GrowlerVolume 33 Edition 3 Ithaca Jr./Sr. High School November 22, 2013

NEWS

FEATURE

OPINION

SPORTS

Sneak Peak

Ithaca Pompon KicklinePAGE 13

By: Adriana Santana and Mikayla FairchildSports Reporter ‘17

The girls cross country team made their mark early in the sea-son, receiving a clean sweep at their very first meet. They had many supporters, a lot of love for one another, and a mentality that allowed them to perform with ex-cellence at every meet.

Juniors Morgan Baublitz and Hannah Thayer, sophomores Blaire Showers, Kurstin Kalisek, Erica Sheahan, and Alyssa Man-key, and freshmen Courtney Al-len and Amelia Freestone all ex-pressed that they were proud of their teammates for putting in so much effort and trying so hard.

“I can’t even describe how proud I am of my team. Every-one has kept the right mentality and determination throughout the entire season, and it’s paid off big time,” said sophomore Blaire Showers.

After placing second as a team at Regionals on October 26th, the girls ran at Michigan International Speedway on No-vember 2.

Ready to make history, the girls evaluated the atmosphere and condition of the course.

“The course was extremely wet and soggy,” said Hannah Thayer. “My feet kept getting stuck in the mud and it caused more pain than expected, in my leg.”

The other six girls agreed with Hannah, saying that the course was muddy, and it affected their race to some extent.

Coach Gene Lebron said, “The girls finished up their season today with a 10th place finish at

the state finals. As usual, the team race was very close from 3-10. While we did not place as high as we would have liked, we still had a great season, and I am very proud of the hard work these girls have put in this year.”

Although everyone raced pretty well, freshman Courtney Allen placed 11th overall, the highest a girl cross country run-ner at Ithaca has ever placed with a 19:08. She had a lot of support that helped her do so well.

“My family, teammates, and my coach definitely helped me place 11th at state,” said Allen.

“My family was always there to cheer me on, and my teammates were one of the reasons I pushed myself to go faster. My coach [Gene Lebron] helped me a lot because he always believed in me.”

There were a lot of emotions going into their last race of the season. The girls all agree that they were just as nervous as they were excited.

“Putting my toe up to the line before the start of my race was the most nerve-wracking moment of my life. Seriously, my knees and hands were shaking really bad. I almost didn’t take my under ar-

mour off in time and my number was all messed up, so I had to fix it, and I was already freaking out. But I knew that I was ready to tackle this race,” said Showers.

The weather was a little chilly, but it did not play a big role in af-fecting the girls race performance. They seemed pretty confident in their abilities.

“The weather doesn’t affect me, I affect the weather,” said Showers.

Sophomores Alyssa Mankey and Erica Sheahan commented saying that they were used to run-ning in cold and rainy weather.

According the coach Lebron, with the course being very muddy and about 20 seconds slow, only 24 of the 239 runners set all time PRs (personal records). Alyssa Mankey was one of them. The weather was not the only factor considered to affect their race. The atmosphere of the meet can-not be described in an emotion. The second the team walked in, they could smell how determined every single runner was to race great.

“The state meet is a big meet. Though, it was really only a ten team meet. Your attitude affects how you race, and I thought the girls were ready to make history,” said junior Morgan Baublitz.

It is pretty amazing that all of the top eight girls are going to return for the 2014 season. With six of the eight girls being under-classmen, it foreshadows quite the success in store for the girls cross country team.

The Ithaca Girls Cross Country team poses for a picture after placing second at regionals, on October 26th. The team consists of (from left to right): Coach Gene Lebron, Emilee Thayer, Bailey Scott, Vanessa Waldron, Alley Gager, Kristy Godley, Haylee Sigafoose, Adriana Santana, Audi Gruesbeck, Brianne Draper. Front row: Alyssa Mankey, Blaire Showers, Morgan Baublitz, Amelia Freestone, Erica Sheahan, Kurstin Kalisek, Coutrney Allen, Hannah Thayer.

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Girls cross country team makes history

The Ithaca Girls Cross Country team huddles before they race at the Scotty Invitational on October 18th. This became a tradition for the girls before every race.

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IntroducingAurasma

Beyond Scared Straight; Good or Bad?

PAGE 5

Sending off someone specialPage 7

New members enter NHSPAGE 2

Download Aurasma from the App Store1 2 3Scan picture with

Aurasma logoAurasma video will play

2 News November 22, 2013GrowlerNew members enter National Honor SocietyBy: Taylor DeniNews Reporter ‘16

Ithaca students have been valued in the community for ath-letic accomplishments, and now, their academic achievements. The National Honor Society at Ithaca High School honored these hard-working students by inducting them into the society on October 21, 2013.

By explaining how they have been helpful to the community, and what kinds of leadership skills they have, 20 students in the grad-uating classes of 2014 and 2015 were inducted. These students must maintain a three point five grade point average, have no out-of-school suspensions, and no criminal background to qualify.

“National Honor Society was created in 1921 by the National Association of Secondary School Principals to have an organiza-tion that creates an enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a de-sire to render service, to promote worthy leadership, and to encour-age the development of character in the nation’s secondary school students,” said NHS adviser Linda VanDeWeghe.

“You become a member by writing a paper explaining why you should be in NHS, telling [your] leadership, character, and service hours,” said junior induct-ee Morgan Baublitz. “Becoming a member is a huge honor, it means helping the community we live in.”

Speeches were given by cur-

rent members to explain each of the five pillars of the National Honor Society: knowledge, schol-arship, leadership, character, and service. After, a candle was lit, each representing the different pillars.

“The new members [took] a pledge to uphold the pillars, and Mr. Netzley [accepted] them as new members of NHS,” said VanDeWeghe.

Newly inducted members signed their names in the mem-bership book, then received a cer-tificate, pin, and insignia patch to show that they now belong to the National Honor Society.

Students know it is a great honor to be accepted into National Honor Society, but that did not stop the nerves from coming.

When asked what her thoughts were about standing on stage in front of everyone, junior Alyssa Lynch said, “If I would get everything right, like standing up, stuff like that.”

Still, she was confident she made a good decision.

“I worked hard in school, and wrote a good essay,” said Lynch. “It will teach me to help others and to get good leading skills.”

“Alyssa was chosen because she meets the pillars of NHS,” said VanDeWeghe. “She demonstrates good character, being honest, hardworking, and responsible. She shows leadership through being a good example and encouraging

younger students. She also en-joys providing service to others. [She] will continue to serve others through National Honor Society sponsored activities and commu-nity activities that other organiza-tions need help with.”

Lynch has “volunteered at her church’s nursery, helped at the PTO Carnival, and with the down-town Christmas celebration,” said VanDeWeghe.

“My friends that are on it [NHS] talk about it all the time,” said Lynch, explaining why she joined National Honor Society.

Inducted seniors include Amanda Biddinger, Shelby Clark, and Nick Palmer. Juniors are Morgan Baublitz, Elizabeth Bo-lin, Courtney Crumbaugh, Taylor Evon, Kristy Godley, Cierra Hess-brook, John Lambrecht, Alyssa Lynch, Lacie Mates, Dilyn School-ey, Jack Stack, Ashten Stambersky, Hannah Thayer, Hannah Town-Bowen, Bryanna Watson, and Hannah Zank.

“I was unsure at first, but I like it a lot,” said junior Dilyn Schooley. “There are so many benefits, it is really an honor to be a part of it.”

Most of the new members will help by providing community ser-vice, but the students gain leader-ship skills as well.

“It provides an opportunity to give to the community, and I think that will always be needed,” said Schooley.

National Honor Society hosts Red Cross blood driveBy: Caden WilsonNews Reporter ‘17

Junior Alyssa Lynch receiving her stole as she is being inducted into National Honor Society.

Junior Alyssa Lynch after the NHS induction ceremony; she is now part of NHS.

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New-comers to National Honor Society signed their names into a membership book.

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Blood helps people everyday. Besides carrying oxygen through-out your body, blood also disposes of carbon dioxide, ammonia, and other such wastes. It plays a vital role in your immune system, and helps to maintain a healthy body.

Although the average adult human body has four and a half to six quarts of blood, only 60 percent is required to live.

Sometimes after serious ac-cidents a Class IV Hemorrhage is a risk. A Class IV Hemorrhage oc-curs after a blood loss of over 40 percent (Greater than 2.36 quarts). The body is at a point where it is un-able to keep up with the blood loss

and without immediate attention, it puts the person in serious danger. This is when a blood transfusion is necessary.

On the 30 and 31 of Octo-ber, the National Honor’s Society hosted a Halloween blood drive with the intent to collect 35 or more units of blood and have at least 40 donors attend the blood drive

The Red Cross staff took ev-ery safety precaution, even turning away more than a dozen donors for various reasons such as past illness, or even visits to foreign countries where Malaria is a risk.

“It’s got to be safe for the do-nor to give the blood, and it’s got to

be safe for the recipient to receive the blood and the process has to be done right,” said Don Wuvan, a Red Cross worker.

Along with assuring safety staff strive to make donating an en-joyable experience.

“The staff here really cares about the person on the bed, and that person comes first,” said Wu-van.

The four steps of donation are a strict procedure, and must be fol-lowed carefully and exactly. First, after registration, every blood do-nor is given a miniature physical, which includes checking the do-nor’s temperature, blood pressure,

pulse and hemoglobin to ensure the donor’s health meets the require-ments.

Next, the donor is taken to a private area where a trained profes-sional uses a new, sterile needle to draw on average, a pint of blood. The process take roughly 12-15 minutes. Following the procedure, the needle is discarded.

The Red Cross tests all donat-ed blood for HIV, hepatitis B and C, and for syphilis before the blood is released to hospitals.

After donation, it is important to eat foods that contain iron, or are citrus to reduce risk of nausea, dizziness,and other such symp-

toms. Wuvan compared the process

to like that of the manufacturing of a product, noting that if the product is unreliable, or unsafe, it is worth-less and can not be used, stating: “The integrity of the product has to be maintained.”

As of October 31, 51 donors had shown up to the drive, and 32 units of blood had been collected.

According to www.redcross-blood.org, one donation can save up to three lives. Over 41,000 blood donations are needed every day, a single car accident victim can re-quire up to 100 pints of blood.

November 22, 2013

In Brief: Clubs

A superb sophomore: By: Megan SilversNews Reporter ‘16

The first Annual 5K fun run, Scare Away Cancer, took place on November 4, 2013 and sponsored by leadership and service class to support the fight for cancer. Scare Away Cancer was produced with the concept of participation in the fight also for runners to achieve goals and enjoy the outdoors. The fun run ended with a large turnout consisting of 32 runners total and a large donation of approximately $950, all achieved with the help of community members, runners, and sales made from cancer bracelets.

All money made from the event was directed toward the American Cancer Society, helping with the research and development for future cancer prevention.

Sophomore Kristyn Shat-tuck shares a story about doing her passion through an Ithaca High School activity. Although this is Shattuck’s first year on the writing team, having an activ-ity that she loves to do becomes nerve wracking at times, when she tries to be the best she can be.

“Being timed or limited on amount of time,” Shattuck said about her top challenge she fac-es while writing for the writing team.

Participating in a passionate activity can get quite frustrating. But for Shattuck, it does not get discouraging.

“Many of us have to know what is coming up and what is required. [It] takes a long time to think of something good. Mr. Bourgault tells us in advance what we’ll have to write about so we can brainstorm what we want to write about the given topic,” said Shattuck.

When the going gets tough,

the writing team experiences events that impact the entire team, but all members search to find a way to prepare for the fu-ture.

“[I] prepare by thinking about how to put thoughts of a given topic into words. [I am] nervous that the upperclassmen won’t like what I write, since I’m the only sophomore so far,” said Shattuck about the obstacles that she discovers.

In the writing team, many think that there is a strict struc-ture to writing an award win-ning paper.

“It doesn’t matter how many words, formatting usually de-pends on the type of writing we are told to do. So far, we’ve done short stories, and letters to a su-perintendent, dealing with how teachers should be evaluated,” said Shattuck about what the judges expect her and her team-mates to do.

During tough times, we go to the ones in charge, find out

what to do and be guided to suc-cess.

“Bourgault [is the boss], but Stambersky is a designated lead-er. We can write individually, partner up, or work in groups,” said Shattuck.

According to Jonathan Bourgault and Ashten Stam-bursky Shattuck has done such a great job participating in the writing team.

“Interesting, you will never be bored, [Shattuck] has lots of potential and helps her be even more imaginative,” said Ashten Stambersky when asked about Shattuck’s way of writing.

“Kristyn has done a great job [contributing] to the team. She adds some great ideas and definitely seems like a team player,” said Bourgault. “So far we have only done the short story and persuasive letter com-petitions, but I would tell her to stick with the team as long as she still has fun.”

Ithaca Quiz Bowl competed November 7 against several opponents. Round One-Ithaca 265 - Ovid Elsie 155, round two-Varsity :Ithaca 210 - St. Louis 240, round three-Ithaca 240 - Frankenmuth 140, round four-225 - Swan Valley 235 (Sudden Death Overtime), round five-95 - Shepherd 295 and round six-Ithaca 90 - Alma 305

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The Ithaca FFA attended the National Convention in Louisville, Kentucky at the Largest expo center in America, where they learned about leadership and other agribusiness skills. The FFA members are standing in front of the world’s largest potato.

Kristyn Shattuck in writing team

Sophomore Kristyn Shattuck writes her next piece for a writing team competition.

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Model U.N. has not had any competitions, but they are studying extremely hard. The club would like to continue their winning streak...twenty years and counting. The team has an upcoming competition on December 4, 2013 at the Saginaw Transition Center. The team is dedicated and is hoping to bring home another title.

Model United Nations

Quiz bowl

Leadership class

Future Farmers of America

By: Derrick Patton and Samantha SmolkaNews Reporter ‘15 & ‘17

In Brief: Clubs and class

NewsNovember 22, 2013 Growler 3

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Picture of the Month: Mock senior interviews

Senior Dakota McMullen shakes hands with Ithaca City Manager Craig Zins and Executive Director of the Gratiot Commu-nity Foundation to begin his senior interview.

Growler StaffEditor-In-ChiefEmily ReevesAssistant Editor-In-ChiefNathan GoffnettNews EditorAlyssa SmithNews ReportersTaylor DeniDerrick PattonCaden WilsonMegan SilversShannon WhitakerSamantha SmolkaOpinion EditorClaire ReevesOpinion ReportersAmber BlackFeature EditorCierra HessbrookFeature ReportersHaley Dutton JoElla Fitzpatrick Brooklyn GoffnettAlexa RobbennoltAmber WarnMikayla EitzenSports EditorBrock HardmanSports ColumnistJoe WhitakerSports ReportersMikayla Fairchild Kaeden GreerKyle GreerKelsey Hessbrook Adriana SantanaPhoto Editors/BusinessHannah Andrews Sidney SparksPhotographerJared MachaGraphicsJeremy EdmondsonAdviserKristin Willey

Staff PolicyThe Growler is published by stu-

dents of the Ithaca High School newspa-per production class.

The Growler is made possible by advertisements, subscriptions, and fund raising, which pay for printing and other expenses.

Our primary purpose is to enter-tain, inform and educate our readers, which include students, faculty, commu-nity members and subscribers, about is-sues that affect the student body.

The Growler is an open forum of student voice; therefore, the opinions and Letters to the Editor reflect the view of the writer and not necessarily the opinion of the staff, advisor, administration, faculty, or student body. The editorial board deter-mines the publications content, including staff editorials.

The Growler staff accepts full re-sponsibility for writing published in the Growler. There will be no responsibility placed upon the administration for con-tent of this publication.

The adviser is in place strictly to of-fer advice and guidance to maintain the legal, accurate and ethical manner of pub-lication. The Growler will not be reviewed, reserved, or withheld from distribution by Ithaca High School officials prior to pub-lication.

Space will be provided for Letters to the Editor from faculty, students, admin-istration, community residents and the general public. Readers are encouraged to express their opinions here. All letters must be signed and are subject for denial if they are libelous, obscene, disruptive, or are an invasion of privacy.

The Growler staff has the right to edit letters due to length, obscenity, poten-tial libel, or grammatical errors.

Letter to the EditorThe Growler invites stu-dents, parents, staff, and community members to write letters to the editor. Only correspondence with a signature (e-mail excep-tion), address, and phone number will be considered. E-mail or mail submissions to: kwilley@ithacaschools.net Cc/Growler or 710 N. Union, Ithaca, MI 48847.

Emily ReevesEditor-in-chief ‘16

My Voice Who I Aspire to Be

4 Opinion November 22, 2013GrowlerOur Voice Bust out BullyingBullying causes students to have low self esteem at schools

Students are harassed and brought down because of bully-ing on a daily basis. Unfortunately, bullying happens everywhere and even though people hope that it can be prevented, it still happens beneath the eyes of teachers and authority.

Bullying has changed throughout the years, going from hurting people physically, to men-tally. Now that there are social networking sites, such as Ask.fm, that allow students to bully people anonymously, more people are be-ing harassed because the persecu-tor uses this anonymity to his or her advantage.

There are ways to prevent bul-lying in schools and other places. Hall monitors are an option to the schools. Not every camera gets bul-lying on film. If hall monitoring can help prevent bullying, it should be brought to attention.

If a person is caught bullying,

they should not only have to write a plan in the Responsible Thinking Center (R.T.C.), but they should have to apologize to the person that they have bullied. People were not created to point out the flaws of others.

Not all bullies realize they are bullying other students. They might think that their actions are just horseplay and that the next day it will not be anything more than a conversation. Many of these ac-tions are played out on websites like Ask.fm, Facebook, and Twitter.

Some bullies realize what they are doing and that is not okay. The movie Cyberbully touches on what happens in real life because of bul-lying.

Students have committed sui-cide in the past because of bullying. After days and days of being treated like dirt is worth more than them, they finally snap, ending their life in the worst way.

In the beginning of the school year, the students of Ithaca High School were introduced to an orga-nization called Know Resolve.

Know Resolve is an organiza-tion that promotes mental health and reducing youth suicides.

If there is a student who is at risk for committing suicide, get them involved in this organization as soon as possible. There is no rea-son a student should think about, or commit to suicide.

There are support groups that are there for a troubled person. Gatherings like youth groups, For-tress, and Campus Life are great places to go if a student is in need for support and friendship.

No person wants to get treat-ed like they are nobody and that they do not matter in this world. No matter what any bullied student is told, or treated, they need to keep their head held high because some-day things will get better.

Between poms and every extracurricular activity that I am involved in, I am constantly getting stressed and over-whelmed. More often than not, this leads to a not-so-happy Emily. This version of me does not get along well with either of my parents, but I frequently forget who is really supporting me through all of these crazy

activities I am busy with.My mom is constantly driv-

ing me to practices and meetings on the weekends. Half of the time I just get out and slam the door, not even thinking about saying thank you or even a sim-ple “bye.”

I look at my mom some-times and think she is just there to simply stress me out or make things more difficult, but I real-ize now that she just wants what is best for me. As a teenager, I find this extremely hard to un-derstand. I mean, of course I think I can write a speech for BPA, be co-captain of a model UN team, editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, and still have time for my friends.

I make decisions that I know my mom will not always support

(like adding Science Olympiad to my already long list of things to do), but I know she will al-ways love me and try to help me through it. Although she might not show it, she always supports me 100 percent.

I do not always express just how grateful I am, and I tend to have an attitude with my mom. Despite how mature I think I am, I still have a long ways to go. It is hard for me to fathom that sometimes, and by sometimes I mean always, mom does know best.

The reason why I do every-thing I do, from my grades to my extracurricular activities, is be-cause of my mom. She is every-thing that I aspire to be. Brave, intelligent, caring, and strong are words that just scratch the

surface of who my mom is. She is my rock, my best friend, and my motivation.

My mom changes the lives of her students everyday. Although I do not want to be a teacher, I want someone to be able to come to me and say, “Thanks for mak-ing me who I am today.” I share my mom with a hundred other kids from another school, and I know that sometimes they need her more than I do.

She will always be my mom though, and just as she is proud of me, I am proud of who she is as a person. I admire her more than any other person in the world. As students we are al-ways asked who we want to be when we grow up, and I am not ashamed to say that I want to be my mom.

Dear Ithaca Community,

The Ithaca High School Leadership and Service Class would like to thank everyone who helped to make the Scare Away Cancer 5K successful.

We would first like to thank everyone who ran in the race. With your partici-pation we raised $986.47 for the American Cancer Society.

Thank you to Tim Lambrecht for allowing us to use the cross country course and starting the race off.

Also, thank you Renee Sopel for helping us to set up and get through the Fun Run smoothly.

Thank you to Nathan Bootz for running the clock and playing music as run-ners crossed the finish line.

We would also like to thank DeWayne Probst for driving the golf cart to fol-low runners in the race, and Bill Stahl for providing paint to mark the course.

With the success of this year, we hope that there will be a second an-nual Scare Away Cancer 5K

-SincerelyThe Leadership and Service Class

Results compiled by AP Stats

OpinionNovember 22, 2013 Growler 5

By:Amber BlackVoice Reporter ‘14

By: Nathan GoffnettAssistant-Editor-In-Chiel ‘16

Tipping the Scales

Scared Straight

Pros

Scared Straight

Cons

Should at-risk kids be taken to prison to prevent future crimes?

Beyond Scared Straight, an A&E reality television show, fol-lows the lives of at-risk teens dur-ing their stay at a correctional facility. The show has developed a tremendous amount of contro-versy due to the guards’ correc-tional strategies. This show, how-ever, does not have any effect on the teens.

The guards use extreme amounts of violence and verbal abuse to destroy the teens self-es-teem in order to correct their be-haviors. No human deserves that kind of torture which is why this punishment is unjust.

The television show has also been viewed as a way for teens to change their old habits to become better human beings. Some kids will be terrified of the experience. This results in the teens taking a second thought before they get in-volved drugs or violence.

But many challenged delin-quents will not be phased and will think the environment fits them. As a result, the program actually works against the intended goal. The brutality the teens face will fuel the flames of their illegal ac-tivity.

The creators stress that the show also talks to the teenagers about the choices they have made in life, and where those choices will lead them. But many episodes emphasize the violence and yell-ing.

Throughout the show, the program brings prisoners in to yell at the teens to scare them. The prisoners have committed serious crimes like murder or armed rob-bery. Exposing these kids will do nothing but encourage their hab-its.

Overall, this program has done nothing but increase the teens aggressive behavior. If the kids continue to make no progress there is no other choice than to shut the program down. It is not fair to the taxpayers or the teens.

Beyond Scared Straight, di-rected by Arnold Shapiro fea-tured on the channel A&E, is a reality television show that fol-lows teens while they reside in jail. This show has received quite a bit of attention, both in posi-tive and negative aspects due to the methods used to “help” the teens advance. The Beyond Scared Straight program really does have an effect on the teens in a positive aspect.

This show has mainly been viewed as pure entertainment rather than having any effect on changing the teens behavior. As a result, teens were being abused physically and verbally, which will not only scare them, but will not change their opinion on their behavior.

The reality of the situation is that the harsh treatment to-wards the teens will help them realize that they cannot contin-ue on this path. If they do, this life could become their poten-tial future. This particular show uses fear to motivate teens into wanting to better themselves, which works effectively.

Throughout episodes of Be-yond Scared Straight the teens are literally scared into obedi-ence. It is like having them start from scratch.

The designers of the show say that Beyond Scared Straight is mostly about discussing the decisions and actions the teens have made. In the show, guards yell at the teens, telling them that this is where they will re-main, scaring them into chang-ing their future.

The extensive review has proven to convey that Beyond Scared Straight was a fetal at-tempt to help teens that were lost. The show has benefited in their favor, by guiding them to change paths.

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Reopening the Genghis Kahn court case By: Caden WilsonNews Reporter ‘17

Nearly nine hundred years after the notorious conquest of Genghis Khan, Ithaca teacher Adam Lincoln took his AP world history class for the third time through the process of a court of law to try Khan and his descendants for their actions in the 13th and 14th centuries.

The prosecutor’s indictment: Kahn and his descendants were un-civilized conquerors and rulers in the 13th and 14th centuries.

Freshmen students, Garrett Marcy and Andrea Crawford will take the stand as the prosecutors, while, Sarah VanDeWeghe and Lexi Bootz will have the responsibility of defending the notorious Kahn. Kahn will be played by Gage Schall.

Making the final decisions are the jurors, Haylee Sigafoose, Kaden Crowell, and JoElla Fitzpatrick.

Lincoln will act as the judge, presiding over the actions of his class during the trial.

“We have to listen to both sides of the argument and decide which position gives the best and most ac-curate representation of what really happened during Genghis Kahn’s rule,” said freshman JoElla Fitzpat-rick.

“I’m worried about it. The de-cision is up to us,” said freshman Kaden Crowell.

“I think the trial will go well if the people make the right decision,” said freshman Haylee Sigafoose.

For several weeks, AP students have been preparing for the trial by gathering information from non-en-cyclopedia sources on the internet, a requirement set by Lincoln. The day of the trial, students will turn in a two page paper about their historical character and on their stance.

Khan, also known as Temujin, was born around 1162 in Mongolia. At the age of 20, he began assem-bling a large army to conquer and unite the individual tribes in north-east Asia, which would later lead to

the creation of the largest empire in the world for several centuries.

“I hope my lawyers have pre-pared well. This will be an intense trial that I wish to live through,” said freshman Gage Schall.

He has admitted that there is a possibility of defeat because of his less honorable actions.

“But I am certain that my gra-cious actions will outshine my worst. I have done so in my rule unite the cities under my power. Before there was chaos. I have conquered to es-tablish peace and harmony,” said Schall.

“We will find evidence to prove he (Khan) was not an unlawful lead-er, and was fair,” said freshman Lexi Bootz.

“Depending on the evidence that comes to light from our wit-nesses it is possible that we may plead insanity,” said freshman Sarah VanDeWeghe. However, Khan’s conquest was far from peaceful.

“We will make sure that Gage (Khan) will be found guilty. We will provide evidence that supports our accusations,” said freshman Garrett Marcy.

Both sides of the case have a number of witnesses, various stu-dents from the class who were as-signed a role, or the name of a fa-mous figure from history.

“I believe that Khan is innocent because what he did was necessary for conquest, and brought in its wake a fantastic new empire.” said fresh-man Elgin Probst (Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan).

On the other side, Evan Casey, representing a Chinese soldier said, “He (Khan) is guilty because when he moved on from China, he mas-sacred all the weak. One of his worst tactics was to use Chinese women and children as human shields.”

The trial itself is scheduled for the week of November 19.

Prosecuting attorneys Andrea Crawford and Garrett Marcy type out questions to ask their witness.

Attorneys Lexi Bootz and Sarah VanDeWeghe plan out a defense to save Khan (Gage Schall).

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November/December Calendar

25TDIH(1952):

Only win ever for NFL’s Dallas

beats Bears

26Trimester one

examsHours: 1-3

27Trimester one

examsHours 4-5

Half day

29Thanksgiving

breakBlack Friday

shopping

28Thanksgiving

Break Parade in De-troit 9:00 a.m.

12Girls varsity

basketball 7:30 p.m. @Alma

11Varsity wres-

tling 6:00pm @ Carrolton

10Boys varsity

basketball 7:30 p.m. @Shep-

herd

9Girls varsity

basketball 7:30 p.m. @Vesta-

burg

6Girls varsity bas-

ketball 7:00 p.m. @Ithaca

Santa Trot and 5 K @4:45

5TDIH(1968):

Rolling Stones release “Beg-

gars Banquet”

4TDIH(1954):

The first Burger King opened in Miami Florida

3Girls basketball

7:00 p.m. @Fowler

2 TDIH(1775)

John Paul Jones hoists the

Grand Union Flag

13Boys varsity

basketball 7:30 p.m. @Alma

19TDIH(1965):

Kellogg’s Pop Tart were created

18TDIH(1894): 1st newspaper Sun-day color comic

section published

17Boys varsity bas-ketball 7:30 p.m.

@Ithaca

16TDIH(1981):

Dutch Van gov. falls

20TDIH(1943):

U-538 sinks in Atlantic Ocean

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

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TDIH=This day in history

6 News November 22, 2013Growler

Inspirations are everywhere. For some, inspirations might be starring in a Hollywood movie, playing out on the field, or being the superhuman known as ‘mom.’ Nevertheless, inspirations surround people, even here in Ithaca. Jodi Schnetzler has been hard at work, creating, teaching, and inspiring students through art since the day she began working at Ithaca.

Schnetzler has been teaching art at Ithaca’s North and South Ele-mentaries for the past thirteen years and has affected nearly everyone she has connected with throughout that time. As a recent survivor of Ovarian cancer, she is an advocate for adults and children alike.

“If I ever needed anything, she was always there for me, I could always talk to her. She was always there for anybody,” said freshman Lauryn Ball, a former student of Schnetzler.

Throughout the past thirteen years, students in Schentzler’s art class have learned an abundance of material everyday. From charcoal drawings, to watercolor paintings, the easel is always left open for the students to learn and grow from. For many, art is a form of expres-sion.

“Making my masterpiece is my favorite part,” said third grader, Ka-leb Peska.

There are many students like Kaleb who love art and creating their masterpieces, which could not have been possible without Schnet-zler.

Not only has Schnetzler left an impact upon her students, she has contributed to the workplace

as well.“She instilled creativity in all

and welcomed all students and teachers into her world of ‘Art’, I know that every time I was in her room, I learned something about drawing and the art world,” said Kathy Paul, retired principal of North Elementary.

“She (Schnetzler) has brought a level of professionalism toward the curriculum she has been en-trusted to teach. She aligns this in a manner that meets the require-ments mandated by the state, but in a way that is both encouraging and enjoyable for the students to

participate in. She always has done this, even in the most difficult of times, with professional courtesy and a warming smile,” said Jason Ostrander, sixth grade teacher at North Elementary.

Schnetzler, however, retired from her teaching position at Ithaca Public Schools.

“It’s a very bittersweet scenar-io. I love my kids, I love teaching, but I am eligible to retire, and you know, it’s time for me to be a part of another phase of my life,” said

Schnetzler.Because Schnetzler has taught

and inspired for so long, it may be hard to imagine art without her standing next to the color wheel and teaching.

“...Those children that have used their experiences in art to de-fine themselves in this world are reacting differently. They wonder for the future. They wonder who will be able to share in their love for the arts as much as Mrs. Schnetzler has,” said Ostrander.

It is no doubt that Schnetzler will be missed. She has truly left an impact on Ithaca schools and her legacy will never be forgotten.

“She will always be remem-bered for her wall of tiles as you walk into the gym. This project was a huge success and Mrs. Schnetzler and members of the community put many hours of work into build-ing that wall. It is amazing!” said Paul.

It is this kind of perseverance and dedication from Schnetzler that will be missed by the elemen-tary schools.

“I feel really sad and I feel bad for the kids that don’t get to have her, because we were very lucky to have her as our teacher,” said Ball, when asked how she felt about Sch-netzler’s retirement.

However, as Schnetzler has said it is time for a new phase of life. Schnetzler will continue to teach and advocate, and has new plans in mind to do so.

“I’m going to be teaching art lessons through the Alma Commu-nity Art Center. I will be teaching probably some art lessons for Art

Reach up in Mt. Pleasant. Art camp during the summer,” said Schnet-zler.

Schnetzler is an Ovarian can-cer survivor. Along with inspiring students through art, Schnetzler wishes to inspire people through her story of survival.

“And then, being a survivor of ovarian cancer, just recently, I have contacted the Michigan Ovarian Cancer Alliance Group, and they have people like me write their sto-ry, so I’m in the middle of writing my story, and I will be speaking out and educating people on the symp-toms and the risk factors of that particular cancer,” said Schnetzler.

In the event of Schnetzler’s retirement, many changes are be-ing made, and new chapters are being written in the lives of many. However, this leaves one question. Who will replace Schnetzler as the art teacher in the North and South elementaries?

“Art will still be offered, we have hired a long term sub that will start in December, once she is done student teaching. Her name is Ms. Bruce,” said Paula Peterson, princi-pal of North Elementary.

Though the times are chang-ing, one factor remains constant; Schnetzler has taught her students many lessons in her years of teach-ing at Ithaca, lessons that they will take with them for the rest of their lives.

Schnetzler has taught students one of the most important life les-sons they can learn.

“If you do something wrong, you can always fix it. You should never give up,” said Peska.

Sending off someone specialIthaca North and South School lost a staff member who will leave a lasting mark on her students.

Jodi Schnetzler, newly retired art teacher at Ithaca North and South schools, stands in front of the color wheel while teaching a class how colors blend. There are some things that she will not be able to forget, such as the hugs and masterpieces, as well as watching students grow up into mature young adults- all while know-ing her as “Mrs. Schnetzler, the art teacher.”

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ACT PrepBy: Cierra HessbrookFeature Editor ‘15

Like any other day, the school bell rang and the students of IHS were starting their days in first hour, all except for us juniors, that is. Instead of reciting the pledge of allegiance, we were lined up alpha-betically outside of the gym, wait-ing to take the practice ACT.

It was a little strange to take such a big test inside the gym rather than at the RESD, which is where the larger tests are usu-ally taken. The gym is definitely a different test-taking environment. I feel that students would do bet-ter on the practice test if it would have been taken in a businesslike environment. For instance, when I walk into the gym, I feel that I should be running laps.

Another factor that I am sure influenced the outcome of our tests is that it was difficult to focus. The gym was cold, it echoed, and was just an overall uncomfortable set-ting. Every time someone dropped their pencil, sneezed, coughed, or even just flipped pages in the test booklet, the noise illuminated the entire gym.

All of the distractions seemed to take time off of the already lim-ited amount.

It was a little overwhelming to open up the booklet and see that some sections had more questions than they had time, leaving less than a minute per question. Start-ing off, the questions seemed to be easy and quick. But as they pro-gressed, they seemed to get harder and harder, which stressed me out.

The only portion of the test that I felt confident on was Eng-lish. I feel that all of the English teachers I have had since enter-ing high school have taught me as much as was necessary to know on the practice test.

On the other hand, a few of the subjects seemed like a foreign language at times. Although, I do not in anyway feel that my teach-ers have failed me. Some of the questions were ones that I would not even expect to learn in class.

I do expect to do better on the actual ACT than I feel that I did on the practice test. By the time that it rolls around, I will have gained knowledge on the test subjects.

In math especially, I would recommend looking back on past subjects to be reminded of infor-mation that was taught in the past.

I feel that the ACT prep class that is offered next trimester will positively affect the test score out-come.

Ultimately, there is not much that can be done to prepare for the ACT besides paying attention in the classroom.

“She will always be remembered for her wall of tiles as you walk into the gym. This proj-ect was a huge success and Mrs. Schnetzler and members of the com-munity put many hours of work into building that wall. It is amazing!” said Paul.

By: JoElla FitzpatrickFeature Reporter ‘17

FeatureNovember 22, 2013 Growler 7

Caitlin WilcoxSocial workerI am thankful for my supportive staff and co-workers, as well as my students who are all unique and truly amazing in their own individual way. It is the people and the re-lationships that I have built at Ithaca that I am most thankful for.

Deana McDaidAthletic department secretaryI am thankful for the support the Com-munity gives the students in anything they do financially and otherwise. They rally around anyone in need and are willing to work as a team to get things done. I am a transplant from another state but my parents and grandparents grew up here. I always knew I wanted to come back here and raise my children and it is the best de-cision I ever made.

Bethany FletcherJunior high teacherI am thankful that I was able to grow up in such a kind, caring community. I had so many wonderful teachers in Ithaca that taught me to value my education during my time as a student here. I am especially thankful that Mr. Snyder was my history teacher in 8th grade. It made me want to grow up and do that someday, and I did! Now as an adult I am thankful for the op-portunity to teach the people who will grow up to change the world and make a difference in the lives of others.

Claire Reeves10th grade studentI am thankful for the teachers who put up with me through the day ;)

Johnny Wagner7th grade studentI am thankful for the hard work and dedication of all the teachers that helped make this school as awesome as it is.

Caden Wilson9th grade studentI’m thankful that the school staff is dedicated to the students

Journey Teegardin12th grade studentI am thakful for my cousins Cade and Jace. Once I am in college next year it is going to be difficult for me to not see them every day but I am beyond blessed to be able to be a part of their life right now and watch them grow up into little men.

Valorie MelowTeacherI am thankful for my Ithaca com-munity because I know they will always be there for me in the good times and the bad.

Jake Pierce11th grade studentI’m thankful for the people that live in the community because they are very supportive and will lend a helping hand when in need.

Lexi Bootz9th grade studentI am thankful for all of my teach-ers and the help that they give me.

Emily Reeves10th grade studentI am thankful for the teachers, because they are willing to go to great lengths to help support students and make sure they suc-ceed.

Kyle Greer12th grade studentI am thankful for my coaches for their dedication to our sports teams because they teach us the importance of working hard to become better athletes

Maci Helms12th grade studnetI am most thankful for my coach-es and the staff members for help-ing me grow and succeed. They were there to make me better even when I didn’t think it would. Thanks for putting up with the class of 2014.

Noah Burks10th gradeI am thankful for the opportunity to be in band, because it lets us ex-press the importance of how hard work pays off.

Shelby ShankelTeacherI am thankful for the community support for the schools. Being a small community, everyone pulls together in times of need in order to support one another.

Alley Gager11th grade studentI’m thankful for Bryan Shaw, be-cause he’s beautiful and an abso-lute tank on the field.

Jordan Town11the grade strudentI am thankful for all of the teach-ers and coaches that work at all of the IHS schools. They put a lot of hard work and dedication into their teams and all of the students. They each take time out of their day to either teach us, grade our papers, or coach us.

Nathan BellingerSocial WorkerI am thankful for the great teach-ers like Ms.Willey.

Lisa DaileyTeacherI am thankful for all the respect-ful and hard-working students I get to work with everyday. Ithaca students make my job a joy and not a chore. :)

Nathan Goffnett10th grade studentI am thankful for the sports and academic programs. In Ithaca, everyone cares. In other schools, they think band and SO is dumb, but here everyone is accepted. I think that really tells how Ithaca students are.

Thank you

Kaitlyn Kindel12 grade studentOur community, the coaches, and the teachers because they all want the best for us.

Brooklyn Goffnett9th grade studentI am thankful for my teachers be-cause they care about my educa-tion and they want to me succeed.

Alyssa Smith10th grade studentI’m thankful for my coaches, Alli-son Doran and Bethany Vozar for making our poms team amazing this year!

Rhys Bolin9th grade studentI am thankful for my teachers who give so much of their time and energy for us students espe-cially, me.

Joe Whitaker12th grade studentI am thankful for all the hard work the coaches for every sport put into there teams.

Mikayla Fairchild9th grade studentI am thankful for the whole com-munity for their kindness and support for everybody.

Lacey Lehman12th grade studentI am thankful for the different groups and sports teams people can be a part of. They really help you find where you belong.

Megan Silvers10th grade studentI am thankful for the teachers here at Ithaca who takes their time educating us students.

Dilyn Schooley11th grade studentI am thankful for the family-like atmosphere we have. Everyone is friendly and always willing to help you out. I’ve been to other schools and nothing compares to Ithaca.

Jake Oszust11th grade studentI’m most thankful for the special ed department for putting all the hard work in so we can have a great education.

Sarah Vandeweghe9th grade studentI am thankful for the small size of our school because it gives me the chance to be familiar with every-one in my class, to recognize them and know their names.

Ethan McCormick8th grade studentI’m thankful for all the communi-ty and staff at the school for sup-porting all athletes and teaching us what it is to be sportsmanlike.

Samantha Smolka9th grade studentOur football team. Our team has given us a lot of reasons to be thankful, it gives us pride and joy to see our team win against every opponent.

Haley Dutton9th grade studentI am thankful for the academic program and the ability to go far with knowledge.

JoElla Fitzpatrick9th grade studentI am most thankful for the educa-tion I have earned from Ithaca. I’m so thankful for the friends I’ve made, because I know they will last past high school.

Kaeden Greer12th grade studentI am thankful for the sports teams and the atmosphere that it brings!

Eli Villalobos12th grade studentI am thankful for my friends, the sports, and the academic pro-grams.

Cierra Hessbrook11th grade studentI am thankful for the community because everyone is so close. No matter what is going on, the com-munity members come together to create a great atmosphere. I could not imagine living any-where else.

Brock Hardman10th grade studentI am thankful for great teachers and outstanding athletics pro-grams because I want my time in high school to be successful both academically and athletically.

Derrick Patton11th grade studentI am thankful for the incredible football achievements.

Thank you

10 Feature November, 22 2013Growler

“ T h e world has blessed

me with the countless things to be grateful for: a unique family, safe

home, caring community, devoted friends, and good health. These things make my life in-

teresting to say the very least; often, at least one of them will lift my spirits on a low day. One man who is, in my opinion, under appreciated in this com-munity, who will always bring a smile to my face, is Jimmy Fitzs. He has always gone the extra mile, if not more, for individuals and his devotion to the

community and the Ithaca football program is unmatched by anyone else. He is the

type of person everyone should strive to be,” said Niznak.

RENEE NIZNAKBasketball/ ‘14

Sophomore Jake Smith is thankful for

his friends and family. He is also thankful for his community,

teammates and his coaches. “I am thankful for my mom, dad, Travis, Peyton, Delaney, my grand-

ma, and the rest of my family,” said Smith.

JAKE SMITHBasketball/ ‘16

Senior Katlin

Kindel is thankful for her family and her friends because

they love her and make her happy. She is thankful, in particular, for every-

one who has ever been a part of her life. “I am thankful for [them] because they have touched my life in some way,” said Kindel.

KATLIN KINDELPoms/ ‘14

S o p h o m o r e

Abby Workman is thankful for her friends

and family. “I am thankful for my friends and family because they have always been supportive

of me and all of my choices I have made,” said Work-

man.

ABBY WORKMANIndoor Soccer/ ‘16

Se-nior-

M a c i H e l m s

is thank-ful for

never be-ing seriously

injured. She is also thankful for

all her coaches, mentors, and team-

mates. “I am thankful for

never being seriously injured because then I

could still do the sport,” said Helms.

MACI HELMSCheer/ ‘14

Sophomore Blake

Gulick is thankful for hav-ing his family. He is particularly

thankful for his mom. “I am thankful for having my family

and knowing they are there for me be-cause they guide me to do the right things and they [teach] me what life is about.

My mom, especially, has taught me so many things in life and she has

always been there for me,” said Gulick.

BLAKE GULICKBowling/ ‘16

“I am very thankful that

with this group of kids I will be around a good group of

kids all year. I mean good good kids. Low maintenance kids, kids that will work, kids that will show up, and kids that will know how to win. I’m going

to be around kids that I really en-joy,” said Thompson.

Freshman Haylee Sigafoose is thankful for all of her friends and family. She is also thank-ful for her color guard coach, Krista Leiter. “I am thankful for my friends and family because they support me with my sports and decisions. I am thankful for Krista Leiter be-cause she helps all of us become so much bet-ter at what we do and shows us all how to do things right,” said Sigafoose.

HAYLEE SIGAFOOSEColor Guard/ ‘17

JIM THOMPSONBasketball Coach

Ithaca high school athletics give thanksBy: Mikayla FairchildSports Reporter ‘17

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On June 16, 2010, a new social media network was re-leased. This application, known as Ask.fm, gives people the ability to ask anonymous questions to one another.

Ask.fm is similar to the app, Formspring, using the same question and answer concept.

There are not many advantages to Ask.fm. Unfortu-nately, the ones used tend to backfire. For example, one advantage is being able to ask random questions to friends’ to make them laugh. However, this can also be a disadvan-tage when taken too far.

According to Michaela Slater, sophomore at Ithaca High School, “Advantages in ask would be constantly be-ing able to have fun and joke around with friends anony-mously.”

Multiple users have fun with their friends online, causing no harm. But in many situations, it is taken too far.

When the phrase “bullying” comes up, most people think of someone getting pushed around in the halls, or getting their lunch money stolen. Sadly, in this generation, it is no longer the definition.

Cyber bullying seems to be the most common way to bully now. When turning to cyber bullying, a lot of kids do not realize they have been bullying. The other person is neither insight, nor around.

According to Anne Hollenbeck, pastor of Reach Out Christ Ministries, “Sometimes a person does not mean to bully another person but the comments or the action that is perceived is bullying because of the emotional state or home life of that person.”

People often say that doing and saying anything does not seem to affect anyone when using the internet. When online, it is not “real.” However, when being the victim, the only thing that does not feel real is happiness.

Another terrible event about the impact of online bul-lying has led to teens feeling nothing but depression. In 2013, this led to the loss of a beautiful teenager, who unfor-tunately took her life from the cause of anonymous sources harassing her on Ask.fm.

“Trolled to death” by online tormentors, Hannah Smith was found by her sister after she had hung herself. She routinely was fighting with anonymous bullies on Ask.fm, at one point admitting that she previously attempted to commit suicide.

According to MailOnline.com, “Individuals used in-sults as ‘Die’ and ‘Go get cancer.’”

Hannah’s death inspired her father, Dave Smith, to nAskot only fight for his daughter, but to keep fighting un-til change took forth. Smith struggled to change the online world, but in the end he managed to convince Ask.fm to change their application options. Due to this incident, no

longer can anonymous questions always be asked, but only when the person’s page allows them to. Also, the “report button” is now featured more on the site with more moni-toring help. Also, if made uncomfortable Ask.fm gives the user an option to block other users, making them unable to view or question each other.

Since this tragic event, thousands of people have been inspired to join together in making a change to the laws against online bullying.

This may be only one person, but thousands of other people are victims every day.

“I have had many bad experiences on Ask.fm, many bullies come to my page often,” said Jayna Rowley, an eighth grade junior high student at Ithaca.

When teens are bullied, the thought of suicide easily comes to mind for the reason of adolescence. The body and mind are taking a great change which is not only strange to the mind but also stressful. Adolescence is the start of making important decisions. With the anxiety of change topped with torment, most teens don’t know where to es-cape from the craziness, which acts as depression.

Depression symptoms can be difficult to discover. Many fake sick, refuse to go to school, cling to a parent, or even worry death is soon to come.

“Older children may sulk, get into trouble at school, be negative and irritable, and feel misunderstood. Because these signs may be viewed as normal mood swings typical of children as they move through developmental stages, it may be difficult to accurately diagnose a young person with depression,” said National Institute of Mental Health.

“One research study of 439 adolescents with major de-pression found that a combination of medication and psy-chotherapy was the most effective treatment option,” said PsychCentral.com

Bullying has greatly increased since social media net-works were created. Ask.fm has also been a huge impact on the rates of suicides and depression.

Chartsbin.com said the average worldwide suicide rate has increased sixty percent in the last forty-five years. In recent years, the approximate number of suicides world-wide each year was one million. The current average world suicide rate has reached 10.07 per 100,000 people.

If users continue to use this app. for hate against oth-ers, suicide and depression rates will persistently increase.

Over the years, communities have joined together to end the awful insults put on teens. However, one person cannot change how many use the internet. When work-ing together, changes will eventually be made. Stand up for others, help when it is needed, and treat others with respect.

FeatureNovember 22, 2013 Growler 11

Have you Ask.ed?By: Haley DuttonFeature Reporters ‘17

Terms of Service states:

You understand that in using the ask.fm

service you may encounter content that may

be deemed objectionable, obscene or in poor

taste, which content may or may not be

identified as having explicit language. The

ask.fm services service allows for anonymous

content which ask.fm does not monitor. You

agree to use the ask.fm service at your own

risk and that ask.fm shall have no liability to

you for content that you may find objection-

able, obscene, or in poor taste.

For further information, you can visit these

links and learn more about Ask.fm.

Terms of Service: http://ask.fm/about/tos

Privacy Policy: http://ask.fm/about/privacy

For the past month, students have been buzzing with excite-ment as they have been counting down to the release of Catching Fire. They have been counting down on their phones, wearing Mockingjay pins, and sporting Hunger Games shirts. For 8th grader Lauren Sheets, however, the wait has almost been unbear-able.

When it comes to books be-ing made into movies, most feel that it is necessary to read the books before someone can watch the movies. For Lauren, this was not the case. “I was invited to my friend’s birthday party, and Aub-rie Sanchez and I went with him to the first movie. After that I was hooked,” said Sheets.

After seeing the movie, she began reading the books. The sus-pense and action drew her into the novel, just as if she was sitting

in the theater watching it in front of her. The love story topped the whole story off to make it one of the best series she has read.

Most who read any book that is then made into a movie, com-plain about missing details or mistakes made by writers. A lot of the time, these details left out can change the whole plot of the storyline. Sometimes it does not even bother fans though. “I like that some of the details from the book were left out in the movie. The movie was great and I loved it, but I also loved the book,” said Sheets.

One aspect of the Hunger Games trilogy that draws fans in, is the love triangle between Kat-niss, Gale, and Peeta. When asked whose “team” she was on, Lau-ren fell in line with Team Peeta. “...I love Josh Hutcherson, and I think him and Katniss are better

together.”In both The Hunger Games

and Catching Fire, a majority of the storyline takes place during “The Games,” where the tributes battle to the death. One would need survival skills and skill with some sort of weapon. Lauren was not so optimistic about her chances of winning The Games. “I took a test on Facebook to see if I could win the Hunger Games… I was the second person to die.”

“That this series is a must read, must see movie. I am the type of person who doesn’t like reading, but when I read this se-ries of books, I was hooked. I didn’t read them just for an as-signment, or because I had to, I read them because I wanted to. That rarely ever happens,” said Sheets, encouraging everyone to give The Hunger Games trilogy a shot.

12 Feature November 22, 2013GrowlerSpanish Club celebrates Dia De Los MuertosBy: Brooklyn GoffnettFeature Reporter ‘17

Catching FireBy: Emily ReevesEditor-In-Cheif ‘16

Ariana Woodrow paints her face as a skeleton for the festive night, Day of the Dead.

The High School Spanish club celebrated Day of the Dead on Fri-day, October 25. This celebration was held in Jessica Dancy’s class-room.

The dead are not usually cel-ebrated. People usually shy away from the dead because it brings us sad feelings. In Spanish oriented areas, however, the dead are cel-ebrated.

Day of the Dead is an inter-esting holiday celebrated in cen-tral and southern Mexico during November first and second. Span-ish culture believes that the gates of heaven are opened at midnight on October 31, and the spirits of deceased children are allowed to reunite with their families for an entire day.

On November 2, the spirits of the adults come down to enjoy the festivities that are prepared for them by their families. Beautiful altars are often made for these visitors.

Altars are decorated with can-dles, buckets of flowers, mounds of fruit, peanuts, plates of turkey mole, stacks of tortillas and large Day of the Dead breads called pan de muerto, which translates to “bread of the dead.” This type of bread is generally sweet and egg-rich. The altars need to have an abundance of food, bottles of soda, hot cocoa, and water for the weary spirits.

Toys and candies are also left for the children.

One of the main focuses of this holiday are skulls, which are everywhere in the spirit of this cel-ebration. Sugar skulls are also made around this time. These are candy skulls made out of sugar. These are not only decorations, but also a delicious treat that can be enjoyed later in the celebration.

Chocolate appears often, sometimes even in drinks. Like-wise, pumpkin candy made from huge, green, Mexican pumpkins,

which are grown especially for this occasion, can also appear in many places.

Do not mistake this holiday for Halloween, this is a wonderful time to remember those who have past away. It is believed that the word “dead” is not supposed to be tied into negative thoughts of fear or sorrow, but instead happy feelings.

This celebration is very color-ful as well. People decorating for this holiday use a lot of bright, vi-

brant colors to represent the happi-ness of this holiday.

Families clean and repaint the graves in cemeteries, which are sometimes in churchyards and countrysides. Musicians are often hired to play the favorite songs of the departed.

This holiday is important to help remember the dead and cel-ebrate their lives yearly.

“This is a way for Spanish cultures, especially if you have

Mexican heritage, to celebrate the people who have passed on instead of being sad about it,” said Spanish teacher, Dancy.

The club made decorative masks out of paper and crayons. They wore their masks and also painted their faces. Their faces were pure white with skeleton outlines on their cheeks and lips. As they lis-tened to festive music, they enjoyed delicious chips and salsa.

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Stereotypical teen litera-ture that pulls from arche-types to establish a premise that has been done a thou-sand times. Its popularity is just filling the void left by the Twilight series, and before that the Harry Pot-ter series.

I enjoyed the books because even though they are meant for teenag-ers, they held my interest as an adult. I like that some of the themes of the novel (poverty, friendship) can be applied to so many different aspects of life today. I enjoyed the movie because it followed the book more closely than I thought it would, and I enjoyed the special effects.

The books give an awesome amount of detail so that it makes it feel like you're in the book, but not so much that you get bored. They made it realistic, with just the right amount of a fic-tional quality. Overall the series was amazing!

I love how it is more of an action book rather than just a simple love story but I love the added twist of the love story. Especially in the last one when she has to win back Peeta’s love.

Dan Gowell, English Teacher Terre Smith, Counselor Lexi Bootz, Freshman Maci Helms, Senior

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Lauren Sheets peaks around her favorite book, Catching Fire.

Basketball Breakdown

Preparations for the 2013-14 basketball season are in full-swing at Ithaca High School. Both the boys and girls teams have put in endless hours over the summer and are ready to show off their hard work.

“They’re in their fifth week of lifting and open gyms three days a week,” said the Ithaca varsity boys basketball coach, Jim Thompson. “The majority of them are playing football, or soc-cer, or running cross...which is good.”

Every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, the boys have been lifting weights, training, and im-proving their agility and speed. They also practice their ball-han-dling skills and shot formations during open gym. Because most of the athletes are involved in fall sports, however, there has not been a lot of time for basketball so far.

“The process for this season of getting ready was taken care of this summer,” Thompson said.

The girls team also worked

out for multiple hours a week over the summer break.

“We had open gyms throughout the summer and went to a three-day basketball camp,” said senior player Colby Cramer.

“We worked on our skills and worked on pressing,” said sophomore basketball player Kylee Chaffin.

There were no seniors last year so this season everyone on the girls basketball team is back including some more.

There are a lot of boys back this year, too. With returning starters from last year, and a de-termined group of underclass-men, Thompson sees great po-tential in his team.

“As far as athleticism,” Thompson said, “I mean when you have returning starters, Lo-gan Hessbrook, Eli Villalobos, and Travis Smith, I think you just have a good group of...se-niors right there that you can hang your hat on. Not to men-tion Josh Hafner coming in, I

think that’s going to help. And then you sprinkle in Myles Wal-dron, and Jake Smith is back. We had him up as a freshman. I think the core is there. The ques-tion is finding some role players

now. Finding some people that will understand what their role is on the team, and be willing to ac-cept that role.”

“I try to be a leader and a

captain on the floor,” Hessbrook said.

Hessbrook has done just that in past few years, along with some of his teammates.

“I’ve coached him [Hess-brook] a long time, and I’ve nev-er had a kid that’s been as well-rounded and fun to be around. He comes to work, just his atti-tude he brings to the game is bet-ter than anybody I’ve ever had,” said Thompson.

This season, both the girls and guys team have high expec-tations about where they would like to finish.

Hessbrook explained how he was hoping to win the league and make a run in the playoffs.

“Obviously, we want to win the league, first and foremost,” said Thompson. “I mean that kind of was big last year because we hadn’t been able to do that. Win the league first, win the dis-tricts second, and then I want to win another regional champion-ship. It’s been an awful long time since we’ve won a regional. I’d

like to get out of districts, and have a chance to get into region-als, and be successful there.”

With the bar set high for the 2013-2014 season, the girls have a few goals of their own.

“This season our goal is to come together as a team, and start showing it on the court,” said Liz Bentley, a returning sophomore. “Winning the league this year would be a great accom-plishment, and I’m hoping to keep advancing from there.”

“It’s the same, year in and year out,” said Thompson. “In the league, it’s Michigan Lutheran Seminary, Saginaw Valley Lu-theran, and Carrollton. When you’re going over to Saginaw, playing three Saginaw teams, they play a lot of basketball over there. For as long as we’ve been in this league, they’ve been at the top, along with us. I think that if you were to go ask them that same question, I would like to think that Ithaca would be in-volved in that category too.”

By: Kelsey HessbrookSports Reporter ‘17

“I’ve coached him [Hessbrook] a long time, and I’ve never had a kid that’s been as well-rounded and fun to be around. He comes to work, just his attitude he brings to the game is better than anybody I’ve ever had,” said Thompson.

Girls and boys teams prepare for a successful season

SportsNovember 22, 2013 Growler 13

Capen pins opponents to the matBy: Adriana SantanaSports Reporter ‘17

Senior wrestler Seth Capen outperforms his opponents in the wrestling season.

Seth Capen has big expectations for this wrestling season. Being a leader, and role model for the underclassmen, Seth welcomes them with open arms and a plan to help them be ready for matches. With his senior year of wres-tling approaching, he hopes that great things will be ahead.

“This year we’re hoping to make it farther than team districts,” said senior wrestler Seth Capen, “And we are looking to send a handful of kids to state this year.”

Teammate Derek Teed said that Capen should have a very successful season, since he puts in quite a lot of work at practice and is very determined.

Wrestling is a lot different than football and different from everyday life. It is a lot more work on the body, and the mind. In a wrestling match, you are using every part of your body. Also, you have to mentally prepare to either pin, or be pinned.

“I have to cut back at times when I eat, but I can usually eat whatever I want since I’m light for my weight class. The night before a meet, I definitely can’t stay up too late. Wrestling is one of the hardest sports you can do, you have to use your entire body,” said Capen.

At practice, Seth works hard in order to

show success on the mat. He also leads at prac-tice, to improve not only himself, but his team-mates.

“At practice Seth never stops moving, he doesn’t complain, and he always keeps the mood light. Seth has always prepared himself for his match as a seasoned veteran,” said head coach Daryl Dawe.

Teed said that Capen is pretty exciting to watch during a match. He is in control of his body and takes control of the match.

In preparation for a match, Capen’s routine that he does on and off the mat help lead up to his wins.

“Before I wrestle, I listen to music that pumps me up. I warm-up a little bit, and do that little jump-around thing that wrestlers do. Dur-ing the match, I usually try to eye-down the kid so I can figure out what he’s thinking. If they’re intimidated, its easier to take them down,” said Capen.

Seth Capen has an outgoing, leader-like personality. He will take control, especially if no one else will.

Dawe said that right from the start Seth controlled the music. He even provides his own music, “Seth’s an amazing singer, I’m sure you’ve heard him in the halls.” Seth naturally leads, so

he will take control of whatever he is allowed to. Seth Capen almost always has a smile on

his face, or is joking around with his friends. He carries that over into sports, but balances out how serious he needs to be with how enjoyable practice should be.

Teed said that although Seth is silly, at meets he keeps his game face on and his mind on winning. “I have only seen Seth wrestle for a limited amount of time,” said Dawe. “I do remember that during his first match, as the coach, thinking to myself that Seth has a lot of energy.”

Dawe said that he remembers that Seth used to lack control of his body, but through hard work at practices, and attending some camps, he has improved significantly and takes control of his body, and the match, on the mat.

Through his last year of high school wres-tling, Seth will continue to strive for success and improvement.

“A lot of people do not realize that Seth joined the team just last December and has proven himself time and time again, not only to the team but to me as well,” said Dawe. “Seth leads by example and I can not ask for more out of a leader.”

Joe in the KnowJoe WhitakerSports Reporter ‘14

The four-peat in progress

Pompon team places fourth at kicklineBy: Kyle and Kaeden Greer Sports Reporter ‘14

Varsity girls pompon team attends the Hip Hop and High Kick championship at SVSU

The Detroit Free Press has confirmed Ithaca’s notable and award winning season. However, if you live in Ithaca this success-ful winning streak has created a climate that brings up to 3,000 fans to the newly renovated sta-dium.

The Ithaca High School football team has a chance to be the state champions for the fourth consecutive year.

Most people take the success of the team for granted. What they do not understand is that it takes more than just skilled play-ers to win a state championship. It also takes a talented coaching staff with a good game plan, not to mention countless hours of practice each and every week.

Some teams are thrilled to make it deep into the playoffs, but not this team. Winning the state championship again this year is the only thing going through all the players heads.

After all the hard work that they have put in throughout the season, the team feels confident that they can make a strong run at it again. However, the thing driving them the most is the sim-ple fact that they do not want to be the team that ends the streak.

In week eight of the cur-rent season, Ithaca accomplished something that most teams can only dream of doing. The team won their 50th straight game, which just happened to be against rival St. Louis, dating back to the 2010 season.

The team is not the only ones affected by the success. The community has really got into the spirit of the game since the regional championship run back in 2009.

Ever since then, the stands have been full of fans, not only at home but at every away game, too, cheering their hometown team on.

From a player’s standpoint, there is nothing better than the team making a big play and hear-ing the crowd erupt in cheers, it really motivates you to push yourself to play your best at all times.

As far as practice goes, the team really is not doing anything different.

They still continue to watch film on Mondays, have an of-fensive and a defensive prac-tice Tuesday and Wednesday, and then a walkthrough day on Thursday just to smooth every-thing over before the game on Friday.

There is no guarantee that we will win it all again this year. However, the team surely has a strong chance to bring home the state title once again.

In the judge’s eyesOriginality/Creativity: Kick line competition allows teams to step outside their norms and present a new view of them-selves. The expectations for kick line competition is that the theme will create a performance. Ithaca’s pompon team has chosen a ‘Nin-ja’ theme this year.

Height of Kicks:The height of kicks must be the same for every team member, whether it is a low, a waist or a high kick.

Form of Kicks: Each kick must be performed with straight legs, and pointed toes while also being on count.

Use of Music: For the choreography to be cre-ative, the team must use music cues to create a unique perfor-mance.

Transition/Formations: All teams use different formations to display their unique routine. Using unique transitions to get to each formation, increases the teams score.

Overall Performance:As part of the total team score, each team receives an overall performance score. This score includes :costume/uni form, showmanship, and time limit re-quirements. If any deductions are made to a team, they will be de-ducted form the overall score.

Blood, sweat, and tears go into every minute and kick, for the Mid-American Pompon com-petition. The Ithaca girls pompon team traveled to the Hip Hop and High Kick Championship which is held at the Saginaw Valley State University Ryder Center.

The competition was open to any dance, pom, or drill team from elementary through the col-legiate level. The teams were di-vided into categories by the size and skill level of their team.

Ithaca competed with high school teams including; Grand Ledge, Bryson Center, Davidson, All Saints, Bay City Western, St. Louis, and Harrison. However, it does not matter who they are competing against because Ithaca is practicing and fighting to win.

Even though Ithaca came in last place for the previous year, they are going to use this loss as motivation to go get a top spot.

“Last year, we practiced a lot and extremely hard. Chey-

anne [Seeley], Megan, and I re-ally helped the team by fixing their forms, and showed them what they needed to correct we all worked on it together,” Makenna Zuker said about last year’s tour-nament.

This year’s team is lead by a new coach and leadership.

“We did perform daily warm ups that help us all to improve weekly. We also break down our routine now that we know, its entirety and drill certain forma-tions,” said captain of the pompon team, Olivia Strong.

Ithaca had a stellar perfor-mance which earned them a sol-id 4th place. The pom team has worked very hard, and are excited at their 4th place achievement.

“We have no where to go but up at this point. Our team is ex-pected to do very well next year,” said Michalea Slater.

Ithaca High School’s junior Jordan Town presents her kickline at SVSU’s kickline com-petition in Sagainaw. The Ithaca High School pom squad placed fourth at the kickline championship.

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14 Sports November 22, 2013Growler

EXIT 1AIthaca Jackets 36 mi

Sanford Meridian 0 mi

Mustangs Next Exit 2B

Maple City Lakers

EXIT 2BIthaca Jackets 42 mi

Maple City Lakers 7 mi

Next Exit 3A

Negaunee Miners

EXIT 3AIthaca Jackets 62 mi

Negaunee Miners 34 mi

Next Exit 4B

Montrose Rams

EXIT 4BIthaca Jackets TBD

Montrose Rams TBD

Next Exit 5A

Shelby Tigers or Clinton Redskins

A run to rememberFor three consecutive years,

the Ithaca varsity football team had remained unbeatable, bring-ing home three state champion-ships in three perfect seasons. The 2013 season has not been a disappointment.

The Jackets buzzed through the nine regular season games, winning the league title for the fifth consecutive time and out-scoring their opponents 508 to 45. They had four regular season shutouts and a running clock in every regular season game.

With the second-longest current win streak in the coun-try in high school football, they also have a tremendous amount of support from the community of Ithaca.

“Before the streak started, Ithaca was just another small town in the middle of Michigan,” said senior middle linebacker Rickey King. “Since the streak, I can go to a different city or some-times state wearing Ithaca stuff, and people will ask me ‘Ithaca? They are good at football, aren’t they?’ So it definitely means a lot

to our community.”“It’s a big deal to the com-

munity,” said offensive coordi-nator Craig Snyder. “It’s very evident when you look up in the stands and see that the stands are completely full. It’s great to look up in the crowd and see the sup-port that we have.”

And that support has grown throughout Ithaca’s history tre-mendously. In fact, this is the one hundredth year of Ithaca varsity football.

The earliest records found are from 1913, when the Jackets played their first ever football game on what is now used as the practice field. Head foot-ball coach Terry Hessbrook says he remembers watching football games from the backseat of his parents’ car growing up.

“It’s an honor to be a part of something so special,” said junior outside linebacker Myles Waldron.

“I’m happy that it’s my senior year and I’m getting a chance to do what others have done,” said senior offensive lineman Liam

Morgan. “This is my senior year so I have to go big, go all the way.”

There is a history of success here at Ithaca since the start of football in 1913. But that does not come without behind-the-scenes work.

“You have to train basically year-round to participate in foot-ball if you want to be successful in the fall,” said Hessbrook. “And thank goodness all of our players make that commitment.”

“We work hard every single day in practice,” said senior run-ning back Bryan Shaw.

Hours of preparation are put into every game in not just the regular season games, but par-ticularly the playoffs.

“We start film on Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m., we try to finish by Sunday night at 6:00 p.m., which is when we meet as a coaching staff,” said Hessbrook.

Directly after the team finds out who they are going to play, the coaches get right to work preparing for their opponent. They work through the week-end breaking down each of their

competitors’ previous games play by play. According to Hessbrook, they do it the same for all games.

“We watch a lot of film, we break every single play down,” Hessbrook said. “We diagram every play that the other team is going to run against us.”

The coaching staff interprets the defensive formations that will be most successful against the offense of the opposing team. Sometimes new defensive forma-tions are created specifically for a certain team.

Defensive coordinator Brad Showers does an exceptional job calling the defense and senior Rickey King leads his defensive squad on the field.

“I definitely just try to do my best and try my hardest with everything I do,” said King. “Ac-tions say a lot and I hope that other teammates follow in my footsteps so that they will give everything they have.”

On the offensive side of the ball, senior quarterback Travis Smith is in command on the field. The coaches study their op-

ponents’ defense and find where they have the advantage.

The Jackets have not come this far without a significant amount of teamwork and trust in each other.

“We encourage each other to do the best that we can,” said Shaw. “We’re such a close team and we work really well together.”

Hessbrook commented on how the intensity at practice in-creases, “especially during the playoffs.”

“We maintain focus...and take it one game at a time,” said Waldron.

With three consecutive flaw-less seasons behind them, they hope to make this season the fourth. The Jackets currently hold the second-longest win streak in the history of high school foot-ball in the state of Michigan. And although the playoffs are unpre-dictable, one thing is for certain: the Ithaca football team sure has been on a run to remember.

By: Kelsey HessbrookSports Reporter ‘17

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SportsNovember 22, 2013 Growler 13

November 22, 2013Growler16

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