Standley Lake High School9300 W. 104th AveWestminster, CO 80021

“Opposition is nothing to be afraid of...” - Ms. Lisa Cillessen page 13

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Opinions or expressions made by students in this publication are not expres-sions of board policy. The district and its emloyees are immune from any civil action based on any expression made for or published by students. The Lake is an open forum for and by the students, faculty, and community of Standley Lake High School. The Lake is willing to accept and print any appropriate articles submitted by the students of SLHS and reserves the right to edit any of these articles. We will not print letters sent to us without a name and signature. Submit letters to Mr. Ben Reed’s mailbox and email to standleylakenewspaper@gmail.com

Editors-in-Chief: Eva Hall Courtney Sullivan

Managing Editor: Austin Kunert

Section Editors: Elle GeorgeKessa GomezChaye GutierrezSabrina Pacha

Business Managers:Bethany KeuppJulia Vasquez

Advisor: Ben Reed

LAKESocial Media Manager: Taylor Foutz

Staff Writers: James BurkyCassidy ConlonKy DeloheryAubree DewineJordan GrayReonna HatchAmber HillBethany KeuppKatelyn MertzEmily MorinJessica OlmsteadJulia Vasquez

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The Lake aspires to produce a publication that gets students excited, as well as informed. As individuals, we yearn to write, photograph, interview, cover, learn, and grow with pride. We will never be satisfied with a bare minimum, for we understand that passion is key. The Lake will never be afraid to uncover the real news of our school--we will embody what it means to be a Gator.

Volume 24.1October 12. 2012

TABLEOFCONTENTS

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A professional BMX biker performs flips and tricks in the student parking lot. Action Sports Athletes partnered with the Marines to deliver an anti-tobacco message to Standley Lake students on Sept. 7.

Soaring above the influence

NEW

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Got 23? These posters have been hanging around the school in order to catch seniors attention about the graduation requirement. Students need 23 credits to graduate and walk across the stage in May..

Mixed Nuts will perform the first Wednesday Night Live of the year in the auditorium on Oct. 24. They had an improv performance Sept. 16th.

“I slapped Elsa which I thought was pretty fun, there was a lot of slapping,” Nathan Berg ‘13 said about the first show..

Students can share their personal photos online with the the yearbook staff by clicking the Replay It link on the SLHS homepage. Their photos have a chance to appear in the actual yearbook with a photo credit.

There has been a drastic decrease in the student population this year at Standley Lake because students are starting to embrace in different school options such as online schooling, charter schools, and home-schooling; according to Mrs. Maryann Harding who takes care of enrollment and students leaving the school.

At the end of last year there were 1,437 students with only 12 drop-outs. As of now, the student count is 1,399 students with no drop-outs so far.

The National Art Honors Society (NAHS)/Art Club, spon-sored by Mrs. Carolyn Valter, is the first honors society and club of its kind at Standley Lake.

“The NAHS is an extension of the NHS, but focuses on the arts. Students are still held to the same criteria as NHS, such as maintaining a 3.5 GPA, and we will complete 20 hours of community service over the year,” Valter said.

Meetings are held Wednes-day mornings. during resource.

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Your cheat sheet to the Swamp

For more news coverage, like The Lake on facebook facebook.com/standleylakenewspaper

WNL @ 7 10/20

LEAGUETOUR

Bear Creek

@ 9 am

GYMNASTICS

10/17VARSITYSOCCERLakewood

@ 4

NHS MEETINGS:10/25 & 11/1 @ 7-8 am

POMS COMPETITION11/3, 11/4, 11/9

11/6ELECTIONDAY

10/20

Standley Lake @ 7:30 am

PSAT

10/16 COFFEE WITH THE

SUPERINTENDANT

Anyone can schedule an appointment to speak with Cindy Stevinson over coffee from 3 to 4 in the library.

Improv 10/16

From 3-4 in the Choir Room. All are welcome.

Workshop10/30

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11/17:30 pm @ the NAAC

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October/November 2012

EVENTS

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10/2410/18

CROSSCOUNTRY: REGIONAL INVITATIONAL

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Divide and Conquer STANDLEYLAKE HIGH SCHOOL JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO

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Mitt Romney(Republican Party)

Planned Parenthood: Many want to take the choice from the individual women and put it in the hands of the insurance company.

Same-sex Marriages: Many want marriage defined by the wedding of a man and a woman. Others want a change in the law to allow anyone to marry in order to receive the benefits of marriage.

Marijuana in Colorado: Marijuana will be legal to sell and buy but only on the state level not at a national

Student loans: maintaining stu-dent loan interest so all classes can receive a higher education.

“I’m nervous about the plans that Romney has because I do plan to attend college and he is not a fan of keeping around student loans,”Angela Buie’13.

“It’s just a thought, but a thought with enough power that it can be taken away,”Darian Bowden’14.

“Marriage is something that should be left up to the individual,not something that the government has a say on,”Olivia Yballa’14.

“Everyone should vote but you need to understand what your vote means at a state and national level, at the state level your vote has more meaning because you are electing someone to represent you versus the national vote,”Brandon L. Lopez’15

The issues and YOUR thoughts as students

Barack Obama(Democratic Party)

People should be able to love whomever they feel. As a govern-ment we should not have a say in this.

Planned Parenthood is some-thing that needs to be taken out, and contraception should be available to decide on the state level.Contraception goes against some religious beliefs.

Marriage is traditionally described by a man and a woman, and so the law should portray that.

Women should be able torecieve contraception and other health care related to women no matter what the case.

Students should find a school that suits their financial stan-dards versus going to a college where the government has to pay for parts of it.

Higher education is the way that America is going to stay ahead in the international industry and everyone should be able to afford to go to college.

Opposed to any idea of legalizing marijuana at the state or national level.

Not in favor of legalizing mari-juana. It is not a big deal on his campaign for the 2012 election.

10Compiled by: Kessa Gomez

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Lions Park filled shoulder to shoulder with 8,400 people on Sept. 13 for an event that had not hap-pened since Ulysses S. Grant was in office: the President of the United States was visiting Golden, Colorado. And Standley Lake’s own English teacher Ms. Lisa Cillessen would be introducing him.

“It was pretty freaking awe-some,” said Cillessen. “One of the top ten moments of my life.”

Cillessen was chosen by the Obama campaign to speak at the grassroots rally, Obama’s eighth stop in Colorado so far this year, because she fit the exact image they were trying to portray.

“They said they wanted younger

people with kids. I went with my aunt, my best friends, and my daugh-ters to the Lakewood campaign office and asked how I could help.”

As a mother of three children with another one on the way, she was the perfect person to do the job.

Her husband Jeremiah is also a registered Republican who voted for Obama in 2008 and plans to vote for him again this year. Mr. Cillessen also runs a small IT business that works with the auto industry, mak-ing him fit other key demographics the Obama campaign is targeting.

She recalled the nerves that filled her mind before entering the stage.

“I decided after the first speaker

Cillessen’s Golden dayStandley Lake English Teacher Mrs. Lisa Cillessen introduces President Obama at campaign rally

“Opposition is nothing to be afraid of...Have confidence in your message. You have to believe what you’re saying. Work hard.”

-Ms. Lisa Cillessen

English teacher Ms. Lisa Cillessen addresses a crowd of 8,400 at Lions Park on September 13. Colorado continues to be one of the most important swing states in the 2012 election.

that I was nervous, but I centered myself. I didn’t want to be nervous meeting the President.”

The final draft of her speech had been edited only 12 hours prior to the event.

“My speech writer sent me the speech at 8 p.m. Wednesday night. May I remind you that I was speak-ing on Thursday.”

Cillessen delivered her four-minute-long speech to the crowd before introducing President Obama. They collapsed into a hug for several seconds as Cil-lessen smiled and thought, “Oh, I get to hug him again.”

President Obama went on to speak for about half an hour. He discussed the recent attacks in Libya, his presidency thus far, hot topics of the election, tax cuts, reliance on foreign fuel, creating jobs, healthcare, and Social Security.

The experience reaffirmed Cillessen’s beliefs and allowed students to see what it takes to make an impact.

“It’s interesting to see how it’s playing out with my former students and teachers. Growth is good for all of us.”

She advises her students to “join the debate team, become a speaker, join a campaign you care about, get off Facebook, get off Twitter, and go do some-thing. Go volunteer.”

“Opposition is nothing to be afraid of...Have confidence in your message. You have to believe what you’re saying. Work hard,” she said.

This year, Cillessen is taking a leave of absence to be with her family and prepare for her fourth child to arrive. She plans to return to teaching next fall.

-Chaye Gutierrez

85.7%President Obama’s predicted chance of winning the election, according to Nate Silver of the New York Times

2623,000

number of days left until the Election on Nov. 6

number of political ads that will run on Denver’s four major networks between Aug. 2 and Election Day, according to 9news

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After the screaming and chanting at the powderpuff game, the mob of students

moved to the front of the school. They gathered into the tightest herd of bodies that is humanly possible. They were skin to skin, there wasn’t one person who wasn’t touching someone else. Teachers hovered around the perimeter watching with blank faces of disapprovement. Grinding and yelling continued until the DJ stops and the cars of parents and students leave the parking lot.

Despite the fun and games, the time for grinding has ended for Homecoming festivities. “[The] event that took place after Powderpuff was really an event to get people pumped up for the homecoming game.” said principal Jeff Pierson. “It wasn’t originally designed to be a big mob dance in front of the school. The true point of what Tailgator was about had gone away, and I wanted to refocus on that.”

Once Tailgator had been officially cancelled, Student Council started planning the

1.2.3.4.5.

5 The crowd was larger than most home football games.

The Powderpuff cheerlearders were fantastic even though they weren’t wearing cheer uniforms.

Matt Fujinami ‘14 went into the game for the juniors for one play, Powderpuff uniform and all.

The final score was 18-0, giving the Seniors victory.

The number of Powderpuff cheerleaders was the largest in a long time (18 total).

GROUNDEDthings you may have missed at Powderpuffevent that would take place

after Powderpuff, making many changes to what had previously filled that time slot.

One major change this year was the location.“[It] was pretty much told to us that we were going to be at NAAC,” said Mr. Van Dyke, Student Council adviser. “We didn’t really feel that it was appropriate [to keep old traditions for the new location].”

Powderpuff Kickback, the name that replaced Tail-gator this year, never hap-pened in its planned entirety due to lightning and rain. As Scott Mayer ‘14 puts it, “This year’s Tailgator really just rained on my parade.”

There were originally plans for a pep rally piece, but they never fully material-ized, either because of the rain or not enough participa-tion from the sports teams. It ended up being 15-20 minutes of dancing near the entrance of NAAC.

At one point Mr. Pierson stopped the music to inform everyone that if the “body diving” (crowd surfing) didn’t stop, then the Kick- 3

13

back would end.Many factors lead up

to the decision to change Tailgator. “I [received] quite a few complaints to what Tailgator had become,” said Mr. Pierson. “I personally was uncomfortable with it. I believe that a dance is a dance and what went on at Tailgator was not a dance at all.”

“I liked how it was at the NAAC instead of just at the school,” said Kristina Juull ‘14. “[It] made it feel more official.”

-Julia Vasquez and Bethany Keupp

Mr. Pierson congratulates the Juniors and Seniors on a game well played. The Powderpuff cheerleaders do the Chomp at halftime of the Powderpuff game.

Powderpuff, Tailgator traditions changed by administration

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Softball currently holds the record 7-9-1. Brooke Thompson ‘13 gears up to swing in their game against Wheatridge.

Gymnastics wins their own invite, ranking them in the top five in state. Hannah Bis-sani ‘14 leads her team with the higest scores.

Soccer beats Chatfield, the number 3 ranked school in the state, making their record 7-2-1. Adam Williams ‘15 hussels to the ball in their game against Pomona

Volleyball currently holds the record of 8-5. Teal Schnurr ‘13 spikes the ball.

Top singles tennis players are Brian Le ‘15, Nickolas Mouno-toua ‘15, and Daniel Lee ‘15 pictured below.

The Cross Country team hosts their invite at Westminster City Park. Top girl runners Natalie Trevino ‘13, Sara Hines ‘14, and Alie Settje ‘15 give it their all.

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Eli Mckay ‘13 went to the state tournament and tied for 50th out of 84 people.

Your Fall Sports Cheat Sheet

1 1

Sports scores were accurate as of press time. For more up to date records and scores, like The Lake at facebook.com/standleylakenews-paper.

Football holds the record of 4-1. They’re ranked 18th for 4a. Lucas Videtich gains some yards in their game against Niwot.

Hit and run

&

Dealing with effects of concussions

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Lake,” said the athletic trainer, Brina Wade.

And it’s not just football. Boys soccer and even cheerlead-ing have each been affected by a concussion this year.

Atwood, a varsity soccer player, said, “First I got kicked in the head with a ball, then I hit heads with my teammate. I blacked out, and I was seeing stars.” Although most concus-sions occur in a game, Tyler got his moderately severe concus-sion at practice during the first week of school and has only recently recovered from all symptoms.

But recovering isn’t all that easy to do. Some have after-ef-fects, like headaches, even years after obtaining nothing but a mild to moderate concussion.

Wade said, “Playing with a concussion or having recur-ring concussions can lead to problems later in life, some being life-long. Even for less severe cases, the after-effects of a concussion can complicate day-to-day activities.”

“It was hard to concentrate and I was sensitive to light.” He also suffered from “really bad headaches, like migraines,” said Atwood.

Luckily for Atwood, he was able to play again in a little over a week. But some are not so lucky. Cheerleader Danielle Blake ‘14 was elbowed in the head during cheer practice and was unable to participate for the next two weeks.

But concussions aren’t al-ways so easy to spot. Many peo-ple aren’t even aware that they have a concussion, and would continue to play with them if CHSAA (Colorado High School Athletic Association) didn’t have such strict rules about head injuries.

CHSAA rules state that coaches have to take out any athlete that has had any hard blow to the head or the body that could lead to a concussion. Athletes can’t return to practic-es, games, or competitions until all symptoms are gone and they are cleared by a doctor.

Some people believe that concussions only occur when an athlete passes out. Therefore, many athletes return to the field with a concussion unaware of the dangers.

Take Eli Webber ’15, for instance. After hitting helmets with another athlete during his first football game, Webber got a concussion and contin-ued playing. “I went helmet to helmet with another guy. He went down but I walked off. I had a constant migraine and was dizzy all the time after the blow,” Webber said.

Wade says this is a huge danger. “Second impact syndrome is the worst thing that could happen,” said the trainer. This occurs when a player doesn’t fully recover from a concussion and gets another. The risks of brain damage when this occurs are even more dangerous with second impact syndrome because the brain begins to swell rapidly, and often results in fatality. This is why athletes must get cleared by a doctor with no symptoms of a concussion before they return to play.

Having a concussion is not a one-time deal. There is recovery, after-effects, prevention, and life long problems, like memory loss, that follow concussions long after the concussion itself is gone. Since concussions are such a commonality, student athletes don’t realize how truly dangerous they can be.

Atwood was lucky, but for some, concussions are just the beginning.

Concussion Concerns -Studies show girls report nearly twice as many concussions as boys in sports.-Contrary to common belief, a concussion is NOT a bruise to the brain.-Studies show link between prior concussions and later drug and alcohol problems in pro athletes -Info from kidshealth.org

-Compiled by Aubree Dewine and Reonna Hatch

Tyler Atwood ‘14 stands on the soccer field, waiting for the ball to come. As his teammate shoots, he gets hit in the head with the ball and then clashes heads with another player. Everything goes black, and then stars surface. Atwood has a concussion, and his is just one of many that will occur this year.

A teenage athlete obtains a concussion every 21 seconds. Youth concussions in the United States have now reached an epidemic level.

Most of these concussions are minor and insignificant to the athlete’s daily life, but studies show that at least 50 football players high school age or younger have been killed or seriously injured on the field as a result of head injuries.

Concussions are becoming an overwhelmingly common event in our society lately, es-pecially in high school athletes. This school year alone, “There have been seven sport related concussions here at Standley

Emerging from the darknessSenior maintains positive outlook despite visual difficulties

Showtime debuts:

Shrouded in a cloud of darkened silhouettes and ob-jects, there is a boy who can only see a vision akin to the blurred-out, pixelated faces of people in police footage. A vision that, despite its limitations, has allowed him to emerge from the darkness of his disability into someone of athletic and academic esteem.

This is Rhett Gutierrez ‘13.

Between the ages of eight and nine, Gutierrez began to notice a severe decline in his vision, despite the use of the glasses he had always worn. Words on the whiteboard became more difficult to distinguish, sentences in books swam, and he found himself having to get closer and closer to any reading material to see it clearly.

As these malfunctions continued, he endured test after test, procedure after procedure to determine exactly what was happening to his vision.

Eventually, Gutierrez was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, a type of inherited juvenile macular degenera-tion that causes progressive vision loss to the point of becoming legally blind. His vision has now plateaued at a level of 20/200.

Upon learning of his diagnosis, Gutierrez recalls that his family shared a sigh of relief. “The doctors were throwing out all sorts of pos-sibilities that were way more severe, so it was relieving to get one final answer and settle,” he said.

Despite the fact that his vision is 20/200, the hardest part of living with Stargardt’s Disease isn’t about what he can or can’t see.

“Being humble and hav-ing some humility and asking for help [is the hardest part]. You never want to inconve-nience anyone,” he said. Ad-ditionally, the support of his devoted family and friends are, to him, what keeps him so humble. “They make sure my head doesn’t get too big for my britches.”

Of course, Stargardt’s comes with its limitations. Due to legal reasons, Gutierrez isn’t able to drive, but again, that doesn’t keep him from having a positive outlook on life. He said, “The only limitations are the ones that we put on ourselves, and since that’s the case, I can pretty much do any-thing.”

Not only does he have an uncannily amiable dispo-sition, he is also captain of the varsity football team and academically driven

as a candidate in the IB Programme.

On the football field, his teammates make him feel most at home. He says that having so much comfort and familiarity with the guys makes every practice, every game feel like a family event. “Everyone is so close, we all have one goal in mind,” he said. “We feel secure. Even without the vision thing, I think they would always have my back.”

Academically, Gutierrez also doesn’t let his vision hinder his learning. “I have to work with teachers of course, and my classmates are all very supportive and helpful, but otherwise I make accommodations for myself,” he said.

In elementary school, he recalls instances of receiving special treat-ment and accommodations because of his disease. “There were times when it felt weird, since I didn’t like making a big deal about it. Anything that accentuated the fact made it hard to be discrete, like oversize papers and laptops. There was an instance with my elementary basketball coach who, once I was diagnosed, cut me from the team because he said that I would be too much of a liability if I was on it. But then my other basketball coach didn't even know about my condition until 9 News interviewed me nearly two years later.”

Now, he says that it’s something he and everyone else--classmates, family, coaches, teachers--have embraced.

The media exposure has certainly aided in the acceptance of his condi-tion. Contacted by news corporations ranging from 9 News, the Denver Post, Yahoo!Sports, the Huffington Post, and ESPN, Gutierrez says that it hasn’t really af-fected him. “It gets the word out to other people, and I’ve been contacted by strangers about how my story has inspired them, so it makes the long hours of taping and everything else worthwhile.”

On Aug. 23, a crew of ESPN reporters shadowed him for the afternoon. Pro-ducer Gustavo Colletti was visibly moved by Gutierrez’s story. “His vision [inspires me]. Not necessarily the one he doesn’t have, but the vi-sion of his intuition. He is the definition of overcoming.”

The most inspirationally grounding aspect that keeps him humble and at peace with Stargardt’s is the under-standing that there is always someone else out in the

world that has it worse off than he does.

“There’s always some-thing that hinders us or makes life more difficult, and I never wanted to feel sorry for myself, since in some ways I got off easy. I’m so blessed in the other areas of my life,” he says.

As far as family is con-cerned, the Gutierrez clan is one of the closest families imaginable. Claiming that they are always extremely open and honest with each other, he says they can say anything they need to one another.

“They've always been very supportive and pos-itive-thinking around me. I mean, they outlined any severe diagnoses to prepare me, and they now are so driven to finding a cure and supporting others with the disease. And, of course, my sister is my biggest fan. She and I relate to each other a lot more. It’s like yeah, she’s my sister, but she’s also one of my best friends. Definitely a go-to in my life.”

In concurrence, Chaye Gutierrez ‘15 says, “He has given me more out of life than I could ask from anyone. I’m really grateful to have an older brother, but to have Rhett as an older brother is a blessing.”

Committed to finding a cure, the family are part of the organization Fighting Blindness, which provides support groups for kids with low or nonexistent vision to help them cope with their diagnosis and struggles. Gutierrez joined the program shortly after his diagnosis, and is now the youth chair for the organization.

Emerging from the darkness, Rhett Gutierrez has established himself as a driven team member, academic all-star, and an exceptional person. “I just hope when people think about me that they think I'm a genuinely good guy, who would do anything for anyone, and who always had a smile, always looked for the good in things.”

-Eva Hall

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Check The Lake’s facebook page for links to all of Rhett’s media coverage.

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As she feels the adren-aline pulsing through her veins, the words spoken by her teacher fly in one ear and out the other. She sits, practically jumping out of her seat during classes, her thoughts running wild about the game she’ll be playing tonight, plays she’s going to have to make, different strategies her team has gone over and over to be executed to perfection. Some of you really know exactly what I’m talking about, but others wouldn’t have a clue. For Teal Schnurr ‘13, that feeling is all too real. Schnurr is known around school for her skills on the volleyball court. But what is her motivation, what drives her to “be the best?” “I love winning,” said Schnurr. Stepping onto the court, she’s in a different mindset. Her craving for being the best she can be pushes her to perform in pristine condition. “I guess my mindset is to be the best I can be, to be a dependable player and live up to my expectations,”

she said. She, of course, lives up to her expectations. She even has her own signature “cheer:” the Teal Smash. She’s fought hard every game, time after time, to get to where she is now. She’s even recieved scholarships for her immense capabilities. But despite her being one of the best volleyball players at our school, she’s just like the rest of the students here. Before a game, she does what any normal person would, “I go home and eat a chicken pot pie, and listen to music really loud on the way here,” she said. “Right now it’s Skrillex or Whistle by Flo Rida.” When she pulls into the parking lot, the nerves set in. Her mind is in the game already. The walk down to the gymnasium seems to come slowly, the minutes counting down until she has to perform. As she watches the other games, she’s thinking about what she has to do in hers. Then, it’s her time to shine.

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SMASHINGEXPECTATIONSTeal Schnurr ‘13 fights for what she loves, finding motivation in her

passion for volleyball

Teal Schnurr ‘13 winds up for her serve. She is leading the state of Colora-do in total number of kills.

Teal Schnurr ‘13 spikes the ball through Golden defenders. The “Teal Smash” has become a hit with fans throughout the school. The fans fall backwards into each other after she makes a kill.

“At first I freak out be-cause I’m really nervous, but then it turns to excitement,” she said. As she listens to the crowd, her excitement rises further. She warms up with her teammates, gets final words from her coaches, then the music stops, and she’s ready to play. The first ball is served, and the game begins. Listening to the crowd, she does what she does best. Wins. Volleyball started as just a sport for her, but now it has become her life. “I really know what it means to work for what you want, to push through hard things,” she said. For Schnurr, volleyball has taught her life lessons and important skilwwls. She has devoted her time, patience and love to volleyball. “It’s my passion, and it’s turned into my future,” she said. All of us know what it feels like to fight for some-thing, but Teal Schnurr is fighting for her future. - Cassidy Conlon

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homecoming 2012

19Compiled by Reonna Hatch and Chaye Gutierrez

thetheater guy

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What separates him from being just a talented actor is the person he’s grown to be because of theater. He is a person that has been shaped and molded by an environment that he loves.There is not only fire inside him, but there is love--a whole lot of love.

“We are the department that supplies that home to those who don’t really know who they are or what their purpose is in high school, we need to make them feel comfort-able, so they can blossom and understand what they’re there for.”

Acceptance is rare to find in high school. Kids who file out to secluded parts of the school during lunch, kids who cringe at the thought of choosing a partner, kids who just can’t find their place fill this school.

In the midst of the retro pale pink walls of the seemingly calm Standley Lake High

School, students panic and stress, and not very many of them slow down to help others catch up. There might be luck if you walk down the stretched out hallway to where life resumes a slower, calmer pace, the Drama de-partment. The students here leak with passion and love for what they’re doing and it’s hard to resist the vibes they so clearly are eager to share.

There are strong rela-tionships formed through theater. It’s known through-out the school that theater kids stick together, but there isn’t a true understanding of why. “There’s something about the stage and sharing that time, trying to make it the best it can be, bouncing ideas off each other that sticks with you,” DiTorrice

said.DiTorrice found his girlfriend in theater,

Devyn Ward ’14. “She’s gotten me through alot in this department,” DiTorrice said. “Although it can get competitive at times,” Ward said, “”We always try to boost each other’s confidence.”

Here is where DiTorrice is different than just any other talented actor. Here, with Devyn, Rob, and the rest of his theater friends being stupid and just laughing. Here, with his mom, whose eyes start to hurt from her glasses because they’ve been running lines for too long. Here, with his dad, attempting to build a model railroad. Here, with himself, creating and building the vision that is etched in his mind.

- Sabrina Pacha

3

He’s just another high school boy, fading into the crowd of students roaming the school. The halls of teenagers swarming and buzzing

swallow him whole, just like any other per-son--part of the system. It’s possible that you might be able to spot him, tall and a dark head of hair. It’s possible that you won’t even do a double take.

But there’s one place where Danny DiTor-rice ‘13 can’t blend in.

The stage.“In elementary school, I did tech for a

lot of the shows and then in middle school I thought I was going to follow the same trend. But the teacher there, she saw some-thing in me, and stuck me with the lead in Annie--Oliver Warbucks,” DiTorrice said.

And the story began.DiTorrice had found his

place in the hall at the very west end of the school.

His success in theater took dedication, not just talent. It wasn’t luck that led him to score many lead roles over his high school career. It was his drive and ambition.

“Everything he ever does, he tries to put his whole self into it,” Rob Mar-ko-Franks ’14, a close friend of DiTorrice, said.

DiTorrice has an unmis-takable fire in him. Not one subject he touches is ever dull, but when there is talk of acting, the fire blazes into an incredible sight. He has been on the stage more times than anyone can count, yet there is one thing that never gets old.

“The best thing always is that I don’t get scared in a show because it’s not me. It’s nice to pretend it’s not you,” he said.

His life at home is a little different than other kids. DiTorrice’s mom is in a wheel-chair, but for him there is no pity in this. Instead, he sees this as an opportunity to learn, to be inspired.

“It’s all I’ve ever known, and that’s life. Life will never deal you anything you can’t handle, and my mom handles her MS ex-traordinarily well,” he said.

His family is a big support for him. “My parents come to every show, unless it’s bor-ing,” DiTorrice said. His mom is always there, running lines with him when needed, and his dad tries to help in any way possible. “My dad, it was all really foreign to him at first.

When I started getting interested in theater, he really tried to adapt to that. He’s always tried to adapt to my phases. A great father, he’s never told me no, always been there to help, especially with theater.”

Help is something that can be quite useful in the tedious process of putting on a play or musical.

Plays, characters, songs, they don’t just appear. Long nights that go well past regular school hours, endless days spent memorizing lines, and moments that are defined by the discovery of your character.

The discovery of your character. Meeting them, getting to know them, really finding them is what DiTorrice looks forward to in the long process of putting a show together. “When you finally get off script, and you’re starting to work with your hands more, and

your face, and starting to find who he or she really is, who you’re trying to be or what they’re thought process is. It’s that experi-mental time,” he said.

While the school knows DiTorrice as “the theater guy,” he is so much more. There is “The Lego Danny,” who enjoys building with Legos, and “The Auto Danny,” who likes working with cars.

“It all has to deal with that universal idea of having a vision in your head and making it come alive. I think that is theater, as well as anything mechanical, anything you build, anything you create, or even cook. If you have an idea of how you want something to taste, or more than that, how you want it to make someone feel when they taste it. Really anything like that, I love,” DiTorrice said.

“I’ve learned how to make people feel comfortable, seeing as theater is not really the reject place, but generally kids who don’t know who they are or who need to find themselves come searching to theater.” -Danny DiTorrice ‘13

13$7

11 12

B E I N G E A R N E S T

I M P O R T A N C E O F

OCTOBER @ 7:00 p.m.$10 for adults for students $5 for thespians

21

EMr. Cassady’s back...

...from Everest

SWA

MP

PEO

PLE

Knowing full-well that Mount Everest could take his life at any given moment, science teacher Mr. Rob Cassady embarked upon his journey last May, unaware of what the next minute would hold. With a nervous expression on his face, he explained his emotions and thoughts when

he knew his life was on the line. “Six people died the day we summitted,” he said.“One of the times when I was more scared than I’ve ever been in my life

was when I was climbing the Lhotse Face,” he said. “With this 500-foot face with rock at the top, rocks break off and come down. We’d be going and you’d just hear the ‘Shhhh,’ of a rock whizzing by, and it could be a chunk that could have killed you. A Sherpa got a broken jaw that day, from getting hit by one. That was terrifying.”

Everest is notorious for its life-threatening dangers. The freezing cold. The lack of oxygen. The icy cliffs. And the ninety degree inclines.

It’s famous for its success stories and even more known for its horror stories.

People have climbed this monstrosity, triumphed what most people would consider completely impossible. But for what reasons? Why would anyone feel inclined to climb something so fierce, so dangerous, so challenging. This year, Standley Lake can answer all of these questions firsthand.

Because Mr. Cassady’s back... from Mount Everest.

He had the trip lingering over his head for longer than most could imagine. Hours upon hours, hike upon hike, and summit upon summit would all lead up to one life-changing climb. Finally, last May, the day came when Mr. Cassady would leave for Nepal and attempt to summit Mount Everest.

Just before he left, he said goodbye to his loved ones, who were hesitant, at first, about supporting Mr. Cassady’s ascent of Mount Everest. When ex-plaining the transition his parents went through emotionally, he said, “At the end, they were really supportive. I think part of it was also they didn’t want to leave with like, ‘No, don’t do this,’ They wanted to leave with an encouraging message.”

Mr. Cassady then promised to keep in touch with his classes and send them updates on the journey. Then he left for a trip that might not send him home the same... Or at all.

Once in Nepal, Mr. Cassady was greeted with open arms and warm smiles from the friendly Nepalese and spent some time in the town before descending into the Himalayas.

“The people of Nepal are great. They’re so friendly. I think Americans tend to be much more restrained until you really get to know them, but every-one here seems to have this...this wall up. In Nepal, it’s not like that. Everyone is open and so kind,” he said.

Finally, the day arrived, the day that Mr. Cassady would begin his as-cent of Mount Everest; embarking on a journey that could take his life.

He was familiar with the Himalayas, as he had climbed a mountain next to Everest in the 1990s, but he had never seen the kind of altitude that Everest offered. Standing at a massive 29,029 feet--5.5 vertical miles above sea level, equivalent to two fourteeners stacked on top of one another--Everest is a force to be reckoned with.

To prepare for such a climb, Cassady said that he had gone on hikes each weekend with large elevation variations so he could acclimate his body to such extreme changes, and he had the previous experience of climbing 115 of the highest mountains in Colorado, and had gone on trips to Peru and Africa to climb.

After adjusting to the elevation and preparing himself the best he could, Mr. Cassady and his crew began the climb. The higher they climbed, the more dangers they seemed to face, especially when coming up to the Khumbu Icefall.

“In terms of the deaths, this year, there’s a reputation for the this thing called the Khumbu Icefall, that its really dangerous, and it is,” Mr. Cassidy said.

The icefall is widely accepted as one of the most dangerous components of the ascent; it moves so quickly that its not uncommon for the crevasses (breaks in the ice) to open very suddenly.

22

23

“This year, one person died. He was a Sherpa. He didn’t clip a rope and somehow slipped and fell and died, which was tough, because it was pretty bloody. That was pretty nerve-wracking, going across that.

“I was like dry-heaving the next time I went past. You could see all the blood.”

As he continued, he painted a vivid picture showing why the Icefall was considered one of the more dangerous spots of the climb, and he explained the physics and dangers of the Icefall to us; “The Icefall is scary because you have this ice over you, and you tend to go early in the morning. It’s all glacial ice so it can break whenever. But there’s generally less breakage in the morn-ing, so you’re waking up in the dark at four in the morning and as it’s getting light, you’re going up there somewhere. And that was a pretty scary thought, as you’re putting your boots on, thinking, ‘Wow, I could be dead in two hours.’ You’re going to a place that could potentially be pretty risky.”

With such high elevation and cold temperatures, one would expect the ability to stay warm to be a very difficult task; however, Mr. Cassady recalled that he never felt particularly cold. The only time when the bitterness of the air affected Cassady was when he got frostbite on his left foot.

“I put some warmers in my boots one morning that I think--either that or just the coldness--I did get frostbite on my left foot,” he said. “Two of my toes got it pretty badly. They got all black, so they’re still healing.” Luckily, Cassady didn’t lose his foot or any of his toes, but he explained that it is still painful for him.

During the trip, Mr. Cassady also learned that a Sherpa who had sum-mitted Mount Everest 19 times and had spoken with Mr. Cassady at the begin-ning of the trip, died later on during his twentieth ascent of Mount Everest.

“Jeff had done a trip previously, and I had just been chatting with him. And he actually stepped out of his tent in the middle of the night to pee or something, fell into a crevasse, and he died. That was pretty difficult since he was one of the most experienced climbers.”

Mr. Cassady also said that he met a woman that didn’t make it back down Everest. “We met a lady who ended up dying, and I actually met the Sherpa who got to her right after she became unresponsive. And he was beating himself up, he was having a really hard time with the fact that there was this lady that he didn’t get to save. I tried to tell him that he saved a guy previous to finding the woman, but he was upset.”

Imagine climbing this mountain with others, knowing they didn’t make it, and having to continue the climb, with the thought lingering over your head that you could be Everest’s next victim.

Another time when Mr. Cassady felt as if his life was on the line, was when his oxygen wasn’t working right. He said, “Right after coming down from what’s called the Hillary Step, you got up over this little bump called the South Summit, and coming down from that I didn’t have any oxygen coming through,” he said. “And ideally, you’d want to repel, but my carabiner was stuck shut, and I wasn’t in good enough shape to fix it, and I got here and there was this steep pitch and I didn’t want to spend time with the carabiner.

“And there was one point where I thought, ‘I just need to go,’ so I just repelled down having the rope around me. But that was definitely a stop where I was like, ‘If I stick around, I’m probably not going to make it.’ When I went over the South Summit, I ended up seeing a guy I knew from Colorado Springs. He saw me right at the South Summit and he said, ‘You don’t look good Rob, you look really bad.’ And that kinda kicked me, like, ‘Oh, this is really serious. I could die.’

I could tell that death really would have been very easy, but I had to just focus in and go down.”

Mr. Cassady recalled a premonition, from years ago, of what came to fruition on that mountain last May. “I had this thought like, for years, that sometime I’m going to be descending this stretch and think, ‘Wow, every step I take is just a step closer to life and safety. And then when I was actually doing it, it was just like real, like every step is a life or death thing. So it was weird that I had this like premonition of what happened.”

When describing these moments, Mr. Cassady had such a calm expres-sion, as if talking about back-to-back near-death encounters were a common occurrence. Another incident Cassady explained to us, was when he was climbing up Everest, apparently, there was a corpse lying inches away from him. “I didn’t see, but I guess there was a corpse right next to me, I didn’t see it, I was too focused in, but yeah, it was there right along the way.”

He literally didn’t see a dead body lying inches away from him as he climbed.

Everything about Cassady’s summit of Mount Everest seems so unbeliev-ably insane to the average person, it’s a feat that very few people earn the privilege of saying they accomplished. Cassady expressed what it felt like, after all the blood, the sweat, the tears, after so many hours of preparation and lost sleep, and then to finally reach his lifelong goal- to climb to the top of the world.

“It was pretty wild. It seemed to drag on and on for a while. You get down the Hillary step and then you think, ‘Well, I should be there,’ and then finally, there were some prayer scarves, and then maybe a twenty-five foot ridge that went out with people standing on it. It was a pretty cool thing. You know, to climb up, and get on this flat ridge and look down into Tibet, literally on top of the world.”

It’s a pretty cool thing. A Gator, standing there, on top of the world. -Taylor Foutz

(Top to bottom) At the Khumbu Icefall, Cassady crosses a crevasse, which is a deep crack in a glacier. Overseeing the plains of Tibet, Cassady reaches the summit of Mt. Everest. A group of sherpas gather on the S2 mountaineering expedition. Long lines of climbers scale up the Lhotse Face. -Photos courtesy of Mr. Cassady -Page Compiled by Elle George

LIFES

TYLE

24

“Sessions” to

“Scratches”

60 Years in 60 Seconds

“Heartbreak Hotel” by Elvis Presley

Elvis performed it o

n The Dorsey Broth-

ers, and it b

ecame widely popular.

Elvis’s first

#1 hit on the

US Billboard pop charts.

Earned Elvis his fi

rst gold record

(given for selling over 1 million

copies)

Inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fa

me in

1995.

Reached the top 5 on the

R&B lists.

The entire

band record-

ed together, and the song was

collected onto a record. If the

song wasn’t played precisely,

the band would play it again,

and a new vinyl record used.

These

were called

“takes” or “sessions” and

could reach far past twenty-

five in a sin

gle day.

Oftentimes, m

istakes can

still be heard in the backg

round

of the songs. Every individual

take sounded unique in its

quality and performance.

If tunes are slig

htly off, auto

tune will bring it to

the per-

fect pitch. Sometimes, m

any

versions of th

e same singer’s

work will be edited togeth-

er for the best ta

ke.

The final scr

atches will

then be mixed together, in-

struments a

nd music added,

and last-minute clean-ups

of the song quality per-

formed.

“I Gotta Feelin’” by the Black Eyed Peas

The band will play their instru

-

ments onto separate tracks (called

“scratches”), and then, individually, each

singer will v

ocalize their p

ortion of

the song.

Debuted at #2 on the

Hot 100 under th

eir other

song, “Boom Boom Pow.”

Only 9th act in histo

ry of Hot 100 charts

to succeed another of th

e same artist

’s

songs. (“Boom Boom Pow”)

Broke record for most consecutive

weeks (8) at #1 in this ro

ck era.

Won Best International Song of th

e

Year at French NRJ awards.

Topped over 25 charts

internationally.

Compiled by Amber Hill

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GIRLS NIGHT OUT When going out for a night with the girls, the best and only way to go is dark and dramatic. Katie executed this look by applying Urban Decay’s darker shades on the outer crease and outer eyelid while applying lighter, highlighting shadows toward the inner and lower lids. To top it off, Katie ap-plied a thick black liner along the lash line on the top and bottom. On the upper lash line, a glitter eyeliner is added for a sparkling pop. The contrast between the two shades not only brightens the natural eye color, but also sets the mood for a daring night out.

27

FIFTY SHADES of FALLThe makeup world is heating up with these fresh new looks for Fall

SCHOOL DAY During the mid-week, jazz up your eyes with light neutrals. Katie, a color expert at Sephora, recommends soft browns and light shimmers. To capture this look, she used Urban Decay shadows to high-light the natural beauty of the eye. The lighter shades were used on the inside crease of the lid and the brow line. The darker shades were used to deepen the look of the eye along with a brown eyeliner on both lash lines. The shimmer of the shadows brings a little extra spark to any old school day.

GAME DAY Pump up the spirit with these bright, eye-popping Urban Decay shades of blue and green to get ready for an exciting victory. The colors of the Swamp have never looked so good along with the streak of eye black in order to take on the full game time effect. The green was used on the inner lid while the blues deepen the outter corners. Nothing’s complete without a little sparkle and shine, so Katie added a thin layer of glitter to the eye black for a shimmering effect under the Friday night lights.

Page compiled by Kylynn Delohery and Jessica Olmstead

LIFES

TYLE

28

THE LONG WAY5 things you need to know about longboarding

It all started in Oahu, Hawaii when the pioneers of the surf walked the sandy beaches and charted the ocean. Day after day, it was an endless search for whatever the cold, blue, beauti-fully dangerous titan would throw at them next. But, the beast stopped giving, and the mighty warriors of the aquatic trekked home, their adventerous hearts unsatisfied. But a spark of ingenuity caught fire during the ocean’s slumber and from its ashes rose...the longboard.

11Foot breaking is key Find some flat, even asphalt to practice this technique until you have

nearly mastered the concept like the gods of the board themselves. This is the ideal way to stop downhill.

22 Find your center of balanceIf you know how to skateboard, this shouldn’t be all too diffi-

cult, but if you’re new to boards on wheels, this is critical to your success. Know your board better than anyone.

33Patience Hills and slopes are to be

conquered with time. Rush it and feel the wrath of the surf...You’re going to fall... really hard.

44Your longboard and you Everything from board size,

cut, and width will affect the style of riding and how you move on the board. Let it reflect every characteristic that makes you,you.

55 Avoid DiscountsNever buy your board from discount toy stores,

including both Target and Walmart. They aren’t ideal, they’re cheap, stupid, and a disgrace to the gods.

Bill Becker ‘13 glides down the street on his longboard. This semester at SLHS the trend of longboarding has taken hold.

- Compiled by Austin Kunert

DOWHAT

YOUSTAND

FORBrandon Lopez ‘15 sat

quietly in the corner of the library while students around him talked about what parties they were going to that weekend and gossiped about the latest drama. He kept his eyes glued on his Bible, not to show off, but because he enjoyed reading it.

In Standley Lake, 79.4% of seniors, 58% of juniors, 88.74% of sophomores, and a whopping 92.4% of fresh-men practice religion. But does that mean being reli-gious is the cool thing to do? No, it doesn’t. Only 16.4% of students think expressing your religion is lame.

That’s about 100 kids, which doesn’t seem like a lot, but numbers don’t always tell the story.

That means roughly 100 students will laugh at the kid who has a crucifix on his shirt, or roughly 100 kids will laugh at the kid who wears a yamaka.

However, Lopez seems to be one student who, at the risk of being ridiculed, expresses his faith as much as he can in an environment where it’s uncommon to be very religious.

“My dad is Agnostic and my mom is Christian. I kind of got into [my faith] on my own,” said Lopez. Although he is not a part of any offi-cial denomination, he follows the Christian, Catholic, and many other religions’ teach-ings of staying pure (not having sex until marriage), which something many teens struggle with.

“I see girls disrespecting themselves and I see guys disrespecting themselves, and I don’t want to be like that,” said Lopez.

His curiosity about the Bible and faith began in 5th

grade. Out of the 73 books in the Catholic bible, he says he has read 20-25 of the books. That equals to nearly one thousand pages.

“My favorite bible verse is 2nd Chronicles 7:14--‘If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.’ I don’t know why, it’s just always stuck out to me,” said Lopez.

According to our survey of 212 students, 16.4% of stu-dents believe that if you’re really religious you can’t have fun and you have to be a dull boring person. At lunch, Brandon plays football or studies in the library with his friends and talks with them in class, just like all of his other classmates. He enjoys himself in high school, but he still finds time during his off hour to read his bible, and takes time out of his week to go to church while still enjoying the perks that high school brings.

He has made it possible to have fun in high school while managing to keep a strong faith. Brandon believes that educating yourself will really help you stay faithful, and just like playing a sport, you must be committed.

“Educate yourself on other religions, cultures, etc. Then decide, [and] be seri-ous about your faith. There’s no point in having faith if you don’t work at it,” said Lopez.

So how does he plan to expand his faith even more? “I read my bible, and I’m thinking of being confirmed into the Catholic church,” said Lopez. “If it’s your faith you need to know it’s

the truth to keep it strong, I always accept other’s opinions.”

If you disagree with Brandon, he said he accepts everyone’s opinions.

Do you consider yourself religious?

62.7%YES

37.3%NO

Do you practice a type of religion?

79.4%of seniors

53%of juniors

88.74%of sophomores

92.4%of freshman

Based on a survey of 212 students

Brandon Lopez ’15 dressed in the typical Modest Mouse teen attire reads his bible in the cafeteria on his off hour while his friends study

-Compiled by James Burky

29

In a place where religion isn’t valued, one student rises above the norm

3

A twist in my path that I truly believe changed my life occurred two summers ago. I was going through a hard time with friends, my now-ex-boyfriend, and family.

One night, I was stupid and didn’t think through the consequences that could come out of my actions. My old friend and I walked out of my front door at three in the morning, went to the nearest playground and guzzled down glass after glass of vodka.

It got to the point where she was passed out, puking, and unresponsive. I was crouching down shaking her while tears streamed down my face at five in the morn-ing not knowing what to do.

Scared and drunk, I stumbled home by myself after failing to drag her rag-doll-like body home, planning to go get her the next morning. However, the next thing I knew, my mom was running into my room screaming and shaking me to wake up because the cops were at the door.

My friend ended up in the hospital after someone had driven by the park for work and saw a girl just laying in the wood chips of the playground, covered in

OPI

NIO

NS

Cross country can’t be a sport

Oh darn. They do... I messed up again. The team score is determined by the first five runners and whatever place they come in against other teams.

Errr.. it’s getting pretty tricky to agree with you guys... but I’ll keep trying.

I mean, it’s not like run-ners are able to get passion-ate about just running. It’s not like those other sports and their games under those big lights surrounded by huge crowds. Well actually, I guess they do. They get really nervous.

Alright. Time to look at the facts now. I just can’t

-Courtney Sullivan ‘13

Teen drinking can ruin lives, change perspectives

A twist in our path

“Take assignments like you would eating an elephant--one bite at a time.”

-Social Studies teacher Mr. Shawn Collins

vomit, not knowing if she was even breathing. When they got her to the hospital, they discovered she had alcohol poisoning.

She could’ve died that night, and I was so trashed that I just left her there alone.

Drinking may be a usual thing for you but, that was my first time doing anything involving alcohol, and it will be my last. After that night, I promised myself I would never smoke, drink, or be under the influence in anyway ever again. The twist in my path changed

seem to find anything that I agree with you all on. Let’s look at the dictionary defini-tion of a sport: “An athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, etc.”

Heck! Racing was the first example the definition used! Okay, okay, I give in again. I can’t do it anymore. I just can’t side with you guys.

It’s too exhausting. Not really. But I’ll tell ya what is..

running 8 miles.Cross Country is a sport

that requires so much com-mitment because you’re agreeing to running about a minimum of 25 miles a week. You’re also agreeing to put yourself through hell

at every meet. Your breath is short, your legs ache, your head gets woozy. XC runners simply do not run for fun. They are just willing to work hard.

“Cross Country takes physical and mental strength. It means going out everyday and pushing your body to it’s limit,” Kelsey Goetz ‘13 said.

You have to be extremely dedicated in that sport. You have to be able to push past your comfort zone every single day you participate.

And yes, it is mainly an individual sport. You are ultimately responsible for what time you get, but the team is still a huge aspect, just as important as it is in any other sport. You have

the choices I make, my life, and my ability to say no.

Binge drinking is having at least five or more drinks within a span of a couple hours. Sounds pretty com-mon now, doesn’t it? Accord-ing to Scott Mogul, an avid blogger on teen drinking, 90% of alcohol consumed by teens is in the form of binging. They still continue to thrive off of the rush of al-cohol even though teenagers who begin drinking at the age of 15 have a 40% chance of alcoholism whereas a person who starts at age 21 only has a 7% chance.

to rely on your teammates to help push you further in every race.

And who’s cheering you on at every hill, mile marker, or finish line? Your team.

Your family.Cross Country just has to

be a sport. No kind of club or organization would put in that kind of time just to run themselves down five days a week.

Alright, I’ll be honest: I run cross country. So maybe I’m just a little biased on this issue. But hey, I tried to see it from your side. I really did.

That said, every choice we make now can complete-ly change who we become in our future. If we choose to drink now, we may not be able to stop. Don’t let the twists in your path throw you in the wrong direction.

We always have chances that allow us to step back on our path and trudge on. Usually, it takes one action to get us sky high or at rock bottom from life’s possibilities for the sudden change in attitude to occur, though.

I understand where people could think that

Ya know, I’ve decided to just go ahead and give in. You guys are right! Cross Country isn’t a sport. It just couldn’t be.

All they do is run, right? Exactly! So I’ve decided to just stop arguing with all those players of the REAL sports...

I mean, it’s not like cross country runners all wear the same uniform when they compete... Oh wait, actually they do... Hmm, what else...

Yeah, I mean, it’s not like they all work together in a competition and get scored as a team like football or something, right?

a tragic event in their life wouldn’t help them, only hurt them, but I personally believe that they change us and who we are to become. They give us a new perspec-tive that is most of the time for the better.

If we never went through the unlit, twist-ing, spiraling sections of our path, we would never become who we are meant to be. We have to come face to face with fears and allow life to defy us to grow from the immature teenagers we are into grown adults. Who we are, who we are meant to be, thrives on these expe-riences.

All of the consequences and rewards from our ac-tions teach us lessons. What we learn now, shapes who we are in the future.

Everyone of us has a path. We can’t let one bad experience stop us in our tracks. Something mag-nificent could be at the next twist. Don’t let the fear of tomorrow overpower the love of today.

Keep pushing.

-Emily Morin ‘15

30

-Courtney Sullivan ‘13

STAFF EDITORIAL

Powderpuff 2.0 exceeds expectations

New location, new start, yet still the same

“Take assignments like you would eating an elephant--one bite at a time.”

3

-Emily Morin ‘15

Every year dur-ing the middle of Homecoming week, students’

excitement peaks for the Powderpuff and Tailgator festivities.

Following the excite-ment-charged game, girls and boys alike mob the front of the school entrance to dance--well, grind--the night away in the sweaty, bass-pound-ing mass that is Tailgator.

However, these treasured Homecoming events were drastically different this year for a multitude of reasons.

And we’ll admit, we were a little scared and upset at first.

The first major change was the location-switch: SLHS to NAAC. Kristina Juull ‘14, referring to the Powderpuff game itself, said, “I liked how it was at the NAAC instead of just at the school; made it feel more official.”

We agree. The crowd, a massive combination of students and parents, had as many people as you would see at a Homecoming football game, a major improve-ment from the past.

Not only was the feel

of the NAAC thrilling and spirited-packed for both fans and players, but, according to Principal Jeff Pierson, “I’ve never seen a more well-played game in all five years that I have been here at Standley Lake.”

Whether or not the football skills were because of the location, it can be heartily agreed that the game proved to be fantastic.

However, another tra-dition was squashed.

The Powderpuff cheerleaders were not al-lowed to wear the same body-hugging, glittery girl cheer uniforms as they always had.

Instead, they wore T-shirts and shorts, leav-ing them looking silly, despite the admitted silli-ness of the performance.

It’s part of the fun to see our male peers dressed like real cheer-leaders, but this time we were just left to see boys dancing and strutting their stuff in pink crop-top T-shirts. It was still entertaining all the same. We just were confused and a little let down by the change in tradition.

Now, for the next

change in operation: Tailgator.

Mr. Pierson said, “It’s going to be something around a pep-rally, what it was truly designed to be years ago. This event that took place after Powderpuff was really an event to get people pumped up for the Homecoming game, it wasn’t originally de-signed to be a big mob dance in front of the school. I took that and said if we’re going to do this, we’re going to make it what it was designed to be, and that’s a true pep-rally-type situation.”

We didn’t really see strong elements of a pep-rally, since immediately following the game we students hit the “dance,” which was held in front of the concession stands at the NAAC.

However, this dancing business was concern-ing as well. A DJ was still going to be present, yet rumor had it that if any grinding was going to take place, the Tailgating would be shut down.

In concurrence, Mr. Pierson said, “I had got-ten quite a few com-plaints to what Tailga-

tor had become, and I personally was uncom-fortable with it, and I believe that a dance is a dance and what went on at Tailgator to me was not a dance at all. It was not appropriate for having adults around, to that point it wasn’t appropri-ate for school. The true point of what Tailgator was had gone away and I wanted to refocus that.”

But unfortu-nately for all of us, due to the weather, we weren’t really able to see what could have happened at the new “Kickback.” We were rained out in less than half of an hour after the Powderpuff game, leaving us to question whether or not our provocative dancing would be stopped--and to whether or not the Tail-gating would be as fun as Tailgator’s past.

But for the most part, we can say that the Powderpuff/Kickback experience, despite our worries, was much ado about nothing. Had we not been rained out, we feel that the new tradi-tions put in place would have been just as fun as the old ones.

31

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