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4 THE MOUNTFEATURES

What are you doing in Africa right now, and how long have you been there?

QRight now I am studying abroad for one semester at The Univer-sity of Ghana at Legon in Accra,

Ghana, West Africa. I am primarily taking graduate classes in Public Health. I’ve been in Ghana for almost three months now. My term only lasts four months though, so I will be heading back to the U.S. fairly soon.

A

Where are you currently and where have you been in Africa since the trip began?

QI have actually only been in Gha-na and in the small neighbouring country of Togo since coming to

Africa; however, I have travelled exten-sively domestically, and later this month I will be travelling to Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa and, briefly, Nairobi, Kenya.

A

What inspired you to ap-ply for and go on this trip?QOften times I believe we, as Americans, view the United States as the extent of the

world when, in fact, it is only a microcosm of the much larger fabric of humanity. I felt that studying in Africa would allow me to achieve a more robust worldview, and conse-quently kick start my desire to live abroad later in life.There is value in experiencing a foreign culture that is, in many ways, in stark contrast to your own. It gives you a critical eye to your own culture, and it helps you to be more tolerant of differences.I also have a younger brother, Bereket, adopted from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His roots were a catalyst for my decision to come to Africa.

A

What is something that has surprised you in your time there?

QI really had no conception of what Ghana would be like prior to coming, so everything was a surprise

in a way. The way school works here is certainly surprising: the University follows the British System (Ghana was a British colony) so almost the entirety of your grade is contingent on one final exam. As a result, there is virtually no work required throughout the semester, which is the direct inverse of the workload at American colleges. This is very condu-cive to travel, but also gives me a creeping feeling of idleness.

A

What are the people like there?QI don’t want to typecast an entire population of people, but gen-erally Ghanaians are friendly

and very outgoing—always introducing themselves and trying to be your friend. The words “brother” and “sister” are used

to describe any acquaintances; I am called “Oburoni”, a word used to describe a foreigner or ‘white per-son’ in the native language of Twi.In many ways, the culture is anti-quated, though. Ghanaians are often intolerant of too much deviation in dress or action, and conformity is seen as virtuous. Productivity is also not always at the forefront, as time is not seen as a commodity. I often become frustrated with these differences, but viewing the culture

through the lens of Western principles isn’t always reasonable.

A

What is one funny or touching story that you have witnessed or been a part of?

QI began playing soccer, or “football” they call it in Ghana, for a semi-

pro team. The team volunteers with groups of young boys from low-income families. The boys all want new cleats because they have second or third-use rubber boots. My mom is visiting in two weeks, bringing with her many pairs of cleats and new soccer balls for the boys. I will be very happy to give

them the new equipment.

A

How has this changed your life?QI think it is a difficult proposition to put an ongoing life experience into perspective, but if I could

give one answer, it is that this trip has spurred my aspiration to travel the world.

AWhat is your favorite thing that you have done so far?

QGhana is a coastal country so I’ve spent a good amount of time at various beaches. But, my favorite experience was traveling to the

north of Ghana and hiking to the largest waterfall in West Africa called Wli Falls. I think it was the most remote and beautiful place I had been in my life.

A

What influence has your education at Mount Mi-chael made on your expe-rience?

QI believe Mount Michael gave me a foundational look into many subjects, which helped to locate

my areas of interest. Mount Michael also whetted my interest in other cultures via its international students.

A

Alumnus Jimmy Steier’s Semester in Africa

Chemistry teacher Leah Zohner has had her baby, William George Zohner, and is on maternity leave. In her place, doctoral student Matthea Peck is teaching chemis-try until the end of the semester. Peck has a bachelor’s degree in chem-istry from the University of South Dakota and will graduate with her PhD in chem-istry in December, both from the Univer-sity of Nebraska Lincoln. She has known Zohner for seven years after meeting in grad school. In the short time Peck has been here, students noticed that she knows what she is doing in the classroom. That is because she has previous experience teaching be-fore she came to Mount Michael. “I have been teaching chemistry at UNL the whole time I have been in grad school” she said. “Mostly Analytical Chemistry which is a junior and senior level chemistry class for Engineering Majors and Chemistry Majors.” Peck knew that Zohner was going to

be on maternity leave this fall and she is done with her dissertation work, so things just fell in place. Peck already knew one of the teachers before she came here too, Sister Carol Jean VanDen-Hemel. When Sister taught at O’Gorman Catho-lic High School (OG) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, she had Peck as a student. Sister coached Peck in debate at OG as well. Sister said that Peck was a very persistent student, when she wanted

to know something, she would figure it out. When asked what Peck thinks of Mount

Michael, she said, “I like that it is a smaller school. It would be pretty in-timidating if it was a huge pub-lic school. It would be a lot harder trying to figure out

the lay of the land.” With the new DJ Sokol Learning For Life Building being built, Peck had a few ideas to improve the chemistry depart-

There’s a New Doc in TownNash Kelly | Staff Writer

photo by Homer XuDr. Peck (right) helps out senior Seth Broadstone (left) in Forensics class.

ment. “More hood space is always a good thing. I would like a separate hood for acids and bases.” A hood is a contain-ment unit for chemicals so the fumes from the chemicals do not get in the air in the chemistry room when they are not being used. “You are not supposed to store them together.” Acids and bases neutralize each other and when they are stored together it messes up the chemicals. She also thinks a dedicated lab space and a dedicated classroom would be beneficial.“In AP Chemistry, you are working with acids and bases on a more regular basis. If you get those on your desk and it goes unnoticed that it did not get cleaned up all the way, someone else can get it on them.” That could cause chemical burns. When Zohner gets back, Peck plans on relaxing and going on vacation. She already has plans to go to Rio for the 2016 Summer Olympics to watch a friend of hers compete in the javelin throw.

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photos courtesy of Jimmy Steier

1 New Horizons: Steier catches some rays on a typical fishing boat in the estuary where Lake Volta meets the ocean. He was a with a group that was headed to check out how traditional fishermen cast their nets

2 New Views: A view of the Lake Volta near the Akosombo Dam. Lake Volta is the largest man-made lake in the world.

3 New Perspectives: Steier, along with the rest of the students in his exchange program, most of who are American attended a traditional twinning ceremony

Ben Murray | Assistant Editor Freelance

5THE MOUNTFEATURES

October, 2015

It is amazing what students can come up with when they live at school, from warball games, to pillow fights, to making videos of popular songs with unexpected dancers. Juniors Broden Kaps and Eric Zhang did just that. Zhang, who transferred to Mount Mi-chael in the second semester of the 2013-2014 school year, is a studious, kind individual who works hard and tries to do his best at all times. However, a different side came out of him in this video which may have been inspired by his roommate. Zhang is rooming with Broden Kaps this year, and their fun is just beginning. “Broden is a really good friend. He is helpful and funny and he comes up with fantastic ideas,” Zhang said. One of Kap’s greatest ideas was to have Zhang dance. Ever since the song “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” by Silento came out, it has been a hit, taking the pop culture genre by storm. However, the dance moves are what made each of these songs so popular. The Whip is a dance move where the movement consists of nearly making contact between opposite knee and elbow, dropping the knee, and pushing the arm forward like driving a car one handed. The Nae Nae is waving back and forth while walking backwards, which is a continua-tion of the Whip. Kaps and Zhang worked hard for two weeks shooting the video. “We were shooting everyday after study hall for around twenty minutes,” video editor and fellow junior Homer Xu said. According to Kaps, Zhang held off on

calling his parents every night to work on the video, something that is normally important to Zhang. “Sometimes it was hard to not call my parents when we filmed but the video was a good way to relax and get my mind off of studying,” Zhang said.

While the three worked on the video, the hype kept building. “I was excited to see what Kaps would come up with,” junior Joe Coldiron said. They had to be creative to make the best possible video, using different places inside the school, primarily Zhang and Kaps’ dorm and the gym, Shots of Zhang wearing sunglasses and headphones while dribbling basketballs or hanging his arms around his friends also added a creative aspect to this extremely cheap production, according to Xu. However, the result is a fairly high qual-ity video. Some of the lighting was just a flashlight being waved around. Xu had the

idea to use the flashlight to add a dance floor vibe to the music video, simulating the flashing lights of a dance floor. Editing also helped improve the visual appeal. Using Windows Movie Maker, Xu made the final edit of the music video in around five to six hours.

Zhang was disappointed when Kaps was not in the video with him, after Kaps told him they would be dancing together. However, once Zhang got into the video and started to dance, he had a good time making the it Watch Zhang Whip was an instant hit the night it came out, soaring above 300 views in the first week. Zhang is considering doing another video, but for now he is focusing on more typical eve-ning activities like studying Kaps enjoyed the film making as well, making sure he made time for the video every night after study hall. When Kaps began to film, he knew right away that the film

would not be a serious video. Kaps was inspired to do this video when he asked himself, “What would happen if we made a video of Eric dancing to this song?” The end result made many people laugh, deans included. “Eric’s whip form is on point,” sopho-more Luke Van Haute said. Junior Keylan Beller agreed “The video was very creative and very funny,” junior Keylan Bellar said. Kaps is thinking about doing another video. However, he wants to keep all of his ideas for new videos a surprise. Perhaps one of these surprise videos will come in the second quarter.

Watch Zhang Whip: The YouTube SensationBrian Schneider | Staff Writer

Some members of the Hispanic com-munity, such as senior Randall Esquivel, celebrated their origin during Hispanic Heritage month which took place from Sept 15 to Oct 15. During this time, contributions from Hispanic culture to America were recognized. According to Sidney Mintz in the book “Tasting Food, Tasting Freedom: Excur-sions into Eating, Culture and the Past”, food habits can evoke deep emotions and help pass on culture in an important way. “My favorite meal my grandma prepares, Carne Asada, is like a gourmet beef taco, it’s really good.” Esquivel said. Most students at Mount Michael didn’t realize there was a Hispanic Heritage month. “I’ve heard about it before, I don’t know much about it though” junior Garret Engel said, “it is interesting that the month isn;t as well known in comparison to cul-tural celebrations such as Black History Month.” There are 54 million hispanics in the United States today, accounting for roughly 17% of the United States popula-tion. Statistically speaking, hispanics are the largest minority in the United States. In fact, the projections for Hispanic population in the U.S. shows they will become majority populations by 2043. To some people it may seem a wonder why Hispanic History Month is not more widely recognized. Hispanics have played a part in Ameri-can History, especially in the south. They fought and died in the Mexican American war. As result of the Mexican American war, Texas was annexed into the United States and the Mexican American border was established., and more recently, they have become influetial in politics. In fact, two Hispanic Americans have put in bids for the 2016 presidential campaign: Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz are running with the Republican Party. One famous Hispanic American was Cesar Chavez. Chavez was an American farm worker, labor leader and civil rights activist. He founded the National Farm organization, an organization dedicated to the rights of workers. Another famous Hispanic American was Juan Marchial. Marchial was arguably the greatest pitcher of all time, pitching two no-hitters and one of major league baseball’s best games. Marchial won more games, 191, during the 1960’s than any other pitcher. His number was retired by the San Francisco Giants in 1975. While Mount Michael is known throughout the midwest for recruitmenting students from several backgrounds.it is the daily awarenes of other cultures whether through tasting new foods or learning how members of that culture have contributed to American life that can be enriching for students. Even though the month has passed there are still several ways to experience hispanic culture at school and in Omaha.

The First Knight Award is given to a senior that exemplifies what it means to be a Mount Michael student, a true embodiment of the spirit of the school. This recipient is not only a believer of the Benedictine values, but sets an example in and out of the classroom. The five Benedictine values of community, hospitality, integrity, moderation and service are the guidelines of the First Knight. The value of service is particularly emphasized. “The best advice I can give is when students think of others first. That’s when things start happen-ing,” Head of School Dr. Dave Pe-ters said as he gave advice to future prospects of the award.Michael Fischer was voted as this year’s First Knight. “I thought all three were excellent choices. There are a lot of good choices in the Senior Class,” Dr. Peters said. The seniors elected nominees during homecoming week, and then the rest of the student body voted this prestigious award between three twelfth graders. The other two candidates being Jacob Ra-

maekers and Luke Krajewski. Fischer, fondly known by many students

and teachers as “Fish,” was the class president for three years straight. “I think I was elected because I talk to a lot of the underclassmen, “ Fischer said. Currently

Hispanic Heritage Month Hits Home: Mount Michael students celebrate cultureChristian Burbach | News Editor

he serves as the student body president. not merely for his popularity with his

fellow classmates, but for his abil-ity to easily connect with many members of the community. “He’s got a great work ethic,” said Dave Cormier, who instructs Fischer in Academic Decathlon, , “even if he is not the best student in a particular area, he always tries his best.” Fischer is also involved outside of the classroom as an accom-plished powerlifter and partici-pates in various sports.“Fischer is always a lighthearted guy in everything he does,” said Elliott Heineman, a senior and bowling teammate of Fischer, , “when Mr. Bender was the coach he took in Fischer as his pupil, he taught him everything, and worked with him personally. It’s been interesting to see him grow as a bowler.” With all of the buzz surround-ing him, Fischer generally stays

humble and is happy to accept the ap-preciation of his fellow Knights.“It feels good to be acknowledged by the student body,” Fischer said.

Fischer wins First KnightThomas D’Aquila | Staff Writer

photo by Homer XuDr. Peters (left) congratulates Michael Fischer (right) while the other nominees and their parents cheer him on.

Junior Jeff Prince uses a flashlight to test out special effects for the video. Junior Broden Kaps encouraged junior Eric Zhang by danc-ing with him before takes.

photo by Oscar

Try out restaurants in South Omaha with authentic Hispanic cuisine...

*Guaca Maya-5002 S. 33rd St.*El Dorado-5134 S. 24th St.*El Aguila-1837 Vinton St.