The Hoofprint – May 28, 2009

May is the official Seatbelt Enforcement month, which means that cops are ramping up on the enforcement of both drivers and passengers to wear their seatbelts. To encourage the wearing of seatbelts, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety held a student film competition called “Rock the Belt.”

Students were directed to produce a 30-second commercial urging teens to use seatbelts. The contest received 76 entries, which were then narrowed down to the top 6. Two of those top six slots were filled by Juniors Neil Gleason and Michael Bonde, who placed fifth and sixth respectively.

“Buffalo’s vote was split between the two videos, we were up against some huge schools, and the guy who won is going to film school… so the loss wasn’t entirely unexpected, though a little sad I guess,” said Gleason. “But this was a good chance to stretch myself, learn, and get some recognition while still promoting a good cause.”

Along with the video contest, BHS also participated in the Seatbelt Challenge. With 94.4% of students buckled up, the school won $500. Suggestions for what can be done with this money can be brought to the front office.

The Academic Excellence Ceremony took place on May 11. Over 172 department awards, 310 academic letters, and 73 Presidential Academic Excellence awards were passed out. Juniors Graham Wyatt and Jensen Maiden received the ExCEL Award, and Seniors Anna Brown and Al Gutknecht were recognized as the Triple A Award winners.

The most prestigious awards given out were the Hall of Fame awards, which were presented to Seniors Brooks Beilke and Mysee Chang, both of whom have excelled in academics, activities, and athletics. Chang credited her successs to her teachers, who have impacted her in ways big and small.

“I want to thank all the staff at BHS for honoring me,” said Chang. “I want you all to know that this accomplishment is your accomplishment too. You have all played an important part in my life and have shaped the individual I am today. Again, I am truly honored and will be forever grateful.”

The other eight finalists for the award were Seniors Kelsea Kohler, Hannah Birkeland, Amanda Burgdorf, Sarah Ramsey, Al Gutknecht, Kevin Hayes, Ben Stephens, and Ryan Haasken. The average combined GPA of all ten finalists was 11.11, a straight A-average. Also, the average number of sports and activities participated in was 18.

On May 17, Globally Minded Student Activists (GMSA) hosted their second annual community benefit. The event was organized to spread knowledge and donate to the Not for Sale campaign on human trafficking, which is the forced capture or abduction of people for sexual exploitation and/or slave labor.

“[Not For Sale] is my favorite organization,” said Senior Renee Gritz, who headed the benefit. “I am genuinely interested in helping the less fortunate. I was chosen to lead the benefit because I am the one who knew the most about the topic; I am passionate about it, so I suggested it in an early meeting.”

The Not For Sale (NFS) campaign maps and intervenes in cases of human trafficking/ slavery, works to develop new tools and resources to aid those in need, and encourages the more fortunate to become abolitionists. Run by students, artists, atheletes, law enforcement officials, and just about any and every other type of person, the NFS campaign’s motto is “Every single person has a skill that they can give to free an individual living in bondage.”

“Earlier in the year at one of our meetings, Renée had bought human trafficking up as an option for the spring benefit, and other students had heard about it, and it seemed like a merging issue that would be great for us to cover,” said English Teacher and GMSA Advisor Katie Kunz. “I’m excited where we went with the issue, how we worked with the NFS campaign, and how GMSA has been in general. It feels like we’re riding a wave right into the thick of things and are getting a lot of awareness from the school and the community.”

The event consisted of a silent auction selling tickets, quilts, photography, and other various items; booths with jewelery, frames, hats and Henna tattoos; and student performances, which included singing, a jazz solo, and even a comedy act. NFS Representative Richard Wexler also came and gave a short video presentation and speech on the issue of the 27 million people who are enslaved in the world today due to human trafficking.

“Any person can learn the signs of suffering, determine who needs help, and then do something about it,” said Wexler. “I’m so excited and grateful for what GMSA has done for this campaign. They’re helping to spread awareness, so that this doesn’t have to happen anymore. This campaign is about hope. It’s not just about the atrocities… it’s about the people who have decided to make a difference, the same students who are a part of GMSA. The only limit to one’s involvement is one’s imagination. This event was obviously well-planned by students who had a commitment to become a voice for the voiceless and oppressed people of the world. I’m impressed at how many students gave up their time to make the event a success. The value of this event goes beyond just raising money for the cause but includes, just as importantly, the raising of awareness of the evil of trafficking in the school and community.”

This year’s benefit’s success is largely credited to the work and planning GMSA did, but also to many volunteers and community members that attended the event. The group raised over $3,000 for the NFS organization and are still continuing to take in donations from residents.

“I was pleased—ridiculously happy—by the people of this community, by their donations… the people who went to the benefit were very interested, and those who worked there were very dedicated,” said Kunz. “To do good, you just need to find like-minded people, people who are interested in what you’re interested in. You don’t need to do big things; you can do many small things. When someone has a cause they care about, they can work each day towards helping that cause.”

After hosting the very successful Congo Week in January, which created quite the stir among students and propelled GMSA as the activity to watch, Kunz is determined that GMSA remain a firm component of the high school, so much so that she is heading two summer sessions geared towards the planning of events for the upcoming ’09-’10 school year.

“The summer program is a class for incoming freshmen through seniors who are interested in getting involved with GMSA next year,” said Kunz. “We’ll essentially be mapping our schedule for next year, deciding on what issues and organizations to explore further, and working towards becoming experts on those issues and organizations. We will also be working more on the advertising and PR [public relations] part for the next spring benefit.”

Sessions will be held July 20 through July 23 or July 27 through July 30. Both sessions begin at noon and end at 3pm. Incoming freshmen through seniors are welcome.

Shortly after men in uniforms marched three flags on the stage of Buffalo High School’s Performing Arts Center, all but the stage lights went out at once, creating a dramatic setting for the Supreme Court case of State vs. Vang.

The set up of a court room crowded the stage with seven perfect name cards, accompanied by seven perfectly placed water bottles, indication where each of the state’s Justices would assemble for the day.

After prolonged moments of silently waiting, the Marshall crossed the floor, banged her gavel and demanded, “All rise for the Justices of the Supreme Court of Minnesota.”

Immediately, more than 850 members of the audience obeyed as the seven Supreme Court Justices filed onto the stage.

The trial began with the appellant’s attorney making his appeal argument explaining that the evidence presented in the previous trial was not reasonably foreseeable, and the testimony from the expert was hearsay and should not have been allowed into the courtroom.

The prosecutor was then given her chance to make her opening statement where she defended the use of the expert testimony which uncovered the words from the contact card which stated that the defendant was a member of the Menace of Destruction (MOD) gang. She discussed the pattern of a gang member which could only be described by an expert in the field.

Overall, the case was an appeal to try to get the defendant, Meng Vang, a lesser time sentence.

Beginning over a month before the May 6 Supreme Court visit, the Cultures United group along with Denise Wahlin-Fiskum’s CIS Literature class read A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, relating it back to the Meng Vang trial.

The book was set in the 1940s and is about an African American man, Jefferson, who was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Jefferson was wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to the death penalty by an all white jury.

“There was a cultural barrier with a jury of all white people,” said Senior Mysee Chang. “They don’t experience culture. For example, the gang culture; they don’t understand how it can be necessary for survival; the gang is their family.”

Comparing the trial to A Lesson Before Dying, the Cultures United group hosted Justice Page in class where he shared advice. Chang remembers the Justices being very human and willing to throw everything out the door as a way to talk about life.

“Justice Page gave insight to the boys in class,” said Sophomore Valencia Ingram. “Minority men have harder times with education and get discouraged, so for him to be there and have graduated from Notre Dame it showed how important it was to make use of your education. He told them that being a rapper or football player isn’t everything.”

The students found value in the Supreme Court visit realizing that it had purpose for each individual who was a part of it.

“The purpose of the day was to bridge gaps between minorities and prejudice. It was mainly to educate us about ourselves and our future, what to do to prevent us from being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Senior Ariel Harris. “We all struggle differently. It’s fascinating to learn about different people and cultures.”

Cultures United and Wahlin-Fiskum’s CIS Literature class took time out of their school day, AAA, SSR and after school to discuss culture, which allowed them to form better relationships with students of different cultures.

“It was good to be with Wahlin-Fiskum’s class,” said Ingram. “We’re all used to being with the Cultures United group. At first it was intimidating because they look and act differently.”

Wrapping up the unit on Friday, May 15, the two groups met again in the black box to present skits that related the book and Vang trial to their own lives.

“We did a skit about assumptions where we took real things that we had been called at lunch,” said Harris. “In the end we say who we really are and get rid of the assumptions.”

The lesson ended up being productive not only with accepting other cultures, but accepting our own as well.

“Learning to make good choices and understanding heritage is important,” said Chang. “I’ve always wanted to run away from my Hmong heritage and focus more on my American heritage, but now I realize that you can’t run away from who you are. It’s your responsibility to help your people because they are counting on you.”

There exist in life many things that are worth complaining about: losing a job or a home, for example: perhaps a love one died recently; most everyone knows how hard that is. I can relate. But there comes a certain point where people start to edge away from the truly relevant and drift into trivialities that nobody else wants to hear about. Can’t answer your texts because the teacher’s hovering behind you? Having issues with class work because you fell behind and were too stupid to solve your issues promptly? Maybe you just don’t like someone? Seriously, shut up. You’re giving a bad name to the rest of us.

Every teenager today knows how older generations tend to see us: spoiled brats who are cut for a quick buck, a good time, and content to leave their mess for everyone else to handle. Most of us know that’s a falsity, yet we’re still stamped with the same stereotype as the few annoying anomalies. The problem isn’t the older folk, it’s those who commit to a self-fulfilling prophecy each and every day. I know this sounds like a digression, but it actually leads me back to my original point – pointless, idiotic complaints that register as white noise to everyone in a 30-foot radius.

Yes, I’m preaching, and yes, I do realize that many of the people who read this won’t take it seriously, and those are the same people I refer to in rage in this column. Eventually, they’re going to have to lay down their arms in surrender and admit that they’re not the center of everything. It’s rather amusing to note that this usually happens about the time the next generation comes along with their static noise. We’re victims of a cycle: complain, then complain when other people come complaining about us complaining. Repeat. Then people like me eventually come along and complain about everyone ever. If people admit that the majority of what they cry about measures up to roughly nothing in the long run, then perhaps we can break the cycle and teach those younger than us something besides how to shed tears.

It’s entirely possible I’m wrong. Granted, it’s not likely, but it’s possible. Maybe every little thing is worth voicing, maybe every small occurence needs to be heard. If that sounds like nonsense to you, then congratulations, you’re part of the solution. For those that are still wondering, it’s not a matter of massive rallies and emotionally moving speeches. The solution, put simply, is to look at things in a different manner. No matter how grim the situation or how corny the analogy, every cloud has a silver lining and the sun shall rise again. A missed call isn’t going to destroy you, I promise. There’s not much time left in this school year, and it’s true that there’s been a lot that could warrant a little bit of whining. Shouting every little thing that happens to cross your mind, however, is not the way to go. Instead, use those cognitive powers you’ve developed over the years and acutally think about whether or not what you’re saying is actually a warranted complaint or just a mindless cry for attention.

In short, shut your mouth and grow up.

Though I began high school at the extremely matured age of 14 (just three years ago might I add) I still consider my experience at Buffalo High School to be a “growing up” process. From Freshman year where the center of the universe miraculously switched from the sun, to me, to boys and back to me again, to Junior year, which I dub “the year where I realized that everyone is not out to get me,” I learned an uncountable amount of lessons not only about myself, but of the people who have surrounded me these past years as well.

Never until now, as I sit spilling my thoughts on paper for one last time, did I realize that this world is made of a collection of unique and growing communities. Buffalo High School is a community. A community filled with friends, families and many futures. As the class of 2009 goes on to new places I know that whether we enjoyed our time at BHS or not, we will all have memories sprouting and growing from this school because by coming here everyday we have planted individual roots that are entangled together which cannot be easily broken. This community that we all have our own place in has shaped the people we will all eventually become.

So even though it took me three whole years to mature to the point I have currently reached, the amount of lessons that are yet to be gained are infinite. I will most likely experience many more late nights writing papers caused by procrastination, I will probably lose many more friends but gain new ones as well, and I will most definitely experience many more heartbreaks along the way as well. And after many more years with these yet to come experiences, I know that I will surpass the maturity level I can expect from any graduating high school senior going off to college on her own, and maybe even exceed the amount of change I’ve achieved in these three short years by becoming an even different person.

I hope the ultimate goal of every graduating senior is to learn from every single thing experienced. I hope to gather with these people 15 years from now and not be surrounded by the 18-year-olds I had remembered, but by people who have made a difference in this world whether it be becoming a parent or starting a small business to working in Africa or joining the military. We all have a place within the halls of BHS and we will all have a place in future communities as well.

Meet Celeste Lundgren-laws: a senior involved in typical activities, like sports, work, and spending time with friends. So what steers her away from “the norm”? She has a time consuming obsession: The Jonas Brothers. You’re probably thinking, “Okay, so she likes their music, so what?,” but it’s much more than that. Aside from owning all of their albums, she’s invested over $600 in her obsession. “Where do I even start?” Said Lundgren-laws. “I have four pins and I’m getting more soon. I have hundreds of pictures, their Burning Up book, three shirts, a lanyard, two key chains, a bag, necklaces, over a dozen magazines, bracelets, a replica of Nick’s purity ring, and I am going to my second concert this summer.”

Obsessions- we all seem to have them. Out of the 100 students polled at BHS, only two of them said they did not have any. Although some “obsessions” may be more subconscious or unnoticeable, like having a daily energy drink, chewing a pack of gum a day, texting constantly, or playing hours worth of video games, some can be more intense or diffi cult to ignore.

For sophomore Alex Gatzke, his mild obsessions include Rubik’s cubes and Guitar Hero. He spends about two hours a day playing Guitar Hero and he currently owns a total of 17 Rubik’s cubes.

“I can solve almost any size,” said Gatzke. “I do Rubik’s cubes constantly.”

Only 13% of Americans are able to solve Rubik’s cubes, and there are 43 quintillion positions that can be solved. Over 3.1 million copies of Guitar Hero II alone were sold last year. However, obsessions are not only limited to objects. They can vary from fi ctional characters in books, like Edward Cullen from the Twilight Series, to an obsession over well-known celebrities like Brad Pitt or Shia LaBeouf. Junior Chelsea Hinnenkamp is one of these students.

“My favorite thing [about Shia LaBeouf] is his sexiness,” said Hinnenkamp. “Have you looked at him?”

Hinnenkamp has an action figure, three movies, a phone screen saver, and two posters of Shia in her locker that she “occasionally kisses after class.” Although she’s known about him since the Disney show Even Stevens was aired, Hinnenkamp didn’t develop this “celebrity crush” on him until she saw him in his suspense film Disturbia.

Obsessions can be a big part of who we are, or they can simply be something we enjoy. But what if these obsessions were to disappear? If the Jonas Brothers were to vanish off the face of the earth, Celeste says she would “be depressed for a year straight, (and) not know what to do with herself.” For Hinnenkamp, life with no Shia would make her feel as though “the sun would never rise, fl owers would never bloom, eggs would never hatch, stars would never sparkle, clouds would never part, thunder would never cease, and life would never be lived again.”

Obsessions; are defi ned as “the domination of one’s thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image or desire,” It’s up to individuals to determine whether they let them “dominate” their life or not.

“I made out with my older cousin when I was five years old.”...“I watch shows about overweight people to make me feel better about myself.”

Think of your deepest darkest secret, the one you’ve never told anyone. Would you be willing to tell everyone you know and show the true you? PostSecret gives people from all over the world the opportunity to relieve guilt and shame by anonymously sending in their secret on a postcard. It was started by Frank Warren, as a community mail art project. Warren created the website in January of 2005, and from there it’s popularity has grown. PostSecret now has four published books, with another book to be released in 2009. Secrets can be viewed at www.postsecret.com.

“I first found postsecret books through a friend and have loved reading them ever since. I think PostSecret gives a unique reality and truth to people,” said Sophomore Annalee Mason.

PostSecret sparked the interest of Buffalo High School’s Journalism II class, with the idea of bringing out the truth within students. The process of finding ‘hidden truths’ began with distributing postcards to classes and friends, and anticipating their return. The postcards displayed here are real life secrets of Buffalo High School students. They are daring and real. Some secrets are sad, and display a secret full of regret or blame. Such as, “I still blame them for what happened to her.” While others are confessions of secret habits or embarrassing, “I love driving alone. I scream all the swear words in songs out loud, it makes me feel naughty.”

“It will be interesting to see what other people subitted as their secrets,” said Junior Leah Peterson. “It makes you wonder who people really are.”

To see a presentation of all secrets submitted by students visit, www.hoofprint.net.

May 29. Tomorrow. The 2009 yearbooks will make its debut to students; all hoping to see their names and photos displayed across its pages. Those same students then make sure the right thing is written in the right person’s book, not forgetting to tell their best friends to “never change”, because “they’re the best”. But, aside from what is written in the books by the student body, only a handful of people besides those on the yearbook staff know what goes into making our yearbook one of the best in the state.

The making of the 2009 yearbook, an almost 80 thousand dollar project, started in February of 2008. The yearbook staff of 14 students met every Wednesday morning organizing certain goals to achieve in the following months. With advice from Yearbook Advisor Ryan McCallum, the staff began narrowing down ideas for covers, colors, tone, and a theme. Changes would happen to these ideas up until the end of Yearbook camp, which is the third week in June at St. John’s University in Saint Joseph, Minnesota.

“Yearbook camp was a time that allowed growth for our staff. We became closer as friends and learned more about our roles in yearbook, said Photography Editor Matt Ebeling.

The group left the campus with first place in overall presentation and high confidence for producing a successful book. With success came many struggles that the students experienced.

“We have a lot of fun. One minute, we are screaming at each other, and the next we are seeing what everyone is doing over the weekend,” said Editor-in-Chief, Senior Grace Ruzicka. “We do put a lot of pressure on ourselves because we want it to look amazing, and that is what the student body deserves. We pick what to cover, and we have to cover it well, because we choose what everyone remembers. It is stressful, but only because we want it to look good.”

Over the summer, the staff works to get the ‘Ladder’ or layout of the yearbook done, or close to done. There are four deadlines throughout the year where separate parts of the book are due and sent to the publisher. The first deadline is in November, the second in December, third in January and the last one is in March.

“A yearbook work week starts on a Monday, and goes until Thursday. Once you are done with a deadline, you send the digital version of the layout to Taylor Publishing in Texas, and they will send you back what it would actually look like on paper,” said Senior Brad Palmer. “That way, you can tell if the color and layout looks good on paper, and not just on the computer screen.”

If the finished layout isn’t what the yearbook staff expected, extra hours of work are put in to change those imperfections in the hopes that the finished product will satisfy future readers.

“The deadlines are only stressful if you choose to make them stressful,” said Ruzicka. “Some were absolutely painful, but for others, we had a plan and we communicated with each other, so they went well.”

Besides the actual yearbook, this year the staff is doing something new and different. Since the beginning of fourth quarter the staff has been working on the Spring Supplement, something our yearbook has not done since 1999. The supplement, which is added to the yearbook just like extra autograph pages, will include many of the spring activities such as prom, spring sports, and the spring play.

“The supplement was an idea we had come up with early in the process, said Ruzicka. We wanted spring athletes and activity members to be recognized. We also wanted to cover prom. We are very excited to have made this possible, and are looking forward to a positive reaction from the students.”

Upcoming Movies Land of the Lost Release date: June 5, 2009

Public Enemies Release date: June 19, 2009

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen Release date: June 26, 2009

G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra Release date: July 1, 2009

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Release date: July 1, 2009

G-Force Release date: July 15, 2009

Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Release date: July 24, 2009

Year One Release date: July 15, 2009

Attention Gamers Wii Sport Resort Release date: June 2, 2009 Systems: Wii

Prototype Release date: June 9, 2009 Systems: Xbox 360, PS3, PC

Batman: Arkham Asylum Release date: August 2009 Systems: Xbox 360, PS3, PC

Sims 3 Release date: June 2, 2009 Systems: PC

Madden NFL ‘10 Release date: August 14, 2009 Systems: PS2, PS3, PSP, PC

Get Your Rock On Vans Warped Tour Concert date: August 2, 2009 Canterbury Park in Shakopee

Beyoncé Concert date: July 16, 2009 Target Center

The Fray with Jack’s Mannequin Concert date: July 21, 2009 Target Center

Fountains of Wayne Concert date: July 7, 2009 Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis

The Jonas Brothers Concert date: July 8, 2009 Target Center

The Veronicas Concert date: July 10, 2009 Station 4 in St. Paul

Boys Like Girls Concert date: July 11, 2009 Station 4 in St. Paul

Green Day Concert date: July 11, 2009 Target Center

No Doubt with Paramore Concert date: July 7, 2009 Xcel Energy Center

Augustana Concert date: June 26, 2009 Varsity Center in Minneapolis

Rise Against Concert date: June 26, 2009 Myth in Maplewood

The Offspring Concert date: June 19, 2009 St. Paul RiverCentre

*Dates of releases may vary

Prototype is going to be the best game ever. This game will probably push the Xbox 360’s graphic capability. -Senior Matthew Taylor

I loved the first Transformers. I’m glad the second one will have the same cast. It’s going to rock. -Junior Devan Barker

With a good season fading in the rear view mirror the varsity baseball team looks to repeat and do even better this year. With a record of 13 wins and nine losses last season they have work to be done to turn those nine losses into wins. There are a lot of seniors missing from the 07-08 season, so the Bison baseball team is going to need improvement to step up this year.

Jake Duske, Carter Vogt, and Jon Zitur are graduated seniors who were huge assets to last year’s team. This year Junior Josh Gaughan is stepping up to fi ll in short stop Jake Duske’s spot thus creating the need for new chemistry between the players.

Team chemistry is how well the players play together and as it stands now, the team chemistry is low on count of the fact that with the new players fi lling in they haven’t been playing experience with each other.

“Chemistry in the team needs to build fast,” said Junior Buzz Tryggeseth, “We have new players and a weak lower half of our batting line-up. If we want a chance to do even better than last year we have to work hard.”

Team chemistry can be a strong bond between players, and if leaders step up and take control of the situation the team can really go far.

“I think we have a loss of leadership and good players in key spots,” said Gaughan, “It’s going to be fun trying to fi ll in Jake Duske’s spot. I hope I can fi ll in and make a good impact on the team.”

On the bright side the team has a few returning players like; Senior Captains Brooks Beilke and Brady Matzke, Juniors Aaron Duske and Tryggeseth, and Sophomore John Eckstein.

“Both [captains] have an extremely good work ethic and are positive most of the time,” said Tryggeseth, “They are pretty good at leading by example. In practice they are always working hard and trying to give tips and pointers to younger players, trying to make them better.”

Beilke has already signed with the Western Michigan Broncos and is starting catcher and Matzke is looking at some mound time along with third base.

Also looking at some pitching time is lefty pitchers Eckstein and Senior Casey Druar, lefty pitchers are good to have on teams because the other players have a harder time hitting against them. Also Duske is lookin at time on the mound.

Along with Gaughan, Duske is fi lling in where needed; like 1st base because he has a lot of experience at that particular position.

“I’m going to try and help the team by playing solid at fi rst base and catching when Brooks is on the mound,” said Duske. “I also bat clean up, to get people around the bases to rack up the runs.”

The bison fi nished the season off with a record of 13-9 overall and 10-6 in the conference, placing 3rd last year. This year their sights are set upon coming in fi rst in the conference and their fi rst ever conference title.

“Before we think about state we have to focus on winning our fi rst conference title,” said Beilke. “Once we win conference then we can focus on running to state.”

Favorite teams in the conference this year are Monticello, which the bison won 10-6, and St. Michael-Albertville, which the bison lost 14-15. In the section Eden Prairie and Minnetonka are the tougher teams to watch out for with Chaska following closely in their shadow, but Buffalo is right up there with everyone at fourth in the conference and fi fth in sections..The Bison have already played Minnetonka and lost 4-6. Their record so far is 11-9 in the regular season. With sections quickly approaching it all depends on how well they can play if they want make it to state.

“Last year our record was 10-1 with fi ve or more runs so we gotta drive them in,” said Tryggeseth, “We gotta make the easy plays. We do that, we win.”

When meeting Senior Cody Bullock you may notice the scar on the right side of his jaw from when he was stepped on by a one ton bull. When he suffered his broken jaw, his mouth was wired shut for a month.

Cody has had over six concussions, a separated shoulder, broken ribs, 20 plus stitches, a dislocated shoulder, and a slipped disk in his back. He has fought through all these injuries for his love of the sport of bull riding.

“My worst injury I had was when I broke my jaw,” said Bullock. “It was the worst because it took fi ve hours of surgery to fi x it with two plates and fi ve screws and not being able to eat solid food for 2 months cause my mouth was wired shut.”

“I really don’t remember to much of it but basically I was bucked of the bull and I landed face fi rst and could see the bull coming but number 7, that’s the name of the bull I was riding at the time, stepped on my face and the next thing I knew was waking up in the hospital,” said Bullock.

Cody’s broken jaw made his choice of whether or not to play hockey for his senior year much easier.

“Because of my broken jaw I couldn’t ride bulls anyways” said Bullock “plus hockey is fun and it keeps me in shape.”

Dave Bullock (Cody’s dad) also team ropes now and has started to enter some rodeos. His sister participated in rodeos for a while also.

Cody also participates in team roping, which he took the state championship last year along with bull ridding state championship. This seemingly fearless bull rider does have one fear and as surprising as it might be to most people its bucking horses.

“I used to ride bucking horses too, but they scared me so I quit,” said Bullock “I also team rope and calf rope”.

Bulls could be considered calm compared to bucking horses. The horses are taller and jump much higher and more rapidly than bulls.

“Horses bite and jump to high for me” Said Bullock

Cody’s professional bull riding career got off to a good start with a 6 second ride in April at the St. Paul Coliseum. Cody rides about 65 times a year on average.

“I started off pretty good I’d say, to show up as a young kid that no one knew on the tour and start off with a pretty good ride,” said Cody Bullock “my next ride is in Fergus falls memorial day weekend the same place I got hurt at”

Cody plans on attending Mesalads Community College in Tucumcari, NM and has also already signed for his rodeo scholarship this this past march.

Zach Mellon, the two-time Minnesota state champion of the 800-meter run, will more than likely be competing in the state track and field meet this year. Students wonder what other successes Buffalo High School’s Track and Field participants be able to accomplish before the rapidly approaching end of the season.

The boy’s track team was able to qualify for the State True Team meet, which was hosted on May 15. In a regular meet, only the top five finishers score points for their team, while in a True Team meet, everyone scores. If there are 24 people in an event, the winner of the event will get 24 points and the last place finisher will receive one point. The True Team track meet features Minnesota’s best teams competing against each other. Buffalo qualified on Friday, May 7 in Sauk Rapids, winning the meet by nearly 20 points. The girl’s team was able to achieve fifth place at the True Team meet. Although the boys’ team was expected to win the meet, Buffalo’s male runners fell short, finishing in seventh place.

The Mississippi 8 conference meet was held on May 12 in Princeton. The boy’s team finished first, for their sixth straight conference title. The girl’s team came in second by 12 points.

With only a few meets left in the season, the Bison are doing everything they can to get ready for state. The team practices everyday after school, rain or shine. If they can’t go outside on the track, they stay inside and practice in the Bison Activity Center, aside from practices in the middle school pool.

“We have practices in the pool every Wednesday,” said Track and Field Head Coach Scott Palmer. “It relaxes and reduces the wear and tear on your muscles.”

This year the 800, 4x400, 4x800, and jumps are just a few of the events the bison are expecting good turnouts for individual sections and possibly the state meet. Junior Beau Gagnon is one of the star jumpers on the team, alongside Senior Captain Kaleb Stevens. The 4x800 meter relay consists of Senior Zach Mellon, Junior Nick Teetzel, Senior Kevin Hayes and Sophomore Josh Wedemeier.

Qualifications for the state meet are very strict. According to Raceberryjam.com, qualifying times for the 100-meter dash is a maximum of 11.5 F.A.T. (Flat Automated Timing), and 22.67 F.A.T. 200 meter dash. Both Stevens and Senior Chuck Hermes ran an 11.2 in the 100m dash, just making it to state.

“In the 110 hurdles you need to run a 15.2 or get first or second in sections,” says Senior Captain Keenen Stangl. “I ran a 14.64 race at the conference meet on the May 12, so im feeling pretty confident.”

Looking back on last year, both boys and girls teams have improved greatly. With all the talent coming in from the middle school and veterans, the team is doing well.

“We’ve got guys and girls who continually work hard,” said Assistant Coach Jason Karn. “We continue to progress because our team wants to do well. We want to go far this year and compete for the state title.”

Dealing with the fact that she might not be able to play hockey

ever again was hard on Junior Frances Varner. Having to crutch

around for 4 weeks and missing her entire hockey season

was devastating and challenged what she thought of herself.

But a half year later, she’s back to being on the ice with a

lot of dedication on the rehabilitation process to repair her

torn ACL.

ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) most often tears

during sporting activities when an athlete suddenly pivots,

causing excessive rotational forces on a ligament. Athletes

who experience an ACL tearing usually feel a joint giving

out, or hear a “pop”. According to Strulowitz and Gargiulo

Physical Therapy (SGPT), ACL injuries strike women

athletes twice as often as men. This may be because in

general, females have weaker quadriceps and hamstring

muscles than males. Weak supporting muscles may have

an effect on stability when females plant their feet during

sudden moves such as jumping, cutting, and stopping.

ACL tears are a common injury in Buffalo High School. While

walking down the hallway, you will have a good chance of seeing

someone with this injury. One in every 100 high school female

athletes suffer from an ACL injury of some sort, usually a tear.

According to SGPT, the number of females participating in sports,

both high school and collegiate, has increased by 700% in the past

15 years.

“I got injured chasing after a girl in soccer,” said Varner. “She

quickly cut towards the net and I tried to do the same with little

success. The result was a loud popping noise and a torn ACL.”

Today, ACL reconstruction is an arthroscopic procedure.

Arthroscopic surgery is a procedure performed with small incisions

in the skin to repair injuries to tissues such as ligaments, cartilage,

or bone within the knee joint area. Many surgeons in the world

still prefer to open the knee, but depending on how the ACL is

repaired, the incisions may not be very different from those done

arthroscopically.

The ACL cannot be repaired by simply sewing it together

again. Methods were developed which involve reconstructing

the ACL ligament, including substituting a new ligament for the

damaged one. Using tendons from other parts of the body as a

substitute for the ACL was found to be the most effective way of

reconstructing the torn ACL. The two most popular methods are

using part of the patella tendon or a hamstring muscle tendon.

“I had to get arthroscopic surgery done and they had to

use my patellae tendon instead of my hamstring because it

was too small,” said Junior Domanick Bainey. “But the

doctors told me it doesn’t matter if they use my patellae

tendon or my hamstring.”

Recovery from an ACL tear takes 6-9 months and

requires a lot of physical therapy. Rehabilitation begins

immediately after surgery, which involves walking with

crutches, attempting to lift the leg independently, and

exercises which work the thigh muscles.

“I had to go to Physical Therapy for 6 months, twice

a week,” said Teacher Stacy Eggers. “They had me work

on my range of motion by making me lift light weights and

placing them on my leg.”

Overall, about 90 percent of patients with ACL

injuries fully recover, as long as they follow a good rehabilitation

program. As a long-term complication, some patients with ACL

injuries may eventually develop symptoms of osteoarthritis, which

is a type of arthritis that is caused by the breakdown and eventual

loss of the cartilage in the injured knee joint. According to one

study, 50 to 60 percent of patients who suffered a severe ACL

sprain showed X-ray evidence of knee osteoarthritis within 5 years

after their ACL injury.

Recently you may have noticed students wearing pink every Wednesday, for “pink day.” And the reason is because of a sophomore named Amanda Burggraff. On Tuesday, February 24 she was taken to North Memorial Hospital after noticing unusual bruising on her body and feeling very weak. After a bone marrow test, she was diagnosed with a rare form of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia. Doctors performed a spinal tap, bone marrow test, and gave her the first phase of chemo treatments. But as a result of the chemo, two blood clots formed which caused a stroke and damage to her spleen and a kidney. There were many more challenges and successes that sent Amanda on a rollercoaster ride and kept her in the hospital for over seven and a half weeks.

To help her, friends, teachers, and family were doing whatever they could to help and support her; Track and Field Head Coach Scott Palmer and Assistant Coach Jason Karn had shirts made that would become the track warm ups. Printed on them was a quote from Karn, “Just another tough workout for Amanda Bargraph,” a nickname what her friends called her.

“Amanda is an important part of our team, she put so much work into getting ready for this season. She is a great girl to have around and by making the shirts it is a way for us to mentally bring her with us to all the meets,” said Palmer.

Some girls showed their support by cutting their hair. Because of the chemotherapy, Amanda would soon lose hers. Five of Amanda’s friends and classmates, along with Amanda herself, were able to cut off enough to donate, over ten inches. A few others simply cut off what they could, in support of Amanda. The hair that was donated will become a wig for Amanda through the Locks of Love Organization.

“Cutting my hair was the least I could do to show my love and support for Amanda. I know how much she loved her hair and there was no doubt in my decision to donate,” said Sophomore Lauren Wilson.

Her close friends designed shirts to sell for students to wear on “pink days”. Over 150 were sold and all of the profits went to the Burggraff family.

“Amanda is such a wonderful person. By wearing the T-shirts on pink day, everyone gets to show their support for her. It’s amazing to see our hallways full of pink, it shows how much everyone loves her,” said Sophomore Nicole Nystrom.

Amanda suffered through many medical problems while she was in the hospital and was very sick. There were also a few emergency calls where doctors were rushed in.

“There were a lot of dark days that seemed to never end,” said her mother, Lindy Burggraff.

There is quite a bit that Amanda doesn’t remember from the beginning, because she was so heavily sedated from the medications. But even then, the nurses and doctors were amazed by what a trooper she was, for being so sick and in pain, she still gave it her best.

“It was amazing to see her face light up whenever a visitor walked into her room. It got her mind off of everything. She was just so excited to catch up with her friends,” said her father, Paul Burggraff.

The recovery is slow and still in process but recently Amanda was doing well enough to get up, get out of her hospital clothes and walk out side to soak up the sun for the first time in over seven weeks! She then was moved from the eighth floor down to the fourth, which after being in and out of Intensive Care, was a huge step in her recovery. On Friday, April 17 Amanda was discharged from the hospital and was able to go home.

On April 20, she started her second phase of Chemotherapy which she did as an outpatient at the hospital for 10 weeks, Monday through Friday for four hours of treatments. Now she is on a two week break at home, free of chemotherapy before being admitted back into the hospital for phase three. The treatments are very intense and in a short period of time. Her body is constantly working at recovering, and the chemotherapy leaves her feeling weak and tired, so she needs lots of rest to prevent any other illness.

Currently Amanda is enjoying simply being at home in her own bed.

“It is so nice that I don’t have to be woken up so much at night by nurses in the hospital. There is no better therapy than just being at home right now. Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz said, ‘There’s no place like home,’” said Amanda.

“I just want to thank everyone for all of the support and prayers. I have been very humbled by everything people have done. It is my faith that is helping me through it all, I am completely trusting God,” said Amanda, “I know I have a long road ahead of me, but every journey of a thousand miles begins with one single step. I am now on my journey.”

Gladiators: Based off the T.V. Show American Gladiators. Two students from each class, battled against each other. The students had to battle each other and staff members (The Spoilers) who tried to disrupt their progress on an obstacle course consisting of several physically challenging events to collect more points for the day. By the end of the week the class with the most points won the victory. Gladiators was done during Homecoming week

“I think Gladiator was fun, but dangerous. I don't think the insurance company would have liked it if we kept going with the activity.” -History Teacher Devin Davidson

Bonfires: 72 percent of the student body says bonfires are a great way to pass time, a lot of kids will just get a bunch of friends together and sit by a warm fire. The last time our school had a bonfire was in 1984. Many students still wonder today why we got rid the Bonfires. According to Jacobson, the main reason why our school stopped having bonfires before homecoming games was because after a period of time they ran out of abandon out-houses to steal and throw in the fire. Besides, this event was a risk to the student’s safety also. They were away from the houses so that made it more convenient to do something reckless and destructive. -English Teacher Judy Jacobson

Parades: Buffalo also had a parade that the high school students put together before the bonfires which took place in down town Buffalo. The floats were made from the students and staff at Buffalo High School. Each class made their own float, and they would have marching bands come in from other schools.

“The reason we had ended the parade was because there were few people doing a lot of work while others were doing less work.” -English Teacher Denise Wahlin-Fiskum

ART SHOW 7:00 DANCE PERFORMANCE 7:30 CHOIR CONCERT 8:00