the krier [

[

the student newspaper of Kaneland High School

INCREASE YOUR FLEXiBILITY p. 16

VOLU

ME 38

KHS TAKES PART IN RECYCLING p. 14

PSAE AND AYP CHALLENGES p. 2

INDOOR TANNING BANNED p. 6

NOVEMBER 17, 2011

ISSUE 3

Novem

ber

the low down on

the lockdownThe details of what happened

News / November 17, 2011 / KANELAND KRIER2

NEWS

Seniors Brandon Stahl and Kay-ley McPhee were named commend-ed students for their high scores on the PSAT and were honored at the school board meeting on Oct. 24.

“I was excited and proud for Kaneland High School,” Principal Chip Hickman said.

Many students take the test dur-ing their sophomore or junior years, though it’s not required.

The PSAT helps students pre-pare for taking the SAT, but it also

BY RACHEL MATHYS, Reporter

The results are finally in for the PSAE test. Kaneland improved in math, held steady in science and went down in reading and English.

In reading, 58 percent of Kaneland students met or exceeded standards, a decrease of three percent from last year. In writing, 54 percent met or exceeded, decreasing six percent from last year but also decreasing the number of students in the warn-ing category by two percent.

Science remained unchanged overall; 57 percent of Kaneland students met or exceeded, but the

number of students in the warning category decreased by six percent.

In math, 54 percent of Kaneland students met or exceeded, increas-ing two percent since last year.

“It gives us some tangible data points that enable us to analyze spe-cifically where we need to improve,” English teacher Ryan Malo said.

Kaneland did not make Adequate Yearly Progress under No Child Left Behind, a federal law requiring schools to have a certain percentage of students meeting or exceeding on state exams.

Schools like Kaneland that miss AYP receive increasingly punishing

PSAE results are in, as federal standards get tougherBY RICHARD WILLIAMS, Reporter

Board president Cheryl Krauspe congratulates seniors Brandon Stahl and Kayley McPhee for being named commended students at the board meeting on Oct. 24.

allows students to enter the Nation-al Merit Scholarship Program for a chance to win scholarships.

It uses scores from critical read-ing, mathematics and writing sec-tions to honor top students, some of whom can continue in the program for the chance to win a scholarship.

Out of the 3.5 million students who take the test each year, only about 34,000 high scores receive letters of commendation that rec-ognizes their achievement, and only 16,000 move on to be semifinalists. Semifinalists go through an evalu-

Students commended

ation process, and 15,000 of that 16,000 become finalists. Scholar-ship winners are chosen from the group of finalists, and many others will be awarded scholarships from universities and corporations.

While commended students do

not advance and compete for schol-arships as finalists, they do become candidates for scholarships from other groups.

“I smiled and I was happy,” Stahl said. “My work has been recog-nized.”

consequences, but it’s a law that U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Dun-can called “broken and unrealistic.”

Statewide, 98.5 percent of Illinois high schools are considered “failing” under the law. Only eight schools statewide met the targets set by NCLB.

That’s part of the reason that, ac-cording to school administrator Er-ika Schlichter, NCLB is both good and bad.

“It focuses us on achievement for all students,” she said, but she be-lieves, “it is very punitive for schools instead of focusing on improve-ment.”

Students, however, have different views on the matter.

“The PSAE affects the money we get for the school,” senior Patri-cia Lassandro said. “I went to the school for four years, and since I did my best, it isn’t my fault if I didn’t do well.”

Kaneland has been taking steps to help students improve by making STEP mandatory and adding a new program called the Response to In-tervention.

What will happen next at Kaneland, however, is unclear.

“[The] easy answer is that we don’t know yet,” Schlichter said.

for high scores on PSAT

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Gaytan remembered for humor, kindness

Christian Gaytan, a 2008 alumnus of Kaneland High School, died on Sept. 25.

The DeKalb County Coroner has not yet de-termined the cause of death, pending toxicology reports.

The Sugar Grove resident leaves behind his parents, Merced and Guillermina, and six sib-lings: Guillermo, age 23; Perla, age 19; Cynthia, age 17; Jovie, age 9; Alyssa, age 7; and Leo, age 5.

Cynthia Gaytan remembered her brother’s love for life and his happy countenance.

“Christian got along with everyone,” she said. “He would even go and help those who seemed like they were alone. He loved to make people laugh a lot, and he never let anyone bring him down.”

Christian was part of Kaneland’s soccer and wrestling teams. He excelled in both sports, but he was mostly known for his wresting skills; he even went to state.

Gaytan enrolled at Waubonsee Community College right out of high school, where he ma-jored in Business, but later changed his mind and found an interest in sociology, where he wanted to be able to help others.

Merced Gaytan, Christian’s father, said he val-ued his close relationship with his son.

“Christian talked to me all the time, but even when he had a problem, he stayed smiling,” Mer-ced said. “Christian was a happy, happy boy, very polite, very talented and very funny.”

Merced saved a description paper that Chris-tian wrote about someone who had inspired him because he had chosen his father.

“My dad is who I want to be when I grow

up. He means the world to me; without him I wouldn’t be the nice, gentle, tough kid that I am today,” Gaytan wrote.

Guillermo Gaytan, Christian’s older brother, said he knew Christian better than anyone.

“Christian could make anyone smile. He had a good heart. He was a positive influence on everyone around him. He was so passionate for wrestling and loved being the one to help people,” Guillermo said. “Christian will be remembered for his humor.”

Faculty and students at Kaneland remem-bered Gaytan as a respectful student and a good friend.

Senior Nick Fornero, a friend, said that he would never forget Gaytan. “Christian was always making people laugh,” Fornerno said. “There was never a dull moment when Christian was around.”

“He always just danced off everybody,” Forne-ro added. “He didn’t care. He always just did what he wanted. I liked that.”

Katie Tolan, one of Gaytan’s former cowork-ers at Papa Savario’s, said Gaytan never failed to make her laugh.

“Christian was really easy to talk to, he was outgoing, and he always knew how to make peo-ple laugh,” Tolan said.

“He was a very patient person, understanding and self-conscious about getting things done,” Kurt Green, Gaytan’s former speech teacher, said. “The way he treated people was respectful. He was just a very nice kid.”

Cindy Miller, Gaytan’s former health teacher, remembers Gaytan for many positive things in-cluding his smile.

“He always had a smile and was always just so happy. He loved soccer, loved hanging out with

his friends, and he seemed to enjoy everything he did,” Miller said.

“It’s always sad to see alumni pass on. I feel really bad for his family. It’s also really hard as teacher having a student for over the years you become close, and it’s almost like losing your own. It’s just not fair. Kids are not supposed to die; old people are,” Miller said.

A memorial service for Gaytan was held on Sept. 29 at James Funeral Home in Aurora.

BY RACHAEL CLINTON, Executive Editor

Photo courtesy of the Gaytan family

Real World / November 17, 2011 / KANELAND KRIER4

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Occupy Wall Street has spread to Chicago and other cities across the country, as protestors seek reform in corporate America.

The general complaint? Corporations have too much power, and government should stop favoring them and start representing the people.

The movement started Sept. 17 in New York City and spread all over the world, by various names, to countries including Taiwan, Jordan, Germany, Belgium, Canada, Japan, France, Eng-land, Mexico, Sweden, Australia, Spain, Chile, the Philippines and Italy.

“It’s finally reached the point where people are upset enough [with the government]. It’s an election year, so there’s a lot of emphasis put on different issues,” Javier Martinez, social sciences teacher, said. “They have to get the support of the general population, because then they’ll get the politicians to listen.”

He said that leaders within the group have to do whatever they need to be taken seriously. There’s the possibility that because they are pro-testing, they could be seen merely as inconve-nient troublemakers.

Mike Polski, a resident of Joliet who was at the Occupy Chicago protest march on Oct. 22, said that the people who were planning on camping out overnight at Grant Park chose to because they can’t pitch tents on the sidewalk.

He was holding a sign at the side of the road that said “For Sale: Congress.”

“The lobby groups have too much power and influence over lawmakers,” Polski said, “[We need to] take money out of politics. That’s what our founders wanted. They wanted Congress to be a representation of the people, and now it’s lawyers and millionaires.”

Thousands have been showing up to the

Occupy Chicago marches. At the end, there is a general assembly where speakers voice their opinion.

That night, about 130 people were arrested for staying in the park after the time of closing.

Chicago police have been paid hundred of thousands of dollars in overtime so far to main-tain peace and order at the protests, while the Occupy movement has cost New York millions.

Occupy Chicago protestors march on their way to Chicago’s Grant Park on Oct. 22.

Editorial / November 17, 2011 / KANELAND KRIER 5

The infamous blame game

27 0AGREE DISAGREE

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Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Edi-torial Board and are not necessarily the opinion of Kaneland administration, staff, students or parents. The Krier Editorial Board consists of designated Advanced Journalism students: Julia Angelotti, Rachael Clinton, Diana Nuno, Kylie Siebert, Bran-don Bishop, Sam Bower, Morgan Buerke, Lanie Callaghan, Emily Gulanczyk, Gina Jarvis, Casey Jacobson, Tyler Keenum, Ryan Noel, Nick Phillips, John Pruett, Jake Razo, Lexi Roach, Kaprice Sanchez, Kaleb Schuppner, Heather Shelton, Brianne Strobel, Delaney Stryczek, Alex Vickery, and Matt Wahlgren. Students make all publication decisions.

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ADVISERS

As teenagers, most of us opt for the easy way out. Adults, on the other hand, love to take the difficult route because most of the time, that’s the right one.

Yet with education, it seems everyone’s looking for easy answers. The PSAE test scores came out and there’s another uproar—mostly directed at teachers and schools. What a surprise.

Statewide, 98.5 percent of Illinois high schools failed to meet federal standards under No Child Left Behind. Only eight of the 666 high schools in Illinois made Adequate Yearly Progress, according to the Illi-nois Board of Education.

The conversation about what to do about test scores in schools, though, never seems to change. Politicians in Congress and citizens in their living rooms alike blame the teach-ers and schools. They’re not good enough. They’re not trying.

It’s a stale conversation, and a few epiphanies need take place be-fore any real change will occur. We need to realize that this is a compli-cated issue and that not every fac-tor is within the school.

Accountability is a good thing, but the PSAE is a flawed test not only because it doesn’t test everything a school does, but also because it doesn’t matter to stu-dents. That’s definitely true at Kaneland, where 71 per-cent of students put a lot less effort into the PSAE than the ACT, according to a Krier poll of last year’s juniors conducted last April.

That’s why the PSAE isn’t a good measuring stick to begin with. Let’s compare GPAs and ACT scores. Let’s compare the number of students who take AP classes. Let’s compare solid proof.

But beyond that, we need to look at all the reasons why test scores don’t impove. Many factors like teach-ing style, years of experience and curriculum matter, but so do social and economic factors like student mo-

tivation, student ability, parental involvement, family education and household income.

Even learning styles have changed; the way we learn isn’t the same as it was in 1940. Schools need to adapt in a way that’s more in-depth then throwing computers in the library and giving each classroom a projector.

Each student needs to be treated individually. Not everyone can read literature and see the importance of irony.

Sometimes it’s easy to see why one school does bet-ter than another. For instance, DeKalb High School has a 41.1 percent low income rate, Kaneland has 13.7 per-cent, while Geneva has 5.2 percent. DeKalb’s class sizes are bigger, and Geneva spends close to $1,000 more on

operating expenditures per pupil. It’s no surprise, then, that Geneva’s scores are better, Kaneland’s are in the middle, and DeKalb’s are the weakest.

But it’s not always easy to com-pare schools or figure out why one does better than another. Here’s an example: statistics show that our

parental involvement is 96.2 percent, while DeKalb has lower test scores but has 100 percent parental involve-ment. DeKalb parents are more involved, but Kaneland does better.

For education to improve, all these factors need to be addressed—not just one. That’s why politicians, the media and citizens should stop pointing their fingers and start addressing these complex social issues.

Our scores don’t mean that Kaneland is a bad school. Each of us are capable of excellence.

What we do know is this: it doesn’t help students to learn by labeling nearly all Illinois high schools as fail-ing. It doesn’t help students to learn by stripping away their school’s federal funding.

Politicians should be focused on helping students, not on dinging their schools for “failing.”

Artwork by Kylie Siebert

What’s next: banning sunlight for teens?

Opinion / November 17, 2011 / KANELAND KRIER6

I had to shake my head when I saw another mother carrying around hand sanitizer, because it’s a symbol of what’s wrong with our society.

Hand sanitizer is stupid and un-necessary. When someone prepares my food, it’s an acceptable time to apply hand sanitizer (because, as we

all know, kitchen workers intention-ally sneeze on their hands before making our food). But I can’t seem to go far without seeing some poor preschool kid getting drowned in hand sanitizer, and it’s ridiculous.

It’s hardly the only silly thing we do—it’s part of a larger cultural movement to protect children from everything.

Some of it’s for the best, no doubt. Airbags, for example, are a beneficial safety precaution for young drivers. But when we’re wrap-ping children in a dripping bundle of sanitizer and padding, things have gone too far.

Previous generations survived

just fine without the silly little things we do to shelter kids, and how does any of it really help? Sometimes kids need to experience a little pain. Pain is a part of life, isn’t it?

The world today is actually a safer place than it was 30 or 40 years ago. However, with the advent of cell phones and the Internet, people have become more aware of hazards and more cautious as a result.

That isn’t exactly surprising, but the amount of time kids are spend-ing out and about is plummeting.

As many as 40 percent of schools nationwide have cut recess. A recent study by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York surveyed

11,000 eight and nine-year-olds. It showed that kids who got at least 15 minutes of recess time per day be-haved better in class.

We’re taking away their fun time, covering them in alcohol-sat-urated slop, and preparing them in dry classrooms for tests that may or may not matter.

We used to be a less regular, less regimented society, and that worked just fine. It’s just not necessary to overshelter and overschedule kids this way.

Some precautions make sense, but there is a line, and it seems to me like we’ve crossed it. Let kids be kids.

The Golden State has made it a crime to actually get golden.

In California, it’s now illegal to indoor tan if you’re under the age of 18—and Illinois might be next.

It’s the nanny state at its worst. What makes it okay for the govern-ment to ban tanning beds for ev-eryone under 18 just because it may cause increased harmful effects?

Yes, tanning can be unhealthy, especially when done excessively. People who tan know the effects of sunlight and UV rays, yet they choose to anyway.

Let’s compare. People are also aware when they pull up to a Mc-Donald’s that they aren’t going to get a plate of carrots, yet millions of people order from them every day. Obesity is an epidemic in the United States. Should the govern-ment ban fast food for kids so they wouldn’t get obese?

The freedom to choose is what California’s governor Jerry Brown took away when he signed the bill banning those under 18 from ultra-violet tanning beds and device on commercial premises into law for 2012.

Not all girls (or guys) who use indoor tanning are among the ste-

reotype who have four different ac-counts to different tanning salons so they can get as dark as the cast of “Jersey Shore,” and the sun’s UV rays are the same as UV ray lights from tanning beds.

What’s he going to do—ban sunlight next?

Health organizations such as the American Cancer Society ar-gue that the bill is going to protect America’s youth. They claim indoor tanning’s UV rays cause increased risks of diseases and cancer, so the bill should be supported.

The American Academy of Der-matology Association applauded California for their decision.

“We commend Gov. Brown, Sen. Ted Lieu and the other mem-bers of the California legislature for their efforts to help reduce the future incidence of skin cancer by protecting youth from the dangers of indoor tanning,” dermatologist Ronald L. Moy, president of the AADA, said.

Although the bill will keep mi-nors from indoor tanning, does the government really think that teens will stay out of the sun?

“It is a fact that taking away from teens the option to tan indoors will not stop teens from sun tanning; it will only send them outdoors into an uncontrolled environment, with no supervision, no trained staff, no parental consent required, where they are more likely to be over ex-posed or sunburned – which is ex-actly what the proponents of this bill say they are trying to avoid,” said John Overstreet of The Indoor

Tanning Association. Overstreet might have a finan-

cial incentive to have teens tanning, but he’s right.

The sun has maybe just a teensy little bit more power than a tanning bed, and tanning isn’t bad in mod-eration.

“If you’re just getting ready for a special event a week beforehand, and go [in the bed] for ten minutes three times a week, we are talking about 30 minutes,” health teacher Cindy Miller said. “It’s when girls are tanning for 30 minutes at a time consistently it becomes extremely dangerous.”

The conversation about tanning has reached a certain level of ridicu-lousness when teenage girls slather themselves in tanning oil and bake under the sun for hours, but then are afraid that a tanning bed is go-ing to give them cancer.

The law is unnecessary as well because protections for minors are already in place. When minors tan for the first time, a parent or guard-ian is required to give permission. Paperwork must be signed warn-ing customers about serious effects

such as eye damage, aging and skin cancers. Tanning salons even pro-vide a mini-quiz to find out personal skin type so they know how much time should be spent in the bed.

Even in the private room for tan-ning, a large poster on the wall cau-tions customers about the harmful effects of UV rays.

“I think there is enough educa-tion going out to teens about tan-ning beds and tanning that they are able to make their own decision whether or not they want to do it,” Miller said. “If you’re allowed to decide whether or not to abort a pregnancy at age 16, I think that you should be allowed to make the decision if you’re going to be in a tanning bed.”

The government has no right to just take away business and jobs from tanning salons or to tell us whether we’re allowed to tan or not.

I’m not saying that indoor tan-ning should be taken advantage of to the point where my skin turns bright pink or freckles more than week-old bananas, but it’s my own body. I should have the right to do what I please with it.

UVA/UVB x1000

Art by Heather Shelton

We need to quit sheltering our youth

CASEY JACOBSONEditor

MATT WAHLGRENEditor

MYVIEW

Nov. 27 is ‘takes-giving’

Opinion / November 17, 2011 / KANELAND KRIER 7

EMILY GULANCZYKEditor

Superlatives run lives. Everyone expects the latest and greatest, no matter what the cost is. The most expensive cars, the most advanced cell phone and the most stylish clothes.

For example, take the new iPhone 4S that came out on Oct. 14. All the people that recently got the iPhone 4 are left in the dust as Apple unveiled their lat-est masterpiece. When there had been rumors of the new iPhone, most teens went crazy trying to pre-order the anticipated model and anxiously waited for the new-est tech toy.

When the iPhone 4S came out, which is an updated version of the iPhone 4, most people were disap-pointed because it wasn’t as tech-nologically advanced as they had hoped, and people complained be-cause they couldn’t get their grabby hands on it.

The expression “keeping up with the Joneses” refers to a social comparison to your neighbors. It has to do with proving your social status and making others perceive you with a certain notation.

“[The expression means] ap-pearing that you have as much or more than your neighbors, friends or circle of peers,” psychologist John Markovich said. “It’s not necessarily limited to materialistic things; it can be the fact that you got a BMW after your neighbor got a Lexus.

It can be extended to vaca-tions, having a better family, being in better shape than your neighbor, looking better physically or your relationship statuses.”

Are expectations and feeling of entitlement too high in our soci-ety? We all have this idea that we are entitled to only the best, and believe we should be pampered and only think about ourselves. People expect their wishes to come true-if that was the case, everyone would go pick some money from the mon-

ey tree growing in their backyards.“Parenting can have an effect

on if parents spoil their children. If parents don’t act like the author-ity figure and try to be friends with their kids, it can lead to them being spoiled,” Markovich said.

The perfect example of showing off extravagance is Bravo’s “Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Te-resa Guidice. Guidice and her hus-band Joe filed for bankruptcy after their lavish spending got way out of control. After filing for debt ($11 million), Teresa and Joe have a col-lection of expensive luxury cars and three houses with a total of eight mortgages.

Eight mortgages for three houses should’ve raised a red flag to the Guidices, but in their quest to show off, they did what they could to make sure they looked rich. The Guidices income is less than $100,000 so why do they spend money they don’t have?

The answer is simple: The Guidices are trying to become the “Joneses”–even though they’re broke.

The Guidices may look like they have it all, but at what price? Joe Guidice may face prison time after getting sued by an ex-business partner and Teresa’s family is in shambles after an explosive season premiere at the christening party for her nephew where physical fights and verbal abuse occurred.

Guidice’s parents are in poor health and they are forced to cut back on their lifestyle. So is having material possessions worth having a broken family and failing health?

I don’t think so.We put so much into putting

out an image for people to see us as “perfect” or “rich” but we all forget about the important things in life.

“Audiences are bombarded by advertisements during commer-cials. They show that you can be cool and make friends with their product and it pushes you to buy it.

People want to appear cool in the eyes of their friends, so they feel pressure to get the newest items,” Markovich said.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s wrong to want the best, but I think we take all our ma-terial possessions for granted and just want more. We forget we have to work hard to get what we want instead of getting it handed to us.

How many times do we stop and think about how lucky we are? We all have families that love and support us, friends that cherish us and endless opportunities to look forward to.

I think we would be so much happier and less stressed if we fo-cused on what we have instead of focusing on what we don’t have. Comparing ourselves to others can have damaging results on our own self-esteem if we’re constantly thinking we aren’t good enough.

In the words of one of my fa-vorite bands, The Zac Brown Band, “It’s the little things in life that mean the most, not where you live, not what you drive or the price tag on your clothes. There’s no dollar sign on a peace of mind, this I’ve come to know...”

We should all take a little time to stop looking up to the “Joneses” because obviously we’re forgetting about other important things in our life.

So, while you’re sitting around the Thanksgiving table with your family and friends, give thanks for the most important things in your life instead of dreaming about that iPhone 4S you haven’t gotten yet.

EDITORIALBITES

Lady Gaga prides herself on being different and she con-stantly reminds her fans of the importance of tolerance.

On this year’s VMA’s Adele received more nominations than her counterpart, and Gaga’s fans went wild. They began attacking Adele for her weight, one user tweeted, “CONFIRMED: Gaga will not be wearing the meat dress at the 2011 VMA’s because she is afraid Adele will eat her.”

It’s true that Gaga didn’t say it herself—but her influence was enough to turn her fans into the nasty people she rallies against. This is something that is common in high school.

We can find that the under-lying reason for a number of altercations is someone stick-ing up for their friend. We’re not saying that sticking up for a friend is a bad thing, but there’s a fine line between making a point and belittling someone to make a point.

There’s absolutely no rea-son or excuse for slander to someone. It’s never acceptable, under any circumstances. Loy-alty will never be an excuse for snarky comments, quick judge-ment, and deliberate belittle-ment.

On Oct. 14, Kaneland High School faced a moment of chaos: the school went into lockdown, and students were not fully informed of what the situation was.

The lockdown could have easily gone smoother if stu-dents had more background knowledge about the different types of lockdowns and what has to be done with each level. Even some teachers were in the dark.

We praise the fact that the administration was able to act quickly to keep everyone safe and to organize and simplify the matter, but more steps need to be taken to ensure a more ef-ficient lockdown method.

It’s time for some practice lockdown drills.

Loyalty doesn’t mean what it used to

Organization is key

See p. 12-13 for more info on the lockdown

Art by Heather Shelton

I am grateful for

MYVIEW

Feature / November 17, 2011 / KANELAND KRIER8

FEATURES

Do you chase money or chase your dreams?Senior Allison Tate has chosen what she would

like to do for her future career path. Though her future occupation, art, doesn’t pay much, it’s hap-piness not money, she’s chasing.

“There’s lots of money in the world to be made, but you have to do things that will make you happy. You shouldn’t do something for four years if you hate it,” Tate said.

Many students face the same dilemma as Tate: money can’t always buy happiness, but just be-cause something makes you happy doesn’t mean it will pay the bills, either.

The questions students ask themselves are crucial: is going to a state college over a commu-nity college really worth paying extra? Should a major in college be based off personal happiness or one that will make the most money?

It’s a question that has become more impor-tant in an age of recessions and college debt.

Getting a job straight out of college is far from a guarantee. Over a year later, just 56 percent of 2010 college graduates had found a job, according to the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce De-velopment at Rutgers University, and 2011 gradu-ates are not faring better.

Even among those who found jobs, starting salaries have been declining—the average new college graduate made just $27,000 last year, a 10 percent drop—and many more have struggled to find jobs.

Many recent graduates have taken any job they could find, even if it was not their dream job.

“You have to be able to survive out there. It’s

scary. You can still do things on the side to fulfill those [personal] interests. Pursue your dreams so you can move into your dream job someday. I say never give up,” school counselor Andrew Franklin said.

School psychology teacher Mark Meyer be-lieves many people sacrifice some happiness in order to make enough money.

“In the end, unfortunately, most people take jobs that they can get to help pay the bills,” Meyer said.

U.S. Labor Department statistics showed that certain majors were more likely than others to find a job in this recession: students who majored in engineering, education and medical fields were most likely to be employed, while those who had majored in fields like humanities and Latin Amer-ican studies were least likely to.

Data from PayScale also showed that differ-ent majors led to different starting salaries, with engineering and mathematics leading the list. El-ementary education, social work and culinary arts had some of the lowest starting salaries.

Those who graduate from a four-year col-lege also typically make more money than com-munity college graduates, according to Payscale, and those with master’s degrees make more. But while education gives you a faster start, many fac-tors, like performance and seniority, can change who’s making more money mid-career.

Franklin said that about 70 percent of Kaneland students heading to college plan on

majoring in something they want to do, not just something that they believe will pay well. He said students feel that doing something that they per-sonally chose “empowers them.”

Senior Megan Scott is part of that 70 percent. Her future plans are to go to either Waubonsee or Iowa University and major in psychology.

“[I would pick happiness over money] because I don’t want to be doing something that I hate for the rest of my life just to make more money,” Scott said. “Happiness is way more important to me.”

Reaching that dream job can be difficult, but it’s worth it, school psychologist John Markovich said. He said it’s important to choose a career that is purposeful.

“Most people lean towards their strengths be-cause it’s very rewarding to them sometimes, and they get to feel like there is a purpose,” Markov-ich said.

That’s why despite the low pay, educators are among the happiest workers, according to a 2010 study by the University of Chicago. The study found that the happiest jobs were those where people had social interaction and felt like they were helping people, such as firefighters and teachers. Jobs with more freedom also led to hap-piness, such as authors and operating engineers.

Can someone ever have complete personal satisfaction and be truly happy? “There’s no real meter. If you’re happy with what you do, then you’re truly happy,” Markovich said.

choosing moneyor happiness

MAJOR IN MONEY MAJOR IN HAPPINESS

BY NICK PHILIPS & TYLER KEENUM, Editors

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These bachelor’s degrees lead to high starting salaries

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2

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

3

Chemical Engineering $64,500

Electrical Engineering $61,300

Computer Engineering $61,800

Computer Science $56,600

Applied Mathematics $52,600

Finance $46,500

Construction Management $50,200

Economics $47,300

Biomedical Engineering $53,800

Clergy1

2

4

5

6

7

8

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Firefighters

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Authors

Special Education Teachers

Teachers

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Psychologists

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These careers have the happiest workers

A major decision:

Photo illustration by Courtney Reiss

Source: PayScale.com Source: 2011 General Social Survey by the University of ChicagoCompiled by Claudia Tovar

M

Feature / November 17, 2011 / KANELAND KRIER 9

Mackenzie?What’s next for

Photos by Heather Shelton and Jaemee Cordero

Top: Mackenzie Curran was voted Homecoming Queen last fall, as she began her recovery from the AVM. Curran continues to make progress and plans to attend college next year. Right: Curran reads music in choir.

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Senior Mackenzie Curran stands in a circle with four other P.E. leaders during her third block P.E. Leadership class.

They’re laughing and smiling as they pass a volleyball around the circle while other kids are shooting hoops and playing catch.

These past two years haven’t been easy for Curran, who suffered from a arteriovenous mal-formation or AVM in 2009 that caused stroke-like symptoms, is still recovering and is now a fifth-year senior. But doing things like coaching the freshmen volleyball team and riding bikes during P.E. Leadership are “excellent” for her, Sue Curran, Mckenzie’s mother, said.

Curran is in a unique position: she is both a P.E. leader and working on regaining lost aca-demic, speech and volleyball skills.

Twice a week, Curran goes to speech and physical therapy outside of school. At school, she has speech therapy for two hours a week, oc-cupational therapy one hour week and physical therapy for 45 minutes a week. She does almost ten hours a week of activities and works on read-ing, speech and stretching exercises at home.

One of the hardest things for Curran to do is talk, and it’s one of the most challenging things she’s had to overcome.

“She wishes she could talk like she used to. Some of her old friends don’t know what to do or say, and she just wants to hang out and talk like old times with friends. She says she’s still

the same person inside,” Sue Curran, Mackenzie’s mother, said.

The once talkative senior is still regaining her speaking abilities and is now able to say a few words at a time—an improvement from just last year. Walking is another big challenge Mackenzie Curran has had to overcome.

“The first three weeks, we weren’t sure if she’d ever walk or talk again. Kenzie knew us, but we didn’t know what she really understood or remem-bered. Then by leaps and bounds she started im-proving,” Sue Curran said.

Although Mac—a nickname her volleyball teammates shouted on the court when she did a “Mac Attack”—can’t fully play volleyball like when she was on the Kaneland varsity team, she is coach-ing the freshmen team and assisting Coach Bre-anne Kahl.

“When we found out she would be here again [this year] and wanted to stay involved, we thought that it was a perfect way for her to stay involved by helping with the younger girls,” Kahl said.

Curran is a very positive coach and cheers re-ally loud for the team, Kahl said. Curran said all the team does is “win, win, win.”

“Besides logistics, she’s been a huge inspiration

for all the girls on the team,” Kahl said. To help support Curran and her family, a

former student from Geneva and a former club volleyball teammate made “We Heart Macken-zie” t-shirts, and Kaneland graduate 2011 Alyson Rehr made bracelets to sell.

Curran’s reaction? “Touched,” she said.Her story is one that has touched many

others as well. DeKalb’s varsity volleyball team asked to wear the “We Heart Mackenzie” shirts, and so did Augustana’s team. She was also inter-viewed for ESPN.

“Mackenzie hopes to attend Lincoln College next year. She has many years of recovery ahead of her, but she improves everyday and our hope is for a full, dramatic recovery,” Sue Curran said.

To everyone who has supported Curran over the past two years, all she has to say is two words: “Thank you.”

ROAD TO RECOVERY

&

In-Depth / November 17, 2011 / KANELAND KRIER

Sabrina Watts knows that when she wears her black and red cape emblazoned with the symbol of Naruto to school every Friday, her classmates will stare, but she doesn’t care.

“When I wear my cloak, I feel alive, and I notice that people stare at me,” Watts said, “At first it was awkward, but now I’m okay with it.”

Watts used to feel uncomfortable because of the people who kept staring, but her friends were dressing up, and she didn’t want to be left out, so she wanted to too. Now Watts has fun wearing her cloak and loves the attention she gets from wearing it every week.

“One time I went to the mall and a group of girls walked up to us and asked me and my friends who we were dressed up as,” Watts re-called, “I told them we were dressed up like Akatsuki, and then they asked us for hugs.”

The cloaks that Watts and some of her friends wear are part of something called co-splay, a large part of Anime that literally means “costume play.” Cosplay is something usually only dedicated anime fans participate in, and it involves dressing up to fit the person’s favorite show, manga, or other type of anime.

Anime sales hit their peak in 2003, according to the Japan External Trade Organization but there’s still a dedicated fan base at Kaneland.

The anime world is a strange and mysterious place that few know exists—most American’s

first thoughts that come to mind either begin with the show Pokémon or DragonBall Z Kai. Pokémon sales actually represent 60 percent of all anime in the United States, but anime is much more than just those stereotypical shows, and junior Alexis Davis isn’t fond of people ste-reotyping about anime.

“People think it’s nerdy and that’s not fair.” Davis said, “So many people watch it and don’t realize it. Let people express themselves how they want.”

Dr. Susan Napier, a professor at Tufts Uni-versity who studies anime, agrees that there’s to anime more than the usual stereotypes.

“Some of them are genuinely adults works that are very thought-provoking, very challeng-ing, very disturbing in the way a good work of art should be,” Napier said.

Anime in general ranges from shows such as: “Death Note,” a fantasy-style “Criminal Minds,” to “Initial D,” a series about drift racing that inspired both “Tokyo Drift” and “The Fast and the Furious,” and even to anime-style, to manga include textbooks where Japanese characters teach subjects like math and science.

Anime conventions are also a large part of this subculture. The feature everything from Masquerade and crystal balls to other entertain-ment such as gaming, concerts, panels, art shows and more.

“[I prefer] Anime Central because it’s the largest in the area, and I look forward to it every year,” senior Heather Clark said.

The largest convention in the Midwest is called Anime Central (Acen for short), which goes on every year in Chicago.

“I don’t know what to say about the first time I went to Acen,” Clark said. “I mean, what can you say when you roll up to an enormous con-vention center full of a bunch of nerds who’ve dressed up as their favorite character from who knows what? It wasn’t anything I haven’t expect-ed it didn’t surprise me even. It was like going to a school for people who were usually very, very

It’s capes and conventions—but

the world of Japanese anime

is wide enough to include

high fashion, romance and

fast cars.

AnimeArtistry

BY MORGAN BUERKE AND HEATHER SHELTON, Editors

try thatLike this?

The MatrixThis 1999 blockbuster featured a computer hacker who learns from rebels about the true na-ture of his reality. He also learns about his role in the war against its’ controllers.

>>The AnimatrixA collection of short animated films detail the back story of the “Matrix” Universe and the original war be-tween man and machines.

Louis Vuitton HandbagsThese luxurious purses and other fashion products are coveted by fashionistas worldwide. Japanese artist Takashi Murakami designed logos for the multicolor bags.

>>

10

>>Takashi MurakamiThis famed Japanese artist is known for his graphic, pop style, which describes as superflat. Though he uses lots of happy flowers and mushrooms, the mutated eyes and shapes reference the mushroom cloud formed by the atomic bomb and the and horrors of Hiroshima.

In-Depth / November 17, 2011 / KANELAND KRIER 11

nice and liked a lot of things I liked.”According to Napier, anime also uses art to

explore serious themes like war and isolation, as well as more light-hearted romances, thought-provoking horrors and many more.

“Young people do want to see a more realistic version of the world,” Napier said. “They’re not satisfied with everything tied up in a bow and walking off into the sunset.”

Junior Alexis Davis and sophomore Dzenan Bogaljevic watch almost all of these categories.

“I like most of the story plots,” Bogaljevic said.

Seniors Krysta Knarr and Kayley VanVliet are mostly fans of fantasy and horror anime.

“For horror, I like a good thrill,” VanVliet said. “And sometimes when you draw anime, you can take it farther than with actors.”

VanVliet would know, too, since she’s been drawing since kindergarten. She said that she started drawing in an anime style just three years ago.

“I like to mix Western and anime styles for a more realistic touch,” she said. She believes that drawing is “a good way to vent creativity and emotions.”

She’s not the only anime-lover to draw either. Art teacher Carleen Wieg said that she’s actually seen an increase in anime-artists at Kaneland over the years.

“I started drawing anime in sixth grade,” Davis said. “I love to draw anything; I prefer to draw girls and animals. Guys are like ridiculously hard to draw.”

Many students have gotten into anime by chance. However, it doesn’t take a skilled artist to get into anime; anyone can become a fan. All it takes is a computer or remote.

“I have seen an increase in the number of students. I believe it has to do with the different climate and envoriment the students are in. I do have an appreciation of the designing. How-ever, the asthetic part is very repetitive,” art teacher Carleen Weig said.

“Initial D”This TV show inspired

“The Fast and the Furious.” It focuses on the world of Japa-nese street racing, follow-ing a teenage drifter named Takumi as he races down winding

mountain roads.

Criminal MindsThis CBS favorite follows a Behavioral Analysis Unit of elite FBI profilers as they investigate a variety of criminal cases. The cases vary from simple child abductions to murder, but there’s always suspense and action.

Death NoteOrdinary high school student Light Yagami gets a supernatu-ral book called the Death Note. When he writes the name of someone in the Death Note, he takes on an alter ego, Kira, and begins killing off criminals. Mean-while, a detective begins searching for Kira.

Classic DisneyFor years, Disney has produced family-friendly animation. The studio is now putting its name behind legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, whose ani-mated films are beloved worldwide.

Howl’s Moving Castle This Miyazaki favorite features a young woman who is cursed by a witch. She’s trapped in an elderly body, and her only hope of breaking free is with an insecure young wizard who she falls in love with.

>>

“The Fast and the Furious”In the lastest installment in the series, “Tokyo Drift,” Sean Boswell moves to Toyko to avoid going to jail and to live with his military father. He is soon caught up in the underground world of drift racing.

>>Artwork by Alexis Davis

BY LANIE CALLAGHAN, JAKE RAZO

AND MCKINZIE MANGERS, EDITORS

Compiled by Claudia Tovar, McKayla Helm and McKinzie Mangers.

Sources: Dean Renee Grisch, Superintendent Jeff Schuler and a poll of 201

randomly-selected students conducted by Claudia Tovar on Oct. 18.

The intercom buzzed, and stu-dents looked up from their books.

“We are going into a hard lock-down,” Principal Chip Hickman an-nounced.

All over the building, class-rooms doors slammed shut. Blinds went down. In some rooms, stu-dents crouched under desks with the lights off. In other classrooms, teachers continued teaching, simply barring their doors.

Students in Kurt Green’s speech class in A209 were among those who hid under the tables.

“Mr. Green told everyone to go up against the wall and under the tables,” sophomore Alexa Certa, who was in class at the time, said. “Everyone was freaking out.”

In an age where school shoot-ings regularly make the news, and at a school just 14 miles from North-ern Illinois University, the scene of one of the worst shootings in recent memory, it was a scary moment for some.

“I automatically thought of Co-lombine,” sophomore Nelly Sepul-veda said.

Sepulveda wasn’t alone. Ten per-cent of Kaneland students said that they were scared during the lock-down, a Krier poll of 201 students on Oct. 18 found.

Teachers were caught off guard, The fire drill that morning had been planned in advance. The lockdown, they knew, was not a drill.

Students had no idea what had happened. Text messages flew back and forth, with 53 percent of stu-dents polled texting friends or fam-ily, trying to figure out what was go-

ing on. “I was just wondering what was

going on and if it was a drill or not,” freshman Elise Fichtel said.

Some were worried. Some weren’t. Senior Brittney Boettcher said she wondered “is it real?,” while senior Jessica Martinez was more nonchalant.

“I didn’t really care,” Martinez said. “I knew nothing was serious because nothing ever happens at this boring school.”

It wasn’t quite nothing—bullet casings had been found in the halls of Kaneland High School, and ini-tially, no one knew that they were only from a track starter pistol or where they’d come from.

“The understanding from the administration was that the bul-lets were scattered in the hallways,” superintendent Jeff Schuler said. “[The administration] couldn’t identify what type of casing they were at first, so the administration didn’t know if they were potentially dangerous.”

Since the situation might’ve been dangerous, administrators de-cided to put the school in a “hard lockdown”—something that con-fused students and teachers because it was a term many had never heard before.

CONFUSION REIGNED

Upperclassmen remembered drills where they’d practiced a Code Black lockdown, which takes place when a “serious event” that might threaten students’ well being, such as a potential shooting, is imminent, but none had ever heard the term

KNOW THE CODE

What happens in classrooms?

The school announces the lockdown, which indicates to teachers that they should lock

their doors and keep students inside. Teachers should account for all students in order to

minimize dangers. Further instructions to teachers should quickly follow, Grisch said.

Lockdowns are federal emergency procedures issued in order to keep people from get-

ting in or out of an area. Procedures like these were put into place after the Columbine

High School massacre, in which two students killed 12 of their peers as well as a teacher.

Schools used to use terms to differentiate between types of lockdowns, but “schools are no

longer using colors or adjectives,” Dean Renee Grisch said.

What happens throughout the building?

Everyone in the building has certain responsibilities during a lockdown, Grisch said, but

specific steps cannot be released for safety reasons. Doors are secured and administrators

determine whether there is immediate or imminent danger. Police from the Kane County

Sherriff’s office may come to assist in the investigation.

KNOW THE NUMBERS

34%of students said their teachers

seemed nervous

88%of students said they did not try to

get in touch with their parents

0%of students said the school was

“very clear” informing the students

64%of students said the school had not

given them enough information

during the lockdown

Centerspread / November 17, 2011 / KANELAND KRIER12

INSIDETHE LOCKDOWN

Centerspread / November 17, 2011 / KANELAND KRIER 13

“hard lockdown.”The terms had changed last year,

Schuler explained, and the term “hard lockdown” was no longer used.

“There used to be different types of lockdowns, but there aren’t dif-ferent types anymore because if we need to go into a lockdown, we just go into a lockdown,” he said.

Hickman sent e-mails to teach-ers briefing them on the situation, but they were instructed to keep the details confidential as the investiga-tion proceeded.

Administrators, staff and police were on the case, Schuler said.

Officers from the Kane County Sherriff’s department came out to assist, while Officer Keith Gardner, the school’s resource officer from the sherriff’s department, led the investigation.

“Officer Gardner is a full-time officer, so he quickly identified where the bullets had come from,” Schuler said.

Gardner identified the bullet casings as being from starter pis-tols used at track meets. Hundreds of casings are strewn around the track outside the high school, the remnants of hundreds of track races over the years.

Yet the investigation didn’t stop there—police and administrators alike wanted to be sure that the building was safe before releasing students from lockdown.

The sherriff’s office brought five trained dogs in to sniff out ammuni-tion. The officers and canine units searched the buildings, sniffing lockers and other areas, for telltale scents like gunpowder. Nothing was found.

Rumors were spreading like a cold in winter, and Schuler’s phone was ringing constantly. Within 20 minutes, parents were calling and wanting to take their children out of school.

A COPYCAT? One of the rumors that began

circulating immediately among stu-dents was that it was a copycat in-cident, similar to the one that had happened just a week before at St. Charles North, roughly 16 miles east of KHS.

Senior John Michek said his first thoughts went to the incident at St. Charles, which had led to school be-ing cancelled there.

“[I was] a little disgusted after hearing about what happened in St. Charles,” Michek said.

Schuler said that the situations at Kaneland and St. Charles were different and St. Charles experi-enced a more serious event.

“In my understanding, St. Charles North found real bullets that had not been fired, not casings from bullets,” Schuler said.

St. Charles North was locked down at 11:50 a.m. on Sept. 29, when students were told they were not allowed to leave their classes. Stu-dents knew there were search dogs in the building, but even after the dogs left, students were still not al-lowed to leave classrooms.

“[We were told] we were in lock-down for drugs, when the girl sitting next to me in class got a text from her mom saying that they found a bullet,” Corrine Sullivan, a sopho-more at St. Charles North, said.

A dean arrived in Sullivan’s class at the end of the period telling the class that they were to evacuate.

“It just happened randomly. It came on the announcements that there was a security problem, and we needed to evacuate,” St. Charles North sophomore Alexa Johnson-Roach said.

Though students were sent home, they were only permitted to take personal belongings—they had to leave their backpacks and bags behind to be searched by bomb-sniffing dogs looking for weapons.

Kaneland never considered can-celling school, Schuler said.

“It was a different situation. As

soon as [administration] identified there wasn’t a dangerous situation, it was not necessary [to release stu-dents],” Schuler said.

“The situation was under con-trol, and often students are a source of information,” he said. “If they went home, it would take more time to get things settled.”

ROLE OF STUDENTS

Who brought the pistol casings into KHS has not been released, but it wasn’t a copycat incident and no one was trying to get school can-celled. Schuler said there was no reason to worry.

“[Administration] does not be-lieve there was any intent to do harm or create panic,” Schuler said.

He said the texts, rumors, inac-curate Facebook posts and parent phone calls had made the situation more complicated than necessary.

“Students need to respond to what adults are asking them to do in that moment,” Schuler said.

The district didn’t immediately send out a phone blast to parents, he said, because they didn’t want to scare people or have parents show-ing up and trying to take students out of school.

“In my mind, it brings parents to the problem when there is a mass phone call, like when we have snow days telling parents that their kids need to be picked up or they will be coming home early via bus,” Schuler said.

Parents received e-mails about what had happened, similar to the announcement students heard at the end of the day.

“I think they did a great job by not scaring people but still letting us know what happened,” freshman Andera Halsey said.

Top: Officer Keith Gardner, the school resource officer, helped the school investigate the source of the prob-lem. Above: Track starter pistol casings like these are all around the outdoor track, where they are fired to start a track race. Officer Gardner found dozens lying on the ground.

Photos by Jacob Razo and Casey Jacobson

BULLETS FOUND AT KHS

THE LOCKDOWN

Flex / November 17, 2011 / KANELAND KRIER14

Recycling improves

BY BRIANNE STROBEL, Editor

In the United States, people are becoming more conscious of how their everyday actions affect the environment.

Kaneland takes steps to be environmentally friendly by having recycling bins in most of the classrooms. These are collected by student coun-cil every Thursday during Step.

Not only does recycling reduce the amount of garbage that goes into the ground, some of it staying for thousands of years before decompos-ing, but it also makes the times waste recepticles need to be emptied less frequent.

According to bigbellysolar.com, garbage trucks use over a billion gallons of diesel in the United States per year, and they only get an aver-age of 2.8 miles per gallon, which is significantly lower than most vehicles.

The company manufactures bins, called Big-Belly Solar Compactors, that use solar power to crush items that need to be recycled. This helps reduce waste by providing people in public a way to recycle and also by reducing the need of fuel-consuming garbage trucks.

The compactors have sensors in them that

compact the waste when it is full. When it has compacted all that it can and can no longer com-pact more, it sends a message to the command center saying that it needs to be emptied. This prevents wasted trips to empty them, saving fuel and time.

In 2007, the city of Chicago signed a $2.5 mil-lion contract with BigBelly Solar and placed 400 compactors all over the city to help improve the enviorment.

The units cost between $4,000 and $5,000 each, but through the money they save, they are supposed to pay for themselves eventually.

“I think it’s awesome that we’re making im-provements in our environment. It helps our economy and the world that we live in. It’s im-portant to save trees and help out in any way we can,” junior Bailey Burns said.

It doesn’t take a large corporation to recycle. Most communities that recycle allow a few of the following to be recycled: clear and colored glass containers, aluminum cans, newspapers, normal office paper, steel cans, plastic and card-board.

Overtime this should increase the amount of products being recycled.

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Sports Feature / November 17, 2011 / KANELAND KRIER 15

Sophomore Kyle Carter is fast. So fast that he’s broken a record

at Sterling Invitational and beat former state finalist Trevor Holm’s record on the Byron course.

“It makes you feel good and pretty honored to do that,” Carter said.

At the Sterling Invite, the previ-ous record was held by Cody Web-ster at 16:08, and Carter eclipsed it by one second.

“Considering the meet is 62 years old, and this record has been broken time and time again, it’s an honor that Kyle has chipped away at a piece of history. When he broke the record, he and another boy from United Township High School broke free from the rest of the pack and did it virtually alone, which is difficult to do,” Coach Chad Clarey said.

“I knew about being able to break the record, but I never really thought about it, because I didn’t want to get stressed,” Carter said.

Carter and Tyler Rasso, the

UTHS runner, were the only two to break the record.

“We were confident, given some of the recent races that Kyle had run, that he would be in contention for doing such a thing. We did not anticipate that Rasso would also be trying to shatter the record as well,” Clarey said.

Carter was part of a Kaneland team that took fourth place in the invite.

He teamed up with Luis Acosta (7th), Ryan Bower (15th overall), Nathaniel Kucera (37th overall), Brandon Park (65th overall), Dylan Kuipers (68th overall) and Phil Cutsinger (101st overall).

On the Byron course, Carter also ran faster than Holm, a 2011 graduate who held the school re-cord.

Holm held the record for the fastest three mile at the state finals course, running it in 15:25 during the state finals, but his best time on that course was 15:09 in 2010.

This season, Carter ran the course in 15:07.

Since that time, he’s been work-

Courtesy photo from Marshall Farthing

BY KATIE HILL, Reporter

Kyle Carter runs in the conference meet at the Geneseo course.

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ing up into the lead packs and just finished fifth at the Conference Championships at the Varsity level.

“He’s coming strongest at just the right time,” Clarey said.

Even fellow teammates agree that Carter is becoming a stronger runner.

“It means when he gets older and better, he will break more re-cords,” junior Connor Johnson said.

Carter has yet to let pressure affect him when he runs, and brings a lot to the table.

“We are very excited for Kyle, and what he brings to our team. He’s focused as a competitor and does not get too overloaded or burdened by pressure. He’s steady and a good teammate to key off of because of his consis-tency,” Clarey said.

Carter chips away at course, school recordsSophomore Kyle Carter exceeds his own expectations on home cross country course

Lifestyle / November 17, 2011 / KANELAND KRIER16

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Be more flexible

LUNGE: Start standing up, slowly going into a lunge position. Be sure the back leg is straight out. Put both hands next to the front foot, and lean forward. Feel the stretch in the hamstrings.

REVOLVED TRIANGLE: Stand with legs shoulder width apart. Bring left foot forward slightly. Slowly turn and lower your upper body, placing the left hand on the ground and keeping the right one in the air. Do the same for the right leg. Stretches the hamstrings and calves.

COBRA: Begin by lying on your stomach with your arms pushed against the shoulders. Slowly begin to raise yourself, feeling the stretch in the abdomen. Glennon recommends holding for five rounds of breaths.

BRIDGE: To stretch the abdomen, begin by lying on your back with arms at the side. Slowly raise the abdomen in the air, keeping feet on the ground.

Sore after a tough practice and not sure how to relieve the stiffness? Why not try yoga?

“Yoga develops strength and flexibility in the body and mind which will leave you feeling inspired, alive and aligned,” said Barb Glennon, yoga instructor.

Many athletes become sore in the heat of the seasons and need a way to release some tension.This is a inexpensive and quick way to stretch out sore muscles.

“Usually my knees and my shoulders [are sore],” freshman Aislinn Lodwig said.

Next time muscles are sore after a game, prac-tice, or whenever muscles need relief, try these five moves suggested by Glennon to stretch the abdomen, hamstrings and calves.

EAGLE: Begin by squatting. Slowly cross one leg over the other, keep-ing your balance. Once stable, bring your hands together and relax. This stretches the hamstrings.

A LIGHTER

FEASTThanksgiving

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, teenagers everywhere are preparing for the feast. The average American will consume 4,500 calories and 229 grams of fat, according to the Calorie Control Council. That’s more than dou-ble what should be eaten per day.

There are easy ways to cut back on the calo-ries, just by doing simple swaps like these:

Dark meat (220 cal.) White meat (188 cal.)Swap

Why? Not only does white meat have fewer calories, it also has less fat and cholesterol. Want to make it even healthier? Take the skin off. “There is a fine layer of fat on the skin. When the skin is taken off, that has more of a chance to be cooked off,” Judy Fabrizius, Family Consumer Science teacher, said.

Stuffing (175 cal., 14 g. fat)Green Bean Casserole (100 cal., 6 g. fat)

Swap

Why? “Stuffing has tons of salt and carbohydrates,” Culinary Arts teacher Tara Wood said, ”especially with mashed potatoes and rolls.” The casserole is healthier, Wood said, because beans provide vitamin B6 and folic acid, making them a heart healthy substitute. Wood says to make the casserole even healthier, substitute the mushroom soup with chicken broth.

Rolls (227 cal., 11 g. fat)Cornbread (120 cal., 0 g. fat)

Swap

Why? Dinner rolls alone are a better choice than cornbread, but most Thanksgiving feasters add butter and jam to the rolls. To make cornbread a healthy starch, put a little honey on it. The honey adds numerous vitamins to the cornbread, Fabrizius said, including vitamins B1, B2 and C.

Pecan Pie (450 cal., 21 g. fat)Apple Crisp (280 cal., 10 g. fat)

SwapWhy? Healthier meal choices at Thanksgiving doesn’t mean cutting out dessert. Replace pecan pie with an apple crisp to cut back on calories and fat, recommends Kathy Goldberg, a registered dietitian and culinary arts specialist for the University of Michigan Health System.

If all these swaps were taken to heart, over 660 calories in one serving could be shed from a Thanksgiving meal.

–Michelle McCracken, reporter

with these five movesBY MICHELLE MCCRACKEN, Reporter

Photos by Michelle Mccracken

How-to / November 17, 2011 / KANELAND KRIER 17

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Cheaters, caught red-handed

When one Kaneland sophomore got the call from her friends, she was surprised. The news? Her boyfriend of five months had cheated on her.

She broke off the relationship right away.“If they feel it’s not worth it to be with you, it’s not worth it

to be with them,” she said. Though her experience was painful, it was not unique. In

a poll of 118 randomly-selected Kaneland students, 37 percent said they had been cheated on, and 13 percent confessed to cheating on their partners.

Nationally, two-thirds of young adults in a committed rela-tionship have encountered betrayal to their monogamous other, according to a study by Tricia Orzeck and Esther Lung, pub-lished in Current Psychology.

“[The cheater] may think the grass is greener on the other side,” school psychologist John Markov-ich said.

Being betrayed can have compelling emotion-al consequences. Sophomore Ieisha Johansson would know after her boyfriend of six months cheated on her.

“I felt like everything was my fault and that I wasn’t good enough. Sooner or later I got over it and went on with my life,” Johansson said.

37 percent of students polled have been cheated on

CHARACTERISTICS THAT MAKE SOMEONE LIKELY TO CHEATEXTROVERSION

A recent study pub-lished in 2009 found that extroverts believe that they are more social and active than their significant oth-ers. They don’t invest as much as they should into relationships, which lowers commitment. Their person-ality type is more likely to cheat to prevent boredom.

AGREEABLENESSThe cheater is more

cooperative and generous. They are agreeable and want to please others. The cheaters with this trait will feel that by being coop-erative their monogamous other will reciprocate the favor and be more willing to please them, Orzeck and Lung found.

CONSCIENTIOUSNESSCheaters tend to be

more disorganized and un-reliable. They tend not to make an effort in their rela-tionship and pay less atten-tion to their partner, which leads to an affair. “Individu-als who describe themselves as unfaithful were found to be low on conscientious-ness,” Orzeck wrote.

NEUROTICISMPeople with a neurotic

attitude have low emotional stability and they aren’t in control of their temper. They have lack of psycho-logical adjustment and low openness with others. These neurotic people are more likely to cheat and have shorter relationships, Orzeck and Lung found.

OPENNESSCheaters see themselves

as more open than their partner. The study showed that cheaters think they are more creative and intellec-tual compared to their non-cheating partner. Having this trait makes the cheater seek out for someone to compare themselves to.

Photo illustration by Emily Ferrell

Source: Tricia Orzeck, University of Calgary and Esther Lung, York Unviversity

5

By Emily Ferrell, Reporter

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Pulse / November 17, 2011 / KANELAND KRIER18

“Breaking Dawn” sure to draw huge crowds

Vampire hype is at an all-time high as Isabella Swan and Edward Cullen prepare to exchange their wedding vows in Breaking Dawn Part One, which is set to hit the-aters tomorrow. Forever is a long time when there’s a sparkly all-powerful vampire, and Bella is de-termined to become one.

Robert Pattinson plays Edward Cullen, vampire heartthrob, and Kristen Stewart plays Bella Swan ,the vulnerable human who is head over heels in love with Edward. The onscreen chemistry is hard to ignore, and these actors are sure to put on a good show. Taylor Lautner, who can be very frightening when he explodes into a horse-sized wolf, plays Jacob Black, and he is sure to spend at least half of the movie shirtless, much to the delight of fans. Wedding, surprise pregnancy, forbidden love and thwarting all-powerful leaders are the key ele-ments to this book turned movie.

However, in order to keep from making this movie cheesy and irri-tating, there will need to be a bal-ance between the doomed to die ultimatum and reality.

Fans are held in breathless

PULSE

St. Charles native reveals Munger Road

anticipation as they wait for the movie to begin, but will the movie really live up to the expectations? Keeping the cheesiness in line has proven to be a challenge for Twi-light film writers.

Director Bill Condon, who has previously directed films such as “Dreamgirls” and “Gods and Mon-sters”, has been selected to direct the fourth installment of the Twi-light saga.

With vampire romance, the line between heart wrenching and “OMG-this-is-so-cheesy–I-want-to-puke,” is a narrow one. Fans should give this movie a chance if they enjoy action, drama and ro-mance, and are not afraid of were-wolves. Despite the many direc-tions this film could take, viewers should still take the time to watch it, because fans never know what could happen. If they watched the first three movies in the saga, viewers will want to find out how it ends anyways (or the beginning of the end since there are two parts to this story).

The midnight premiere is to-night, so there are probably going to be some tired “Twihards” shuf-fling through the hallways tomor-row morning.

There are many myths about Munger Road. It is said that many years ago, a school bus full of kids was driving down Munger Road when it stalled on the tracks. As the kids were trying to push the bus of the tracks, the train came and plowed through the bus, killing ev-eryone. It is said if someone parks on the tracks and sprinkles baby powder on the bumper of their car, put their car in neutral and roll down the windows the kids will come and push you off the tracks. (Remember this is a myth).

Munger Road was filmed in St.Charles. Ironically, it takes place the night of the annual Scarecrow Fest. Two police officers search

for a prisoner missing/killer that escaped the prison bus and stole a van. The mayor is alarmed because the town will be filling up with visitors for the festival. The same night, four teenagers go missing on Munger Road after going out. They were driving down the road and were foolish enough to challenge the myth.

Nicholas Smith, who was a high school graduate of St.Charles, di-rected this movie and currently lives in west suburban St.Charles. This movie is filled with mystery and suspense and keeps viewers interested. They did a great job keeping a mood by keeping view-ers excited for what’s going to hap-pen next and building suspense all throughout the movie.

BY HANNAH WALLACE, Reporter

BY SABRINA SIVERT, Reporter

Popular saga returns in Part 1

Photo courtesy of Summit Productions

PULSE

Photo courtesy of Fox

Pulse / November 17, 2011 / KANELAND KRIER 19

3Page-Turning Suggestions

KrierLibrary

Change isn’t needed in the recipe at Pizza Villa

With so many pizza places around these days, it can be hard to decide which one is right. Often we’re tempted to take the easy road

and just order delivery from some run-of-the-mill place like Pizza Hut. However, for those looking for a classic family pizza experience, Pizza Villa in DeKalb might be just the right.

The place has a very old-time feel, with its rustic and homely details. It’s wooden and dimly lit, with many decorations that hark back to a different time. And they do: Pizza Villa has been around since our parents were in high school, and it hasn’t changed much in that time. But it doesn’t need to—that old-school vibe is part of the charm.

The tables are perhaps a little too small—they allow for intimate conversation, but fit-ting all the food on the table can prove a bit of a challenge. But the food arrived promptly, even though it was crowded on my visit, and the waitress was friendly and courteous and never left us waiting.

Drinks are delivered to the table in pitch-ers, which has become kind of retro in itself these days, but there’s plenty to go around and no hassle waiting for a refill, especially when you’ve sprinkled a bit too much red pepper onto a slice.

We ordered a basket of Villa Nuggets along with the drinks. They’re just simple mini

breadsticks, but the simplicity is extremely enjoyable. They were baked to be crisp on the outside and soft inside, and the marinara sauce it’s served with is well done too. It’s slightly spicy, to give the bread flavor, and it’s bursting with tomato flavor. To finish off the appetiz-ers, the salad was fresh and crisp.

A place called Pizza Villa, though, is all about the pizza, and the main dish didn’t dis-appoint. The cheese pizza was big, enough to bring some home for later.

The flavor was fresh and rich, the cheese was very gooey, and the bread was thick to bal-ance it out. It was a bit greasy though, so a fork and knife are recommended. Eat this pizza with your hands at your own risk. The pricing of the food was exceptional.

The entire order was $24.75. A large cheese pizza cost $15.25, Villa Nuggets were $4.95 and the salad was $2.30. Given the huge portion sizes, that’s a deal.

Those who have been here before know that there’s an arcade downstairs in the restau-rant, but unfortunately many of the games are out of order now. They’re an enjoyable part of the restaurant, especially for teens and fami-lies, and it’d be nice if management fixed them.

Parking is limited and hard to find on busy nights, so be prepared to find a different place in the complex to park on weekends or during special events.

It’s no surprise that it’s busy, though be-cause Pizza Villa provides a nice family experi-ence that’s just a cut above ordinary.

“TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY”2 By Jay Asher

Jay Asher outdid himself with the best selling novel “Th1rteen R3asons Why.”

Clay Jense obtains a box of old audiotapes from an unknown sender has no idea of what they contain. On the first tape, he hears a familiar voice, it’s Han-nah Baker; a girl he hardly knew who committed suicide at his school.

Thirteen sides, thirteen reasons, and a map explain-ing why her life had to end. The only rules: Listen and pass it on.

“Th1rteen R3asons Why” will leave readers thinking and satisfied with the story—and Asher just released the much-anticipated sequel.

“STEVE JOBS”3 By Walter Isaacson

Maybe one of the most famous and innovative CEO’s, Steve Jobs gets his life forever preserved in history with his biography, “Steve Jobs.”

Written by best-selling bi-ographer Walter Isaacson, “Steve Jobs” sheds light on how the Apple CEO was able to change technology in a way that no one could have imagined. Throughout the book it talks the arrival of highly anticipated products, ranging from the old school iPod to the new and fashionable iPhone.

“Steve Jobs” has gathered information with over 40 interviews with Jobs, as well as family, friends, competi-tors, and partners. The founder of Apple will always be remembered, and “Steve Jobs” helps cement the technol-ogy wizard’s place in history.

“THROUGH MY EYES”1 By Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow was almost never even born.

It’s one of many sur-prising stories in “Through My Eyes,” an autobiography that touches on nearly every aspect of Tebow’s life, from his birth in the Phillipines to being homeschooled to playing football for the Florida Gators.

Tebow’s story is one of faith, and readers will be touched by how his family’s be-lief in him and his belief in himself ultimately gave Tebow the chance of a lifetime—playing college football.

“Through My Eyes” truly delivers as a top-notch autobiography. It’s a heart-warming story that will appeal to anyone who enjoys a good read and a feel-good story. Pizza Villa serves up gooey, delicious cheese pizza in a classic, family environment.

–Ryan Noel, editor

–Taylor Spooner, reporter

–Ryan Noel, editor

Photo by Brittney Larsen

BY BRITTANY LARSEN, Reporter

Photo / November 17, 2011 / KANELAND KRIER20

NOVEMBERColor Guard prac-ticed for LUX, Scholastic Bowl prepared for their first competition, Art Club shared school spirit, and Early Child Devel-opment classes developed young minds.1

2

at Kaneland

at Kaneland

Photo / November 17, 2011 / KANELAND KRIER 21

1. Senior Veronica Peterson, junior Brittany Larsen, senior Sarah Kitz, sophomore Angelique Franks and junior Jayme Kufer practice for LUX, the color guard’s half time show. 2. Junior Danielle Wylie, junior Brendan Dunphy, junior Graham Jefferson, sophomore Kiersten Knarr, sophomore Jeromy Faivre, sopho-more Dzenen Bogaljevic and art teacher Carleen Wieg paint the softball dugout for Coach Brian Willis. “We’re painting the dugout because Mr. Willis asked us to paint a slogan,” Jefferson said.3. Fox Valley students Ashley Vlach and Jocelyn Woods sit down with Morgan, Luciana, A.J. and Emma for snack time, singing a song before the snack in Early Childhood Development.4. Sophomores Josh Rodriguez, Muneeb Rehman, Ethan Witt and Taylor Robertson prepare for the first Scholastic Bowl competition, which took place on Saturday. “We are ready to take on the world,” Witt said.5. Matthew Grimm does research for Patty Welker’s AP Literature class.

4

5

Photos by Heather Shelton, Amelia Likeum and Katie Hill

Girls Sports / November 17, 2011 / KANELAND KRIER22

SPORTS

The girls basketball team is pumped and ready for the season.

The freshmen teams play their first game tonight against Sandwich, while the sophomore and varsity teams begin their season with tour-naments this Saturday.

Senior Kelly Evers said the var-sity team is hoping to improve on last year’s 13-16 record.

“I really just want to get a better record than last year, to improve and have fun,” Evers said.

Junior Lexee Guerra agreed. “I would really love to be unde-

feated. I want it to be fun for every-one this year.”

Tori Guyton concentrates on making a putt while preparing for her match against Hinckley-Big Rock at Hughes Creek golf course.Photo by Anthony Sperando

Tennis doubles team takes third

The doubles teams of senior Amelia Napiorkowski and freshman Madi Jurcenko advanced to state af-ter placing third in sectionals out of 20 teams.

The pair’s first sectionals match against Sycamore was lost 2-6, but Napiorkowski and Jurcenko pulled through to win the next two matches 7-6 and 6-2. They went on to defeat Glenbard North 6-3 and 6-0, then lost 3-6 to a top-ranked Bartlett team in both matches.

Napiorkowski and Jurcenko came back to win 6-3 in the first match against St. Charles North and won 7-6 in the second, with a tiebreaker score of 6.

It was the second year in a row a doubles team went to state. Though they did not place, Coach Tim Lars-en said it was the best tennis team had ever done.

“It equals what was done last year during playoffs,” Larsen said. “But we won Conference [too], which was why this year was better than last year.”

The Knights finished their over-all season with an astonishing 29-1, and Jurcenko broke the record for the most total wins at Kaneland with 32 victories—a record that Napiorkowski had set just last year with 25 victories.

“No matter who they played, they reacted well and found a way to beat their opponent,” Larsen said.

Girls basketball ready for the season

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Freshman Tori Guyton has golf in her genes—the younger sister of Hayley Guyton, who’s now at ISU on a golf scholarship, advanced to the Class AA women’s sectionals last month.

Guyton, who plays for the ju-nior varsity team and is the only female golfer at Kaneland, got the last spot in the qualifying by shoot-ing a 102 during the Class AA re-gional, which was held at the Syca-more Golf Club on Oct. 5.

Her season ended at sectionals, when she shot a 102 again on the Cog Hill course in Lemont, but it was a strong end for a young player.

“Tori’s future looks bright. She played well in conference and re-gionals,” senior Adam Grams said.

Guyton’s best score so far this year was 91, which she earned on the Rochelle Sports Club.

Guyton said her father intro-duced her to golf, and though she’s played for as long as she can re-member, she “just got serious this year.”

She said she keeps her game sharp by practicing a lot.

“I just keep trying because the more practice, the better you be-come,” Guyton said.

Having a lot of guidance from older players really influences the newer golfers, Coach Mark Meyer

said, because younger players tend to look up to the older players for advice and tips to keep their game up.

Meyer said that two golfers stood out in his mind as excellent golfers: Haley Guyton and graduate Kevin Schramer, both now alumni.

But he said Tori Guyton could become very successful in the sport if she continues to work at it.

“It’s up to any golfer and how much practice they put forth,” Meyer said. “I think she played well for a freshman.”

Grams said that Guyton was fun to play with on the team.

“She adds an eccentric positive attitude,” Grams said.

BY BRYANNA STOIBER, Reporter

Guyton sets the bar high Freshman Tori Guyton advanced to conference during her first season as a Knights’ golfer, creating high expe3ctations

Boys Sports / November 17, 2011 / KANELAND KRIER 23

Kno

w Y

our K

nigh

ts

Football defeats Morris to win conference title

Boys cross country looking to finish season strong

“Hang out with my family in my pajamas.”

“Go to St. Louis to visit family, but this year

we have a basketball tournament.”

“Eat dinner with my family.”

“I am looking forward to having a good year and

meeting new people.”

“I am looking forward to working

with a lot more juniors this year.

It will be different.”

“With wrestling, I am just

excited for it.”

“Anything on the History Channel

for entertainment and on Thursdays

on NBC for fun.”

“I like Glee because it is a high school life on

a different level.”

“I do not have one.”

“My favorite subject in school

is history because it is interesting.”

“My favorite subject is math

because it is challenging.”

“History because it is interesting.”

This year’s varsity football play-ers may be smaller in stature than last year’s team, but they’re faster.

“We’re fast and we do what we’re supposed to do, which gives us an upper hand against most teams,” junior linebacker Ryan Lawrence said.

The team finished the regular season campaign with a 9-0 record when the Knights defeated the Morris Redskins 31-28 to win the conference title.

Both teams had 8-0 records go-ing into the game, and it was the second back-to-back undefeated regular season for the Knights, who made to to the semifinals last year, only to be defeated by the Montini Broncos, who later won

the state title. Eleven Knights players (six of-

fensive, five defensive) were named all-conference. Drew David, Quinn Buschbacher, Sean Carter, Ben Kovalick, Alex Snyder and Nick Sharp rounded off the offense while Jacob Razo, Lawrence, Blake Brad-ford, Kory Harner and Ryan Noel rounded off the defense. Running back Jesse Balluff was also an hon-orable mention.

“I think [the season’s] gone well,” junior linebacker Blake Brad-ford said.

For him, the best game of the season was the Knights’ come-from-behind win against Sycamore on Oct. 14, when Kaneland trailed 14-0 in the first quarter but wound up winning 35-21.

It hasn’t been often that this powerful Knights team has had to

come from behind in the regular season, but they expect the compe-tition to get tougher.

The Knights headed into the 5A playoffs as the number one seed for the second year in a row, defeat-ing the sixteenth-seeded Belvidere Bucs 51-45 on Oct. 28.

The Knights are expected to face the two-time defending state champion Montini again, after pos-sible matchups against Burlington Central, Sycamore and Rochelle.

The team has been closely studying its opposition before each game, watching hours of video.

“We’re watching plenty of film, making sure we know our respon-sibilities and going over our fun-damentals,” Kovalick said. “I defi-nitely think we are right up there. It’s a great privilege to be on a team like this.”

The boys cross country team has been on a roll for a while, excelling at several events throughout the season. Several new personal re-cords have been set, with breakout stars and veteran leadership, and the team is looking strong closing out the year.

Regionals were a great display of that with a fifth place finish at Elburn Woods. Top finishers for the Knights were sophomore Kyle Carter and junior John Meseinger.

By the end of the Geneseo meet, the course proved to be a difficult challenge. With several hills and dips in the course, the Knights faced an uphill battle, literally. Even faced with such a challenge, the team still placed a solid third place, improving upon last year’s seventh-place finish.

“We must take it one week at a time, focus on one another, and make sure we do all the little things to have that opportunity at State. Nothing is a given, and qualifying is a major achievement. We have to go out and earn it,” Coach Chad Clarey said.

“The season’s gone great,” senior Clayton Brundige added. “[We’ve] got young talent and some great leaders, and we’re coming in hot for state.”

As the team has progressed toward the state series, they’ve changed their practice routines to prepare for the conference, regional and sectional meets, Brundige said.

“We’ve been doing a lot of speed intervals, some long distance runs,” said senior Frankie Furco. “But overall we’ve been keeping practices light to keep fresh.”

WAY YOU’LL SPEND THANKSGIVING? EXCITED ABOUT IN THIS SEASON? FAVORITE TV SHOW? FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL?

BY G

EOR

GE

GR

AEF

EN

Courtesy photo

-Evan Ortiz, reporter

BY EDDIE RODRIGUEZ, Reporter

Sophomore Drew David looks for an open receiver during the Homecoming game against Rochelle on Sept. 23.

Marina SchaeferSophomore, Basketball

Madi Bluml

Stephen Gust

Senior, Bowling

Junior, Wrestling

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