NNiikkkkyy MMoossuurreeOpinion and Sports Editor

The Forensics team hastalked its way through the sea-son, finishing its final three tour-naments near the top.

The first tournament ofthese three was held in Billings.The Billings Invitational washosted by Skyview, but becauseof the location of the high schoolevents were held at Billings Westand Billings Senior.

At the Billings tournamentWest High had nine individualsand teams placing within the topeight of their event.

In debate events there weresix that placed in the top.

In novice policy the schoolhad four teams placing.Sophomore Sean Mitchell andfreshman Natasha Halstvedt tookthird; junior Elijah Lewis andfreshman Maddie Drake tookfourth; Freshmen Lizzy Toenyesand Eric Mitchell took sixth; andfreshmen Vickie Contreraz andKatherine Cole took seventh.

In novice Lincoln Douglasdebate the team had one individ-

ual placing, freshman MichaelHill took seventh.

In the partner event publicforum there was one team plac-ing junior Megan Frisk and herpartner senior Nikky Mosuretook sixth.

In Duo Interpretation theteam had two teams that placedtaking the top two spots. JuniorAlex Bush and senior ColinMcRae placed first and juniorsMichael Dunham and NathanWilliams placed second.

In Humorous Interpretationthe team had one placer, seniorPat Bush took fifth.

The team finished in fourthplace overall with total pointsequaling 92 and was a meretwenty points away from break-ing the hold that Bozeman, whohad 112 points, has had on athird place finish all year.

With the conclusion of theBillings tournament, the WestHigh forensics team was deter-mined to do just as well at thestate tournament that was to beheld in Bozeman January 29-30.

At the state tournamentWest High had eleven placers in

the top sixteen andseven of those elevenwere returning to thestate stage from theyear before.

In PublicForum debate theteam had three teamsthat placed in the topsixteen. Seniors AnnaPeterson and WillieBentz took sixthplace. Peterson wasreturning to the stageafter taking eight theyear before.

Junior MeganFrisk and seniorNikky Mosure tookeighth. Frisk hadtaken fifth in theevent at the 2009state tournament.

Sophomores DannicahPetak and Stephanie Eddy tooktwelfth. Petak had placed eightwith Peterson the year before.

Eddy said of her placing atstate, “After a season of comingso close we finally as sopho-mores made it!”

In Varsity Lincoln Douglasthe team had two that placed.Junior Krista Bailey took fif-teenth and had placed eight theyear before.

Senior Kyra Nelson tooksixteenth and had placed fifth inPublic Forum with Frisk as herpartner the year before.

The next event, DuoInterpretation, honored two Westteams. Alex Bush and ColinMcRae took first returning to thestage after taking seventh in2009. Juniors Nathan Williamsand Michael Dunham took thestage for the first time takingfourth place.

The West High forensicsteam took two places in SeriousInterpretation, Junior LauraWilson took second place andsenior Alicia Connolly took fifth.

West High had one placer inExpository Speaking, RachelSample took second getting onstage at state for her first time.

Sample said, “My semsround was freaking amazing. Itwas a great way to end the sea-son.”

With all of these peopleplacing in the top of their eventsWest high managed to take fifthas a school over all with a totalof 67 points only six and a halfpoints away from MissoulaSentinel who took fourth with atotal of 73.5 points.

The team made a majorjump to fifth from the ninth placethat they had taken the yearbefore with overall team points

totaling only 26.5. The team did very well at

the state tournament but the yearof competition was not over for

some.The National Forensics

League qualifiers were held inMissoula February 12-13. Theteam could only take a portion ofthe team due to limited funding,but nonetheless West High deliv-ered with two students qualify-ing for nationals and many oth-ers qualifying for alternate posi-tions.

In Duo Interpretation Westhad two teams that qualified asalternates for nationals, seniorPatrick Bush and freshmanAndrew Eagle are third alter-nates, and senior Colin McRaeand junior Alex Bush are firstalternate. McRae and Bush hadtaken second alternate the yearbefore.

In Student Congress WestHigh had one person place as analternate. Sophomore DavidCulbertson is an third alternatefor his house in StudentCongress.

West High has two studentsattending the national tourna-ment this summer in KansasCity, Missouri; senior TrentDugger and junior Nathan Fritzplaced third, which qualifiedthem for nationals.

Fritz said of the win, “Icouldn’t believe we did as wellas we did. I thought we weregoing to get out after round twoand going to go to stucco. Wekept just winning and thennationals.”

With that, the forensics sea-son for West High was a successand the future holds what Fritzand Dugger can pull off inKansas City this summer.

KODIAKFEBRUARY 2O1O

BILLINGS WEST HIGH SCHOOL 2201 ST. JOHN’S AVENUE BILLINGS, MT 59102 Volume 50 Issue 4

A LookInside This

Issue

NEWS

FEATURESMPS ARTS

SPORTSOPINION

248

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KODIAKBillings West High School2201 St. John's AvenueBillings, MT 59102

Non-Profit Org.US Postage

PAIDBillings, MTPermit #88

Cherished directorto retire this year

page 11

Key Club pop tabfundraiserpage 7

Student spills thetruth about thebeloved vampire

page 15

Forensics enjoys victories atthe final three tournaments

The top two placing teams at the Billings tournament hosted bySkyview Highschool. Right to left: juniors Michael Dunham, NathanWilliams, Alexander Bush, and senior Colin McRae.

photo by Nathan Fritz

(Below) Junior Nathan Fritz sits down andposes for a picture between rounds. Fritz willbe attending the National Tournament, withhis partner, senior Trent Dugger, in KansasCity, Missouri.

submitted photo

NEW

STesting comes around once againMontCAS testing challenges West High students’skills in mathematics, science and English

KKaattiiee PPaarriisshhsophomore staffwriter

MontCAS is coming upMarch 9-10.

Sophomores must take theNo Child Left Behind-mandatedtests which cover science, math,and English.

Associate Principal JerilHehn explained, “No Child LeftBehind is part of the federalgovernment Elementary andSecondary Education Act. Theintent behind the name is toemphasize our goal that allstudents need to learn to read anddo math proficiently.”

Sophomore Jessica Esplinsaid, “I have heard of No ChildLeft Behind which also translatesinto no child can advancebecause then we will make somekids feel dumb. [It is a] greatprogram to help the lower kids goup, but not for helping the

advanced kids; it forces us to allbe the same.”

Sophomore Mack Nicholscommented, “I don’t like that ithas us learning at a slower rate.

Nearly all the sophomoresquestioned are not lookingforward to taking the MontCAS.

The schedule for thesophomores on MontCAS testingdays gives sophomores differentschedules for two days,sophomores will take tests duringfirst, second, third and fourthperiod, and they will all havesecond lunch.

The end of the day will havenormal scheduling.

Hehn said, “The MontCASis a criterion-referenced test,which means that it examineshow proficient students are inreading, math and science basedon criteria established by thestate of Montana of what studentsshould know at their grade level.”

Hehn continued, “Studentsare tested in school all of thetime, and the purpose here is thesame to provide students theopportunity to demonstrate whatthey have learned and to provideeducators with a measurement ofhow well students have learnedthe required material and skills.”

“We not only use this data tosee if we are meeting oureducational goal of proficiencyfor all students, but we alsoanalyze the results to makeimprovements in our teaching. Ifstudents do not take the testseriously, then it not only reflectspoorly on the students, but it alsomay lead educators to waste timemaking changes andimprovements in areas that donot need improving,” she

explained.Hehn stated, “In order to

make Adequate Yearly Progress[AYP], 83 Percent of our studentsneed to score at the proficient oradvanced level in reading, and 68percent of our students need toscore at the proficient oradvanced level in math. At thistime, science proficiency is not apart of determining AYP.”

“The goal for AYP changesapproximately every three years,rising until the final goal of 100percent proficiency by the year2014. In spring 2009, the readingproficiency was 88 percent andthe math proficiency was 67percent.”

“Not only do we have toachieve these percentages as awhole, but each subgroup ofstudents is also required toachieve the goal as well.Subgroups are determined basedin ethnicity, socio-economic leveland special needs. Even if theschool meets the goal but onesubgroup fails, the entire schoolfails; the entire district fails.”Hehn continued.

Hehn explained, “Each yearthat a school fails to make AYP,they experience progressiveconsequences. For example, after2 years, the school has to offerschool of choice to all of theirstudents. However, this onlytakes effect if other schools in thedistrict have passed AYP. If WestHigh fails again, it is unlikelythat we will have to offer schoolof choice since neither Senior norSkyview has passed the last twoyears. Some smaller schools areable to pass because they don’thave enough students toconstitute a subgroup. All of our

AA schools have subgroups, andit is usually the subgroups thatfail.”

Teachers encourage studentsget good sleep, eat a healthybreakfast, and relax to prepare forthe tests.

Most of the sophomoreteachers are preparing thestudents for the MontCAS.

Biology teacher Kari Fieldsaid, “I believe I have done mypart in preparing them for thetest; but the content on the test iscovered by seventh, eighth, ninthand tenth grade science.”

Field continued, “[I am]making sure I am covering thebenchmarks on the statestandards for Montana.”

English Teacher ErrinSchmitz stated, “[I do] practicetests [because] it’s a different testformat; they need to be preparedfor that.”

Algebra instructor ArloManfull commented, “[I am]talking about multiple choicetesting, doing extra problems andgoing over constructed responsequestions. [I am doing that] sothe kids know how to do multiplechoice tests.”

Field commented,“Typically, my students do wellon standardized tests. There arealways those students that don’tput forth the effort.”

Schmitz concluded, “I thinkthey’ll do very well. [There willbe] improvement over last year.[The MontCAS] affects thesophomore teachers most, but [it]affects everybody. It is a school-wide responsibility.”

MMaaddii MMiilllleerrfreshman staffwriter

This year sports medicineteacher, Don Gleason will startbroadcasting his class to smallerschools that do not have a SportsMedicine class.

They will broadcast theclass by satellite.

“It is a distance learningprogram that can be linked uplive or saved on a content serverthat otherh i g hschools ori n t e r e s tparties canlink upwith andv i e w .R i g h tnow, theyare using[ t h esatellite] for my Sports Medicineclass, but in the future, I seemany classes being offered thatway,” said Gleason.

The process is actually an IPvideo conference system.

Hardware consists of a high-quality web camera mounted ona flat screen TV, outfitted with acomputer interface. It can beused to do real-time videobetween two classrooms, whichis Billings West High toBrowning for now.

Gleason can also record alesson that he is teaching hissports-medicine class forBrowning to watch at a latertime.

The setup is also set up toconnect with thousands of otherclassrooms around the world ona virtually any subject matter.

“I am confident that bothschools will gain a tremendousamount of educational value.

Having students collaborate andshare ideas will be awesome,”stated health teacher Doug VanZee.

West High bought and gavethe equipment to the class afterGleason agreed to do it.

“This project will be wellworth it once we connect toBrowning. Mr. Gleason has beengreat to work with,” said VanZee.

“I think it will be a verysuccessfulp r o g r a m .Right nowwe areworking outsome bugs,but weshould beup andr u n n i n gvery soon,”n o t e dGleason.

Gleason also advises thesports medicine club. “The clubis made up mainly of people whoare in the student athletictraining,” commented Gleason.

Although the club does nothave regularly scheduledmeetings, they post signs allaround the school tellinginterested students whenmeetings are.

The sports med club is alsovery big in fundraising. Theyraise money for turkeys for lessfortunate families during holidayseason.

The president this year issenior Cody Bender.

“I am very excited to have toopportunity to do this. It is agreat opportunity for smallerschools to have access to acourse that they may not be ableto do in their high school,”concluded Gleason.

“Both schools will gaina tremedous amount of

educational value.Having students

collaborate and shareideas will be awesome.”

Sports Medicinetranscends borders

West and Senior student sectionsplaced together at sporting event

MMoorrggaann WWooooddsssophomore staffwriter

Last year, West High had abad reputation for having theworst sportsmanship in Montana.

According to the WestHigh administration, thestudents of West started thefights and yelled insults to theplayers and audiences at sportsevents.

In order to solve thisproblem, the West Highadministration decided to putthe students from opposingschools next to each other inthe stands instead of across thegym or field.

The idea to put thestudents next to each other beganat Skyview High School.

The West High deansobserved the Skyview policy,noticed an improvement insportsmanship and decided toadopt the same policy at WestHigh School.

Sophomore Bailey

Lehenbauer commented, “Itdecreased [the opposing teams]sportsmanship, but it increasedours because we didn’t start anyfights.”

When the students were

across the gym from each other, itwas easier to taunt one another.Because they faced each other, thestudents were tempted to yell ateach other and start fights. Whenthey are sitting next to each other,they could not interact in the samenegative way.

Has the sportsmanship

improved because of the studentsections being together? Or are thestudents in the sections simplyexhibiting better behavior?

Some believe that the studentsections being next to each other is

the only reason for theimprovement.

Others believe that thestudents are focusing on bettersportsmanship and haveincorporated positive cheers.They believe that the positivecheers have improved thestudents’ sportsmanship.

“I’m really proud of ourstudents and how positivethey’ve been. They are a greatexample for the schooldistrict,” Dean Kim Verschoot

explained. Some students do not like the

physical placement of the studentsections under the new policy.

“I think the game would havebeen more enjoyable if the studentsections had been under thebaskets,” stated sophomore JakeZwemke.

[When] West Highdeans observed animprovement in

sportsmanship [atSkyview, they] decided

to adopt the samepolicy at West

MMoorrggaann WWooooddsssophomore staffwriter

Eight years ago, WestHigh math teacher ArloManfull had a terrible fall.

After a long day ofhunting, he killed his elk. Hewas walking up a hill with apart of the elk on his rightshoulder and his rifle on hisleft when he fell and landed onhis hip.

Manfull’s hip has beengradually deteriorating until itpeaked this year. He could noteven walk a mile because thepain was excruciating.

As the pain becameunbearable, Manfull decidedto get hip replacement surgery.

The doctors told Manfullthe surgery would take aboutone hour.

An hour into theprocedure, before the surgerywas over, he came to, butluckily it was only for a

minute or so.Manfull said, “It was one

of the weirdest things I haveever experienced. I could hearthem pounding on my hip, butI could not feel anything.”

When the doctors had onlyone millimeter left of thetitanium rod to put in his leg,they broke his femur.

The break was bad,cracking both sides of thebone. To treat his broken leg,the doctors double-wrappedcables around the bone fourtimes. This procedure healsthe bone by holding it intoplace.

Manfull had to use awalker for added mobility forabout a week until he wasready for crutches.

He explained, “I hatecrutches, but they are betterthan the walker!”

Because of the additionalcomplication, he was at thehospital for four days and

missed 18 days of teaching, 12days more than expected.

After waiting eight yearsto go through with the surgery,Manfull’s advice was, “If youever have to have a hipreplaced, do it sooner ratherthan later.”

After a hip replacement,the patient can not walk ormove around for about amonth. Since Manfull brokehis femur on top of having hiship replacement surgery, hewill not be able to move freelyfor three months.

The first hip replacementin history was performed in1891. The ball on the femurwas replaced with an ivoryball. Now, the ball is made outof porcelain and the hipprosthesis is titanium. Thereasoning behind the titaniumas opposed to ivory wassupported by a study thatfound titanium grew into thebone better.

EEmmiillyy SSaammpplleesophomore staffwriter

Montana State University-Billings [MSU-B] hosted anessay competition for MartinLuther King, Jr. Day on Jan. 18,2010. Essays were acceptedfrom Nov. 6 to Dec. 18, 2009.

Two West High freshmen,Alex Krenzler and Nicolle Price,received honors for their essays.

Krenzler took first place,and Price took second place inthe high school division.

The question they weregiven was, “Martin Luther King,Jr. believed in freedom andjustice for all Americans. Doyou think Americans haveachieved freedom and justice forall? If so, explain. If not, whatcan young Americans do to helphis cause and dream becomereality?”

Krenzler wrote about howyouth today can help create abetter nation through educationand extra curricular activities,by being involved in theirschools.

He originally had nointentions of entering thecontest, and only wrote theessay for a homeworkassignment. His Englishteacher, Kami Bodine, advisedhim to enter the contest, and heconceded.

Bodine said, “I was soproud when they read theiressays in front of prominentmembers of the community.”

Krenzler confided that hewas, “very surprised [abouttaking first. I was] kinda

confused because I didn’t evenwant to enter;” however, he feltit was worth the risk of entry.

Price wrote about howmany people today overlook thefact they do not have theirfreedom because U.S. citizensare not willing to fight for ourfreedom but some still feel thatthey are superior to othercultures.

However, she felt we [as acountry] have becomedesensitized to this lack offreedom because we expectthem as a constitutional right.

She wrote that as citizens,the youth of America need to tryto achieve the ideal of freedomand justice by first recognizingthe lack of freedom and justicein the U.S.

Price also believed youthneed to be proactive incorrecting this injustice.

When she learned of hersecond place victory, Price said,“[I was] surprised at first; then, Iwondered ‘why me?’Afterward, I realized that it is areal honor to be chosen.”

She also wrote thepersuasive essay for her Englishclass under the instruction ofBodine.

Both received movietickets, a Hastings gift card, anMSU-B T-shirt and an MSU-Bwater bottle. They also earnedthe opportunity to read theiressays at the Martin LutherKing, Jr. ceremony held on Jan18, 2010.

Both are pleased with theirsuccess, and may enter thecontest again next year.

NEWS FEBRUARY 2O1O 3

West High math teacher has hip replacement surgeryManfull has hard time coping with hip replacement due to painful, lingering complic ations

An x-ray of the titanium rod used to replace Manfull’s hip. A shatteredbone added complications to his treatment.

submitted photo

Two West freshmen winessay contest

FEATURES Students work to help

Haiti quake victimsVViicckkiiee CCoonnttrreerraazzfreshman staffwriter

For the people of Haiti, theNew Year did not start off sowell.

On Jan. 12, an earthquakewith a 7.0 magnitude hit Haiti,occurring less than ten milesaway from Port-au-Prince.

Several aftershocks tookplace that each had anotherimpact. Most of the area’sbuildings and other structurescollapsed because of theearthquake and its aftershocks.

The death toll has reached upinto the hundreds of thousands;this number does not take intoaccount the number of peoplewho were severely injured.

Many people andorganizations have found ways tohelp out the Haitians., such asdonating to the American RedCross.

On Jan. 22, the “Hope forHaiti Now” telethon, hosted byactor George Clooney, was heldnationally. Celebrities of all kindsanswered phones and tookdonations from the people. Somecelebrities(such as Brad Pitt)even made private donations thatreached up into the millions ofdollars.

West High is not excludedfrom the groups who have found

their way to help out. Key Club, Student Council

and National Honor Societydecided to hold a fundraiser tohelp out and donate money toHaiti.

A table was set up in the hallduring both lunches wherepeople could donate money to dotheir part.

Key Club leader LaurenWright said, “We had no personalconnection but feel like weneeded to do something withinour own school and communitybecause the loss in Haiti is great.It is sad that we waited so long tohelp the country when theyneeded it so desperately, but it isgreat the world is comingtogether now in support of them.”

Wright also stated thatoriginally Student Council hadstarted the fundraiser and thatKey Club decided to join them;about ten people helped out.

“We wanted to do somethingfor the Haiti relief fund, and [Stu-Co] had already plannedsomething, so we joined in withthem on their project,” statedWright.

Freshman Hannah Kellingersaid, “[I was] kind of sad at howmany people lost their homes,and I was awestruck when I sawthe destruction. I felt very gladwhen all the people began to

donate their time and money tohelp Haiti.”

Students were able toparticipate in this fundraiser to

help out the people of Haiti.

Mentors seek to improve school’s atmosphere

EEmmiillyy SSaammpplleesophomore staffwriter

Walking down the halls,many students hear rude andinappropriate comments orthreats aimed at fellowstudents.

Although some of theseare in jest, others are serious.

Part of the West Highstudent body has decided tocorrect this.

West High mentors helpincoming freshmen with thetransition from middle schoolto high school.

Mentors and their studentsmeet regularly throughout theschool year to discussnumerous issuesupperclassmen feel areproblems associated with thissometimes difficult transition.

For the last mentor dayson February 23 and 24, thementors implemented a plan tofoster kindness.

Junior Caleb Hamilton isleading the change.

Walking down the hallsand hearing crude languageand demeaning comments

spurs Hamilton to activelychange the environment to onethat is more positive.

Speaking for the mentors,Hamilton believes, “We are allthe same level . . . we are allWest High students.”

Hamilton envisioned,“What if everyone came toschool with a mentality toserve others . . . with goodattitudes.”

Hamilton hopes thiscrusade will affect not only thefreshmen, but all grade levelsas well.

One of Hamilton’s goals isthe beginning of a newtradition of all students beingon the same level and of thesame social class with allgiving and receiving respect.

Gloria Morgan, the mentorprogram’s advisor, is leavingHamilton in charge of theproject hoping that otherstudents will relate to theprogram more.

The anti-bullying programcontains a video and adiscussion to follow.

The discussion willcontain plausible methods to

demolish the barriers betweenupperclassmen andlowerclassmen students.

“The basic goal is to makea kinder, gentler West Highwith less intimidation becausekids need a safe environment,”stated Morgan.

The program is basicallymeant to promote the “GoldenRule,” which is treating otherslike one would like to betreated.

Senior mentor AliciaConnolly stated, “I think it’s agood idea, but it all depends onexecution and how willing thestudent body is to accept it.”

Mentors feel that mostfeelings of insecurity comefrom student on studentcontact which is what thegroup desires to correct.

The mentors know thatschool should be a safe andpositive environment that allstudents can take refuge in togrow and succeed.

At this point in time, thementor program does not feelthat the goal is recognized orin the process of beingachieved by the students..

Part of thep r o g r a mi n v o l v e sr e c o g n i z i n gt h a t“relationship iswhat driveskids to succeedwith someonewho caresabout them”e x p l a i n e dMorgan.

M e n t o r shope this wills p a r ke n c o u r a g i n gideas andpossibly limitthe number ofcliques andh a r m f u lc o m m e n t sroaming thehalls.

Caleb Hamilton takes initiative in changing attitudes andbehavior, providing a better learning environment

Junior Caleb Hamilton is in charge of the mentors’latest project, a program that seeks to change theenvironment around West high for the better.Hamilton hopes to promote kind and respectfulbehavior around the school, leading to a morepositive atmosphere for learning and growing.Some of his goals include decreasing incidents ofbullying and gossip.

photo by Emily Sample

In a recent wave of national disasters, many Haitians fell victim to aviolent earthquake. Efforts have been made to take care of the manywounded and homeless citizens. Several groups at West High haveworked to fundraise to help these efforts and the citizens of Haiti.

McClatchy Tribune Information Services

FEBRUARY 2O1OFEATURES 5

West holds Sweetheart Dance

November 10, 1967

Speech at West High isfairly new, and to go alongwith a new program are twonew instructors. They areMr. Ron Fisher and Mrs.Jane Hudson. Mr. Fishersupervises the studentsinterested in debate, boys’and girls’ extemporaneousspeaking (which requires anhour’s preparation on anyworld or national problem),and original oratory (whichis a speech made up by anindividual dealing with acontroversial issue). Quite afew students haverecognized him as theireighth grade English, orfreshman debate teacherfrom Lewis and Clark JuniorHigh.

Mrs. Hudson directs thestudents in oralinterpretation (prose withexpression), solo acting(humorous and serious), andoratorical declamation.These must be presentedfrom memory and have beenpreviously presented as aspeech. Mrs. Hudson comesto us from Billings CentralHigh School where shetaught American and

English Literature.November 4 West

sponsored a speechinvitational warm-up. “Thiswas not an officialtournament but it gavestudents experience for latertournaments,” explained Mr.Fisher. Besides West, threeother schools participated.They were Senior, Central,and Laurel. It consisted ofabout 100 students andjudges.

Mr. Fisher explained theprocedure of how studentsare chosen to go to atournament. “I use a rankingboard where the students cancompete against each otherfor the top levels. Only thetop three are taken fromeach particular section to thetournament. We have highhopes to win District.”

“This year we havesome outstanding seniorsand some really goodsophomores,” Mrs. Hudsonadded. “It is our job to directthem in their talent. Thestudents should satisfythemselves, not us. We canonly ask that they do theirbest, and they will.”

WWeesstt aatt 5500NEW TEACHERS HEAD WEST HIGHFORENSICS DEPT.

EEmmiillyy SSaammpplleesophomore staffwriter

Every year, hearts starthoping, smiles start glowingand faces begin shining asFebruary 14 approaches.

As expected, the annualSweetheart Dance came onJanuary 30 and occupied theschool.

Joining the league ofroyalty this year were seniors

Cassie Langstraat as Queen andJacob Hellyer as King.

In the weeks prior to thedance, students were hopefuland excited.

Sophomore Josh Youngsaid, “Now is your chance toshow the world your beat, yourmoves, your rhythm that liesdeeply imbedded into thesong.”

At 9:00 p.m. students filledthe West High gymnasium todance their evening away to the

musical talents of D.J. CharlieFox.

On the subject ofentertainment, West High deanGordon Klasna felt the D.J. didnot follow instructions aboutthe style of music that theadministration views as schoolappropriate.

Fox’s choice of music ledto some overly amorousdancing which is morecommonly referred to as“grinding.”

Klasna said that the dancewent “Pretty well . . . Thestudents have been very goodabout changing when we askedthem to. Inappropriate dancinghas definitely gone down.”

He views this asencouraging news aboutchanging dance traditions.

As many know, West Hightightened the restrictions ondancing last year in an effort toencourage responsible behavior.

Despite a few cases ofinappropriate dancing, thedeans view the dance as asuccess.

However, the students do

not necessarily agree with thedeans’ diagnosis.

Many of those whoattended the dance weredisappointed.

“It was lame,” voicedsophomore Jenna Davis.

Freshman Nathan Bradleycommented, “It sucked. I hatedances.”

Whispers in the hallwaysay that, “It was okay, not thebest.”

LLaauurreenn MMoolliinnsophomore staffwriter

Animé is a Japanese styleof motion-picture animationcharacterized by highly-stylized, colorful art andfuturistic settings most of thetime, but animés such as OuranHost Club, Wish and Merupuri,take place in modern day time.

Wish and Merupuri havethe fantastical form of theotherworldly, of course.

Members of the AniméClub have a place where theycan share their creativity withothers and make new friends.

On Feb. 1, the Animé clubheld their annual BrawlTournament, not to compete fora prize, but just to hang out.

The club played SuperSmash Bros Brawl, which is aWii game played by thousandsof kids.

The game has differentrooms such as floating castles,so-called “playrooms” and somuch more, including a varietyof characters.

One can choose to play asclassic Nintendo characterssuch as Peach, Mario, Link,Zelda and even Pikachu.

During the year, the clubhas a variety of parties forHalloween, Christmas,Valentine’s Day and even arandom assortment of otherparties just to hang out.

None of those parties,

however, can compare to theexcitement of the annualBrawl.

“There was around fifty orso people that came last year,”stated sophomore Kris Schauer.

“I totally ownedeveryone!” boasted the juniorvice president of the club, SeanMantsch after beating amajority of the players.

Sophomore Luke Bomarwas just happy to play thegame.

“I love Brawl; it is a mixof Nintendo characters!”Bomar exclaimed.

Schauer said that he might

go to another Anime clubactivity if it were advertised.

Last year, many morepeople attended the Brawl thanthis year, but the Animé Club isplanning to have another laterthis semester.

Another activity to lookforward to is the springCosplay, where members dressup like their favorite characterfrom an anime book.

Anyone interested inlearning more can visit room142 any Wednesday afterschool for more information onthe club.

Anime Club hosts avideogaming tournament

Students have mixed reactions to Valentine’s dance

Luke Bomar, Sean Mantsch and Kris Schauer compete against eachother during the videogame tournament hosted by the Anime Club.The club hopes to hold another tournament later in the year, hopingthat new members will join the club and that attendence would bebetter at the second tournament.

photo by Lauren Molin

Seniors Cassie Langstraat and Jacob Hellyer were crowned Queen andKing of this year’s Sweetheart Dance.

submitted photo

Students socialize at this year’s annual Sweetheart Dance on January30. Reactions to the dance were mixed, with some students saying thatthey had a lot of fun and others who experienced disappointment inthe event.

submitted photo

FEATURES 6

NHS provides service opportunities

MMaaccyy SScchhwwiinnddttfreshman staffwritter

This year’s Prom is being puttogether by the junior classrepresentatives and BearNecessities [BNC] members.They have chosen “Blast fromthe Past” theme to celebrate 50years of West High School.

“Those who have been ableto attend every meeting haveorganized several events just incase they need it to help getthings started,” says BNC advisorKen Burke.

Win a Date and Kiss from aRose are two fundraisers that theProm committee and BNC havecome up with to kick off Promfestivities.

Win a Date is an event thatinvolves a group of junior andsenior volunteers who are willingto go on a group date in order toraise money.

“The winners will beselected by raffle and will benotified by their date,” Burkeexplained, “Kiss from a Rose isanother fundraiser where hand-

made roses constructed fromHershey’s kisses and othersupplies will be sold to studentsduring the valentine’s events.”

“The more valentine rosesthe students buy, the better promwill be,” said senior RosePoppler.

Burke and Natalie Bills arein charge of prom instead ofLinda Maio who originally wasthe Prom director.

“Prom is going to be nothinglike you have ever seen before!”continued Poppler. “It’s going tobe freaking sweet!”

Prom will be held at theBillings Hotel and Convention

Center on March 20 from 9:00p.m to 12:00 a.m.

The BNC is looking for newmembers and students to help outwith Prom.

“Join; it’s a fun club,”explained senior ShanleighMullowney.

“I don’t know why anybodywouldn’t join because we helpwith good causes,” she continued

Junior or seniors qualify tohelp out with Prom while grades9-12 can be member of BNC.

Interested? See Burke inroom 219 or see junior HayleySwain, president of the BNC cluband junior Sam Copeland for

Prom planning.The club meetings are on

Wednesdays at 3:10 p.m in room219.

Prom meetings are onTuesdays at 3:10 p.m.

LLaauurreenn MMoolliinnsophomore staffwriter

PSI [Postponing SexualInvolvement], a club at WestHigh, features students visitinglocal middle schools to talk toeighth graders aboutrelationships.

“[Kids] need to know theconsequences [of sexualinvolvement] and how far theywant to go,” returning membersenior Porter Hanna, said. “Itwas a lot of fun…it waschallenging to not make it

awkward for the kids,” Hannaexplained.

PSI advisor Errin Schmitzcommented, “[PSI] helps withteen pregnancy and with issuessuch as rape and sexualharassment.”

“I [enjoyed] connectingwith the younger kids…I thinkthey benefited from hearingthis sort of thing from peoplemore their age,” commentedsenior Mikensi Romersa.

PSI members use a varietyof activities to share theirmessage; for instance, theyseparate the class by gender

before placing papers aroundthe room with phrases such as“holding hands,” “arm aroundshoulders,” “arm aroundwaist,” “hands up shirt,” and“sex,” and the students had tostand by their personal comfortlevel.

Students are scattered allover the room.

Then the club members hadthem stand by the sign theirparents would want them to goas far as. Nearly everyonestood by “holding hands” andsome not even that.

The club also does skits

with the students, making up ascene where one might bepressured and then had the kidssay what they would do in thatsituation.

Many students stillremember blushing when askedsome of the questions.

“We told the kids the prosand cons of abstinence andcoping with the transition intohigh school,” Romersaremembers. “I’ll probablyapply again.”

The students whoparticipate in PSI have theopportunity to help kids out

with a chance to build speakingand leadership skills.

Plus, the experience looksgreat on college applications.

Applications for PSI willbe available at the end ofFebruary and are open toeveryone.

FEBRUARY 2O1O

BNC members work on a variety of projects at West

LLaauurreenn MMoolliinnsophomore staffwriter

National Honor Society[NHS] is comprised ofresponsible students who have acumulative GPA of 3.5 or higherand a teacher recommendation.

Senior Nicole Ficek, NHSpresident, agreed that it was anhonor to be part of NHS.

Senior Kyle Schneider is thevice president.

These honor students domore than just sit around; theyhelp serve their community.

“[NHS] is a greatopportunity to make a differencein the world,” said NHS secretarysenior Valerie Colwell.

So far this year, NHSmembers have participated inconcession stands, but now theyplan to do more for thecommunity.

NHS members madeValentine’s Day cards for the

Billings Health and Rehabpatients and offered acompatibility test to the studentsof West High.

The compatibility testallowed students to take a test,then a would machine cross-reference their scores with thoseof the opposite gender to pick outwho they would be mostcompatible with for $2.

NHS also plans to makesandwiches and cookies for therescue mission, to help withHabitat for Humanity this spring,and to have a talent showingwhere the members of NHS go toelementary schools.

“It is an honor and great tobe recognized,” comments seniorBecca Zabawa, historian of thesociety.

Senior Sarah Rittenhousestated, “It is great to be part of agroup of students who are willingto do so much for other people.”

“I get to work with really

great kids, like Shivam Sah,”commented Lindsey Belinak,NHS advisor.

One of the main events forNHS is thea n n u a li n d u c t i o nbanquet.

C o l w e l lrecalled of theNHS banquet,“A lot ofpeople showedup… [Thebanquet] was agreat way tostart off theyear.”

One of thespeakers ina t t e n d e n c ewas surgeonAllen Muskett.

M u s k e t tcame to talk tothe membersabout success

in their lives. He shared with thestudents his experiences as aheart surgeon.

“Everyone got a lot out of

the speakers,” Zabawa agrees.“[He] was really cool,”

Colwell exclaimed.

Students promote safe behaviors

This year’s NHS officers left to right: Secretary Valerie Colwell, Historian BeccaZabawa, President Nicole Ficek and Vice President Kyle Schneider. Thesestudents preside over and coordinate the many different service activities thatmembers of the National Honor Society partipate in.

photo by Lauren Molin

FEBRUARY 2O1OFEATURES 7

VViicckkiiee CCoonnttrreerraazzfreshman staffwriter

Le club francais à West estvraiment awesome!

West High’s French Club isup and running again for theyear.

Freshman Leanne Williamssaid, “Yes, I enjoy French Club.French Club is very interesting.”

The president of the FrenchClub this year is senior ReneeKnipp.

“French Club sold MardiGras masks, beads and boasfrom Feb. 12 through 16, whichis Mardi Gras, to help the schoolcelebrate this holiday,” saidFrench Club adviser NicoletteShuman.

The sale was a fundraiser tohelp out the French Club andclasses.

They had members sellingitems both lunches to help therest of the students celebrate theholiday through out the days.These items included beads andmasks.

Also in celebration of MardiGras, French classes are havingparties. Shuman said that theywere a great way to incorporatethe French or French-Americanculture into the classroom.

Freshman Becca DeMeyerexplained that she enjoyedMardi Gras, “Yeah, it was agood time.”

“For each class, studentsmake a ‘King Cake,’ which is aNew Orleans tradition,” Shumanshares.

“A small plastic baby isbaked into the cake – or a ‘feve’bean can be substituted,”Shuman continues. “ The personwho gets the baby in his or hercake is the king or queen for theday.”

Shuman went on to say,“We also serve other traditionalFrench food on that day, wearthe traditional purple, green andgold colors of the New OrleansMardi Gras and wear beads.Mardi Gras celebrates the lastday of extravagance before theprivations of the Lentenperiod; perhaps we should thinkof it as a fun-filled school daybefore 6 weeks of working veryhard on our studies?”

Shuman said she could notimagine not helping out with theclub.

“What could be more funfor a French teacher thanFrench-related activities withinterested students?” She said.

French ClubcelebratesMardi Gras

KKaayyddeeee OOllddhhaammfreshman staffwritrer

West High’s Key Club hasdecided to take part in collectingpop tabs for the RonaldMcDonald house.

West High has 83 studentsthat who part of Key Club whoall are involved in this programto help families who are in need.

This national programallows one free night for afamily at the Ronald McDonaldhouse for every one pound ofaluminum pop tabs.

The Ronald McDonaldhouse is a place for families tostay when their children orfamily members are in thehospital.

Lauren Wright, the KeyClub advisor, is quite pleasedthat this program has started.

“The pop tabs collectionwas just started this year, butanyone can do it at home, inclassrooms, at churches; themore pop tabs we collect, thebetter it is for families andfor people in our community. Ifpeople want to collect tabs ontheir own and bring them toWest High Key Club, we

will get them to the appropriateplace to help,” Wrightmentioned.

All members who are partof Key Club are equallyinvolved with collecting andweighing the pop tabs.

“This is a groupproject. Several kids made jars,several kids dispersed the jars,several kids pick up the jars,”Wright also said.

The students are also gladthey are involved in theprogram.

“We have planted jars forthe collection of pop tabsthroughout the building. I do notthink many people are aware ofour project, which for every onepound of tabs raised supportsone child in the RonaldMcDonald house for one night,”senior Nicole Ficek the presidentof Key Club mentioned aboutthe program.

“It is a great service projectthat anyone can do,everywhere. Ronald McDonaldhouse recognizes thisprogram nationwide,” Wrightstated.

Andrew Eaglefreshman staffwriter

Despite all of thetechnological advances of thetwentieth century, sometechnology just cannot keep upwith the times.

Some of the newer machinesthat have been released havewhat seems to be prejudiceagainst certain races.

Nikon Coolpix S630, forexample, is a recently-releasedcamera; it has a great newfunction that scans subjects’faces and checks to see if theyblinked.

If the intended subject didindeed blink, then the camera

posts a small message at the topof the screen that asks, “Didsomeone blink?”

Many people have beencomplaining about this feature, inparticular, Asian Americans.

It appears that the camerahas in fact been posting theblinking message even when allsubject’s eyes are wide open.

The problems are due to thecamera’s “revolutionary” new“Blink Proof” function whichinvolves scanning the recognizedfaces within the picture forclosed eyes.

Due to Asian facial featureswhen the camera scans the face,it decides that their eyes aresimply closed.

This function does notalways work and occasionallyhas this problem when taking apicture of a person of any race.

Another piece of technologythat experiences problems isMicrosoft’s new Project Natal, acompletely controller-less gamesystem that tracks movement,utilizing voice recognition andfacial recognition.

Many people are lookingforward to it.

Freshman Ivan Mattie stated,“I think Project Natal will be agreat leap in videogaming thatwill lead to a whole new era ofgaming, where you are not justsitting on the couch,manipulating a d-pad.”

However, others are notlooking forward to this newconsole, simply believing thetechnology will not beappreciated, like senior ColinMcRae.

“I think it’s a pretty coolidea, but I doubt it’ll make muchheadway in the industry. It’stechnological merits will likelyend up buried in a pile ofgimmicky shovelware videogames, just like what happenedto the Wii,” stated McRae.

Unfortunately, ProjectNatal has one major problem: itsmotion sensors look mainly forcolor contrast.

This would have been a greatsystem except that it was unableto follow one of the system’s firsttest subjects who happened to beAfrican American.

Some newly released technologies fall short ofconsumers’ expectations

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MSU Friday: March 12—a free event open to juniors, seniors & families.

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Key Club collects pop tabsto support a good cause

Pop tab collectors, like the oneshown above, can now be seenthrough out West High, thanks tothe Key Club. All the tabscollected will be used to supportthe Ronald McDonald House. Forevery pound donated, a child willrecieve a night at the House.

photo by Kaydee Oldham

As the editors read through old editionspublish in the WEST AT 50 section, weadvertisements we thought were interesfavorites.

MP8

WestAdvertisemen

s of the Kodiak to find stories toe also found a number ofsting. Here were share a few of our

PS 9

at 50ts of the past

Water shortages become a growingconcern around the world

Trent Dugger and Jan Roddy

Copy Editor and junior Guest Writer

Is drinking water likedrinking gold? Is bathingconsidered decadent? Doesanyone ever really think aboutwhere their water is comingfrom?

The importance of waterwill always continue to be anecessity of life; it is the mostimportant aspect of survival,comprising 70 percent of thehuman body.

The value of water,however, is increasing rapidly.A present-day world water crisishas emerged.

This crisis is not only anenvironmental problem, but ahuman rights issue.

The water crisis is due to acomplicated set of problems, butthe crisis basically begins withthe rapidly diminishing freshwater supply in the world.

The earth’s surface is 71percent water, but most of thiswater is saltwater, and most ofthe Earth’s fresh water is frozenin icecaps and glaciers, leavingthe world’s population of sixbillion with access to less than 1percent of the world’s water.

This 1 percent does not takeinto consideration how much hasbeen polluted; pollution depletesmuch of the limited supply,leaving very little fresh waterdirectly available for human use.

Limited fresh water isalready a threat, but the problembecomes more of an imminentdanger because of the way theminiscule amount of water isused.

According to the book BlueGold, by Maude Barlow andTony Clarke, the United Statesand other powerful industrializednations waste water in suchunnecessary quantities that thenatural water cycle simplycannot keep up.

With the estimated increaseof population and expectedincrease in average consumption,the usage of the diminishingsupply can only rise, depletingsupplies even more.

The U.N. predicts that by2030, one half of the world’speople will be living in areas ofwater shortage. Considering thelimited fresh water supply, theU.S.’s wasteful lifestyle willsurely impact the future.

Access to clean water notonly impacts nearly every area ofa person’s life, but is also thedifference between being healthyor sick, and even the differencebetween life and death.

Nearly three billion peopleare impacted by unclean wateraround the world.

Roughly 3.5 million peopledie each year from the vast

number of water-borne diseases. Water is very imperative,

and with fresh water suppliesdiminishing, unnecessary wasteand billions of people lackingaccess to clean water, theproblems are numerous, complexand unavoidable.

The most worrisome aspectof the crisis is that people aretaking advantage of the limitedsupplies.

The reality for manydeveloping nations includes

being forced to relinquishcontrol of their water rights tocompanies who offer falsepromises, unfair prices anddeclining quality.

Many people living inpoverty cannot afford waterinstallations, so buying fromprivate water carriers is theironly option.

Unfortunately, thesecompanies charge unreasonablerates.

Many of these people aremaking low salaries, and payingfor water is simply notaffordable. This is forcing themto drink un-safe water.

Drinking unsanitary wateropens the doors many water-borne diseases which can causepeople to be unable to work orcare for their families; the illnessmay even send the people to theirdeaths.

Not working strangles afamily in poverty, leading theproductivity of the communityinto a fast, downward spiral.

However, waterprivatization not only affects thethird world.

America already has a tasteof how privatization will unfold.

This taste lies within one ofthe least-regulated and fastestgrowing industries in the world:bottled water.

Bottled water is soridiculously priced that it cancost up to $8.26 a gallon, whilemost tap water costs less thanone cent per gallon.

Many people also believe

that bottled water is safer thantap water, but, according to anarticle in the New York Times, tapwater is actually held to muchhigher standards by thegovernment than is bottled water.

By drinking bottled water,privatization is being supported,and the same companies who aretaking advantage of the crisis inthe developing world are takingadvantage of Americans.

In the 2008 documentaryFlow, an ironic fact is presented,

“The U.N estimates that it wouldrequire only an additional $30billion dollars a year to providesafe, clean drinking waterglobally, but we spent threetimes that amount on bottledwater in 2007.”

Water corporations arebuying up the world’s watersupply, and since the world isgetting close to a water crisis, thepeople who control the waterhave only increased in theirpower.

Privatization is designed to

enable profiting investors not toequally distribute water toeveryone in need.

Also the idea of water beinga personal property is not onethat is shared by the wholeworld.

Many people and societiesconsider it to be a commonwealth, not a possession.

Water companies are justlike any other major corporationwhose goal is to make as large ofa profit as possible. Except thedifference hereis that water isneeded to survive.

The World Bank and theUnited Nations declare water ahuman need, not a human right.This allows for water to be soldand supplied only to those whocan pay for it.

Another aspect of theimpending crisis is that with afresh water shortage, therewill surely be conflict overwater access.

It is very possible that theoil wars of today could be thewater wars of our future.

People around the worldare protesting for water.

Human rights activistshave petitioned a proposedaddition to the Universal Billof Rights: Article 31 statingthat “everyone has the right toclean and accessible water,adequate for the health andwell-being of the individualand family, and no one shallbe deprived of such access orquality of water due toindividual economiccircumstance.”

Only one country has theright of access to water in itsconstitution: South Africa.This proves that it can bedone.

World citizens areorganizing to take back the

public control of water.The most important way to

help is through spreading theword; these issues are urgent andaffect everyone.

The more knowledgeavailable, the better the chancesof ending the crisis

Americans waste manygallons of water per day.

How can the waste bediminished?

Shorten the length of ashower; only do full loads oflaundry; do not water sidewalks,they are not getting any greener.

This magical ingredient oflife is irreplaceable by anythingknown.

Water is the planet’s blood,constantly circulating, keepingall of its inhabitants alive.

FEBRUARY 2O1OFEATURES 1O

Another aspect of theimpending crisis is that

with a fresh watershortage, there will surelybe conflict over water

access. It is very possiblethat the oil wars of todaycould be the water wars of

our future.

VViicckkiiee CCoonnttrreerraazzfreshman staffwriter

Mike Peterson announced,after 34 years of teaching stu-dents from fifth grade to sen-iors in high school how to playmusical instruments, that heplans to retire at the conclusionof this school year.

He taught at Riverside andWill James, and while heenjoyed everywhere he hastaught, West has been hisfavorite.

Peterson has taught at Westfor 28 years.

The instrument thatPeterson has truly mastered isthe cello; he has been playing itsince he was eight years old.

Peterson explained that

what he will miss most aboutWest is “working with studentsand having amazing colleaguesto interact with; we have anamazing music faculty here,which is what made it so spe-cial.”

Talking about all the goodmemories Peterson has accu-mulated, he was unable tochoose a favorite one.

He did say that several of

his best memories took place atperformances that went well.

One that he mentioned par-ticularly was a performance atthe Alberta Bair Theater, wherestudents played a song called“Irish Legend.”

Another common theme ofhis reminiscing is Abdule.

Abdule, a stuffed camelthat was bought on a music trip,is the mascot for the West Highorchestra; many of Peterson’smemories involve the camel.

Abdule has a history ofbeing kidnapped by people.

Steve Patton, West’s bandteacher, enjoyed injecting hisown humorous opinions intothe interview. Patton admitted

to stealing Abdule once. Abdule was also kidnapped

again last summer. Peterson said that he hopes

to leave behind “a clean desk”as his legacy.

Peterson explained thatmany emotions, including hap-piness, excitement and sadness,accompanied his upcomingretirement.

Freshman Beth Uthaugsaid, “I’ve had him as a teachersince fifth grade. It’s sad [thathe is leaving]. I think he is agood teacher, and I think he isfunny. He will be missed. Myfavorite memory of Mr.Peterson was in elementarywhen we would have free daysand play Pictionary. Mr.Peterson would always havestates, and they were usuallylopsided, which was reallyfunny.”

Peterson ended by saying,“It’s been a pleasure and honorto be here. I feel privileged tohave so many good students.Go Bears!”

Orchestra conductor toretire after 34 years

AR

TS

MMaaddii MMiilllleerrfreshman staffwriter

February 8, the West Highband was given a very rareopportunity: to experience per-forming with a collegiate-levelperforming group.

The band from theConcordia College came toplay one unrehearsed song withthe West High band and aboutfive songs alone.

Golden Bear musicians hadthe opportunity to not only per-form with these skilled musi-cians, but also to watch theConcordia College band play

and to learn new performingtechniques.

After the Concordia bandwas done playing, a Concordiasaxophone quartet played onesong.

After opening for theConcordia band, the West Highband had the chance to playwith this world-renownedassembly.

Together, they played “Ona Hymsong of Lowell Mason,”a religious hymn by David R.Holsinger. This piece wasbased of Lowell Mason’s 1832work Olivet (My Faith LooksUp To Thee); the last piece

was directed by theConcordia director.

Freshman trumpeterMiles Otstot was one of thefew freshman who had theopportunity to play with theband. “I am glad to have hadthe opportunity to play witha college band as high-pow-ered as the Concordia,”Otstot said.

Otstot explained hethought the concert wentreally well.

“The Concordia bandplayed great, and our song[together] went well,” hesaid.

“Well, they soundedreally good, and it wasfun to play with them,”said freshman, frenchhorn player, EricMitchell. “It was exciting to playwith a college band andwith people who are muchbetter than [we are],” saidjunior Nathan Fritz, whoalso plays the Frenchhorn. “I thought it was good.We can always do better,”supposed Fritz.“Concordia was reallygood. It was fun to playwith a group that was somuch more enhanced thanour band.”“The saxophone quartet

was beast and my favoritepart,” said SigridMcLean, a freshman sax-ophone player. “[TheConcordia concert] wasso good. It was insane!”exclaimed McLean.

Renowned band plays withWest High students

Above: Steve Patton (right) poses with Scott James (left), the director ofthe Concordia Band

Photo by Tawni Palin

Concordia plays with Symphonic Band

Above: Mike Peterson will be ending his 34 year career as an orchestraconductor.

Photo by Vickie Contreraz

Peterson explained that what he willmiss most about West is “working withstudents and having amazing colleagues

to interact with; we have an amazingmusic faculty here, which is what made

it so special.”

NOVEMBER 12, 2OO9ARTS 12

TTaawwnnii PPaalliinnCopy Editor

We’re all in this together…again.

Billings Studio Theater, afterproducing High School Musical,is now presenting The Sequel,High School Musical 2.

All the songs from the popu-lar movie have been transferredto the stage. Everything from

“Fabulous” to “All for One” willbe featured.

According to many of thecast members, the play sticks tothe movie well.

The cast spends an averageof three hours on Mondays andFridays and five hours onSaturdays and Sundays rehears-ing.

“My favorite part of the

musical is just meeting the newpeople,” commented seniorAlison Molin.

The play seems to be worththe hours of labor that they areputting in to make this show a hit.

“You don’t really think abouthow hard it is when you are doingit,” explained Molin.

Molin, a member of theensemble, decided to auditionbecause her sophomore sisterLauren was in High SchoolMusical.

When she found out about

the second High School Musical,she forced her little sister audi-tion with her.

“I am a second soprano, butthe thing I do not like about it isthat we get a lot of hard melodiesand harmonies,” Molin informed.

Sophomore Randi Rogers isalso enjoying the hard workbehind the play. Her role is one ofthe cheerleaders.

Roger’s least favorite songw a s“Humuhumunukunukuapa`a,”but her favorite song is

“Everyday.”The best dance number

according to the cast members is“What Time is It?”

“My favorite part about thewhole experience is that I love todance, and this is just giving me achance to do what I love,” Rogersexplained.

Rogers said she feels themost connected to the characterof Kelsi.

“See, Kelsi has a hard timecoming out of her shell, but onceshe [does] she [realizes] thatthere [is] no going back,” sheexplained.

High School Musical 2 willbe showing from March 5-13 atthe Billings Studio Theatre.

BST puts on the sequel to hit musical

PPaatt BBuusshhArts Editor

Venture Theatre’s YouthConservatory is gearing up toperform a tradition as old as theYouth Conservatory itself, POV:Teen.

For eight years, POV: Teenhas brought together local highschool students and given them away to tell the community whothey are and what it means to bea teenager in this generation.

The show is entirely written,directed and performed by highschool students. Even the techni-cal work, lighting and the set aredesigned by and operated by highschool students.

Auditions for POV: Teen2010 took place back inNovember. The cast had untilJanuary to produce 15 minutes ofwriting. The first couple ofrehearsals were more of a roundtable discussion about the piecesand where they could beimproved.

The scenes in the show dealwith everything from music,death, annoying classmates, reli-gion and drugs to anorexia;

absolutely nothing is left out.West High students involved

with the production are seniorsJoe Kirk, Alicia Connolly andPatrick Bush; junior Alex Bush;sophomore Lexi Eagle and fresh-man Andrew Eagle.

Connolly did her first per-formance with Venture Theatre aspart of the cast of West Side Storyin the summer of 2008.

“I’m most excited about thefact that we created the wholething from start to finish. Wewrote and directed and will per-form [this show]. It’s a lot ofeffort, but it’s worth it,” statedConnolly.

“I had seen the show beforeand was always amazed by howhonest it was. I always wanted tobe a part of it,” iterated LexiEagle.

Alex Bush, the only POVveteran from West High, hasdesigned and operated the lightsfor POV the past two years andhas been involved with VentureTheatre since 2003.

This year, in addition todesigning the lights, he joins thecast as an actor, writer and direc-tor for the first time.

“POV is a form of therapyfor me. It is a chance to talk andbe honest about issues that I can’ttalk about elsewhere,” elaboratedAlex Bush. He summarized that,“It is the most satisfying release Icould ask for.”

The show is rated PG-13 forlanguage, sexuality and somedrug use; viewer discretion isadvised. POV: Teen will be per-formed March 12, 13, 18 and 19.

“This show has some greatmoments, but some are a little bit

intense. I think everyone shouldcome. If you don’t enjoy facingreality, you might be offended,but it’s good to be a little offend-ed once in a while; it keeps youon your toes,” concludedConnolly.

Local students create their own showPOV: Teen set to open at Venture Theatre

High School Musical 2 opens this March

Submitted Photo

SPORTS Boys Basketball bound for

playoffs in first placeKatie Parish

sophomore staffwriter

The Golden Bear basketballteam is doing fantastic.

They have played eighteengames and have won sixteen.

The last game the boysplayed was on February 27; theybeat Great Falls 79 to 49.

Daine Muller is only afreshman, and he plays on varsi-ty with his two older brothers.

Muller and Joel Fenesis arethe tow tallest player s on theteam.

On February 6, the WestHigh boys played in GreatFalls at Charles M. RusselHigh.Senior Brian Muller said,“CMR was the hardest teamto play.”Coach Doug Robison

explained, “Every team on ourschedule presents many differentchallenges, but because they arethe returning state champions, Iwould say CMR is a huge chal-lenge.”

“We play good defense, and

we rebound well for a team thatis small. We shoot the ball verywell. I would say that is ourbiggest strength.” Robisonexplained

Robison said, “We have hadseveral exciting games, but thebest was the Bozeman versusWest game; we won the gamewith two free throws after thetime had expired. The team isdoing very well; they improveevery game and practice.”

Muller and senior JacobHellyer both agreed withRobison that beating theBozeman Hawks was the mostexciting game.

Muller replied, “Shooting isthe team’s strength.”

Hellyer stated, “Transitionpoints, playing as a team andbelieving in each other.”

Twenty players makeup thevarsity and junior varsity teams,and twelve players normallyplay the varsity games.

West has played Bozemantwice. The first time, they lost75 to 74. The second time, theywon 76 to 75.

The Bears have played

CMR twice. The first game, theylost 80 to 62. The second game,

they won 94 to 89 in over time.

The Golden Bears at a game against Skyview this season.photo by Katie Parish

KKaayyddeeee OOllddhhaammfreshman staffwriter

Billings West High Schoolhas had a number of accom-

plishments for the swim teamthis season.

At state, coach MattSantella, was thoroughlypleased with the results of all

their hard work and the team’sundying motivation to be suc-cessful at state.

“At the beginning of theyear, I was excited about all

returning members and all newmembers. But this year we willbe losing many great swim-mers and hopefully gaining afew great ones,” mentionedSantella.

This year’s state swimmeet took place in Hardin on,February 12 and 13.

The season for swimmingat West lasted from Novemberuntil February.

This year at state severalmembers of West High’s swimteam set new personal bests.

The boys’ teams had fourboys and only one was aswimming competitor on thesecond day of state.

“State was so much fun. Itwas super crazy but it wasgreat to root on all the swim-mers who actually made it. Itwill be sad to see the seniorsgo,” said freshman MadiMiller.

Junior, Jordan Denny wasawarded a first place medal atthe state swim meet in the 100yard back stroke; her medalwinning time was 58.55 sec-onds.

“The swim meet was real-ly fun. We need more boys tojoin. Our team did pretty well

and the girls did great. It isgood to join swim teambecause you can become moresocial and be with people fromother schools,” senior ZachRivera said.

The senior swimmers wereSkyler Peterson, April Kuck,and Rivera. All of these sen-iors were able to compete inthe first day of state.

There are fifteen total stu-dents who were a part of thisyears West High swim team.Freshmen Emily Sorenson,Anna Rambold, Kelsie,Johnson, Parker Smith, Miller,Jacod Needham, RachelBrown, Taylor Hoke and LizaSmith. Sophomores KellyWalker, Samantha Gee,Elizabeth Hawker andSamantha Hodgson. The jun-iors were Melissa Compton,Denny and Jenni Sorl.

Needham, Peterson,Rivera, Smith, Gee, Sorl,Hudgenson, Rambold,Sorenson, Denny and Johnsonall attended state this year

“State went well, wereceived some first places,”freshman Johnson mentioned.

Swimming wraps up the end ofthe season with a splish - splashWest High swim team does a great job at thestate meet held in Hardin

Just keep swimming. A swimmer competes in the butterfly freestyle at a meet earlier this season. Held atButte High school, where the team did very well.

submitted photo

FEBRUARY 2O1OSPORTS 14

KKaayyddeeee OOllddhhaammfreshman staffwriter

The coaches of Lady Bearbasketball are pleased with theirfinal results.

The regular season ended on

February 26 and 27 with the tripto Great Falls.

The next week will be theplayoff game for a spot at thestate tournament which is sched-uled for March 11through 13 inBillings at Rimrock Auto Arena

at Metra Park.The girls continue to work

hard and things are comingtogether. They are beginning toplay their best basketball.

“Coaches always have con-cerns for their teams. We areconstantly looking for ways toimprove as a team. Right nowwe are working on finding theshooting touch that comes andgoes each game. Also, we are

looking at finding the consistenteffort and focus for four fullquarters,” coach Randy Chasesaid.

There have been some play-ers that stand out on the teamthis season as well includingjuniors Danielle Muri, JanielOlson, Devan Dennehy, seniorsCassie Langstraat, and JessicaSharbono. All the players havebeen helpful to the team butChase would like to especiallythank these five girls because ofall their had work and efforts.

There was one game thatChase has remembered that wasa great win for West. It hap-pened this year.

“There have been manyhighlights. I would say that ourfourth quarter against Great FallsHigh would rank up there. Wewere down nine at the start ofthe quarter and out scored them

20-4 and collected 20 reboundsduring the 4th quarter [it] lead toa victory,” Chase mentioned.

The season still has sometime left so there may be morememories.

The record for the LadyBears so far this year as ofFebruary 20 was 7-10 and theyhave played eleven of theirgames at home.

“All the game providesgreat memories. However, onethat really stands out is our gameon February 2nd at Senior High.It is the one that everythingcame together for the girls. Wedefended, scored, and reboundedat will. It actually was the firsttime in like 20 games that ateam scored over 50 points inthe series. We won 52-36,”Chase said.

AAnnddrreeww EEaagglleefreshman staffwriter

If someone has ever beeninterested in bowling but hasnever known to whom to talkor how to get involved, thenintramural sports are theactivities for them.

“Intramural sports are agreat way to get out and playa sport and not necessarilycompete with anyone wayabove your skill level,” saidfreshman Ivan Mattie aboutthe intramural system here atWest High.

Recently, the intramuralbowling has started allowingstudents at West to bowl in alow-stress environment

All intramural sports aregreat opportunities to eitherlearn a new sport or just playa sport for fun without all thestress of trying out or com-peting.

This allows students toget to know and befriendother students who have ashared interest in the sport.

Many students also havepast experiences with intra-mural activities, like seniorColin McRae who attested,“Intramural sports are fun. Idid intramural bowling as afreshman and had a great

time with it. Unfortunately,my schedule is too hectic todo it this year.”

Some of the best aspectsof intramural sports are thechances they give students toenjoy a new activity or anactivity they do not feel com-fortable competing in.

If interested, talk toJohn Olson in room 202, orshow up at Sunset Bowl on aWednesday from 3:30-5:30.

Whenever they meetthey usually play two to threegames and set up handicapsso that even a mediocre play-er can compete with peopleway above their ability level.

The handicap is deter-mined by playing a regulargame without any handicaps.Then, they take the differ-ence between the leadingscore and everyone else’s.Finally they then take 80% ofthat difference and add itonto the next games score tolevel the playing field.

Although there are onlytwo teams in the groupright now, someone canalways go and join.Intramurals allow any-one to get better at sportsthat they might other-wise not be able to play.

TTaawwnnii PPaalliinnCopy Editor

Girls BasketballThe freshman Lady Bears

have had a profitable seasonunder Coach Jodi McIvain.They have has wins likeagainst the crosstown rivalSkyview Lady Hawks onDecember 21, 33-22. Therewas also the game against theother crosstown rival SeniorLady Broncos where theyalso won 46-26 on February2. But they have also had theirshare of losses such as theloss against Central LadyRams 29- 34 on December22. On January 26 they lost24-30 to Harlowton LadyEngineers.

The sophomore LadyBears are undefeated 15-0under Coach AmySchillinger. Their biggest winwas against Butte’s LadyBulldogs on January 23. Thescore was 60-9. Their closesgames were against theBozeman Lady Hawks 41-40and the CMR Rustlers 32-31.

JV Ladies Bears havebeen thriving under thewatchfulness of Coach JosephWalsh. They have won quite afew games including a winagainst the Sheridan LadyBroncos January 15 whichended 53-14, and the gameagainst Hardin Lady Bulldogson January 21 where the out-

come was 68-22. There wasalso the two point loss tocrosstown rivals the SeniorLady Broncos 51-53, andthere was also a one point lossto the other crosstown rivalsthe Skyview Lady Hawks.Boys Basketball

The freshman Bearsunder coach Kelly Darraghhave been blooming. Theyhad a win against the HardinBulldogs on January 12 70-40. Another win was againstthe Butte Bulldogs ending thegame with the score 51-28 onJanuary 23. They have lost acouple of games like to theCMR Rustlers on February 648-60.

Coach Curt Brott and hissophomore Bears have had agood year. With wins like 76-23 against the Butte Bulldogson January 22, or Great FallsBison on February 5, 58-38.

The JV Bears and CoachScott Carlson have also had aterrific year. They had a tightagainst CMR Rustlers 58-56on February 6. They beat thecrosstown rivals SkyviewHawks 57-45 on February 11.Wrestling

This season for wrestlingtwo JV wrestlers made State.Freshman Zach Harris andjunior Lane Penrod.

“I felt very good when Ifound out I was one of twogoing [to State],” Penrodexplained, “I made it to day

two but I know I could havedone better.”

Penrod also made it hisfreshman year, and he hasbeen wrestling for 12 years.

Sub- varsity cornerA look at the JV highlightsfrom this sports season

Striking upthe funIntramural sportsattract students

He shoots, he scores! A JV player shoots a free throw at agame against senior.

Submitted photo

Girls Basketball quickly approaches playoffs

OP

INIO

N Vampires give girlsfalse hope in datingNo boy is like Edward Cullen

KKyyrraa NNeellssoonnFeatures Editor

I have a secret that willchange the way teenage girlsthink about relationships.Vampires don’t exist.Try not to hyperventilate.Yes, I know it’s hard to

believe as vampire maniainfiltrates American society.Meanwhile, the insanityplagues the few of us who havecome to this conclusion.Not that I really have

anything against vampires. Imean, mythical creatures thatcome out at night and suckblood? Cool!Reading a three page

description of some girl makingout with vampires? Not so much.Twilight is actually just one

in a long list of romances thatdistort what relationships andlove actually are. I refer to it

for two main reasons.First, it is a prime example

of the lack of realism in manyromances.Second, I just like to make

fun of it. You may havenoticed.By lack of realism, I don’t

necessarily mean that vampiresaren’t real. While this iscertainly true, it is not the focus

of my concern.My problem with Twilight,

and many other romances forthat matter, is the way love andrelationships are depicted.For anyone who has been

living completely isolated forthe past few years and has beenspared from the vampire craze,I will summarize the tale ofBella and Edward.Bella moves to Forks,

Washington to live with herfather. Here she meets a boynamed Edward who is gorgeousbeyond all belief. After somewhat adjusting

to her new life, Bella discoversthat Edward is actually avampire who thirsts after herblood and watches her throughher window at night.So she decides to go out

with him.I interrupt myself here to

point out that while I am noexpert on relationships, datingsomebody who stalks you andthinks your blood is a tastybeverage might not be a goodidea.That aside, the rest of the

498 page book mostly depictsthem making out betweenscenes in which Bella almostgets herself killed and Edward

saves her.That’s about all you ever

need to know about Twilight.Girl meets vampire, girl kissesvampire, girl lies to fatherabout vampire boyfriend, girlkisses vampire, girl almost diesbecause of her vampireboyfriend, girl kisses vampiremore. And then the girl kissesthe vampire. Again.

If you feel that I bring upkissing a lot, it is because I doso in the true spirit of the book.While I find the excessive

make out scenes annoying,other girls seem to enjoy it.This results in a ridiculouslyhuge cult of girls who worshipEdward Cullen.The problem is they then

expect their boyfriends to beEdward Cullen. It seems to make sense that

being with the perfect manwould lead to the perfectrelationship.Like vampires though, the

perfect man doesn’t exist.Neither does the perfectrelationship for that matter.That doesn’t mean there

aren’t men or relationships thatare wonderful, but they do havetheir flaws.Good relationships don’t

rely on having the perfectpartner. They rely on findingsomeone you have somethingin common with and lovingthem despite their flaws. So maybe your boyfriend

isn’t romantic, inhumanlygorgeous, athletic, musical ormythical like Edward Cullen.But he is real. And that’s

more important than being

perfect.To often people focus on

what they are getting out of arelationship more than whatthey are contributing.To me personal wants are a

poor foundation for arelationship. Love by nature isselfless. It’s selfish counterpartis lust –and nothing strong orbeautiful was ever built on lust.Loving somebody means

you caring more aboutsomebody than you care aboutyourself.And if you’re still insistent

on having the perfectboyfriend, just consider thatyou’re not perfect either. Hewill have to be willing toaccept your flaws, so youshould be willing to accept his.Not only would the perfect

boyfriend not be real, but ifyour boyfriend was perfect hewouldn’t be himself.His flaws are a part of him,

and if you can’t love his flawsyou can’t love him.Maybe he doesn’t always

know the right thing to say likeEdward Cullen (or want to eatyou like the aforementionedvampire). If you look, though,you may realize that the wayyou make him speechless issort of cute.People, however, have a

tendency to want what theycan’t have.Instead of seeing what’s

lacking in a boyfriend, look atall the things you love abouthim. You’ll find these probablyoutnumber the quirks he mayhave.If they don’t why are youdating him?Not that I’m trying to say

that you should date a totalloser. Just look for somebodywho is overall a good person.So if you read Twilight or

other romances, take them forwhat they are. Fiction. Don’t feel bad if you don’t

have a relationship like Bellaand Edwards. Nobody does.Besides, who wants a

boyfriend who wants to sucktheir blood anyway?

“Maybe he doesn’t always know theright thing to say like Edward Cullen

(or want to eat you like theaforementioned vampire). If you lookthough, you may realize that the wayyou make him speechless is sort of

cute.”

PPaatt BBuusshhArts Editor

I am not going to try toconvince you either that abortionis murder or that it is a perfectlyacceptable choice to avoid anunwanted pregnancy. I know that no matter what I

say here, I won’t be able toconvert you from pro-choice topro-life or vice-versa. What I

will try toconvince youof is thatabortion is notjust aw o m a n ’ schoice.Sure, it

may be aw o m a n ’ sbody, and sheis going tohave to dealwith swollenankles and changing hormonesfor the next nine months, but I’mpretty sure that she didn’t getpregnant by herself. The father had something to

do with it, and he deserves a sayin what happens to his potentialchild.I know that when people

look at him for the rest of his life– whether as a father or as afather-to-be.

one is going to call him aslut. However, his life is going tobe affected, too. Contrary to popular belief,

most guys aren’t going to bail thesecond they find out that they’regoing to be a father; most of us

want to be good fathers. Granted, there are

exceptions to this. Some guys aregoing to bail, and if they do, thechoice is all on the woman. But if he wants to stay and

help raise the child, then hedeserves the same say indecisions impacting his child asthe child’s mother has.Don’t get me wrong; under

no circumstances should a man

ever tell a woman that she needsto get an abortion, no matter whatthe circumstances may be. Thatisn’t his place. However, on the other hand,

a woman should never tell thefather of her child that she isgoing to get an abortion whetherhe likes it or not.If the sperm donor really

doesn’t want the child, noproblem; he doesn’t have to haveanything to do with raising it. It may not be very

honorable; it may be down rightdespicable, but it is possible. Likewise, if the woman

wants an abortion, but the man

really wants to keep the child, Ipropose they make a deal. The egg donor can put in

nine months of her life, and then,if she still doesn’t want to raiseher child, she can leave and neverhave anything to do with saidchild again. In exchange for those nine

months, the father can give therest of his life to taking care ofhis son or daughter.

Seems likea pretty fairdeal to me.The same

argument canbe made whenc o n s i d e r i n ggiving the childup for adoption. If the

mother wants togive the kid tosomeone else,and the fatherwants to keep

the child, why not just let thefather raise the child, or vice-versa?If, for example, two people

were to purchase an expensiveproduct together, one party couldnot decide to sell or destroy theobject without the other party’sconsent.This isn’t a perfect example,

but it gets the point across.If two people choose to

partake in an activity that couldpossibly create somethingbeautiful, one person cannot besolely responsible for the futureof that object.After all, in most cases, it

wasn’t the choice of only oneperson that got prospectiveparents into this situation, so one

person should not be able tochoose how to handle thesituation.

As the father of your child I shouldbe part of the decision-makingAbortion involves the father of the unborn child

FEBRUARY 2O1OOPINION 16

KODIAKARTS EDITORPat Bush

FEATURES EDITORKyra Nelson

NEWS EDITORJenna Hennings

OPINION EDITORNikky Mosure

Sports EditorNikky Mosure

COPY EDITORSChelsea AndersonTrent DuggerJessica EttlemanErin KusekTawni Palin

WEB EDITORKelsey Munsell

BILLINGS WEST HIGH SCHOOL 2201 ST. JOHN’S AVENUE BILLINGS, MT 59102

The Billings West High Kodiak is an open forum for studentexpression that aims to publish information suitable for WestHigh students of all ages.

Letters to the editor must be signed; the Editorial Board reservesthe right to edit letters for length, accuracy and repetition.

ADVISERCaaren Cerise

PRINCIPALDave Cobb

STAFF WRITERSShadoe AdamsAshlynn AndersenChelsea AndersonVicki ContrerazAndrew EagleTessa FendleyMarlene HolmKayla KnightMadi MillerLauren MolinRose NottKaydee OldhamKatie ParishEmily SampleMacy SchwindtAngel ShandySally WeinandMorgan Woods

JJeennnnaa HHeennnniinnggssNews Editor

Come on, people.At least if you don’t want to

read one, don’t take it.That’s right. I am talking

about the school newspaper.It seems every day after the

paper staff takes the time to goaround to classrooms and deliverpapers, there is always a rippedup newspaper scattered on thestairs or crumpled up in thegarbage.It is disheartening to walk

the halls after school and see myhard work in the garbage. I feel Ihave put in so much work overthe last three years on staff, andmy opinions deserve bettertreatment than that.

Kodiak is not a rinky-dinkpaper lacking originality withpeople hating what they do.It is just like a job for the

students who dedicate their timetowards putting it together, andthe paper and staffwriters deserve

respect for giving the school aworking publication.I feel that the paper would be

better served sitting on theteacher’s desk in a classroomthan taking up space in thegarbage can and creating healthhazards in the stairwells. Someone else’s opinion is

worth a lot more than beingglanced at then tossed away.Even if you don’t agree with thatspecific opinion, you should atleast have the decency to respectit. It might be hard to fully

appreciate the meaning behindeverything that goes into makingthe paper. It takes a lot more workthan typing words in documentand getting it printed. There areedits, corrections, formatting,word count and deadlinesfollowed by paste up, sending,distribution and mailing. Defacing the school paper is

just like destroying part of theschool itself.I thought West held respect

and tradition for theextra activities,sports and clubs theschool offers.I’m sure not too

many peoplereading this wouldbe happy if the sportor after school clubthey are a memberof disappeared fromthe schoolenvironment. We, asa student body, haveone of the best sportsupport teams in thestate, and we have avariety of clubs thatother schools canonly dream about.It’s a shame the

Kodiak can’t betreated with thesame amount ofrespect.After you read

this, I hope you thinktwice about whatyou plan to do with it.

Newspaper is more than litter in the hallway

Some material courtesy of American Society of Newspaper Editors/MCT CampusHigh School Newspaper Service

“Sure, it may be the woman’s body,and she is going to have to deal withthe swollen ankles and changing

hormones for the next nine month, butI am pretty sure she didn’t get

pregnant by herself.”

A copy of the Kodiak, found shortly after the class had distributed the papersduring sixth period, on the day of distribution.

Photo by Jenna Hennings