kennedy torch
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torch issue 8TRANSCRIPT
thetorch
investigating kennedy’scarbon footprint
pages 10-11
“the torch has been passed to a new generation.” -John F. KennedyApril 29, 2011
4545 Wenig Rd NE
Volume 44, Issue 8
John F. Kennedy High School
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402
JFK Torch Editorial
April 29, 2011 Page by Alex Busbee2
John F. Kennedy High School 4545 Wenig Rd. NE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402 Volume 44, Issue 1
torchthe
MissionThe Torch staff and adviser are
committed to producing a top quality student newspaper, apply-ing high standards of writing, ed-iting, and production. The Torch seeks to fairly serve the Kennedy High School faculty, students and staff, showing no favoritism to decisions about content are the responsibility of the individual editors and the Editorial Board.
AdvisorGary Lindsay
Editorial Board
Editor-In-Chief Alex BusbeeManaging Editor Michael
HoeferPhoto Editor Asmaa ElkeurtiDesign Editor Allison Kindig
EditorsNews Darcey Altschwager
Profile Jessica Rowan, Rachel Gilman
Feature Michael NordstromCopy Editor Sean McQuade,
Steph WenclawskiLifestyle Allie Sindlinger,
Shane GoodallSports Riley Galbraith, Mohammad Cheetany
Writers Jordan Calef, Zack Goodall,
Grant Sheeley, Spencer Grekoff, Amy Brause, Alli Nemecek,
Grace King, Bailey Zaputil, Hanna Krivit, Andrea Traeger,
Katie Hefflefinger, Norm Althoff, Annie Feltes,
Steph Mercer, Tara Mittelberg, Lexi Theusch
PhotographersErle Kaasik, Sam Nordstrom,
Sarah Sickles
Letter from the editor
Staff Editorial: Student press rights
Editorial
3 Think twice before buying a new pet
News
7 Holocaust survivor tells her story
Photo
9 Men’s fashion
In-depth
4 How much does Kennedy waste in a day?
Feature
12 Vegan challenge
SportsWashington tennis coach passes away19
LifestyleSummer shape-up15
Profile
Bullies suck10
table of ContentsIt is no secret that our school
feels like one of the greatest in the nation. Our school has fantastic athletics, phenomenal extracur-ricular activities, and even better academics. Yet, the Torch this year has taken to covering something that is apparently considered a little bit more ‘important.’ Several times this year I have received the Torch and saw one thing in the front page headlines: drugs and addictions.
To be honest, it is disappoint-ing when I read the Torch, and the headline stories are of people tripping on ‘schrooms.’ Are you serious? When sitting around the table coming up with ideas, did you think that, “Hey, we covered mari-juana last month, this month lets talk about a DIFFERENT drug!” I can’t wait until I get to see which drug is going to be in next month’s issue.
I feel this drug phenomenon is representing Kennedy in such a negative way. When the Torch is read around Cedar Rapids, the readers get to be enlightened about all the wondrous drugs that are in Kennedy High School. So I ask you, what are the repercussions of these actions? Will Kennedy be labeled the ‘druggie’ school of Cedar Rapids? Will a mother of a student be afraid to send their stu-dent to school because of the fact she thinks everyone is smoking pot in the parking lot? What other
problems could have been brought upon Kennedy due to your fascina-tion of telling us about drugs?
So I propose that the Torch attempt to cover other things than the drugs at Kennedy High School. There are lots of other stories you can write about. You can even write about the economy (and no, legal-ize it and tax it doesn’t count). Or better yet, you can do more hard-hitting stories that are not even real. I don’t care what you write about; just quit talking about drugs and addictions, it is getting old.
ChAsE sullivAn
Letter to the editor
The December issue of the Torchcover by Rachel Gilman
The existence of this sentence is indeed, evidence of one of the United States’s First Amendment rights: freedom of the press. As a country, we pride ourselves of this stature and sympathize for other countries lacking such privilege. To address this issue, there is an entire day dedicated to countries com-ing together to elevate press rights across the globe. The United States is a leader in this movement, consistently serving as a model for others. The effort is called the World Press Freedom Day. And on May 3, the United States will host this event for the first time.
But before we begin to take on the problems of free press abroad, our govern-ment must uphold and protect our rights on the homefront, an action not currently
practiced. The majority of journalists in the United States are students, and they are not granted full freedom of the press. There is a double standard practiced; students are subject to much greater limitations than those in the professional realm of journal-ism, especially when it comes to censorship. An overwhelming number of high school papers are censored by their school’s ad-ministration. While this does not happen at Kennedy, there are schools in Cedar Rapids that are under such scrutiny. Principals are removing content, editing stories, and cutting programs at their personal discre-tion. Everyday, student journalists and newspaper staff advisors work in fear of lawsuits and job cuts. Although this is not a significant concern here, Kennedy cannot
be put on a pedestal of free press perfection. There are glaring red flags when it comes to censorship. For example, the school blocks several websites. This status quo is no longer a go.
Student press rights represent a signifi-cant defect in the state of our press free-doms. We cannot and should not use our current system as a model for other nations. The result would be devastating to student journalists here and abroad. If we want our first time hosting the World Press Freedom Day to be the best possible, the silent major-ity must speak out and politicians must lis-ten. Students must gain equal press rights. We support the Student Press Law Center in urging President Obama to address student press rights. The time for change is now.
Even though the weather does not seem like it, we are now one more month closer to the end of the year, one more month closer to summer, and of course, one more month closer to freedom.
Michael Nordstrom, sr., gives his opinion about pet ownership (page 3). Nordstrom has volun-teered at the animal shelter, and has seen first hand the affect of neglected animals. Pets are a big commitment, and he warns that people should seriously contem-plate if they are up to the task before they buy that cute and furry critter. Especially if they are leaving for college soon.
I spent time digging through files, reports, and charts trying to find out the impact that Kennedy has on the environment (page 4). I want to thank everyone who made information available to me and helped me with my research. I especially want to thank Dr. Wilcynski. She understood that my research might make her
school look bad, polluting the environment. However she was enthusiastic about the opportu-nity to improve her school. She is eager and encouraged me to also research possible solutions to improve Kennedy.
This past month, students had a very special opportunity. A holocaust survivor came and spoke about her experiences (page 7). She had a very spe-cial moment with two German foreign exchange students and a Jewish student here. Some kids may have had preconceptions of a defeated woman, but they were mistaken. Instead they found a woman who was not just surviv-ing, but living life.
We have two excellent photo pages again this issue. Our photo editor, Asmaa Elkeurti, has put together a men’s fashion page (page 9) and a heritage page (page 17). She showcases very different aspects of our school, highlighting the diversity of our
school. Our feature pages this issue
cover a grim subject—Bullies and their victims (page 11). Victims finally have a voice to speak about their past conflicts and the scars, physical and mental, that they carry as reminders. One psy-chiatrist, who was interviewed, sees 40 year old patients who still struggle with the harm of school bullies.
Health and fitness are touched upon in the Profile and Lifestyle pages. Veganism is explored (page 12) and how to get in shape before summer (page 15).
A recent tragedy has stricken our neighbors, Washington High School, who lost their boy’s ten-nis coach to diabetes (page 19).
I want to say a special thank you to Ms. Niemeyer. She has been a wonderful student teacher, and will be greatly missed. Good luck in Des Moines next year!
Editorial JFK TorchPage by Alex Busbee April 29, 2011 3
James Odegaard, sr., has always been very involved in the commu-nity. He epitomizes what it means to be a great student and what it means to be a good person; but with one mistake everything in high school he held dear to him was taken away.
While at a show choir competi-tion Odegaard along with eight other members were caught under the influence of a controlled substance – marijuana -- baked into a brownie.
It became one of the most regret-table decisions of Odegaard’s life. “If I could go back and change it I definitely would but I just kind of have to live with it and deal with it,” Odegaard said.
But the whole situation ended up being harder to deal with than he would have previously thought. Odegaard was suspended from school for five days, removed from both National Honor Society and Science National Honor Society, sus-pended from show choir for thirty days along with tennis, and was not allowed to perform in the all-state speech competition.
According to Aaron Stecker, activities director, the way the
punishment works for violations of the good conduct policy includes first a violation triggering a 30-day suspension from sports or one third of a season’s events. For other activi-ties, like show choir, the punishment is 30 days or one live performance. Each separate activity is considered to have basically a different good conduct policy, with sports only counting as one activity. For repeat offenders the punishment becomes more severe.
Although Odegaard deserved a punishment for his violation of the code of conduct, it seems the punish-ment was a bit too extensive. Sitting out for one third of the show choir season would have effectively taught
Odegaard a lesson, but all of the oth-er disciplinary actions are kicking a man when he’s down. We don’t need to ruin everything he has worked for in high school. The real lesson here is you shouldn’t be so involved and you won’t lose as much.
Now things are pretty much back to normal for Odegaard. He has recently been cleared to participate in tennis meets, and is grateful that all of the punishment is behind him, but he is still feeling the effects. “[Being out for the first part of the season] I really didn’t get to show Coach Bova that I could play and win in any of the meets, and now it’s pretty deep into the season so it’s tough,” Odegaard said.
It was after third hour, I was supposed to go to math class. I leaned calmly against my locker next to the social studies wing, waiting for the moment. I thought it wasn’t going to hap-pen; I thought this would be an-other fruitless stakeout. The bell rang and I almost lost all hope. I headed towards the foyer to catch any late drifters.
It was in that moment when it happened. I felt the small disturbance in the air and heard the shrill of sneakers twisting on the asbestos tiles. Turning around I got a view of a five foot ten inch male student sprinting down the halls. I quickly started after him, hoping to get an interview.
Alas, the sprinter made it into his room too quickly. By the time I got to the door of the classroom, he had already blended into the rest of the class. I scanned all of
the students, looking for anyone that showed signs of exertion. This guy was well trained; I couldn’t distinguish him from the others. At this point the teacher was giving me weird looks, so I left.
People running in the halls, known as ‘run-ners,’ are becoming more of a problem at Kennedy. “They’ll walk, and they’ll look behind them, and they’ll just run,” Jordan Holmes, fr., and third hour pass runner, said. Holmes spends most of her time in the halls during third hour, and experiences firsthand the dangers associated with these ‘runners.’ “They think they can get away
with something when people aren’t looking,” Holmes said. After listening to Holmes talk about the issue, I had an idea. Maybe this was something bigger. Maybe this wasn’t just a small case of hallway speeding. This was in fact an example of a bigger
problem with school policy.
To learn more about hallway running, I caught
up with seven-time marathon runner and social studies teacher, Joe Benedict. “I’ve never actually been run over, but I have been passed a couple times,” Benedict said. This isn’t just an occasional occurrence; Benedict said he sees hallway runners a couple times a year. People running in the halls
are a major problem at Kennedy. Why hasn’t the administration done anything about this?
“We tell them to slow down, and if they don’t, we tend to let it go unless it becomes a problem and we constantly see them run-ning,” Dan Kosteck, paraprofes-sional, said. This is wrong. If a student is running, all they have to do to get away with it is to keep running. Although this may keep students in shape, it poses a danger to the rest of us.
There is no one solution to this problem. Holmes is one of the proponents pushing for car-peted floors, “so when you fall it doesn’t hurt as bad,” she said. The cost of installation and upkeep of carpets would be a major burden to Kennedy, however. Benedict offers a simpler approach. “I would suggest outdoor running; it’s very nice.”
High school only lasts four years and once it’s over, students begin to leave home for college, work, and what not. Because of this small amount of time left, it is important for students to begin to think about the future when they make commitments. While owning a pet is rewarding, it is in no one’s best inter-est to get a pet when they won’t be able to care for it after a few years.
Way too often students buy animals not thinking about the long-term commitment that they are making. They’re usually more focused on the price tag rather than the life expectancy. Unfortunately, once it comes time for college, the question arises, “Where is _____ going to go?!”
Although mom and dad may be a vi-able solution, do you honestly think every mother dreams about taking care of a hamster or python? Chances are the answer is no. Making your problem someone else’s
problem isn’t considerate of the animal or the person. People need to realize that when they purchase or adopt an animal they are making a long-term commitment to care for that animal. If they know that they won’t be able to care for an animal, then they should hold off on buying that animal.
Too many animals are bought on impulse by people who have no idea how to care for them. Not too long after do these animals end up neglected, in different homes, and in shelters. In my own opinion, buying an animal simply for ones enjoyment, with no consideration for the animals best interest is very selfish.
Lets be realistic, most colleges won’t let you bring anything more than a 10 gallon fish tank.
So next time you’re in the pet store and are tempted to buy an animal, do some research. Find out their life expectancy and consider the animal’s best interest. Also, always check local shelters first. Chances are, soon after Easter, the shelters will be full of unwanted Easter bunnies.
MICHAEL HoEFER
Mikey J in the Morning
NeglectedThink twice about buying a new pet, large commitment
MICHAEL NoRDStRoM
Keepin’ it Phresh
Uncovering truth behind serious problem
James odegaard, one crime, double time
Dance Monkey
RILEy GALbRAItH
After breaking the good conduct policy once, Odegaard is suspended for both Happiness and tennis
artwork by JosiahWilbur
photo by Sarah SicklesSitting out. James Odegaard, sr.,
looks on during tennis practice.
photo by Asmaa Elkeurtithe Runner. Hallway speeders pose a risk.
JFK Torch In-depth
April 29, 2011 Page by alex busbee4
how muchwaste in one
day?
Wate
r mark
Gas guzz
ler Power leak
Paper trail
graphic by Rachel Gilman
AP Environmental’sTen simple ways to change the world
1 Drive less or carpool.
Use your power as a consumer: buy products made from recycled materials.
7
9
Recycle paper, plastic, glass, pop bottles, etc.5
Unplug your cell phone charger when not using it.3
Buy products with less packaging.
8
Use a refillable water bottle instead of buying bottled water.
6
Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs.4
Turn off lights and electronics when you leave a room.2
SPREAD THE WORD!01
When shopping, refuse a plastic bag if only buying a couple items or bring a reusable shopping bag.
Robert Young, teacher and founder of the AP Environmental program, gives his simple solutions to making Kennedy a ‘greener place’
Gas guzzler“Cars are an obvious way for us to cut down on
our waste. We can carpool. People who live close enough don’t necessarily have to drive. And that would make parking easier too if there were a third less cars in the parking lot.
Diesel fuel [used in school buses] is a very dirty fuel to burn. But biodiesel can be run in the exact same engines, and that diesel is generated from soybeans, which produce less pollutants.”
Power leak“We could use a smart system that shuts lights
off when people aren’t in the room. We have fluorescent lights which are better than incandes-cent bulbs. We already have a geothermal heating system which flips on or off whether the room is occupied. The geothermal system was definitely a step in the right direction. It replaced an old, old system. Computer monitors go to sleep, but if we make the computer itself go to sleep when they are not being used, it would save a lot.”
Paper Trail“Paper use is a big one. Paper is the number
one municipal solid waste in the country. It’s the number one thing thrown away, and it’s the easiest thing to recycle. It’s a frustrating situation. We have blue recycle bins all over the building. In my class we use the web site, so I don’t have to make copies all the time. Kids can e-mail me things to turn them in. Don’t make single sided copies. What would be a big help is if we had front and back printers. We have laser printers, but they waste so much more paper.”
Water mark“Fix any leaking faucets because that’s just
straight up waste. If we could get low flow toilets, that would help. We use a lot of water for our geothermal system, but we inject it back into the ground when we are done with it, so the amount of water used doesn’t change.”
IntervIew conducted by Alex busbee
4 Tons of Coal
1 Pine TreeIncluded reams of paper, checks, receipts, toilet paper, and paper towels.
20 percent of energy in Iowa is produced by wind power. Assumed the rest is produced by coal.
1,200 lbs of smog from buses
Kennedy has 19 buses
Information gathered from:Tammy Carter, District employeeRichard Sedlacek, School EngineerTracy Leytem, BookeeperKathy Ulch, Associate Principal’s SecretaryJim Muench, Associate Principal
11,170 gallons of sewage
11,220 gallons of water
3,484 lbs of CO from cars2
Calculated from 729 parking places, with a two mile average commute
news JFK TorchPage by darcey altschwager April 29, 2011 5
Rodents roam hallsRecent upgrading, construction, and
the installation of the geothermal system at Kennedy has led to a slight
rise in extra “visitors” in some classrooms. The unwanted visitors—mice—have caused some interesting days in the classroom for some teachers and students.
Jenny McAtee, math teacher, had a first hand experience dealing with an unwanted vis-itor a few weeks ago. “I was teaching and then all of a sudden the kids started screaming and I looked over and all I saw was this little furry thing go into the cupboards,” McAtee said.
McAtee was not scared of the mouse. However, many of her students, both male and female, were standing on top of their desks. She was shocked at what had happened and at-tempted to calm down her class.
After the mouse made its appearance, McAtee looked through the cupboard that it ran into. She was unsuccessful in finding it and believed the mouse made its escape through a whole in the wall. Traps were set up in McAtee’s room, but the mouse was never caught or found.
Nick Scharf, fr., and Lauren Kubovec, fr., were both in McAtee’s class when the mouse ran through. “I was grossed out. It was kind of scary,” Kubovec said. Kubovec lifted her feet off the ground as she saw the mouse run into the cupboard.
“I was surprised that we have mice in our school,” Scharf said. Scharf was not scared when the mouse ran through. He just sat at his desk surprised.
Scharf and Kubovec still believe that Kennedy is a clean environment. They try to make sure that all of their trash is cleaned up so the mouse does not come back.
Despite the mouse in her classroom, McAtee still stands by her opinion that Kennedy is a
photo by Hanna KrivitMouse trap. Jenny McAtee, math teacher, searchers for a mouse that ran into her room last week.
clean environment. “I think Kennedy is very clean. I think the mouse just wanted to find a warm home,” McAtee said. This is her first year teaching at Kennedy and this is the first time that a situation like this has happened to her.
Richard Sedlacek, custodian, believes that the recent rise in the mice population has been from construction and remodeling over the past few years. He has not heard of any teach-ers having mice in their classrooms lately.
“Usually teachers will e-mail me and I will go in and set up traps,” Sedlacek said. He has been working at Kennedy for 18 years and believes that Kennedy is one of the best kept schools in the district.
David Schmidt, Spanish teacher, has also had problems in his classroom with a possible mouse. For a few days there was a stench linger-ing in his classroom, believed to be from a de-composing mouse. The stench disappeared but
no mouse was found to Scmidt’s knowledge.Mice problems have not been limited to just
the classrooms. Mice have been found down in the pool area, especially in the breakfast room where swimmers store their food for practices and meets.
John Smith, so., experienced an encounter with a mouse in the breakfast room. “We were down in the breakfast room and we heard some squeaking. Then we saw a mouse so I stepped on it,” Smith said. The first time he stepped on the mouse he broke a few bones, which caused the mouse to squirm around a bit so he stepped on it again to fully kill it.
Although there has been a rise in the recent mice sightings throughout Kennedy, many still stick with their opinion that Kennedy is a clean and safe environment.
DArcey ALtSchwAger
Eagle Cam causes strain
Adviser announced for Torch
photo by Asmaa Elkeurti Stacy Haynes-Moore will be the new Torch advisor language arts teacher next year.
With the school year winding down, teachers who have decided to retire are find-ing people to take over for them next year. Saying goodbye to the teachers that have worked at Kennedy for a long time can be hard and difficult, but the teachers that are filling their roles are ready to help and get to know the school better.
One of the teachers that will be leaving this year is Gary Lindsay, L.A. teacher and Torch advisor. After teaching at Kennedy for over 40 years, he has decided to retire and has already found the new teacher for his class. Even though he will be missed, he is confident with his choice in the new teacher.
Having taught at Jefferson for 10 years now, Stacy Haynes-Moore thought it was time to come back to Kennedy, her alma mater. She was also a member of the Torch and feels honored to be able to teach here. “I am so excited. It is really an awesome ex-perience and opportunity for me,” Haynes-Moore said.
The thing she is most excited about com-ing to Kennedy is just getting to know the stu-dents and teach in a different environment. “I am excited to get to know the students, and experience a different environment from where I was teaching,” Haynes-Moore said..
Coming to Kennedy, Haynes-Moore hopes that her and Lindsay have the same teaching styles. Having Lindsay as a teacher when she was in high school, Haynes-Moore learned from him and doesn’t want to mess with what he has accomplished at Kennedy. She doesn’t feel like she is replacing him, but fill-ing in after he graduates. “I have patterned a lot of the way I have run my publication with this publication,” Haynes-Moore said.
Even though leaving Jefferson has been difficult, Haynes-Moore is ready for a change. She is hoping to continue helping the Torch become better and is ready to take a new step in her career.
JorDAn cALef
The Raptor Resource Project Eagle Cam has quickly received a lot of popularity through-out the country. The Eagle Cam is located in Decorah, Iowa and has been viewed almost 50 million times.
James Burke, Spanish teacher, started watching the eagle cam before it was publicized on local and national TV and said he thinks a friend first showed him the Eagle Cam. Burke
likes that the Eagle Cam is a chance to see a kind of nature that you do not always get to see. Burke has even gotten his own children in-terested in watching the Eagle Cam.
The two eagles have had their nest in this location since 2007 and have been together for multiple years. The nest is about 80 feet high, six feet across, four feet deep, and weighs around 1000 pounds. The two eagles had three
eggs this year on Feb. 23, 26 and March 2. The eaglets hatched on April 2, 3, and 6.
The Eagle Cam is something to watch dur-ing classes as well. “We have tuned in, not con-sistently. On funner days we would just open it up and see,” Burke said. He believes the coolest part of the Eagle Cam is when the mom is feed-ing the eaglets.
Deb Baber, technology facilitator, said, “I think there was a good indication that a lot of people were watching it throughout the district because the network was so slow.” She heard that the network was maxed out at 100% for at least one day. Baber said that whenever people stream videos online, it is going to slow down the network, but the speed has gotten better.
The Eagle Cam consists of two cameras with an infrared light to see what the eagles are do-ing at nighttime, without them noticing the light is there. The cameras are about four feet above the nest and the camera can also zoom in and move around. Neither the mom nor dad eagle are banded.
The Raptor Resource Project has been around since 1988 and works to sustain the life of falcons, eagles, ospreys, hawks, and owls. The Raptor Resource Project has over 23 nest sites. The Raptor Resource Project also pro-vides training programs to over 85,000 people every year.
Burke said he thinks he would tune in to the Eagle Cam if they continue it into the future to see if it would be different from year to year. “I mean, this is one of those pure reality things where they just put a camera up in a tree and they’re not manipulating the behavior of the eagle at all. That’s what I think is so cool.”
ALLi nemeceKphoto by Katie Hefflefinger
Eagle’s eye. James Burke , Spanish teacher, watches the Eagle Cam in his classroom.
JFK Torch news
april 29, 2011 Page by darcey altschwager6
Retirement alters staff
photo by Jessica RowanHelping Hands. Dennis Roloff lends a hand to one of his students during his wood tech class.
Test your skills on events happening around the world 1. Which state is currently having severe wildfires? a) Oregon b) Kansasc) Colorado d) Texas
2. Which fast food item is decreasing in sales? a) Chicken strips b) French friesc) Soft drinks d) Apple pies
3. What is the name of Prince William’s wife? a) Carrie Underwood b) Katie Bellc) Susan Bones d) Kate Middleton
4.) Which movie genre has raised box office profit this year?a) Family b) Horrorc) RomCom d) Drama 5.) Which celebrity just went to jail?a) Robert Downey Jr. b) Lindsey Lohanc) Miley Cyrus d) T-Pain
6.) What can you now rent for seventy thousand dollars a night?a) Hershey park b) Central Parkc) Liechtenstein d) Google Inc.
7.) Flooding in which state has forced evacuations?a) Tennessee b) Louisianac) Maryland d) Missouri
8.) How many flight control attendants have recently been caught sleeping on duty?a) Five b) Onec) Three d) Seven
Answers: d, b, d, a, b, c, d
photo by Jessica RowanInstruction. Deb Snook gives her students directions during her AP chemistry class.
Future of wood tech dept. uncertain
AP chem to be taught by new teacher
Dennis Roloff, basketball coach, wood tech and physical education teacher, will soon be leaving behind his teach career as he has de-cided to retire at the end of this year.
The district has offered a $25,000 incentive to those who are retiring which was a big fac-tor in Roloff’s decision. “The toughest decision was to retire from teaching,” Roloff said, “I feel I have a lot of good years left.” Though leaving his teaching career behind, Roloff has many other things to look forward in his future, “I’m mostly looking forward to a little time off and trying to lose some weight. I will also still be coaching girls basketball.” Roloff is most noted in his coaching career for reaching is 300th win in his career.
The wood tech program is a popular se-lection for many students looking to go into
different kinds of construction work, wood working, or for students who are looking for a unique elective class. Roloff retiring will bring noticeable change to the program, but it is still going to be a steady option in course selections for students next year. The administration is currently looking for a replacement, but is con-fident that the program will go on and still be successful. A replacement has not be decided yet.
Roloff will be remembered at Kennedy for being a great teacher and an outstanding coach, “Every day is different; every student you work with is different. I’m going to miss the students, fellow teachers, and the administration.”
AndreA TrAeger
AP chemistry is known as one of the toughest advanced placement courses at Kennedy. But the teacher, Deb Snook, is known as one of the most fun teachers around. Snook has enjoyed heading the AP chemistry program, as well as being a student counselor in the office, but as this school year closes, so will her teaching career at Kennedy as she has made the decision to retire. AP chemistry takes a lot of scientific knowledge to teach, which isn’t always an easy skill to find when looking for replacements. But as Snook is the only AP chemistry teacher at Kennedy, this is a process that the administra-tion has had to face recently.
Finding an appropriate replacement is a very difficult decision, but the administra-tion has decided to make Jennifer Lewis, who
currently teaches regular chemistry, the new AP chemistry instructor. She will be making the transition to an AP teacher at the begin-ning of next year.
Snook reflects on her future plans for retirement as she looks forward to some relax-ing time with her friends and a trip out to Colorado, for starters. It seems as though the transition will be effortless as she steps down from her position.
Snook will always be a valuable part of the Kennedy family, working or retired, and will always be remembered by her students, since that’s what she loves the most about her job. “I’ll really miss the student interaction. It’s always been a lot of fun to be around all of my students,” Snook said.
AndreA TrAeger
Shoeless for a causeOne for one, this is the
promise TOMS Shoes makes. For every pair of shoes bought, TOMS promises to give a pair of shoes to a child in need.
The TOMS Shoes program began when traveler Blake Mycoskie visited Argentina and saw that many of the children there couldn’t afford shoes. Going shoeless leads to soil-transmitted diseases that penetrate the skin through bare feet. Mycoskie started TOMS Shoes because going shoeless is such a major prob-lem in third world countries.
On April 5 TOMS Shoes sponsored A Day Without Shoes. The challenge was to go barefoot all day.
Taylor Rowell, sr., partici-pated in a day without shoes along with m a n y o t h e r Kennedy students. R o w e l l said that in some countries if children don’t have shoes they can’t go to school. If they have shoes they have the opportunity to go to school and make some-thing of their life.
At first Rowell wasn’t go-ing to participate in a day without shoes but as the day
went on she realized what it was all about.
“Walking across the park-ing lot was extremely painful and cold because we had to avoid rocks and glass. It was really eye opening,” Rowell said.
Stephanie Wenclawski, jr., believes that it is very im-portant to bring awareness to the problem of children who are not fortunate enough to afford shoes. When people asked her why she was bare-foot, Wenclawski would tell them about TOMS.
“By the end of the day my feet were sore. It brought me down to earth what the kids might actually be going through,” Wenclawski said.
Wenclawski helps run a club at Viola G i b s o n called Club Change. In May, the fourth and fifth grad-ers are do-ing a bare-foot walk
for TOMS shoes. “The goal is to get kids vol-
unteering at a younger age and showing them they can make a difference in the world too,” Wenclawski said.
Jake Frazier, so., also par-ticipated in A Day Without
Shoes. “It was kind of cold that
day, so it really brought to light what little kids have to go through everyday,” Frazier said. Frazier hopes that ev-eryone who went shoeless for a day realized how helpful it was to feel what children around the world have to deal with.
“People with open minds saw how it helped to know what other people are going through,” Frazier said.
Aria Roshay, fr., said she participated in a day without
shoes because she can relate to children in need.
“I grew up in poverty, I was in foster care but I didn’t re-ally have much,” Roshay said. She said the best part of going barefoot was getting the word out about TOMS Shoes.
Roshay said that going without shoes made her real-ize how influential helping others can be.
“I liked the positive feeling I got from it, like I was making a difference,” she said.
grAce King
TOMS“People with open minds saw how it helped to know what other peo-ple are going through.”-Jake Frazier, so., said.
graphic by Rachel Gilman informATion gAThered by ZAcK goodAll
news JFK TorchPage by darcey altschwager April 29, 2011 7
photo by Darcey AltschwagerSpeaking out. Holocaust survivor Elane Geller speaks to sophomores about her experiences.
“It was hard to believe that she was a Holocaust survivor,” White said. “She didn’t look like the kind of person who would’ve gone through that.”
Steinke was most influ-enced by Geller’s optimism and positive outlook on life. “To go through such a terrible thing and to be as optimistic as she seemed made me have all the more respect for her,” she said. Steinke was awed by the sincerity of listening to a Holocaust survivor speak. “The reality of it was just something I didn’t expect,” Steinke said. “People in the future won’t have this oppor-tunity.”
TArA miTTelberg
Geller’s story touched the hearts of many students who attended her lecture. Kelsey White, so., and Bailey Steinke, so., were both struck by her sincerity, optimism, and bit-tersweet story.
“It made what we learn about in the textbooks come to life,” Steinke said. “It’s a lot easier to grasp when it comes from a person who’s been there,” White said.
White’s first impression of Geller was one of surprise. “I expected her to have a whole bunch of scars,” White said. “I actually expected her to have an accent.” In reality, Geller seemed like a typical 74 year old.
photo by Darcey AltschwagerChatting. Bailey Steinke and Kelsey White talk with Elane Geller after her speech.
For one Jewish Kennedy student, Geller’s speech instilled a sense of cultural pride.
Adam Parker Goldberg, so., was proud of his background after hearing Geller speak. “I thought she was way cool and inspiring,” Parker Goldberg said. “Her story could teach us how to alter our lives to make a better world.”
For Parker Goldberg, the most impression-able part of Geller’s speech was when she blunt-ly stated that she could never let off the Nazis. “You always think about forgiving people…and she was like, ‘I’ll never forgive for this,’” he said. For Parker Goldberg, her lecture put other aspects of everyday life in perspective as well. “Sometimes things may seem bad,” Parker Goldberg said, “but it’s not that bad compared to what they had to go through.”
Parker Goldberg’s mother, Judy Goldberg, was raised in a Jewish family. His father, Gordon Parker, is Christian. Parker Goldberg’s great great grandparents immigrated to the United States after war broke out to avoid being drafted into combat. “If I was living in that time period I could’ve been in it,” Parker Goldberg said. “And that would be really scary.” However, he also felt a special tie to the speak-er. “Because my mom is Jewish and I have it in me, I feel a little more connected to the speak-er,” Parker Goldberg said. “It’s almost like it’s part of my history.”
Parker Goldberg’s entire family attended Geller’s lecture. “Elaine told so many incredibly sad and descriptive stories,” his mother Judy Goldberg said. “Hearing Elaine speak made me proud to be Jewish.”
TArA miTTelberg
photo by Darcey AltschwagerAdam Parker Goldberg, so., poses with Elane Geller.
Kennedy sophomores were invited to listen to a Holocaust survivor speak on April 7.
Elane Geller, born in Poland, was merely four years old when Nazi soldiers in-vaded her village. Before the raid, her father had arranged for her to flee to a Christian neighbor’s home. However, as they were walking to the safe-house, they saw several other Christian hosts betray Jewish children and report them to Nazi soldiers. The children were murdered on the spot.
To avoid this fate, Geller and her father returned to the group that would eventually be sent to labor camps. It was here that she was separated from her father, brother, and 16 year old sister, who died at Auschwitz.
However, Geller got lucky. She was sent to a labor camp with her aunt, who acted as her mother for the remain-ing years of the war. “My aunt never left my side for almost five years. I obeyed her. If not I would not be here in this very room,” Geller said.
For the five years that she was imprisoned, every min-ute was a struggle to survive. “Everyday that you lived there was hope for, yet, another day,” Geller said. “I had rats in my hair. I stole. I ate tooth-paste. I drank urine. I did whatever was necessary to fill my belly and stay alive.”
Gellers’s most nightmar-ish memory is of the Nazi dogs that were released onto the prisoners.
“We were attacked and
chewed and bitten and mauled and we begged and we plead-ed and we cried. The physical scars are well, well healed, but the emotional scars are not,” Geller said. Her fear of ani-mals remains to this day.
Eventually, Geller and her aunt were relocated to Bergen Belsen concentration camp. Shortly after arrival, British soldiers liberated the camp. Geller and her aunt were re-united with her father and brother, and soon they made the long journey to America. Geller travels around the na-tion educating students about her experiences. She shares her story “because of the revi-sionists,” she said, “the people who said [the Holocaust] nev-er happened.”
TArA miTTelberg
Jewish student connects with speaker
Holocaust speaker moves an audience, shocks students with harsh realities
Sophomore class inspired by words of survivor
photo by Darcey AltschwagerWarm hugs. Ben Bach, exchange student, gives Elane Geller a hug. Bach was able to introduce himself to Geller and exchange stories abut Germany.
the barracks.”After Geller finished speaking to the audi-
torium packed full of sophomores, Bach and Nguyen were able to talk to her one on one. Both of them were not afraid to talk with Geller after her speech because they knew that she was a very kind and compassionate person.
“She said everything she said wasn’t dedi-cated to the Germans today like teenagers but to the other [Germans]. She said our gen-eration is the future generation,” Bach said. “It just happened that we were born in Germany,” Nguyen said.
dArcey AlTschwAger
“There is no single teacher in Germany that would say the Holocaust is good,” Bach said. In Germany, it is illegal to deny that the Holocaust happened. “The teacher just wants us to know what huge mistake Germany made. She just wants us to learn about it so we know the fault and how cruel and bad these things were so we are learning from these faults so we never do something like this again,” Nguyen said.
Along with learning an intense lesson on the Holocaust, Bach and Nguyen have also vis-ited concentration camps. “It is very interest-ing and at the same time awful to see how they lived under the circumstances,” Bach said. “I saw a lot of people cry when we went through
Hearing that a survivor of the Holocaust would be coming to speak at Kennedy, German exchange students Ben Bach, jr., and Thanh Nguyen, jr., decided to attend to listen to her experiences.
“She was so self confident with her opinion and everything. She seemed to me that she is a really, really strong woman,” Nguyen said. He was impressed by Geller’s strong personal-ity even when she was a young girl especially the strength that she had while being held as a prisoner. This was Nguyen’s first time listening to a Holocaust survivor speak.
Nguyen and Bach have both learned about the Holocaust at their schools in Germany.
German exchange students reflect on a country’s faults from past
JFK Torch Advertisements April 29, 2011 Page by Michael Hoefer8
Photo JFK TorchPage by Asmaa Elkeurti April 29, 2011 9
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BULLIES SUCKWhen Jessie Zehme, jr., walked in
to be interviewed for the Stand Up to Bullying special last week, she was timid. For her to share a story that she was somewhat ashamed about was a frightening thought. Zemhe felt that people were just starting to forget about the whole thing, and this would just be bringing it back up again. “I was kind of iffy on whether to take part in it [Stand Up to Bullying] or not. I mean some of my friends don’t even know about it yet, but my parents insisted that I should. She just thinks that it’s a good for people to know about it and to get my story out,” Zemhee said.
Stand Up to Bullying is a segment put together by KCRG anchor Nadia Crow. It was designed to raise aware-ness and educate through having stu-dents explain experiences bullying problems in schools today. The seg-ment will air on May 21 at 6:30 am on digital 9.2.
Swayed by her mother’s advice, Zemhe agreed to take part in the KCRG special and instantly her mind race back to the memory that haunted her.
The young Zemhe was in just sev-enth grade. She had always attended private schools, but after her older sib-lings’ terrific experiences at Kennedy, a public school, she was excited about the idea of following in their footsteps and coming to Kennedy. The family had decided she would attend Harding Middle School the next year in or-der to make new friends before high school, making the transition easier. She started at Harding in the fall and things did not go the way that she had pictured it. “I didn’t really know any-one yet, so I didn’t have any friends or anything, so I guess that made me an easy target,” Zemhe said. As she was walking out of class one day she was jumped by another classmate for no apparent reason. Zemhe had to stay in the hospital for two days with a con-cussion. On top of that, she was sus-pended for being involved in a fight that wasn’t her fault. Although the
difficult situation seemed to be over at the school, it was just getting start-ed. Some of her new classmates at Harding would constantly make fun of her for the event. “I was just known as the new girl who got beat up. That’s all I was” Zemhe said. After the teas-ing and harassment would not stop Zemhe had no choice but to change things up, so she opted to transfer back to her old school, Regis.
Zemhe, who is now a student at Kennedy, the school she originally wanted to attend, and is thankfully problem free. “I feel like the whole situation just made me a stronger person. If people bully me now I have friends that I can turn to so it doesn’t effect me anymore. So if people still want to hold it against me, I don’t care – I’m just over it,” Zemhe said.
Although Zemhe remains strong after the difficult situation it still left a scar in her childhood memories, as she has just tried to block out that part of her life. “When something bad happens to you in your life, you always just try to leave it behind you and that’s what I’ve been doing with it. I don’t remember very much about the whole thing or that day. I really don’t even really remember my mid-dle school experience,” Zemhe said.
Keri Christensen, psychotherapist of seven years, often sees patients of bullying who have situations like this one. She knows well the effects that the harassment can have on a person’s life. “Bullying can cause a lot of psychological and emotional damage and hurting self esteem and the way kids see them-selves,” Christensen said. Christensen believes that the effects from bullying can last for a long time, even throughout some-one’s entire life, as she has seen patients in their forties who still struggle from high school bullying
problems. As far as Kennedy goes, Dr. Mary
Wilcynski maintains the fact that bullying is unacceptable. “It’s really important that students, if there is a situation that we need to know about, that they tell us and we learn about it. I think, frankly, we are pretty ef-fective at dealing with it, but we can’t deal with it if we don’t know about it,” Wilcynski said.
Dakota Murphy, jr., who was also interviewed for the segment, agrees with the fact that the problems are not as prevalent at Kennedy, but nonethe-less believes that the segment really helped him understand that he’s not alone in the battle against bullying. “It really helped me understand that I’m not the only one and you’re connected with them even if you’re not consid-ered friends,” Murphy said.
Even though the past issues are gone now, Zehme still looks back at that period of time and feels saddened by what happened. “The mental games that people play with you, it may seem like it’s funny, but what the other per-son’s thinking is, ‘it’s not funny, it hurts’,” Zemhe said.
Riley GAlbRith
Teenage victims suffer long term effects
Feature JFK TorchPage by Michael Nordstrom 11APRil 29, 2011
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BULLIES SUCKAlthough definitions of bullying vary, most agree that bullying involves:Imbalance of Power: people who bully use their power to control or harm and the people being bullied may have a hard time defending themselves
Intent to Cause Harm: actions done by accident are not bullying; the person bullying has a goal to cause harm
Repetition: incidents of bullying happen to the same the person over and over by the same person or group www.stopbulling.gov
GRAPhic by RAchel GilMAN
JFK Torch Profile
April 29, 2011 Page by Jessica Rowan and Rachel Gil,man12
Torch staffers experiment vegan lifestyle for one week
Amanda Brause was a vegetarian for four years and now has been a polo-tarian for the past 2 years. A polo-tarian is someone that only eats poultry.
“It started off as a bet in 7th grade then I ended up doing some research on fac-tory farms and I thought it was just cruel the way factory farms treat their animals, so I ended up becoming a full on vegetarian.” Brause said.
Amanda Brause is a swim-mer, It is really important to keep your health up while the swim season and you have to get all the vitamins an pro-tein and zinc to stay healthy.
“ I was really bad about keeping up with the amount of protein I need. I was good
at first with eating peanut butter but that got old really fast. When I went to the doc-tor, my doctor told me that I need to start eating meat of some sort not a lot but I have to if I want to continue to do swimming,” Brause said.
There are some cases where if someone wants to be a vegetarian they cant always do so because of their lifestyle.
“I chose to eat chicken again just because it would have been really hard to go from no meat to red meat and I figured chicken would be the easiest and my doctor said chicken would be the best choice. I like to be more aware of what i am eating but eating chicken made me healthier,”
Vegetarian
Dakota reed has been a vegetarian since he was born. “My parents were [vegan], so that is why I was when I was a kid. Now [the way animals are treated] just grosses me out, even looking at meat I get sort of grossed out,” Reed said.“I tried being a vegan for awhile. I ended up being vegan for 9 months.” Reed said. Being vegan means no meat what so ever, no milk, no
Vegan
My first thoughts; how the heck am I going to make it through the week? Being a meat-lover, I didn’t think I would be able to make it through an entire seven days without any sort of animal byproduct. To my surprise, however, the week went by smoother than I believed it would.
The night before I started my ‘week of hardships’, I traveled to good old Hyvee to search for some items that would help me stay alive. Everything I began to pick up was created with either honey, milk, eggs, or butter. I thought I was going to have a mental breakdown when I actually realized that the vast majority of groceries have some kind of animal byprod-uct in them. Not knowing what to do, I turned to my friends for advice.
My good friend Maddy Fangman happened to be with me at Hyvee, so she offered to look up a vegan shopping list on her cellular device. I also called Rachel
Gilman, the other participant in this week long vegan diet, and asked for her advice on a few things I
had picked up here and there (all of my items had honey in them so I had to put them down). In the end, I pur-chased some food that would end up being better than I had originally thought.
My vegetarian sister Shannon was right, there were plenty of food replace-ments out in the world for the average meat-eater. For almost everything I would eat on a daily basis, there would be a way to beat around the bush and find the same thing without any dairy product. Though they may not have the exact same taste, most were tolerable. The non-dairy cheese, however, I would highly recommend you don’t even waste your time trying it….YUCK.
Every morning I woke up to a bowl of oatmeal made with vanilla soy milk. I honestly never believed that I would enjoy anything with soy milk, but now id con-sider myself a fan. For lunch I would have a CLIF bar, this
way I would get the protein I needed for the day while managing to make it through school. For a snack, id either make myself a bag of white popcorn, or id eat my plain cheerios like I do on a normal day. For dinner, I found myself eating either a salad without cheese and eggs, or a boca burger. The first few days were a little difficult to get used to, but as the week went on, eating those meals everyday got easier.
The temptations through-out the week were the hard-est part. There was one night when I was with a few girl friends of mine and we were baking a cookie cake for our friend Paige on behalf of her birthday the next day. It took everything in me not to take a bite of the cookie dough. Instead, I found myself enjoy-ing some nice cold slices of celery from the fridge. This wasn’t the only temptation that I had to obstain from, there was something little everyday that would make me want to scream because I couldn’t even take a single bite.
To all those vegans out there, I give you props. It takes a lot of will power to maintain this lifestyle.
Brause said.“It is really Cruel and sick
how humans treat animals in factory farms. The Worst thing I have ever seen was in a book it explained how chickens and turkeys were treated and it made me cry. When I talked to my friends about it we decided to make it a bet”
Lexi Theusch
It has been six years since I have last consumed anything that has four legs and can moo. No hamburg-ers, steaks, or any red meat for that matter. It has been six months since I have proclaimed myself a pescatar-ian. When the challenge arose of becoming a vegan for a week, I thought it couldn’t be much more difficult. What is one step further, right?
Wrong. It only took one night of vegan preparation to understand the difficulties my next week would entail. To begin my preparations, I visited various vegan recipe websites. I made a list of things I would need to get and headed off to the grocery store. A whole new dilemma came about when I arrived at the store. Who knew so many foods contained milk, eggs, or even honey? I searched the aisles for vegan-friendly treats for about an hour. I returned home with soy milk and
tofu in hand ready to take on the week’s challenge.
The first day was the most difficult. When one is
told they can’t consume any animal byproduct, it seems as though all you want is anything that contains milk or eggs. I went through my first day craving a gallon of cookie dough ice cream and a grilled cheese. My crav-
ings went unanswered as I made it through my first day unmarked. The next few days of my vegan challenge were rather uneventful. Being a pescatarian already, I am used to consuming large amounts of tofu stir fry and peanut butter sandwiches.
Even though I am slightly accustomed to the diet, be-ing a vegan offers a lot less choices. I got bored of my options after just a few days. I broke down on the third day and purchased my first gallon of dairy free chocolate and peanut butter ice cream. Something was necessary to curb my chocolate crav-ings. The second half of my vegan week revealed itself to become routine. I consumed nearly the same foods everyday.
As Monday night rolled around and the week of vegan life-style came to a close, I reflected on the past week. I have grown a sense of respect for the vegan lifestyle. It is in no way easy to live without any animal by-products. It takes much more time and thought to go to the grocery store and creativity to create meals. Going
out to eat is nearly out of the question (I figured this out first-hand). I truly admire a vegan’s motivation to be able to stick to their diet. Their personal beliefs have to be incredibly strong. For this, I say, kudos vegans.
Rachel Gilman
Soundtrack to my life
Jessica Rowan
SecretRussian Spy
Vegan Challenge
eggs, no cheese, nothing dairy or that comes or was tested on animals. Vegans constantly have to watch their diet and make sure to get enough protein or vita-mins. Not enough protein or vitamins could lead to a trip to the emergency room. “I Always had to eat lots of food with protein, and had to take vitamins everyday so I could stay healthy,” Reed said.There are a ton of vegan meals. Boca is a brand of meatless food made to taste like hamburgers and chicken. A well known product called chik’n, which is 100% meat-less, has the same amount of protein and zinc as a regular chicken breast. Vegan meals are made to have the same
amount of vitamins and min-erals as regular food but are created without meat, cheese, eggs, milk, etc. “My favorite vegan meal is Mac and cheese, with soy cheese of course. It is really good and tasty,” Reed said.
“Over the nine months I lost a ton weight. I feel a lot healthier, it may sound odd but I do feel healthier being vegetarian then vegan,” Reed said.Reed is perfectly content, and will continue to remain being a vegetarian.
Lexi Theusch
“I truly admire a vegan’s motivation to be able to stick to their diet. Their personal beliefs have to be incredibly strong. For this, I say, kudos vegans.” -Rachel Gilman, Jr.
Amanda Brause, sr. Dakota Reed, sr.
Profile JFK TorchPage by Jessica Rowan and Rachel Gilman April 29, 2011 13
Jaw Breakin’ Gena, otherwise known as Regina Hale, joined the Cedar Rapids RollerGirls on Nov. 22, 2010.
Hale chose her “Jaw Breakin’ Gena” name because she is a huge boxing fan, and she wanted something that related to boxing. She is a part of the team because she had a lot of friends that participated and she had previous-ly been a speed skater so she thought it would be a fun thing to do. “Being active in a sport and being part of a team is fun and I like that,” Hale said.
Hale is a jammer on the team, a position to be proud of. “Its dedication. There’s a lot to learn, and you have to know a lot of the rules,” Regina said. She is responsible for scoring all of the points, and getting past all of the derby girls on the opposing team. Jammers try to
make it past the “pack” which is a term used to describe the 10 blockers who are at the be-ginning of the track (5 blockers on each team). Regina then scores all her points by earning 1 point for each blocking player she passes on the other team.
The CR RollerGirls team was started in Feb. of 2008 and meets are held at the US Cellular Center. The team practices 2-4 nights a week for 3 hours, and they compete 1 or 2 times a month in their 10 month long season, from February to December. The CR RollerGirls are made up of 2 teams: The Helldorados and The Bobmshell Cartel, which is the team Regina is currently on, and that team consists of their “up-and-coming stars”. The Helldoados are their all-star team made up of veteran players.
Before being on the team the “fresh meat”
players mush finish a training program that consists of many, hard, long practices a week. All of the players play for free and the coaches and refs donate their time to the team because of their love for the sport.
Jaw Breakin’ Gena is her name for a rea-son. “It’s interesting, and I like to spend a lot of time in the penelty box because I’m very ag-gressive.” Regina said.
Roller Derby isn’t a very common sport, but is a very intense game to play and is worth see-ing. The CR RollerGirls hope to have a bigger audience next time they compete in town. You will see all of the rollergirls out there, along with Jaw Breakin’ Gena, kickin’ some roller derby butt.
KATie heffLefinGeR
Staff member participates in local roller derby
Regena Hale
Different parenting styles
Parents control almost every-thing in a student’s life. When it comes to a student’s curfew or a missing assignment, parents are always there. Some students have strict parents, while others have more relaxed parents.
Garet Christianson, sr, believes he has strict parents.
“They’re strict when it comes to being home on time, know-ing where I am, stuff like that,” Christianson said. Christianson has a curfew of 1a.m., but believes that it should be later.
“I have daily chores, like taking out the trash, but most of the time they don’t get done,” Christensen said.
Andrew Shannon, so., believes his parents are more relaxed. “I have to be home usually around 11p.m., but some of the time I will just spend the night [at a friend’s house],” Shannon said. Shannon is allowed to stay home alone, over-night when his parents are away.
“I actually have spent the whole weekend by myself a few times. I think my parents are just more relaxed because they trust me,” Shannon said. “If I have friends over, my parents want them to leave by their driving curfew, or just spend the night.”
Andrew does help out around the house. “I dust, vacuum, and pretty much help out around the
house whenever my parents ask me,” Shannon said. Shannon be-lieves his parents will stay relaxed, as long as he continues to behave well.
“There are three types of parent-ing when it comes to being strict or enforcing rules: authoritarian, per-missive, and authoritative,” Patrick Cory, AP psychology teacher, said.
Cory believes that the way par-ents were treated when they grew up plays a large role in their parent-ing. “When faced with uncertainty, parents will defer to what they know, which is what they experi-enced growing up,” Cory said.
sAm noRdsTRom
0102
03
The Authoritarian
The Permissive
The Authoritative
The big three
The most strict parent-ing style. A no questions asked regime. Parents rule with an iron fist.
The least strict parent-ing style. Children live by essentially no rules. There is little structure at home. The vibe is live and let live.
The authoritative parent is the middle-of-the-road strict. There are rules with reason, exceptions can be made, and an explanation as to why is always given.
Students reflect on parental rules Trash talk. Garet Christianson, sr, discusses taking out the trash, a common household chore, with his father.
photo by Sam Nordstrom
JFK Torch Lifestyle April 29, 2011 Page by Allie Sindinger And Shane Goodall14
Torch gets the inside scoop on what students think about pop culture
Kennedy pop culture gridIf I were Harry Potter I’d...
Musician I’d like to be for a day...
i think I’m ad-dicted to...
Phrase you over-use the most?
My most prized poses-sion?
Fiona AppleI’d use
magic all of the time
Laughing My straightnen-
er
Shut up
I’d ride the Basilisk around
Hogwarts
Ke$ha Kitten Cannon
If It don’t make dolla
signs, it don’t make
sense
My kitten
Become Friends with
Grant Ajango
Tyler the Creator
Rap music or Mints
#Winning or Real talk
My camera
I’d go to HoneyDukes
and just hang out
Brendon Urie because he can play ev-ery instru-ment in the
world.
SIms medieval
Definitely My dog BlackJack
I’d make the world a
better placeJay Z Sweets
Hey, where are you
supposed to be?
My Beamer
Kylee Von Ahsen, sr.
Josh Zimmerman, jr.
Grant Ajango, fr.
Ali Bennett, so.
Mr . WIlliams
Data collected by Allie Sindlinger and Grant Sheeley
Lifestyle JFK TorchPage by Allie Sindlinger And Shane Goodall April 29, 2011 15
Workouts to get yourself in swimsuit shape:
Squat Step One: Position the bar behind your head with your hands grabbing on from behind Step Two: Bend your knees, pushing your butt outStep Three: Stand up with your back straight and repeat
Bicycle CrunchStep One: Lay on the ground with your knees propped and hands behind your head. Be sure your elbows are paral-lel with your headStep Two: Bring your left knee, and right arms towards the middle of your torso so they touch and then bring them back to the floor Step Three: Repeat steps one and two, changing the order of your knee and elbows each time
Arm CurlStep One: Hold dumbbells in each of your hands with your knuckles faced towards youStep Two: Lift up to chest and hold for five secondsStep Three: Release and repeat steps one and two
Standing Lunge Step One: With a weight in each hand stand straight up. The weight can vary with your strength Step Two: Start with your dominant leg and step outStep Three: Bend dominate leg, as if you were proposing, and bend the other leg so it is barely above the groundStep Four: Stand up with your back straight and repeat steps 1-3, changing which leg you step out with each time
Take a knee. Ryan Cummins, sr., does lunges in the Kennedy weight room.
Crunch time. Zach Dietrich, sr., demonstrates the bicycle crunch. The bicycle crunch is a good core workout. 1.
2. 3.
4.
A vegetarian lifestyle is when a person excludes meat from their diet. Many people say it is an unhealthy lifestyle, but do people know what they are talking about? A vegetarian diet can give one very good nutri-tion. But the nutrients that the vegetarian diet lacks is, vitamin B12, vitamin D, riboflavin, zinc, iron, and protein. With a vegetarian diet one will have better nutrition. Vegetarian teenagers have a significantly lower stature, weight, and body mass index. It’s proven that vegetarians will have less arm strength. Sometimes an issue with being a vegetarian is having a high carbohydrate intake. Well planned vegetarian diets, particularly those including milk and eggs, can provide all essential nutrients for good health and for a high level of sports performance.
A carnivore is what most humans are. Their diet consists of meat and other food. Carnivores get more protein mainly because of meat intake, which is good for athletes since athletes need a lot of protein. If meat eating does enhance strength, the method could increase testosterone synthesis or increase storage of muscle. There are always concerns for high protein supplements. One can have bad breath and a bad odor. A risk of heart disease because of high fat content, also exists. Some meats carnivores eat are not healthy or really fatty. Those types of meats are for everyone to stay away from.
HAnnA Krivit
A vegan diet excludes any type of food that comes from animals. Types of food one cannot eat include eggs, dairy products, meat, and any other type of animal formulated food. Vegans lack the nutrients of vitamin B12, vitamin D, riboflavin, zinc, iron, and proteins. Vegans have a hard time trying to find ways to keep pro-tein. Food that will help are nuts, grains, tofu, beans, and mushrooms. Concern has also been expressed about a possible effect of high intake of soy or other natural compounds found in plants, This high intake can have an effect on the testosterone level in male vegans. Some people who are vegans will eat unhealthy food, but it will be more effective if one eats healthy. When going vegan one can have weight loss and clearer skin.
The summer shape-up
Pumping iron. Zach Dietrich, sr., performs an arm curl.Pop a squat. Ryan Cummins, sr., executes a squat.
Photos by Jessica Rowan
Diverse diets create varying effects, advantagesStePH Mercer
Vegetarian
Vegan
Carnivore
photos by Erle Kaasik
JFK Torch Lifestyle April 29, 2011 Page by Shane Goodall and Allie Singlinger16
Foreign band New Politics revives a unique styleWith the revival of a
style of music that mixes alternative rock with punk and electro-rock music, New Politics, a Denmark band, is making noise worldwide with their style of music.
New Politics started out as a small band in Copenhagen, Denmark, with only a few tracks, and after a music fes-tival in Denmark they started to get noticed more. The band decided to move to Brooklyn, New York, in which they started to create music in a small loft. In November 2009 the band was signed to major recording label RCA Records. Following by their signing, they went on tour through-out the United Kingdom and the United States where they gained more attention.
Soon after the tour, the band released their first album entitled “New Politics” in 2010 and gained most of its attention through the hit single “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.” Yeah, Yeah, Yeah gained popular attention by being one of the songs featured on
the video game, Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit and also on the music of a series of Dell commercials. Soon after the release of the album, the band continued onto touring and also playing on many late night talk shows.
The style that is presented by New Politics is one of the things that makes the band most unique. A majority of their songs that they have released have a great blend between alternative rock, punk, and electro-rock musi-cal styles. Along with that the band focuses mainly on keeping true to the lyrics of their songs while put-ting great emphasis on their instrumentals.
New Politics has made a big impact in alternative rock in the past two years, and is planning on putting out a fol-low up album soon, but is not stated when they are going to
release it.
M o h a M M a d Cheetany
Artist: New Politics
Genre: Alternative Rock
Members: David Boyd,
Søren Hansen, Louis Vecchio
Hometown: Copenhagen,
DenmarkHit Songs:
Yeah, Yeah, YeahDignity
We Are the RadioGive Me HopeLove is a Drug
set o� thelibrary’s theftdetector
spend a night in the
KPL
skip a class at
onceLEAST
heely throughtheHALLSm
ake
afriend
CHEER ON THECOUGARS UNDERFRIDAYNIGHTLIGHTS HUG
a janitor
BE FEATURED ON THEannouncements
fallupthe
go into thebathroom of theOPPOSITEGENDER
roofstand on the
climb theladder
CAVEin the
H I G H S C H O O L
BUCKET LIST
Graphic by Rachel GilmanMike Hoefer
New Politcs. The album art from New Politics self-named album.
Photo JFK TorchPage by ASmaa Elkeurti April 29, 2011 17
Cultural connectionsA look at different heritages of Kennedy students
Megan Lehmann, fr., displays her traditional Czech ensemble, a colorful ward-robe represent-ing her family’s European back-ground. These festive costumes are called kroje.
Czech RepublicIndia
Megha Puranam, jr., shows her bright and colorful ghagra tradi-tionally worn in India, made with heavy and extravagant fabrics and emellishments.
Lumioa Chang, sr., displays a Qipao, a formal Chinese silk dress for special occasions.
Trevor Hyatt, sr., displays the Moroccan gellaba, a casual light weight robe worn by men. China
Morocco
JFK Torch Sports
April 29, 2011 Page by Mohammad Cheetany18
New faces, same teamSoccer team acquires new talent, makes big impact
Spring has begun and it is time again for boy’s and girl’s soccer to shine as some of the top teams in the state. This year both teams have welcomed new players to add to the quest for a state championship.
Ten freshman girls have made the roster for the varsity team, which may be the most in school history. Of those ten players, two start: Kaela Dickerman and Annie Feltes. “I was kind of surprised (when I made varsity),” said Dickerman, who also has four goals and one assist as of April 23. She also added, “I think it was a good idea (to have ten freshman on varsity) because we are all talented and I’m glad a lot of people I know made the team.”
Jordan Holmes comes off the bench to provide good depth on defense. She thinks it’s more challenging playing girls that are two and three years older than her, rather than girls her own age.
Upperclassmen have welcomed the fresh-man with open arms. “Shauna Happel has re-ally helped me,” said Holmes. Team chemistry is also very high, “It’s good, they’re (upper-classmen) are very accepting and they treat us as if we were one of them,” Jordan added. If the freshman class continues to work hard the next three years, watch out, the sky’s the limit.
The men’s soccer team got an upgrade this year with foreign exchange student Sho Takaoka joining the team. Sho is from Japan and has been playing soccer for a long time. “Soccer is the biggest sport in Japan,” he said. Having the opportunity to play soccer in both the U.S and Japan has given him great expe-riences and he has learned some new things.
“(It’s been great) playing with the Christensen brothers; they are very good...American soc-cer is more powerful and Japan soccer is more speed and technical.” he said. He also added that in America, the coaches scout the other teams a lot more than they do in Japan.
Coach Robertson, who has been a co-head coach since 2004, thinks Sho has been a good addition to the team. “He’s a starter, that right there tells you a lot, especially with our depth. He’s very quick and is technically a very good player.” As for expectations for Sho, the coaches expect him to improve with every game, just like all members of the team. “The more we play the more you will see his per-sonal impact. He just loves, loves, loves soccer and our guys see that kind of passion. He has that true passion for the game.” His attributes on the field will be key to the team’s success this season. NAthAN Althoff
After an unfortunate chain of storms, the regional Special Olympics scheduled to take place on April 16 at Coe College was cancelled and not rescheduled.
Kevin Then, sr., has participated in the Special Olympics all four years of high school. He was disappointed to hear that the Olympics had been cancelled and not rescheduled.
“I was expecting to do very good and get first place,” Then said. This year Then was sup-posed to participate in the 200 meter dash.
Last year Then participated in the Soft ball throw and the 100 meter dash. Then prefers the running events over the softball throw be-cause he enjoys running and the softball throw hurts his shoulders.
“Last year I did the 100 so this year I want-ed to do the 200,” Then said. Then enjoys being challenged which is why he choose to move up to the 200 meter dash this year. He hopes to participate in a higher distance next year.
Doug Boyd, jr., was supposed to participate in the softball throw at the regional competi-tion at Coe. He was also disappointed that the competition was cancelled because he enjoys competing.
“Meet new friends and feel the adrenaline rush,” Boyd said. Boyd participated in the Softball throw last year as well. He place first at Coe which moved him on to the state competi-tion where he placed second.
Special Olympics 2011Because the regional competition at Coe will
not be rescheduled, athletes will be moved onto the state competition based on their qualifying times and distances. Matthew Dudley, sr., and Zachary Zenk, so., were going to compete at regionals as well. Dudley’s qualifying distance for the 50 meter dash placed him at first which will allow him to move onto the state competi-tion. Dudley will be the only one out of the four moving onto state.
David Rima, special education PE teacher, has helped coach students for the Special Olympics for ten years. He helps students with their technique along with understanding what they need to do for their event.
“It’s a fun group to work with. They will run through a brick wall for you. They are great kids, it’s just a fun group to work with,” Rima said. Rima enjoys working with this group of students because they love school and going to
Cedar Rapids area event cancelled due to rainPE to stay active.
Boyd and Then practiced with Rima during their gym time. Boyd also practiced at home by lifting weights to build up his strength.
Rima was just as disappointed as the stu-dents when he found out that the Special Olympics had been cancelled.
“They all thoroughly enjoy it because it is something they can do because they don’t get to participate in sports at Kennedy,” Rima said. He believes that the Special Olympics builds confidence and self esteem for the students.
Boyd and Then enjoy competing because they get to shoe off their skills and they get to meet students from other schools. Their fa-vorite part about the Olympics is being able to go to state. Although both students will not being competing at state, Boyd still lives by his favorite motto:
“If you want to make your dreams come true you got to work hard to make them come true.”
DArCey AltSChwAger
“The more we play the more you will see his personal impact. He [Sho Takaoka] just loves, loves, loves soccer and our guys see that kind of passion. He has that true passion for the game.”-Mike Robertson
photo by Jessica RowanSho-time. Japanese exchange student Sho Takaoka, so., is a starter for the varsity soccer team.
“If you want to make your dreams come true you got to work hard to make them come true.”-Doug Boyd, jr.
Training. Doug Boyd, jr. trains for the Special Olympic softball throw. Photo by Sarah Sickles
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Sports JFK TorchPage by Mohammad Cheetany april 29, 2011 19
Overcoming tragic lossWash recovers from loss of mentor and coach
As a teacher, mentor, and coach, David Meyer made a large impact in many lives. David Meyer recently passed away on April 2nd, 2011 due to natural causes from diabetes at the age of 49.
Meyer had been a teacher at Washington for eight years prior to his death, and was the head boys tennis coach for six years before his death. Meyer was also a large part of the spe-cial education program at Washington and a tennis coach throughout Washington and the district.
“It was a total shock, and the sense of loss seemed to build up. He was a nice guy and easy guy to talk to and get along with, since their was nobody who didn’t like him. He was just a real great guy,” Dr. Ralph Plagman, Principal of Washington, said. As a total shock to some, his large role at coach and teacher were quick-ly filled. His role as head boys’ varsity tennis coach was filled by Frank Howell, who is also a varsity girls basketball coach at Washington.
Only a week after the report of his death
one of the largest tournaments was held in his honor. The tournament, originally named the Warrior Invitational was renamed as the David Meyer Invitational. “It was a big honor [for the Invitational to be renamed in his honor], he was such a big part of the tournament; it meant a lot to him and it was quite an honor,” Marlene Meyer, wife of David, said.
At the Invitational players wore black wristbands embroidered with David’s initials, created by Kennedy’s tennis team and Tom Galbraith.
As well as honoring Meyer and his family with the David Meyer Invitational, Washington and the athletic community throughout the district are also honoring him. “We have his initials embroidered on our shirts, as well as that we put up a plaque and bench for him at our tennis court and are trying to get brace-lets, like Livestrong bracelets, for him to honor him,” Clayton Hoyt, sr. who played under Meyer’s coaching for three years, said.
Players, faculty, and especially family have
Photo by Asmaa Elkeurti
“He was just a good guy, he was a good team member, always very supportive of everything, and just a solid and good guy.”-Dr. Ralph Plagman
had a tough time dealing with the loss of such a beloved coach and teacher. “It was real tough for a while, but we were able to come together, and just work hard together and go out there and play hard without him,” Charlie Hammond, sr. Varsity tennis player who played for Meyer all fours, said. “It’s impacted us greatly and served as a shock. The first week of practice seemed odd without him; it didn’t seem the same way. Although we’re trying to bounce back and play
well and get to state and honor this year to him,” Hoyt said.
As the season progresses, the team looks to gradually improve and recover from their loss and hopefully make a run to state in his honor. “Not only [students from] Washington, but other students in the conference that have sent gifts or been supportive have really meant a lot, it has meant so incredibly much that they were able to do that,” Marlene Meyer said.
As the season continues and nears its end, the games and matches come to end with it, al-though the impact of David Meyer in the com-munity at Washington is something that will not be forgotten. “He was great coach and we all miss him, he meant a lot and will really be missed,” Hoyt said.
MohAMMAD CheetANy
Photo by Asmaa ElkeurtiUnited. Players from Kennedy and Washington shake hands before David Meyer Invitational. The black armbands honoring David Meyer were made by the Kennedy tennis team as a way of honor-ing the coach.
“He was a funny and great coach, he never really got mad at anybody, and always was a just a nice guy. I’ll always remember him as a great men-tor,” –Clayton Hoyt, sr.
“He was just very fun loving and very fun to be around, and had a great sense of humor which made him great to be around,”- Charlie Hammond, sr.
“He was always laugh-ing, and it’s great to know he made such an impact in their [tennis athletes and students] life,”- Marlene Meyer, Wife.
Family. Wife , Marlene and daughter of David Meyer support Washington’s tennis team at the David Meyer Invititational which was renamed in his honor after his death.
“He was great coach and we all miss him, he meant a lot
and will really be missed,”-Clayton Hoyt, sr.
Photo provided by Ann HammondVictory. Coach David Meyer of Washington tennis stands with Charlie Hammond, sr. and Mitch Blades, so. after being state runner-up in doubles tennis.
JFK Torch sports
April 29, 2011 Page by riley galbraith20
They are considered to be varsity’s understudies by some, but to them it is there time to shine. “We practice with varsity and do everything that varsity does they just run in different heats than us. Most people don’t under-stand that,” Austin Winders, fr., said. The track season has gotten off to a great start this wet spring, including the JV team who have many tal-ented freshmen participants including C.J. Breja, fr. “I like track because it showcases my speed. It is my eventual goal to make varsity because they get in the spot light way more often but I got three more years for that I’m enjoying my time on JV for the moment,” Breja said. Many JV runners and throwers won’t be at the Drake Relays; you can catch them running and throwing in Muscatine, at Muscatine High School on May 2.
SPencer Grekoff
Many freshman girls have found their way onto the JV track team this year due to the large amount of talent out for track this year. One of these freshman’s name is Kelsie Coates. Coates runs for varsity and JV in differ-ent events. “When I run JV I know that those events are not my strong points and be-ing on JV helps me develop the skills to be better at those events,” Coates said. The girls junior varsity team has made great improvements since the season started. “Continual improvement would be my ultimate goal for the team; we can always use it,” Coates said. The JV girls will be in ac-tion with the varsity team on May 2 in Van Horne at Benton Community. Also they run in the Mississippi Divisional on May 6 at Loras College in Dubuque.
SPencer Grekoff
Girls junior varsity soccer has started their season out very well. “Last year we liter-ally lost all but one starter for our JV team,” Coach Jason Cochrane said. “So this year we were very reliant on that new incoming freshmen class, and there’s a lot of talent on that team so I think that as we grow throughout the season we will become a pretty good team.”
The biggest challenge the
Varsity. Whether you’re playing soccer, ten-nis, golf, or track, everyone is trying to earn a spot on varsity. Though not everyone makes it to varsity in their high school careers, junior varsity players say that their not discouraged by that and strive to do their best.
Austen Winders, fr., said that he wasn’t disappointed when he didn’t make it into var-sity for track. “I’m a freshman,” Winders said, “So it’s not that big of deal. I’m going to try to be on track on all my years and hopefully be on varsity by my senior.”
Winders, who runs the 100 shuttle hurdles and 400 hurdles said that the varsity players really just try to help and that he does track for fun.
Karly Donahue, fr., talks about how she felt when she didn’t make it into varsity soccer her first time. “I was [disappointed] at first. And I still am a little. But I have realized that JV is a great team to be on and there’s a lot of good people on both teams. Being on JV will help me get better. I also knew that I prob-ably wouldn’t get as much playing time if I was on varsity. But I would have liked to make varsity.”
Donahue has been playing soccer since she was five. Even though she feels less pressured being on JV, she said that she plays with the
same aggressiveness and skill as she would have on varsity, though she feels like people only really care about the varsity accomplish-ments. Still, Donahue said that soccer is her favorite sport, and she likes and supports her team, just as they do for her.
“I like it a lot. My friends are on it so it is a lot of fun. All the girls are nice and get along,” Donahue said.
Though most sports are separated into freshmen/sophomore, JV and varsity teams, girls golf is the exception, having all the team members play together. Instead of having different teams, girls golf is separated into just junior varsity and varsity meets.
Even without the competition to get on the varsity squad, Julie Bush, the girls golf coach and a chemistry teacher at Kennedy, said that everyone is motivated equally.
“Kids that are good want to get better, and they work very hard,” Bush said, “and the kids that have less skill, also want to get better and they’re working just as hard.”
Overall, both Winders and Donahue said they enjoy junior varsity, and are going to continue to work hard to make varsity and keep having fun.
BAiley ZAPitul
Though the ground has been very soft all spring, the girls golf team have pulled through and found time to practice in between the rain showers.
“We’re not the best, but we’re not the worst. We really are starting to come around and play better. This is the first year I have golfed and I have improved greatly,” Amanda Wiedemeier, first year golfer for Kennedy, said. The team
Pushin’ it. Madeline Harris, so., pushes herself at track practice.
Smashing. Ali Ajango, jr., smacks the ball dur-ing a JV meet.
Focus. Sean Kenel, sr., focuses on the ball as he prepares to head it during a junior varsity soccer game against the Linn Mar Lions..
JV teams take center stage
The boys tennis team hasn’t had a lot of opportu-nity to play yet, but they are expecting a great season. “It’s kind of hard to tell how well [we’re doing] because of all the rain,” Coach Craig Bova said.
“I think we have a really good district,” Mitch Martin, jr., said, “we just have to stay tough and play well. We have a lot of experience, so that helps us a lot.”
“Getting these meets played is one of the biggest challenges,” Bova said. “The other part is finding play-ing opportunities for all the kids because not every team matches our numbers.” Despite these challenges, the team has a lot of potential. According to Bova, the biggest strength on the team is their depth. “Right now, we have kids fighting for positions, which makes everyone have to play a little bit harder.”
Amy BrAuSe
Girls JV tennis players haven’t gotten a lot of op-portunity to play yet but are hoping to end up with a win-ning season. “I think they’re practicing hard, and I think their ready to play,” Coach Joe Benedict said. Unfortunately, weather related cancella-tions have put a dent in the girls playing time already this season.
“I think our biggest chal-lenge is team unity, because we have a lot of underclass-men coming up to play.” Emma Penn, sr., said. “Our greatest strength is probably our skill level because I think we’re one of the top competi-tors in our region.”
“Hopefully everybody im-proves,” Benedict said. “And from the JV team we’ll hope-fully find some players for next year’s varsity.”
Amy BrAuSe
Boys soccer
Girls soccerGirls golf
Girls tennis
varsity. So it’s tough to find the balance of making sure they’re playing well enough to be ready for when they get called to varsity, but also to make sure that all of the guys get playing time as well.”
“Our greatest challenges
Boys trackBoys tennis
The JV boys soccer team has started their season out with a bang. “I think we’re do-ing really well,” Coach Adrian Evans said. “We have won three games, and tied one.”
Like many other sports, one of the greatest challenges
for this team is to get all of their players the playing time they deserve. “Kennedy soc-cer is a very competitive pro-gram,” Evans said. “We have kids playing on JV that if they went to a different school would probably be playing on
are probably teaching the Germans [foreign exchange students] how we play here, and working together as a team,” Zach Koch, sr., said. “My goal is that we go unde-feated this season.”
Annie felteS
girls face this season is com-municating on the field ac-cording to Valerie Ross, sr. “I think my biggest goal [for the team] is that by the end of the season we could start talking and start playing as a team more and having fun, because that’s what it’s all about.” The girls hope do as well as they’ve been doing, if not better as the season progresses.
Annie felteS
Girls track
is always trying to get better, that is always there goal. “A lot of the varsity team has re-ally helped me at the driving range and on the course to get better,” Wiedemeier said.
JV usually has two meets a week. Their next meet is on May 4, in town at Jones Golf Course.
SPencer Grekoff
photo by Jessica Rowan
photo by Jessica Rowan
photo by Asmaa Elkeurti