February 26, 2015 - Minooka Community High School District #111

Peace Pipe Chatter
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Minooka Community High School, Minooka, Ill. Volume 100 Edition 8 Feb. 26, 2015
pg. 7
Fall Out Boy pg. 9
Senior Banquet pg. 2
Google pg. 4
Raising minimum wage pg. 5
2
S chool N ews
Feb. 26, 2015
Designed by Sara Dobbyn
TSA places top 10
By Meghan Blenck
Staff Photographer
Courtesy of Ms. Kristen North
As students sat in school Friday,
Feb. 6, four groups from Minooka’s
TSA team went to JJC for a day-long
competition. They came back with
amazing results.
One of the expert teams with Connor Wessling, Emily Miller, Jared
Heaser, and Liam Dudson, took third
place. While the expert team with Nick
Frigo, Joe Bergmann, Liam Connellan
and Tom Rodely took first place.
The two novice teams that competed
took 6th and 10th.
“I was excited to see the expert
teams working cooperatively together
to build and program robots. This is a
key factor in making sure you can compete effectively and they were rewarded by their efforts by placing so well,”
Ms. Kristen North, adviser, said.
This was Minooka’s 10th year of
First place winners include Nick Frigo, Joe Bergmann, Liam Connellan, and
Tom Rodely.
competing at the JJC event. This year
has also been the best the expert teams
have ever competed.
Shedd Aquarium hosts Senior Banquet of 2015
By Sheila Angus
School News Editor
Life is just a collage of our memories and our experiences. Senior year
is a large part of those memories. It’s
the last year before going to college,
getting a real job, and not having the
stress that comes with adulthood.
Senior Banquet is just one of the big
stepping stones in a student’s year: a
night where you and your fellow classmates get to bask in the glory of being
a senior without the stress that comes
with homecoming or prom. This year,
senior banquet was held on Feb. 15 at
6 p.m., at the Shedd.
Senior banquet could be looked at
many different ways. A positive note
is that you get to spend the night with
all your friends; however, it’s also one
of the last big events that goes on senior year. It’s such a large part of the
senior year experience and it is one of
the last times that the entire senior
class will be together.
“Senior banquet unfortunately
symbolizes the beginning of the end
for senior year, but I’m sure all se-
niors want to finish their year full of
excitement,” Jake Wietting, senior,
said.
An exciting part of senior banquet
was the part of the night where they
gave the senior awards. This year the
awards were MC’d by Jake Wietting
and Henry Bugajski. Some of the winners throughout the night were the
Bell twins winning the award of best
eyes and Ryan Pullara and Ashleigh
Wilson winning most likely to break
a record.
The majority of students gave
positive reviews of the night overall.
Many complimented the DJ on the
set played throughout the night. The
setting, the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, was enjoyed by everyone. The
students got to go into some of the exhibits as the night progressed.
“Overall, the night was really fun.
The food was great, the music, the
dancing, and the Shedd was really
cool, too,” Jess Karalow, senior, said.
Senior Banquet is one of the last
events that tie the year together and
brings students one step closer to
graduation.
The Peace Pipe Chatter
Minooka Community High School
301 S. Wabena Avenue, Minooka, IL 60447
[email protected] peacepipechatter.com
@peacepipechattr
Editors-in-Chief
Sara Dobbyn and Tara Schumal
School News
Editors: Sheila Angus and Alexa Aspan
News
Editor: Mckenna Guertin and Jake Pena
Features
Editor: Bri Bouchard and Danyelle Myers
A&E
Editor: Will Roberts
The events included a bomb disposal where the robots have to pick
up “ bombs” and place them in jars, a
search and rescue mission where the
robots have to take an injured skier
the start of a mat to the end, a hazmat
situation where the robots have to be
programmed to disable the hazardous
material, a land navigation where the
robots have to navigate over a bumpy
surface, and a square maze that the robots have to navigate through, according to North.
This was the first year where both
of the expert teams were able to place
points in all five of the events. A packet
full of complex math problems were
also given for the teams to complete.
“My team won and that’s an honor, but winning doesn’t matter to me.
What matters to me is that we all had
fun while we were there, and enjoyed
time as a team. We also got to meet
new people and make new friends,”
Thomas Rodely, sophomore, said, “I
would have been happy even if we took
last.”
International Club hosts
2015 Bags Tournament
By Tara Schumal
Editor-n-Chief
Salazar, senior, President of International Club, is more than excited for
the event.
“It’s
the
first year, so
we had to
come up with
everything
on our own,”
Salazar said.
“We’re
trying to get as
many
staff
members and
students
as
possible.”
Tickets to
watch
this
event will be
sold for $2 at
the door and
there will be
a 50/50 raffle
open to all upon entrance.
“It’s the first year, so
we had to come up with
everything on our own.
We’re trying to get as
many staff members and
students as possible.”
On Feb. 26,
International
Club will be
hosting its first
ever
World
Cup
Bags
Tournament
2K15 at South
Campus. From
5-7:30 p.m.,
teams of two
people
each
will be competing against
each
other
to
become
the first-ever
champions.
Winners will
receive a prize.
Hoping for a decent turnout, Olivia
-Olivia Salazar
President of International
Club
Opinion
Editor: Gabrielle Taylor
Sports
Editors: Sydney Monroe and Ryan Sartori
Copy Editors
Jake Pena, William Roberts
Photography
Head: Meghan Blenck
Editorial Board:
Sara Dobbyn, Mckenna Guertin, Jake Pena, Tara
Schumal and Gigi Taylor
Journalism I
Isabella Alberico, Brandon Ambriz, Maxwell
Christiano, Emily Cooper, Lauren Dylik, Collin
Johnson, Natalie Lakmiak, Angelica Leal, Chaney Lehr,
Kyle Markiel, Jaclynne Martinez, Alexis Przybylski,
Riley Rivara, Brooke Robson, Amara Rousonelos, Alec
Salomoun, Kacie Sims, Caitlyn Stabile, Gregory Staggs,
Stephanie Stathos-Patrick, Calvin Stiteley, Thomas
Virgl, Kimberly Zamora
Submission Policy:
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Letters to the Editor should be submitted to Mr. Thomas’s mailbox or to a Peace Pipe Chatter editor.
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Mission Statement:
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entire student body and staff at MCHS. We want to
communicate essential information through responsible
journalism, connect people through common interests,
and promote thinking by sharing opinions and ideas.
S chool N ews
Feb. 26, 2015
3
Designed by Danyelle Myers
Snow White’s less fortunate sister
By Meghan Blenck
Staff Photographer
Meghan Blenck/PPC
Most students at MCHS remember
going to see the Children’s Theatre
production while they were in elementary school. This tradition continues
this year as Children’s Theatre on
the play The Adventures of Rose Red:
Snow White’s Less-Famous Sister.
Classic children’s stories such as
Snow
White,Goldilocks,Cinderella,
Little Red Riding Hood,Little Miss
Muffet, and the Princess and the Frog.
In this production these stories are
combined together.
As all of Rose Red’s friends and family are becoming famous,and being interviewed all the time by the local paper, she realizes she doesn’t want to be
famous. She loves the idea of being a
normal girl, but her family and friends
begin to pressure her to become famous overnight. Throughout the story
she realizes her friends stories aren’t
necessarily true, and with the help of
a special frog she realizes she doesn’t
Children’s theater performs this year’s play for their audience on Feb. 4.
have to be famous to make her family
and friends proud of her.
The lead of Red Rose went to senior
Julia Barich. She has participated in
Children’s Theatre in past years.
For the general public,the first show
took place on Tuesday, Feb.3. The cast
members believed they put on a great
show.
“The energy was insane,” Lizzy Murray, junior,said. Lizzy was on crew, and
worked with lights.
During this performance people donated money. The money raised will be
used in the Minooka Performing Arts
Center in many different ways.
“This year the money is going to
help refurbish our theatre. This money
will help all future MCHS productions
and the community programs which
rent our Performing Arts Center,” Ms.
Julie King ,director ,said.
This is King’s fourth year directing
Children’s theatre. One of the things,
that makes Children’s Theatre different is that the student directors do a
large majority of the work.
“Rehearsals for children’s theatre
are completely different than any other
show we do because it is directed by
mostly by the student directors. It’s
cool to see how three people can incorporate all of their ideas into one show,”
Gillian Ruggeri, junior, who played
Snow White, said.
The student directors this year were
Abigail Belluomini,sophomore; Kallie
Haritopoulos,junior:and Rachel Deluga, Senior.
Most cast members favorite part of
Children’s Theatre is performing for
the local elementary schools. The kids
were able to see the play with their
classes Wednesday, Feb. 4.
“My favorite part of Children’s Theatre is definitely interacting with the
kids. They say the funniest things and
enjoy the show so much,” Ruggeri said,
“I love being able to perform for them
and becoming a role model for them.”
Scholastic Bowl finishes 3rd conference; JV wins
By Will Roberts
A&E Editor
pectations. Everybody just gave it their
best.” Eric Strand, senior, said.
Scholastic bowl is a competition of
trivia that questions the knowledge of
participants in various academic subjects. It is known well in the media for
its success in producing strong competitors of game shows such as Jeopardy.
“We do usually twenty to twentyfour questions and whatever team gets
the tossup correct scores ten points
On Jan. 24, the MCHS scholastic
bowl team won conference on the junior varsity level and placed third on
the varsity level.
Participants aimed at first in conference, but felt that they had played to
expectations.
“I know for sure that the team did a
great job. Everybody played up to ex-
Walker finishes 5th in state speech
By Tara Schumal
Editor-In-Chief
Senior Taneika Warner is being
awarded with a second place medal
at regionals for Speech Team.
how well it succeeds long after I graduated.”
As for Goffinet, being captain isn’t
all fun and games.
“It’s pretty fun but, sometimes it
can be a bit hectic,” Goffinet. “When
we hosted conference I was running
around during the day performing and
sometimes delivering messages to the
team.”
Being a senior though, Warner is
both excited for the state finals and upset that the season is coming to an end. “Speech team is more than standing in front of a judge and delivering
a speech. There is a certain aura of
excitement and exuberance that surrounds each and every competition
that is completely unparalleled to anything I’ve ever done before.”
who to put in at both levels,” Allen said.
In order to practice for theses competitions, the team plays their own
competitions against each other.
“Whenever we do a practice, it is
almost like the exact same thing we
do in a real match, except it’s just our
school,” Allen said.
Future competitions of scholastic bowl include the Illinois Masonic
Bowl in February and the state series
in March.
Student walkers express their winter
woes while walking to school in the cold
]By Sara Dobbyn
Editor-In-Chief
Courtesy of yearbook
With another season for Speech
Team officially coming to an end, senior Taneika Warner has found herself
advancing to the state competition on
Sat. Feb. 21. She took fifth overall in
her category that weekend. As for regionals, according to Warner, it “went
well but was really terrifying.”
Warner went on to place second in
dramatic interpretation and first in
category speaking. Another person to
place for Minooka was junior Conrad
Goffinet, he took second in extemporaneous speaking.
“For the team as a whole, it was a
really tough competition so there were
some disappointment,” Warner said.
“However, majority are underclassmen
but I know as they continue their high
school career, they will make it to the
top.”
When it comes to the whole season,
Warner is impressed.
“This past season, I’ve constantly
found myself surprised by the talent on
this team,” Warner said.
As a captain for the last two years,
she and other captain, Conrad Goffinet, are happy with how this season
has gone.
“I’ve been on the speech team since
freshman year,” Warner said. “I know
that I am leaving the team in good
hands and could not be happier to see
for their team,” Mr. Jason Allen, head
coach, said.
The tossups are individual, but the
team aspect of scholastic bowl shows
during the bonus questions.
The school’s team is formed of near
35 members and has spent time forming its team for the competitive season.
“We spent the first part of the season
getting a feeling for who the strongest
players were and by the time we got to
the end of the season, we knew exactly
Throughout the school year, not
all the students are able to park at the
school. Some students have to park
in the pond lot, at a nearby friend’s
house, or even at the parking lot
across from Cookies restaurant.
“Walking to school today, it was really cold and windy. It felt like I was
being held back due to the wind,” Rachel Ward, junior, said.
In this kind of weather, no matter
where the student is coming from,
the walk can be unbearable. Students
are not dressing for the appropriate
weather and are walking in harsh
conditions.
‘’I don’t like it at all. It’s a pretty
long walk, and it’s freezing temperatures so it’s not pleasant. I usually
have my backpack with me and sometimes my track bag. I do dress for the
weather, which usually involves a
sweater and jeans with a winter coat,
hat, scarf, and gloves. Most of the
time I walk with three other people
so I’m not walking by myself,’’ Ward,
who parks near Cookies, said.
When the weather conditions are
better, the people who walk to school
will take their time getting there because it will be easier.
“I had my backpack and sometimes walked with friends but usually walked alone. I learned to make
friends with Mike Sayles who was a
senior and he gave me rides a lot. I
dressed appropriately for the weather
and it usually took me 5-7 minutes.
Summer days I took my time, but
winter I walked really fast,” Kelly Clucas, senior, said.
Due to the weather changing, the
students who walk to to school are
trying to find rides that park closer to
the school so they don’t have to walk
anymore. Students who don’t have
parking passes are also starting to
take the students spots who do have
parking passes so they don’t have to
walk anymore.
“I rarely drive to school now since
my neighbor has a parking pass. But
when I did drive to school I would
have my school books and purse. I
walked with Alyssa Kapala since I
used to give her rides. It would take us
about five minutes to get to the school
from Cookies. The worse thing was
that I didn’t dress for the weather,”
Kara Starr, junior, said.
Being able to park in the school lot
is a privilege. It helps in many ways
like being in after school clubs, sports,
or other activities.
4
N ews
Iran’s supreme leader speaks out about recent judgements
Feb. 26, 2015
Iran
By McKenna Guertin
News Editor
Following the terror attacks in Paris
these past few weeks, Iran’s supreme
leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wrote
a letter addressed to the youth in the
western world. He asks youth to not
judge the world of Islam based on the
Charlie Hebdo attacks.
Khamenei asks us to seek out our
own information about Islam, to form
Designed by McKenna Guertin & Jake Pena
our own opinions and judgments, and
to not believe everything the media is
telling us following the attacks. He says
he is addressing the youth because
they are the future of the world, not the
politicians and statesmen because they
have “consciously separated the route
of politics from the path of righteousness and truth,” he says.
Khamenei brings up the past of the
western world, our history with slavery, and oppressing those of a different
race or religion.
“I would like to ask you whether you
have directly read the Qur’an of the
Muslims. Have you studied the teachings of the Prophet of Islam and his humane, ethical doctrines? Have you ever
received the message of Islam from
any sources other than the media?”
Khamenei asks.
The supreme leader ends his letter
with a call to action.
“Although no one can individually fill the created gaps, each one of
you can construct a bridge of thought
and fairness over the gaps to illuminate yourself and your surrounding
environment. While this preplanned
challenge between Islam and you, the
youth, is undesirable, it can raise new
questions in your curious and inquiring minds. Attempts to find answers to
these questions will provide you with
an appropriate opportunity to discover
new truths.
“Therefore, don’t miss the opportunity to gain proper, correct and unbiased understanding of Islam so that
hopefully, due to your sense of responsibility toward the truth, future generations would write the history of this
current interaction between Islam and
the West with a clearer conscience and
lesser resentment.”
guards joined police, and the civilians
also grabbed their weapons and set out
for the front.
An attack was repulsed with heavy
casualties, and at least 17 Peshmerga
taken captive. The attack involved a
car bomb outside the main Kirkuk police station and ISIS fighters holing up
in an abandoned hotel.
Soon after, photographs appeared
on social media of cars dragging
bodies of ISIS fighters through the
streets of Kirkuk. Some
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were accompanied by civilians with Kurdish flags
celebrating their victory. There are
unconfirmed reports that a vehicle
belonging to the Kurdish security po-
lice was involved in the incidents.
Kirkuki professor and former Peshmerga, Shwan Khurseed, witnessed one
of these acts and condemned it. “This
is very bad for the Kurds,” he sighed,
when reached by phone. “These are
backward people. At least 80 percent
of the Kurds do not agree with this.”
As the Kurds are fighting ISIS with
the support of the US-led coalition, the
incidents have caused doubt among
Kurds that this could affect their standing with the Americans and could backfire. The coalition air support has been
essential in beating ISIS back from the
territories it captured over the past several months. Kurds feel they are fight-
ing a battle for the rest of the world. No
countries have sent in combat troops.
The Kurdish Ministry of Peshmerga
only just released an official order to all
its units. This prohibits the mistreatment pictures of any ISIS prisoners or
their dead bodies, saying they should
be treated ethically. Since the beginning of the war, hundreds of pictures
of dead ISIS fighters have been posted
on social media.
Meanwhile, in videos just before
Friday’s attacks, there were threats
that a band of Kurdish converts to the
ISIS cause were on their way to Kirkuk
to kill all unbelievers and punish the
main Kurdish parties there.
California
T-Mobile and Sprint, are being very
cautious about the deal with Google.
Sprint was able to put a usage cap in
their contract that if Google signs up a
ton of customers, they can renegotiate
its deal with them.
“If Sprint and T-Mobile have to put
all these restrictions on Google, then
that obviously means they feel like
Google will get more customers than
them and become bigger than them,”
Chloe Bacza, sophomore, said.
According to reporters, the chances
of Google becoming more popular than
any of the Big Four wireless carrier is
practically impossible. Google makes
money on Android by licensing the
software to smartphone makers and
by forcing customers to use its apps
and search service. Google Wireless
will not be relying on wireless companies to provide service, they would
give the search company the ability to
deal directly with its customers.
Google is definitely not the first to
try selling wireless service. Best Buy,
Staples, and Walmart all offer wireless
plans to their customers.
Google has much less debt than
other carriers, which means it can be
free more of its significant cash flow to
invest in wireless. But there is a lot of
risk associated with being a wireless
carrier. When service goes down or
connections fail, customers will blame
Google for the disruptions.
Google can be a strong competitive
play and greatly expand the amount
of consumer data the company could
obtain.
ISIS attacked by people of Kirkuk
Iraq
By Jake Pena
News Editor
Incidents in Kirkuk, where bodies
of ISIS fighters were dragged through
the streets, have shocked many in Iraqi
Kurdistan, according to Rudaw.net.
The incidents happened after ISIS
attacked oil fields and installations
in and around Kirkuk on Jan. 30.
In surprise attacks on three fronts,
dozens of Peshmerga were killed,
along with two Kurdish generals.
The situation in the oil-rich city, became so dire that armed neighborhood
By Danyelle Myers
Features Editor
Recent measles outbreak
California/Michigan
By Bri Bouchard
Features Editor
Before the 1960’s, measles was a
prevalent disease. Around 1964-1965,
rubella hit America hard.
According to historyofvaccines,
there were around 12.5 million cases of
measles that showed up each year.
Measles have been dormant for
the most part; although, measles hit
California and Michigan recently. This
certain case is thought to have come
from a Disneyland trip. The adult who
became sick healed rather quickly, but
the disease has spread. As for California, more than 90 people have been
Google Wireless
infected.
“That’s horrible, measles isn’t common anymore, I’m surprised. Although, I think parent shouldn’t send
sick kids to school. Vaccinations are
important and they keep people safe,”
Alex Schauer, junior, said.
Vaccination is very important, and
some states allow their children to not
get them, including California and Arizona. Certain states have laws about
vaccinations in children. Most states
require children to get vaccinated,
though.
“I believe all children should get
vaccinations, it›s not fair to other children around to get sick because one
child didn›t get vaccinated,” Marissa
Tomsich, junior, said.
Imagine one day buying an Android
smartphone not through Verizon,
AT&T, Sprint, or T-Mobile-but with
Google Wireless. Adding Google to an
already competitive field that is in the
middle of a major price war isn’t likely
to make the big carriers very happy.
For years, Google has been making just about all the pieces it needs
to become a mobile provider. Google
is already the most used mobile software on the planet. Google designs
and sells phones online. It has become
an Internet service provider with its
Google Fiber initiative. It even has its
own VoIP phone service called Google
Voice, which it allows people to get a
Google phone number and call people
through Gmail over Wi-Fi.
Google will start selling cell phone
service with its Android phones. The
missing link for Google to become a
wireless carrier has been the cell towers needed to build out a nationwide
network.
According to CNN, instead of
Google spending tons of money to
create a wireless network, Google will
carry its service over Sprint and TMobile’s networks. Google will have
to pay those carriers just $2 per gigabyte, which means Google could provide cheap service that gives Verizon
and AT&T something to be concerned
about.
5
O pinion
Feb. 26, 2015
Designed by Gigi Taylor
Best ways to study
By Will Roberts
A&E Editor
Schools are very effective at providing information, but often are poor at
translating this information. However,
there is no effective way for a teacher to
perfectly transfer every detail of a lesson into students’ heads. For this reason, teachers often assign the task of
studying for homework. Here are tips
for the student given the task of studying.
Science: Many science classes re-
quire the memorization and application of equations. In my experiences,
the best way to memorize all of the
information is by placing all of the information on one sheet of paper and
studying off of it. I based this approach
off of the tendency of some teachers to
allow a note card on final exams. Many
students claimed that they did not even
use the note card, so this led me to
question why the information roots so
deeply from a note card. It is through
spatial memory that these equations
and definitions engrave themselves so
deeply in the brain. The actual layout
of the definitions allows two connections—memorization of definition and
layout of information—to occur.
English: Sparknotes is known for
being one of the most abused websites
for students assigned to read books
in English class. In fact, it has nearly
taken its own form of a verb: I have
many times heard of students skipping
the reading of an assigned novel and
“Sparknoting” it. Although Sparknotes
has a negative connotation to English
teachers, it is a useful study tool if used
appropriately. A few years ago, I read
“A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens. Although the story is not difficult
to understand as a whole, Dickens’ advanced language can cause the reader
to miss details. For this reason, I looked
to Sparknotes—reading their chapter
summaries after reading it myself. This
method allows for the catching of the
small details found through reading
itself, while taking note of the overall
plot and character development.
Foreign Language: In foreign
languages, an incredibly large component of practicing fluency is vocabulary. Upgrading vocabulary allows connections to be made to similar words
and an easier time in class as a whole.
I found that the most effective form of
studying vocabulary is by taking every
difficult term and placing it on flashcards. Begin with one word and place
it on a note card. Once you remember
the word from English to foreign language and foreign language to English,
add another word. Don’t add any new
words until you have successfully remembered the card. If you don’t want
to purchase note cards, use quizlet.
com or its Android/IOS counterpart.
This method is most successful when
studied every day over a long period
of time. You may get around twenty
words remembered the night before a
test, but the purpose is long-term exposure.
Math: Math is a tricky subject to
study since many topics are understood primarily through comprehen-
sion. For this reason, the easiest way to
grasp a lesson is simply by finding videos online. Say you are in Precalculus
and did not understand the unit circle
in class. You can go on YouTube and
search “understanding the unit circle”
and find a video that will aid your comprehension. I recommend finding videos that are high in views and have a
good like to dislike ratio. Khan Academy also offers tutorial videos in a similar fashion.
Social Studies: Social studies
classes fit well in the note card-studying category, as much of it is the memorization of facts. If you go on quizlet.
com there is a flashcard set named “AP
World History Review” that contains
over 1000 terms. It isn’t even necessary to make your own flashcards: you
can simply search the study topic and
find flashcard lists made by other users.
Studying can be incredibly difficult if
you don’t have a system of doing it. You
must ultimately find the most effective
ways to study and stick with them.
Most annoyingly common Twitter complaints
Out of 50 MCHS students surveyed
“Can this day be over?”
2
“Retweet for follow”
7
“Relationship goals...”
16
“No one likes me”
“So bored”
22
3
Raising the minimum wage has issues
Editorial Board
In times of economic struggle, the
question of raising the minimum wage
often arises. Many believe that the raising of the minimum wage will stimulate the economy; however, we believe
that raising the minimum wage would
not contribute a significant deal to the
economy.
Although many families exist below
the poverty level and a wage increase
would help them individually, the longterm impact is negative.
Imagine owning a business and having $2,000,000 a year to spread among
110 employees. If you pay each worker
$7.25 per hour (eight hours per day
and six days per week), this amounts to
$18,096 per employee each year. President Obama has displayed his drive to
raise the minimum wage to $9.00 per
hour. In this hypothetical business, the
owner would have to cut around 20
workers to stay under the $2,000,000
available pool of money.
Although 20 workers may not appear a significant enough number to
determine the future of minimum
wage, the results are shocking when
applied to a larger scale. Using the previous model, out of 1,000,000 Americans working in the same scenario,
181,818 would lose their jobs.
These situations ignore external factors that occur within businesses; how-
ever, there will be casualties in some
form from a raise in minimum wage.
It is left up to chance which Americans
will benefit and work with an extra $2
per hour or become unemployed.
Many may argue that change in the
minimum wage on the state level has
been beneficial, so federal action would
also be successful. This is not true since
raising the federal wage will cause inflation.
In order to understand the state
minimum wage vs. federal minimum
wage, imagine a map where Illinois is
physically raised higher in elevation
than the other states. During that time
where Illinois’ elevation is higher than
the other states, it is the tallest. Now
picture every other state immediately
catching up to Illinois. In order to retain its height above the other states,
Illinois will have to accommodate their
growth by growing itself even higher
until it is at the same proportions that
it began with. This is the basis for inflation. Every state wants to be better
off, so as states higher their individual
minimum wages, others catch back up.
Although some may benefit from a
raise in minimum wage, it is simply
converting the issue from one of too
little pay to unemployment. A different
strategy needs to be formed to combat
poverty as minimum wage is not the
answer: it is like pumping air in a car’s
tires to fix a broken engine.
6
Feb. 26 2015
Features
Designed by Meghan Blenck
Too many volumes for issues
By Tara Schumal
Editor-in-Cheif
The Peace Pipe Chatter has been
sliding its way into your high school
classroom for decades. Volume 1, the
first official paper, was created back
in the year 1941. Each year, traditionally, the volume number increases by
one. The real question, however, remains
due to today’s issue, released 76 years
later. If you’ve noticed the cover of this
year’s paper, it’s volume 100. But we
haven’t gone through 100 years of the
Peace Pipe Chatter’s existence.
Quite strange, to say the least. How
did we possibly get through 100 volumes in only 74 years? Well, we didn’t.
By April of 1947, six years since the
start, the volume number reached 6,
and in 1948 when volume 7 hit class-
rooms. Looking back through each ar- school years, meaning that students
chived issue, everything seemed to be would be graduating and new students
running smoothwould be joining
ly.
staff for the
‘If you’ve noticed the cov- the
1948 also took
new volume.
The question
hold of creating a er of this year’s paper, it’s
remains
Volume 8 which volume 100. But we haven’t still
dealing
with
was
different.
Two volumes in gone through 100 years of how each volone year, man, the Peace Pipe Chatter’s ex- ume was created
timewise. Was
that’s a lot of isistence.’
it created by the
sues.
year changing
You have to
itself like from
take into conJanuary to Desideration
the
school year, though. Each school year cember (the calendar year) or from the
runs from August of one year to May/ school year, being August of one year
June of the next. This could explain to May/June of the next year?
At the time, the staff seemed to crewhy Volume 7 of 1948 was created at
the beginning of the calendar year, and ate a new volume either every school
volume eight was created in Septem- year. The main confusion arrived years
ber of 1948. 1948 grasped half of two later when that all changed. By the mid
1950’s, newspapers were produced
without volume numbers.
1957 did have a volume number
however, and it was volume 14. Everything remained in order until the year
hit 1960’s and 1967 was found with volume numbers 26 and 27. Why the volume number jumped is still unknown.
From then on, the volume numbers
would go in order until the year 1990
when the volume number would jump
from around 40 to 74. Skipping that
many numbers is not only strange but
confusing. Why thirty volumes ahead
now?
By 2005 - 2006, the volume number
would soon hit 91. But today the Peace
Pipe Chatter represents volume number 100. Even though there hasn’t been
100 years of the school newspaper, the
number still stands and will continue
to increase by one.
This makes 2015 his 45th year of working at MCHS.
He enjoys MCHS mainly for the
people that go to this school. He enjoys
interaction with faculty, and maintenance. More than anything he enjoys
the students.
“Ninety-eight percent of the students at MCHS are mature, responsible and respectful young adults,” Maas
said, “That’s what makes my job so enjoyable.”
Recently, there were rumors circu-
lating of Maas saying that he is retiring after this school year. These rumors are false.
“At my age, I take it one year at a
time. I usually make my decision near
the end of the school year,” Maas said,
“However, the final decision rests with
MCHS as to whether or not they want
me to continue to work.”
Maas also is one for a good joke. He
explains his favorite prank, which happened when he was watching a teacher’s class. He decided to take a class,
with all their belongings to an empty
classroom and locked the door and
turned off the lights.
“It was funny to see the teacher going up and down the hallway looking
for the class,”Maas said.
After 10 minutes everyone returned
to the classroom.
“Everyone but one person thought it
was funny.”
The way he is going, Maas will be
providing laughs in the MCHS hallway
for years to come.
will effect innocent civilians if dropped
in a populated area.
On the other hand, there is still fear
from the existence of such bombs. In
this washingtonpost.com article, the
author questions the existence of nuclear weapons.
“Nuclear weapons are useless. They
would never be used on purpose by
the major powers, but could be used
by
accident.
Some
countries might use
them in a moment of panic,
or in response
to
imagined
threats
and
insults, or in a
fit of religious
hysteria. The
arsenals of nuclear weapons
states set a bad
example
for
the world, encouraging proliferation.
And they could kill us all.”
Although it may decrease global
tension if nuclear weapons were eliminated, there has not been a method
proposed in assuring that countries
aren’t building in secret.
Media desensitization: Over the
years, the television was used as a way
of educating children, while entertaining them at the same time. However,
the violence of modern entertainment
leads children to find violence less
shocking to those who aren’t exposed to
these aggressive programs. In a University of Utah study, children who often
view violent
programs
are “significantly less
‘aroused’
autonomically” while
watching
a film with
violence
than children with
little exposure. Some
p e o p l e
feel that finding a solution is futile as
Americans consistently search for the
wrong area for a solution.
“American society has been engaged
in a ‘circle of blame’ about media violence. The ‘circle of blame’ results from
a complicated web of ratings and economics that combine to create a system
in which each party feels powerless because ‘somebody else’ has created the
problem and, therefore, ‘somebody
else’ should solve,” medialit.org said.
Most people agree that violence exposure is bad for children, but the increase in availability of such entertainment makes it more difficult than ever
to monitor.
Drones: After an incident where a
man, during a night of drinking, landed a drone on the lawn of the White
House, the potential use of drones to
evade conventional security has risen
as a concern. “Efforts by terrorists to
use drone technology are obviously a
concern for N.C.T.C. and the intelligence community,” said an anonymous
spokesman for the counterterrorism
center.
However, others are searching to
expand the use of drones. Amazon.com
has particularly showed its interest in
drones through the company’s plan to
deliver packages by drone by Amazon
Air. Amazon is currently awaiting a response from the Federal Aviation Administration to begin testing its drone
services.
Much to do about Maas
By Meghan Blenck
Staff Photographer
If you walk through the hallways of
South Campus, more than likely you
will run into Mr. Ken Maas, one of
the most beloved campus monitors at
MCHS.
Maas started working as a math
teacher in 1970.
He later became head of the math
department for 15 years. In 2003, he
decided to become a campus monitor.
Facing New Controversial Issues
By Will Roberts
A&E Editor
The world is not the same as it was
years ago. As society progresses, so
must the constraints in order to accommodate new issues.
Existence of nuclear bombs in
the world: With over 16,000 nuclear
bombs spread throughout the world,
many have speculated the possibilities
of the result of a third world war.
Many people argue in favor of maintaining nuclear weapons as it prevents
adversaries from attacking, knowing
the capabilities of one another. “Nuclear weapons are instruments of peace.
Airmen and sailors nobly ensure that
nuclear conflict will be deterred by being ready to use them.
Americans may feel guilty for possessing such terrible capacity to destroy life. Despite their distastefulness,
however, nuclear weapons probably
have saved lives,” Robert Spalding,
writer and military fellow at washingtonpost.com, said.
It is because of the destructive
nature of nuclear bombs that keeps
countries at a standstill. Since the radius of the bomb is incredibly large, it
‘The world is not the
same as it was years ago.
As society progresses, so
must the constraints in
order to accommodate
new issues.’
Features
Feb. 26, 2015
7
Designed by Tara Schumal
Senioritis :
Recurring Epidemic
By Tara Schumal
Editor-In-Chief
The following disease has been investigated by a member of the Peace Pipe Chatter. This condition has been
noted and analyzed into the levels as follows. Warning
to all current seniors: Research on this was taken with
extreme precaution to this contagious disease. I do not
suggest you to try this at home. Random selection of
interviews and data decreased the writer’s chances of
catching this, but if readers should find themselves in
any of these categories beyond Level 1, seek help immediately. If one (or should I say reader) has reached
Level 10 already, my sincere apologies, for it’s too late
for help. Level 1 - What’s senioritis? Sorry, I can’t stay and talk, I have to get to class early!
Level 2 - I don’t feel like doing my homework but I did it anyway.
Level 3 - I spend more time on my phone than doing my homework
Level 4 - It’s officially hit me that it’s senior year and I only have a few months left of high school.
Level 5 - Binge Netflix : Oh Netflix, of course I’ll watch one more episode, I can finish my homework later. *Watches whole season*
*Doesn’t finish homework*
Level 6 - Grades are dropping.
Level 7 - Time management starts slipping.
Level 8 - All aboard the train; next stop : Procrastination Station.
Level 9 - The disease is getting dangerous and I can’t control it properly anymore.
Level 10 - It’s too late, there’s no way to fix this. There’s no turning back now.
8
Feb. 26, 2015
Arts & Entertainment
Designed by Will Roberts
Top Movies of 2014
By Alexa Aspan
School News Editor
2014 has come and gone, and the
New Year has already kicked off with
cinematic hits. But the public hasn’t
stopped their hunger to see the films
that shaped 2014 into the box office
bombshell that it was. Not only did the
movies of 2014 do well with the box office, but also the critics.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay
Part 1, Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The
LEGO Movie, and The Hobbit: Battle
of Five Armies, claim the top five spots
for the most money grossed in 2014,
respectfully.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay
Part 1 claims the No. 1 spot in the box
office all year as the first part in the final chapter of the Hunger Games trilogy. Jennifer Lawrence portrays Katniss
Everdeen, victor of the 74th Hunger
Games, the girl who escaped the 75th
Hunger Games, and now the face of
the rebellion based out of District 13.
Crashing under grief and PTSD (Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder) she must
fight to become the Mockingjay and
save Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and the
other victors from the Capitol’s torture.
Being the third movie, it is not
hard to see how it lead the box office with grossing an estimated total of $344,460,626, and earning
$121,897,634 on opening night alone.
In close second comes Guardians
of the Galaxy. After Star Lord’s, aka
Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), mother dies
of cancer and he is taken from earth,
he and his companions travel the galaxy to track down and stop Ronan the
Accuser (Lee Pace) from using the Infinity Stone, a stone that is capable of
destroying entire planets.
Even though some deemed the movie a joke after watching the trailer, the
Marvel production raked in a total of
$333,176,600. On opening night the
movie grossed a total $94,320,883.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier, yet another Marvel movie, took
third in the box office for 2014.
Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, (Chris Evans) is becoming accustomed to America after being frozen
in ice for 50 years. But a new threat
against S.H.I.E.L.D. arises called “The
Winter Soldier.” The threat against
S.H.I.E.L.D. from the Hydra organization compromises Nick Fury (Samuel
L. Jackson) and Agent Romanoff, aka
Black Widow, (Scarlett Johansson)
leaving them betrayed, left for dead,
and traitors to the organization. Now
racing against time, Captain America launches an investigation into
S.H.I.E.L.D.’s origins. What he and
Romanoff discover leads to a very startling development with S.H.I.E.L.D..
Earning a total of $259,766,572, it
was able to gross a total of $95,023,721
on opening night, which was more than
Marvel’s other production of 2014 The
Guardians of the Galaxy.
Being the top children’s movie of
2014, The LEGO Movie landed the No.
4 spot in the box office.
An ordinary (LEGO) guy named
Emmet (Chris Pratt) is mistaken as
being the Master Builder, the one who
can save the universe. With the aid of
Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), a tough
young lady named Lucy (Elizabeth
Banks), and Batman (Will Arnett),
Emmet will fight to defeat the evil tyrant Lord Business (Will Ferrell) who
is bent on destroying the universe by
gluing it together.
The movie earned a total of
$257,760,692 in office over the course
of it 6-month theater period. On opening night only it grossed an average of
$69,050,279.
And finally closing out the top five
box office hits is The Hobbit: Battle
of Five Armies. The movie brings an
epic conclusion the adventures of Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), Thorin
Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) and
the Company of Dwarves. Having reclaimed their homeland from the Dragon Smaug, the Company has unwittingly unleashed a deadly force into the
world. Enraged, Smaug rains his fiery
wrath down upon the defenseless men,
women and children of Lake-town. But
there are even greater dangers ahead.
Seen only by the Wizard Gandalf (Ian
McKellen), the great enemy Sauron
(Christopher Lee) has sent forth legions of Orcs in a stealth attack upon
the Lonely Mountain. As darkness converges on their escalating conflict, the
races of Dwarves, Elves and Men must
decide to be united or be destroyed.
Bilbo finds himself fighting for his life
and the lives of his friends in the Battle of the Five Armies, as the future of
Middle-earth hangs in the balance.
Being the final movie of The Hobbit
trilogy, it raked in a total $251,678,000,
and $54,724,334 on opening night.
There is a little bit of everything in
the top five movies of 2014, but there
are more that just the ones listed.
The ones more popular with the high
school students and young adults that
didn’t make the top five include The
Fault in Our Stars, If I Stay, 22 Jump
Street, Divergent, The Neighbors, The
Maze Runner, Annabelle, and That
Awkward Moment, which are all in
the top 100 movies of 2014. Personally
speaking, it is surprising that more of
these movies were ranked towards the
bottom of the list. There were many
good movies released in 2014, and
many received the recognition they deserved, but many were left in the dust.
Then again there is the matter of when
the movie was released, how much the
movie was advertised and whether the
movie had a pre-existing fanbase.
Nonetheless, the box office had a
great year in 2014, and is expected to
have another in 2015.
panies
en-
coming, only for this plan to backfire.
Not that anyone’s surprised, really—
who thought it was a good idea to put
live dinosaurs in a theme park? Even
so, the movie seems to promise as adventurous a ride as the originals, and
is definitely an attraction I’ll be looking
forward to this summer.
On the subject of sequels, Avengers:
Age of Ultron is getting its own amount
of hype. After the success of the Avengers, it’s no surprise that fans are loyal
as ever and looking forward to this action-packed film. In addition, Marvel
will be releasing Antman July 17 of this
year as well. A bit lesser known to the
general public, this microscopic superman promises action plus unique filming, as they had to use motion-capture
technology and films very small areas
to serve as landscapes.
In 1995, Pixar Animation Studios
wondered what would happen if toy
had feelings; in 2006, they wondered
what if cars did, too. Now, in 2015,
Pixar has decided to give feelings to
feelings. Inside Out follows a person’s
emotions—more specifically, those of a
little girl. With Amy Poehler as Joy and
Lewis Black as Anger, Pixar promises
another movie that’s sure to become a
family favorite, set to release June 19.
I’m looking forward to this cutesy, colorful flick and seeing how Pixar pulls
this one off.
With every batch of new, exciting
movies, there are unfortunately movies that seem to be flops as well.
The newest SpongeBob movie seems
to be one of these. Considering that
the original writers left after the first
film, it’s not that surprising. The franchise has experienced a steady decline
in quality, yet somehow keeps going.
In place of this full-length movie that
promises little entertainment besides
unexplained randomness, perhaps jangling keys in front of your child’s face
would be a cheaper waste of your time?
Besides children’s films, films aimed
at older audiences are also being subjected to an abhorrent atrocity the likes
of which have not been seen in some
time. Even the Twilight franchise cannot compete with the horror that is 50
Shades of Grey. Based on a poorly written book that romanticizes an abusive
relationship, the movie portrays the
dangerous themes. It’s abuse, not love,
and the media that this movie is getting
isn’t just sad; it’s scary. The thing that
this movie proves is that sex sells.
2015 guarantees a variety of films.
From action to slapstick, fans of all
types of films will certainly find something worth their time, although caution is advised; not all movies are the
gems they appear to be. But with the
right research, movie buffs are sure to
find 2015 to be an enjoyable year.
Upcoming movies for 2015
By Gigi Taylor
Editor-In-Chief
With a new year comes new movies;
some great, some not so much. With
tons of sequels and many trusted com-
tering the
g a m e , some of the
upcoming movies promise
to be enjoyable to the extreme—others, a horror to
the senses.
Twenty-two
years
later after the first
movie’s events,
fans of Jurassic Park will finally see the
theme park
envisioned
in
the
first film,
though not
for long. In
J u rassic World, set
to release on June 12, the theme park
needed a new attraction to keep people
Feb. 26, 2015
Arts & Entertainment
9
Designed by Alexa Aspan
Durarara!! returns with a much awaited season two
Each new episode is like watching a tapestry being woven thread by
thread: you’re sure these colors will
make something amazing in the end,
but each individual string does little
more than heighten the anticipation
of the finale, they pay off when they all
come together.
This season is simply amazing. I
actually care about all the new characters—all 12 of them—which is quite
a feat considering that it wasn’t until
episode 13 of the first season that I was
even curious about two of the season’s
three most important characters. It’s
been a little quiet. The past few episodes have seemed almost like normal
life—well, as normal as life can be for
teenage gang leaders and a Celtic fairy
in Tokyo. It feels like it’s building to
something; these past episodes have
been the (relative) calm before the
storm, and it feels like it’s just about to
hit this cour’s peak.
For an anime that’s captured my
attention for over four years, this new
season is really outdoing itself. The old
patterns are forming, but the familiarity of it only heightens the suspense,
keeping fans on edge to see how all
these new stories eventually intertwine. I have high hopes for this anime’s future, and would recommend it
to anyone looking for a good story.
A second series of light novels, Durarara!! SH has been comfirmed by
Narita, although no dates have been
released.
‘American Beauty/American Psycho’
Fall Out Boy’s 6th album is ‘Irresistable’
By Meghan Blenck
beautiful, the way lead singer PatStaff Photographer
rick Stump presents them is breath
taking. Especially, when the chorus
Fall Out Boy is one of today’s most starts and Stump draws out the word
well-known alternative bands. Their irresistible.
new album American Beauty/Ameri“Jet Pack Blues” is a slower song
can Psycho was released Jan. 16, on the album, The song is emotional
2015. This is the band’s sixth studio and captures the theme of “desperate
album. They had
needs calls for desa great amount of
perate measures”.
success with this alTheir hit single
bum.
“Centuries”
reFall Out Boy is
minds me of a presgoing new places
ent day “Eye of the
where most artTiger.” It is a perists wouldn’t dare
fect workout song,
to try. The music
and one of the
keeps their old ways
strongest songs on
of rock n’ roll but at
the album.
the same time let’s
“Novicine”
is
their new pop sound
overall the best
come through at the The cover for Fall Out Boy’s
song on the alsame time. This is new album American Beauty/
bum. It is harsh
introducing people American Psycho.
and rough, and the
to a different life
song combines pop
changing genre of music.
and technical sound. This song is a
To start, the only song I don’t re- cry of acceptance of our culture and
ally care for on the album is the title originality. “Cast them out ‘cause this
track.. I feel as if the song represents is our culture. These new flocks are
change in the band over dramatical- nothing but vultures,” are my favorite
ly. I feel like the meaning and lyrics lines from the whole album.
in this song are too covered up by the
I would give this album a five out of
techno beat.
five stars. American Beauty/ Ameri“Irresistible” is a strong album can Psycho is definitely worth listenopener, and really sets the album up ing to.
for success. Not only are the lyrics
Courtesy of Billboard.com
After four years, fans of the anime
Durarara!! have finally received a season two. Having waited for so long,
there was a considerable amount of
hype for the new season, leading many
to question whether it was worth the
wait.
Durarara!! is a multi-media project: the anime, which aired in 2010,
was based off a series of light novels
written by Narita Ryogo, which ended
with their 13th issue January 2014.
Based in Ikebukuro—a district in Tokyo—the plot follows an Internet gang,
an information broker, and a Celtic
dullahan (think “headless horseman”)
who works as an underground courier.
The anime and manga are divided
into separate story arcs, each arc has
its own kind of short story explaining
one of the character’s backstory and
goals. The first season of the show covered what are known as the “Dollars,”
“Saika” and “Yellow Scarves” arcs,
leaving many wanting more.
The second season has been named
Durarara!!x2 Shou, often abbreviated
DRRR!!x2 for short. An exact meaning of “durarara” doesn’t exist; the title
was entirely made up by Narita, who
remains firm on its lack of meaning
despite fan theories that it’s the noise a
motorcycle makes or is taken from the
Japanese pronunciation of dullahan.
This second season’s name comes
from a Japanese narrative style, opening also showed off the new ani“kishotenketsu,” “shou” being the mation style. The old one was fine, but
rough equivalent to the “rising ac- the new one is fantastic; the movetion” of English plot diagrams. As- ments are smoother, lines are sharper,
suming the first season is “ki,” or the etc. Most characters experienced little
“introduction,” this makes even more to no changes, such as the sudden fluffsense considering that season two will iness of Shizuo’s hair, but one characbe split up into three cours, “shou” ter in particular could’ve gotten plastic
released January 2015, and the other surgery he looks so different. Orihara
two planned for July 2015 and January Izaya, the series’ antagonist, experi2016, presumenced a huge
ably
“ten”
makeover
(“climax”) and
from the pre“ketsu” (“resovious season,
lution”).
his new look
From Jan.
better resem10, DRRR!!x2
bling the style
can be found
of the manga,
with English
and, while a
subtitles
on
big change,
most popular Suzuhito Yasuda, artist of Durararar!!,
he is looking
anime sites, drew Orihara Izaya, the main antagonist,
better than
i n c l u d i n g as a preview for the new season.
ever.
crunchyroll.
With most
com. New episodes are released every of last season’s main cast returning,
week, and this cour is expected to end the first episode of DRRR!!x2 doesn’t
in the beginning of April, although no do too much to introduce its new charofficial dates are known.
acters, preferring to handle things in
So, does it hold up? Was season two its own classic style—that is, to continreally worth the four year wait?
ue to show each character in the backThe answer is a resounding yes. Just ground of every other shot until they
the new opening theme alone gave me finally get around to his or her piece
bursts of excitement, introducing more in the interconnecting web of back
than 12 new characters in addition to stories that makes up Durarara!!’s
the major characters from last season, plot. A little annoying, but it’s nothing
totaling around 30 main characters. fans aren’t used to by now and always
No, that’s not including side charac- a great way to keep the audience curiters. Besides the new characters, the ous.
Courtesy of Crunchyroll.com
By Gigi Taylor
Opinion Editor
10
S ports
Remembering Cubs’ legend Ernie Banks
Designed by Ryan Sartori
Feb. 26, 2015
There are very few people who can
touch your heart with a smile.
Ernie Banks was one of those people.
Ernest “Ernie” Banks was born in
Dallas, Texas, on Jan. 31, 1931.
Sadly, Banks passed away from a
heart attack on Jan. 24, one week before his 84th birthday.
Growing up, Banks never really had
a passion for the diamond; he leaned
toward basketball, track and football.
At Booker T. Washington High School
he lettered in all three of those sports
before graduating in 1950.
It wasn’t until Ernie’s dad
bought him a glove for less than
$3 and bribed him with nickels
and dimes that he began to love
the game.
After he developed his skills,
he was picked up by the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro
League, and made his debut in
1950.
From there, the Chicago Cubs
bought Banks for $10,000 just
three years later in 1953.
He would be the Cubs first AfricanAmerican player.
He stayed with the North Siders for
the entirety of his 19 big league seasons.
When the season would drag on,
and the Cubs were losing games, Ernie
would be the one picking the team up.
His famous saying, “Let’s play 2,” was
somewhat of a rally cry for the team.
launched a line
drove shot toward
the ivy walls. As
the ball cleared
the basket Brickhouse’s unmistakable call, “That’s
it! That’s it! Hey
hey!
He did it! Ernie
Banks got number 500!!”, rang
throughout Chicagoland.
Banks finished
his career with Ernie Banks launches his 500th home run into the
512 home runs and bleachers of Wrigley Field in 1970.
a .274 batting averBanks was a man that believed anyage.
one could succeed no matter the situaBut it wasn’t what Banks did on tion. He was active with disabled chilthe field as a player that made him dren, and helped some of them get into
who he was; it was what he did as the Special Olympics.
a man off the field.
When he was younger his mother
Banks was baseball royalty, yet wanted him to become a minister. So
he interacted with fans as if he was he became a Chaplin and actually marone of them.
ried former Cubs pitcher Sean MarErnie was unique in the fact shall.
–Tom Ricketts, that instead of talking about him
He supported the troops and partook in USO programs.
Cubs CEO and Chairman and his stories, he beat you to it.
He would ask you about your
In 1977, Mr. Cub was inducted
life, your experiences, and he into the Major League Baseball Hall
of Fame. He was a first ballot Hall of
Star; he was the 1960 NL Gold Glove would care.
He served in the Army for 2 years.
Famer receiving 83.8% approval from
winner for the shortstop position. He
In 2013, President Obama present- voters. was also a member of the All-Century
ed Banks the Presidential Medal of
“We’ve got the setting, fresh air,
team.
One of Mr. Cub’s biggest achieve- Freedom. Which is the highest civilian sunshine, we’ve got the team behind
us, so let’s play two” said Banks during
ments came on a calm May afternoon honor.
He supported gay rights, and urged his induction speech.
in 1970.
Mr. Banks will love it where he’s
Jack Brickhouse had the call as the Cubs to enter a float in the Pride
Banks stepped up to the plate. The Parade. When they finally did, Ernie going, because on the diamond in the
right handed Banks took a hack and road on the float.
sky, they play two all the time.
He was dubbed “Mr. Cub” for his
unaltered love for his team, and fans
no matter how bad a season got.
“Ernie Banks wasn’t Mr. Cub because we loved him, he was Mr. Cub
because he loved us back,” said Tom
Ricketts, Cubs Chairman and CEO
during Banks funeral on Jan. 31.
I actually had the chance to meet
Mr. Cub at last year’s Cubs Convention. The most surreal part of meeting him was that he was just chilling
amongst the rest of us fans. I was able
to shake the legend’s hand and talk to
him briefly, that was enough for me.
In the time Banks spent in Chicago
he was a two-time NL MVP, a two-time
NL home run leader, an 11-time All-
Courtesy of indystar.com
By Ryan Sartori
Sports Editor
‘He wasn’t Mr. Cub because
we loved him, he was Mr.
Cub because he loved us
back.’
Jackie Robinson West has title stripped
America’s pastime has always, and
will always be baseball. From a young
age, children are taught the fundamentals of the old ballgame. Once they become of age, they have
to opportunity to play for travel teams
and partake in major tournaments
across the country.
None of those tournaments is bigger than the Little League World Series. Teams from all over the United
States are entered into one bracket,
and International teams are placed
into another. After there is a winner
from both brackets, they play each
other for a true World Series. Last year a team from the South Side
of Chicago took the states by storm. Controversy circled the team and
eventually lead to the revoking of all
wins and awards due to using illegal
players. Now, I can see punishing the
adults that knew what they were doing,
but not the kids who were just doing
something productive with themselves
Jackie Robinson West is an all African-American Little League baseball
team that had not made a Little League
World Series appearance in 31 years.
They made this appearance count as
they won the U.S. Championship 7-5
over a team from Las Vegas.
Then in the World Championship
Game they came up short against
South Korea 8-4.
Regardless of the loss to South Korea, Jackie Robinson West were champions of the United States. That was August.
Just month late in September allegations that JRW might have been
using ineligible players from outside
of their geographic region during their
title run surfaced to the public.
Those allegations had pretty much
died down until the Little League Organization led an extensive review of
the teams’ players.
On Wed. Feb. 11, the investigation
revealed the worst for Jackie Robinson
West.
The allegations were true.
As a result, the team and kids
are being striped of their awards
and wins for the 2014 season. The
U.S.Championship is instead being
presented to the Las Vegas team that
JRW beat back in August.
As of taking the hardware away
wasn’t bad enough, Jackie Robinson
West is also being placed on proba-
tion,
and
has
been
suspended
from
Little League
Tournament play
until
new
l e ad e rs h ip
is elected or
appointed.
This is an
absolutely
awful decision by Lit- Members of the Jackie Robinson West team form South Chitle League cago celebrate with the Little League U.S. World Championship.
baseball.
Regardwrong activities.
less of where the kids lived, the coachThe New England Patriots were aces falsified the information and the quitted of using under inflated footcoaches should be punished. Not the balls during the AFC Championship
12-year-olds who worked there hard- game on Jan. 18. They were still alest all year to get to the point they were lowed to participate in the Super Bowl. at.
The NFL didn’t go and let the IndiaAlso, the area that these kids are napolis Colts play in the Super Bowl
from is notorious for gang violence instead because of cheating. And these
and sale of illegal drugs. So again, are grown men who should have to
their boundaries should not matter deal with the situation. in this case. These kids were doing
I feel for the kids apart of the 2014
something productive and amazing run by Jackie Robinson West, and
with their time instead of running the hope they can find a way to move past
streets and getting caught up in the this devastation.
Courtesy of huffingtonpost.com
By Ryan Sartori
Sports Editor
11
S ports
Looking forward to 2015 MLB season
Designed by Ryan Sartori
Feb 26, 2015
By Ryan Sartori
Sports Editor
As always the MLB offseason was
an extremely busy and hectic process, and there were many teams that
took huge strides to contending for a
World Series title.
With all of the big names off of the
free agent market, teams are starting
to solidify as contenders for World
Series contention.
AL East
The American League East continued the historical trend of being the
highest spenders in the league. And
if that spending pays off like it has
in the past, the AL East will be a foot
race between the New York Yankees
and Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox
really went big this year bringing in
guys like shortstop Hanley Ramirez,
third baseman Pablo Sandoval, and
starting pitcher Justin Masterson to
pair up with DH David Ortiz, outfielder Rusney Castillo, and second
baseman Dustin Pedroia. The Yanks
went defense oriented bringing in
third baseman Chase Headley and
shortstop Stephen Drew. Whoever
does not get the AL East pennant this
year will most likely end up in Wild
Card contention.
AL Central
This division vastly improved
over the course of the offseason. The
Detroit Tigers are my favorite to win
the AL central this year, and pick up
the overall No. 1 seed. Even though
they lost starting pitcher Max Scherzer, they still have superstar infielder
Miguel Cabrera and catcher Victor
Martinez to help carry the load offensively when they return from injury. I
do believe that the Chicago White Sox
will be one of the Wild Card teams in
this year’s playoffs. They are arguably one of the most improved teams
of the offseason signing guys like
starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija, relief
pitcher David Robertson, outfielder
Melky Cabrera, and first baseman
Adam LaRoche to pair with All-Star
starting pitcher Chris Sale, shortstop
Alexei Ramirez, and AL Rookie of the
Year Jose Abreu.
AL West
In the AL West I see it being a very
close race between the Angels of Anaheim and the vastly improved Seattle
Mariners. Outfielder Mike Trout of
the Angels had transcended into quite
possibly the best all-around player
in the MLB, while Seattle has slowly
collected talented players like second
baseman Robinson Cano, outfielder
Nelson Cruz, and “King” Felix Hernandez. But at the end of the day, the
Angels are better suited to take the AL
West crown.
NL East
The National League East should
be basically no contest for the Washington Nationals to wrap up. They
have the best pitching rotation in
baseball with Max Scherzer, Stephen
Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, and Jordan
Zimmerman. They also have the
young outfield phenom Bryce Harper
to lead them on offense.
NL Central
The most competitive division
in baseball got even more competitive this offseason. The NL Central
is going to take A LOT to win this
year. The Cardinals will continue to
be the baseball juggernaut that they
are no matter what. The Cincinnati
Reds have one of the most complete
rosters in the league. The Pittsburgh
Pirates have power hitting out the wazoo. The Milwaukee Brewers always
somehow tend to stay in the hunt for
things. And for the first time ever the
Cubs spent money on the right guys,
those guys of course being starting
pitcher Jon Lester and new manager
Joe Maddon. My prediction here is
the Cardinals taking the pennant and
the number one seed, with a toss-up
between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati for
one of the Wild Card spots. Wait one
more year Cub fans.
NL West
And finally the NL West, I would
say this is the most improved division
in baseball. The San Diego Padres
went absolutely nuts this offseason. They made five trades for players that can turn their team around
including outfielder Justin Upton,
third baseman Will Middlebrooks,
and right fielder Wil Myers. They
were active in free agency too bringing in starting pitching free agent
James Shields. The Los Angeles
Dodgers were also active obtaining
second baseman Howie Kendrick and
future Hall of Fame shortstop Jimmy
Rollins. In this division, I see the
Dodgers emerging as the champions
of this division
NL Wild Card
When the playoffs roll around I believe that the Pirates and the Reds will
take the National League wild card
spots because they have more chemistry than any other teams that have a
shot at the wild card slots.
The Reds have the right combination of not only veteran leaders, but
young talented guy as well.
The Pirates have grown as a team
over the past few years. Keeping guys
like former NL MVP Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez, and Francisco Liriano together can only spell
good things for a roster on the rise.
When it comes down to it, I think
this is going to be a really good series
between two conference rivals. I see
the Reds winning Wild Card game,
because they have a more complete
roster than the Pirates.
AL Wild Card
And in the American League the
Yankees and White Sox will win out
the wild card spots there.
The Yankees have always been in
the market for the biggest players
of free agency due to their unofficial
exception from the salary cap. The
only issue I can see bearing its head
this season is age. In 2013, the Yankees roster was an average age of 31.8
years old. Sometimes, age and experience is more important than youth,
speed, and athletic ability.
The White Sox on the other, hand
have quietly built one of the best
rosters in the MLB. The starting rotation contains two ace-worthy pitchers
in Sale and Samardzjia. The have
power-hitting Abreu, they two-time
AL Silver Slugger in Ramirez, and the
list goes on. Due to the lack of playoff
experience from the White Sox, I see
the Yankees taking the Wild Card
game.
NL Divisional Round
So on the NL side of things that
leaves us with the Reds against the
Cardinals and the Dodgers playing the
Nationals.
The Cardinals should be able to
take care of the Reds with no problem. The Cards play baseball the way
it’s supposed to be done. They play
methodically, and some how they
always seem to have some sort playoff
hero whether it be a squirrel or an actual player. They will take this series
in four games.
The series between the Dodgers
and Nationals is what I have being the
most intense. Both teams have outstanding talent, and both teams have
playoff experience. The series will
come down to who can play the most
fundamental game of baseball, and if
Clayton Kershaw actually shows up in
the playoffs. I see the Dodgers taking
the series in a hard-fought five games.
AL Divisional Round
In the AL we have the Tigers playing the Yankees and the Angels playing the Red Sox.
This is where the bus stops for the
Yanks. The Tigers have way too much
talent, and will run the Yankees out of
Comerica Park in a three game sweep.
The Tigers pitching staff will be too
much for the Yankees to handle.
The Angels and Red Sox will also
have a really great series, but I see
Boston coming out victorious. Both
teams lack in the pitching department, but offense is a different story.
Trout, Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton,
and David Freese will carry the load
offensively for the Angels. While Ortiz, Pedroia, Ramirez, Sandoval, and
Shane Victorino will do the same for
the Red Sox. I think all signs point to
the Red Sox taking this series in four
games.
NL Championship Round
For the NL Championship, the
Cardinals will take on the Dodgers.
Again, playoff experience and fundamentals are going to be the biggest
factors for the winning the NL pennant. I think looking at those factors
in specific the Cardinals are the obvious winners there. They’ll take that
series in six games and head to the
October classic.
AL Championship Round
In the AL the Tigers are going to
clash with the Red Sox for a chance to
represent the AL in the World Series.
This is going to be a series of great
pitching versus great offense, and who
can capitalize more. I think it will be
a long series ending in some heroics,
but the Tigers will emerge victorious
in seven games.
World Series
In the World Series the Cardinals
will play the Tigers a rematch of the
2006 World Series, which the Cardinals won. The two best teams in the
MLB will fight it out for baseball’s biggest title, the Commissioners Trophy.
I feel like the Tigers are favorites to
win this series, but I feel like it’s going
to take all seven games to get it done.
My pick to win the World Series this
year is the Detroit Tigers.
Ryan Sartori’s 2015 MLB predictions:
AL Winners
NL Winners
Detroit Tigers
St. Louis Cardinals Boston Red Sox Washington Nationals
Anaheim Angels Los Angles Dodgers
Wild Card
World Series Champs
Pittsburgh Pirates Cincinnati Reds
New York Yankees
Chicago White Sox
Detroit Tigers
12
Feb. 26, 2015
S ports
Designed by Sheila Angus
Girls take conference title
By Sydney Monroe
Sports Editor
They thought they lost it.
After being defeated by Romeoville
46-37 on Feb. 6, the MCHS varsity
girls believed that they had blown their
chance at being crowned conference
champions.
The Southwest Prairie Conference
championship winner is decided based
on who has the least amount of losses
during conference play. If there is a tie,
both teams will share the conference
title.
Going into the Romeoville game,
Minooka
and
Oswego High
School
e a c h
shared two
losses in
the conference. That
Friday, the
Indians
fell short
while the
Panthers
held on.
Indians: 3 losses. Panthers: 2 losses.
“It was a disappointing night,”
sophomore and starting point guard
Brooklyn Bachmann said on the shocking Romeoville game. “But it was an
eye-opener that anyone can show up
on any given night ready to play. We
learned we needed to stay focused the
entire game. [That] game was a learning experience.”
Despite the tough loss, there was
still one more game to be played. The
“word of the season” for the girls was
resilient, which means being capable
of bouncing back from a defeat and the
girls did just that when they needed to
the most.
The Lady Indians took on Plainfield
South Feb. 10 and with that resilient
attitude, and beat them 67-33.
A big, big win.
The same night the Indians came
out on top, it was this time the Oswego
Panthers fell short against the Bengals
of Plainfield East.
Indians: 3 losses. Panthers: 3 losses.
With that loss, Oswego lost their
chance of being the soul conference
victor. The
losses were
even and
there were
no games
left to play.
The Lady
Indians
were able
to hang on
and share
a slice of
being the
champion.
“I am so
happy we got that conference win, we
worked really hard for it and it was well
deserved,” senior and starting center
Kelly Carnagio said.
Sophomore Brooklyn Bachmann,
junior Sydney Arlis and senior Kelly
Carnagio were named to the all conference team. Arlis was named the MVP
for the entire SPC conference.
The team was defeated Feb. 16 in the
first round of regionals by East Moline
43-34.
Winter
wrap up
‘I am so happy we got that
conference win, we worked
really hard for it and it was
well deserved,’
– Kelly Carnagio,
Senior
Junior Sydney Arlis looks to pass the ball around Morris Redskin guards
Jessica Jurak and Meghan Smith during the Dec. 6 game. Arlis was named
MVP of the Southwest Prairie Conference.
Wrestling
Regionals
4th as a team
Josh Bouie
195 Ibs.
State Qualifier
Carson
Oughton
170 Ibs.
3rd Place at State
Girls Bowling
Sectionals
10th as a team
5,455 pins