in the past.”

The swimming coach-

es encourage the team

members to participate

in the sport. “Swimming

is one of those things

where it’s really key for

you to stay in shape,” Ra-

chel explains.

So do the athletes

ever get bored of their

sports? “No, not at all,”

Owen says, “I like all of

the people, and tennis is

really fun and relaxing

for me.”

BY BRIAGHA

McTAVISH

Dedicated athletes continue to

train year round

Girl’s tennis

team ready to

serve up success BY HARINI SURESH

PHOTO BY BRIAGHA McTAVISH

You’ve seen her spar-

kling on the football fi eld

during halftime, leading

the SheDevils dance team,

and maybe even twirling

fi re. Senior Melissa Frei-

ser started baton twirling

when she was eight years

old and has been at it ever

since.

“My coach said she saw

something in me,” re-

membered Melissa of her

fi rst session. “She went up

to my mom and kind of

begged her to let me keep

on twirling.” Melissa start-

ed taking private lessons

then, and continues to this

day. A year ago, her coach

moved to Indianapolis, so

Melissa drives down ev-

ery other weekend for her

lessons. Melissa’s twirl-

ing coach Veronica only

had positive things to add:

“Her resilience and perse-

verance along with her im-

mense positivity make it a

joy to coach her and watch

her during performances.”

During practices, Me-

lissa said she works on

learning new tricks. “As a

beginner, you learn the ba-

sics,” she explained. “Now

most of the tricks I learn

are just advanced styles of

the basics.” Like master-

ing any sport, Melissa ad-

mitted that it’s always hard

to learn a new trick. Hard,

high tosses can take weeks

of practicing to learn, and

Melissa has plenty of bruis-

es to prove it. “I just try

to do them over and over

again to try and increase

The coming of spring

marks the beginning of

the tennis season, and this

year, West Side’s team is

making some changes. Not

only is head coach Tim

Wright making cuts for the

fi rst time this year, but also

some of the team’s top

players, including junior

Sarah Cai, are leaving this

season. While the loss of

these players is an obstacle

for the team, they are op-

timistic that they will suc-

ceed this season without

them.

“We’re going to have to

work very hard, and obvi-

ously them not playing is a

loss, but I think we’re go-

ing to go on and win the

matches we have to win if

we work hard,” comment-

ed junior Rachel Berry on

the effect that losing play-

ers will have on the team

this coming season.

Cai said of her decision

to quit the team that she

wants to focus on USCA

tournament competitions,

adding, “My national rank-

ing dropped a lot because

I couldn’t play tourna-

BY ELENA SPARGER

ments.” While the loss

of such a valuable player

does affect the girls’ team,

they are confi dent that

with hard work they can

accomplish their goals

of winning the Hoosier

Conference, making it to

sectionals, and beating

their biggest rival: Har-

rison.

Last season the team

had nearly fi fty players,

a number that Coach

Wright plans to cut down

on this year. The coach’s

past refusal to make cuts

is widely-known and

grumbled about by the

players, who lost playing

time and practice space

because of the excessive

amount of players. With

cuts, the team will be

more manageable, and

practices more benefi cial.

While making cuts is un-

desirable, it will ultimate-

ly prove advantageous to

the team, who will have

more time and space to

focus on improvement

so that they can accom-

plish their various goals

for the season.

“...I think we’re going to go on

and win the matches we have

to win if we work hard.”

Rachel BerryJunior

ting,” which is marching

or doing a routine without

actually tossing the ba-

ton. Finally, there is a solo

event, in which the partici-

pant can do whatever they

want. “Basically, try to do

as many tricks as you can,”

explained Melissa.

“From a technical per-

spective, Melissa has a

wonderful handle on twirl-

ing multiple batons,” adds

Veronica. “This not only

takes excellent one baton

basics, it also requires ex-

ceptional timing.” Though

Melissa plans her routines

for competitions, she says

she does it “on the fl y”

when she’s with the school

marching band.

Next year, Melissa hopes

to twirl at Purdue, and is

waiting to hear back after

auditioning last weekend.

“I really like it because its

a sport that not a lot of

other people do,” she ex-

plained. “It kind of makes

me different.”

It’s Melissa’s love for

the sport that ensures that

no matter where she goes,

she will always continue

twirling. “It motivates

me to twirl in front of

large crowds,” she smiled.

“Even though I might get

super nervous, when I’m

out there doing it, that re-

minds me of why I love

twirling so much.”

the percentage of times I

can catch the baton.” As

a freshman, Melissa also

joined the SheDevils dance

team to improve her twirl-

ing skills, now refl ecting

that it has defi nitely helped

her with little things like

keeping toes pointed dur-

ing routines. She became

the co-captain when she

was a jnior and continues

this year. Her current co-

captain Junior Haley Ardnt

commented, “Melissa is a

dedicated teammate who

passes on her enthusiasm

to the rest of the team.”

During the school year,

Melissa performs with the

marching band at football

games. From December

to April, she goes to twirl-

ing competitions once

or twice a month. Next

month, Melissa will be

competing in one called

Miss Majorette, which is a

pageant to qualify for the

National tournament in

the summer.

“Twirling competitions

are a lot like track and fi eld

or swimming,” described

Melissa. There are several

different events at every

competition. For example,

a typical competition might

start out with modelling,

which Melissa describes

as “presenting yourself

gracefully to the judge.”

After that, the participant

talks with the judge one-

on-one, answering ques-

tions ranging from them-

selves to current events.

Another event is “strut-

PHOTO BY WYLIE GORUP

BIG SMILE: Melissa puts on a performance for spectators

at Hoops for Hope on Friday, February 17th.

SERVED: Andre Woloshuk practices his skills at the

Schwartz tennis center during off-season.

To Melissa, athletics is artMelissa Fresier talks about her career as a baton twirler.

PAGE 4 Features MARCH 7, 2012

West Side

So I kind of railed on you

guys before Valentine’s Day for

being overprotective. But never

fear, you’re going to love this

issue’s topic: clingy girlfriends.

Throughout your dating ca-

reer, you’ve probably either been

involved with a clingy girl or seen

one of your friends being eaten

alive by a possessive monster.

Here are the warning signs that

you might be in a relationship

with one of these said creatures.

1) She tells you that she loves

you within the fi rst week, and

then says that she wants to mar-

ry and has your children’s names

picked out two minutes later.

I know, sounds ridiculous, and

that’s because it is. Your fi rst re-

action is probably, hmmm this is

really weird... but I’ve never had

a girlfriend so... “Love you too!”

No. Just no. The fi rst thing you

need to know about these girls

is that if you enable them, their

grip just gets tighter; so whatever

you do, do not tell her you love

her too. Sure, she’ll probably

break up with you, but would

you really want to be in a rela-

tionship with that?

2) She calls you literally fi ve

times a day and asks you who

you’re with, what you’re doing,

why she always has to be the one

to call, etc. If this is your girl-

friend, just sit her down and ex-

plain to her that she doesn’t need

to know everything in your life.

3) She wants to hang out

24/7. First of all, you need to

sleep sometimes. Second, it’s re-

ally bad in a relationship to al-

ways be with each other. Tell her

you need some guy time or alone

time, and encourage her to hang

out with her own friends.

The thing about clingy girls,

and any girl, is that they like a guy

who’s honest. So if you’re feel-

ing weirded out by her posses-

siveness, tell her. It might salvage

your relationship, and if she gets

angry, she probably wasn’t worth

your time anyway.

Dealing with clingy

girlfriends.

BY BRIAGHA McTAVISH

Many students are jetting off

to warmer weather this spring

break. But if you are not lucky

enough to leave behind the bit-

ter weather for a week of beach-

bumming and roller-coaster-rid-

ing, it is still possible to enjoy a

Beat out spring break blues at the bowling alley.

BY KATHRINE SHULZE week free of the hallowed halls

of West Side.

Since it is often still chilly dur-

ing spring break I suggest you

spend you spend some time at

the memorial union. With a lot

of places to eat and a bowling

alley in the basement the Union

has a lot to offer. And since the

college students will be gone for

break you will have the union all

to yourself.

The bowling alley is by far the

best in town, not to mention the

best in Lafayette as well. Possi-

bly the best thing about bowling

is that it does not matter who

you play with. No matter if you

come with your friends or your

parents it is almost impossible

not to have a good time.

If you are still not convinced

on the wonders of bowling,

though, there is always the ar-

cade conveniently located in the

same room as the alley. The ar-

cade features the regular point

and shoot games, air hockey, and

Dance Dance Revolution. It also

has a multitude of pool tables to

practice your skills on.

After you wow your friends

with your amazing bowling skills

you will probably be pretty hun-

gry. Lucky for you, there is an

entire fl oor fi led with all sorts

of food just up the steps from

the bowling alley. The Union in-

cludes subs shops, a Starbucks,

and a delicious pizzeria all with

in a reasonable price range. And

if you can not possibly tear your-

self away from your bowling

game you always have the option

of ordering your food from the

alley and having it delivered to

you.

So if you are unlucky enough

to be spending your spring break

in West Lafayette this year con-

sider making a trip down to the

union.

Union Rack and Roll Hours:

Sunday- Thursday: 10:00AM-

12:00AM

Friday- Saturday: 10:AM-

1:00AM

Union location:

101 N Grant St

Parents with perksFaculty members’ children discuss the plight of having a parent at school

with them.

Most of us are used to es-

caping the infl uence and con-

trol of our parents at home

when we go to school, only

to surrender our freedom

to teachers, administrators,

and academics. Some of us,

however, have the worst of

both worlds. There are ten

students at our high school

whose parents work here also:

Katy Brewer, Jacob Mills,

Thomas Pechin, Sam Porter-

fi eld, Michael Pugh, Taylor

BY WONHO RHEE

Pugh, Melanie Sadeghi, Claire

and Reed Shriner, and Matt von

Werder. Yet after a closer look,

this situation is not nearly as bad

or strange as it might seem.

According to Michael Pugh,

“Most people are surprised to

fi nd out that I enjoy having my

dad as a teacher.” He cites ben-

efi ts such as not having to ride

the bus, getting his questions

answered at home rather than

having to wait until the next day,

having access to his locker after

class hours are over, and getting

permission slips signed quickly.

Katy Brewer mentions many of

the same things and adds, “It’s

actually not as weird as most peo-

ple might think. I do see my dad

sometimes in the hall, but other

than that, school’s the same for

me as everyone else.”

Thomas Pechin takes the posi-

tive sentiments a step further

by saying there are no cons to

having his mother teach at West

Side because she “is such a lovely

lady.” Both Pechin and Sam Por-

terfi eld agree that their mothers

PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCE: Social Studies teacher Mr. Pugh offers some useful advice to his two children Taylor (Sophomore)

and Michael (Senior).

“I do see my dad

sometimes in the

hall, but other

than that, school’s

the same for me

as everyone else.”

-Katy BrewerJunior

PHOTO BY WONHO RHEE

are, as Sam puts it, “a convenient

source for any cash.” However,

Porterfi eld offers some insight-

ful, more serious remarks about

the experience of having his par-

ent as an actual teacher. “In the

classroom, it was hard for me

to adjust to giving my mom the

kind of respect and obedience I

would normally give a teacher,”

he explains. “I am used to being

loose around her; I usually enjoy

teasing her. During her class, I

made frequent trips to the hall

for being disrespectful.”

Michael Pugh is more light-

hearted about currently having

his father as his Government

teacher, remarking, “I have a lot

of fun in my dad’s class primarily

because I understand his humor

and I have seen the movies that

he quotes. The only downside to

having his class is that I cannot

procrastinate on any assignment

or project without him know-

ing. I also cannot get by without

studying for a test.”

All in all, these students get to

enjoy a lot of perks having their

“The only

downside... is

that I cannot

procrastinate on

any assignment...

without him

knowing.”

-Michael PughSenior

parents as teachers at the

school. But also worth men-

tioning are Claire and Reed

Shriner, children of principal

Mr. Shriner. Claire notes, “I

get to see my dad every day,

so that’s really nice. I remem-

ber going to middle school

and only getting to see him a

couple hours a couple nights

a week.” On the other side,

she states, “Some cons would

be having him around too

much, maybe, like at sporting

events or social activities.”

There are dozens of

classes available at West

Side. Of these, 33 classes

are electives for the 2011-

12 school year, excluding

the 15 AP classes offered

at our school. There could

actually be more electives

available, but which classes

are offered is determined

by how many people sign

up for a given class. For

example, Sociology was

offered last year but was

not offered this year due

to lessened interest.

There are some inter-

esting things about the

numbers of students tak-

ing certain classes. Four

of the fi ve most popular

electives are in the area of

English: Etymology (103

students), Film Lit (91

students), Speech (72 stu-

dents), and Debate (70 stu-

dents). The other elective,

the third-most popular, is

Psychology (75 students).

These seem to be the most

worthwhile classes to take

PAGE 5FeaturesMARCH 7, 2012

West Side

Wouldn’t it be great if

you could spend Spring

Break wearing t-shirts and

shorts rather than being

bundled up in multiple

sweaters and coats? Well,

from March 5th to March

9th, West Side students

are trying to improve

West Lafayette weather

by dressing up in summer

clothes for Good Weather

Promotion Week. The

BY ARTHI PURI

Students summon sunshine

BY WONHO RHEE

Kids are commonly choosing certain classes

Monday - I’m on a Boat

Tuesday - Summer Sports

Wednesday - Summer Camp

Thursday - Life’s a Beach

Friday - Early Spring Break

GOOD WEATHER PROMOTION

WEEK THEMES

before graduating, but

maybe this is because Eng-

lish requires two elective

credits for graduation. On

the other hand, the areas

of Health and PE, Music,

and Science only have one

elective each, again, not

counting AP classes.

The Anatomy section

of Biology II AP takes

the cake as far as popular

AP classes go, with 59 stu-

dents enrolled this semes-

ter. This could be because

it is only a one-semester

commitment, unlike most

other AP classes. Science

is also the most taken sub-

ject out of the AP classes,

perhaps because all of the

science AP classes are nat-

ural extensions of Biology

I, Chemistry I, and Physics

I that are taken by most

students anyway. Biology

teacher Mr. Overley offers

another explanation: “We

are around Purdue Uni-

versity, which has a lot of

people who are interested

in sciences. Probably if we

were in the, say, IU com-

munity, there would be

more humanities.”

In terms of world lan-

guages, Spanish is by far

the most-taken language

overall and most-taken

language AP class. World

Language Department

Head Mr. Ohlhaut ex-

plains, “It’s pretty standard,

actually, to have a lot more

students in Spanish than

any of the other languages.

That’s largely due to cir-

cumstances in U.S. society

where visibility of Spanish

is a lot higher in day-to-day

life.” An impressive fact

about French at our school

is that, while about 13%

of the overall students tak-

ing Spanish and German

are taking the AP class, a

signifi cantly higher 19%

of students taking French

are in AP. To account for

this, Mr. Ohlhaut says, “I

can only tell you anecdot-

ally that, students who

English: Etymology (103 students)

FACS: Child Development (25)

Health and PE: Weights (24)

Math: Probability and Statistics (55)

Music: Percussion Ensemble (21)

Science: Earth/Space Science II (17)

Social Studies: Psychology (75)

Business/Tech Ed: Business/Law (25)

Visual Arts: Photography 1 (56)

MOST POPULAR ELECTIVES BY

SUBJECT Computer Science AP (24 students)

English Literature AP (28)

European History AP (31)

Micro/Macro Econ AP (25)

French IV AP (34)

German IV AP (14)

Spanish IV AP (38)

Calculus AB AP (25)

Calculus AB-BC AP (37)

Statistics AP (17)

Bio II AP, Evol/Ecol (48)

Bio II AP, Anatomy (59)

Chemistry AP (41)

Physics AP (17)

Art History AP (18)

AP CLASSES

French I-IV (176 students)

German I-IV (106) Spanish I-IV (301)

WORLD LANGUAGES

take French are making a

deliberate choice to run

counter-current from the

beginning, and there’s a

certain degree of loyalty

and fi erceness of belief in

their choice.”

The three most diffi cult

classes at our school, ac-

cording to senior Connor

Couetil, are Calculus AB-

BC AP, English AP, and

Physics AP, because of the

“amount of work.” For

Calculus, he reports having

to do “an hour to an hour-

and-a-half of homework

each night,” for English, he

says there’s “a lot of read-

ing and papers which take

hours to complete,” and

for Physics, he says, “the

homework is really diffi -

cult to fi nish.” While many

seniors may not want to

accept this workload dur-

ing their last year of high

school, Couetil fi nds the

classes to be “a challenge

that is rewarding.”

tradition started in 2009

when a group of seniors

decided to wear summer

clothes. “Miraculously,

the weather cleared up

and it was in the 60s

all week,” says senior

Jake Weiss. Each year,

West Side students dress

differently for a week

according to the theme

of each day, as listed.

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE: Sophomore Esther Yoon

shows her nautical style during Good Weather Promotion

Week.

PHOTO BY ARTHI PURI

Arts and En! r" inment MARCH 7, 2012PAGE 6

West Side

Chauncey Hill Mall’s Ah Z Sushi

provides a fresh alternative to old

favorites with its Big Ten menu.

BY ELENA SPARGER

On my quest to fi nd new

and interesting places to go

for lunch in an attempt to

animate the monotonous

routine that is senior year,

I found Ah Z Sushi. The

name of the Japanese Fu-

sion restaurant is fi tting,

because when I took my

fi rst bite into their aptly-

Briagha McTavish breaks

into the big leaguesCATWALK TO CLASS

Adam Folta is dressed for successBY NEHA RAMANI

PHOTO BY NEHA RAMANI

CASUAL COLLEGE

STYLE: Adam dresses

trendily in khaki shorts, a

light-colored polo.

It is sometimes said that

those who dress better for

school tend to perform

better. If this is true, then

senior Adam Folta has a

future as bright as the col-

orful polos he dons on a

regular basis.

His preppy style is

synonymous with the col-

legiate look. However, he

adds his own edge. “I try to

mix the preppy style with a

hipster look,” he said.

Adam’s favorite stores

are J. Crew, Gap, Banana

Republic, and Polo Ralph

Lauren.

On most days, Adam

can be found wearing neat-

ly pressed khaki pants with

a polo shirt. His shoes of

choice alternate between

popular brands Sperry

Top-Siders or Converse.

He often tops off his look

with a pair of thick, dark

brown glasses and a Puma

watch.

Adam acknowledges

the fact that most boys

dress down for school,

with sweatpants or jeans

and an athletic t-shirt or

sweatshirt, the attire of

choice. He eschews this in

favor of taking care of his

appearance. “I don’t want

to be the average guy who

wears sweat pants.”

Adam says that his style

is heavily infl uenced by his

older brother. “He’s really

good with style,” Adam

said about his brother,

“He reads style magazines

sometimes.” Adam wears

some of his brother’s old

If you know who

Briagha McTavish is, you

probably think of her

as a quirky dresser, who

is outgoing and talented

with a viola. What you

might not know is that

she is an aspiring singer

and songwriter, writ-

ing both the music and

melody with piano and

guitar.

She began singing

when she was a wee child

and has dreamed of

making singing a career

ever since. “I think she

has quite a voice.” said

her friend Maggie Oates.

Briagha has labeled her

music as pop with some

rock infl uence, and those

who have heard her mu-

sic compare her to musi-

cians like Colbie Callait

and Sara Bareillies. While

she enjoys those art-

ists, Briagha takes a lot

of inspiration from The

Beatles, Pink Floyd, and

Regina Specktor.

Although Briagha en-

joys singing, songwriting

is her passion. The pur-

pose of songwriting, she

said, is “to tell a story”

and because she is a teen-

age girl, a lot of her sto-

ries focus on the ups and

downs of her relationships

with boys. Besides sing-

ing original music, Briagha

has recorded some of her

dad’s songs too, with most

of them having been writ-

ten about her mom. “My

dad’s songs are much more

deep than mine,” she said

with a laugh.

Briagha takes her dream

of performing at the

Grammys very seriously.

She has a voice teacher,

Steven Memel, who is

based in Los Angeles and

gives Briagha lessons over

Skype. Memel has worked

with Maroon 5’s Adam

Levine and Sara Bareilles.

He also worked with the

actors on the “Alvin and

the Chipmunks” movie

series.

She also has attended

the Taxi Convention, and

also the Hollywood Im-

mersive in L.A. Both pro-

grams are for aspiring

artists to learn about the

industry and improve their

talent. Briagha said that

these experiences, in par-

ticular the Hollywood Im-

mersive “really improved

[her] voice because it was

really bad until a few years

ago.” Here in West Lafay-

ette, Briagha sings at her

church every Sunday and

she tries to give herself an

hour a day to work on her

skill. With all of this hap-

pening in her life, we’re

sure to see Briagha’s name

in bright lights in the near

future.

The junior makes strides in Hollywood with her original music.BY ABBY BIEN

PHOTO BY ABBY BIEN

ROCKING OUT: Briagha performs at First United Method-

ist Church. The junior began singing as a child, and has

continued ever since, eventually writing her own music.

Where to fi nd her:www.BriaghaMcTavish.

com

West Lafayette Youth

Council Talent Show on

March 30th, 7p.m. @

Morton

LOCATION: Ah Z

Sushi, 111 N. Chauncey

Ave.

DISTANCE FROM

SCHOOL: 1.0 mi.

Price/Person: $5+

GENRE: Japanese Fu-

sion

BY ALYSE ALLRED

“I don’t want to be the average

guy who wears sweat pants.”

- Adam Folta

clothing, but also enjoys

shopping on his own.

“My mom takes me shop-

ping but I actually fi gure

out what I’m getting,” he

said.

Adam also observes

what celebrities wear and

tries to incorporate that

into his own style. He

advises that others do

the same, admitting that

named Purdue roll, the

only thing I could say to

express my immense satis-

faction was, “aaahhhh.”

The aforementioned roll

came from their Big Ten

menu, which consisted of

a different roll named for

each Big Ten school. I had

read a review on Yelp.com

beforehand that said their

rolls were sloppy, and while

this was true of the Purdue

roll, it was completely the

opposite for the other roll

I ordered. And since when

did Yelp become “Top

Chef ”? I say if it tastes

good, eat it.

And so I did--and it

defi nitely paid off. I got

ten Purdue rolls for just

eight dollars, and they were

pretty huge, so it was well

worth the money. I also

ordered the Chauncey roll,

which is named after the

restaurant’s location in the

Chauncey Hill Mall.

The Purdue roll, which

was made up of crab, cu-

cumber and avocado, and

topped with tempura bat-

ter, was mouth-watering.

The Chauncey roll, which

was salmon, avocado and

cream cheese, all deep-

friend, was also delectable.

However, I’ve had the

same roll at Maru Sushi,

who tops it with a sauce

that adds extra oomph to

the roll. Nonetheless, soy

sauce proved to be a good

substitute.

Although the place

was very small, the own-

ers apparently have a good

knowledge of feng shui,

so I didn’t feel like I was

packed in a can of sar-

dines. They also played

Japanese music videos on

their television, which add-

ed to the modern Japanese

ambiance.

The menu was im-

mense--they have about

thirty different types of su-

shi, noodle soups including

ramen and appetizers (one

called “Heart Attack”--or-

der at your own risk). Ah

Z also has a meal called

a Bento Box, which in-

cludes a choice of teriyaki

chicken, spicy chicken, or

chicken katsu (deep-fried

chicken breast) with miso

soup, rice and a salad. The

Bento Box also only costs

$7.50, which is very cheap

for the amount of food

you receive.

The cheapest roll you

can get is your standard

California roll, which is

only four dollars, and

drinks are only 85 cents as

well.

Overall, their meals are

very cheap, you get a lot

for your money, and it’s

cleaner than some other

restaurants. And as an add-

ed benefi t, they’re quick

enough to eat there for

lunch. So if your stomach

is rumblin’ for some good

ole sushi, I defi nitely rec-

ommend Ah Z to quiet

that embarrassing tummy

thunder.

sometimes celebrities “go

over the top,” but adding

that it is pretty easy to

“modify that and make it

work for yourself.”

At the recent semi-

formal dance, Adam wore

an olive colored suit with

a purple shirt and tie.“I

bought it a couple weeks

ago,” he said. “I didn’t

actually own a suit and

I’ll probably need one for

college next year.”

Whatever school he

ends up at, Adam will

coast through looking

classy and cool.

Sports EditorKathrine Schulzekschulze@scarletteonline.com

Features EditorsBriagha McTavishbmctavish@scarletteonline.com

Wonho Rheewrhee@scarletteonline.com

People EditorEmily Mackemack@scarletteonline.com

Photo EditorAbby Bienabien@scarletteonline.com

ReporterArthi Puriapuri@scarletteonline.com

AdviserElizabeth Dixon

OpinionsWest Side

PAGE 7MARCH 7, 2012

STAFF EDITORIAL

The Staff of

The ScarletteEditor-in-ChiefHarini Sureshhsuresh@scarletteonline.com

News EditorNeha Ramaninramani@scarletteonline.com

A&E EditorElena Spargeresparger@scarletteonline.com

Opinions EditorGrace Palmierigpalmieri@scarletteonline.com

Graphics EditorCrystal Wangcwang@scarletteonline.com

Mission: The Scarlette strives to create a publication that is informative, entertaining, accurate, and professional. Our mission is to serve as a valuable archive of the happenings of the school .

The Scarlette Editorial Policy: The Scarlette provides a limited forum for reader ex-pression. Letters to the editor must be received seven days prior to publication date in the box provided in the offi ce. All are subject to editing for content and length. Personal attacks and unfair attacks on business-es or unsigned letters will not be published. The edito-rial represents the views of the majority of the staff. Views printed do not necessarily refl ect the opinions of the faculty, staff, or administration of the WLCSC.A full version of our editorial policy can be found at www. scarletteonline.com Special thanks to the Journal and Courier for sponsor-ing the Scarlette.

Our high

school is not

like

Hollywood’s When you think of a

cliquey school, you will

probably picture the caf-

eteria in “Mean Girls”.

During lunch, there are the

jocks, nerds, artists, and ob-

viously, the mean girls. The

school is a human food

chain with the star football

player and cheerleaders at

the top, and the science

geeks at the bottom. When

the Scarlette staff analyzed

West Side to decide how

our high school compared

to Hollywood’s perception,

we agreed that our high

school clique experience

has been very different than

those shown on the screen.

We feel, in our school

environment, the majority

of the students feel com-

fortable, safe, and friendly

around their fellow class-

mates. Although there are

specifi c groups of friends

who hang out on the

weekends, once we step in-

side the door on Monday

morning, that defi nite line

between cliques becomes

quite fuzzy. We don’t even

think that the stereotypical

meaning of clique relates

to us. With that word, bul-

lies and reputation ruiners

pop into our head, and

those types of instances

don’t seem to happen in

our hallways. There are

few, if any, regular scenari-

os involving bullying. Most

people seem to accept and

appreciate everyone else’s

interests and differences.

For example, our super-

fans and athletes seem to

value the marching and pep

bands as an important part

of the games atmosphere.

A large majority looks for-

ward to their performanc-

es at games and pep ral-

lies. In movies, the jocks

look down upon and make

fun of the band members,

but that is not the case

at West Side. Almost all

students seem to be ap-

preciative of their peers’

talents and differences.

The Scarlette thinks

that our lack of cliques

provide a positive enviro-

ment. We all feel comfort-

able talking to the majority

of our grade, and a lot of

us have multiple groups

of friends. The West Side

student community is very

easy-going, which we enjoy.

If you’re an underclass-

man, you might be think-

ing that your experience

thus far in high school

hasn’t been anything like

what was previously stated.

And our response to that

is– just wait, it will get bet-

ter. Through the staff ’s ex-

periences we have noticed

that as we get older, the

atmosphere in our grade

gets better. Most mean

girls stop caring about

their image and start being

friends with who they want

to be around, not with who

they think they should be

around. The social aspect

of school becomes much

more relaxed, and your

grade will become more

willing to interact with each

other, not a bunch of lit-

tle groups of four or fi ve.

Now keep in mind, this is

based on personal experi-

ence, so your time later in

high school might not go

exactly like this. We ad-

vise you to have an open

mind, and look around at

the people around you.

Step out of your comfort

zone and talk to some-

one new. Have a positive

attitude and don’t think

West Side is anything like

“Mean Girls”or “Easy A”.

With the wide array

of social media available

at our fi ngertips today,

everyone has options of

which one they want to

spend their time obses-

sively posting to. Some say

Google+ is lame, others

say it will make Facebook

obsolete. People might

spend their time tweeting

away, thinking up ways to

condense their joke or ex-

perience into 140 charac-

ters, but some people be-

lieve it’s just for celebrities.

Google+, Google’s way

of trying to claim control

of everything on the In-

ternet, is the most recent

social network to hit the

scene. But really, Google+

looks a lot like Facebook.

Logging on was simple;

I just entered my name,

and people on my email

list showed up for me to

“add to my circle,” which

is the equivalent of friend-

ing someone on Facebook.

Since none of my friends

are on Google+ for me to

add, there is a feed called

“Hot on Google+” with

popular pictures, videos,

and jokes posted by vari-

ous people. Between the

similarity to Facebook (in-

cluding the annoying no-

tifi cations on my Google

Homepage), and the lack

of interest among my

friends, I don’t see myself

using Google+ very much.

According to an ar-

ticle from venturebeat.

com, Google’s vision was

not to compete with Face-

book, but for Google+ to

be an extension of oth-

er Google accounts like

email, Youtube, Google

Docs and Blogger, and

to help identify yourself

through your Facebook-

like profi le on those sites.

I don’t utilize Twitter as

much as I did at one time,

but I use it to keep up with

online friends, celebrities

and post things some of

my other friends may not

be interested in. The dif-

fi culty of Twitter is the

statuses are limited to 140

characters (versus 430 for

a Facebook status), so long

conversations can be con-

fusing and frustrating to

follow among the other

Tweets on your feed, espe-

cially since Twitter lacks the

chat box featured on both

Google+ and Facebook.

I use Facebook to keep

up with family, people

from school and friends

I meet other places, like

at church or camp. It’s

also the source of several

study groups, where I go

to question assignments

and ask and give help. Sev-

eral students have stated

that study groups are the

only reason they get on

Facebook during the week.

Some things on my Face-

book and Twitter are the

same, such as the type of

pages I “like” or “follow”,

but I wouldn’t be able to

chose which one is better

between Facebook and

Twitter, because to me they

serve different purposes.

So will one rise to the top

over the other, soon mak-

ing Twitter and Facebook

as obsolete and forgotten

as Myspace? Because of

the major differences in

their style and the differ-

ent purposes they seem to

serve people, I don’t see it

happening anytime soon.

Facebook, Twitter, and Google PlusBY EMILY MACK

We’re not like

Mean Girls;

there’s no

“burn book”

here.

Between the similarity to Facebook

and the lack of interest among my

friends, I don’t see myself using

Google+ very much.

PHOTO BY EMILY MACK

YOU’VE GOT MAIL: Lauren Mack checks her facebook notifi cations. Facebook makes

it easy to connect with friends and keep updated with current events.

People

and a part of the reason why he enjoys them. In addition, Sameer plays an integral part in many clubs around the school. During lunch, his schedule is crowded with not only AP Bio labs, but also a plethora of club meetings. He is the presi-dent of both the UNICEF and Red Cross Clubs, and also a member of West La-fayette Youth Council. Friends of Sameer’s re-fer to him as motivated. Se-nior Will Rankin says, “He’s passionate and driven to succeed, like a politician.” Almost every person who

in the dictionary, he has not stopped his academic endeavors in the slightest. At school, Sameer en-joys taking all of the hard-est AP courses. His favor-ite classes are AP Biology taught by Mr. Overley and AP English taught by Mrs. Helton, which are arguably two of the most diffi cult,

Sameer’s FavoritesFood: Samosa and Paneer

Channel: Food Network

Yogurt: Mango �lavored Greek Yogurt

Part of Spelling Bee: Traveling

Musical Artist: Kanye West

Favorite word to spell:

humuhumunukunukuapua’a (a Hawaiian �ish )

Seriously Speaking

SERIOUSLY SPEAKING COMPILED BY BRIAGHA M TAVISH

What class do you wish was offered?

Who am I???

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PAGE 8

West Side

MARCH 7, 2012

If you were to choose two words to describe se-nior Sameer Mishra, it would probably without a doubt be “hard working.” Everyone’s seen Sameer walking around the halls, socializing with his friends in a laid back manner. But behind his quaintly comical nature, there is a tenacious and assiduous student who will go to great lengths to triumph. Everyone has seen proof of his studious nature at the 2008 National Scripps Spelling Bee, and although Sameer admits that he has eased up on studying words

Sameer Mishra casts us under his spell

“Naptime.”

Sasha Sokolchik

Freshman

“Spanish 5.”

Caroline Oates

Sophomore

“How to pick up girls 101.”

Andrew Redd

Junior

“Any class offered at Hogwarts.”

Brahmin Bea

Senior

“Golf: I’d be the teacher, and the

students wouldn’t learn anything,

but I could play for free.”

Coach Wood

Teacher

has known Sameer agrees that he would do anything in order to succeed. This motivation to suc-ceed is apparent in his suc-cess with West Lafayette debate. Sameer debates policy with his partner, Matthew Campell. The power duo have debated together for three years,

BY CRYSTAL WANG

I was born on May 16, 1980 in Evansville, Indiana.

I attended Purdue University and majored in Education.

I have two brothers and one niece.

In my free time, I enjoy running, watching baseball, reading,

and hanging out with my family.

My favorite movie is “Back to the Future” and I have several

favorite shows including “Seinfeld”, “The Simpsons”, “How I

Met Your Mother”, and “The Offi ce”.

My favorite restaurant is Bruno’s.

My favorite fi ction book is “The Book Thief ” and nonfi ction

book is “Outliers”.

The best decision I’ve ever made is working at Springhill sum-

mer camp in college.

One of my many nicknames is “The Denominator”.

My favorite store is Amazon.com.

I have a dog and a cat.

The best part of teaching in my opinion is living through the

students vicariously and motivating them to do their best.

My favorite actor is Edward Norton and favorite actress is

Tina Fey.

My favorite sports team is the New York Yankees.

I once ate breakfast with Drew Brees, and I always carry a

protractor around in my wallet.

Before I die I want to run the Boston Marathon.

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PHOTO BY CRYSTAL WANG

“He’s passionate and driven to succeed.” - Will Rankin Senior

wn Sameer ag

“He’s passionate and driven to suc

Almost ev

placing in the top 16 at the State level and qualifying for nationals for the past two years. “Debate has defi nitely given me confi -dence and made me a bet-ter speaker,” said Sameer. His peers also agree that Sameer takes great pride in his Indian heritage. He of-ten attends Indian events and gatherings such as Di-wali. His favorite foods are paneer, an Indian cot-tage cheese, and samosa, a spicy fried Indian pastry stuffed with potatoes and other vegetables. In his free time, Sameer enjoys taking naps after school, eating paneer, and watching Food Network. “He has introduced me to a whole new world of food,” commented Shiv Attul Panigrahi, who along with Sameer, is part of a group that visits Shaukin, an Indian fast food joint, almost every Thursday. In addition, he is also an ardent fan and follower of Purdue Basketball. To gain more insight into the life of champion Sameer Mishra, follow him on his Twitter account, @smishra101.

HE’S NO NUMBNUT: Sameer smiles shyly during his P.E. class. His humble, friendly

attitude enchants all.