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from Park Hill South

View

BOARD BREAKS BUDGET[4] [11] [12]

CHUG-A- LUG

Almost 10 years after the war on terror began, what have we learned? What

do we still not know?

>>pg. 8Give Peace a Chance

cut here

issue 9, volume 12

april 9, 2010

OPERATION PROM DRESS

InStore

what’s Up

what’s Hot

ROUGH, RUGGED, IT’S RUGBY [10]first Season of South Rugby takes school by storm

CONNECTING ACROSS THE GLOBE [5]students Use and abuse new technology

THE WORD [15]graduation Infatuation

what’s The Big IdeaSHOTS IN THE DARK [8]

questions 10 Years into the war on terrorism

what’s WhatHEALTH CARE HAVOC [3]

staff's Take on the health care situation

letter FromTheEditor

pg

2

what’s

>>

“ “

ROID RAGE [15]upset City: indianapolis

BATTLE OF THE BANDS BLOWS UP [15]preview Of upcoming Battle of the Bands

issue 9, volume 12

april

9, 2

010

Prom is coming up. That means dresses, tuxes and paying a whole lot of money. But why all this for just one night? According to the general public, your senior Prom is supposed to be something you remember for the rest of your life. But why? The hype of senior Prom, to me, is a little over the top. It is something that is held up to a higher standard than what is actually produced. People say Prom night is supposed to be perfect. That’s why most V-cards go out the cheap hotel window. You have to have the perfect date, dress, tan, makeup, hair. One thing out of place, and it will ruin your memory of the what is supposed to be the best night of your life. The night where you dance with that person you always stared at in class. The night you spend with all your friends and have the time of your life. But I can think of so many nights I have spent with my friends and will remember forever. Nights just sitting in the living room watching a “Harper's Island” marathon, eating popcorn with chocolate chips on top. Nights I wouldn’t trade for the world, and frankly did not cost more than a $5 movie. So if your Prom night doesn’t end up being the night of magic you’ve dreamed of since your freshman year, don’t worry about it. I’m sure there are many other magical nights that have just slipped your mind, or are soon to come. —LAUREN MOORE

because youfeel like you

accomplishsomething

yourself.for

I love track“ “- Logan Tucker-Nelson, junior A

lex

Edw

ards

Health Care Havocthe View staff urges policymakers to focus on people, not politics>>

School spirit plays a large role in not only the athletic performance of the school, but academic as well. Although the boys' basketball team's successful season increased spirit in many students, there is still much improvement to be made in school pride. “If we had more school spirit, we could get more people to go to sporting events and raise money for dances and stuff,” said Jordan Ill, junior.

“It’s obvious we need more pride but I don’t know how to get it.” Teachers have opinions of

their own concerning how to get that spirit. “Everyone is going to have to come together as a school,'' said Katie O'Donnell, FACS. ''It will have to be a team effort.” Although the team effort is a necessity, STUCO has stepped up with ideas of their own, along with a Suggestion Box open to students’ input on the topic. STUCO plans to lead the cause with ideas such as a school year theme, with banners and posters pertaining to the theme, reminding students of school spirit. “We need to continue and create new traditions to add a desire for spirit,”said Courtney Stout, senior and vice president of STUCO. Examples include the teacher dance off that began this year during assemblies. Another idea was the 3 v. 3 tournament April 9. Drew Lake, STUCO member, said, “We need the student body’s participation.” School Spirit is very important to the school but will require cooperation among everybody to obtain. Or if you feel more action could be taken to accomplish this goal, submit your idea to the STUCO suggestion box in the room.—TIERNAN EIBERGER

The biggest topic in the nation right now is universal health care. The Democratic party is in strong

affirmation, trying to pass the health care reform at all costs, while the Republican party is strongly against them. The topic has changed the whole political make up of the country with Massachusetts giving up a seat that belonged to the late great Democratic senator, Ted Kennedy. So why is this topic so big? Why can something that seems so rather small in the grand scheme of running the country be so big? Why are there so many questions in the first place? Maybe it is because we’re asking the wrong questions. We ask about money. It is certain that there are going to be major monetary implications, but isn’t money what got us into the health care problem? Doctors are giving service that nobody can afford, and insurance companies are trying to make a buck off of helping people get health care.

We’re not sure if sending a huge sack of cash at our health problems would change anything, but when we start asking about money, we have just created flawed institutions. And then we ask about politics. We start getting caught up in this massive tug of war, and it starts making everything black and white. One side is liberal and the other is conservative. Most people just choose a side based on some random choice they made or childhood whim, so they choose a side and stick with it until death. When the party head says one thing, they have to follow suit, but neither side is really probing their mind to see what they want. And maybe that works against what we think, but we don’t think either side has pure motives because it is like both sides just want to win. The questions we should really be asking are about people. Instead of asking about how much this will cost, or what our side wants in the

bill or won’t take out, maybe we should really be going for what will do the most good. We’ve all heard the arguments about price tags and classic battle lines on the issue, but we don’t think we have heard any figures about how many lives will be made better and how much money will go to the worse off. Everyone has gotten too busy with petty arguments to worry about other people. It's hard to think of paying an extra tax or two as helping people but if it does, then it does. If it can't help most people or do a large amount of good, then we shouldn’t pay it any heed. We can't think of this bill selfishly. So this bill is going to happen, and it is going to change the way America operates, but we think we need to start taking a stance on the bill not with how much it will cost, but with how much it will help people. Some things just need to be most important. —THE VIEW STAFF EDITORIAL

STUCO spreads

Fans support the Panthers at The Final Four. Photo by Alex Edwards

what’s What

pg

first Season of South Rugby takes school by storm

students Use and abuse new technology

THE WORD [15]

staff's Take on the health care situation

3

SPIRIT

$$$Imagine one of the best teachers in the school losing

his or her job, or your favorite class being cut from the curriculum due to funding. It might not seem fair, but it is

the case for students and staff in many districts around the Kansas City metro who are facing major budget cuts for the 2010-2011 school year. However, these budget cuts are not directly affecting the Park Hill School District due to “residential and commercial growth,” according to Paul Kelly, assistant superintendent for business and technology for the district. “Our budget relies on tax payers and the property taxes that are paid,” said Kelly. “Although the economy is down right now, we have seen some recent growth in the Platte County area and that has helped with our schools’ budgets.” The Park Hill School District strives to be recognized by the community as a “district that operates with financial responsibility, integrity and efficiency,” according to the 2009-2010 Park Hill Budget Report. That may be why the district is one of the few in the Kansas City area that is not facing major budget cuts. According to Dr. Dale Longenecker, principal, that fiscal responsibility equates to not having programs like elementary foreign language or middle school sports, which are being cut from districts like Blue Valley and Shawnee Mission, resulting in local budget stability. “My budget for Park Hill South for next year is the exact same as my budget was this year,” said Longenecker. Having no big change is something sought after at a time when Kansas school districts have cut $200 million in the past year while Missouri districts have cut $30.3 million, according to the Kansas City Star. “The budget cuts around the area serve as great examples for when our school district faces budget cuts,” said Kelly. “It informs on the processes that are being used on budget cuts.” When states slash funds, the consequence is generally a loss in teachers and staff; however, no teacher positions were eliminated in Park Hill this year or next year. This is important for students, as fewer teachers indirectly makes class sizes larger. According to a study conducted in the

late 1980s, students in classes of 13 to 17 students performed better academically than those in larger classes. “Large classes are not good,” said junior Alexandra Jimenez. “In large classes, you can’t get to know your classmates as well as

you can in smaller classes. And large class sizes make it much harder on the teachers to help the students efficiently.” For other school districts, such as the Kansas City Missouri School District, who will lose 120 teachers, their class sizes are going to see an increase. And according to the Kansas City Star, parents are worried that larger class sizes will result in less individual attention paid to their children

and more stress put on the teachers. “I don’t like large classes at all,” said Lindsay Hern, art. “It’s harder to get to know the kids and give them the attention they need. In graphic design, I’m usually moving from one person to the next and if the class was larger, I wouldn’t be able to spend as much time as needed on each student.” In addition to class sizes increasing, extracurricular activities and sports have the potential to be cut. Less funding could mean cutting coach and sponsor stipends,

as has happened in districts around the country, or the elimination of entire programs. “If our school was to make budget cuts, I’d really miss having art,” said junior Sean Hill, “because it’s a fun, easy class to have. Plus, people that love art wouldn’t get to do what they like to do.” As of now, the budget is not going to see any major reforms during this school year or the next school year. If the economy continues to struggle the way it has, though, students and staff in the Park Hill School District will see more visible changes in the 2011-2012 school year, according to Kelly. “Information I have gotten from the state indicates that more budget cuts will have to be made in the next few years,” said Kelly. “We probably won’t see a loss in teachers and staff, but we’ll just maintain our numbers.'' — AMY WILLSEY

pg

By The Numbers

School District

Teaching positions cut this year

Kansas City 120

Shawnee Mission 50

Park Hill No

Liberty 20

Are cuts expected next year?Yes, 285

Yes, 82

No

Yes

4

BoardBreaks

BudgetSchools cut spending to save funds

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The Internet was invented a relatively short time ago, but it has already permeated our society and drastically changed the way we live. These changes to our lives, these efforts to make places like China seem closer, are called globalization. Some of the most effective new globalization techniques are things like Skype or Chat Roulette, which allow people to actually chat face to face with people from anywhere. E-mail was the earliest version of globalization efforts, but video chatting is live and the closest thing to in person out there in technology. “Live video chatting is allowing people to keep in such constant communication that it has begun to radically change the sense of it means for people to feel together, or alone, or apart,” said Eric Adler of the Kansas City Star in his article on technology from March 14. Senior Kyle Gourley uses the popular Chat Roulette with his friends regularly. Chat Roulette has garnered interest because as long as there is a web cam plugged into a computer, once on the Chat Roulette website, people can immediately begin to chat. It takes the general idea of Skype, a web cam chatting service that works like the AOL Instant Messenger of old, except it matches you up with another random user from anywhere on the Internet. So not only are people being allowed to talk immediately with anyone on earth, and not only can they talk to people from anywhere like they are in the same room, but they can talk to some random person that they might not care to know. “We usually just get a big group together and make fun of people,” said Gourley. “I guess it’s interesting that it’s so easy to communicate. But mainly, we just abuse it.” So it is easy for people to take advantage of things like Chat Roulette and Skype, but it is also easy to see how beneficial they are. “It’s a great way to communicate if you can’t in person,” said Junior Lexi Hackett. “Definitely better than texting or talking on the phone because you can actually see the other person.” So maybe the scope of our privilege is not apparent to the youth of the nation, but the full effect of these advances remains to be seen, and 10 years ago, nobody was making fun of somebody from across the country face to face. In the coming years, questions about the psychological, sociological and economic effects of such communication will be answered, but for now, people will just have to keep abusing these new found tools. ––SAM PETERSON

Connecting Across theStudents use and abuse new techniques of globalization

With the introduction of Skype in August 2003, visual communication can be transmitted over long distances with little delay via videoconferencing. The face to face contact with distant relations explains its growing popularity in today’s teens. Skype marks the advancement in digital interaction.

>>Many teens have Mark Zuckerberg to thank for the introduction of Facebook in February 2004. After a few adaptations and elimination of competitors, such as Myspace and Friendster, we’re left with the Facebook most teenagers know today.

>>

txt message Text messaging allows for quick, simple interaction with one’s peers through the sending of word messages. The first text message was sent from a computer to a phone December 1992 to relay the message: “Merry Christmas”.

>>

Gender: Male Grade: Junior Date of Birth: 6/27/1993 Eye Color: Brown

While roaming the halls, one may encounter junior Jeremiah Joyce, but who actually knows a substantial amount of information about him? Placing a high emphasis on his education, Joyce has spent his last three years at South with a strict regiment dedicated to learning, leaving little time for extracurriculars. When discussing which classes he enjoyed the most, he said “anything science.” And more recently, Joyce has furthered his pursuit of this interest with the consideration of attending VoTech at Northland Career Center next fall. Once there, he said he would work to attain more knowledge in the field of computer maintenance. So come next year, with even less time on South grounds, Joyce may become more difficult to spot during the school day. ––CHRIS BARTH

BEST BELLY RAFFLE WINNER #1

Profile of Jeremiah Joyce:

Average teen sends/receives

80 texts a day

Average Facebook users spends 55 minutes a day on Facebook

443 million user accounts on Skype

––CHRIS BARTH

GLOBE

Photo by: Alex Edwards

what’s Up

Rugby has been around since around 1823 when William Webb Ellis disregarded the rules of American football and created the Rugby game. Almost two centuries later, rugby is starting to catch on in the U.S., especially around the halls of South. In past years, South and Park Hill com-bined to form the Titans team, but this year there were enough players to break off and form a South team. “This is the first year for the Park Hill South Club. We have two guys that played for the Titans so a lot of new players but they are picking it up really quick,” said Austin Wood, senior. There is not a lot of experience on the Park Hill South Club, but a lot of passion and love for the game makes up for it. “We are trying to create our own tradi-tion at South by winning,” said Wood. In rugby, there are 15 players on the field for each team at a time and only

one referee, so shoves and punches can go unseen. To begin play, each team has players do a “scrum” to fight for the ballm, which can then be advanced

forward but must be thrown, passed or kicked. Players score by touching the ball on the ground in the scoring zone for five points. When a player is tackled to

the ground, they have to throw the ball in the air and it can be taken by any player, one of the more physical parts of the game. The T.V. show ''Sports Science'' did a study that showed that a hard enough hit can cause serious injuries. “I wanted to hit people and try a sport that I hadn’t done before,” said Wood.

Rugby players play without pads and wear cleats. That means that hands, knees and heads are not protected. De-spite this, according to some of the play-ers like Wood, they like to hit. “I play because of the hitting and all the running. It is a very fast sport,” said senior Christian Kuhl. Not many teens wake up in the morn-ing and want to play a sport that wears down their bodies and can cause severe injuries. Coaches are looking for a spe-cial breed of athlete to play a sport like this. So, naturally, something so violent and aggressive could scare a lot of play-ers away. “I went and watched a practice and I talked to the coach the next day, and he let me join the team,” said Kuhl. According to sporttingo.com Rugby is the fifth most popular team sport in the world. The Park Hill South Club is trying to start a new tradition and create some spirit for the rugby team. Watch the rugby team play every Thursday and in tournaments on the weekends. —CODY MEADE

Northwest, Missouri State, Maple Woods and University of Missouri are a few of South’s favorite colleges. But while

some students are preparing to spend four years at their pre-ferred college, others are finding themselves at work directly after high school in trade/vocational schools. Vocational/Trade schools are designed to completely focus on one area of study, including Arts and Design, Bartending, Cosmetology, Fash-ion Design, Nursing, Plumbing and Private Investigation. With these degrees, 199,300 work-ers found employment in trade, transportation and utilities, 146,500 in professional and business services and 125,600 in education and health services in May of 2009, according to rwm.org. “Trade schools are one of the options we have and the more opportunities we have the better because everyone has a different career plan,” said Counselor Sandy. “And 300 se-niors means 300 different career plans.” Out of the 300 seniors, only a few students plan to attend a vocational school. One of those is junior Michael Keeney. “I’m going into landscaping at a trade school in Arizona because you can take classes to learn how to design, but at a trade school you can get the experience in landscaping,” Keeney said. Going to Arizona is not the only option; other trade schools

in the KC area include University of Phoenix, ITT Technical Institute, DeVry University and High-Tech Institute. There are also online classes available at Walden University, Westwood College, AIU and Kaplan. But at South, Northland Career Center (NCC) is being of-fered to juniors and seniors free of charge to get a jump start on their preferred majors.

“The school district pays around $3,500 per student to go to North-land Career Center,” said Polley. “It’s designed for students to go right into work after high school. After high

school, students can choose to go to a two-year college, a four-year college, the military and now Trade schools. It’s an-other option and more options are better.” For students to be able to get a jump start on their career, they must fill out an application and miss eight or fewer days or students jeopardize getting their NCC certificate. Although preference is given to juniors because they have two years left to receive their certificates, seniors are still eligible. If students are interested in learning more about Trade/Vocational schools, South will host a Career Fair on April 22 from 5:30-7:45 p.m. which will also welcome the first annual event to help identify opportunities after high school. At the fair, speakers and tables, businesses, community colleges and Vo-cational schools will be set up for students to learn more about an alternate post-high school option.—ALI FISHER

ALL WORK AND

It’s Rugby

NO PLAY

Rugged,

>> Vocational Schools lead the way to the future for some students

The school district pays around $3,500 per student to go to

Northland Career Center“ ”

pg

6

Photo courtesy of Austin Wood

Rough,

Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. Gas was $1.46. Britney Spears was the most popular artist. “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” dominated the box office. The day began like any other, with business men and women commuting to work in New York City and elsewhere across the country. At 8:45 a.m EST, however, normalcy and America’s sense of safety was destroyed along with the World Trade Centers as terrorists attacked.

When many Americans woke up on the seemingly normal

morning of Sept. 11, 2001, there were no thoughts of tragedy. There were no predictions that at 8:45 a.m. in the heart of New York City, the strong sense of invincibility that we as a country had held for so long would be shattered in a short instant.

There was no thought that before most of Americans had even started their day, over 1,300 people would die; the

most important fact of all to many was that this tragedy was not just a tragedy, it was an attack. And yet, here we are, more than nine years later and the question remains: are the ripples from that day still truly felt? Today, soldiers are in Afghanistan and Iraq, but is 9/11 still the main reason for war? These questions are hard for any Americans, let alone the high school-aged teenager. Students currently at South were in first through fourth

grade when 9/11 happened. So, amidst all the confusion and self-actualization that comes with high-school, are we truly informed and interested in a day that we are told changed our lives? One student, Freshman Ashley Parrish, still feels that people are left in the dark. “I was in first grade. All I

remember was going home and my mother trying to calmly explain what was going on. But, as I said, I was in first grade,” said Parrish. “I had no idea what was going on. Even now, my little sisters couldn’t tell you what happened that day. Most kids have no idea.” Yet, it is not only freshmen that feel left out. Senior Carson Oldson said he thinks Americans have lost interest.

pg

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what’s the Big Idea

“There is still conspiracy. Some people still actually believe there were bombs on the plane. We need to inform everyone about that day,” said Oldson. “We are still at war. It is not history yet.” So, what do we know? Some may not know that the death count of the war, not counting those we lost on 9/11, is now up to 19,950, according to CNN archives. Or the simple fact that after nearly a decade, Osama Bin Ladin is still nowhere to be found. “Some interest is lost because of the economy. And, however selfish that may sound, it is a crisis needing to be fixed,” said Shelly Evans, social studies. Evans remembers the day, and how even then, the incident was almost kept secret. After hearing that the planes crashed on the radio, she was told to remain

teaching and not to mention the attack. “Luckily, I had Current Events second block. There was no way I could not talk about it,” said Evans. Brad Peck, social studies, feels that it may be less of a secret and more a problem that people just do

not pay enough attention. “People just don’t read the newspaper or watch the news. We are too busy with ‘Lost’ or even ‘American Idol’ to know enough about the war,” said Peck. “The scary thing is there were no drum

beats. We are in a new age of honorless war.” The whole situation is a bit complex. In the highlight of our youth, we are hit with something this horrific. Yet, now, when life is supposed to be getting more serious, high-schoolers still don’t know much about what happened. So... what can students do? Well, research. Like with anything else that goes on in society, the most we can do as citizens is be informed and create a new perspective. Being young is no excuse. —JESSE MCGINNESS

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>>

>>

>>

We are still at war. It is not history

yet.

''

''-carson oldson,

senior

Photos: Creative Commons License

Task Force Band of Brothers provides security in north central Iraq during the parliamentary election Dec. 15, 2005. Iraqi citizens are electing their first permanent parliamentary government, which will lead the new democracy for the next four years.

Anti-war march from the White House to the Capitol Building where over 160 people were arrested during a mass “die-in”.

Two beams of light signify the void of where the Twin Towers once stood, illuminating New York City’s skyline.

A projected 40 million people will be watching the three day NFL draft starting April 22. The top two overall prospects according to ESPN, are defensive tackles from the Big 12: Gerald McCoy of Oklahoma and Ndamukong Suh from Nebraska. Another popular name thought to go to the Rams is quarterback Sam Bradford, who would be the uncontested number one pick if it was not for his recent shoulder injuries. The Rams will have the first pick in this year’s draft. According to ESPN football analyst Mel Kiper, the Rams will select Suh. “The Rams should draft Sam Bradford because Vick isn’t going to St. Louis so they need a Quarterback,” said junior Abhijit Gullappalli.

It is no secret that it will take more than one player to turnaround the Rams season. Their former pro-bowl running back, Stephen Jackson, told

ESPN that they should trade out of the first pick, in order to get more draft picks. “In some cases it’s good to trade for more picks,” said Cody Miller, junior, “They should trade picks so they can also get Dezmond Briscoe,” said Miller. The Chiefs will have the fifth pick in this years draft. This will be the third year in a row that the Chiefs have a top five draft pick. The Chiefs have had a productive off season, recruiting coaches Charlie Weis and Romeo Crenell. Weis was formerly the Head Coach of Notre Dame and Crenell was the Head Coach of the Browns. These two coaches assumed the same positions they had for the New England Patriots from 2001 to 2004, where they both won three Super Bowl championships. The students at South felt like the Chiefs made good choices with their coaching staff. “Weis is a good addition. He made Quinn a good quarterback at Notre Dame,

so he should make Cassel better,” said Gullappalli. Miller believes that Crenell will make a bigger impact. “[Crenell] will be a huge improvement from the last defensive coordinator,” said Miller. To go along with their coaching additions, the Chiefs also signed running back Thomas Jones to a two-year deal. Last year for the New York Jets, Jones ran for 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns. “Thomas Jones and Jamal Charles will make one of the best running back tandems in the league,” said Miller. The draft is the chance for these franchises to improve there team, and it is quickly approaching. “The draft is always exciting because all the unpredictable things that certain teams do, Its fun to see how teams asses the players,” said Miller. —EVAN WHITE

There’s this pretty hot band right now in the music industry. They held the number one and num-

ber two spot on the charts at the same time, won six Grammys, played sold out concerts around the

world, and looked pretty fly doing it. They played at the Sprint Center in Kansas City on March 24. That’s right, the Black Eyes Peas brought their The E.N.D. tour to KCMO. Of course, as a Black Eyed Peas worshipper since the age of 11, I jumped at the opportunity to go. I purchased our tickets months in advance and proceeded to spend the remainder of those months talking about how excited I was. The thing about the Black Eyed Peas is that you aren’t just getting a concert, you're getting a show. The performance included dancers in full body suits with black and white stripes, dancing robots,Taboo sailing above the crowd in a mo-torcycle and lasers that could induce seizures. It also included a lot of jumping. Word of advice: never wear heels to a Black Eyes Peas concert. Your feet will be on fire by the end. The Black Eyed Peas front man Will.I.Am did a majority of the talk-ing, including a touching, if not cliche, spiel about following dreams which ultimately led into the bands popu-lar song, “I Gotta Feeling.” Each member was given their own set during the middle of the show: Apple performed one song no one knew the words to, but we danced anyways. Taboo got on a shiny, white motorcycle and flew over the crowd. Fergie performed a few of her own hits such as “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” Then Will.I.Am strode onstage in a robotic outfit. Will.I.Am’s segment consisted of him playing D.J, standing on a raised platform at the end of the stage; he essentially played other musician’s songs for the crowd. Ranging from Michael Jackson to

Nirvana. I found this rather annoying after five minutes because it continued on and on. I paid to see the Black Eyed Peas, not Will.I.Am blast Journey. Next time, I wish he would just perform “I Got it From My Mama.”

Despite will.i.am’s brief attempt at DJing, the concert remained consistently entertaining. Though through the night, I kept

changing my mind on what my favorite song was. At one point, I nearly gave up because I thought it near im-

possible to narrow it down to just one- until, they asked the crowd, “where is the love?”

“Where is the Love?” was the last song in their regular set, and the entire stands were alive. This was my

favorite part of the concert just because I think “Where is the Love?” is one of the

best songs of all time, but also because the manner in which they performed it. The

concert was full of back-up dancers and laser beams, but this performance was simply the four

of them together at the end of the stage. Barring the graphics of hearts on the screens behind them,

the song was all about the band and the crowd. When you can have every person in the Sprint Center waving

their phones in the air and singing along to your song, you know something special has been achieved.

I’ve seen some pretty great live performances--Death Cab for Cutie, Weezer, Keith Urban, Blink-182--but the Black

Eyed Peas top the chart. At the end of the night, when everyone is singing through sore throats and feet, an explosion of confetti lifts

spirits higher. Reaching my hand up, a light weight piece of paper landed in my palm. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was a paper heart. That paper heart is now tucked away in scrapbook. It proves why the Black Eyed Peas concert ruled above my expectations. Not only do I love the Black Eyed Peas, but at the concert, I felt loved back. That’s why the Pea’s The E.N.D tour earns four stars from me. —STEPHANIE GRIFFITH

Black Eyed Peas put on a quality concert at the Sprint Center

Draft Day Decisions One day could mean the season for Missouri teams

BoomBoomWOW

pg

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-a-LugStudents deal with the aftermath of consequential weekend decisions

The MSHSAA premotes

the value of participation, sportsmanship, team play and

personal excellence to develope citizens who make

positive comtributions to thier community and support the democratic principals of our state and nation.

Driving down the road, music blares out of the

car’s speakers. Friends in the back seat scream about the night’s events. The driver takes a look in the rear view mirror and sees red and blue flashing lights. The sound of the police car siren rings through the car doors. While pulling over to the side of the road, what was running through the driver’s and passengers’ minds? Probably not that they would have to sit out 20 to 30 percent of their sports season’s games after receiving an MIP (minor in possession) or DUI (driving while intoxicated). One night of fun may not be worth that much of the season to some athletes. “[When getting in trouble with the law], you’re affecting your team. You have to be smarter during the season,” said Matthew Mitchell, senior. At the beginning of the season athletes and activity participants sign a form that include certain agreements of situations such as alcohol and drugs. While most student encounters with the law happen outside of school, students like Mitchell feel that it is just for behavior outside of school to have some effect on sports and activities South. But other students, like Kyle Enloe, senior, and Mallory Ross, junior, think that the punishment students receive with the law should be enough. “If you get in trouble [outside of school] it shouldn’t affect anything that happens in these four walls,” said Enloe. “Anything where you have to miss games is unfair.” Ross said she feels that though students are representatives of their sports everywhere, events outside of South should not have anything to do with the sport they play. One issue students and others are sometimes confused about is when students are on two different teams, get in the same

kind of trouble, but receive two different punishments. “There was an event at one point where two athletes had the same situation but completely different consequences,” said Ross. This discrepancy is where MSHSAA, Missouri State High School Activities Assosiation, comes into play with its regulations. “MSHSAA believes that participating in sports is a privilege, not a right,” said John Sedler, assistant principal and activities director. According to MSHSAA, it is all about students being ‘good citizens.’ “What we’re trying to promote is citizenship,” said Joe Toigo, business teacher and boys/girls soccer coach. “You’re a citizen, whether you are inside these walls or not.” According to MSHSAA, if a student gets in trouble with law, he or she must miss 20 to 30 percent of his or her season’s games. An athlete may still practice, but is excluded from a certain amount of games. Also when getting in trouble with the law, student-athletes cannot play until they have gone to court, paid their fines and followed through with their community service, if necessary. But according to Sedler, the only way that a coach could find out about such an encounter is one, a police report, two, a staff member seeing said student, or three, self-admission. “We are trying to get it so that if a student admits to their coach about the incident, their punishment is cut in half,” said Sedler. According to Sedler self-admission illustrates a student’s “good citizenship” so his or her punishment should be less. “Just because students make bad decisions, it doesn’t mean they’re bad kids,” said Sedler. —LAUREN MOORE

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Chug

In 2006, more than

19% of drivers ages 16

to 20 who died in motor vehicle crashes had been drinking alcohol.

‘‘

’’

Photo illustration by Alex Edwards

Source: Abovetheinfluence.com

-MSHSAA Web site

Want to look good at prom without breaking the bank? Having trouble finding the right dress? Well, there is a solution: the sixth annual Prom Boutique Dress Exchange. The exchange was started in 2005 by a foster care service for girls who were not able to afford a dress, but now any girl is welcome to attend; there is no income or needs test to get one of the 900 new and used dresses sized 0-28. A team of professional seamstresses was on hand to tailor the dresses. The boutique also had a selection of make-up, shoes and purses to choose from. Kasey Kellogg, sophomore, said that she spent “well around $300 altogether” on Prom last year, half on a dress and the other half on tanning, nails, hair and makeup. “With all the expenses, a prom dress exchange would really help out,” Kellogg said, “It would probably take off a good $150 if not more.” Morgan Griffin, senior, agreed with Kellogg. Griffin said she spends about $600 total for Prom and a dress exchange would completely change the price. Though she spent $358 on her Prom dress for this year, she said she would have been willing to look around the Prom Boutique. The dresses at the swap were donated from all over Missouri and had to pass inspection, meaning that the dress was clean with no rips, holes, stains or unwanted marks. Some dresses were rejects from stores, some were donated by pageants and others were previously worn dresses brought by swappers to give to girls in need. Seniors Amy, Dana and Evan Willsey all attended the Prom Boutique but were let down with the selection. On opening day the boutique gave away 650 dresses, and the next morning they gave away another 125 dresses. The Willseys said they showed up after most of the “better” dresses had made their way home with other girls. Evan Willsey said that she felt all the items were “picked over,” although the boutique did plan to receive more dresses for the final giveaway on April 10.

“Because the dresses are free,'' said Heather Fatino, sophomore, ''I plan to bring my old ones, and now I’m considering going to Prom.'' Fern Trusky runs the Prom Boutique. “It’s to make sure that girls are able to enjoy that one special evening in high school,” Trusky said. The boutique will be held a final time on April 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Woods Chapel United Methodist Church in Lee's Summit. —MOLLY REINMUTH

Three times a year, participants in Northland Junior Assembly (JA) put on their formal wear and get

ready to dance. The members of JA take part in a dance in fall, winter and spring, in which they are paired with another school for dinner and a dance. But only once a year do the students of South put on their formal wear and get ready to boogie down at Prom. Junior Assembly charges student participants 80 dollars for three dances. Prom, only one dance, costs the same for a couples ticket. “I understand why Prom cost so much, but I still think the school should help out a little on the price,” said Rachel Cooper, senior. According to Cooper, a member of JA, the price of tickets scare boys off

from the prospect of going to the dance. Like Cooper, junior Danny Jones is a member of JA and favors it. “I like JA better than regular dances because of

the variety,” said Jones. Jones admitted he thought the price of Prom tickets was high, but he said he also understood that Prom is a big event and people were going to make the effort to get the money together. JA dresses are not as fancy and suit jackets, rather than tuxedos, are acceptabe attire. Whether they thought it was too much or too little, Cooper and Jones both wondered what the money for Prom tickets actually paid for. Laura Lenhert, art, is a sponsor for Junior Exec, the committee that plans Prom, as well as a member of the committee of parents who organizes JA. “Embassy Suites charges $35 per person and then $5 goes to After Prom,” explained Lenhert. Despite After Prom being optional, all students must pay for it when they purchase tickets. Having dinner included at the hotel keeps the cost at $35. “We like having dinner at the hotel.

Yes, we could go to somewhere like Union Station, pay the same amount, and get less,” said Lenhert. She said every other aspect of the dance, including decorations and invitations, is covered by Junior Exec fundraising. Just like Prom, JA dances include a dinner provided by the hotel, but Lenhert said hotels give a discount for booking on a Sunday night. Taking away dinner could reduce the price of a Prom ticket, but many students like that aspect of the night. “Having a dinner at the hotel is part of South Prom,” said Cooper. Junior Assembly gives 50 juniors and 50 seniors at Park Hill South a chance to get down three times a year for 80 dollars. Although Prom may cost the same for just one event, it is the only chance every junior and senior at South has to get together and dance. That’s something one can’t put a price on. —STEPHANIE GRIFFITH

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When the men’s NCAA tournament started, everyone expected exciting and electric basketball. No one expected that only one 1 seed (Duke) would make the Final Four, though. There were more than enough bracket busters in this year’s first round, and even more heart-breaking upsets later on. In the first round, there were technically 10 upsets out of the 32 games. But in five out of these 10 games, the two teams were within 3 seeds of each other. More notable upsets came in Ohio and our own Ivo Baltic over Georgetown, Old Dominion over Luke Harangody and the Irish and Cornell over Temple. After round one, Oscar de la Hoyas were knocked out; in round two, we would see some of the nations’ Muhammed Ali’s getting the ol’ one-two-three as well. We started with the corn-feddies of Northern Iowa taking down Kansas, the tournament’s overall one seed. Michigan State snuck their way past Maryland on a coast-to-coast three pointer by Luscious in the last seven seconds of the game. Big Red kept their hot hands and beat the Badgers of Wisconsin. And who could forget about Omar “The Sandman” Sahman’s performance against Villanova, leading Saint Mary’s past the Wildcats despite scrappy efforts, 75-68? As we moved on to the Sweet 16, we saw four bottom-half seeds sitting pretty. This round wasn’t so forgiving to them, though. The Big Red got caught red-handed by the talented Kentucky Wildcats, and they fell 62-45. Washington took their try next against Final Four bound West Virginia, but the Huskies wouldn’t have the last bark as they lost 69-56. “The Sandman” and Saint Mary’s looked like they got caught on a court of quick sand against Baylor, as they were drowned 72-49. UNI reversed their role of David to Goliath, as they lost to Michigan State 59-52. In the Elite Eight, I expected nothing more than a few upsets, and of course there was. Butler upended Kansas State 63-56 in a boring and slow game, just like Butler had

planned. Ex-Kansas State coach Bob Huggins led his West Virginia team over the number one seed Kentucky Wildcats 73-66 by dropping bombs from the three point line, taking the Mountaineers to the Final Four for the first time since 1959. Duke would prevail over the Mountaineers, and Butler would surprise the world, entering its first national chacmpionship following a stellar victory over Izzo and Michigan State. So in the championship game, we see Duke, the ever-so-talented tradition in college basketball against Butler, the surprise team of the tournament with that baby-faced coach of theirs. Back and forth they battled, exchanging the lead 14 times throughout the game.

At the last second, Butler's Bryan Hayward threw up a prayer from the half court line to make or break the Bulldogs, and I thought I was going to have a heart attack if it fell in. It smacks the glass, hits the rim and kisses all hopes of a Butler national championship goodbye as the Blue Devils claimed their fourth title. A Butler win would have been one of the top three biggest upsets of all time in the NCAA national championship, but I'm glad that Duke won for several reasons. First, it was still a great game. Butler didn't lose this game, Duke just won it from them. It was a true title game. Secondly, this tournament run by Butler will still go down in history as one of the greatest. It's rare for a mid-major team to go more than two rounds into the tournament, let alone to the title game. And lastly, that's what Butler gets for busting my bracket. —MATT SWIHART

>>ROID RAGEUpset City

Summer coming up means that the school year is ending, and in the seniors' case, it means that high school is ending. Which means college is coming. Which means we’re going to be adults soon. Which means we’re practically knocking on death’s door. I keep thinking this, over and over, which has kind of triggered a sort of quarter-life crisis in me. I haven’t gone out and purchased any flashy BMWs or had any affairs with any married co-workers, mostly because of my

limited income, but that doesn’t mean I’m not stressing out. This summer is going to be our last chance to be with the people we love and spend our days carelessly lounging in freshly mowed grass and sipping 7/11 slurpies. I feel immense pressure to have the most fun I can in those two months. Feeling pressured to have fun is pretty much the most counter-intuitive thing that someone can do. This is what being old must feel like. Like, you know your life is ending and you really want to make the most out of it, but trying to have fun isn’t going to work. I guess we all just need to resolve to take a minute, take a deep breath and take our time. Enjoy the little things. Cherish your time with your friends. Don’t waste your time with petty things, and always remember to tell the people who are important to you just how important they are. We enter a new chapter in our lives come September, whether we like it or not. We might as well make those warm months preceding it fantastic. Let's postitive think this thing into reality. Who am I kidding? I’m in quite the pickle. This is incredibly NOT enjoyable, and I always heard that your high school years are supposed to be the best in your life. So not only is the rest of my life a downward spiral, but the end is fast approaching. Freshmen, stay 14 forever. Even though it’s a lot of pressure to seize every day and live your life to the fullest all the time, we should make it a point to at least try to make the moments of our lives count for something, especially now when time is running short. Sorry for my downer of an article. It wasn’t very funny. But there’s nothing funny about geriatrics and walkers. Ands far as I’m concerned, I’m pretty much one chicken-foot game away from a medic-aide provided motorized scooter. I hope my new perm will look terrif. —JULIA SUMPTER

Graduation Infatuation

“ “It smacks the glass,

hits the rimand kisses all hopes

of a Butler championshipgood-bye.

[ >>

[

the View >>

LAUREN MOOREeditor-in-chief

>>JULIA SUMPTERart director

SAM PETERSONcopy editor

>>NICK WORTHbusiness manager

>>EVAN WHITE

reporter >>AMY WILLSEY

reporter

>>STEPHANIE GRIFFITHreporter

>>CODY MEADEreporter

The Park Hill south High School newspaper, the View, is part of the educational curriculum of the Park Hill School

District. Although the paper is a classroom activity of newspaper class, material may be submitted for consideration

from students who are not enrolled in the course. Students’ submission should meet guidlines set forth in the board

policy and regulation IGDB, copies of which are available in all buildings and Central Office. Students may also

submit letters to the editor which are 250 words or less on timely issues. Editorials must be published with the name

of the responsible individual. Bring any submissions to room C200 or e-mail them to the adviser at

hughesm@parkhill.k12.mo.us. All submitted material may be edited for content, length and grammar. The View is a

member of the National Scholastic Press Association and the Missouri Interscholastic Press Association. The View is

printed by Osage Graphics in Olathe, Kan.

important dates:

>> MEGAN HUGHESadviser

want more of the view? visit phsview.com for updates

april

Pick up the final issue of the View!

April 10: ACT April 28: Baseball Home Game vs. Oak Park

>>DYLAN BERRYreporter

>>DREW BERRYreporter

>>MOLLY REINMUTHreporter

>>ALI FISHER

reporter

>>CHRIS BARTH

reporter >>

TIERNAN EIBERGERreporter

>> MATT SWIHARTcolumnist >> ALEX EDWARDSphotographer

>>JESSE McGINNISS

reporter

30

10

29

Battle of the Bands at 7 p.m.

11

AC/DC plays at Sprint Center 7 p.m.

28Home Girls’ Soccer Game vs. Oak Park

NICK WORTHThe View’s Best Belly Winner

“I have now lived.” --senior Nick Worth