Growlerihs[ February 10, 2012

ithaca high school.710.n.union.stvolume 86.issue 4[

By Daniel BrewerNews Reporter

Recently, Gratiot County

has seen a plethora of windmills invading the area. Massive

in si

ze an

d

promise for new energy, t

hese windmills add a new level of productivity to the county.

Creating a new ‘windy city’

As the day goes on, the sky continues to breath. Inhaling and exhaling - it breathes pos-sibility. It inhales wind and exhales clean energy, thus a greener energy economy, right here in Gratiot County.

“There is to be a total of 130 wind turbines alone in Gra-tiot County, including some in the Ithaca,” said city manager Chelsea Foster.

Beginning in late summer,wind turbines began to crop up in Gratiot County.

“I’m kind of surprised at how many there will be, and I think its really cool; I think it’s a good thing,” said sophomore Maci Helms.

In these late summer months, many wind turbines

started being built in Brecken-ridge.

Now, months into the first project (of the three that are planned), construction is planned to end in late March, 2012.

“I think it is definitely a good thing; it looks cool and high-tech, so it will give Gratiot County a good look. I’m not re-ally an Ithaca resident because don’t live in Ithaca and never have. I am looking forward to it, though, and I hope it gives off a lot of energy even though it doesn’t really affect me much, just because I live in St. Johns,” said English teacher Jonathan Bourgault.

The power produced by these windmills will generate 212.8 megawatts of electricity for more than 50,000 homes for at

least 20 years.Windmills will be built in

each township of Gratiot Coun-ty.

Expected to make a total of $20 million for landowners with turbines on their property each year, these turbines diver-sify the economy around the area.

Each turbine takes between 55 and 60 people to trasnport; upon arrival, it then takes about five to six people to put togeth-er. Thus, hundreds of tempo-rary jobs have been produced; around 30 of these will remain permanent.

Companies such as Invenergy and DTE Energy are in charge of the construction. In fact, DTE Energy owns 40 percent of all of the wind turbines.

With 133 windmills in place,

Breaking down the windmill

Each windmill that is constructed in Gratiot County takes meticulous planning,

work, and equipment.

21

2.8

meg

awat

ts o

f ele

ctri

city

pro

duce

d in

at

leas

t 20

yea

rs

130 wind turbines to be built in total Yet another windmill is constructed in Gratiot County. The recent structures are only part of the first project. There are supposed to be three more projects that take place in Gratiot County.

Brewer/Growler

40% of turbines are owned by DTE Energy

30

perm

anen

t jo

bs c

reat

ed in

the

co

unty

, hun

dred

s cr

eate

d th

at

are

tem

pora

ry

170miles per hour - the speed of the rotation on each turbine

55-60 people required to construct a single turbine

they now dot the skyline of Gratiot County.

Each turbine only takes a day to put in place, but it is in-credibly grand in stature.

One alone weighs hundreds of tons of pounds, is over 400 feet tall, and has three propel-lers that rotate at a maximum of 170 miles per hour.

Perhaps less noticeable than the turbine-covered sky-line is the change in Gratiot County’s economy.

The installation of these windmills signifies an increase in job production and energy productivity.

And, more importantly, the process has just begun.

Upon the completion of all three projects, Gratiot Coun-try will be producing energy at a startling level.

40 cement trucks for each base on each windmill

400

737

feet tall - the height of each individual wind turbine

feet long - the length of each of the three propellers on a turbine

2 February 10, 2012 ihsGrowler ithacaschools.netNews

For the students of Ithaca Public Schools, the dates of March 9, April 27, May 18, May 28, and June 1, will surely be cause of celebration.

The bell that demands the students immediate presence will be effectively silenced as students welcome the return of off-days, spring break, and summer vacation.

“I think this year’s calendar is good and we haven’t had many delays or cancelations, so summer vacation seems re-ally early this year compared to other years,” said English teacher Julie Evitts.

As of Feb. 10, the last day of school for everyone except the seniors is June 1. This means there are 77 school days left, and 98 regular days including days off and weekends, but not

9877394918

“We got, 99 problems...

... And they’re all school days.”for the seniors.

Their last day of is May 18 and their Graduation day is May 24.

“I am really happy when school is coming close to an end, but I’m going to miss my brother (senior) Ethan Schaf-fer. I don’t like the fact that he is leaving, because he is family and I don’t want him to leave. But I think the school has pre-pared him enough, and he is a capable young man,” said eighth-grader Anna Schaffer.

Spring Break is 39 school days away and 49 regular days away.

This year spring break stretches from May 2 to May 6, sandwiched by a weekend on either side.

Including the weekend be-fore and after spring break, spring break is nine glorious days off.

“I’m really excited to get

By Dan Brewernews reporter

By Dustin BrewerNews Reporter

out on my own, but I will miss ev-erybody including the wonderful staff, especially math teacher Mr. (Mark) Strong,” said senior Luke Rayburn.

“Even though my last day is May eighteenth, I per-sonally think we should get out sooner, we’ve been here too long, its not like we’ve been in here for four years.” said Ray-burn while Laugh-ing. “But I will miss everyone and their beautiful shining faces. For the most part, I think that the school has pre-pared me enough,” said Rayburn. Scott/GrowlerSenior Jake Nelson tallies off another school day, eagerly awaiting May 18.

Got what it takes?Students take on the Advanced Placement classes offered by the school.

These classes have become very popular with some stu-dents. All of the exams are in May. The school offers five of 25 available. They are ad-vanced placement, or better known as AP, classes.

The first AP class that is of-fered at Ithaca is AP English. Those who take it test either May 10 or May 16. Both tests will take place at 8:00 in the morning.

“We read about seven to nine books per year. We also write about two to three essays a week, and we also prepare

for the test,” says AP English teacher Jonathan Bourgault.

“The class is more of a col-lege class than a high school class.

It has always been my goal to teach an AP class when I became a high school teacher. That way, I could use my mas-ter’s degree in language and literature.

I only recommend this class to those who are very self-mo-tivated and who are willing to do homework over the sum-mer,” continued Bourgault.

Some more classes offered at Ithaca are AP World History and AP American History.

Anyone taking AP Ameri-can History can expect to test

on May 11, and anyone taking AP World History will test on May 17.

Both tests are administered at 8:00 in the morning.

“We start at the beginning of time and go up until present,” says AP World and American History teacher Adam Lincoln.

“We can only do this be-cause we have three trimes-ters,” continued Lincoln.

Freshman Sabrina Thomi-son is enrolled in Lincoln’s AP World History class.

“The class is more fun than learning, and it is very relaxed. I don’t recommend taking the class unless you already took the regular version because we do everything in the regular

version plus the new stuff,” said Thomison.

The third class that the school offers is AP Biology.

The students that take the class will test on May 14 at 8:00 in the morning.

“We are required to do to do 12 college-level labs as well as cover the regular Biology top-ics,” says AP Biology teacher Todd Slater.

“Any student that passes the test receives eight college cred-its. If they were to retake this class in college, it would take up two semesters,” continued Slater.

The final AP course offered is the AP Statistics class. Students enrolled in the course will test

on May 16 at 12:00 in the af-ternoon.

“We go by pre-set les-son plans and learn real-life math,” said sophomore Bai-ley Scott.

Scott is taking AP Statis-tics.

“I took the class so that I wouldn’t have to take a two trimester exam for pre-calc. You have to stay on task be-cause it’s really hard to catch up once you fall behind,” con-tinued Scott.

So, whether they are Statis-tics, English, World History, American History, or Biology, AP classes come in a variety of topics that can please most anyone.

“We got, 99 problems...3 February 10, 2012ihsGrowlerithacaschools.net News

19VenezuelaLibya

JapanIsrael

Nor

th K

orea

Uni

ted

Nat

ions

Gen

eral

Ass

embl

y

PeaceSecurity CouncilECOSOC

Gen

eral

Ass

embl

yJa

pan

Nor

th K

orea

Uni

ted

Nat

ions

Pove

rty

Secu

rity

Cou

ncil

ECO

SOC

Hea

lth

Hun

ger

Crim

e

Dru

gs

Rig

hts

FAO

UN

ICEF

WH

O ICJ

After their second league competition of the year on Deb. 3, the Model United Nations team is now expected to take their nineteenth consecutive league championship.

By Jessica BarnesEditor-in-Chief

Taking

By.the.numbers

5teams from Ithaca

33

teams in the league

7 schools in attendance12points in total at the first

competition - a lower score is better

8 & 9March

members compete at

Hope College

10resolutions

discussed

With certainty in her voice, senior Chelsea Sherlock took to the podium.

“Speeches are the main way to get points, so I always focus on including United Nations information and information about my country,” said Sher-lock.

Sherlock is a member of the Model United nations team, which is currently projected to capture its nineteenth con-secutive league championship.

Finishing their first compe-tition with a total of 12 points

COUNTERCLOCKWISE FROM TOP: The team stands together after their com-petition on Feb. 3. They are projected to take their nineteenth consecutive league championship. Freshman Lacie Mates presents her speech to the assembly; Mates is a member of the North Korea delegation. Junior Alex Evans hurriedly writes a speech to present to the as-sembly. Moderator and Ithaca history teacher Adam Lincoln watches faculty member Tim Lambrecht. Lambrecht is the coach of the Ithaca Model United Nations team, thus he is also a judge at the competitions. Senior Donni Fulghum presents her resolution to the assembly along with freshman John Lambrecht. Fulghum is captain of the Libya delega-tion, and her resolution discussed protec-tion of intellectual property. Sophomore Ryan Cameron focuses on his speech; speech writing is a crucial aspect of Model United Nations.

- a lower score is better - they by far beat other schools in the league.

This year, the delegations are lead by seniors Sherlock, Gerrit Bakker and Alex Netzley, Jessi-ca Barnes, Donni Fulghum, and Riley Kench.

Each leads a designated country, which include Libya, North Korea, Venezuela, Japan, and Israel this year, respective-ly.

After a stellar performance on Feb. 3, the team was able to carry on a legacy at IHS.

“It was awesome to win in such an overwhelming way af-ter the loss of any great seniors

last year. All of our captains will graduate this year, so it does put a lot of pressure on next year’s team to try and win - that would be our twentieth consecutive league title,” said Model United Nations coach Tim Lambrecht.

Now that league competi-tions are over, certain members of the team will travel to Hope College to compete.

At this competition, indi-viduals are able to participate in various facets of the United Nations, including the Security Council, International Court of Justice, or ECOSOC.

Individuals will compete on March 8 and 9.

19consecutive league chamionship

39.5points between Ithaca

and second place

21Ithaca members at the second competition

4 February 10, 2012 ihsGrowler ithacaschools.netVoice

Staff Policy

StaffEditor-in-Chief

Jessica BarnesNews Editor

Tyler ScottNews Reporters

Daniel BrewerDustin George

Jillian KirtVoice Editor

Chelsea SherlockFeature Editor

Journey TeegardinFeature Reporters

Hannah CesarMakenna Davidson

John EvittsCheyanne Seeley

Life EditorSammi Jo Jones

Life ReportersJake Nelson

Katie HullJessica Gable

Sports EditorGarrett Miniard

Sports ReportersMarkes GadlenDakota Reeves

Zach AllenPhoto Editor

Farrand SchneiderPhotographers

Caitlyn CooperBrenden Malek

Business ManagerNichole Smith

AdviserClaudia McLoughlin

The Growler is published by students of the Ithaca High School newspaper production class. The Growler is made pos-sible by advertisement, sub-scriptions, and fund raising, which pays for printing and other expenses. It’s primary purpose is to inform, entertain, and educate its readers, includ-ing students, faculty, commu-nity members, and subscribers, about issues which affect the general student body. Some ma-terial courtesy of American soci-ety of Newspaper Editors/MCT Campus High School Newspa-per Service and Creative Com-mons.

The Growler is an open fo-rum of student voice; therefore, opinions and Letters to the Edi-tor reflect the view of the writer and not necessarily the opinion of the staff, adviser, Ithaca High School administration, faculty, or student body. The editorial board determines the publica-tions content including staff editorials. The Growler staff ac-cepts full responsibility for writ-ing published in The Growler. There will be no responsibility placed upon the administration for content of this publication. The adviser is in place strictly to offer advice and guidance to maintain the legal, accurate, and ethical manner of the pub-lication. The Growler will not be reviewed, reserved, or with-held from distribution by Ithaca High School officials prior to publication.

Space will be provided for let-ters to the editor from faculty, students, administrators, com-munity residents, and the gen-eral public. Readers are encour-aged to express their opinions here. All letters must be signed and are subject for denial that are libelous, obscene, disrup-tive, or are an invasion of per-sonal privacy. The Growler staff has the right to edit letters due to length, obscenity, potential li-bel, or grammatical errors.

IHS.Speaks.Out

“Spirit week because I like having things to do everyday, not just Fridays,” said senior Jessica Black.

“Probably a week, because it’s not as spread out. You know what each day is more easily,” said sophomore Colby Cramer.

“Spirit Week, because I get to see my friends more than just lunch and after school,” said seventh grader Austin Nieman.

Instead of the usual spirit week in the winter, the sophomore class council decided to host spirit days each Friday. What do you prefer, spirit week or spirit Fridays and why?

“Spirit week, because you get out of class more and because of the Mr. Ithaca contest,” said freshman Chancey Baxter.“I like spirit days because they’re

more creative and more interactive in a way,” said eighth grader Erin Cooper.

lack.of.spiritcartoon.corner

Chelsea SherlockVoice Editor

“Spirit week, because more people are into it and it’s not spread out,” said junior Lucas Root.

not.so.efficient Caitlyn CooperPhotographer

The windmills are finally ar-riving to help generate energy for the county, but they are not actually going to help our county or be energy efficient.

After hauling all the pieces up to Michigan and paying people to assemble them, they are going to be as energy effi-cient as people expect. By the time the energy is harnessed and utilized, only 30 percent will actually be used, which means that 70 percent of the

energy is not converted to elec-tricity. That is not efficient.

After the windmills have ran for ten years, they are going to be shut off and no longer used. The people who assembled them are going to have to come back in and tear them them all down according to a windmill manufacturer employee.

Not only will they be in the way for the farmers come har-vest season and make them have a more difficult time try-

ing to plow their fields, but they are tearing up a habitat by the workers having to take down trees and fences. They are even tearing up roads, re-minding me of the song lyric “pave paradise and put up a parking lot.”

The corporation even had to pay people to make roads wid-er in order for drivers to make the turns which cost them more money and time. What is the point. Another source

of energy needs to be found, but this is only a temporary solution. It does not help the economy, because most of the workers that were hired are from out of state. All of the energy is not even for the county, but for Detroit. A lit-tle or maybe even none of the energy is going to come back to Gratiot County. I don’t see the benefit of the windmills, because after all… they are not really energy efficient.

another.voice

Have you ever seen this

before? I didn’t even know we were supposed

to dress up.

Well...

It’s not cool

to participate anymore.

Yeah, but

it’s not like anyone even dresses up.

I know.

Just look at the spirit

standings. The seniors are in

last place.

5 February 10, 2012 ihsGrowler ithacaschools.netVoice

in.memoriamOn January 28, Keith Wil-

son Vernon died at Gratiot Medical Center. Many stu-dents will remember him as a foster grandparent at Ithaca Public Schools. He was com-monly seen helping students, monitoring the lunch room, and working in the library. Vernon had volunteered at the schools for the past 23 years.

Vernon was born on May 2, 1928, and graduated from Ithaca High School. After graduating, he served in the

U.S. Navy for five years. He next owned Vernon Television and Applicance in Ithaca.

He enjoyed operating ham radios and was a member of the Gratiot County Amateur Radio Association.

Vernon was also involved with the Ithaca Senior Activity Building, Gratiot Commision on Aging, American Red Cross, and the American Legion.

His presence in the halls of Ithaca High School will surely be missed.

behind.the.scenes

outdated vs. classicJessica BarnesEditor-in-Chief

Many of the short stories read in high school English classes are referred to as classic books. However, when some students read them, they question whether these so called classics should

really be deemed so. By Tyler ScottNews Editor

““I want to say congratulations to the New York Giants. … But hey, the Patriots still played a great game. You really have to hand it to them – because it’s a lot safer than passing it to them.”

“

-comedian Jimmy Fallon during his monologue for the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon super bowl speical on the performance of the New England Patriots

quote.that

staff editorial

Beyond the school teachers, administrators, and students there are many more people working behind the scenes to ensure the school functions smoothly. To these men and women behind the curtain, we would like to say thank you and provide some recognition.

Custodial StaffFrom before school starts

to around ten o’clock at night members of the custodial staff can be seen working through-out Ithaca High School. In addition to the usual cleaning, they often set up for events

such as basketball games, un-lock rooms for students who have left items behind, and are currently repainting the school’s interior.

Crossing GuardsMuch like the mailman,

the citizens who volunteer as school crossing guards are out assisting children in cross-ing the street no matter what the weather. They provide a valuable service to the school, protecting students as they travel to school and home.

Parent VolunteersUpon entering a basket-

earning.their.keepmy.voice Chelsea Sherlock

Voice Editor

I enjoy technology and appreciate all the new technology that is in use in Ithaca public schools. However, I feel that in or-der to justify the $67,250 already spent to pay for it with more still to pay, the technology needs to be more successfully in-tegrated into the curricu-lum.

The new Mac lab in the high school cost approxi-mately $40,000. Each iPad cost around $400.

In my experience, I have seen the new iPads, projectors, Mac comput-ers, and starboards used primarily for playing vid-eos and music, typing papers, displaying what appears on a teacher’s computer screen, select-ing students to give an-swers, creating seating charts, and making vid-eos . All of these could be done on the previous computers at a lower cost to the school.

New uses need to be developed for the new technology for all classes. Classes like History in Pop Culture and Digital media have successfully integrate the new tech-nology, but for the ma-jority of other classes, the new technology has been used on a very basic level.

A portion of the prob-lem is that there is not a

computer or iPad for ev-ery student to use, and therefore some classes potential uses, such as electronic tests, are un-able to be used. This could be solved through the purchase of more Apple technology or by the controled use of cell-phones in classrooms.

Other uses could be having students create educational podcasts or tutorials on what they have learned.

Creating videos that explain a topic not only teaches a student about video production, but also provides a new meth-od for learning about a subject.

Smartboards are ex-cellent for interactive learning which could be used for studying. Stu-dents could come up to the board and select the correct answer for a quiz, work as a class to fill in a study guide, or play an olnline game that relates to the topic the class is currently discussing.

Technology can be used to save paper through having students electron-ically submit homework assignements or view class handouts.

All of these would en-able the school to get their money’s worth out of the new technology.

In the twenty-first century, technology allows virtually anyone in the world to write and have a voice. Despite this, many of what are consid-ered the great literary works were written de-cades, if not centuries ago.

Works like The Odyssey, Romeo and Juliet, and The Divine Comedy still line the shelves of bookcases in most any library. These classics have inspired more readers than their respec-tive authors could have ever imagined, and in-fluenced the world in immeasurable ways. Cre-ativity breeds creativity, likewise with intellect.

In many ways the classic novels, poems, and plays of old are responsible for the evolution of literature and communication.

Literature has provided an avenue for man to challenge what he believes may be wrong, and add to the collective wisdom of humanity by sharing his own ideals. While many great writ-ers have lived and died since the days of Dante and William Shakespeare, the impact of classi-cal writers should continue to be acknowledged.

Without these classic works, many aspects of common thinking and popular culture would be completely different from today’s standards.

The modern blueprint for how to conduct business as a politician lies in a book called The Prince written by Machavelli in the early 1300’s. By studying classical literature its affect on a modern society can be seen more notice-ably, letting the reader better understand their own world and nurturing a creativity that could potentially renovate popular thinking in the same manner of his or her predecessors.

The presence of classical literature in an edu-cational setting is just as critical as any scien-tific theory or mathematical formula.

Intertwined in the binding of a classic book, there is the inherent belief of its immortality. A classic never dies, right?

Maybe, just maybe, this isn’t true.The thought that classic literature shaped the

writing world that is present today is undeni-able. In fact, more than just writing is spawned from past generations of literature; thought processes and common phrases can often be found to originate from a classic novel.

However, does this require students to read them?

Take a book like Red Badge of Courage for example. At the time this was written, it was monumental. It delved into warfare like never before. Perhaps look at Ernest Hemmingway’s The Old Man and the Sea… maybe even a piece written by William Shakespeare.

No matter what the piece of writing might be, it became a classic for a reason: it was monu-mental at the time.

However, why does this mean that it still is today? Rather than studying where literature came from at-length, students should be study-ing what the meaning of literature is today.

Each student that leaves high school should have a strong basis of how to understand, ana-lyze, and produce literature that is fitting in modern society.

With a more modern reading base, students will be more likely to relate to their work, thus taking a more active part in learning it.

If only a brief synopsis of the origin of certain literature elements was given, then students would be able to spend time focusing on how these elements have survived and transformed in a changed society.

ball game, people encounter parents selling tickets, raising money for project pride, col-lecting money at concessions, and assisting their children with selling items. These are just some of the ways parents volunteer to help the school. They not only help their child but fulfill roles the school need.

To all of the people that give of their time and selves to help the school and school activities to function prop-erly, the staff of The Growler would like to express our

6 February 10, 2012 ihsGrowler ithacaschools.netLife

You

know

With The Raven, a fictio

nal movie based on th

e last days o

f

acclaimed poet E

dgar Allan Poe’s li

fe, releasin

g on April 27,

The Growler takes a

n in-depth look at the m

ovie’s plot.

By Jessica Barnes

Editor-in-Chief

As a mother and daughter

are found brutally murdered

in Nineteenth-Century Balti-

more, detectives begin to notice

a disturbing fact: the murder

strongly resembles the plot of

one of the various poems of

Poe.With

suspicions rising, de-

tectives begin their q

uestioning

of Poe. H

owever, as th

eir ques-

tions arise, another murder is

committed, yet a

gain based on

Poe’s writing.

“Each of his pieces is so dark

- it makes perfe

ct sense to base

a thriller off o

f them,” s

aid Dhil-

lon.In fact, e

ach facet of th

e film

revolves around Poe’s life.

Baltimore, th

e setting of th

e

film, is actually where Poe was

born and is now buried.

The movie even takes on

the gruesome, dark tone that

breathes in each of Poe’s po-

ems.But as th

e murders continue,

detectives work with Poe to

help prevent the m

urders - es-

pecially as the next victim is

predicted to be someone close

to the writer.

With the release date steadily

approaching, this film holds

promise to be an intriguing

piece of work for avid Poe fans.

“I will

definitely see it when

it comes out -

I can’t wait,”

said

Dhillon.

“I w

ould

defi

ne, in

brie

f, th

e po

etry

of w

ords

as

the

rhyt

hmica

l cre

atio

n of

Bea

uty.”

-----

- “I h

ave,

inde

ed, n

o ab

horre

nce

of d

ange

r, ex

cept

in it

s ab

solu

te e

ffect

- in

terro

r. - E

dgar

Alle

n Po

e

“It i

s by

no

mea

ns a

n irr

atio

nal f

ancy

that

, in a

futu

re e

xist

ence

, we

shal

l loo

k up

on w

hat w

e th

ink

our p

rese

nt e

xist

ence

, as

a dr

eam

.” - E

dgar

Alle

n Po

e

In the dead of the night, a

bone-chilling scream fills the

air. It

invades the ears of in

di-

viduals streets away; it raises

goose bumps on their arm

s.

Someone has been killed, and

the killer is

on the loose.

“Poe’s writing is some of m

y

favorite th

at we cover in

Eng-

lish class; a movie based off o

f

it is a great idea,” said senior

Ramneek Dhillon.

Set to release on April

27, The

Raven focuses on one of Amer-

ica’s most in

famously ominous

poets, Edgar Allan Poe.

Actor John Cusack ta

kes the

role of Poe.Just.the.facts

Name:

Release Date:

Starring:

April 27

The Rave

n

John Cusa

ck,

Alice Ev

e

an interest within me.This was a few years ago, in the midst of a fiery-hot summer in Baltimore, and the piece of cement was the tombstone of former writer Edgar Allan Poe.

On this family vacation, I was able to stand next to the resting place of one of the most in-triguing - in my opinion - writers to be taught in the halls of Ithaca High School.

How he rested in death seemed to correlate to how he lived; the small cemetary was over-grown and littered with crumbling graves. The fencing that enclosed the area seemed fit for a horror movie. This ominous area has since re-mained engrained in my mind - an actual tie to the poet who graces the pages of the textbooks I have used for years.

Editors.noteOn a family vacation

to Baltimore, Poe’s hometown, senior Jessica Barnes was able

to see the gravesite of Poe.

Notable.worksPoetryLenoreDream LandAnnabel LeeThe Raven

StoriesThe Cask of AmontilladoThe Black CatThe Tell-Tale HeartThe Masque of the Red Death

NovelThe Narrative of Arthur Gor-don Pym of Nantucket Death

In a block-wide cem-etary, encompassed by black, arch-like fencing, I found a gem. This histori-cal piece of cement sparked

- As a student

at West

Point, Poe u

sed to

tell fe

l-

low cadets

that h

is gran

d-

father

was the

infamous

traitor B

enedict

Arnold.

- Every

year sinc

e 1949,

an ano

nymous

fan kn

own

as the

“Poe T

oaster”

has

visited

Poe’s

grave

on the

night

of his b

irthday

and

has left

a partially

filled

bottle of co

gnac an

d three

roses.

- By 1843, Poe was

so

broke tha

t he fo

und him

-

self down to

his las

t $4.50

and spent

time sto

pping

people on the

street

to

ask for m

oney for fo

od.

Know.Poe

English’s.EdgarPoe’s writing is the basis of “Poe: Father of the Short Story,” the curriculum in many English classes at Ithaca.

Name: Jonathan Bourgault

Class:AP Literature English 11

Curriculum: Poe: Father of the Short Story

What makes Poe different?“His manipulation of the English language truly made him a great Poet. He was similar in style to Washing-ton Irving, and his writing is a pretty high level of dif-ficulty.”

Name: Julie Evitts

Class:English 10

Curriculum: Poe: Father of the Short Story

What makes Poe different?“I absolutely love teaching Poe, probably because I en-joy his writing so much. It’s a nice challenge. He was kind of seen as a “loser” in life, though; he actually got sued when he wrote his first novel for ripping off another novel.”

Name:Dan Gowell

Class:English 9

Curriculum: Poe: Father of the Short Story

What makes Poe different?“He is my second favorite author to Mark Twain. His writing was the first story that I ever remember be-ing pumped about. When he died, there was no death record; now there is a mys-terious visitory that visits his grave each year.”

Ithaca alumn Graden Barnes traveled on the trip with senior Jessica Barnes; here he stands with Poe’s gravesite in Baltimore.

Barnes/Growler

Artwork/Vincent Thomison

Entertainment picksA guide to some of the most buzzed about, highly reviewed, and interesting new movies, albums,

and television shows

Release Date: Feb. 24Cast: Emilio Rivera, Roselyn SanchezPlot: Based on real life Navy Seal operations, the movie features a team of Navy Seals on a mission to find a kid-napped CIA operative.Rating: R

currently in theatersStars: Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Thomas HornPlot: a young boy believes his father who died on 9/11 searches New York City for a lock that fits a key that he believe will unlock a message his father left him. Rating: PG-13

currently in theatersStars: Daniel Rad-cliffePlot: A young man travels to visit a house for his job and discov-ers that it is haunted and attempts to save the vilage from the vengeful spirit.Rating: PG-13

Release Date: Feb. 10Stars: Channing Ta-tum, Rachel McAdamsPlot: After being in a car accident, a hus-band seeks to cope with his wife’s memo-ry loss.Rating: PG-13

Release date: Feb, 14Stars: Reese Wither-spoon, Chris PinePlot: Two best-friends and spies fall for the same woman. In order to determine who gets the girl, they compete using their spy train-ing.Rating: PG-13

Release Date: Feb. 21Artist/Band: FUN. Album Title: Some NightsTracks to Listen to: We are Young and Carry OnGenre: indie pop

Release Date: Feb. 28Artist/Band: WZRD composed of Kid Cudi and Dot da GeniusAlbum Title:WZRD Tracks to Listen to: Teleport 2 Me, Jamie and BrakeGenre: hip-hop

Release Date: out nowArtist/Band: All-American RejectsAlbum Title: Kids in the StreetTracks to Listen to:Beekeepers’s Daughter and Some-day’s GoneGenre: alt. rock

Release Date: out nowArtist/Band: The FrayAlbum Title: Scars & StoriesTracks to Listen to: Heartbeat and 1961Genre: pop-rock

Release Date: Feb. 28Artist/Band: Dierks BentleyAlbum Title: HomeTracks to Listen to: Am I the Only One and HomeGenre: country

Airs: Feb. 26Network: ABCStars: host Billy Crys-talWhy watch: Billy Crystal is widely con-sidered the best Oscar host and has hosted eight times before. Consistently funny, he should deliver a good performance to make up for the lackluster nominees.

Air Date: MondaysNetwork: NBCStars: Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, and Blake SheltonWhy watch: contes-tants are chosen to audition, so they have talent, the coaches provide useful guid-ance to contestants, and their fighting is entertaining.

Airs: MondaysNetwork: FoxStars: Jorge Gar-cia, Sarah Jones, and Jonny CoyneWhy watch: The series has received good ratings and has a unique premise, deal-ing with detectives investigating crimes committed by prison-ers of the closed Alca-traz prison.

Airs: SundaysNetwork: NBCStars: Jennier Aspen, Kristin Chenoweth, and Brad ByersWhy watch: Crazy church ladies, the fun-ny Kristin Chenoweth, and lots of drama make this an exciting new show to make up for the end of Desper-ate Housewives.

Airs: mondaysNetwork: NBCStars: Katharine McPhee, Anjelica Hus-ton, Debra MessingWhy watch: Its like Glee, but with Broad-way level performanc-es, a solid plot, and and an award winning cast along with gen-erating rave reviews from many critics.

7February 10, 2012ihsGrowlerithacaschools.net Life

8 February 10, 2012 ihsGrowler ithacaschools.netithacaschools.netLife

By Jake NelsonLife Reporter

Persons possessing, or claiming to possess, superior enlightenment. This is the dictionary defini-tion of “illuminati.”

Many popular celebrities have been accused of being in the Illuminati, while some people argue they fuel the fire only to gain publicity.

This phenomenon reaches the students, and it has become somewhat of an obsession.

“There is a possibility that there is an organization of higher intellectual capacities that may influence society. However, I do not believe in all of the gossip that comes with the group,” said history

teacher Adam Lincoln. Jay Z has apparel that he has made specifically with the “All-

seeing eye.” “It sounds a little arrogant, but I think people just cannot handle when somebody

else is successful,” said Jay Z, according to ballerstatus.com. The Order of the Bearers of Perfection was founded on May 1, 1776. This group had five ini-

tial members, and was founded upon “reason” of an extremely radical persuasion. Many different factions within the group that always compete for power with each other.

Freemasons and the Illuminati group are different, many people believe otherwise, but they are sepa-rate entirely. Conspiracies say that the Illuminati may have even had something to do with 9/11.

“Invisible people speaking, we’ve met, but I don’t remember meeting, I don’t remember these traditional teachings!! I know I’m reaching into unallowed boundaries, but the rhymes are increasing. My mind is breaching, I find it pleasing!” said Jay Z.

Jay Z has his own Roca apparel and it all has the “All-Seeing Eye.” While many of the student body at Ithaca High School have heard of the “Illuminati,” little

information is known of the cult. “It’s some sort of group involving the devil,” said senior Chris Capen. While there may not be any solid proof behind the conspiracy, pop artists con-

tinue to add fuel to the fire by posing for pictures, holding up the “All-Seeing Eye,” or saying things that can be construed as mysterious.

This topic has become so widespread, that it reaches far beyond school hours and into extracurricular activities as well. From the classroom to practice fields, the subject can be heard in discus-sions and arguments.

“At football camp, all I heard about was the Illuminati, and how we were all under control by them,” said junior Michael Mallory.

The all-seeing

Lose Yourself by Eminem“His soul’s escaping, through this hole that is gaping/This world is mine for

the taking, make me king/As we move toward a new world order, a normal life is boring/But superstardom’s close to

post mortem”

Words I Never Said by Lupe Fiasco/Skylar Grey

“How much money does it take to really make a full clip/9/11 building 7

did they really pull it/Uhh, and a bunch of other cover ups/... And these the

same people that supposed to be telling us the truth”

They Don’t Care About Us by 2Pac“Some say they expect Illuminati take

my body to sleep”

Been There, Done That by Dr. Dre“So if money is the root I want the

whole tree/Ain’t tryin’ to stick around for the Illuminati”

eye The Illuminati in lyrics

Students at Ithaca have a recently-sparked fascination with the conspiracy of the Illuminati; thus, The Growler delves into the world of speculation.

Believers in the conspiracy see the following lyrics as a testament to their beliefs, despite certain artists denying any ties with the alleged group.

9February 10, 2012ihsGrowler Life

By Jake NelsonLife Reporter

ithacaschools.net

Persons possessing, or claiming to possess, superior enlightenment. This is the dictionary defini-tion of “illuminati.”

Many popular celebrities have been accused of being in the Illuminati, while some people argue they fuel the fire only to gain publicity.

This phenomenon reaches the students, and it has become somewhat of an obsession.

“There is a possibility that there is an organization of higher intellectual capacities that may influence society. However, I do not believe in all of the gossip that comes with the group,” said history

teacher Adam Lincoln. Jay Z has apparel that he has made specifically with the “All-

seeing eye.” “It sounds a little arrogant, but I think people just cannot handle when somebody

else is successful,” said Jay Z, according to ballerstatus.com. The Order of the Bearers of Perfection was founded on May 1, 1776. This group had five ini-

tial members, and was founded upon “reason” of an extremely radical persuasion. Many different factions within the group that always compete for power with each other.

Freemasons and the Illuminati group are different, many people believe otherwise, but they are sepa-rate entirely. Conspiracies say that the Illuminati may have even had something to do with 9/11.

“Invisible people speaking, we’ve met, but I don’t remember meeting, I don’t remember these traditional teachings!! I know I’m reaching into unallowed boundaries, but the rhymes are increasing. My mind is breaching, I find it pleasing!” said Jay Z.

Jay Z has his own Roca apparel and it all has the “All-Seeing Eye.” While many of the student body at Ithaca High School have heard of the “Illuminati,” little

information is known of the cult. “It’s some sort of group involving the devil,” said senior Chris Capen. While there may not be any solid proof behind the conspiracy, pop artists con-

tinue to add fuel to the fire by posing for pictures, holding up the “All-Seeing Eye,” or saying things that can be construed as mysterious.

This topic has become so widespread, that it reaches far beyond school hours and into extracurricular activities as well. From the classroom to practice fields, the subject can be heard in discus-sions and arguments.

“At football camp, all I heard about was the Illuminati, and how we were all under control by them,” said junior Michael Mallory.

Cause of Death by Immortal Technique

“And you can’t fathom the truth, so you don’t hear me/ You think illuminati’s

just a conspiracy theory?”

Power by Kanye West“No one man should have all that

power/the clock’s tickin’, I just count the hours”

Illuminati 666 by DJ Muggs and Ill Bill

“Yo we got a black president/the aliens will be here soon/ open up your eyes

and your ears/ here’s the truth/ beyond blind faith/ we don’t really know what to believe/the meaning behind these

oddballs/could be anything”

We’ve Had Enough by Michael Jackson

“Deep in my soul/It’s up to me and i’m still alive/They got to hear it from us/

We can’t take it/We’ve already had enough/It’s going down baby

Just let God decide/It’s going on baby/Just let God decide”

A conspiracy in symbols

The Devil’s Sign; Mano Cornuto; Horned Hand of

Baphomet

The Pyramid Sign

The Number 6 (as in

666)

Barnes/Growler

The Illuminati is accompanied by hand symbols that believers attach varying meanings to.

10 February 10, 2012 ihsGrowler ithacaschools.netLife

With the image of a perfect body broadcasted everywhere one looks in the media and ob-sessed with obtaining the pre-fect appearance.

Like many know, it can be obtained by diet and exercise. However, with a few simple steps this image can be easily accessed.

Some teens say they want to

diet and start exercising, but they don’t put the effort in. They may have the ability to do it, and they just don’t have the heart to go through with it.

To put the body though hard, long, and painful work-out sessions and staying away from the average junk food can certainly be hard.

“When I work out I focus on one spot. One day I will fo-cus on working my abdominal muscles, the next day will be legs,” said senior Sidanna Cas-sady.

It is important to make sure

the body is not being over worked.

The most specific places that teens say they would like to loose weight or slim down in is their hips, butt, thighs, belly, and waist. Two things that one can do to help with dieting, are exercising and watching calo-rie intake.

“People need to stop eating junk food, do physical activi-ties at least 60 minutes a day, and eat a lot of fruits and veg-etables,” said Food Service Di-rector Rick Bongard.

Doctors recommend at least 60 minutes of physical activ-ity each day. Exercising is not necessarily just running, do-ing crunches or pushups, or lifting weights; exercise can be fun, and could even turn into a hobby.

Common exercise activi-ties include bike riding, skate-boarding, swimming, dancing, shooting a basketball hoop, and even walking. When the body is moving, it is burning calories.

“My work out is my practice for whatever sport I am in for about two hours every night. If I do not have practice then I go for a run,” said senior Jessica Wenzel.

Some people also using gam-ing devices as a workout, take Dance Dance Revolution for example, when playing the game, one is involved and mov-ing the body to match the dance moves, also while having fun.

Aside from being active, watching food intake and what people eat is also a major factor in dieting.

“I think the best way to lose weight is exercise regularly and watch how many calories you’re putting in your body,” said senior Jordan Teed.

While dieting, fruits and veg-gies should become a priority, and fast food should be a nem-esis.

Stepping into a healthy lifestyle

Not only food, but drinks also make a difference. Too many sodas, juices, or sports drinks can add up and the calories start to pile on.

We often get hungry in the middle of the day and will grab a pop-tart or a bag of chips, when we should be having an apple or a banana.

“If you don’t take care of yourself nutritiously, your body with show it,” said Teed.

For some teens, starting a diet may be more of a mental struggle than a physical.

To get through the process of a diet, one need to first be-lieve in themselves.

Dieting is not just a quick fix to getting skinny, dieting takes time and dedication so one must first ask themself if they are ready for that.

A goal also must be set, if someone go into something with no goal, they do not know what goal they want to accomplish.

If there is a goal, there is something that will push one to want to reach that goal.

Many teens start their di-ets with a positive attitude and then shortly realize the struggle that really goes into dieting.

Having a ‘support system’ is also a very important think to have. To have friends and family supporting and help-ing along the way.

By Katie HullLife Reporter

With spring steadily approaching, students use different methods to step into a healthier lifestyle

Making a fit treatAlthough exercise is important, a well-balanced diet is crucial. Follow the following steps to start a healthier diet.

1.Peel a banana and slice it vertically down the center. Then cut this into smaller sec-tions.

2.Spread a modest amount of all-natural peanut butter on the top of the banana.

3.On top of the peanut butter, then spread a modest amount of fat-free vanilla yogurt.

4.Sprinkle granola on the very top, adding a nice crunch to the snack. Enjoy!

Requires: banana, all-natural peanut butter, fat-free vanilla yogurt, granola, spoon, knife, fork, and plate

Juniors Corbin Sklener, Max Cullinan, Jacob Barnes, Kaleb Fairchild, and Tyler Gibson stretch before they begin gym class. Gym is an excellent way for students to incorporate exercise into their daily schedule.

Cooper/GrowlerFreshman Cody Cassady assists fellow freshman John Harusky in putting up the badmitten net during their gym class. Each day they hit the gyms floor during fourth hour; this is a great step towards living a healthier life.

Alley T 103 S. Jeffery Ave. Ithaca, MI 48847 Screen Printing Embroidery

989-875-

Join the Growler staff to voice your opinion in the school news-paper. Write, design, and play a crucial role in the construction of

the Growler.

Growler 20122011

S u p p o r t s t u d e n t journalism!

The word “rap” in the 90’s meant hard-hitting beats and real lyrics.

Rappers such as Nas, Big-gie, 2Pac, Mobb Deep, and Jay- Z delivered. Their rap songs told stories, and had lyrical messages. The 90’s were when the Rap album sells were the highest.

“The attitude of music has changed since the 90’s rap, and I like the 90’s rap music better,” said fresh-man Audie Frazier.

Now, rap is synthesized. Rappers can auto-tune their voices, like T-Pain, and they can have help in the studio with the modern equipment today to change their voices.

So in reality, most of the mainstream rap that is on the radio today is not the real, raw rap that it used to be.

“I like the 90’s rap better

than today’s rap,” said se-nior Chris Farris.

“Some rappers such as Nelly and 50 Cent think of rap as just a business now and are making as many commercial tracks to sell CD’s as possible. Other art-ists such as Lox and Shyne refuse to rap about anything other than the streets to sell records,” according to The Evolution of Rap Power-Point by Jamie Webster, Gail Smyth, and Ameche’ Gomes,

Rappers today are mak-ing commercialized music, meaning they are doing whatever they can to make music that will sell. This includes collaborating with other R&B, Pop, Rock, and even country artists to ex-pand their audience. Also, modern rappers strive for lyrical complexity by us-ing metaphors and similes in their music, known as “punchlines.” A large user

on these “punchlines” today is the famous mainstream rapper, Lil’ Wayne.

“I like the modern-day rap better. It’s more ex-citing,” said junior Dylan Sherman.

Rap today is expanding its industry. Clothing lines were even made by Rap art-ists such as Rocawear by Sean John. Sean John is previously known as Puff Daddy and rapped with popular artists such as Nas and Biggie.

A study was done by Ri-pon College, and showed that in 1997 the average number of swear words per rap song was 0.68. In 2007, there is an average of 1.53 swear words.

Today, rap songs have more obscene topics and more swear words accord-ing to the study above. Rap music has evolved into the modern-day hip-hop sound.

RAPrevolutionizing

Original Rappers Revolutionized

Nas -- One of the most original rappers in the game, depending on hard-hitting beats and complete lyr-ics, he truly embodies 90s rap.

Eminem -- Rising in the mid 90s, Eminem truly took the game by it’s reins. Shady’s main tool is his true lyrics.

Lil Wayne -- While possessing some qualities of the new rap, using syn-thesizers in a handful of songs, Wayne is a hybrid rapper.

Wiz Khalifa -- A recent success in rap, Wiz does not rely as much on his lyrics, but rather an emphasis on laid-back beats.

By Jessica GableLife Reporter

Original Rappers

Revolutionized Rappers

11February 10, 2012ihsGrowlerithacaschools.net Life

12 February 10, 2012 ihsGrowler ithacaschools.netFeature

By Hannah CesarFeature Reporter

Almost everyone has seen the memorable childhood classic Sesame Street. Sesame Street has captured many children’s hearts for 33 years.

Since the beginning, Sesame Street has not had a reason to change, until now, that is.

An undying rumor has gone around about the commonly known children’s show making dramatic changes.

The beloved character, the Cookie Monster, has been said to be changed to the Veggie Monster. This has caused many viewers to become upset with the producers because the Cookie Monster has become many children’s favorite Sesame Street character.

The producers tried to justify the idea by saying that the Cookie Monster would give children the wrong idea when it came to nutrition.

They think that the Veggie Monster will make children eat healthier foods.

“I think it’s ridiculous. Previous generations have grown up with the show and turned out fine. I think that it all comes down to the parenting and choices that are made,” said junior Max Cullinan.

This is not the only idea of change that has been made. Bert

and Ernie are now supposed to be called special friends. Many viewers are not clear why they are to be called special friends, though.

Bert and Ernie were originally created to teach younger children that it is more than acceptable be a best friend with someone else who is completely different from themselves.

The reasoning behind the wanted switch up of Bert and Ernie’s sexual orientation is because the producers did not want children to get the wrong idea about the shared home, baths, and much time spent together.

With that, they completely made a twist from the pair of puppets being best friends to having more of a special bond.

“I hate all the changes to Sesame Street. I do not know why they would change such a good childhood show,” said sophomore Travis Smith.

With all these rumored changes, the producers of Sesame Street have faced lot of opposition. This is to be expected because this show has seized many children’s hearts along with being a fun learning tool.

The changes on Sesame Street that may or may not yet happen have taken many viewers by surprise but maybe someday children will finally be able to have their beloved Cookie Monster back for good.

H O A XSesame Street has not only been a learning tool for young children but also entertainment at the same time. When the producers spoke of changes, complaints were made and the changes are unwanted.

8 million people watch Sesame

Street per week

Sesame Street has won 97

Emmy AwardsThe Count is nearly 2 million

years old Ranks as the most highly

viewed children’s show in the world

By Cheyanne SeeleyFeature Reporter

Senior Donni Fulghum has I huge future ahead of her. Shes starting off yong, and getting her life in the direction she wants it to go.

Fulghum loves theater and has been interested in it ever since she was very young.

“I’ve always been a thespian. When I was little I was inspired by Charlie Chaplin and other actors. I was practically raised on Broadway Musicals, and have always wanted to be the one up on stage,” said Fulghum

Earlier this year after Ithaca High School’s last musical production, Fulghum was discovered by the American Academy of the Arts, a school specializing in Broadway Theater.

“This past year I was scouted out by the American Academy of Dramatic Arts after having performed in the high schools musical Kiss Me Kate,” said Fulghum.

She was very excited for this opportunity. She could see her dreams open up infront of her, and she was ready to flip to the next page.

But with talent does not always come passion. So Fulghum had to prove that she would love to go to the school, the reasons why, and, most of all, prove her love for theater.

“I have had to send in letters saying why I think I would be great as a selection,” said Fulghum.

She will be going to New York City in March for an audition to attend the school and tour the campus; which also involves participating in

workshops with the professors and alumni students.

“This will not only give me a chance to follow my dreams, but would also set me right in the Broadway scene as well,” said Fulghum.

Not only has she be scouted out by the professional world, being given one of the best opportunities of a life time, Fulghum is also trying to set heself in the right direction and making things happen for herself. This year she will also be auditioning for the Fox hit television show Glee.

“I have recently sent in my audition tape. I think it would be a lot of fun to be a part of something so eye-catching and watched by people of all ages.” said Fughum.

Fulghum is aiming to become a theater star and one day preform on famous stages.

Broadway boundSenior Donni Fulghum takes a big step into a bigger world. From a small town school to a big time stage, Fulghum is

stepping up and taking control of pursuing her dream career.

People aspire to newer and bigger dreams every time something extreme happens in their lives.

When we were in preschool, we wanted to be the most dramatic thing that we could possibly imagine.

Whether it was a cartoon character, lunch lady, or a Pokémon trainer, we were determined.

As we grew older, our fifth grade dreams consisted of being hair stylists, teachers, police officers, and babysitters. These are a little bit more realistic but still not quite considered to be perfected visions.

As people make their way through high school, they are pushed harder and harder to make a final, life-changing decision about their futures.

In reality, no one could possibly predict where exactly they want to be in life.

We have these mind sets as we hit older ages that we will be lawyers, doctors, politicians, and professional football players. But really, most of the people are just dreaming and that is all that it will ever exceed.

While attending high school, can one find a goal that they would like to reach? Most likely. But most people set their expectations higher than they should.

I do not know if I am going in over my head yet or not, but I have a wide perspective and keep getting drawn back to one thing.

I have a plan to graduate

from high school, go to a good college, and carry out a successful career.

My ideal living is not a high income job, it does not provide benefits, nor will it put me in a flight-of-the-imagination life but it would let me do what I have planned on doing for years on end; writing.

Ever since the sixth grade I have been absolutely and infinitely consumed by a pen and paper.

At a young age, I was interested in anything irregular or out of the ordinary which explains the reasoning why I am reaching the conclusion I am at now.

The best part of it all is that the limitations of a writer are nearly endless.

A journalist could be in Austria one week and Brazil the next. There is no lack of adventure or excitement.

The way that I see it is that many jobs can be replaced by machinery or it could just go out of existence, but the world will always crave sources of entertainment and information.

From traveling the world to experimenting with different forms of literature, I aspire to do great things. Not only for myself, but for the good of those around me.

The real world probably has not caught up to me yet, but so far, I consider myself able to accept my fantasy as long as it works with me.

Journey’s.cornerB Y : J O U R N E Y T E E G A R D I N

Got journalism?

Growler is a creative outlet for

students. Whether it be

through writing or designing, Growler allows students to

explore new avenues of learning.

Growler 20122011

13February 10, 2012ihsGrowlerithacaschools.net Feature

14 February 10, 2012 ihsGrowler ithacaschools.netSports

After a dawdling start to the boys varsity basketball season things have started to turn around. After start-ing 2-2 this season the yel-low jackets knew things had to change.

“We started off the year slow. We didn’t have a lot of time to come together as a team with football ending so late. Now we are starting to pick up our game as of late,” said sophomore Tra-vis Smith.

Christmas break was a much-needed rest for the team. Getting a few extra practices in over break gave them time to go over the lit-tle things and to build some chemistry.

“We got another late start to basketball this year. We had some kids that were conditioning and scrim-maging before the year started, but it was hard to get everyone in the gym at the same time with football

Jumping into stridegoing deep into November.” said junior Sage Demull.

This years team has one loss in the league, which came at the hands of Michi-gan Lutheran Seminary who won on a last second shot as time expired, but are still in good position to claim the league title. In the last few weeks some things have just seemed to click for the team

“The extra practices that we have had, have re-ally improved our game as a whole. It just took time for us to start to come together and play basketball again. I hope we continue our suc-cess and maybe make a run deep into the playoffs. I be-lieve that we can if we can all ‘click’ at the same time, and peak towards the end of the year,” said senior Lucas Slater.

After last years tough defeat, the boys basketball team looks to make a deep run into the playoffs, and

avenge their loss. “Last year we lost

to Muskegon West Michi-gan Christian, we were in the entire game and if a few more plays would have went our way, it might have been a different story. This year my hope is that we can do well in the playoffs and go farther than any team has ever before,” said senior Luke Rayburn.

After a very impressive win over a very good Mon-tabella team in the Jackets firs crossover game of the season.

The jackets next cross-over game, was not just any other regular game. They played against the former Frankenmuth star Brad Redford’s little brother.

The jackets lost this next game against Frankenmuth by a mere six points.

The jackets overcame an-other very tough St. Charles team, beating them by sev-en points.

It only takes one second. One wrong move, wrong angle. The pain, however, can last much longer.

Injuries in sports can either last the whole season or just half.

Many parents and students sometimes are faced with the question whether injuries are worth the sport and outcome.

Many students that play sports are forced to be more committed to school due to the sports that they play. Sports are a great commitment of time and energy.

Senior David Brown suffered an injury at the beginning of the football season this year and was out for seven weeks.

When Brown was able to return, he finished off the victorious season with a state title.

If asked, Brown would tell of the glory of winning state rather than the difficulties that came with the injury.

“It was an awful feeling to be out for so long during the season. The worst feeling about the whole ordeal was that I didn’t know for certain when I would be

back for my team. It felt like I was letting my team down,” said Brown.

Freshman Jordan Town tore her hamstring while practicing with the pompon team.

This injury caused her to have to sit out of the regional competition that her team took part in.

“It was really disappointing when I tore my hamstring the second time because I knew I would not be able to perform at regionals,” said freshman Jordan Town.

The team ended up placing at a state level even after the injury took place.

The mere fracture of a ligament can cause teams to lose key players and play makers. The season may or may not be affected by that loss.

Players that have to sit out while suffering an injury encourage their teammates to play and or perform just as well as they would if the whole team was on the field or court.

It is still satisfactory to watch your team excel and do well even when you cannot part take in the event.

Recovering from injury

The varsity boys basketball team seems to have things going their way as they continue to improve through the season.

By Zach AllenSports Reporter

By Dakota ReevesSports Reporter

Senior Charles Schnetzler take a shot from three-point land in the jackets’ game against Carrolton.

Schneider/Growler

Jumping on the band-wagon

Band-wagon fans jump from one team to the next, always finding their ways to the best teams in that particular sport.

All around the world, there are leaders and followers.

The leaders will go with what they want to when making a decision, while the followers will go with what everyone else is doing.

One decision that followers will make is on a sports team. If a team is doing well, they will automatically be a fan of that team. This is known as “hoping on the bandwagon.”

“The Lions, Broncos, Alabama, and Michigan are all bandwagon teams. They go 3-9 one year and no one likes them; then they go 11-2 and all of a sudden there are a bunch of fans and you see a lot of tee shirts,” said junior Green Bay Packers fan Mikey Mallory.

Mallory is a person who is a Packers fan, but who isn’t a bandwagon fan.

“I follow the packers the entire year, every year. I have since I was four years old. I love when they have a good year and hate the bad years; but through it all, I am still a huge fan,” said Mallory.

As many people witnessed this year, after a grueling 0-16 season, the Detroit Lions started to get good.

They made the playoffs and nearly beat the New Orleans Saints.

There were a lot of Lions followers, because of this. However, junior Kaleb Baublitz was not one of them.

When he was asked about the Lions season, he responded with emotion.

“It cuts me deep every time someone calls me a

bandwagon fan. I have watched the Lions

through the ups and downs. Not once have I thought about being a fan of another team.

I think the Broncos are a big bandwagon team, though, just because of Tim Tebow’s success during the regular season where he led them to a playoff appearance,” said junior Kaleb Baublitz.

When looking at the college aspect of a bandwagon team, junior Jordan Hessbrook thinks that Oregon is a bandwagon team.

“Oh yeah Oregon? Wow! Good Team this year? Yeah I’ll go buy a tee shirt of Oregon! What’s that? New Uniforms? That is the only way that Oregon has fans!” said junior Jordan Hessbrook.

By Markes GadlenSports ReporterBy Zach Allen

Sports Reporter

David Brown All-Star SelectionEditor says:

What good things can I say about David Brown? Hmm. I believe a better question is, what good things can’t I say about David Brown?

I’ve known and been friends with David for many years now. I share many memories with him, many that I hold very dear to my heart.

I truly believe that David was one of the greatest ath-letes to ever walk the halls of Ithaca High School, so it comes as no surprise that he is taking his talents to the next level, and at this time next year will be a college athlete.

David is a three sport ath-lete, playing football, basket-ball, and golf.

He was bumped up to Var-sity his freshmen year of bas-ketball and handled the pres-sure very well, seeming to fit right in.

So, it would come as no surprise that he would also be bumped up to varsity for football his sophomore year, achieving great accolades and making big plays for the team again and again.

David was a huge part of the success that Ithaca had in the past three years on the gridiron.

David also showed his physical talents on the golf course. He started on the golf team as a freshman and was the only person to go to state’s that year as an individual.

His high achievements in sports are not his only terrific traits.

David is the kind of kid that would do anything for you, and you can credit most of this to his wonderful family and upbringing.

He has maintained a grade point average of a 3.79 and scored a 24 on his ACT, which speaks for itself.

He is a kid that takes pride in his schoolwork. Setting a clear example to the younger kids of the school of how an athlete should act.

These are all traits of a great person, but I would say that David’s greatest trait, is his friendships that he has made throughout the years.

I can recall numerous sum-mers playing golf with David at the Gratiot Country Club (now, The Fields). And prob-ably even more times in his back yard, swimming in his pool.

David has made a very large impact in my own per-sonal life and I am positive many others. He sits atop the highest pedistals that one can sit on, and I don’t think has ever shown a sign of coming down.

Raw Football Stats:(What he is going to play in college)

40 Yard Dash Time:

4.64 seconds

Bench Press:

235 pounds

Parrallel Squat:

340 pounds

OFFENSE:

Career Touchdowns:

41 (in only 35 games)

Career Receiving Yards:

1700+ yards

Career Receptions:

91 receptions

Yards Per Catch:

18+ yards

DEFENSE:

Career Interceptions:

9 INT’s

Career Tackles:

150+ tackles

By Zach AllenSports Reporter

Breaking down the commercials

This year’s Superbowl commercials were driven by the “powerhouse” companies that were willing to put in the big bucks to create the longer

commercials.

Each and every year, nation-wide companies spend millions of dollars to be advertised on the most viewed commercials of the year, the Super Bowl commer-cials.

“I feel that the best way to get a companies name to be known is to advertise in a place where people will see it. Since the Su-per Bowl is the most watched television event of the year, the most people will see the adver-tisements,” said teacher Craig Snyder.

Some people who do not even watch football games watch this game specifically for the humor-ous and interesting commer-cials that the producers come up with.

To give people an idea of how much the commercials cost to be aired during the Super Bowl, CBS said that it is $2-3 million for a 30-second spot during the game. This does not include the cost to hire actors and filming for it.

Some of the main sponsors are; Go Daddy.com, Doritos, Coke, Pepsi, and insurance com-panies such as Allstate and State Farm. They spend millions upon millions trying to get their name publicized.

Every year there are favorite commercials. Some people like the funny ones, some like the cre-ative ones. Either way, the com-mercials are enjoyable to watch. But for what reason?

“I liked the commercial where the little kid had a Darth Vader mask on and thought that he used the force to start his parents

car,” said junior Corbin Skle-ner.

“This year’s commercials were not as interesting as last year, but I did like the M&M commercial when they played Sexy and I Know It,” said soph-omore Seth Capen.

This M&M commercial was one of the top five favorite com-mercials this year according to The Huffington Post, an online newspaper. However, the most popular commercial was the GoDaddy.com advertisement, in which the girl had very little, if any, clothes on.

“Well obviously most guys are going to like this commer-cial, and probably not very many girls voted for the com-mercials, which would be why this was the most popular,” said junior Jared Evers.

Wake up, go to school, go to practice, do homework, go to bed.

With all the commitments a student faces, it seems that dual sporting is an extreme hassle.

Dual sporting is not only hard on a player, but also on a coach as well.

They need to have enough pa-tience to have one of their ath-letes missing their practice in order to be at their other prac-tice.

Dual sporting makes it hard on a student athlete for the fact that while they are missing one sport for the other they have to take the time to learn from the sport that they missed that day.

Student athletes who dual sport often times find difficulty in balancing their grades with two nightly practices.

There are many different schools that don’t offer dual sporting for those few reasons but for kids at Ithaca High School they are thankful for dual sports.

“This was my first year duel-ing soccer and football, and it was nice winning a state cham-pionship after not playing foot-ball since eighth grade . Dual sporting made it possible for me to get back in touch with friends and football,” said senior Luke Rayburn.

Even though studernts want to dual sport, there is always

that one sport that a certain ath-lete is committed to, this puts stress on other teammates.

This year the pompon team has six members who are dual sport-ing which can cause tension.

“Many of the dual sporting girls on the team don’t know

many of the formations right away, so it just takes the team a little longer to get what needs to be done,” said Jordan Town.

For some schools, it’s a great opportunity to have dual sports so kids who want to play two different sports can.

By Markes GadlenSports Reporter

Tough life: DualingPlaying two sports at the same time can be

very hard on the person participating in them.

This past fall senior Luke Rayburn balanced the responsibilities of basketball and football as well as the hassles of homework.

Schneider/Growler

15February 10, 2012ihsGrowlerithacaschools.net Sports

16 February 10, 2012 ihsGrowler ithacaschools.netSports

Run, run, run, skip a meal, run, run, run, skip another meal.

This is the day in a life a wrestler cutting weight, and one of the many health risks of being a wrestler.

Wrestling is just another of the many sports that high school students are offered to participate in, but is it to dangerous cutting weight? Many wrestlers find them-selves forced to “bump” down a weight in order to be at the lowest weight possible. Many methods are used for cutting weight, such as: exercise, food restriction, fasting, and vari-ous methods of dehydration. However, cutting weight can be very dangerous.

Losing multiple pounds at a time is not good to a stu-dent’s health. Some athletes find them selves going to more extremes than just running to lose weight.

“It’s best to be the lowest weight possible, even if that does mean skipping a few meals here and there. It takes a lot of dedication to be a good wrestler, and if cutting weight

is something it takes to be good, then that’s what ill do,” said junior Josh Capen.

Not eating properly and ex-traneous running can result in the weakening of muscles. If muscles don’t have time to relax and get the nutrition needed. Then it becomes dan-gerous because muscles can start to tear.

In 1997 three wrestlers died within a month because of drastic weight loss measures, this sparked a nationwide de-bate about the true dangers of cutting weight.

“It’s not worth putting your body in that kind of harm. I like my body to be healthy and cutting weight drains every-thing from your body,” said junior Kaleb Baublitz.

It is said that loosing weight can cause electrolyte imbal-ance, muscle wasting and de-hydration. One of the biggest concerns is that heart dam-age can happen if you do it long enough and prolonged enough.

On top of the health risks, repeatedly struggling to make weight can be very harmful on an athlete mentally. Wrestlers have to weigh in before every meet, meaning they have to step on the scales dozens of

Address: 525 E. North St.Phone: (989)-875-2256

1300 E. Superior StAlma, MI 48801(989)-466-2277

Yost Auto Sales

NCG Alma CinemasAddress: 3002 W. Monroe Rd

Alma, MIPhone: 989-463-4441Owner: Steve Smith

Dale A. Nester, DDSMartha A. Bamfield, DDS

610 N. Pine RiverIthaca, MI 48847

Phone: (989) 875-2888

Using the latest research and technology

Got journalism?

Growler is a creative outlet for

students. Whether it be

through writing or designing, Growler allows students to

explore new avenues of learning.

Growler 20122011

times during the four-month season.

This takes a toll on wres-tler’s bodies. Not only the work they do all week to lose the pounds necessary, when it comes time to a match athletes find themselves weak and not able to perform at their high-est potential.

The use of saunas and rub-ber suits are now banned be-cause of the three deaths.

So, many people believe that high school wrestlers should be watched closely, and make sure they are getting the things necessary to stay healthy.

Some athletes can even find themselves vomiting after their meals, to make sure they don’t gain any weight. Vomit-ing is very dangerous and can create bad habits.

Weight loss of more than two pounds per week must involve either dehydration or starvation, and that is exactly the type of weight loss that is

most damaging to the body. Some students don’t know

what nutritions their bodies re-ally need, they find themselves doing whatever it takes to make the right weight, because that’s

what they think is right. Cutting weight can be very

dangerous if student athletes don’t follow the right tech-niques and the proper ap-proach to cutting weight.

By Garrett MiniardSports Editor

Standing-0

Junior Josh Capen stands atop his weight class at 31-0. With just weeks left before the wrestling state finals it’s hard to not start the chatter of an unde-feated season.

“Its a very good feeling to be undeafeated, and I definitely want to keep it that way. I feel like I have a good shot at win-ning state and I will give it my best shot,” said Capen.

Capen has had some very im-pressive wins this season against very formadable opponents.

“I have beat the sixth ranked kid in the state, and I have also pinned the fourth ranked kid in the state, in 43 seconds,” said Capen.

In only his Junior year, Capen could possibly have three state championships - including his two state championships in var-sity football.

It would be an incredible feat to become a state champion in wrestling as a junior.

Fast times for wrestling guysAs wrestling season progresses, the wrestlers find themselves bat-tling hunger and health in order to be their lightest weight possible.

Junior Mingo Cervantes wrestles against his opponent during the Ithaca tournament held in the Ithaca High School Gym.Schneider/Growler

Freshman Jaron Czachowrski wrestles against his opponent from St. Louis during the Ithaca Tournament.

By Dakota ReevesSports Reporter

Junior Josh Capen stands undefeated thus far in the wrestling season.