The Hoofprint - Issue 1 - February 2016

From the perspectives of our everyday high school lives we worry about stereotypes, being judged, and what other people think of us. We walk through the hallways wondering what he thinks of this, what she thinks of that etc. From the narrow perspective of our naive superficial world, our perspective that is confined to the walls constructed around us, what other people think of us matters.

From a greater perspective life can be scary and complicated but the sun will still rise tomorrow if you wear sweats instead of jeans, the moon will still be there if you have a bad hair day, the stars will still shine if you don’t respond to a text. We’re all just human beings wrapped up in our own lives, our own problems, minding our own business, doing our own thing.

From a greater perspective our time and our lives are incredibly precious, they won’t last forever. If we all worry about what others think, we’ll never spend time thinking about what we think of ourselves, what makes us happy, what we want to do with our lives. We shouldn’t worry about what others think of us because in reality, they aren’t thinking of us at all. Life should be about doing what makes you happy, doing what you want, making your life what you want it to be. Our time and our lives are already complicated enough, let’s make the most of them while we can. Let’s broaden our horizons and focus our perspectives.

Rumors of K-9’s being brought in to sniff for drugs spread rapidly among students as Quarter One came to an end. Juniors Meghan Cahill and Kylee Kaminski explore this possiblitiy and the future of the dogs.

We’re forced by our system to go too fast. It’s time to slow down. Senior Allie Palmer uncovers the reality of educational advancement at Buffalo High School.

We are running a race. Beginning in the toddler stage, advertisements bombard parents with the latest toy or program guaranteed to jumpstart their child’s learning; therefore, getting ahead in the game.

These toy developers and marketers trying to increase the rate of children’s learning encourage us to forget that it is okay to just enjoy our time — enjoy the time where the toddler struggles to say what it wants because it hasn’t learned that word yet.

But the race doesn’t end when you learn to talk or read. Starting in grade schools, those who are noticeably succeeding are sent on another track, leaving others behind. In Buffalo, this is Quest. They are getting ahead. These educators forgot that it is okay to help kids enjoy the time that they are good at math.

Nothing changes in middle school or high school. Middle school prepares you for high school which is geared to prep you for college. Students at BHS have an already have an array of college classes to choose from. The more you take, the farther ahead you get. This coming year there will be more, with the opportunity to have an Associate’s Degree along with you high school diploma. Decision makers forgot that it is okay for students to just take high school classes, for them to enjoy the time they have in high school.

Many hope to graduate high school with almost a half a year of college credits. This way, when they get to college, they will be ahead. They will not have to waste time in the classes deemed “easy”, therefore they can graduate early from college to get ahead and get a job. But we seem to forget the precious memories that can be made during those college years.

Once we get a job that pays well but is not necessarily our dream, it’s time to start saving for retirement. Because, God forbid, we enjoy this time too.

Everyone is trying to get ahead to win the race. But what is the race? The race of life? Why are we running a race we don’t want to win?

We could point figures at Buffalo High School saying they are making us feel rushed.

We could look to our parents saying they are pushing us too hard. But it’s neither of their faults. Truly it is no one’s fault. Society has evolved into a competitive, fast-paced place where no one can win.

I don’t know about you but I want to enjoy my time.

As you are registering for classes next fall, think about enjoying your time. It will be okay if you aren’t ahead. Ask yourself if you really want to be. Go deeper not farther.

At Buffalo High School, no one’s schedule is left to chance. Months of careful planning and organizing results in classes fitted for a wide range of students and a variety of interests. Most students don’t know how schedules are made nor the effort it takes to make them.

Class planning at BHS is different from many other schools; course offerings at BHS are determined on a popularity basis rather than on a concrete curriculum, meaning students have a say in which classes will be taught based on the classes they register for.

“Our building has chosen to make a master schedule based on student requests for courses,” said Counselor, Christina Cox. “Our registrar runs totals of every class, to see how many people have requested each one. And then those numbers go to the department chair that we have in every department in our building. Each department gets to decide what they’ll teach and how many sections of each class they’ll offer.”

Even though counselors work to meet student demand, the scheduling process isn’t perfect. At some point or another, most students at BHS are forced to choose between two equally interesting classes due to scheduling constraints or last-minute complications.

“[There are a] whole bunch of factors, one of which is — well, let’s say this — students change their classes all the time. They don’t do a really good job choosing their courses when it’s time to register. Most of the students I know come and change their schedule at least once during the school year, and that totally messes up our system.

Another factor is students who just don’t complete registration in the first place, which leaves us guessing as to what their needs might be. There’s tons of factors that go into scheduling; it’s a huge puzzle,” said Cox.

Schedules are not only affected by student choices but also by the block schedule, which is how our school organizes all of its classes.

“On a block schedule, we can offer so many more choices, but we offer less of each one, and so it does generate more conflict when it comes to a schedule. We may only have one Level IV German class and it may be at the same time as the only Concert Band class. Because we have so many choices, we have to have fewer of each one.”

BHS students also seem to wonder why their schedules come out at the end of summer and not earlier. The process of creating schedules based on the desires of 1,900 students is a lengthy one.

“Although [the counselors] don’t get a lot of work time with [student schedules], there’s mainly one person responsible for the master schedule and it’s a lot of work,” said Cox. “It’s [about] compiling all the data first. So this year, we close registration on February 24, and...

A new energy is arising in a different stadium as a player scores a touchdown for the home team. Students and staff are arriving to school an hour later than they are used to. The lower level is flooded with lively underclassman.

With Buffalo High School adding the new stadium to our backyard, some students are expecting better crowds than in the past.

“I’m sure it will draw people to more games because it’s new, and bigger. The people won’t have to stand and watch the game, and I think it’s closer to other towns,” said Freshman Abby Shelby.

Sophomore Ryan Dugan doesn’t believe the new stadium will have an affect on the players but will bring more energy into the crowds.

“I don’t think it will make them play any better, but the new stadium will most likely be nicer, so it will be more fun than the middle school.”

Along with the new stadium, BHS is experiencing a controversial time change. Part of the student body is looking forward to the new time change while others oppose it.

“Well I think it will be nice in some ways because it’s not so early in the morning,” said Junior Ingrid Nelson. “But in other ways, activities after school are going to be pushed back, which would cause homework to be pushed off. We won’t get any more sleep but it may just be a better time of day for our brains to learn.”

Senior Cody Hultmann brought up a different side of the conversation.

“Theoretically it will help our grades. I guess it will mostly help in the winter, because it will give more time for the roads to be plowed and have a little more time to thaw,” said Hultman

With start times changing, so are class sizes. With the incoming freshman, the underclassman will have the largest amount of students compared to the combined classes of juniors and seniors attending Buffalo High School.

“I don’t mind the fact that the incoming class will be the largest class to attend BHS, and I don’t believe it will make a very large impact on the way the school functions,” said Junior Nathan Hillstrom. “That being said it might affect certain things, such as how efficiently the classes can move to and from school wide events, or even to and from your classes.”

With such a large amount of students entering the building there may be some issues that arise. Hillstrom didn’t seem to be worried however.

“I do believe that the staff and students will work together to figure out the best way to solve any such problems that arise,” said Hillstrom.

Rumors can spread fast among high school students, and a unique one recently spread like wildfire. According to students, BHS was bringing in specially trained dogs to search for drugs. However, even though the rumor turned out to be false, parts were seeded in some grain of truth.

“There were no drug dogs on Friday [November 6], there wasn’t a plan to have them come in on Friday at all,” said Assistant Principal Brad Koltes. “We have discussions about when we want to do stuff like that, We have the right and ability to bring dogs in. Most schools do bring them in.”

While there are no specific future plans to bring the K-9’s in, the school feels that drug dogs are an effective way to deter drug usage.

“There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes as far as keeping the school safe and making sure we do everything that we can do to keep drugs out. Marijuana is the biggest problem. Always has been, always will be,” said School resource Officer Dustyn Bruch. “It’s a common practice for dogs to come into schools and parking lots. There’s been discussion about it here yes. I think it’s a pretty common discussion in high school.”

If dogs were to be brought in, it would be the school conducting the search, not the police. This affects the laws involved in the search. All evidence the school finds is given to the police to investigate.

“There’s a difference between law enforcement and school administration. The school has a lower threshold in order to search a vehicle, search a person, and search a locker. They need reasonable suspicion, where the law enforcement needs probable cause,” said Bruch. “It’s not a violation of the fourth amendment, search and seizure rights. That’s why it’s done on a regular basis in schools. The courts are on our side, and they’re looking out for the safety of the students and staff.”

Since the law is in favor of the school’s right to maintain a safe building, the administration plays a huge part in enforcing drug policies.

“This administration is very proactive, and very concerned about the welfare and safety of the student body. If they get information they pursue it every time,” said Bruch.

“If someone’s bringing drugs to school there’s obviously underlying deeper issues going on that need to be dealt with,” said Bruch. “There’s always protocols as far as getting kids help if they need it and working with them but I think in today’s day and age, dogs are a really good tool to have. One more tool in the tool box for school safety.”

If a student is in the possession of drugs, the administration does their best ti help that student. The school wants the best for their future.

“We’ve got really good kids here in Buffalo, I hope that the majority are going to make good decisions,” said Koltes. “If kids make mistakes then we’ll work with them and help them learn from their mistakes, it’s not about just punishing them, you want them to make better choices going forward.”

As for the time to come, the use of drug dogs in Buffalo High School has always been in discussion. Anytime a student brings illegal substances to school they put themselves at risk.

“My message to any student is that you should be thinking every day that there might be a dog coming in here, or that there is reasonable suspicion to search your belongings or vehicle, that you act everyday that there’s a chance you might get in trouble,” said Koltes.

Many students and staff fell that drugs are a big issue in our school. K-9 units are an option the school has been putting into consideration to overall make the building a safer place.

“I think that’s a great idea. Too many kids are doing it and not getting caught. If a K9 came in and searched it would scare everyone and make kids stop doing it. Kids are getting the wrong message that drugs are okay but really they kill.”

“I think it is a good idea, but it should be done with more secrecy so people don’t find out about it. If I was a student being searched I wouldn’t really want others to know about it.”

“I think that’s it’s a good idea because [drugs] seem to be a problem that’s getting out of control. I think the school is just taking action to protect the students and our community. I know we are young adults but it’s time for a wake up call. I just hope that our school doesn’t over react or anything and blow it out of portions.”

“I was scared yesterday, but today I was fine. I feel like a lot of people were aware of the rumor, and so I saw a lot less drug activity today. It was almost a positive thing because a lot of the dealers and consumers were sober today, and I feel like it really lowered the drug usage today and over the weekend because nobody was dealing today”

“I got scared and thought it was a little invasive to all of a sudden just storm in. I have stuff in my car and people said dogs were searching cars and I was aware of a bunch of friends that would’ve got in trouble as well.”

“The whole thing, searching cars, is a little ridiculous in my opinion. I understand if there is a suspicion but when you are searching cars and bringing dogs to look, it’s a little over the top.”

“I feel like it violates the trust the school and the students have with each other but the right should be given to the police not the school”

“Drugs are not that disturbing to a classroom where you need to bring in dogs to find out where they are. That’s just a desperate measure that nobody needs to take.”

“It’s a waste of time and money. Nobody is going to stop smoking weed by getting their stuff searched through or receiving punishments. It hurts people who can do schoolwork well but also like to smoke. It’s stupid to bring drug to school, but I think using K9’s is too far. I think the solution to teen drug use lies in popular culture, but the school can’t do anything about that.”

Schools are permitted to use K-9’s to sniff out substances during unannounced, random searches because students don’t have a reasonable expectation of privacy in school pursuant to the Fourth Amendment.

Drug Dogs are trained to sniff for Crack Mushrooms Ecstacy Cocaine Meth Marijuana Heroin

Schools need Reasonable Suspicion Police need Probable cause -Reasonable suspicion means they need a reason to think you have done something wrong -Probable cause means they have admissible evidence that you’ve done something wrong

Dogs usually retire between seven and ten years of age

Schools have the right to search: 1. Phones 2. Cars and Vehicles 3. Backpacks and purses 4. Lockers 5. Clothing 6. Your person

Wright County has two trained drug dogs. Their names are Vader & Saber

Wright Country Sheriff’s Dept. had 55 deployments of the K9’s in 2015

All evidence a school finds can be handed over to the police and generally give police probable cause to investigate or charge a person

Making the most of a date in a town that’s only 9.621 square miles like Buffalo, MN, is easy. With all the unique and fun places that the town has to offer. You’re guranteed to have a great time wherever you go.

Dating in Buffalo has its pros and cons: It’s convenient to stay local, it saves on gas, and more affordable rather than driving into the city. On the flip side, others say there’s nothing to do in town other than watching movies at each other’s house. “There is nothing to do in Buffalo,” says Junior Marley Sanderson. “You feel like you’re doing the same stuff over and over. A change of scenery is nice.”

That’s why The Hoofprint is here to help. Buffalo may seem dull, but it has lots of great dates to offer- from sushi to skating, we have it all. Here are a few sure fire dates for you and your special someone that you can go on without leaving the comfort of Buffalo.

Face the cold, or wait until the weather gets a little warmer and take your date on a walk downtown in Sturges Park. In the summertime attend one of the concerts in the park that are held once a week or take a stroll on one of the walking paths. Once the lake freezes over rent your skates from the warming house and bring your date ice skating.

This new restaurant in Buffalo is in the stripmall across from O’Reileys, behind Dominos. If you and your date like steak and sushi restaurants, take them to Sakura. It is a fun environment and is sure to impress your date. Make sure to call and reserve a table ahead of time.

This winter came late, but now that it’s here, take avantage. Take your date to the golf course to go sledding. You can go just the two of you or bring a whole group. Have fun during the day, or take them at night for sledding under the lights then head over to Buffalo Books or Dunn Brothers to warm up with a hot chocolate or coffee.

For a more casual but still romantic date, take your date to dinner and a show. Before you pick them up, talk about movies they would enjoy seeing and find a time at the Buffalo Cinema in advance. Take them out to dinner afterwards for some half off appetizers at Applebee’s for a more date feeling, or go for the more casual experience and take them to get breakfast for dinner at Perkins.

If you’re trying to go for ore of an authentic feeling date head over to Rancho Grande. To start things off order your date some queso cheese to go with the appetizer chips. Impress your date with your Spanish speaking skills as you order from the variety of menu items.

Febuary 8th, attend the BHS Winter Band Concert in the PAC. Starting at 7:30 PM. Be sure to get there early to get a good spot!

Febuary 12th, attend the Buffalo Community Theater’s opening night of Disney’s Winnie the Pooh in the Discovery School Auditorium at 7:30 p.m.

Febuary 14, buy some flowers at Buffalo Floral and visit your special someone to spend this Valentine’s day together

Brandon Bednarek conducts an Arts Magnet Student Council meeting in the Black Box during AAA.

Students gather in the math office on the first floor to play cards during AAA. The players use AAA time to relax with friends at the end of the day.

The rules of AAA are clear: after fourth block, you have eight minutes to return to one of your four classrooms, at which, you are to use the twenty minutes to productively work on school work, ask questions, or study until the bell rings at 2:20. However, for many students, this is not the case.

“Ninety percent of the students are where they need to be,” said Principal Mark Mischke. “Ideally we want our students to take the initiative to be where they need to be, but unfortunately that’s not always the case.”

It’s not uncommon to see administration roaming the halls during this time, on the lookout for students. “One of the hard things with AAA is that attendance isn’t taken, so students feel like they won’t get in trouble for not being there,” explained Mischke. “If students can’t find a place to go, we will find one for them.”

So what do the remaining ten percent of students do? Some will wait out the twenty minutes in the school bathrooms, spend AAA in the library, or “working” on computers in a lab. Others will simply wander the halls, hoping to avoid the patrolling teachers or try to leave school altogether.

Back in September of this school year, a group of students started playing card games during Bison Time. “We started in a teacher’s room, but when Kurtis [Kunkel] started getting too loud when he lost, they had to move us to the closet,” explained Senior Klara Axelson who plays cards every day.

Now card games, or The Underground Gambling Ring, as they like to call it, is happening every AAA in the Math Department office. “It’s a great way to wind down at the end of the day,” said Junior Jake Hendel.

AAA: something that is unique about BHS. Most schools have some sort of home room, but here we have independence and choice. Even though conflicts might arise in this uncontrolled twenty minute time period, it is important to the school to give the students this freedom and opportunity.

AAA stands for ‘Academics, Advisement, Activities’. It is a great time for students to catch up on classwork, go to activity meetings, or retake exams.

“AAA is a perfect example of a school of choice opportunity,” said Principal Mark Mischke. “I literally say to students ‘choose where you want to go.’”

BHS has a base philosophy of letting students make as many of their own choices as possible. They strive to prepare the students for adulthood as much as possible in these four years. The freedom of AAA is not available to most kids at different schools, which makes our school stand out.

“If you were to tell people from other schools that we don’t take attendance for a twenty minute period of time and you can just go where you want to go, they’d say ‘how do you manage that?’ For the most part, it’s pretty easy,” said Mischke.

Teachers acknowledge the problems but also recognize the benefits of AAA.

“I find AAA useful mainly for two things,” said French Teacher Jason Swanson. “If I want to have a quick French Club meeting, or if we want to do an International [Club] meeting, AAA is very useful for that. I also find it useful for when kids need to get caught up, if they were gone and they missed a quiz or an exam, they can come and get it done.”

In the coming years AAA will probably continue, but it may look different than it does today. Although official discussions have not yet taken place, changes to how we run AAA could go into effect anytime in the next few years to make this time the most efficient it can be. However, students should still expect that their rights of independence and opportunity will be upheld at BHS.

After eight rotations the girls gather around, waiting for the ceremony to start. The girls are nervous.

St. Francis was a tough opponent and had a good chance to take their undefeated record from them.

Junior Noah Buystedt, a spotter for the team, got news from Coach Martha Driscoll-Nelson that there was only a .125 point difference, but he’s still unsure of who won.

“My heart was beating watching the girls sit there,” said Buystedt. “They thought that they had lost.”

The gymnasts’ hopes of an undefeated season are dropping; seeing their coach talk to the spotters made them believe that they were beaten. The scorekeeper announced the gymnasts who placed in varsity all around, the last awards revealed before team scores. The suspense is mounting, and then they hear the news.

“The moment they won the adrenaline kicked in it was just crazy, really exciting, got your heart pumping,” said Buystedt.

The gymnastics team gained their fifth win this season, officially placing their win count at more than twice as many as the previous season. The team is on the path to an undefeated season.

“I don’t want to jinx it or anything,” said Sophomore Samantha Twardy. “I really do hope [we go undefeated], and I think we have good plans and we’re getting there.”

The schedule is not an easy one. The team is scheduled to face a prepared Cambridge team during the last conference meet of the season.

“We face Cambridge in our last meet,” said Junior Alex Kahlert. “They’ve been scoring in the 140s and our highest yet has been 137. So that’s going to be a bigger challenge for us.”

With a looming challenge on the horizon, the gymnasts are focusing all their efforts on doing what seemed impossible just a season ago.

Q How long have you been painting for? A "I started painting the summer before my junior year. The first real thing I painted was a peach and it turned out well, so I started buying more supplies and painting more often."

Q What was the first painting you sold? A "I did my first commissioned painting last summer. My friend bought me a canvas and said he would pay me to "paint something cool." I chose a picture that I liked and went to work. It took me a couple weeks to finish, and it was really hard to give it up even though I had painted it for somebody else."

Q If your entire life was a movie what title would best fit? A "Dumbo."

Q Would you give a homeless person CPR if they were dying? Why or why not? A "It honestly depends on how bad they smell and how grimey they are."

Q If you had a friend that spoke to you the same way you speak to yourself, how long do you think that person would be allowed to be your friend? A "Probably my whole life, I mean they would get annoying at times, but they would still be a good friend."

Q What one piece of advice would you offer a newborn infant? A "Remember you are loved."

Q Is it better to love and lose or never to love? A "It's better to love and to lose than to never love because there are uncountable benefits to experiencing love."

Q What's one of your favorite habits you have? A "I solve Rubik's cubes as my stress reliever."

Q Is it more important to be liked or respected? A "Respected. People are going to dislike you not matter what you do. You can't please everybody. But to gain somebody's respect through your actions is an achievement in itself."

Q What do you think about the education system and why? A "I think the curriculum for the public education is mediocre. I mean the required classes are a joke and aren't very challenging or thought-provoking, but I think the educational system at Buffalo can be pristine if students challenge themselves and take good classes."

Q What do you value the most about a friendship? A "The trust and loyalty between friends."