The Bison Stampede – November 2001

The Game Ball Arrives in Style by Dan Wagner
A Homecoming Tradition

At Home in American by Brittney Christy
Exchange Students React to September 11th

Trying to Find Some Control by Ashley Menzel
One Woman's Struggle With an Eating Disorder

Every school day, at 2pm, a ridiculous ritual plays itself out in the hallways of BMS—teachers stand at the doors of their classrooms checking to see if students entering for AAA actually have work to do.

Recently, there has been a scare regarding whether AAA will continue at our school. Students have come up to teachers and administrators to voice their concern.

But here lies the rub—this issue has been talked to death.

Best estimates put the price tag of AAA at two thousand dollars a day—that's ten thousand dollars a week, forty thousand a month, you can do the math.

AAA is a fantastic time for students to get extra help, one-on-one time with teachers, or to take part in clubs and activities. And it is all being jeopardized by you.

What can you do? Take responsibility for this unique opportunity you have. Don't go crying to teachers and administrators—do something. Don't allow the fools to ruin it for the rest of us. Use this gift of time well.

Referendum 2001 5
Football Relay 10
The Link Program 12
School Crowding 6
Gossip 14
Exchange Student 16
Eating Disorders 8
Seatbelts 16

Fall is upon us again. The leaves are changing, professional football has begun again, and as a new type of ritual: Buffalo voters will again decide on a school tax referendum.

This year's particular referendum, which will be voted upon November 3rd, will ask voters three different questions.

The 1st will ask for voters to decide on a bond in excess of $21 million. That money will be used to build a new elementary school, renovations of the current facilities, additions to buildings and "improved technology."

The 2nd question, if accepted, will provide a ten-year tax levy, beginning in 2002. Should it be accepted the levy will come to an estimated $1.1 million. That money would be used for maintaining small class sizes, and maintaining current district programming.

The final question will concern a new health and physical education facility. The bond, which would cost $18 million, would fund a physical education space/community center to be built in partnership with BHS, the city of Buffalo, the Buffalo Hospital, and the YMCA.

How is this referendum going to effect our lives? The fact of the matter is that whether or not you are a freshman or a senior, this referendum will have some effect on your life here at school. There are several programs the school will have to cut if the referendum is not passed this year.

One of the options will be to start charging students to park at school, "we are one of the few schools in the state that still does not charge for the use of our parking lot," said Superintendent Tom Nelson.

Another option is to start charging students more to be in activities and athletics; "some other schools are charging as much as 3 times the amount that our school charges. And without the referendum the school may have to cut programs," continues Superintendent Nelson.

Possibly the biggest change that students would see is a difference in the typical day here at BHS. Because of the increasing class sizes, should the referendum not pass block scheduling would be in jeopardy. "Block scheduling is the best! I hated having eight different classes. Too much homework, and too much stuff to do at one time; plus, we didn't have time in class to do any cool projects," says sophomore Josh Doyle.

Amongst the changes and additions that BHS would see would be additions to the

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"Whether or not you are a freshman or a senior, this referendum will have some effect on your life here at school"

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Proposed Site of Construction

"Without new facilities I don't see us making significant progress"

now relatively small cafeteria area, adding another music room, and several more classrooms. One of the bigger additions will be the new orchestra room, "The orchestra has to practice behind the PAC right now," says music teacher Michael Walsh.

Possibly the greatest change, will occur in the Tech Ed area. "We will be able to add much needed classroom/lab space, additional storage and an office area. This will help us to expand our curriculum and keep pace with the ever-changing technology in the world. Without new facilities I don't see us making significant progress," says technology education teacher Troy Hanson.

The 2nd question will be used to create a tax levy that ultimately will be used to bridge the gap between state funding and the cost of operating a school district. According to Superintendent Nelson, "They [the state] haven't provided enough over the decade".

When asked whether or not he saw a change in the current pattern in lack of funds, he said, "No, we got some money from Ventura last year. Since then he has been a cheapskate. There are 200 schools asking for a referendum this year. That number shows the lack of funds the state has provided."

The final question will ask voters to decide on a new large, field house facility on the Buffalo High School grounds. It would be used in cooperation with the YMCA, the high school, and the Buffalo Hospital. It will provide the students a place to go after school, but also increased gym size, which is becoming more and more needed as the new classes of freshmen start to come to the high school.

"Right now there is not enough gym space to fit the students. Sometimes we will have 3 or 4 classes in there at a time, and that number of students cannot fit into that small of a space," said Superintendent Nelson.

Passage is anything but guaranteed. "I think giving the current events and the state that the economy is in, it is going to be extremely difficult to pass any type of bond this year," says Kristi Fadden, taxpayer who lives in Buffalo. Yet again, the mothers, fathers and guardians of this district will go to the booth on November 6th. The district's hope is that for the second year in a row, they will make the right decision for their children and their future.

Entering the stadium in triumph, they held the ball high. The band parted, and the crowd got to its feet in applause.

But it wasn't the football team the crowd was cheering. It was the cross-country team, of all things.

Streaked with sweat, with the toil of the road visible on their faces, the team handed the game ball to football team. What the crowd was witnessing was a true homecoming tradition—the football relay.

Have you heard anyone talking about the football relay for homecoming? Well, don't feel left out. Why? Because there are few people, other than the cross-country team that knows about this.

The football relay takes place on the day of our Homecoming game. The cross-country team takes a van out to our opponent's field and runs the ball back to Buffalo in time for the game. They run in quarter mile shifts—one person runs the ball a quarter mile then hands it off to the next person while the others are riding in the van. To get the ball to the stadium takes a real team effort.

This year, the relay began in Cambridge, and snaked many grueling miles. The sky was cloudless and the wind was still as the team shot by the middle school as a triumphant mass. Entering the stadium from the west end, the team piled up to the goal post and the crowd erupted. Captains from the football team approached, and the ball was handed to them. Finally, officially, the game could begin.

Cross country coach Jill Hanson started this eight years ago after a coach's clinic—where she heard some coaches from another school saying that they did this. "I found it to be a very good idea." She also said that it would be a way for the cross-country runners to get involved. And the idea has just kind of caught on and has become a solid homecoming tradition.

Coach Jason Karn, who has participated in this event for the third time, said, "I don't know, it's basically for cross country runners, and it is up to them to decide on how much publicity they want for this. The team really cares about it, and enjoys it, so I don't think they care how many and how much people know about what they do for the relay."

The sad thing is that relatively few people know about the relay. All most people see is the ball entering the stadium by a pack of wildly dressed teenagers. Little do they know of the journey that the ball has taken.

Cross-country team member, Eric Smolenski, says when asked if he enjoyed it the past three years, "Yeah, it's very fun, I enjoy it a lot."

Once the ball was handed off to the football team, the cross-country team meandered around the west side of the field—blending with members of the band—content in a task completed. Slowly, the sun settled on the horizon, dusk flooded the stadium, and the sounds of football filled the stadium.

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The Game Ball is Handed Off

Remember back to ninth grade? You walked into the building on the first day of school and smelled the fresh new scent. Loud chatter ricocheted around the locker bay. Inevitably, you got lost and couldn't find your classes for the life of you. To make matters worse, you had to navigate these foreign halls while being shorter than everyone else.

These are some of the things all freshmen go through their first year of high school. Most of the time they have to do it by themselves, with no help from any of the older kids, unless they are lucky enough to have an older sibling at the high school. But this year at BHS the awkward tradition has changed.

The Link Program was started 10 years ago when freshmen were being treated poorly at Meadow Vista High School in California. Phil Boyte saw the need to help freshmen transition to high school and created Link. It didn't take long after that for other schools to find out about the program and use it in their schools. Now the program is growing nation-wide—notably at Columbine High School. The Link Crew is a program that welcomes freshmen and makes them feel comfortable throughout their first year of high school. The Link Leaders are juniors and seniors that try to be positive role models, leaders, and teachers. They help guide the freshmen to be successful in high school.

This year at BHS, it was decided to use the Link model. "We wanted to make BHS a more welcoming and friendlier place to our new ninth graders," comments Superintendent Tom Nelson. Not only that, but if a freshman is having a hard time their first year, they can look to their Link Leaders and see that it will be all right.

In its ongoing commitment to providing an easy transition to incoming freshmen classes, BHS decided to try something new. In the past, students that have had a difficult time have been assigned faculty mentors or else have used the services of the th and 10th grade advocates. This worked well with a limited number of incoming freshmen, but many students simply "slipped through the cracks."

The Link program targets all freshmen. The Link Leaders were recommended by teachers, and were asked to be a leader. One of the Link Leaders, junior Jessica Pecarina, when asked why she decided to be a part of the program replied, "I just remember being a freshmen and I wished that I had

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"We wanted to make BHS a more welcoming and friendlier place to our new ninth graders." — Superintendent Tom Nelson

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Link Director Rene Parcheta

help."
Each leader gets together with their group of about 7 ninth graders every other week during AAA; where they do different hands-on activities together and learn about each other. The leaders also answer any questions that the ninth graders may have. Sometimes these questions can be the little things; like which water fountains are the coldest, which teachers are the nicest, and how to do well in their classes. Ninth grade Advocate, Renee Parcheta, insists that the link program helps her out because it puts freshmen into groups where they can get help and immediately find a peer group.
According to Jessica Pecarina, for each of the incoming freshmen the reaction to the program differs, "Some don't really care, but others are trying to benefit from it because they don't have anyone to connect with."
It is hoped that the program will provide incoming freshmen with an instant peer group—a peer group that already knows the ropes.
What is most difficult for incoming freshmen is that all of a sudden they are "playing for keeps—" academically. It is hoped that the Link program will find ways to keep students from falling into an early hole with their academics.
It is believed that by providing students with a positive older role model, the freshmen will discover ways to avoid the pitfalls of high school.
The ninth graders seem to like the program because they can talk to older kids, and not just adults.

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"The Link Program is helpful and good to have if we need it. It would be nice to be able to decide for ourselves if we want to be in the program so it's not something we HAVE to do, but if we need something we know that the leaders are always there and we can ask them anything at anytime instead of getting together during our AAA time," says freshmen Hannah Berndt.

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It is hoped that the program will provide incoming freshmen with an instant peer group

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Another freshmen, Jamie West, believes that Link would be better if the groups were put together by gender. She believes it would be easier to connect with others the same gender as you. You could even get advice on the opposite sex if you wanted too.
The Link program kicked off in the PAC with an all-freshmen gathering. The energy was intense and excitable.
The ninth graders like the fact that they can get to know the older kids and they can say "hi" to them. In that way, Link is already a success.

"It sucks how crowded our locker area is," says Freshman Rachel Rueter, "It's hard to move around, and to get to your locker with so many people around you."

Many people, especially the freshmen, have the same gripe. Because the freshmen have thirty more students than lockers, there is some truth to their complaints.

BHS was built only 5 short years ago, and already, the building is at capacity, and needs to be added on to. Why was our school built so small to begin with, and what will be done about it?

Marcia Paulsen, a librarian at BHS and member of the city council, says, "The school did not expect our community to grow and expand so much in the past couple of years." More people are gradually moving from the cities, and that is why our district is growing so rapidly.

The other reason why the school was built the way it is, is because, "The school went through a referendum a few years back to begin building a new high school, but the referendum did not pass. The next year we tried it again, but had to cut $4 million dollars out of the $34 million dollar planned school, and that time the referendum did pass," says Superintendent Tom Nelson.

Another point that Ms. Paulsen made was that, "The school was made so that the school could be extended if needed." That is why the building juts out in certain parts of the structure, and that is why we have so much land around our school.

If this fall's referendum passes, then our school will be added on to. Our school is planning to build more agricultural classes, more technical education classrooms, an orchestra classroom, more art classrooms, a bigger gym, and more space in the cafeteria.

But one thing that will not be added on to are the locker areas. Many freshmen tend to wonder about that decision since many freshmen have to share lockers.

Freshmen are not the only ones squeezed for space in our school. There are a few teachers who are without rooms. They go around to different classrooms with a cart, and never actually have their own room. A nickname used by many staff for the teachers who do not have rooms is "Shopping cart teachers."

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"But one thing that will not be added on to are the locker areas."

said, "This school was built with the idea that each teacher would use their rooms 75% of the day, so the other 25% had to be filled up some how. If we did not fill-up those classrooms, we would be wasting our money heating and lighting those rooms not in use. So instead, we have teachers that fill up that area, so we don't waste electricity and heating."

Dr. Miller went on to say that some of the teachers without rooms understand, and don't mind it too much, but other teachers can get upset. It can be very inconvenient, and some teachers that have their own room would like to use it during prep hour.

Space is also sorely needed in the arts. Right now the orchestra is practicing in the PAC, since they do not have a room. This is a less-than-ideal solution to the need for space at BHS. "It is harder to perform as well as usual in the PAC since we get so many interruptions from people wanting to use the PAC during our class time. We get booted out all the time, and then we have no where to practice. It is very inconvenient, but at least they gave us a spot to play for now," said Mrs. Evenmo, the orchestra conductor at BHS and BCMS.

Will this referendum be the answer to our over populated school? It will help a lot if it does pass, but it probably won't be enough to last us throughout the years. Ms. Paulsen is pretty sure that in another five years, there will be another referendum to add on to our school. And probably five years after that, and so on. The new addition that is planned for our school is only to help the problems that are currently happening right now. But for now, we can only hope that the referendum does pass so that we can have a better learning environment.

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Space is also sorely needed in the arts.

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Original artwork by Amanda Huff

It's all around us. It spreads like cancer only considerably faster. It can make or break a reputation.
"It's a sinful habit the devil makes us do," says sophomore Becky Heagle.

Gossip. It's everywhere. Everyone talks about it. Most everyone has played a part in the gossip game. Whether you start the rumor, feed the fire by spreading it, or are the victim of another's slanderous remarks, gossip has its effect

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When it comes to gossip, people will talk. They love to hear all about it.

The sad thing is that gossip is something that we all do. It is as if we cannot help but talk about others. The roots of this natural human obsession are obscure—but very real.

After several interviews it seems this school is a hotbed for gossip—thus an experiment was tried. A rumor was spread about Senior Tedd Hathaway. The rumor stated Hathaway was a Satanist who held extreme satanic views. This rumor didn't even flounder; it just sunk beneath all the murkiness floating around out there. Maybe this school doesn't feed off other people's business or maybe this piece of information just wasn't intriguing enough.

Or maybe, the experiment was not given enough time to simply ripen.

It seems the most grasping rumors deal with sexual references. When questioned on gossip most students' responses are the same. How far he got, who did what with who or their reputation for doing that thing. Junior Chelsie Underberg believes, "Guys brag (gossip) to make themselves look better and girls gossip to make themselves feel better."

Rumors of the sexual nature tend to do the most damage. Senior Tedd Hathaway was badly burned by gossip in his junior year. A rumor ran through the halls saying Hathaway was gay. Unsure of how such a rumor got started, he assumes it was meant only as a joke. After awhile the joke wore off and then it exploded into full-grown rumor. Hathaway experienced strangers coming up to him in the hall, lunchroom, wherever and asking, "I heard you are gay, are you?" After Hathaway's refusal of the rumor, it eventually died down.

There are many stories like that. When it comes to gossip, people will talk. They love to hear all about it.

But what is most dangerous about gossip is that it reaches past simply the speaker and listener—it digs deep into the subject. Even faculty is willing to share their two cents. Academic Advisor Sally Geisler saw gossip at its worst. Geisler went to Duluth Central (a high school of about 1300 students) and saw how gossip tore one girl apart. Rumors were spread and were written about her in locker rooms and on bathroom stalls.

September 11th, 2001, at about 8 am, tragedy literally struck America. Most of us at the time were in our classrooms; few were aimlessly wandering the halls, avoiding teachers. And others were just settling into a new home for the year.

Regardless of our names, of our location or our dabings, all of our lives were effected at the same time. In one surreal moment, everything just changed.

By third hour, we had all heard about it, and those who were foggy on the details were being informed by the passing gossip. Many teachers chose to turn their monitors from the usual routine announcements, to the news channels trying to soak up every detail they could obtain. Curiosity, fear, and shock could almost be felt in the air.

At the end of the day, many were shaken by the recent events, but at least had the luxury of going home to their families to cry, or talk, or just say I love you. But imagine being thousands of miles away from home. The worries, the questions ...

Every year our school invites exchange students from all over the world to come to Buffalo for nine or ten months to continue their education in a different environment. It's always been a fairly regular occurrence, and it's usually a good experience for the students at BHS and for the exchange students. But this year, not long after their exhausted international flights, terrorists hijacked airplanes and turned them into lethal weapons using them to attack America. What a perfect start to a year overseas.

Thankfully, Buffalo isn't exactly the first place marked on terrorists' map for attack. But, exchange students are still far from home and family.

Sarah Basnov from Denmark keeps in touch with her family through e-mail. They found the situation "Very weird" and were shocked that a thing like this could happen. But, for her and her family there's that reassurance that New York is still very far away, and while her family worries, they all know she's safe.

Susanne Theil from Germany talks to her mother every weekend. The week of the bombing she at least had the chance to talk to her on the phone. She and her family are only

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The way things are now

[Editor's note: The subject of this article does not, and never has, attended BHS. She is identified only by her first name in order to protect her privacy]

How would you like to be 20 years old, 5'8" and weigh only 86 pounds? When Crissi was at her worst, people said she was too skinny; but yet she was under the delusion that she was fat.

In high school, Crissi was very athletic. She was in every sport and whatever sport she did she excelled. But every night Crissi's parents didn't believe that she has a problem because they didn't think she would practice until she could no longer stand up.

On the surface, Crissi's family was perfect; they seemed to be the ideal family. She thought her parents controlled her life. She got angry and thought that the only thing she had control over was her weight.

Crissi's coaches and teachers contacted her parents because after lunch she would come back to class 15 to 20 minutes late. If she happened to return on time, she would ask to go to the bathroom 15 minutes later.

Crissi's parents didn't believe that she has a problem because they didn't think something like this could happen to their family. The people in her life simply tried to deny what they saw happening to her.

When she got into college she joined a sorority. She desperately wanted to hide her eating disorder from her sorority sisters, so she wore baggie clothes. This was when the anorexia and bulimia really began to assert themselves. Quickly, Crissi began to spiral out of control. The one thing that she thought she could control was now controlling her.

Whenever Crissi went out to dinner with her family, she would estimate how long they would be there. Her intention was so that she could order something that wouldn't digest—giving herself time to go home to make herself vomit.

One of the "skills" of this disease was that she learned to go without eating for more than a week. The longest time she ever went without eating is 3 ½ weeks. Needless to say, this left her a shell of her former self. And, she began to become addicted to her disease.

For Crissi to have energy to live her life she would eat caffeine pills and she would drink a case of Mountain Dew a day. This regimen left her body ravaged and caused her to

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Temptation

feel even less in control of her life.

Then one day one of Crissi's sorority sisters found her lying on the ground. She told her sister that she could not feel her legs, and that she needed to go the hospital. In some ways, this was the beginning of her life. She was placed in a treatment center, and when she got there the doctors ran some test on her. They quickly realized that she had no food in her stomach and that her body was starting to eat away at her muscles and organs-her body was literally eating itself.

At first, Crissi was placed in lock down, where at all times she was watched and had cameras on her. She was not allowed to have anything sharp, blow dryers or anything that could harm her in anyway.

When Crissi went into treatment she weighed 94 pounds but within 2 weeks she was down to 86 pounds again. She was having a tough time in lock down. The doctors had to put feeding tubes up her nose and down her throat, because she was losing so much weight.

Since Crissi was losing so much weight, the doctors also had to put IVs in the top of her feet since the veins in her arms had collapsed due to her excessive weight loss.

Finally they put her on a type of medication that helped. She was put on Prozac. But still the lock down continued. She was not allowed to have matches or lighters because the doctors feared she would try to kill herself. Whenever she went to the bathroom someone was standing outside the door making sure she wouldn't make herself vomit. When Crissi would eat anything even just a bit of a piece of bread she was watched until the food she ate was digested.

At night there were cameras on her too. Crissi said, "It was one of the worst thing that ever happened to me." She was no longer in control of anything.

When Crissi got out of lock down, she was placed into another treatment center where people could come visit her and she could go outside. The strange thing was that she never once left the building for 15 weeks.

Crissi started to go to therapy three times a day for about 15 weeks. Crissi saw a dietitian that helped her eat right, gain weight, and look good again.

But she was not in the clear yet. The doctors ran a million tests on her to see if she was all right. They found out that she had many holes in her esophagus from throwing up the acid in her stomach. She also would not be able to have kids because when her body had no food it, it destroyed her reproductive organs.

Then, miraculously, she found out that she was pregnant. The best thing that has ever happened to Crissi is that baby. It has helped her through her eating disorder. She realized that she has to keep her baby healthy, and most of all she has to keep herself healthy. Another life brought her a new life. Truly a miracle.

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♦ 1% of teens have eating disorders
♦ 1% of the 10% of them will die
♦ 5 million people in the United States has some form on an eating disorder

The bison stampede is a public forum published by Buffalo High School, and presented to the community of Buffalo, MN.

Its purpose is to investigate, evaluate, challenge, and inform students of issues which may be of concern to them. The stampede also provides an open forum for the diverse views of its readers—opening its pages to writers outside the staff.

Editorials represent the consensus of the editorial board, but not necessarily the views of the advisor, administrators, or the Buffalo School District.

The stampede staff encourages letters to the editorial board.

Education Beyond the Blackboard

Letters should be fewer than 250 words and must be signed. Letters are kept on file in the stampede archives and may be reviewed upon request. The editorial board reserves the right to edit letters due to space restrictions, and to avoid statements which may be construed as libelous, slanderous, or obscene

Students of BHS are in a competition. The schools of Monticello, St. Michael/Albertville, and Buffalo are competing in a safety belt challenge. On October 2nd, a survey of drivers and passengers was completed. The findings—79 percent of drivers and 72 percent of passengers were buckled up.

Historically, BHS students have done a great job of buckling up. In comparison, St. Michael/Albertville initial numbers are surprisingly low.

Over the last four weeks, the Bison Safety Team conducted a campaign to increase the awareness about the importance of wearing your seatbelt. In order to beat the other schools, there needs to be an increase in seatbelt use at BHS. The reward will be a celebration, planned and organized by students.

The Bison Safety Team will be on the watch for students who are practicing good seatbelt safety. They want to make sure drivers and passengers are buckled up. Not only is this a safety issue, but it is the law: Drivers with a provisional license are required to make sure all passengers under 18 years of age are wearing safety belts.

BHS is chock full of leaders and role models. Seat belt safety is one place where everyone can be a leader. Be responsible, buckle up, and encourage others to join you.

Help from the student body is needed. If you want to be a part of the Bison Safety Team, see Officer Glenda Ridley, School Resource Officer, in the main office.