The Hoofprint – February 26, 2009

On June 29, 2007 the Apple iPhone was released. With it, a multitude of advanced technology all in the reach of one simple click. On July eighth, 2008 the Application store for both the iPhone and the iPod touch was released. An application store on the iPhone gave the user access to a multitude of applications for any desire. You can solve a quadratic equation with three simple clicks, you have the access to a translator for language tests, there’s even a chemistry application that allows you to view the Periodic Table Of Elements and the individual information on each element.

Even before the iPhone there were problems with students cheating with technology. The instant messaging feature on Cellular devices posed a threat, causing some schools to ban cell phones from the grounds. Schools have banned any form of iPod or cell phone from being used on any test or any in class assignment, but this hasn’t stopped most students from finding a way to get the answers from another source.

“I think it’s going to get harder for us to be able to use our iPods and cell phone,” says Sophomore Billy Longstreet. “We probably won’t be allowed to have in technology in school soon.”

Saturday, February 7, the Boys’ Basketball team took on Cooper High School for the Ninth Annual Pat Sonju Memorial Basketball Game. Pat was the former boys’ basketball coach before passing away unexpectedly in October of 1999. He is survived by his wife Kim Sonju-Zrust, who is a teacher at Buffalo Community Middle School, and his children, Avery and Cameron.

“It’s great for our family to have the opportunity to remember Pat in such a great way. To have so many friends and family come together for a basketball game would make him very happy,” said Sonju-Zrust.

The boys played a strong first half, entering halftime with an 18-point lead. As the time ran down in the second half, Cooper came back, winning 57-51. Cooper is coached by Pat’s brother, making the game emotional for both teams.

“There is less pressure for this game,” said Head Coach Nick Guida. “Sometimes I get caught up in winning, but we’re playing a game and there are so many more valuable things. We’re very lucky.”

With budget cuts and lack of funding, the administration is considering revamping Buffalo High School as you know it. A substantial issue on the table is whether or not to maintain the four block schedule or trade it for a less expensive alternative.

The administration has made it clear that the four-block schedule currently used is a priority. As of right now, next year’s curriculum is built around the four-block schedule, but if the State decides to cut the education budget to cover the six billion dollar deficit, the school will have to look drastically at how it schedules students.

“If our funding problems continue as far as failure to pass levies and the state not coming through with dollars for schools, that’s leading us toward something other than the block schedule,” said Assistant Principal Matt Lubben.

Alternative schedule options include: three trimesters with five classes per day, a modified block schedule with skinnies (two 40 minute classes in place of one block) or the traditional schedule of six hours per day. Buffalo Community Middle School and the elementary schools in District #877 currently use a traditional schedule.

These surrogate schedules require fewer staff (staff and faculty layoffs), which fundamentally makes them cheaper. They also offer fewer electives, which saves the district money.

The obvious pro of these alternative schedules is that they will save the school money. Traditional schedules like the six-hour day also allow for more material to be covered yearly. The cons, however, have staff and students alike questioning the possible change.

“An alternative schedule wouldn’t affect me because I will be gone, but my brother is going to be in ninth grade and I want him to enjoy the many benefits of four blocks,” said Senior Nathan Engfer.

Sixty-six percent of students said they would not support an alternative school schedule. The majority of staff said that they’d like to keep the block, but if change was necessary, they would opt for the five hour day because it’s closest to the four block schedule. If the school switched to a traditional schedule, that majority of teachers felt their teaching styles would have to change as well.

“Shortened hours would lead me to have less in depth activities, less homework assigned on a daily basis and less time for students to do work in class,” said Math Teacher Emily Greeley.

Replacing the current four-block day with one of the possible alternative schedules would give each teacher fewer students per class with more students daily. Class periods would be significantly shorter, but classes that are currently one semester would run for an entire year.

“You cannot teach the same level of high quality education with the traditional schedule,” said Social Studies Teacher Gerard Rohl. “[With four blocks] you can do two or three things in 80 minutes and finish them.”

Student Counselors advocated that four blocks allow for more scheduling options: a more flexible schedule with a larger variety of classes to choose from. The majority of staff said that a four block schedule promotes a calmer teaching and learning atmosphere. Students are not running from class to class, teachers have more time to prepare and increased time to get to know fewer students.

“With a traditional schedule, I don’t know if there will be time to review what you did yesterday, learn new material, practice it and answer questions,” said Math Teacher Stacy Eggers. “I would feel more rushed.”

Principal Mark Mischke and a committee of staff are currently weighing the options to find what will best benefit the school, its students and faculty. Ultimately, their decision depends on Governor Tim Pawlenty’s budget proposal.

“I think the four block schedule is worth fighting for,” said Lubben, “but eventually, you just can’t afford to do it.”

Elimination of after school activity busses for 2009-2010 school year Possibility that some students will have to walk to school next year.

No Community Ed. Summer School Lifeguards at Pulaski Beach have been eliminated. SPARK will have $20,000 cut from their program. The board is still considering other options. May look at other options

The Community Book Read will be held Monday March, 16 in the PAC. The book is Touching Spirit Bear written by Ben Mikaelsen. There are still copies available in the library. 5-6pm reception 6-7pm student led discussion groups 7-8pm Author Ben Mikaelsen presentation

It is the longest-running Senate campaign in the nation. The race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken is still going on after three months. At first it looked like Norm Coleman had the lead after the election. But his lead disappeared after the long recount. Al Franken went ahead by 225 votes when the recount concluded. But Norm Coleman has other ideas. He has fi led a law suit trying to get rejected absentee ballots included in the recount. Now, the already long election is going to take even longer to wrap up.

While everyone waits the decision of the judges, Minnesota only has one senator in Washington D.C. That means Minnesota is only getting one vote on the important issues facing Congress right now. This puts extra pressure on Democrat Amy Klobuchar because she is the only senator representing Minnesota at this time.

“It’s just too much. It shouldn’t take this long,” said Sophomore Keenan Brown.

This election has caused some extreme responses from students.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous that they haven’t fi gured this out by now,” said Sophomore Chuck Jacobs. “I think Coleman should just give it up to Franken so we can just get this over with.”

While some students have strong opinions about this election, most students have no opinion at all. When asked if they care about this election at all, 80 percent of students said that they don’t care. Which begs the question, “Why should students care about this election?”

“Students should care about this election,” said Social Studies Teacher Devin Davidson. “These are the individuals who could be making decisions that affect their lives everyday.”

The fact is that both candidates care a lot about public schools, and helping make college more affordable for students. While in offi ce for the last 6 years, Norm Coleman helped increase Pell Grants by 97.5 percent. Pell Grants are given to low-income undergraduate students in order to promote access to post-secondary education. Coleman also helped decrease the cost of college textbooks, and helped pass a law saying that federal loans will always be available for any student.

According to Al Franken’s website, if he turns out to be the winner, he plans on pushing a $5000 tax credit for students per year for up to 4 years of college. Also, he plans to increase funding for public schools and increasing teacher salaries.

This election has been dragged out over the last three months. It has caused a lot of strong opinions, or no opinions at all. But there is no denying the importance of the election, because students in Minnesota that plan on furthering their education will be affected by this decision for the next six years.

Since the early 1960’s, Buffalo High School’s newspaper programs have been providing news to students and staff at Buffalo High School. The newspaper has highlighted major events throughout the years and continues to supply important information to readers. Since the paper returned in 2003, the mission of The Hoofprint has been to be authoritative, aggressive, essential, caring, and creative as a leading source of news and information for the students, staff, and faculty of Buffalo High School. The 2008-2009 school year has been filled with change and we thought it was the appropriate time for a change as well.

We print our papers at The Journal Press in downtown Buffalo and, because of the rapidly increasing cost of paper, they’ve been forced to alter the size of their paper. Due to the change, we were forced to alter a routine The Hoofprint has held for seven years. Rather than move our business elsewhere, we decided to take this opportunity to change the look and feel of the paper. We’ve had the idea of change in mind for awhile and with The Journal Press giving us an ultimatum it seemed like the perfect occasion to go forth with our ideas. We want the paper to be visually appealing to our readers while offering more news that appeals to a wider audience and hope that this redesign accomplishes that goal.

In addition to the physical changes of The Hoofprint we have also modified our website Hoofprint.net. The website was created three years ago with the same purpose as the paper—to supply important information to readers. In contrast to the paper however, the website is being updated on a daily basis. This means that it’s more capable of keeping students up-to-date with relevant school news than the monthly editions of the paper.

We hope the changes we’ve made are visible and positive and that the new look of The Hoofprint will bring as much success to the school as before.

Anger, disappointment, but mostly embarrassment were the three strongest emotions that waved over me as I witnessed the Buffalo Boys’ Basketball team lose to the opposing Robbinsdale-Cooper visitors at the 9th annual Pat Sonju memorial game. I did not feel this strongly because we were losing, I felt this strongly because some of the Buffalo fans were not losing with the class that they should have been.

Believe me, I am proud of my school, but at that moment I was ashamed to be sitting beside these people. To be grouped in with people who were using racist and personal attacks against the opposing team in order to get ahead made me oppose my own classmates.

I love going to games, but not once have I been to a game where fans have acted so irrationally. Was it because this team was so different than what we were used to in Buffalo? Was it because the minority on their team was white instead of black for a change? Or maybe it was because this team was virtually unstoppable, only losing once so far this season…their Secret weapon being Rodney Williams, a high school student already recruited by the Minnesota Gophers. As I, with many others watched the Hawks warm up we were stunned by how effortless a slam dunk came to him. So why would we treat people who had such remarkable talent like they were nothing compared to us? What made us more superior?

Weeks have passed and yet I still fi nd myself contemplating why a school that has always represented its town with class would do such a thing…I have fi nally narrowed it down to one of two reasons.

One- You felt threatened. I don’t blame you if this is the case. Copper is one of the best teams out there and it is hard to go into a game feeling like the underdog. But, this is still no reason to resort to personal attacks in order to get your way. To tell you the truth, I’m sure this is one of the main reasons as to why we lost; Remarks like these ones create such a negative attitude on both sides of the court that our opponents most likely strived harder to rack up another win in order to prove us wrong. And just a thought…if you actually pay attention to free throws, it seems as if the times when the crowd boos and cracks jokes are coincidentally the times when the most points are scored against us as well. Think about it.

Two- You were jealous. Face the truth; you were a little bit jealous. Their team is amazing! They have a great line up, Williams leading the way. I know that during the warm ups as you watched him dunk the ball so effortlessly you were in awe, just wishing you could do something that well yourself. Maybe this was why as soon as the game started you felt threatened and had to use racial slurs and personal attacks to make yourselves feel like better people. Who knows, jealously is a little green monster that takes a hold of us when we least expect it, and it was evident that you were jealous by the way that the same people who were embarrassing yourselves during the game were running up to Williams once the fi nal buzzer rang, asking him for his autograph like a pack of little girls.

I am not bashing anyone’s personal views. If you think these things go ahead and think them, I’m all for freedom of speech, believe me, but don’t do it at a game dedicated to the memory of a great man. It’s embarrassing not only for you, but for your whole town. Because of the behavior of a handful of vocal and ignorant fans, Cooper has a reason to view the city of Buffalo as a bunch of racists, when we know that that is not the case. The memorial game is held each year to celebrate someone who was great; I believe that the way in which some fans conducted themselves did not do justice to his memory.

While thinking of Pat before the game, his wife Kim Sonju-Zrust and Head Coach Nick Guida expressed their views.

“It’s great for our family to have the opportunity to remember Pat in such a great way. To have so many friends and family come together for a basketball game would make him very happy,” said Sonju-Zrust.

“There is less pressure for this game,” said Guida. “Sometimes I get caught up in winning, but we’re playing a game and there are so many more valuable things. We’re very lucky.”

Too bad some students didn’t treat the annual celebration of a great man with this kind of class.

Stories in the newspaper featuring outstanding band and choir students. Posters advertising upcoming band and choir concerts stuck on the walls throughout the high school. Music ringing in the air coming from the band and choir rooms nearby while you munch down that hamburger and fries during lunch. These are all things that represent the music program at the high school. Or, at least the band and choir parts of it.

Would you like to come to the orchestra concert next week? If I asked this question to 10 students, I bet at least three of them would give me an odd look. “Wait...what? Our school has an orchestra?” That’s the response I have received before when I asked my friends if they wanted to come watch me play my violin at orchestra concerts the past two years.

At our high school, you rarely hear of the orchestra and its musicians. Everything recognized about the music program usually only covers the band and choir aspects of it. This shouldn’t be the case. In orchestra, there are many outstanding musicians. Junior Tanner Bauman plays the Hardinger fi ddle (a Norwegian instrument) along with his violin, Junior Avery Holm has played her cello in the pit orchestra for musicals, and last year 2008 graduate Amanda Oliver won an orchestra scholarship to attend Northwestern College in Minneapolis. Along with these accomplished musicians, the orchestra also has a wonderful director. Orchestra Teacher Kelly Karow is in her third year teaching at the high school. She has done good work helping the orchestra move a step up from where it was two years ago, and will continue that in the future.

The orchestra is different than the band and choir in many ways. The main difference is that the orchestra is made up of all string instruments (violins, violas, cellos and basses), whereas the band contains wind, brass and percussion instruments. Another thing you may not know is that students from all grades are in one orchestra together, no matter what their level of playing is. Unlike orchestra, the band and choir have Freshmen, Varsity, and Concert levels.

Being an orchestra student myself, it is annoying hearing of all the magnifi cent things the band and choir have accomplished, and not hearing a bit about what the orchestra has done. Last year at the Region 2AA Large Group Instrumental Contest in Willmar, the Orchestra was awarded two Superiors and one Excellent. I wish the word about what an amazing orchestra we have at the high school would get out there and that people would actually stop and congratulate us on the things we have achieved. The band, choir and orchestra should all be recognized equally instead of having band and choir dominate the music program.

Next time you plan your weekday evening, why not take a chance at attending an orchestra concert? They happen four times a year, one each quarter. It’s always encouraging seeing new faces in the audience, as the number of people that attend is usually only in the 40s. Of course, the orchestra is still a work in progress, but it is improving every day and hopefully it will be as recognized as the band and choir at our school someday soon.

Underwater World is more than a children’s aquarium. There is so much information that young children can not grasp. You see fi sh and other neat underwater animals from other places. While visiting Underwater World you have the chance to see more than 4,500 animals and participate in their “swim with the sharks program,” that allows you to swim in their biggest tank full of different sharks.

You start out on the tour going through “Fishermen’s Hollow,” this is a pathway that contains fi sh from Minne- sota. There are several giant catfi sh, six species of turtle, 180-pond alligator bar (that is found in southern United States), three additional species of gar, four species of bass, lake and shovel-nosed sturgeon, common carp, small and large-mouthed buffalo, tiger musky, channel catfi sh, bow fi ns, walleye, and paddle fi sh among others in this area.

At the end of this exhibit you go to the start of the tunnel. This is the part of Underwater World that brings in the most people, it is 300 foot tunnel that showcases the two largest parts of the aquarium, The Amazon Freshwa- ter fi sh and Shark cove. The Amazon-Freshwater tank has 82 degree water and contains arapaima, black pacu, Midas cichlids, fossil catfi sh, leopard catfi sh, leopard plocotamus, fl ag tails, silver dollars, and freshwater stingrays and others.

Shark cove is the third part that you will go through but the second in the tunnel. It is the largest part of the aquarium 500,000 gallons and contains 56 different sharks.

The next exhibit is the reef. Following is the Sea Crits of Hollywood gallery, which has fi sh from the movies like Finding Nemo and Titanic. The next stop is the Circle of Life where you get to touch live sharks and sting rays.

As we got into the interview we wondered what would happen if a fi sh got sick or hurt.

“A staff vet comes in once a week, and is on call if we need them. It depends on whether the fi sh is sick or injured. Stress is caused by moving the fi sh around, too much stress can lead to death. Until the fi sh need to be moved into a holding tank, we keep an eye on them,” said Aquariust Carly Byrns.

In case of a death, the fi sh is kept, and studied. This is called a necropsy, a fi sh autopsy. Aquarists try to learn more about the animals, they once got to study an octopus.

“An octopus has the brain development of a three year old human toddler,” said John Sullwold, the Under- water World marketing manager.

After the interview Sullwold and Byrns took us through the aquarium. As we entered the beginning of the tunnel, our eyes immediately drifted to the ceiling only to be amazed that 1.2 million gallons of water and all of these fi sh could pos- sibly be swimming above our heads.

While we walked through the tun- nel with Byrns, she told us stories about all of the fi sh. For instance, Jesse, one of their bigger sharks, got aggra- vated and chomped on a smaller shark.

The turtles they have there, are owned by the govern- ment and require yearly physicals.

In our tour we also were able to see the top of the tank, the fi sh were 20% larger in person than through the glass so when we got to look down on them, we were amazed.

It was fun and entertaining for any age. We both had a great time and think that everyone should get a chance to see this.

Prom is most student’s top priority when it comes to the end of the school year. It puts a significant amount of pressure on both males and females.

“Girls definitely have the most pressure because guys all look the same,” said Senior Danielle Dramen. “Girls stand out more with their dresses.”

Shopping for dresses is one of the biggest parts of prom for girls. On a recent survey of 50 senior girls, blue dresses took the majority of the color with 28 percent. Then followed black with 18 percent, yellow with 14 percent, and all other colors varied between two and percent.

“I chose orange because I loved the style and it was the only color in that style,” said Dramen.

On average 34 percent of senior girls spent 75-150 dollars on their prom dress.

“I ended up not spending a lot on my junior year so now I can spend more on my senior prom,” said Senior Andrea Sande.

Approximately 46 percent of senior girls shared the expenses with their parents. Many people are beginning to find trendy ways to cut back on expenses by sharing, borrowing, or bargain shopping for prom items and accessories.

“I tried to save money by borrowing a necklace from my sister. I found that it was helpful to save money and I did not have to find another necklace that matched my dress,” said Senior Randi Varner.

On a recent survey of 50 senior girls, 90 percent said that prom was worth the money despite the high costs. However, there are girls that think otherwise and would rather spend their money on something else.

“I don’t think prom is worth the money because there are so many other things I could spend my money on,” said Senior DeAnne Bechtold.

Although prom can be very expensive people do not seem to skip out on dinner. Before the dance, students tend to show off their dresses and dates with a nice dinner at a restaurant of their choice.

When 50 senior girls were polled, 82 percent ate out at a restaurant.

“I ate at Russel’s with a bunch of friends and had a great time,” said Sande, “It was the best salad I’ve ever had.”

Pressure is one of the biggest stressors girls have to face when preparing for their prom night.

“Girls have more pressure because they want to look perfect for the big night,” said Varner.

After attending junior prom, girls have many opinions on what they may want to change for their senior prom.

“This year I am going to get ready with my friends and take pictures with them,” said Senior Brooke Habisch, “Last year, I followed my date.”

This year, prom will be held at St. Cloud State University on May 2 from 9-12.

Boys claim that while girls are the ones worrying about looking good, they are the ones who pay and stress out about finding a date

Prom is most students top priority when the end of the school year comes around. It puts a significant amount of pressure on both the guys and girls.

“Guys definitely have more pressure,” said Senior Bruce Manz. “We have to worry about all the planning with the car and paying for everything. It gets to be a lot of stuff we have to think about and girls just have to worry about looking pretty.

“With saving money, asking a girl to prom and everything else in between, it gets really hectic for guys,” said Senior Cameron Morey. “But in the end, I think it’s worth dealing with all that because it’s something you will remember for a long time.”

One of the most common thought runing through a guy’s head when prom is brought up is finding a date.

“I was extremely nervous to ask Sarah [Ramsey] to prom last year,” said Senior Keenan Stangl. “I didn’t want to get rejected. So one day after school I went into her locker and left her a note with some roses and asked her to prom. The next day I was trying to act calm and relaxed when she came up to me and she said yes. It felt like a brick was lifted off of my shoulders. Then I knew I had to get a tux.”

Renting a tux can range anywhere from 20 dollars to a couple hundred. To keep costs down try to avoid the late return fees.

“I got my tux in Maple Grove” said Senior Colton Carter “I went with a friend and it was pretty fun, but when i finally brought it back I had a lot of extra charges cause I kept it so late on accident. So don’t forget to return your tux by the return date cause you will get a crap load of fees.”

While most new prom goers think that going to a nice dinner makes the night even better, some veterans believe otherwise.

“Dinner cost an arm and a leg, don’t go to a fancy restaurant cause it’s not worth it,” said Senior Marky Fennig. “It’s smarter to just eat at a friends house or go to a reasonably priced place.”

“Saving money is hard to do now with the economy and eating at Natasha [Stahn’s] friends house with a bunch of friends for dinner was pretty fun and something I will remember rather than just going out to a fancy place,” said Senior Erich Scheie.

For many years to come prom will be a tradition at Buffalo High School. A time for students to create memories with friends for a lifetime.

The National Honor Society is responsible for many of our yearly events, including Snow Daze, the Blood Drive, and Peer Tutoring. The group consists of about 150 upper classmen, all with a GPA of 10.0 or higher, and is lead by American Experience teacher Brigitta Rettmann.

“Our purpose is based on service and service projects to give back to the community,” said Senior Al Gutknecht. NHS members must volunteer 30 individual hours, and 10 group hours helping out such as; raking leaves, bagging groceries, volunteering at nursing homes, or teaching a religion class at church.

“I get most of my hours by volunteering to teach tennis, the Rake-a-Ton, and peer tutoring,” said Junior Robert Malmstein.

So when everyone is in the ‘slump’ of winter, between Homecoming and Prom, you can thank the NHS team for Snow Daze. In planning for Snow Daze the group decides what dress up days, and activities will be offered during Snow Daze.

“The planning for Snow Daze is always crazy,” said Junior and NHS member Emily Marston, “But when the week actually arrives and we see the success, it’s worth it.”

The NHS members also volunteer to help the Red Cross who come to collect blood from anyone who is willing to donate. Each pint of blood can save or improve up to three peoples lives, and NHS helps students to do that.

“I’m looking forward to helping out at the blood drive,” said Letsinger. “It’s a great cause and we are doing a lot of good.”

Peer tutoring is a new opportunity and service project for NHS this year, any student who feels like they are struggling or may need extra help are matched up with an NHS member to receive tutoring in any subject needed.

NHS is a very infl uential and valued group within BHS and the community. Without it we would miss out on many loved and valuable activities.

Students buzz about the spring musical, Les Misérables. Even though this classic is quoted in shows such as Family Guy and Scrubs, has over 30 songs, and has 50 cast members, most students don’t know what it is. This is a show that has infl uenced our culture.

“It’s a really huge show,” said Sophomore Mallory Nelson. “It’s really complicated, intense, and a lot of work. But it’s going to be really amazing.”

Les Misérables is a dark musical. Some of it’s more sinister themes include war, suicide, abuse, and prostitution. The musical is completely sung, which means that singers, especially male vocalists, are essential.

“We have the right kids to do it,” said Director Tracy Hagstrom-Durant. “You have to have a lot of boys and they have to be ‘man-boys,’ not wimpy boys, and they have to be able to sing and act. We’re actually stronger in men than we are in women right now, and that’s a musical that requires that.”

While performers are fi ne once they are on stage and in the spotlight, many auditioning students fi nd themselves quite nervous before they try out. Even students that have been involved in theater before become nervous as they prepare to audition.

“I hate auditions!” said Nelson. “I get so nervous. I can’t sleep the night before the cast list goes up and I panic before the auditions because you never know what’s going to happen. It’s going to be nerve-wracking.”

Les Misérables was adapted from the book Victor Hugo wrote in 1862. It follows the intertwining stories between the cast members, as some fall in love and some fall apart. The performances will be April 23, 24 and 25.

“Kids should know it’s not like other musicals they’ve seen,” said Sophomore Jessica Johnson. “It’s a darker musical and very sad. I think it’s good for kids to see plays like that.”

With an 18 – 0 season record, Buffalo High School’s Mock Trail team is only one competition away from their state tournament. The team won State in 2007, and making it to state has been their goal for the past few years, but last year they fell short in round fi ve of sections against St.Cloud Christian.

“Last year we made it to regions and we lost by two points. This year we are playing the same team [St. Cloud Christian] for the title, and now the whole team is looking for revenge,” said Senior Jacob Westman.

Since late October, the team of 10 practices with their coach, Laurie Raymond, in her classroom, usually three days a week. But Mock Trail is more than their impressive record, they work very hard and push themselves daily to prepare for the case.

“Mrs. Raymond has a lot of constructive criticism. She makes you work hard and is a – very good coach,” said Sophomore Michael Portttiin.

The team is also bonds together in and outside of practice. They trust in each others abilities and know each other well, which helps them while competing.

“Everyone has a really great sense of humor, and after wins we like to go to The House of Lo and drink tea. The team as a whole is really tightly knit; you have your regular family, than there’s your Mock Trail family,” said Junior Lindy Jensen.

Mock Trial’s season has been full of huge wins this year, and numerous perfect 10 scores. On February 19, the team competed against their own Buffalo Junior Varsity team, a 238 to 217 win. The win puts them even closer to their dream of reaching the state tournament. With the team’s yearly improvements, Mock Trial can only hope their continuous success remains the same.

Their fi nal round of sections will be at Thursday at 1:00, in Cambridge.

Art teachers have been busy collecting paintings, pottery, sculptures, and all kinds of art since the beginning of the school year. Each teacher gathers art in their own respective areas of expertise, with hopes that they can get one piece of work from each art student just for the art show.

“We are going to try to get at least one piece from each art student,” said Art Teacher John Gunderson. “It isn’t based on skill; we want everyone involved.”

Senior Kelsea Kohler was in Painting One last year during fourth quarter, so any art that would have been entered into the show wasn’t done in time to be in the 2008 art show. She knew she wanted to be in art her senior year, so with some advice from Gunderson, she started taking pictures of different scenes at different angles and views for the perfect picture to use for her painting.

“I have always loved art and art history,” said Kohler. “Gunderson suggested that I start with a still life painting, so this year I took pictures of 20 different scenes, and Gunderson narrowed it down to five, then I had to pick one that I wanted to work with.”

Knowing that the art show is coming up on May 28, students are producing art intended for the show.

“I am going to be in the art show this year because I was in Drawing One,” said Sophomore Olivia Haggerty. “I drew a picture of my deceased grandpa only using the words of a song they sang for him, ‘Fly to Jesus.’ I am going to make my grandma come to the art show because she doesn’t know I drew it of him. When she sees it, she will stop and recognize my grandpa and start to cry. Hopefully because she is happy.”

The art show is a time for the kids who have been working on their artwork to show it off and let people know that there is some great talent here.

“I am constantly in awe of the talent here,” said Art Teacher Jon Holtz. “I know students say that teachers have to say they have done a good job, but they really are great.”

Although there is some real talent, it isn’t always recognized the way it should be. Out of 70 students, 51 percent had no idea there was even an arts show.

“I went to the art show last year,” said Haggerty. “I like to see the artwork and what people can do, but they aren’t recognized the way they should be, like the athletes per se.”

Excited for the upcoming show, students continue to spend time and perfect their works of art, and teachers are still searching for those who really decide to go outside of the box.

“It’s the Art Department’s time to show off what we have done,” said Holtz. “It’s a great night for the parents and public to see the talent. It’s just a really fun night.”

Senior Zach Mellon, Track and Field Athlete of the Year, signed a Letter of Intent for the University of Wisconsin, Madison February 4, with the staff lounge full of onlookers. After signing the papers with his mom, Portia, Mellon was all smiles. Recently, Mellon was on the cover of ‘ESPN Rise Magazine’ and featured in a four-page spread dedicated to his achievements. Including, breaking the Minnesota’s State record for the half mile and also fi nishing second place at the USATF Junior National meet.

“It was pretty overwhelming being in ESPN Rise. Doing the photo shoot was really fun and just seeing the magazine makes it really sink in with all the accomplishments that I’ve had on the track,” says Mellon. “It’s weird to see it circulating in the school and seeing my face on the cover of a magazine. It feels kind of awkward with the press because I don’t know what to say. They expect to hear something great but I’m just a kid that has this God-given gift. When I’m out on the track, I try to disassociate myself from that.”

After signing the letter, Zach’s mom, Portia, step-dad, Don, and 3 brothers, Simon, Isaac, and Jared smiled for the cameras for the Wright County Journal Press. The room was packed with members of Mellon’s family, friends, school administrators, teachers, and press.

“My parents have been very supportive, not just fi nancially, but getting into the sport. As much as it’s been a trip for me, it’s been the same for them too,” says Mellon. “They get just as much out of it as I do. And it’s overwhelming too, because I have a full ride to Madison, not that money is everything, but not having to pay for 4 or 5 years of college lifts a big weight off of their shoulders and mine.”

For seniors in high school, picking out the right college is tough, but Mellon has a gift that many colleges want to have. But the choice was all on him.

“I chose Madison because of the coach and the whole recruiting process,” says Mellon. “I caught myself paying attention to the coaches and the time that I spent with them. I was basically looking for a relationship that I have with the current coach, Mr. [Dave] Knutson and I found that with the Madison coach. They are just a phenomenal team and the school there is incredible.”

With all of his accomplishments comes history. Having the ability to be as fast as Mellon, makes some wonder how he realized he was so good at track and cross country. According to Mellon, he found his talent on a whim.

“I’m a pretty spiritual person, so I have to acknowledge that God worked in different ways for me to join track,” comments Mellon. “I had a little run in with my friend [Senior] Nathan Engfer and he said that he was faster than me and I said no you’re not faster than me. We were really competitive so I said that I would go and join track to show that I can beat him.”

During the “younger days”, many kids have the dreams of becoming an astronaut or the next Michael Phelps, but with Mellon, his dreams didn’t pursue athleticism.

“I didn’t think that I would be an athlete of any kind or caliber. In middle school, when I joined track, I hated running. I didn’t even like track when I joined it,” states Mellon. “But once I started racing, I liked it.”

“I remember in eighth grade when [Senior] Tyler Pierce and I would run the mile”, says Mellon, “we would try to get 7 minutes or less and we fi nally beat it with a 6:57 or something like that and Mr. [Ross] Mjelde said, ‘You guys have to come and try out for track with times like that you’ll be winning races.’ That was a complete lie, if you were to run a time like that you’d get dead last.”

While attending Madison, Mellon would like to major in biology and is interested in helping people, so maybe physical therapy.

Mellon is truly living a high school seniors dream and embraces every second of it.

“Overall,” says Mellon, “it’s been incredible.”

Pen in hand, Senior Bruce Manz began signing his Letter of Intent to play football for the University of South Dakota on a full ride scholarship.

“B-R…” Head Football Coach Gerard Rohl encouraged.

“What’s the rest of it?” Manz asks causing the supporting crowd to laugh.

Manz received over a dozen offers including full rides to University of South Dakota and North Dakota State University. University of Minnesota-Mankato was the fi rst to offer him a scholarship but eventually backed out after realizing they were up against bigger schools, lessening their chances.

“I taught religion at church that night, so I went and asked Erika Rhode to pray with me because I couldn’t decide,” said Manz. “After explaining the situation she told me that it seemed like I owed it to them. USD was the fi rst one to offer me the full ride. They were with me through the whole thing.”

Eventually making the decision, Manz picked up the phone and dialed the USD coach’s number, not knowing what he was going to say to him but informing him on his verdict. Recalling the next phone call to NDSU, Manz says telling them he wasn’t going to play for them was the hardest thing he has done in his life so far.

First joining football his seventh grade year, Manz admits he just went out and hit the nearest person. Five years later, that had all changed.

“Bruce called me up on a Sunday and told me I had to come to his farm, he had something to show me,” said Rohl. “I got to his farm and there he was, with these huge tires connected to chains, and he was pulling them around. [Coach John] Gunderson used the tires for conditioning the rest of the season.”

After graduation this spring, Manz will head to Vermillion, South Dakota to act as a practice dummy for the Coyotes. Starting classes in the fall he will focus on generals with a possible double major of education and agriculture. He will spend his fi rst year training to get stronger unt il offi cial freshman year for football.

“I don’t consider myself good,” said Manz. “I have to keep striving to be the best. There is always someone better than me. My dad has always said to shoot for the stars.”

Running fast, covered in sweats from head to toe, drenched with sweat, one foot after another, heavy breathing, exhausted. These are some things wrestlers go through to lose those extra pounds during the season.

“Once I had to cut 14 pounds before team sections,” said Junior Captain Timmy Ruter. “I had about 32 hours. What I did was I wouldn’t eat anything for two days before I weighted in. I’d also run a lot, at home, during practice, and during AAA. Cutting weight sucks. It was easy at first because I wasn’t going down that far. Now I’m wrestling at 130 and it’s a lot harder.”

The boys’ wrestling team has a lot to live up to this year. Last year they had a winning season with 19 wins and 12 losses. They also went to state for teams for the first time in 13 years. It took weeks of hard work and long practices to get there.

“I think we should be able to make the section finals this year,” said Coach Paul Arens. “I think we have a solid shot at state too. With the season coming to an end, the team is peaking at the right time. We’ve been winning matches and been really successful.”

A typical practice consists of starting off by practicing basic moves for 15 minutes, meanwhile the coaches observe and give the wrestlers suggestions how to improve their technique. Following that they are taught new moves. Afterward they either head out to the track or outside to do sprints. Next, they live wrestle for about 45 minutes. Practice is finished by doing conditioning. Usually they pick up a 45 pound weights and do squats, lunges, and curls. The wrestlers usually run more than lift weights.

“Practice is as hard as a college practice,” said Senior Captain David Baker. “I mean we work really hard, we get right down to business and wrestle.”

Live wrestling during practice challenges the wrestlers and keeps them on their toes. It gives them a chance to go up against better wrestlers on the team.

“The live wrestling is the most important part of practice because it simulates a match and gives us more experience,” said Junior Tucker Vogt.

The Bison wrestling team won their final regular season home meet this year 52 to 18 against conference rival Zimmerman. The next meet is away vs. St. Cloud Tech, on February 28. In order for the team to get far this year, practice has been pushed on each wrestler incredibly hard. With the season coming to an end, the wrestlers are coming together strong to try and compete for the section title.

“The team has done really good this year, we’ve had a few bumps on the road here, but it gives us a chance to prove ourselves again this year,” said Senior Bruce Manz. “We’ve worked hard in practice to get this far, and it’s paid off.”

With sore feet and aching fi ngers the custodial staff glance over the newly shined fl oors, knowing that tomorrow is the start of a new day, beginning with the same chores that belong to students shameless disarray that was left the prior evening.

When it comes to maintaining the building, custodians work four to eight hour shifts, fi ve days a week. A typical custodian’s workload consist of emptying the garbage, sweeping the fl oors, putting up and setting down the chairs and tables in the lunch room, scrubbing the toilets and the bathroom fl oors. Outside work consists of cutting the grass, cleaning windows, and shoveling the sidewalk/ parking lot. In addition, making sure that the high school is picture perfect, despite the diffi culty of students littering, adds to their workload.

After school there are apple cores, dirty napkins, and food scraps left on the newly cleaned tables. This behavior tends to continue during the home games with empty pop bottles, candy wrappers, popcorn bags, and fast food trash that fi ll the bleachers.

“I think that 25 percent of the students really appreciate what we do here, and another 25 percent don’t, and I can see this by the damage and graffi ti on the desk, plugged up bathrooms stalls, and left over garbage,” said Custodian Pat Pawlek, “Along with the typical comment, ‘ha, why do they care if I make a mess, they get paid to clean it up anyway’, and the other 50 percent are completely oblivious.”

Seventy-four percent of fi fty students claimed to have left garbage on the table, fl oor, or bleachers not paying attention as to whom has to clean it up.

“I think that we take for granted the maintaining of the building,” said Parking Lot Attendant Amy Johnson. “Sometimes I see a wrapper on the fl oor and I see students just walk right on by.”

Regarding the lack of respect, the custodians continue to do their best to make the school a clean environment for us all.

Q: What got you initerested in the sport, boxing?

“I saw boxing on TV my brother was watching it, and I started to try and imitate the boxing, my dad saw how into it I was and signed me up for it. Around age 8 I was placed onto the male team, because they didn’t have anything more advanced for me.

Q: How do the other guys react towards you being the one that they will be boxing?

“I like showing them that just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean I’m weak and it surprises most guys that I can beat them up the way I do.

Q: How do you feel when Darian goes into the ring when she is boxing?

“Whenever Darian goes into the ring I get scared and my heart beats quicker when she gets hit, and I wonder if she's ok.” -Givens Mother Amy Gieszler

“It’s cool, almost like battle of the sexes”- Senior Bruce

“The obstacle course was really hard; I kept saying ‘right’ as I watched her turn left towards the audience. It was terrible.” -Freshman Gina Nyberg

“I liked it this year because the dress up days were good for every one” -Sophomore Michael LaCroix

“We tried some new ideas, and a lot of those ideas were successful.” -NHS Advisor Brigitta Rettmann

“I was really hoping more people would get involved. Oh well, I guess you win some and you lose some.” -Junior Sam Mailhot