The DomeOakwood High School

1200 Far Hills AvenueDayton, Ohio 45419

April 2011Volume 80, No. 6

4.11ON THE COVER With the release of video games, musicals, and new cafés in the area it is necessary to provide reviews of each. That brings the question “What would you rate?”Cover design by Riki Sagraves

Dome staffCaroline JamesCo-Editor-in-Chief

Riki SagravesCo-Editor-in-Chief

Noah Faust Advertising Manager

Steven Hix Staff Writer

Lee McClory Public Relations Manager

Kathryn WittoeschStaff Writer

Doug Otto Staff Writer

Grant Pepper Staff Writer

Celia Rasmussen Staff Writer

Andy Ross Staff Writer

Duncan Richards Bailor Staff Writer

Debbie Corpus Adviser

Debbie SmithAdviser

Maggie EvistonStaff Writer

Blast off: Early on a Sunday morning, Tony Rainsberger, engineering teacher, explains how the rocket works while Yusuke Miyoshi (12), Zach Harmony (11), and Jeremiah Johnson (12) watch intensively.

NEWS

3 Upcoming seniors look to take charge after Stone’s resignation: Paul Stone resigns as football coach, juniors step up

2 State cuts district budget: Proposed state budget cuts district by $750,000; school cuts affect junior high, elementary, more than high school

5 Prom to be Spanish themed: Fundraisers go according to plan

6 School board give commu-nity-wide surveys: Students take similar survey to express their opinions

4 Robertson takes helm: Former Springfield coach fills head coaching position

OpiNiON7 Editorial: Education in crisis8 The soapbox: Kasichs’ political suicide

FEATURE

10 Review of new cafés: Select Start and Tropical Smoothie offer new tastes

9 Oliver! leaves viewers pleased

11 Fallout: New Vegas Review12 Best and worst: Waterfountains12 Progress makes it to Columbus:

Student receives Govenor’s Award of Excellence for art

16 Bongo for Congo: OakwoodStock raises money for Democratic Republic of Congo

13 Academic Decathlon powers through to state championship

14 Rocketry Team competes14 Extreme makeover, home-ec

edition: 9 new classes revamp home-ec curriculum

STUDENT LiFE

16 Hopes for another record year: Boy’s tennis wants to win SWBL for 9th consecutive year

17 Jacks’ dominance continues: Var-sity sluggers open season with 8-2 start; seniors’ toughness stifles inexperienced SWBL competition

17 JV softball slides into season: First junior varsity team in years makes a comeback

ENTERTAiNMENT18 Shaping the dome: A historical

glance at the streets of Oakwood

Photo courtesy of Chris Sneeder

2

NewsState cuts district budget Proposed state budget cuts district by $750,000; school cuts affect junior high, elementary, more than high school

Funding Cuts: Junior high students Brandon Jacob (7) and Collin Pitzer (8) work on movies in computer class. A budget proposed by Ohio governor John Kasich will cut funding for the district, affecting class sizes, teachers below the high school level, and the technology budget for next year. “We’re doing everything we can not to negatively affect instruction,” district treasurer Kevin Philo said.

Photo By Lee McClory

By Lee McClory

ProPosed state bud get cuts will cut state fund-ing to the school district

by about $750,000. However, the actual deficit in

the district budget is much lower, only about $350,000, due to the levy passed last November.

The district knew that some money would be cut going into this year, which was part of the reason the levy was proposed

“Some districts are really hav-ing to cut back, and we’re not to that point yet,” Kevin Philo, dis-trict treasurer, said.

The levy only added about $400,000 to the budget, so cuts of about $350,000 must be made.

A levy has not been rejected in Oakwood since 1978, according to a Dayton Daily News article last October.

Affects on the district will not be very noticable to students in the high school.

“You might see larger class sizes,” Philo said.

Cuts to the technology de-partment and professional devel-opment money will also occur, though these will be less obvious, according to Philo.

However, Bruce Saunders, head of the technology depart-ment, does not know how deep the cuts will be.

“The building budget coould just depend on what the board decides to do,” Saunders said.

Teachers in the high school who are retiring, like Debbie Cor-pus, English teacher, and Sudie Jacques, guidance counselor, will be replaced.

According to Paul Waller, principal, teachers will not be any less qualified than usual.

“We always try to hire the highest quality teachers we can find to teach their subjects,” Waller said.

Extracurriculars will not be cut, though no new ones will be added either.

“People think that extracur-riculars and busing cost a lot, but cutting extracurriculars doesn’t save a lot of money,” Philo said. “It was rare in the first place to add extras. It will be very rare now.”

However, high school will not be as affected as the junior high and elementary schools.

Two positions in these grade levels are being eliminated next

year; an elementary teacher and a junior high English teacher.

These grades have fewer stu-dents in them than the high school, so affects will be less negative.

“We’re doing everything we can to not negatively affect in-struction,” Philo said

According to Philo, it costs about $10,000 per year per stu-dent to go to Oakwood. If Oak-wood did nothing but cut the number of students going to school, about 75 students would be cut from the district.

Obviously, cuts like these will not be made.

“Without state funds, could we tell 75 students to stay home?” Philo said. “Realisically, we can’t do that.”

Trent Jervis“Our captains this year wOrk

hard and have great leadership qualities.”

Noah Roberts“Our seniOr class

has fantastic lead-ership qualities and a lOt Of experience.”

Dan Roll“i think we have a lOt Of upper classmen whO have experience,

[…] whO have been playing varsity ball since their

sOphOmOre year.”

Max Breidenbach“we’re nOt gOing tO be shOrt Of

leaders next year.”

Upcoming seniors look to take charge after Stone’s resignationPaul Stone resigns as football coach, juniors step up

On Friday nights, when the mosquitoes settle down into the

sticky, late-summer grass of Mack Hummon Stadium, Paul Stone will not be on the sidelines. When the blistering cold causes the air to turn stiff and the night to turn dark, Paul Stone will not be bark-ing commands into a headset.

On Monday, March 14th, Paul Stone resigned from coaching the football team. Stone resigned af-ter fourteen years of being the head coach of the Jacks, but he will continue to coach the varsity basketball team in the winter.

As for the players, they are staying positive about the situation.

“The sport’s not going to change,” Logan Jervis (10) said.

Then again, Stone’s void might be hard to fill. In his four-

teen years as head coach, Stone recorded ninety-one wins and fifty-eight losses, giving him the second-highest winning percent-age of any coach to ever lead the Jacks.

Stone also lead the Jacks to six of their seven playoff appearances in program history (since 1923).

After Stone’s resignation, all but two of last year’s coaches resigned. The coaches who did not resign are Nathan Hyatt and Dan Kosak.

Although filling Stone’s void may be difficult, Stone and the players feel it can be done.

Stone, as well as this year’s underclassmen, believe that next year’s seniors will be more than fit to lead the Jacks next fall.

“I’m excited for my seniors,” Stone said, before adding, “These guys will do a great job.”

The senior captains next fall will be Max Breidenbach, Noah Roberts, Trent Jervis and Dan Roll. Many agree that leadership

is infectious among this group of athletes.

“They’re really good lead-ers and they show it on the field and off the field,” Chase Randolph (9) said.

Leadership aside, these cap-tains also provide experience. Trent Jervis and Noah Roberts have been playing varsity football since their freshman year.

Stone had no comment on the reason for his resignation, but he did say that it was not due to a Tressel-like incident.

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Stone said.

Matt Salyer, who also re-signed from coaching the team, emphasized how his support of the players will not stop after his resignation.

“We’ll still be there to support them,” Salyer said.

On Thursday, April 14, Rick Robertson was announced to be next year’s head ball coach.

Robertson resigned from the head coaching position at Spring-field High School in March, and has been coaching football at the head coach position for a com-bined twenty-two years.

By Grant Pepper

News

3

Robertson takes helmFormer Springfield coach fills head coaching position

By Grant Pepper

For one month, Oakwood did not have a coach to fill Paul Stone’s ab-

sence. Now Oakwood has found its’ man. Rick Robertson, hailing from Kettering, was named the head coach of the football team on the afternoon of Thursday, April 14.

Robertson has twenty-two years of coaching experience combined, and was also a previ-ous athletic director at Fairmont High School.

Robertson came to Oakwood for reasons beside football, though. His wife is dealing with

multiple sclerosis, and Robertson is her caretaker. With his home five minutes away in Kettering, Robertson decided to take the job in order to cut down on travel time between his house and the football field.

Robertson held a meeting in the chorus room the day after his new position was announced. The room was filled with curious student-athletes all listening to their new head coach emphasize

the importance of education and working hard.

Tension was clearly evident towards the beginning of the meeting, but things got a bit more casual towards the end of the meeting.

Robertson discussed his back-ground, coaching philosophy, and team expectations during the lunch meeting, as well as what the off-season workouts would consist of during the spring and early summer.

He also discussed how the players should have fun with the game, and Robertson shared stories of some of his past players who are now playing

college football.One of them, Trey DePriest, a

recent Springfield graduate, will be playing for the University of Alabama this fall.

Although some of his cur-rent Lumberjacks might not have SEC potential, Robertson is equally excited about coaching this year’s squad.

Robertson’s booming voice was heard loud and clear, as were his expectations.

The coach who has coached in three state all-star games came to Oakwood with a purpose -- to win.

Photos B y Grant Pepper

Welcome, Coach: Rick Robertson introduces himself in front of the Jacks for the first time. He previously resigned from coaching the Springfield Wildcats, a division-one juggernaut, so that he could be closer to his home to care for his wife, who is currently dealing with multiple sclerosis.

News

4

5

News

By Doug Otto

Prom to be Spanish themedFundraisers go according to plan

Mulch sales are going right on track”, Aaron Oakes, senior

class advisor, said. Like the years before, Prom committee takes the time to sell mulch through a fundraiser effort.

“They did a nice job,” said Oakes about the prom commit-tee’s mulch selling effort.

“They sold 1400 bags,” said Oakes. Those 1400 bags add up about $2,100 which, while slight-ly lesser than last year’s fund-raiser, it still will be a big part of funding the Prom event. Student council members and other vol-unteers delivered the mulch.

“It’s a dinner and a dance just like last year,” said Oakes. “It’s also

going to be Spanish themed.” “[The] decorations will be

red, white, and black fabrics and lights,” said student council pres-ident Katie Hoffman (12). “The DJ will be the same as last year, who will be playing similar music to other dances.”

As of this moment, theSpan-ish dinner arrangements have not yet been finalized.

The specific theme will be Baile de Barcelona. “Prom will be at the Dayton Art Institute, and After Prom will be here at the school,” said Oakes.

Prom will be on April 30th from 6:30 to 11:30.

Photo by Doug OttoDelivering Mulch: Jeff Key (12) contributes to the delivery effort of the many bags of mulch to people who ordered them all over Oakwood.

“

Let us pamper

you for all your

special occasions.

Hair • Nails • Make-Up • Tanning

• Mention this ad for a free gift •

News

6

School board give community-wide surveysStudents take similar survey to express their opinions

By Celia Rasmussen

From march 24th through June 17th, the Board of Education is distributing surveys to all community

members ages eighteen and older. Part I of the survey discusses the school calendar and daily schedule for all grades in .

Although the survey is meant for adult residents of Oakwood as well as district em-ployees, another survey was given to high school students to see what they think.

There are six parts to the official survey, of which only part I has been open for reply. The results have not yet been released.

Out of thirty-two students, thirty percent stated that they are satisfied with the district’s current practice of beginning the school year during the third week of August. Another thirty percent stated that they would be open to beginning the school year earlier if it meant the school district increased the number of teacher professional development days. The last forty percent said they would be open to beginning the school year earlier in August if it meant school ended earlier in June.

“I feel like even if we end the school year later, summer still feels longer if we start later in August,” Leslie Rasmussen (9) said.

Sixty-seven percent of

the students stated that they would be open to ending the school year earlier as long as it did not begin any earlier in August.

The community survey also mentions the details of the schools’ breaks during the year.

Seventy-three percent of students re-sponded saying that they are satisfied with the district’s current practice of scheduling a one-week Winter Break in February, while twenty-seven percent said they prefer that the district cancel the one-week Winter Break in February so that the school year could start later or end earlier.

Ninety-one percent of the thirty-two stu-dents stated that they are satisfied with the district’s scheduling a one-week Spring Break the first week of April. They also said they like knowing that Spring Break is always the same week in April from year to year.

“I really like the placement of our spring break because it breaks up the long stretch

between our winter break in February and the beginning of summer,” Sarah

Zabarnick (11) said.One question on the sur-

vey asked Oakwood residents about their preferences on regularly providing time for teacher development days. Forty-three percent of stu-dents responded by saying they prefer students be dis-

missed a half day early one Friday per month. Thirty-six

percent stated that students should come to school two hours later, two days

per month. Lastly, twenty-one percent stated that students should come to school one hour later one day per week.

While the students had numerous differ-ent opinions about each topic, they all agreed on one thing: open lunch. One hundred per-cent of students surveyed answered that they strongly support the city schools’ one hour

Student Surveys: Sarah Zabarnick (11) takes her version of the district surveys. Part I dis-cusses the school calendar and daily schedule for all grades in the city schools.

Photo By Celia Rasmussen

open lunch.“I’ve heard rumors that they’re going to

take away our open lunch for scheduling pur-poses,” Grace Danis (11) said. “I feel that it would take away our freedom that makes us so unique as a school.”

30% Satisfied

30% More devel-opment days

40% Start and

end earlier

Student Results: Out of 32 students, 30% stated they were satisfied with the place-ment of the school year’s beginning and end. Another 30% stated they preferred there be more teacher development days. The remain-ing 40% stated they wanted to begin and end the year earlier.

ImagIne a school where the parents decide the grades of their students, and if the teachers don’t give those grades they

are fired. Imagine a school where a disgruntled student

or parent could anonymously slander a teacher and that teacher would have no safety from being let go.

This is a school where education has been put second and grades have been put first.

This is a school where teachers must placate the parents because there is no protection for teach-ers to give fair and impartial grades.

And this is a school that may become a reality.The Senate Bill 5 may make Ohio schools into

that fictional, nightmare school described. The bill takes away the right to strike, the right to col-lectively bargain and would limit teaching con-tracts to one year.

Everyone knows that there is one kid in every class that dislikes the teacher, one student that is unhappy with their grade.

This bill sets a precedent to give that one stu-dent or parent the ability to have that teacher fired, regardless of the quality of education the teacher is putting forth.

This dependency on pleasing students to retain jobs would lead not only to unfair grades but also

to a lower quality of teaching. Many teachers would simply make their classes easier so everyone could maintain that demanded “A”.

Oakwood is blessed with teachers that go above and beyond their teaching duties, whether they’re staying late to help kids or using supplementary ac-tivities such as movies or skits to teach.

If teachers were constantly under the threat of being fired for the slightest provocation, would they be willing to risk teaching outside the param-eters needed for a grade?

Some say education won’t be affected by this bill and increased job instability for teaches won’t have ramifications in the classroom.

However, four of the five states that don’t have collective bargaining for their teachers are in the bottom five for SAT and ACT scores.

So while students may have a four point that they bullied their teachers for, when it comes to prove-ing what they know, they’ll be unequipped.

Oakwood is not a school known for lowering the bar. Will this new bill cheapen the quality of educa-tion for the quantity of good grades?

Teachers must be able to assign grades the stu-dents deserve based on merit, not on complaints.

If the value of a teacher is based on what grades they give and not the education, the grade is mean-ingless and the education is disreputable.

Editorial PolicyDome@oakwoodschools.orghttp://Oakwood.k12.oh.us/dome1200 Far Hills Ave.Dayton, Ohio 45419

Letters to the editor should be sub-mitted to The Dome at the above Email address, or delivered to room 105, and must contain the author’s name and con-tact information. The Dome reserves the right to refuse publication of inappro-priate or slanderous letters.

Should education be put below the bottom line?Education in crisis

Opinions expressed in staff-written editorials are those of their authors and may not be shared by The Dome, Oakwood High School, or the Oakwood Board of Education.

The Dome is a school-spon-sored, student run publication of Oakwood High School.

The Staff of The Dome strives to as a forum, present representative viewpoints of

the student body.The Dome is not a public

relations tool for any organi-zation within the community. We reserve the right to reject any requests in determining the contents of our paper.

Although our coverage may indirectly or directly give pub-licity to certain organizations, it is not our responsibility to cover events, groups, etc.

Editorial

7

8

The SoapboxKasichs’ political suicide

John Kaisch’s budget plan is to cut taxes and lower spending which

he used as his election platform. But how he is going through with these reforms would be nothing short of disastrous for the state.

Part of his plan is to privatize five jails. The problem with this is that the jails will now op-erate under the profit motive instead of trying to keep those too dangerous to be in the public locked up. Although it may make the prison system more effective but it might also create conditions that are harmful to the prisoners to cut costs.

Something that may increase crime is Ka-sich’s plan to cut $134.6 million from the agencies that provide money and help people quit welfare by helping them get jobs. These agencies according to dispatchpolitics also provide after school tutoring to help children do better in school. Kasich has also stated that he wants to reduce the eligibility for low income students.

People who are in need of health care are also going to be drastically harmed by Kasich. The Dayton Daily News states that 257 out of 5,000 patients with HIV/AIDS are going to be denied medications that help them feel well and even stay alive. Kasich’s cuts will also reduce 50 percent of the funding sent to unin-sured HIV/Aids patients.

Dayton receives another devastating blow to our cities economy with this bill. In the abcdaytonsnewssource, the city man-ager Tim Riordan estimated 50% cut to lo-cal aid. This would mean that $6.5 million worth of social services and/or jobs would be cut.

Adding on to this the railroad system that was being going to be built was canceled by Kasich. It would have provided more jobs and income to an area desperate for jobs and

By Duncan Richards Bailor Kasichs’ Senate Bill 5 is likely to create a backlash against GOP in the next election

employment. It would have been even better because the railroads would have provided another route for employment for many of the car-auto workers that have been laid off.

Damage that Kasich is inflicting on Ohio will also harm him and his chance of getting re-elected. Quinnipiac University Survey shows 53 percent of voters disapproved of him while only 36 percent approved of him.

Kasich using the means of cutting taxes and spending cuts, Kasich may get a vastly different result than Kasich desired end of a balanced budget. It potentially has the chance of ruining not only an already economicaly frail Ohio but also a politcally suicidal move for Kasich in the next election.

09

FeatureOliver! leaves viewers pleasedBy Maggie Eviston

Sitting in the auditorium on Saturday afternoon in March, pro-gram in hand, the black -clad high school

orchestra plays “Food Glorious Food.”A sudden hoard of elementary, junior

high, and high school students dressed as orphans rush down the aisles and toward the stage. Oliver has begun.

Among the orphans was star Max Wil-liams, who plays Oliver. Williams, a sixth grader at Harman, managed to hold his own among his impressive, more experienced cast of junior and senior high school students.

Williams’ stand out scene came when he was alone on stage after being abandoned yet again and began the musical’s first rendi-

tion of “Where is Love?” During scenes with a lot of cast mem-

bers, however, it seemed Williams became lost in the chaos on stage.

The mixed ensemble of elementary, junior high, and senior high students was invigorating since high school plays are usually dominated by members of speech and debate.

Notably impressive was Samantha Swift (12), whose full voice boomed through the auditorium during her gorgeous solos as she portrayed the love-stricken prosti-tute Nancy.

Noah Berry’s (12) remarkable portray-al of Fagin provided much of the musical’s comical relief with his crooked sense of

Fine Life - Stars Noah Berry, Max Williams, Cara Mumford, and Samantha Swift proved their tremen-dous voices yet again as the cast belted the jolly tune while explaining to Oliver the joys of crime.

Photos courtesy of David Long

humor and scratchy, cockney accent that he somehow maintained superbly throughout his songs.

Unlike other musicals, Oliver didn’t really have any songs familiar to the audience, or very memorable for that matter, which is of-ten the most enjoyable part of seeing a musi-cal.

The musical also lacked a certain some-thing special in terms of special effects or ani-mations whereas OHS musicals in the past have incorporated some sort of memorable effect.

Oliver managed to push the normal boundaries of most high school musicals with its intensity.

Samantha Swift’s death scene left audi-ences stunned as most high school plays leave the more gruesome scenes to sounds offstage and out of sight.

Costumes and makeup were also impres-sive. The cast learned how to do their make-up from a professional makeup artist during their trip to NYC over winter break while the orphans’ costumes were realistically ragged.

Star lineup: The musical’s promo-tional pster features the 12 of the musical’s stars.

Dimensional demon: Noah Ber-ry’s(12) solo showed audiences another side of the otherwise crooked Fagin.

cockney criminal: Alyssa Coyle (12)portrays the Artful Dodg-er, Oliver Twist’s cheery mentor in the life of crime. Coyle’s cockney accent, singing, and dancing made her a fan favorite.

Belligerent burgalar: Fierce Shadow Woolf(10) credits Heath Ledger’s performance as “the Joker” as one of his many influences in capturing the evil spirit of Bill Sikes. Woolf said his biggest compliment was when people said they didn’t even recognize him as Sikes

“Some more?”: Steven Hix (11) and Max Williams(6) star in the infamous opening scene where Oliver Twist stu-pidly asks for more gruel.

Feature

10

Tropical SmooThie in cenTerville iS a favorite among students, so when a new franchise recently opened in Oakwood, students were all over it. The Café is lo-

cated in the same building as Central Perc and the Oakwood Florist on Far Hills.

“I’m obsessed with it,” Sarah Zabarnick (11) said. “It’s really good.”

Tropical Smoothie’s vibrant wall colors, spacious floor plan, and tropical theme all go together to create a posi-tive atmosphere. The only downside is the plethora of junior high and elementary school kids who congregate there after school.

“It’s the new 7th/8th grade hangout and it’s kind of annoying,” Grace Danis said.

Hopefully this problem will dissipate as Tropical Smoothie’s popularity levels off, but in the mean-time, it’s best to catch a smoothie on the week-ends, early in the morning, or early in the evening to avoid large crowds.

One thing different about the Café is the fact that Oak-wood stu-

dents dominate the staff. Molly Rubins (11) enjoys working with her friends and being able to see people she knows come in for a smoothies and food.

“It’s fun to be able to see a lot of Oakwood people come in,” Rubins said. “I like it a lot.”

Anything from chocolate , to coconut, to açai berry can be found in the smoothies. With so many different varieties to choose from, you surely can find something to please your palate.

The price ranges from $3-5 which is reasonable considering the large sizes of the smoothies. The café also lists a broad selection of breakfast and lunch wraps and sandwiches.

on Far hillS acroSS The STreeT From Starbucks opened Select Start Café. It was started by a small group of eccentric “scientists.” According to their web site,

the idea was to create a digital and physical space where they could include customers in their geeky passions: coffees, teas, games, and science. Aside from drinks, the Café also serves fresh pas-tries, hummus, artisan pizza, yogurt parfaits and granola cereal.

“I like how they serve more teas whereas Starbucks is more coffee orientated,” Mary Oda (11) said. “I like it better than Starbucks that’s for sure.”

The retro look of the coun-ter resembles an old-fash-ioned soda bar/ cof-fee shop. In the back of the shop stands a bookcase filled with a collection of games and puzzles, including Lord Of The Rings Mo-nopoly and Risk. You will also find comfy chairs, couches and tables already set up for a game of chess. All of these things add together to make Se-lect Start feel person-able and comfortable.

“The mocha espresso milk shakes are so good,” Oda said.

Select Start gives you a certain “Je ne sais quoi” and personal expe-rience that Starbucks does not.

Select Start and Tropical Smoothie offer new tastesBy Kathryn Wittoesch

Photo Courtesy of Chloe Croom

photos courtesy of selectstartcafe.com

Grand Opening: Tropical Smoothie and Select Start Café have proven to be popular among students. Select Start plans on adding a computer lab and an out-door deck this summer.

Review of new cafés

11

FeatureFallout: New Vegas review

The world of Fallout: New Vegas feels alive. The music is plucked straight from the saloon, and the characters flesh that western theme out with eccentricity built on the western persona.

F:NV is a role-playing game, mean-ing the story depends on how the player builds their character which in turn decides the outcome of future events. As an open-world adventure, the Mojave desert serves as a great setting. Littered with pre-nuclear war artifacts and ruins, adventures spawn in unpredict-able ways.

Tension mounts overwhelmingly as the player determines which factions and alliances to join. The players can fight the power with Caesar’s Legion carefully noting their evil ways, or side with the good-hearted NCR (New California Republic) struggling to calm their imperialistic nature. All of this comes down to unique experiences that will keep the player glued as the game’s finale un-folds. Making alliances only builds suspense to create a world to feel more active and moving.

The main story quests takes you on a tour of wild goose chases, hit-man dirty work, and scavenge exploration. It manages to keep the chain of events linear, while also steering the player’s wheel down the road less taken resulting in a more varied adventure rath-er than following a predictable chain of events.

The story is, unfortunately, somewhat unidentifiable. Compared to the last installment, Fallout 3, the story feels cheep in certain ar-eas. Some plots tend to lack the eccentric Fallout spirit captured in earlier installments. The game starts out with an interesting open-ing scene that captures the classic “spaghetti western” theme, but

later fails to grab the player as side stories branch out. The attention is subsequently focused on the

political tension, rather than the human emotion.

The real treasure of the game falls on the side quests. Discovering new and wonderful surprises with a goal to accomplish and adventures in mind capture the Fallout spirit, and it is executed very well in this installment to the series.

The variety of the Mo-jave Desert is one of the more interesting aspects. The surprising level of depth and differentiating terrains is both striking and poignant. A fantastic example is the slum called

Freeside that surrounds the gates of the luxurious New Vegas strip. The contrast between these two areas delivers a more interactive setting that stands out as the central landmark of the Mojave desert.

One aspect I must address though, is the fre-quent glitch issue. Travelling through the waste-land, enemies can have sizing issues, or get stuck in the air. Others may even be invincible and com-panions may inexplicably turn around and flea the objective. In some cases, quests are broken and rendered unfinished due to an error. The frequent glitches can even make important cues simply not happen. It is a very sad con factor, but any true fan of the series can overlook these bugs and continue on with the game.

Fallout: New Vegas may have somewhat crip-pling issues and not live up to the hype, but the western persona mixed with signature Fallout fea-tures is captured with remarkable character and a unique gaming experience fit for any RPG fan.

By Doug Otto

Photo from fallout.bethesda.com

The Strip: One of the main attractions of the game, the New Vegas strip, features a nuclear damaged version of the Las Vegas strip.

Photo from fallout.bethesda.com

Genre: Action/rPG

DeveloPer: obsiDiAn

Publisher: bethesDA

esrb rAtinG: M

releAse DAte: 10/19/10

12

Student Life

Best and worst: waterfountains

Ever needed to refill your water bottle but didn’t know which waterfountain would be the best? We have your answers here!

Using an extensive survey technique to ac-commodate for different

tastes and preferences, The Dome has collected a complete list of the best and the worst water fountains in the school. While some obvious choices (e.g. Science Hall North) may appear, you might find yourself surprised by some of the results.

By Steven Hix

Best Waterfountains1) Science Hall North - This spigot has a reputation for greatness, and rightfully so. With a combination of the coldest water and best taste in the school, it is a safe bet.2) Band Room - While this fountain re-mains largely unknown to the public, band students have been enjoying its fantastic taste and feel for years. If you have the time to spare, this reservoir is well worth the trip.3) Sophomore Hall South - Despite that in recent months this geyser has been noticed more for its wonky handle than anything else, its cool temperature, refreshing taste, and convenient proximity to the weight room have made this a favorite among many students, especially athletes.

Worst Waterfountains1) Junior High Hall - I cannot possibly de-scribe the number of disgusted faces I have seen after even a sip from this swamp. It takes far too long to cool down (if it does at all) and even then tastes like a bacteria growth has infected your mouth.2) Junior Hall South - After months of not even being able to function, even after repair this fountain leaves an unsatisfying taste in your mouth. Could this be a result of the barf residue from a disgusting incident?3) Freshman Hall South - Have you ever eaten metal? If so, this spout will bring back unhappy memories. Because of its vile taste and lukewarm temperature, if you need a drink in the area, just go to the band room.

Hanging next to tHe doors to the auditorium, Kaylie Do-man’s (11) series called “Progress”

displays Doman’s talent with digital design. Doman (11) received the Governor’s

Award of Excellence for her piece. From the 12,000 regional entries, approximately 2,500 are selected to enter the state judging. State jurors then select 300 for the actual exhibi-tion, with 25 of the 300 chosen to receive the Governor’s Award of Excellence.

Doman had a piece make it to the regional competition last year, but this year she is thrilled to have her series make it all the way to the end.

Starting with a graphic of an empty beach with palm trees, Doman’s series “progressive-ly” adds people and buildings to each follow-ing piece. Her interest in beaches influenced her piece.

“Honestly, I really like beaches and I

thought it would be fun,” Doman said while laughing.

Doman attended Stiver’s School for the Arts and stud-ied Graphic Arts, but came back to Oakwood this year in order to be able to do PSEO (allows students to take col-lege level classes). She has already been receiving praise for her award. Ohio University contact-ed Doman and encouraged her to apply to the art school for their Governor Scholarship.

Doman will have her series exhibited with 300 other winners at the James A Rhodes

By Kathryn Wittoesch

Photo by Andy RossArt Savy: Although Doman enjoys art and digital design, her future in-cludes computer science and engineering.

State Office Tower in Columbus from April 10th to May 12th. When asked if her piece would be permantly displayed, Doman said “I would miss my piece!

Progress makes it to ColumbusStudent receives Govenor’s Award of Excellence for art

13

Student LifeAcademic Decathlon powers through to state championship

State Champions - After seven consecutive years of losing to Wil-loughby South, the team finally crushed their rivals by over 1000 points.

Working Hard - Ethan Kissock (12) studies the economics of The Great De-pression in the Freedom Shrine, a favorite study spot of the team due to its conve-nient proximity to advisor Lori Morris’ room.

Image Courtesy of Lori Morris

EvErybody knows thE tEam that wEars their medals to school.

Everybody knows that the Academic Decathlon team won the state championship.

Everybody knows that from April 26 to April 30, the nine students comprising the state champion team with several backups will head to North Carolina as the first small school to represent Ohio in the competition’s history.

However, almost nobody knows the hard work and dedica-tion that the team exerted to get to this point.

“In the weeks leading up to state, we were getting in three study session a week in addition to in-class studying,” Ethan Kissock (12) said. “That means immediately after school on Friday and for several hours on Saturday and Sunday.”

This group of brainiacs includes not only the competing team members, all of whom were either sophomores or se-niors, but several other equally committed peers as well.

Backups “Primrose Mangilog, Akinobu Miyoshi and Heath-er Brooks all showed great potential as well,” Nick Grilliot (12) said. “It was incredibly hard to make the team this year.”

“The competition is separated into three categories by GPA, with Honors being the highest, Scholastic being the second highest, and Varsity being the lowest,” Herbert Sizek (10) said. “Several of us scored so well that we were moved up to a higher level of competition.”

The team would also like to make one very important dis-tinction: they are not the academic team.

As senior Ciara Marlin said, “I think they hit little buzzers and yell the answers to really hard questions, right?” Wrong.

Acadec is essentially a test taking competition based around a central theme that changes from year to year. The theme this year is The Great Depression.

“The college preparatory courses at Oakwood gives the team an advantage,” Mangilog (10) said. “But I think in the end it is hard work and determination that gives us the edge.”

By Steven Hix

Photo by Steven Hix

Taking a large group of teenagers to North Carolina is not cheap. The acadec team needs funding in order to com-pete in their first national championship tournament. To make a donation, bring money to the high school office and place it in the appropriately marked envelope. The teams thanks you for your continued support.

Despite a host of problems, Oakwood Rocketry team recently com-peted in the Team America Rocketry

Challenge. They were required to build a rocket under 1000 grams to carry an egg to 750 feet and stay in the air for 40-45 seconds without damag-ing the egg.

A test launch on March 17, two days before the competition, revealed that many corrections needed to be made on the rockets to get them ready for the competition. Most rockets did not go high enough or stay in the air long enough. One rocket deployed its parachute a split second before it was going to hit the ground, another got stuck in a tree, and part of a third crash landed and cut a cylinder out of the baseball field.

“I think we’re going to have to cut our rocket in half,” Eli Colinson (11) said after his rocket went to only a fraction of the predicted height.

Four different rocket teams are part of the Rocketry Team, each with its own unique rock-et. At the competition, they had the best over-all average of the local schools represented, but they did not do well enough to move on to the national level.

Student Life

14

Rocketry Team competes

Blast off: (Clockwise from top left) Ian Munn (12) proudly displays his undamaged egg. A rock-et crash lands in the field. Team members discuss the upcoming competition in the engineering room.

Photos courtesy of Chris Sneeder

By Noah Faust

Extreme makeover, home-ec edition9 new classes revamp home-ec curriculumBy Andy Ross

When i have that needle in my hand, I just get this insane adrenaline

rush,” Logan Minard (11), devout knit-ter, said. “It’s a just blast of euphoria.”

Minard is not the only student ex-cited for the nine new home-ec, quar-ter-long electives. Many students look forward to the relaxed atmosphere and practicality found in home-ec classes.

“I think [Everyday Foods] is going to be a lot of fun,” Micah Rhodes (10) said. “But I’m really taking it because I want to be able to cook well for my girlfriend.”

The classes added include Needle Arts, It’s All Material, Rags to Runway, My 1st Home, Road to Reality, On Your Own, Family Life, Everyday Foods, and Advanced Foods. The classes will replace the Home-Ec I and Advanced Home-Ec semester-long classes.

“I’ve been asking to do quarter classes for a long time now,” Leslie Blythe, Family and Consumer Sci-ences teacher, said.

Blythe is also excited for teaching new subjects. Rags to Runway features in-depth coverage of fashion produc-tion, including everything from “pat-terns to fitting,” Blythe said. Interior design, another completely new sub-ject, will include various aspects of housing, including architecture “from start to finish,” Blythe said.

The classes were designed to work more efficiently and conveniently with the quarter long English electives.

“These make it a lot easier to take only the subjects I’m interested in,” Jack Kegelmeyer (10) said. “I’m pumped about these additions. I real-ly want to make a great dad someday. I think these will help me with that.”

Needle Arts: Minard works on a brand new creation. In addition to knitting, he also greatly en-joys sewing.

Photo by: Andy Ross

“

Bringing style to life

224-7673 www.thefl owershoppe.com1132 Brown Street Dayton, OH

16

Student Life

Hopes for another record yearBoy’s tennis wants to win SWBL for 9th consecutive year

By Lee McClory

Boy’s tennis has won swBL for eight consecutive years. This year, they hope to gain their ninth.

“We have a solid team this year but the competition is tougher,” tennis coach Kim Gilbert said.

The competition will be particularly hard against CJ, Alter, and Bellbrook.

The team has already played CJ, though they lost that match.

“They just out played us,” Matt Harlen (11) said.

Gilbert says that Bellbrook is just as competive as Oakwood.

“Two of the parents of the players on the Bellbrook team own Kettering tennis, so they have a long tradition of tennis,” Gil-bert said.

But Oakwood’s tradition is long as well. Their SWBL titles prove the fact as well as

their players, who practice year round.In any case, the team is looking forward to

a good year.

High Five: Doubles players Aaron Pruitt and Matt Carpenter exchange a handshake after win-ning thier match against Monroe High School, on March 29. The tennis team’s record, as of April 18, is 4-1.

Bongo for CongoOakwoodStock raises money for Democratic Republic of Congo

By Andy Ross

Rock out: Alec Snead (11) plays guitar and sings for Amnesia. The band has been together for 4 years.

Photos Courtesy of Chris Sneeder

on apriL 15th, nine student-based bands performed in the audi-

torium for Oakwoodstock. The show, put on by Oakwood Giv-ing, will donate its proceeds to Project Congo.

Project Congo’s goals include sending food, medical equip-ment, supplies, and medications to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

“We actually have a special connection to Project Congo,” Melinda Wargacki, Oakwood Giving advisor, said. “The found-er is an Oakwood alumni and is related to Annie Bartlett(11).”

The lineup of artists, origi-nally 15, was too large for the event’s smaller duration. Because of this, Wargacki and the bands

had a meeting discussing which bands to cut. Cuts were based on whether the band contained members from other schools and if the members were in other bands that were performing.

Among those cut was Ragtag, an alternative-blues duo consist-ing of Joey Beach (11) and Rob-ert Rutledge (11). “It’s obviously pretty disappointing because we’ve been practicing for this for a long time now,” Rutledge said. “But I understand why we were cut and I do think it’s a fair sys-tem.

Performing bands included Amnesia, the Tree Knots, Good English, Lunchbox Raiders, The Electric Fetus, Markie Mark Kravitz, The Naked Prey, The Ex-its, and Dr. Q & Space Bud.

Bass slapping: Dan Roll (11) plays bass guitar for Amnesia. Dan has been playing bass for 7 years.

“I think this year will be a good year,” Matt Carpenter (12) first doubles player, said. “We have a lot of seniors and that’s great because the players have a lot of experience.”

Carpenter plays doubles with Aaron Pruitt (11) and sometimes Ben Ward (12). Pruitt and Carpenter made it to state last year and hope to do so again this year.

“State was definitely exciting,” Pruitt said. “It wasn’t something I’d felt before.”

However, it’s not just upperclassmen that bring the team home.

“I have a lot of sophomores and juniors playing varsity for the first time, and I have a lot of faith in them,” Gilbert said.

Gilbert believes that her team is just as physically capable for the competition as

the competition. “What it will come down to,” Gilbert said,

“is the mental game.”

Photo By Lee McClory

Jacks’ dominance continuesVarsity sluggers open season with 8-2 start; seniors’ toughness stifles inexperienced SWBL competitionBy Grant Pepper

A light sprinkle of rain dappled the dry infield of Chuck Ely

Field as the Jacks confidently strode out to start their game versus Eaton.

And they have a reason to be confident. Previous victories for the Jacks included road wins at Valley View and Waynesville, and home triumphs over Clin-ton Massie, Dayton Christian, Franklin and Brookville.

“We’re just playing well to-gether,” Colin Morris (12) said.

And while wins seem to come easily early on, the varsity players agree that most of their toughness comes from the immense experi-ence of this year’s seniors.

“There are about nine or ten se-niors on the team who really pick the team up in difficult times,” Ian Munn (12) said.

In their starting pitching rotation, the Jacks’ have seniors filling the top two spots. Hank Beasore (12) is the top pitcher on staff, followed by senior hurler Troy Philo.

With the SWBL being a relatively inexperienced league this spring, and the Jacks getting off to such a hot start, it is perfectly plausible for the players to believe in their chances of winning the league outright.

“[Winning] the SWBL champi-onship comes down to experience,” Morris said.

“I think that we’ll win SWBL,” Beasore said.

Infield Intensity: Robert Wagner (11), third baseman, and Hank Beasore (12), shortstop, crouch in preparation for the upcoming pitch during last Friday’s game versus Eaton. The Jack’s experience has been key in their hot start, as seniors Colin Morris, Ian Munn, Hank Beasore and Connor Charbat have all played varsity baseball since their soph-omore year, and Troy Philo has been on the varsity squad since he was a freshman.

Photo By Grant Pepper

Student Life

17

As the junior vArsity soft- ball team begins their first season in several years, determination and ef-

fort fills the air. With a new coach, and eleven brand new players, the junior varsity team “is working very well together and is striving for a winning season,” Coach Jenna Fox said.

“There’s a lot of improvement going on in many of the beginners, including myself,” Erin Duning (11) said. This is her first year playing softball. “We have a lot of team goals and we get constant feedback on ways to im-prove on base running, and how to work in the field.”

Rachel Neff (9), however, has been play-ing for about four years and is fairly adapted to the game of softball. “So far, I’ve learned how to bunt and slide correctly,” Neff said. “Instead of learning how to do a skill, I’m learning to be a smarter player.”

“We have a few girls that may end up play-ing for the varsity team as well,” Fox said.

JV softball slides into season First junior varsity team in years makes a comeback

By Celia RasmussenDuning is one of those girls. “I started out

with the JV team but I improved a lot with the help of coach Fox and now I am playing with the varsity team,” Duning said. “I am really enjoying my first season with them so far.”

Fox, a freshman history teacher, is also an experienced softball player. She hopes to improve the junior varsity team’s work ethic with her energetic support.

“Coach Fox is very enthusiastic. She really gets everyone motivated,” Duning said.

“She is full of helpful hints,” Neff said. “I think she is really getting our team to work well together, especially considering the small amount of experience we have.”

The team has had just two games so far with a record of 0-2, but according to Fox, “the girls are doing great and getting better every single game!” Play Ball: The JV softball team returns

with a new coach and eleven new players.

Photo Courtesy of Jenna Fox

A historical glance at the streets of OakwoodBy Grant Pepper

Long before the fineLy paved boulevards and the distinctive, navy and white street signs, there were trees, hills, and three square

miles of undeveloped terrain.Today’s street names under the dome are mainly based

off of early Oakwood pioneers, but some were named ran-domly based on distinct landmarks.

Although Oakwood does not have the richest his-tory around, its streets are historically significant. Here are some roads that stand out historically in the dome.

Schantz AvenueNamed after Adam Schantz, who owned ninety-nine acres

of north Oakwood, mainly to be used for his love of horse rac-ing. Schantz made his money through hard work in the butch-ery and brewery businesses and would eventually become one of the largest landowners in Dayton. Schantz’s original home-stead still stands, located at 430 East Schantz Avenue.

Kramer RoadWilliam Kramer transformed much

of the west side of Oakwood into a large grape growing operation and winery in 1855. Kramer Road is named after him where his house still stands.

Lookout RidgeAdam Schantz constructed the

“Schantz Lookout Tower”, a tower twelve hundred feet above sea level that was open to the community for recreational climb-ing and the spectacular view from the top of the tower. The tower sat on Schantz’s property, just above his home, on what is now Lookout Ridge (which comes from the name of the tower).

Claranna AvenueAnne Wonderly, William Wonderly’s oldest child,

owned about thirty acres of land between Triangle Avenue and East Drive in 1883. She would eventu-ally marry Clarence Neibel, and they named one street Claranna Avenue, after the couple’s first names (Clarence and Anne).

Ridgeway RoadJohn H. Patterson wanted to create

bike paths and hiking trails among the lush gardens and trees in the west side of Oakwood. Patterson often encouraged outdoor excursions, and he built many picnic shelters in Oakwood for that pur-pose. Ridgeway Road was created out of bridle paths Patterson had constructed for the recreational pleasure of NCR em-ployees and people all over Dayton.

Patterson RoadNamed after John H. Patterson, a

great contributor to the development of the Dayton area, and often referred to as the “Father of Oakwood.” Patterson val-ued education, recreation and exercise (he funded the Hills & Dales metro-park), art and the values of community activities.

Wonderly AvenueFrom Peach Orchard Road to East Drive,

the Wonderly family owned approximately one hundred acres of land. The land was split up plentifully between the family, and the Wonderly farmhouse is still standing on 205 Dell Park Avenue in Kettering.

All information credited to “An Oakwood Scrapbook”, contributed by the Oakwood Historical Society

Photo By Grant Pepper

Photo By Grant Pepper

Photo By Grant Pepper

Entertainment

18

Northbound on Schantz Avenue

Patterson Road facing the OCC

Westbound on Lookout ridge

We Are Your Neighborhood Realtors!Available 7 Days a Week

12 Hours a Day!

CONGRATULATIONS Oakwood Senior Wrestlers

for an outstanding season!Many Special Thanks to Coaches Paul Seim, Joe Hall, Chris Peed, David Baum-gardner, and alumni coaches ~ Mike Hochwalt, Chip Seidl, and parent coaches ~ Kelly Kooser, and Jim Kordik. Our kids did what they did because of you!Team Kooz was always proud to support such an amazing group of kids! Best of Luck in College Boys! You have set the bar very high for the next group of Oak-wood Wrestlers!

Not since 1999 has Oakwood High School sent 4 kids to state!

Congrats to Alex Kooser 2x State Placer and 5th in state 2011. Congrats to Josh Nelson 2x State Placer and 7th in State 2011.Congratulations to Coach Gary Kesler who WON the GMVWA Coach of the Year Award!

(937) 603-4989www.TeamKooz.com