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The second issue of the Pilot.
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pilotOctober 31, 2012 /Volume 58, Issue 2/lindberghlookup.comLindbergh High School #LHSpilot
Leah Kauffman (12) overcame numerous cleft palate surgeries.
three students defy odds and conquer hardships
the
comebackkids
cover story 12-15
October2012contents
opinions
entertainment
sports
features
2
cont
ent
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8 How Pink-Out money makes a difference
20Embrace the Sophomore Switch
National Novel Writing Month and Novelist Amy Himebaugh4 5&
Model Madeline Guinta talks about body image 6 7&
The long-term effects of high school sports injuries 16 17&
A look at LHS sports’ classic rivals 18 19&
Opinions on the proper place for political discussion and the growing bias in media10 11&
Haunted places around campus 24 25&
Halloween horror movie scale26 27&
#letschatGet in on the conversation by tweeting via #LHSpilot and e-mailing the writers.
cover story 12-15
cover story 12-15
cover story 12-15
letter from the editors-in-chief
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cont
ent
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staff
photos
buisness
kennedyandrewcarmenbrookeandreaesthertrevorcalebnikkirileymattellenannajamie
angelabrookemaggiehannah
madison
kaitlinzoe
shelbykara
conner
mirelamegan
arlingmcmunnbinderswiftradicicraymondcaseywellsboliauxbessreinselfieldspolizzigenderwellservinmccunerobertskeller
sotirhallschrollmaricic
aubuchon
husejinovicstringer
We were more than pleased with the response to the first issue. Everywhere we
went there were happy murmurs about our new
look. And we’re happy to say we’ve ramped it up
another notch with this issue. Discover what it’s like to
write a whole novel as a freshman, rock the runway at fashion week, and figure out which school really is our sports rival. Coming up is the Presidential Election, so figure out where the best place is to discuss politics (not on our Facebook walls please) and why you should fact check your
news.Well, don’t let us do all of the talking, you write
to us. Each story’s writer has an e-mail address right below their name so you can tell them what you think. Embarrassed by the e-mail address you made in 3rd grade? Tweet the whole staff instead via #LHSpilot about your opinions and your favor-ite stories and writers.
We hope you like this issue even more than the previous one. Oh, and we heard there’s ghosts somewhere in the building? You should probably check that out…
web
“You should never be afraid of something you admire,” Amy
Himebaugh (11) said.These words of wisdom are likely
to resonate with many students. Himebaugh is a novelist, a position plenty of other students would strive to achieve. She knows that many students have an interest in writing, but is aware from experience just how discouraged young authors can get, and how quickly.
“Write frequently and prolifically. Don’t be afraid to be bad at it, because you will be - just not for too long, if you keep trying,” Himebaugh said.
With two novels under her belt, she knows the craft fairly well. Her first book, Idle Ashes, was a hit around school last year and sold dozens of copies.
“Idle Ashes is about a man
who discovers he is terminally ill. For the next and last week of his life he must learn how to live with the psychological implications of knowing he’s going to die,” Himebaugh said.
Himebaugh found a viable option in self-publishing.
“It was the most rewarding thing I’d ever done. It was great especially for Idle Ashes, which is not very good, you know,” Himebaugh said.
Students who read the book called it a grim, thought-provoking novel, and one worth reading. The author herself, however, recommends waiting for her second novel, titled Oh Darn, I Fell Off My Bicycle.
“ODIFOMB is a coming-of-age novel, I guess. It’s about two teenage friends, and art and relationships and driving anxiety. This one is more definitive of my style. I found the right
inspiration,” Himebaugh said.That inspiration includes, most
notably, as she said, “people who just write things,” in particular famed young adult author and Internet celebrity John Green.
Himebaugh has found herself most inspired by the books she enjoys. In novels she looks for a healthy mix between literary value and entertainment, with a strong authorial style and narrative with a good handle on linguistics. This is all evident in her own writing, which is why she suggests good inspiration.
“It’s important to use other’s ideas, twist them into your own and create something new. If nothing else, look to your friends, your surroundings for a spark of inspiration. If it’s good enough, it’ll carry you all the way through,” Himebaugh said.
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“Dare to suck”
Resident novelist shares tips, tricks, and personal experiences
write MadisonKeller
typeThe
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“Dare to suck”
Resident novelist shares tips, tricks, and personal experiences
NaNoWriWhat?
- Amy Himebaugh (11) quotes author Maureen Johnson
Internet writing program is hit
National Novel Writing Month is a program that challenges writers to complete a 50,000 word novel in the
month of November. “I probably wouldn’t have finished my books
had it not been for NaNo,” Himebaugh said.The progam has increased in popularity with
students and teachers.“A student of mine, Joy Mersmann (11)
introduced me to the program last year and convinced me to do it. She and a few other students and I would get together and write after school. I finished, Joy finished and a few others did as well. While I wasn’t particularly proud with the quality of my work, the editing comes
after. Just finishing was an accomplishment in itself,” Megan Roegner (English Department) said.
Students who are interested in participating in NaNoWriMo are welcome to join the Creative Writing Club in room 336, Tuesdays after school.
Photo by: Kaitlin Sotir
Himebaugh reviews her manuscript for her next novel in progress. Himebaugh has completed one novel and is hard at work on the next.
Modeling with Madeline
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Aspiring model works towards a successsful career
While visiting New York with her family,
Madeline Giunta’s (11) life took an unexpected turn when she was scouted on a subway and asked to model for high-fashion designer, Vera Wang, an opportunity certainly not handed to many teens her age. Shortly after, Giunta was recommended to Mother Modeling, an agency in St.Louis.
Amazingly she was only 13 at the time.
Giunta furthered her career when she appeared on the TV show “Re-Modeled”, which aired in January
on CW 11. Agent Paul Fisher, introduced the young aspiring model as one of the “new faces” for their company.
“Being on the show was a huge deal for me and
I felt special to be a part of it. When I saw myself on TV it was almost surreal, I couldn’t believe it,” Giunta said.
Her love for modeling expanded along with her new experiences. She has appeared in fashion shows, participated in numerous photo shoots and even modeled for advertisements.
“I love fashion shows—just the rush of being backstage is ridiculous. You constantly have people tearing clothes off of you and throwing new ones on,” Giunta said.
Giunta has and will continue to have professional pictures taken to help strengthen her portfolio.
“The photo shoots I’ve done are mainly to build my portfolio, but some of them are to show off the designers’ new clothes. I’ve even done some tourist ads for St. Louis,” Giunta said.
Along with the beauty of modeling, comes the
price of dieting. Giunta
diets and works out daily in hopes of maintaining her body.
“I’ve done the caveman diet—I only ate meats, green vegetables and nuts. I wasn’t allowed to have any sugar, fruits or carbs and I ended up losing two inches in two weeks,” Giunta said.
The young, aspiring model is constantly being critiqued about her body.
“It’s definitely my least favorite thing about modeling. I am supposed to have ‘perfect measurements’. I was told that my thighs couldn’t touch in the middle and that I needed to lose an inch off of my waist,” Giunta said.
Giunta continues to book photo shoots and fashion shows and she plans to advance her modeling career in hopes of one day becoming a famous model.
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People of all shapes and sizes worry about their body image, but models in particular have to keep a tight watch on their size.
For most girls, regular exercise and a healthy diet keep their body fit and themselves happy, but model Madeline Giunta (11) is frequently critiqued and judged about her size.
“For modeling, there are certain measurements that you have to be at or below. People are always telling me how to improve myself and it’s definitely one of my main insecurities,” Giunta said.
Although she is constantly being judged, she sees
the comments as constructive criticism in hopes of furthering her career.
While some models are known to go on crazy diets, others stay true to themselves.
Kim Nanna (10), who has modeled before, feels comfortable in her own skin.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with my body. I wouldn’t lose weight for a job,” Nanna said.
Regardless of the strict criteria that comes along with modeling, the girls realize that size is not the key to beauty.
tooBIG?too little,
Guinta continues to develop her portfolio by having professional photographs taken. A diverse portfolio is necessary when applying to modeling agencies.
Guinta struts down the runway. In her first appearance at the St. Charles
Fashion Week show, she wore a dress by designer Kate
Moss.
Every year, the Lindbergh community
comes together and raises thousands of dollars for breast cancer awareness.
However, most people are unaware of how the proceeds actually help.
The Pink Out football game has been a tradition for five years. The players collect money, sell t-shirts and host a car wash. For over 12 years the Lindbergh Dance Team has done Kick for a Cure and strives for 1,000 kicks before the game. They also collect money at Dierbergs for Coaches versus Cancer.
“The money we collect is helping with local and national research and funding for patients to go
into therapy,” Jessica Winkle
(Flyerettes Coach)
said.
Lindbergh cheerleaders raise money for both football’s Pink Out game and basketballs’ Paint it Pink game. They sell shirts that raise a tremendous amount of money for
the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Girls volleyball organizes a Pink Out game and t-shirt sale and the proceeds also go to Komen.
The basketball team hosts a Paint it Pink game every year, which has been a tradition since 2000. The event would be nothing without coach Jason Wolfard, who began the tradition because colleges in the nation were hosting events for cancer awareness. He is also the official liaison for the Missouri Basketball Association for Coaches versus Cancer.
Student Council plays a big role in Paint in Pink, setting up and selling t-shirts. They collect donations at the door and all the money raised is given to support the cause.
“We do a rubber duck throwing contest where little kids pay $1 for a duck and throw it onto the court,” Abbey Witt (11) StuCo representative said.
The Susan G. Komen Foundation has invested over $685 million dollars in research. They are the largest non-government funder of breast cancer research in the world. They study everything from the cancer cells to treatment.
“As we learn more about the factors that make cancer cells grow
and spread, we are able to invest more in the translation of this knowledge into treatment, early detection and prevention,” according to Susan G. Komen’s website.
Coaches Versus Cancer donors are helping the American Cancer Society by funding money to help cancer patients get well by guiding them through every step of the experience. The Society invests about $150 million in research each year.
“We provide materials and educational programs on early detection and prevention of cancer to your community, your schools, and cancer patients. The Society’s wellness and cancer detection guidelines can save your life and the lives of people you know,” according to the Coaches versus Cancer website said.
They fight for laws to increase federal research funding, reduce tobacco use, and support those affected by cancer. They create programs and services to help with the needs of cancer patients and those who help them.
Susan G. Komen Foundation, Coaches versus Cancer, and hundreds more societies benefit tremendously from donations to fund money
P NK OUT POWERCrowd of pink makes a lot of green and steps towards cures
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Photos by: Shelby Schroll,
Kaitlin Sotir, Zoe Hall and NIkki Boliaux
P NK OUT POWER
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www.lindberghlookup.com
Buy your yearbook now: yearbookordercenter.com
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r story mackenzie
Makenzie Brown (12) pow-ers through high school with-out her parents’ help. Brown’s parents passed away within two years of each other. Photo by: Kaitlin Sotir
,
mackenzie
mackenzie
,
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the comebackkidsHardship wasn’t something three
teens asked for, but they sure aren’t letting it hold them back in their as-pirations and high school careers
mackenzie
“life hasn’t really changed much, it’s just that I don’t have parents anymore,” Mackenzie Brown (12)
said. Brown was just like any other kid. She would go to school, come home, do homework, and then start all over again the next morning. One day, that routine was altered. “When I was in 6th grade, my mom passed away, due to too much potassium in her heart. She was sleeping when her heart just burst. The next morning we woke up and they pronounced her dead on ar-rival,” Brown said. As if that wasn’t enough, Brown’s father passed away just four years later. “During my sophomore year, my dad passed away as well. After my mom died, he had a stroke, and two years later he was having complications again and had another stroke,” Brown said. However, Brown’s fears only worsened as her father recov-
ered, slightly, but wasn’t doing well. The doctors tried to shock him back to life, but nothing seemed to be working. “I received a phone call at school and got called down to the office. He was in the ICU for three days and then he passed away. We had to pull the plug because he was brain dead,” Brown said. With both parents now gone, Brown was left on her own. Put-ting together flowers for her par-ents’ graves and looking through old photographs are just a few ways Brown remembers life before any of this happened. “When my dad was around we used to go to a favorite bar of my mom’s, and we used to just go bowling. But ever since he passed away, I’m more on my own,” Brown said. Even after her losses, Brown manages to keep a positive outlook for the future. Being op-timistic and working hard offers a distraction, and has paid off. Brown’s grades are still A’s, and she’s one of the top students in
the senior class. “I plan to go to SLU. I will be the first in my family to ever go to a university. It has been my dream school, and now I’ve applied and I’m just waiting on a response,” Brown said. Statistics show that 1 in 7 Americans lose a parent before the age of twenty. The likelihood of losing both parents before then is very low, yet Brown has survived. She currently lives with a family friend, but is able to stay within the district. “So, I’m living on my own right now, but it’s just a part of me [to stay positive]. It’s my personality and I try my best to do everything that I can to make people happy, and make my grandma happy,” Brown said. The death of both parents has a long lasting affect on a person.. Other kids grow up with two parents making them break-fast every morning, but Brown doesn’t have that. Her childhood may not be like anyone else’s, but the experience has helped her grow.
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brett Brett Dietemann (11) keeps up with a demanding scedule despite difficulties with staying in a hotel. His house caught fire during mid-
September. Photo by: Shannon Wood
an electrical pack short circuited at Brett Di-etemann’s (11) house, leaving the upper floor
of his home in flames while he was at a family reunion in mid-September with his mom, his cousin, and two dogs. Their cellphones became flooded with calls from neigh-bors telling them that fire trucks and ambulances were all com-ing to their house. “Everything inside was pretty much toast, we were only able to save solid wood and metal stuff,” Dietemann said. Dietemann and his fam-ily couldn’t go in the house to survey the damage and see anything until the fire inspector came and found the cause of the fire. The whole upstairs had smoke, water, and fire damage,
and the downstairs had mostly smoke and water damage. The fire was in the room that he and his cousins shared. “So many people have asked to help and see if we need anything, but really the insurance company is covering it all. We had really good insur-ance,” Dietemann said. His friends offered to help out after they saw him look-ing down after the fire and his mom’s group of consistent tax clients supported them. Dietemann and his mom found themselves closer after the disaster. Currently, they are living in a Holiday Inn until they find an apartment or a house to lease while their house is gutted, and rebuilt from the frame up. Life as a hotel resident is pretty cramped and out of
the way, making it difficult for Dietemann to visit during his busy schedule. But he isn’t letting this inconvenience slow him down. He goes to school here, then at South Tech, and then to work without ever dropping by his temporary home. He wakes up at 6:30 a.m. and doesn’t return until around 10:00 p.m.. His schedule has been hectic, but he’s convinced that things will calm down when he cuts his hours at work down. Though Dietemann lost his home and many possessions along with it, he knows that he hasn’t lost what’s important, his family and his strong will. “Don’t let simple things hold you back, life’s short. It really doesn’t matter. Things are just things,” Dietemann said.
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Focused and steady, Leah Kaufmann (12) travels the halls despite losing much of her vision. Bone fragments were found behind her eyes last winter during her final cleft palate surgery. Photo by: Kaitlin Sotir
leahat eight months old,
the surgeries started. The process of repair-ing the Bilateral cleft
lip palate, a crack through the roof of the mouth and lip, would begin and span through Leah Kauffman’s (12) life. “I lost count actually, I think it’s around 12 surgeries,” Kauffman said. She is not scared before surgeries, she just faces them calmly. Kauffman seems about as concerned with the number of her surgeries as the amount of times she has tied a pair of sneakers in her life. She simply goes to the hospital, is welcomed with a familiar “Oh, go right in” and takes whatever the doctors have planned for her in stride. Last December, the doc-tors broke Kauffman’s upper jaw and moved it forward, putting her in a head contrap-tion to keep her jaw in place
and patched a hole which leaked cerebral fluid. During that surgery she had a stroke. While she was in recovery the doctors discovered that she had bone fragments behind her eyes and they had to go in and get them out, which took two more surgeries. In the two weeks she spent in the hospital Kauffman didn’t feel alone. Her family and her faith family from Abiding Sav-ior Lutheran Church came to visit and kept her company. “It’s made me closer to my faith and my family; knowing that God allows this to happen for a reason, and I don’t know what he has in store for me in my life,” Kauffman said. Kauffman’s parents have been her backbone of support since her adoption. “What my parents went through was harder than it was for me. They knew what was going on when I was in the hospital bed and I didn’t
know,” Kauffman said. She doesn’t dwell in the paranoia of not knowing what comes next, but takes things as they come. Even though every recovery time is differ-ent, she stays calm. “Just know that not every-thing is going to turn out the way you think it’s going to be. I lost my eyesight in my right eye and half of it in my left and I possibly can never get that back again. Also, not going into surgery feeling that everything’s going to go smoothly. You could end up in the hospital for two and a half weeks,“ Kauffman said. After her December surgery she found herself blind in her right eye and with limited vision in her left. It makes it difficult for her to see the board at school and use the computer without a program called Zoom Text. A mobility specialist and a visual specialist help her learn how
to navigate with her cane and get her laptop to work best for her. Despite these complications Kauffman navigates the hallways at LHS with ease and without her cane. “I think all of my sur-geries have made me a stronger person. I had to start surgeries at eight or nine months old and have gone through surgeries for my whole life. It’s made me grow up a little bit faster and be more mature about things,” Kauffman said.
HannahRoberts
sports
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Is the game w
orth the pain?
With risk of injury,
athletes push through
the pain even with their
future at stake.
Photo by: Kaitlin Sotir
Football player Kevin Rogers (12), gets his ankle wrapped by LHS trainer, Erica Asher, after
getting injured during a Friday night football game. Rogers was a starter for the football
team but will be out for the last home game of the regular
season.
As the school year continues, many students get involved in sports that they enjoy to play. One thing they don’t think about though is
how this sport could affect their body in the future. What sports do you think are most prone to
receiving long term injuries? Many students agree that football may be one of the most dangerous and rough sports that could often lead to injuries potentially affecting athletes for the rest of their lives. The school’s trainer, Erica Asher, believes both hockey and football are probably the most long term injury-producing sports because both are contact sports.
Some students have suffered severe enough injuries that have forced them to stop playing a sport entirely.
Eric Balmes (12) plays football. Throughout his career he has broken a wrist, fingers, partially dislocated his shoulder, and suffered from six concussions. Because of this, he can no longer play the sport he loves. All of these injuries have caused Balmes a long recovery time. He is no longer active on the team, but he is still a key component and stands on the field during all of their games.
“Sports require complete commitment, so when you put so much into something it’s hard to give up until you are forced to,” Balmes said.
Stephanie Lake (12) has been on the Flyerettes dance team for four years and because of years of dancing she now suffers from many problems with her knee. Lake dislocated her knee cap while doing acrobatics. She had to face surgery, physical therapy for six weeks and was forced to sit out for part of the dance season her junior year.
“I couldn’t do half of the stuff because everything I did hurt and limited my ability to dance,” Lake said.
Jason Wolfard (Science Department) coaches both basketball and water polo and frequently deals with student’s injuries during each season. Basketball results in more ankle injuries that any other sport.
When asking a teacher at Lindbergh, a lot can be learned about ways to reduce the chance of injury. The best way to do this is by participating in injury reduction programs. These could be a series of stretches or working with resistance bands to strengthen your ankles. The only way to reduce the risk of these injuries is to strengthen the ligaments and muscles around the weak areas of the body that are most likely to be injured.
“You never know what is going to happen, like in a game, your job is to reduce that risk,” Wolfard said.
The best way to continue in a sport of interest is through the recovery. If effort is not put into rehabilitation then athletes will come back weaker than before but if recovery goes well, then students could be better and stronger than before.
As athletes age, their bodies begin to wear down and weaken due to declining strength and lack of physical activity. Wolfard played basketball in college and since, he has been less active, he notices joints like his knees that begin to crack and ache.
“If you can stay active as you get older, you can reduce that risk,” Wolfard said.
Playing professional volleyball in his early years, Robert Langevin (English Department) has broken fingers, sprained knees, suffered from back injuries and herniated discs. Now he notices a lot of pain in the back of his shoulder. The shoulder can take up to 250,000 swings before surgery is needed and Langevin has exceeded this limit.
“Every now and then, I will throw my back out or reherniate a disc… at the end of each volleyball season, my shoulder is done and I can’t lift my right arm. I’m sure I need surgery later on in life,” Langevin said.
Asher is the school trainer who helps with all sports injuries. Within a year she usually sees between three to five major injuries that result in surgery. The most common injury she sees during the year is ankle sprains from sports like soccer, football, and basketball.
Students such as Balmes, who can no longer play due to their injuries, have to ask themselves if it is worth playing to risk further significant injury?
“What is more important, the quality of your life as you go on, or playing in the next game in high school?” Asher said.
Many high schools students believe that they get can just bounce back and they stick it out though they are hurt. These are the people who will most likely feel it when they get older due to all the wear and tear on their bodies. The number one indicator of getting injured is if a previous injury has already occurred. The body never fully returns to the way it was before most of these injuries.
“You only have one body, you’ve got to take care of it,” Asher said.
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sports“You only have one body, you’ve got to take care of it,” Asher said.
Allie Schneider (12) smashes Oakville blockers. The girls Varsity volleyball team went on to win their second consecutive District
Championship that night. Photo by: Tom Ratliff
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sports
Rivalries are the lifeblood of sports drama. Muhammad Ali had Joe Frazier, the
Cardinals have the Cubs, Mizzou had KU and Lindbergh has…. who is Lindbergh’s biggest rival?
In football for example, Lindbergh’s rivalry with Mehlville is one of the longest-standing in the athletic department... but it wasn’t always that way though.
“Head football coach Tom Beauchamp was the head coach at Mehlville for four years then came to Lindbergh, and Mehlville has never gotten over it,” John McNamara (10) said.
Along with the history, the fans add to the tension.
“The fans at Mehlville are disrespectful and don’t like us that much. That’s why we want to beat them,” McNamara said.
Wrestling, on the other hand, has had a rivalry dating back to the early 1980’s with a different district powerhouse.
“Northwest is our biggest rival. We always have had very competitive meets with them …those matches are very important when it comes to districts because in the last four years one of us has hosted districts,” Mike Slyman (Athletic Director) said.
For boys basketball their rivalry is one that has been one sided in recent memory.
However, this does not stop each school from having heated games with one another
“Vianney is our biggest rival. Although we have only beaten them twice since I have been here…. that still doesn’t stop us from getting pumped up for the game,” Jason Wolfard (Head Coach) said.
For girls basketball their biggest rival is usually the last roadblock for a district title.
“Our biggest rival is Oakville… mainly because they beat us in districts last year, and it sucks losing a close game like that,” Lindsay Bozdeck (11) said.
The grudge with the Oakville Tigers is not limited to the hardwood; Oakville is also a big rival in Girls volleyball.
“Oakville is our rival because the programs are equal and the coaches go way back,” Michelle Gregory (12) said.
This year the Flyers had the last laugh as they avenged an earlier regular season defeat by beating Oakville for their second consecutive District Championship.
Classic matchups, classic rivaleriesMehlville, Oakville and Vianney top the list of long time sports rivalries
Tensions are high as Lindbergh and Mehlville shake on it after the whistles blew to end the game. Mehlville won this year’s grudge
match 14-2. Photo by: Kaitlin Sotir
Three years against Lindbergh’s biggest rivals
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sports
Boys Basketball
Baseball
Boys Soccer
Football Boys Basketball
Wrestling
Girls Volleyball
Girls Basketball
Football
Boys Basketball
Girls Basketball
Girls Volleyball
Boys Soccer
Football
Boys Basketball
Wrestling
Girls Basketball
Girls Volleyball
2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012
Stacking up the statsClassic matchups, classic rivaleries
L 66-31 L 50-48 L 53-29
W 6-5
L 3-0
L 66-31 L 50-48 L 53-29
N/A L 11-4 W 6-5
L 2-1 L 8-0 L 3-0
W 32-6
L 56-52
W 35-0
W 54-44
W 20-15
L 70-44 W 51-46 L 48-42
W 45-25 W 58-48 W 62-42
L 44-39 L 53-46 W 44-25
W 34-33 L 42-24 L 51-16
L 3-2 W 2-0 L 2-0
W 52-32 W 66-43 L 49-44
W 2-1 W 1-0 L 2-0
W 3-1 L 3-1 W 2-0
W 17-6 W 39-7 W 42-0
W 35-7 W 42-7 W 42-0
W 64-46
L 11-4
L 8-0
N/A
L 2-1
It’s safe to say sophomore year has many changes in store for students.
Sophomores begin taking AP classes, and get their driver’s license, and are given new choices, like how to present themselves and the type of people students to hang around.
Sophomores are finally free from the label “freshman.” Now that they have been stripped of the stereotype, they are given confidence. But how do they use it? During sophomore year anything goes when it comes to change, and I’m here to say, trust me.
So, now that they are no longer freshman, sophomores can leave their comfort zone and make friends with the upperclassmen. Everyone loves adding a friend to his or her circle. Jacob Huff (10) experienced this switch first-hand when he created new friendships with many upperclassmen.
“I already knew a lot of the guys from football. I started talking to them more and then I eventually started to hang out with them over the summer,” Huff said.
Gaining confidence can make all the difference, I promise. That is how people create new friendships that make high school more fun. It gives you so many more social options. Who said you can only have one group of friends? With your new confidence, you need to have the desire to branch out. Don’t be glued to your BFF from
sixth grade every second of the day.
“If I had not have branched out I would have never met some of my closest friends,” Grace Rezabek (10) said.
Sophomores: Now that you’re making new friends, you may have changed a little bit, and that’s okay. Everyone is going to change throughout high school; it’s inevitable. This does not mean hold yourself to a high standard than other students (you were a freshman once too). Balancing multiple friend groups can be tricky in the moment, but it all plays out in the end.
“I hate missing out on things with the guys in my grade if they are just having a chill night. I don’t like the feeling of them thinking I blew them off. They’re still my close friends no matter who I’m with,” Huff said.
Sophomores, are more mature. Walking on the right side of the hallway, not being the kid cracking stupid jokes during a lesson, and realizing you don’t need everything in your backpack suddenly becomes natural. Sophomores finally feel the Lindbergh flow. We told you that you would get used to high school!
Okay, so you are probably feeling a little bit awkward because you do not know where you belong. Sophomores have to spend a year in no man’s land; not a freshman, but still not an upperclassmen.
“You’re really just caught in the middle and are just trying to fit in with everyone else,” Huff said.
Sophomore year is what you make of it. Meeting new people will change everything. By talking to someone from your sports team or someone that sits next to you in class, you can instantly give yourself a new path to follow. High school goes by quick, what you put in is what you will get out. Face it, you are not a shy freshman anymore, open yourself up to new things and people. Welcome to the sophomore switch.
ophomore A whole new social experience
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“I think sophomores
change because they think
they are more mature
than freshman,” Hannah
Ordonez-Webb (10) said.
“I changed a lot during
my sophomore year. I got
more involved, met more
people, and got my license,”
Jackie Butz (12) said.
“I don’t think I’ve changed
from last year to this year,
but I do hangout with a wider
variety of people,” Brian
Schwartz (10) said.
“I think sophomores feel
more confident and are
willing to branch out more
because they aren’t new,”
Elise Krueger (10) said.
Switch
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Politics, media and alternative ways to get involved
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Election 2012. For a number of Lindbergh seniors, this will be the first election in
which they can cast their vote. It’s the first official event where they can finally put all of the recently learned information about American government to use. However, while there are more students that now have the right to vote, most of them are still just kids. Not quite 18 yet. Fortunately voting is not the only way to get involved.
“I’ve talked with my parents about the presidential debates and everything that’s going on in the country, mostly I just educate myself and understand the viewpoints of both Romney and Obama,” Zach Henley (12) said.
Of course, with the use of social media in the modern day, one of the ways to express personal views is on Facebook or Twitter. But those that do post their political ideologies should do so carefully to avoid stepping on the toes of Facebook friends and others.
“There’s a way to do it that doesn’t offend other people. What’s unfortunate about our political climate today is the fact that it’s all about bashing what you hate instead of focusing on the things you stand for,” Danielle Demarest (Social Studies Department) said.
There’s a line that can be
crossed between expressing beliefs and forcing an opinion down the throats of others and it’s important to understand where that line is, especially if the shared opinions are posted for everyone to see.
“It’s good to put your beliefs out there but some people really overdo it. One post on how you feel about the election is fine but not nagging on it 24/7 or saying the other side is ridiculous,” Shelby Sample (11) said.
Although posting political views on Facebook allows everyone to see everyone’s viewpoint on the political spectrum, there are certainly more effective ways to participate in politics in the community.
One of these ways is to keep informed and form their own opinions about the politics that they plan to participate in.
“I think the number one most important thing is to stay informed. When they see those campaign ads on TV, just a quick five quick minutes on a website like factcheck.org can tell them exactly what those ads are saying,” Veronica Zagora (Social Studies Department) said.
If voting isn’t an option, volunteering is another way to get involved. Political campaigners are always willing to take in people who are willing to help organize their campaign.
The high school also hosts
organizations, such as Youth in Government (YIG), a statewide program sponsored by the YMCA.
“YIG centers around a convention in November for high school students from across the state of Missouri to meet and hold a mock government conference,” Zagora said.
The group takes a trip to Jefferson City, where they hold mock trials and act as members of legislature, where they even get to sit in the House and Senate Chambers.
“It’s a pretty realistic experience, particularly for the students in legislature. They are drafting bills, debating bills on committee and on the floor, just like the actual legislature would,” Zagora said.
Another politically centered club is the Young Democrats.
“Young Democrats gives students who have more Democratic ideals to meet and discuss issues and experience what it really means to be a Democrat in today’s political climate,” Demarest said.
Even though younger students may be restricted from directly participating in the election, there are other ways to join in on the political process. The opportunity to express interest in politics is there for even those who do not have the right to vote yet; it’s all just a matter of where to look.
politicalPARTY time
Politics, media and alternative ways to get involved
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MSNBC. Fox. The New York Times. The Drudge Report. It’s a little
disturbing how easy it is to identify what sort of politically biased news the top media organizations in the United States are going to present to their watchers and readers.
Journalism has often been called the fourth branch of government, mainly because its job is to report the facts, thus holding politicians and the government accountable to the people. It’s a formidable job description, and some of the most intelligent reporters, writers and analysts in the United States are handling this task, right?
But unfortunately, news organizations have become so blatantly left wing or right wing that the standards of quality journalism have been consistently pushed to the side of the road.
For example, websites sensationalize headlines, often making them lean one way or another.
The Drudge Report is one website guilty of this. For example, a few weeks ago a headline announced, “U.S. ‘Congratulates’ Venezuela on Election.” This headline takes an official statement from U.S. foreign affairs and twists it; the actual statement was “US congratulates Venezuelan people on its election, while noting the US has its differences with Chavez.” The headline makes it sound like the U.S. approves of Venezuela’s actions,
while the actual statement clearly identifies that the U.S. disagrees with President Chavez.
Foreign policy aside, it’s pretty obvious that this headline didn’t summarize the story accurately, as a good headline should. Instead, it has a conservative bias with the intention of portraying U.S. foreign policy in a negative light.
The media also shows bias in what stories they choose to report. A recent example of this was when a news report came out about the record number of people on food stamps. Many news organizations did cover it; however, The New York Times did not. This organization, known for a liberal bias, chose not to cover a story about how huge numbers of people are still struggling because it might reflect badly on Democrats and President Obama’s agenda.
Maintaining objectivity in headlines, coverage choices, and news reports is of course a difficult task. However, it is something that professional journalists need to start doing, and amateur journalists need to start learning.
Opinions belong right here, in the opinions section. I’m not trying to say that opinions are unimportant
and need to go away completely; I’m just saying that there is a time and a place for them. Their place, however, is not in the headlines, the breaking news stories, or investigative reports.
So here are my suggestions for these final days leading up to the election. Before retweeting some sarcastic attack towards President Obama on Twitter or posting a misleading infographic about Governor Romney on Facebook, fact check it. Posting something that is biased, inaccurate or misleading doesn’t do anyone any favors.
Try picking up a couple of different newspapers, and read a few stories in each. Look for one-sided arguments, misleading statistics, non sequiturs, and all other logical fallacies that you learn about in English class.
Above all, pay attention to where the information is coming from. The mainstream media isn’t doing anyone any favors with the biased news they continually report.
Bias in mainstream mediaAs the election approaches, detecting bias in major news organizations becomes increasingly important.
Newspapers, once publications that openly acknowledged where they were biased, now often turn a blind eye to their editorialzed news reports. Photo by: Sarah Reinsel
Lindbergh ghost storiesAs halloween nears, students and teachers tell tales of haunting fears
When entering the underground
passages through the math building, tunnel-
goers are greeted by this haunting sight. Today, the tunnels are used for utility purposes, but may
be home to a ghost or two.
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Chances are most students
are unaware that a whole section of this historic campus exists underground. numerous underground tunnels run beneath the school. Entrances to these mysterious passages include the math building and the girl’s locker room. Although Dr. Ronald Helms (Lindbergh Head Principal) knows the passageways are for utility purposes, he believes they also have another function.
“We don’t have anywhere else to keep our ghosts,” Helms said.
Helms has never encountered this paranormal activity below Lindbergh’s surface himself, but others have not been as
fortunate. “We’ve sent several
people down and they never came back,” Helms said.
While StuCo members were cleaning up after this year’s homecoming, they decided to venture into Lindbergh’s depths. Abby Mather (10) was among these adventurous StuCo staffers.
“It was really scary and really dark and it seemed like the tunnels were getting smaller and smaller,” Mather said.
Luckily, Mather and her friends lived to tell the tale. If ever lost in the math building, remember to beware of Lindbergh’s haunted catacombs.
Haunted tunnels
Photo by: Kaitlin Sotir
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This time of year it is easy to get
caught up in the hoopla of ghosts, goblins, and haunted spirits. What might not be known is that these spirits and ghosts walk the same halls that staff and students do.
Coach Cindy Malin (Physical Education Department) enjoys telling her students the tale of the so-called wrestling room ghost.
“I’ve been told through unsubstantiated reports that a long time ago a Lindbergh student died in the wrestling room,” Malin said.
To this day, it is believed that the student haunts the room. Malin has never actually run into the ghost of the teenage boy, but she has heard of other students unintentionally photographing this ghost.
“Two girls were taking pictures in there at the end of the year and looked at them later and saw a white figure in the background,” Malin said.
This photo-bombing ghost may sound bogus, but Malin is not the only one who has heard of it posing for pictures
Coach Jim Wilder (Sperreng Physical Education Department) has also witnessed this photographed phenomenon.
“The pictures came back with floating white orbs with faces in them surrounding the girls,” Wilder said.
Wilder knows that the ghost not only haunts pictures, but also enjoys playing with the wrestling room’s stereo system.
“I will be in there with my runners and the stereo will just turn on, even if no one is touching it, at first my runners didn’t believe me but then they saw it themselves,” Wilder said.
One of Wilder’s cross country runners who witnessed this stereo funny business was Laura Woods (11).
“We will be talking in there and suddenly the stereo will turn on, and it’s so loud,” Woods said.
Although the ghost seems to be harmless, or simply a white orb that appears in pictures and turns on music, if students are easily spooked, they should steer clear of the wrestling room.
Wrestling room gloom
The wrestling room has several closets, although they each serve a different purpose, they are all equally creepy. Coach Jim WIlder (Sperreng Physical Educaton Department) and his cross country runners find themselves victim to a ghost that supposedly haunts the wrestling room.
The cross country runners frequently witness the stereo turning on without anyone touching it during practice. The runners blame it on the so-called wrestling room ghost.Photo by: Kaitlin Sotir
Photo by: Kaitlin Sotir
“It’s suspenseful
and you never know
what’s gonna happen next,”
Brad Beshel (12) said.
“It has a good story line and creeps me out because Michael Meyers is really scary,” Jeremy Weiler (10) said.
Haunting horrors
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Everyone loves the thrill of watching a scary movie
even if the fear lasts for days. These top seven
haunting horrors are guaranteed to leave the
mind racing with creepy thoughts.
Creepy
Frightening
Chilling
Horrifying
“It’s so bloody and you have to watch everybody die in a really messed up way,” Carl Lovely (11) said.
Halloween
Friday the
13th
Saw
Photos by: Kaitlin Sotir
“It is based on a true story and gave me nightmares for months,” Brian O’Neal (12) said.
Haunting horrors
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Horrifying TerrifyingBloodcurdling
“The camera gives the
feeling that the events
actually happened,”
Tyler Gloss (12) said.
“We are all scared of the
devil and it manifesting
itself because it seems so
realistic,” Anna Noll (11) said.
“There’s a lot of creepy music and sound while things are popping out at you,” Jamie Barnidge (11) said.
Exorcist
Insidious
Halloween Blair Witch
Project
Unnerving
Paranormal
Activity
