Students in the Hoover marching band march in the Beaverdale parade. Parents of marching band students, such as Rachel Na� ons are unhappy about the marching band ending. “Just because we’re not number one doesn’t mean we should just give up and quit,” Na� ons said.

HOOVER PUBLICATIONS 4800 AURORA DES MOINES.IA. 50310 515.242.7313 12.19.08 V.42 I.5HOOVER PUBLICATIONS HOOVER PUBLICATIONS 4800 AURORA DES MOINES.IA. 50310 515.242.7313 12.19.08 V.42 I.5CHALLENGER

Edward Rodriguezco-editor in chief

INSIDEPg.2 ‘R’ is for restricted

Pg.3 Hoover InkPg. 4 Suicide culture

Pg. 6 Double threat reviewPg. 7 Alternative schoolyear formats

-pg. 3

The gi� of life

-pg. 8

Tanner Buckleyentertainment editor

Business teacher Judy Renoux teaches new class with Media Net

Marching band throws in towelDirector decides to cancel marching band for next year

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A half time show for the marching band costs $6,800. In an effort to save that money and resolve enrollment issues, band director Randy Hoepker made the decision to eliminate marching band. Hoepker announced this decision to parents at the December band Booster meeting and to his students the next morning. “Many schools in the area have had discussions of eliminating or reducing marching band,” Hoepker said. “So it’s something that we’ve known about for a long time that has had a detrimental effect on enrollment.” According to Hoepker, the parents at the band meeting who first heard of this decision all had positive remarks. “At the booster meeting all the comments were very positive. Some parents remarked that their student had almost quit band because of that or that they didn’t like marching band. There were no negative comments,” Hoepker said. But secretary of the band boosters and senior Beth Nation’s mother, Rachel Nations, did not support the elimination of marching band. “I think it’s sad that we don’t

encourage pep band and marching band to be a part of athletic events. Just because we’re not number one doesn’t mean we should just give up and quit,” Rachel said. However, vice president of the Booster Club Diane Jesperson and other parents at the Booster meeting did find the elimination of marching band to be a positive decision. “I think you’re going to see right now, especially right now, you’re going to see and already are seeing some upset kids that liked marching band without giving it a chance, without seeing what next year’s going to be like. And that’s pretty normal because you’re making a change and it’s a pretty major change,” Jesperson said. “However, I think what is going to happen is there’s going to be more kids going for band, there’s going to be more participation, it’s going to be more competitive (and) it’ll make every student a better player than they are today.” And some students in the band do feel significantly upset about the elimination of marching band. Junior Alyssa Gourd stood up and left the room because she was crying so hard the day Hoepker announced the change to his students. “I was shocked,” Gourd said. “I didn’t think that he was really going to cancel marching band. And after shock, hurt and anger.” Beth shared the same frustrations as Gourd. “I thought it was a really bad idea

and I thought he was doing it for the wrong reasons,” Beth said. Hoepker said that about 20 percent of his students were upset and many were excited. But Beth got a different impression. “A few had a ‘whatever attitude’ but none of them were jumping up and down,” Beth said. “There was one person crying and a lot of people had angry faces. And there were other people just bluntly asking ‘why are you doing this?’” Hoepker acknowledges the frustrations of the students, but firmly believes the decision will better the band. “I have complete respect for the people who want to work hard and love marching,” Hoepker said. “It upsets me that a decision to help a program is hurtful to these students. I care very much about them.” Unlike Gourd and Beth, sophomore Devon Henderson was ecstatic to hear the news. “I think it will save a lot of time and money, money that could be saved for other things. It’ll make it a better experience,” Henderson said. The only thing left for students, parents and teachers involved in the band to do is wait and see what happens when the next year rolls around. “I do not know how it’s overall going to affect us, the band, the community. But we’ll just have to wait and see what happens,” Gourd said. “That’s all we can do, that’s all I can do.”

With the increasing availability of the internet, web designing classes are being offered in almost every high school in Des Moines. Business teacher Judy Renoux has brought a new idea to the table for a class that will allow students help design the school website. “Mr. Wheeler and I had been talking about doing this; it was just too much for me to do it all, so we came up with the class,” Renoux said Renoux said she believes this class is much more like a job, rather than a high school web design class. “It’s going to be run like a journalism class. There will be deadlines and editors and website visitors to satisfy,” Renoux said Junior Joe Spring has been involved in web designing since the beginning of the semester. “I’ve been taking Media Net. Media Net is basically used to make movies and websites,” Spring said. The idea was for the class was brought up earlier this year when Renoux needed assistance with the official Hoover website. “Mrs. Renoux needed some assistance designing the website, so she decided to make a class so students could help out,” Spring said. Spring believes this class is unique compared to others offered. “It’s hand-picked; you can’t just sign up for the class,” Spring said. Students in the class will be designing the website using a program called Media Net. Junior Cody Sargent said he has enjoyed being in class with Renoux and using the program. “We’ve already made two websites for practice, including a best music of 2008 site and a made-up school web site,” Sargent said. While Sargent has enjoyed designing during high school, he doesn’t plan to take web designing to the next level. “I already have all my plans for after high school,” Sargent said.

The University of Iowa has been asked to cut $3.04 million, Iowa State University $2.91 million and the University of Northern Iowa $1.02 million. The Board of Regents, which is a group of nine ci� zen volunteers appointed by the governor to oversee Iowa’s public universi� es and special schools, plans to cut $15,000 from its own offi ce.

The cuts come following massive fl ood damages from this past summer as well as the already ailing economy. Miles said he did not expect personnel to be aff ected by the cuts.

The University of Northern Iowa and the University of Iowa are expected to make similar cuts to those of Iowa State University, who plans to put off maintenance projects and delay lab equipment purchases and renova� on projects.

Iowa’s three public universi� es have been asked to make about $7 million in cuts for the next fi scal year, by June 30, 2009. Iowa Board of Regents President David Miles said the reduc� ons are part of a larger plan to cut $40 million statewide.

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Buenos Diaz

Design, design, design

State budget cuts hurt the budgets of regent schools

Students and teachers give the gift of life at blood drive

Students say farewell to student teacher who did more than teach

Eff ects of recession spread to state universi� es

Budget cuts by university

The yearbook is $60, but after Mar. 1, it will be $75!

See publications advisor Timm Pilcher in room 172 to purchase your 2009 Husky yearbook

BannedBannedBannedBanned

R payton quinn page design 12.19.08.v42.i52 news

Debate tournaments soon

Rehearsals begin for speech contest

New Challenger website

Mock trial recrui� ng

The Lincoln tournament will take place Dec. 19-20.The state tournament will be Jan. 9-10 in Ankeny. The fi nal tournament will be held at DMACC.

Finals are approaching

NEWS BRIEFS

Break starts today

Des Moines district teachers are no longer allowed to play full films or clips from films with R ratings, and to view a PG-13 movie, a student must have a note on the class’s syllabus signed by a guardian. Students have taken notice to the subject. Sophomore Chaz Howard is unsure how to feel on banning movies. “I don’t think it really matters, some movies they shouldn’t, some they should,” Howard said. Howard supports R-rated films because he believes they don’t sugar coat the big issues. War movies, as his example, give a true feel of the situation and seriousness of the battlefield. On the other hand, he feels that some movie’s content is too intense for various reasons. “Teachers should preview the movie before the students see it,” Howard said. History teacher Amber Davison also has mixed feelings on the idea. Davison has shown clips of the movie Glory in her history classes since she started teaching, but will no longer be able to.

The Challenger’s website features an archive sec� on with stories from the current issue and previous issues. It also has a calendar, polls, photos and more. The website also includes the daily announcements. To stay in the loop, go to h� p://www.hooverchallenger.com.

It’s all over TV and your parents and teachers are talking about it…

Are you worried about the economy too?? Chill Out!!

EdCo Credit Union has you covered. We’re NCUA insured and as always, 100% committed to our members. So check us out if you’re in need of

stable, secure banking needs.

Stop into EdCo... the weather’s fine!!

609 38th St Des Moines, IA 50312 515-274-4100 EdCoCU.com

Mock Trial is mee� ng every Wednesday. New members are s� ll allowed and encouraged to join. Interested students should talk to advisor Sarah Hamilton or junior Ka� e Hawks for more informa� on. The group is s� ll in its early recrui� ng stage, though their case is expected to be released before students return from winter break. Rehearsal and studying of the case will begin a� er the break, with the compe� � on in February. Junior Ka� e Hawks said she is ready to get the case started with her team at her side. “A lot of people have expressed a lot of interest, and it seems like we have a really good team this year,” Hawks said.

Davison thinks that the new permission policy will help keep parents aware of what students are seeing in the classroom and help keep teachers on the same page with one another. Under the previous rule, Davison said she felt that certain R-rated content could be shown. Movies from the 1980s, for example, were much stricter on their ratings, and some of their war movies would likely be considered PG-13 today. Even then, however, she doesn’t think students are missing out on all that much. “Hollywood is not into factual versions of history,” Davison said.She also said that movies are usually meant to entertain, not inform, and

accuracy together with significance are lost. Davison also believes that while visual aid is helpful, parents may begin to question educational value if teachers show too many films and clips in class. She feels the fun of the clips would be lost if too many were shown. The ban is already in effect, and applies to all teachers in the district. Although students won’t be able to have the fun of the films as much anymore, more teaching can take place and the clips and movies can still be enjoyed on occasion, to ensure historical significance is retained. “It’s the Hollywood version, not the history version,” Davison said.

is for restricted

The drama department produced Peter Pan Dec. 4-6. Students are now preparing for IHSSA Speech Contest. The Large Group District Contest will take place Jan. 24 at North High School. The Large Group Speech Contest Showcase will be held at Hoover at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 3. The Showcase will feature all Hoover performers, regardless of ra� ngs. Performers who receive a I ra� ng at districts will par� cipate in state at Valley High School Feb. 7. Drama director Chelsea Cunningham, assistant Billy Kirby and speech teacher Sarah Hamilton are all direc� ng.

Finals are the week of Jan. 12-Jan. 16. The fi nals schedule is as follows:

Monday, Jan. 12 – Gold 4, 1:10-2:35

Tuesday, Jan. 13 – Green 1, 7:50-9:35 and Gold 1, 9:50-11:35

Wednesday, Jan. 14 – Green 2 – 7:50-9:35 and Gold 2, 9:50-11:35

Thursday, Jan. 15 – Green 3 – 7:50-9:35 and Gold 3, 9:50-11:35

Friday, Jan. 16 – Green 4 – 7:50-9:35

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Michael Roby back page editor

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-DMPS e-mail

Winter break will begin today. The break will go un� l Jan. 5, giving students and staff � me to spend with family and to study for semester fi nals. Junior Quin Gooch is looking forward to the break. “I’m looking forward to hanging out with friends and going to basketball games,” Gooch said.

Purchase it now!

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E-mail that changed the showing of movies

1. Glory 2.Crash 3.The Patriot 4.Saving Private Ryan 5. Schindler’s List

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5 movies no longer allowed in school

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chloe gamble page designwww.hooverchallenger.com features 3

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Eddie Diaz has been a student teacher with government and economics teacher Steve Koch since the first day of this school year. When he first began, he didn’t teaching. Then he took on two classes, and for the last two weeks he has been teaching for the entire school day. Diaz was here for a total of 4 months. “I was actually here before the students started showing up,” Diaz said. “They have two days for teacher meetings.” Although he was here even before classes began, he said he enjoyed his experience here.“My experience in the beginning was very good,” Diaz said. “I felt really comfortable and the students helped a lot.” In the time he was teaching, Diaz took time getting to know his students on a personal level to give himself the ability to teach them better. “It takes time to get to know them,” Diaz said. “I think it helped the students be more interested.”Diaz also formed a relationship with

Koch. Koch said that they have had a good relationship since the beginning. “He’s a very good teacher, very knowledgeable and a good personality,” Koch said. “I just very much enjoyed him.” Koch said their relationship progressed into a friendship over the time Diaz was student teaching. “I think we became good friends,” Koch said. “He’s done an outstanding job as a student teacher for me.” Koch also thought he treated all of his students fairly and also helped them raise their grades when they needed the extra help. “He was very helpful to students that had low grades and very fair to all students,” Koch said. Diaz taught senior Stephanie Mondon in econ on green days. When comparing him to Koch, she said they are both zany and fun. “He’s fun and he incorporated a lot of technology,” Mondon said. Koch also said that he used a lot of technology and was good at keeping the students interested and using his time wisely. “He had a variety of things to keep students interested,” Koch said. “He did Power Points and videos on the computer.” Diaz said he was surprised to find that he enjoyed teaching economics although it was such a hard subject to make interesting to the students.

“I try to put myself in the shoes of students,” Diaz said. Mondon said the Power Points Diaz used helped her learn better during class. “One could potentially get by without reading the book because he puts everything in the Power Point,” Mondon said. “They were pretty visually interesting.” During the past two weeks, Diaz has been teaching from the first bell of the day to the last bell of the day. This was called teaching “bell to bell”. “This is a new thing for everybody with block scheduling,” Koch said. “So it takes a lot of getting used to.” Overall, Koch said that he did an exceptional job and got to experiment with his time. “He did a very outstanding job as student teacher,” Koch said. “He experimented and got along great with the students.”

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Student teacher Eddie Diaz teaches to a senior economics class. Eddie Diaz is a Drake University student who came to Hoover to experience the teaching environment. “I try to put myself in the shoes of students,” Diaz said.

Underage kids getting tattoos is becoming more common. Some of Hoover’s fellow classmates even have them. Sophomore Earl (Javon) Williams has a tattoo on his arm. The tattoo is a MJ Poem. “The reason for getting the tattoo was to remind myself to keep trying,” Williams said. By law students have to be 18 to get a piercing without parent consent. “My parents know about it, but not much was said,” Williams said. “I can’t say who does my tattoos out of the fact that I am underage”. Junior Ariana Harris also has a tattoo. “I have a six point star,” Harris said. The way these teens are getting tattoos is staying confidential. “I also can’t say how I got it, I can only say associates,” Harris said. Not only are tattoos permanent, but they come with pain and a healing process. “I thought it felt good, it just felt like little pinches,” Williams said. Harris agrees with Williams.

But senior Steven Murray chose to wait until he is of legal age. Murray plans on getting tattoos very soon. “I’m getting the symbols for trust and truth tattooed on me,” Murray said. “Trust and truth are just a big part of who I am.” “I think you should be 18 to get a tattoo; remember, they will be with you forever,” Murray said. Murray thinks that tattoos are a much bigger deal than piercings. “At 16 you should be able to get a piercing without parents consent because you can take it out, but at 16 a tattoo is a much bigger thing than a piercing. A tattoo is something that will be with you forever,” Murray said. Williams and Harris disagree. “I don’t think people should make a big deal out of teens getting tattoos because they obviously know what they want,” Harris said. Williams said tattoos can be a good way of showing expression as long as parents are aware. “I think it’s OK as long as the parents know,” Williams said. “Just think long and hard about a tattoo before you get it,” Murray said. “Think about what you want to get and how people will react to it years down the road. It will be with you forever.”

Sophomore (Earl) Javon Williams shows his personal ta�oo. He said he got the ta�oo to mo�vate him to keep going no ma�er what happens. Williams received his ta�oo when he was s�ll legally underage.

�think before you ink

From here, Diaz will go on to student teach at other school such as North, Meredith, and East. He plans to get a teaching job in January as long as he can find an opening somewhere. “If not I’ll be substituting for a while,” Diaz said. “Halfway through the year there are not a lot of openings. If it was my decision there would be no question, I would come here.” With 6 endorsements under his belt, he will have a better chance at getting a job. Diaz is leaving now, but he is taking with him a good experience that has helped him progress as a teacher. “I think my experience here was overall very positive and I’m leaving here as a better teacher,” Diaz said. Senior TJ Ahrens was in two of the classes Diaz taught, and said he is sad to see him go. “I’m gonna cry,” Ahrens said.

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Junior Dana Delafield’s ta�oos stand for things that are important to him and he said he has no desire to ever get them removed.

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Payton Quinnnews editor

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Thao Phamhealth editor

As suicide rates increase, morals and cultural trends are being questioned. Four suicides occurred within seven months at Pleasant Hill’s Southeast Polk High School. These statistics reflect the uprising of suicide culture in today’s society. According to www.healthieryou.com suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people ages 15-24. The ratio of male to female suicides is 4:1--the highest being male. The basis for suicide culture is that it is contagious and becoming more of a trend, where one suicide leading to another suggests the notion that it is a pattern of copy-cat suicides. Increased teen prescription drug use, exposure of suicides in the media, technological usage and the highly sensationalized violent forms of entertainment are a few notions that contribute to the emergence of suicide culture. Freshman Alexandra Garrett believes that the media and violent video games have a significant effect on youth and the society. “I completely agree that the media and violent video games have an influence on suicide culture,” Garrett said. “The thing that people don’t understand with video games or TV in general, is that in most of them, people come back to life. In real life, people don’t understand that this is your one life. You die. You’re dead. It’s game over.” However, social worker Barbara Petersen does not think that media has a direct effect. “I don’t think media helps or is causation. I think it has a tendency to sensationalize, and adults should remind youth that it’s impulsive acts and tell them the facts,” said Petersen. This progressive and advanced

technological era marks the high usage of social networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook in means of communication and cyber-bullying. The existence of texting and internet websites allows for information to travel quickly. “Myspace is getting out of control. There needs to be great oversight. Teenagers are very susceptible to perpetrators and being used,” Petersen said. Senior Josh Engelken described the rising popularity and usage of the internet to even film an act as morose as suicide. “Recently in the news, there was a

gentleman who took his own life on the internet while he was taping himself and had other people talk to him while he was doing that, and some people urged

him on,” Engelken said. There are some views that people may commit suicide to garner attention and alter the traditional views of suicide. Engelken believes that certain people commit suicide for different reasons. “I think some people might deem suicide heroic for example, a suicide bomber might want to do anything in their power to disrupt

others for their own religion or culture. If something is bad in their system or government, they want to kill themselves so they won’t suffer through that and it might be seen as noble if they take their

own life opposed to living for someone else,” Engelken said. With increasing suicide rates and heightened depictions of violence in the nation, preventative measures are considerably being put in place. The topic of suicide is rather touchy, and it leads to parents being hesitant over their children being exposed to the topic. “I understand the hesitancy to make a huge program. Bringing in counselors will help. The Grief Team can help talk to students. Suicides bring up past emotions within people who have already lost someone. It’s very touchy, but students just need to know who to go to,” Petersen said. Nurse Jeanne Mark thinks that people often heighten the extent of their issues. “The biggest challenge is that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. What people need to know is that there’s always a new day and a different way to handle things,” Mark said.

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12.19.08.v42.i5

Suicide

•Internet Suicide - There have been websites

that encourage suicide and discussion about taking ones life. There have also been suicide pacts made by individuals over the internet.

•Suicide Club (2002) - Japan released a highly

notorious film dealing with the controversial subject of suicide which starts off with 54 schoolgirls simultaneously jumping in front of a train at Shinjuku Sta�on in Tokyo The city becomes plagued with “suicide clubs”--groups of teens who get together in order to kill themselves.

•Myspace hoax leading to teenage girl’s suicide

-On Oct. 16, 2006, 13 year old Megan Meier hung herself a�er she thought she made a new friend with a cute teenage boy on Myspace, who abruptly ended their friendship, telling her she was cruel. It turned out that it was a fraudulent profile made up by a nearby woman in the neighborhood.

The biggest challenge is that suicide is a permanent solu�on to a temporary problem.

- Nurse Jeanne Mark

Tips to keep you healthy for the holiday season5

1. Don’t go to a party hungry-People o�en eat faster and more when they are hungry – so eat a wholesome breakfast and lunch on the day to avoid overea�ng at the party.

2. Try different versions of eggnog-Tradi�onal egg nog is usually made with egg yolk and thick cream. If you buy commercial egg nog, you will be delighted to find low-fat or fat-free egg nog out there.

4. Watch your por�on

-Modera�on is the key. Treat yourself a nice drink, dessert, chocolate or sweets without guilt, but always make your por�ons small. This way you can sample all the different foods.

5. Limit high fat items

-High fat food items can be found in fried food, cream-based soup, cheese-filled casseroles, pies, processed meats such as salami and sausages, some pastries and baked goods.

3. Physical ac�vity

-Take nice brisk walks with yourfamily members and friends. Staying ac�ve will keep you mo�vated.

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Media

Informa�on from www.heathcastle.com

The last wrestling tournament for the 2008 year will be will be held Dec. 20. This tournament will be for varsity against Saydel at 9:00 a.m. JV will be star� ng off the new year with the North/Hoover tournament Jan. 3.

sami ricke page design12.19.08.v42.i5 sports 5

The lane game

Ba� le on the mats

Conference compe� � on

New hopes for the new year

Boys basketball

“I’m pre� y upset about the Ames games, we need to play the whole 32 minutes. Our intensity needs to last 32 minutes,” said star� ng senior Ka� e “Pita” Zenz. “East will be a good game, and Roosevelt on the 13th will be another good one,” Zenz said. “Our goal is to win the conference games so those will be the most compe� � ve for us.” Some more conference compe� � on comes right a� er winter break when the husky girls travel to North to face the polar bears Tuesday Jan. 6.

The boys came off a win from Ankeny into the Lincoln game on Friday Dec. 12. The boys face another conference match up Tuesday Jan. 6 at North. Then O� umwa travels here Friday Jan. 9. Senior Sam Turner is out un� l further no� ce due to an illness. “While I’m out all I can do is help mo� vate the team as much as possible,“ Turner said. Although Turner won’t be sui� ng up for a wile he’ll be suppor� ng his team on the sideline.

The boys swim team will be working hard over the winter break and plans to start the new year with a bang. The fi rst huskies swimming meet of 2009 will be held at 5:30 p.m. at Hoover on Monday Jan. 5 against Marshalltown. Later in the week the boys swim team will put their � mes up against Roosevelt on Thursday Jan. 8. This meet will begin at 5:30 p.m. at Hoover.

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��������� Dillon Whalenstaff writer

Senior Tyshawn Crawford isn’t like most basketball players. Crawford is legally blind. Crawford moved from New York to Iowa in mid-August. Crawford moved to Iowa “to play basketball and finish high school.” Crawford was diagnosed with being legally blind at birth. Crawford’s disability is “somewhat genetic.” Although Crawford is the only member of his family who is legally blind, his mother also has vision problems. Crawford got into basketball because he really enjoyed it. He has been playing basketball for seven years. “(I have) like a passion for it,” Crawford said. “I just got into it.” When it comes to friends and family, Crawford said they truly care. “It’s not pity,” Crawford said. “They care; they’re supportive.” To help Crawford with his vision, he uses special equipment from the Department of the Blind. “It doesn’t really affect me,” Crawford said. “I’ve been playing basketball for so many years, I’m used to it.” Although Crawford feels that his disability doesn’t affect his basketball skills, it stopped him from playing other sports. “It stopped me from playing baseball and golf,” Crawford said. “(Anything with) small objects; anything with long vision.” The strongest part of Crawford’s vision is his peripheral vision. Junior Kendall Brown appreciates having Crawford on the boys basketball team. “It’s great help,” Brown said. “He never gets discouraged.” Brown also said he feels that while Crawford has a disability, Crawford doesn’t let it affect the team’s ability or his own ability as a basketball player. Boys basketball head coach Charles Zanders also

Cheers for changes

The cheerleaders are ge� ng down to business with their new assistant coach, CJ Frascht. Next year Frascht will be taking over head coach Andrea Eus� ce’s job. The girls are s� ll prac� cing Wednesday a� ernoons and Saturday mornings for two hours and every once in a while the squad is called in for a 6 a.m. prac� ce before school to work on stunts and dances. The girls performed a new rou� ne at the winter sports assembly. Seniors Evelina Beganovic and Sami Johnson lead the seniors to their fi rst spirit s� ck victory.

The Hoover bowling team had a meet against East at Plaza Lanes on Thursday, Dec. 11 and against North Dec. 18. There will be another meet at Plaza Lanes against Lincoln Jan. 12. All meets being at 3:45 p.m.

appreciates having Crawford on the team. “It’s awesome,” Zanders said. “He can be a champion for all disabilities.” Zanders also said he feels that while Crawford has a disability, “it doesn’t really knock him off.” “We love him,” Brown said. “He doesn’t let anything get him down.”

Senior Tyshawn Crawford, wearing the number 32 prac� ce jersey, waits for the ball while at prac� ce. Despite being legally blind since birth Crawford made the varsity basketball team. “I’ve been playing basketball for so many years, I’m used to it,” Crawford said.

Playing while blind

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Seniors step up spirit

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Clockwise from top: Senior crowd shows pride with signs. Alex Buscher celebrates the win. Seniors Husref Jupic, Ayad Yousif, Azra Redzanovic, and Jacob Bremhorst charge the spirit s� ck a� er winning the yell off against the sophomores. Anna Moody grabs a cheerleader’s pom to help out with the victory cry. Center: Ayad Yousif Has fl our le� over from the game during the assembly. Five students from each grade were chosen to par� cipate, they had to fi nd a single jelly bean in a bowl of fl our without using their hands, safety goggles were provided. The sophomores won in a fi nal sprint with the senors only seconds behind.

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“He doesn’t let anything get him down,”-Junior Kendall Brown

tanner buckley page design 12.19.08.v42.i56 entertainment

Twilight, the novel written by Stephenie Meyer in 2005 came out Nov.21 to very expectant crowds. The 2008 romantic vampire thriller didn’t fall short. The plot starts out when main character, Bella Swan moves to a small, rainy town in Washington from Arizona. There, she falls in love with a misunderstood but very handsome vampire named Edward Cullen. Most of the movie focuses on their

forbidden love and Bella’s struggle to adjust to life with a dad that she hasn’t

known since she was a little kid. She also has to try to keep in contact with her mom, who is on the road with her new, semi-pro baseball player husband. Bella struggles to juggle life between Edward, her new friends, and her father’s old Native American friend and his son, who disapprove of Edward. There is also a couple of good one liners that lighten the mood in awkward scenes. Halfway through, the movie reaches its climax as some enemy vampires figure out that Bella is human and one tries to hunt her down, but it is kind of hard to keep up. The movie switches from a romantic movie to an instant thriller in which the audience is led on a wild, but brief, goose chase to ensure Bella’s safety. There is one brief fight scene, but the audience misses most of it as the camera mostly focuses In on Bella as Edward fights the hunter. But Twilight the movie serves the book justice. The movie was very well cast as the characters resemble the ones in the book and the narrator almost sounds like she is reading passages from the book. Twilight is definitely worth buying a ticket.

BEST OF ENTERTAINTMENT 2008

Walking into the theater I was expecting the movie to be cheesy to the point of laughter… and I was not disappointed. Having read the book I knew that the love between Bella Swan and Edward Cullen was absolutely sickening, but in a way that kept me reading all four books, I must admit. I definitely enjoyed the books much more than the movie. I feel that the movie did an excellent job of portraying all the characters, but I thought that they should have cut back on the “lovey-doveyness.” I can handle it in the book, but actually seeing it on screen is almost creepy. Another flaw I found with the movie was the lack of information. If anyone in the audience had not read the book they would be totally lost at a few points. It is a given that with books turned into movies there are parts left out, but in this book there is a lot of detail that should have been portrayed in the movie. The movie jumped from her and Edward being totally in love to Bella having to run away from James, the tracker vampire. The chase was not stressed enough in the movie, it was way too short. It was the main part of the story, but it was jammed in the last 30 minutes. During such scenes as Edward watching Bella sleep and dancing in the gazebo at the prom, I found myself laughing hysterically while a mother and her 13 year-old daughter next to me were crying. Overall I think the movie may have been a little overdramatic, but I don’t think that will hurt at the box-office. Although I thought the movie was cheesy I plan on seeing all the movies out of curiosity and because the books were that addicting.

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her fi rst number one single since

her debut “Hit Me Baby One

More Time” ten years ago.

Facebook makes Entertainment

Weekly’s Top Entertainer of the

Year list.

“The Dark Knight” became the

second fi lm ever to earn more than

$500 million at the United States

box offi ce.

Heath Ledger is found dead on

Jan. 22, 2008 of a drug overdose

“Twilight” pulls in nearly

$140 million at the box

offi ce.

Tina Fey impersonates Sarah Palin on

Saturday Night Live which garners a lot of

media a� en� on and becomes NBC.com’s

most-watched viral video ever.

TWILIGHT

THAO PHAM SIDEBAR

Sami Rickesports editor

Jessica Thranefeatures editor

1. HARRY POTTER SERIES 2. ERAGON 3. LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY 4. THE LION THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE 6. THE PRINCESS BRIDE5. I AM LEGEND 7. ELLA ENCHANTED

James- Cam GigandetBella Swan- Kristen StewartEdward Cullen-Robert Pa� nsonCharlie Swan- Billy BurkeAlice Cullen-Ashley Greene

FANTASY NOVELS BROUGHT TO THE BIG SCREEN

Emmet Cullen- Kellan LutzDr. Carlisle Cullen-Peter FacinelliJacob Black- Taylor LautnerRosalie Hale- Nikki ReedJasper Hale- Jackson Rathbone

CAST MEMBERS YOU SHOULD KNOW

EDWARD RODRIGUEZ SIDEBAR

TWILIGHT

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DOUBLE THREAT REVIEW

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A li� le less learning�������������������������������������������������

A four-day school week would not help Iowa

students improve

The Challenger staff voted 10-3

for this editorial

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jessica thrane page designwww.hooverchallenger.com opinion 7

One of the greatest challenges facing the American education system is preparing students for a world changing more rapidly than ever. Students must be prepped for jobs that don’t exist yet, that use programs that haven’t been created yet, that will serve a society with an unknown future. But how can schools with limited budgets in times of economic crisis hope to mold students for a new century? The current state of the economy, which has unfortunately and inevitably put on hold some of the goals and objectives of the education system, is worrying some Iowa schools, especially smaller districts in debt. Which is why Iowa legislators will consider next session whether schools “should have the power to operate on four-day weeks,” according to the Des Moines Register. The current law requires a 180-day school year, which wouldn’t allow a four-day week. The Register cited the Conestoga school district in Murray, Nebraska, as a district which has moved to a four-day week in an effort to get out of debt. The district was $1.4 million in debt at its worst, and struggled with decreasing enrollments, rising costs and slashed budgets. Since the switch, the district has “saved more than $100,000 a year—a tenth of their overall budget—in unused bus fuel, energy and substitute teacher pay.” The district is also out of debt. But at what cost? Their school day now runs 7:55 a.m.-4 p.m., pushing parent meetings before 7 a.m. and basketball practice to 6:30 a.m. Parents

have to arrange childcare for Mondays, and teachers and students have to adjust to sitting still longer. And while ACT scores and graduation rates don’t seem to point to any flaws in the new schedule, it’s difficult to really

measure how students are affected long-term. The potential for negative effects that the Conestoga district saw should tell Iowa lawmakers that the four-day week isn’t a good choice for Iowan students of the 21st century. While districts are struggling to make ends meet and looking for ways to cut costs, legislators need to keep in mind the importance of educating students for the future.

To the editors:

On behalf of the many students who spend hours of their free time helping others, we want to comment on the editorial in the last Challenger. The Silver Cord is an honor given to students who show a pattern of volunteer service throughout their high school years and who turn in documentation that verifies they have spent their own time working on the service.

While it may be true that some students do “volunteer work” for non-altruistic reasons, it is still beneficial to both the student lending a hand and to the

The CHALLENGER is published by the newspaper staff of Herbert Hoover High School, and exists to serve as an open forum for the students, faculty, staff, administration and community. All state and federal laws regarding the publication of student materials shall apply, and the CHALLENGER will not publish materials which also fall under the guidelines established by the Des Moines Public School system, and are deemed libelous, obscene or a material and substantial disruption to normal classroom activities. The views expressed are not those of Des Moines Public Schools, faculty, staff or administration. All articles are researched, written, edited and designed by the staff, and are the result of editorial decisions made by the entire staff. Any student, faculty, staff, or community member wishing to contribute materials will need to submit copy within deadline restrictions; however, final publication is at the discretion of staff. Letters to the editor are encouraged, and must be 250 words or less in length and signed; letters may be edited for length, grammar, spelling, etc. Every attempt will be made to verify the authenticity of the author, and no anonymous letters will be published. Advertising will be accepted for all products or services that are legal for minors to possess or utilize. Advertisers wishing to reserve publication space should call 242-7313 and leave a message.

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Some Conestoga parents worried that the shorter week would hurt, not help prepare their children for college. Cindy Cruse, a former college admissions official, pulled her children out of the district when they switched schedules. “I don’t think Conestoga’s ever been very big on promoting college,” Cruse said. She also said that since the district was finally out of debt, “they should consider doing something more.” A college education has become almost a norm—it’s not as easy as it used to be to make money without one. Iowa students don’t need any factors that might have the slightest possibility of hurting their chances for success. Students need all the help they can get from schools to ready them for a new era. With shrinking budgets and rising expenses, districts have to cut costs where they can. But a shorter school week isn’t worth the risk.

Would you rather have a four day week and longer days or stay the way the schedule is?

recipients of the service. In many cases students who extend a hand in service, for whatever reason, will learn more about things they like to do, about the people they are working with, about their community, and about the satisfaction of serving the greater good. Hoover has many students who experience all this and choose not to turn in the forms or gain any recognition for the services they perform. By participating in volunteer activities in high school, students not only gain valuable experience but may also develop a habit of volunteer service that continues throughout life. We would hope that a true altruistic spirit takes hold within people as they participate in various volunteer activities. This can only result in a better community and world in which to live. We encourage everyone, students and

staff, to participate in some volunteer service. You’ll feel better and the world will be a better place

Librarian Pam PilcherSpecial Education Teacher Cindy Grandquist

Silver Cord Sponsors

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Student Sound Off

Got something to say? Submit a letter to the

Challenger by either dropping it off in the

Letter to the Editor box in the library, or taking it directly to publications adviser Timm

Pilcher in room 172

letter to the editors letter to the editors

michael roby and dillon whalen page designphoto essay 8 12.19.08.v42.i5

Gift of Life

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Clockwise from top le�: Senior Ka�e Keiter gives blood for the sickly and needy. Senior Belma Mei�c gets signed up. Junior Quin Gooch fills out his informa�on. Special Ed teacher Aaron Sco� prepares to resume his day a�er his civil act. The blood drive was held Dec. 3 in the small gym. Students had to be at least 16 with parental permission to give blood and some students were turned down because their iron count was too low.

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