The Hoofprint – October 15, 2004

Despite having strong scores in both math and reading, Buffalo High School has been named an under-performing school by the State Department of Education. Although scores on the last year's MCA tests show a significant improvement over the previous year and rank among the higher scores in the state, scores in the special education department have caused the school to be added to the list.

This dilemma has caused many to criticize the test as flawed. Some feel it gives an inaccurate picture of schools, others feel it could cause discrimination against certain sub groups - such as minorities or students with learning disabilities - that underperform.

"Math went from a 74% to an 80%," said Assistant Principal Jim Bollum. "Our reading ---"

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“The election comes down to this. If you believe this country is heading in the right direction, you should support George Bush. But if you believe America needs to move in a new direction, join with us,” said Democrat candidate John Kerry in a speech given in September 2004.

Some students think Papa Smurf or Oprah should be president, while others want the issue of more passing time resolved. In reality however the election decides the future of our country: It determines whether or not the war in Iraq will continue, whether or not taxes will raise or lower, and whether or not schools will receive more funding. In even the slightest or more consequential ways who is elected in the current presidential race can affect everything we do, and what our country ---

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Continued on page 3

Buffalo High School is expanding. Construction began on October ninth on a $11 million improvement that will continue until the summer of 2006. The highlights of the project include an activity center with six basketball courts and an elevated track, more lockers, a bigger industrial tech area, additional space for music, and expanding the cafeteria by 40 feet.

"This will be good so that we can have more activities and there will be so many for kids coming to Buffalo High School," said assistant principal Matt Lubben.

When Buffalo High School opened in 1997, there wasn't enough money for everything that was originally requested. Much of the new improvements were a part of the original plan for the school, but voters didn't agree to the original proposal because they felt that it was too much money. Last year, District 877 voters approved a referendum allowing the renovations.

"It's good that we are adding on, there just isn't enough room for all of these kids," said junior Shannon Pollock.

Construction will be going on during school hours. There is going to be a couple of things interfering. The back two rows of the parking lot are now a staging area for work trucks, which will make for less space for students to park. According to Principal Dr. Nick Miller every effort is being made to keep construction from interfering with school.

"It is going to be packed when the sophomores start to drive," said junior Emily Jung.

When making the decision for the improvements everyone was involved. "The students were a big part," said Lubben, "and the staff was important also."

Construction will be done in August 2006.

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Construction has begun on the new addition at Buffalo High School on Friday October 9th. The new addition will consist of six new courts in an activities center, larger cafeteria and classroom space. Construction will be done in August 2006 by Katie Robinson

I was really little and riding my bike. My mom came and brought me into my Grandparent's condominium and we took cover. Grandpa didn't care and stayed in bed watching T.V., eating breakfast, said junior Linnea Logas

Although very young at the time, Logas' memory of the natural disaster has stayed with her the whole time. This is the same for everyone who has ever endured a natural disaster. Everyone in Florida will remember the news of the first hurricane... and now there is another on heading for them. There may not be any hurricane worries here, but after all that has gone on in the Gulf area, student's thoughts turned to their own worries on natural disasters.

The only natural disasters that happen around this area are floods, fires, and of course tornados. 41% of the student body is worried about tornados, just 18% of the students said they were most worried about fires, and a mere 8% of them were worried or scared of earthquakes.

There is no safe place to be, a tornado, go underground, says Senior Nick VanLith, but an earthquake everywhere is dangerous.

Earthquakes don't happen here, unlike tornados.

They can make huge buildings fall down said Senior Kessie Moench

A tornado's strength is measured by the Fujita Tornado Damage Scale, from zero to five, the abbreviations for this is F. A F0 has winds of only 0-73mph, and F5 having winds of 261-318mph. Earthquakes are measured with a seismogram... the bigger the zig-zag, the bigger the earthquake.

Buffalo High School sports will be joining a new conference at the beginning of the 2005-2006 season.

Buffalo High School will becoming one of eight charter members of the new Mississippi Eight Conference will consist of; St. Michael-Albertville (STMA), Princeton, Rogers, Becker, Cambridge-Isanti, Monticello, and Big Lake. This league is surely going to create some intensely heated rivalries.

"I'll have higher expectations for the football team next year... no longer will I accept excuses like the opponent is to big or that they're playing a private school," said Activities Director Tom Bauman. "What finally made us decide to leave the North Suburban Conference (NSC) was mainly travel... five out seven of these teams are within 20 miles of us."

The transition is already under way, as preparations are being made to join the league during this season. "There's no turning back its going to happen," Bauman said.

Bauman said that teams should do better next year in the new conference than in the NSC. Next year, they will be playing teams that match Buffalo's size.

"I want us to win the conference and expectations will defiantly be higher," said Bauman.

"There will be some tough challenges with this league getting to sections, and I expect football to strive. Moorhead and Wayzata are definite powerhouses in the section.

The road to sections will defiant- ly be tough," Bauman said. "Football will have to go through Wayzata to get there and basketball needs to beat Moorhead to get to sections."

"There will be some new heated rivalries and St. Michael Albertville (STMA) will surely be one of them," said assistant coach Chris Gmach. "STMA will surely be a new rival since there only about 15 miles away."

Should fans and coaches expect more from the teams?

"Just because we'll be the biggest team doesn't mean were going to win every game," said Gmach.

"It'll be more interesting with the new rivalries between teams that is what makes a game good," said Gmach.

"A league doesn't dictate if we'll have fans," said Gmach. "But people who don't have kids there are the more likely ones to go."

stands for. Out of 229 students polled, 64 percent would vote for George Bush, 25 percent would vote for John Kerry, 10 percent said they would vote for Ralph Nader, and 1 percent said they were undecided or going to vote for someone else. Overall the student body overwhelmingly elected George W. Bush, the Republican candidate.

Media has also played a large role in the student's opinion. From Bush's commercials, to the newspaper, the upcoming debates and all that comes with it. Recently the election has been one of the most covered issues currently.

"They've shown me that Bush's war records proved he wasn't there and that Kerry voted to raise taxes 18 times," said freshman Zach Greenfield.

Though the media may affect student's opinion on politics, families can too.

"I grew up with the Republican Party, but when I decided myself it was probably about a year and a half ago," said freshman Amanda Miller.

However influenced, many students have already formed opinions on some of the issues that are being discussed between candidates, and put into their plans as well.

"The most important thing to me is the way the rest of the world sees America, and I don't think Bush has done a good job at all of representing America as the trustworthy and knowledgeable country that we should be. I think he has failed to live up to the ideals the country has built on," said senior Andrew Dale. "I think that it was a mistake to go there [Iraq] because Bush went to the U.N. with the whole WMD's thing, and this is where he fails to live up to the ideals, because our country is only supposed to go to war as a last resort. I feel that he intended to go to war no matter what they found as far as Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq."

"I am running for President with a clear and positive plan to build a safer world and a more hopeful America. I am running with a compassionate conservative philosophy: that government should help people improve their lives, not try to run their lives. I believe this nation wants steady, consistent, principled leadership - and that is why, with your help, we will win this election," said Republican candidate George W. Bush at the Republican Convention in September 2004.

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Friday, October 15, 2004
In this test we were among the higher scoring schools in the area. Cambridge, a school of the same size, had a 75% passing rate in their math scores and a 79% in their reading scores. Delano, a school who is traditionally smaller than BHS, scored only three-percent higher in both reading and math.

The scoring system involves them evaluating the entire student body. They then find an average of the school. That score is then recorded by the state. The state still has to break it down into sub-groups, like minorities and Special Education, to see where they fall. If each individual sub group fulfills minimum standards then the school has passed. This year Buffalo did not meet the minimum requirements in the Special Education department.

"A lot of big schools didn't pass because of Special Ed," said Bollum. "We were high compared to other schools."

Being that the school is being evaluated and not individual students, it causes students to not feel the need to try. The school has now put the test on transcripts, trying to make it more of an impact on students. Of 40 students were surveyed, 85% of students said that because the test didn't directly affect their grade, they weren't even going to try.

"I think that is stupid," said junior Jake Fourre. "I personally tried and I'm sick of people not picking up their slack. I think we need to start showing what our school can really do, not just taking this thing as a walk in the park."

"I think it's a good thing to have a test that doesn't directly affect just that one person," said junior Shane Jensen. "Shows us where we need improvement and also to put our mark on the map."

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Teenagers don't see religion as an important part of life: When asked about religious faiths, most usually avoid answering in fear they will not be accepted. They all have different faiths and beliefs and being different isn't accepted much anymore in the US.
Teens and even some adults have faith in a religion but deny it to fit in. They pretend what they were brought up to believe is wrong and think their friends won't like them because they don't believe in the same things. Teens see their religion as a negative label.
Most teens are or were members of a church that taught them a way of worship. Some of them still go but say that they have to because their parents "make them." And they stop going so that they can hang out with friends one more day of the week.
Teens are raised by influence of T.V. and movies that provoke drugs, sex, and violence, and make certain religious groups the butt of jokes. They make fun of Monks and Nuns because they dress and act differently then they do, Buddha is often a joke to be laughed at and Jewish people are also often laughed at just because of the common insult of "Jew." Because of the negativity towards religion most teens who may have a faith don't show it at all if fear of being laughed at.
Some teens may think they admit their religious belief, but they change some of the meaning when they find they believe differently then their friends. Everyone's opinion is different.
America has the freedom of religion, and we should show it because if we lived in some other country we would actually have to hide it. Other families move to America so that they can where their religion on their arm and practice it legally. Why should we deny what we have always had? The next time you are asked what you believe in try to be honest; none of your friends will turn their back on you if you're honest as long as they are real friends.
Not every teen hides all or part of their religious feelings. Some are productively active in groups and aren't afraid of what others think because your religion is to come first.

Won't it be great when these elections are over with? For many, I'd imagine the question this election around is when our next president is to take office, not who.
Considering myself somewhat liberal in comparison to most students at BHS, I wouldn't normally be one to fit into the above category, although I still do. As surprising as it is for me to say this, I am sick of these politics, as are some of my teachers. From what I can gather, it's going to be a very ugly race.
John Kerry stumbled upon his adversary's war record... or lack thereof, I should say, and in return, the testimonies of 65 Vietnam War veterans—who didn't actually serve with Kerry, just near him—slithered in and attacked Kerry's record.
Events like that are still the norm and to be expected, however. Karl Rove—he's a man you have to watch out for this election. It was people like him who left leaflets on the cars of black communities in Florida, calling them out to vote for Gore on November sixth (which, oddly enough, is after the election!); it was people like him who rang up Republican residents in swing-states and asked them if they would still vote for Senator McCain in the Primaries if they found out that he had illegally fathered a non-white child from far out East.
I sometimes forget where and when I live; can someone tell me if this is still Germany, 1933?
All of Rove's blatant cheating and lack of any ethics aside, these politics are still getting out of hand. No matter who opened the door to these slimy tactics, they're still slimy. Personally, I don't really care if anyone earned a bunch of medals back in Vietnam, or if they even served. It does not make you a better President of the United States! Perhaps if someone had downright lied about earning those medals, or was drafted but somehow managed to desert the army, jack a plane over to America, and hide out in a bunker under the Whitehouse for the next decade, I might be slightly concerned about what someone did 40 years ago.
And besides, wouldn't it be just a little hypocritical not to serve in 'Nam but support with every ounce of willpower the War in Iraq? Oh yeah. I shouldn't get into that. It would contradict what I said above, about not going back that far, to attack Bush and Norm Coleman.
No doubt, by the time this article is released, the ads will have completely reverted to savage attacks and pot shots at the other candidate, completely disregarding what actually matters. Don't get me wrong though. Some of the negative ads that the Bush Administration uses make somewhat of a point, and that's a lot coming from a person who's willing to walk door-to-door with Kerry flyers if the occasion calls for it. For instance, this flip-flopping business... It makes sense, at least, although we all know that once a president is elected, they stop with the crap like "I'll lower your taxes; these evil people deserve higher taxes" and any other 'flip-flopping', and just do whatever it is their platform calls for. Well, not in Bush, Sr.'s case. There was that little "Read my lips" thing back in his term.
Okay, so what other ads can a candidate use to downsize their opposition? Well, try, for example, the fact that Kerry, as most Democrats do, just opposes the war? I realize that most of today's presidential campaign ads are created for those who want to get back to American Idol and Big Brother, but please. I don't think it was John Kerry's intention when voting against more body armor for our troops in Iraq to help our soldiers die quicker, less painful deaths when one of Hussein's crazed supporters purchases a Dragunov rifle and practices his deer-hunting skills on the 3rd Army stationed outside his bedroom window—just as it wasn't the President of the United State's intention to say he would never cease in his attempt to kill our own citizens.
But that gives me an idea. In response to all this immature debating, the Kerry Campaign should broadcast Dubya's speech on TV, in their own ad:
Background: "George Bush, our nation's president, likes his citizens."
Then they can roll the video feed of our president's greatest Bushism to date.
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop, thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."
And then, they freeze the picture of George Bush as he finishes the statement, blur it out of focus, and say in a deep, gruff voice:
"OR DOES HE?"

The unfamiliar sounds of bagpipes ring off in the distance down the streets of Buffalo. The hometown crowd jumps to their feet and the cheers seem to drown out the Scottish music being played by the upcoming band. As the visions of vibrant colored flags comes into view, the Buffalo Herd brings excitement to the fans. As the band halts and prepares for their show, the eyes of a dedicated drummer stay focused as her name is yelled from the curb. The band is ready...

The crowd cheers as the bagpipe finishes, and a sudden hush takes over the audience as the horns paint a pictures battle in the minds of the fans. Stepping back and allowing the band to pass by, BHS band director Lee Kjesbo watches as the hours of band camp come together for their first show.

"It's always a thrill every year to bring our band down the street of Buffalo," said Kjesbo. "Its our first parade, so its exciting. And this year with the new uniforms and bagpipes, it's fun."

This year the band was honored to wear brand new uniforms which hasn't happened in 14 years. They also performed a Scottish piece of music that featured a bagpipe and drums.

"We didn't choose a Scottish theme, we were looking for the right music," said Kjesbo. "And when we ran into this music, the Varsity band played it and we thought this would be fun for summer. We jumped right into one of our members playing the bagpipe, which fits right into the Scottish theme."

Suddenly, the horns fade and the woodwinds soften the mood. The mood has changed dramatically, the flags' sharp actions turn into flowing movements. The band stops in formation and performs a moving ballad. The Scottish music gives off the feeling of sadness as the battle in the fans' minds drift away. The band, still stopped, drop their heads are set for the last piece of the performance.

As the warm, soft music fades, a sudden beating of drums picks up again and the final mood is being set. The horns are longer soft, but finish off the performance with a band. The crowd starts clapping and cheering as the band takes the final pose.

As the young drummer fights back a smile as the band is called back to formation and begins marching off. The fans still cheering for the band, some even following behind, the sounds of the bagpipes fade off into the distance.

"It was the best summer out of three seasons," said junior Sadie Uttke. "I liked the kilt, the crowd went nuts. We had groupies."

Every other summer the marching band has the opportunity to travel around the United States and parts of Canada. In the last 4 years they have been to Traverse City, Michigan and Calgary, Alberta Canada. In the summer of 2005 the band will packing their bags again and traveling north.

"Right now we're looking at Eastern Canada," said Kjesbo. "Our Independence Day is July 4th, in Canada it's July 1st. They call it Canada Day. We're looking to find a Canada Day parade on July 1st and then come down into the states and hit a July 4th parade right down in the Montreal and Boston area."

Even the students are excited to traveling with the band.

"It will be a good experience. It will be pretty cool. Two parades on the 4th of July. It will be cool to go to other countries with friends," at a parade in Monticello, said Uttke.

Junior Jesse Ward plays the bagpipe as he marches down the street. The Scottish tune resulted in the first time bagpipes had ever been used in a performance. Photo Submitted By Lee Kjesbo

When it was time to pick the music, the band directors and drum majors looked for a piece that would fit the theme and give the band a variety of musical feelings. The choice of a Scottish piece brought in bagpipes and a different feeling than the more traditional pop songs. The band members practiced the piece during band camp and rehearsals until they were ready to perform it in front of their hometown crowd.

As the parade ended the members came into uniform and the band began to relax and enjoy the show. The crowd continued to cheer and compliment the band on their performance. The members took pride in their accomplishment and looked forward to future performances as they prepare for upcoming trips.

The band accomplishing their first parade of the summer are glad to do it in Buffalo.

"I wish every child had a chance to try marching," said Kjesbo.

Mennatallah el Decken (that's Menna for short) has been speaking English for eleven years, since she was four. Unlike her home, in Egypt, Menna is old enough to drive a car for the first time.
"It's a lot different in America," said Decken. "Here, you can drive a car when you're 16. In Egypt, you have to be 18."
In fact, all four foreign exchange students who were interviewed mentioned that in their home country, no one can legally obtain a driving license until the age of 18. There are, of course, deeper differences to observe in other countries. Menna compared the priorities between the United States and Egypt.
"Religion is the most important thing in Egypt. There is a lot more freedom in America... and you're so competitive," she said with a laugh.
Anneke Telkamper of Germany, was interested in the opposing images of America in Europe.
"I want to know if the news is right when it talks about America, in Germany," said Telkamper.
She also found differences in the culture of America as compared to her own.
"The patriotism is not so high. In every classroom, we don't have a German flag, but you have the American flag everywhere."
Andrea Bandelow also of Germany, had a contrary opinion to Menna, although she was obviously coming from a different part of the world.
"In America, you have more religion than in Germany," she said, "and [in the US] not many people are into politics of other countries."
All of the exchange students had some type of goal in mind when they went off to the United States.
Exchange Students
Continued on page 11

Since they released Warning in 2000, Green Day has been off the map, but now they're back with their new CD, American Idiot. For Green Day fans, the album is something new. Instead of the typical punk rock lyrics, the new album focuses more on the continuing American occupation of Iraq. And while the anti-war theme runs throughout the CD, each song sounds nothing like the other. Well-placed transitions between songs balance the lyrical variety of the songs and tie the album together. The lyrics. Avoiding a potentially fatal flaw of composing, the lyrics of the new album are not repetitive. It's very hard to get bored with songs like the title track, "American Idiot." The lyrics are explicit at times, but they get their political statement across: The media controls America more than the people's thoughts and emotions. Lead Singer, Billie Joe Armstrong sings, "Don't want to be an American Idiot / Don't want a nation under new media control / Can you hear the sound of hysteria / The subliminal mind — [F***] America." The message they express comes across beautifully, and their lyrical detail sets a new standard for anti-war rock. Buy this album.

If you have never played a survival horror game, Ghosthunter is a wonderful place to begin. Developed by a group of people who seem to remember the classic sense of atmosphere and fear, Ghosthunter blends action and horror to great effect. From the moment the player first steps into the abandoned manor, the game does a great job of building tension. The controls are tight, the inventory system is easy to use, and the puzzles are challenging without being frustrating. Combat is intense, using light and faith-based weapons to defeat a variety of enemies. The game also mixes in humor and character interaction, which breaks up the scares at just the right moments.

Graphically, Ghosthunter is impressive for its time. The environments are well designed with lots of detail and atmosphere. The sound design is excellent, with creaks, whispers and sudden noises that keep you on edge. The story itself is intriguing, focusing on a group of ghost hunters who must uncover the truth behind a series of supernatural events. Though the plot occasionally resorts to genre clichés, the strong pacing and well-executed scares make up for it.

Ghosthunter is not a perfect game. Some camera angles can be awkward and there are a few instances of repetitive enemy encounters. However, these are minor issues in an otherwise polished experience. Fans of survival horror and action-adventure titles will find a lot to enjoy here. If you like games that mix scares with solid gameplay and a hint of humor, Ghosthunter is worth checking out.

From a title like Napoleon Dynamite, one would expect big explosions and cars crashing. Well, the only car is a bus full of preschoolers, and the only explosion is that of the rifle that shoots a sick dog as the bus passes by, but beyond action, Napoleon Dynamite brings the audience something we haven't seen in a long time: incredible humor.

Napoleon (Jon Heder) is about as nerdy as they come: he wears huge glasses; his mouth hangs open at all times (meal-times not withstanding); his body is awkward and disproportionate; and atop his head is a big red afro, which he parts at the side.

Napoleon lives with his Grandma, his brother Kip, and their pet lama, Tina. The Grandmother is sent to the hospital from a dune buggy accident, so Uncle Rico (Jon Gries) comes to baby-sit even though Kip is in his early 30s. Uncle Rico is stuck in the 80s, and obsessed with his high school football days.

Napoleon becomes friends with Pedro (Efren Ramirez), the new, and only, Mexican kid in school, and gains a love interest, Deb (Tina Majorino) who has a photo business and sells bracelets door to door.

Uncle Rico and Kip start a money making scheme selling plastic bowls to people door to door so Rico can buy a time machine off of the internet, which promptly electrocutes him.

However, the story really revolves around helping a friend, with Napoleon helping Pedro run for class president. Napoleon, in helping, throws out the popular kids' posters, sets up a piñata of Pedro's leading opponent, and shows Pedro the value of his skill at growing a full mustache, overnight.

The somewhat weak plot is helped along by funny gags and dialogue, including a scene where, on coming home from school, Napoleon gets mad at his brother Kip, who replies, "Napoleon, don't be jealous that I've been chatting online with babes all day." "If only the coach would have put me in... I-I know I could've made the touchdown! And from there, we would've gone to state, and then I would have gone pro, and... AARGH! I'll be out back tossing the old pigskin around if anybody needs me." "Go see Napoleon Dynamite, and vote Pedro for class president!"

The actors play their roles well, Heder, best of all. At one point, he tries to use a pick-up line on a girl: "I see you're drinking one percent milk. Is that 'cause you think you're fat? You're not, you know; you could be drinking whole." Heder delivers the line perfectly, and kept me laughing the whole way through.

Go see Napoleon Dynamite, and vote Pedro for class president!

Their flag is a hundred yards ahead. Two of your teammates and you have cornered the opponents behind their flag. It is you who needs to run for their flag before time is out.

Among the trees and thick brush of the woods you listen for the go.

On the field, paintball players strive for team work, courage, and excellence. On an indoor or outdoor field or in the woods of your back yard paintball players find exciting ways to spend their summer.

Adrenaline fills paintball fields, as people of all ages enjoy weekends shooting their friends.

Freshman John Ulfers shed some light on the reason he likes paintball so much, "You get to hurt people, and you know you're not getting in trouble."

Though shooting people is a big part of paintball, the sport is much more. Junior Joe Hass said that his favorite part about paintball is, "Showing off skill. You have to make sure you're accurate. Paintball doesn't take much to play; it just takes skill to be good."

However, those who don't play paintball don't know much about it. Forty-nine percent of 100 people said they had never played paintball in their life. Of the 49, 39 stated that they would be interested in playing, but didn't know how to start.

Paintball is offered to anyone interested, in places all around our area. Special Forces, located in Buffalo, is most common place played by students. Admission only costs $15, and $20 for a rented gun, mask, and CO2. For more information on paintball around us go to www.paintball-games.com or Special Forces website at www.specialforcespaintball.com.

Every eye in the stadium not focused on the field was fixed on the clock, as the second crawled toward zero. The score was tied with one goal scored and 35 seconds left in the game. The stadium was riveted with intense anticipation. The opposing team scored its first goal. Many would see this as just one more goal to add to the record, but for the seniors, it marked endless hours of sweat and endurance, achieving a level of play that they could take pride in.

Since the girls' soccer program started, there has never been more than four seniors on the varsity team. This year, there are ten. "I would definitely say that this is the oldest team we've had," said head coach Sally Geisler. [As the players] grew closer personally, it helped them to get more comfortable with confronting each other about attitudes and responsibilities, which added a whole new dimension to the game that they otherwise could not have achieved. "The girls hold each other accountable," Geisler said. "They're friends, but they're not afraid to expect a lot from each other and get on each other about things. The girls have invested in the program now so instead of just trying out for soccer to get in shape for another season, they can now take pride in the program."

As they prepare for next year's loss of leadership, however, many of the younger players on the team can see the downside to having such a strong senior class. As a sport that often has more players on the field than on the bench, soccer requires strong leadership, which is why the [seniors are so important], said head coach Sally Geisler. "Most of the seniors have been in the program all four years, working toward where we are now." Annual trips to Duluth, long uncomfortable bus rides to and from away games, and grueling practices helped to bond the girls together when younger players may struggle to fill the gap.

"One of the pros of having so many seniors on the team," said sophomore Anna Gutknecht, "is that there is a lot of strength because they've all been together for a long time, but then we won't be nearly as strong next year with them all leaving us." As the players grew, they may have otherwise had nothing in common. With each new season of struggles and triumphs, the girls' relationships strengthened, on and off the field.

"I think it's awesome having so many seniors on the team," said senior captain Kelli McCourt. "We've played together all four years and we've just grown so much closer as a team." For now, they must focus on this year's team, but while some are uneasy about the quality of next year's team, others feel confident in the ability of the younger players. "We will feel the loss of this year's seniors," said Geisler, "But we have some very skilled athletes this year and I am very confident in the younger classes. They are going to do it, and they are going to do awesome."

At a conference game against Rogers High School, Senior Brita Schroeder clears a ball downfield. It was Schroeder's first year playing for the Bison, after transferring from Monticello High School.

Right: Tension is high as players watch the game begin. "Just you know, we're going to win this one," said Coach Sally Geisler to the team just before a game against their biggest rival, Monticello.

Friday night, its six O'clock. The stadium parking lot is filling up with its usual crowd of tailgaters. Off in the distance the roar of the approaching Bison Mobile brings a crew of screaming senior football fans.

The Bison Mobile, an '88 Econoline Van, was created by nine Senior girls. It was designed to drive to all of the home and away football games.

Over ten hours went into painting designing and cleaning the van. The total cost of the project added up to about $100.00. To cover the entire Bison Mobile in purple it took over three buckets of paint.

"Making the van was a lot of fun, we put a lot of work into it. But with eight people it went pretty fast," said senior Tessa Rohl

The van was previously used in the summer by employees of Buffalo Floral, cleaning the inside was the toughest task. The girls spent their last day of summer painting the van. It was done on the street outside of Buffalo Floral.

"People walking by came up and said 'that's the coolest thing I've ever seen'" said senior Justine Speckel

The Bison Mobile is not just for the nine girls who created it. It is for anyone who loves the Buffalo Bison, anyone and everyone can enjoy it.

"The Bison Mobile didn't sound cool at first," said senior Dylan Woulnhaus. "But after I saw it, it was awesome. It definitely shows our school spirit."

The Bison Mobile turns the most heads on the road to away games. Many onlookers on the freeway honk and wave as it passes by. Students and fans from other teams have also given compliments on how great it is.

Once the football season is over the Bison Mobile will be put away, but all of the smiles and laughs it has made will be remembered.

"It's a good way to remember our senior year," said senior Amanda Sandusky

"No one has ever done it before, it is something that will be remembered."

“In one of our vicious battles for victory, I went up for a spike and hit the volleyball net and a girl on the opposing team. Two things happened: one — I was clothes lined and I completely leveled the girl adjacent from me,” said senior Jordan Ruzicka

Intramurals started this year on Monday the 13th in the high school gymnasium from 6:30-8:30 and go every Monday night until mid November.

The sports this fall are volleyball and golf. In the meeting in the Bison room there were approximately 40 people, some came alone, others with groups of friends.

Intramural sports is a chance for all students to play sports in a non-competitive way. They play against each other, rather than against other schools. “Intramural sports are a chance for kids who aren’t in a varsity fall sport to participate in a relaxed atmosphere where the goal is to have fun and exercise,” said assistant principal Jim Bollum

Intramurals started this year with a surprising number of students. The enrollment so far has been approximately 45. Many joined, for various reasons.

“It enabled me to play volleyball with my friends competitively without practices, but we still take it seriously,” said senior Pat Jonas

There are approximately eight teams and six to eight players on each team. If you aren’t on a team or come in by yourself you can still be placed on a team.

“They can come in on their own, we'll get them on a team. It can be groups or individuals, and we'll try to place them on the right team,” said Bollum

The Boys Varsity Soccer team enters this season full of optimism after a disappointing finish last year with only one tough North Suburban conference win.
"It's competitive, they play in a tough conference hopefully they can go .500" said Athletic Director Tom Bauman
The soccer team plays in the North Suburban Conference, which is known to be a fairly tough soccer conference with some good size schools, it has three to four teams in mid level teams. Next year the soccer team will join a much weaker conference with unproven schools. The new schools include Becker, Big Lake, Cambridge, Monticello, Princeton, Rogers and St. Michael-Albertville. These schools lack the size and depth that bigger schools like Buffalo contain.
"They have shown growth, but are injury prone, and will be top of the new conference," said Bauman.
The team is capable of going .500 but they have their work cut out for them.
"We have the chance to go .500 but there are critical games we have to win," said head soccer coach Jeff Lidstrom.
This year's team has lost many players that were on the team last year, but have good talent coming up from JV.
"They're pretty young, but there's a lot of kids coming up from JV," said Journal press beat writer Tim Kolehmainen.
This Soccer program may have a great future outlook.
"Numbers are growing so from that standpoint the numbers should be great," said Lidstrom.
"High School kids love to play the game," said Bauman
Senior goalie James Huff sprints to keep the ball out of scoring range. Huff has been the varsity goalie for three years.

The pool area is silent as everyone waits for the timer to beep. At the sound of the beep the swimmers dive in, plunging their way through the water.
The swim team this year has had a rocky start, yet they're are strong hopes for the season.
"My favorite part is the results I get in the season," said coach Ryan Rehnstrand.
The results from the swimmers are the times they get and how much they improve at each meet.
To accomplish goals the swim team practices for two to two and a half hours and try hard at all the races they do.
"I remember what I worked on in practice, I try to stay focused and not get distracted by anything else," said senior Emily Parsons.
Before the swim meet the girls do cheers to get themselves ready for the big event.
"I get ready by the cheer we all do to the Sponge Bob Square Pants song," said sophomore Emily Andrews.
Sponge Bob Square Pants is one of the team's cheers, it is not exactly the right words to the song but it is pretty close and no other swim team has Sponge Bob as their mascot.
The girls who joined the swim team have many different reasons to join. It caught their attention more then anything else.
"I thought it would be a challenging experience that I would want to try," said Parsons.
Some other reasons are different than others.
"My mom use to swim in high school," said Andrews.
The team is ready for anything that comes their way in this exciting season ahead of them. With many away meets, they are ready to win and to cheer about it later on.

The Bison Fall athletics is off to a mediocre start. With football losing their first two home games, but coming back for two convincing wins and volleyball blazing to a 7-2 start on the season, there is work to be done no matter what the outcome.
With a 35-14 loss to Spring Lake Park and a 28-21 loss to Cambridge-Isanti, practice is still needed for the struggling football team.
"We need to work on a little bit of everything. Angles, protection issues, we need to be quicker," said offensive coordinator Scott Palmer.
All that didn't seem to stop the Bison from a few breathtaking plays. From a 43-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Corey Jeske or a 71-yard reception by senior wide receiver Brett Andrews. The bison still have high hopes for the remainder of the season.
Girl's soccer is off to a 2-9 start on the season. With a heartbreaker loss to Totino-Grace in the last 2 minutes, the girl's soccer team has been playing with confidence.
"Being able to play with Totino-Grace and being 0-0 at the half, we played with them and competed to their level," said head coach Sally Geisler.
Volleyball is off to an excellent start being at 7-2 overall. Their senior leadership and experience have propelled them to early success in the season.
Boys soccer is starting off with a 3-4 starting record. Sophomore Josh Wachter and senior captain Darby Ursell have led the way scoring a combined 5 goals in two of the games.
Senior captain Dan Fadgen leads cross-country off with a winning pace. He has been out early in the season due to injury but they have persevered. The boys and the girl's cross-country have been consistently placing high in their meets.

After dropping their first three games of the season, the Bison Football team put together an impressive three-game winning streak, including a 38-7 homecoming victory against Rogers. The victories give the team a 3-3 record.
"It's been disappointing so far, we are not playing to our potential and no one knows it but us," said junior Corey Jeske.
Buffalo has been in the North Suburban Conference more than a decade.
The players feel that it is one of the tougher conferences in the state. Next year, however, that is going to change.
Buffalo is switching from the North Suburban Conference to the newly-formed Mississippi Eight conference, which will be involving schools that are close to Buffalo. Most schools will be in a 30 mile radius.
"I think it will be fun," said junior Brad Willetts.
"Becker has been to the state tournament the last couple of years, so they should be good. I think it will be worse for us come playoff time though, because overall we will be playing higher caliber teams in playoffs."
"I think it's bad, because we move down to smaller schools and the competition is not as good," said junior David Nelson. "Once playoffs come then we will be playing some of the biggest schools in the state."
Losing few seniors on varsity last year the team mainly kept intact. Picking up several younger players the Bison strived to make their team stronger. Younger players had to deal with the difficulty of preforming on the same level as the many experienced ones.
"Young sophomore Ross Hillukka is getting a hang of the offense and will become a big aspect to the team," said Jeske.
"I feel that sophomore Kory LaCroix could have played a key role, but he had a sad injury that has ended his season," said Nelson.
Jeske and Willetts like the looks of this year's team better than last years team.
"I like the senior leadership this year much better than last year," said Willetts.
"I love the work ethic that everyone brings to practice this year compared to last year," said Jeske.
There are a couple of things that are keeping the Bison from winning right now.
"The turnovers, little things is what makes a big difference," said Jeske. "We are not working together as one unit. Our defense is not working with our offense. Our defense will hold them to a (three and out) series, and then our offense will have a (three and out) series. If our offense goes down and scores a touchdown, then our defense will give up a touchdown."
"So far we're killing ourselves with mental mistakes," Nelson said, "but there is no doubt in my mind, if we clean all that up, we can beat anybody in our conference."

"I want to speak English better and become a school teacher in America," Seiko Hanawaka of Japan, said.
Like the others, Hanawaka did not fail to bring up the earlier driver's license issue.
"In Germany, there are less school activities and no school lunch," said Bandelow. "You do these outside of the school system. We don't have a dress code either."
Bandelow has thoughts of living in the United States a couple years from now. "My father and twin sister went to the U.S.A. My sister wants to live here."
Hanawaka's goal is to become a full-time teacher in America; Decken toys with the idea of living in the States as well; and Telkamper might come back simply to travel. However, the real reason someone would want to visit the US, as most Americans, in addition to Telkamper, already know, is that "the other countries were too expensive to go to."

Left Bison team members scramble for loose ball after a fumble
Photo by Rachel Ebeling

After dropping their first three games of the season, the Bison Football team put together an impressive three-game winning streak, including a 38-7 homecoming victory against Rogers. The victories give the team a 3-3 record.
"Its been disappointing so far, we are not playing to our potential and no one knows it but us," said junior Corey Jeske

Buffalo has been in the North Suburban Conference more than a decade. The players feel that it is one of the tougher conferences in the state. Next year, however, that is going to change. Buffalo is switching from the North Suburban Conference to the newly-formed Mississippi Eight conference, which will be involving schools that are close to Buffalo. Most schools will be in a 30 mile radius.

"I think it will be fun," said junior Brad Willetts. "Becker has been to the state tournament the last couple of years, so they should be good. I think it will be worse for us come playoff time though, because overall we will be playing higher caliber teams in playoffs."

"I think it's bad, because we move down to smaller schools and the competition is not as good," said junior David Nelson. "Once playoffs come then we will be playing some of the biggest schools in the state."

Losing few seniors on varsity last year the team mainly kept intact. Picking up several younger players the Bison strived to make their team stronger. Younger players had to deal with the difficulty of preforming on the same level as the many experienced ones.

"Young sophomore Ross Hillukka is getting a hang of the offense and will become a big aspect to the team," said Jeske.

"I feel that sophomore Kory LaCroix could have played a key role, but he had a sad injury that has ended his season," said Nelson.

Jeske and Willetts like the looks of this year's team better than last years team.

"I like the senior leadership this year much better than last year," said Willetts.

"I love the work ethic that everyone brings to practice this year compared to last year," said Jeske.

There are a couple of things that are keeping the Bison from winning right now.

"The turnovers, little things is what makes a big difference," said Jeske. "We are not working together as one unit. Our defense is not working with our offense. Our defense will hold them to a (three and out) series, and then our offense will have a (three and out) series. If our offense goes down and scores a touchdown, then our defense will give up a touchdown."

"So far we're killing ourselves with mental mistakes," Nelson said, "but there is no doubt in my mind, if we clean all that up, we can beat anybody in our conference."

Photo by Rachel Ebeling
Above The Bison walked on to the field with great confidence, pulling out a 38-7 win over Rogers for homecoming
Left Bison team members scramble for loose ball after a fumble

Don’t forget to order your yearbook!

Ordering day is Tuesday, October 19, during First Block!

Page 12

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HOMECOMING 2004
We Be Jammin'