North Star October 2012

NORTHST R

THE

Issue 3, Volume 27Blue Valley North

Overland Park, KSOct. 19, 2012

Juniors Abbie Williams, Miranda Hall, and Emily Ritchie donate their time money and hearts to a good cause

at the Lawrence Color Run. Read more about students’ commitment to

volunteering on pages 12-13.

Water polo makes a splash 4

Election 2012:

On the issues 2 Seniors need to step it up 22

02 1HZV��2FW��1

Election 2012: Where do you stand?

The upcoming election is going to determine America’s future for the next four years, and will change the country. Although we won’t all be able to vote in this year’s election, students

believe it’s important to be educated on the issues. “I care about the election because despite the fact that I can’t vote, the

elected leader’s choices will a! ect my life for the next four years,”

senior Demi Levitch said. It has come down to Democratic candidate, President Barack Obama, against Republican candidate, Former Governor Mitt Romney. " e presidential candidates have had months to campaign and try to swing your vote, but sometimes their views on the issues get lost in the mix. Here is a brief guide to your candidates’ sides on the issues that will a! ect us most.

Mitt Romney Barack Obama

Education

Taxes

Gay

Rights

Abortion

Obama believes that parental involvement must # rst increase to see large improvements in classrooms. Obama believes that teacher’s unions are the most e! ective way to protect teachers and children. He has speci# cally said that he wants to add 100,000 new math and science teachers as well as increase access to early childhood education.

Romney believes that teachers should have higher pay. He is also in favor of using standardized tests and believes they are a good measure of performance and provide incentives for better teaching. Romney also believes that teachers represent the public and not a union. In addition, he wants to give the private sector a larger role in providing merit-based college scholarships.

Romney plans to permanently cut the income tax rate by 20 percent. He plans on lowering the tax burden on both the poor and the wealthy to promote job production. His plan also includes a 10 percent cut to the corporate tax rate. In a recent debate, though, Romney stated that he would not lower taxes on the upper class.

Obama plans on raising taxes for American families with an income greater than $250,000. He believes that by splitting up the tax brackets, everyone will be paying their fair share to the country. By doing so, Obama says, we will be investing in the middle class.

Romney plans on supporting the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which gives states the choice of whether or not to recognize same-sex marriage. His traditional approach includes a plan to add an amendment to the Constitution that would de# ne marriage as between a man and a woman.

As the # rst sitting president to publically support gay rights, Obama repealed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, allowing gays to openly serve in the military. He also has supported the Respect of Marriage Act, which would require the federal government to equally recognize same-sex marriages.

Obama is a pro-choice candidate and believes that what is done with a woman’s body is her choice, and not the government’s. Compared to Romney, Obama is very liberal on this issue and has supported Planned Parenthood centers as well as birth control insurance coverage.

Romney is pro-life and believes that life begins at conception. He would like to overturn Roe vs. Wade, which prevents states from limiting # rst trimester abortion rights. " is would give the decision of abortion rights back to the states.

“I care about the election because despite the fact that I can’t vote, the elected leader’s choices will a! ect my life for the next four years,”

Mitt RomneyRomney plans to permanently cut the Mitt RomneyRomney plans to permanently cut the Mitt Romney

income tax rate by 20 percent. He plans on lowering the tax burden on both the poor and the wealthy to promote job production. His plan also includes a 10 percent cut to the corporate tax rate. In a recent debate, though, Romney stated that he would not lower taxes on the upper class.

Romney plans on supporting the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which gives states the choice of whether or not to recognize same-sex marriage. His traditional approach includes a plan to add an amendment to the Constitution that would de# ne marriage as between a man and a woman.

Romney is pro-life and believes that life begins at conception. He would like to overturn Roe vs. Wade, which prevents states from limiting # rst trimester

sometimes their views on the issues get lost in the mix. Here is a brief guide to

Barack Obama

Obama believes that parental involvement must # rst increase to see large improvements in classrooms. Obama believes that teacher’s unions are the most e! ective way to protect teachers and children. He has speci# cally said that he wants to add 100,000 new math and science teachers as well as increase access to early childhood education.

Obama plans on raising taxes for American families with an income greater than $250,000. He believes that by splitting up the tax brackets, everyone will be paying their fair share to the country. By doing so, Obama says, we will be investing in the middle class.

As the # rst sitting president to publically support gay rights, Obama repealed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, allowing gays to openly serve in the military. He also has supported the Respect of Marriage Act, which would require the federal government to equally recognize same-sex marriages.

Obama is a pro-choice candidate and believes that what is done with a woman’s body is her choice, and not the government’s. Compared to Romney, Obama is very liberal on this issue and has supported Planned Parenthood centers as well as birth control insurance coverage.

Information regarding candidates’ sides on the issues gathered from http://www.barackobama.com, http://www.mittromney.com/learn, washingtonpost.com, and nytimes.com.

Ashley Ruben��News Editor �

52%Romney

Obama

Neither

Who would youVOTE FOR?VOTE FOR?

10%

38%

Democrat11%

What is yourPOLITICAL PARTY?POLITICAL PARTY?

42%Republican Independent

41%

Photo from 2012.talkingpointsmemo.

com

Photo from ivar$ elf.word.

press.com

A random poll of 65 students showed that 52% of the polled students would vote for Mitt Romney,

compared to 38% for President Obama and 10% who wouldn’t vote. In addition, 42% of polled students identify most with the Republican Party, compared to 41% for the Independent Party and 11% for the Democratic Party.

03��1��2FW��1HZV

School dance leaves funding in questionReactions to Homecoming differ between administration and students

In their assessment of the success of Homecoming week, administrators Shannon Adams

and David Stubble!eld gave a generally positive review with some concessions.“"e early morning pep rallies had

low attendance,” Assistant Principal Shannon Adams said. “We’ve seen it work at other schools, and I think it’s going to make our spirit stronger, but it’s going to take some time.”While the decision to move

Homecoming olympics to the morning was made by StuCo to confront a scheduling di#culty, few student body members showed up to cheer on the participants.“I didn’t really like [the olympics],”

junior Katherine Johnson said. “I wasn’t really sure what was going on. It was like nobody really cared.”"e sparsely attended olympics

contrasted with "ursday night’s bon!re.“I had a good time,” freshman Alexis

Pudvan said. “It was a lot of fun. "ere were not as many students there as I would have expected, but I think that was due to the weather.”"e Homecoming assembly,

however, was not as well received.“I think the issue came at the

beginning when [students] started turning their backs on each other,” Principal David Stubble!eld said. “It was concerning when things were being thrown. ["e senior class threw] powder, glitter [and] some items on the gym $oor, some very inappropriate, some dangerous. We have to !gure out that [school spirit] needs to unite our school instead of dividing it by class,” Stubble!eld said.Despite the mixed success

of activities leading up to the

Homecoming dance, both Stubble!eld and Adams thought the dance itself went fairly well. Approximately 380 tickets were sold this year, and although this is about half of what is usually sold, both administrators are looking to the future with con!dence.“What’s interesting is that a lot of the

kids that came stayed the whole time,” Adams said. “Last year I saw a lot of kids come in [and] stay for about 10 minutes. So it was really cool to see a lot of kids coming in, having a great

Junior class must make up earnings from sparsely attended mixer

The repercussion of the dance boycotts is that the junior class might not be able to a%ord

Prom. While this is a possibility, some sponsors said it still isn’t likely, as most of the fundraising for Prom has already taken place.“Prom is funded by

the di%erent activities that the junior class puts on,” junior class sponsor Shana Stites said. “["is] includes [mixers] sophomore year, one mixer junior year and Matchmaker surveys before the Sweetheart dance.”

“Financially, there’s probably not going to be that big of an impact on Prom, simply because Homecoming funds are raised by StuCo,” StuCo

sponsor Je% Breedlove said. “As long as the junior class has a certain amount of money in order to pay for things like a down payment [on the venue], then the ticket sales typically pay

for the actual event.”However, the most recent of the

junior class fundraisers, the August mixer, was not at all pro!table.“[At] the mixer, we got about $200-

$500,” junior class secretary Rachna Igwe said. “On average, we usually make $2,000.”"is means that the junior class is

down about $1,500 from what they were expecting, which doesn’t bode well for payments on reserving a venue.“We [already] had our !rst payment

for Terrace on the Greens,” said junior class president Miranda Hall. “I think we’ve paid all of it, but we might be a thousand short.”Even if the junior class manages to Rachel Strohkorb

��Staff Writer �

time.”"ere was a pro!t made on the

Homecoming dance, but it was only a few hundred dollars. "e low attendance and pro!ts have called into question whether or not Sweetheart dance will be held.“As of now, the administration has

not said ‘No Sweetheart’ yet,” junior class president Miranda Hall said. “I think that they want to judge the degree to which students want Sweetheart.”

´:H·OO�HLWKHU�KDYH�WR�cut down what we ZHUH�KRSLQJ�WR�KDYH�DW�3URP�RU�LQFUHDVH�WKH�DPRXQW�RI�PRQH\�WKDW�ZH�FKDUJH�SHU�

ticket.”

make up this de!cit, attendances at both the mixer and Homecoming suggest that not enough Prom tickets may be purchased to fund the other dance expenses.“We’ll either have to cut down what

we were hoping to have at Prom or increase the amount of money that we charge per ticket,” Stites said."e Matchmaker surveys and the

selling of Prom tickets are the last chances for the junior class.“Just buy tickets for Prom,”

Stites said. “If a lot of people buy tickets, they don’t need to be super expensive.”

Students congregate in groups at the Homecoming dance. With the lower attendance, some students report not having as much fun as they did in previous years. Photo by Hunter Robinson.

04 6SRUWV��2FW��1��

Sydney House��Sports Editor�

Swim and dive preview: Team pushes for VWURQJ�ÀQLVK�DW�VWDWH

Junior !omas Goldsborough chases a"er junior Cole Bakalar for the ball during a session of Water Polo Club. !is game can get violent, but creates healthy competition for the teammates that will help them prepare for meets in the upcoming season. Photo by Erika Brown.

Freshman Will Vance passes the ball to a teammate during a game of water polo. !e team has come up with more exciting ways to stay in shape during the o#season. Photo by Erika Brown.

The Workout

Many swimmers and divers are gearing up for a competitive season.

“I am on the KC Swim Academy, which is a club team. I try to get in the pool as much as possible. I do dry land workouts: running and weights,” senior captain Brian McCarthy said. A lot of the swimmers are either on the Blazers or KC Swim Academy. “[Blazers and KC swim academy] are great ways to prepare for the season,” Head coach Derek Berg said. In addition to swimming for KC Swim Academy, Cole Bakalar makes time to li" weights with his teammates. “I do weights twice a week with [sophomore] Jamie Cohen and [junior] !omas Goldsborough.” Senior diver Stoph Cusick has been training to achieve $rst place

at state. “Last year I got second; I lost to Clark !omas who went to the Olympic trials. I also pole vault, so I have been doing track workouts. I have been running, biking and li"ing weights. Sometimes I go to diving workouts at KU. I also try to go to open gyms whenever I can to practice %ips to incorporate into my dives,” Cusick said.

Water Polo Club

This new club meets on Mondays a"er school at the pool. Sponsored by

the head swim and dive coach Derek Berg, any student who has a competitive spirit is welcome to come. !e founders are Junior !omas Goldsborough and Junior Cole Bakalar. “We started the club for fun mostly; we had been talking about the idea for a while,” Bakalar said. Many swimmers from the swim

team are there. “A lot of the team comes; it is a great workout for the team and anyone else who wants to join,” Bakalar said. “We are not allowed to practice as a team before the season starts, so Water Polo Club is a great way for me to check in with the team,” Berg said.Looking toward the future

Even with a small senior class, the team still has high hopes for the season.

“I’m excited about this season, but it will be interesting dynamic with such a small senior class,” senior Brian Mccarthy said. “We don’t have very many seniors this year, but the seniors we have are strong leaders. !ey have grown up in the program and have worked hard in this program

for the past three years. !ey are going to show the freshmen what it takes to be on this team,

while continuing our tradition of success,” coach Derek Berg said. A"er a disappointing loss to Shawnee Mission East last year, the Mustangs are motivated to do better this year. “Our goal is to win the conference championship this year. I know we for sure have a good shot at getting into the top three. We want to have a strong season,” Berg said.

“Our goal is

to win the

conference

championship.”

051��2FW��6SRUWV

ATHLETE OF THE

M NTH“C aroline’s natural

athleticism stands out. She is very positive and

gets really !red up,” varsity volleyball coach Matt Allin said about senior Caroline Dupont, a middle hitter for the varsity volleyball team. Dupont received the Metro Sports Hyvee Athlete of the Week award, an award given to athletes in the area who excel at sports. In addition to volleyball, Dupont plays varsity basketball and soccer . Although challenging, Dupont has learned to manage her time well. “I have to prioritize; there are a lot of con"icts. I used to play club soccer; this is my !rst year not playing. I am still going to play club volleyball this year. Some nights I will have two sports that con"ict; it can be hectic, but it is rewarding in the end. As long as I communicate with my coaches and make up what I missed, they are usually okay with it,” Dupont said. With all of her athletic events and practices, homework can be di#cult to !nish. “I do homework whenever possible: on the bus or between classes,” Dupon said. “She is always focused; she doesn’t just go through the motions. She is the de!nition of coachable; she takes advice from coaches and teachers to heart,” Allin said. Dupont is currently working with the rest of the volleyball team to prepare for state. “We practice two and half to three hours four times a week. We have

games once a week that last from four to !ve hours and tournaments every couple of weeks,” Dupont said. Her love and dedication to volleyball has made her consider pursuing the sport in college.

“I got recruited by the Pitt State coach. I am looking into going to a division III school. I have sent videos and have been in communication with Emory, Washington University and

Westminster,” Dupont said. Dupont notes that her favorite part of the game is the competition. “I love the adrenaline I get from competing and I get to do that with my teammates,” Dupont said.

Senior Caroline Dupont gets ready to serve against BVNW. Photo by Jessica Zidek.

Sydney House

��Sports Editor �

A co-ed no-cuts sport, cross country is a favorite for many students from trained

marathon runners to those seeking a brisk jog with friends. However, new policies of skills-based team division implemented this season are changing team dynamics and striking a nerve with many. $e cross country team was divided between “navy team” and “silver team” based on the results of a time trial a%er the !rst week of practice. “Silver team is the slower runners on the team,” senior runner Melissa Berger explained. “[Navy is] with coach Buehler and coach Attig, and silver is with two new coaches this year.” Berger’s main frustration is the social division the new rule creates. “I don’t see my friends at practice,” she said. “[Silver team] talks during practices, I wish I was given the opportunity to do that with girls on navy too. I feel like it’s dividing the team. At practice, they go on one side of the !eld, we stay on the other side.” Berger feels that the division harms not only the relationships between

peers, but the relationships between runners and their coaches. “I can remember my freshman year when I stayed a%er practice once with other freshman girls and just talked with [coach Gregg Buehler] about his family,” she said. “I don’t think he cares about individuals as much anymore, as long as they’re not giving him the results he wants.” Multiple coaches, including Buehler, were contacted and declined to comment. Despite Berger’s frustrations, not all

runners disapprove of the division between navy and silver team. “I think you have to take into consideration that it’s a sport,” senior Navy runner Haley Knudsen said. “$e main focus of a coach is to compete and become

successful. You don’t see all the football players under one head coach because that would just be really overwhelming.” Knudsen also believes that the division has bene!cial e&ects on the team’s performance as a whole. “I think we have become more successful in the past year,” she said. “Our times have gotten a lot faster.”

New cross country rules divide team; seniors respond

“At practice, they go on one side RI�WKH�ÀHOG��ZH�

stay on the other side.”

Sarah Evans

��Co-Editor in Chief �

A group of runners pushes their limits during a track workout. Divisions on the cross country team aren’t always visible, but that doesn’t mean they’re not felt. Photo by Austin Fultz.

“She is the GHÀQLWLRQ�RI�

coachable; she takes advice from

teachers and coaches to heart.”

Senior pursues volleyball

06 6SRUWV��2FW��1��

A!er a two days of waiting for results, the anxiety was "nally over. #ey had made the Sporting Kansas City Academy team. Making the team meant time commitment, and also living in Kansas. Even though their moving to Kansas would be di$cult, their parents were more than happy to allow them to pursue soccer. “I was scared that everything that my family had given up for me was for nothing, I was relieved to know that it wasn’t all for nothing,” Diaz said smiling. He now feels that he has to make a professional team, but he accepts that this might not happen. He plans to set his sights on his professional ambitions and work hard. Unlike Diaz, Solis arrived in Kansas without his family. He had moved up here with the Diaz family and had been living with them during

the tryouts. His parents were supportive of his passion

for soccer and were okay with him moving up to Kansas to try out. With the Diaz family already planning to move to Kansas he decided to move in with them. “I really don’t like the distance between me and my family, but I know in the end it will be worth it,” Solis said.

Playing the Game

A!er the excitement of making the team it was time to get down to work. Even with the

di$cult move to Kansas, Diaz and Solis were ready to work hard to make their trip to Kansas worth it. Both agree that the hardest aspect of soccer is playing simply. “When you watch someone play soccer it looks so simple; but it’s not, you have to make every move in perfection you can’t mess up,” Diaz said. Being part of a professional soccer team means that they are not able to play for the school team. Even with their soccer schedule of six days two

6RFFHU�SOD\HUV�ÀQG�IUHVK�VWDUWF rom the beginning, seniors

Javier Diaz and Christian Solis have had a love for soccer.

#ey had played in their backyards as children, played for a club team throughout their adolescence, and now they "nally have a chance to play for a state team.

The Dream

Living in Texas, Diaz and Solis played on the same soccer team. #eir friendship took o&

junior year, when they realized that they had the same dream of playing professional soccer. Javier was the "rst to have the interest in trying out for a professional team. He had seen

an advertisement for Kansas City Sporting soccer team one night while browsing the internet. Toward the end of April they made the 16-hour road trip not knowing they would stay longer than they planned. “We walked in there and saw a whole bunch of big guys that were older than us and I was like oh no,” Solis said. Kristen Haug


Senior Javier Diaz trains during his soccer practice for Sporting KC team. Photo by Erica Emert.

hour practices they still make time for school work. their transition to north has been going smoothly as well. #ey have found even though the school work is hard, student and teachers are

accepting and willing to help. “We take a study hall during the day, which makes it easy to keep up with homework, but the classes are harder than the classes we took in Texas,” Solis explained. For both Diaz and Solis, the hard work is worth it, because they know every minute they spend practicing they are one step closer to making it to a professional team. Making it to a professional team is the highest goal for both boys. “I really want to make it to professional team, but it’s okay if I don’t....It’s okay because God might have a di&erent plan for me,” Diaz explained. Even though this is the highest goal for Diaz and Solis, they feel that their friendship will not be ruined by the competition. “If Javier makes it and I don’t, I think I will be happy for him, because I know he worked hard for it,” Solis said.

Senior Christian Solis practices soccer o!en, but Solis notes that he misses his family. “#e only thing hard about it was that I had to leave my family,” Christian said. Photo by Erica Emert

Frances Silva, a 2010 North graduate who now plays soccer at the University of West

Virginia, was recently featured in Sports Illustrated. Silva scored an unassisted goal in the 83rd minute against Stanford, ranked No. 1 nationally, to lead her team to a 1-0 win over the reigning NCAA Division I champions.Q: How did you end up playing soccer for West Virginia?A: “I ended up at West Virginia because of the team, the coaches, and the atmosphere. it’s sort of like a KU out on the east coast and I just loved it when I went on my recruiting trip and the program is traditionally a top 15 program so that also attracted me a lot to the school.” Q: What is your favorite part about playing soccer in college?A: “My favorite part is probably being with the team and representing the university and state and just being able to play other schools like Stanford. Playing on TV is pretty exciting as well and we draw a lot of fans, so the crowds get big which helps make the atmosphere great.”Q: Any advice to aspiring athletes who want to play a sport at the college level?A: “My advice would just be to stick with it if you really like the sport: college sports aren’t for everyone and it takes a lot of dedication and sacri"ce. However, if you’re willing to give all that up; it can be one of the most rewarding things. Work hard and do everything you can to achieve your goals because it’s worth it. When you’re picking the school, make sure that you really love it and don’t rush into a decision. I waited until spring of my junior year to commit which is traditionally late for women’s soccer.”

[Open House]North grad hits big time

Sydney House��Sports Editor�

07��1��2FW��)HDWXUH

Mallory Bodker��Opinion Editor �

J ump-starting her professional career, senior Sarah McMullen’s role in the recent movie “Last

Ounce of Courage” marked the beginning of her stardom. McMullen, at the age of 13, had mostly been involved with musical theater and a few local productions when she auditioned for the movie in 2009. Originally auditioning for the lead, McMullen was turned down because she was too young. !e directors recognized her talent and she later went to a screen testing where she was booked for a di"erent role. While the movie was #lmed in 2009, it was not released into theaters until this fall. “It took forever [for the #lm to come to theaters] because it has a Christmas setting so they wanted it to have a timely release. You need 90 days to put it on DVD, so they wanted to release it later. Also, the plot deals with politics, so I think they wanted to wait because it is an election year and they want people to stand up for what they believe in,” McMullen said. !e main plot of the movie consists of a man named Bob Revere, whose son died in war, taking action for what he believes in; the right to practice Christianity freely. !is includes compelling the town’s elementary school to put on a production about Christmas, contrary

to the school’s beliefs regarding practicing Christianity in a school environment. McMullen plays the lead role in the school play. “I didn’t really know [what the gist of the movie was] and I thought being in a movie was really cool,” McMullen said. While the movie was in post production and being edited, McMullen began to realize the intent of the #lm. “I thought that [I was] giving everyone the chance to say Christmas was great, but then I was like, ‘Why isn’t this letting everyone promote their religion in their own way?’ It’s not fair to polarize these groups by making Christmas the only holiday,” McMullen said. !e movie was sponsored by conservative media outlets, and it also promoted and aligned itself with the national conservative group StandUSA, which a$liates itself exclusively with conservative values. “It’s no secret that I’m politically liberal, but I was just surprised that they took something so unifying as

religion, and turned it into something that was politically polarizing,” McMullen said. On Sept. 11 of this year, McMullen was #nally able to see the #nished product of the #lm. “I went to the patriot screening and I bought tickets for it to see it for the #rst time. I was a little bit surprised because when you’re doing it, you

only see it scene by scene. It had more of a conservative angle than what I thought it would,” McMullen said. McMullen was taken aback by the outcome

of the movie, and she made it clear where her feelings about equality lie. “I have nothing against conservatives or di"erent political ideology. I was just upset because Chuck Norris and some other conservatives and ‘!e O’Reilly Factor’ did a segment [on the movie]and they were promoting taking Obama out of o$ce. If this movie was supposed to be about equality, why are they choosing one political party over another?” McMullen said. “I think they turned it into

a political conduit. !e whole production was based on a cast who are from central Missouri who have strong Christian values, which I respect, but it’s not fair to say this movie is about equality, and then go on Fox News and say the exact opposite,” McMullen explained. In spite of her misrepresentation in “!e Last Ounce of Courage,” McMullen does not regret taking part in the project. “Honestly, I think I would do it over again because it helped me realize that while I may have distinct political views, my opinion is only valuable if someone else’s opinion is equally valuable. It was a great learning experience, as far as acting goes, and it was a great experience to learn about the entertainment business,” McMullen said. !e experience was especially worthwhile in that it provided McMullen with lessons that will be important later on in her career. “Overall, it opened a lot of doors for me. Any negative ideas that I would ever have about the #nal result are turned into a positive because it makes me realize that everyone has the right to their own opinion,” McMullen said.

Political undertones concern student

Sarah McMullen stars as the lead role in the school play in “Last Ounce of Courage.” Hunter Gomez, her fellow cast member, has become one of her close friends. Photo provided by Sarah McMullen.

Sarah McMullen poses for a picture with other cast members in “Last Ounce of Courage.” Photo provided by Sarah McMullen.

“I was just surprised that they took something

so unifying as religion, and turned it into

something that was politically polarizing.”

Senior actress upset with movie’s intent

The posters can be found in various locations on the walls, on the bathroom stalls and

in hallways. !e message is clear. “Zombies are stupid, don’t be stupid.” !e fascination with leg-dragging, brain-slurping zombies has taken the media by storm, and now that long-standing obsession has come to BVN. It seems common knowledge that zombies are slow, idiotic and unable to perform a vast range of physical actions. But o"en these stereotypes are inspired by actual illnesses. For example, the fatigue and confusion-inducing disease “African Trypansomiasis” ravages areas of Africa and Asia. In many of these areas, voodoo magic is believed to be

08 )HDWXUH��2FW��1��

Eating disorders kill more people than any other mental health disease in the U.S. BVN

decided to take action. One of our newest clubs is REbel, a club-turned-nonpro#t that is dedicated to promoting students’ self-esteem. REbel was started by Dr. Laura Eickman, a psychologist at BVNW. When she saw that self-esteem was a problem for many of her students, she wanted a solution. REbel was her solution. Within REbel peer education program, students are encouraged to discuss topics like eating and body image issues, diets, the impact of negative self-talk and media literacy. “It’s been very successful at every other Blue Valley school, so we

decided it was time we got involved,” counselor Jean Busey said. !e concept behind this group is to give students, both girls and boys, a comfortable environment in which they can increase self-con#dence through things like presentations on the concepts, parent education and more.

Fashion Club is yet another new addition to the North club scene. Started by juniors

Morgan Zaslavsky and Meghan

Zombie mania strikes

Kiera Bolden��Staff Writer �

Junior trend-setters display passion for fashion design

Bowman and sponsored by Lindy Diaz, the idea for this group comes from these girls’ love for fashion. “I want to major in design merchandising, so I thought this would be a good way to get started,” Zaslavsky said. Fashion Club plans to meet every other Wednesday from 2:30 to 3:30 to discuss the latest trends, while also communicating online through a fashion blog. !is fashion blog will be a way for all the members to stay connected outside of meetings. !e big event connected with this organization will be a seasonal fashion show, where the latest fashions will be showcased. !ere will be a fee to enter this fashion show, and the money will be donated to North to fund things such as dances. If you have a passion for fashion, contact Zaslavsky and Bowman, or stop by the counseling o$ce to sign up.

Sakshi Mahajan��Staff Writer �

Sakshi Mahajan��Staff Writer �

“The concept behind this group is to give

students, both girls and boys, a comfortable

environment in which they can increase VHOI�FRQÀGHQFHµ

Juniors Morgan Zaslavsky and Meghan Bowman post signs around the school to gain attention for the newest club. Photo by Lindsay Rucker.

real, and that it is the cause of these undead monsters. But here in America, zombies are habitually seen as sources of entertainment. Films and television shows are constant portrayals of zombies, where the genres can span from raunchy comedies to action-thrillers, where threat of a zombie apocalypse always seems to be high. Such movies as “Zombieland” (2009) humorously portray zombies. Senior Alex Blum likes this movie for a simpler reason, “[zombies] eat people.” !at is where the inspiration for the newly-formed club, Zombie Prevention Agency, came from. It was originally going to be a swing-dancing club, but then there came the idea of having an entire club revolving around zombies. “Zombie are the only horror [monsters] that scare me,” said co-creator of the club and avid zombie lover, senior Liz Gaa !e club’s activities are vague in writing, but members can be assured that there is a fun variety. “I think everyone really enjoyed when we played Zombie Ma#a,” says Gaa, “We’re trying to set up a zombie game where we play with water and Nerf guns. We have other activities planned, such as a potential movie night and tutorials on how to do zombie makeup.” Along with the main goal of having fun, the other is preparing club members for a situation where hungry zombies would attack. “I like Zombie Prevention Agency because we actually plan out zombie-defeating tactics,” sophomore club-member Sarmilla Venkoba Sah said. “We also have simulations every once in a while. It’s fun.” !e club holds its meetings every other !ursday a"er school in Mr. Skiles’s room. Although some may not be zombie-fans, there is de#nintly something for everyone.

!e new Zombie Prevention Agency is an example of the zombie obsession sweeping America. Illustration by Chris Shanklin.

REbel sparks revolution to defeat low self-esteem

09��1��2FW��)HDWXUH

For senior Raj Kulkarni, tennis is more than a sport; it’s a business. He has owned Stop

!at Racquet LLC, a tennis racket-stringing company, for about six months. “When the string breaks while you’re playing tennis, you have to string it back so that you can play again. [!ere’s] a little machine that you use. I realized that it was like $35 or $40 and you usually have to get it through a club or a store. A lot of kids don’t want to spend $40, that’s a lot of money. So I charge half of that. A lot of clubs sell di"erent things and they string rackets, too, but I just do racket stringing. I’ve found my niche, and that’s what I do,” Kulkarni said. At #rst, Kulkarni worked alone, but when investors became interested, he hired two other students to string the rackets while he runs the business. “I had people who wanted to invest in my business, so I needed more

people to help me with that while I do other things,” Kulkarni said. “I do all the marketing, I do all the accounting, I do all the #nances, and my stringers do the stringing.” Now that his business is pro#ting, Kulkarni is giving back to the school by donating some of his pro#ts to the Spirit Fund, a club run by teachers and administrators that collects

money to buy school supplies for kids who can’t a"ord them. “!ere are kids at North we don’t know about.When you think of Blue Valley

North, you think every parent’s a doctor or a CEO or a top executive, but you don’t think of the kids that don’t have that, and you don’t know because [they] blend in pretty well, in general,” Kulkarni said. “[!e club] is run by teachers, so a lot of kids don’t know about it. It’s pretty commendable, what [the teachers] do, so I’m giving a percentage of my

pro#ts to [the club].” But Kulkarni isn’t just helping students at North. He wants to help North connect with studendisadvantaged schools in Kansas City, KS. “I think that bringing these communities together would build a stronger city, stronger county, and a stronger nation.” “I volunteer at the Urban League of Kansas City. I noticed there is a huge di"erence between Johnson County and other places just 20 minutes away. I want to bring those communities together,” Kulkarni said. “I think that bringing these communities together would build a stronger city, stronger county and a stronger nation.” Kulkarni hopes to unite the di"erent counties through a Tennis Day that would bring a disadvantaged school’s team to play with North students. “[!e school] would come here, and it would be a time for us to meet the kids, interact with them, maybe play doubles games with them, basically breaking the barrier that is between [underpriveleged schools] and Blue Valley North,” Kulkarni said. He has considered several candidates for this program, and

is currently discussing plans with Center High School a$er lack of interest at Ruskin High School defeated his plans to work with them. Kulkarni has been communicating with boys’ tennis coach Ann Dark and David Stubble#eld to help with planning, and even got the opinion of the mayor of Kansas City. “I had the opportunity to talk with Mayor Sly James [as an up-and-coming businessman], and he thought it was a great idea,” Kulkarni said. !ough he’s committed to his vision, Kulkarni acknowledges challenges in organizing the event. “It takes a lot of planning. You have to make sure the district’s okay, you have to make sure their district’s okay, then you’ve got to worry about busing, liability forms, getting food, then you have got to worry about prizes, so there’s a lot of things that go into planning,” Kulkarni said. He hopes that the event will come together and both schools’ tennis teams and student bodies will participate. “While this is happening, any input at all would be great,” Kulkarni said.

Stringing together a citySenior uses tennis to earn money, unite schools

Senior Raj Kulkarni #nishes adjusting the tension across the strings of the tennis racquet. Kulkarni started his business about six months ago. “Actually, one of the coaches from my club actually taught me how to [string tennis rackets], and from there, I just kept on practicing,” Kulkarni said. Photo by Erika Brown

Senior Raj Kulkarni strings a tennis racket. “I noticed that it was like $40 for racket stringing, and you have to get it normally through like a club, or like a store, so what I did was I took out, like the middleman,” Kulkarni said. Photo by Erika Brown. Emily Levinson


“I think that bringing these communities

together would build a stronger city, stronger county, and a stronger

nation.”


Sophmore Keerti Uppalapati dresses in heavy gold jewelry and a colorful Indian out! t for her dance debut. Photo provided by Keerti Uppalapati.

Dancing into Indian culture dance,” Uppalapati said. " rough Bharatanatyam, Uppalapati was not only taught a new style of dance, but also a lifestyle. “I couldn’t get pedicures, otherwise my feet would not make the hard taps that created the Bharatanatyam style of dance,” Uppalapati said. As she got closer to her dance performance, she also began to watch what she ate. “I had to eat lots of salad and protein to maintain energy for the practices,” Uppalapati said. “I wish I had worked hard from the beginning because I de! nitely had to make up for all the time I spent goo! ng o# , ” Uppalapati said.Uppalapati spent up to eight hours each day to make up for lost time, while others only spent ! ve. “Every little move mattered: the foot placement, the way my hand looked, and the way I stood,” Uppalapati said. As she perfected each technique, the most important thing for her was to make her teacher proud. “I had practically lived at her house,

and she spent hours teaching me so I felt I owed it to her to perform well,” Uppalapati said. A$ er hours of preparation and years of practice, Uppalapati performed her Arangatram Aug. 4. “A$ er my Arangatram, I could ! nally be considered a real dancer. Before this time, I was just an amateur in Indian dance,” Uppalapati said. Once her debut was complete, Uppalapati by no means done with dance.“I plan to teach dance, but also progress in my own dance through continuing to dance Bharatanatyam,” Uppalapati said. " rough Bharatanatyam, Uppalapati stayed connected with her South Indian culture, made friends, but most importantly, learned dedication. “Bharatanatyam is an old style of dance that has been passed down through generations, and I’m glad that I could keep this style of dance alive,” Uppalapati said.

Sakshi Mahajan


The classical Indian music begins, and the audience can immediately hear the

rhythmic tapping. " e feet of young girls, hardened over the past few years of training, produce an attractive and

melodious sound. Sophomore Keerti Uppalapati was

among this group of girls who had trained for their

south Indian dance debut, also known as an Arangatram, for eight hours each day for this past summer. " e music got louder, and the rhythmic taps continued with the jingling of her golden anklets.

Uppalapati danced for three hours for a large audience of friends, family and strangers, but most

importantly, to show her teacher that she had truly learned southern

Indian dance, or Bharatanatyam. Uppalapati has been dancing

since age 5, but only began training for her Arangatram at the

age of 12. “I’d never taken any activity seriously, so I ! nally decided to pursue Indian

Emmaline Lorenzo

While many people drop band a$ er middle school, junior

Emmaline Lorenzo has stuck with clarinet and is currently in symphonic and marching band as well as in the Kansas City Youth Symphony. “I love playing the clarinet. I honestly believe that musicians are a great group of people. I’ve met a lot of friends through music,” Lorenzo said. Playing the clarinet has taught Lorenzo other valuable skills. “It has helped me set goals and try to achieve them,” Lorenzo said. " e practice has indeed paid o# :

Lorenzo was an All-State musician this past year and had the opportunity to play with some of the best high school musicians in the state.

“It was a lot of fun because I was with friends. Although rehearsals were tiring, the concert ended up being amazing,” Lorenzo said. Lorenzo would encourage others to allow music into their lives and says it will always be a part of hers. “I de! nitely want to keep music in my

life,” Lorenzo said. “" ere are so many things that you can do with music. It is something you can continue for the rest of your life and everywhere you go.”

Sarah Posz

E ver since she was introduced to choir in middle school at church, music has been a big

part of senior Sarah Posz’s life. “" at was the ! rst time that I was exposed to choir and I loved it,” Posz said. From there she continued by participating in musicals at the Trilogy Cultural Center. “I really enjoyed my time there. " is is actually the ! rst year in three years

Faryal Jafri��Staff Writer �

All-State musicians explain how music affects their livesthat I’m not going to participate in the musicals there,” Posz said. During her high school musical career, she has been an All-State vocalist.` “I got a 2 freshman year and a 1 my junior year,” Posz said.She continues to work with music and hopes to be an All-State vocalist this year. “I have at least two hours of music a day at school with Chorale and Chambers. I have two hours of acapella on Sundays. I also have voice lessons once a week,” Posz said. As for continuing with music, Posz says that she wants it to continue to be a part in the rest of her life. “I want to continue to pursue music in college. I want to be a choir teacher,” Posz said. “I’ve ! gured out that I don’t want to do anything but music,” Posz said.

Senior Sarah Posz warms up her vocal cords before class begins. photo by Lindsay Rucker.

Junior Emmaline Lorenzo practices her clarinet in preparation for district band. She was the ! rst chair clarinet player in Kansas’s All State band. Photo by Erika Brown

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As Halloween approaches, the stories of ghost and ghouls ! ll the night, scaring little kids.

Sometimes these stories are fake, but sometimes they come to life.

“The Cleaning Lady”

College is chock-full of crazy stories and exciting memories. Students go on new

adventures and do things to check one of their bucket list. For English teacher Natalie Johnson-Berry, the college experience was made more interesting by an odd visit from a mysterious ghost. “I was in my junior year of college, it was around exam time, and I was studying very late in one of the buildings that was le" open all night long, and I fell asleep on one of the sofas. What woke me up was I heard some noise of something with wheels on it,” Johnson-Berry said. “I

Experience the supernatural [Berger Time]

Students, teachers share their own ghost stories

Hayley Berger��Feature Editor��

Hayley Berger��Feature Editor��

Running through a deserted mall in search of the Glenwood Arts theater, my

friends and I were anxiously awaiting the movie “# e Perks of Being a Wall$ ower.” # e main character, Charlie, tells the audience how many days until graduation and then spends the movie contemplating his life in that time. At one point, Charlie thinks about how everything becomes a memory. He says maybe it’s sad that treasured moments are now memories, and maybe it isn’t, but they were at one point not a memory. He was, at one point, as happy as he remembers. As he drives through a tunnel with his friends listening to a perfect song, he says the moment feels “in! nite.” And every day a" er, he remembers the time when he felt in! nite. While I sit here studying, I look back at pictures from the Color Run remembering how much fun I had. When I’m taking my next test, I’ll remember being blasted by color alongside my friends. I’ll think about the little twins bragging about how much color they got and the rainbow-colored dog that ran past me. I’ll think how happy I was in that moment that was once not a memory. In the approximately 575 days until I graduate, I’ll have many more miserable tests, exciting endeavors and “in! nite” moments. “Perks of Being a Wall$ ower” is one of those stories that stays with you. Ten minutes ago I was freaking out about grades, and now I feel ! ne because I thought of this book and the chance of seeing the movie again soon. So thanks, Charlie.

Perks of memories

“The Ghost House”

Books $ ying o% shelves, lights $ ickering and doors mysteriously locking are

all things that are common in the traditional horror movie. For senior Jenny Phillips, they were more than just an on-screen occurrence; they happened in her own house. “A few nights each week my parent’s door would open forcibly and then close. Once my sister was in the shower and the curtain opened on its own,” Phillips said. “One night we heard a big crash downstairs and there was this cabinet with wine glasses lined up and they were all smashed and formed into ‘x’ shapes.” A" er countless nights of lost sleep, the Phillips family decided to take action and hire investigators to check out the house. “None of us were sleeping at night, so we had these people come to investigate,” Phillips said. “# ey came with a ton of equipment where they would walk around at night and ! lm

looked up and very quickly I see this lady who is pushing something that looks like an old-fashioned cart with cleaning supplies on it. I thought, ‘What is a person who does the cleaning doing here?’ It’s 3 a.m. and usually the people who help clean and pick the college up are gone at about 4 in the a" ernoon.” With this confusion, Johnson-Berry began to consider the possibility that the woman had been some kind of spirit. “She looked real, just like us. She wasn’t transparent or anything like that. By the time I thought about possibly what I had seen, I started to second guess myself. I just kind of buried it in the back of my mind because I knew that it was somebody that wasn’t supposed to be there. It was just unnatural,” Johnson-Berry said. Freaked out and afraid of being labeled crazy, she didn’t think too

much about it again until she met someone else who had the same experience. “Because I didn’t want to sound crazy, I never said anything to anyone. It wasn’t until several months later that a girl, we had just started talking, mentioned di% erent spirits that people had seen and this lady [that I saw] was one of them. Supposedly she was a cleaning lady and nobody knew her name,” Johnson-Berry said. Hearing accounts from other people had given Johnson-Berry a sense of relief, but it did make the appearance more real. “When it came out and there was a conversation with these other people, I just got chills and I thought to myself, ‘# ank God somebody else had seen this.’ I was really relieved, but pretty freaked out. I accepted it, though,” Johnson-Berry said

and do some EVP [electronic voice phenomenon] recordings. # ere was also some crazy old lady that was a psychic.” While most supernatural investigators are in the game solely for money, this group did all of their work for free. # ey devoted themselves to ! nding the ghosts and deciphering their ! ndings. “# ey had my parents walk around the house and describe all the antique things,” Phillips said. “My mom was explaining this antique couch and where it came from, and from it they found a recording from the EVPs of someone saying, ‘# at’s right.’ # ere was another recording of a man and a woman ! ghting and the man was calling the woman a whore.” # ese supposed ghosts that haunted Phillips’ old house did not, however, arrive just to torment the Phillips family. For ages, this house has apparently been cursed by the presence of haunting spirits.

“When we moved into that house, the neighbors told us it was haunted,” Phillips said. “We then found out that every person who had lived in the house had to move a" er around three years due to some unfortunate reason. Like, my dad lost his job, the old women before us had to leave because one of them was dying of cancer, one guy was screwed out of a partnership; it goes on and on.”

131��2FW��)HDWXUH

With the Halloween season quickly approaching, people of all ages are eagerly planning their visits to pumpkin patches and costume parties. Perhaps the best treat, though, is the one you can give to those in need.

As teenagers from each religion lead a prayer, 250 people stand silently listening or praying along with them. !ere’s a sense of community and a feeling of peace. Once the prayer "nishes, everyone begins to walk together

to the next stop on their "ve-mile course. !e Peace Walk brought together people from several di#erent faiths and all ages. Headed by the Kansas City Interfaith Youth Alliance (KCIYA), this walk not only attempted to create tolerance among the religions in the area, but also to raise money for a better understanding of tolerance among children. “!is walk helps to raise money for the charity Free the Children, speci"cally the education branch. Understanding and cooperation are rooted in education, which then lead to tolerance,” Alex Sher, a member of the KCIYA, said. KCIYA was started four years ago to promote cultural diversity among local youth. !is student-led organization provides local high schoolers with ways to “lead, serve and grow” in their community. “Our generation has a ton of power and we can do something to make a change,” junior Abbie Williams said. “Here we don’t have a ton of issues or con$ict with each other, but in other countries they do, so the fact that here we can create events like this [Peace Walk] just helps to at least maintain peace somewhere.” High schoolers in the Kansas City branch work together to organize service projects to help out the community and set examples for peace and tolerance. “!ese events are small stepping stones to "xing big problems. !ey show that if we, here in Kansas, can do it, then people in other countries can, too,” senior Naaz Lakhani said. KCIYA events provide local teenagers with a new insight on diversity to everyone, even those not part of the organization. “I decided to come to the walk because I thought it would be fun and an event worth going to, but I’ve seen a lot of really di#erent things since I arrived, and it’s really interesting,” junior Anna Zell said. “I see a little bit of judgment between students at our school, and I think things like this really help to dispel that.” To get involved with the KCIYA or "nd out about upcoming events, go to www.KCIYA.org.

Youth take journeys of faith and footsteps

Reach Out and Read KC is an organization that recruits volunteers to tutor and read classic childhood stories to young children. !eir primary goal is to increase literacy and the enjoyment of learning. Contact them at reachoutandreadkc.org. if you have an interest in volunteering this way.

Trick or Treat so Kids Can Eat is a way to help hungry people in the local community. BVN’s thespian population hopes to collect pounds of food. You can o#er a cash donation to a local HenHouse, or bring non-perishable canned foods to the school- sponsored collection

Volunteers are needed constantly at the local Harvesters organization. Volunteer Outreach Center (VOC) is a way for teenagers to sort and package donated items for them to be sent to the hungry. Go to harvesters.org to check out the opportunities to help.

Be a hero this Halloween

Hayley Berger��Feature Editor�

Kiera Bolden��Staff Writer �

!ere are many children on Halloween who cannot go trick-or-treating because of working parents/ guardians. !is is where you could come into the equation. By creating community $yers to broadcast your willingness to help, you could make these kids’ holiday worthwhile. Maybe taking them around to di#erent houses will earn a few treats for yourself.

Treat a family

Reach Out and Read

Trick or Treat So Kids Can Eat

Help out at Harvesters

We all know what life is like at BVN, but we don’t really get the chance to see what life

is like outside of our bubble. Because of this, our Kay Club decided to start working with schools in third world countries. !is year, Kay Club has adopted a small village school in Dharamthal, India. “It’s a perfect project. We need a global service project yearly, and this project full"lls that requirement and even incorporates education,” said Kay Club sponsor Dana Steinwart. People in Dharamthal don’t have the funds for simple necessities like milk, school clothes and shoes. From Oct. 29-31, you can buy a bag of candy at lunch for $2.00 or two bags for $3.00. When you buy this bag of candy, you get candy and treats, and also the chance to save kids’ lives. Next to the poster, a jar will sit for any extra donations. !rough donations from lunchtime sales, KAY Club can help feed, clothe and educate kids.

Sakshi Mahajan��Staff Writer�

For some, running "ve kilometers is an impossible feat. For others, it’s an enjoyable pastime.

!e Color Run, which took place in Lawrence on Oct. 6, aimed to make racing fun for everyone. !e Color Run, referred to as the “Happiest 5k on the Planet,” tours the country raising money for local charities. At the start line, racers come dressed in all white, and at the "nish line, they have not a speck of white le% on their clothes. Every kilometer, racers are blasted by di#erent colors of powder, and are rewarded at the end with even more color and a party full of music and celebration.

wonderful feeling,” Uhlig said. Upon viewing pictures from past runs, junior Abbie Williams was excited to participate. !e race exceeded her expectations. “!e pictures online don’t give you an idea of what the full experience is like. !e whole energy of the race was so cheerful and friendly,” Williams said. “Plus, my friends and I were able to spend the day doing something so di#erent from anything we would normally do, which was just really fun.”

Hayley Berger��Feature Editor�

“I think the color part of the run is what makes it so amazing,” junior Lora Uhlig said. “It’s so unique and di#erent from other races I’ve participated in, but unlike those races, it’s not about how fast you go, but rather how much fun you have. I love it. And, really, what isn’t exciting about being blasted by colors?” Proceeds raised went to a charity called Assists, which helps give young people easier access to better and healthier lives. “!e whole idea [of the run] appeals to me. I love running, and I obviously love spending time with my friends, plus knowing that money I spend is going to help other people is always a

Students shape the world through service Volunteer victories

)HDWXUH��2FW��1��12

Adopting village helps to pop the

bubble

Runners discover the colors of change

(From le%) Juniors Lora Uhlig, Abbie Williams, Miranda Hall and Sarah Newstrom celebrate at the "nish line of the Color Run by throwing up their own bags of colored powder. !e end of the race was full of music and color bombs. Photo by Hayley Berger

For both the Color Run and the Peace Walk, hundreds of people joined together to raise money for a cause. In both events, the participants were decked out in the designated attire, such as white for the Color Run and KCIYA shirts for the Peace Walk. Photo by Hayley Berger

Kids in Dharamthal, India, a third world country, go to a school where there is a lack of certain necessities that students at our school have.

14 (QWHUWDLQPHQW��2FW��1��

REVIEWS

F ive college students rent an RV to spend a weekend at an abandoned cabin in the woods. Each character

exempli!es the common archetypes of the horror genre: the athlete, his hot girlfriend, the scholar, the pothead and the innocent girl. Along the way, they stop at a creepy gas station where a creepy old man warns them to turn around. Does this premise sound familiar to you? It’s supposed to. “"e Cabin in the Woods” succeeds as a self-aware satire of horror movies. It’s !lled with all of the elements we’ve come to know

and love, but it is by no means a conventional movie. I’d use the word “ridiculous” to describe the plot because it has so many “did that just happen” moments, but I mean that in the most positive way. Similar to the “Scream” series,

“"e Cabin in the Woods” is gut-bustingly funny, yet equally terrifying. One minute you’re laughing at the smartly cra#ed irony in the dialogue, and then you’re grasping for a blanket to hide under the next. In one scene, the main characters are playing Truth or Dare when the cellar door to the basement blows open. “Must be the wind,” the athlete reasons. “Uh, that makes what kind of sense?” the pothead asks. I love ironic dialogue like this because the writers are essentially doing two things at once: they’re exposing the error in reasoning

by characters in other movies, while still creating potentially scary situations. Fast forward and the same athlete suggests that everyone should split up, to which the pothead replies, “Really?” When a movie features no well-known celebrities, its success can be a gamble, but a lack of familiar faces paid o$ here. Whereas some movies rely on the star power of their protagonists, A-list actors would have only detracted from the story. Since I can’t say much about the ending without spoiling it, I’ll keep quiet. Just know that there are so many unexpected twists and turns throughout that the !nal product you actually watch is nothing like what you’d expect from the preview. Unsurprisingly, there is profane language, brief nudity and lots and lots of blood. It’s not for the faint of heart, but if you’re game, there’s no better way to get into the Halloween spirit. Horror movies are !lled with rules and patterns that are followed by most screenwriters. “"e Cabin in the Woods” acknowledges these rules and breaks them.

Horror comedy tinkers with genre rules

Danny Rosenberg��Entertainment Editor �

Rachel Strohkorb��Staff Writer �

F ans of Justin Beiber and David Archuleta—rejoice! Owl City’s Adam Young wrote the perfect album for you.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the perfect album for me. I’ve been an avid Owl City fan since the hit “Fire%ies” in 2009, and I was jittery with excitement waiting for the third album. But when I played the CD for the !rst time, I found my hopes dashed. It seemed that Young has rejected his old whimsical, slightly insane style for that of a typical pop artist. It wasn’t the music itself that disenchanted me, but the lyrics. In his earlier albums Young was as deep as humanly possible, but in “"e Midsummer Station,” he resorts to the overused pop music equation: Catchy tune + meaningless lyrics about love = success. Admittedly, Young did write about love in what I now refer to as “the old days,” but it was in a fresh inventive way that made one consider this overused song topic in a new light. Now I’m being treated to a style I’ve heard a billion times before, and I’m sick of it.

Another lyrical problem was his repetition of certain symbols. It felt like Young had attempted to create a concept album where all the songs center around one major idea, but he hadn’t realized it had more to do with just repeating words like “shine,” “bright” and “!re.” "e motif of light was used constantly throughout this album to the point of extreme annoyance when listening to them all in a row. "at said, musically this album was great. Young’s airy electronic beats and light-hearted melodies never fail to stick themselves in your head. Despite my animosity toward the lyrics, I found myself humming them under my breath because the music is so darned catchy. And in this album, Owl City branched out by working in several songs with dance beats adding to the movement of the album as a whole. In the !nal assessment, however, I personally believe that Young was feeling the pinch a#er not having a hit song in three years and turned to a pop-styled album to earn some money. I hope he gets it. If Young

gets enough to live on for a few years, he might go back to his old way of writing, where the audience reception didn’t matter and he could focus simply on the art of his unique style of music. So buy the songs, and wait for something better.

Owl City conforms to pop trends on latest album

Five friends investigate when the cellar door to the basement blows open in “"e Cabin in the Woods.” Photo from http://discoverthecabininthewoods.com/

Owl City’s newest album, “"e Midsummer Station,” may disappoint diehard fans. Photo from http://owlcitymusic.com/

151��2FW��

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Write a letter to the editors and be published in the

next issue of The North Star!

Submit to room 411!

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STARTWhere do you see yourself

15 years from now?Dedicated to my job. Married, with kids.

Stay home to get the project done. Work

!rst,party second.

What’s your out!t of choice?

A tweed jacket and jeans.

You’re coaching Little League baseball. Do you make the team

competitive or fun?

Competitive - go big or go home. Fun - it’s all for

the kids.

Every sitcom has its lovable characters, relatable situations and raunchy dialogue. So does “How I Met Your Mother,” but what sets it apart from other sitcoms is its unique format of storytelling. If you’ve ever watched

the Emmy-winning show that’s entering its !nal season, you know the entire

Your friends are going out, but you have a big project due tomorrow. What do you do?

Are you scared of commitment or do you embrace relationships?

Go out. "ere’s always tomorrow morning to !nish homework. Scared - you’re afraid

to share your life.

Embrace - you’re in it for the long run.

A crisp suit - gotta look professional.

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B arney is the classic example of a ladies man.

He’s outgoing, conceited and irreverent. He has a room dedicated to his suits and a television screen the size of a wall. One day he’ll eventually settle down and get married, or maybe not.

T ed Mosby, architect, is the type of dedicated

person who always !nishes what he starts, and he’s been searching for his soulmate since season one. He’s eager to commit to a relationship, but he has yet to !nd his match.

Robin o#en lets her job get in the way of her

social life. Time a#er time, she buries herself in work to avoid confronting her emotions. To her friends, she may sometimes come o$ as abrasive, but that’s just because she wants to hide her true feelings.

Marshall is described a lovable teddy bear; a

loyal friend to the guys and a con!dant for the girls. He’s a goofy guy, but he knows went to buckle down.

Lily is de!ned by her need to assert

her opinion. By day she is a kindergarten teacher, but really she dreams of being an artist.

Danny Rosenberg��Entertainment Editor �

Sarah Evans� Co-Editor-In-Chief �

series is actually one dad’s drawn-out story of how he met his kids’ mother. Most episodes begin with Ted reminiscing about his friends Lily, Marshall, Barney and Robin. Each of these characters has a distinct personality that balances the dynamic of the group. Which character do you most resemble?

Photo from http://episodewiki.com/How_I_Met_Your_Mother/Characters/Barney_Stinson

Photo from http://www.fanpop.com/spots/how-i-met-your-mother/images/2960633/title/marshall-wallpaper

Photo from http://www.fanpop.com/spots/how-i-met-your-mother/images/27830348/title/ted-season-6-promo-photo

Photo from http://www.himym-fans.de/die-serie/robin-scherbatsky.html

Photo from http://www.fanpop.com/spots/how-i-met-your-mother/images/31132559/title/lily-hq-photo

18 (QWHUWDLQPHQW��2FW��1��

In the English sunshine, an elegant man strides across a lush lawn to strains of poignant music. !en

we see a servant dusting an exquisite chandelier, another laying a straight-edge across a table to make sure the ends of the napkins are lined up. We hear the servants’ bells tinkle. !is is the world of Downton Abbey, theEmmy-nominated show that has captured the imaginations of romantics and history bu"s everywhere. !e newest season is available for purchase on Net#ix as of September, and began playing in England atthe end of last month. !e Downton Abbey of the show is an old manor house in rural England. It is inhabited by a colorfulcast of aristocrats and cooks, ladies and their maids, lords and their butlers. Season one begins when the Titanic sinks and Lord Grantham, the master of the estate whom we see in the

$rst scenes, loses his cousins and heirs. !e house is thrown into a tumult over the inheritance when it turns out that Matthew, a handsome stranger—a lawyer, who actually has to work for a living—is the next inline to Lord Grantham’s property and title. He comes to Downton, and a romance springs up between

him and Lord Grantham’s oldest daughter, the $ercely digni$ed Lady Mary. !e show seems to be shaping up into a charming—if somewhat dated—love story, when theinconceivable occurs: World War I breaks out. Season two tells the story of a world in turmoil, as the horrors of war shake the foundations of even the

Fall favorites are great-until 20 minutes later, it feels like nap time. Mushy casseroles and beef and potato $lled plates are more snooze-inducing than satisfying. An easy way to

3. Using a food processor or blender, puree the sweet potatoes. Return the puree to large pot and stir in the sauteed mixture. Reheat, and season to taste.

stateliest manor houses. From masters to servants, lives are altered forever. !e head maid, Anna, begins a great romance with Lord Grantham’s manservant, Bates, as the war shows them cruelly that life is too short to live alone. Lord Grantham’s youngest daughter, Sybil, becomes a nurse and falls in love with a radical Irish chau"eur. !e social mores of the house are turned on their heads when Matthew’s mettlesome mother insists that it be converted into a convalescent home for wounded soldiers. And Matthew comes back from the war engaged to another woman and severely wounded. !e ultimate brilliance of Downton does not lie in the rich costumes or witty dialogue. It lies in the

5 medium-large sweet potatoes, diced1 chopped onion% cup chopped bell peppers1 tablespoon olive oil2 cloves of garlic, $nely chopped2 teaspoon each of ground coriander, cinnamon, cumin and smoked paprika1 teaspoon each cayenne and salt1 quart vegetable broth

1. In a large pot, pour the vegetable broth over the sweet potatoes. Add water, if needed, to barely cover all the potatoes. Simmer until the potatoes are cooked through (easily pierceablewith a fork) and then turn the heat o" and set them aside.

2. While the potatoes are cooking, heat oil in a large skillet. Add onions and garlic, and allow them to cook until so&. Add in spices and peppers, evenly distributing. Cook until all vegetables are so&. Set aside.

Sweet Potato Bisque

2 tablespoons olive oil1 medium eggplant, seeds removed and cut into half-inch cubes2 cloves minced garlic1-2 small tomatoes, diced' cup green olives, chopped2 tablespoons red wine vinegar% teaspoon salt% teaspoon pepper( teaspoon red pepper #akes12 ounces whole-wheat pasta( cup chopped basil1. Boil a large pot of water. 2. Heat oil in a large skillet and cook eggplant until slightly so&ened,

Fall favorites get a lighter makeover

Eggplant and Vegetable Pasta

Eggplant and vegetable pasta packs nutrients and !avor into a "lling and warming meal. This dish pairs well with your favorite protein or some crusty bread. Photo by Ellie Holcomb

Sweet Potato Bisque is a good starter to a meal. Leftovers can be reheated for a quick lunch or dinner. Photo by Ellie Holcomb

Classy and captivating: the world of Downton Abbey

Jessi Glueck� Co-Editor-In-Chief �

Ellie Holcomb� Co-Editor-In-Chief �

Maggie Smith, from the “Harry Potter” movies, is a key character in Downton Abbey. Other actors include Michelle Dockery, playing Mary, and Hugh Bonneville, playing Lord Grantham. Photo from Amazon.

“They are all noble in spirit, whether they are noble by birth or not.”

change this is to lighten them up-more nutrients and veggies, less cream and butter. And these “I don’t need a nap” fall faves are just as delish.

characters’ response to real and o&en bitter change. At times, they make poor decisions. But unlike any other show I’ve ever seen, each character on Downton is $lled with a fundamental goodness and strength. !ey are all noble in spirit, whether they are noble by birth or not.

about 5 minutes. Add in garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 second. Add tomatoes, olives, vinegar, and spices. Cook until tomatoes begin to break down, 5-7 minutes.3. While cooking the vegetables, cook the pasta according to package directions in the water. Drain and divide among bowls, topped with veggies. Garnish with basil.

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Last week I witnessed a girl crying before school over the quiz score she had just

received. ! e next day I overheard a student anxiously listing all the school work she needed to complete while her friend stood by her, o" ering comforting words to help prevent an outbreak of tears. Society has put a tremendous amount of pressure on students about college. Students work incredibly hard for four years with this ultimate goal. But as many students slave away writing

there is life a# er college. In the grand scheme of things, it does not matter if you got a C on your AP Euro test. If we spend our high school lives obsessing about college admission, we will be miserable. ! at’s not how we should be. An in-state college education can prepare you just as well for the future. ! ere is a misconception that a more prestigious school will guarantee a more successful future. When we look at several corporate CEOs, they attended state school. And don’t forget-Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard. You could be happy at so many di" erent universities. It is ridiculous to stress out, make ourselves sick trying to create the perfect resume for a particular school. Now is the time to take a step back and put things into perspective.

papers until midnight, we must ask ourselves: how much school stress is too much? We are too focused on the little things. It’s time to open our eyes to the bigger picture. Although it’s hard to believe at this point in your life, you are more than the sum of your test scores.

Do the things that you are passionate about, spend time with the people you like being with, enjoy just being young, rather than using all of our energy worrying about whether or not we will be admitted to our dream school. ! ere is life a# er high school,

'RQ·W�VZHDW�LWHow a lower-stress outlook on high school can help your sanity

Mallory Bodker��Opinion Editor��Letter to the editor

A display of “seniority” dismays peer

Congrats fellow seniors, some of you have yet again made me embarrassed to be a part

of our class in public. At the senior night football game–a night dedicated to honoring our class, no less–some of the more rambunctious of our class decided to cheer “Let’s see football” during the recognition of the National Merit scholars. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t care if anyone in the crowd cares about National Merit. I don’t care about National Merit either, really. I do, however, care about showing respect, a concept our class seems to continually struggle with. We seem to think that being disrespectful to the administration and to each other is the epitome of senior rebellion. ! is lack of respect, however, doesn’t show how “hardcore” we are or encourage comraderie by uniting us as a class. By turning activities meant to encourage

class pride into an act of childishness, we actually manage to polarize our class. Our displays of immaturity merely draw attention to the sad misplacement of our spirit. When we celebrate childish things

like throwing glitter, ignoring administrators and being rude to our classmates, we only prove that we are placing value not in senior

camaraderie, but in assuring that memories of our obnoxious escapades will live on a# er we’ve graduated. Infamy isn’t the way to go, but it’s the direction that we’re headed. Remember the seniors when we were freshmen? ! e formerly “sophmoronic” ones? ! eir positive traits were completely eclipsed by that one word they could never quite escape. Our legacy could be so much more than high school legends of

spirit assembly shenanigans if we let it be. We are an intelligent, athletic and talented class in so many ways. We just need to $ nd a constructive way to portray ourselves, and we can start by setting an example of what healthy school spirit looks like by respecting each other, authority and even the underclassmen. Sometime over the last few years, being as rowdy and messy as possible became the senior standard for showing o" our spirit. ! is perversion of tradition divides the student body and re% ects badly on us, so only we can redeem our class by reversing this trend. As the tops dogs at North, we should take advantage of our ability to a" ect change before we leave for college and become the “fresh meat” all over again. Because let’s face it, college seniors will not put up with our immature hijinks any more than we would be okay with the underclassmen throwing things at us. –Liz Gaa, senior

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Illustration by Chris Shanklin

The North Star staff

! e North Star is the o& cial publication of Blue Valley North High School, an open forum distributed to all students nine times a year. ! is publication may contain controversial material. Kansas law prohibits the suppression of a student publication solely because it may contain controversial matter. Blue Valley Uni$ ed School District No. 229 and its board members, o& cers and employees may disclaim any responsibility for the content of this publication; it is not an expression of school policy. Student authors and editors are solely responsible for the content of this publication. Letters to the editors are encouraged from students and non-students alike and should be less than 500 words. All letters must be signed and turned into room 411 at least one week prior to publication. All letters require a signature. Names will be published. ! e North Star reserves the right to edit with regard to libel, without changing the substance of the letter. ! e North Star will not publish obscene or libelous material.

(GLWRUVSarah EvansJessi GlueckEllie Holcomb1HZV�(GLWRUAshley Ruben)HDWXUH�(GLWRUHayley Berger6SRUWV�(GLWRUSydney House(QWHUWDLQPHQW�(GLWRUDanny Rosenberg2SLQLRQ�(GLWRUMallory Bodker3KRWR�HGLWRULindsay Rucker,OOXVWUDWRUChris Shanklin%XVLQHVV�PDQDJHUErica Emert3KRWRJUDSKHUVErika BrownErica EmertAustin FultzDaniel Traub6WDII�ZULWHUVKiera BoldenKristen HaugFaryal JafriNeha KulkarniEmily LevinsonSakshi MahajanRam SivakumarRachel Strohkorb$GYLVHUMindy Gilman

20 2SLQLRQ��2FW��1��

A week ago, I realized that Facebook was a!ecting my work ethic. As an experiment,

I tried for a whole week to phase myself out of my Facebook addiction. I "rst tried to just stop using it. #at did not work because I was crawling back a few minutes later, wondering if someone commented on my posts. Next, I deactivated my account, which also didn’t work because Facebook makes it easy to reactivate it a day later by entering your password. Finally, I tried to become addicted to Twitter, but that just made the problem even worse. I’m now “double addicted”. #is is why the Facebook addiction plaguing our society hurts more than it helps. Facebook destroys our productivity. People complain about how much homework they have and brag about how long they stayed up, yet this wouldn’t be a problem if they didn’t go to Facebook every few minutes. For example, my simple "ve-minute Math XL problem set took almost 15 minutes because I constantly went back to the “news feed” to check

It’s clear that there are dire problems with Facebook addictions, yet there is only one topic le$ untouched: how to phase out of our addictions. Completely pulling out of Facebook would be impractical and fruitless (as I experienced myself), but there are many alternatives that I urge you to try. #e "rst thing to do is be aware; realize just how much you need to cut back on your usage. Every time my hand itches to type in those eight letters, I remind myself to go back to my work. #e next thing you can do is "nd someone who can help you out. You could set up your computer next to your parents or when you are with your friends to keep away from being side tracked. Finally, even if you can’t quit Facebook cold turkey, once in a while you should try to log out and interact with people in real life. Doing that can help us all create more truthful relationship with the people we like to be around.

up on my noti"cations and look at pictures. #is poor work ethic creates more stress; as I am assigned more and more homework, it takes me longer and longer to complete all of it. #is creates stress on top of our already stressful lives. Who wants to live a perpetual life of just doing homework constantly? I absolutely hate having to work hours on homework just because I can’t resist my addiction. Another more complicated problem with Facebook is the social anxiety. Facebook users naturally try to create an “online personality” to morph the perceptions of others. We

invest so much time trying to post cool comments and interacting with as many people as possible to create

this image. #is, unfortunately, leads to a gap between social media and the real world. A conversation may go on between me and a friend on Facebook, but at school we just briskly say “hi” as we walk by each other. Although it is more comfortable for people to sit

down and talk to people that they can’t see on the

other side, it hurts them in real life because they rely on these gimmicks to interact with others. We now worry about how many comments we get on our pictures or who liked our status instead of keeping real friendships.

Facing the issues of acebookSocial media creates a plethora of problems for students

Ram Sivakumar��Staff Writer �

F acebook announced, Oct. 4, that the number of online users had

just passed the billion mark.With each passing day, teenagers become more immersed in the latest iPhones, iPads, laptops, the hottest social network, you name it. However, the ni$y gadgets not only come with positive e!ects, but also noticeably negative ones. Teenagers are growing up with fast-paced technology today. With a billion

people on Facebook, nearly a sixth of all human beings on this planet

have a means for technology-based, rather than human communication and interaction. Facebook friendships are starting to outpace real friendships. You may have 1,000 “friends”, but do you actually know these people on a personal level? Like me, you

probably just accept friend requests but

never engage in conversation with those people. Facebook can be a

convenient form of communication, but it should not replace meaningful relationships. Maybe the number of Facebook friends that you have is impressive, but you still feel alone on Friday night. Consider the possibility of only selecting the close friends that you talk to on a day-to-day basis. As human beings, we are designed for intimacy and interaction. As if Facebook isn’t enough, texting also robs us of true friendship time that we could be spending with a friend. Text messages hide our emotions, our expressions, our tone, our intentions. Has there ever been a time when you needed to apologize to a friend and you lamely texted “sorry” instead of apologizing face to face? You easily shield yourself from the person’s reaction which devalues your

apology. Even sincere text messages such as “You’re the best,” don’t have the same personal meaning. Yes, technology is an excellent form of communication, but we need to maintain intimacy and interaction with our real friends- not our cyberpals, building relationships and sharing who we are. Valuable memories can only be created when you actually spend time with people. When you’re an old retired grandpa or grandma, your grandchildren are not going to ask about your experience on the Internet, but what you and your friends did on that one Friday night that you will always remember.

Technology tampers with friendshipWhat it means to be a friend in a high-tech world

Kristen Haug��Staff Writer �

Due to the increased involvement in technology, friends hardly recognize each other’s existence.Illistration by Kristen Haug.

Sophomore Meghan Stubbers checks her Facebook from her phone. “I get on every day, but only once a day. People talk about [Facebook] every day. I have over 638 friends over the country.” Photo by Erica Emert


Has volunteering lost its true meaning?

In defense of community service documentation

HEAD TO HEAD:

There is a common misconception that students only do community service

to get their National Honors Society or Presidential Service award sheet signed. !is assumption is unfair; I know several students who don’t even document their hours. !e point, however, isn’t whether or not we receive personal gain for our service; it is if we made an impact on the community. !e 40 community service hours that count toward NHS or the 100 service hours that count toward the !e Presidential Community service award are added bonuses. Both are smart ways to motivate students to volunteer their time to good causes. Some say that giving students hours for doing a good deed is unethical. While a deed done without recognition is better than a deed done with recognition, receiving something tangible for volunteering doesn’t cause harm to anybody. In fact, more students volunteer because they have community service hours as an incentive. !is means greater positive impact on the community, which is something that should not be discounted Everybody comes to a point in his life when he realizes that there are bigger issues in life than getting an A on a test or receiving an award.

When students spend time with people that are less fortunate than them, it puts their priorities into perspective. We tend to be so busy with work, school, sports and our social lives that we don’t always take time to lend a helping hand to those who truly need it. !e Presidential Community Service Award and National Honor Society motivates students to help others and create relationships with people they might not usually interact with.

My goal of receiving the Presidential Community service award motivated me to start volunteering. My

experience in helping those that are less fortunate made me realize my obligation to help out my community. I understood how rewarding it is to make a di"erence in a stranger’s life. I have seen students who initially do community service for personal gain, but later learn from their experience and continue to perform acts of kindness, even a#er there are no more awards given. Sometimes we need a little push to do the right thing. Community service hours give us that push to volunteer at that soup kitchen or visit that homeless shelter.

Volunteering has lost LWV�VLJQLÀFDQFH

“Sometimes we need a little push to do the

right thing. Community service hours give us

that push to volunteer...”

Sydney House

��Staff Writer �Faryal Jafri


´,VQ·W�YROXQWHHULQJ�supposed to be about doing something out of the good of your heart and not for a reward?”

While I was volunteering at the hospital one day, I thought about why I

was spending two hours each week re$lling stock rooms and greeting cranky patients. Although I love the experience, I realized that deep down I had an ulterior motive. I was volunteering to get hours that would eventually go toward various awards that would beef up my resumes. Isn’t everyone? In this day and age, volunteering is like a job. No, students do not get paid in money - they get paid in hours. When you consider that you get paid in a way, is it really “volunteering”? Isn’t volunteering supposed to be about doing something out of the good of your heart and not for a reward? Volunteering at its essence is supposed to bene$t the receiver, not the giver. I don’t mean to say that the volunteer can’t enjoy and learn from the experience. I love interacting with the hospital patients. However, the giver should not be rewarded for volunteering with hours that will eventually translate into awards and improved college applications. I am guilty of using my volunteer hours to get awards, but in defense of myself and all others who do this, volunteering has lost all meaning by being mandatory.

Colleges and institutions are guilty of perpetuating the view that volunteering is essential. Of course volunteering is a positive thing, but by making it mandatory is it really making a positive lasting impression on the community? Volunteering has turned us into robots: put in two hours a week and get an awards. Although we want to think that we are reaching out to the less fortunate, we all know that we are counting how many more hours we need for National Honor Society

or the Presidential awards. I respect people who do not feverishly hound down the organizers so they can get their form signed. By not

getting their form signed, they are exemplifying what volunteering is at its core. I don’t want to imply that I don’t write down my hours and turn them in for awards - I do. I have come to realize that what I am doing is not really “volunteering”, and other students should realize that they are guilty of having an ulterior motive. It is a job that colleges deem necessary. I understand that it has become practically mandatory if students want to remain competitive. !e whole idea of volunteering has really become devoid of meaning.

22 2SLQLRQ��2FW��1��

This past summer I heard about a boy who was killed by a drunk driver. He was only

17 years old. My heart wrenched for his family. However, when my initial response faded, anger crept in. What if I was the one who had died? If he was anything like me, there was so much he had le! undone because he " gured he would have time for it in the future. # e truth is that today is the only thing promised and nothing should be worth procrastinating. Our society puts too much emphasis on the future. # e question of what we want to be when we get older " lls our minds, convincing us that tomorrow is more important than today. # ere’s always some homework to do for next week, some event to

plan, something to keep us from enjoying today. Seniors, in particular, spend all of our time researching schools and forget to enjoy our senior year. Before college apps, it was the big tests that prevented us from living in the moment. Before those, there were parents’ and teachers’ expectations. # e tunnel vision we get by focusing solely on one goal leaves no room for thoughts of our families, our friends, our passions. # ey are neglected in favor of more urgent commitments. We put o$ the things that make us who we are. Parents and teachers always tell us not to procrastinate, and I want to take that advice one step further and apply it to the way we live our lives.

We need to participate fully and try to enjoy everything we do, whether it’s a science class or a family dinner. # ere are lots of tomorrows, but

there’s only one today. What we do today is entirely in our hands.

A! er slogging our way through four years of high school we seniors are ready to feel

important. # e teachers have gotten to know us. # e underclassmen envy us. (Personally it’s hard for me to imagine anyone envying the mountain of college applications I’m buried under these days, but I’m told this is how it works.) # e senior traditions belong to us. And we get to go through life knowing that each day brings us a little closer to that glorious rite of passage, graduation. But even though I’ve spent most of my high school career waiting to be a senior, I can’t say that right now I’m very proud of that title.

Let’s review some things we’ve done as a class so far: thrown a variety of unsavory substances at an assembly, publicly bashed our own football team, boycotted a dance because the administration decided to ban the sacred art of grinding and issued underground shirts with the supremely clever slogan, “Grab some 13uds.” Not only are these activities a pointless waste of the considerable talent and charisma of our class, they’re also entirely unoriginal. Am I the only one who remembers that last year’s seniors threw baby powder at an assembly, too? # e alcohol-themed shirt has also been done

before–and the 2012 seniors didn’t have to resort to making letters out of numbers either. Don’t get me wrong, these ideas were dumb the " rst time around. But now they’re dumb and they’re cliche. We like to think that we’re changing things up, but we’re just playing the same tired games. It’s occurred to me that with the amount of organization and involvement that our senior pranks have included, we could have accomplished something really important. What if we made our own underground shirts and donated the money we saved to charity? What if instead of planning to disrupt an assembly, we sent a delegation to

student council asking to incorporate a cool speaker or a performer? What if, rather than ditching Homecoming for party buses, a group of us showed up ready to waltz or swing dance? # ere are fun, unexpected and at times even meaningful ways to surprise and confuse authority. # e administration expects us to act up. # ey expect pranks at assemblies. # ey expect us to behave like immature teenagers. # e way to defy those expectations is to show the administration–and the rest of the school–what cool, thoughtful, interesting individuals the seniors really are.

Seniors need to step it upClass pranks are a cliché

Living in the momentLooking at life in perspective


Senior Shenanigans During the annual Homecoming assembly Sept. 14 seniors throw chalk and glitter into the air. # is has become the traditional prank for the senior class to do at the assembly. Not only is it disruptive but also messy and disrespectful to our administration and janitors. Photo by Alex Scimecca

# e sight of a gravestone is a reminder that life is too short for us to procrastinate doing what we love. Photo by Erica Emert.

Chris Shanklin� Staff Writer �


Last year, I found out I had a free hour in my senior schedule. I tried, unsuccessfully, to !ll the

hour with physical education. I thought an hour to !ll my body with endorphins, and have one less thing to worry about in homework-!lled nights (my !tness) would be a good contribution to my schedule. Alas, the school didn’t make it easy. Yes, there are weights classes, but they are !lled with our school’s elite athletes, o"ered at limited times and o#en intimidating to the average girl.

There’s a lot that’s wrong with social media sites. But there are also some wonderful

things about them. A recent example involves the social networking site Reddit. $ere, one user posted a picture of a Sikh woman named Balpreet Kaur sporting a turban and an abundance of facial hair. $e caption was, “I’m not sure what to conclude from this”; evidently the user was entertained by what he perceived to be Kaur’s gender confusion. Here’s an excerpt of Kaur’s response to the post: “Sikhs believe in the

Ellie Holcomb� Co-Editor-In-Chief �


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sacredness of this body...and, must keep it intact. ...By not focusing on the physical beauty, I have time to... focus my life on creating change and progress for this world... I appreciate

all of the comments here, both positive and less positive because I’ve gotten a better understanding of

myself and others from this.” $e dignity of this response shook the Reddit world’s foundations. $ousands of comments cover the picture now, thanking Kaur for her honesty and optimism. Even the original poster apologized. 7KH�*OXHFNWLRQDU\

Sarah Evans

��Co-Editor in Chief �

Rock the election – without the voteAs I counted up the numbers

as a !#h grader, I was crushed. My 18th birthday

would come a#er November 2012, which meant I wouldn’t be able to vote. Fast-forward to the present, and my inability to vote in this election is still a disappointment. However, I’ve made a happy discovery – when it comes to this election, Blue Valley North is opinionated and passionate. I’ve spoken to several people about the issues that matter to me, and have noticed that the hashtag “#addebates” (“America Decides

Critics of social networking sites are always warning us not to post things that we wouldn’t want the entire world to see. But there are things that we do want the entire world to see. We want to get people talking about tolerance. We want them to have in-depth discussions and learn about one another’s faiths. We want to tackle issues of body image. And if every sick, negative post inspired this kind of response, then on the whole social networking could be viewed as an incredibly positive innovation.We’ve been called “the social media generation.” Let’s make that mean something great.

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Debates,”) dominates my Twitter feed on debate nights. From all this buzz arose a surprising wave of negativity. I began to notice tweets and Facebook statuses expressing the sentiment that those too young to vote should

keep their opinions to themselves. $ese individuals seem to think that being young means

your opinions don’t matter, when in reality nothing

could be farther from the truth. Realizing now what is important to you will set a precedent for changes you can seek to make when voting

in the future or taking an active role in politics. Additionally, there are several ways to get involved that don’t involve actually voting, such as helping to campaign for the candidate you support or even just engaging in discussion with your friends. If you’re like me and are only old enough to vote for Homecoming court, don’t be upset and don’t allow others to tell you that you shouldn’t care. Remember that your developing opinions will shape the future – and that you’ll rock the vote in 2016.

Rethinking the social media generation

Teaching teens the joy of movement$ere’s also team sports, a perfect class for those intent on spending a semester breaking a minimal sweat jogging the bases in a rec game of kickball. It’s not a serious workout.

When I told my counselor that I wanted more, my requests weren’t met. Physical activity is

important for everyone, freshman or senior. Not because I think our school has a weight problem (we don’t), but because I believe the job of a school is to help students become ready for the “real world.” Exercise reduces stress

and builds a healthy heart. Lack of physical activity, on the other hand, leads to adults with heart problems and diabetes. It adds to our nation’s health care costs. When we reach high school, the old habit of running around outside falls away. $ere’s no time. Fitting exercise into our curriculum would build our futures as much as math and world history. Being able to care for our bodies and prevent one of the countless diseases caused by a sedentary lifestyle while busting our stressors are skillsets that we all will need. Why doesn’t our school step in?

“Blue Valley North is passionate and

opinionated.”

“[We should] be able to care for our bodies and be able to prevent the countless

diseases caused by sedentary lifestyles.”

“There are things that we want the

entire world to see.”


0H�ÀUVW�Senior Amy Sevcik feeds baby goats at Deanna Rose Farmstead during her a!er school job shi!. She started out by volunteering there last summer and now she works there several days a week. “It’s a really fun place to work, and the people are all really chill,” Sevcik said. Photo by Erika Brown

2:51life after school7KH�EHOO�ULQJV�DW��DQG�LW·V�WLPH�WR�UHOD[�²�IRU�VRPH��1RW�DOO�JR�KRPH�DIWHU�VFKRRO�DQG�SOD\YLGHR�JDPHV��6HH�KRZ�GLIIHUHQW�VWXGHQWV�OLYH��

6WD\LQJ�ÀWFor sophomore Sarah Emert, staying "t is a priority. Emert played on the BVN tennis team which kept her in great shape. “I do lots of ab workouts and cardio at home and on the court,” Emert said. Photo by Erica Emert

$OPRVW�WLPHFreshman Archie Cherkashyn checks the script for the fall play during rehearsal on #ursday, Oct. 4 to see when his cue is. Archie decided to work on the stage crew of “Ken Ludwig’s Midsummer/Jersey” when his teacher suggested it. #e stage crew helps the show move more smoothly and is essential in moving props and making sets. Photo by Austin Fultz

:KDW·V�QH[W"Junior Danielle London and freshman Miranda Deblauwe discuss their next project on the tech crew for the fall play “Ken Ludwig’s Midsummer/Jersey”. “I joined the play because I have always been involved in theatre stu$, and I love it,” Miranda said. Photo by Austin Fultz

&UXLVLQ·Sophomore Sam Bricker speeds down the street on his motor scooter a!er school. Bricker o!en rides his scooter, despite sometimes falling o$. “I was in the grass getting ready to put it away. I tried breaking and the front wheel just slipped out of under me and I fell, no big deal,” Bricker said. Photo by Austin Fultz

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North Star October 2012