in this issue march

BWthe black and white

the black and white. March. 2011. volume 19 issue 7. 5152780449. 6501 NW 62nd ave. johnston. iowa one copy free

Well dressed guys of John-ston are featured on the fashion page. Learn about their styles, and how they came about.

fourteenRead about school board’s

recent vote on calendar chang-es and the “Mega-School” dis-cussions.

ten-elevenRead about a new $1000

scholarship in Sheri Walling’s name, available for swim team members.

fourThree students tell about

the experiences that they’ve gone through with modeling as their hobby or job.

seventeen

in th

is is

sue.

..

Health14 Make sacked lunch fun and delicious

Fashion13 Guys who really know how to dress

Doubletruck10-11 School board makes changes

March 2011

1712 20

103

Want the B&W online?Send us an e-mail, to jhsblackandwhite@gmail.com and we’ll send you a PDF of the pa-per every month

*THE BLACK & WHITE

STAFF WRITERSIsabella Engblom, Wes Monroe, Alexa Anderson, Sarah Margolin, Mallorie Goodale, Ashley Enger, Elisabeth Lowe, Mirza Besic, Chris Coble, Hannah Soyer, Paige Cramer, Taylor Mithelman & Ashley Shay

NEWSMike Shi

OPINIONKristine Hayes

EDITORIALZach Winjum

ENTERTAINMENT/REVIEWEvan Culbert

FEATURELauren Coffey

FASHION/HEALTHSpencer Vasey

SPORTSRyan Smaha

BACKPAGEEthan Meng

DISTRIBUTION MANAGERIan Dunshee

PHILOSOPHYThe Black and White is published solely by the Johnston High School newspa-per staff. Its goal is to inform, enlighten and entertain Johnston students. It is an open forum. In accordance with Iowa law and board policy, students assign and edit material. The paper is published nine times per school year. The paper will avoid material that is libelous, obscene or an invasion of privacy. The law does not require parental permission to use student quotes. Ethically, we believe students can speak for themselves. Staff editorials represent the opinion of a majority of the editorial board. Editorial and opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the adviser, school officials or the district. Letters to the editor must be signed. Like all material, letters may not be libelous, obscene or an invasion of privacy. Bring letters to room 413 within one week after publication to be considered for the next issue. The Black and White strives to report accurate and timely information. If you believe that an error has been printed, please contact the editors at jhsblack-andwhite@gmail.com. The Black and White is a member of CSPA, NSPA, Quill & Scroll, and IHSPA. Recent issues of the paper earned these honors: Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medalist, National Scholastic Press Association First Class rating, Quill & Scroll Gallup Award, IHSPA state placings and sixth in the National Best of Show.

on the cover: An art study done in Photo Art II photo credit: Mason Johnson

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFKelsey Kruse

DESIGN EDITORKelly McGowan

PHOTO EDITORMichael Knoedel

16 Andrew Tubbs

17 Students that model

FeatureDon’t make Mr. Yenger angry!Student’s videos go viral

15

News3 Relive the past month through photos4 Mandsager family establishes new scholarship in Shari Walling’s Name

News briefs

IllustratorsRosemarie Freymark, Trevor Fisch & Austin Smoldt-Saenz

Entertainment12 Men’s roller derby in Des Moines

5

5 School board discusses time changeThat’s what Shi said: present and future

Opinion

6 School board approves new start dateLife without Facebook

7 Freshman feel leftThe Megaschool

EditorialIs No Child Left Behind really helping?8

Review9 The B&W figured out how long gum actually keeps its flavor

Backpage20 Photo art students showcase their work

Sports18 Dungeon: The Scanlan brothers19 Behind the Interlude

Full Court Press: March Madness

news march 2011 the b&w p.3

1 Senior Geneva Mongar from French Club makes a flower out of tissue paper at the Cultural Party held on Feb. 21. The party had the Asian Cultures Club, the Spanish Club and the French Club all join together to share food, talk about their culture and have fun. The Spanish Club taught the other students how to make Spanish-esque “flowers” out of paper tissue

2 Junior Chase Wallace, Senior Greg Schultz, Senior Jacob Bennett, Karim Hodzic and Senior Joel Wittman play hockey in Track 3. Track 3 plays hockey as part of the team sports curriculum. The students play hockey for the first few weeks of March until Spring Break.

3 Sophomore Josh Boeshen auditions for the Music Man musical on March 1. Auditions were from Feb. 28 to March 4. This is the first time in 35 years that Johnston is having a musical. Opening night will be on May 12 and will run until May 14. Boeshen was cast as the farmer.

4 Senior Dellanie Couture creates art in Drawing 1 class. Drawing 1 is a class taught 4th and 5th period taught by Mr. Weiss. Right now they are learning to draw with charcoal. Students learn about how to make a com-position by using different types of methods.

layout Kelly McGowan

Lauren Coffey/BW

Mike Shi/BW

Kristine Hayes/BW

Paige Plaskitt/BW

Marchinphotos

1

23

4

the b&w newsp.4 march 2011

One-third of all traf-fic is commuters. Bike, use public transit or carpool to school if you can; use alternative transportation when

possible. If you have to drive, keep your tires properly inflated so you get the best gas mileage out of your car. Drive slower. It lowers emissions, and saves fuel, tires, and lives. During March 23-28, there is a Carpool to School Week being held by the enviornmental club.

There is now a con-tract all students receive when buying prom tick-ets. “It’s a contract that pretty much entails you will not dance inappro-priately,” student coun-

cil member Cal Greuning said. “The way I see it, you basically can’t do anything you wouldn’t do in front of your parents.” Students will re-ceive a warning after the first violation, and will be removed from the dance the second time.

Contracts for prom Tip of the month

new

s br

iefsNB

words & layout Lauren Coffey

On March 6, the school board mem-bers decided to make a former professional development day,

April 11, into a school day. This will make up for the snow day the school had earlier this year. The school board decided to do this because this will allow students to get out of school before memorial day.

Revised professional development day

Photo by Neil Mandsager

The Mandsager family with swimming coach Shari Walling. From left to right; Kyle, Maddie, Shari Walling, Meghan, Grant and Hank (behind)

When senior Hank Mandsager climbed out of the Mar-shaltown pool at State Swimming in February after racing in the 400 free relay, 18 years of coach Shari Walling hav-ing a Mandsager on her swim team ended.

The Mandsagers, a family of seven, decided to estab-lish a scholarship in Walling’s name. The $1000 scholar-ship will be awarded annually until year 2030. It will be pre-sented at class day to a male or female swimmer chosen by the Dollars for Scholars Foundation who demonstrates excellence in both character and school.

Walling was taken by surprise when it was announced at the Swim Team Banquet that the Mandsager family had created a scholarship in her honor.

Athletic director Gary Ross, opened up the banquet with the words, “Swimming is very much a family sport.” And after having coached girls’ and boys’ swim team for more than 24 years, Walling has seen her fair share of siblings. She has not, however, seen another Mandsager family.

Hank is the last of the five Mandsager children to swim for Walling. “I felt a lot of pressure to be a swimmer,” Hank said. Once resentful of the sport, he soon found himself wanting to join the swim team. He stayed on the swim team for five years.

Meghan Mandsager, the eldest of the Mandsager chil-dren, said, “I also swam for Shari my junior and senior years. Unlike the rest of my family, I am not a very fast swimmer but, Shari didn’t mind. I worked really hard and managed to earn a varsity letter both years. I am still really proud of those letters.”

Very few coaches get to know their athletes the way Walling does. Nearly every morning from 5:30 am to 7 am, she stands at the sidelines while JV1 and Varsity swim laps. Then once more in the evening.

The Mandsagers only represent five of the hundreds of students that have swam for Walling, but the positive influ-

ence she has had on all of her athletes is clear. “(Walling) has had a big impact on my life,” junior Joe Farrell said, “She definitely earns your respect.”

The impact she has made can also be seen in all that the swim team has accomplished. The boys and girls swim-ming teams were regional team champions for the years 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2009. They were district champions for the years 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.

The establishment of the scholarship was bitter-sweet. “I’m not gonna have anymore Mandsagers,” Walling chuck-les, tears welling up in her eyes. “I’m going to have to hang-out a long time to see their kids.”

Family establishes scholarship in Walling’s name

The MandsagersYears swam and preferred stroke

Kyle

Maddie

Meghan

Grant

Hank

1994-1996Breast stroke1996-2000

Distance Freestyle2000-2004

Sprinter2007-2009

Sprinter2006-2011

Sprinter

words & layout Elisabeth Lowe

March: Commuting Green

the b&wopinion p.5march 2011

words Mike Shi

That’s

wha

t

said Wallace. Beaver Creek. Summit. Mid-dle School. JHS. During my time at these schools, they’ve always preached the same thing: we’re preparing you for your future. In elementary school, it was X. In middle school, it was Y. In high school, it’s Z. And

in college it’ll be ~. That may be all fine and dandy, but what about the present?

The future is important, I get that, in fact, I can’t wait until I can get to a future sans JHS, but in the time we have now, why can’t we just focus on that? Now. By focusing so much on preparing us for life after high school, we’ve neglected life dur-ing high school. Every policy and guideline is written like it’s for the real world, which high school obviously is not. No late work ever, you can never be late for class, etc. If any of this happens in the real world they say, you’ll never survive. But, get this, we’re teenagers, not adults, no matter how much we may wish so. We’re still growing and learning, the real world is something we face when we get there, for now, we’re still

in our bubble, and what’s wrong with that?Of course, it doesn’t help when teachers

say things will happen, but they never actu-ally do. I remember back in middle school my history teachers always talked about dates. I personally won’t make you memo-rize dates, they said, but in the high school you’ll have to. Well hey, what do you know, I’m in high school and I’ve never had to re-member a date. With so much emphasis on the future, you’d think they’d at least point us in the right direction.

I know what the teachers must be think-ing, ‘who does this kid think he is? he’ll just fall on his face the moment he gets out of high school.’ Well, that may be so, but I’d rather fall on my face than be worrying about retirement at the ripe age of 22.

What about the here and now?

Illustration/Rosemarie Freymark

Girls track members huddle up during practice on March 4. Practices usually last until about 5:00. If the recent start-time proposal gets passed, all after school activities would end later.

Michael Knoedel/BW

Proposal

words & layout Evan Culbert

problemsposes

School board discusses new start times

As the bell rings at 2:50 p.m., junior Zach Vander Ploeg heads to his part-time job at First Assembly of God day-care. Vander Ploeg and other working students may lose an hour of work after school each day if a proposal passes.

The proposal being discussed by the school board would flip the secondary and elementary school hours so that elementary schools would begin the school day first and would be released nearly an hour before secondary students. At this point the topic is just a discussion item, but it is very possible that it will become a reality in the next few years. If it does, a number of problems would arise.

In theory, the start time changes are aimed at reduc-ing stress and increasing productivity in students. “There’s been quite a bit of research that has been done,” school board member Mike Farrell said. “Research shows that teens on average need about eight-and-a-half to even nine plus hours of sleep at night to run at optimal performance.” The school board and administration have been looking into research done by two school districts in Minnesota, no-tably Minneapolis and Edina. Edina moved the high school start time back to 8:40, and found positive results, most notably in attentiveness and productivity of students during the school day. Don’t get me wrong, I love sleeping, and the results of the study speak for themselves.

The biggest problem with the proposal is that Johnston is an active community with hundreds of students involved

in extra-curricular activities, many taking place after school. If students get released an hour later, after-school activities would start an hour later. If after-school activities get out an hour later, homework gets pushed back an hour later. If homework gets done an hour later, students end up in bed an hour later than they would with the current schedule, and even though they get to sleep in that extra hour, that adds up to the same amount they’re getting now.

Let’s say productivity increases substantially among students, and they get more of their homework done dur-ing the day. Getting out an hour later takes a chunk out of the evening, especially for those in sports and other after school activities. Many athletes would not make it home by 7:00, taking away from family meals and time spent to-gether. Traveling to away competitions is another negative for athletes. If teams leave at 1:30 for a game, that means missing over two hours of school.

Students who hold part-time jobs would also lose an hour of work each day if the proposal took effect. That may

not sound like much but over time it adds up to a signifi-cant amount. If a student who makes $8 an hour works each day after school, he would lose about $1,440 if the schedule is changed. That’s a big chunk of cash. Even if he worked an hour later at night to make up the difference, that’s back to the problem again.

Although this proposal is a possibility for next year, the later it progresses into this year, the less likely the proposal will be voted on. “This is purely just a discussion item, this isn’t anything up for approval this upcoming meeting or the following at this particular time,” Farrell said. “Administra-tion is going to continue to look into the research to see if the change is something we want to consider making within our district.”

The school board is aware of the problems the proposal presents, and is looking at ways it could possibly work.

An extra hour of sleep would be beneficial for growing students, but unless the negatives that accompany the benefits could be resolved, the change is not worth it.

the b&wopinion p.6march 2011

It’s official. Come August, if you feel like your summer break was shorter than usual, check the calendar. School starts about a week-and-a-half sooner next year: Aug. 15.

The main reason for the date change is to get finals in before winter break. There have been complaints from parents and students about having to study during winter break for finals, usually held the second week of January.

The board issued a survey to parents to determine if they would prefer having their students’ finals before or af-ter winter break. The majority expressed the opinion that they wanted finals before the break. Here’s the kicker; the parents had no idea that in order to squeeze finals in be-fore the break, school would be started that much earlier.

I don’t mind having a holiday break before finals. As if I actually lug 3,000 pages of textbook home to study during my week off. Get real. We have an entire week of school before finals to actually start to study, and I use that to my full advantage. No way I’m going to study over my break from school.

If you have a Central Campus class in the afternoon of next semester, get down to the guidance office and change your schedule as soon as you can. The new start date will

Save the dateNew start date begins school earlier than ever before

cause the second semester to start while Central Campus will still be wrapping up its first semester. The problems with that are pretty blatant.

Not to mention school will now overlap with the Iowa State Fair. The fair takes place Aug. 12-22 and is popular among students. The new start date will give students three weekdays to hit up the fair be-fore school starts, besides the two weekends. Junior Catherina Ochoa spends those middle days of August working at the fair with her family at a food stand. “Work-ing at the stand is a big deal for my family,” Ochoa said. “The plan right now is for me to work 4 to 11 on the days I’ll have school where I usually wouldn’t.”

Kaitlyn Aldrich, a politically ac-tive junior, spoke at the board meet-ing where the board voted 6-1 to start school earlier. “Everyone’s schedule is going to get messed up,” Aldrich said. “Seniors are going to have to come back after they graduate just to take their AP tests. Fall sports and marching band camps are going to be messed up. It’s all just ridiculous.”

Avoiding the disconnect: Facebook

Hello, my name is Ethan, and it has been four months since I last used. The withdrawals have all disappeared and my life is back to the way it was before. Now I can say that I am free.

For the last few months it has been nice not having the constant cyber chain around my ankle that is Facebook. Without it I feel a sense of freedom knowing I don’t have the compulsive need to check my phone or computer for updates on my friends’ lives.

words & layout Ethan MengThe one thing I find a little funny is even

though I deleted my account, it is still there; it is just hidden from everyone else. All one needs to do to reactivate an account is type in the old username and password they used before.

Once this is done, everything including posts, pictures and pokes that were there from the beginning pop up like you never even left. I understand it is set up this way so if people change their minds they can come back, but why not just make a new account? Even being away from Facebook for months now, I am still forever tied down in some way to the site.

Concerns that some people have an addiction with this site seem to show up in our daily lives. More people are willing to sacrifice face-to-face conversations for those that can be held over Facebook. As

a society, we are getting closer to the day where Internet conversations will become more prominent than those done in person. “Long term socialization is going to suffer,” psychology teacher Jason Jauron said. “There’s not going to be any more eye con-tact or manners, in fact, manners have al-ready gone.” Jauron himself does not have an account and believes Facebook takes away the important communication that people will actually remember.

One thing I have noticed is that people are much more willing to talk over the In-ternet and seem to be more shy in person. Without having a Facebook, I have been forced to do all of my socializations with friends in either person or over the phone. Even getting permission to use a photo for another story went from what would have been a message on Facebook to a phone

conversation where I could easily explain what I needed. It seems in most cases for teenagers having to talk to someone in per-son is almost scary and unnerving.

Even though Facebook is a useful tool that is integrated in what both adults and teenagers do today, but I think for at least once, everyone needs to go without their account for at least a week. However, I don’t honestly think that people will do this because Facebook seems to be a way of fitting in with others, but I suggest the idea in hopes that people will realize they rely on the site too much.

“Facebook is a status symbol kind of like Under Armour, you’ve got to have that brand on everyday,” Jauron said. “Seem-ingly to be a teen you need to wear your brand names and Facebook is one of those things that you have to drag with you.”

words & layout Mirza Besic

Illustration/Rosemarie Freymark

Illustration/Austin Smoltz-saenz

the b&wmarch 2011opinion p.7

words & layout Sarah Margolin

Picture yourself walking down a hallway in the middle school, and just for fun let’s say you’re a freshman. You ap-proach the place where you would normally walk out of the brown doors onto pavement and into the parking lot, but instead the hallway continues on. Perhaps there’s a media center to your left, or a performing arts facility to your right. Suddenly, you realize you’re no longer in the middle school, but the high school; where a real freshmen belongs.

The thought of a 9-12 “mega-school” is an exciting one to say the least. The proposal has been discussed by a committee of faculty, parents, students and administration.

“The proposal is to utilize the JMS and JHS buildings to create a 9-12 comprehensive high school,” superintendent Clay Guthmiller said.

Although no final decisions have been made, the idea is that the middle school and high school could be formed

into a campus containing grades 9-12. This idea could lead to greater learning and an upgrade in the high school expe-rience as well as performance for all students.

First and foremost, the freshmen would be a part of the high school, a much needed change. When students fin-ish eighth grade, most are ready for and looking forward to starting high school. A whole year of high school seems to be misplaced amongst all of the middle school nonsense.

It can be argued that a large school would create dis-tractions and a learning environment lacking individualized attention. However, a larger school increases competition for that top GPA, therefore students will perform better.

Some have brought up the idea of two high schools, due to the projected growth of the district. Although we are growing, the growth will end and eventually cap off. We don’t have endless amounts of land for continued growth.

Phoebe Cooper walks to the GSA (gay straight alliance) club meeting after school. The club has a range of students from sophomores to seniors. But no freshmen. “(Freshmen) are included, but they aren’t informed,” junior Phoebe Cooper said. “It’s hard when you don’t have classes together or the same announcements.”

Freshmen are excluded from clubs, ad-vanced classes, fundraisers, pep rallies, homecoming, a variety of elective classes, and student council.

There are 26 high school clubs in all. Twenty of those clubs are offered to fresh-men. Upper classmen don’t make a con-scious effort to include freshmen. They may be allowed to join, but a freshmen isn’t going to come to the high school without knowing the invitation is there. It may be as simple as posting signs at both schools.

After eighth grade most people are look-ing forward to finally being in high school. What they don’t realize, is that they will have to wait until the next summer to finally have that title. Sure, they may be a “fresh-man” but really they are tenth graders still in the middle school. To most it doesn’t even feel any different than last year, until they try to sign up for classes.

Freshmen feel forgottenWhen freshmen sign up for classes in

eighth grade they look at all the things that seem like fun and then realize that it says for sophomores and older. It’s not hard for freshmen to walk over to the high school for journalism, so why aren’t there more classes like that?

But, the classes aren’t the only prob-lem, it can sometimes be the teachers. In high-school, teachers don’t usually have you pass everything forward to turn in, or give you make-ups on every test you take. High school is pretty much a one-shot deal. Junior Brandi Bolken has first hand experi-ence with this.

“I failed a test and asked for a retake,” Bolken said. Her history teacher Jessie Dowell told her she should have been pre-pared. “I thought I was,” Bolken said.

It may only be a parking lot away, but from the middle school to the high school is a world of difference, and the preparation for the transition seems to be lacking. Soph-omore Sarah Lewis doesn’t think being a freshmen in the middle school prepares one for high school at all. “They baby you, they hold your hand through everything, and ev-eryone says it,” Lewis said, “Get ready for next year, that’s all I can say.”

Senior Mary Feng participates in asian culture club, one of the many clubs that accepts freshmen but does not post signs in places where freshmen can see them.

Mike Shi/BW

Above is one possible plan for combining the schools. This plan would include a new preforming arts center and a sky walk. Other plans involve things such as larger walkways between the buildings.

Mega-school makes sense words & layout Wes Monroe

editorial the b&w p.8march 2011

800

600

400

200

00.00 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.50 1.75 2.00 2.25 2.50 2.75 3.00 3.25 3.50 3.75 4.00 4.25

# of

Stu

dent

s

Student GPA

High School Grade Distribution

The graph below shows the concentra-tions of student GPA’s. Last year, the most common GPA was 3.75. The graph on the right shows the trend that students in 2003 with higher GPA’s got the same ACT compos-ite scores as the students in 1991 with lower GPA’s. The only explanation for the grade in-creases is wide-spread grade inflation.

Grade Inflation

45.4Out of all grades

given last year, 45.4 percent were A’s.

3.0The average

GPA in the high school last year.

The number of students who failed Health last semes-ter out of 393.

3

The most com-mon GPA in the high school last year.

3.75

The number of students who dropped out in the 05-06 year.

2

The number of students who dropped out in the 09-10 year.

21.0

The number of years Johnston has been on the No Child Left Behind watchlist.

1

TheStats

America’s schools are falling behind, but how is the government dealing with it?

With Extended Learning Programs few and far between, schools seem to be more inter-ested in graduating as many students as pos-sible than promoting higher learning.

Blame should not be placed on the schools, however. The problem stems from the nation’s flawed drive to stop America’s apparent edu-cational decent with the Act of Congress No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

Is it the teacher’s fault or is it the student’s fault if a student fails a class? According to NCLB, the fault is on the teacher.

NCLB supports standards-based educa-tion reform, which is based on the belief that setting standards and establishing measur-able goals can improve individual outcomes in education. The Act rewards schools who meet these standards with funding but punishes the schools who do not with reduced funding and are placed on a “watch list.” The two major standards NCLB sets for a school to be profi-cient are a graduation rate and a standardized test goal.

One major principle behind NCLB is the idea that teachers do not care enough to help students who are struggling, so they need to give the teachers an incentive to “care more.”

“The law itself doesn’t motivate us teach-ers to care more, we have always cared,” ELP teacher Sue Cline said. “It just seems that stu-dents have come into classes less prepared.”

The law creates a lose-lose scenario for schools. Either the school holds back the stu-dents who need extra help or the school pass-

es those students which in turn causes a dip in scores on standardized tests later on. Regard-less, the school would be placed on NCLB’s watch list which cuts funding for the school and ultimately hurts the students.

“As a teacher, I feel that I make sure every opportunity for help is there for any student to take,” Cline said. “The student just has to take it.” Nearly every teacher in the school is open for, and often recommends, students to come in after class-time if they need extra help. However, there is a group who do not take ad-vantage of this opportunity.

“It’s a shame that no one sees how much time and effort teachers put in to helping the failing students pass,” social studies teacher Jesse Dowell said. “I spend about one to two hours a day on these ten students out of my total 150 students.” Teachers must spend an inordinate amount of time helping some stu-dents who simply do not deserve to pass.

This is robbing not only the students who are actually trying to do well of valuable one-on-one attention from teachers, but it is also robbing the failing students of their own learn-

ing. If a teacher has to constantly baby a stu-dent to get them to do what is expected of them done, then the student will never learn work strategies. They will never learn the strat-egies to deal with stress, to deal with trying and failing or any trial-and-error learning all other students must experience to learn. Es-sentially, If these students are being treated differently than all other students, the school is sealing their fate to need a guiding hand the rest of their learning career.

This flawed law creates grade inflation, grade handouts, cupcake classes and overly-active teaching for the bottom 5%. Maybe to combat the dip in average national test scores, schools could focus more on improving the top students instead of devoting all of this effort to the students who do not turn in their homework on time or do not study for tests. Either way, this Act is not promoting higher learning, it is promoting measurable learning. NCLB needs to be either repealed or amended. Some stu-dents simply do not want to work. The govern-ment needs to accept that fact.

Average GPA for Students at Various ACT Composite Score Levels

The editorial board votes on the opinion behind the editorial. A simple majority is needed to pass. This month’s vote was 11-1

What

EveryoneWhen

LoseWeWins

5.7Out of all grades

given last year, only 5.7 percent were F’s.

If you have a bunch of gift cards to stores that you’ll never go to, why not sell them? At Plastic Jungle, you can get paid by check or electronically, an amazon.com gift card. Type in the card info, it has to be worth more than $25, print off a prepaid mailing label and ship your cards. A few days later you get paid. Cards can be bought for up to 92% of the balance. More popular stores will get you a better deal than unknown ones. But honestly, is it worth it? Is there not one thing you can buy at the store? Plus, gift cards are gifts, it’s not like you lose anything by using it.

Sel

ling

the b&wmarch 2011review p.9

words & layout Kelsey Kruse

Long-lasting flavor put to the test Icebreakers Ice Cubes have a texture unlike any other gum. The thick cube is soft and smushes in your mouth with ease. The flavor is the definition of long-lasting with the winning time of 1 hour and 18 minutes.

Five gum came out with a new flavor called Vortex (green apple). Usually green apple has too strong of a taste, but this green apple is done right.

A lot of gum brands ad-vertise flavor that lasts forever, but how long is forever really? The Black and White went to find out by timing how many minutes it takes before the urge to spit the gum out is way too strong and the flavor is gone.

Piña Colada gum doesn’t sound appetizing, but surprisingly the flavor is fruity and refreshing. Orbit Mist Peppermint is juicy all the way through. Orbit White is your average gum, nothing special, but not bad either.

Dessert itself is delicious, right? Dessert gum, not so much. Strawberry shortcake is way too much cake and not enough strawberry. Mint Chocolate Chip has an unpleasant smell but once the overwhelming sour-chocolate taste calms down, it’s bearable. Key Lime Pie starts with a burst of lime that is alright, but once the pie taste kicks in it’s hard to keep chewing.

Trident has a plethora of options for chewing gum. Trident Vitality is Trident’s new line of gum, and focuses on being beneficiary for the body. Trident Vital-ity Vigorate is a burst of citrus with strawberry and provides a healthy dose of Vitamin C. Also in the Vitality line are Rejuve and Awaken.

Stride commercials make an obvious exaggeration about how long their fla-vor lasts. Compared to other gums, they do pretty well, but it’s nothing out of the ordinary.

Planning on splurging and want to save a few bucks? Consider Plastic Jungle, that is, if you can handle the hassle. Cards can be discounted up to 35%, but only for obscure stores. For places you’d actually want to go to, the discounts are much smaller, for example, 3% off a Target gift card. Is it worth it to save $3 off a $100 purchase? Even more frustrating is the wait. It takes about two business days to process a payment and then 5-7 days for a card to arrive. For only a few dollars more, you could’ve already bought what you wanted and have enjoyed it for a week.B

uyin

g

The gift of gift cards

Don’t you just love gift cards? I mean, who doesn’t love unwrapping a pres-ent and seeing a hunk of plastic? Just think of all the thought that went into that gift card. It’s like getting cash, but instead of getting to spend it however you choose, you can only do so at a specific store! For those of us who’d rather get the cash for the gift cards we’ll never use, who want to save a little bit when shopping, plasticjungle.com is the site to visit.

Best Pick

Trident layers packs a deli-cious burst of fruity flavor, and lasts for nearly an hour. Layers are clearly our favor-ite, giving you the most bang for your buck.

Provided/Kristin DonelsonProvided/Tammy Robertson

words Mike Shi

the b&w school boardp.10&11 march 2011

School Board President Tracey Orman speaks during a board meeting which took place on Feb. 28.

Scho

ol B

oard

Vot

ing

Reco

rds

On Feb. 28, the school board voted to change start and end dates for the 2011-2012 school year. Class will begin on Aug. 15, and be released for summer break May 18 the following year. Finals will be held after winter break, and seniors will most likely have AP tests after graduation.

Before the board voted, Five parents and one stu-dent took the opportunity to speak on behalf of not changing the start date. No one community member spoke in favor of this change. Junior Kaitlyn Aldrich expressed her belief that the school board should vote down the start date of Aug. 15. “I think a major-ity of the board members went into the meeting with their mind already made up,” Aldrich said.

Board member Jackie Heiser asked her fellow board members to listen to their constituents when considering how to vote. However, board member Mike Farrell, suggested that the community was already given the opportunity to express its views through a survey that was offered online regard-ing the calendar change. The results of the survey were 462 in favor of beginning school on Aug. 15, 181 in favor of starting Aug. 18, and 382 in favor of starting Aug. 22. The policy passed, Heiser being the only one against the change, and some com-munity members booed.

The board members, as well as Clay Guthmiller, said the reason for the change is to increase stu-dent achievement. “The calendar was adopted for the greater purpose to provide students success academically and with activities,” Guthmiller said.

vote

Tracey OrmanPresident

yes no/

Julie Walter Vice President

yes no/

Marci Cordaro Board Member

yes no/

John Dutcher Board Member

yes no/

Mike Farrell Board Member

yes no/

Jackie Heiser Board Member

yes no/

Jill Morrill Board Member

yes no/

votevote

vote

Race to the Top Grant

PAW Club

Series 500 Policy Change

Changing High School Science Classes

Abstained Yes Yes No No YesYes

Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes

YesYesYesYes

Yes Yes YesYes Yes

Yes Yes Yes No

No

No Abstained

Kofi Manteaw/The Dragon

People for Animal Welfare-A club whose goal is to promote ethical treatment of animals.

2

Race to the Top Grant-Federal funding was available to states that met certain educational benchmarks, but would have required federal education mandates.

1

3 Series 500 Policy Change-Board voted on removing language that helped protect students from self-censorship.

4 Changing High School Science Classes-The board voted on eliminating blocked science classes for the 2011-12 school year.

Staff, Students and ParentsGive an idea to

AdministrationIdea is then discussed with who suggested it. If it has merit, it goes on to a policy committee.

Policy committeeThese are specified groups of board members who work in conjunction with the administration, then introduce the idea as a recommendation to the school board.

School BoardA vote is taken at the meeting following the discussion. These meetings are open to the public (unless they involve purchase of land or expulsion). A simple majority of 4 votes wins, and the idea becomes a policy.

*Meeting AgendasAn agenda is posted prior to each meeting, in which a parent or student can sign up for a four minute slot to be able to speak about any issue, directly to the board.

How the board works:

As the growth of class sizes increase, so does the need for more space. Currently there are proposals to combine the high school and the middle school, which would serve as a 9-12 high school. Another option is building an entirely new high school.

A board of about 20 members researched the possibilities. Questions were brought up, and ideas were proposed. The committee voted and found that the most feasible idea would be to renovate and combine the high school and middle school.

As of now, we have enough space until 2015/2016, however the planning must begin soon in order for the district to be adequately prepared.

The estimated cost of the “mega-school” is $47 million. This would also cover the construction of a new middle school. The district would receive up to $44 million from the state-wide one cent sales tax. The district is also eligible for an additional $55 mil-lion that would have to be voted on. If passed, the end result would be increased taxes.

Senior Rachael Meyer pets a calf at the Iowa State Fair last summer. The fair will begin on Aug. 11 and end on the 25. School has always started

without conflicting with the fair. This year, however, class begins Aug. 15.

Zach Winjum/BW

<< Jordin Robinson/The Dragon

Jill Morrill, Jackie Heiser, and Julie Walter

Compiled by Zach Winjum and Kelly McGowan

Growth Spurs “Mega-School” DiscussionBoard Votes to Change Calendar Year

School BoardChanges

Policies

Derby Boysthe b&w entertainmentp.12 march 2011

words & layout Ian Dunshee

Kent Iverson

Unless you happen to be the few and the proud of the social outcast elite, chances are you’ve come across the latest issue of “Juice.” It will fill you in on the original women’s Roller Derby in Iowa, how the game works, and the latest on what’s next for the

derby girls of Des Moines. But what could the pro-fessionals possibly have missed? Not much other

than the blatant gender bias in the sport. Think Roller Derby wouldn’t give off the same vibe if

the girls in fishnets were replaced by sweaty guys? Think again.

Des Moines’ men’s roller derby was conceived as many great things and

people are; by accident. “I have a bunch of friends that I play dodge

ball with here at the rink every week,” Dante Muse, one of the

founding members said. His team, Your Mom, practices

at Skate North, which Muse also owns. “The

Des Moines Derby Dames

How You Can Get Involved

practice here (Skate North) and so we heard from them and at women’s tournaments that guys were playing, so we researched and started it up,” he said.

Of course, starting a roller derby team isn’t as sim-ple as finding a group of guys that can skate around a rink. “Every team starting out has their problems,” James Olson, known as “Lilypad” in the rink said. “There is always something you must overcome to be better. For us, that’s getting to act as more of a team. I want to know how the others skate so I can know what to do to be better when skating with them. We want to have as much fun on with the Roller Derby team as we do with dodge-ball.” This may not be a difficult task when playing on a team consisting of your closest friends.

Knowing they are new to the sport, Your Mom com-pensates by holding regular practice and taking what to some may seem like a silly sport very seriously. “We have funny names, we have a funny team name, but it’s a serious sport,” Muse said. This attitude is not isolated to Iowa Roller Derby either, but is rather an emerging trend along with the rising popularity of the sport both in the state and throughout the country.

Sporting players with names such as “Sugarboots” and “Mr. Bubbles”, Your Mom is just one of the many teams throughout the nation to pioneer a new way of

living the derby life. “Derby is trying to get away

from the stereotypes,” player Jason McDaniel said. He is also known as “Sea Horses Forever” when game time comes around. A women’s derby coach for four years in Missouri, McDaniel knows the ins and outs of the derby world, from foul play to fights breaking out on the rink.

“In the beginning, it was leaning toward brass knuckles and tattoos. Everyone had names like ‘Crusher’ and ‘Destroyer’,” explains McDaniel. “But these days, everyone is just trying to have fun with it. That’s why we chose frou-frou names instead. Every-one is very happy with the new direction of the sport.”

“It isn’t like basketball or football where you really have to know someone to get involved with the top players,” McDaniel said. “It’s a non-commercial, grass-roots sport, and anyone can be a part of it. The people that do it do it because they love it. They have their hour of fame once a month and they let it all go. They get all their anger and emotion out and just let it fly, and then they go back to their job at the steel mill.”

“The sport is constantly evolving every day. Its changing all the time just because of the wide vari-ety of skill and knowledge of all the different players througout the country,” McDaniel says. “We are doing something that has yet to be fully defined and you can be there to watch the transformation and the growth as a sport evolves knowing you are a part of it.”

For further information on the offical rules and regula-tions of Roller Derby visit: www.wftda.com

For information on one of Des Moines’ three roller derby teams, including try-out and practice informa-tion, visit:www.dmderbydames.com - Des Moines Derby Dames

www.midiowarollers.com - Mid Iowa Rollerswww.yourmommensderby.com - Your Mom

the b&whealth p.13march 2011

Leftovers are always an easy option for lunch. Find a way to package up last night’s dinner or turn it into something new. Have leftover chicken? Make a chef salad with chicken on top. Make pasta salad out of extra noodles, fresh vegeta-bles and Italian dressing.

WrapsBLT wrap: Spread mayonnaise and salsa down the center of a tortilla. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pep-per. Layer with bacon strips, lettuce, tomato and avocado;

roll up tightly.

Chicken Bacon Ranch: Take shredded chicken, bacon, ranch and lettuce and place on a tortilla. Add extra vegetables of your choice.BBQ Roast Beef: Fill a tortilla with roast beef, pro-volone cheese and coleslaw. Top with barbecue sauce and wrap it up for a filling main dish.Change it Up: The grocery store has many varieties of wraps. Find a new flavor such as sun-dried tomato to change up your lunch.

Sick of having the same hot lunch options every week? Try bringing a cold lunch to change things up a bit. Here are some tasty and quick options to pack up for lunch.Cold lunch

Salad

Simple sidesFruit: Cut up an apple and soak in pineapple juice the night before. This will keep the pieces from browning, not to mention fresh and sweet tastingVeggies: Cut up ahead of time a variety of fresh vege-tables such as carrots, broccoli, celery and peppers. These are easy to grab in the morning. A dip adds some new flavor.Dessert: Don’t forget to throw in some cookies, a cup-cake or a small candy bar for something quick and sweet!

If you want even more options, you can always look into buying a thermos to bring soups and hot items in. If a microwave is available, heat up leftover pasta or soup.

Pasta Salad: This is an easy option that allows you to change your lunch depending on what you put in it. Mix together penne pasta, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, ranch dressing and Italian dressing. Add vegetables such as red peppers for more flavor.Fruit Salad: Cut up grapes, apples, pineapple and ba-nanas. Exchange one fruit for another of your favorites or add yogurt to the mix.Caesar Salad: Mix romaine, chicken, croutons, Par-mesan cheese and Ceasar dressing. Stay Full: Adding meat to your meal adds protein which keeps you full longer. Keep fully cooked chicken in the refrigerator which allows for easy prep in the morning. Peanut butter is a good alternative for those who do not eat meat. Eat with apples or on a classic PB&J sandwich.

SandwichesTurkey and Hummus: For those that take their lunch regularly and are sick of turkey sandwiches, this is a nice variation. Just spread your favorite hummus on pita bread and add turkey and vegetables of your choice. Hum-mus can be purchased at the grocery store and can also be made at home.Chicken Salad Sandwich: For those who prefer to pack their lunch ahead of time this is an easy option because chicken salad can be made a couple days ahead of time. Start by mixing canned chicken, mayonnaise and ranch powder. Add tomatoes or grapes for more flavor. Eat as a sandwich or with crackersChange it Up: Sick of the same sandwiches? Try add-ing a new topping or a different bread like pita pockets.

Why cold lunch?

words & layout Taylor Mithelman

“I’ve always brought it so it’s just turned into a habit. I never even think about getting lunch at school. Plus cold lunch is healthier and it’s a good option for me since I’m a vegetarian.”

“I like cold lunch because you can decide what you want and how much you want to eat everyday.”

“The lunch mob is crazy, and who wants to get caught up in that? Plus, I only like pasta day so I would rather bring my sack lunch the rest of the week.”

Emma Henryjunior

Melinda Buschsenior

junior Kristen Gifford

“I bring it so it cuts down on costs of everyday lunch. It costs my parents a lot less money for me to bring, rather than buying it at school.”

junior Richard Schraeger

the b&w fashionp.14 march 2011

Mitch Campbell

When most people look at senior Andy Jensen, they assume he has always been the put-together, well-dressed person he is today, but noth-ing could be farther from the truth. “I used to wear swimming T-shirts everyday,” Jensen said. “I didn’t really start caring about the way I looked until the beginning of my junior year.”

Jensen has now developed a style all his own. Most days, he can be seen in dark-wash jeans, a solid-colored shirt and several layers of hood-ies and jackets. “I just like simple things,” he said.

He has made a point of refraining from wearing sweatpants to school. “I just realized that dressing well isn’t hard,” Jensen said. “I kind of started to get embarrassed when I didn’t like what I was wearing.”

Jensen orders most of his clothes online from stores such as Urban Outfitters and H&M, but also shops at local stores including GAP. “Clothes are a good way to reflect your individual style,” he said.

Casey HalderSophomore Casey Halder’s style can

be summed up in four words: “Flannels, hats, Adidas, unique.”

“That’s how people know me,” he said. “Everybody knows me because of the hats, nobody else does it.”

Halder plans his outfits around his shoes. He selects a pair to wear in the morning and works his way up, next se-lecting his jeans, then his shirt, and fi-nally his hat. “I wear a hat everyday,” he said. “I feel naked without my hat.”

He can rarely be seen in an outfit that does not completely match. “I feel weird (when I don’t match),” Halder said. “It’s out of my comfort zone.”

Three male students share what individual style means to them

Sharp dressed menAs senior Mitch Campbell walked the streets of

France last summer, he felt right at home among the trendy styles of the French men. Before de-parting for his trip, he had purchased a new ward-robe and reinvented his individual style. “I wanted to look good in France,” Campbell said. “I was awed by the French style.”

Campbell has continued to create and individu-alize his style in the past year. He describes his style as a culmination of formal, casual, baggy and loose fitting clothes and he shops at stores such as Mr. B’s and Heritage. “I dress how I feel people should dress,” he said. “There’s something to be said about first impressions.”

Campbell likes to be creative with what he wears. He observes what looks good on others and tries to put his own spin on it. A flannel shirt junkie, Campbell owns over 50 button-up flannel shirts. He tries to dress up everyday, and never wears sweats to school. “I wore sweats to school once this year,” Campbell said. “I ended up using my lunch break to go home and change.”

words & layout Spencer Vasey

Andy Jensen

feature march 2011 the b&w p.15

When students come to the door of Jeremy Yenger’s government class they are greeted by a duck and an angry face staring back at them. Below the duck are the words “This duck just completed Yenger Management” and to the left of the face reads “You won’t like me when I’m Yengry.”

Inside that very room among all the pictures of past presidents and political maps hangs a sign that goes un-noticed. “Quae Nocent Docent” reads the sign, Latin for “What hurts, teaches.”

Yenger, affectionately called “Yengry” by his many stu-dents, uses anger for a unique purpose. He knows his students probably are not overly excited, if at all, about government class, so to “get the fires lit,” Yenger engages students by kicking over desks and throwing things around his room.

“There is no enjoyment in this class,” Yenger said in a fake southern accent, “That just ain’t the kind of dog and pony show I run around here.”

Yenger gets excited by government, so much so that voices get raised and tempers fly. This attitude is what he thinks gets students involved with the curriculum.

“Kicking over desks gets people’s attention,” Yenger said. “You call it anger, I call it excitement.” By doing this he

One million views and counting

tries to get students into government class. “You’re cynical and jaded,” he said, “and that’s why I like teaching you.”

Yenger believes that if he doesn’t get into government then students won’t either. “I love the material,” he said, “but the students don’t.”

He likes to think that kids love his sarcasm because it helps keep things interesting. But Yenger believes that in order to get a student to learn, some effort has to be put forth. There has to be pain on both the side of the student as well as the side of the teacher.

Yenger’s favorite quote sums up his beliefs quite well. It comes from the book The Dumbest Generation written by Mark Bauerlein. The quote reads, “In other words, enjoy-ment and achievement have no necessary relation…Amer-ican Infatuation with the happiness factor in education may be displaced. Confidence and enjoyment don’t guarantee better students.” This, Yenger believes, is his motivation for teaching the way he does.

So the last time you walk out that door after passing Yenger’s government class, turn to that duck and put a smile on your face because you just completed Yenger Management.

Most quotes from Jeremy Yenger were too graphic in nature to be put into this article. For more great quotes check out the “Yengerisms” page on Facebook.

words & layout Chris Coble

With 35 videos and over 1 million views, these amateurs are forming into something bigger. Camera buff seniors Mike Metzler and Josh De Lanoit film seniors Matt Probst, Ed Hepplewhite and Collin Ward, produc-ing Youtube-worthy videos. Using Metzler’s camera, an HDR-CX110, they whimsically brainstorm ideas to create under five min-utes of pure entertainment for viewers.

These guys have been making videos together for roughly five years. Their prime movie making time is on Friday nights and Saturdays, often spending more than two hours shooting. Along with their impromptu

script, they act out all original ideas. “Whenever we make a video we always

do it on the spot,” Metzler said. “Like it will be randomly ‘Hey I feel like making a video now, do you?’”

De Lanoit creates the concepts for these videos, and Metzler is in charge of editing the video after it has been filmed.

By creating an actual story line, this group sets themselves apart from other random videos sometimes seen on the site. By doing so they enhance the quality of the videos because of the developed ideas. Even after filming, more work is put into the video. Before the videos are shown, they go through an editing stage done by Met-zler.

“I’m never sure of the exact amount of time it takes me to edit,” Metzler said, “be-cause once I begin editing, I go into this ‘ed-

iting zone’ where I lose track of time. Before I know it, a few hours have gone by.”

The main goal is to get feedback on their creations while keeping viewers enter-tained. The only limitations with posting the videos on Facebook is that they are only viewable by ‘friends.’

One memorable video to these movie makers is their first video titled Stakeout Man, which still remains on Youtube. Made a few years ago, it is shot in the point of view of a gun. Their movies have gotten better since then, “every movie we make, we get better at it,” De Lanoit said.

Some changes to improve the quality of videos are being made like the scripting and the planning of the direction of each movie. This will also save time while shoot-ing and editing, enabling the group to en-hance productivity. The experiences they

Seniors Matt Probst and Josh De Lanoit set up for their scene to make a video.

Provided/Mike Metzler

Jeremy Yenger lectures about the powers giv-en to the president. Yenger believes this to be his favorite topic to teach in class.

Chris Coble/BW

words & layout Ashley Enger

Get Yengry

Mike & Josh Shorts, otherwise known as the SaintJimmey channel on YouTube, goes viral.

have had are emotionally rewarding. “It’s a calling and a passion.” De Lanoit said.

Want to watch the videos sometime? Viewers can find all posted videos on their Youtube channel, SaintJimmey. New videos are made posted monthly.

the b&w featurep.16 march 2011

Victory

Right, Tubbs introduces himself at the Variety Show, a children’s charity that raises money for different children organizations, on March 6. He sang the song, “The Impossible Dream,” from Man of Lamancha. Tubbs was accompanied by Tony Hatch, the com-poser of the famous rollerskating song, “Downtown. “Hatch came all the way from Spain to help support Variety. “He’s kind of taken Andrew under his wing,” Tubb’s mom Beth Tubbs said. Tubbs first began sing-ing for the Variety show 3 years ago and has done it ever since because he loves the experience of it.

Ashley Shay/BW

Andrew Tubbs makes a comeback after surgery

words Taylor Mithelman layout Paige Cramer

Junior Andrew Tubbs is planning on making a neck-lace. A necklace made out of the melted metal of a fixator that turned his bones. On this necklace will be one word, sieg, the German word for victory.Tubbs has Thrombocytopenia with Absent Radius

(T.A.R. Syndrome.) This causes the absence of the radius bone and usually some deformities in the legs. This past summer Tubbs had surgery on his leg and foot to fix the de-formation, hopefully leaving him more mobile than before.

“I basically had a week of summer,” Tubbs said. He spent 36 days in the hospital and a month and a half at Child Serve. While in the hospital he had a total of three surgeries. The surgery consisted of breaking seven bones in his leg and foot and inserting pins into the holes. The pins were attached to the fixator device and each day they turned the pins in order to straighten out his leg and foot.

“It was a roller coaster, there were times when I was hopeful and very optimistic and other times when I would have rather cut off my leg than go through that pain,” Tubbs said. “Whenever someone talks about the surgery or I’m asked about it I always have to use comedy to kinda laugh it off otherwise I become pretty depressed. That’s why whenever someone comments on how much that would have hurt or something to that extent I always answer there were a lot of drugs.”

When school started back up again Tubbs was able to go for partial days. “I was just insanely tired,” Tubbs said. His heel was not completely healed correctly after the sur-gery so the doctors have been slowly working it into place through serial casts. To get each cast Tubbs has to go up to St. Paul, MN taking even more time away from school.

Beyond the academics though, Tubbs is still highly in-volved in school. He participates in marching band, show

choir, jazz band and mock trial. While in the hospital Tubbs was already thinking about getting back into his activities. “I really wanted to get out of that hospital. I knew that I needed to get into rehab as soon as possible if there was any chance of being able to participate (in the activities).”

Tubbs found alternative ways to keep his spirits up through rehab. “The music definitely helps me cope,” Tubbs said. “Music has definitely relieved a lot of stress. I’m the type of person that gets lost in the music so when I’m listening or singing, everything else goes away.” Friends along the way helped inspire and encourage Tubbs. “I met the most amazing person I know in the hospital bed next to me. His name is Michael Dosdel, he is 16 and has had 40 surgeries. He taught me that no matter how hard your life is there is always someone that has a tougher one and I’m very grateful I have a relatively easy life.”

Tubbs was able to participate in Mock Trial from De-cember to February, as well as a member of the Synergy show choir to some extent. He was able to be part of one song, “The Distance You Have Come,” as well as sing a solo at the S.E. Polk competition.

Tubbs is still working towards complete recovery. “I have to be close to 100 percent for senior year. There is no way I can handle being in Synergy another year, even though I do love Shepard (Synergy’s director),” Tubbs said. “When I saw my first Innovation performance eight years ago I was in love with show choir and I wanted to be in that choir.”

“The necklace will have a three-thorn looking pattern. The three represents the trinity. During the surgery I always had faith. I knew that there was a reason for this. God has a plan and I must follow,” Tubbs said. “The thorns just re-mind me of how everyone wears a crown of thorns and the surgery and syndrome are mine.”.

feature march 2010 the p.17b&w

In front of the camera

It started as a runway show in Merle Hay mall as a fifth grader, and little did she know it would turn out to be such a big part of her life. Freshman Morgan Coffey has taken up modeling as a seri-ous hobby and enjoys meeting all sorts of new and interesting people.

Along with modeling comes unusual and unique experiences. “I did a photo shoot in a warehouse once, it was a round robin kind of thing with about ten other girls, and we just mod-eled a bunch of different dresses,” Coffey said.

Models need to be versatile and able to wear whatever is needed to get the job done. “I have modeled things from swim suits to parkas,” Cof-fey said. “I have also done a photo shoot down-town when I was doing my composition card with Peak Agency and he had me walking down the street barefoot.”

Senior Kennady Loffredo’s modeling ca-reer began when she was young. “My mom is the one who started me in modeling, she just entered me in a pageant when I was a baby and ever since I have been inter-ested,” Loffredo said.

Getting paid well is Loffredo’s favorite part about modeling. She said it isn’t too serious in high school but with anything, it can lead to something bigger.

So far, Loffredo has done an ad for Iowa State University which was displayed in Jordan Creek mall. “I have also been in two Mediacom commercials,” Loffredo said.

Foreign body movements and uncomfortable stretches to form the perfect pose all for a picture; is it really worth it? “After one of my (photo) shoots I was sore and couldn’t figure out why. I finally realized that I was sore from modeling,” senior Victoria Horstman said. “I had used and stretched muscles I never normally use, but I had a great time, so it was worth it.”

When modeling, comfort zones can be breached because of different styles of clothing and movements. Horstman said it’s even more uncomfort-able with others watching. “One time I was in a shoot and there were tons of parents and friends of the other girls all in the room watching every move I made as I was getting my pictures taken,” Horstman said. “It didn’t help that I was wearing high heels and standing on a furry rug. I kept loosing my balance and was about to fall. I probably looked like I was 12 and had never worn high heels before.”

Horstman’s favorite part of modeling is being able to show her creative side and serious side that most people never get to see. “When you are mod-eling you are on cloud ten and nothing else in the world matters,” Horstman said. “All your energy is focused on getting that perfect shot and using your body and face to convey a message.”

Provided/Victoria Horstman

Ken

nad

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Morg

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Three students explore the world of modeling to discover new and unusual experiences

Victoria Horstman

words Isabella Engblom layout Kelsey Kruse

Provided/Morgan Coffey

Provided/Kennady Loffredo

JOE JAKE

the b&w dungeonp.18 march 2011

Family Affair Inside Johnston’s premier wrestling family, the Scanlans

On wrestling 215 instead of heavyweight like last year:

“It was fun being at my own weight this year and making weight. It was fun not being the smallest guy in the weight class.”

On being the smallest heavy-weight to place last year:

“It was funny to look at the podium pic-ture and stuff. I was a lot smaller than the rest of the guys. I almost got pushed off the podium.”

Favorite style:

“Freestyle, because the pace of the match is faster. The scoring system is a lot different so you have more opportuni-ties to score a lot of points. Plus it is a more aggressive style.”

On working out with Montell Marion (national finalist for Iowa wrestling team):

“It was one of those experiences where you are thinking ‘wow he is a national fi-nalist.’ It was pretty cool.”

On making state, twice:

“It’s a great experience. There is a lot of pressure to place higher than the year be-fore and hopefully win it.”

On wrestling heavyweight:

“I love it. I have been wrestling a lot longer than most of the guys and I’m faster. It’s not too much different than wrestling an-other class.”

On making state as a freshman:

“It felt good because a lot of my friends from a lot of the state made it too. I was one of the only freshman in the tournament so that was really cool.”

Funniest moment this year:

“Joe and I got in a fight in practice this year because he was working on my arm too hard and it started to get to me, so I started swinging at him. Coach Tecklenburg picked me up and carried me to the other part of the room.”

On wrestling Joe:

“We wrestle each other all through the off-season, so we know each other’s styles really well. It gets old because we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses completely.”

On wrestling all year long:

“I like it because you never get out of it and are always in a wrestling mode. You always have a practice to go to so you al-ways have something to do.”

words & layout Ryan Smaha

sports march 2011 the p.19b&w

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Full-court Press

By: Ryan SMAHA

ily pool, ESPN, etc, here are my picks for some potential bracket busters and busts.

Bracket BustersMichigan - Am I talking about the same

team that needed overtime to beat Iowa in only two weeks ago? Absolutely. The Wol-verines are 8-4 in their last 12 games after starting 1-5 in Big Ten play. Get used to this team challenging for Big Ten titles for the next two or three years as well. There is not a single senior on the squad. Led by their sophomore guard Darius Morris, the youth of this team can lead them deep into March, possibly as far as the Sweet Sixteen.

Belmont - Who has ever heard of Bel-mont? Well you will come tourney-time.

As we approach spring break, the sports world anxiously awaits the culmination of college basketball, March Madness. As you are filling out your brackets for your fam-

The Bears have a record of 30-4, and put up a 41-point victory in the conference championship game last Sunday. This is a team that drove Tennessee to the brink be-fore losing in Knoxville by one. A team that can not only shoot outside, but also inside. The Bears are 12th in the country in scoring at 80.4 ppg, and will be a tough first round matchup for anyone.

Bracket BustsIllinois - The Fighting Illini came into the

season with high expectations, returning all five starters and a highly regarded recruit-ing class coming into Champaign. Unfortu-nately, for the Illini, the seniors have made freshman mistakes, and have fallen into the

Top sleepers and potential busts for March Madness

classic trap of becoming a jump-shooting team in the Big Ten. With bad losses against Illinois-Chicago at the United Center (where the Illini usually dominate) and Indiana, the Illini have a good enough resume to make the dance, but won’t make it out of the sec-ond round unless a big change occurs.

Kentucky - The Wildcats, a year removed from an elite eight birth at the hands of su-per-freshman John Wall, have struggled away from Rupp Arena this season. This could translate badly for the team, since they will not be able to ride the wave of the crowd. A very formidable 12 or 13 seed op-ponent first round could be the team to take down the Wildcats.

The buzzer rings. It’s half-time and the student section looks to senior Matt De-Francisco as the music starts. Everyone has been anxiously waiting for the last two quarters; the crowd goes crazy as DeFran-cisco jumps onto the court to lead the stu-dent section in the ‘Interlude Dance.’

The Interlude Dance was origionally cre-ated last summer by three students from the University of Northern Iowa: junior Ian Goldsmith, junior Tyler Wright and senior Scott Connerley.

Originally called the ‘Gruff Dance,’ the Interlude made its first appearance at a women’s basketball game at UNI. The three boys were challenged by UNI’s Ath-letic Marketing Department to bring as many students to the women’s game as possible. If they got enough students to come, they would be allowed to perform the ‘Interlude.’

It wasn’t long before the dance made its way to Johnston’s own “Superfan” sec-tion. “A friend who graduated last year sent me a link on Youtube and I thought that it wasn’t something that we could do,” De-Francisco said. “[But then] I showed it to a couple of friends and they thought we could

so I made a Facebook page and posted the video telling people to watch it.”

The group grew on Facebook until more than 200 students were signed up to partic-ipate in the dance for the boys’ basketball team’s Senior Night.

Before being able to dance at the game however, DeFrancisco needed to go to Ac-tivities Director Gary Ross for permission. “It was really a positive thing,” Ross said. “It really showed a great deal of school spirit, which excites me and I think it excites the community to see students having a fun time and being very school-minded.”

Because of the large interest in the In-terlude, many students have attempted to bring the dance to other events, such as the show choir competition at S.E. Polk High School on Feb. 26.

Students played the song through S.E. Polk’s intercom system. Those from John-ston who knew how began to dance as ev-eryone else watched in amazement. “It was really funny because all of the old people looked at us like we were crazy and it was fun because a lot of people came up to us and said that they wish they did stuff like that,” junior Morgan Riessen said.

Inside the Interludewords & layout Ethan Meng

Kara Ganzer/The Dragon

This photo was created for a surrealism project. Hid inspira-tion was when he caught himself wondering what it would be like if people could talk out of two mouths at the same time. He completed this project by switching the mouth and the eyes. “I like it because it looks freaky,” Johnson said.

Photo Art llbackpagethe b&w p.20 march 2011

A fork and a toothbrush: two things that enter your mouth on a regular ba-sis. As for what they are sticking out of, Giudicessi said, “It’s of water droplets flipped upside down on cellophane.”

A unique angle and contrasting col-ors are what make this photo of splat-tered paint so cap-tivating. “The thing I like most about photo art is that it is one of the few classes I ac-tually enjoy,” DeBolt said.

This photo is of logs used as steps in Jester Park. “I took this photo to capture something unusual that you might not recognize out of context. It reminded me of a sort of balance between the natural and the man-made,” Grapp said.

While at first glance this may seem like an image from a twisted version of Nightmare on Elm Street, at a closer look you can see that this is merely a com-bination of the photographer and something he loves: woodworking. This photo was taken and developed for a surrealist project.

Bryan Johnson ‘12

Most people, when seeing an egg outside, would pass it by without a second thought. But for photographer Haley Thiel, this was just another op-portunity to express her creativity.

Haley Thiel ‘12

Cole Giudicessi ‘12

Elli Grapp ‘12

Kenzie DeBolt ‘13

Jacob Henderson ‘12

words Mallorie Goodale & Hannah Soyer

layout Ethan Meng

There are six students who are currently in Photo Art ll. The class is instructed by teacher Daniel Weiss. Students work towards creat-ing unique and insightful photos that are seen on this page.