BEARFACTS Ursuline Academy

341 South Sappington Rd

St. Louis, MO 63122

2.8.12

Volume 7

Issue 5

3 March For Life

4

2012 Olympics 8

All you need to know about

the

2012 Elections

9

Knitting for a cause 10

What do you think about

UA’s new schedule?

11

12 The issue with

St. Louis Private Schools

13 Celebrity News!

News Want to see more pic-

tures from winter

dance?

Table of Contents

Photos by Meg Haenchen

Photos by

Meg Vatterott

Racist

Microsoft App?

Check out

www.ursulinestl.org/

bear-facts/

3

P ro-life is a term that gets thrown around a lot

in debates, but what does it really mean?

Amidst all the religious and political jargon

lie real values that, if not lived by, might de-

stroy the human race. At the heart of pro-life is re-

spect, respect for life at all levels of development and

respect for one‟s own self. The body is a responsibility

thrust upon every single person.

To show their support for life, a number of

Ursuline students joined thousands from across the

U.S. in the Pro-Life March in Washington, DC. Among

them were Claire Burkemper and Elizabeth Dreyer.

While on the march, everyone is subject to

violent words and pictures from posters and chants.

Dreyer divulged her most trying moments on the

march. “I didn‟t like how people had posters of half

aborted babies; it made me sick to my stomach.”

Dreyer used the power of prayer to distract her from

these images. She focused her mind on the goal: the

eradication of abortion. Although at times they are

disturbing, sometimes those images give the marchers

an extra push by reminding them why they came to

Washington D.C. in the first place.

The March

for Life

People often forget to think about the ramifications

of abortion on women. Women may not see that by aborting

their children, they are violating themselves as well as an-

other human being. Claire Burkemper said, “Studies show

that abortion can be very damaging to the mother‟s mental

and physical health and that adoption is a much better alter-

native.” Many women after aborting children go into a pe-

riod of denial or develop self-destructive feelings and behav-

iors. Life is a right each person has, but many take advan-

tage of those unborn and unable to defend themselves. The

fetus truly is a child, and there is no right choice but to give

that baby the best chance at living a happy life.

When asked if they would ever go on the march

again, both Burkemper and Dreyer gave similar answers.

“Well I hope I will never have to go

again because I hope one day abortion

will be illegal, but as long as it is legal,

I will be going!”

-Claire Burkemper

Taylor Nicholson, Elizabeth Dreyer,

Tara Rice, and Colleen McGovern

brave the rain on the Pro-Life march.

Betsy Kennedy

Bear Facts Staff Writer

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We The People... Will there be Change in 2012?

On Tuesday, November 6, 2012, people of

the United States of America will go to the

polls and vote for a presi-

dent. Students at Ursuline

are hearing a lot about this

election since it is vital for stu-

dents who are eighteen years of

age to know. Ms. Nondorf, so-

cial studies teacher at Ursu-

line, stated, “If you are going to

live in a democracy, it is depend-

ant on the people to voice their opinion. Since 18 to 25-

year-olds are least likely to vote, government doesn‟t really care

about their opinions. You want to get out there and express your

opinion.” Eighteen-year-olds have an opportunity they have never

had before: voting. Not only can an eighteen-year-old vote, but

she can represent the issues that she wants to support.

Even though some students might not know much about

the presidential election, it is a necessary

task, to inform the student body about the

possible candidates. Whomever the na-

tion chooses will be in charge of the United

States of America. Voters have to be com-

fortable and confident in the candidate

chosen, but most importantly Americans

would like to elect someone to-

tally trustworthy. Ms. Nondorf stated, “If

you are going to vote, you want to know as

much as possible to know who you are vot-

ing for in November. You need to know

who those people are and what they believe in; you need to

know what they stand for.” So as students sharpen their pencils

to vote for the 2012 elections, they need too sure to know each

candidate and what the candidate with bring them.

Rick Santorum the Next Catholic President?

Rick Santorum on www.google.com

was labled as, “The True Conservative.”

Santorum, a fifty-three year old from

Winchester, Virginia, is Roman Catho-

lic. The last Roman Catholic president

was President John F. Kennedy. In

some people‟s opinion, Kennedy was

one of the greatest presidents that

America has ever had. A Catholic presi-

dent might bring America to peace

once again. However, Santorum is

more than just a Republican. He has

and will run in the primaries to be-

come the next United States presi-

dent.

Catholics value the defense of

human life. The web site https://

www.ricksantorum.com/issues states

that Santorum he has a broad and impressive record when it

comes to defending the dignity of every human life, especially the

most vulnerable among us.” This means he will protect the un-

born. Abortion is a major issue for most Ursuline girls, strong

Catholics who also fight for the right to life.

Santorum does not believe in “Obama Care.” However, he

believes in “Patient-Centered Health Care.” This means that pa-

tients and physicians make health care decisions and not

t h e g o v e r n m e n t , a c c o r d i n g t o h t t p s : / /

www.ricksantorum.com/issues.

Santorum has also spent eight years on the Senate Armed

Services Committee; therefore, he knows about the war and

ways that Americans can prevent it. Santorum, well aware of

Iran‟s nuclear weapons and how they can harm the U.S., has a

plan to help Americans get out of the war, but most importantly,

he wants to defend our country.

Santorum, an excellent candidate for president, believes in

family and American values, something that should be a presi-

dent‟s goal. Americans want to see a family man as president,

not someone who would represent bad morals. Santorum said,

according to http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/

rick_santorum.html, “I love it when the left and when the presi-

dent say, 'Don't try to impose your values on us, you folks who

hold your Bibles in your hand and cling to your guns.' They have

values, too. Our values are based on religion, based on life.

Their values are based on a religion of self.”

Brooke Messmer

Bear Facts Editor-in-Chief

Photo by Meg

Vatterot Bear Facts

Print Editor

Bear Facts editors

weigh in on the 2012

elections.

5

N ewt Gingrich, winner of the

South Carolina Republican

primary, was a front-runner in the Re-

publican race to the nomination, but has

recently dropped to second place behind

Mitt Romney. With Jon Hunstman and

Rick Perry dropping out, he has garnered

even more support. Many people,

though, are wary of voting for someone

with so many skeletons in his

closet. Cheating, ethics violations, oh

my! If Gingrich can manage to convince

the public his offensive behavior will

cease once he takes on the presidency, he

will be a difficult candidate to beat.

The former Georgian representa-

tive for twenty

years and four-

year Speaker of the

House of Repre-

sentatives is fight-

ing for the nomi-

nation. A recently

converted Chris-

tian, he is advo-

cating for the re-

turn of religion to

America. His most

famous initiative was the Contract with

America, which would improve the effi-

ciency of the government while reducing

its burden on the American tax-

payer. Newt Gingrich‟s policies vary

greatly, sometimes going against tradi-

tional Republican ideals. He is pro-life

and claims to want to end taxpayer sub-

sidiaries for abortion. He wants to lower

the legal working age, so lower-income

children can start a better life. He favors

a new drug legislation which would sen-

tence multiple-time offenders to

death. He wants to improve the school

system in favor of more rigorous math

and science programs. In addition, he

wants to improve the environment, rely-

ing on incentives for conservation and

green technology.

In debates, when issues of his per-

sonal life come up, Gingrich vehemently

opposes discussion. He wishes to run on

his political stances only, not his actions

in his personal life. The fact is, as a

president, every action he might make

would be closely scrutinized. It was his

and the Republican party‟s actions which

contributed to the shutdown of the gov-

ernment for 28 days in 1996. His public

image was seriously hurt at this time as

he mentioned he was displeased and felt

slighted with Clinton (president at the

time) when Gingrich was asked to exit a

plane from the rear exit since the two of

them shared a flight. The public took

this to mean that

he was opposing

necessary Medicare

changes just to get

back at Clinton,

thus slowing down

the process, solely

for personal rea-

sons. In addition,

84 ethics charges

were filed against

him while he was

Speaker of the House. All but one of

those charges were dropped. For the

first time, the Speaker was disciplined for

an ethics violation, reprimanded and

fined $300,000. He was charged for

claiming tax-exempt status for a college

course run for political purposes. After

the scandal, he resigned from both the

speakership and the House. His rela-

tionships have also fallen under scru-

tiny. His first wife, his former high

school geometry teacher, he married

when she was 26 and he 19. The two

split after he was caught cheating on her

with the woman who would become his

second wife. She claims he came to the

hospital while she was recovering from

surgery to discuss the “complete sur-

prise” divorce. He denies these claims

and, meanwhile, has divorced his second

wife for the woman he was cheating on

her with, a woman some 20 years her

junior. Do these negatives from his past

define him, or will he win the Republican

nomination? Only time will tell.

Ann Slesinski

Bear Facts Copy Editor

Newt for President? Newt Gingrich rises in popularity in primaries

If Gingrich can manage to

convince the public his of-

fensive behavior will cease

once he takes on the presi-

dency, he will be a difficult

candidate to beat.

Photo courtesy of Brooke Mess-

mer, Editor-in-Chief

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6

“Change you can believe in.” During a time of economic difficulty, loss of jobs

and escalating war, Americans believed President

Obama would bring change. Now in a presidential

election year, Obama announced he is running for

re-election, according to barackobama.com.

President Obama faced many challenges in pass-

ing legislation last year because of the 112th Con-

gress, or the do-nothing Congress. Although it

does not feel like much change has happened,

America is in a better economic state and continu-

ally growing. How much change have Americans

seen since President Obama took office?

President Obama, the first African

American president, enjoyed a high approval rat-

ing during his first few months in office. Later in

his presidency, President Obama‟s approval rating

dropped to a low of 38%, according to gallup.com,

because Americans were not pleased with the gov-

ernment‟s actions. But Obama did pass his health

care reform in 2010 which expands coverage to

more than 32 million Americans, said washing-

tonpost.com. When Obama first took office, he

struggled for support on his $787 billion stimulus

package that would cut large taxes and govern-

ment spending to help fix the economy, reported

washingtonpost.com. Although there has not been

a dramatic change in the economy, the unemploy-

ment rate at the end of 2011 was 8.5% while at the

end of 2009 at 9.9%, according to the Bureau of

Labor Statistics. Barackobama.com noted that

Obama saved 1.4 million jobs in the auto industry,

preventing a further economic downfall. He has

kept his promise of fixing the economy, but he still

needs more time. Ms. Nondorf, Ursuline social

studies teacher, said, “Most voters tend to blame

the president for any economic troubles though he

has limited power in shaping the economy. We

sometimes forget that this has been the worst re-

cession since the Great Depression, but this reces-

sion was actually fairly short. So voter behavior

isn‟t always logical. This might mean that voters

are not willing to give the president four more

years to fix the economy.” President Obama wants

to make sure the middle class has security for the

future by creating jobs in the United States. A

measure he already has taken was reforming Wall

Street.

The economy is not the only problem

Americans are worried about. The war was some-

thing Americans were concerned about especially

in 2009 when President Obama announced he

would send in 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, said

washingtonpost.com. Then, a successful mission

in which President Obama ordered the Navy

SEALS to search out and kill Osama bin-Laden, al-

Queda‟s leader, in May 2011 provided a little more

security to Americans. And finally, the end of the

Iraq War in December 2011 provided relief to

Americans, but usatoday.com reported over 4,500

U.S. service members were killed throughout the

eight years of fighting.

Some issues President Obama wants to

focus on for this year‟s election are education,

jobs, the economy and national security. He is also

working on equal rights for women and LGTB.

More about his hopes surfaced at the State of the

Union address on January 24, 2012.

Sarah Haenchen

Bear Facts Online Editor

President Obama Has More Plans

to Fix America

In 2008, presidential

hopeful Barack Obama

persuaded Americans

with his slogan,

Photo by Meg Vatterott Bear Facts Print Editor.

7

Out of all the political candidates

for this upcoming election, Ron

Paul has got to be one of the most

interesting characters. Paul is

unique for his extreme views and

his age of 77 years. According to

one of Ursuline‟s government ex-

perts, Mrs. Nondorf, if elected, he

would be the oldest president ever

elected, the oldest otherwise being

Ronald Reagan, aged 69 when

elected. Although Paul‟s age brings

along lots of experience as a Texas

representative, as reported by is-

sues2000.org, Mrs. Nondorf de-

scribed Paul as not a true Republi-

can, but a “leading Libertarian.”

Nondorf defines a Libertarian as

more conservative, who believes in

the least amount of government

possible. Paul feels that the government is

too involved in citizens‟ lives. But whom

can we rely on to guide the citizens

and maintain order if not the govern-

ment?

Many aspects of our everyday lives

are controlled by the government. For exam-

ple, when people go to the airport and have

to walk through the security check, that was

created by a government program, the

Transportation Security Administration

(TSA), to protect passengers. Those who

have a job have some money taken from

their pay checks which goes to their Social

Security, another program installed by the

government to support citizens when they

want to retire. Although both these pro-

grams seem like a hassle or unnecessary at

times, in the end the citizens benefit. None-

theless, Paul thinks such financial install-

ments are not part of the government‟s job.

For example, he believes airline security

should be provided by the airline itself and

retirement saved up over the years by the

retiree. Basically, Paul discredits programs

put in place by the government that control

most aspects of business, trade or other

parts of the citizens‟ lives. He believes that

companies and people should make deci-

sions for themselves without restrictions or

regulations by the federal government.

Although this concept of total

freedom seems ideal, could it lead to

disaster? According to issue2000.org, Paul

also does not support government-run pro-

grams that would help the country move

towards renewable energy as opposed to oil.

He proposes a free market in which there is

unrestricted competition between busi-

nesses, forming an almost “survival of the

fittest” economy. He may think this sort of

system would succeed, but it may make the

situation even more difficult on the poor.

Paul may not believe that it is the gov-

ernment’s job to administer such pro-

grams, but if the government does not,

who will guide the people of the coun-

try? In addition, although these government

programs and others like them are not per-

fect, I believe that the government needs to

guide the country in some ways. Instead of

erasing all government programs, politicians

should be more concerned on improving

them.

Meg Vatterott

Bear Facts Prints Editor

Ron Paul The Extreme Candidate

Mitt Romney

O ne of the Republican candi-

dates for president is Mitt

Romney, the 65-year-old

from Detroit, and, surpris-

ingly, not a “career politician.” He spent

most of his career studying the economy

and how it works. In 2002, Mitt was

elected governor of Massachusetts. Now

he is hoping to be the Republican candi-

date for the presidency in the 2012 elec-

tion. According to mittromney.com,

Romney‟s goal once in the presidency is

to “restore America to the path of robust

economic growth necessary to create

jobs.”

Mitt Romney was the governor

of Michigan before becoming the gover-

nor of Massachusetts. He has not run in

a presidential election before, but his poll

numbers are increasing with each state

he campaigns in. As of January 25, 2012,

he is 3.7 points behind republican candi-

date Newt Gingrich, who is in the lead,

according to realclearpolitics.com.

Romney has a few policies that

he would like to put in place when he

makes his mark as president. He prom-

ises to “repeal Obamacare which will

slow health care cost increases and make

it more flexible for today‟s economy,”

basically, making states and private com-

panies in charge of health care instead of

the federal government. Another would

be tax reform. In this, Romney says he

will “expand the tax deduction also to

include those who buy their own health

insurance.”

Romney is a conservative but

also understands and considers both

Democratic and Republican views. With

these political views and reforms, I think

Romney will make a good president

Ann Wolf

Bear Facts Art Editor

Republican Presidential Candidate Hopes to Gain Support

Photo by Meg Vatterott, Bear Facts

print editor

Photo by Ann Wolf, Bear

Facts art editor

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Let the Games Begin!

Let the games begin! On July 27 the 2012

Olympics will begin in London with the

opening ceremony . Many people will be

participating in the opening ceremony, in-

cluding the athletes, fans, organizers and the

2012 Olympic mascots, Wenlock and Man-

deville. After the torch ceremony and the

ritual lighting of the cauldron have hap-

pened, the games will begin in the Olympic

Park.

Most of the games will take place in the

park. Before it became a lush green space

with wildlife, it was industrial land. On

January 24, 2006, the Olympic Park design-

ers were picked and had a plan in place to

create a legacy for not only the games but for

future generations. Once the plans

were set in place, the building began

with putting the park power lines to

concrete for the stadiums and other

venues. Now the park is almost com-

pleted and is filled with lots of plants

and habitats for many species, rang-

ing from kingfishers to ot-

t e r s , a c c o r d i n g

towww.london2012.com. The crea-

tors of this park were the Olympic Delivery

Authority. They placed more than “4,000

semi-mature trees and 300,000 wetland

p l a n t s , ” a c c o r d i n g t o

www.london2012.com. Olympic Park also

has lots of art featured in it like The Cloud

Bridge. It was named this not only as a way

see the clouds, but also for the visitors to

enjoy the vastness of the sky at Olympic

Park. The park also features a “RUN” sculp-

ture. During the day it seems like a mirror

also, but at night the letters glow and be-

come transparent. The biggest attraction

about Olympic Park is all the venues that

range from the Copper Box to the Water

Polo Arena. Besides those venues, visitors

can also see the Aquatics Centre, Basketball

Arena, BMX Track, Eton Manor, Olympic

Stadium, Riverbank Arena and the Velo-

drome.

Meg Haenchen

Bear Facts Staff Wirter

From Industrial Land to a

Green Park

Prime time sports:

244 UA girls

voted on their

most anticipated

sports.

9

revised schedule will take

some getting used to, for

both the students and

teachers. Both business

technology teachers said,

“Ursuline is continually

making changes to stay

competitive and strong.”

Most everyone

said that the schedule

will not change the

minds of those looking to

come to Ursuline in the

future. Mr. Master said

that from 8th grade to

9th grade, everything is

already new. Mrs. Peliz-

zaro and Mrs. Pawlowicz

agreed, “Many choose

our school because of its

variety, spirit, friendli-

ness and wholesome-

ness; that will not be

changing.”

In this time of

great improvements,

Mrs. Shea shared a quote

by Theodore Roosevelt,

which stated, “Do what

you can, with what you

h a v e , w h e r e y o u

can.” This quote really

seemed to sum up what

everyone will be dealing

with next year. Students

will have to re-arrange

classes and figure out

what credits they will

need. It will be stressful,

but Ursuline will overcome the difficul-

ties only to look back and remember the

great accomplishment it created.

Olivia Passafiume

Bear Facts Staff Writer

“Cautiously optimistic”--

this is how Mr. Master

described his feelings

about the new schedule for

next year. The comment

seems to reflect many peo-

ple’s feelings. It is the hope

of everyone that the new

schedule positively impacts

the learning environment,

added Mr. Master. There

have been similar sched-

ules at DeSmet and St. Joe

that seem to work well for

the students. Dr. Gilligan

said that Ursuline is not

changing its standards; we

are building for a better

future. The decision was

made with a lot of fore-

thought and, of course, will

need tweaking.

As well as a new

schedule, there will be new

electives. Mrs. Pelizzaro

and Mrs. Pawlowicz are

excited about their new

choices, advanced com-

puter appliances and mar-

keting. There will also be

an accounting class for

seniors and juniors. Along

with more electives and

more class time, students

will be able to choose more

of what they want, mean-

ing that some required

classes this year won’t be

required next year. For

example, speech will not be a required

course. Mrs. Shea, the speech teacher,

countered that “according to many lead-

ing psychologists and studies done about

human behavior, public speaking is said

to be the #2 fear of most people (the first

being death).” She is worried that with

speech not being required, students will

not be forced out of their comfort

zone. She is, however, excited about her

new courses: broadcast II, acting for the

theater and intro to public speaking

(formerly human communications).

Dr. Gilligan said that with the

upcoming schedule, teachers will be able

to cover more material in greater depth

and students will have more opportunity

to ask questions. Mr. Master agreed but

said it was “easier for the English depart-

ment to like the old schedule because the

change doesn’t really affect them.” He

followed up, saying, “If we all work to-

gether, we can make it a success.” The

Changing for the

Better

10

Knitting Frenzy Knitting and Crocheting have taken a turn for SERVIAM.

K nitting has

become very popular in re-

cent months,

but why? It’s not just here at

Ursuline, where the fiber arts

class and the knitting club have

been working the needles. Re-

cently, there was a story in The

Daily online newspaper, which

featured a group of men who

called themselves the Krochet

Kids.

“Kohl Crecelius was

taught to crochet by his older

brother and taught two of his

friends how to, because they were

avid skiers,” according to kro-

chetkids.org. When they were

asked where they got their awe-

some headgear, they responded

with “we made it.” Soon they

were a couple of high school stu-

dents selling their handmade hats

for profit. One of the guys went

down from Washington to

Uganda for a service trip. There

he taught a few of the women

how to knit and crochet. He and

his two friends decided to create

a non-profit organization based

on their new pass time, by having

the women make the hats, receiv-

ing full and fair profit to send

their kids and eventually them-

selves to school.

To get an even better idea

of who is making the hat you pur-

chase, you can go to their website

and click “Meet the Ladies.” There

you can see over 100 women who

help make the hats. You can also

write thank you notes to them to

express your appreciation! Knit-

ting and crocheting having be-

come popular throughout the

world.

Knitting has even become

popular at Ursuline. Thanks to

fiber arts class, many students

have gotten into the knitting

habit. Knitting Club has become

even more popular! “We meet the

first academic advisement Thurs-

day of the month,” says Knitting

Club member, Ann Slesinski. Stu-

dents can go for help on a project,

to learn about different patterns

and knits, and just to get started.

Maddie Klump, junior, is

currently taking fiber arts this

semester. “I’ve been practicing

fiber arts ever since I was little. I

also recently learned to felt. Be-

ing in a fiber arts class at school is

like icing on the cake,” she said.

Ann Wolf

Bear Facts Art Editor

Junior Maddie

Klump practices a

“running stitch” on

her embroidery pro-

ject for fiber arts

class.

Knitting is a great hobby to pick up. But how do you get started? You could

take a fiber arts class here at Ursuline. If your schedule does not allow the

opportunity, you could take classes at Michael’s or many of the surrounding

fabric stores. Time may not permit you to do so, but you could look online at

how-to videos. Once you have the materials, you can make anything!

Photo by Ann Wolf

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11

I f you plan your routes

when driving in order

to avoid the not-so-

nice parts of the city,

you might be a racist. Micro-

soft is coming out with a new

app for smart phones which

plans the best and fastest

route for the user. Nothing

new, right? Well, this new

map will draw from weather

and crime statistics for a re-

gion. It‟s simple: the fastest

route from point A to point B

isn‟t always the safest, so this

new app will help plan the

next fastest route. Those in

favor of the app praise how it

will keep drivers safe. Let‟s

be honest here: who hasn‟t

driven through a shady part

of the city, only to sigh in

relief once you see familiar

territory?

Those against the new

app, though, say it‟s racist,

that it diverts people around

the ghettos. Businesses there

will suffer, and the already

bad neighborhoods will spiral

downwards. The makers of

this app counter these claims

by stating the app uses only

Louis thinks: racist or

not? “Not racist” won with

100% of the votes, a rarity

due to the large difference in

opinions here in the metro

area. Ursuline, too, voted

with 100% of the votes to-

wards not racist. Many state

that if the app uses only sta-

tistics and cold, hard, impar-

tial facts, it is not racist. The

truth is, most people don‟t

care what race the person

high-jacking their car is; they

just want to get out of the

situation safely. With this

new app, those kinds of situa-

tions can be avoided com-

pletely.

Ann Slesinski

Bear Facts Copy Editor

statistical data, says a Yahoo!

article. Unsafe areas are de-

termined by crime rates pro-

vided by the city. The popu-

lar St. Louis radio station

105.7 the Point held an infor-

mal text poll to see what St.

Racist or Not? Ursuline weighs in on a new Microsoft app accused of racism.

Check out the online issue of Bear Facts at

www.ursulinestl.org/bearfacts

to see articles about: Winter Dance

Father/Daughter

Your health

Books to e-books

Basketball, racquetball, swim review

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto.com

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“Having lived in New Jersey, Connecticut, Tokyo, and Minne-

sota, I‟ve never had this happen before,” said Dr. Anne Blaes on

the long-growing problem in the St. Louis area. The issue of

stereotyping a person based on where they went to high school

has seldom been addressed, but now the depth of the dilemma is

being brought out into the open. Dr. Anne‟s niece, Molly Blaes,

25-years-of-age, agreed, “Growing up in Kansas City, where you

went to high school is important--in grade school and high

school. After you graduate high school, you are rarely asked

anything about where you went.”

When high school ended for Molly, she decided to at-

tend SLU downtown. Molly went on to explain her experience in

St. Louis: “Having friends and family living in St. Louis, I

quickly learned that the typical ice breaker question seems to be

„Where did you go to high school?‟ I learned quickly the stereo-

types of high schools by what I heard from the St. Louis crowd.”

The discriminatory conditions she observed worsened, and she

even began to give in to the stereotypes of high schools. “I will

not lie that I judged people, many people, on their answer to that

question, which is absolutely ridiculous.”

Cavanaugh Blaes, Molly‟s younger brother who is 24,

also had a story to tell about using where someone went to high

school to judge an individual‟s

character and wealth. “My

high school was known for

having rich kids. When you

look at it though, it was most

certainly a stereotype due to

the fact that however „well-off‟

my family is we are by no

means rich.” Cavanaugh also

attended college in St. Louis

and explained how he reacted

to being asked where he went

to high school: “However aw-

ful it may be, I used this to my

advantage. Telling someone I

attended St. Thomas Aquinas

in Overland Park was a way of earning a certain amount of re-

spect among peers.” He then went on to say how ludicrous the

situation in St. Louis is: “It is most certainly impossible to base

someone's character on simply the high school they attended.”

Molly and Cavanaugh‟s mother, Lisa Blaes, who is an

assistant principal in a school district near Kansas City, also

commented on the issue: “It seems incredibly shallow to me, but

it is deeply entrenched in St. Louis culture.” No one better

knows the truth of this statement than Ann Blaes. “My initial

encounters with St. Louis high schools were not positive ones. I

remember anxiously awaiting my acceptance letter in the mail as

an 8th grader, feeling very positive that I had been accepted into

the high school of my choice. I was a straight „A‟ student

throughout my entire elementary education, played volleyball

and was active in my school with various clubs.” Ann then went

on to explain where it all went wrong. “My school of choice was

an all-girls private high school known for academic achieve-

ment. If you didn‟t get in, you were considered „stupid.‟ I was

not accepted to my high school of choice, and I was devastated.

My elementary principal was equally

surprised and contacted the high

school to inquire. There was not

much explanation given.” Ann had

suspicions about the real reason

she was rejected though: “I didn‟t

have a sister that went to school

prior to my application, and my

parents weren‟t „rich‟ and it was

doubtful that they could afford the

tuition. There was stereotyping on

the part of the high school as well

as among my fellow students.”

Now Ann has a child in high school and had another

encounter with the high school that rejected her all those years

ago. “Originally, she wanted to attend the school that had re-

jected me years ago, and to be very honest, I was very suspi-

cious, bitter and angry. I didn‟t want her to go through every-

thing I did. But ultimately she chose Ursuline, and she is very

happy and has been very successful.” She shared her concerns

about the general population in St. Louis by saying, “I feel I‟m

probably one of the few people in St. Louis that doesn‟t care

where you go to high school. I‟ve made a very conscious deci-

sion to look at the person and not the school. Any student can

be successful at any school if the commitment is made.”

Using where a person went to high school to define

someone's character has only got-

ten progressively worse. Stereo-

typing high schools is not only

affecting high school students, but

also their loved ones and others

who attend college in St. Louis.

The St. Louis

High School

Issue

What needs to change about

our city’s high schools

“There was stereo-

typing on the part

of the high school as

well as among my

fellow students.”

— Ann Blaes

Abby Blaes

Bear Facts Staff Writer

(left) Skirts acquired from

Just Me Apparel

13

With Katy Perry and Russell Brand getting a divorce, many people

are starting to wonder if any celebrity marriages last. Of course, the well

known Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries split just 72 days after they wed

with their billion dollar marriage. From Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony to

Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, celebrity marriages just do not seem to last.

Maybe it was just the year 2011, or maybe it just is not a good idea for celebri-

ties to marry other celebrities because of all the pressure forced on their mar-

riage.

There are a handful of celebrities who choose to marry noncelebri-

ties. Actor Matt Damon married Luciana Barroso in 2005, and they are still

happily married. There are many other celebs and non celebs who have been

happily married for years such as actor Patrick Dempsey and Jillian Fink and

actress Julia Roberts and her husband Danny Moder. Many of these couples

have been married for years and ,we hope ,will stay together!

Emily Price

Bear Facts Staff Writer

Celebrity Marriages Bad

Idea?

Katy Perry

Russell Brand

Demi Moore

Ashton Kutcher

Matt Damon with wife

Luciana Barroso

Patrick Dempsey with

wife Jillian Fink

From pop to electronic to folk, we have got the hottest tracks from every music type. Do you

usually listen to rap? Try our alternative pick. Leave your musical comfort zone and explore

new genres, and you may even discover a new favorite song.

Music Lover’s Top Picks

1

2

3

4

5

6

POP

RAP

POP

COUNTRY

ELECTRONIC ALTERNATIVE

Track: Strong

(What Doesn’t Kill You)

Artist: Kelly Clarkson

Track: Domino

Artist: Jessie J

Track: International Love

Artist: Pitbull

Track: Somethin’ Bout a

Truck

Artist: Kip Moore

Track: What you want

Artist: Evanescence

Track: We are Young

Artist: Fun

February Best Month EVER HOTTIE OF

THE MONTH Congratulations, Daniel Radcliffe! You are having the

BEST MONTH EVER! The famous Harry Potter

actor finished his Harry Potter movies over the past

summer in 2011, but that is

not stopping him. Radcliffe,

22-years-old, is growing up

and becoming an amazing

actor outside of Harry Pot-

ter. His specialty: horror

movies. He starred in the

thriller, “The Woman in

Black”, which aired Friday

February 3, 2012. Rad-

cliffe’s next horror movie,

“Kill Your Darlings”, is

coming out in 2013.

Cal Shapiro

from

Timeflies

Emily Price

Bear Facts Staff