The Hoofprint – December 23, 2004

As winter comes and the temperature drops, the janitors are try to keep the building comfortable.
"We try to control the temperature so it's not too hot not too cold," said Head Janitor Coco Henry. "But it's hard with this large of a building"
The majority of students said that the lunchroom was the coldest area in the school. The average temperature was 19° Celsius (66° Fahrenheit).
"It's so cold in the lunchroom," said Junior Jenna Nordschow. "I'm surprised it's not snowing in there."
Some of the coldness in the lunchroom can be blamed on the building design.
"The lunchroom is pretty tricky," said Henry. "The doors are being opened and closed; it also has big windows, and the heat comes from the ceiling so it has to heat up the whole room before it comes down to where the students can feel it."
The computer lab, at 23°C (74°F), was on the other side of the thermometer. Students were right when they said it was the warmest.
"The computers in the lab help heat it," said Henry.
Not every student thinks that the school is too cold.
"I just moved here from Annandale," said Freshman Travis Zander. "This school is hotter then my old school."
For now students are taking some measures to keep warm in class.
"I always make sure to have a jacket or a sweatshirt," said junior Sarah Schwietering. "If I don't have one I freeze."
"It's so cold in the lunch- the thermometer read."

Many people in the United Sates would most likely consider themselves sleep deprived. Sleep deprivation is when a person does not get the amount of sleep that is needed to stay healthy. Sleep deprivation is not an uncommon thing in the community these days.
Some of the symptoms of sleep deprivation and other sleeping disorders are snoring, holding your breath while sleeping, high blood pressure, grumpiness and irritability, and sweating during the night. With jobs, work and after-school activities, the students at BHS seem to be running themselves down.
For some students getting sleep is not a problem.
The students that tend to get the most sleep are those who are not involved in any sports or extra curricular activities. For those people it is all about school work and jobs, if they have jobs. When it comes to school work, out of 131 people surveyed 4% have a D or lower, 21% have a C average, 39% have a B average, and 36% have an A average. So, is it necessarily true that you can't get good grades when you are sleep deprived? No, but it is true that when people are fully rested they are able to concentrate more.
"Yes, last year I got like five hours of sleep and this year I am doing better," said Senior Marcelle Kaspar.
Twenty-seven percent of students said that they attribute their lack of sleep to school and homework, 12% said that they attribute their lack of sleep to sports, 12% said they spend too much time at their job, 6% spend time on the internet or playing games on the computer, 11% play video games or watch television, 12% spend time with friends or boyfriends/girlfriends, 10% say they have insomnia or a hard time getting to sleep, and the other 10% say it is due to after school activities. There is quite a large range of things that people are doing.
"Nothing really keeps me up," said Senior Matthew Carrell. "I watch T.V. because I have really bad insomnia."
Forty-one percent of students said that they would approve of classes starting later in the day, and 59% said they would not approve. The most common reason for people not wanting to make the classes start later and end later is because they are in sports and they would probably be getting less sleep then they would if the condition stayed the same.
"It is a waste of a day because I would sleep anyway," said Sophomore Ryan Pikkarainen.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, in order to be completely healthy you need up to nine hours of sleep a night. The majority of students consider themselves sleep deprived and the others say that they don't have a life.
Either way, it is up to the individual to choose what it right for themselves and do what they need to do to stay healthy.

All they can hear is the sound of a horn in the distance and the sound of tires squealing over their loud music. Not more than a moment after they look up to see the road they see bright lights shining right in front of them. They crash into a truck, never knowing what hit them. Knocked unconscious by the impact, the driver slowly wakes up, hearing sirens raging into the night and her parent's voices repeating the words, "Please help her." Slowly she realizes what happened and looks around her to see blood and her on a stretcher, and her friend covered by a sheet. It only takes a moment to get into a car crash, but could take a lifetime to forget it.

There's around 5,040,000 car accidents reported every year. Break that down and that's about three million people injured in car accidents, nearly two million disabilities caused by accidents, and about 40,000 deaths involving car accident in the U.S. every year. Nearly 43,000 people died in the U.S. because of car accidents in 2002. Car accidents are the number one killer of people ages from one to thirty seven. But are they really accidents?

"It's not an accident," said Sophomore LeaAnn Rein. "It's a mistake. It happens for a reason; lack of attention, messing around, tired, drunk whatever. There's a reason."

Car accidents are the leading cause of death among teenagers. In the U.S. 36% of all deaths are aged 15-19. That's about 106,192,626 teens dying a year by car accidents. Teenagers are seven times more likely to be in a car crash than adults. It's not just the drivers that are killed. Teenage passengers are at the same rate of being killed in car crashes as drivers. Two thirds of the deaths in passengers aged 13 to 19 years old occurred when teens where driving.

"For the most I think that 16 is a maturity level," said Junior Jackie Carlson. "When your 18 and turn into an adult you're too old and anything younger than that is too young. When you turn an adult, you need experience."

Over 20% of all traffic deaths in the United States each year are caused by drinking. There were 16,653 people killed 2002 where alcohol was related. In 1999, about 15,794 deaths involved alcohol. 38% of all of deaths have drinking involved, which is the lowest rate since 1975.

"It scares me to think about," said Freshman Kevin Moran. "Because when I'm out at night at a busy intersection or something. I don't want to get into a crash."

In Buffalo High School, a poll given showed that out of 100 students from all grades, 61 of them where involved in car accidents. Yet, everyday when school gets out there's a rush to get out of the parking lot, horns going and kids getting mad because they want to go home.

"Every time you get into a car, you're risking your life," said Junior Eva Walsh. "You're trusting strangers with your life. That's something that not many people truly understand."

The cars get towed to an impound lot and the girl is rushed to the hospital. She's thankful to be alive, yet at the same time the fact that her friend and the driver of the truck died is killing her inside. So the next time she gets into a car to drive she'll remember that every 13 minutes someone dies because of car crashes and it doesn't always happen to the "other guy."

This is a look at Senior Kaisha Tracy's car after she got into an accident a couple of weeks ago. She is one of the many Buffalo students that has been involved in an accident. Photo by Kaisha Tracy

The Christmas lights shine, the audience sits quietly, patiently waiting for the concert to begin. It's pitch black in the PAC except for the faint soft glow of the Christmas lights hung up along the wall and on the stage. Then suddenly, they hear the singing. All around them, they see faint glows of the candle lights moving all around them held by the choir students coming in from all different directions singing "O Come All Ye Faithful."

The audience remains quiet, lost in the beauty of the singing and the movement of the candle light. They're only about two minutes into the concert, and they already know this is going to be a great performance tonight.

This was the scene at the annual Buffalo High School choir Christmas concert on December 19.

The choir performed classic and unique holiday music and performed pieces from the whole Christmas movie. This was, according to students interviewed, the Sounds of the Season Christmas Concert was the most fun of the year.

"It's the best part of the year for all of us. The music is pretty," says Becca Menough. "The bad part is... it's freakishly long. You have to stand up there and your feet hurt."

This event gives all choir members a chance to make a huge impression and show all their hard work and effort.

"The candles are my favorite part," said senior Meghan Ruter. "It was very pretty. The dynamics were very dramatic."

"Singing in another language was awesome," said freshman Jackie Laughery. "It was really cool because you got to learn another language, and that's a life-time experience."

"'O Come All Ye Faithful' and 'Magnum Mysterium' were the best part of the concert," said one student.

The choirs entered carrying battery operated candles. Eighty-three percent of students think this tradition is a great way of introducing the concert to the audience.

"It has an effect on people," says Concert choir student junior Justin Franke. On the other hand, a small portion of students disagree about the introduction of the candles. "But I will always love the kazoo number because it was funny and everybody laughed at it," said student Barbknecht. "Everybody liked that song. I think it was well-prepared and everybody enjoyed it. Nobody screwed up."

"The concert went a lot better than we thought it would," said senior Pat Rich.

Dance clubs have always been known for their flashy lights, good music, and tons of people. However, they have been deprived of a few better qualities lately.
Obviously it's a place to have fun, dance, and meet new friends. Even knowing this most people have forgotten or abused what they are really for.
Most dance clubs are filled with barely dressed girls flaunting their bodies and drinking way too much alcohol. Guys on the other hand are just abusing alcohol the entire time and are too touchy to the girls.
It is almost like everyone has forgotten what dance clubs are for and what they used to be. They are meant to entertain people with music and dancing.
The environment has changed from just a bunch of friends and couples hanging out to everyone rubbing up against one another and breaking things, ruining things, and knocking things over from being too rowdy. It has actually gotten to the point where people are getting hurt, such as fights, raping, cheating, tickets for driving drunk, and much more.
People should realize the fun they have lost and restore it. Come on, getting a ticket or getting in a fight can't really be that much fun now can it? Someone should stand up and get a group of friends together just to go dancing and just to hang out. Skip all of the drugs, sexual situations, and drunkenness. People could also make a point to stay calm enough and be rational enough to realize the fine line between having fun and being too rowdy.
Although it's obvious this will not happen overnight, people will probably begin to come around and eventually figure out what they have been missing.

With Christmas just around the corner, schools all over Minnesota are preparing for break. Students are excited to be wrapping up projects, finishing tests, and heading home for Winter Break. Soon Christmas will come. Families will tear open presents, sing the occasional Christmas carol, and eat... a lot.
But very shortly after Christmas comes New Year's. Students will make their resolutions and party all night. Eventually that fun will be over with for a whole year.
In between working and being with friends, the break flies by, and before they can blink their break is over and it's back to the daily grind. That's why it would be very nice if Winter Break could be longer. Everyone has a million things to do, from school to work, to shopping for gifts; it gets to be too much stress sometimes. An extra week would be ideal.
Then kids could take their time shopping. Families could enjoy a little rest and relaxation together before the chaos of the holidays.
But instead, students must juggle everything in between attending school the week before Christmas. Instead of joyfully decking the halls, students are stuck in the classroom taking a test. Instead of getting the house ready for guests, students are giving a presentation in front of the whole class. Instead of preparing for Santa, students are preparing for the next big task.
These are the reasons school needs to release students for break on December 17th and not December 23rd, the day before Christmas Eve. Kids, as well as families, need more time than that. Students will not only enjoy an extra week of break, but will also be able to come back to school in 2005 feeling refreshed, well rested, and ready to hit the books.

She's walking through the halls of the school and she sees diversity everywhere. She can see different races at the school, but what she can't see is the different religions.
Religion in this world is as diverse as the races in this world.

Eighty-two percent of students surveyed are Christian. Seventeen percent of the students surveyed had no religion and three percent of the students were made up of Moslem, Hindu and Orthodox students. Of the Christians 18 percent were nondenominational, 28 percent were Catholic; 37 percent were Lutheran, six percent were Covenant, four percent were Evangelical Free, two percent were Missouri-Synod, another two percent were Methodist, and even another two percent were Presbyterian.
Along with diverse religions there are diverse beliefs.

"Everybody begins their religious practices at seven years old," said Senior Menna El-Decken, a Muslim from Egypt. "You don't know a lot before you're seven. You know basic verses, but you don't know how to participate."
El-Decken prays five times a day as part of her religion, but waits until she gets home to do it. She also participates in Ramadan, a holiday in which Moslems cannot eat, drink or have any sexual relations from sunrise to sunset.

"It was kind of hard because everybody was eating," El-Decken said. "Sunset and sunrise is similar [in Egypt]. Sometimes parents will make a schedule for kids to fast six hours instead of 12."

Just because someone is from another country doesn't mean they don't have a typical American religion. For example, Vanessa Filardo is from Venezuela and her religion is much like anybody else's.

"In Venezuela a lot of people are Catholic. The services are very similar," said Filardo.
Filardo is part of the 19 percent of 115 students surveyed who said they only occasionally go to church.

"I go, but not very often because I work on weekends. I go when I don't work Sundays."

Some people make room to go to church every week. Forty-five percent students surveyed say they go to church at least once a week.

"I go just because it's with my family. My family has always done it," said Corey Habiger.

Habiger, whose parent's didn't put him through Sunday school, often sat through services when he was young.

"I didn't want to sit through services, but I had to," Habiger said. "[Now] I like it a lot- it's a lot more fun. Just knowing and understanding everything better. When I

Responding to meet a widening and increasing demand for nurses, certified nursing assistants and other health care personnel has been a major national issue for the past several years, according to local health care professionals. The demand for qualified applicants is serious, and several programs in the area have been established to help fill staffing needs.

Many local institutions offer training programs that prepare students for careers in health care and provide continuing education for current staff. These programs range from short certificate courses to degree programs and apprenticeships with on-the-job training components. Professionals in the field say the personal rewards of caring for others often outweigh the physical and emotional challenges of the job.

(Article text continues on the original page.)

but then again, perhaps a whole lot more.
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We invite you to ask tough questions: about society and life, faith and values. Whether your plans are for medical school, graduate school, law school or a promising career, prepare to excel. Prepare to excel.

When you think of college, consider this. When you're done with college, what will you have? Perhaps a career 4
Expand what you know and who you are. Learn about independence and integrity. Challenge yourself.

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Page 5
Features
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Students notice more religious diversity at BHS
COEXISTENCE

Karen Baker
Journalism Staff

She's walking through the halls of the school and she sees diversity everywhere. She can see different races at the school, but what she can't see is the different religions.

Religion in this world is as diverse as the races in this world.

Eighty-two percent of students surveyed are Christian. Seventeen percent of the students surveyed had no religion and three percent of the students were made up of Moslem, Hindu and Orthodox students. Of the Christians 18 percent were non-denominational, 28 percent were Catholic; 37 percent were Lutheran, six percent were Covenant, four percent were Evangelical Free, two percent were Missouri-Synod, another two percent were Methodist, and even another two percent were Presbyterian.

Along with diverse religions there are diverse beliefs.

"Everybody begins their religious practices at seven years old," said Senior Menna El-Decken, a Muslim from Egypt. "You don't know a lot before you're seven. You know basic verses, but you don't know how to participate."

El-Decken prays five times a day as part of her religion, but waits until she gets home to do it. She also participates in Ramadan, a holiday in which Moslems cannot eat, drink or have any sexual relations from sunrise to sunset.

"It was kind of hard because everybody was eating," El-Decken said. "Sunset and sunrise is similar [in Egypt]. Sometimes parents will make a schedule for kids to fast six hours instead of 12."

Just because someone is from another country doesn't mean they don't have a typical American religion. For example, Vanessa Filardo is from Venezuela and her religion is much like anybody else's.

"In Venezuela a lot of people are Catholic. The services are very similar," said Filardo.

Filardo is part of the 19 percent of 115 students surveyed who said they only occasionally go to church.

"I go, but not very often because I work on weekends. I go when I don't work Sundays."

Some people make room to go to church every week. Forty-five percent students surveyed say they go to church at least once a week.

"I go just because it's with my family. My family has always done it," said Corey Habiger.

Habiger, whose parents didn't put him through Sunday school, often sat through services when he was young.

"I didn't want to sit through services, but I had to," Habiger said. "[Now] I like it a lot- it's a lot more fun. Just knowing and understanding everything better. When I

• RELIGION
Continued on page 8

As you wake up Christmas morning you go down stairs and you know that you will be getting into all those presents. You know that you will get some things you asked for and some things you didn't. But there will be that one present from Saint Nick. If you're not one to believe in Santa you're not alone there are tons of people who don't.

"Who puts the presents under the tree?" said Junior Conrad Kwatera. "Your parents?"

You know that there is a person that puts the presents under the tree. You might not have decided who does this job, but many people out there think it's Santa Claus.

"Yes I believe in Santa. He was at my house," said Senior Josh Johnson. "I think he's my dad."

You have probably gotten presents from Santa Claus and heard stories about him too. You might have heard people talking about him saying he's real or not real. You might have heard that he's one of your parents. It's your choice to decide that and only you.

"No he's not real," said Junior Ewan Leask. "It's just a dude that dresses up at the Mall."

So no matter what we say, whether you believe in Santa Claus or not depends on who you are. It depends on how old you are, and what you were told. Do the presents come from Santa or just your mom? "I like Christmas and kids," said Junior Robert Payne, "so I support the belief in Santa Claus."

So it depends on what you were told while you were growing up. If you were told that Santa Claus was real or not. It depends if you will tell others that he is real or not. But there is one thing for sure there will always be a Christmas and maybe a Saint Nick.

With the holiday season quickly approaching, students are pulling out their wallets and heading for the mall. Many are expecting to spend hundreds on Christmas gifts for family and friends. Others will head straight toward the clearance rack, hoping to find something good.

Shoppers soon came across their first problem - what to get for the people on their list. Most choose movies or CDs while others choose to go with a much easier approach - gift cards.

"I buy gift cards," said Sophomore Erica MacIver, "because then they can get what they want."

Others get more creative.

"Usually I buy things for people that have to do with an inside joke," said Freshman Kendra Utter. "Last year, me and my friend bought each other random stuff, like Barbie stuff."

Once they've decided what they are going to buy for each person on their list, the next step is to decide where they want to go to buy the items. Some like to go out of town to shop, while others would rather stay in town.

"Albertville is a great place to shop for gifts because of the variety," said Junior Cody Holmberg, "but Wal-Mart or Target are nice to shop at for DVDs, because they're closer to home and you get good deals."

Getting into the holiday spirit is fun for shoppers. Some find enjoyment just from seeing the look on their friend or family when they open up their gift on Christmas. Others have fun in different ways.

"I like going Christmas shopping," said Utter. "Usually when I go, I end up getting stuff for myself too."

Holiday gift giving is fun, but for the majority of students, the receiving is the best part of the gift exchange. Students enjoy remembering back to past Christmases and reflect on what they got.

"I received a huge Care Bear from my boyfriend," said Senior Carrie Stoppleman. "I sleep with it every night. It hogs the bed."

With Christmas just around the corner, students are planning the perfect gifts to give, and probably creating a list of the things that would be good to get if they were making their own wish list.

Michael Phelps, Michele Quan, Michael Johnson, Courtney Cupets... Lauren Bullock? What does someone from BHS have to do with all of these world champions? Believe it or not, she holds a world title of her own.

Senior Lauren Bullock holds two world record times for Cowboy Mounted Shooting in; the colt eliminator and ....

She set one of these at the World Championship on November 27. At this she won two of the three events to gain the women's title with a winning time of 11.635 seconds.

Mounted shooting is like barrel racing with balloons in between the barrels. There are ten balloons set out on barrels as targets that the rider must shoot with their single action 45s. These guns have a black powder in them that goes a maximum of 15 feet to pop the balloon. The rider rides his/her horse around a chosen designated pattern for a course shooting at the balloons.

Each rider is scored on time and accuracy.

"Scoring is based on the time it takes you to finish the course, plus a five second penalty for each target missed or barrel knocked over. It normally takes a rider between 15 and 25 seconds to complete a course," said Lauren.

Lauren says the competition is getting better every year.

"It is fairly new and it's the fastest growing equine (horse riding) event in the US.," said Lauren.

"You used to be able to win with a missed balloon. Now you must likely have to stay clean (don't miss a balloon) to win."

Lauren has learned many things from this sport over the years she said. She has been doing it for over six years now.

"My parents' friends showed us how to do it," said Lauren. "You try it one time and you don't stop. It's a very addicting sport."

Lauren's family is very involved in the sport alongside of her. Her dad, David and sister, Jenna Bullock both ride in competitions with her. Lauren knows she wouldn't be where she is without her family.

Being world champion, Lauren also still enjoys the little parts of the sport.

"I enjoy, in general, working with horses," said Lauren. "It's nice going down and riding. It's like I'm in my own little world, it's so relaxing."

When she's off of the horse, Lauren likes other benefits of the sport.

"Friends is another major thing. It's nice to know people at the shoots from Minnesota," said Lauren. "The people are so nice in this sport. If your horse goes down, people will help you out. It's such a nice atmosphere"

At the shoots, Lauren normally recognizes many people from Minnesota. The state hold two of three male mounted shooting records, two of three female records (Lauren's) as well as all three women's world championship titles, two of which belong to Lauren.

Other than being world champion, Lauren has won many other awards including Ladies World Rifle Champion of 2004, overall Cowgirl in Livingston Montana with the fastest time, and the Western Champion- Cold Eliminator.

Through all of the competitions, Lauren has gained so much valuable experience.

"You don't have to go out whipping and spurring. But it comes down to the mental part. All of the top riders have the skills; I just have to tell myself that I am good enough to win. I finally figured out I have to believe in myself. 'Shooting' for your goals gets you where you want to be according to Lauren. "I've waited for six years for this. It feels so good," said Lauren. "I've had times where I was there and then the mental game gets to me. I've had many disappointments before."

All of those disappointments seem to pay off when you're the world champion. But it's not over; Lauren still says she has room for improvement.

"You have to ride smart," Lauren said. "You don't have to go out whipping and spurring. But it comes down to the mental part. I need to calm my mind. Because I have the world record, I have to set a goal to break my own record."

Continued from page 5
"always adored him," said Paaton.
Although almost all pediatricians enjoy their job Paaton
would like us to know that there are some draw backs and
some weird cases that can be quite scary.
"Being on call, the after hours, and having to go home
always worrying about the children, but that's part of the
job," said Paaton.
"One time a child came in that was about one year old
that had crawled onto a hot blacktop street that was just laid
and it burnt his hands and knees badly, third degree burns,
before he was pulled off by workers," said Paaton.
So, as you can see the life of a pediatrician can be chal-
lenging, fun, crazy, and yet fulfilling to the life of anyone
who wants to treat children and maybe someday save their
lives. Although it may not be for everyone, for the ones it is
for it is an experience and an amazing opportunity.
All Photos By Rachel Ebeling