GGrreegg HHeeiiddnneerrSports Editor

The Golden Bear basketballsquad rolled into the state tourna-ment riding a wave of momentum.They had won their last nine con-tests, including a late season victoryover the top team in the state GreatFalls CMR.

An ugly playoff win over theButte Bulldogs earned West thetwo-seed in the eastern conference.This seeding only added to the targetthat the Golden Bears wore on theirbacks from being the two-timedefending champion.

“Our players and coaches havea reputation as a good program,”commented Golden Bears headcoach Doug Robison on whether ornot other teams placed extra empha-sis on trying to knock off West. “Iknow other teams would like todefeat the defending state champi-ons.”

The first team that attempted todethrone the Bears was the Eaglesof Missoula Big Sky. The game wasnever all that close as West cameaway with the victory 55 – 37, but itdid feature two highlight plays byseniors Jase Muri and Ben King.

Senior guard Peter Stordahlsaw King cutting through the middleof the lane and fed him a quick pass.The 6’3” senior post grabbed theball in stride and threw down a mon-strous dunk that sent the stadiumwild and started West on a run thatBig Sky would never be able toovercome.

Not to be outdone, Muri tookthe ball in the waning seconds of thefirst half and nailed a bomb fromhalf court to put the Bears up 32 –15. What made the shot moreimpressive was that a Big Skydefender had a hand up to block theshot, so Muri had to double clutchthe ball mid-air and essentiallylaunch it from his hip.

“I went to shoot it, and this kidstepped in front of me, so I just hadto double pump and shoot,” saidMuri of the ridiculous shot. “Weonly practice that stuff for like aminute each week but it paid off.”

West’s first round win set themup for a semi-final match up withtheir cross-town rivals the SkyviewFalcons, who knocked off the topseed from the west in the openinground. The Falcons were one of justthree teams that had beaten theBears in the regular season, and theycame out determined to do it again.

In an all out war from start tofinish, the two Billings teams put upone of the best games of the tourna-ment. After a big first quarter inwhich the Bears took a commanding15 – 3 lead, the Falcons battled

back. With just a minute left in thethird, Skyview had evened the scoreand had momentum heading into thefourth.

To say this game was physicalwould be an understatement.Skyview tried to pound the ball intothe key as often as possible, utilizingtheir size advantage inside. West,after beginning to go cold from thethree point line, began to slashtowards the basket and get theSkyview posts in foul trouble. Theresult was a rough contest that onlyadded to the exciting finish.

After a Muri free throw that putthe Bears up 44 – 42 with just sec-onds left, Skyview’s Stephen Daviswas called on a moving screen thatallowed West to run out the clockand end the thriller. The two pointwin propelled them into a show-down with Great Falls CMR for theAA state title.

“We were excited to play in thebig game, and the fact that it wasagainst CMR only made it better,”said West’s senior guard JoshSwain.

Saturday night’s final trulyshowcased the best two AA teams inthe state. The game featured West’shigh-powered and top-rankedoffense, averaging just above 68points a game during the regularseason, against the Rustler’s lock-down defense, allowing a leaguelow 43.3 points a game.

The Golden Bears offense wasmost effective in a high tempo gamewhile the Rustlers liked to slowthings down and pound teams in thepost. All signs pointed to an instantclassic, and the teams did not disap-point.

After splitting the two regularseason games, the teams came outeager to prove their dominance. Infront of a raucous crowd and twomassive student sections, the playerstook the court.

From the very beginning,things seemed just a little off for theGolden Bears. West shot just 25%from the field in the first half, a farcry from their league best 46% inthe regular season. The Rustler’sdefense disrupted their offense, put-ting West behind 23 – 13 at the half.

The Golden Bears returned tothe floor after halftime, determinedto claw back into the game. Threepointers by Stordahl, senior EliSwain and junior Brian Mullerhelped the Bears narrow the gap.While CMR’s Josh Huestis was stilla force inside, the Golden Bearsbegan to successfully penetrate thekey and draw fouls.

West pulled all the way back toa one point deficit but could nevertake the lead.

As the final seconds ticked off

the clock, the Rustlers held on to justenough of a lead to end the Bearsbid for a three-peat.

In a game where both teamsleft nothing on the court and gaveeverything, CMR came out on top57 – 51.

While the championship lossput a small damper on the season,West’s second place finish shouldnot diminish what this team accom-plished.

For the eight seniors on thesquad, it was a great final year ofbasketball full of good memories.

“It was an awesome group,”said guard Eli Swain. “We madesome sweet memories, and hopeful-ly they’ll stay with us for a longtime.”

Stanton Duke and Stordahlearned All-State and First Team All-Conference honors, Eric Halvorsonwas selected Second Team All-Conference, and King and Muri

received honorable mentions. JakeNess elevated his play in the tourna-ment, contributing five points and ablock in the championship whilealso finishing with the fourth bestfield goal percentage in the state. EliSwain finished the season ranked10th in the state with 50 assistswhile Josh Swain contributed 29 ofhis own assists and had 20 steals.

For the juniors on the varsityroster, the year gave them valuableexperience heading into next year.With so many seniors graduating, itwill be up to them to provide guid-ance on next season and continueWest’s legacy of strong basketballteams.

It is a testament to the domi-nance of the program that a 20 winseason is viewed as anything but agreat success around the halls ofWest. It may not have been the fin-ish they wanted, but the GoldenBears should hold their heads high.

KODIAKMARCH 31, 2OO9

BILLINGS WEST HIGH SCHOOL 2201 ST. JOHN’S AVENUE BILLINGS, MT 59102 Volume 49 Issue 6

A LookInside This

Issue

NEWS

FEATURESSPORTSARTS

OPINION

258

1215

South Pacificpage 12

Day at StatePart 2page 11

Lady BearHoopspage 8

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

Non-Profit Org.US Postage

PAIDBillings, MTPermit #88

Just ShortAfter a great season, Golden Bears finish second

Go up strong! Senior guard Jase Muri slashes past two Skyviewdefenders in West’s 44 - 42 second-round win at the AA StateTournament. The win earned the Golden Bears a spot in their thirdstraight title game.

Photo by Greg Heidner

NE

WS

Pat Bushjunior staffwriter

Whole villages destroyedovernight, charred humanremains strewn across thedesert, women and younggirls raped for having theaudacity to go to a fresh watersource—these are but some ofthe atrocities that haveoccurred in Sudan’s westernDarfur region over the pastseven years.Omar Hassan Ahmad al-

Bashir seized power in 1989in a coup, ousting Sadiq al-Mahdi. In 1993, he assumedthe title of president, althoughhe is really a dictator.In 2002, Bashir

orchestrated a massivegenocide in Darfur,attempting to exterminatethree major tribes. This hascontinued for seven yearswithout interference.Until now.On March 4, the

International Criminal Court[ICC] issued an arrest warrantfor Bashir on charges ofcrimes against humanity. Thisis the court’s first arrestwarrant issued against acurrent head of state.A second charge of

genocide was dropped due toinsufficient evidence.However, this is Bashir’s only

cause for celebration.According to the rules

that govern the ICC, all 108

countries that defend it mustdo everything in their powerto bring Bashir to justice.After the warrant was

made public, Bashir gave aspeech in front of a multitudeof supporters in Sudan’scapital city, Khartoum,claiming that the ICC and thewarrant are tools of westerncolonization.This claim has led some

other African nations, mostArab leaders and Iran tosupport him and promise toaid him in escapingretribution.Other countries, notably

Sierra Leone, a small AfricanWest Coast country that had amassive civil war in the1990’s, have pledged to bringBashir to justice.Following the warrant, 12

different aid groups who hadbeen responsible for bringingin most of the food, freshwater and medical suppliesthat went to aiding theDarfuris were expelled fromthe region.

By some estimations,these expelled groupsprovided 80 percent of the

humanitarian work force.In the past few weeks,

attacks on villages haveincreased at an alarming rate.Janjaweed forces, or

“devil riders” as they areknown to the locals, have

even begun attackinghumanitarians. Whilehumanitarians had beentreated poorly and given noreal liberties in the past, theyhad never before beenattacked.In response, President

Barack Obama has appointeda special envoy to Sudan,retired Airforce MajorGeneral J. Scott Gration, whowas raised in Africa.America is currently not a

member of the ICC, but ifthey help bring Bashir tojustice, it could go a long wayin bringing peace to Africa.

Kolby McGarrahsophomore staffwriter

The AmericanMathematics Competition[AMC] test results came ina couple weeks ago, andone West High studentstood above the rest.Junior Shivam Sah

scored 100.5 points on thetest and was the only WestHigh student to move on tothe next round of testing.He took the American

Invitational MathematicsExamination [AIME] teston March 17. To qualifyfor this test, he had to scoreat least a 100.5 on theAMC, and only about8,000 of the estimated400,000 students who tookthe AMC qualified for theAIME.Sah said, “There was

this one question thatstumped me, so I flipped acoin, and lucky for me,when you flip a coin youwill get the right answer allthe time fifty percent of the

time.”The AIME is a three

hour long test that consistsof fifteen questions. Onaverage, students answeronly about three out offifteen questions correctly.Sah said he did not do

much to prepare for the testexcept to take one practicetest that gave him aheadache.He thought he

answered a couplequestions on the AIMEcorrect, but he said the testwas “Really hard!”To qualify for the next

round of testing after theAIME, Sah will need tohave a combined total of220 points on both theAMC and the AIME or hewill have to be the winnerof the state.He said it would be

nice to move on to the nextround, but he does notthink he did well enough.“Compared to the

AIME, the AMC was apretty fun test,” said Sah.

AMC Test WinnerShivam Sah moves on to AIME test

ICC Issues Warrant for al-BashirWanted on charges of crimes against humanity, dictatorresponsible for atrocities in Darfur sought for trial by ICC.

LA Water ShortageTo combat issue, Los Angelenos tryto cut water usage by 10 percent.

MMeeggaann FFoorrtthhuunnsophomore staffwriter

Due to a severe watershortage in Los Angeles, theresidents have been asked totake shortershowers, toreduce lawns p r i n k l e r sand to stopt h r o w i n gtrash in thetoilet.C i t y

officials aretrying to cutwater usage by 10 percent.2008-2009 has been the driestyear on record.

All direct state agenciesare cutting back on landscapeirrigation, including alonghighways. Since July 2006, LA has

seen a record low of four

inches of rain, which is lessthan a quarter of the normalamount they see annually. LA gets half of their

water from the Eastern SierraMountains, which has thesecond-lowest snow pack on

record this year.“Prepare for the worst

and hope for the best,” saidstate water resources directorLester Snow.This is the third year of

below-average precipitationand snow in California.

Recent storms may brightenthe picture, but Snow does notexpect state and federal waterdeliveries to increase rapidly. The drought could

possibly cause major job lossin the near future, with the

many jobsthat involvew a t e r ,including thepeople whodeliver freshwater tohomes or lifeguards whoare put out ofwork at closed

pools and water parks. More than 100,000 acres

of farmland have goneunplanted due to lack of waterin the area.California could be

headed into the worst droughtin modern history.

Residents have been asked to takeshorter showers, to reduce lawnsprinklers and to stop throwing

trash in the toilet.

Following the warrant, 12different aid groups who had beenresponsible for bringing in most ofthe food, fresh water and medical

supplies were expelled.

MMeeggaann FFoorrtthhuunnsophomore staffwriter

On Feb. 20, JerryLindau, 62, was arrested andcharged with four felonycounts of sexual intercoursewithout consent with twoyoung children and threefelony counts of sexualassault toward two fouryear-old girls inside hishome. Lindau and his wife,

Jacque, were operating anunlicensed daycare insidetheir home. As of Feb. 20, 2009,

Judge Carl CeBellyincreased Lindau’s bail from$50,000 to $100,000, and if

he is released, he may nothave anymore contacts withminors, including hisgrandchildren who live with

him. According to the

documents, twin 4-year-old

girls said they wereinappropriately touchedwhile in Lindau’s upstairsbedroom. The girls have

been staying at the daycarefor a year and have been“touched” since they started

going.This is not his first time

in trouble with the law: hewas convicted of negligent

homicide when he killed 6-year-old Tony Sanchez, whowas crossing King AvenueEast on his bike. He was sentenced to

three years deffered and oneyear community service butdidn’t serve any timebecause the court officialsdid not have enoughevidence to have him servetime. The Billings Police

served a search warrant atthe daycare at 2323 HenestaDrive. Lindau’s landlord did

not know that they wereoperating a daycare.Lindau later died in the

Yellowstone CountyDetention Facility on March4. Lindau did not complainof any health problems orrequest any medicalattention before his death. “He got what he

deserved. He shouldn’t havedone that to those innocentgirls. When I heard about it,I was amazed because mycousins went to hisdaycare,” sophomore BethWeber said.

NEWS MARCH 31, 2OO9 3

Lindau dies in JailAfter arrest for alleged molestation of children in hiscare, Lindau dies without reqesting medical attention

Jerry Lindau was arrested and charged with fourfelony counts of sexual intercourse without

consent with two young children and three felonycounts of sexual assault toward two four year-old

girls inside his home.

JJeennnnaa HHeennnniinnggssFeatures Editor

Wisconsin and Illinois highschool basketball teams played apart in one of the greatest displayssportsmanship of high schoolbasketball in recent memory.

February 7, Madison andDaKalb High Schools (fromMilwaukee, WI and Sycamore, ILrespectively) joined together todisplay a moment of love for asenior whose mother had passedaway the day the two teams met.

The players involved in theincident and the gesture ofsportsmanship that the coachingstaff and players of DeKalbshowed earned them theirmoment in the national spotlight.

Madison senior JohntellFranklin’s mother, Carlitha,passed away earlier in the daybefore the game due tocomplications from cervicalcancer. She died at the age of 39.

Madison head coach AaronWomack Jr. was washing theMadison Knights’ basketballuniforms from the previousnight’s game when he heard thenews.

“I didn’t have my cell phonewith me back there [in the laundryroom], so by the time I heard[what happened], the juniorvarsity game had already started,”Womack stated. “I headedstraight to the hospital.”

Upon arriving at the hospital,

Womack immediately sought outFranklin, concerned how thesenior was holding up under thecircumstances.

Franklin explained toWomack that he wanted his teamto go play a good game of ballthat night without him afterWomack asked if they shouldcancel the game to grievealongside the senior player.

After the meeting betweenthe two men, Womack returned tothe school to talk to his team andthe coaching staff of the DeKalbBarbs as well.

Womack informed DeKalbhead coach Dave Rohlman andassistant head coach ChrisDavenport about the tragedy, towhich Rohlman replied that heunderstood the situation andwanted the team to take theirtime.

After Madison was ready toplay, the team walked onto thefloor without Franklin or twoother players who went to thehospital.

The game itself began almosttwo hours late.

Toward the end of the firstquarter, Womack spotted Franklinas he entered the gym.

Not only had Franklin cometo watch the game, but heinformed Womack via thereferees that he wanted to play aswell.

After talking to him earlier atthe hospital, Womack figured

Franklin would rather stay at thehospital to get his emotions incheck to recover from his loss.

When Womack askedFranklin if he was sure that hewanted to play, to which Franklinsaid yes, Womack then took atime out to let the Knights greetthe player.

Because Womack had not putFranklin in the playbook prior tothe commencing of the gamewhen referees were informed thatFranklin would be entering thegame, the referees informed theKnights they would be penalizedwith a technical foul for enteringa player in the game who was notin the official book.

Both Davenport andRohlman argued with the refereeabout the fact that they did notwant to take the technical foul,but the referee told them they hadto take it anyway.

With about five minutes leftin the second quarter, DeKalbtook a time out, giving Womack

the time to put Franklin in thegame.

DeKalb sent senior DariusMcNeal to take the penalty shots.

All the Madison players wereon the edge of their seats whileMcNeal stepped to the line.

The Milwaukee Madisonplayers stood by their bench,waiting for the free throws.Instead of seeing the ball swishthrough the hoop, the crowd andMadison team watched as the ballcrossed the end line and out ofbounds.

Shocked spectators could notbelieve what was happening.

When the second free throwfaired the same result, rollingover the line instead of goingthrough the basket, it becameobvious that McNeal chose topurposely miss the shots.

McNeal’s display ofsportsmanship and class broughtthe crowd to its feet.

“I did it for the guy who losthis mom,” senior point guard

McNeal described. “It was theright thing to do.”

After the second shot crossedthe end line, everyone in the gymstood and applauded the kindnessMcNeal and the DeKalb playersshowed for Franklin and hisMadison teammates.

NEWS MARCH 31, 2OO9 4

Jess Nobiljunior staffwriter

BOOM!!!! Suddenly, two of Bozeman’s

most popular restaurants and onevery nice art gallery wereobliterated.

Due to a gas leak in one ofthe 100-year-old pipes in theBoodles restaurant and bar, theRockin R Bar and Montana’sTrail Gallery were blown intodebris and many other windowsof stores down the street werealso blown out.

Officials said that on themorning of March 5 an explosioncollapsed at least three buildingsand caused the evacuation ofeveryone in a two-block radius.

The explosion happened atabout 8:15 a.m. in the 200 blockof Main Street, caused by anatural gas leak. The threebuildings were completelydestroyed.

In the explosion, one life waslost.

The officials notified thepress that 36-year-old TaraBowman of Bozeman was killedin the explosion. She was

employed at the Montana Trail’sGallery and was said to be atwork at the time of the explosion.Bowman had been missing sincethe explosion, and the emergencyworkers recovered her body onSunday afternoon.

The Bozeman CityCommission had a televisedmeeting and concluded thatNorthWestern Energy isresponsible for the explosion dueto a separation on a two-inch gasservice line that was locatedbehind the Montana Trail’sGallery.

NorthWestern Energyofficials are said to not have hada chance to fully view theincident report, yet they havebeen working together with thecoordination team in Bozeman.The company brought in theirown independent experts to helpwith the investigation. The pipeline responsible has not beenfully excavated. When they dotake it out, it will be sent to alaboratory for further“metallurgical” testing todetermine the cause of the break.

Company investigators arelooking to understand all of the

evidence gathered to date,including the gas readings in thevicinity of the separation.However, the company has yet toexamine the gas lines andappliances inside the involved

buildings because of the recently-completed fire investigation.Now they must receive approvalfrom property owners in order togain access to the explosion siteto finish their investigation.

NorthWestern Energy in nowassuring all natural gas andelectric customers that they arecommitted to ensuring thehighest level of safety in everyhome and business.

Downtown Bozeman ExplodesGas leak destroys art gallery, Rockin’ R Bar, Boodles restaurant

Firefighters battle the blaze caused by a gas leak which caused a huge explosion in downtown Bozman. Onelife was lost and one wall of the Rockin R Bar is still standing as well as the Boodles restaurant door.

photo courtesy of Bozeman Daily Chronicle

Illinois Team Displays Sportsmanship that GoesAbove and Beyond Usual High School Fare

JJeessssiiccaa EEttttlleemmaannjunior staffwriter

Many girls dream of theirfirst prom. It is supposed to befun and a night full of memories.

While many members of thefaculty and student body wereworried that this year’s Prom atthe Holiday Inn was not going tohappen, their worries wereunfounded.

Prom did happen, and it wasa success.

Senior Misty Petersen said,“It wasgreat, andI wassurprisedwith howm a n yp e o p l ecame tot h edance.”

Despite the “alternate” prom atthe Lockdown, over 300 studentsstill attended the event at theHoliday Inn.

Petersen continued, “Thereweren’t really any problems withthe dancing rules. As long aseveryone kept their dancingclean, there was no problems.”

Because none of the king orqueen candidates showed up at

the Holiday Inn, Dean GordonKlasna and English teacher andProm sponsor Linda Maio werecrowned Prom king and queen.

The seniors who werechosen by the student body onMarch 20 during fifth periodwere never revealed. Theenvelopes were left un-opened.

Klasna said, “The turn outwas good, and all of the kids hadfun.”

The theme of the dance wasNile Night’s and a new twist wasadded to the evening: a grand

march.E a c h

couple wasannouncedin front ofeve ryoneso peoplecould seewho camew i t hwhom.

The students were lined up andannounced by the number ontheir tickets.

The march was completelyoptional, and the kids that did ithad fun.

“The grand march was cool,and it didn’t take long,” statedsenior Zack Kallem. He and hisdate Sam Sticka were part of themarch.

Kallem continued, “The

dance, overall, was fun.”“It was great fun! Mrs. Maio

was the cutest prom queen, andKlasna was looking fly with histuxedo,” commented KatieBaum.

Lindsay Geesophomore staffwriter

Guelff-Mart started as asimple fund-raising project forWest’s Ski Club but has turnedinto a major success for thegroup.

Steve Guelff and Doug Van-Zee, who run Guelff-Mart, alsolead the Ski Club and are bothhealth teachers at West.

Guelff-Mart started offselling concessions like popcorn,candy, nachos, beverages andother food commomly found atbasketball and volleyball games.

Now it has expanded andfeatures a wider variety of foodsincluding muffins, bagels, hotpockets, hot dogs and pretzels.

Because Guelff-Mart sky-rocketed into a major place forlunch, it fell under the same foodregulations as the cafeteria and

vending machines. This is the cause of Muffin

Mondays and the introduction ofbagels purchased from the GreatAmerican Bagel. Muffins are

now only allowed to be sold oneday a week due to the regulationsplaced on calorie and fat content.

The student workers atGuelff-Mart, because they arenot allowed to be paid, get creditto the store. Also, some of theworkers save up enough moneyto pay for their ski trips and otherfees related to ski club.

As a result of Guelff-Mart’ssuccess, the West High cafeteriahas suffered. The school’scafeteria is concerned thatGuelff-Mart steers business

away from the cafeteria, causingit to lose money.

Although losing money is aproblem for the school’scafeteria, Doug Van-Zee firmlystated, “No, we are not going tobe shut down. Actually,sometime soon, a different clubwill be taking over for a while.”

The new group to take over

Guelff-Mart is Stanton’sbusiness classes for Business-in-Action.

The group will run Guelff-

Mart April 1-20 to raise moneyto send members of BPA to thenational conference in Dallas.

FE

AT

UR

ES

Guelff-Mart on Lunch-time Upswing

Students Have Good Time at Prom

“It was great fun! Mrs.Maio was the cutestprom queen, and

Klasna was looking flywith his tuxedo.”

Klasna, Maio crowned PROM Royalty

English teacher and Prom sponsor Linda Maio and Dean Gordon Klasnatake their royal dance after being crowned Royalty. None of the Queenand King candidates appeared at West’s Prom, so the envelopes withthe voting results were never opened.

submitted photo

Junior Joe Kirk gives a thumb’s up to Guelff-Mart. Guelff Mart hasremained successful this year as students worked in the concessionstand to make money for Ski Club. Beginning April 1, the businessclasses will be taking over to help fundraise for BPA students to get toNationals in Dallas in May.

photo by Jessica Ettleman

Despite initial concerns that Prom would be cancelled due to the smallnumber of tickets sold, the event was a success. Over 300 studentsgathered at the Holiday Inn after donning their tuxedos and otherformal attire. Below, many couples socialize on the dancefloor whileothers take advantage of a slow song to hold one another close. Anaddition to Prom this year was a formal (optional) Grand March wherecouples had the opportunity to be announced.

submitted photo

Seniors Zack Kallem and RyanCarson take a break from dancingat Prom to pose for the camera.

submitted photo

Because Guelff-Mart sky-rocketed intoa major place for lunch, it fell underthe same food regulations as thecafeteria and vending machines.

MARCH 31, 2OO9FEATURES 6

CChhaassee TTeemmpplleettsophomore staffwriter

One of the mostcontroversial times of theschool year approaches, as itdoes annually.

While half of the studentslook forward to a newperspective of a living being,the other half contrasts theirview with pure dread; eitherway, dissection remains a partof the school year.

Today’s medicalknowledge would never havebeen possible if the curiousminds of the past had notgained a first-hand view of theinner workings of the bodythrough dissection.

However today, the samecuriosity can easily besatisfied through books, andeven more easily, the Internet.

Is the dissection of aliving (or previously living)thing still a necessary action?

Biology teacher GayleLam stated, “It really benefitsstudents with interests in amedical career and provides ahands-on experience with aliving thing.”

A high percentage ofpeople, students included,learn kinesthetically, alearning style best stimulatedby hands-on activity asopposed to an auditory orvisual one.

Even if a personconsiders themselves a visualor auditory learner, there isoften no substitute for havingan actual object at theirdisposal. Alternatively, themajority of modern peoplecan easily access the Internetand use it to their advantage

for the same purpose.Lam stated, “Some kids

require [a real dissection], and[with virtual dissection] theprocess becomes very termoriented.”

While virtual dissectionsoften do not exhibit the samespecific detail, they do showthe same process and adetailed anatomy, as well assome more introducedinteractivity, not to mentionless of a mess.

Animal rightsconsciousness alsocontributes to science classcontroversy.

The process of dissectionin classrooms could often beoften viewed as a mockery ofthe validity of a life, and theperspective that all things bearequal rights to an undisturbedlife as well as the right to livefreely in general.

The majority of theseanimals are raised specificallyfor dissection and strictly forbenefit by variousmethods of scientific research.

The right to refuse to takepart in dissection does exist,however; one cannot beforced to take part insomething to which he or sheis opposed, and scienceteachers understand thevariation of values among thestudent body.

While a real dissectionprovides an undeniable hands-on learning experience, it maycollide with the values ofcertain students and stillremains a controversial topicamong many today.

Lam concluded, “Ifnothing else, it buildscharacter.”

Dissection Season

“Resistance to Civil Government”by Thoreau Celebrates 160 years

Nate WeinandNews Editor

In 1849, 160 years ago,Transcendentalist writer HenryDavid Thoreau published theessay “Resistance to CivilGovernment,” more commonlyknown as “Civil Disobedience,”thus popularizing the term.

Essentially, the essay calledfor all people to avoid allowinggovernments to rule too harshlyand unjustly, infringing upontheir rights.

Thoreau called for citizensto accomplish their resistance ofthe tyrannical government bymeans of non-violentdemonstrations.

Thoreau was motivatedby his anti-slavery feelings asSouthern slave-owners wereinfringing upon the rights ofAfrican Americans.

Thoreau actually wrote theessay immediately after hisrelease from prison for notpaying his poll tax (a tax paidfor the right to vote) in 1847.

He had not paid his poll taxbecause he believed that thecurrent government (underPresident James K. Polk)

supported a war (the Mexican-American War which was foughtonly in support of slavery, whichThoreau dubbed “the blackest ofevils”).

“Civil Disobedience,” themost influential of the works ofThoreau excluding Walden, isextremely important to not only

American history, but also worldhistory.

It influenced the actions ofboth Gandhi and Martin LutherKing, Jr.

Gandhi used demonstrations(such as the Salt March in 1930)to nonviolently oppose Britishrule in India. King used this

same method in 1963 during theMarch on Washington.

Both men were successfulin freeing his fellow menwithout resorting to violenceagainst his oppressor.

According to the ThoreauReader, Gandhi said of “CivilDisobedience” and Thoreau,“Thoreau was a great writer,philosopher, poet, and withal amost practical man, that is, hetaught nothing he was notprepared to practice in himself.[...] He went to goal for the sakeof his principles and sufferinghumanity. His essay has,therefore, been sanctified bysuffering. Moreover, it is writtenfor all time. Its incisive logic isunanswerable.”

King stated of theimportance of Thoreau and hisessay, “I became convinced thatnon cooperation with evil is asmuch a moral obligation as iscooperation with good. No otherperson has been more eloquentand passionate in getting thisidea across than Henry DavidThoreau. As a result of hiswritings and personal witness,we are the heirs of a legacy ofcreative protest.”

Lindsay Geesophomore staffwriter

Business Professionals ofAmerica wentto their statetournament inKalispell overSpring Break.

The club isadvised byShelly Stanton,West High’saccounting andtech essentialsteacher.

The club’spresident isNikita Olsen,the vicepresident isCallie Marcotte,the financialdirector is AllanOlsen, the membershipdirector is Keith Dorris, the PR

director is Christina Colclazierand the club’s historian is SamBoelter.

Stanton reported, “It was

West’s best State Conferencein ten years!”

The competition inKalispell featured students inthe club from across the stateshowcasing their business

skills. The events are

broken down intoFinancial Ser-vices, Admin-istrative Support,I n f o r m a t i o nTechnology andM a n a g e m e n t /Marketing/HumanResources.

West was verysuccessful at thestate conference,with sevenstudents placingin nine eventsabove ninth place.

Their nextcompetition, the

2009 National LeadershipConference, is in Dallas, TexasMay 6-10.

West High is sendingseniors Allan Olsen, NikitaOlsen and Blain Fritz; juniorsKeith Doris and VanessaWeller; and the team of juniorsTyler Grubbs and Shivam Sahand sophomore Jeremy Kugler.

To send them, Stanton’sbusiness classes are takingover Guelff Mart April 1-20.

West BPA Team Proven Worthy atState Competiton in Kalispell

BBllaaiinn FFrriittzz first place Management/ Marketing/Human Resourcessecond place Insurance Conceptsfourth place Microsoft Network Administration sixth place IT ConceptsJJeerreemmyy KKuugglleerr fifth place Financial Math and AnalysisAAllllaann OOllsseenn ninth place Insurance Concepts NNiikkiittaa OOllssoonn second place Integrated Office Procedures ninth place Advanced Accounting VVaanneessssaa WWaalllleerr first place Banking and FinanceSShhiivvaamm SSaahh,, TTyylleerr GGrruubbbbss aanndd JJeerreemmyy KKuugglleerr first place Presentation Management Team

The team of Shivam Sah, TylerGrubbs and Jeremy Kuglercelebrate their first-place finishthat qualified them for a spot inthe National BusinessProfessionals of Americacompetition in May in Dallas,Texas.

submitted photo

MARCH 31, 2OO9FEATURES 7

NNiikkkkyy MMoossuurreejunior staffwriter

Spring means it is time toregister again; only this year,registration is a littledifferent. West High has castaside the semester to semesterscheduling in favor of full-year scheduling.

When students recentlyregistered for classes, theyregistered for classes for theentire next year instead ofsimply the fall semester.

This change will help theadministration decrease thehassle with scheduleconflicts. The administrationcan look at how manystudents signed up for which

classes and determine teacherand student scheduling fromthere.

As always, students arenot guaranteed to receive theelectives that they choose, but

the administration will try toaccommodate students’ wantsand needs.

Students are not asenthusiastic about the benefitsof the full year scheduling asthe faculty seems to be.

Junior Josh Berstcommented, “I like semester

scheduling better because Ihave already changed mymind on what I want to take

second semester next year.”This seems to be the case

with many students. On the other hand, junior

Richie Bucksh says, “I thinkit’s really cool and makesscheduling easier for thefaculty.”

Students placed theirdesired classes into thesemester in which they wouldlike to take the course, butthis does not promise that thecourses will be in therequested semester, however.

Freshman Zach Falconsaid, “It was hard to decide onall of my classes at once.”

This may have been thecase with many students, but

the administration is sure thatthis will help with all of thehassle trying to organize classschedule next year.

They say that it willreduce conflicts betweenclasses and will help ensurethat students get their chosenelectives.

Students will register inFebruary for their classes forthe entire next year from nowon. The second semesterscheduling that normallytakes place in November willbe cut out as there is no needfor it.

This is the beginning of anew system at West High andthe faculty is thrilled.

Scheduling Changes to Full-Year Option

CChhaassee TTeemmpplleettsophomore staffwriter

Before Hillary RodhamClinton had the ability to enjoyher time in President Obama’sCabinet, she traveled to severallocations worldwide, hoping tore-establish formerrelationships between Americaand those countries whiledemonstrating the contrastbetween the Obamaadministration and the previousBush administration.

Clinton arrived in Jakarta,Indonesia on Feb 18 and beganher two day visit.

Security in the city ofJakarta showed an undeniableimprovement for her visit dueto the city’s various terroristattacks since the turn of the

millennium. Her arrival at theairport was accompanied byover 240 security guardsdeployed to eliminate anypossible threat to the AmericanSecretary of State.

In addition, the Indonesianpolice assigned over 2,800personnel to guard the capitalbuilding hosting Clinton.

Clinton’s schedule for thevisit allowed for little leniencyand constant business. Itconsisted of a meeting withIndonesian Foreign MinisterHassan Wirajuda, immediatelyfollowed by another meetingwith the Indonesian PresidentSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Despite a generally warmwelcome, about 100 peoplegathered outside of the U.S.Embassy to convey their

opposition to the visit, framingit as another attempt to dividethe Muslims of the world andultimately take control ofeverything and everyone. .

Clinton had not visited toIndonesia since her last time inthe White House as First Lady.

While her governmentalposition has changed to a greatextent, her stance on theIndonesian issues haveremained the same as shereturns to Indonesia withsimilar justification.

Clinton’s travels also

include visits to Japan, Koreaand China, where she spoke ofthe same issues includingfinance, humanitarian issuesand climate change, as well asnational security subjects tohopefully change the world’sperspective on the U.S.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton TravelsAbroad to Improve Our Global Standing

NNiikkkkyy MMoossuurreejunior staffwriter

Everyone has heard ofGlobal Warming. TheEarth’s climate is changingin ways that are irreversible.This is caused by bothnatural factors and humancaused pollution.

Because humans andour way of life seems tocontribute to this change,some states have startedcracking down and passinglegislation to limit harmfulemissions from cars andfactories.

California legislatorsenacted legislation to curbcarbon dioxide emissionsin 2006. They were one ofthe first states to do this.

In 2006, it was easierto enact this type oflegislation without the riskof causing an economicdownturn. Making changes now posesa larger possibility of agreater economic downturnbecause companies may notbe able to afford the taxeson emissions required bythe legislation.

Because the United

States is now facing aneconomic crisis, it isincreasingly hard toimplement these pieces oflegislation.

The refineries andfactories that produce thehighest amount of emissions

are unable to make thetransitions to “green”technology because the costfor both the new technologyand the fines associatedwith their current emissionscan be prohibitive.

Legislators and factory

owners are both concernedabout the unknown coststhat may come along duringthe transition stages.

The Obamaadministration would like toenact a cap and tradeprogram (a tax on emissionsover the legislated limit),but this remains as anuncertain eventuality.

Companies will have topay for the excess emissionsthat are produced after acertain limit has been met.

If a factory goes overand can pay the fines,everything is fine, but withthe current economicsituation, not all businesseswill have the money to paytheir fines.

This can causecompanies to go into debtand become bankruptbecause of the finesincurred over emissionsreleased while creating theproducts that Americans useeveryday.

The cap and tradesystem can, ideally, causecompanies to reduce theemissions used because ofthe added monetary penalty.

Can Cap-and-Trade ProgramsDecrease PollutionFear of larger economic woes could derail ObamaAdministration plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

“I like semester scheduling betterbecause I have already changed mymind on what I want to take second

semester next year.”

The Obamaadministrationwould like toenact a cap andtrade program (atax on emissions

over thelegislated limit),but this remainsas an uncertaineventuality.

JJeennnniiffeerr MMoorrrriissfreshman staffwriter

On your mark...getset...GO!

Spring has sprung and trackhas begun!

Last spring, the GoldenBears repeated as AA StateChampions for the third time,and the Lady Bears came in sec-ond, so expectations are highfor this year’s runners, jumpersand throwers.

The win was clinched bythe 4x100 relay. All of thechampions are returning to runagain this year, so seniors JoshPelczar, Jase Muri, TylerPatenaude and John MacDonald(and alternate BryceWorthington) hope to dominatethe field again.

Pelczar will spend mostmeets with the proverbial“bulls-eye” on his back after hedominated at state last year. Hetook second in the 100 and wonthe 200 and 400 and helped the4x400 and 4x100 teams alsowin.

“I think we have a greatchance at actually breaking thestate record in both the 4x100and 4x400 relays this yearbecause we’ve been runningtogether since sophomore year,and we almost broke the recordsophomore year. We’re all justgetting faster, so I think wehave a really great shot thisyear.” Pelczar explained.

After his amazing perform-ance, Pelczar was also namedGatorade’s Track Athlete of theYear for Montana.

“The Notre Dame coacheswanted me as a walk-on fortheir track team which got meaccepted to Notre Dame eventhough with my grades andACT scores I wouldn’t havegotten in, but I decided to takemy scholarship offer from theUniversity of Montana for foot-ball instead. If they give me theopportunity, I want to run trackfor the Griz as well, but we’llsee,” Pelczar explained of hisfuture.

“In the 100, 200 and the400, my biggest competition ison my own team – JohnMacDonald, Jase Muri, andTyler Patenaude. There’salways friendly competitionbetween us; that’s what makesus better,” Pelczar explained,

“But I’m gonna beat them,though.,” Pelczar laughed. “No,we’ll see how I do.”

Senior Mark Schlotterbackparticipates in “Some jumpsand runs,” but he explained, “Idon’t listen to music, just CoachStanton’s inspirational words.”

“We have a really full,rounded team. We have greatrunners, jumpers, throwers anddistance this year also. We havea great shot at 4-peating thisyear. Since we’ve been atschool here, we’ve won stateevery single year. It would be

great to finish off our senioryear with the 4-peat!” Pelczarexclaimed.

The first meet will pit theGolden and Lady Bears againstthe Great Falls CMR Rustlers

and Lady Rustlers on April 4 at12:00 p.m.

SP

OR

TS Lady Bears Wrap up Season

West ends year with state tournament berthAAlleexx HHaarrttffoorrddsenior staffwriter

Team: A number of per-sons associated in work oractivity.

Friend: One attached toothers by respect or affection.

With the Lady Bears bas-ketball team, these definitionsare interchangeable.

Despite losing out in theState AA Tournament, theLady Bears have a lot more totake away from the 2008 –2009 season than winning orlosing.

Some view the team’sunity as its best quality.

Senior Olivia Eiseleinreflected on the team, “Ourteams best quality is how closewe are and how we can turnany situation into a greattime.”

Sophomore Danielle Murialso comments, “Off the court,we were able to make an ordi-nary team dinner last threehours because we all got alongso well.”

Sometimes, memories arethe best part of a season.

With three graduating sen-iors, the Lady Bears look tohave a lot of experience andupside for the next season.

“We certainly have a goodnucleus of players, and numer-ous kids are waiting in thewings to get their shot. I’mdefinitely excited to see theimprovements we make in theoff season, both as individualsand as a team,” says headcoach Greta Buehler.

The Lady Bears were ableto appreciate and value theseason. The team finished 14-9 and had its share of greatmoments.

Eiselein comments,“Overall, we had a good sea-son. Although there were afew ups and downs, whatstands out are our accomplish-ments and strengths.”

Buehler was mostlypleased with the season aswell.

“Overall, I’m satisfied.We played very well at times,and it would have been nice tohave been a little bit more con-sistent in our performance, butthe kids always played hard,and they are great youngladies that represented WestHigh very well, on and off thecourt.”

In a season that was full ofsurprises, neither Buehler norEiselein were surprised thatBig Sky was able to repeat,

which seemed to be a reoccur-ring theme in girl’s basketballin Montana, the girls teamsfrom all four classes were ableto repeat (AA: Big Sky; A:Anaconda; B: Fairfield and C:Highwood).

“It didn’t come to surpriseme that Big Sky took the titleagain. . .” said Eiselein.

As for Buehler being sur-prised? “Not really. They hada great player in Joslyn Tinkleand a good supporting cast.”

For next season, the restof the team harbors a feelingof unfinished business.

“None of us took [losingout in the state tournament]lightly, and our returners willhold onto that feeling deep inour stomachs and use it asmotivation for next year.”

No matter who wins orloses, high school sports bringa time of competition and ded-ication, but more often thannot, an athlete can look backand value more than accom-plishments or championshipsand really begin to enjoy thefriendships and memories ofhigh schools sports.

JJeessss NNoobbiilljunior staffwriter

The Montana SoccerGatorade Player of the year goesto… Jack Pueringer!

Jack has been playing soc-cer since he was six years oldand has played in both competi-tive and non-competitiveleagues including YSA andMagic City.

Receiving this award meansa lot to him because it helps himpursue his dream of playing soc-cer at the next level, college.

He has had scouts fromMSUB, Rocky, and St Olaf col-lege talk to him about playingsoccer for their schools.

Established in 1985, theGatorade Company uses theseawards to honor America’s bestperforming athletes each year.

Ranging from state winnersand national winners to athleteof the year, Gatorade honorsexcellence. West High’s ownsenior Jack Pueringer has taken

the state title for Montana in the2008-09 school year.

In high school sports, theGatorade Player of the Yearaward had become the mostprestigious award available tohigh school athletes.

Now in its third decade ofcelebrating and congratulatingthe nation’s best high schoolathletes, the program recognizesone national award winner inD.C. and one in each of the 50states in high school football;volleyball; boys and girls crosscountry, soccer and basketball;

boys baseball; girls softball andboys and girls track and field.

The prep-athlete pool ofcandidates consists of more than5.4 million competitors, and theaward’s legacy is built on theachievement of more than 9,000state and 197 national Players ofthe Year.

Names such as EmmittSmith, Lisa Leslie, PeytonManning, Kerri Walsh, DerekJeter and Allyson Felix are onlya handful of people who wererecognized first by the GatoradePlayer of the Year program.

The Gatorade State Playersof the Year are given to the ath-letes who show outstanding ath-letic excellence as well as highstandards of academic achieve-ment and great personal charac-ter displayed on and off thecourt or field.

Every student who earnedthe Gatorade State Player of theYear is eligible for the GatoradeNational Player of the Yearaward as well in their respectivesports as well.

And the Winner is.......Jack Pueringer wins Player of the Year

Listen up! Lady Bears head basketball coach Gretta Buehler givesinstructions to her squad during West’s first-round game againstMissoula Big Sky. The Lady Bears ended their season with 14 wins,earning the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference. They averaged 52points per game and shot 40% from the field.

Photo by Greg Heidner

Smile! Senior Jack Pueringer wasrecently named Montana Playerof the Year by Gatorade.

Photo by Jessica Ettleman.

Golden and Lady Bear Track Begins AgainCan the Golden Bears pull off a “Four-Peat”?

AAlleexx HHaarrttffoorrddsenior staffwriter

Have you ever gone for arun, and then forgot somethingimportant after the run? It ispossible that a lack of water ledto your dumbfounded memoryloss. And that is exactly whatLiz Flom wanted to test with a

few West High students. The point of her test was to

test the effects of dehydrationon the mind.

Liz Flom, a master’s stu-dent at MSU-B, has done herathletic training at West forsome time now, and as a part ofher curriculum, she is entitled tocreate and conduct her own test.

The test was simple. Have aWest High student exercise tothe point where he or she lost 2percent of his body weight; afterthe exercise, the student wasrequired to take the ImPact test.

“The study was done to ful-fill the requirements for myGraduate Research Project forthe Athletic Training Education

Program at MSUB. In short, Iwanted to study the effects ofdehydration on cognitive func-tion - how well your brainworks when you’re dehydrat-ed,” said Liz Flom the instructorof the test.

The ImPact test is a systemof questions that tests the mem-ory of athletes who are suspect-ed of receiving a concussionduring play.

Students were given time torecuperate, then they would takethe test again, this time theywould drink a Red Bull energydrink two hours prior to theexercise.

The exercise itself provedto be pretty hard.

“Running for an hour andfifteen minutes wasn’t pleasing;

it was hard because I was dehy-drated,” said senior TysonShriver.

In the end, athletes actuallydid better on the ImPact testafter the exercise.

While remembering afterdrinking an energy drinkseemed easy, the exercise afterthe Red Bull was much harder.

Shriver stated, “I was expe-riencing a weird tingling in myfeet, and it was harder to runbecause I got dehydratedfaster.”

“More students reportedfeeling ‘sick’ when runningafter drinking the Red Bull.None of the subjects were happyabout the feelings from RedBull and would have preferredto not drink it,” stated Flom.

MARCH 31, 2OO9SPORTS 9

KKoollbbyy MMccGGaarrrraahh sophomore staffwriter

West High tennis practicebegan on March 16 after school,and the Lady Bears and theGolden Bears are looking for-ward to another great season.

Dick Colum will be coach-ing the Lady Bears for his secondyear on the squad, while JeffHankel will be coaching theGolden Bears.

“[Colum] is a great motiva-tor, and he does a great jobencouraging us. He did reallywell his first year,” said sopho-more Jenna Fiscus.

Most of the girls play in thebubble over at MSU-B and take

lessons there in the off season. “Without Missy Harris, we

should do well against Senior. Itis nice to be on a team full ofgirls and have no drama,” saidsophomore Eileen Gregori.

Gregori plays doubles alongside sophomore Kirby Halsey.Gregori thinks the season will gopretty well this year and expectsWest to do well at state.

Halsey said “We are going toKirb-stomp them into the tenniscourts!”

Gregory predicts that JennaFiscus and her doubles partnerKristen Cole have a good chanceof winning state.

The boys team is also look-ing really strong this year and hashigh hopes for winning state.

Senior Jordan Hatzel tookthird at state last year, but is thefavorite to win it this year. Hatzelpredicts that the Golden Bearswill have a lot of people qualifyfor state, and he thinks West willgo far.

“We are going to win state,”said Hatzel. “People just have tostep it up, and we will go far.”

The first tournament of theseason was held at West High onMarch 28 where the Golden andLady Bears were matchedagainst cross-town rivals Seniorand Skyview.

Both the Golden Bears andthe Lady Bears did well and got alot of wins, but it was more ofjust a practice day. The first realtournament will be April 4.

Tennis Swings into Action The HotseatStanton Duke

Sport: BasketballPosition: Guard

Duke has played varsity basketball for two years, starting atpoint guard for the Golden Bears in his senior season. Heearned All-State and All-Conference honors this year, averag-ing 11.2 points per game and 3.2 assists per game, good forsixth best in the state. Duke was also automatic from behindthe arc, shooting 48 percent which gave him the second-bestthree point percentage in the state.

Favorite basketball player?- Lebron

Favorite coaches comment?- “Nice shot Stanton Duke.”

Favorite team moment?- Jase singing in Miles City

Favorite roommate?- Eric Halverson

Worst roommate?- Jake Ness (his FIFTH appearance here)

Pairs of shoes?- Five

Favorite flavor of ice cream?- Moosetracks

March Madness is…- The best three weeks of the year

Favorite song- “Jesse’s Girl” by Rick Springfield

Abercrombie or American Eagle?- Neither

TTaawwnnii PPaalliinnfreshman staffwriter

The ball is out of the park!Lady Bears softball begins again.

Ed Kriskovich, the varsitycoach, said, “I am pleased withthe returning and new players.”

The coaching roster isrounded out by Preston Sandersthe assistant varsity coach; FaithBlank with junior varsity; andJody McIlvain with the freshmanteam.

Many juniors from last yearare returning as seniors. While

two freshmen from last year arereturning as sophomores.

Varsity lost six players tograduation last year, includingboth starting pitchers.

Sophomore JessykaMacDonald, a returning pitcher,declared, “I think my favoritething about this sport is the factthat I get to hangout with someamazing girls everyday.”

MacDonald continued, “Oneof the things I hope to accom-plish this season is taking ourgirls to state. Since we have fair-ly new team, it will be tough, but

I am positive we can do it.”Last year, the Lady Bear

softball team placed second atstate, after 23 wins and only 5losses.

McIlvain commented, “Wehave a talented bunch of fresh-men this year. I am sure we willfinish well above 500.”

Freshman third base playerTaylor Iversen mentioned, “WhatI like about this sport is hittingthe softball and hanging out withfriends. I hope to hit at least twohome runs by the end of the sea-son.”

Batter Up!Lady Bears Softball Begins

Students Participate in Study to Test Effects ofDehydration on Performance

AAlleexx HHaarrttoorrddsenior staffwriter

This year, March has notgiven us any madness.

Where is Cinderella? It’salmost twelve o’ clock!

Whether or not a surpriseteam advances, the NCAA bas-ketball tournament is still anexciting time of year.

With 64 teams, basketball allday, some skip school to watchthe opening round, and possiblyeat chips and salsa; who wouldn’tlove that?

Senior basketball enthusiastBrittani Zier is always excited attournament time.

“It is the best sporting eventever!” Zier explained

Senior Mitchell Hatlestadloves everything about March.

“Nothing compares to MarchMadness, the drama, the upsets,the Cinderella stories, and justthe overall excitement. It’s thebest thing in sports.”

Sometimes people watch justto see small schools succeedamong big schools.

Does George Mason ring abell?

This year, however, there isonly one school in the sweet six-teen is seeded outside of the topfive, University or Arizona.

Hatlestad isn’t at all upsetabout the lack of surprise teams.“I like it either way. Cinderellateams are always great, but whenthe high seeds win, like this year,it creates some great match-ups.”

A lot of the excitement ofMarch Madness is filling out awinning bracket.

All across the nation, basket-ball fans try their best to predictthe outcome of the tournament.

Some even go as far as enter-ing pools on line or other poolsthat involve money.

West High’s own MarcusDrange is in the 99th percentileof the registered brackets on

ESPN, which means his bracketpredictions are better then 99 per-cent of registered brackets onESPN.com.

“I really liked the teams in

the Big East; it’s a strong confer-ence, so I mainly went thoseteams; my predictions for theFinal Four consist of all Big Eastteams.” Drange explained.

The HotseatLauryn McKay

Sport: BasketballPosition: Forward

McKay finished her prep basketball career with a very strongseason for the Lady Bears. She ranked in the top 20 in thestate in points per game (9.7), rebounds per game (5.8) andfield goal percentage (48%). The senior forward gained All-Conference honors for her work on the hardwood.

Favorite basketball player?- Steve Nash

Favorite coaches comment?- “JUST FREAKIN’ GETTHERE!”

Favorite team moment?- Locker-room warm-ups.

Favorite roommate?- Ope and Alex Black

Worst roommate?- Alex Black

Pairs of shoes?- 40

Favorite flavor of ice cream?- Moosetracks

March Madness is…- sweet

Favorite song- “I Feel Like a Woman” by Shania Twain

Abercrombie or American Eagle?- Neither

MARCH 31, 2OO9SPORTS 1O

March Madness: 2009 Not So Mad

KKoollbbyy MMccGGaarrrraahhsophomore staffwritter

Attention all avid soccerfans! Get ready for another excit-ing season of Magic City Soccer.

Magic City Soccer is a clubteam that travels around the stateto play against teams in otherMontana cities and neighboringstates.

With two teams for each agegroup, A and AA, kids from allover the city compete with eachother to make these one of theseteams.

Magic City is an excellentprogram for the more serious soc-cer player looking to push his orher game to the next level. It givesplayers opportunities to be scout-ed by college coaches which canlead to scholarship opportunities.

Players get the chance to playteams from around the countryand interact with them at tourna-ments. They are introduced tonew styles of play and expandtheir knowledge and skill of thegame.

Mike Mayot, coach of the U-16 boys team, said, “Magic City isthe power house of club soccer inMontana. We have brought homemore state titles than any otherclub around the state. It startedfrom a mere eighteen kids and hasgrown to over five hundred. Wehad kids who are now playing forD-1 and D-2 schools.”

Club games will begin nearthe end of March or in early April,

and last until the end of June orJuly depending on how long thecoach wants to extend the season.

Some teams participate inout-of-state tournaments beforeclub season starts.

One popular out-of-statetournament is the U.S.A Cup heldin Blaine, Minnesota.

The tournament draws inmore than 1,000 teams from allover the world and begins with anopening ceremony where theyintroduce all the teams.

At the end of the season, allthe teams come together for astate tournament. This year thetournament will be held in GreatFalls at the Siebel Soccer Park.

The winners in each agegroup will represent Montana in

the Western RegionalTournament, which will be held inLancaster, California, where allthe state champions in theWestern region come together tocompete.

The winners of this tourna-ment proceed to nationals whichdetermine the best team in theUnited States.

Sophomore Joseph MapleFrank (West High student on theu-16 AA boys) said, “Regionals[two years ago] was quiteenthralling. The experience wasfulfilling, and I’d definitely do itagain.”

“Magic allows us to competeat a high level against good quali-ty teams, but the overall cost canbe very expensive,” said Frank.

Magic City Soccer Kicks Off

Sophomore Joeseph Frank backflips to save a shot from sopomoreKolby McGarrah (not shown in picture). Frank is the starting keeperfor the U-16 AA boys team.

photo by Kolby McGarrah

GGrreegg HHeeiiddnneerr aanndd CCoonnnnoorrMMccCCaauulleeyy

Sports Editor and Senior SportsColumnist

The following events took placebetween 10 a.m. on Thursday, March12 and 10 a.m. on Sunday March 15.They are not completely factual andin some ways dramatically over-exaggerated.

Reader discretion is advised.* * * *

After a three hour trip that leftme stiff in the legs, hungry and angryat idiot truck drivers, I stepped out ofmy car at the Butte Civic Center andtook a deep breath. I then promptlycoughed and remembered I was inButte, making a mental note to thinktwice before doing that again.

It could not keep me downthough, as I was stoked for anothergreat AA state tournament.

My first taste of West HighBasketball came from watching theLady Bears face off against theWestern Conference’s top team,Missoula Big Sky. The girls put up aheck of an effort, keeping it closethroughout the first half before theEagles proved to be just too much,picking up the win.

Senior Connor McCauley here,and I traveled up in time to catch thenext game, a first round Golden Bearshowdown against the Big SkyEagles.

Big Sky was a good team that

couldn’t click, and our student sec-tion was fairly quiet for a state tour-nament game, so nothing big wasgoing to happen until a Ben Kingdunk made the statement of the game,and the student section erupted. Westran away with a first round victory.

Since I wasn’t staying in Butteitself, it was a 20 minute drive out tothe hotel at the Fairmont HotSprings.

The hotel was hopping withteenagers from all sorts of schools,from Missoula Sentinel to Glacier.Every school was represented bytheir own students, and everyoneseemed to get along pretty well.

Night fall struck, and everyonemade their way out to the hot poolwhere more and more students fit intonaturally heated pool and adultsstarted to leave with the disgustedlook on their faces of “Why did wechoose this week to go toFairmont?”

While Connor was having hishot tub party the first night, my groupmade a late-night Walmart run,where seniors Jordan Oleson andLandry Brockel hit gold in findingfake scratch-cards. It had beenMitchell Hatlestad’s birthday, so Ipretended I had bought him one, andwe watched as he scratched his “firstcard” trying not to bust out laughing.When he flipped the card over to

read the instructions that told him thecard was a fake, he pretended heknew the whole time while calling us

dumb.Brady got it on video, Mitch.

Say what you want, we got you.Some of us had more important

things to do than play pranks onfriends, Greg, and after the hot tubparty finally died down, we got a lit-tle sleep and chose to wake up with amorning swim and muffins beforeheading into town. West was playingthe Skyview Falcons in the secondround, and we all went to the game tocheer our hearts out (sometimes notadministration approved cheers, butundeniably fun).

West came out on top of a veryclose game that went down to thefinal seconds, claiming a spot in thestate title game.

Alright, move aside Connor.After the win, my group headed up toFairmont to join in the hot tub festiv-ities. The win gave West braggingrights in the packed pool, and a fewmoments of chanting lead to a secu-rity guard coming over and askingthe massive amount of students toshut up in the nicest possible way.

An unknown student in the pool(We’ll call him Mr. T) tossed a NerfBall at the guard, who proceeded toturn around and pick me out of thecrowd as the culprit. After the 20-or-so witnesses around me explainedthat I definitely didn’t do it, I wasallowed to remain in the pool for thenight instead of getting kicked out.

After watching Greg’s securityguard incident unfold, Justin Schmitt

and I took a late-night trip to Buttebefore coming home to find that ClayCompton had stolen my bed. Ienjoyed a great sleep on the floorinstead and woke up ready to watchWest go for yet another state title.After another morning swim andmore muffins (which we decided wasofficially the best wake-up ever), wechecked out of the hotel and headedto the Civic Center.

Despite most of the senior guysbeing kicked out of the student sec-tion, the championship game was alot of fun. Even though West couldn’ttake the title, it was still fun to cheeron a team full of players that most ofus had watched play together sincethe seventh grade.

Connor went home that night,

but my group chose to leave the nextmorning. We went to Metals SportsBar, where we chose to play the fakescratch-card prank on Golden Bearmanager Marcus Drange. He too fellfor it, and to our delight his familyeven was around to watch.

After clearing out of the hotelroom, we went outside for a game ofparking lot baseball. The count ranfull on Brady Hunemuller, and whenthe catcher Drange gave JordanOleson the signal for the payoff pitch,he dialed in some extra heat. Thepitch sailed in and hit Brady in a spotthat crippled the senior (see picture).After I could stop laughing longenough to tell him to take a base, wefinally checked out of the hotel andheaded home.

MARCH 31, 2OO9SPORTS 15

A Day at State - Part 2A look into the lives of two students at the AA State Basketball Tournament

Thats got to hurt! Senior Brady Hunemuller gets hit down low from apitch thrown by senior Jordan Oleson. It was a slightly suspect pitch-call from senior Marcus Drange, but still hilarious.

photo by Greg Heidner

AR

TS Audiences love performace

of South PacificTTaawwnnii PPaalliinn

freshman staffwriter

“Bali Ha’i will whisperyour name.”

South Pacific was verywell put together. The pitorchestra consisted of bothband and orchestra members,and even included a harp.

The harp player was soph-omore Jeni Sorli. “I love mypart in the performance. I gotto hangout with some awesomepeople,” she commented.

“The play is a happy play. Iam not sure why, but it lets theaudience go with a happy feel-ing.” Sorli explained.

Juniors Rachel Nielsen andMatt Kirkpartick played theleading roles, Nellie Forbushand Emile de Becque, respec-tively.

The comic relief included

juniors Brooke Moncada andAndrew Nicoll. These twoplayed Bloody Mary andLuther Billis, respectively.

Nicoll’s character was apompous fool who got awaywith this attitude.

“I liked Luther because hecould joke around and get awaywith it,” Nicoll explained. “Thebest part of the performancewas the finished productbecause then we could see theresult of all the hours we putinto it.”

Bloody Mary was a nativewho was selling souvenirs tothe Navy for outrageous pricesand learning the ways of themen.

“My favorite thing aboutmy character was that she wasjust crazy, and I got to exagger-ate her so much,” Moncadaexplained. “The thing I likedabout the production was thateveryone was awesome andenthusiastic.”

Nielsen’s character, a nursein the Navy who falls in lovewith de Becque, was fun lov-ing. “My favorite part of mycharacter was that she is solight and fun. What I like theplay was how well the castbonded,” said Nielsen

Emile de Becque, a French

plantation owner who lives onthe island with the Navy, isplayed by Kirkpatrick. “Mycharacter was nice because hehad a willingness to acceptanyone and everyone. I say thatChorus was one of the bestparts of the play.”

De Becque has two kidswhose mother had died, and hefalls in love with Nellie.

This performance would

have been nothing with out theguidance of MelindaMiddleton, the DramaDirector; David Green, theMusical Director; SteveMacartney, the AssistantDirector; and the rest of castand crew.

Erin KusekOpinion Editor

Performing a fewselections from one of themost well-known operas of alltime, the Rimrock OperaCompany wowed West HighFrench classes with their ren-dition of songs from Carmen.

Georg Bizet’s Carmenfollows a young girl with afierce temper and her questfor love.

Carmen enchantsDon Jose, a new soldier, caus-ing him to reject his formergirlfriend.

However, Carmensoon begins to fall for Jose’sbullfighting friend, Escamillo.

Jose’s jealousybecomes too much for him tohandle, and he eventually killsCarmen for leaving him.

The performance fea-tured three vocalists with alldifferent backgrounds inmusic: Jeff Kitto, a formerlead singer of the band TheClintons; Carolyn Coefield, avoice teacher at RockyMountain College; and HeidiRae, a trained vocalist with anextensive resume.

The cast performed atotal of five songs, accompa-nied by pianistSandi Rabas.

“I was sohappy with thestudents’ reac-tion [to the per-f o r m a n c e ] , ”Rabas said. “Itwas a greatexperience forall of us, and Ihope we can doit again; it wasreally fun.”

A r r a n g e dby Frenchteacher MadameM a r q u a r d t ,West High was

the only high school the operaperformed.

“You’re the only schoolwe’re doing this for, so youshould feel extremely lucky,”executive director DougNagel joked with the audi-ence.

Marquardt felt the operawas worth seeing for allFrench students.

“Carmen is so beautiful,and everyone seemed to reallyenjoy it. I have received noth-ing but positive feedbackfrom my classes,” commentedMarquardt.

Although the opera’smusic was completely inFrench, the students enjoyedhearing the story and thesingers’ talents.

“I really liked hearing therange of the vocalists’ voic-es,” said freshman TaylorSmith, who received a specialserenade of “Happy Birthday”from the cast.

All in all, the perform-ance was a huge success.

“The performance wasvery cool, and I’m glad I gotto see it,” said sophomore JanRoddy.

Carmen performed atAlberta Bair Theatre onMarch 28-29.

Band Travels to Bozeman for AANNiikkkkyy MMoossuurreejunior staffwriter

Two days of non-stop play-ing after which where the instru-ment ends and the actual playerbegins, no one can remember.

The West High symphonicband traveled to Bozeman, whichhosted the AA band festival, toplay for two days with theBozeman High band under guestconductor Gary P. Gilroy.

Sophomore Nathan Williamssaid of the festival, “It was coolhaving a different conductor andplaying something he wrote.”

Gilroy also composes. TheWest High band actually per-formed one of his pieces at theirwinter concert this year.

After the festival, West Highband director Steve Patton is

looking into other Gilroy piecesthat would interest the band toplay.

“Gilroy was a crazy person,”commented junior MatthewKellinger jokingly.

The AA band festival is anannual event, normally consist-ing of at least four participatingbands. They pair two bandstogether, and the new groupsworks with a guest conductor fortwo full days. At the end of thesecond day, the combined bandperforms a concert.

Last year, Billings Skyviewhosted the festival, and this yearit was Bozeman’s turn to do thehonors, so four bands gathered inBozeman to play their hearts out.

Many students enjoy theexperiences they gain while trav-eling to and participating in these

festivals.Junior percussionist Caylee

Daem commented, “I thought itwas interesting playing with adifferent conductor because hehas a different style. [Gilroy is]grumpy and tries to kill percus-sion.”

This statement comes fromthe fact that Gilroy, as a percus-sionist, tries to relate with playersand help them excel in theirmusical abilities, often makingthem feel that he is picking onthem.

Many students thoughtGilroy was crazy because of histactics of teaching a piece ofmusic. This, he seems to think,makes the musicians more suc-cessful in performing the piece.

With that, the band cameback a little bit wiser this year.

French Students View Carmen

The Carmen performers take time toanswer questions from students after theirpresentation.

photo by Erin Kusek

The men are waiting for the decision of Emile de Becque (far right) onwhether or not he will join their team. Matt Kirkpatrick (right), AustinGee (second in), Porter Hanna (second in from the left), and KyleSchneider (left).

photo by Tawni Palin

The Ensemble works with Nellie (Rachel Nielsen) as she tries to talkher herself into forgetting about Becque in one of the most famousmusical numbers from South Pacific, “Wash That Man Right out of MyHair.”

photo by Tawni Palin

Emile (Matt Kirkpatrick) andNellie (Rachel Nielsen) have justsaid good bye to the last ofEmile’s dinner guests, focusing onhow much fun the party was andenjoying each others’ company.

photo by Tawni Palin

FEBRUARY 27, 2OO9ARTS 13

The Blink is Back! (or soon will be)Legendary band announces intentionto reunite and release another album

Come On Wildcats!BST puts on High School Musical

KKyyrraa NNeellssoonnArts Editor

“Wildcats everywhere, raiseyour hands up in the air!” sangout the cast of Billings Studio’sHigh School Musical.

From March 10 to 21,Billings Studio Theater enter-tained a crowd of Wildcat fanswho came to see the GrowingStage Players’ rendition of theDisney hit High School Musical.

The stage version by PeterBarocchini follows the story ofEast High, a school where anunlikely pair of heroes turns thestatus quo upside down.

Troy Bolton, a jock playedby Joseph Baken, auditions forthe high school musical with girlgenius Gabriel Montez, played

by Dallas Martin. They make it tocall backs, much to the dismay ofdrama queen Sharpay (HannahBrown) and her brother Ryan(Austin Martin).

The production was directedby Wendy Carlin.

Senior Jared Black, whoacted as one of the jocks in theplay, commented on the cast,“The people we were workingwith were really fun. It was agood cast.”

The show also included a lotof dancing which junior JordanStevens remarked, “…was rock-ing!”

The play included all thesongs from the original movie, aswell as the song “Don’t Let UsDown,” which Troy and

Gabriela’s friends sing to themwhile trying to convince them notto do the musical.

Crowds were pleased withthe show.

“It was great,” said juniorHillary Jones. “Everybody in itdid a really good job.”

“The show was great,” jun-ior Matt Kirkpatrick reflected. “Iwas really impressed with the tal-ent and quality displayed by theactors.”

Senior Mallory Carling wasselected to play scholar TaylorMcKessie. She concludes, “Themusical was a blast, and I got toact very cheesy all the time anddance like a maniac, so it was agreat experience, and the castwas a lot of fun to be around.”

CChhaassee TTeemmpplleettsophomore staffwriter

February 4 marked a day thathad a dramatic effect on thousandsof Americans, regardless of theirlocation and lifestyle.

Recession continues to affectour homeland while thousands ofpeople worldwide continue to faceundeniable hardships day in and dayout, with no visible life free of hard-ship anywhere in sight.

Without doubt, the world con-tinues to revolve with raw hardshipamong people, but every single per-son, regardless of their differences,can now rest easy knowing that theBlink is back.

Blink 182 took the stage at theGrammy Awards for the first time inexactly five years, an extremelyunlikely event due to the harshnature of the epic band’s breakup in2005.

Drummer Travis Barker’srecent near-death experience cat-alyzed the reunion and reconciledthe bruised friendship between gui-tarist Tom Delonge and bassistMark Hoppus, who both share the

mic in addition to their instruments.Sophomore Sean Foster stated,

“I was on Myspace when theyannounced that they were back in ablog. Probably the most excitingthing that I realized was that I’llfinally get to see themlive.”

In agreement,sophomore RyanWheeler explained, “Iknew it would happenbecause I saw theirblog, but still, I wassuper excited.”

Aside from theirdifferences, Blink 182have proven their abili-ty in the past and willlikely continue toexhibit their talentthrough the recently-announced upcomingalbum.

The saga beganwhen Tom Delonge metMark Hoppus’s sister,who spoke of her sibling’s desire tocreate new music that distinguisheditself from the common trends withDelonge. Under the name Duck

Tape, Mark Hoppus, Tom Delonge,and local drummer Scott Raynorbegan to write the music that wouldeventually define a generation.

Duck Tape evolved to simplyBlink. They practiced constantly

and recorded the first demo,Flyswatter, at Scott Raynor’s house.Shortly after, the band released anearlier variation of Buddha via Filterrecords on cassette tape. The bandsigned with cargo records andrecorded Cheshire Cat. At this time,another band sharing the same nameforced them to add the “182” to theend of their name to prevent a law-

suit.Wheeler stated, “Buddha is

probably my favorite album byBlink 182 because it was really theirfirst real one.”

Blink 182 began to form aname and surface on thepop-punk scene on agreater level following therelease of their albumDude Ranch in 1997,which sold about 1.5 mil-lion copies.

Raynor’s valuesbegan to collide withHoppus and Delongue’swhile on tour, resulting inScott Raynor parting wayswith the ever-growingband.

Travis Barker, thedrummer from TheAquabats, took Raynor’sposition for the rest of thetour.

When they offeredBarker Raynor’s position

permanently, he accepted gladly.Foster explained, “Travis

Barker has some skills, and he influ-enced my drumming quite a bit.Scott Raynor was just a typical punkdrummer, but I think he had a posi-tive effect on their music… It speaksa lot about a musician when he canblend his style with a band reallywell, really fast.”

As the close of the 1990’sneared, the band ended the centurywith a best-selling album that con-tained singles such as “All the SmallThings” and “What’s My AgeAgain?”

Wheeler stated, “[The best partabout Blink 182 is] Tom Delongeand his goofy jokes, and his beauti-fully angelic voice.”

They earned their place onradio and countless mix-tapes, andbegan to leave their footprint on popculture.

They reinforced their footprintwith their follow up to the album,containing new energetic songs thatremained in the heads of thousandsof Americans.

The teen generation steadilydrifted to constant skateboarding,cut off Dickies, Mountain Dew andBlink 182.

Blink released what fans pre-sumed to be their last album simplyentitled Blink 182.

With the albums, they intro-duced a new side of Blink 182, amore musically mature and seriousside of the band. Pop punk slogansand youthful subjects no longer ven-tured into the music.

What seemed like an entirelynew band sparked controversyamong fans. Some viewed it as anepic turn while some viewed it dis-loyalty to the genre.

Following their tours, Hoppus,Barker, and Delonge ceased to seeeye to eye socially and musicallyand decided to part ways into sever-al different projects.

Tom Delonge and TravisBarker continued Boxcar Racer, aproject that the members startedoverlapping Blink 182.

Travis Barker later joined TheTransplants, a more punk basedband, Hoppus began work on +44,his own musical expression (later tobe joined by Travis Barker), andTom Delonge with Angels andAirwaves, the band with the mostmusical disagreement with Blink182.

Their return became an idea farfrom reality as the three had suchdifferent perspectives on music.

But, with the test of time with-stood, the band reunited and set theirdifferences aside following TravisBarker’s recent brush with death in aplane crash.

Fans can expect the first albumfrom the band (since their abruptbreakup) in summer of 2009.

While expectations remainhigh for the new album, fans are leftin the dark as to what to expect. Foster stated, “I’m expecting themto create an album similar to theirUntitled, but I hope that it soundslike the older stuff.”

TTaawwnnii PPaalliinnfreshman staffwriter

Violins, violas, and cel-los, oh my!

The Billings WestOrchestra held a concert onFeb. 19.

The Chamber Orchestraperformed some favorites,including I Knew I Loved Youby Ennio Morricone, arrangedby R. Phillippe.

Philharmonic Orchestrahad five songs of their ownincluding Irish Legend byRobert Kerr, and arranged byS.H. Newbold.

The song MoonlightExpress by Susan H. Day wasplayed by both orchestrastogether.

Junior Nicole Ficek had abeautiful solo during IrishLegend.

“Nervous as I was abouttripping over my dress, it was

nevertheless an exhilaratingexperience,” Ficek explained.

Freshman Tegan Millersaid, “Moments was the one Ihad the most fun playing.”

In the song Serenade forViolas by Gary Flecher, theviolas in the ChamberOrchestra had their own solo.

In Night Voyage by SusanH. Day, which was played bythe Chamber Orchestra, eachgroup had a soli. A soli iswhen two of the same instru-ment play the exact samemelody unlike when they playboth harmony and melody.

Freshman Emily Larsonsaid, “I liked playingMoonlight Express. I thoughtboth orchestras played bettertogether. It looked better,sounded better and was better.I also like Scottish Mist. Thesound of it just was so nice.”

Scottish Mist is composedby Bonnie Rideout andarranged by B. Phillips.

Snazzy Strings: Orchestra puts onan excellent concert

MARCH 31, 2OO9ARTS 14

NNiikkkkyy MMoossuurreeJunior staffwriter

Jodi Picoult is a very accom-plished author. Her novel MySister’s Keeper (2004) is a veryemotional, moving tale that hasreceived praise.

Well she has done it again.Her new novel Nineteen Minutesis a look into the lives of variouspeople connected to a schoolshooting.

Would you feel guilty orwould you even care if that friendyou left behind for the popularcrowd came to school one daywith the intent to shoot your“friends”?

What if you were in an abu-sive relationship, you just couldnot get out, and you hated your-self for loving him or her?

What would life be like aftera shooting?

What would be the same? What would be different?These are all questions that

Picoult addresses in the novel. Peter Houghton has been

bullied since his very first day ofkindergarten when some kidsthrew his metal superman lunch-box out the window on the bus.On top of that, he has been in theshadow of his older brother Joey,who was perfect in everyone’seyes.

Josie Cormier has it all: sheis popular, she has a straight Aaverage, and she is dating MattRoyston. What no one sees is thatJosie is essentially on her own.Her mother is a district judge andis never home, and her relation-ship with Matt is less than per-fect.

These two were best friends

once-upon-a time. Peter andJosie grew up together and werefriends until the sixth grade whenJosie left Peter for induction intothe “popular” crowd.

From there on out, Josie wasno longer protecting Peter. Hernew friends were the ones insti-gating everything, and Josie justsat there and condoned it by say-ing nothing.

Peter was depantsed and beatup; he had his head flushed in thetoilet, and he had a personalemail forwarded to everyone inthe school.

One morning, he decidedthat he was going to put an end tothe tormenting. Peter brought 4guns to school and used them toshoot various students in theschool, mainly targeting the“popular” kids.

Josie Cormier loves MattRoyston and she hates herself forit. Although Matt seems like theperfect boyfriend, he is control-ling and abusive. Josie does nothave the willpower to get out ofthe relationship because she doeslove him. She is only releasedfrom the relationship when Mattis killed in the shooting.

Peter Houghton hates MattRoyston. Since the day Peterboarded the bus for kindergarten,Matt has done nothing but bullyand harass Peter. It never stops; ithappens every single day ofschool. Matt has even gone so faras to announce to the entireschool that Peter is in love withJosie.

Josie’s mother, AlexCormier, is originally the judgesitting on Peter’s case, but sheremoves herself when she is scru-tinized by the public. People

believe that she can not be unbi-ased because Josie was involvedin the shooting and her boyfriendwas killed.

Judge Cormier after beingremoved from the case, movesinto the shoes, becoming a moth-er to Josie. Josie at first is resist-ant because they have never hada mother- daughter relationshipto this capacity. The two eventu-ally grow closer throughout thetrial.

Peter has feeling for Josie;he really does. Sometimes hehates her, but not always. This iswhy he circled her photo in theyearbook and writes “let live”across it.

Peter likes to think that Josieis still the girl with whom hegrew up: the friend he can alwaysrely on, but it becomes apparentthat this is not the case.

Josie feels guilty and sorryfor Peter.

She feels guilty that she didnot speak up instead of goingalong with the torment.

She feels sorry for himbecause of his situation.

He is sitting in jail becausehe has been bullied his entire life,but he does deserve to be in jailbecause of what he did. Josie isconcerned that her actions couldhave been the changing factor.

That 19-minute shootingspree has changed everything andeveryone.

This novel is a great read.Picoult brings to the table

some great issues including bul-lying, parenting and abusive rela-tionships; issues that need to bedealt with in our schools becausestudents deal with them daily.

Nineteen Minutes ExploresAftermath of School Shooting

Experience the exhilarating beauty of mountain landscapes,sports, and culture! The best films from the 33rd annual BanffMountain Film Festival will thrill and inspire you with their amazingbig-screen stories and adventures when they come to the BillingsLincoln Center Auditorium at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, April 29th.Climb the highest peaks, paddle the wildest waters and journey to themost enchanting and beautiful places on the planet.

The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour begins immedi-ately after the Banff Mountain Film Festival, held every November inBanff, Alberta, Canada. The tour spans the globe bringing a variety ofmountain films to a wide range of viewers from mountain guides toweekend warriors to armchair adventurers. Be moved. Be inspired.Don’t miss out. Get your tickets now. For more information contactThe Base Camp at 248-4555.Who:Kids, adults, and families (3 hours long)What:33rd Banff Mountain Film FestivalWhere:Billings Lincoln Center, 415 N 30thWhen:7PM-10PM, Wednesday, April 29, 2009Why:So you do not miss an opportunity to be moved and inspiredHow Much:Adults: adv.:$8.50 door:$10.00Students: adv.:$6.50 door:$8.00

For More information please call Paul or Pat at 406-248-4555 oremail paul@thebasecamp.net.

Base Camp Hosts 33rdAnnual Banf Film Festivalat Lincoln Center

OP

INIO

N Video Games DisrespectVeterans’ Deeds and Memories

Pat Bushjunior staffwriter

Ever since video gamesbecame a common form ofentertainment, some people havebeen afraid the violence in someof these games would have anegative impact on theirchildren. However violence isnot the problem.

The problem is that theindustries that make violentgames base their games on actualwars.

Games like Medal of Honorand Call of Duty, which arebased on real life atrocities, arewrong.

The Medal of Honor seriesis set in World War II.

I find it disgusting thatElectronic Arts has so littlerespect for America’s veteransthat they exploit their real-lifestruggles just to make a buck.

Real men died in thesebattles, they died fighting toprotect all Americans, and weowe them respect, notexploitation.

If you actually understandwhat happened in these wars,then you shouldn’t be able to getenjoyment out of games likethese.

Our soldiers were not onlykilled and forced to kill, theywere also captured, tortured,horribly disfigured and driven

insane.Many of these soldiers came

home with missing body parts,and they were the lucky ones.They were the lucky few to makeit out of Europe alive, and for

companies likeElectronic Arts to then decidethat this makes for a great videogame is beastly.

The majority of the Call ofDuty games are also set in WorldWar II. The game’s developers,Infinity Ward, should beashamed of themselves andforced out of the business.

The games don’t even haveto include real battles from realwars; basing their games on thereal human suffering is morethan enough.

The Call of Duty series alsoincludes a game based on thecurrent War on Terror. While itdoesn’t include a real battles thathave happened, it still sickens meto think that the creators have solittle respect for our troopscurrently serving over seas thatthey make them the object aviolent, bloody video game.

Far Cry 2 is another first-person shooter that is based onthe civil wars in Africa, and ifpeople truly understand whathappens in these wars and canstill get enjoyment out of this

game, they are sick and twistedand not worthy of the titlehuman.

The many civil wars inAfrica are some of the mostdisturbing wars fought anywhereon Earth. Rebel groups andgovernments involved oftencommit atrocious crimes againsthumanity. They burn innocentvillages to the ground,dismember and slaughtercivilians, rape women and younggirls and abduct young boys tofight for them.

These boys are then forcedto kill their families, after beingbrainwashed and given drugs.They are turned from children,the very symbols of innocence,into ruthless killing machines.

How can anyone evenfathom creating a game based onthese events?

The first installment in theseries, while not based on a realwar, is just as sick. Far Cry takesplace in the South Pacific, onislands over which Japan and theU.S. fought during World War II.This game may not include childsoldiers, but it includes a farworse crime, genocide.

Genocide is the absoluteworst crime anyone can commitand should not be taken solightly that video games arecreated using it as a means ofentertainment.

While the game does notcondone genocide in any way, itstill uses this horrendous crimeto bring enjoyment to patheticmiscreants who call themselveshuman beings.

Brave men and women diedfighting to keep our greatcountry free. They voluntarilywent to war because theybelieved in the causes theyfought for, predominantly,keeping us safe.

This is not the way to honorthem.

NNiikkkkyy MMoossuurree junior staffwriter

Vegetarians, vegans andsemi-vegetarians. I lovethem all, and personallytend to lean toward thelatter.

This column is in noway intended to bash againstthis lifestyle.

However, there is adifference between being avegetarian because it is thecool thing or believing itwill make you popular andactually believing in areason not to eat meat.

Vegitarianism is a wayof life, not just somethingyou take on because all ofyour friends are doing it.

It is really importantthat people begin to realizethis.

Most do choose thislifestyle because of theirviews on meat and thetreatment of animals, but itis those who choose it fordifferent reasons that givevegetarians a bad name.

A vegan is a person whodoes not eat any animal by-products including dairy,

eggs and honey; avegetarian is someone whodoes not eat any form ofmeat; a semi-vegetarian isone who does not eat redmeat but may eat poultry orfish.

For one thing, I wouldlike to take a minute to pointout that people need toclarify their views on redmeat instead of saying thatthey “can’t have meat.”

What does this mean?Are you allergic to beef

or pork like some areallergic to fish?

Will your throat closeand kill you if you eat meat?

Why not simply say, “Iam a vegetarian. I prefer notto eat meat.”

The other issue thatseems to appear is thatvegans and vegetariansmake huge deals about notbeing able to eat certainthings. This again is anotherexample of an overreaction.

When you made thedecision about yourlifestyle, you should haverealized that there will betimes that it would be harder

for you to find something toeat that meets your lifestyle.

This, however, is noreason for you to complainand throw a fit about thefood from which you haveto choose.

Be aware of what youare getting into and all thatit entails.

For those of you whoare considering veganism orany of the aforementionedlifestyles, look into it andtake into consideration yourcurrent way of life.

Are you involved inschool activities where youtravel and where it would behard to maintain thischoice?

Think about your familylife: can it support thisdecision?

So, please, before youmake the decision to leadthis lifestyle, do yourhomework.

Know your facts andwhat you need to do to keepyourself healthy.

The most important is torealize the implications thatthis decision may bring you.

The Vegitarian Way of Life:Be Aware of theConsequences of the Choice

Jessica Ettlemanjunior staffwwriter

West High’s parking lot isover-crowded. That is theplain and simple truth.

Many students complainabout this, and that is one ofthe subjects that always ontheir minds.

The parking lot has only450 spaces but close to 2,000students attend West.

If a student arrives atschool late, he has to drivearound to try to find a spot,and chances are good that thestudent will not even get aspot in the parking lot, forcinghim to park across the street oron one of the side streets.

Parking passes for theTeacher Parking Lot or thechurch are available to helpwith the problem, but thosespaces are also limited.

Parking across the streetis not a big deal because it isnot much further to walk fromacross the street and then fromthe parking lot.

Unfortunately, streetparking poses more issuesbecause of the increasedpossibility of other peopleside-swiping cars and thedifficulty to enter traffic whenfacing traffic chaos at lunch orafter school.

The teacher parking lot isthe safest place for a person’s

car aside from the regularparking lot. The area iscovered by security cameras,and vandalism does not occuroften. The main problem isthe small number of parkingspots.

A deposit has to be paidwhen the pass isreceived, and astudent has tohave ana p p r o p r i a t ereason to get thepass. But thatdoesn’t solve theproblem.

Including the teacher’slot, West High students canuse 494 parking spots.

That is enough for noteven one fifth of the WestHigh population.

There needs to besomething done to decreasethe parking lot crowding.

One idea would be issuingparking passes for the student

parking.Some students think that

only juniors and seniorsshould be able to park in the

student parking lot becauseunder-classmen are lessexperienced and have notearned the right.

Junior Craig Sowerwinealso suggests, “Freshmenshould not park in the parkinglot and should be required to

take the bus.”

E x t e n d i n gthe parkinglot is alsoanother wayto eliminatesome of the

crowding.Junior Halee Ibach states,

“The parking lot should bewidened by taking out the

fence and extending the lotonto the unused open space bythe weight room.”

Junior Matt Binstockagrees, “The school needs tomake more room for mybumps.”

The best place to park isin the Student Parking Lot.The lot is close to the schooland there are not very manyaccidents.

The only thing is aboutthe parking lot is that it is toocrowded.

Once the lot is full,students park on barrels and inthe fire lane, and then theyreceive expensive tickets forparking there.

ARTS EDITORKyra Nelson

FEATURES EDITORJenna Hennings

NEWS EDITORNate Weinand

OPINION EDITORErin Kusek

SPORTS EDITORGreg Heidner

SENIOR COLUMNISTKarly South

WEB EDITORKelsey Munsell

ADVISERCaaren Cerise

PRINCIPALDave Cobb

STAFF WRITERSPat BushTrent DuggerJessica EttlemanMegan ForthunLindsey GeeAlex HartfordKolby McGarrahJennifer MorrisNikky MosureJessica NobilTawni PalinAngel ShandyChase TempletBrad Wright

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.

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

KODIAKAll Activities and Teams FaceUnequal Funding Issues

Nikky Mosurejunior staffwriter

Competition. What comes tomind?

Well to most, it is the physicalcompetition of basketball,baseball, football or wrestling.

What comes to the mind ofsomeone else who is not sointerested in physical competition?

This may be forensics, theacademic bowl, etc.

The difference between thesetwo is not only how people andsociety define them but also theamount of attention the teams getin the school setting.

Many believe that these teamsare unequally funded, and I myselfagree. I may like to rant about the lack offunding for the arts, but what weneed to look at is that all programsare inadequately funded.

Most of us involved in artscomplain about how muchfunding the sports programs get,

but that is a false judgment. Thetruth is that even sports do not getas much funding as everyoneseems to think.

I, among others, do not feelthat it is right that the West Highforensics team worked all seasonto try to prepare for nationalqualifiers but then was allottedonly 14 seats on a bus, or that afterthe West High Thespians made itto the International Festival, thegroup has to do all of thefundraising for the trip themselves.

I think that if the West Highforensics team did enoughfundraising to pay for their ownbus for the national qualifierstournament, it should have beenallowed to take the entire team.It is unfair to our team that wemade enough money to take ourentire team but that we can notbecause the other two Billingsschools could not afford to splitthe cost of a bus on their own.

I do see the school district’spoint in trying to keep everythingfair among the three public

schools.Still, this situation is not fair. If one of the schools has thedetermination to finance their trip,then the team should not bepunished because the otherschools lack that work ethic.

We all need to realize that weare in the same boat and that it isthe school district that decides ourfunding, and the only way tochange the amount of funds thatwe have is to fundraise a lot ofmoney.

I do not want to hear anymorecomplaining about unequalfunding between sports becausethe truth is that all funding isinadequate.All of our sports programs do atremendous amount of fundraisingon their own to help with thevarious costs that the teamencounters throughout the season.

I strongly believe that thispolicy should be changed, but Idon’t foresee it happening duringmy time at West High.

MARCH 31, 2OO9OPINION 16

With only 450 parking spaces in the student parking lot and over 2,000 students attending West High, many students choose to park illegally onthe barrels or in the fire lane or in the handicapped parking spaces because they have trouble finding a place to park. Students who arrive late areforced to park on the street in the surrounding residential neighborhoods. Many students prefer the option of taking out the practice fields by theweight room to expand the student parking area.

submitted photo

Overcrowded Parking ConditionsCause Distress for West High Drivers

Once the lot is full, students park onbarrels and in the fire lane, and thenthey receive expensive tickets for

parking there.