Pow Wow Covering Real Issues for the Students of Portage High School

Portage High School Issue 12 April 19, 2013

Going Blonde

Members of the Academic Teams, which include the Spell Bowl team, Quiz Bowl team, Science Olympiad, Decathlon and Super Bowl team, will be able to receive a letter for the first time since the 1990s. Leading the project was Academic Team coordinator Elizabeth Gilfillan, who began constructing the lettering system before the school year started. Gilfillan said at the Academic Team coaches’ meeting before school began all the old coaches wanted to bring the lettering system back and the new coaches were excited about the opportunity for the members. Students who wish to letter on the PHS Academic Teams must garner 100 points for the actual letter and 50 points for a chevron with the name of the team they participated in stitched on. Earning points is based on team participation, attendance, awards won in competitions and being named the Duneland Academic All-Star and/or

receiving the Mental Attitude Award. Assistant principal Jennifer Sass, who is in charge of the Academic Teams, was able to get the lettering system approved. Current members will be able to receive their letters at the Academic Awards Night on May 14. Giving the members letters is not solely to reward their hard efforts, however. “[Offering members the opportunity to letter] offers a way for academic students to get public recognition and allows students who don’t have straight A’s to also work hard and letter in academic teams,” Gilfillan said. “It inspires other kids to see you can work hard and get recognition.” Through awarding members with a letter, Gilfillan anticipates that it will attract students to join the Academic Teams. “As students receive recognition for their extra effort, they’ll want to continue to put that extra effort in,” Gilfillan said. See ACADEMIC LETTERS, page 2

‘Legally Blonde: The Musical’ set to premier tonight at PHS

Joshua LewisFeatures Editor

The PHS stage is going blonde this year for the spring musical as the theatre department will put on a performance of “Legally Blonde: The Musical,” a seven time Tony Award nominee and winner of Best Musical of 2011 at the Oliver Awards. Seniors Rachel Stewart and Emily Evans star alongside sophomores Matt Kiley and Enrique Huizar in the stage adaptation of the popular film by the same name.

Stewart stars in the leading role of Elle Woods, a blonde fashionista turned Harvard law student who is thrust into an entirely different world after she follows the boyfriend who dumped her, Warner (Huizar), to Harvard after he says he is looking for an Ivy League fiancé. With the help of Emmett (Kiley), Paulette (Evans) and her Chihuahua Bruiser, Elle tries to win Warner back while learning it is not so bad to be smart.

Stewart is a veteran of

the theatre department that starred in this year’s fall play “The 39 Steps” as Pamela, a British character that was the love interest of Richard Hannay.

“It is tough to say whether it is harder to be Elle Woods than it is to be Pamela,” Stewart said. “I had a bigger challenge finding my character with this one. She has to prove to everyone she looks like a ditzy blonde but is really smart.”

The musical is based off the popular film starring Reese Witherspoon as Woods, a role that earned Witherspoon a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a musical or comedy.

“It is a lot of pressure for me knowing that people are very familiar with who Elle Woods is and who she should be,” she said. “I know I have given it my all and have been working on it. I hope they find as much enjoyment watching me as I have in finding my character.”

See SPRING MUSICAL, page 7

Collin CzilliOpinion Editor

Letters now being offered for academic team members

on the stage

Media Center Cafe Expected

to reopen

Read MorePage 2

Inside This Issue

The cafe located within the media center is

expected to begin serving coffee next year.

Opinion

See the StoryPage 6

“Drug searches need to happen more

frequently”

- Collin Czilli

Raising Autism AwarenessOn Page 8

Portage 16 IMAX hosts fundraising event for Suicide Prevention in memory of Jade Sleaford

Suicide prevention is a cause that

has recently been brought to the city of Portage. PHS graduate Jasmine Sleaford organized a fundraiser for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention that was held at the Portage 16 IMAX in honor of her sister Jade Sleaford. On April 8 from 4-8 p.m the IMAX allowed 50 percent of all concession stand

purchases to be donated to the AFSP. A table was set up and flyers were passed out to present at the concession stand. “I knew I wanted to do something in her memory,” Jasmine Sleaford said. “Suicide is such a taboo subject and is not discussed much because of its negativity. I thought that doing a fundraiser with the theater and donating the money to the foundation would be an awesome idea and since the theater is such a public place we

would be able to spread the information and awareness that much better.” According to Jasmine, the generosity and cooperation of the IMAX has been outstanding. “They have done nothing but supported what I’m trying to do the whole way. I am truly blessed to be working for and with such a great establishment for this event. They have been great to our family throughout this whole year and

were right behind me when I came to them with the idea for the fundraiser,” Jasmine said. During the week, the IMAX also set up donation jars for those wanting to contribute to the AFSP. In addition, the theater was decorated in lime green and purple to show support for Jade with lime green being her favorite color and purple for suicide prevention. See SLEAFORD, page 3

Katie PeksenakNews Editor

Members of the cast rehearse after school on the auditorium stage. The musical will run this weekend and next weekend. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m., except the matinee this Sunday, which begins at 2:30 p.m. Photo by Olivia Forrester

Senior Rachel Stewart rehearses after school. This will be Stewart’s seventh performance on the PHS stage. She has previously held leads in “The 39 Steps” and “The Wedding Singer.” Photo by Olivia Forrester

2 News Issue 12

Academic letters Continued from page 1

Celebrating our fallen soldiers, Portage High School graduate Jenny La Sala captured the life of her father in her novel titled “Comes a Soldier’s Whisper: A Collection of Wartime Letters with Reflection and Hope for the Future.”

La Sala graduated in 1969 from PHS. Her favorite teachers were her English teacher Dennis Norman and her art teacher Victor Verbalitis. La Sala’s favorite subject was English and she was involved in drama club.

“I was extremely shy and did not try out for parts. I did sign up for speech and drama to help me through my shyness,” La Sala said.

“Comes a Soldier’s Whisper” is a collection of La Sala’s father’s wartime letters. The book describes her father’s feeling before, during and after World War II as a decorated 101st airborne paratrooper between the years 1943-1945. The book was published on Feb. 13, 2013. She donated three copies of the book to the school library.

“I believe that I began my journey to write one day long ago. I guess you could say that I was just living my life which after so many years gave me some stories to tell and share,” La Sala said.

At first, the purpose of the book was to pay tribute to her father and all of the veterans who served in wartime in the past,

present and future. After La Sala began listening to the veteran’s interviews, she believes that the book took on a life of its own. It was after the interviews La Sala realized she grew up with a father who was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. PTSD is a type of anxiety disorder. PTSD can occur after someone has seen or experienced a traumatic event that involved the threat of injury or death.

La Sala’s ex-husband was a Vietnam veteran with PTSD. Her brother, who suffered as well from PTSD, also did two tours in the Gulf. This made La Sala had come to notice that her father’s reflections during WWII could be said and written by any soldier returning from Afghanistan today.

“His letters had a timeless message. I felt it was important for his voice to come through even as a whisper some seventy years later,” La Sala said.

This is the second book that La Sala has published. Last year in September, she wrote and published her first book called “My Family Compass.” She is currently working on her third book and it will be publishing in late 2014.

Overall, La Sala feels wonderful and very liberating to be publishing her book. La Sala believes that her book is no longer about her, though. She wants to help others to heal. Also, she discovered that she had something to say with a message that may be able to help

returning veterans of today and wanted to share it with the soldiers and their families.

“I think it would be wonderful if an English or history teacher would offer special

credits to students who wish to visit the “Comes a Soldier’s Whisper” website, listen to the veteran interviews and write a paper addressing the PTSD,” La Sala said.

Fundraising event to be held for 2011 graduate

Mallory LopezNews Writer

Portage graduate writes book, commemorates fallen soldiers

Forget Starbucks, Portage High School is bringing its own taste of a café for the school year of 2013-2014.

When the Read-a-Latté Café was opened, it was opened after school for about an hour and before school for 20 minutes. It was never opened during lunch times but will be this time around.

“The premise for the past café was wonderful,” Library Media Clerk Lorrie Cohen said, “The problem came when students were not allowed to use their lunch accounts so they were only allowed to pay in cash.”

With not being financially viable the café only lasted a year to a year and a half.

Principal Caren Swickard made the decision at the end of last year to reopen the café with the support of the Superintendent

Ric Frataccia.Students like junior Alyssa Delgado think

that the café will be a great idea.“I think a café in the library would be a

great idea since students love beverages like this and smoothies are a great addition since everyone loves them,” Delgado said.

Business teacher Joe Bachan’s Entrepreneurship class will be in charge of the café, which he eventually hopes to turn into a vocational.

Bachan said what he hopes to offer includes smoothies, either iced or hot coffee and hot chocolate.

“Anybody interested in being involved with the café, consider signing up for Entrepreneurship, and when we open, come on in for a smoothie, coffee or iced coffee,” Bachan said.

The café is hoped to be opened the last two weeks of this school year as a trial period and the second month of the next school year.

Portage High School graduate Niko Melendez depends on his disability van to transport him to and from his classes at Ivy Tech Community College in Valparaiso. According to a flier issued by his parents, Melendez’s ability to attend the classes he wanted changed when his van broke down two years ago.

Melendez must now depend on a bus to take him to campus.

“I’m okay with being in a wheelchair, I just want some normalcy back in my life, and the ability to get out and do things I used to do,” Melendez said.

The 2011 graduate was an active participant in the JROTC program, despite being diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at age three. In order to help Melendez’s family purchase the equipment necessary to make his new van handicap-accessible, members of the PHS JROTC program will be selling admission and raffle tickets at a fundraising event coming up on Saturday, May 18.

“Niko was a tremendous member of JROTC, he was past all of his physical incapabilities, and was quite the character,” instructor of JROTC, Major John Johnston, said.

JROTC found out about the fundraiser from Melendez during a visit to PHS early this year. Johnston offered to help the family get the event going.

JROTC had a large impact on Melendez’s life.

“Before JROTC, he felt like ‘just another freshman.’ Once he was in the program, his whole mind was about helping others, even if it was being a greeter at the front door of a fundraiser. JROTC made him feel like he had a family, both inside the school and out,” Melendez’s mother Cindy Lopez said.

The event will be held at the American Legion Post 100 in Lake Station from 6-11 p.m. The event will include basket raffles, a silent auction and various prize drawings.

“I would strongly encourage all who can attend to do so, in order to help Niko and his family the best we can,” Johnston said.

Ashley ConradNews Writer

Nick BlueNews Writer

Media center cafe expected to reopen next school year

Students stand with copies of “Comes a Soldier’s Whisper: A Collection of Wartime Letters with Reflection and Hope for the Future,” written by 1969 Portage graduate Jenny La Sala. The book contains wartime letters written by her father during World War II. Photo provided

Constructing the lettering system was no easy task for Gilfillan.

According to Gilfillan, she attempted to come up with a system from scratch in order to balance out the points system, but eventually drew inspiration from the lettering system at Merrillville High School. In order to integrate the activities done at Portage, Gilfillan was able to utilize the lettering system used by Merrillville, which had already been weighed out and make the necessary changes to create the system Portage is now using to award Academic Team members for their efforts.

Earning a letter for their efforts validates the members’ commitment to success and rewards it.

“Academic team students lettering is rewarding because for these teams, we have to learn material beyond what we learn in class,” Academic Super Bowl team member and junior

Amanda Pogue said. “The idea of having the reward of a letter makes the extra learning worth it.”

More than letters and recognition, the Academic Teams serve as a home for students devoted to academics.

“The kids who are on the Academic Teams are not the most popular kids and it gives them a place to belong to,” Academic Super Bowl and Quiz Bowl coach Cathy Nye said. “They don’t fit in to the sports crowd or what you usually associate with high school, but it gives them a sense of accomplishment and the same kind of camaraderie like from sports.”

Obtaining a Letterman’s jacket with the P for Portage serves as a symbol of accomplishment for students, and now with the implementation of the new lettering system for the Academic Teams, members of them will be able to experience that feeling of pride for themselves as well.

The section of the library known as the Read-a-Latte Cafe has been closed down for several years due to financial issues. It is expected to make a comeback at the end of this school year and continue into the 2013-2014 school year. Photo by Taylor Mlynski

Being asked to prom can be a sim-ple gesture or

an extravagantly thought out plan. Certain Portage High School students took a creative approach in asking their dates to prom. Senior Jena Alaniz plays on the softball team, so senior Justin Newcomb decided to incorporate this in asking her to prom. He spelled out “PROM” with softballs and made the questions mark out of bats in left field, where Alaniz plays. Newcomb laid out flow-ers in the field as well. “The idea kind of came to me after I had been thinking of a way to incorporate softball in it. I went and asked Coach Hall what he thought of the idea and he didn’t have a problem with it. The next day he gave me the keys to the shed and I went out there during my study hall 10th mod,” Newcomb said. Setting this up took help from a friend due to Newcomb’s recent injury. “I had help from Patrick Derr in setting this up. Without his help, there is no way I would have gotten it done because I could barely walk on my knee,” Newcomb said. Using bats for the question mark came up last minute. “When Patrick and I got out to the field we realized this was going to take a lot more softballs then we first thought. When we started spelling out the letters P R O M we used every single softball that the team had in the shed, running out before we could make the [question mark]. After brain

storming for a minute on how to make a question mark, we saw bats in the shed and decided to use those,” Newcomb said. Alaniz was thrilled with the way New-comb asked her to prom. “Seeing the way he set up prom for me was unreal. It was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. The fact that he put it in my position was extra cute,” Alaniz said. Approaching the field on a game day and seeing balls and bats set up in her position caused Alaniz confusion at first. “When I got down to the field I thought we were just hitting in the outfield, then Coach Hall said I had to ‘pick up my mess’ so I was so confused. When I saw that it said prom I almost started crying. It was so sweet and so cute,” Alaniz said. Junior Alec Coates asked his girlfriend Sara Quiroz to prom with a scavenger hunt that extended throughout the city of Por-tage. “I was hanging out with Alec that day. After his practice he asked me to check my glove box to see if he left head phones in there because he needed them for his game the next day. He kept asking me about the head phones and I was trying so hard to just get to his house. When I finally got to my car I checked in my glove box and there was a big Reese’s bar in there and a baseball with the letter P on it that said ‘go look under your bed,’” Quiroz said. The next baseball was under her bed and had an “R” on it along with a Hershey’s bar. The ball told Quiroz to go to Dairy Queen, where she works, and see her friend Krista.

“I drove so fast there and got my “O” ball that had $5 wrapped around it, telling me to get ice cream. The ball said ‘now go to LA tan,’ so I went 60 [miles per hour] all the way there and got my “M” ball from my sister with a Snickers bar,” Quiroz said. The “M” ball asked Quiroz to come over to Coates’s house, so she drove over and was greeted with Coates holding the “?” ball that had a box to check yes or no. “He was holding flowers and a Sharpie so I could obviously check yes,” Quiroz said.

According to Coates, setting this up was a challenge but it was worth it. “It was hard setting it up. She had to not be home when I did it and her friend along with my sister had to be working that day,” Coates said. Quiroz’s reaction was not completely what Coates was expecting. “She was so excited at every spot and I didn’t expect her to be that happy. There is no one else I’d rather go to prom with,” Coates said.

3NewsApril 19, 2013

Students devise unique ways to ask dates to prom

Portage High School senior Rob-ert Manning said

maintaining his 4.34 GPA throughout high school was not difficult. However, his strong grades and dedication to the PHS MCJROTC program may be paying off. According to JROTC Major John John-ston, Manning was nominated by U.S. con-gressman Pete Visclosky to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point. Applicants must obtain an acceptable nomina-tion prior to applying, according to the West Point website. Manning said West Point is his first choice if he gets accepted. He plans to attend West Point to become an engineer in the hopes of going into the Army to work on planes. Manning is the Cadet Sargent Major in JROTC and is a member of multiple academic teams at the high school. In addition to work-ing hard in school, he volunteers around the community. “I’m very proud. He makes the program look good and he makes the high school look good,” Johnston said. Manning was the only student at PHS nominated for West Point. Manning said that his family is proud of his accomplishments. “It’s a really long process to do and you have to stay motivated throughout it,” Man-ning said. Manning will know if he got accepted within a month or so. If he does not get ac-cepted, Purdue is his second choice. “He’s just a tremendous guy and he’ll

make everyone proud regardless of what he does. He’s a very good example for everyone,” Johnston said.

Manning nominated to attend West Point Mary ClancyNews Writer

Manning practices a drill routine in the West Gym for an after school practice. Manning is the Cadet Sargeant Major in JROTC and member of multiple academic teams at PHS. Photo by Olivia Forrester.

Art Club helps plan Empty Bowls Project

Empty Bowls is an inter-national project that results in the help of low income families and the hungry. Art students have been busy after school creating ceramic bowls. With the help of art club, ROTC, graduates and churches, art students reached their desired amount of bowls, and are now in the process of glazing. All of the proceeds made at the event are directly donated to the Portage Food pantry. Last year, the project do-

nated over $3,000, according to Paula Wiese, art teacher and event organizer. “It’s unbelievable what the food pantry does. There’s still really overhead paying bills for NIPSCO, but they still manage to feed many people every year,” Wiese said. Local churches bring in slow cookers filled with soup that are distributed on tables. Afterward, consumers arrive and pay for unlimited soup. Art work that students have created throughout the year will be displayed for purchase while attendants eat. Last year, the project acquired an

estimated 32 pots of soup, ac-cording to senior art student Jose Claudio. “My favorite part about last year was getting the chance to help hand out soup and just spending time with everyone while having fun,” Claudio said. “This year I look forward to seeing a bunch of people come in to support the event and also to just have a good time like everyone did last year.” The event will be held on Saturday, April 27 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. There will be a $10 charge for soup and ceramic bowls.

An art student works on painting and glazing a bowl for the Empty Bowls Project, which will be held on April 27 in the West Cafeteria. Photo by Emily Hensley

Angela DornbosFeaturesWriter

Alec Coates asked Sara Quiroz to prom through a town-wide scavenger hunt that ended at Coates’s house. Photo provided

Katie PeksenakNews Editor

Sleaford Continued from page 1

Jasmine not only wants to change the lives of those considering suicide, but hopes that people participating in the week gain something from the experience. “I want people to take away that this subject needs to be discussed with those you love and care about, even if you think they will never be capable of doing it. We can never understand something if we do

not confront it. I also want those who have ever considered suicide or even attempted it to see that their lives make a difference and that people do love them, even if they do not feel strong enough to love themselves,” Jasmine said. A one year memorial candlelight vigil was held on April 14 in the IMAX parking lot in honor of Jade Sleaford.

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4 Sports Issue 12

It is rare in varsity sports to see a freshman on the roster, let alone in the starting lineup.Freshman Emily Sajda is an outlier in this theme. Sajda will compete at the No. 3 singles position this season for Portage, behind junior Mandy Haupt and senior Kaley Liang, who will be at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively. “I didn’t anticipate her working all the way up to No. 3 singles,” head coach Joe Reid said. “I knew she was good, but I didn’t realize how good. Starting varsity as a freshman is a big deal.” Sajda said she is excited and proud to have made it to the varsity level and to be named in the starting lineup. However, she went into the offseason with the mindset of giving it her all at every practice. “I didn’t know what to

expect starting out this season,” Sajda said. “I thought if I tried hard and was dedicated I would hopefully make the team.” With the season just underway, Sajda was victorious in her first varsity match, along with the rest of the squad, defeating Wheeler 5-0 on April 9. She has several goals and expectations set for the season as well. “My goals for this season are to try to improve with every practice and learn from my coaches and teammates,” Sajda said. “By doing this, I’ll try to be a tennis player for our season. I’m looking forward to meeting new people, contributing to the team and hopefully having a winning season.” Rounding out the starting lineup are seniors Lauren Zack and Bailey Lauritzen, who will compete at No. 1 doubles, and juniors Gabby Ziulkowski, Patty Mota and Lauren Wilk, all of whom will be vying for spots at the

No. 2 doubles position. “Experience and the ability to win challenge matches were the determining factors for each position,” Reid said. “We rank our players by who they can beat. The toughest decision will be in deciding who my No. 2 doubles team will be once we get going with matches. I have three girls that have worked really hard so far and only two will get to play varsity.” With the starting lineup almost complete and a win already under their belt, Reid has high expectations for the team for the upcoming season. “I am looking forward to match play. Coach [Joe] White and I have been preparing the girls and it looks like we might have some good runs,” Reid said. “I hope we can improve on our DAC standing from last year and challenge Chesterton and Valpo in the sectional.”

Tennis team sets varsity lineupEric MesarchContent Editor

No. 1 singles player Mandy Haupt backhands the ball in the season opener against Wheeler on April 9. The Indians won 5-0. Photo by Taylor Mlynski

No. 1 doubles player Lauren Zack jumps for a ball on April 9 against Wheeler. Photo by Taylor Mlynski

Head boys golf coach

Richard Kretz said that since the team has its top five golfers back, he expects them to push themselves this season and stand out. The golfers taking the top five spots, in order, are senior Nick Lewis, junior Jordan Henson, sophomore Noah Kunstek, junior Tep Junyanid, and senior Tyler Gonzalez, according to Kretz. “I’ve put in many hours practicing, maintained a positive mindset, and worked as hard as I could during the offseason workouts to become stronger,” Junyanid said.Junyanid said that the worst part of this season so far was a heartbreaking loss to Boone Grove by one stroke. The meet ended with a score of 153-152. “My strength as a golfer is definitely my ability to maintain a positive attitude throughout the round. In golf, every shot counts so you have to focus on what you’re doing or things can get ugly quick. My weakness as a golfer would be my putting,” Junyanid said. Junyanid said he looks up to Henson as a strong leader because he has played constantly well this season and provides a positive role model for the younger golfers. Kretz said their best golfer depends on the day and his score. However, the most consistant are Henson and Lewis. Kretz said he chose the lineup mainly by practice averages. Other factors like experience and knowing the courses also came into play. “I let the golfers challenge one of their teammates for their spot, which are called challenge matches,” Kretz said. Kretz also said that Henson is coming out really strong with Lewis right behind. Against Griffith, Henson shot a 41 followed by Kunstek and Gonzalez both shooting a 42. Against North Newton, Lewis and Henson both shot a 36. Junyanid shot a 40. “We look forward to any DAC match because each one is tough, but Valpo is one I look forward to the most. We usually get a good idea of where we stand when we play Valpo, they are a gold standard in terms of program consistency. We would like to be where they are,” Kretz said.

Lewis to lead golf team in No. 1 positionLauren WinickySports Writer

Baseball team wins chattanooga tournament, starts season at 7-2

The baseball team

traveled to Chattanooga, Tenn. over spring break and the players went 4-1 in the Chattanooga Central Invitational tournament and took the championship title home. “The trip to Chattanooga was great. We were able to play in some really nice weather and the coaches got to see a lot of players get to play due to the fact that we played five games in three days,” head coach Tim Pirowski said. Senior Tyler Retherford said the best part about the trip was getting the chance to pitch and play against the teams at the tournament. Junior Chris Klenk said the bus driver Rick lifted up the spirit of the players even more after each win. “He was a great guy and the players really enjoyed interacting with him. Rick told some of the best jokes after our wins,” Pirowski said. The team also had a good time getting out of town and interacting with new teams.

“The best part of the trip was just seeing how excited the team was to be able to experience the trip. We took a charter bus that had four TVs, Wi-Fi and, most importantly, a bathroom. All the players did a really nice job handling the trip and taking care of business on the field,” Pirowski said. Being in a completely different state for the first time, the baseball team had never played any teams from the Chattanooga area. “It was really difficult playing teams that you know nothing about. When playing teams from Northwest Indiana, the coaches know who can hit, who has a good arm, who is going to steal, et cetera. We didn’t have that luxury with playing teams that we couldn’t scout prior to playing them,” Pirowski said. For some players, getting a chance to play new teams in a new environment was refreshing and challenging. Junior Alec Coates said it was a nice change to experience playing other teams his team had not yet encountered. “It was something I’ll never forget and a

great time,” Coates said. For others, it was a chance to play stress-free baseball. “My favorite part was being able to play lots of baseball without the stress of school during the week,” Klenk said. Winning the tournament was a huge accomplishment for the baseball team, however, they accomplished much more while in Chattanooga. “I think the Tennessee trip brought the team closer together and really just gave us a chance to bond,” Retherford said. Pirowski said spending 20 hours on a bus left the players no choice but to come closer to one another. He said on the way to Chattanooga the team held an NBA 2013 tournament on Xbox and played until 5 a.m. “Winning the tournament was a big bonus of the trip. We were playing teams that had already played over 20 games, and we were coming in at zero games played, so to be able to compete with some quality programs and win was a big boost for the team’s confidence heading into our conference schedule,” Pirowski said.

Peyton Hulse Sports Editor

State champions visit Indiana State House

The Portage gymnastics team poses outside of the Indiana State House. Read the full story on the team’s visit on PHSNewsOn-line.com. Photo provided by Kelly Bermes

MarqueeMatchups

Editor-in-Chief Brandon Vickrey’s guide to the most exciting Portage High School sporting events on the schedule for the next two weeks.

Tonight: Baseball vs. Lake Central

Thursday, April 25: Softball at Crown Point

After falling 2-1 in extra in-nings the first time the two teams met, Portage will have a chance to avenge itself against the Bulldogs in the midst of a stretch of eight straight road games. Portage fans will have to make the trip to Lake Coun-ty to see the game, but this one figures to be worth the effort. Time: 4:30 p.m.

Location: Crown Point High School

The defending 4A State Cham-pion Lake Central Indians will visit Portage tonight at 4:30, weather permitting. A vic-tory over L.C. would be a big step toward the DAC title. The fourth conference game of the week means the matchup will test Portage’s pitching depth. Time: 4:30 p.m.

Location: Portage High School baseball field

Track and field athlete Jade McKnight is honored with the title of Most Valuable Player this issue for her excellent performance this season.

McKnight recently signed her national letter of intent to participate in track and field next year at Western Michigan University.

McKnight was a part of the 4x100 meter relay that set the school record of 50.37 seconds in 2011. Her current personal records for the season are 12.98 seconds in the 100M dash and 18 feet, four inches in the long jump. The current school record for the long Jump is 18 feet 10 inches. One of McKnight’s goals for the season is to surpass that.

“What makes Jade an outstanding athlete is her willingness to work hard daily to improve her skills,” head coach Earl Coleman said. “She has won several sectional championships over the years and continues to work hard in hopes of being a State Champion. Jade cares about her

teammates and she is a really strong leader. When Jade was hurt last year, she would attend meets and support her teammates even though she was unable to run. Jade is a character person and she a great representative as a Portage High School Student-Athlete.”

McKnight focuses on her schoolwork as much as she focuses on the sport she loves.

“Jade is a true student- athlete, she is just as strong with her academics as she is with athletics. Also she is a great team leader and very supportive of her teammates. I am very thankful I have the opportunity to coach this wonderful young lady,” Coleman said.

Another one of McKnight’s goals is to be the school record holder in multiple events, and her coach and teammates

firmly believe that she can accomplish this task.

Although McKnight is very determined and hardworking, she claims her

weaknesses are mainly centered around the fact that she may stress herself out when she is too focused on an aspect of her race, causing her performance to be worse than she expected.

According to Coleman, she has much more strengths, such as the fact that she does not settle for less, always gives her best efforts and always competes like the champion she is.

McKnight works as hard as she can throughout the season to make up for the

hard work that she puts in even before the track season begins.

“I had a good year (in track) and I just wanted to practice in the summer, do more

training, more running,” McKnight said.The rest of this season’s focuses for

McKnight will be to meet her goals of becoming a school record holder.

5Sports April 19, 2013

High school athletes who have the pas-sion for a certain sport always strive to continue playing at the collegiate level. Seniors Heather Zengler and Rashaan Coleman have accomplished this goal. “I plan to attend University of Saint Francis,” Zengler said. “I am also going to play softball in college, because the op-portunity was available and I am not ready to stop playing.” When Zengler goes to college, she is planning to study in exercise science. “I am going for my bachelor degree for four years and then go ahead for my doc-torate in physical therapy in three years,” Zengler said. According to Zengler, she will miss her friends and family, especially her two dogs. Originally, Coleman signed with the University of Indianapolis, but decided

to switch and sign with Austin Peay State University in Tennessee. Along with playing football, Coleman plans to expand his education beyond his four-year degree. “I am going to major in finance and play football as well. After, I plan on get-ting my MBA,” Coleman said. Coleman has a strong passion for the sport of football and would like to carry on this passion after college. Playing since he was younger, Coleman said it is worth a career. “You can say I am almost obsessed with football, so it would be a privilege to get paid to do something I love,” Coleman said. According to Coleman, the city of Por-tage has done a lot for him and the people of Portage are a huge reason why he is able to go to college and play football. This is due to the fact that the people in the city have been able to keep his “head on straight.”

The Portage baseball team

received a welcome addition this year when junior Kevin Jones elected to transfer from Chesterton. Jones boosted the Portage pitching staff and inserted himself as the No. 2 hitter in the Indians’ lineup. Despite coming over from a Porter County foe, Jones was welcomed with open arms. “It’s been a good transition,” Jones said. “The kids have been great to me. We’ve had good team bonding, nothing has been wrong.” Head coach Tim Pirowski witnessed a “feeling out” period when Jones first started practicing with his new teammates. “You could see that the first few weeks was kind of like a feeling out period of him feeling out some of the guys and the guys feeling him out a little bit,” Pirowski said. “I think just since we’ve been to Tennessee, that’s really helped, and he’s meshed really well now and he’s accepted by his teammates, so it’s worked out.” Jones’s repertoire features a fastball, curveball and changeup. He occasionally mixes in a knuckleball. Pirowski said he has an above average fastball and curveball, but he wants to see him continue to develop his changeup. Entering Monday night’s game against Valparaiso, Jones held a 2-0 record and a solid 1.56 ERA and had struck out 12 in nine innings of work. At the dish, he was hitting .464 with seven walks and 12 RBIs. “I think the main thing it’s done for us is

just added depth, obviously in the outfield, and pitching also,” Pirowski said. “It just gives us another good player to add to the other players we already have.” Jones said the Portage coaching staff allows the players to stay relaxed. “The coaching is loose,” he said. “I like that a lot. It allows us to be ourselves and not uptight. We just like to be ourselves and it allows us to have fun.” As a pitcher on the Portage staff, Jones said he benefits from far greater run support than he did as a member of the Trojans. “Portage baseball can hit; Chesterton last year had a rough time hitting,” he said. Jones lashed a base hit and played solid defense to help the Indians topple his former team 4-0 on April 8 in Chesterton. According to Pirowski, Jones was heckled by the Chesterton players during his at-bats and the Trojans’ announcer intentionally said his name “funny.” “We talked to him before hand and talked to some of the seniors just to make sure that he was going to be in a good spot, in a good place,” Pirowski said. “We told him they’re going to try to talk, and we’re going to ignore them. Just go about your business and handle what you can handle and play a normal game. He handled all that well.” Like many members of the Portage baseball team, Jones has high expectations for the duration of the season. “I expect us to win, nothing less,” he said. “I want that sectional championship.”

Alexis CoffmanSports Writer

Jones adjusts to PortageBrandon VickreyEditor-in-Chief

Junior Kevin Jones pitching a game against Griffith. Jones transfered from Chesterton High School to Portage this school year. Photo by Olivia Forrester

Zengler, Coleman sign to colleges of choice

Varsity softball player Heather Zengler poses with the coaches from Saint Francis after signing her national letter of intent. Zengler will be a part of the Cougar pitching staff next season. Photo provided

Brandon WeisSports Writer

McKnight excels on track, signs with Western Michigan

More online: Go to PHSNewsonline.com to read about the gymnastics team visiting the State House.

“What makes Jade an outstanding athlete is her willingness to work hard daily to improve her skills.”

-Earl Coleman, head girls track and

field coach

Editor-in-ChiefBrandon Vickrey

Content Editor

Eric Mesarch

Design EditorEmily Evans

Opinion Editor

Collin Czilli

News Editor Katie Peksenak

Features Editor

Joshua Lewis

Sports EditorPeyton Hulse

Photo EditorOlivia Forrester

Sports WritersAlexis CoffmanLauren WinickyBrandon Weis

News WritersAshley Conrad Mallory Lopez

Nick BlueMary Clancy

Features Writers

Tyra Allen Amber Nelson

Angela DornbosCaleb Ingersoll

Alexis Sosa

PhotographersTaylor Mlynski Emily Hensley

AdviserMelissa Deavers-Lowie

6 Opinion Issue 12

Pow Wow Editorial PolicyThe Pow Wow is a student-produced newspaper. As an open-forum publication, we do accept letters-to-the-editor. All letters must be grammatically cor-

rect, free from errors and 200 words or fewer. Letters must include your name. E-mail submissions can be sent to bwvickrey@gmail.com. Letters will be run in

the next available issue of the newspaper.

It is no secret that drugs have become a problem in schools across the nation; Portage is simply the latest to make the news for it. Students should be prepared for the school to begin searching lockers more frequently because the problem is not getting any better. After the recent drug search in the halls of Portage High School, many students have claimed that it is infringing upon students’ freedoms to search lockers without cause. Well I have news for you, the school can do whatever it wants in this situation, and I agree that drug searches need to happen more frequently in order to combat this problem.

There is no harm in removing people who bring drugs to school from the building. If you are dumb enough to bring drugs into the school building, you are obviously not smart enough to understand what the point

of coming to school is. School is not a punishment that someone came up with so parents could go party during the day; school is a place to learn, and drugs have no reason to be in the building. The school has the right and responsibility to keep the building drug free and if that means bringing drug sniffing

dogs in every week, so be it. If that means 50 or 100 students could possibly be removed and expelled in one day, so be it.

A second proposal is to bring random drug testing programs into the high school. While many will view this as infringing on their freedoms, please tell me the freedom in the Constitution that says students can come to school high. As we are a public high school, I agree that the drug testing program cannot be punitive because there is no way to prove where or when the drugs were taken. However, random drug testing will make students think about the actions they take if they know they may be randomly drug tested at school.

The goal of random drug testing is to get users and addicts the help they need before they spiral out of control. This is a common sense issue. The schools are not trying to punish you, they are trying to help you before a problem becomes too much to handle. There is no question, however, that many steps must be taken before any type of a program is implemented, but students must realize that the administrators in the school are not searching for users to kick them out.

Drug users and drug dealers are two completely different issues. Drug searches are being implemented to find dealers and remove them from the schools because drugs have no place in an educational facility. If the schools really want to cut down on drug problems, finding the dealers and removing them is a necessary first step, while at the same time, finding users and getting the users help is just as necessary. The schools have taken necessary steps to combatting this problem and are doing what is in the best interest of the student body as a whole. This is not an issue that students need to fight back against.

Students must get used to new drug fighting toolsCollin CzilliOpinion Editor

Twitter: @CollinCZ

Organizations should be more thorough in making selections

Portage High School students are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to get involved in organizations including Natural Helpers, National Honor Society, the Duneland Athletic Conference Sportsmanship Summit and Spring Leadership. However, for each of these opportunities there are deserving students snubbed from receiving invitations.

While it is not the policy of exclusivity in itself that I disagree with (it is not within reason to include everyone), these groups must establish more clear criteria and do a more thorough job in making selections. Oftentimes, the same students are included and recognized time and time again, while others that are equally deserving fly under the radar.

The cliché rebuttal of “life isn’t fair,” is growing old for the students who have equally admirable qualities as their more-included peers. At the very least, these students deserve an explanation of the selection process. For many of these events and organizations,

nobody seems exactly sure how the lists are formulated.

Portage High School is making strides in the right direction. This year, students had the ability to appeal the initial decision regarding their National Honor Society admittance (apparently, this option was available in past years, they just chose not to tell anyone). The appeal

gives the NHS snubs a chance to seek a second opinion, but there is still a long way to go.

Natural Helpers also made a smart maneuver by doing away with the student vote to determine selections. Keeping the student body away from these decisions as much as possible helps prevent these distinctions from turning into a popularity contest. Other organizations should follow suit.

This year, admittance to Natural Helpers factored in faculty recommendations. Still, there were students who were equally or more deserving than some on the trip and did not receive an invite. A trip that is based on the premise of lifting people’s spirits and treating others with respect is ironically causing some students anguish and sadness.

The annual DAC Sportsmanship Summit is another example of an event that has left several students frustrated at being excluded. The criteria and selection process is unclear, if not inexistent.

“I don’t want our highest ranked kids who are actively involved in the school to think that we don’t appreciate what they do,” Swickard said earlier this year when asked about the current criteria for NHS induction.

It may be impossible to avoid a few “misses” here and there, but the number of deserving students turned down by these organizations is alarming. As freshmen, students should be presented with a list of requirements for each event or organization. The more up front the school is about what it takes to be included in these very worthwhile functions, the fewer students it will exclude.

Some students discuss their lack of inclusion, but are unwilling to go on record with their thoughts about it. Others are too kind and modest to mention their snubbing at all, but their classmates and peers know they belong. Either way, these students deserve to have their voices heard. Today, as I sit in class, rather than at the Student Council Spring Leadership event, I will not have to be asked twice to speak my mind.

Brandon vickreyEditor-in-Chief

Twitter: @BrandonVickrey

Athletes should perservere through injuries

It seems to me that a lot of young athletes are unfortunately getting injured to the point where a whole season is on the line because of a long recovery time. Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears, broken bones and concussions are some of the worst injuries an athlete can sustain, which can sideline them for lengthy amounts of time.

However, the purpose of this opinion article is to give kudos to a couple of athletes that have suffered these kinds of injuries, but have not let it get their spirits down.

On March 31, as many of us have probably heard and, most like, saw, Louisville men’s basketball star Kevin Ware sustain a horrific broken leg in the Elite Eight game against

Duke. Although Ware will have to sit on the sidelines to watch his team compete in the Final Four, while also having to sit out his entire junior year, Ware was still able to get back on his feet in order to support his team.

The man had surgery the day he broke his leg and now has a huge titanium rod in it, but, within a matter of days, he was released from the hospital and will be at the sidelines cheering on his fellow Cardinals in hopes of winning a National Championship.

I call this great sportsmanship and dedication to his team. Ware did not want all of the attention to be on him because his focus was on his team and continuing on

in the tournament, which is an admirable act of unselfishness.According to USA Today, Ware said, “Don’t worry about

me. I’ll be okay, you guys go win this thing,” before being taken off the court after his injury.

The other athlete that I would like to give accolades to is actually a teammate of mine. Senior Justin Newcomb suffered a torn ACL in the offseason and will not be returning to play varsity baseball for PHS this spring. However, Newcomb’s

thoughts are still with the team, another admirable act of unselfishness, this time by a high school athlete.

I mean, the guy came to support his team against Chesterton on April 9 hours after he had surgery. You cannot get any more dedicated than that.

My heart and thoughts go out to Newcomb because I know how much love he had for the game and how much he was looking forward to this season. But I also admire him for continuing to travel everywhere with the rest of the team, helping out at practices and coming to every game to cheer on the rest of his fellow teammates. Some people may not think this is a big deal, but it really means a lot to the rest of the team that he still comes out and supports.

Newcomb and Ware are athletes that did not let their injuries get the best of them. Instead of dwelling about it, they got back up on their feet and supported their team, which is an act that we should all recognize.

I am hoping for speedy recoveries for each of these athletes so they can get back to playing the games they love.

Order your 2013 Legend now!

Fewer than 150 copies left!Room 153 $75

Eric MesarchContent Editor

Twitter: @EMessy822

“YoAmazing. It’s unique and the food is di�erent. It’s a place where you can just hang out with friends and eat yogurt.” -Junior Jordan Kwiatkowski

“I’d add Sonic because their food is fantastic and I love how they go around on roller skates.”-Junior Taylor Ailes

“Panera Bread. It’s awesome and their food tastes delicious.”-Junior Jennifer Paulson

“I would add some kind of bu�et place, because then everyone can enjoy themselves.”-Senior C.J. Patten

“Potbelly Sandwich Shop, because I really love their sandwiches.”-Senior Arminda Anguiano

“ I’d add Red Robin because I love to eat there and their burgers taste really good.” -Senior Regina Lopez

“Checkers, because their fries are awesome, it was easy to get to and the food was reasonably priced.” -Junior Alfred Kapcia

7Features April 19, 2013

In one year one man has switched from supervising the in school suspensions to instructing physical educa-tion. He went from working with 15 students per day, to working with 120 students per day. Brian Zofkie has worked at Portage High School for two years. In his first year, he was the ISS supervisor, and worked with five to 15 students a day. As the ISS director, his main respon-sibilities were to keep a watchful eye on the students serving an in school suspen-sion, and helping them with their work. This year, Zofkie is a P.E. instructor, and works with 120 students a day. His main responsibili-ties are teaching the skills, vocab and rules of the vari-ous sports in his 10th grade

classes. Zofkie also has two volleyball classes and an advanced soccer class that he teaches daily. Encouraging an active lifestyle is another part of his job. “My job is completely different now. Directing ISS was fun, I was able to help students with math and sci-ence. Teaching P.E. is great because I get to be more physically active,” Zofkie said. “Although there are aspects of both that I enjoy, P.E. would have to be my favorite.” Zofkie has a lot on his plate this year. His day starts around 5:45 a.m., when he leaves for work. The drive here takes about 45 minutes, due to the fact that he lives in Illinois. When he gets to school, he usually works out. After school has let out, he works out with the volleyball team, serving as the varsity head coach.

Most nights he get home at around 9 p.m.. “I absolutely love what I do. I teach volleyball and weightlifting with the soccer classes. I get to do what I love,” Zofkie said. In Indiana and Illinois, Zofkie is certified to teach social studies. His hope was to teach P.E. once he was certified to do so. When a job opportunity opened up, Principal Caren Swickard offered him the position. Zofkie transferred from ISS to P.E. in the middle of this school year. “I have been given awe-some opportunity to work at a school like Portage. It is the fourth school I have worked in and it is truly the best of them all. Although most students probably don’t believe this, they are lucky to attend a school like Portage. I know I am lucky to teach here,” Zofkie said.

Tyra AllenFeatures Writer

A day in the life of:Brian Zofkie teaches physical education

Head volleyball coach Brian Zofkie gives pointers to players during an after school practice earlier this school year. Zofkie switched from supervising five to 15 students in the ISS room to teaching physical education to around 120 students every day. Photo by Taylor Mlynski

Stewart is joined on stage with two recent additions to the theatre department that portray her character’s love interests in the musical, Kiley and Huizar, both sopho-mores. As a senior, Stewart said she has taken on a mentoring role for the younger members of the cast through the countless hours of practice. “They are both learning and they are both in their first lead rolls,” she said. “It is nice because I have the opportunity to help them along with whatever they need and making sure they feel comfortable on the stage. This show is mostly underclassmen, there aren’t that many seniors.” Both Kiley and Huizar have been work-ing day and night to perfect their first

leading roles of their young careers. Kiley also had a role in this year’s fall play, “The 39 Steps.” “It is a lot of pressure,” Kiley said. “I am pretty much here every day until about six working on lines, songs and dances.”Huizar landed a role in last year’s spring musical, “The Wedding Singer,” but this role will be his first lead, as Warner, Elle’s ex-boyfriend who dumps her in order to find a more fitting fiancé. “It is a big excitement and it comes with a lot of responsibility,” Huizar said.According to Theatre Director Kevin Giese, this musical is set to be one of the biggest productions put on by the theatre depart-ment in years. “This show is almost an opera as there is so much song and not as much dialogue,” Giese said.“It is a big cast, but not the biggest, production wise this is the biggest

show that I have ever done. We have a two story set that can be rolled out in a matter of seconds.” “Legally Blonde: The Musical” is much different than past musicals, as it is set in a recent time period and involves more sets and musical numbers. “You are going to see a lot more enter-tainment, a lot more scene changes and a lot of humor,” Huizar said. “It is pretty much a different setting. Most of the other musi-cals were set in the past, this one is more of a recently based one.” Months of work from the entire cast will culminate tonight for opening night with the performance beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the east auditorium. The show will also be performed tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. and a matinee on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. The final performance days will be April 26 and 27 at 7:30 p.m.

What Restaurants would you like to see in Portage?

Spring MusicalContinued from page 1

Rachel Stewart and Noah Volk practice their lines at rehearsal. Photo by Olivia Forrester

Quenching the crave

The month of April has come to be known for rainy

weather and a day of pranks, but for many Americans, it is also known as National Autism Awareness month. According to the Na-tional Autism Association website, Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder categorized by social and cognitive impairments, communica-tion difficulties and repetitive behaviors. This collection of behaviors is known as Autism Spectrum Disorder. Many children with Autism face difficulties in their everyday lives that someone who is not on the Autism Spectrum would not imagine. Families of someone with Autism often must change habits to better accommodate the child. Jane*, a mother of a child who has been diagnosed with Autism, faces challenges in her life because of her son’s disorder.

“Some of the difficulties we deal with are socially related. Our son doesn’t have many real friends. Real playdates aren’t really an option because either myself or his dad (or other close relative) usually act as a sup-port system,” Jane* said. “We do have friends who are a lot more limited. They can’t go to certain places because it’s too loud, or the food isn’t ‘right,’ sometimes even the wrong color or number may upset their child.” At Portage High School, peer tutors are educated to be able to relate to students with Autism and Facebook support groups are avail-able to families as well. Seniors Scott Burian and Hannah Fengya are part of this system of students who volunteer a part of their day to

spend time with students with Autism. “Becoming close to someone with Autism is a gift. I consider myself so lucky to have had

the opportunity to become friends with some of these kids and be a part of their everyday lives. They are so nice and so forgiving and they really do inspire me to try and be a bet-ter person,” Fengya said.

Burian feels that some students do not take the chance to get to know a student with Autism and he is glad he has been given this opportunity. “It makes me feel really good to know that I am helping these kids because they are great individuals. It is awesome becoming close to them because some people don’t give them

a chance to actually get to know them, you really get to realize how amazing they are,” Burian said. Autism Spectrum Disorder is present in approximately one in every 88 children in the United States, according to the Center for Dis-ease Control. When working with someone that has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Dis-order, a person must be willing to be flexible. “You have to be patient, creative and very empathetic. I know our son wants to do a lot of the things that other kids his age do, but he just doesn’t know the right way to go about it,” Jane* said. The prevalence of Autism in today’s society makes open-mindedness a necessity. “ASD is a very wide spectrum. It affects every child and family a little differently,” Jane* said.

*Names have been changed to provide confidentiality.

8 The Back Page Issue 12 | April 19, 2013

“Autism is present in approximately one in every 88 children.”

April raises Autism awarenessEmily EvansDesign Editor

Meet the Indian: Jullian Stodola

National Photography Contest winner Jullian Stodola, recently had her artwork submitted to a university where it continued on to have her win the art scholarship award in New York. “I just got into photography this year, I have always been interested in it and we were doing sandwiching in class and my teacher really liked it so she recommended I submitted my work,” Stodola said. Portage High School Photog-raphy teacher, Kara Rupcich, believes Stodola is very talented and was exceedingly thrilled when she discovered that Stodola had won the national competition. “I was delighted and very surprised when she had won. She has a very good artistic eye, is a hard worker and I am very honored to be her photography teacher,” said Rupcich. Stodola had taken two pictures of an abandoned lake with a dead log resting in it and a picture of an old, rusty swing set. Rupcich thought her award win-ning photo stood out to her because it had a lot of contrast, it was two interesting images combined and displayed extremely strong

composition. Stodola’s objective for her award winning photo was “abandonment.” She was to find nature or objects that appeared to be deserted or left alone. Her photos had been sandwiched with two negatives on top of each other, com-pressing the photo with more contrast. The title of her photo was “Above the Water. “ “I felt great after winning and was thankful my sister informed me about how much fun photography was, and how that helped me get to the national competition,” Stadola said. Along with Stodola, two other PHS contes-

tants had received awards for their artwork. Senior Devyn Cooper achieved silver in jewelry and junior Dana Dutcher achieved silver in painting. Stodola’s photo had started out at a regional competition, where profes-sionals judged her photo and decided if she would escalate on to the New York national. Her picture

stood out and she was sent to the New York national, where she won gold and received a scholarship. “We are just really excited for May 31, when we will be visiting the Carnegie Hall Award Ceremony and the Art City, so we are honored to be going,” Rupcich said.

Caleb Ingersoll Features Writer

Jullian Stodola poses with her awardwinning photo, called “Above the Water,” pictured above. Photo provided by Kara Rupcich

1

2

3

1. Senior Patrick Derr bats during a home game. 2. Junior Kevin Jones plays baseball against Griffith. The Indians went on to win 13-3 in five innings. 3. Junior Jacob Bearss swings at a pitch during a home game against Griffith. Photos by Olivia Forrester

Portage Baseballgoing strong

“I was delighted and very surprised

when she had won.”

-Kara Rupcich, art teacher

To view a video about Stodola’s art, visit

PHSNewsOnline.com

What Grinds Your Gears?

“How people herd together in the middle of the hall-way and then expect you to move out of their way.”

-Senior Alex Becker

“You know what grinds my gears? The kids who ate glue in pre-school. I mean come on.”

-Melissa Deavers-Lowie, Publications Adviser