3March 2013Hi Times Issue 6 Vol. 104

By Joshua LongStaff Writer

Gun laws have been contro-versial ever since the first fire. However, the usage of firearms has made front page news, due to the tragic Newtown, Con-necticut shooting last December. The shooting sparked legitimate questions regarding gun usage in America. The brutal killing of 20 children and six adults leave law makers with some tough de-cisions. Others have their own views on gun laws. Sophomore Jorge Lopez said, “Due to the many tragic events that occurred in our country last year, it is obvious that gun laws are not as strict as they should be. Not all guns should be taken away, but there should definite-ly be limits to buying and own-

Gun laws spark debateing them.” Taking pros and cons into consideration, the main concern with the new law is violation of the second amendment. Should lawmakers have the power to put limitations on the rights of citizens? Lopez says, “The pros of own-ing a gun is usually for protec-tion. There are situations when you will have to use a gun on someone in order to protect the innocent. Owning a gun can also be a danger, though. Irrespon-sibility while holding some-thing with the power to take a life never ends well. If you own a gun it should be locked away from other people.” No doubt, this topic has created an outlet for much scrutiny and disapproval. Hopefully, when authority makes decisions re-

garding gun laws, they will take consideration from all angles of the issue. “The only people in whom gun laws hurt are the innocent. Gun laws would not prevent crimi-nals or those with the intent to perform a crime from obtaining a weapon. Gun legislation be-yond what is already in place is an infringement on our rights as citizens. The events which take place using guns, although both sad and horrific, would not be prevented by gun laws,” said se-nior Nathan Gerick. “Guns do come with inherent risks. However when proper se-curity measures are taken, the benefit in the form of self-de-fense outweighs their risk.” Keep updated in the news for more information on gun laws and gun control. By Abbi Fryer

Staff Writer

Some say they are lucky, many are green with jealousy, others clink their glasses in good favor toward them. Irish heritage is the luck of the draw. Irish roots are not extremely common in LaPorte High School. Al-though there are various red headed students and staff, only a select few are truly Irish. Graphic communications teacher, Mr. McCorkel celebrates St. Patrick’s Day with mighty intensity. “I start the day off with a bowl of Lucky Charms. Then, I dye the pool in my neighborhood green and run from the maintenance guys.” This is the Irish spirit of the town lived vivaciously through LaPorte’s own imaginative teacher. Cari Hughes also has Irish potato soup running through her veins. “I celebrate by wearing green, don’t want to be pinched, and con-suming potatoes like there will be a famine.” Although Hughes did not know she was Irish until a few weeks ago, she is gearing up her green and Gaelic, the tongue of the Irish. Care to speak some Irish slang? Compliment your crush by call-ing her a “feek”, or gorgeous girl. Comment about the weather be-ing “quare”, or unusual. Express anger in a healthy way toward your cat that knocked over your favorite mug? Lighten up by calling the mug “banjaxed”, or broken and your cat a “gowel” or stupid annoy-ing person. St. Patrick’s Day is dedicated to St. Patrick who is known for converting the pagans of Ireland to Christianity. It is celebrated by worldwide toasts to healthy lives, green garbs, hearty meals and good cheer. Even if one is not lucky enough to be Irish, there are many parades in honor of the day, so go get a shamrock shake, wrap up in a green blanket, settle down by a fire, and watch the waves of green and gold march across your television. So wear green this March 17th and may the luck of the Irish be spread to all! Bless that little Irish heart, and every other Irish part.

Proud to be Irish

By Storm ShorttStaff Writer

Basketball is a sport loved by many types of people. However, a large majority of these people do not try out for a basketball team nor even step out onto a basketball court. They don’t want to have to go to the prac-tices or play in the games. They just want to play with their buds in a care free environment. That’s where intramural basket-ball comes into play. Intramural basketball is a league of basketball in which friends pick their own team. The teams can consist of both boys

Intramural basketball

and girls. Once a team is created, jerseys and team colors are de-cided by the team captain. Once a wardrobe is decided, teams be-gin playing each other. Many people enjoy winning and scoring points. Others enjoy other aspects of the game. “I love he smack talk. Again the basketball. And the shorts.” said junior Alex Nelson. Intramural basketball is all about having fun; however, sometimes the fun gets out of control. The games are refereed by Coach Stevens, who original-ly is the person who set up the intramural league.

Many teams had game tactics and plans; others had such a strong chemistry with each oth-er, so that game plans were not needed. “Well we all are friends on Craiglist and everything so our teamwork came naturally. None of us are good at basketball so that held us back,” said Nelson. With the regular season ending on Valentines Day, the partici-pants in the league are going to miss the games and league. “I’m going to miss dunking over Drew. He was so sad. He cried and then played Pokemon.” said junior Miles Droege.

Stars give backBy Jenna DiehlEditor-in-Chief

Among his many philan-thropic interests, soccer super-star David Beckham is a found-ing member of the Malaria No More UK Leadership Council, and a supporter of Help for He-roes, a charity aimed at helping injured service personnel re-turning from Iraq and Afghani-stan. His own charity, the Victoria and David Beckham Charitable Trust, provides wheelchairs to children in need, and his focus on helping children has led to his appointment as a UNICEF Ambassador.In this role for the international charity, Beckham’s focal point is UNICEF’s Unite Against AIDS campaign. He traveled around the world supporting a cure for AIDS. Recently, Beckham has made a life changing decision- to do-nate his estimated three mil-lion euro salary to a Parisian children’s charity. “It’s great to see someone with so much recognizing that they have been blessed and helping others achieve that feeling too,” said sophomore Zoe Potter. Taylor Swift has had her share of pop hits, but she also is num-ber one on another chart — the giving chart. Swift, 23, was the most chari-table celebrity in 2012, accord-ing to the website DoSome-thing.org. The pop star, which tops the Billboard charts with her latest album "Red," works tirelessly to help young cancer victims, DoSomething.org notes. Swift also donated $4 million to the

Country Hall of Fame Museum and became the youngest per-son to nab the Ripple of Hope Award from the Robert F. Ken-nedy Center. The Ripple of Hope Award typically honors leaders in the community who "demonstrate commitment to social change," according to its website. Miley Cyrus was also a con-tender for becoming the most charitable celebrity. Cyrus is planning on producing a T.V. show focusing on the lives of underprivileged kids. Cyrus ranked number five on the most charitable celebrity chart. “I believe giving back makes celebrities look more attractive and nice,” said junior Justin Mazany. After her long struggle with body image, singer Demi Lo-vato does her best to raise awareness for suicide, bullying and self harm. She speaks out to many about ways to solve these issues.NFL star Time Tebow is reach-ing out to disabled children and children in Africa hoping to spread God’s love. Although not everyone is a ce-lebrity, one could help partici-pate to some good causes by purchasing one of Bono’s Red iPods to support AIDS cures, or by getting involved in Kony 2014 to stop child soldiers in Africa. No matter who one is, or where one came from, giving back is always a good thing to do. Check different hospitals, nursing homes or other spots aorund the area to help get in-volved and give back to the la Porte comuunity.

Photo by Abbi Fryer

Mr. McCorkel shows pride for his Irish ethnicity.

By Taylor SimonStaff Writer

There are many different ways for a person to express who they are. That person could have a band that they dedicate all of their free time to or they could express emotions through some form of writing. Students here at LPHS have chosen meaningful tattoos and unique piercings to show the community who they re-ally are. Among the most common piercing, such as a simple ear stud or double stud, there are a multitude of others that are quite popular. One piercing that has be-come very popular is a nose ring or stud. It has found its way onto a lot of female students and a few male students as well. As widely used as a nose pierc-ing may be, there are other types of piercings that appear to be slightly more intricately done. “I’ve had my tongue done since I was 12,” said junior MaKayla Brown. “I got my nose done at 15, but it’s gone now. My ears have double studs and I got my tragus done when I was 13. I got them all because I wanted to!” Along with Brown’s piercings, students have become fond of snakebites, angelbites and sep-tum piercings. Snakebites are two piercings located below your bottom lip on each side. They are said to look as if a real snake bit you and created the look. Angelbites are related to snakebites, but instead of below your bottom lip, they are located above your top lip on each side.

A septum piercing is placed on the cartilage in between the two nostrils. It is said to be very pain-ful to some and not so much to others. People who do piercings

professionally have said that it depends on the specific person’s pain tolerance. Another popular type of pierc-ing is called dermals. They are imbedded into the skin, usu-ally on the collarbones or hips. It is easier to take care of them because they do not have to be changed. Though, it is said that if they were to get accidentally torn out, the pain is excruciat-ing. “I got my industrial done in August of 2010,” said sophomore Madison Gridley. “It’s actually two piercings together. I didn’t feel the first one, but the second one just felt like a pinch for a few seconds.” It also comes to attention that

certain piercings cause negative comments to arise. “Many people have said nega-tive things to me,” said Brown. “Especially about my tongue

piercing. People have said I’m too young or that I’m disgust-ing and I’m trashy.” Sometimes, people are fas-cinated by a specific piercing and wish to know more. Tattoos are another huge way that students and an av-erage citizen can show who they are. A person could get a dedica-tion to a deceased relative or their son/daughter. Some even get sayings tat-tooed on them that have in-spired them or helped them through a rough time. “I got my tattoo on April 6,

2012,” said junior Lexi Haga. “My tattoo is a cross and it means a lot to me. I’ve always sort of wanted one.” Just like piercings, tattoos can be painful. It depends on where it is chosen to be placed. There are certain spots on a hu-mans’ body that a lot of people said it was painful no matter what. One of these locations is on the lower back. “My tattoo was kind of painful, but not bad.” said Haga. It seems as if both of these forms of art are becoming more and more popular each day, al-lowing people of all ages and genders to express who they are. No matter if it is a tattoo that means something special or a piercing that makes one unique, they both seem to be a great way to show individuality.

Tattoos and piercings: a way to express yourself

Photo by JT Klingenmeier

Teams Abusement Park and CD and the Players participate in a round of intramural basketball

Sophomore Madison Gridley shows off her array of piercings

Photo by Addie Boardman