passageNORTHWEST

VOL. 42 DEC. 3, 2010ISSUE 6

/ PHOTO BY MARISSA BRUNS

prince and me /16ONE FRESHMAN LEARNS RESPONSIBILITY FROM OWNING A HORSE.

reason for the season /07A JUNIOR CELEBRATES MULTIPLE RELIGIONS’ HOLIDAYS.

make a name for herself /12A NW GRADUATE IS STUDYING FASHION DESIGN IN ATLANTA, GA.

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FEATURES 12 reason for the season

A student celebrates multiple religious holidays.

14 make a name for herselfA NW graduate is studying fashion design in Atlanta, Georgia.

16 prince and meA freshman rides horses as a hobby.

16 Harry Potter and the midnight premierStudents attend the first showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

SPORTS 19 boss

The best sports photo and Q&A with basketball coaches Ben Meseke and Mike Rose.

20 winter sports tryoutsWinter sports seasons are beginning.

21 fury on the fieldAthletes play indoor soccer during their off season.

23 where credit is dueState championship teams should get more credit.

NEWS 04 news

Updates on happenings at Northwest.

06 news schmix

ENTERTAINMENT 09 reviews

Worst case scenario survival handbook: This book has information about the best way to get out of most ridiculous situations.Elvis Costello’s National Ransom: This cupcake and yogurt shop is worth the drive.The Zombie Survival Guide: This book is for anyone looking to survive zombie attacks.

10 reviews: survivalDiscovery Channel’s survival shows: the programs are a mixture of hits and misses.

OPINIONS 07 happy chrismahanukwanzakah:

Disagreements about the correct way to refer to the holidays are ridiculous.

learn and move on: One audition doesn’tdefine a life.

08 losing my sanity: Two comedian’s attempt to restore sanity was a good move.

09 / the zombie survival guideFor advice on surviving the zombie apocalypse, check out this guide.

20

The purpose of the Northwest Passage is to relay important and interesting information to the community, administration and students of Shawnee Mission Northwest High School. As a newsmagazine, the Northwest Passage will cater to the interests and concerns of the student body. Outside concerns and activities will only be covered if they somehow affect the school or students. the Northwest Passage is a 24-page newsmagazine. The paper will be distributed every two weeks during fourth hour. Subscriptions will be available to the community for $35. The Northwest Passage firmly supports the First Amendment and opposes censorship. The content of the newspaper will be determined and created by the entire staff. When questions concerning word choice, legal problems or ethics arise the editorial board and adviser will discuss the problem to find a solution. In these cases, the co-editors-in-chief will the have final say in all decisions. Letters to the editor will be accepted and encouraged, but will only be published if signed. The staff reserves the right to edit for grammatical mistakes, length and good taste. Letters may attack policy but not people. In no way will ideas or viewpoints be changed. The co-editors-in-chief reserve the right to refuse any letter.

Co-editors-in-chiefMARIA DAVISON +STEPHANIE SPICER

Copy EditorLAUREN KOMER

Design EditorSTEPHANIE SPICER + BAILEY KOPP

Assistant Copy EditorsWYATT ANDERSON + BRIANNA LEYDEN

Photo EditorsDAVID FREYERMUTH + HANNA MEIGS

Graphics EditorTYLER ABSHERNews EditorRACHEL FERENCZ

Opinions EditorsMARIA DAVISON +STEPHANIE SPICER

Features EditorsMORGAN JONES + BRIANNA LEYDEN

Entertainment EditorWYATT ANDERSON

Sports EditorsMARIA DAVISON +STEPHANIE SPICER

Staff WritersHAYLEY BATTENBERG, ASHLEE CRANE,RACHAEL DEMJANIK,BRADY KLEIN, DANIEL MAGWIRE, TESSA MILLER

SMNW.COM Co-editors-in-chiefLAUREN MINICK+ STEPHANIE SPICER

(TOP) Swimming, along with other winter sports had tryouts Nov. 15–19. / PHOTO BY MONICA CASTELLON

(BOTTOM) Senior Addie Evans makes final touches on a model’s makeup for The Girl Effect fashion show. / PHOTO BY SHEA DRUMMOND

04

contents SHAWNEE MISSION NORTHWEST 12701 W. 67TH STREETSHAWNEE, KS 66216

NORTHWEST PASSAGE / VOL. 42 / ISSUE 06

PASSAGE STAFF

/ GRAPHIC BY TYLER ABSHER

NEWS

The Mother/Son/Father/Daughter (MSFD) dance kick started the annual Student Council (StuCo) Canned Food Drive, raising $917 and 255 cans.

Juniors and seniors, along with their parents, dressed up in their favorite decade clothing and danced along to tunes ranging from the fifties to present day.

Senior Hailey Ecsh was first place in the dance competition, and Senior Fritz Wood was second place. The contest was judged based up on the the performance of a child/parent couple. Wood enjoyed the dance, but said he had the most fun at dinner.

“My favorite part was eating at a Japanese Steakhouse beforehand,” Wood said, “while we were all dressed up in our outfits.” He dressed up as MC Hammer and his mother dressed up as Madonna.

PTSA donated snacks and drinks and StuCo paid for the DJ, invitations and decorations. Proceeds were donated to the Johnson County Christmas Bureau, which will use them to stock their holiday shop.

“Families pay a one-time fee [to use the shop], and they pay what they can afford,” StuCo sponsor Sarah Dent said. “It’s designed to make families feel like they’re paying for the help, that it’s not just a handout.”

StuCo also asked attendees to donate personal care items at the dance. While researching for the can food drive, StuCo learned that food stamps, which cover bread, cereals, fruits, vegetables, proteins and dairy products for low income families, cannot be used to pay for personal care items, such as toothbrushes, shampoo and deodorant.

“We’re hoping to do a district-wide personal care item drive in the spring,” Dent said.

Dent said that parents and students are usually surprised that the dance is so enjoyable.

“They always come out with smiles on their faces, and say, ‘Wow, that was so much fun, that was so cool,’” she said.

DANCE BEGINS STUCO CANNED FOOD DRIVE

After years on different bell schedules, the SM School District has decided to move toward a standardized schedule among all the high schools. Seven different schedules between the five high schools, Broadmoor Technical Center and Horizons High School, have caused a lot of problems for students and teachers alike.

“Let’s say I have a teacher who works at Northwest in the mornings and [SM] East in the afternoons,” associate superintendent Gillian Chapman said. “With Northwest being on a three-two modified block, and East being on a four-one block schedule, it makes it difficult for our staff to be used efficiently.”

The Northwest three-two schedule consists of three seven-period days and two block days. East’s schedule includes of four block days and one seven-period day.

By moving to a standardized schedule, the district can cut costs. On a block schedule, the workers are there longer, costing the district more money than on a seven-period day. The district is also less able to maximize student-teacher contact time for full block.

“On a seven-period day, students are having the most contact time with teachers,” Dr. Chapman said. “On a four-one block schedule, students are given the least instructional time and the least student-teacher contact due to seminar.”

On a four-one block schedule, which is currently the schedule of SM East and SM West, students lose 180 minutes a week of instructional time because of the two 90-minute seminar periods. Principals in the Shawnee Mission district have been looking into a three-two modified block, like Northwest is currently on.

“It’s the best of both worlds,” Chapman said. “Students still have a seminar period during the week, as well as seven-period days.”

SMSD PROPOSES SINGLE BELL SCHEDULE FOR HIGH SCHOOLS

The Girl Effect sponsored a fall fashion show on Nov. 12 at St. Paul’s Church on Lackman Road. The event benefited Women for Women, an organization which helps women in developing countries.

“We raised $300 at the event,” senior Rachel Alvey said. “That will support a woman for 10 months.”

According to Alvey, about 45 people showed up to the event, which raised money as well as awareness about the club.

“The owner of Ditto, a used clothing store [located at 95th and Quivira], donated clothes for the fashion show,” said Alvey, who works at the store. “We just pulled outfits from there and people could buy them at the fashion show, if they wanted to, at a discounted price. After the show, we just returned everything.”

In addition to receiving clothing from Ditto, the models were asked to bring something formal to model, as well as one additional set of clothes.

“At the end, everyone wore a ‘just the way you are’ outfit,” Alvey said. “So, everyone wore something that described them.”

The event was publicized on the Girl Effect Facebook page and during their meetings, on Tuesdays before and after school. IB students and NHS members also received service hours for volunteering at the event.

“A lot of the people who come to the meetings regularly just volunteered to model,” Alvey said. “Then we tried to get our friends involved, too. We ended up with about 20 models.”

The show lasted about 45 minutes, and has caused club members to think about other events they can host.

“It turned out really well,” Alvey said. “It was our first solid event that established us as a club.”

GIRL EFFECT HOLDS FIRST FUNDRAISER

/ LAUREN KOMER/ TESSA MILLER

/ TESSA MILLERSenior Hunter Holman models during the Girl Effect’s fashion show on Nov. 12./ PHOTO BY SHEA DRUMMOND

04 / DEC. 3, 2010

Student Council held its biannual blood drive with the Community Blood Center Nov. 9, bringing in 175 pints of blood for recipients in the Kansas City area.

“StuCo anticipated a lot of student participation. We were excited by how many people actually wanted to give blood, and how many people were actually disappointed that they were denied because they weren’t of age,” junior Blake Evans said.

Donors were required to be 17 years old, healthy, have a hemoglobin level of at least 12.5 and weigh at least 110 pounds.

The day of the blood drive, students who had signed up to donate were called down to the gym, where they began the donation process. When students arrived, they were asked to wait in line to fill out a questionnaire, which nurses then reviewed with them. After completing the forms, students had their vitals checked.

“They took my temperature, blood pressure, heart rate and iron levels. They had to prick my finger to take my iron, and that kind of hurt, but it wasn’t terrible,” junior Isabel Miller said.

After drinking water and waiting for their turn in rows of metal folding chairs, students moved to blood donation stations.

“They cleaned my arm, but the nurse told me she couldn’t find a vein and had to go get her supervisor. [The supervisor] stuck the needle into my arm, and all this blood came shooting out. It got everywhere, but it was all right because I was looking away,” Miller said.

After donating, donors were required to go to the “rejuvenation station,” a table with cookies and water for students to gain their strength back before returning to class.

“Eric Zoellner and a few other [StuCo members] were chosen to coordinate, and there was a check-in station and a check-out station that they ran. All of StuCo volunteered a couple hours out of their day to work the blood drive, and we worked the rejuvenation station all day long,” Evans said.

Although there were a few mishaps like Miller’s, the majority of the donors had trouble-free experiences.

“While I [was donating] I thought it was bad,” Miller said. “But looking back I think I did a good thing.”

STUCO BLOOD DRIVE COLLECTS 175 PINTS

Hundreds of high school musicians from all over the Northeast Kansas District piled into Baldwin High School and Junior High to audition for district band, orchestra or choir on Nov. 6.

Out of those hundreds of students, Northwest had six students from choir, 18 from band and 13 from orchestra attend the audition.

“They did well; we have had 20 make it some years and three make it others, so 13 is a good average,” orchestra teacher Jeffrey Bishop said.

Trumpet player Joey Kendrick was not only selected for regular band, but he made first chair for jazz band as well.

“The music was more difficult than what I usually play, but it was also more fun than anything else because I worked on it for five or six months,” Kendrick said.

“They did a terrific job, and more made it than ever,”

band teacher Penny Snead said. “It’s an honor to make it. It was for the entire Northeast district.”

The choir had six students make. Senior John Kaleekal will be in the district choir for the third year in a row.

“Even though I had tried out and made it the past two years, it was still nerve-wracking to walk in there,” Kaleekal said.

Kaleekal had little time to practice, and did not know the music until a week before the audition.

“I was really excited. To make it once is an honor but to make it three years in a row is awesome,” Kaleekal said. “I was pretty proud.”

Students are now preparing for the district concerts Dec. 4. Choir is at SM South, band will be at Blue Valley and orchestra will be at Olathe South. All-State auditions are on Jan. 8.

NW MUSICIANS AUDITION FOR DISTRICTS

/ BRADY KLEIN

/ HAYLEY BATTENBERG

more nw newsNOV. 15-19: CANNED FOOD DRIVE/Students raised over $5,600 and more than 9,000 cans in their fifth hour classes to benefit the Johnson Coun-ty Christmas Bureau. For the large classes, the winning teachers were Annie Stelle, Katie Melcher and Drew Magwire; for medium classes, Britt Haney; and the office/library lab as-

sistants for small classes.

DEC 1: NOT-SO-LATE NIGHT/ Students gathered in the gym for a night of games, skits, raffles and con-tests to kick off the winter sports sea-son as well as reveal the school’s new mascot.

DECEMBER

FRIDAYAdopt-a-tot3

SATURDAYDistrict choir festival at SM South

4

TUESDAY9:40 a.m. /LATE START

7 p.m. /Orchestra Concert in auditorium

7

THURSDAY

SATURDAY

SATURDAY

7 p.m. /Band Concert in auditorium

ACT test in academic wing

Winter Choir concert at the First Baptist church

9

11

14

Senior Stefanie Tapke watches as she donates blood in the gym on Nov. 9./ PHOTO BY CALEB AMUNDSON

NEWS / 05

UNITED STATESAlbuquerque, N.M., resident Chester Nez, one of the only two Navajo Code Talkers still living, recently finished his memoir. During World War II, Nez helped develop a code for America to use against the Japanese; it remains the only unbroken code in modern warfare. Nez’s book is available for purchase in 2011.

COLOMBIAScientists discovered a new species of frog while researching “lost” amphibians in western Colombia. The unnamed frog has a unique characteristic for amphibians — females lay eggs that hatch into fully formed toadlets, skipping the tadpole stage.

06 / DEC. 3, 2010

According to the Global Heritage Fund, 12 ancient sites are on the verge of collapse due to looting, development pressures, unsustainable tourism, insufficient management and wars or other conflicts.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 grossed $125.1 million its opening weekend, the best opening yet for the Harry Potter series.

NBA Trail Blazers center, Greg Oden, will miss the entire 2010-11 season due to another injury, meaning he will have played a total of 82 games through his first four NBA seasons.

All 13 of the Beatles studio albums are now available to download on iTunes.

Greg OdenA Beatles Fan

A senior citizen A Teen Mom Amber Portwood, star of the reality show Teen Mom, faces felony domestic violence charges after being seen shoving, punching, slapping and choking her boyfriend on the show.

Thanks to "sensor networks," which have been in hospitals and assisted living centers for years, older Americans can live independently with monitored help.

GOOD TIME TO BE: BAD TIME TO BE: A ancient landwark

Warner Brothers

NIGERIA The Nigerian government arrested a militant gang leader believed to be behind the kidnapping of 19 people in the Niger Delta region. Several militant groups in the region have been fighting the government over the distribution of the country's oil wealth.

ITALYItalian mob boss Antonio Iovine was arrested in Naples, Italy, on Nov. 17 after 14 years on the run. Iovine was on the ministry's list of the country's 30 most-dangerous fugitives after being sentenced to life in prison in 2008.

PAKISTANForty-five-year-old Asia Bibi was sentenced to death after being convicted of breaking the country's blasphemy law. Bibi filed a petition for mercy, and after an investigation into her case, the accusations were found false.

CHINAA 59-year-old woman in Hong Kong has been diagnosed with the first human case of Bird Flu in seven years. Officials are working with health officials to monitor any further occurrences, outcomes of which can range from mild illness to a highly contagious and rapidly fatal disease.

All information from map is from CNN.com unless stated otherwise.

100,000

tigers roamed the wild 100 YEARS AGO

3,200 tigers are still alive today, making them an endangered species

Over the last century the tiger population has fallen by 95 percent. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has launched an international conference in St. Petersburg where environmental advocates, scientists and donors will brainstorm ways to preserve the species. If the summit doesn’t resolve the issue, and the decline continues, tigers will be extinct by 2022. Source: wwf.org

COUNTRIES SHADED ORANGE IN THE MAP ABOVE ARE STILL HOME TO TIGERS TODAY.* Countries with less than 100 tigers Countries with 100-999 tigers Countries with over 1000 tigers

*Bhutan and Bangladesh are also thought to be home to tigers, however the population is unknown.

Compiled by Hayley Battenberg

/I don’t think it ever actually occurred to me that I might not make it.

As I sat waiting for the results of the Kansas Music Educators Association (KMEA) Northeast District Orchestra auditions, I fidgeted, nervous.

My sophomore year, I made the district orchestra — a fairly prestigious honor — on adrenaline, confidence and a little bit of luck. I will be the first to admit there was little to no actual skill involved. But I had practiced for hours on end, and I felt like I deserved it.

This year, I got a text with a list of names at 12:19 p.m. I scrolled down, hoping that my name was just at the bottom.

I got on the KMEA website and checked the violin roster, just to make sure. No “Davison” listed anywhere.

I spent hours practicing the excerpts and worrying about the audition beforehand, and this was all I got? A text without my name on it?

I was so angry and disappointed that I couldn’t even bring

myself to congratulate one of my best friends, who did make it.The audition was on Saturday. By Monday, I was still bitter.

But at least I could congratulate my friends.As that week went on, it occurred to me that the results —

the ones that didn’t include my name — were based entirely on two minutes of one Saturday in November, a small time frame in my life. And while I may have not played as well as I had wanted to in those two minutes, that wasn’t due to some fault of the judges or my friends or anyone else involved.

I should have practiced more and gone into the audition more humble. I thought I was ready for this audition. I wasn’t and that’s just life. It was time to learn and move on.

Events like this are a perfect example of how things don’t always go the way I plan. While making district orchestra would have been great, it didn’t happen, and I have a life to attend to.

For next year, I am going to have to just practice more, work harder and maybe make it.

But even if I don’t, it’ll be OK.

/I ’ve been waiting almost a year for this season to start again. Between Thanksgiving, blankets of snow, lots of food, hot

tea, fireplaces, classic seasonal movies and Christmas, I’m in a constant state of euphoria. Unfortunately, my good humor is interrupted occasionally when I catch wind of some of the arguments surrounding the Christmas holiday, specifically the use of “Merry Christmas” vs. “Happy Holidays.”

Don’t get me wrong, I see the point in saying “Happy Holidays.” When you have three major events wrapped into the time span of about a month and a half, saying, “Happy Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year, and Hanukkah, if you’re Jewish,” (not to mention if you celebrate some holiday other than Christmas or Hanukkah) can get to be a mouthful. What gets me is the idea that people can be offended by someone just saying “Merry Christmas” because it involves saying the word Christ, or saying “Happy Holidays” because it doesn’t.

My response: lighten up. I’m not saying “Merry Christmas” because I’m too dumb to realize that no other holidays exist; I’m just using it as a generic holiday greeting. It’s like asking for a Kleenex when any tissue paper would do. I seriously doubt that by me telling you “Merry Christmas” your day was ruined. In fact, when saying “Merry Christmas,” I tend to be downright

happy in the hopes that I can make you happy too.This isn’t just a small issue, either. Big stores like Walmart,

Sears, Best Buy and Gap have been drawn into controversy about their employees using “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy Holidays” and vice versa. (People don’t seem to be able to make up their minds.) There was a call for a boycott of Sears over this issue, and Target was almost boycotted when, back in the 2005 season, they banned the use of “Christmas” on promotional and advertisement papers — this was after they had started selling “traditional holiday ornaments” and “Christmas trees” simply labeled “Fir trees”.

So what needs to be done? I think it’s time for the American people to be reminded that free speech is free speech. People should have the right to wish others good will for the seasons in whatever way seems best to them. Sure, you might not celebrate Christmas, but it’s the thought that counts, so take it for what it’s worth. That saying “Merry Christmas” is even an issue at all is a bit ridiculous, you know, compared to the failing economy, job crisis and humanitarian disasters worldwide.

At any rate, NW student body, Happy Chrismahanukwanzakah, no matter how you celebrate the seasons.

NOT THE WAY I PLANNEDNot making the district orchestra was a slap in the face, but life goes on.

HAPPY CHRISMAHANUKWANZAKAHSometimes holiday feuding can be a little ridiculous.

MORGAN JONES

MARIA DAVISON

OPINIONS / 07

/Signs with messages likeReal Americans Don’t Use the Term “Real Americans.”Civil War Was an Inside Job.Moderate to the Extreme.I Disagree With You, But I’m Pretty Sure You’re Not Hitler.

dotted Capitol Hill on Oct. 30 when comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert held their Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, a half-satirical march in the vein of Glenn Beck’s infamous Restoring Honor rally. Stewart and Colbert’s rally was intended to move the country away from what the pair see as an increasingly biased and partisan political system and to give the moderate majority’s voice a chance to be heard over the media-dominating views of the radical left and right.

So, did it work? If the point of the rally was just to make the centrist voice audible, then I suppose it did its job. But I think that many observers expected some sort of radical moderate uprising, a tangible move away from partisanship as a direct result of Stewart’s rally. In that respect, I’m sure those people were disappointed.

It’s just that attitude that made the rally necessary — that sort of instant-results, Hollywood happy-ending thinking that defines American (and Western) culture nowadays. It’s that kind of attitude that people like Glenn Beck and Keith Olbermann exploit. We’ve

known it forever: People like simplicity, are entertained by theatrics and enjoy promises of instant gratification. That kind of vaudevillian exaggeration makes complex issues easier to understand, and whoever simplifies best gets big. Beck and Olbermann do this, and that’s why they’re on top.

It doesn’t only apply to politics, either. Oprah Winfrey is the queen of condensed messages: She can bring an obscure issue to light, tearfully interview the people affected by it, and set up her own feel-good solution, all in 45 minutes — plus commercials.

But oversimplification alone doesn’t work. People won’t keep watching unless they’re pulled in. Olbermann names his Worst Person in the World. Beck writes on a chalkboard, wears glasses and cries. Oprah hands out cars. Stephen Colbert made a career out of mocking these talk show pundits with a straight face, even though he owes his success to the same overblown techniques as they do.

Despite this attitude and the often frustrating way culture and entertainment work, I still think the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear was a good move. Showing the country that partisanship isn’t the only option is a step in the right direction. The rally may not cause any sweeping change, but Stewart and Colbert have proven that while the radicals may be the loudest voice in American politics, they’re certainly not the most powerful.

WYATT ANDERSON

LOSING MY SANITYJon Stewart’s audience and Glenn Beck’s have more in common than they realize.

08 / DEC. 3, 2010

Let’s face it: the zombie apocalypse is bound to happen one of these days, and the only way you’re going to survive is by being prepared. Not only are the tactics in the book useful for readying for any global disaster, but you’ll also know how to protect yourself from any undead ghouls, should the situation arise. It’s time to remove the head or destroy the brain with The Zombie Survival Guide.

This book is for everyone prone to the zombie infection, and since there are no known immune cases, this book is for everyone. If you think that zombies are people brought back to life as green, shuffling corpses moaning ‘brains,’ please buy this book. If you’re the type of person who would reach for a shotgun and chainsaw before a bolt-action rifle and a crowbar, please buy this book. You’re only helping the zombies.

As far as survival guides go, The Zombie Survival Guide covers a wide range of topics from zombie myths and realities to equipment to how to choose and defend your new home. The book even goes to report past infections and specific cases of the most notable outbreaks. The vast amount of information in this book is incredible, but what I liked about this guide was the fact that it took common zombie “facts” founded in myths and Hollywood, and teaches you the correct ways. For example, if your zombie apocalypse plan is to gather a group of close friends, raid the nearest gun store and then drive off to some location outside of town, then I hope you have a taste for human flesh.

This book is definitely worth checking out. The information is as plentiful as it is thorough, the strategies given are logical and well thought-out and the historical anecdotes are entertaining. I for one will be packing this book with me when I hit the road.

Anytime a book starts out with “DO NOT ATTEMPT TO UNDERTAKE ANY OF THE ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED IN THE BOOK YOURSELF,” it’s bound to be entertaining. The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook describes how to escape the kind of situations you imagine while lying sleepless after watching that intense action movie.

The manual is broken up into five different sections: “Great Escapes and Entrances,” “The Best Defense,” “Leaps of Faith,” “Emergencies” and “Adventure Survival.”

The authors contacted countless experts, ranging from stunt men to alligator farmers, to provide the most accurate advice possible. Under each section, a step-by-step guide along with detailed diagrams explain the necessary procedures to survive a tricky situation. Topics include escaping from a sinking car (open your window as soon as you hit the water, or break it if it won’t open), fending off a shark attack (stab the shark’s eyes or gills repeatedly), jumping from a moving car (apply emergency brake, open door, jump at an angle away from car, tuck in head and legs, aim for soft landing and roll when you hit the ground), delivering a baby in a taxicab (time the uterine contractions, guide baby out by supporting head and body, dry it off and keep it warm) and surviving if you are in the line of gunfire (get far away as possible, run, but not in a straight line, don’t count shots and turn corners as quickly as you can).

Though it’s doubtful that anyone would ever have to perform any of the procedures described in the book in their lives, it’s great information to start interesting conversations. No more will you wonder if the heroes in that action movie really could have survived jumping into a dumpster or escaping from quicksand in real life. And as the preface to the guidebook states, keeping a copy of this with you at all times might be a wise idea, because you just never know what can happen.

worst-case-scenarioSURVIVAL HANDBOOK

the zombieSURVIVAL GUIDE

Some albums are instantly pleasing. You play them straight through and enjoy them. Elvis Costello’s new album, National Ransom, is not that type of album. Unlike Costello’s pub-rock sounds of the past, this new album has a bluegrass, western sound to it. It’s not just Costello’s sound, but the time period as well. Each song represents a different place and time.

With that fact in mind, though, the album is somehow spectacular. It showcases his song writing skills and strong political views. But you won’t understand that unless you listen to the songs multiple times. It takes time to catch on. Most songs seem similar and bland. But Costello had major intentions beyond catch tunes on his mind, and after hearing the songs for the third time, his message becomes clear.

Take the title song, “National Ransom,” for example. Other than the violin and slide guitar, it sounds very similar to his other works of guitar based rock. Listening the lyrics, you find he is blasting the government, which, in his opinion, is seriously corrupted.

“They’re running wild. Just like some childish tantrum. Meanwhile we’re working every day. Paying off the National Ransom” This take on rant against government corruption echoes

throughout the entire album. If you aren’t a fan of politics, the album still has something to offer other than protest. Each song’s unique lyrical style gives them a distinguishing character. From ragtime, to honky-tonk, to bluegrass, even 1920’s lounge, the sound variation is great. Costello puts you into these scenarios, even revealing character development, and makes you a part of it all.

But “National Ransom” is missing emotion. The songs are eerie, which is fine if the whole album was supposed to be that way. But some songs lyrics don’t fit with the eeriness, they need more of an upbeat sound. Aside from that, “National Ransom” is a great addition to Costello’s catalog.

national ransom3.5/5

/ DANIEL MAGWIRE

5/55/5

ELVIS COSTELLO’S

REVIEWS

/ LAUREN KOMER / TYLER ABSHER

Mykel Hawke, former Special Forces survival expert, teams up with his wife Ruth, a TV journalist, in Man, Woman, Wild as they try to survive in remote locations around the planet. Because Ruth has no previous survival experience, Myke has to take care of her while teaching her the basic skills she needs to last in the wild.

I’m all for the equality of women, but some are just not cut out for this type of experience. Ruth is one of these people.

To survive out in the wild, you have to be willing to do anything. Ruth doesn’t seem to take the experience as seriously as was necessary. For example, when Myke found a source of food, which happened to be a turtle in this case, Ruth refused to eat it because of her attachment to the reptile. It’s ridiculous to think that if actually put in this situation, she would rather starve.

What bugged me the most about this show was all the classic, cheesy and cliche marital jokes. In the awkward moment following each one, where the viewer is supposed to giggle, I could almost hear the crickets chirping.

I’m not saying they have to have the same amount of survival smarts, but the show would be a little more bearable if they worked together.

MAN, WOMAN, WILD

3.5/5

THE COLONYThe Colony features a group of strangers placed in a simulated post-apocalyptic

environment, where they must search for and use supplies to survive. The show is an experiment to see how humans would survive if a catastrophic event were to occur.

Each person has been chosen to bring a different set of skills to the experiment. Season 2 featured a construction worker, a body language instructor, an auto mechanic, a geology professor and a logging foreman, just to name a few. The participants all have some sort of expertise that can be useful in rebuilding their society after it has been “destroyed.”

At first, the show sounds kind of interesting. I’ve always wondered what would happen if a global disaster, such as the worldwide viral outbreak staged in this season, wiped out the whole population, with the exclusion of a few survivors. The only problem is simulating it.

As a reality TV show, the premise is ridiculous, and that’s its main flaw. I know that the show is an experiment, and they are supposed to pretend that Earth is crumbling around them. Obviously, there hasn’t been a natural disaster, but the fact that the participants are faking takes away the reality TV element.

It was an interesting idea and a valiant effort to make it happen, but it just doesn’t work.

2/5

In Man vs. Wild, adventurer Bear Grylls strands himself in destinations where tourists often find themselves lost, then he works his way back to civilization.

Basically, the guy is out of his mind.He constantly puts his life on the line in situations that

could happen to someone who is stranded. In these harsh environments, his team simulates such life-threatening disasters as snowstorms, floods and sandstorms, and Grylls demonstrates how to survive through them.

Grylls also is famous for his gut-wrenching menu. He seems to like to find the most disgusting things possible to munch on; I even found myself searching for the nearest trash can once or twice. If that’s what you’re into, this show is definitely for you.

However, eating ridiculous things just because seems a bit unnecessary. For example, Grylls killed a yak, and instead of eating a hunk of the gigantic amount of meat the yak provided, he ate one of its eyes instead. It just seems like a gimmick to make more people want to watch the show, which makes the show impractical and unrealistic.

Other than the fact that I occasionally had to turn away because of how gruesome it became, the show is not bad. I still don’t understand why in the world he would do this, but it’s still pretty interesting.

MAN VS. WILD 3/5DISCOVERY CHANNEL’SSURVIVAL GUIDE

In Discovery Channel’s Dual Survival, former U.S. soldier Dave Canterbury and naturalist Cody Lundin team up to survive against the brutalities of nature.

The two men featured on the show have completely different backgrounds and opposing techniques of survival.

Lundin’s naturalistic approach comes off as a tad crazy to a first-time viewer. I was a little thrown off initially when I saw a grown man walking around in the wilderness with no shoes on, but no matter how strange and unconventional his technique is, it works for him, and his witty humor kept me laughing.

In contrast, more conventional survival techniques are Canterbury’s forte, and he never fails to point out how insane Lundin’s ideas can be. This back-and-forth keeps both of them sharp and on their game — not to mention, it’s hilarious.

Dual Survival is by far one of the best survival shows I’ve seen. Staged survival tends to be a bit overdramatized; however, Dual Survival is only serious when it needs to be. The show doesn’t use any gimmicks, like Man vs. Wild, and they seem to be there more for the enjoyment of it than just being on TV. Plus, you can learn some handy survival techniques from the comfort of your living room.

3.5/5

DUAL SURVIVAL

You can find an abundance of survival shows on TV, and Discovery Channel is full of them. These, along with many others, are a mixture of hits and misses. / ASHLEE CRANE

REVIEWS

10 / DEC. 3, 2010

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Disney’s newest animated movie, Tangled, based off the timeless tale, Rapunzel, is too cheesy even for the biggest Disney fans.

Even though Bruce Springsteen’s newest album, The Promise is rejected songs from 30 years ago, it is far from a letdown.

Good Charlotte redeemed themselves with their newest album, Cardiology, of hard-hitting rock, straying from the pop of their last album.

ENTERTAINMENT / 11

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7 5 9 7 9 4 9 6We would love to hear your opinion about anything we published or other things going on around Northwest or in the outside community. Letters can be sent to passageletters@smnw.com or be brought to Room 151. Only signed letters will be published.

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CHRISTIANITYJUDAISMBible (Old and New Testaments)

Christmas is a celebration of Jesus’ (their savior’s) birthday

Baptism, communion

Church, chapel/ Priest, pastor, minister

Easter, Christmas, Lent, Advent

Cross, dove, alpha/omega

Son of God, savior, who died and rose again

Jewish Bible (Tanakh)

Hanukkah celebrates a military victory of the Maccabees; when a temple was rededicated, God made one day’s worth of oil last eight days, which is why they light a candle each day

Sabbath, prayer services

Synagogue, temple/ Rabbi

Yom Kippur, Days of Awe, Passover, Hanukkah

Star of David

A false prophet, was not resurrected from the dead

\PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BAILEY KOPP

information from religionfacts.com

12 / DEC. 3, 2010

Walk into any house or department store at this time of year, and the viewer is usually assaulted with an explosion of “holiday” knick-knacks ranging from the cutesy to the overly-elaborate. Radio stations begin playing Christmas music after Oct. 31, the Salvation Army bell-ringers are out by the end of November and many people are sick of the hype by the beginning of December.

Also at this time (and not as publicly), followers of Judaism celebrate their own holiday by lighting their menorahs, spinning their dreidels and gathering together for Hanukkah, the “Festival of Lights.”

What’s more difficult to find are the people who celebrate both religions.

In the world, there are 2.1 billion people who call themselves Christians, and 13.2 million who are Jewish. By now, about half of the Jewish people marry those not in their faith according to the US National Jewish Population Survey. That can lead to some confusion for their families in the month of December, which is typically when the Christian Christmas and the Jewish Hanukkah are celebrated.

“My dad’s side of the family is Jewish and my mom’s side is Catholic, but I wasn’t really raised with either Judaism or Catholicism. We’re Unitarians, so every holiday time we celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas,” junior Zoë Mays said. “It connects me to both sides of my family.”

Unitarian Universalism is a religion that is practiced by about 800,000 people, most of whom are located in the United States. The defining characteristic is that there are no set beliefs. Members use sacred texts, rituals and elements from any religion they choose.

“The thing about Unitarian Universalism is that it’s not a religion that tells you what to believe. So if you go to church, they’re not telling you, ‘this is how things are.’ They think that everybody there might have different beliefs — different beliefs in what God means and what your path to finding God is,” Mays said. “It’s just a bunch of people celebrating their spirituality.”

When Hanukkah comes around for Mays’ family, they compact the eight day celebration into just one for the side of the family that has to fly down from Connecticut.

“We will make a dreidel and play that for those little chocolate coins. Then my dad will make latkes, which are delicious, and we’ll eat them with applesauce. We have an electric menorah which we’ll light every night but we don’t really get presents for Hanukkah. We get presents on Christmas,” Mays said.

The dreidel is a traditional Hanukkah game. The

players start with several game pieces, which could be anything from pennies and coins to cookies and nuts. They place one game piece in a middle pot at the beginning of the game, and every time the pot empties or there is one piece left, players have to put in another game piece. When it is their turn, players spin the dreidel once, and it lands on either nun (nothing, where the player does nothing), gimmel (everything, the player gets everything in the pot), hey (half, the player gets half of the pot) or shin (pay, the player puts another game piece in the pot). Once they don’t have any game pieces left, players are out.

Because the dates change every year, this year’s Hanukkah goes from sundown on Dec. 1 to Dec. 9. Christmas is a couple weeks later this year, as Christmas Eve is Dec. 24 and Christmas the next day.

“On Christmas Eve, sometimes we’ll go to church and sometimes we’ll just hang out,” Mays said. “And then Christmas morning we have the tree and the stockings and our whole family will come over, my mom’s and dad’s sides of the family, so it’s not so much a religious thing. Whether or not you are Christian, it’s still a time to get together with your family. ”

For some families, it can be complicated for two opposing religions to get along, but the Mays family does not have this problem.

“Both sides are really laid back and no one’s ever going to be in your face, like ‘You should do Hanukkah,’ or ‘You should do Christmas;’ everyone is just very cool about it and we get along really well,” Mays said.

To do this, their family traditions stray from the normal concept of a Christmas celebration. Mays and her family go to Black Dog Coffeehouse, where they will play board games and drink coffee and smoothies when they decide to not go to church. Later at home, they make a pizza in the shape of a Christmas tree, and she and her siblings open a present. The next morning, after opening more presents, the whole family comes over.

“We’ll split up into teams of three or four usually and then we’ll have a huge craft room/den thing. Each team will get together and there will be a theme relating to the holidays and you’ll have to make some sort of craft sculpture creation, and everyone will get a different prize,” Mays said. “We just kind of keep it light and fun.”

Continuing with the tradition of mixing in other religions, Mays also helps her family incorporate Kwanzaa into their festivities. Kwanzaa celebrates African American and Pan-American family,

community and culture from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1. Kwanzaa also stresses the importance of the Nguzo Saba, the Seven Principles. Those principles include umoja (unity), kujichagulia (self-determination), ujima (collective work and responsibility), ujamaa

(cooperative economics), nia (purpose), kuumba (creativity) and imani (faith).

“I do some research on Kwanzaa, so we’ll have a little Kwanzaa trivia game or something just so we can make it even more confusing, I guess,” Mays said. “I just keep myself informed on what different religions believe and what they do.”

Even though she may not be part of the large 2.1 billion or 13.2 million people specifically in one religion or the other, Mays does not mind the way her family does things.

“I like it because I get different ideas about what it means to be different religions,” Mays said. “So I can relate to people celebrating Christmas, or celebrating Hanukkah, and I feel like I’ve got a foot in more than one door. I’ve got a little bit of everything going on.” / BRIANNA LEYDEN

reason for the seasonALTHOUGH THE WINTER SEASON HAS TYPICALLY BEEN DEDICATED TO EITHER CHRISTMAS AND HANUKKAH CELEBRATIONS, ONE STUDENT USES BOTH TO CELEBRATE SOMETHING MORE — FAMILY.

“We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote [the following principles]:

The inherent worth and dignity of every person

Justice, equity and compassion in human relations

Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations

A free and responsible search for truth and meaning

The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large

The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all

Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

THE FOLLOWING IS PART OF THE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST ASSOCIATION’S “PRINCIPLES, PURPOSES AND SOURCES.”

UNITARIAN VALUES

FEATURES / 13

W ith only four hours, 2010 NW graduate Hannah Amundson and two teammates were faced with the challenge of creating a completely unique outfit

using only a glue gun, stapler, needle, thread, mannequin and fabrics. As if this weren’t difficult enough, there was a strict rule that whatever the outfit was, it had to incorporate aluminum foil.

“They didn’t tell us what we would be doing so we just kind of had to show up and not plan anything. I like to get head start on things so it was really stressful being on a time limit with nothing planned,” Amundson said.

After receiving an e-mail about the first annual Fashion Showdown competition, held Oct. 22, Amundson, a fashion design student at Savannah College of Art and Design, asked two of her friends to participate in the competition with her. The girls agreed and were one of 15 teams to sign up. The only thing the girls knew was that they were not allowed to bring anything and wouldn’t know anything about the competition until the day of.

“We had no idea what we were doing. We wanted to do it because we are not taking any fashion classes right now and we wanted to get

involved [in fashion] since we are really anxious and waiting to get into our majors,” Amundson said.

When the day finally arrived, the girls were able to come up with a plan. After looking at the materials, they talked about their different ideas and drew out what they liked. The original sketch included a poofy skirt that was going to be made out of a plastic material, but it didn’t end up working out. In the middle of the competition, the girls had to brainstorm and come up with a completely new idea. After countless wasted minutes, one of Amundson’s teammates, who was adept at making pencil skirts quickly, was able to change the design of the dress.

Before long, time was up and April Johnston, from season eight of Project Runway, and two executives from Abercrombie and Fitch came to judge the competition. They asked the teams questions about their design as well as how they came to the final product. The judges then chose the top three designs and from those, the winner: Amundson and her teammates.

“It was really awesome and I started screaming, but then I was really embarrassed because

everyone was either staring at me or covering their ears,” Amundson said. “But it was the best feeling in the whole entire world and my heart was beating so fast when they were announcing it, and then basically it exploded. After winning the competition, it made me feel better because I felt like I could do this even though I don’t have as much experience as other people.”

Amundson’s fashion experience started her junior year of high school. After taking Fashion Careers and sewing classes, she decided that was what she really wanted to focus on for her future. When it came time to actually choose a college, Amundson had the options of K-State or Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), a well-known art and design school.

“I called my dad from [SCAD] and was like, ‘Just so you know, I’m moving to Georgia.’ And he was like, ‘Are you serious? You couldn’t have picked a farther away school.’ So they were in shock, but they knew it was the right place for me to go. They were really happy for me,” Amundson said.

Despite the distance, Amundson left to pursue her passion 1,058 miles away in Savannah, Ga.

2010 GRADUATE HANNAH AMUNDSON IS STUDYING FASHION DESIGN IN SAVANNAH, GEORGIA AND TRYING TO...

LIGHT PINK LAVENDER TULLE GATHERED HEAVILY FROM CENTER TO HIP ON ONE SIDE

PURPLE LIGHT WEIGHT SATIN GOWN

GATHERED TOWARDSMIDDLE ON BODICE

CREATE ONE SHOULDER STRAP

14 / DEC. 3, 2010

The transition was difficult, especially because she only knew one friend from SM North who was also going.

“I think the hardest thing was probably moving out and leaving my family. Me and my mom are really close, [as well as] my brother, my sister and my dad; everyone is really close, so it’s hard. It was hard living with them and then being by myself,” Amundson said. “It’s weird having to be in charge of everything now.”

With only around 13 people in the classes, SCAD is a far cry from the crowded halls of Northwest. All of the teachers know the students, classes are two and half hours long and time is spent working on big projects and very little busy work.

“You focus on your work and you really have to put your effort in to all of your classes because it can affect your major,” Amundson said. “You have to get “A”s in the classes that are related to your major or you won’t get a degree. You can’t slack off. In high school you could skip class, but you don’t want to do that in college.”

Going to SCAD also has its perks, like meeting influential figures in the fashion world. Marc Jacobs came to the school to sell T-shirts for a fundraiser to build a skate park in Savannah. His business

partners – Robert Duffy and Brian Bowen Smith, who does all of his photography – were also with him when he met with students. Jacobs is really involved with SCAD, and in the spring he is always there to judge the seniors’ fashion lines.

“He’s my favorite designer,” Amundson said. “When I met him I was like, ‘Hi, I’m Hannah! I’m a fashion major and I really want to work for you!’ And he [said], ‘Cool! Good Luck!’ Then I was like, ‘Aww, I thought you were going to give me a job.’”

The fashion industry can be incredibly hard to get into. In 2008, only 22,770 people held jobs in the industry, and 31 percent of those designers worked for apparel, piece goods and notions merchant wholesalers, while 13 percent worked for apparel manufacturers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Many are attracted to the profession because of the glamorous lifestyle as portrayed in movies and TV shows. In the next eight years,

employment for the career is projected to grow by only 1 percent. Getting noticed is even more difficult than getting a job: Only a few dozen designers are famous throughout the world, like Jacobs.

Other than Jacobs, Amundson likes Vera Wang and Oscar de la Renta, both who specialize in making dresses. Amundson is hoping to do wedding dresses, formal dresses and party dresses.

“I think it’s really inspiring seeing other people doing things that you want to be doing,” Amundson said. “It really pushes you to do your best and try and make your name for yourself.”

BLACK HEAVY WEIGHT SATIN

OR TAFFETA OR THICK SHINY

STRETCHY FABRIC

SQUARE CUT-OUTS

RUFFLES/BODY FOR SKIRT VARIOUS SHADES OF

RED/PINK TULLE FLOWERS UP THE SIDE

ORANGE RIBBON TIED AROUND WAIST

YELLOW MEDIUM-WEIGHT SATIN

ONE SHOULDER STRAP

RUFFLES UP THE MIDDLE

PLAID FLANNEL

FABRIC

SLIT UP A LITTLE ABOVE KNEES FROM MIDDLE SEAM

SMALL RUFFLES AROUND THE BOTTOM

SMALL RUFFLES AROUND THE TOP

FITTED, STRUCTURED BODICE

“You focus on your work and you really have to put your effort in to all of your classes because it can affect your major. You have to get “A”s in the classes that are related to your major or you won’t get a degree. You can’t slack off. In high school you could skip class, but you don’t want to do that in college.” —Hannah Amundson

/ RACHAEL DEMJANIK

FEATURES / 15

One half bale of hay: $1.50 per day

Six month supply of loose mineral supplement: $25 or $0.07 per day

Salt block: $14 or $0.04 per day

Two cup servings of inexpensive concentrate: $1 per day

Farrier (horseshoe care) every six weeks: $25 per trim or $0.60 day

Dewormer every 3 months: $0.20 per day

Dentistry once a year: $75 or $0.20 per day

Annual basic vaccinations of rabies, tetanus, equine influenza, and other routine vaccines: $95 or$0.27 per day

Boarding a horse in a pasture or a barn: anywhere from $100 to over $500 per month

Saddles: a few hundred to thousands of dollars.

Halters: $10-$50

Horseshoes: $2.50-$5 each

Freshman Grace Freeman and her sorrel, Prince Charming, step into Kemper Arena, beginning the patterns of Western Horsemanship, one of their final competitions at the American Royal.

Freeman and Prince, as she calls him, execute the patterns almost perfectly, maneuvering their way around the bright cones in the arena. Only later would they find out that even near-perfection couldn’t win them a ribbon, even though they had placed in several, not nearly as perfect, classes the day before.

“In a way, I felt like that was actually a better day because I was told, ‘You did a good job,’” Freeman said, “when the other days it was like, ‘You had an OK pattern, but we don’t know if you’ll place or not.”

Freeman began riding horses when she was 9 years old. After months of begging, her parents finally let Freeman join the Johnson County Horse Club.

“At first, I just started at the little 4-H Club horse shows. I was winning [practically] everything. No competition. So I joined the circuit, which is KHSC – the Kansas Horse Show Circuit. That’s a higher level you can go to and still stay in Kansas,” Freeman said.

With her first horse, human-like bonds began to form immediately between the animal and the rider, even though she did not own it.

“If you don’t have a horse, there are moms that have horses and are willing to teach,” Freeman said. “That’s how I first got started. I rode my first horse and started training. She was just this old sweet sweet thing. I stayed in horse club and rode Jesse [a horse] for a year.”

After that, Freeman’s parents bought ‘her first horse.“When I got him, he was only 3 years old. It was kind

of an iffy thing because [he was] young, young, young. But he is so, so good, so calm and everything,” Freeman said. “When I got him, his barn name was Rusty. I was like, ‘This is not going to happen, my first horse.’ We decided on Prince Charming.”

Prince and Freeman’s relationship developed quickly.“I fell off other horses, but with him — I’ve fallen off him

once, when I first got him. He’s so, so calm, like dead-beat calm. I can do whatever I want with him. And all my friends’ horses are crazy. And his lope/canter is so — it’s like riding a dream,” Freeman said.

Prince is stabled in Gardner, which puts a time restraint on how long the two can practice. As is, Freeman only rides 12 hours a week.

Prince isn’t just another horse to Freeman. He’s her best friend, and she makes sure to treat him as such, to take care of him and put him first.

“Always take care of your horse. You know, before you go and get comfortable on those hot days, give your horse a drink, loosen the saddle. Do this for him first. And then

you can go take care of yourself. [After riding], I always like to wash my horse off in the summer because he did a good job and he’s sweating,” Freeman said. “Me and my horse, we’re a ‘we.’”

Horseback riding has not been a cheap thing for Freeman. While her parents paid for the horse and boarding, she in charge of paying for competitions and shows. The fees quickly add up.

“These small shows that I go to would be about a $100 a day. You could spend a hundred just in entry fees, and that’s without stall fees. I couldn’t go to the state fair [three years ago] because it was $50 a night. I couldn’t go the next year, or the year after that. This year I was able to go because I had been saving up [my money] for two years. Everything was perfect.”

In competition, Freeman and Prince ride English and

Western. The two styles have little in common. (For more information, see the sidebar). Freeman prefers to ride English but Prince prefers Western.

“I love English. I’ve worked so hard to be an English rider, so that’s a strength for us,” Freeman said. “He is such a good Western horse, so consistent, so that’s also a strength. [Prince] started out as a Western horse, very slow moving. I taught him how to do the English part of it. We did some racing, but it got to a point where [Prince] was rearing up on me. So we’ve stopped racing for a while, until he’s a little older,” Freeman said.

Prince is only 6. Most horses prime between the ages of 10 and 12, so Freeman is just beginning to work on jumping with him.

Prince is classified as a quarter horse, which is considered “the most versatile horse in the world,” according to the American Royal website. During competitions, the biggest mistake could come from the slightest movement of the rider.

The relationship between Prince and Freeman goes beyond the competitive spirit of a show horse and its owner.

“It’s really nice to have an activity outside of school. If [I] feel left out, there’s always something to go to,” Freeman said. “I have something that I am good at.”

Always take care of your horse. You know, before you go and get comfortable on those hot days, give your horse a drink, loosen the saddle. Do this for him first. And then you can go take care of yourself. [After riding], I always like to wash my horse off in the summer because he did a good job and he’s sweating. Me and my horse, we’re a ‘we’.” —freshman Grace Freeman

FOR FRESHMAN GRACE FREEMAN, HER HORSE, PRINCE, IS A TEAMMATE.

COST OF A HORSE

/ HAYLEY BATTENBERG, MORGAN JONES + BRIANNA LEYDEN

prince and me

16 / DEC 3, 2010

FEATURES / 17

above: Freshman Grace Freeman has Prince in a slow walk. This is what judges want when in a western pleasure show.

far left: Freeman rewards Prince with a scratch on the ear after riding. Prince is now six years old and they have been competing at shows at the American Royal for three years.

left: Freeman with her horse Prince. She has had Prince for three years now and has been riding horses for six years.

/B y 11:15 p.m., most of the people who would show up for the midnight premiere of Harry

Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 at Dickinson Westglen 18 were already seated in the theater. Still, a few people continued to meander in, buying snacks and drinks before taking their seats. Several were decked out in Harry Potter gear: Round glasses or maroon and gold Gryffindor scarves. Others had lightening bolt-shaped scars drawn on their foreheads in red marker.

Juniors Isabel Zacharias and Tanner Rose had picked up their tickets by 8 p.m., and by 10 p.m., they had arrived at the theater.

“It’s the premiere. Seeing it [later] would just be wrong,” Zacharias said. “It’s the fact that you’re seeing it as soon as you possibly can. That’s dedication.”

Senior Lesley Johnson reread The Deathly Hallows twice in anticipation of the movie.

“I don’t know exactly what it is that everybody loves about Harry Potter,” Johnson said. “It’s just the magic.”

In the first 24 hours, Harry Potter and the Deathly

Hallows: Part 1 made $61.2 million, making it the fifth-highest opening day grossing movie, behind The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) and Eclipse (2010), The Dark Knight (2008) and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009).

The movie, directed by David Yates and based off J.K. Rowling’s novel by the same name, follows Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and his friends, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) as they leave Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to find and destroy all the objects, known as “horcruxes”, keeping the evil wizard, Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), alive.

“It was definitely a movie that was made for the people who have read [the book],” Rose said. “I thought if you hadn’t it would have been really confusing. But I have, so I really enjoyed it because I thought they did a really good job of sticking to [the book].”

According to imdb.com, the movie was split into two parts in order to maintain more of the plot from the books.

“I was nervous because the book was so good,”

junior Isabel Miller said. “I was afraid that they would leave out a bunch of huge parts, but that didn’t really happen, so it was good.”

When Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was published in 2007, 15 million copies were sold in the first 24 hours, making it the fastest-selling book ever.

While Zacharias, like Rose, Johnson and Miller, prefers the books to the movies, she has always thought of them as independent stories.

“[With the books] you feel like you’re more a part of it, whereas [with] movies it’s really hard to feel like you’re really there,” Zacharias said. “People who have read the books are way more invested in the characters and their well-being. People who have read the books are going to be the ones who cry about characters dying.”

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is scheduled to be released July 15, 2011.

“I’m hoping [the second part] will be really close to the book,” Miller said. “I hope it’s just as good [as the first part].”

“Right now, [I’m] just hanging in midair,” Rose said. “I’m ready for a sense of conclusion.”

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS WAS RELEASED IN THEATERS AT MIDNIGHT ON NOV. 19. FANS WERE THERE TO WITNESS “THE BEGINNING OF THE END” FIRSTHAND.

harry potter and the midnight premiere

JULY 11, 2007: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is released in theaters, grossing $292,004,738.

NOV. 19, 2010: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is released in theaters, grossing $330.1 million worldwide in the first weekend.

JUNE 4, 2004: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is released in theaters, grossing $249,358,727

NOV. 16, 2001: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is released in theaters, grossing $317,557,891.

NOV. 18, 2005: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is released in theaters, grossing $290,013,036.

JULY 15, 2009: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is released in theaters, grossing $301,959,197.

NOV. 15, 2002: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is released in theaters, grossing $261,970,615.

/ MARIA DAVISON

Information from imdb.com.

18 / DEC. 3, 2010

How is the coaching dynamic going to change now that Coach Meseke is back?BEN MESEKE: I don’t know that it’s going to change a whole lot from two years ago with Coach Rose, Coach Mowry, myself, Coach Larson.

Who is getting the title of head coach?MIKE ROSE: Coach Meseke is getting that title. In my opinion it always has been his title here and we knew that going into last year, and we hoped, that this was going to be a one-year deal. I was an interim head coach and if he had the opportunity to come back then he would come back and I would pass it to him. MESEKE: At the same time, I’m just going to try. I’m not sure if it’s going to work or not. If not,

coach [Rose] is going to take over and do the job that he did with coach Mowry. Regardless, I think the kids are going to be well taken care of this year. I was trying to figure it out and between the three of us – Rose, Mowry and myself – we’re closing in on about a 100 years of experience.

With the loss of such a big guard, graduate Steve Carver, who do you think is going to fill that position. How crucial will it be for players such as senior Drew Goodger to fill that role?MESEKE: I was amazed at how much Drew had improved from his sophomore year to his junior year. He [made those improvements], and [held his own while] Steve was in there. It’s tough having two big guys share the spotlight like that. So I’m sure that Drew is going to be right back in there, taking up the middle and dominating inside like he can. We have so many young kids, and that’s exciting this year. They are going to have the opportunity to work with Drew and learn from Drew.

How crucial is the team’s defense going to be this year?ROSE: I think that’s a thought every year. We put

a huge focus on the defensive end of the floor. It helps us to create a lot of offense. That’s always been a staple of Coach Meseke’s and something we tried to stress a lot last year. It will be as big for us this year as it’s always been.

What are you most looking forward to this year?ROSE: For me it is getting the crew back together as far as coaching goes. We enjoy being around the kids. It’s just fun for us, and we get to come back and do it again for another year.MESEKE: One of the main reasons I wanted to come back this year, if I could, was because I coached Drew [Goodger], AJ [Spencer] and Trey [Fruehling] when they were sophomores. We went to state, and I just love those guys. The seniors last year too, they were just very, very special kids. I know about half of [the 2008-2009 players] are gone now, but the other three are coming back and it’s just so exciting to be able to work with guys like AJ, Drew and Trey. If they hadn’t come back this year it would have been easy for me to say “Eh, you know, maybe I’ll sit there and watch.” Coaches don’t get to work with kids like that too often, and I sure want to do it.

boss/BEST OF SPORTS SHOT/ PHOTO BY NATE COMPTON

SPORTS

Sophomore Max Oberbroeckling warms up at tryouts after school on Nov. 17. Oberbroeckling was on the Northwest swim team last year, and hopes to return this year.

WITH BEN MESEKE AND MIKE ROSE,COACHES, BOYS BASKETBALL

QUESTION + ANSWER

//by lauren minick

SPORTS / 19

WINTER SPORTS TRYOUTS

WRESTLINGFreshman Laphonso McKinnis stretches before the second wrestling practice of the season on Nov. 16. / PHOTO BY BAILEY KOPP

GIRLS’ BASKETBALLJunior Katie Biggers dribbles the ball and sophomore Anna King runs beside her during girls’ basketball tryouts on Nov. 19. / PHOTO BY MARISSA BRUNS

BOYS’ SWIM + DIVESophomore Josh Gomer prepares to dive during tryouts on Nov. 16./ PHOTO BY CALEB AMUNDSON

BOYS’ BASKETBALLSenior Mark Sample and juniors Jackson Foth and Wade Drouillard complete a drill during boys’ basketball tryouts./ PHOTO BY JOHNNY TONG

20 / DEC. 3, 2010

As the fall sports season ends, athletes are in transition. Some will move on to a winter sport, while others will begin their “off season.”

“I was sitting at home one day [last year] and thought about what I was going to do in the winter,” junior Logan Coffman said. “I knew that some of the upperclassmen played [indoor soccer], so I checked it out online.”

After Coffman sent out a Facebook message, roughly 15 students joined Coffman’s indoor soccer team, named the Flamers. Among the boys making up the team were juniors Brenden McClusky, Jake Gipple, Adam Lo and Jackson Foth.

“It’s fun to get out and play, and to see your friends,” McClusky said.

“It’s also not very tiring for those who don’t play sports,” Gipple said.

Last year, the boys played eight games, and although they played for fun, they ended up with an undefeated season, 12-0, winning their league.

“We play[ed] like we want[ed] to win, but we weren’t super serious about it,” Foth said.

Despite their effort, the team was up against some tough players.

“We were in ‘D’ division so we played a lot of men who took it pretty seriously,” Coffman said.

In indoor soccer, ‘D’ division is the lowest premiere team that exists.

The rules and regulations of the game are set by the official rules-making body of U.S. indoor soccer, U.S. Indoor, in regard to player substitutions,

equipment, duration of the game, penalties, scoring, fouls and blue cards.

Despite the rules, indoor soccer can be an aggressive game. Junior Sarah Crosley’s team, the Twisters, experience the aggression firsthand on the field.

“We play lower premiere teams because there aren’t a lot of recreational teams in our age group,” Crosley said. “[The premier teams] tend to be more aggressive than recreational teams.”

Crosley’s team plays in the Shawnee Soccer Club, while Coffman’s team plays through All-American Indoor. The Shawnee Soccer Club divides its teams into recreational and premiere divisions. These differ in that the recreational division holds no try outs and coaches are not paid.

SM North junior Carley Smith broke her arm during a match. Crosley’s sister, sophomore Laura Crosley, hit her head against a wall during a game, and Crosley herself has suffered from injuries.

“I was slammed into a wall last season and hit my knee,” Sarah Crosley said. “I wanted to get into a fight then, but I didn’t.”

As a recreational team, the girls do not play as competitively as the premiere teams do.

“We go out a lot of times like, ‘Hey, let’s go have fun,’” Crosley said. “But if the other girls start pushing and shoving, we’re going to return the favor.”

Although the girls experienced their share of

the aggression on the field, the boys steered clear of the action and had their own way of expressing themselves, away from the violence.

“We had some funny-looking apparel,” Coffman said.

“I wore a Speedo once,” Gipple added.“[Junior] Adam [Lo] wore a headband and short-

shorts,” Coffman said. “Everybody got into it.”For the Flamers, “indoor” wasn’t about the

aggression or winning league; it was for the fun of the game and spending time with friends.

“[During games] we’re just there to have a good time,” Coffman said.

The Flamers plan on playing again this season and are in the process of putting a team together. The Twisters are already have their indoor season underway.

Information on indoor soccer can be found on: www.allamericanindoorsports.com

fury on the fieldINDOOR SOCCER IS A WAY FOR STUDENTS TO HAVE FUN WHILE PARTICIPATING IN SPORTS.

Junior David Fancher walks off the soccer field after a 6-4 loss on the evening of Nov. 20. / PHOTO BYBAILEY KOPP

/ TESSA MILLER

SPORTS / 20

We go out a lot of times like ‘hey, lets go have a lot of fun.’ but if the other girls start pushing and shoving, we’re going to return the favor” —junior, Sarah Crosley

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The fall sports season ended in redemptive victories for two teams. Cross country won state after their 14 state champion streak was bro-ken in 2008. And gymnastics also tasted the victory of winning state championships this year, after last year’s disappointing end to the sea-son which had knocked them from first to third place due to a coaching error.

Cross country and gymnastics both won state this season, and ev-eryone was really excited for them; however, it seems like after the fall sports season ended with the football loss at the regional semi-finals, the entire season was in the past, and everyone began to shift their focus to the winter sports season.

Due to their excellent achievements, these two varsity teams de-serve more recognition from our school. After all, these state victories ended a two-year drought where Northwest was unable to win a state title in any sport. They will also boost the morale of teams whose sea-sons are coming up.

The first annual Not-So-Late-Night occurred on Dec. 1. This event is a kickoff for winter sports, and it also serves as a recap of the fall sports. This event gave the cross country and gymnastics teams recognition for their state championships, but little time was spent talking about them. For the most part, this event serves as the beginning to the win-ter sports season, so its aim might not be to focus on the fall champions as much as it should.

When a team wins the state championship, they deserve recogni-tion. It should be more than just an announcement, then the celebration at the team banquet. The student body should be in attendance to rec-ognize these accomplishments.

Surely a state championship is worth a short assembly, say 35 min-utes out of seminar. The assembly could simply be composed of teams that have won state championships presenting their trophies to Dr. Harrington, a highlight of the season’s accomplishments (a highlight video if the team has one) and recognition of the individual athletes who contributed to the state victory. If we have lots of teams winning state championships, perhaps the assembly would have to be longer, but wouldn’t that be a wonderful problem?

An event like Not-So-Late-Night is an effective way to briefly recog-nize all the fall teams and summarize their seasons, but the emphasis is on brevity. Gymnastics and cross country definitely deserve more than a brief description at an event that many students may not attend.

WHERE CREDIT IS DUE GYMNASTICS AND CROSS COUNTRY BOTH WON STATE AT THE CONCLUSION OF THEIR SEASONS. NOW THAT THE SEASON IS OVER, IT APPEARS THAT THESE STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS HAVE BEEN FORGOTTEN BY THE REST OF THE STUDENT BODY.

SPORTS / 23

BRADY KLEIN

focusIN

“I am proud that our hard work paid off in the form of a state championship title.” — sophomore Caitlin Chen

/ PHOTO BY JOHNNY TONG