2 THE MOUNTNEWS

Changes In Class Offerings

Olympic Sized Corruption in Sochi

Russia has long been known for its high levels of corruption and shady business, but this year’s Winter Olympics are ridiculous even by its standards. Bloated with corruption and ineffi ciency, the 2014 games will certainly be record breaking, but for all the wrong reasons. Following a massive economic and social push led by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the International Olympic Committee awarded the games to Russia in 2004. Ever since then, the country has gone in to a frenzy of building to prepare the country for the infl ux of visitors and worldwide attention. Initially, a budget of $12 billion dollars was set aside to pay for the games. Since then however, the budget has ballooned to over four times its original amount, peaking at around $51 billion dollars, an all time Olympic high. One estimate from Businessweek stated that over $30 billion of the $51 billion spent has been embezzled, going straight into contractors’

and bureaucrats’ pockets. In Russia, where regulations are few and far between, scandals like this are not only widespread, but shockingly easy to pull off. One of the most cited examples of corruption is a railroad that was built to transport visitors around Sochi and the surrounding mountains. Corruption on the project started at the top, when Putin gave money to his longtime friend and head of the Russian Rail Commission, Vladimir Yakunin, to pay for the project. Yakunin then presumably pocketed a percentage of the money and handed it further on down to building contractors, who in turn took a percentage of the funds they were given. As the project went on, more and more money was put into it (and taken out), until the fi nal cost of the 30 mile long railroad reached $8.7 billion dollars, a sum higher than the entire cost of the last Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Nearly every project that has been developed for these games has been plagued by similar levels of corruption. Russian offi cials have long hoped that these games will bring newfound levels of prestige to their country so they don’t acknowledge and don’t care that the game’s massive budget is being put to waste. In these times of global austerity, Russia has spent silly amounts of money in an attempt to make these games one of the best ever. Unfortunately for Russia, however, the costs may be too great.

THE MOUNT Staff

Jacob Eyth & Jackson Taylor I Co-Editors-in-Chief

Kevin Jewell I Head Staff Writer

Young Joon-Park & Harrison Hohman I News Editors

Cooper Wilson I Sports Editor

Matt Okalebo I Entertainment Editor

Colin Svoboda I In-Depth Editor

Brian Kim I Head Photographer

Oliver Jarosik, Colin Svoboda, Will SLeddens, Brian Kim I Graphic Designers

Evan Pink, Sung Han Yoon, Robin Britt, Will Sledens, Peter Xu, Mickey Coughlin, Mick Steier, Oliver Jarosik I Staff Writers

Gina Fosco I Adviser

The Mount is a monthly publication of the students at Mount Michael Benedictine. Our goal is to provide an accurate and informative news source for the student body. Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the entire school.Letters to the editor: jeyth@mountmichael.com or jtaylor@mountmichael.com

Honors Organic Chem (Open to juniors and seniors; alternates every year with A.P. Chemistry)

Personal Finance (Open to seniors)

Non A.P. Calculus

A.P. Calculus II

Intro to Theatre (Pending)

Changes in Junior Theology

A.P. Biology (Now available to juniors and seniors)

Forensic Science is the study of evidence from crimes using various aspects of the scene. This ‘familiar’ subject has been made famous through television shows such as CSI, Law & Order, and Bones. Thanks to chemistry teacher Leah Zohner, forensic science has become a subject that Mount Michael’s students can learn. It has been well received. “It really helps a lot because it covers all three science subjects: physics, chemistry, and biology,” senior Blake Batten said. In the spring of 2012, Zohner planned to develop the class after she met Greg Cooper who is currently teaching at Lincoln South West high school. Through her experiences helping Cooper, Zohner knew she wanted to teach this course someday. According to senior Chanyong Jeong, analyzing hypothetical crime scenes and acting out the scenes are the fun parts of the class. The blood splatter experiment, which is a simulation of a murder scene, is a typical example of some unusual class experiences. Along with forensic science, Zohner has also wanted to teach organic chemistry which she has a Masters Degree in. “When I interviewed for Mount Michael I brought this idea to Dr. Peters, and he was very supportive in implementing this as an elective,” Zohner said. She is now developing an Organic Chemistry class for next year. The class will be an honors class and will replace

A.P. Chemistry for the year due to limits in Zohner’s schedule. This elective will

be offered to juniors and seniors. Organic Chemistry and A.P. Chemistry will then be offered on alternate years so that juniors and seniors have the opportunity to take both. Zohner is excited to bring this opportunity to Mount Michael. She previously taught the course at the University of Nebraska Lincoln as a graduate assistant and as a temporary lecturer. “The class will be taught for students who are interested in pursuing pre-med,” Zohner said.

Zohner In Her Element

photo courtesy of Wikicommons

January 29, Athletic Director, Jon Borer held a meeting which made the department’s long term plans public and enlightened the attendees regarding the future of Mount Michael football, soccer and athletics as a whole. Several members of the Project Home Field Advantage commitee were in attendance including facilities director Jim Lewis, head soccer coach Kevin Grey and head of school Dr. David Peters. Borer described the plans for advancing the school’s athletic facilities to roughly 25 interested parents, coaches and benefactors. After welcoming the attendees, Borer began the presentation with a video he made of students and administration giving their reasons for why they wanted a new sports fi eld. Many of the students’ responses echoed one another, each claiming that the new fi eld would be a massive boost to the players morale, all of whom have never played a game at “home,” or “under the lights.” Administrators, meanwhile, spoke about the recruiting advantage a new stadium would bring: nicer facilities, more people visiting the campus, and a sense of growth, potentially bringing more students to Mount Michael. Following the movie, Borer then went through each of the four planned phases, giving a price, timeline, and explanation for each. Phase 1, Borer explained, has already been completed, at a cost of $61,900. This step involved widening the soccer fi eld, which had previously used illegal dimensions, moving the jumping pits for track, and

building the new storage press box. Phase II, which has yet to be completed, will allow Mount Michael to play host to varsity football games by adding sidewalks, bleachers, fencing, a scoreboard and a new sound system. This phase will cost roughly $136,000, although over $31,000 of this has already been raised. Phase III will allow Mount Michael’s teams to play home games at night by adding a new lighting system, estimates for which have been around $74,500. The fi rst three of the four total phases could be completed in the next few years. However, the fourth and fi nal phase may take decades to be realized. This fi nal step, also the fi nal part of the capital campaign, involves building an entirely new football stadium east of the current school, returning the soccer fi eld to its orginal purpose. One audience member was curious why the plan didn’t include artifi cial turf, and why money was being spent on two fi elds. Borer explained that the costs of turf ruled out an artifi cial fi eld, and due to wear and tear, it would be impossible to permanently host both football and soccer on the same grass fi eld. To conclude the meeting, Borer issued an ultimatum: if enough money can be raised for phase II by March 1, Mount Michael will host its fi rst ever home football games next fall, While night games ‘under the lights’ won’t be a reality next fall, making Phase II happen would be a step forward for a school that has never played a varsity football game at its true “home.”

Meeting Outlines Athletics’ Future

Sung Han Yoon | Staff Writer

graphic by Brian Kim

Harrison Hohman | News Editor

photo by Sung Han Yoon

Senior Elijah Buckhold enjoys a blood spatter lab in forensics.

Harrison Hohman | News Editor | Opinion