JJeessssiiccaa MMooooddyyjunior staffwritter

West High’s Lady Bearsoccer team have won again!

Junior Savannah Witt, one ofthe team’s forwards andoccasional center midfielder,made the overtime goal againstFlathead that led them to theState AA Championship.

However, the struggle didnot stop there.

Witt said, “My parents putme in soccer because I wasoverly energetic,” and she is nowa valuable attribute to the team.

The girls fought with thefocus on repeating as cham-pions.

During the final gameagainst Senior High’s LadyBroncs, the Lady Bear seniorleaders kept an upbeat pace andattitude.

The rest of the team pursuedtheir lead resulting in the winning

score of 2-0 two minutes intoovertime.

Even when their bus broke

down in the middle of the road toa Butte game, the Lady Bearshung in there and tried to have

fun.Many of the players enjoyed

the games against the cross townrivals Senior High Lady Broncsthe most.

But junior Janell Cabrea, leftoutside forward, disagreed, “The

Great Falls [game] was one of thebest games with a score of 9-0because we learned some faultsof our team.”

Senior Ambri Stein, a centerdefender, said, “I love the team.We always have fun times!”

Junior outside midfielderCiara Gorman told the story,“There were about 14 of us girlsin the hotel elevator during thestate championship … all of usjumped and [the elevator] broke,”leaving the hotel staff very upset.

“I wore a pterodactylcostume to the last practice. Itwas really fun,” recalls the daringCate Hanna, sophomore anddefensive midfielder.

A handful of the playersfavorite moment this year wasdancing to some Mexican-themed music that Coach JohnDorr had decided to play.

Many of the girls are reallymotivated for next year’s season.

Gorman’s motivation for hersoccer career here at West High,“As a senior next year, I want totry to go for the 3-peat.”

Overall, the Lady Bears wona total of 10 games and lost two:one against Senior High’s LadyBroncs with a score of 2-0 andone against CMR’s Lady Rustlerswith a score of 3-2.

NOVERBER 2O10

BILLINGS WEST HIGH SCHOOL 2201 ST. JOHN’S AVENUE BILLINGS, MT 59102 Volume 51 Issue 2

A LookInside This

Issue

NEWS

FEATURESARTS

SPORTSOPINION

ON THELIGHTER SIDE

24

1215

16

KODIAKBillings West High School2201 St. John's AvenueBillings, MT 59102

KODIAK

Non-Profit Org.US Postage

PAIDBillings, MTPermit #88

REPEAT! BACK-TO-BACKCongratulations to the West HighLady Bears Soccer team!

The girls foughtwith their focus on

repeating aschampions.

After winning the championshipmatch against crosstown rivalSenior High Lady Broncs andsealing their repeat as MontanaState AA Champions, the LadyBear soccer team takes a picturewith their trophy.

submitted photo

Football teamplays in thesemi finals

page 12

Cross Countryfinishes season

strongpage 12

Health careervideo chats in

the healthclassespage 6

In the championship matchagainst the Lady Broncs, juniorRachel Hein and senior AmbrielStein try to strip the ball from aLady Bronc. The Lady Bearseventually won the match torepeat the feat of being AA StateChampions

submitted photo

AAnnddrreeww EEaagglleesophomore staffwriter

Two well known satiristsStephen Colbert and Jon Stewartdecided it was finally time forAmerica to change.

Unfortunately, theydisagreed on the how.

Jon Stewart, well trustedjournalist and host of The DailyShow on Comedy Central,announced on September 16 thathe was holding a rally inWashington D.C., a Rally toRestore Sanity.

Soon after Stewart made hisannouncement, Stephen Colbert,another journalist for ComedyCentral and host of the ColbertReport, released news that hewas going to be holding a rallyas well, also in D.C., the Marchto Restore Fear.

The events were planned tobe at exactly the same place atexactly the same time.

The rallies were held on

October 30 at 3 p.m. and wereaired live on Comedy Centraland streamed online. Theprograms were also available tostream straight to variousmobile devices includingiPhones, iPads and Droids.

The Rally to Restore Sanitywas based around thephilosophy that it is time forAmericans to “take it down anotch.”

The informational websitestated, “We’re looking for thepeople who think shouting isannoying, counter-productiveand terrible for your throat; whofeel that the loudest voicesshouldn’t be the only ones thatget heard.”

The main purpose of theRally was to make a point aboutthe sheer number of people whodo not have time to take out oftheir busy schedules to protestthings they care about and rallyin support of causes.

The rallies also supportbeing moderate with ideas, suchas the “I disagree with you, butI’m pretty sure you’re notHitler,” slogan, or the “I am notafraid of Muslims/TeaPartiers/Socialists/Immigrants/Gun Owners/Gays… But I amafraid of spiders,” motto.

The March to Keep FearAlive however, had a differentphilosophy behind it. Thepeople who attended the marchgo to support one of the claimedthree base principles ofAmerica: “Freedom, Liberty andFear that somebody will takeour Freedom and Liberty.”

The rallies were used tomake a joke about the ridiculouslengths that politicians

sometimes go to in order togarner peoples’ support. Anotherthing they hoped to reveal to beridiculous was the largenumbers of rallies that haveseemingly become a politicaltrend.

These conflicting ralliesmet at the National Mall in D.C.on October 30 with Jon Stewartperforming the introduction andthe role of straight man for thiscomic event.

Colbert, on the other side,played the role of a superconservative man, who justarrived from his fear bunker.

The first part of this event,which turned out to be half rallyand half concert, consisted of4TROOPS, a band consisting offour soldiers, singing thenational anthem.

Right after the troops left

the stage, Colbert’s fear bunkerwas lifted onto the stage, and hewould not leave the bunker untilhe was sure that people turnedup for the rally.

Colbert made anyone thatwas there to restore sanitywhisper and everyone that wasthere to keep fear alive were totalk spookily. The volumedifference was obvious, andColbert officially announcedthat he won.

After the volume contest,they had an official benedictionby Father Guido Sarducci.

Following the benediction,Sam Waterston performed arendition of the poem “Are YouSure?” by Colbert.

Once the poem was done,and Waterston left the stage, therally continued with Stewarttrying to find out whether or notthe rally was a “tremendoussuccess or horrendous failure,”by allowing two separatejournalists to each perform oneof the perspectives.

The rally also contained amusical competition betweenOzzy Osbourne singing CrazyTrain, and Cat Stevens singingPeace Train. After the clash ofmusic, they worked together tosing Love Train.

At the end of the rally, JonStewart had a moment ofsincerity.

He explained to the peoplewhy exactly he had called therally.

This touching speech at theend of the comical rally leftpeople with something to thinkon; he explained why peopleneed to stop being so absorbedwith themselves and startthinking about society and otherpeople.

KKeennddrraa SScchhaaffffsenior staffwriter

In the beginning of Februarynext year, Genocide andgovernment students will travelto Washington D.C. on aneducational trip.

The point of the trip is forthe genocide students to see theNational Holocaust Museum, butthe students will have plenty ofother activities.

The trip is from February 4-8. The students will tour of theWhite House, see the Senate inaction and meet with our statesenators, Max Baucus and JonTester.

Students will also able tolisten to the son of a holocaustsurvivor speak. There is also acouple of down time days whenstudents can shop or see theSmithsonian Museums and be atourist.

The students also have toSkype with the school board toprove that the trip is actuallyeducational.

Rob Stanton, World Historyand genocide teacher, says,“[Students should go on this trip]for the experience of exploringour government, having theexperiences of personallymeeting a Holocaust survivor andgoing through the HolocaustMuseum. It will be life changingfor some of them.”

Senior Megan Siroky said,“It is important [to go to D.C.]because I want to experience newthings outside of Billings,Montana.”

Preparing for the trip is aneducational experience in itself.Students have to join a website tocommunicate with students fromKyrgyzstan, to learn about thecountry and what is currentlygoing on there.

One of the topic questions

that they must discuss is, “Whatcan youth do to prevent conflictand promote nonviolence in theircommunities?”

The group is planning tohave a raffle of Red Lodge lifttickets, a Dillards beauty productgift bag and other various items.Students are also able to work atGuelff mart for $10 an hour toraise money. They are alsoplanning to sell coupon booksfrom Herbergers to fundraise.The trip will cost about $784 perstudent.

There are about 33 studentsand adults currently signed up.

Senior Amanda Dunlapwants to go to D.C. because, “Ireally wanted to go to theHolocaust museum and hang outat our nation’s capitol with mybesties!”

Students get to Skype withthe students from Kyrgyzstanagain and a Holocaust survivorbefore they leave DC.

KKaayyddeeee OOllddhhaammCopy Editor

Plenty of changesaffected Billings West HighSchool this year. Studentshave differing opinions onthese changes.

One change that studentsare still adapting to is the newdetention policy. Previousyears at West, detention washeld after school. Now it’sduring students lunch periodsin room 170, or in the overfill room 160.

During the 40-minutedetention, students may workon homework assignmentsquietly. For $2.25, studentsare provided a sack lunchform the cafeteria. That sacklunch consists of a sandwich,vegetables and milk.

If a student decides toskip lunch detention, theywill automatically receivetwo additional detentions.Billings Senior High Schoolpiloted this policy two yearsago and it worked. Thus far,West is having success too.

On days students wereassigned after-schooldetention, many would skiptheir sixth period to avoiddetention after school. Thisyear, having it during astudent’s social time causesmore students to show up.

“Lunch detention isdoing much better than past[after-school detention]years. Last year, only aboutone fourth of students wouldshow up. This year, aboutthree fourths of students arecoming when they should. Ithink it pushes somefreshmen to the positive endone they come just once.

There still is that select fewwho seems to be regularsthough,” Barbara Headlee,monitor of lunch detention,mentioned.

Students seem to thinkthat having detention duringtheir lunch comes in morehandy than after school.Reasons include sports,driver’s education, work orother extra curricularactivities they do.

Freshmen have not reallybeen effected by this change,but others have.

“I had lunch detentiononce and never again will I. Ilearned my lesson andrecognized my mistakes. Ilike having a social time withmy friends for half an hour!”sophomore McKenziePoulson stated.

Poulson went on to sayshe regrets getting detentionbecause it was boring and tooquiet.

After three detentions,students are sent to thetruancy center, also known asout of school suspension.Students can lose credit for aclass if sent to detention toooften, and some teachers willnot let them do any make upwork for credit.

If students are trying toget out of a detention andhave a real excuse or reason,they should talk to their deanand arrange a new date.

“I never have detention,but if I did, I would prefer itduring my lunch period andget it done and over with overafter school when I gethome,” sophomore TysonWells said.

Stay out of detention!New changes made to old detention policy

And here we go again!Students prepare to travel to D.C. in February

NE

WS

This touching speech at the end ofthe comical rally left people with

something to think on; he explainedwhy people need to stop being soabsorbed with themselves and startthinking about society and other

people.

Stewart and Colbert unite to restoresanity...or fearComedy Central journalists collaborate to hold rally

NEWS NOVEMBER 2O1O 3

Michaila Grantsenior staffwriter

With the economy as bad asit has been these past few years, itis expected that there would be ahigh poverty rate. However, theextreme numbers that have beenshown the past three yearsshocked almost everybody.

Poverty is defined by thegovernment as any person whomakes less than living wage in ayear.

Right now, the living wageis set at $20,000 for any four-person household, and for every

additional person in thehousehold, the living wageincreases by $3,500.

In 2008, the poverty rates hitan 11- year high with the highnumber of 13.2 percent of allAmericans living in poverty.

In 2009, the percentageincreased to a new high of 14.3percent.

2010 rates have not beencalculated but are expected toincrease again.

With these numbers camethe statistic that one in every fourkids living in the United Statestoday is living below the poverty

level. That makes out to about16.7 million kids who are livingin a household in poverty today.

Other statistics showed thatone in seven people in the UnitedStates is living in poverty whichtotals about 44 million people inpoverty.

Senior Alexis Schantz stated,“The number of people inpoverty is astonishing. It is sadthat anyone should have to live inpoverty.”

Even with this definition, thenumber of people living belowthe poverty level is astonishing.That does not include the fact that

it is almost impossible for afamily of four to function on only$20,000, which means that manymore people are actually inpoverty right now.

With this amount of povertyalso comes many people thatcannot afford health insurance.

The American Public HealthAssociation stated,“Disturbingly, the uninsurednumbers from the U.S. CensusBureau represent the tip of theproblem; there are another 25million underinsured people whoalso receive inadequate access tocare and are at risk of many of the

same outcomes as those with nocoverage at all.”

This shows that poverty notonly affects those who have nowork at all or have no coveragebut also those who do not haveenough to live comfortably.

Sophomore Katelyn Hansenexclaimed, “I find it ridiculousand sad that there are really richpeople and really poor people! Ina country like ours that is soblessed, there should not bepeople who have to live inpoverty.”

Many people agree with thisstatement, but every year thepoverty rate is slowly increasing,and more and more people arebeing forced to live in a way thatthey should not have to.

Poverty rates skyrocket in past three yearsOne in four American children live below the poverty level

KKaatthheerriinnee CCoolleesophomore staffwriter

On August 5, NorthernRocky Mountain gray wolveswere returned to the endangeredspecies list.

Last year, Montana andIdaho removed them from the listbecause their numbers hadreached the recovery goal of 300wolves. At the end of 2008,an estimated 500 wolveslived in Montana. In 2009,the two states proposed wolfmanagement programs thatallowed wolves to be huntedwithin regulations.

In 2005, Wyoming metits minimum recovery goal,but the wolves haveremained on the endangeredspecies list. Wolvesremained protected inWyoming because theirproposition to shoot wolves onsight was rejected.

This August the judge ruledthat not just an area where aspecies lived could be protected.A wolf can no longer be shotbecause it crossed a state line.

Outside of YellowstoneNational Park, the wolfpopulation has grown an averageof 19 percent since 2000. From

2008 to 2009, these numbersgrew from 178 to 224 wolves; 23wolf packs have denned this yearinside of the park.

Many farmers want thewolves off of the list as theythreaten wildlife, livestock andpets.

Wolves were originallyintroduced to Yellowstone in1995 to balance the bison

population, but instead they havedrastically diminished the mooseand elk population. This mayhave been part of the motivationof Montana and Idaho to supporthunting wolves in the past.

Junior Danni Petak remarkedthat, “The growth in thepopulation is good because it issad to see a species die off. Whocares if they are killing livestock;there are more livestock than

people in Montana. Lowering thatnumber truly would not matter.”

Some argue that the declinein the wolf population led to anincrease in smaller predators,causing economic and ecologicaldisruptions.

Whatever the case, wolvesplay an important role in the foodchain.

Sophomore Dustin Scheiestated, “It is great that they putthey put the wolves on theendangered species list the firsttime because the populationwas down, but if the populationhasn’t decreased to aconcerning number, then theyshouldn’t be on it [again]. Ithink they are important to theecosystem, but like all gamethey should be hunted as longas it is regulated.”

The first wolf hunt inMontana was held in Septemberof 2009, killing 29 wolves andraising $325,916.

There are conflictingopinions on the hunt. FreshmanEvan Quarles said, “Theyshouldn’t have made huntingwolves legal.”

To report a dead wolf orpossible illegal activity, call 1-800-TIP-MONT.

Who cares if they arekilling livestock; thereare more livestock

than people inMontana

The hunt is on! Or is it?Wolf population has recently led torecent political conflicts

Nikki Sandersjunior staffwriter

This year, FamilyCommunity and CareerLeaders of America [FCCLA]bought a pig for a third worldcountry.

Heifer International is aprogram that sends animals tothird world countries to helpwith starvation, poverty andinfertile soil. Each pig canproduce up to 16 piglets ayear, and with this, a familycan sell offspring, breed themor eat them.

The pig cost FCCLA$120 with no extra charge forshipping. Unfortunately, theclub was not allowed to send anote with the pig.

FCCLA was very excitedabout this opportunity to helpout another country and arevery proud of what they havedone to help.

“We chose a pig becausewe love bacon,” said JillMiller, advisor of FCCLA..

“We want to help peoplein foreign countries and makea difference,” mentionedjunior Shawnee Jerome.“Also, we want them to lovebacon like we do,”

The Heifer programoffers other packages as wellsuch as:

A dairy cow for $500,Cheeses of the World HolidayGift Basket for $990, Gift of aGoat for $120, Pigs asPresents for $120, Gift of aSheep $120, Knitter’s GiftBasket $480, Trio of Rabbits$60 , Flock of Chicks $20,Gift of Honeybees $30, Giftof a Llama $150, Gift of aWater Buffalo $250, TreeSeedlings $60, Gift ofGardener’s Basket $170, GiftArk $5,000 , WiLD Gift$10,000, Gift of a Lifetime$25,000

The Ark package offerstwo of every animal offered.The WiLD gift supportsWomen in LivestockDevelopment, and the gift of aLifetime goes to youtheducation.

All of these programshelp with poverty andstarvation.

Once the animal is sentthe family that it goes toreceives training on how tocare for their animal and howto profit from it.

FCCLA does a charityevent every year.

This little piggy went forcharity

FE

AT

UR

ES

EEmmiillyy SSaammpplleeCopy Editor

New teachers are present atthe Freshman Academy.Rachelle Woods

Ms. Rachelle Woods teachesEarth Science at the Academy inroom 8. She has six years ofteaching experience.

She wanted to teach so thatshe can share what she knows

and loves. It is also an addedbonus that she gets to spend timewith wonderful high schools stu-dents.

Woods looks forward to oneday winning the lottery, if sheever buys a ticket, and workingwith the students and staff at theAcademy for the rest of the year.

Woods said, “To laugh is tolearn,” and that is how she viewsteaching.Thomas Smithlin

Mr. Thomas Smithlin teach-es English 1 at the Academy inroom 2. He has been a substituteteacher in the past. This is hisfirst year of teaching.

“I teach because I want to bein the service of others, and sofar, I have not found a better serv-ice to my community than teach-ing,” said Smithlin.

Smithlin looks forward towhenever “the invisible lightbulb [goes] on above [his] stu-dent’s heads.”

The best moment thus farwas when one of his studentspointed out the irony that hisEverbind Books dictionaries,which are falling apart, supply.

He also manages the clock

and scoreboard for many of thefreshman and sophomore footballgames and is helping with theProm planning committee.

His approach to teachinginvolves identifying any opportu-nities for growth and then servinghis students’ needs accordingly.Steven Lehman

Mr. Steven Lehman teachesAlgebra 1 and Geometry at theAcademy in room 4. This is his20th year of teaching.

He has a background in con-struction and attempts to bringthose real world applications intohis classroom. He also tries tomodel problems to help his stu-dents attain mastery.

Leh-man looks forward tobuilding relationships with hisstudents and watching themgrow.

“I enjoy working with peo-ple and have always had a knackfor explaining things,” comment-ed Lehman.

Elizabeth FultonMrs. Elizabeth Fulton teach-

es Algebra and Algebra Foun-dations at the Academy in room7.

She comes from a family ofteachers and said, “Math wasalways my favorite subject, andwhen I got to the point that Ineeded to think of a career andhow to contribute to society aswell as use math, it was clear thatteaching math was what I wantedto do.”

She looks forward to know-

ing her students more andobserving their successes. Shefinds working with her studentsenjoyable. Fulton’s favoritemoment is each day when herstudents enter the classroom.

She has also been a crosscountry coach this year.

KKaattiiee PPaarriisshhPhoto Editor

How many peopleactually volunteer?

Probably not as manyas you may think. Thereare so many different vol-unteer opportunities justin the Billings area; it’snot hard to get involved.

If you are looking forsomething to do duringthe summer or afterschool or on the week-ends, volunteering is agreat option. There aremany great benefits tovolunteering, includingcollege and job applica-tions.

Counselor KimPetersen stated, “I thinkvolunteer[ing] is veryimportant during highschool.”

Senior Nathan Fritzsaid, “Its fun to work witha different group of peo-ple… people in otherplaces of town and eventhose of different ages.”

Petersen continued,

“[Volunteering] is oftenover looked. [When]applying for jobs and col-leges, [volunteering]helps you stand out.”

When colleges andbusinesses are looking atapplications, most appli-cants are very similar, andone way to make a per-son stand out is by volun-teering.

Petersen explained,“[Volunteering] justshows that you are morecompassionate and wantto improve your commu-nity. I think that kids[who] volunteer have a lotof personal satisfaction[and] see [the] problemsof others. [Which] makesyou appreciate more.”

If you go to the web-site www.youcanvolun-teer.org, you will findmany volunteer opportu-nities. If you click on oneof the agencies, the sitewill give you all sort ofinformation about thatagency.

New TeachersWelcome to the Golden Bear family

Volunteering opportu-nities abound

Honoring VeteransMrs. Burgess’ class honors both veterans and family

KKeeeellyy PPaattttoonnjunior staffwriter

Every year on November 11,the United States celebratesVeterans Day.

This day is set aside to honorthe struggle of American troops.

According to “The Libertyof Congress; AmericanMemories,” when the allied pow-ers came together to bring WorldWar I to a close, the U.S. com-memorated the day as ArmisticeDay.

Beginning in 1954, theUnited States designatedNovember 11 as a day of tributeto veterans. November 11 nowmarks the day Americans cometogether and give gratitude andappreciation to our soldiers in theNavy, Army, Coast Guard andAir Force.

English teacher DonnaBurgess’s Honors English Class1 has an assignment each year onVeterans Day.

It’s not a paper or a project,but more of a “come with a storyto tell.”

Mrs. Burgess asked her stu-dents to think of a family mem-

ber who is a veteran and thencome to class prepare to tell thisrelatives story.

Freshman Allison Belgarde’sstory goes deep into her familyhistory.

Belgarde’s great-grandfatherHarold George Maguson servedas a Navy soldier in World WarII.His job was not to fight but tobuild the ships which Americansused for battle.

After serving for one year,he was then discharged.

Maguson explained his aspi-rations for join the Navy, “He justwanted to help America and winthe war!”

She explained a funny storyabout her great-grandfather, itstarted when he was in training’every night, the soldiers wouldhave lamb, and after that, herefused to eat lamb again.

Belgarde thought that when,times back then, people did nothave the money and pleasures oftoday, they dealt with what theyhad and stuck with it.

Although he passed inOctober 1992, his 86 year- oldwife, Alex Maguson, remainsalive to tell his story.

Alex Maguson explainedthat living in this time period wasa struggle. Each family receivedrations, which are an amount ofhow much a specific familycould get of sugar, eggs, fabric,and other household necessities.

Many things were hard tocome by.

Belgarde commented thather great-grandfather’s biggestissues were “Raising two daugh-ters while he was gone, and hav-ing to find jobs to support thefamily.”Alex Maguson actually helpedthe Navy also; she took out thenails in the ships so that theycould be reused for other proj-ects.

Belgarde said, “I feel closerto my grandpa even though Inever knew him, from learningabout him.”

This idea of getting to knowfamily can be a good influence inthe way students view family his-tory.

If she could ask him any-thing in the world if she wentback in time, it would be, “Whydid you join the Navy? You werenot forced into it, so why?”

ZZooeeyy EElliiaassfreshman staffwriter

On November 9, 2010,Rocky Mountain College hosteda “Fair Trade Christmas.”

The organizers of this eventwere Jamie Elias and KristiFoster.

Foster said “Jamie and I satdown and talked about doingsomething like it. I had beenthinking about doing somethinglike it in past years, but I didn’thave the help. Jamie wanted tobring Global Village onto thecampus. We also did this to edu-cate people about gift ideas forChristmas.”

The pair advertised throughall the partner churches toRocky Mountain College andalso through Global Village thatthe event was open to the publicwith admission.

The event featured craftdemonstrations, body care prod-

ucts, hand woven bags from thesouth pacific, handmade cloth-ing, handmade jewelry and ahuge variety of items from thestore Global Village.

This was the first Fair TradeChristmas that Rocky has held,and admissions as well as ven-dor tables were free.

After being asked if theevent would be informational,Foster said, “Yes. We hope thatstudents will learn more aboutfair trade and learn about all thechoices on what to buy.”

After the Fair TradeChristmas event, Foster said, “Ithink it was definitely a success.More than two people showedup!” At least 150 people cameand participated.

Fair trade is when someonein a developing country handmakes something (so no facto-ries or machinery) and then astore buys it from them for aprice that is fair to the maker.

The makers of the items aremaking money to help raise theirfamily, send their children toschool and to just generally live.

Supporting fair trade isgood because then the familiesthat are making the items are notliving in poverty or starving, andtheir children are getting the

education they need. Some common fair trade

items are jewelry, clothing,woven baskets, hats, gloves,scarves, tapestries, tablecloths,children’s toys or decorations.

Global Village is a nonprof-it organization that only sellscompletely fair trade items.

Their store is in downtownBillings and is volunteer based.

When looking for items thatare certified fair trade, look forthe national fair trade emblemon all products.

NOVEMBER 2O1OFEATURES 5

Nikki Sandersjunior staffwriter

Last issue, The Kodiak intro-duced three of Billings WestHigh’s six foreign exchange stu-

dents. Here are the three more tolearn all about. Ida Molsa, Sweden

First up is eighteen-year-oldIda Molsa.

Molsa’s favorite classes atWest are Single Survival, Mathand English.

She misses her family andfriends but especially her closet.

Molsa only has one com-plaint about America, which isshe cannot drive here because sheis a foreign exchange student.Molsa has a younger brother andsister back home in Sweden.

Everyone has a favorite foodand Molsa is no exception, but itwas a hard choice.

“Jimmy John’s is prettygood,” said Molsa.

Molsa speaks Swedish,Finnish, English and a little bit ofGerman. Otto Tiainen, Finland

Otto Tiainen is seventeenyears old and has two brothers.

He enjoys Algebra 2 and“loves toaster strudels,”

Tiainen mentioned that hehates how strict the school rulesare in America, especially at

West. Like the typical person,

Tiainen misses his family andfriends because he has not seenthem in a long time, and he alsomisses his sauna. F i n n i s h ,English and a little bit of Swedishcan be found in Tiainen’s vocab-ulary.

Tiainen enjoys spending histime snowboarding wheneverand wherever he can. ViiVi Reijonen, Finland

ViiVi Reijonen is seventeenyears old and has two littlesisters. She misses her fami-ly, friends and lifestyle.Reijonen is really excited forProm and loves the classFitness and Conditioning. “I’m in love with grilled

cheese,” said Reijonen.Reijonen two favorite activi-

ties are shopping with her friendsand playing tennis.

Reijonen speaks Finnish,Swedish, English and a little bitof French, she is also in yearbookthis year.

“It’s really hard, but worthit,” stated Reijonen about theyearbook class.

Foreign Exchange StudentsThey traveled from overseas to spend a year at West

Michaila Grantsenior staffwriter

Billings West High Schoolhas started a new pilot programthis year called Senior Project.This project may be institutedfor all students in later years,depending on how the trialgoes.

Each student chooses asubject that he or she wouldlike to research, normally beinga subject he or she are consid-ering pursuing as a career, sothat he or she can learn moreabout the subject and can see ifthey would enjoy it as a career.

In many states, this pro-gram is already required for allstudents, and some collegeslook for senior projects on tran-scripts, to show that the studenthas completed an extendedresearch project.

Senior Project is a projectthat lasts the whole school yearand is counted as an electivecredit.

Ms. Courtney Hamblin,the head of the project, stated,“The senior project is a way forstudents to research a possible

career, and it hopefully helpsthem decide.”

Each student is given astaff mentor, whose job it is tohelp the student with his or herproject. The students then get acommunity mentor, a person inthe field that they are research-ing for their project who willhelp them and meet with themthroughout the project.

Senior project consists offour major parts: the letter ofintent, the findings paper, thefinal presentation and thereflection paper.

The letter of intent is apaper describing what exactlythe student is planning to do forhis or her project to the peoplein charge of the Senior Projectand also includes a time chartthat has the expected dates thestudent believes he or she willbe done with the differentaspects of the project.

The findings paper is aresearch essay telling every-thing that he or she has learnedin the research that he or shehas done.

For the final presentation,the students must give a visual

report to a panel, showing allthat they have learned from theproject.

Finally, the refection paperis a look back for the student tosee all that he or she has donethroughout the year and whathe or she has learned from theproject.

One senior, Brandon Case,who is involved in the project,said, “I am really enjoying theproject, but I think it will bebetter next year once they haveworked out all the kinks fromthis year.”

“It is a good program tolearn more about the field youare interested in,” said juniorMcKayla Dundas, who isthinking about signing up forthe class next year to researchphysical therapy.

Grades for this class are apass or fail grade.

The project is very selfpaced, with the entirety of theproject being done outside ofschool, and the students set thedates of when parts of the proj-ect will be due.

West seniors begin seniorprojects

Local business supports “fair trade” goods

EEmmiillyy SSaammpplleeCopy Editor

As many may havenoticed, John Olson, chem-istry teacher at West High, hasbeen absent for most of theyear.

Due to some difficultiesthat arose because of a condi-tion he has been diagnosedwith known as Marfan’sSyndrome [MFS], Olson hasnot been able to return toschool full time. His classes

have been taught by substituteteacher Nikki Bethune, whowas teaching Biology teacherKrista Cunningham’s classeswhile she was out.

It is not certain yet as towhen he will be able to return.

One in 5,000 people haveMFS, which seems insignifi-cant, but that is 61,402 peoplein the United States alone.

Marfan’s Syndrome is agenetic disorder caused by amutation in the gene that

determines the structure offibrillin-1, a protein thatforms the connective tissuesof the body. It also does notdiscriminate over age, genderor race.

It is named after AntonieMarfan, a pediatrician fromFrance, whof i r s tdescribed it in1896. In1 9 9 1 ,F r a n c e s c oR a m i r e zidentified thegene respon-sible.

S y m p -toms can bepresent in dif-ferent bodysystems. Forexample, symptoms of theskeletal system include beingvery tall, slender and loose-jointed with disproportionatelimbs.

Common characteristicsof MFS include an archedroof to the mouth leading tocrowding of teeth, scoliosis,flat feet or a sternum thateither caves toward the inter-nal organs of the body or pro-trudes outward.

There can be some dis-placement of the lens of theeye; nearsightedness is com-mon, as well as glaucoma,cataracts and retinal displace-ment, which is when the reti-na breaks from the connectivetissue of the eye.

The valves of the heartand the arteries may weaken,causing irregular heart beats,leaking valves and tears anyof which can cause fatigueand shortness of breath.

Stretch marks may appearon the skin without anychanges in weight. Hernias,which occur when body tis-sues bulge through other mus-cles or membranes or organs,

may also occur.The membrane of the

fluid surrounding the nervoussystem may stretch, causingstrain on the vertebrae of thespine. This can range frombeing slightly irritating tohighly painful.

MFS does not affect aperson’s mental developmentor intelligence.

In order to be classified ashaving MFS, one must pos-sess at least three symptoms.

It is exceedingly rare forone person to have all symp-toms.

It is also possible for onewho has these symptoms tonot actually have MFS, only ahealth-care professional candiagnose for certain.

The diagnosis is deter-mined by Marfan SyndromeDiagnostic Criteria andnumerous tests, includingMRIs, echocardiograms, elec-trocardiograms, CT scans andslit eye lamp exams, whichare routinely performed inannual eye exams.

There is no cure for MFS,but there are ways to preventand alleviate symptoms.Getting annual check-ups,working with a collection ofdoctors and following ordersand advice given by doctors isbest.

It can be dangerous forthose with MFS to compete in

sports, particularly football,basketball and soccer. Suddendeath has been known tooccur in patients unaware oftheir condition.

As with all medical con-ditions, early diagnosis is pre-ferred so help may be applied

quickly.

Those withMFS nowcan expect atypical lifeexpectancyof thosewithout dis-ease, shouldthey beaware of thecondition.

Olson said,“I have lived with Marfan’sSyndrome my whole life, andother then having had severalsurgeries and having to takelots of pills, I have lived mylife the way I have chosen. Iam limited somewhat physi-cally, but I have had an activeoutdoor life, spending most ofmy time hunting and fishingand enjoying Montana‘s greatoutdoors.”

Research is constantlybeing conducted to find moretreatment options for thosediagnosed with this disease.

Famous people who haveMFS, or have been believedto have had MFS, includeAbraham Lincoln, MaryQueen of Scots, Italian violin-ist Niccolo Paganini,American actor VincentSchiavelli and Charles deGaulle.

To find out more informa-tion about MFS and relateddisorders visit the NationalMarfan Foundation website atwww.marfan.org/marfan/.

FEATURES 6NOVEMBER 2O1O

KKaatthheerriinnee CCoollee sophomore staffwriter

On October 19, the Health Careers class held a videochat with another Health Careers class in Edgar, Louisiana.

The class, taught by Doug VanZee, is new this year, sothere are no text books and no set curriculum, although thedistrict will probably purchase text books for next semester.

This was the first chat, so the Louisiana class and theWest High class got to know each other. Everyone in theclasses introduced themselves and explained their mainhealth career interest.

Twenty-two students are taking the class at West, and 7people from the school of 500 in Louisiana are taking theclass.

The students seemed to be predominantly interested inpharmaceutical work.

Although in a very rural town, the class from Edgar hadseveral misconceptions about Montana, including that thestate is composed entirely of farms.

Sophomore Natasha Halstvedt stated, “It helps us createa blending of cultures across the nation. I could tell each sidewas nervous to meet, but the chat was very informative.”

VanZee hopes to continue these chats throughout theyear, ideally once every week to improve the curriculum.

Sophomore Ashley Kustka predicted, “The next chatwill probably be more in depth. The class in Louisiana istaking the same class as us, so we are hoping to borrowsome of the stuff they are learning.”

Right now the class includes a lot of computer usage.The class took a self inventory survey to discover where

their interests lie within the health field. Sophomore Beth Uthaug commented that she is “really

enjoying the class; it is a lot of fun and an interesting expe-rience.”

They also work on resume building and creating digitalportfolios.

Students research and explore careers in the health field,and people in the work force with those jobs often visit theclass.

VanZee has contacted 10 guest speakers and desires thatall of them will speak. So far, a clinical manager has spokenand was met with enthusiasm.

VanZee also anticipates that the class will continue nextyear and hopes that the class will grow next semester.

He stated that he is “really looking for more students totake the class.”

Health Careers stu-dents use technologyto communicate withLouisiana Students

Common characteristics of MFSinclude an arched roof to themouth leading to crowding of

teeth, scoliosis, flat feet or a ster-num that either caves toward theinternal organs of the body or

protrudes outward.

Marfin Syndrome causes compli-cations for West High teacherMr. Olson absent this fall due to rare condition

NOVEMBER 2O1OFEATURES 7

SSaallllyy WWeeiinnaannddArts Editor

West High Key Clubparticipated in their secondGarbage Clean Up day onWednesday, October 27.

Key Club is a volunteer-ing club at West in which stu-dents sign up for events andparticipate at volunteer proj-ects throughout our commu-nity.

At this event studentswere sent out to several loca-tions around out local com-munity to clean up trash andany type of litter.

Students were sent tolocations such as the CareerCenter parking lot, the mallparking lots, Stewart Park,the West High parking lot,32nd Street to Grand onShiloh and a final group wassent to a residential area.

Junior Jessica Golubskitook part in the event thisyear cleaning up at the mallparking lot and the schoolparking lot. Golubski workedwith her group which includ-ed senior Sally Weinand and

sophomores Madi Miller andRachel Temme.

Golubski explains thatshe participated because itwas her way of helping outthe environment.

“I wanted to volunteernot only to be able to put iton my application for col-lege, but because I just feellike kids in our generationneed to do more for ourfuture generations to comeand for ourselves, or oursociety is going to go downthe drain,” commentsGolubski.

This is the second yearthe event has occurred butlast year the event was muchless popular.

The head of West’s KeyClub, Lauren Zent, explains,“We did it last year, but itwas not very popular. Thisyear we did it the same aslast year. Students missedfifth and sixth period, butthis year we had a way betterturnout.”

Twenty-two studentschose to participate in theevent this year.

Temme explains, “[I par-ticipated because] it is reallydisgusting around our schooland I just wanted to help outin our community.”

As the students weregoing along picking up trash,the news and newspaper fol-lowed them asking questionsabout the event and the rea-sons they chose to participatein the event this year.

“[We did this event]because people were com-plaining that there was a lotof garbage on the road. So Ithought what a great job forKey Club” Zent explained.

After completing theproject Mrs. Zent believedthat the job done was a suc-cess she states, “I think wecleaned up a large area andreally helped our communi-ty.”

If you are interested inparticipating in future KeyClub events such as thisgarbage clean up visit Zent inroom 225 to become a mem-ber of Key Club.

KKaayyddeeee OOllddhhaammCopy Editor

In today’s world, allergiesare a common problem many suf-fer from. For the staff and stu-dents own health, Billings WestHigh School has decided to takemore action on preventing aller-gic reactions.

Latex, peanut, and wheatallergies are the most common atWest. Although not many stu-dents suffer from these allergies,those who do suffer severely.

The exact cause of latexallergies is unknown, but it isthought that repeated exposure tolatex and rubber products mayinduce symptoms. Rubber latexexposure can be released into thebody through contact with skin,eyes, mouth, inhalation, andblood.

The new trend, of wearingSilly Bands is banned from Westbecause of the latex they maycontain. Students need to realizethat wearing these Silly Bands isputting other student’s health atrisk. When the Silly Bands areremoved from a students arm,latex is released into the air,which can cause an allergic reac-tion to those students who areallergic. Rubber bands, latexgloves, and latex balloons havealso been removed from West.

Foods containing peanutsare not allowed at West. All items

involving peanuts were removedfrom cooking classrooms at WestHigh as well. If a student’s atesomething involving peanut but-ter, then touches a door handle,the person with a peanut allergycould have a reaction.

One percent of the Americanpopulation has an allergy topeanuts and approximately tenpeople dies from the allergy year-ly.

“I wouldn’t say a lot of stu-dents have peanut or latex aller-gies, but those who do sufferseverely. I would like to remindstudents that we are aLatex/Peanut-Safe School.Sometimes students grumbleabout the policy, but we have tothink of students safely first. Ijust want students to realize thatthose students affected will livethis way for a life time,” KimVerschoot, assistant principal,mentioned.

The wheat allergy is the lastone. Some foods students bringto school contain wheat products.

“Kids eat in class and getcrumbs on the desks and becauseof this I get a reaction. I thinkbecause 15 students statisticallyhave the allergy at our school. Itshould be prevented the best pos-sible,” senior Rachel Samplecommented about her wheatallergy. KKeeeellyy PPaattttoonn

junior staffwriter

Every two hours and elevenminutes, someone under the ageof 25 will commit suicide.

Suicide is the third highestcause of death among teens in theUnited States.

For every suicide comple-tion, there are between 50 and200 attempts.

A recentsurvey of highschool stu-dents foundthat almostone in fivestudents havec o n s i d e r e dsuicide while more than one insix had made plans to attemptthis form of death.

Just last year, one in twelvehigh school students had attempt-ed.

These statistics one continueto increase each year.

So what exactly causes aperson to consider suicide? Mostsuicidal people suffer from therecognized mental illness ofdepression; but many depressedpeople adequately manage theirdaily life.

People cannot assume thatthe people who are suicidal actand appear that way becausesome suicide people adequatelymanage everyday with a smile on

their faces. One would have to look

deeper into the situation and intothat person instead of just relyingon outside appearances.

Drug abuse is the highestreported reason for depressionand suicide. Drugs impair themind and, more often than not,change the way a student viewshis or her life.

Unrequited love, break upsand sexual pressure explain oth-ers reasons why many view sui-cide is their last resort.

Many kids deal with distinctsituations at home that affecttheir everyday living. Divorcedparents and split families causeemotional heartache, also.

Physical limitations can alsobe a reason for suicide for somepeople.

Bullying and social rejec-tion, the dislike of school, andlack of self esteem are also rea-sons. School social worker Dr.Vickie Burford explained,“Sometimes, suicide is impul-sive; kids do not always realizehow much danger it actually is.”

If you know of someone

who is considering, or has con-sidered suicide, contact a teacher,parent or advisor of some sortand let him or her know what isgoing on.

Many times, a student con-sidering suicide will talk to afriend before hand in place of anadult.

If you have knowledge ofanyone thinking of taking his/her

life, be sure totalk to a trustedadult.

Here aresome steps totake when deal-ing with a per-son consideringsuicide.

Handle the situation serious-ly. It may seem be a joke to you,but to them, it is literally life ordeath.

Next, remember suicide is acry for help, try your hardest tohelp them and reassure them thateverything will be okay.

Do your best to listen tothem.

If the person is acutely sui-cidal, do not leave the individualalone.

Dr. Burford states, “Suicideis a permanent solution to a tem-porary problem.”

Follow up with an adult youcan trust; if the situation is out ofyour hands, contact someonewho can help.

The Key to cleaning upWest High students beautifyBillings with Garbage Cleanup Day

Suicide: third highest cause of teendeath in the United States

“Suicide is a permanent solutionto a temporary problem.”

Allergens influenceWest High policiesLatex and Peanut-SafeSchool policies are aimedat keeping West High students safe

FEATURES 8NOVEMBER 2O1O

KKaattiiee PPaarriisshhPhoto Editor

For the past couple ofyears, scientists have beenclaiming that the Milky WayGalaxy is going to collide withthe Andromeda Galaxy.

The collision will not hap-pen in our lifetime, but it willhappen in the future.

The collision may not bethe only event happening dur-ing that time either, as the sunmay be at the end of its lifespan as well.

Physics teacher MaureenLadd said, “Chances are no onewill be around to witness theevent!”

The Andromeda Galaxy istwo million light years away.Several theories about existwhat will happen if the twogalaxies collide include themost popular theory whichstates that the two galaxies willcombine to form one mon-strous galaxy.

Every hour, the galaxiesare getting about one millionmiles closer to each other. Inother words, they are travelingapproximately 24 million milescloser to each other every day.

The Andromeda Galaxy’sstars orbit around a large blackhole that is about 140 milliontimes bigger than our sun.

There are over 440 more plan-ets in the Andromeda Galaxythan in the Milky Way Galaxy,and the Andromeda Galaxy isabout one trillion stars in diam-eter.Chemistry teacher Joe Catronexplained, “My guess is if westay in orbit with our sun, itwon’t kill us [if we collide withthe Andromeda galaxy], butthere’s a possibility that if wecome close to a black hole, itcould end life as we know it.”

A light year is the distancethat light can travel in a year.That is the reason why it willtake billions of years for thegalaxies to collide.

KKeennddrraa SScchhaaffffsenior staffwriter

On October 25, NationalHonors Society [NHS] held theirannul induction banquet at theCrown Plaza.

T h ebanquet was too f f i c i a l l ydeclare stu-dents part ofNHS.

NHS issimilar to KeyClub, givingthe students init opportunitiesto participatein communityservice.

However,to be eligible for induction, stu-dents have to have a cumulativeGPA of 3.5 and be recommendedby their teachers.

The inductees went to listento speeches from their electedofficers: seniors Tess Hamzeh,president; Nathan Fritz, vice-president; Mahli Ruff, secre-tary/treasurer; and EmmaSullivan, historian.

Hamzeh gave her speech onscholarship, saying, “Scholarshipcommences when we begin tothink for ourselves, using criticalthinking into our everyday life.”

She also challenges every-one to “be the best you can be.”

Fritz gave his speech oncharacter. He started with anexample of choosing whether ornot to cheat on a Math test.

“Character is a dynamicquality affected by our everydaychoices. The question we all faceis whether our values can over-power selfishness,” Fritz said.

He boiled character down tochoices showing every littlechoice we make can shape our

character. Ruff said, “Unyielding pas-

sions and convictions lead toleadership. NHS puts an empha-sis on leadership opportunitiesand convinces people to takechances. It is time for us to act;

we now havean opportunityto help ourschool, com-munity andeven ourworld,” in herspeech aboutleadership.

S e r -vice includesopportunitiessuch as volun-teering andhelping the

community. Sullivan gave herspeech on issues such as these.

She stated, “Service is notonly an act, but an attitude.Service to another is the key totrue happiness.” She also calledon everyone to take time to par-ticipate in service.

Senior and Student BodyPresident Caleb Hamilton led thenew members of NHS in theirpledge and gave a short speech.

In that speech, he cited theLord of the Rings summarizing,“Even the smallest person canchange the world.”

Advisor Kari Field alsodescribed a situation where whenshe began teaching at Skyview,she was always excited to get upand teach. After ten years though,she began to lose her enthusiasm.

Once she had her first meet-ing with NHS, she realized thetype of students with whom shewas working. The enthusiasm ofthe students got her excitedagain, and she thanks them forthat.

National HonorSociety inducts newmembers

DDaavviiss CCoonnnneelllleeyyjunior staffwriter

At one time, a fairly com-mon sight around West High wasthe many “I heart boobies”bracelets, with quite a few stu-dents wearing them in order topromote breast cancer awareness.

However, the decision wasmade by Billings School District2 to ban these bracelets, citingthem as an unnecessary distrac-tion and inappropriate for school.

At first, many students werevery set against this decision andbecame quite upset and energeticwhen the topic came up in con-versation.

“Let them be. It helps aware-ness,” said senior James Lyle.

“They’re awesome,” agreedfreshman Ty Emineth.

But that attitude has seemedto fade as time went on.

Judy Povilaitis, one of thedeans at West, says, “Our studentshave been very compliant.[Students] can exchange for alter-native bracelets for students whoreally want to show support.”

The controversy over thebracelets comes from whether theproceeds from the bracelets actu-ally goes to breast cancerresearch.

Most people seem to thinkthe bands’ profits go directly to

breast cancer foundations andsimilar organizations, but thepopular bracelets’ proceeds donot actually go to research, asmany believe, but are morefocused on raising awareness andpaying expenses and profits,according to the last public IRSfilings by the “I heart boobies”bracelets’ parent company, TheKeep a Breast Foundation.

Many people believed thatproceeds from the bracelets wentright to charity, but it appears thatis not the case.

The edict has been passeddown however, and any studentswearing the bands will simply beasked to take it off.

Keep-a-Breast foundation braceletsdeemed a distraction

“Service is notonly an act, butan attitude.Service to

another is thekey to true happiness.”

Smoking or chewing, bothequally harmful

MMaaddii MMiilllleerrCopy Editor

Tobacco consumption hastwo different forms. It can beeither smoked or chewed. A largemisconception exists that one issafer, but both are dangerous anddamaging to the body.

At least 19 different cancer-causing substances are found intobacco.

Oral cancer from use ofthese products is serious, evendeadly.

Dentists know when a per-son has been using nicotinebecause their gums recede, andthe cheeks of a persons mouthturns white.

Health and PE teacher DonGleason explained, “Oral canceris the nastiest to cure. You haveto surgically cut away the cancer,which is very painful.”

The risk of developing lungcancer is ten times greater withtobacco use.

The biggest problem is heart

damage. Heart cells take time forcancer to develop normally, butnicotine will speed that up.

Smoking is one of the most

common uses of tobacco. It low-ers potassium levels and makesmuscles weaker even if it is notbeing inhaled.

A person would be consid-ered second-hand smoking ifthey are around one or more peo-ple who are smoking cigarettes.Second-hand smoke is also bevery dangerous to an innocentbystander.

“For athletes, secondhandsmoke can cause them to nothave muscle gain, which is whatthey are working for. That is whysmoking outside will someday beillegal, people will only be able

to smoke in their homes. It justpretty much harms everyone,”commented Gleason.

Chewing tobacco, alsoknown as smokeless tobacco, isnot as common as smoking. Ithas a lot of the same effects; itaffects the bloodstream, and itstill causes problems with theheart, but it causes more damageto teeth and gums because thereis more contact to these areas.

Both products stimulate sali-va, and people who are usingtobacco must spit frequently toclear the excess saliva. Flavorloss is also common.

Investing the same amountof money that would spent ontwo packs of cigarettes a day for50 years into a savings accountcould save people about a milliondollars.

Tobacco users also have topay twice as much for life insur-ance.

More than five million peo-ple today will die prematurelybecause a decision they made touse tobacco.

“Oral cancer isthe nastiest to

cure. ”

Will the Milky Way collidewith the Andromeda Galaxy?

VViicckkiiee CCoonnttrreerraazzNews Editor

Forensics kicked off thisseason with a bang!

Rocky Mountain College’sspeech and debate team held atournament on October 16 thatwas a practice meet for theBillings high school forensicsteams.

Sophomore Lizzy Toenyescommented, “We all have somuch fun, and it helps for ourfuture. [Speech and debate] cre-ates life long friends.”

West took second in sweep-stakes and also had many suc-cessful individuals on bothsides of the spectrum.

Skyview High School tookfirst. Other schools in atten-dance included both Billings

Senior and Central Highschools.

For the speech events, sen-iors Erin Kusek and LauraWilson took first and second inMemorized Public Address.

Junior Emily Sampleplaced first in Impromptuspeaking, with sophomoresMaddy Drake and TessaFendley taking fourth andeighth.

For Duo Interpretation,West closed out taking placesfirst through fourth. SeniorAlex Bush and junior LexiEagle placed first, Senior ZachKrell and sophomore BridgerJohnson placed second, sopho-more Andy Eagle and freshmanTanner Bolin took third andsophomores Maddy Drake andMichelle Mullowney placed

fourth. Senior Jan Roddy placed

third in Original Oratory speak-ing.

Senior Zack Aschim placedtop eight in Humerous OralInterpretation.

On the other side of thetournament, senior KendraSchaff and junior Danni Petakplaced first in Public Forumdebate.

Sophomores KatherineCole and Vickie Contrerazplaced third, and senior ElijahLewis and junior DavidCulbertson took fourth inVarsity Policy.

Senior Krista Bailey placedthird in Varsity Lincoln-Douglas debate.

This year, the forensicsteam has four coaches. MelindaMiddleton and Steve Macartneyprepare students for the speechevents and Fred Petak and DanJohnson help with debate.

“I was happy that some ofour younger members hadmoments of success and got achance to learn,” saidMacartney about the Helenatournament. He also mentionedthat the first tournamentshowed what everyone had toimprove on.

Officers include seniorsLaura Wilson as president,Nathan Fritz as vice president,Krista Bailey as secretary andJan Roddy as treasurer.

Following the Rocky tour-nament, the team traveled toHelena on October 29 and 30.They left Friday morning andreturned late Saturday evening.

Helena was the first officialtournament of the season, and itwas a rough beginning on thedebate side. Overall, Westplaced sixth.

Sophomore Michael Hillplaced seventh in VarsityLincoln-Douglas and said thathe “should have taken second.”

Lewis and Culbertsonplaced fifth in Varsity Policy.

Speech had better luck inHelena.

Bush and Lexi Eagle tookeighth in Duo, along withJohnson and Krell taking sev-enth and seniors MichaelDunham and Nathan Williamsplacing sixth.

Roddy placed eighth andsenior Anna Kietzman placedfourth in Original Oratory.

Sample took fifth inLegislative Debate.

Missoula’s tournamenttook place the following week-end (November 5-6). Westimproved at this tournament,placing in fifth, even with mostof the speech side, includingcoaches Macartney andMiddleton, at home for the pro-duction of A Servant of TwoMasters.

At this tournament,Toenyes and senior MeganFrisk took 4th in Public Forum,being the only team not fromBozeman in Semi-Finals, andBailey placed in the top eight ofVarsity Lincoln-Douglas again.

Bush and Lexi Eagle onceagain placed in Duo, takingthird, and junior ColleenPowers placed seventh inOriginal Oratory.

FEATURES 9NOVEMBER 2O1O

DDaavviiss CCoonnnneelllleeyyjunior staffwriter

For some students, thehardest thing about math isthat the concepts can some-times be difficult under-stand, even if the teacherhas explained it well.

But thanks to a grantfrom Quest to purchase newTI-Nspire CAS handheldcalculators, that may be anissue of the past.

The grant, authored byMargret Aukshun, a mathteacher here at West High,gives $3075 for the pur-chasing of 25 calculators foruse by students to betterunderstand difficult mathe-matical concepts.

These calculators moreresemble supercomputersrather than simple additionor subtraction machines,with touchpads for easymanipulation and full key-boards that students coulduse to take notes if the needarose.

The idea behind thecalculators, or CAS algebrasystems to be more specific,are action-consequence les-sons.

These lessons allowstudents to manipulategraphs and other mathemat-ical concepts using the CASsystems and learn by doingin a more intuitive way thanever before. Students canliterally grasp the math.

As Aukshun put it, theidea is “getting tools in [thestudents’] hands to helpthem learn.”

The need for this inno-vative way to learn waspredicated by the startlingstatistic that 16% of fresh-man in Algebra 1 had failedat least two or more semes-ters of their middle schoolmath program.

So, in response, thegrant was written and a newcourse, starting next semes-ter, will be available to stu-dent struggling in math.

This class, AlgebraReadiness, will serve stu-dents who are two or threegrade levels behind in mathand will use the CAS sys-tems as a fundamental unitfor change.

Mathdepart-ment chairgets grantto pur-chase newcalculatorsfor stu-dent use

KKaatthheerriinnee CCoollee sophomore staffwriter

On October 10, EcologyClub hiked in the BeartoothMountains.

This first trip was reason-ably simple and featured sidetrip options such as a path to aravine.

They started at GardnerLake Trailhead and traveled10.75 miles to Elk Lake. Thisloop is gently traveled andprovided a great trip, despitehaving no designated wilder-ness. A steep trail led to aravine that they explored.

John Miller, biologyteacher and Ecology Clubsponsor, saw a bull moose thathe described as “absolutelybeautiful and one of the largestthat I have ever seen.”

The sponsors of EcologyClub are passionate about theenvironment and add depth to

the outings.Senior Ksenia Lynch said,

“Biology or science teachersknow a lot about the environ-ment and surroundings, sopeople go not just to have funbut to learn something.”

Fourteen of the 100 stu-

dents involved in the EcologyClub participated in the trip.

This club attracts a varietyof students from West High fora wide range of activities.Their excursions can includehiking, fishing, snowshoeing,

cross country skiing and muchmore.

Meetings are not held on aregular basis, but text mes-sages are sent out to partici-pants to inform them ofupcoming events.

The day trip to the

Beartooths cost $5 per person,and students are driven by par-ent chaperones and teachers.

Lynch also stated, “Thestaff that goes to these recre-ational activities is the bestpart because we have to spend

two hours in the car with themand their interesting music.”

Students enjoy hiking withtheir friends, and they oftenhave remarkable adventures.

Senior Eileen Gregorisaid, “[Sophomore] Jillian[Brogan] and I got separatedfrom the group; I almost gotstuck behind a rock, but theview was breathtaking.”

This winter, Ecology Clubwill cross country ski inYellowstone, and they willcamp in Yellowstone duringthe spring.

The trips to Yellowstonesupply an exciting opportunityfor students to get outdoors.

Hiking includes bothphysical benefits from theexercise and mental perksfrom spending time withnature.

If interested in joiningEcology Club, contact ChuckSwarm, a sponsor of the club,

Ecology Club hikes the BeartoothsFirst trip of season a success as students and advisers hikenearly 11 miles from Gardner Lake Trailhead to Elk Lake

Club adviser John Miller saw abull moose, which he described as“absolutely beautiful and one ofthe largest that I have ever seen.”

Forensics begins competition

AR

TSZombies infect AMCMillions watch premiere of new zombietelevision show

KKeennddrraa SScchhaaffffsenior staffwriter

On November 8 theBillings West HighOrchestras had their firstconcert of the year.

The Chamber Orchestrastarted off the night byplaying “Walking Basses” byMerle J. Isaac, threemovements of the “ColoradoSuite” by Francis L. Feese,“Russian Sailor’s Dance” byR. Gliere and arranged by M.Allen and “Eleanor Rigby”by Lennon and McCartneyand arranged by L. Moore.

The PhilharmonicOrchestra concluded theconcert by playing “SuperMario Medley” by KojiKondo and arranged by H.Hoover, “Folk Tune Air andFiddler’s Fury” by Alexander

Safford, “Carmen Suite No.1” by George Bizet, and thefirst two movements of the“Carmen Suite No. 2”byBizet.

In Phil-h a r m o n i c ,senior KristaBailey said,“ [ M yfavorite songis] Habanera[from thes e c o n dC a r m e nS u i t e ]because ithas a reallyc o o lmelody.”

I ncamber, sophomore NatashaHalstvedt said,” [My favoritesong is] Russian Sailor’sDance because the violasactually have a main part [inthe song].”

The first concert this yearwas especially an importantevent for the new teacher.Harmony Hoover, fromCalifornia, had to replace

Mike Peterson after his 35-year term here at West High.

Hoover expected theconcert to go really well.

Before the concert, shesaid, “I am new to the district,

so I have been listening toother schools to compare andfollow their lead. We areplaying crowd-pleasingmusic, so I expected the

concert to go well.” Also before the concert,

Bailey said, “The concert willgo beautifully. We have beenpracticing hard and for a longtime, the only outcome is a

positive one.” The concert ended up

being one that the audienceenjoyed.

While Philharmonic wasplaying “Super MarioMedley,” seniors DannyKhoe and Alex Stacy dressedup as Mario and Luigirespectively. They ran aroundon stage and performed toentertain the audience duringthis classical video gametheme song.

Their additionalperformance had theaudience, and even some ofthe players, giggling.

Both the conductor andthe students were proud ofthe job well done.

The next concert is onDecember 16 for theChamber Orchestra and onDecember 21 for thePhilharmonic Orchestra.

AAnnddrreeww EEaagglleesophomore staffwriter

A new series, first aired onOctober 31, 2010 on AmericanMovie Classics, The WalkingDead opened with a bang,premiering with a 90-minuteepisode of the six-part firstseason.

Each episode airs onSunday night at 8 p.m. locally.

Frank Darabont, thedirector, co-wrote the showalong with Robert Kirkman,who wrote the original comicseries. Darabont also served asan executive producer alongwith Kirkman and Charles H.Eglee.

This grotesque andpowerful show’s main characteris Rick Grimes, a deputy sheriffplayed by Andrew Lincoln, whowakes up from a coma after thezombie plague has swept thenation.

Grimes wakes up into aworld ruled by the dead, with noidea what has happened to hiswife, played by Sarah WayneCallies, or son, played byChandler Riggs.

He luckily runs into afather-son pair who has beenliving in the city, hiding untilthe infestation ends, who point

him in the right direction. Thepair tells him that thegovernment was tellingeveryone to evacuate to thelarger cities where they could bemore easily protected.

On the way to the city, he isradioing across the country thathe is a police officer searchingfor survivors, and his messagereaches a small group ofsurvivors outside of the city,they tried but failed to reply tohis radio message.

Among the group were hiswife and son, although neithergroup knows that the man onthe radio was Rick.

When Rick enters the city,instead of finding a city ofhumans protected by thegovernment, he instead finds thestreets full of zombies, and heonly escapes with the help ofanother human survivor.The make-up work makes up(pun intended) for any of thesmall points lacking from theplot. All of the “zombies” make-up is hand done byprofessionals so that each one isunique in its own disturbingway.

The creators even includedan On-Demand release of alesson on how to “Walk like aZombie.”

Taylor Roberts, a junior atSkyview, commented on theshow, “It’s interesting to findanything about zombies morefocused on human drama thanzombie killing.”

This show has a grimmessage about what people are

capable of in the case ofsomething as catastrophic as theapocalypse, with many peoplelooting, stealing andcommitting banditry.

“Super Mario Melody” and“Eleanor Rigby” all in one nightBillings West High Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestrasperform for the f irst time this school year

AMC Aires new show about the zombie apocalypse

While Philharmonic was playing “SuperMario Medley” seniors Daniel Khoe andAlex Stacy dressed up as Mario and Luigirespectively. They ran around on stage

and performed to entertain the audienceduring the classical video game theme

song.

ZZooeeyy EElliiaassfreshman staffwriter

On November 11, theBillings West High banddepartment held a concert atBWHS.

The bands that played werethe chamber band, which iscompletely made up of freshmen;the concert band, which issophomores, juniors and seniors;the symphonic band, which is anaudition band of all four gradesbut of the best musicians; and thejazz band, which is open toanyone who auditions.

The jazz band played twosongs. They were called BluesFor Cat written by Rob Vuno, Jr.and Blues in Hoss Flat whichwas written by Basie/Foster andarranged by Mark Taylor. Manystudents in jazz band had solos.

Michael O’Connell had asolo in both Blues For Cat and inBlues in Hoss Flat.

Jake Goldberg who also hadsolos in both Blues For Cat andBlues in Hoss Flat.

Miles Otstott had a solo inBlues in Hoss Flat.

Tiffany Personet had a soloin Blues in Hoss Flat.

Shawn Foster had his solo inBlues in Hoss Flat.

Ethan Carling had a solo inBlues in Hoss Flat.

The chamber band alsoplayed two pieces, Moscow 1941,written by Brian Balmages andWith Quiet Courage, written byLarry Daehn.

No one had solos in eitherof these songs, but the band didvery well for this being their firstconcert at Billings West HighSchool.

The concert band playedthree songs, Waterdance, writtenby Carl Strommen, LochLomond, written by FrankTicheli, and The GreatLocomotive Chase, written byRobert W. Smith.

There were no solos in anyof these pieces.

Finally, the symphonic bandalso played three pieces,Deerpath Dances, written byDavid R. Holsinger, ArmedForces Salute, arranged by BobLowden, and The Second Sweetin F, written by Gustav Holst.

There were no solos in anyof these pieces either.

When asked what hisfavorite pieces to direct were,director Steve Patton said DeerPath Dances and The First Sweetin F.

He said, “They are bothwritten very well, and Deer PathDances has a lot of mixed meter.I like to have the challenge ofconducting a piece where thepulse changes.”

NOVEMBER 2010ARTS 11

AAnnddrreeww EEaagglleesophomore staffwriter

Recently Microsoft hasreleased their response toNintendo’s Wii and Sony’sPlaystation Move: the Kinect,designed to compete with theother movement basedcontrolled consoles.

The main differencebetween Kinect and the otherconsoles is that it is completelycontroller free, allowing theuser to apply voice commandsand gestures to control theXbox Dashboard as well as thegames designed for the system.

Kinect utilizes a color-sensitive camera, a depthsensor and a multi-arraymicrophone to sensemovement, gestures andspoken commands given by theuser. It has full-body 3Dmotion recognition as well asfacial and vocal recognition.

Microsoft announced thatthe range at which Kinectworks best is about 4 feet to 11feet, and the company believesthat the controller-free Kinectrepresents the start of the nextgeneration of gaming.

Kinect is completelycompatible with all Xbox 360sthat have been rele ased, not justthe recently-released upgradedversion.

Kinect’s technologicalprowess comes at a price ofabout $150, and games aremade to be fun as well as activeand a good work out.

The games that have beenannounced so far include manysports games, dance games and

workout games. Games being released with

the console on its releaseinclude: Motion Sports, KinectSports, Dance Evolution,Dance Paradise, Your Shape:Fitness Evolved and FightersUncaged.

In general, the games thatare being released onNovember 4 along with theconsole are ones that Microsoftbelieves best show off Kinect’scapabilities.

Although this type ofgame was expected by gamersall over the world, theannouncements made byActivision Blizzard, Bethesda,SEGA, Square Enix and manyother major gaming companiesabout plans to release games onKinect were a surprise to manypeople.

The companies above areresponsible for titles like theCall of Duty series, the ElderScrolls, the Fallout series,Sonic the Hedgehog and theFinal Fantasy series. They aresome of the most popularnames in the gaming world,and their interest in Kinectgames puts some credibilitybehind the system.

Kinect does not stop withgames; it also adds an entirelynew way to control the XboxDashboard.

Using sweeping gesturesand voice commands allowsthe accessing of manyfunctions of the Xbox. Thefacial recognition identifieswhoever turns on the consoleand loads avatars for the user.

Microsoftreleases Kinect

Keely Pattonjunior staffwriter

What did the chorusdepartment have prepared forWest High this year? The fallconcert took place onNovember 16, at 7:30 p.m. inthe West High Auditorium.

The directors of thechoirs, Laura Blodgett andDavid Green, leadoutstanding musical talentsinto the spotlight, showingoff what they practice everyday.

Sophomore WhitneyWells expressed her passionfor music, saying, “Music ismy escape from life’schallenges. It keeps me goingevery day.”

Not only are these musicdirectors teachers, but theyalso allow passionate singersto pursue their destiny.

Junior Mercer Pickenscomments, “Mr. Green haspretty much got it down. He’sthe man!”

Junior RebeccaStinchfeild commented,“[Mrs. Blodgett] has adifferent way of teaching; itis probably hard for her todeal with so many highschool girls in one class, justas all the other teachers, butshe is a good music teacherand knows what she isdoing.”

The literature in theprogram varied fromspirituals to jazz pieces andmore, giving the students achance to express music in away in which they areprobably not used to.

A challenging butimpressive bit of the musicperformed was the variations

of culture and language. Some of the foreign

pieces included“Fillimioriay” sung byCantus, “In Paradisum” sungby Chantreles, “KyrieEleison” sung by ConcertChoir, “Ricevette,” sung byChamber Singers and“Daemon Irrepit Callidus”sung by Meistersingers.

The choirs and auditionensembles in the concertincluded Cantus,Chanterelles, Concert Choir,Chamber Singers andMeistersingers, Westwinds,Bella Voce and Acafellas.

The two audition choirsinclude Meistersingers andChamber Singers.

Sophomore Teala Naylorsays, “I’ve been in chorus fortwo years and plan to do it thenext two.”

First choir concert asuccess

All West bands play at fallconcertConcert features pieces from chamber, concert, symphonicand jazz bands

JJaalleenn CCrreeeecchh freshman staffwriter

November 4-6, the WestHigh Drama department put onthe fall play, “A Servant of TwoMasters” in the West Highauditorium.

This comedy had the maincharacters were senior ZachKrell (servant), junior GraceHein ( Beatrice- Master) andsophomore Bridger Johnson(Florindo - Master).

“When I went to the play, Idon’t remember the last time Ihave ever laughed that hard” saidfreshman Taylor Stensland.

Before the curtain went up,director Melinda Middleton saidit took play about 300 years agoin Italy. She also said it wasdifficult for the actors to learn theaccents and to understand thelanguage differences.

The play is, essentially, acomedy of errors with peoplemisunderstanding who one

another are and whether or nottheir love interests are alive.

“I thought it was a goodplay; I love watching high schoolplays. I really enjoyed going tothe play with my grandaughter.It’s just another thing we like todo together,” said Karla Ranes.

This play had everything. It featured romance when

Clarice and Silvio ended upgetting married and whenBeatrice and Florindo find eachother and fall in love again likethey had been before.

It had adventure when Silvioand Fredirigo, who is actuallyBeatrice, sword fight and alsowhen Beatrice flees the countryto find her true love.

And, finally, it had comedywhen the servant Truffledino isserving them diner and thewaiters came out and stumbledall over the stage especially whenthe green waiters did a bellybump.

Drama department presentsfall play: “A Servant of TwoMasters”

DDaavviiss CCoonnnneelllleeyyjunior staffwriter

November finds theBillings West High football teamright where they want to be: inthe playoffs. The Bears enteredthe playoffs as the 3 seed withan 8-2 record. Getting there wasnot without a few bumps alongthe way, however.

On the season so far,

Coach Paul Klaboe remarked,“We have gotten better everyweek, and that’s key.”

After the wild win overthe Butte High Bulldogs in thehomecoming game, the Bearstook a trip up to Helena to chal-lenge the formidable CapitalHigh Bruins on October 8.

In a game that had itsups and downs, the Bears cameout on the wrong end of a 24-17contest. That loss was a toughone, but the Bears did not lose

heart even though another longroad trip loomed.

The Bears hopped onthe bus to Missoula to face theAA conference leading passingattack of the Missoula SentinelSpartans, but the Bearsrestrained it, allowing only a sin-gle touchdown on the way to a56-7 routing of the Spartans.

After two weeks on theroad, the Bears came home onOctober 22 to face off against

the CMR Rustlers. The GoldenBear offense continued theirhigh level of play, putting up 49points, while the defense keptthe dangerous Rustlers in check,holding them to 27 points in theWest High victory.

At last came the gameeveryone in Billings had beenlooking forward to all season:the famed Senior-West matchupon October 29.

The Broncs entered

with a 6-3 record while theBears held a 7-2 record. A num-ber 3 seed, along with the homefield advantage that comes withit, was on the line.

The Bears startedstrong with an 18-0 lead goinginto the half, but had to stave offa furious Bronc rally in the finalminutes. It was a close one, butthe Bears pulled out a 24-21 winand secured a solid spot in theplayoffs.

Junior quarterbackBrady Gustafson commented,“We really improved a lot overthe course of the season andfrom last year.”

Junior tight-end EricRydquist added, “Being in theplayoffs is sweet!”

But the first playoffcontest wasn’t the smooth ridethe Bears wanted.

For the first round ofthe playoffs, West, the 3 seed,

squared off against the SkyviewFalcons, the 6 seed, on Nov. 5,in a rematch of the week 5game.

The Falcons contestedthe Bears hotly, but the Bearsended up with a 14-13 victoryand advanced into the secondround of the playoffs.

But the Bears’ goodfortune wasn’t meant to last.

On November 12, theGolden Bears took the trip up to

Helena to take on the HelenaHigh Bengals, the number 2seed.

The game was closelycontested until the final secondswhen the Bears failed to converta two point conversion andcould not recover ensuing onsidekick and fell 20-18, ending theseason for the Golden Bears.

SPO

RTS

Football finishes up a fabulousseason!The second half of the season comes to the end.

Right: The Golden Bears leavethe field with pride after sufferinga loss against the Helena HighBengals.The score was 20-18.

submitted photo

Ryan Klette freshman staffwriter

Cross Country is a greatsport, especially if you like torun. This year’s cross countryteams had about a total of 80 stu-dents join this year. The boys’team had about 45 students andthe girls’ 35.

Cross country had a strongseason. Kids set personal lifetimebest times, made new friends, andwere able to travel all over thestate. West took control of theCity Meet, where they competedagainst all Billings Schools.Junior Varsity boys and girls bothtook first. The Varsity boys tookfirst, beating longtime rivalSkyview, while Varsity girlsplaced second, just points behindrival Senior. Senior, RyanGrammens ran a lifetime best of16:02, and placed second at city.He started the race in the middleof the pack and by the secondmile had positioned himself for astrong finish. The last half milewas down to the wire, withGrammens and a Skyview runnerracing neck in neck. On the girls’

side, Senior, Nicole Rietz alsoran a lifetime best of 18:02 andplaces second overall. Rietz wenton to place fourth at state in atime of 18:10, which is her thirdbest time of her career. This washer fourth year placing in the top10 at the state meet. BothGrammens and Reitz wereMVP’s of the season and willgraduate this year.

The state cross country meetwas held in Helena this year.West had a strong showing withsome great performances. Reitz,placed fourth to lead the girls’team. Sophomore Keisha Stensbyhad her first all-state finish, plac-ing 11th out of 94 competitors.On the boys’ side, Grammens ledthe way placing 32nd in a field of102 boys. Although disappointedby the overall finish of the teams,West was not disappointed in theseason they had.

“We had a ton of PR’s thisyear. Both Varsity and JV ran thebest they have all season. It wasawesome to watch,” said CoachLauren Zent. In Cross Country,there are two different types of

PR’s., which stands for a person-al record. A lifetime best is a timea runner has run that has beenbetter than any other time theyhave ever run before. The secondkind of PR is a season PR, whichis the best time of the season. It ispossible to have one time be botha persons season PR and lifetimePR.

For those that do not under-stand cross country, everyoneruns a three mile course for everymeet for cross country. The racesare divided into JV and Varsityraces. Varsity consists of the top 7runners and JV is everyone else.The JV races are usually larger,but the Varsity races are usuallyfaster.

“The top seven fastest times(boys and girls) make the varsityteam. JV is everyone else, thereare no cuts in cross country,” saysZent. “Some runners come outand cross country is their compet-itive sport, other runners just do itfor fun.”

So what makes cross countryhard? Besides just running?

“The hardest meet, I think, isthe Anaconda Golf course. It is

such a mental course and a phys-ical one, too. All of its hills andthe stupid switch backs make it achallenging one,” explainedsophomore Taylor Clark.

“Great Falls was definitelythe hardest meet for its big, gruel-ing hills,” explained sophomoreConnor Hintt. Cross Country ath-letes do not just run three miles;they have to run up and downhills, through tiny paths, back andforth on switchbacks, and evenon different surfaces.

Meets usually happen at golfcourses, parks, or even at hospitalgrounds. Any place that is largeand has different types of terrain,except for a flat area, can host across country meet.

“My favorite part of thecross country season were thepasta parties, most assuredly,”said sophomore Casey Burke.

“Doing cross country at Westhas been the single best choicethat I have made. The coachesand the team are the absolutegreatest people I have met atWest,” said sophomore TylerShrauger. “Cross country is oneof the hardest sports to compete

in. The time and effort needed toperform at one’s best is so muchmore than any other sport outthere.”

Cross Country usually startsin the summer, where runners logmiles to get “in shape” for crosscountry. Even though the seasonmaybe the shortest (only 10weeks), it definitely requiressome pre-season practice. Mostrunners are still running in theoff-season and looking forwardto after season races and func-tions.

“Cross Country is a yearround sport, we are always run-ning,” Zent said. “Anyone inter-ested in running competitively orjust for fun, should join crosscountry. It is a decision you willnever regret!”

Run, Run as fast as you can...The Cross Country team runs the season to a close.

Jessica Moodyjunior staffwriter

Who knew that atCentennial Ice arena West Highstudents, both boys and girlsfrom freshman to seniors, play inone of the four ice-hockey teamsprovided?There are about 30 students intotal who attend West High andplay Hockey.

The four teams are OZFitness AAA, Thunder BladesAA, High School and the BillingsBulls. Most of Billings WestHigh students play in the highschool division. All teams havevarying ages.Some students are even crazyenough to play for two teams.

At practice, studentswork on blocking, passing andshooting. The four types of shotsinclude the wrist shot, slap shot,snap shot and back hand shot.

They must also work welltogether as a team and communi-cate well. While doing this, theymust be able to skate with coordi-nation and tact.

Junior Nick Rizzo, whoplays defense on OZ Fitness AA,became interested in hockey“[by] watching The MightyDucks movies.”

Because of this, he haslearned to make a shot betweenhis legs aiming high within thegoal net.

Junior and goalie ShakeelMcKinley says that he becameinterested in hockey by“watch[ing] hockey when [he]was little.”

This level of skill onlycomes with years of experience,tons of endurance and the will totry.

Motivation for many ofthe players is to make it toDivision One hockey during their

college years.Junior Olivia Barragree, who

plays right wing and defense forthe high school team, reacheshigher, stating, “[My] ultimategoal for women’s hockey is theOlympic team.”

Many teams, or playersthemselves, play around thecountry to get equal opportunityon the ice against a variety ofother players. Some players evencome to Montana through foreignexchange to get into ourBillings’ teams.

The teams do exceptionallywell for such a lowly populatedstate.The Thunder Blades AA went tonationals within their bracket lastyear.

NOVEBER 2010SPORTS 13

West High Students certainlyknow how to pass the puck.Hockey is an after school activity for some of the students at West.

Oz Fitness AAA Hockey team huddles up for a time out.submitted photo

They shoot... they score!Golden Bears soccer f inished up a sucessful year.

KKeeeellyy PPaattttoonnjunior staffwriter

This year’s Golden Bearssoccer team went out with flyingcolors.

A team of talented athletesand high spirits ripped the fieldup for one more season.

Although they did not win atstate, the Golden Bears did awe-some.

At the AA State Tournament,the first game was a win againstMissoula Big Sky Eagles, 3-2.

The second game was a 3-1loss against Helena HighBengals.

The third game was a 1-0loss against Bozeman Hawks.

All in all, the Golden Bears

finished in 5th place. Before the tournament,

Coach Mike Maycott said, “Agame is a game; you have to dothe best you can.”

Senior Joe Frank comment-ed, “Overcoming injuries for theteam [was our biggest struggle];we didn’t have too many, butwhen we did get them, we wereunlucky and suffered in the statetournament.”

Senior Alex Gallagher’sadvice to upcoming soccer play-ers was, “Keep working hard anddon’t settle for nothing.”

Frank added, “Keep it upand stay committed!”

Gallagher said the biggeststruggle was, “Team chemistry;we had a lot of talent, but we just

couldn’t connect as much as Ithought we could.”

As a senior, Frank commentshis favorite part about his finalyear, “Being with the team, beinga senior; it was the last year withthe kids; we are like family!”

The best game, according toFrank and Gallagher, was beatingcross-town rivals Senior Broncsat Daylis Stadium.

TTaawwnnii PPaalliinnSports Editor

On November 1, a band of unlikely heroes arose.The San Francisco Giants beat the Texas Rangers in Game 5 of

the World Series the final score was 3-1. This is the first World Series for the Giants since 1954.The game was 0-0 until the top of the seventh inning when the

Giants earned all of their runs. The Rangers gained their only scorein the bottom of the seventh.The Rangers had one error and zero home runs. For the Giants, it

was the opposite.MVP World Series ring went to Giant’s pitcher Tim

Lincecum. During one of his ESPN interviews, he was asked if hethought that the personalities of the team mirrored the city of SanFrancisco’s.

Lincecum’s reply was, “Yeah, we got a pretty crazy crew ofguys on the team, and it fits well with San Francisco. It is verydiverse, and everyone is doing their part. They also make it easy toplay for them.”

The uprise of the San Fransico Giants!Giants win the World Series of Baseball.

Earlier in the season Senior Zachary Moyers prepare to pass the balloff.

submitted photo

San Francisco Giants Sergio Romo, right, hugs an unidentifiedteammate as they celebrate the team’s win over the Texas Rangersin Game 5 of the 2010 World Series at Rangers Ballpark inArlington, Texas, on Monday, November 1, 2010.

(Jose Carlos Fajardo/Contra Costa Times/MCT)

JJeessssiiccaa MMooooddyyjunior staffwriter

Toeshoes, are the new all-purpose evolutionary shoes,designed by Vibran Fivefingersfrom the ideas of Marco Bramaniand Robert Fliri.

The design was created togive the owner the feeling ofbeing barefoot while still givingbetter support for the feet.

The feet are the most impor-tant support of the body. Shoessupport the feet. Because of this,most shoe designs surround thefoot in an overprotective cush-ioning that leaves the foot weakand under developed, creating agreater possibility of injury to afoot.

Toeshoes have become thesolution to this problem. The fab-ric gives the foot a range ofmotion that gives it strength, andthe designed soles develop thefeet to their full potential.

Junior Kelsey Holle said,“The most interesting thing[about toeshoes] is probably thesoles because of how they shapeto the foot and make walking feeleffortless.”

Plus, wearers don’t have to

tie any laces. Sophomore Kean Haunt

reveals from his experiencewearing toeshoes that they are“comfortable [as well as] goodfor your feet and legs.”

Haunt states, “I really like totrail run and climb [in them].”

These little wonders will putfoot performance on top of itsgame.

The things users can wearthem for seem endless: rockclimbing, running, hiking, every-day uses, and much more. Theonly thing they do not hold up toare snow and rain because of themesh, just like the standard shoe.

Junior Cody Collins says he“likes to use them for rock climb-ing and running.”

The most difficult part aboutthe toeshoes is picking out a stylefrom an assortment of colors andfoot coverage. Colors range fromgreen to purple, plain to camou-flaged. The coverage can be thewhole foot or in a style similar toflats.Within Billings students canobtain these unique shoes at TheBase Camp on Grand Ave. ,Scheels or www.vibranfivefin-gers.com.

NOVEMBER 2010SPORTS 14

Sub Varsity Fall season is closing in.One last look at how the fall sports lower teams did for the season.

TTaawwnnii PPaalliinnSports Editor

Cross CountryThe JV Cross Country team

had their last meet on October 13.This was the City Meet atRiverfront Park.

The top two places for theGolden Bears were juniors GusSloan and Kirk Ligget. Sloan’stime was 17:09, and he got to gowith the Varsity team as an alter-nate at State.

Ligget’s record was 17:14. “That was my best score yet,

and I am really proud of it,”Ligget said.

For the Lady Bears, the toptwo were senior Britney Darlingand sophomore Lila Hamburg.Darling went on to State with the

varsity team as the alternate.Football

West High’s freshmen teamsplayed their hearts out, andalthough the season itself was nota winning one, they learned a lotand are prepared for next season.

The sophomore team had avery gratifying year by endingthe season 8-3. Their last gamewas played against the crosstownrivals the Senior Broncs onOctober 28. The Bears had ascore to settle with the Broncsafter losing to them earlier in theseason.

“They beat us the first timewe played them, and the scorewas 6-18,” sophomore StewartHarris explained. “So we wentback and beat them, 53-14.”

The West High JV team had

a perfect season up until their lastgame. But the Broncs had a scoreto settle with them, beating theGolden Bears on October 30, 14-42. Their last game was the firstlost of the season.

Junior Blake Boston said, “Iwas disappointed to break arecord that had been going on forso long, but we are capable ofwinning and doing better.”

“Next year we are going towin us a State Championship,”Boston boldly predicts.Soccer

GirlsLady Bears JV’s soccer team

played the Great Falls LadyBison and the CMR LadyRustlers as their last opponents ofthe season.

On October 15, they beat

Great Falls 5-0. Then they wenton the next day to cream CMRwith the dominating score of 8-0.

BoysWest High JV Bears went

into their last weekend againstthe same advisories, and theyalso won both games.

Their win over the GreatFalls Bison was 1-0, and theyalso creamed the CMR Rustlerswith the impressive score of 5-0.Volleyball

West High Lady Bear’sfreshman A Volleyball team had arecord of 22-3 win this year.Their last match was on October30, and they played the CMRLady Rustlers, losing to them inthree games.

The freshman B team had onoverall record of 14-8. They also

played the CMR Lady Rustlersfor their last match on October 30and also lost all three games. Butthey did give the season their all.

The sophomore Lady BearsVolleyball team won their lastmatch against CMR in threegames. Their overall record is acommendable 14-6.

JV Lady Bears Volleyballteam have a track record of 19-5overall. They also beat CMR inthe last match by winning allthree of the games played.

“We had a great season,”junior Ruby Hahn said. “Wemade a lot of good memoriestogether, especially before thegames, like the dance parties wehad in the locker room.”

Everybody’s going foot-loose!!The new toeshoes fab has reallycaught on.

KKaayyddeeee OOllddhhaammCopy Editor

Lady Bears were hopingfor a big win.

The volleyball seasonhas wrapped up, and coachBeth Tocci is pleased with thefinal outcome for the team.

Pack the Place in Pinkwas a game at Skyview HighSchool at the end of October.The purpose of Pack thePlace in Pink is to raiseawareness for breast cancerand to donate to breasts can-cer research.

West won the game. After battling all the way

back through the losersbracket for a chance at theAA Championship, the LadyBears lost to the Helena HighLady Bengals to place sec-

ond. “State altogether was a

challenge, but I think wepulled through as best wecould! Everyone wants firstplace, but I am just happy webeat Glacier in 5 games to getinto the championship,” sen-ior Cherina Walen explained.

“I think state went well.We still did extremely well,placing second. My favoritememory was smashingCherina’s Doritos bag thatblew up all over her,” seniorJaniel Olson said.

Olson went on to say sheis open to playing collegevolleyball.

“I love volleyball. It is allI know. I just finished my six-teenth season and strictlylove being around the kids,”Tocci mentioned about her-

self and players.28-6 was the Lady Bear’s

overall record. Three losseswere to the Lady Bengals.

Tocci thinks that theymust have just been meant towin.

The five seniors of theteam are Walen, Olson, JennaFiscus, Jessyka MacDonaldand Allie Mahon.

“The season was amaz-ing. My favorite memory wasthe hotel rooms, team dinnersand bus rides with the girls,”Walen said.

“Volleyball is my pas-sion, ands I encourage asmany girls as possible to playbecause it is the most ener-getic and fun sport out there,”Walen stated.

You’ve just been served!Lady Bears place second in AA StateVolleyball State Championship.

The toes shoes sensations havebeen growing over the past 5years.

submitted photo

Ashlynn AndersenOpinion Editor

It’s quick. It’s relativelypainless. And it’s the

generally the best, legal wayto get your voice heard.

I’m talking about voting,an act that the majority ofyoung people in Americaseem to have little to nointerest in doing.

According to the U.S.Census, during the 2008presidential election, one thatappealed to many youngvoters, only 48.5 percent of18-to 24-year-olds voted.

In 2006, am i d - t e r melection year,only 22.1percent ofpeople in thisage groupv o t e d ,demonstratingthe sad factthat a gooddeal of youngpeople cannotmanage totake time outof their day toperform their civic duty andvote.

As Americans, we aregiven the incredible privilegeof choosing the leaders of ourcountry. Montana especiallygives its people the ability tochoose many public officialswho, in other states, arechosen for them.

The ability to choose theleaders, lawmakers, andjustices that help run ourcounty and our state shouldbe something that people of

every age, including youngadults, are excited to haveand take advantage of doing.

A passive voting body isa dangerous thing that canallow its government to fail,but by voting and taking anactive role in government,citizens can make known theissues that are mostimportant to the Americanpublic, choosing officials thatwill address these issues in

the best way possible for theAmerican people.

As young people, we areoftentimes so overwhelmedwith our own lives that beingpolitically aware andpolitically active takes a backseat to school, friends andother activities. When giventhe choice, most studentswould probably choose anextracurricular activity ordowntime over schlepping tothe polls on Election Day.

Also, many of those

young people who do vote donot take the time to look intothe candidates and issuesbeing voted on, insteadcasting blind votes that mayor may not correlate withtheir beliefs.

There have been somesteps taken to help increasevoter turnout in the youngerpopulation, including manycolleges giving their studentsElection Day off to

encouragethem tovote.

Absen-tee ballotsthat votersfill out andmail in lieuof going tothe pollsh a v eb e c o m ev e r ypopular, inM o n t a n aespecially.

Even at West High,students are given theopportunity to register tovote in their social studiesclasses if their eighteenthbirthday falls before ElectionDay.

So, to all my fellowyoung Americans, take theinitiative and make yourvoice heard! Your vote maycount more than you think.

OPI

NIO

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KODIAK

ARTS EDITOR

Sally Weinand

FEATURES EDITOR

Kelsey Munsell

NEWS EDITOR

Vickie Contreraz

OPINION EDITOR

Ashlynn Andersen

SPORTS EDITOR

Tawni Palin

COPY EDITORS

Madi MillerKaydee OldhamEmily Sample

WEB EDITOR

Kelsey Munsell

PHOTO MANAGER

Katie Parish

BILLINGS WEST HIGH SCHOOL 2201 ST. JOHN’S AVENUE BILLINGS, MT 59102

The Billings West High Kodiak is an open forum for studentexpression that aims to publish information suitable for WestHigh students of all ages.

Letters to the editor must be signed; the Editorial Board reservesthe right to edit letters for length, accuracy and repetition.

ADVISER

Caaren Cerise

PRINCIPAL

Dave Cobb

STAFF WRITERS

Angelica BauerKatherine ColeDavis ConnelleyJalen CreechAndy EagleZoey EliasTessa FendleyMichaila GrantRyan KletteMadi MillerJessica MoodyKeely PattonNikki SandersKendra Schaff

Some material courtesy of American Society of Newspaper Editors/MCT CampusHigh School Newspaper Service

Michaila Grantsenior staffwriter

This is an article for allthe seniors who are, rightabout now, feeling the stressof applying for college andscholarships, are feelingcompletely overwhelmedwith everything that has to gointo it.

It is for the seniors whoare completely sick ofhearing, “Where are yougoing to go to college?”“What do you want to do withyour life?” “How are yougoing to afford that?”, or haveseriously considered lyingand saying that you areactually a junior in highschool so that you won’t haveto answer any of thesequestions.

If you don’t fit thesecriteria, stop reading now.

In our society, it is

expected that most everyonewill go to college even thougha good number who go thendrop out, deciding it is notright for them.

The system that we havenow drills into our heads thatwe can’t do anything if we

don’t have a degree; thereality is that there are manythings that we can do withouta degree, and many people donot even go into the field ofstudy that they study in

college.In recent polls, 28 percent

of people admit to having adegree that has nothing to dowith their job.

Still, we are nagged byparents, teachers, counselors,random family, friends,

distant relatives andsometimes those reallyannoying class-mates to applyeverywhere, do everythingand figure out what we wantto do with our lives until we

are pushed to the breakingpoint.

I believe that peopleshould stop hounding us sothat we can breathe and take alook at what we want to do.What you initially go intocollege for might not be whatyou leave with a degree in.

We are only seniors inhigh school and we do notneed to have our whole livesplanned out no matter whatothers tell us. We have time tosee what we are interested in.

So seniors, my advice toyou is to just breathe. Ignoreall the voices telling you youhave to plan out your life.

Try to tread water or justsit back and enjoy the year asyour life totally rushes pastyou this last year of highschool.

College stress: it’s not your friendHey Seniors! Don’t let the stress of applications ruin your last year of highschool!

The reality is that there are manythings that we can do without adegree, and many people do noteven go into the field of studythat they study in college.

One vote can make adifferenceThe next generation of voters needs to get involved.

As Americans, we are given theincredible privilege of choosingthe leaders of our country.Montana especially gives its

people the ability to choose manypublic officials who, in otherstates, are chosen for them.

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