+Linn-Mar Life - Linn-Mar Community School District

LIFE
M a rc h e d i t i o n
Renovations underway to update school to the 21st century
By Evan Brown
Current Linn-Mar High
School students will get a chance
to see the initial stages of a new
$30 million renovation project on
their school starting this March.
The renovations are expected to be
completed between December 2016
and August 2017. The project aims to
update the school to the 21st century
and places heavy emphasis on student
free-time areas, including several
new Commons spaces. School
capacity is estimated to increase by
400-500 students from the current
2000-student enrollment.
Because the renovations will
be ongoing during the spring of this
year as well as the 2015-16 school
year, they will have a large impact
on where current students can be
and how they get there. For example,
the four corners will become a
T-intersection as the north wing is
cut off for renovations. Principal Dr.
Jeff Gustason said: “There will be
some things where you’ll definitely
feel like, ‘Okay, I’m in a construction
zone’ but at the same time, I think
just the density in the hallways
during passing time is probably my
biggest concern… You’re going to
have all the classrooms being used
100 percent of the time. And that’s an
okay thing for a period of time, but it
means that you’re going to have more
people in certain areas.”
A large focus of the
renovations is increasing space for
students to work and collaborate.
Dr. Gustason said, “The whole point
is to try and make the space more
efficient… and at the same time
make sure we’ve got enough area for
students.” In addition to the existing
Commons areas, plans include two
new additions for students to work.
The north wing of the school will
have a large space with tables and
chairs as well as large windows to
let in sunlight, and the south end will
have a new open hallway with tiered
seating connected to the cafeteria,
running all the way from the gym
west to door #13.
The north wing will be
the largest renovated section of
the school, with a nearly complete
redesign. The new north wing will
include another main entrance, an
additional music room, and several
new classrooms, as well as the new
commons area mentioned above.
The new main entrance will allow
students who park in the north lot
during the day to come into the
building without having to go around
to door #1. The added music room,
designed as a space for the orchestra,
will allow all musical rehearsals to be
held in the Colton Center rather than
be split up as they currently are. The
large-scale nature of the renovations
in this area means that travel will be
difficult during construction phases,
especially to and from the Colton
Center.
Another new addition to
the school will be a student lecture
hall, occupying the space around the
current orchestra room. The hall seats
120 students easily and can be used
as an alternative to the little theater
for guest speakers, for combined
large classes, and for regular classes
as well. The Media Center is also
being refurbished to provide both a
learning center for student space as
well as a more classical silent library
area.
The current enrollment at
Linn-Mar High School is about
2,000 students, with very little room
left to grow this number. The new
renovations will increase capacity
by 400-500 students, which will fit
the current largest class of 2200 (this
year’s third to sixth graders). On the
subject of a second, brand new high
school, Dr. Gustason said, “Once this
project is over, the district’s going
to have to start that next question
right away, if not during,” but he
also stressed the importance of
the current renovations to prevent
a divide between the two schools
due to technological and aesthetic
discrepancies. “If you have brand
new, shiny, hundred and some million
dollar high school and then you have
old… That doesn’t always play very
well.”
The
architect
of
the
renovation designs is the DLR group
of Des Moines, an architecture and
engineering firm founded in 1966
that lists K-12 education design as
one of its specialties.
By Sydnei Foens
Tech for two Linn-Mar Fine Arts productions this year has begun. They began working on the sets for Disney’s
Peter Pan, which was Linn-Mar’s
production choice for this year’s
Playtime Poppy series. Based off the
novel by J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan is the
story of three children named Wendy,
Michael, and John who meet Peter
Pan, an adventurous boy who takes
them to Neverland, a magical world
where you never grow up. Here they
discover a Native American Tribe,
mermaids and Captain Hook, a merciless pirate, and his gang. The cast
included Emily Gamble as Peter
Pan, Emily Smith as Wendy Darling, Beth Smith as Tinker Bell, and
Logan Green as Captain Hook. The
show was performed in February and
March of 2015.
son as Emile, Garrett McClurg as
Henry, Aly Canaday as Bloody Mary,
Hannah Lancaster as Liat, Patrick
Hale as Luther Billis, and Matthew
Anderson as Lt. Joseph Cable. It will
be premiering on Thursday, April
30th in the Linn-Mar Auditorium at
7:00 p.m. Tickets will go on sale for
$10 in April.
Fine Arts productions shine on stage
The Linn Mar theater tech’s next
project will be creating the sets for
Linn Mar’s 2015 musical production, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s
South Pacific. Set on an island paradise in World War II, the story is
based around two love stories that
are threatened by prejudice and war.
Nellie Forbush, a lively nurse from
Arkansas falls in love with Emile de
Becque, a French planter, but refuses
to marry him because she discovers
he had children with an island native
and she is unable to turn away from
the prejudices she was raised with.
Meanwhile, Lt. Joe Cable denies
himself a future with a Tonkinese girl
because of the same prejudices that
haunt Nellie.
This year’s cast will include Camille Bonar as Nellie, Riley Ander-
Linn-Mar’s Drama Department
recently presented the Playtime
Poppy show Peter Pan and will
perform the Spring musical,
South Pacific, in April.
The Linn-Mar Life
Nuss brings strong musical background to Linn-Mar
By Evan Brown
Anyone who has been in band
at Linn-Mar High School knows
Mr. Nuss as their ninth grade band
director. Aaron Nuss was born in Des
Moines in 1977, the son of two band
directors. After graduating from the
University of Iowa, he came to LinnMar and has worked as a band director
here for 15 years. He now directs the
Wind Symphony and Jazz I bands
in addition to the freshman band.
As well as carrying on his parents’
profession, Mr. Nuss is brother to a
professional musician and is married
to another band director. He aptly
said, “My entire life has revolved
around music in some way.” He
has three children: Maddie, Dale,
and Charlie, and if Mr. Nuss isn’t at
school working, then he’s most likely
spending time with them.
Favorite childhood memory?
I was generally a pretty happy kid.
I always really liked Christmas so
I have a lot of very vivid memories
of Christmas morning and coming
down to see the stockings and what
Santa brought. My dad would always
make sure he went down first, and we
weren’t allowed to go in the living
room where the tree was until my
parents were up and dad had a fire
made and stuff like that. I’d say some
of my favorite memories would have
been Christmas mornings. I don’t
know that I have one that particularly
stands out, but I was a big Christmas
guy - still am.
What did your parents do for a
living? How did this influence you?
Well, my dad was a band director,
when I was born he taught at Dallas
Center. We lived in a little town
called Gladbrook, which is about 20
miles away from Marshalltown, kind
of in the middle of the state, and he
was the band director there. It was
a K-12 building… He was the band
director. When he stopped doing
that he tuned pianos and he taught
lessons, a lot on piano but on a lot of
band instruments as well, and he also
taught at Marshalltown Community
College, and did all the music stuff
there. My mom was an elementary
music teacher, and she retired 10
years ago or so. So yes, I would say,
they definitely had an influence on
what I do now.
When did you start playing music?
From the time I was four I played
violin, then I switched to cello in
fourth grade and I started trombone
in fifth grade. I played trombone
and cello all the way through high
school, and along the way picked
up euphonium, tuba and a little bit
of trumpet and clarinet, although I
certainly wouldn’t have been able
to play in a band or anything at that
point… I never did piano, I wish I
would have been interested but my
parents only made me take lessons
before I came to college.
What types of books or movies did
you watch as a kid?
I liked a lot of sci-fi movies - the
Indiana Jones movies were really
popular then, and of course the Star
Wars and Star Trek movies. I kind
of just was a sci-fi geek. I read a lot
of the kind of nerdy books that you
would expect I would have read - I
read The Hobbit, all the Lord of the
Rings, C.S. Lewis’s books, like The
Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,
that whole series… I read a lot.
Extra-curriculars?
I played little league baseball for two
years when I was in fifth or sixth
grade. I did summer stuff, but not too
much organized sports just because
I was doing music a lot. But in the
summer I played outside all the time.
I’m from kind of a different age,
and from the time I was five, in the
morning in the summer I would wake
up and “Mom, going outside!” and
I’d just be gone and wouldn’t come
home until sometimes 3 o’clock.
The summers would drag on forever,
it was awesome. But it was a little
town, and people did that - kids just
played.
Where did you go to college and
what were your majors/minors?
The University of Iowa. Essentially,
when you do music education at
one of the state schools, you’re
basically a double major because
there’s no difference in terms of the
music requirements from a bachelor
of music in performance. But if you
want to get your teaching license then
you have to concurrently enroll in the
college of education. I didn’t have
any minors, but I was able to audit
an introductory quantum mechanics
course, which meant I could go for
the lectures and discussions but I
didn’t have to take the tests and do
the math that was way over my
head. That was very interesting, and
I learned a whole bunch. Then I did
an honors thesis, so I graduated with
honors. I got my Master of Music
Education from Vandercook College
in Chicago.
Where did you do your student
teaching?
Here! I student taught with Steve
Colton in the spring of 2000 which
was when I graduated, and then
I started here in the fall of 2000.
Kevin Makinster was the high school
associate director, and Vic Bremish
was the fifth grade director. Mr.
Bremish retired and Mr. Makinster
moved to fifth grade... There was
some serendipity there with the fact
that I was student-teaching here
and there was an opening. Actually,
my first day here was the day Mr.
Makinster announced to his band
that he wasn’t going to be there the
next year, so they were kind of sad
and he was kind of melancholy, and I
was kind of like “Excellent!”, already
plotting my resume and how I was
going to put it in there. Sometimes
things work out that way.
Were you in marching band?
I marched for three years in the
Hawkeye Marching Band, went on
three bowl trips. Had a blast all the
way through, wouldn’t change a
thing. I did four and a half years in
the Symphony band and four years in
JCL (a jazz orchestra).
Why education instead of another
field?
I kind of always knew I was going
to go into education. I’d thought
about and talked about if I was good
enough to be a professional musician.
I don’t really believe in talent, I guess
- you know, a lot of people are good
enough, it just takes tons of work. You
have to practice like crazy. I was at
the top of my studio, but I didn’t like
practicing enough to do the amount
that it would take to really make it
professionally, and I wasn’t interested
in doing that. I started teaching some
lessons in college and really liked it,
and just kind of always knew that’s
what I would end up being. It wasn’t
a hard decision at any point.
If you didn’t have a job in music,
what would you do instead?
Some days I envy people that can
leave their work at work, and go
home and not think about it. I like
tinkering, so maybe something where
I was fixing things - maybe fixing
instruments or tuning pianos. I don’t
know that I can think of anything
that’s completely outside of music
because having two parents with
that as their career... I mean, it’s just
that’s all that I’ve ever known. My
entire life has revolved around music
in some way, so it’s hard for me to
say. Although I love physics. Physics
excites me and I think it’s super cool,
and the way that the universe works
is so, so neat. I’m nerdy enough
that I watch Big Bang Theory and I
get a lot of the jokes that are about
actual scientific things, and I sadly
can relate with Sheldon as much as
any character on that show... Maybe
I shouldn’t say that, but it’s the truth
and I guess I’m not ashamed to say it.
To thine own self be true.
What instruments do you play?
I can play all the band instruments not well... I’m a pretty good trombone
player, pretty good low brass player,
pretty good at clarinet, pretty good
percussionist. Get me on flute, you’re
not going to want to hear that. Horn
and trumpet are a struggle for me.
Oboe - really bad. Bassoon is a little
better than oboe, but it’s not good.
Primarily low brass, clarinet,
percussion. I can still play cello - I
don’t have one, but when I would
conduct the pit orchestra sometimes
I’d grab a cello and I’d play.
How often do you play for fun
nowadays?
Rarely - maybe two or three time a
year. I play with students a lot and
I play quintet gigs occasionally. I
suppose I should say that is playing
for fun - usually it’s a gig that causes
me to be doing it but I like doing it,
it’s fun to play. I play a lot, but it’s
not often that I’m just like “I’m going
to get out my horn and play.” Three
young kids - you run out of time
pretty fast, you’d be amazed.
What type of music do you like to
listen to?
All kinds. I listen to jazz, I listen
to classical, and sometimes I’ll
listen to band music. I have pretty
varied and eclectic tastes in music.
I couldn’t say what my favorite is.
Probably my favorite pop artist of
all time is Stevie Wonder - man’s a
genius. I probably spend more time
listening to his music than any other
artist. Probably my favorite classical
composer is Gustav Mahler because
he writes huge stuff for brass that’s
awesome to play, and some of my
most memorable moments at Iowa
were playing Mahler… And I love
Stan Kenton’s big band. There’s
kind of a pop side, a jazz side, and
classical side.
Do you have any hobbies?
Really, my major hobbies are my
family… If I’m not here doing
something that involves working
at school or working on the yard
or working on the house it’s just
spending time with my kids. I like
watching movies and Maddie is
starting to develop an actual taste… I
was pretty proud that she’s starting to
pick that stuff up, because I certainly
wasn’t when I was 11 years old.
When I was in college I had a group
of friends and we would play Trivial
Pursuit or trivia games or other board
games. I wasn’t really a partier in
college - I liked to remember the
things that I did… I just kind of
developed a like and appreciation
for trivia games and when a new
Trivial Pursuit Genus would come
out, I would get it. There’s a family
edition out now that has one hard set
of questions for the grown-ups and
an easier set of questions for the kids,
so we can play that as a family and
Maddie and Dale can hold their own.
How do you balance all the extra
things you do as a band director
with your family life?
It’s hard, especially because I’m
married to a band director… A typical
day I’ll get home close to 5, then I’ll
go and get Charlie. Mrs. Nuss usually
beats me home and starts teaching
lessons until 6 or 6:30, so I’m just
helping the kids with homework,
and they both have to practice every
day... There are challenging weeks,
The Linn-Mar Life
Today’s technology provides many advantages, disadvantages
By Brandon Bockstahler
According to gizmodo.com, technology has advanced a lot in the past
20 years. People used to have a lot of
separate devices: they carried around
a watch to tell the time, a camera to
take pictures, a Gameboy for entertainment, a calculator to solve equations, a laptop to go on the internet,
and a video camera to record video.
In today’s world, most people can
carry around one smartphone that can
do all of these functions.
According to dailymail.co.uk,
the average adult is awake for
15 hours and 45 minutes. About
half of the time that adults are awake
they are using technology. Whether it
be spending time on the phone, using a computer, listing to music, or
watching TV, technology is always
prevalent in today’s world. There are
both benefits and drawbacks to technology.
According to Cron.com,
the advancement of technology is positive because the growth
of technology has allowed for just
about everything to become more accessible and convenient. Technology
shows people a more efficient way to
do things. For example, schooling is
more efficient because students have
the ability to use computers and internet.
continued from Page 2
but the fact that we are both band
directors - I understand her life and
she understands my life. For the kids,
however, it is how it is. It doesn’t
seem unusual to them, it’s just what
mom and dad do, and it’s not unusual
if one of us has a concert, the other
one just packs up all the kids and
we go to the concert. The kids are
just used to that and they both can
sit through - Charlie not so much, he
can’t sit through a concert yet, but
he’s 19 months old… We’ll give him
time, he’ll get it figured out. It can
be challenging, but we just take it a
week at a time.
How did you meet your wife?
Hawkeye Marching Band - she
played tenor sax, I played trombone.
We just kind of met, then we had a lot
of classes together because we were
both freshman music majors. I guess
we started dating January of our
freshmen year, so we’ve been dating
or engaged or married since January
of 1996.
Are your kids involved in music?
Maddie and Dale both take piano
lessons, and Maddie also started
clarinet because she’s in fifth grade.
For Dale, it’s just piano. Maddie does
piano and clarinet lessons and she
sings in Novak Notes. She got to do
the Prairie Young Musicians Honor
Band this year and she sang in the
Opus Honor Choir in Ames back in
November so she’s very interested in
music. And I swear we’re not forcing
them to do it, but when they’re around
it all the time, they just assume
A college student at the University of Northern Iowa, Kara
Poppe, said, “I use technology
constantly when I’m at UNI. I am always checking my email, Facebook,
reading and writing digitally, playing
games on my phone, and texting people. I guess I use technology to communicate and do my school work a
lot more than I realize.”
Technology has also helped to
improve how quickly agricultural processes work. Not only are
machines quicker, but they eliminate
the need for actual humans to do the
work in many situations. Another advantage of technology is that medical discoveries are made much more
frequently. The advancements of
machines in factories have increased
productivity and allow for companies
to price items at a lower cost that they
previously would have. According to
useoftechnology.com,
technology
has encouraged innovation and creativity by allowing the brain to work
to its full potential with no limitations. Technology allows for communication to be simpler and more
available.
Jim Bockstahler said, “Technology has made communication more
instant. Anyone can contact any other
person from anywhere at any time.”
Technological changes have also
enhanced the health industry because
of advancements with equipment
used in hospitals.
There have also been significant
technological advancements in transportation. People can now travel long
distances in comfort and much more
affordably than in the past.
On the down side, according to
useoftechnology.com,
technology has also led to an increase in the
number of people that feel lonely.
This happens because people get too
attached to electronic devices and
they disregard their real life. There
are also now fewer factory jobs available for workers because technology
has made their original job obsolete.
Since people have become more reliant on technology, when a person
needs to figure something out and
they don’t have an electronic device
to turn to, they are often at a loss as
to how to perform the task. According to science.opposingviews.com,
when people use text messaging or
emailing as their primary source of
communication, they may find it
challenging to have normal conversations. Another disadvantage is that
when people communicate through
technology, they often feel they can
be more rude and disrespectful to
people since they are not encountering the person face to face.
Britney Bockstahler, a student at
the University of Northern Iowa said,
“I think one of the most notable disadvantages of technology is that it
disrupts my connection with nature.
I enjoy being outside, but sometimes
I get so caught up in my computer
and phone that I don’t take time to
go outside. Technology can be a barrier from the best things in life sometimes.”
they’re going to do it and they want
to do it and they like it.
What would you like to accomplish
as a band director here?
Just continue to grow the program
to as good as it can possibly be. I
think you guys kind of observe with
Mr. Stickney, Mr. Terrell, and I that
we’re not complacent - it’s not that
we change everything up every year,
but we’re not necessarily satisfied to
just never change anything. We’re
always looking at how the program is
being delivered and how best to meet
the needs of students.
Favorite movies/books?
As far as reading goes, I tend to read
nonfiction more than fiction. In terms
of movies, I really like movies, and
it’s easy for me to like them, even
some really bad ones. I’ll recognize
that they’re trash but I still enjoy
watching them. If you ever want to
make a move, show it to me first
because chances are I’ll like it even
if its trash. I like sci-fi movies, I’m a
big fan of the comic book movies so
I’m in love with modern Hollywood
right now because every other month
there’s some nerdy comic book
movie coming out. I’m excited for
the Star Wars movies to start coming
out again. What you would expect
me to like, I guess.
What are your favorite foods?
We like to eat a lot of different kinds
of foods. I really like the flavor palette
of Eastern cuisine, I like Indian food
a lot. I really like seafood, and we
grill a lot. We’re trying to get our kids
to like different kinds of foods.
Do you have any pets?
We have a dog now, a springer
spaniel - he’s named Stanley. He’s
a really friendly dog, he’s old and
lumpy now. We used to have cats right after we graduated we were
on a walk and we found these four
kittens that had been abandoned. We
managed to find a home with another
friend for one of them but we ended
up with these three cats. I’ve always
been a pet lover.
Why did you grow a beard?
Cause I’m lazy and I like to get up in
the morning and just go to school and
do whatever I have to do. I just didn’t
like having to take the time to shave
every day. Really it saves time and it
just was easier.
What would your ideal vacation
spot be?
If I could pick, I would go on a cruise
in the Mediterranean of Greece and
Turkey and that ancient part of the
world. See Rome, see Istanbul, see
Greece, see Athens… That would
be my choice if you had to make me
pick one.
Do you think it is ever too late to
start playing an instrument?
No, not at all! There’s a program
called the New Horizons, which
actually started in Iowa City at the
senior citizen center - there’s now
a bunch all around the country.
Basically it is bands at senior citizen
centers. Some of them are people who
played in middle school and haven’t
touched a horn in 50 years, and some
are beginners. To see firsthand these
old people, some learning for the
first time - they just have a ball, it’s
so much fun. And there’s studies that
show that learning something new at
an old age can help keep your brain
physically healthier and can slow
down Alzheimer’s. Trumpet might
be hard for somebody old who has no
teeth, but… never too late to start.
What advice would you have for
high school students who want to
go into music?
To listen as much as they can, to
play and sing as much as they can,
to get piano lessons - firsthand, from
somebody that didn’t listen to his
parent’s advice and now regrets it
- just to learn as much as you can
about it because it all goes together.
The number one thing is to play in
band or orchestra and sing in choir if you’re going to major I think it’s
really helpful to be on both sides. You
learn a lot from the other discipline.
What advice would you have for
general high school students?
To do whatever you’re interested in,
even if it’s just a passing interest - try
it, read a book about it. One of the
things that Linn-Mar is still trying
to do as a school is allow students to
be in lots of activities - it’s hard, and
it’s getting harder, but it’s a lot easier
here than in a lot of other big schools.
That’s kind of the big thing - try a lot
of different things, and be on time
and try your best at everything you
do. You’ll be amazed at how much
success you’ll have, whether it’s a
job, whether it’s a class, whatever - if
you’re on time and you try your best
you’re going to be okay.
The Linn-Mar Life
Athletic thrill-seekers flock to the X Games
By Philip Adams
The world of extreme sports
has always had a way of captivating
the masses with its offbeat highenergy competitions and its gravitydefying acrobatic athletes. Spectators
are drawn to these spectacles because
of the abnormal culture surrounding
these sports. At the center of this
hectic world of thrill-seekers is The
X Games.
For 20 years now, the actionsports community has gathered to
celebrate the top athletes in their
respective “extreme sports” at
multi-day events where spectators
are treated to the pinnacle of
extreme-sport competition as well
as internationally renowned musical
entertainment. The X Games have
been the mecca of all that is gnarly
since 1995 when ESPN debuted the
event in Newport, Rhode Island.
The First X Games were held
from June 24th to July 1st of 1995 and
were originally known as the Extreme
Games. They included 27 events
in nine different sports including
Skateboarding, In-line Skating,
Bungee Jumping, Rock Climbing,
Biking, Water Sports, Street Luge
(an event where participants lie on
their backs on a thin metal sled and
try to navigate a downhill street
course as fast as possible), and Sky
Surfing (imagine Skydiving with a
snowboard attached to your feet).
An event called the Eco-Challenge,
which involved a multi-day 300 mile
expedition performed by a team of
men and women involving, hiking,
kayaking, horseback riding, scuba
diving and mountain biking was also
held. The groundbreaking new affair
drew about 198,000 spectators and
seven fairly large sponsors such as
Taco Bell, Mountain Dew, and Nike.
The vast success of the 1995 Extreme
Games lead ESPN to immediately
schedule the event to again appear in
Newport, Rhode Island the following
year but now with a new name, The
X Games. The Summer X Games, as
they are now known, have found a
new home recently in Austin, Texas
where in 2014 they saw about 160,000
spectators flock to the heat to watch
athletes in 17 different disciplines
compete for X Games Gold. Medals
were awarded in Skateboarding,
BMX (freestyle bike riding), Truck
Racing, Dirt Bike Freestyle and
Racing, and Rally Car (a type of car
racing involving precision drifting
and sharp turns at high speeds).
In 1997, the Winter X Games
were debuted at Snow Summit
Mountain Resort in Big Bear Lake,
California from January 30th to
February 2nd. They included events
in Snowboarding, Ice Climbing,
Snow Mountain Bike Racing (riding
a bike as fast as possible straight
down a snow covered hill), and Super
Modified Shovel Racing (picture
Drag Race looking vehicles made
of sheets of metal crudely welded
together and placed on top of a
few snow skis). The Winter Games
attracted 38,000 spectators in its first
year. Now, in 2015, the Winter X
Games have found a home in Aspen,
Colorado, a resort that has been
known as the pinnacle of high class
skiing.
“Aspen has a reputation for
being kind of snobbish. The X Games
add an element of excitement and fun
that benefits everyone” said former
Aspen Ski Company employee
Shelli Adams. Adams worked as a
ski instructor at Aspen’s Snowmass
By Hannah Slowey
Hundreds of thousands of awaiting
music lovers line the streets of Michigan Avenue outside of Grant Park,
buzzing with energy. This is what
they have been anticipating all summer, if not all year, and the day is fi-
nally here. As they cross through the
entrance security, they are greeted by
a beautiful fountain that is flanked in
all directions by a sea of people who
surround enormous stages, food and
drink stands, merchandise booths,
and activities. This is Lollapalooza.
Resort from 1986-1988, quite some
time before the X Games made their
Aspen debut in 2002.
The last 20 years of X have
brought about some of the greatest
progression in the short history
of so many of these sports. Other
events have come and gone since
the first games. The excitement and
support of the public over the tenure
of the Games has allowed them to
grow dramatically over the past two
decades.
Fast forward now to 2015
and The X Games have become far
greater than they ever have been. The
games are broadcast internationally
and reach millions of viewers every
year. Where does this success come
from? How could ESPN continue to
be so successful broadcasting what
was once believed to be a fad or a
novelty? According to The X Games
credited founder, Ron Semiao, it’s
quite simple.
“Kids look at the best
skateboarder
and
[extreme
motocross] people in the same regard
and admiration that they look at any
athlete,” said Semiao, who is now a
higher up within ESPN. The athletes
involved in these extreme sports,
Semiao believes, are seen the same
way as Lebron James or Peyton
Manning. While the demographics of
skateboarding and snowboarding are
vastly smaller than that of football or
baseball, when kids see Tony Hawk
they still admire him the same way
they do Derek Jeter.
As for the athletes, X Games gold has
become the highest honor in many
sports, higher than the Olympics
in most cases, especially for those
sports that aren’t even represented in
the Olympics.
Amateur Snowskate athlete
Brent Hulsizer described the games
in this way: “It’s a good way to give
extreme sports their own “Olympic
style” games to aspire toward… It’s
a great accomplishment to make it
to The X Games, even if you don’t
place.”
Lollapalooza, commonly shortened to Lolla, is a three-day summer
music festival that highlights some
of the most popular artists of our
time while also incorporating new,
up-and-coming artists. Lollapalooza
began in 1991 as a touring festival,
but found its roots in Grant Park of
downtown Chicago, IL in 2005. The
venue is packed with eight stages and
hosts 160,000-plus people over the
three-day period, along with hundreds of food vendors, games and
even a kid’s stage called, Kidpalooza.
People of all ages come out to join
in on the fun. From infant to seniors,
Lolla has them all. However, the majority in attendance are young adults.
According to the official Lollapalooza website, the artists featured
here are anything from pop and rap
to alternative and heavy metal bands.
In the past, headliners have included: Outkast, Eminem, Skrillex, Lady
Gaga and many more. The festival is
typically the first weekend of August
and tickets go on sale in March. Tickets are offered as three-day passes
and single-day passes. The one-day
passes cost around $100 while the
three-day passes can cost anywhere
from $250 to $400 depending on
where you buy them.
Although it can get pricey; fans, including myself, claim that it is worth
every penny. Lollapalooza is about
much more than the music. The atmosphere of the environment is what
makes it so enjoyable.
Karly Raus, junior, said that the atmosphere alone was her favorite part.
“Everyone there is so fun and upbeat...and it is awesome to see the
artists having so much fun in their element. No one is getting mad at each
other because they are all so happy
being in a place that they love.”
Reece Chadima added, “The music
and the atmosphere make it the best
three days of the year. There is truly
nothing like it.”
If you are up for a wild threeday adventure packed full of amazing music and an even more amazing
atmosphere, check out Lollapalooza
this summer from July 31st-August
2nd. See you there!
Lollapalooza excites music lovers, brings together popular artists
Thosands flock to this summer festival every year to see some of the
biggest names in music. Although pricey, many attendees say it is the
experience of a lifetime.
The Linn-Mar Life
Social media makes it possible for fame and fortune
By Sydnei Foens
Until just a few years ago, becoming “famous” would take an individual years of hard work and more
than just a little bit of luck or sheer
talent. Now, with today’s technology,
it just might take six seconds and a
smartphone. Social media has made
it more possible for people to only to
connect with others, but to become
popular very quickly.
Consider the story of Bethany
Mota. She started posting haul videos
on Youtube when she was thirteen in
order to escape stress she suffered
from cyberbullying. A haul video is
a video recording, posted to the Internet, which displays items recently
purchased, including product details
or even the price. Due to her bouncy, upbeat personality she gained
followers quickly. Five years later
Mota has branched out and not only
does haul videos but also makeup,
hair, and outfit tutorials. Companies
soon took notice to how popular her
haul videos were becoming and began offering her free cosmetics and
gift cards. Although she has mixed
feelings on promoting products in
her videos, she does feature products
that she has gotten for free and names
the products that were free. Since her
beginning, Mota has over 8 million
subscribers. As she has gained more
fans (whom she calls her “Motavators”) on her Twitter, Facebook, and
Instagram accounts, she has also
built a career in fashion by partnering with Forever 21 and JC Penney.
In December of 2013, she launched a
clothing line with Aeropostale.
Another social media site that has
created celebrities is Vine, a website
where people can post six second
video clips of them doing something.
Logan Paul, a nineteen-year-old Ohio
College student, has become a familiar face on social media because his
comedic Vine videos. Paul currently has 6.8 million followers and his
vines have been looped, shared and
reposted on someone else’s Vine
page over two million times. Instagram has become a place for artists,
fashion bloggers, and talented photographers, like Alex Brager, to get
noticed.
A trend can be seen when comparing the many people who have
become social media stars. They all
boast an interesting personality, they
are willing to do funny or wacky
things on camera, and they make
videos that relate to their audience,
or they have a talent for singing or
taking photos. Whatever the reason,
using social media, in part for fame,
has become a fast growing business.
Social Media celebrities have been
making a lot of money from companies by popping out branded videos, tweets, and photos. According
to an article from ABC News, “One
six-second ad on Vine can be worth
anywhere from $20,000 to $50,000
says Rob Fishman, the co-founder of
Faith Kramer Just when you thought they had
done it all, Apple recently announced
the debut of their latest product, the
Apple watch. Set to be released on
April 24th with pre orders beginning
on April 10th, Apple is offering three
different models: one standard, one
sporty, and one high end 18K gold
version. Pricing for the standard and
sport models begin at around $350,
and begin at $10,000 for the 18K
gold version. Pricing also increases
with bigger wrist band size. This
global launch on April 24th includes
several countries including the
United States, the United Kingdom,
Australia, China, Japan, Hong Kong,
Germany and France. The huge
release of the Iwatch is causing
concern and uproar among other
competing watch brands. Cofounder of the watch brand Swatch,
Elmer Mock, is predicting that
Apple will see rapid success with the
watch, which he expects will cause
competition and headache between
Swiss watchmakers. Apple states that their goal with
the Iwatch was to make powerful
technology more accessible, more
relevant, and more personal, and to
ultimately create the best watch in
the world. The only catch to this
high-tech watch is that you must
have an IPhone to sync your watch
to via Bluetooth; sorry android
users! The Iwatch has the same
general makeup of an Iphone but is
compact into a square 1.5 inch screen
on your wrist. Apple predicts this
product will stand out from similar
smart watches due to its intricate
ability to customize a watch specific
to everyone. Not only is the smart
watch available in three different
models, you also have the ability to
customize the face of your watch with
different backgrounds, and Apple is
offering 34 different watch bands to
choose from. Apple’s watch has an impressive
number of features and it is attracting
buyers worldwide. The Iwatch syncs
your phone data to your Iwatch
allowing you to answer phone
calls, send text messages via voice
command, use mapping systems, and
even use Siri. The watch also includes
a new and improved mapping system
called “Tapping Engine” which
provides the technology to “buzz”
wearers with different vibrations
directing them to turn left or right
when navigating. Tapping Engine
also alerts users when they have
notifications such as a new text
message or a missed call by buzzing
their wrist. Another feature the
Iwatch has is a custom heart rate
sensor which uses infrared, visible
light (LEDS), and photodiodes to
efficiently detect your pulse and heart
rate. By using the heart rate monitor
and the built in pedometer, the Iwatch
is able to accurately calculate how
many calories you have burned and
automatically transfers that data to
the Apple Fitness App to view on
your phone. Aside from the new
impressive features, this watch has an
18-hour battery life, Retina display,
and is waterproof!
According to recent reports, the
Apple watch was planned to be
much more spectacular. Rumor
has it that the device heading to the
market is far from the device Apple
originally wanted to make, however
as unit price grew, Apple was forced
to strip back its ambition. Apple
insiders leaked that the Iwatch was
originally designed to be a state-ofthe-art health monitoring device.
Niche, a combination advertising and
talent agency for the digital age. So
spending your days making six-second videos, or posting cool photos
on Instagram may seem like an unproductive way to spend your day,
but it could also carve a pathway to
becoming famous and making a Hollywood-actor-worthy salary.
Will Apple score big with the latest IWatch?
Some people feel that this is a “black
hole item” and is just another way
for Apple to scam users for money
by providing a product too similar to
the Iphone. On the other hand, some
are raving about how technologically
advanced the watch is and anticipate
the watch to be the newest trend. On
April 24th we will soon know--will
the Iwatch be the next big thing, or
will it be a letdown?
The Linn-Mar Life
The top five most intelligent animals in the world
By: Devann Hildenbrand
Earth is full of a diverse variety of
creatures. Although most people do
not consider animals to be intelligent,
that is a misconception. Animals
are far more smarter and innovative
than we give them credit for. These
five animals are proof that animals
can have an incredible amount of
intelligence in many different forms
that can even outwit most human
abilities. Here are the top 5 most
intelligent animals and reasons why
they are so special.
1. Chimpanzees- Being similar
to humans, chimpanzees have the
ability to learn words, manipulate the
environment around them, create their
own tools to perform complex tasks,
and even mourn over the death of
friends and family members. In fact,
chimps have been known to outplay
humans at certain tasks. Scientists
gave a group of chimps and humans
the same aptitude test. The results
proved that chimps have better shorttermed memories than humans. In
the study, chimpanzees were able to
recall the exact sequence and location
of a random series of numbers 1
through 9 flashed on a screen, a
trait that is extremely rare in most
humans. According to primatologist
William Hopkins, genes determine
about half of the variability in chimp
intelligence and environmental
factors the other half. In studies,
chimpanzees have been shown to
categorize others as friend or foe,
ultimately determining whether they
are in danger or not. Chimpanzees
communicate much like humans do -by kissing, embracing, patting on the
back, touching hands, and tickling.
When bored, chimps will make up
games using sticks and other objects
to entertain themselves. To discover
communication methods, a number of
researchers have taught chimpanzees
in captivity to learn sign language.
Washoe, and other chimps picked up
on the language quickly and were able
to memorize up to 240 signs. Every
day, researchers are uncovering the
many intelligent abilities chimps
can do through varieties of tests
and research. Andrew Whiten, an
evolutionary psychologist at the
University of St. Andrews in Scotland
knows first hand the progress made in
understanding chimps intelligence.
“Fifty years ago, we knew next to
nothing about chimpanzees. You
could not have predicted the richness
and complexity of chimp culture that
we know now.”
2. Elephants- These exceptionally
smart mammals have the largest
brain of any land animal, and three
times as many neurons as humans.
While many of these neurons are
used to maintain control of their
large bodies, the rest go towards their
impressive mental capabilities. What
stands out the most in elephants is
their strong memory. Elephants can
remember directions and routes to
take while getting to watering holes
and other various areas up to very
far distances. These gentle giants
create strong bonds and relationships
amongst individuals, and can
recognize someone after many years
just by their voice and features. Dr.
Shermin de Silva, director of the Uda
Walawe Elephant Research Project in
Sri Lanka, said that,
“Elephants are able to track one
another over large distances by
calling to each other and using their
sense of smell … Our work shows
that they are able to recognize their
friends and renew these bonds even
after being apart for a long time.”
Researchers at the University
of Sussex in Brighton, UK have
discovered that African elephants
can distinguish differences in human
gender, age, and ethnicity just by
the sound of someone’s voice. If
the voice belongs to a person who
is more likely to pose a threat, the
elephants switch into defensive
mode. Elephants also have a very
emotional understanding, much like
humans. Elephants are known to
grieve when a loved one passes away.
Elephant researchers have discovered
elephants grieving over a deceased
loved one by caressing the bones
with their trunk and standing over the
body for hours at a time. In times like
these, herds of elephants are shown
to comfort each other, touching each
other with their trunks and sending
soothing vocalizations. Elephants
have many incredible capabilities
that are hard to compete with for
other animals.
3. Octopus- Being the most
intelligent invertebrate, the octopus
has a large brain that is formed by
5 million large neutrons, compared
to a human which has 100 billion
smaller neutrons. The octopus has the
ability to escape from small crevices,
determine trial and error, camouflage
itself to hide from prey, navigate
through mazes, and maintain an
excellent memory. Scientists have
conducted many tests on octopi to test
their intelligence. It was found that an
octopus is able to pry open a closed
jar with it’s tentacles to get to prey
inside. When spooked, the octopus
can form it’s entire bodies inside
of a jar for protection and escape
without a problem. This suggested to
scientists that the octopus uses this
method to escape from predators,
by forming themselves into small
crevices at the bottom of the ocean.
The speed of learning for an octopus
is mesmerizing. In a study, scientists
discovered that it took an octopus
12 minutes to learn how to escape
a cage. Once tested again, the same
octopus was able to escape after just
90 seconds. In another test, scientists
wanted to figure out how octopi
were able to retrieve their food. They
conducted the test by first placing a
clam and a mussel in a tank. Despite
their strength, the octopus prefered
the mussels because they were easier
to open. Once the scientists put the
mussels on half shells, the octopus
switched. The octopus was clearly
going for whichever food was easiest
to get to. Along the way, scientists
observed that the octopus was not
only yanking the shells to open them,
but they were found using their
cartilage beak to chip at the clamshell
and injecting poison to weaken the
clam. These tests prove that these
cephalopods are truly intelligent and
continue to blow away scientists with
their many abilities
4.
DolphinsDolphins
are
extraordinarily intelligent animals
who also display culture, something
which was long-believed to be
unique to humans. Being very social,
these animals have several highly
developed forms of communication.
Each dolphin has their own
“signature whistle” which allows
other individuals to recognize them.
According to scientists, dolphins have
been observed teaching their young
how to use tools. They will cover
their snouts with broken down sea
sponges as protection while foraging.
At the Institute for Marine Mammal
Studies in Mississippi, the dolphins
are trained to collect any rubbish that
falls into their pens and expected to
give it to a trainer the next time they
see one. They are then rewarded
with a fish. The dolphins seemed to
figure out that the size of the piece
of rubbish did not affect the reward.
So instead of handing over a piece
of litter immediately, the dolphins
stored it under a rock and tore it into
small pieces, handing them back one
at a time. This strategy suggests that
dolphins has a sense of future and
are prepared to delay gratification.
Because of their outstanding
intelligence and personality, dolphins
deserve credit.
5. Pigs- Most people do not consider
pigs as intelligent animals. However,
pigs are actually much smarter than
we give them credit for. Mother pigs
are known to sing to their young
to calm them. Being very social,
pigs are always sticking together,
and communicate in a variety of
intelligent voices. Because of their
reputation in a farm, people consider
pigs as dirty animals. However, pigs
are actually very clean animals. They
defecate away from their homes to
keep their area clean and will often
clear out the area they sleep in.
Most importantly, pigs are among
the quickest of animals to learn
routines. Pigs have the capability to
do a variety of different tricks when
trained, including jump hoops, spin
on command, herd sheep, open cages,
and even play video games with their
snouts. Once they learn tricks, it
sticks with them.
“They can learn something on the first
try, but then it’s difficult for them to
unlearn it,” said Suzanne Held from
the University of Bristol.
These animals are each intelligent in
many different ways. Whether it be a
great memory, amazing intellectual
ability, or a unique way to manipulate
their environment, these animals
deserve their spot in the top 5 most
intelligent animals in the world.
The Linn-Mar Life
Jordan Bohannon so much more than basketball
By Hannah Slowey
Here at Linn-Mar, when you hear
the Bohannon name the first thing
that comes to mind is basketball.
The basketball that the Bohannon
boys have played has left somewhat
of a legacy at Linn-Mar. All three
of the graduated Bohannon brothers
have led their teams to the state
tournaments and played higher level
basketball after high school. There is
just on Bohannon brother left.
“Jordan is one of the best leaders
and hardest workers that we have
had,” says Varsity Basketball Coach
Chris Robertson. “That shows in the
off-season as well as on and off the
court.”
Jordan Bohannon, junior, is the
final son coming through Linn-Mar,
but is there more to him than just
basketball? I sat down with Jordan
and when he entered the library, I
could sense his cool and relaxed
demeanor.
What are your future plans for
college? Career?
Go to a four-year university and play
basketball. For my career, I plan on
going into the business
field.
Where do you see yourself in ten
years?
Working in a job of whatever major
I go into. Hopefully be settled down,
probably be married and have a
couple kids
What is your favorite part of
yourself?
I am honest to people and tell them
how it is.
Who has had the biggest influence
in your life? Why?
My parents because they give me
advice and they put my brothers
through it all and they are
doing the same for me.
Who is your role model?
My oldest brother, Jason, because he
has been through it all [basketball]
and he is trying to help
me through it too.
What is the best thing that has ever
happened to you?
When we got my dog, Bailey.
If you could go back in high school
and do something different, what
would it be?
Win the game last Tuesday (substate)… Not taking the little things for
granted like that. I wish I would have
tried harder in school sophomore
year and improved my GPA because
I have realized
now how important it is for college
What is the best quality that a
friend can have?
Being trustworthy
How do you feel about high school
relationships?
Mixed emotions for them
Who is in your family?
My dad, Brent, who is an insurance
claims associate; my mom, Katie,
who is a business owner,
and my brothers Jason, Zach, and
Matt.
Who are you closest to?
Zach, second oldest, he gives more
advice and is the smartest one. He
wants to be president.
What is your music selection like?
It changes periodically through the
seasons. In the summer it’s country,
but before basketball
probably rap or something up tempo.
How do you feel your brothers
have influenced you?
They have gone through everything
that am going through now and trying
to keep me on track.
Do you feel pressured to live up to
the Bohannon Legacy?
Yes, it is stressful because I feel like
I am always being watched no matter
what I do. I feel it
more from other people than my
family because they have seen
everything that they have done
and I have to live up to it.
What do you love about Linn-Mar?
The kids are easy to get along with
and are more passionate about life
than other schools.
What is your dating life like?
Complicated. Girls are complicated,
but I mean so are guys...
What is the biggest tragedy that
has ever happened to you?
My grandpa from my mom’s side
died two years ago at 68.
What words do you live by?
Don’t take the little things for granted.
How far do you want to go in
basketball?
My goal is to go professional, whether
that be in the NBA, if that’s possible,
or overseas playing
in Europe.
If you could go anywhere where
would you go?
Probably in Africa visiting the kids
without basic needs to live.
What is your favorite childhood
memory?
Entire family went to Hawaii when I
was about 6.
What is the number one thing you
have learned from your coaches?
To use basketball as a tool in life.
Any pre-game rituals?
Take a pre-game nap, have a Subway
sandwich, put my right shoe on
before my left, tie my
shoes twice, once before stretching
and again after, and I always pray
during the National
Anthem.
What were you afraid of when
going into high school?
Losing my friends because of them
making bad choices. I didn’t really
lose them, but people
changed.
What was your dream as a child?
To play basketball professionally.
What is your dream now?
To have a successful life, to be happy
when I am older.
Are you religious?
Yes, Catholic.
Do you have any hidden talents or
quirks?
I am really good at lip synching.
If you could be one person for a
day who would it be?
The president
Quick Facts
Favorite social media site: Twitter
Favorite movie: Wolf of Wall Street
Favorite artist: Kid Cudi
Favorite food: Apples
Favorite basketball teams: College:
Wisconsin Badgers, NBA: Los
Angeles Lakers
Favorite football teams: College:
Iowa Hawkeyes, NFL: Denver
Broncos
Favorite TV Show: House of Cards
Celebrity crush: Selena Gomez
Favorite store: Nike or J. Crew
Favorite book: Wooden: A Lifetime
of Observations and Reflections On
and Off the Court by Coach John
Wooden
Jordan Bohannon carries on the
family basketball tradition at
Linn-Mar.
By Philip Adams
For 40 years now, Saturday Night
Live has been an American entertainment staple, delivering some of the
greatest one liners and catch phrases
in the history of television. The show
has been the stomping grounds for
countless hilarious comedians and
actors. Big names like Chevy Chase,
Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell, Bill
Murray and Jimmy Fallon, among
many others, have been at the helm of
the weekly program which involves
live comedy sketches that poke fun
at celebrities and politicians. Satirical comedy on a variety of issues
has produced stars that have received
international recognition for their comedic abilities, but the behind-thescenes stars of the show would have
to be the writers.
Each week, SNL’s team of writers
produces numerous sketches for the
actors and producers to decide whether or not they will make the show
lineup that Saturday. The skits that
do make the show are rehearsed for
the week but sometimes sketches are
added or cut last minute and the actors
have to adjust or improvise. The end
result, however, is always top notch.
The show has won 45 Emmy Awards
and has been nominated a record 187
times and has also been awarded the
prestigious George Foster Peabody
Award twice in its 40-year history.
The Current Head Writer is Colin
Jost, who hosts “Weekend Update,”
a satirical style news broadcast, each
week alongside cast member Michael
Che. Jost has won three Writer Guild
Awards and a Peabody award. He has
been SNL’s head writer since 2012
and a staff writer since 2005. He has
been following in the footsteps of
previous head writers that have hosted “Weekend Update” like Tina Fey
and Seth Meyers. He leads a team of
27 other writers, who on a weekly basis, are tasked with arguably the most
important part of the show: the script.
Writers often go unnoticed in television, especially when the actors are
so talented. In an environment like
Saturday Night Live, actors and writers often intertwine to produce the
best possible jokes of wit and satire.
It is important to remember and recognize the true talent of these behindthe-scenes powerhouses that make
possible the show that is enjoyed by
millions each week.
Saturday Night Live becomes
must-watch TV over the years
Saturday Night Live has become a staple TV program over the past
40 years for countless Americans.
The Linn-Mar Life
Gluten-free diet: a necessity or over-rated trend?
By Bekah Bent
Gluten. To some, that word
is as evil as saying Lucifer’s name,
or Kim Kardashian’s. But to others,
it is simply another word in the
dictionary and they have no idea
what it means. In truth, it is as much
a part of daily life as oxygen or your
cell phone. So why is it suddenly
getting all of this attention, and who
does it affect?
Nearly everyone has heard
of gluten recently, whether it be
from their friends who are trying
out a gluten-free diet for the heck
of it, or because you watch TV, read
magazines or just grocery shop. It
seems that gluten-free products are
everywhere now. Gluten is found in
almost everything you eat in daily
life. That pizza you are shoving
into your mouth? Gluten. Those
Cheezits? Gluten. That bread, that
pasta? Riddled with it. Gluten is a
protein found in wheat and related
grains and is often one of the rising
agents in breads and pastas. It gives
products that chewy effect and
generally makes everything taste
super yummy. And for the most part,
it isn’t bad for you, as long as you
consume it in moderation. But for
people who have celiac disease, or
gluten intolerance, it can be deadly.
Celiac disease is when the
body is unable to process gluten
and it inflames the intestines of
your body and causes your body
to attack itself. It only occurs in
about 1percent of the population,
according to webmd.com, but many
people also suffer from a gluten
intolerance or sensitivity that is
unrelated to celiac disease. Either
way, eating gluten when you have
one or the other can cause severe
stomach issues, or even harmful
problems that can lead to death.
The worse part about that, is that
almost 80percent of people who do
have celiac disease may not even
know they have it, according to
authoritynutrition.com.
“I had stomach problems
for years. I lived on Pepto Bismol
as a kid. It wasn’t until recently that
my mom and I found out that I was
gluten sensitive. I stopped eating
it and felt so much better!” said
Senior Jess Smart.
So how do you know if you
have gluten intolerance, or celiac
disease? Well, nowadays you can
just go get a blood test and it will
tell you right away. Others choose
to do the gluten-free challenge.
This isn’t really a challenge per se,
but more a cleansing. According to
various websites, to check for gluten
sensitivity, a person can go eleven
days or more without any form of
gluten in his or her system and then
eat a big bowl of pasta (or a food
item that has a lot of gluten in it).
If you feel sick on that twelfth day,
it is most likely because you have
some form of gluten sensitivity.
Those late-night tummy aches, or
that history of unexplained stomach
problems might possibly go away
once you regulate your diet.
General symptoms of celiac
disease and gluten sensitivity are
pretty much the same, according to
mayoclinic.org and include fatigue,
headaches, irritable stomach, low
energy, joint pain, and more. If one
or more of these symptoms doesn’t
apply; it doesn’t automatically
mean you are intolerant, but it could
mean that you have some type of
sensitivity to gluten.
“I really had no energy
to do anything, especially the
mental energy to deal with school.
Everything was a task for me,” said
Smart are her history with gluten
sensitivity..
In today’s society, it has
become the latest trend for many to
go gluten-free, as many claim that
it is a healthier lifestyle. But is this
true? There are several vitamins and
minerals that are found in gluten
that help regulate the body and keep
it functioning at top performance.
Some of those include Vitamin
B6, Iron, Vitamin A, and Vitamin
D according to theceliacmd.com.
All of these help the body process
enzymes and stay healthy, and on
a gluten-free diet, they are some
of the most common vitamins lost.
Most people who go on a glutenfree diet don’t even know they
are losing these minerals, and are
puzzled when their new diet doesn’t
make them feel like a million bucks.
Those with celiac disease or people
with sensitivities often are given
supplements by doctors or are told
to go and get these supplements so
they can still give their bodies all
the nutrients they need.
“I have to take four different
types a pills a day to replace the
vitamins that I am no longer getting.
It kind of sucks, but I would rather
do that then have my stomach
problems again,” says Senior Nancy
Devi.
Gluten-free may sound like
a good idea, but unless you are a
person who has celiac disease, or
someone who is sensitive to gluten,
it can actually be a bad idea. The
human body requires a lot to keep
it going, and a gluten-free diet may
actually be doing more harm than
good. Fads are one thing, your
health is another. Research before
you decide to cut something out
of your diet; often times you are
cutting out more than you think.
Dance Moms fanatics boost reality show ratings
By Riley Callahan
Every Linn Mar student has
a television show that they are
obsessed with and one current
obsession is the Lifetime reality
show, Dance Moms. Many fanatics
are wondering how close to real life
the show actually is.
“I’m obsessed with Dance
Moms because I love seeing all
these dancers that are so amazing
and the drama can be extremely
entertaining,” said Junior Anna
Moore.
The show follows the Abby Lee
Dance Company, which is a major
dance studio in Pittsburg owned
by the infamous Abby Lee Miller.
Abby is famous for being extremely
intense and in most instances,
downright insane. Not only do
viewers get to see Abby verbally
harass 9-13 year old students, but
they also get to see the students’
moms fight over whose daughter
is the most talented. All the young
girls at the studio are extremely
gifted dancers. One studio member,
12-year-old Maddie Ziegler, was
recently seen starring in Sia’s music
video for her hit Chandelier. There
is some controversy over the show
because all of the young girls will
dance in very revealing costumes;
normally performing in just a
bra top and spandex shorts. This
controversy, along with all the wild
fighting that is shown in episodes,
brings Lifetime absurd amounts of
publicity and fame. These factors
also cause a multitude of Linn-Mar
students to watch Dance Moms.
The real question is, are dance
moms a real-life thing at dance
studios around Cedar Rapids?
There are no moms quite like the
ones created on the reality show,
but there are some pretty passionate
dance moms in real life. There have
been instances at one of the local
studios where a mother had to be
kicked off of the studio’s property
because she was being so wildly
inappropriate when she couldn’t
get along with the other parents
or students. In that case, the child
also had to leave the studio because
her mother could not work with the
teachers or the rest of the moms.
“There are always crazy moms at
dance competitions yelling at their
child about how good they are or
that they aren’t doing well enough.
Dance moms are normally the type
of people who are trying to live out
their dance dreams through their
children and need them to be the
best because they weren’t,” said
Junior Taylor March.
Not all dance moms are rude
and out of control. Parents can be
considered dance moms just for
being dedicated above and beyond
expectations. Some mothers at my
studio will create snack bags for
a group of 70 girls or bake a huge
cakes for dancer parties. There are
parents who show massive support
for their dance studio and children
representing them with t-shirts,
signs, and anything else imaginable.
“At competitions there are
always parents, and kids, decked
out in clothes from their studio.
Most parents have t-shirts that say
so-and-so’s mom or dad on the
back so everyone knows that’s their
child dancing up there,” said middle
school dancer Megan Callahan.
Despite what some viewers
would like to believe, there is no
real studio like the Abby Lee Dance
Company. To what extent the show
is staged is unknown but no dance
companies in the Cedar Rapids area
act that way. Local studios may
have some out of control mothers
but none that would attack other
people’s children, and there is no
owner that comes close to the crazy
of Abby.
The Linn-Mar Life
Iowa universities have rape policies in place
By Karly Raus
Every 21 hours there is a rape on
an American college campus according to Crisisconnection.org. More often than not, these rape instances go
unreported or are swept under the rug
to avert negative media attention for
the school. This raises the question of
what schools are actually doing about
rape and rape victims on campus.
Iowa College policies on rape and
what the schools are doing about
victims:
The University of Iowa, Iowa State
University, and the University of
Northern Iowa all have common rape
policies. All schools state that consent must be given before any sexual
activity occurs and just because a person doesn’t say “no” does not mean
they are saying yes. All schools say
that they have no tolerance for sexual harassment or rape and a person
found guilty of rape would be kicked
out immediately. All three schools
also maintain that if a student is under the influence of alcohol, consent
cannot be given.
Does alcohol consumption contribute to rape on campus?
Natalie Canfield, a freshman at
The University of Iowa, said “I think
alcohol most definitely has an effect
on (the number of) sexual assaults
but it is not the only circumstance
that causes a person to rape or assault
another.”
Maddi Ranney, a freshman at Iowa
State, said “Yes and no. For the victim, yes, because it is harder to defend yourself if you are under the
influence. Yes and no for the rapist.
Yes, considering if they are drunk and
they are probably with other drunks.
No, because it’s an intention/sexual
urge and that has more to do with just
using the excuse of alcohol.”
Anya Ogilvie, a freshman at The
University of Northern Iowa, said “I
think, in college especially, alcohol is
the number one cause of any rape on
campus. And that’s just because the
lines get so blurred when intoxicated and your judgment gets altered
so that if you wouldn’t normally do
something sober, you could potentially do it drunk.”
How safe do you feel at your school?
“Since Iowa does have a fairly
high percentage of rape and assault
victims, I would not walk home alone
at night,” said Canfield. “I feel safe
during the day and in my residence
hall but I wouldn’t take the risk walking home by myself. But Iowa does
offer a service for women students
called “Nite ride” that will take you
to or from anywhere on campus so it
makes it much safer at night.”
Ranney said, “I feel very safe but also
I’m a bada$$ and if anyone tried to
come near me, they would regret it.”
Ogilvie said, “UNI is a pretty safe
campus, and Cedar Falls is a safe
town, at least that’s how it feels. They
have a lot of resources handy around
campus like blue emergency poles
to press if you are scared and there
is always one in eyesight of you. The
UNI police have an escort system so
if you never want to walk alone they
will have someone walk with you or
drive you home if it’s cold. Whether
people use it or not it makes the atmosphere feel safer.”
Do you know what you are supposed to do if you do get raped?
Canfield said, “I’ve heard several
myths and stories about what you’re
supposed to do to a rapist in that situation but honestly, if I was ever to get
caught in that situation, I would have
no idea how to handle it.”
Ranney said, “Call 911 and/or the
ISU help service.”
This country must address rape culture
if we hope to minimize rape numbers
By Sydnei Foens
Rape culture is an environment in
which rape and sexual violence, generally towards, but not excluded to
women, is prevalent and normalized
in the media and in culture. This culture is created through objectification
of a person’s body, glamorization of
sexual violence, and misogynistic
language. Examples of rape culture
include blaming the victim, minimizing sexual assault, rape and sexual
harassment jokes, and teaching women how to avoid getting raped instead
of teaching men not to rape. Colleges
have become the common places for
these environments due to the attention college rapes and sexual assault
cases have been getting recently, but
these environments can happen anywhere and what can seem like a simple joke that seems harmless can be
contributing to the creation of these
environments.
Rape culture is not okay and society must end it by educating the public on what rape culture is and what
it looks like. It’s not like people are
going around saying “Oh yeah, rape
is great!” but there are many people,
including victims, that contribute to
this environment because they don’t
know what it is or what it looks like.
That means the first and most important step is to start educating people
on rape culture, providing examples
of rape culture, and teaching steps a
person can take to prevent it.
The second step is to attack the
mass media (advertisements, movies, music, etc.) that promotes sexual
assault, and demeans rape victims.
For example, Robin Thicke’s song
“Blurred Lines” was attacked by critics because many say its lyrics promoted sexual assault. Thicke sings,
“I know you want it,” and “The way
you grab me, must wanna get nasty.”
These lyrics symbolize the number
one reason rape culture still exists
and the most important step to ending it.
The third step is to end victim-blaming and teaching others to
support people who say that they have
been assaulted instead of defending
the assailant. Victim-blaming is one
of the biggest reasons why rape culture still exists. An article written by
the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual
Assault (Iowa CASA) showed that
while only 2-8 percent of actual rape
accusations are false, students think
up to 50 percent of rape reports are
fake. Examples of victim blaming are
when people say a victim “wanted
it” to happen to them or when people
sympathize with the rapist. This has
led to victims not even reporting an
assault because they think no one will
believe them or do anything about it.
In a typical rape case, many people
claim that if women were more careful about what they wore and how
they acted around other people, they
wouldn’t become victims of assault.
This is a fine example of rape culture and victim-blaming. How about
teaching rapists not to rape, instead
of giving victims lessons on what to
do to not get raped.
Yes, there is wisdom in teaching
women that they should not over-indulge in alcohol or leave their drinks
unattended in a bar, but we also must
teach that it is not okay to take advantage of someone if they are passed
out. Instead of (or in addition to)
warning women not to lead men on,
why don’t we teach men that it is never okay to force sex with a woman,
no matter how willing they may have
been to previously make-out with a
man?
In order to get rid of rape culture,
society needs to educate people on
what rape culture is, attack the media
that feeds into rape culture, and teach
people to speak out if they are a victim or to support victims instead of
blaming them for an assault.
Some question whether society is sending mixed messages on the
topic of rape education.
The Linn-Mar Life
Atheists one of the few groups in America that still get ridiculed
By Zach Hendricks
Over the years, different races, religions and
even homosexuals have made great strides in gaining acceptance, respect and new rights. Still, there
is one group that Americans just don’t like--atheists. Those who do not believe in God are considered wicked, immoral and nasty. Atheists aren’t
allowed to be in certain organizations, like the Boy
Scouts. The Pew Research Center found that many
Americans refuse to or are reluctant to marry or
vote for atheists. How many government officials
do you know of that are atheist? Are atheists immoral like some people would have you believe?
Let’s take a closer look.
Many of the negative thoughts on atheists are
coming from Christian conservatives who declare that a lack of God is detrimental to society.
Interestingly enough, the Pew Research Center
conducted a survey where they asked participants
ethical questions on issues such as government
use of torture, the death penalty, punitive hitting
of children, racism, sexism and homophobia. The
nonreligious tended to answer more ethically than
their religious counterparts, particularly compared
to those who consider themselves to be very religious.
Countries such as Japan and Sweden, which
have very high rates of non-believers, have much
lower crime rates than the U.S. The Journal of Religion & Society recently released a study showing
that United States has the highest rate of teenage
pregnancy and homicide rates that are five times
higher than Europe and ten times higher than Japan, both countries which have much smaller reli-
gious populations.
Getting into office while being an atheist is
much harder than you might think. Currently, there
is not a single member of Congress who considers themselves to be an atheist. The Pew Research
Center found that only 54 percent of Americans
would vote for a well-qualified atheist Presidential
candidate. Atheism proved to be the biggest negative impact on a hypothetical candidate; fewer people would vote for an atheist than a gay or Muslim
candidate.
“Whether we recognize it or not, Americans are
held captive to the will of religious right leaders
who remind us of our inferior position by using the
power of government to enforce laws that put truth
claims about religion in front of us at every turn,”
said Maggie Ardiente, Freethought director of development and communication. She says her orga-
By Bekah Bent
Do you remember when amazing and super-prosperous videogame design company Ubisoft made that amazing lead female character?
Yea, I didn’t think so. In the summer of 2014,
the gaming company said in several interviews
that its new game Assassins Creed: Unity, would
only be featuring male avatars. When asked why
there were no females present, even though there
was speculation of one, Creative Director Alex
Amancio said, “It’s double the animations, it’s
double the voices, all that stuff and double the
visual assets (he means boobs)... Especially because we have customizable assassins. It was really a lot of extra production work.” So, because
drawing boobs is apparently too hard for a team
of highly skilled virtual artists, the million dollar
franchise will continue to be gender biased. He
might have said it nicely, but plain and simply,
the Creative Director said that it was too hard
and not worth it to create a female assassin. It
is not as if they haven’t made female assassins
before. According to theglobeandmail.com, in
Assassins Creed III: Liberation they featured a
woman of color who played an assassin, and she
was even a main character in the games. But of
course, it was an add-on to the real game, which
featured a male protagonist.
Understandably, this has caused outrage
in the game’s fan base, both female and non-female. On twitter, the trending hashtag for a while
was #womanaretoohardtoanimate, as people
mocked the company’s choice and even went as
far as to say they would be boycotting the new
game for its sexist base. In other words, they de-
manded a real explanation.
“Yea, I was pi***d when I heard about
it. I love the games, but I always wanted to play
a woman, or at least see a woman character that
wasn’t some love interest. Oh well, how often
do you see a woman character that doesn’t have
big boobs and is an actual bad a**?” said teen
gamer Jess Smart. When indeed? According to
Radford.edu, males have always made up the
majority of main videogame characters, a whopping 68 percent, while females often play lesser
roles. Often times, females are made to be the
love interests of the main character, and are frequently given unrealistic body expectations including large chests, large eyes, small waists,
and beautiful flowing hair.
When asked why they couldn’t create a
female character, the company’s director also
said, “It’s not like we could cut our main character, so the only logical option, the only option
we had, was to cut the female avatar.” Of course
that was the only option instead of just adding a
female so players could choose to be the main
character or a female based variant of him. I
mean have they ever heard of DragonAge? That
game made millions and it features both male
and female avatars, even though the story and all
the media for it is focused on the male character.
“I love DragonAge, and when I first
heard about Ubisoft creating a female character
I was really delighted. Now of course I am not; I
think it is a load of bull. I think they are just too
lazy to make a girl. Plus, I think they are a bit
sexist as well,” said Senior Ashley Baumeister.
Even a previous game designer for the
nization is concerned about a political system that
has been monopolized by religious lawmakers.
While a study conducted by The Religious Leaders Organization shows that atheists have a higher
rate of suicide, new studies have shown that the
relationship between atheism, theism, and mental
health and well-being are very complex. For example, Denmark, which is among the least religious
countries in the world, consistently ranks as one of
the happiest countries.
As with other national minority groups, atheism is having huge growth. Studies show that there
are about 60 million non-believers in the United
States, about one-fifth of the population. You may
not like it, but before long you are going to have
to accept that atheists are not dirty, wicked, or immoral, they just don’t believe in what you do. That
doesn’t make them wrong.
Female characters in videogames a must
company called them out on their BS over social media according to gamespot.com. Jonathan Cooper tweeted out that the female lead in
Assassins Creed III: Liberation not only shared
more animations with Connor Kenway (Previous main character) than one of the newer main
characters, but added that animating a female
character would take a mere two or three days at
most. He went on to say that they even had a female prototype to use for a game, but they never
did get around to actually using it. Even other
game developers are calling Ubisoft out on its
over-exaggeration of the required effort to bring
a needed character to life.
Ubisoft had a chance to do what not
many other gaming companies do, and that was
to create a female protagonist that wasn’t just
walking female genitalia. But for some reason
they chose to forgo that idea and instead stick
with their white male lead character. Their loyal
fan base may never know why they truly decided
to call it quits on their female character, but let’s
hope they don’t pull another stunt like this or it
could really cost them.
EditorialsEditorialsEditorials
The Linn-Mar Life
Competitive Cheerleading is a Sport
By Katie Davenport
To be in a sport, an athlete must have determination, dedication, and work hard. To be a successful
athlete, that athlete must practice regularly and use
every ounce of strength to reach their full potential.
It takes every ounce of strength from an athlete to
perform to the best of their abilities. Cheerleaders
must do the same to be successful. Competitive
cheerleading needs to be recognized as a varsity
sport because it requires the same type of physical
demands as other sports.
Competitive cheerleading is often not considered to be a sport because of the idea of traditional
cheer. Traditional cheer is not a sport because they
participate on the sidelines. These cheerleaders do
jumps, stunts, and simple cheers to get the crowd
enthused. Many people do not believe cheer is
hard work, but instead view cheerleading as easy
and therefore, do not feel it should be recognized
as a sport. That being said, competitive cheerleading is totally different from traditional cheer. Competitive cheerleading involves completing a clean
routine that incorporates motions, stunts, jumps,
and tumbling in synch as a squad to get the highest
score.
Competitive cheerleading is demanding.
“Cheerleading is very demanding time-wise,
emotionally, and athletically. I have very high expectations for my cheerleaders. I consider them to
be athletes because of all the hard work they put
into their routines,” said Becky Youngkent, LinnMar High School Cheer coach.
Cheerleaders have to take their work seriously and they must be competitive and have a drive
to succeed. The American Academy of Pediatrics
recently issued a report calling on all state legislatures to enact laws recognizing cheerleading as a
sport. Cheerleaders spend countless hours a week
in the gym, practicing and perfecting their routines.
Competitive cheer requires physical strength, flexibility, and stamina to perform a routine. In the
off season, squad members spend their time training and improving their skills. Cheerleaders must
show up to practice on time and be ready to work.
When a cheerleader is missing, it affects the entire
squad and not all the stunts can go up. Each routine includes memorizing, timing, and counting.
Cheerleaders have to memorize their positions in
the routine, the motions, and the stunt sequences.
They also have to know all the counts so they are
on beat and synchronized. It is very important to
be on count, especially when doing stunts, because
if a cheerleader is off count, it could cause a stunt
to fall.
To be a cheerleader, it takes upper and lower
body strength. It is important for cheerleaders to
train and lift weights so they have the strength to
complete stunts. Cheerleaders must be able to put
a girl; known as the flier, into the air, keeping her
solid so she does not fall. Like an important requirement in all sports, it takes technique. The girls
on the bottom, known as the bases and back, have
to dip together and push through their arms and
legs to get the flier into the air. To make it easier
and safer for the flier, it is important to resist and
absorb. Bases need to push off with their legs and
fully extend their arms so they can get their flier
high into the air. To make the stunt look clean, the
two bases must be chest to chest to each other, their
feet crossing at the bottom, and their legs straight
so the stunt can reach its maximum height. This involves strength because the cheerleaders must hold
the flier in the air and transition to different stunt
sequences, which involves moving the flier up and
down into different positions. This requires the use
of arm and leg muscles. It is important for the bases and back to be solid because while the flier is in
the air, she may be doing different motions or leg
stretches. Therefore, they need to stay steady so
the flier does not fall. The flier must keep tight and
still so she does not get wobbly. Cheerleaders must
be strong because there are many different types of
stunts that they are expected to do, such as preps,
extensions, baskets, libs, scorpions, pyramids, and
more. Furthermore, they have to be ready for whatever stunt they are told to do.
To perform good jumps, cheerleaders must do
several kicks on each leg and then do each of their
jumps, repeating them several times. It is significant to have strong legs because cheerleaders need
to be able to lift their legs up into the air and rotate
their hips out in order to get height. It takes a lot
of hard work and practice to get good jumps. It
does not just happen overnight. It also takes a lot
of technique to tumble. It requires grace, momentum, and focus. Cheerleaders do many different
tumbling passes in their routines, like round-offs,
front/back handsprings, front/back flips, standing
tuck, twist full, and more. In order to do these different tumbling moves, they must arch stretch, so
they do not hurt their back or pull a muscle.
Cheerleaders must also have mental preparation and momentum to tumble because it is very
dangerous.
All of these factors make competitive cheerleading a sport, because cheerleaders do the same
type of hard work as other athletes do. According
to Gutgold, cheerleading, like any other sport, is
based on training hard, perfecting skills, and performing at one’s best, all while building character,
teamwork and work ethic. Cheerleaders have the
same drive and determination to succeed as other
athletes do.
“People mistake competitive cheerleading as
not being a sport because it is not as well established as other sports, it is new and does not have
as much recognition,” says Youngkent.
Cheerleading is no different from any other sport
and their coaches have the same expectation as any
other athlete’s coaches would, and that is to give
it their all and to never give up. Cheerleaders are
very competitive and want that first place trophy,
just like any other sport team. Just like every other
athlete, cheerleaders train and practice during the
offseason to prepare for the next season. Just like
football players have to memorize plays, cheerleaders have to memorize counts, motions and positions. Everything must be on time. It takes a lot
of strength to be a cheerleader, just like it takes a
lot of strength for other athletes to reach their full
potential. Cheerleaders must be able to lift a human being into the air and keep her up there as she
moves around, doing different motions. That takes
a lot of strength. Cheerleaders are drilled and have
to do their routine over and over, perfecting it, just
like other sports teams have to do with their plays
and drills.
Competitive cheerleading needs to be seen as
a varsity sport because just like any other sport it
requires the same type of physical demand. Cheerleaders are athletes and cheerleading is a sport because the participants have a burning passion to
compete and win. We would like to be recognized
as athletes.
Two-a-day practices
banned for safety
By Ryan Holub
Ever since two-a-day practices were banned in
2013, high school football coaches have been trying to figure out a new way to cram in both offense
and defense before the season starts. What are twoa-days? They are a few hellish weeks of twice-daily workouts during the hottest time and month of
the year, August. Why were two-a-days banned?
According to the American Football Coaches Association, in the 35 years from 1965 to 1995 there
were 81 football-related heat stroke cases that resulted in death. In the next 40 years, there were
only 51, but 40 of those cases happened in high
school. By limiting two-a-days and adding other heat acclimation procedures, state high school
associations are looking to cut down on a rise of
heat-related deaths. Only a select few states have
banned two-a-day practices, including Iowa. The
Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA)
banned twice-daily practices and now limits teams
to only one practice per day for no more than three
hours.
Todd Tharp, who is a part of the IHSAA says,
“We just want our schools to look after our student
athletes and do whatever they can to help student
athletes out when they do come to football practice.”
The new practice rules only allow helmets to
be worn for the first two days of practice and then
helmets and shoulder pads for the three following days of practice. They now allow the team to
have a full-contact scrimmage on Saturday after
the week of practice. Football coaches were asked
about the banning of two-a-days practice, most said
they agreed with this change because it’s better for
the kids. A coach from a high school football team
(who was not named) stated: “the IHSAA allows
us, if we choose to go to single practices, a threehour block of time,” he said. “In my opinion, that’s
plenty of time. After a while, you reach a point of
diminishing returns when players lose the ability
to learn because they’re just trying to survive.”
The coaches notice how the extreme heat
can take a toll on athletes and affect their mental
capacity to learn and perform. Another coach mentions that “Football is inherently violent, but no
one, least of all a teenager, should die playing it.”
Now that two-a-days have been banned
and new rules have been created, coaches agree
that this procedure was needed in order to keep
teenagers safe at football during the hot month of
August.
EditorialsEditorialsEditorials
The Linn-Mar Life
School Starting After Labor Day:
Vaccinations an effective tool
in fighting off various diseases What are the benefits and drawbacks?
By Evan Brown
Vaccinations are an extremely
important and effective medical tool.
The Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) has estimated that vaccines
have saved more than 732,000
American children’s lives since 1994.
Incredibly, some parents still refuse
to have their children vaccinated
against potentially deadly illnesses.
In recent years and especially in
light of the recent measles outbreak,
more and more pediatricians are
turning away parents who refuse
to vaccinate their children. All 50
states have vaccination requirements
for children entering public school;
doctor’s offices have even more sick
children, so why do they not also have
requirements? A vaccination policy
is sensible and should be adopted by
doctors and hospitals everywhere.
People who have not been immunized
against easily transmittable diseases
such as chicken pox, measles, and
pertussis (whooping cough) are a
danger both to themselves and to the
people around them. Unvaccinated
patients
provide
preventable
diseases a way to spread easily - for
example, according to the CDC,
the majority of those affected in the
recent measles outbreak have been
unvaccinated. While vaccines do not
completely prevent the contraction
of sicknesses, vaccines.gov places
their effectiveness at around 90100 percent. When children are not
vaccinated, this means that their
chances of contracting a disease when
exposed are increased to upwards of
10 times that of a vaccinated child.
This causes needless suffering on
the child’s part as well as needless
exposure of the disease to those
around them. Of course, probably
the largest place where sick people
congregate is the doctor’s office,
which is why it is so important that
unvaccinated patients are kept out.
Vaccines work on the principle
of herd immunity. This theory
operates on the assumption that as
long as a large enough proportion
of the population is immunized
against a disease, the probability
of a contagious individual coming
into contact with a susceptible
(unvaccinated) individual is low
enough to contain most infections.
This theory has all but eliminated
diseases such as smallpox and polio.
When the vaccination rate is too low,
however, this theory does not work
because susceptible people regularly
come into contact with sick ones,
showing why a high vaccination
rate is so important. The theory also
breaks down in places like doctor’s
offices, where a high rate of sickness
easily exposes unvaccinated people.
Keeping these people out of doctor’s
offices is for their own safety.
Getting sick nearly always means
a loss of money, whether through the
direct cost of treatment, through lost
income due to sick days, or through
disability or death. Vaccines, by
preventing sickness, also reduce
loss of money. The CDC estimates
that vaccines have saved about $295
billion in direct costs of treatment
since 1994, and $1.38 trillion in
overall “societal costs.” Increasing
the amount of vaccinated children
reduces the amount of money wasted
on treating illnesses that could have
been prevented by vaccines.
A common belief of vaccination
opponents is that vaccines can
cause numerous health problems
such as autism, and in severe cases,
death. While there is a basis to these
accusations, occurrences of vaccine
complications are so extremely rare
that the chance of dying from the
disease is many times that of the
chance of dying from the vaccine. For
example, one death has been linked
to the flu vaccine (and the causation
there is questionable), while on
average, more than 20,000 people die
from the flu each year in the U.S. The
vaccine seems like a pretty safe bet.
Another claim that is often made
is that diseases that vaccines prevent
usually can be survived, and also
naturally increase immunity levels
more than a vaccine could (such as
chicken pox). As the flu data shows,
the first claim is obviously false thousands of people die each year
even from the relatively common
flu. The second statement is true;
however, the caveat is that in order to
gain immunity naturally, the person
must deal with the disease and its
complications. Vaccines do not
have this risk. As the World Health
Organization says, “The price paid
for getting immunity through natural
infection might be mental retardation
from Haemophilus influenza type
b (Hib), birth defects from rubella,
liver cancer from hepatitis B virus, or
death from measles.”
The many benefits of immunization
to individuals and the human race as
a whole far outweigh the tiny chance
of a vaccine backfiring. The next step
to further vaccines’ effectiveness
in preventing illness is for doctors
to turn away parents who don’t
have their children vaccinated. For
clarification, yes, medical exemptions
(due to allergies and other problems)
should be allowed; this policy only
applies to general practitioners unvaccinated patients would still
receive emergency care; and I do
not support mandatory vaccination
- people should be able to choose
whether or not to be vaccinated,
but they will have to deal with the
consequences should they decide
not to. Turning away unvaccinated
patients will contribute to greater
public health and make the world a
safer place to live.
By Olivia Wagner
Many parents are most likely
very curious when they go on
Facebook and see other parents
posting about sending their kids off
to school during the first weeks of
August when their children don’t
go back for another few weeks.
This is because some schools
don’t begin until after Labor Day,
while others get a waiver which
allows them to begin the school
year much earlier. So which is
better; beginning in mid-August
or waiting until after Labor Day?
Some say starting school earlier
in the summer eliminates family
time together. Others say the
starting date should be dependent
upon the weather and/or the
geographical location of the
school.
A national telephone survey
finds that 51 percent of American
adults think the school year
should begin after Labor Day, but
38 percent think it should begin
in August. Eleven percent were
undecided. If a majority of parents
think that school should start after
Labor Day, then why is it that
only 25 percent of public school
children start after the holiday?
In rural areas in the United
States school tends to start after
Labor Day and end in early spring
because that this allows farms to
operate as usual without having to
pull students out of class. Those
who want to start later argue that
students don’t want to be trapped
in school while looking out the
windows at the beautiful beaming
sun and hot weather. But not
everybody feels this way.
“I don’t like the idea of having
to start later and end later because
it’s cutting into my summertime
and effects my performance in
school. I need a break to be able
to be in the nice weather,” says
Brianna Wesson.
Jordan Sample chimes in
and says, “Keep it like it is. All
of the students here are used to
starting at this time their entire
life. It would be a hard change,
especially academically.”
Would, or perhaps more
importantly, should the school
modify our start date for the school
year? The school district would
have to figure out a way for the
school year to run smoothly with
pushing everything back a couple
weeks.
Senior Emily Menges argues,
“If we did this, then students would
have to take finals after a long
winter break, and that would be
hard on a lot of students.”
In Iowa, Governor Branstad
has passed a law which effectively
states that schools must start after
Labor Day unless they can prove
that this would be a significant
disruption to student learning.
Branstad favors school starting
after Labor Day to promote more
family vacation time and to prevent
a disruption to the Iowa State Fair.
He wants to eliminate the granting
of waivers to schools that want to
start early.
Those in support of pushing the
start date back say that by starting
later, more families would go on
vacation in August and over Labor
Day. According to Michael Dresser
and Liz Bowie of the Baltimore
Sun, this would bring an extra $7.7
million in additional tax revenue to
the state, and $74.3 million in new
economic activity.
All but two of Iowa’s 338 school
districts received waivers (to start
early) in 2014.
This topic has already raised some
heat throughout school districts in
Iowa as schools are trying to decide
how they could possibly apply to
once again get the waiver they have
always gotten. Others are looking
into adapting their school calendar
for next year. Which strategy do
you prefer? Linn-Mar High School
seems to be planning on getting the
waiver as usual and still beginning
in August and ending in May
according to The Cedar Rapids
Gazette. The issue is rising faster
than people realize as the summer
approaches in just a few short
months.
The Linn-Mar Life
Are standardized tests an indicator of college preparedness?
By Riley Callahan
Students across the United States spend
countless hours preparing for standardized tests
such as the ACT and SAT. This effort makes
sense considering these tests can mean getting
into college, achieving scholarship money,
and basically everything else related with their
futures. However, the only thing these exams
actually test students on is their ability to take a
test, making it an unfair and a poor representation
of student knowledge.
The ACT tests students in the fields of
English, reading, math, and science. However,
students who do the best on those tests don’t
actually study any of those subjects, they take
countless practice tests to prepare themselves to
move quickly and to use smart strategy. They do
this because they know without moving quickly
through the questions and finishing, they can’t
do better than average even if they get all of the
questions right.
Even a brilliant student could be a slow tester
and get a worse score than someone who does
worse than them in school. This doesn’t make
sense at all. My first and only time taking the
ACT I got a 25. This isn’t the most impressive
score and most scholarships need at least a score
of 27, if not higher. My score is largely due to the
fact that I only finished one out of the four tests.
I had trouble focusing due to my worrying about
not finishing, which lead to me only finishing
one test. This extra anxiety caused me to not
perform to my optimal potential on a test that is
very important for my future and scholarships.
These tests can be the defining factor between
good and mediocre schooling, however, some
students don’t think they will be able to get
a good score no matter what they do so they
decide not to try. The way the tests are designed
are becoming a one-size-fits-all strategy causing
crippling motivational drops to students trying to
get into college. Learned-helplessness sets in and
students give up, realizing they can’t finish or just
don’t know any of the answers because they have
not studied some of the material. Sadly, most of
this is material the student will not even use in
college, depending on their major.
If a person wanted to go into a major like
psychology, where much of their work requires
an emphasis on people skills, they may only use
very few of the aspects they were tested on in a
standardized test. Still, the student still needs to
take the ACT or SAT to get into a college, which
seems pointless considering they most likely
won’t need to know what they are being tested
on. They test as if kids who are going to become
artists need to know how to find the third angle
of an obtuse triangle using inverse trig.
Adults may argue that there are deadlines in
real life so teens have to learn to work under
those pressures and deal with the stress. This
doesn’t seem very valid since a standardized
test is not similar to what one would do in the
typical job setting. High school teaches students
how to manage their time wisely and work under
pressure; standardized tests don’t need to add to
that knowledge. Schools and teachers are better
indicators than a standardized test to tell potential
colleges if a student has the intelligence to attend
their school. Colleges want students who will be
amazing at whatever career they choose to pursue
and they may not always get that by admitting
the students who are good at quickly guessing
the right answer on a standardized test.
If tests are going to be used as collegepreparedness indicators, there needs to be a wider
range of tests that are given preferably without a
time limit. This may sound like a difficult request
but it would better the realm of standardized
testing by leaps and bounds. This would give
students the ability to more accurately show
what they know and take some of the pressure
and anxiety off of such a serious test.
Waitress argues: there is no excuse for not tipping well
Faith Kramer
Working at a restaurant, I have
seen it all when it comes to tipping.
Some people will still tip the good old
10%, some may go above and beyond
and tip up to $50, and occasionally
customers will leave no tip at all. I’ve
heard people say everything from, “the
service was bad so I left a bad tip” to
“I don’t feel like servers should get
tips for doing their job, they’re already
getting paid.” Regardless of service or
the overall experience at a restaurant,
nothing grinds my gears more than
seeing someone tip a lousy $2 on a $50
dollar bill. If you plan on going out to
eat you need to be tipping at least 20%
no matter what, and here is why.
In the state of Iowa employers
are only required to pay a minimum
of $4.35 per hour to servers. Taking
into consideration that most servers
are usually teenagers or college-age
students, you can bet employers will
not be handing out more than the
pitiful $4.35 to inexperienced kids.
Being a server is one of the hardest
and most stressful jobs you can get
while in high school, however when
you have the potential to make up to
$200 in a single day, it can be well
worth it.
I’m sure working a job with a
steady income such as Hy-Vee or
a clothing store is great. You take
home the same amount of money
every two weeks no matter if you
were lazily doing your job half
asleep on the clock, or going out of
your way to be the provide the best
service. Everyone has bad days,
bad weeks, bad months, and in a
corporate job you get the benefit
of having a steady income no
matter what the circumstances may
be. However, when your income
depends on tips and the service you
provide, you can’t afford to have
bad days or your pocket will suffer.
As a server you may have up
to five tables at once, which can be
quite a task. Between customers all
asking for refills, trying to keep the
checks straight, running food back
and forth, and dealing with people
with no manners who won’t stop
complaining about every aspect
of their meal can be chaotic! No
matter how busy the night is, servers
are always trying to keep a warm
and friendly smile on their face as
they see their tips getting lower
and lower. What some customers
fail to realize is that their server
is not simply being lazy, they are
just extremely busy. Whether the
kitchen brings out the food late, or
the server is 30 seconds late on that
lemonade refill, most likely people
will consider that “bad service”
and leave an offensive tip. Really?
What if the server was new to the
restaurant or is just simply having
a bad day like any other normal
human being has had? What it
ultimately comes down to is having
a little patience and understanding
for the people who choose to stand
on their feet for potentially up to 12
hours a day, and who work one of
the most stressful jobs there is.
People seem to forget that
sometimes accidents happen, and
even though you may have not
gotten the best service, you should
always tip 20% as a bare minimum.
What if corporate jobs got penalized be. With your lame $2 tip, you are
money for every little mistake they buying them a pack of gum, not
made doing their job; people would contributing to their income.
be outraged! Twenty percent is
the bare minimum that you should
expect to pay for choosing to go
out to eat. No matter how bad the
service was, someone still waited
on you and provided a service. If
you feel that your server did an
outstanding job you should politely
offer more than 20% to show your
gratitude for their services.
Without tips, servers would be
making below minimum wage and
would not be able to live off such a
minuscule amount of money.
In the end, we all have to remember
that everyone makes mistakes, and
it is not always in the hands of the
server. These people depend on
your tips to pay bills, feed families,
pay for college, or whatever it may
The Linn-Mar Life
Bekah Bent known as open-minded and laid back
By Hannah Jannusch
With fire-red hair, soft maroon
eyes, a happy-go-lucky expression
and a wardrobe that any fangirl
would adore, Bekah Bent truly is an
inspiration to the students at Linn-Mar
High School. With a big imagination
and an even bigger heart, Bekah has
inspired many students, including
myself. She does this by reaching
out to others to try something new, to
seek out opportunity and to become
a mature and independent citizen in
society. Bent is a true artist, her work
is as powerful as it is creative. Her
skill is through painting drawing
and collage. From a young age she
collected anything from rocks to
coins. This collection perhaps gave
her the idea to create collages.
“Life is like a collage, you will
never get the placement of your
materials perfectly set onto your
paper, and life doesn’t work like that.
I’ve found that by arranging these
pieces to flow together, by trying
again and again, I found through time
I was able to combine the perfect
pieces together. I’m not saying that
in life everything will work out
perfectly, for life seldom happens,
what I am saying is that you have the
power to mold yourself into whoever
you want to be. I am saying to never
give up on yourself. Try something
new. I let my art and writing consume
me and when I feel that life has got
me down, I let my passion make me
whole again.”
Bekah is also known not just
through her artistry, but also for her
involvement in crewing for the Instep
and High Style LM school show
choirs.
“She is a very courageous and
independent woman, who all of the
LM show choir admires,” said Lisa
Young, senior.
“Bekah is very much like an open
book, she is very open minded and
laid back,” said Jenny Long, senior.
“With writing and art I don’t have to
deal with people. I try to let myself
enjoy the smallest things in everyday
life, even though it gets harder and
harder each day with these new
responsibilities,” Bent says.
Bekah doesn’t let failure or the
voices of other people to stand in
her way when it comes to everyday
life. This trait has persevered with
her throughout all four years of high
school and the very same attitude is
shown when she tries her very best
to succeed in all of her classes. She
loves the freedom and maturity of the
senior classes yet the only thing that
she said she would miss the most from
being in high school would be the
easiness of being a teenager, and the
intermediate level of its coursework.
“Though leaving high school has
its benefits, it is a new step into life,
and I would like to live a calm and
quiet life, raising a family, because
without family, I am not home,” Bent
shared.
Legendary author George R.R
Martin once stated that “A reader
lives a thousand lives before he dies...
The man who never reads lives only
one.” Miss Bent loves to live lives
in other worlds, be it at Hogwarts or
Camp Half Blood, for she has always
loved to read. Ever since she was 13,
her favorite novel has always been
Lewis Carroll’s all time classic Alice
in Wonderland.
“The Cheshire Cat says that “were
all mad here, and I completely agree
with him. None of us are normal, we
are all a little crazy about something,
be it a fandom, art, acting, even
mathematics. Whatever drives our
passion, drives us crazy,” said Bent.
What is your favorite word?
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious or
LA CUNA: A non-English word that
describes something for there is no
English word.*
By Destiny Gee
it is much more common. In just one
year, 100,000 sleep-deprived drivers
cause accidents leading to 71,000
avoidable injuries. Studies show
that drowsy driving has the same
negative effects as drunk driving: a
blood alcohol of .5-.8 is the same as
being awake for 18 hours, according
to smartschool.org. Although many
drowsy driving accidents are caused
by adults, teenagers are responsible
for a portion of these accidents so
what can be done to prevent future
accidents?
What is your favorite color?The
color red, because blood is red and
blood is cool.
Do you have a hobby that you
enjoy? Collecting beautiful leather
journals, browsing amazon and ebay
and collecting swords and knives.
Drowsy driving dangerous, pull over and arrive alive
We all know the perils of driving drunk but there is another form
of impaired driving that can be just
as dangerous: driving while drowsy.
Although it doesn’t get nearly as
much press as drunk driving, driving while drowsy is a significant
health concern in America. Consider
these statistics: one in ten drivers fall
asleep at the wheel, one out of eight
crashes caused by drowsy driving require hospitalization, and one in six
fatal car accidents can be attributed
to drowsy driving according to the
National Sleep Foundation. When
you’re driving while drowsy, you are
less attentive, have a slower reaction time, and have affected driving
abilities, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. The
AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety
has estimated that 21 percent of fatal
crashes involve drowsy drivers.
While most everyone would recognize the danger of driving drunk;
drowsy driving doesn’t carry the same
negative social stigma and therefore,
The average teenager gets about
seven to seven and a half hours of
sleep a night, even though the average teen needs nine to nine to nine
and a half hours of sleep. This is due
to early high school start times, social
and school obligations, and the shift
in sleep schedule during puberty.
This lack of sleep can lead to being
moody, irritable, cranky, and engaging in risk-taking behaviors (such as
driving fast, drinking, and participating in other dangerous activities).
Inadequate sleep in teenagers can
Faith Kramer
Why are so many illegal immigrants
coming to the United States? According
to a recent study, there may be as many
as 20 million illegal aliens currently
residing in the United States, and
numbers are on the rise. This topic has
recently been in the news with president
Obama’s request to protect over 5
million undocumented immigrants.
This topic is very controversial and
upsetting to many Americans.
“They’re not paying taxes, taking
our jobs, and are cheating the system,”
said Kendrick Ward.
“Why do they come to our country,
why can’t you stay where you came
from?” asked Carissa Kramer.
So, why are millions people fleeing
to the United States; how come they
do not simply go through immigration
agencies and become a citizen the legal
way? Every immigrant’s personal
story and purpose may be different,
however for brothers Immanuel and
Jorge Medina, they simply came in
hopes of a better life.
Immanuel, only 17, came to Iowa
from Honduras only three months ago
knowing no English and knowing no
one here. His brother, Jorge, came to
America in 2012. Immanuel says he
traveled for three weeks by foot with a
pack of men lead by a guide, referred to
as a “coyote”. For $5000 cash, the men
followed the coyote around hundreds
of miles of border fencing hoping to
successfully enter the United States.
Carrying only a backpack with little
food or water, they faced intense heat
and fatigue. Immanuel says the most
frightening part of their journey was
their multiple encounters with snakes
and other deadly poisonous animals.
After 21 treacherous days traveling
by foot, they reached an entryway in
Texas and successfully entered into the
United States.
Immanuel says, “I didn’t have
any other option if I wanted to be
successful in life; my country is very
dangerous, the government is corrupt,
the education is bad, the economy
is bad, I would never survive in my
country. In my country, everyone
wants a chance to come to the United
also lead to problems such as driving
while drowsy, falling asleep in class,
getting lower grades, being late to
class or absent, and problems with attention, memory, creativity, reaction
time, and decision making, according
to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
How can teenagers avoid having
inadequate sleep? According to sleep
study experts, do not sleep in until
noon on the weekends; oversleeping
can make it hard to get up for school
on Monday morning. Take early afternoon naps for about 15-20 minutes. Maintain a regular sleep schedule, meaning go to bed and wake up
at about the same time every day.
Turning off radios, televisions, and
other electronic devices that could
keep you awake late at night. Avoid
caffeine, drugs, alcohol and tobacco
as these can all cause sleep problems.
Also, according to the Nationwide
Children’s Hospital, if you have difficulty sleeping, if you snore, or if you
find yourself excessively sleeping
during the day, contact a doctor.
Nation divided over immigration issues
States. For example, my sister wants
to become a doctor but in Honduras
you cannot go school unless you are
rich; there is no such thing as “college
loans” and with 60% of Hondurans
living in poverty, our dreams will never
be accomplished.”
Jorge Medina says, “Americans
don’t understand that not all of us
come here to cause crime. My friends
and I come so we can have a safe and
better life. You ask me why I don’t get
my papers, it’s because they make it
impossible for you to get them unless
you work for the government or have a
lot of money. I love the US, It has given
me an opportunity to have a good job
I never would have gotten back home.
The US is very safe and I don’t have
to be afraid to leave my house. I don’t
ever want to leave the US.”
Jorge and Immanuel have both
turned themselves into immigration,
and are starting the process to become
legal citizens. These brother’s story
shows a different side of the typical
stereotypes Americans have against
illegal immigrants.
The Linn-Mar Life
Amanda Spars hasn’t let being disabled slow her down
By Amanda Spars
Like any other high school student,
I have my bouts of homework stress,
friendship drama, and everything else
in between. The only difference that
sets me apart from my classmates
is that I was born with an obvious
physical disability. Other than my
physical appearance, a lot of the time
I do not see myself as any different
from any other student here at LinnMar. I’ve lived in the Linn-Mar
district my entire life, and while my
disability has made my life difficult,
it has not made much of a difference
in my academic life. Every school
I’ve been to, from Indian Creek, to
Excelsior to Linn-Mar High School,
has been very accommodating, and
I’ve always been put in regular classes
as opposed to special education
classes.
According to the Americans
with Disabilities Act, “Section 504
requires recipients to provide to
students with disabilities appropriate
educational services designed to
meet the individual needs of such
students to the same extent as the
needs of students without disabilities
are met.” As far as education goes,
Linn-Mar has done an exceptional
job at making sure I have all the
accommodations I need to make sure
By Evan Brown
In today’s society, many of the
modern conveniences that make our
lives immeasurably easier and better
are often taken for granted. They are
an essential part of our lives, and the
fact that many of them were invented
so recently raises a question: how
did people of the past deal with the
lack of these conveniences? In fact,
many historical civilizations had
adaptations of the items that are so
essential to us today.
Brushing our teeth is at least a daily
occurrence for most people, but the
only time we put much thought into
it is right before going to the dentist’s
office. The earliest known toothbrush
similar to our modern ones was found
in China and dated to be at least 1,100
years old. However, the toothbrush
was not introduced to Europe until
around the 1600s, so what was used
before that? Although feathers and
porcupine quills have been used
to clean teeth in the past, the most
common method was the chew stick
- a twig with a frayed end from a tree
with antimicrobial properties (such
as salvadora persica, which is known
as the toothbrush tree in Africa).
Chew sticks actually have several
advantages over toothbrushes, such
as low cost and maintenance and no
need for toothpaste, but it is doubtful
that your dentist will advise you to
use one.
Modern electronic calculators are
also very useful tools that have had
several different incarnations in the
past. Pocket-sized calculators have
been available since the 1970s, and
mechanical calculators have existed
since the 1600s, but only as clunky,
desktop computer-sized machines.
Before pocket calculators, the most
commonly used calculating tool
was the slide rule, which probably
only people over 50 have used. The
slide rule uses logarithmic scales and
a sliding bar to do multiplication,
division, squaring, and other
operations. Even before the slide rule
was the abacus, which despite being
over 4000 years old, is still used by
clerks and traders in Asia and Africa
today. Abaci use several moving
rows of beads with different values to
perform calculations. While modern
calculators are undeniably the most
versatile tool made for this purpose,
fast abacus users can often outpace
humans using calculators in terms of
speed.
Air conditioning is another seldomthought-about convenience that life
would be difficult without. Several
ancient civilizations developed ways
of cooling homes and buildings,
but these methods were expensive
and were generally only for the rich
and powerful. Ancient Romans also
used their system of aqueducts as
a cooling system by running some
of the water through the walls of a
few certain houses (only those rich
enough to afford such a luxury).
Additionally, medieval Persians built
innovative wind towers that funneled
cold air down into buildings, and
even used thermodynamics to further
cool the air by flowing it over water.
While these methods were ingenious,
they lacked the ability to provide air
conditioning to the majority of the
population as is found today.
Alarm clocks are essential in
current society to get anywhere on
time. The ancient Greeks thought
so too - philosopher Plato invented
the first alarm clock based on water
clocks that had existed for thousands
of years. Water dripped from one jar
into another, and when a certain level
was reached, the water activated
a mechanism that created either a
whistling sound by pushing air out
of a container through small slits, or
a loud noise by dropping a stone on
a gong. While the function of alarm
clocks hasn’t really changed since the
Greeks, the ease of use certainly has
- after every alarm the ancient water
clock had to be manually reset.
Many of the modern conveniences
we have today have actually been
around for centuries, although in
sometimes very different forms.
Although we don’t think about
some of these everyday objects that
make our life so much easier very
often, it is worth knowing that even
toothbrushes have a long history.
Inventions from our past
I’m learning what
I need to learn.
When it comes
to
accessibility
of the school, it
really depends on
where I’m going
throughout
my
day. The parking
lots are typically
not a problem
for me because I
get dropped off
and I take the bus
home after school.
Some
of
the
classrooms
can
be a bit crowded
for my wheelchair
sometimes, but I
always seem to
find a way around
it.
A
couple
places that can
be difficult at
times are the two
school cafeterias.
The lines in both
cafeterias themselves are okay, it’s
the table arrangement I have to
watch out for. Even though I have
the privilege to get food from either
cafeteria because I’m a senior, I
usually only eat in the main cafeteria
because that’s the only place that has
long tables instead of the round ones.
Another problem I ran into was this
past summer when I was fixing my
schedule for this year. Both my mom
and older sister suggested that I take
another class to fill up my schedule.
I took their advice and picked up a
geology class. A day or two later, my
one-on-one associate told me that
she talked to who would have been
my Geology teacher, and he didn’t
think taking the class was a good
idea. This was not because he felt
that I couldn’t handle it, but because
the class involved going outside
toward the other side of the campus
a lot and he was worried about how
I would be able to safely get over all
of the bumpy spots on the grass. As
disappointed as I was, I accepted the
teacher’s concern and chose to sign
up for College Writing instead. As
far as gym class goes, I’ve had a P.E.
waiver since 8th grade because of a
back surgery I had in 2010, and since
then I have not had enough strength
in my legs to participate.
In the latest 2010 revision of the
ADA, “School buildings must be
designed to provide students and staff
with disabilities an equal opportunity
to benefit from all services. Design
that is exclusionary, such as door
frames that are too narrow for
wheelchairs to pass through, is
prohibited.”
Getting around hasn’t been terribly
difficult for me over the years. For
passing time, I use the elevator to
get to and from some classes, which
can take up some time, especially if
my next class is all the way on the
other side of the school. Even though
I have an excuse for being late no
matter what class I have, I always try
to get to class on time like everybody
else. As for fire or storm drills, as
long as the path to get out does not
involve any stairs or steps, I have no
problem and I follow whoever is in
front of me.
While I’m on the subject of
passing time, one problem that other
students face that is more so of a
problem for me is getting through the
halls. A lot of the time, I’ll literally be
right behind somebody when I have
no other choice, and because I’m so
short in my chair, and a lot of people’s
book bags are perfectly level to my
face. I always run the risk of a person
unexpectedly stopping in the middle
of the hall and their bags often end up
less than an inch from my face when
I halt to a sudden stop. Or, in some
cases, someone turns around and
unintentionally almost hits me in the
face with his or her backpack. There
have been many instances where my
one-on-one associate and I would be
laughing after some of these almost
face-to-backpack collisions.
According to Special Needs
Associate Rachel Pixton, I fit in
well at Linn-Mar considering all the
accommodations I have. She also
recalls some of the near face-tobackpack moments and both of us
start laughing at the thought.
I may be different in my bone
structure, but my mindset is
unaffected, and every day I prove
how I’m not all that different from
any other student.
Amanda will graduate this year
after attending school in the
Linn-Mar district since Kindergarten.
The Linn-Mar Life
Have “promposals” just gone too far?
By Riley Callahan
With the most anticipated dance
of the year coming up in May there
is only one thing on student’s minds.
They are all wondering how to ask or
how to get asked to Prom. Creative
ways to ask a date to prom, or what
some people call promposals, seem
to be getting more popular and
extravagant each year. Students lose
sleep over how they should ask a
friend and whether that person will
say yes.
“It’s becoming more expected to
do more than just ask someone to a
dance, which is totally understandable
in my mind. It’s become a large part
of the high school dance experience
as a whole because it’s so exciting!”
said Junior Ryan Frank.
There is no limit to the extent that
some people will go to when asking
their significant other to a dance.
For example, one senior got the
cheerleaders to hold up a huge sign at
a football game so that he could ask
his girlfriend to Homecoming in front
of the entire student section and all the
parents at the game. My sophomore
year, I got asked to Homecoming by
my best friend serenading me with a
revised version of Beyoncé’s Love
on Top. Every student at Linn Mar
has seen multiple creative ways that
people have been asked to dances.
“The craziest way I have ever seen
someone be asked is when my friend
got asked to WPA using the entire
drumline crew. It was so obnoxious
that everyone in the school at that
time probably heard it, which is what
made it really awesome,” said Junior
Anna Moore.
The real question is, does all this
actually matter? Would a girl say no
to a boy who doesn’t go to extreme
measures to ask her to a dance? The
new expectations that currently go
along with asking a person to a dance
seem to be putting far more stress on
the asker than what existed just a few
years ago. This is especially true if
part of the plan is to ask in front of
a large crowd; for example, when a
junior girl asked her friend to WPA at
a pep assembly in front of bleachers
filled with the student body.
“If people are asked in public they
tend to say yes, but I would never say
no if someone I wanted to go with
asked me in a small way, and I don’t
know of any other girls that would
disagree with me. People just like to
compete with other students to see
who can ask their date to a dance in
the most creative way, but that’s not
connected to the answer,” said Junior
Allyson Bellner.
It is always big news on campus
when someone gets asked to prom in
a big way and high school students
can rarely get enough of that positive
attention. The competitive aspect of
thinking up the most creative way to
ask a date to prom can cause stress
for already stressed and anxious
high school students. However, these
promposals rarely change the final
answer. They have simply become a
tradition to add some extra fun.
“Asking your friends in creative
ways make everything so much more
fun. Butterflies in your stomach,
heart racing, as well as seeing the
reaction of the person getting asked.
It’s entertaining for all,” said Frank.
Prom doesn’t have to be only for couples
By Olivia Wagner
Most people in high school
think that to be able to go to Prom,
Homecoming, or any other formal
dance, that they must be asked
by someone to be able to attend.
Especially nowadays, people are
expecting a grand gesture to be done
when being asked. It’s just added
stress to think you need to be asked in
a better way than the last girl. But in
all reality, anyone can go to a dance,
with or without a date. Why don’t
people want to go if they are not
specifically asked then? Is it fear of
looking like a loner, or the feeling of
being surrounded by dates when you
don’t have one? More recently, girls
and even guys have started going to
dances in a group of friends. You can
still go out to eat, dress up, and do
all of the things attributed to a normal
Prom night, you’re just sharing the
night with friends rather than with
a date. Another reason students will
shy away from Prom is due to the
over-the-top expenses, when there
are multiple alternatives to make
prom affordable with or without a
date.
According to the article “What
Families Are Spending on Prom
Night,” this year, according to the
credit card company Visa, Prom
spending will reach an average of
$1,139 per family. So Prom can
definitely be a financial struggle.
There are many ways to cut
the costs of Prom night, however.
Facebook pages exist locally where
girls can post their once worn and or
used dresses for sale for much cheaper
prices. Aside from online, there are
multiple local stores that will resell
used dresses that girls have resold
back to stores after wearing them
once or maybe twice. Some schools
even offer a dress-drive for Prom
dresses to help out those who can’t
afford those over-the-top expensive
dresses.
“I feel bad because the guy is
expected to pay for dinner, and if
we’re going out to an expensive
restaurant, he has to pay for two
meals and that can be pricy,” says
Erin Pins.
To find some ways to save money
for prom, a couple can also split the
cost of dinner. Although it may be
“formal” for the guy to pay, paying
for your own perspective meals is a
way to save a little extra cash. Also,
not going out to the most expensive
restaurant in town is a definite way
to cut expenses. There is no need
for a $40 meal per person when
somewhere else has a similar meal
for much cheaper.
The pressure of being asked to a
dance and especially the way you are
asked is a big deal to most girls. They
think that if they aren’t asked, then
that means that they automatically
can’t go to Prom. Well, why not?
Who needs a date for a dance when
you can have just as much, if not
more fun, in a group of friends!
“I went to Homecoming in a group
of girls my sophomore year and
thought it was going to be ‘weird’ and
kind of embarrassing, but it turned
out I had just as much fun as when I
went with a date the next year,” says
Rylee Steinkee.
So girls, you do not need a date,
let alone a grand gesture of being
asked to be able to attend dances.
It is unrealistic for girls to expect a
bouquet of a dozen roses from a guy
asking them. It’s perfectly normal to
be able to take girls night to Prom!
These four years are supposed to be
the best years of teenage lives, don’t
sit at home moping around thinking
“what if” when you can actually
attend the dance! Where is the woman
empowerment when you think you
need a man to take you to Prom! Take
yourself to Prom with your girlfriends
or guy friends and make memories
with the most important people to
you. It’s extremely important for
teenagers to be able to be independent
and strong on their own. Also, don’t
let the worry of spending too much
money on a dance make you shy
away from a great experience. Look
at the alternatives, and make some
adjustments to have an affordable,
fun night, with or without a date.
Tux rentals starting at
$
4
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.95
69
PROM OFF
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With sale
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www.PrinceAlbertTuxedos.com
Sale valid through May 9, 2015
See store for details.
HOU R S: M o n, T hur s, F r i 10a– 8p • T u e s, W e d 10a–6: 30p • Sat 10a–5p • Su n n o o n –5p
4620 1ST AVE NE • 319+393-4298
Next to Best Buy in Cedar Rapids
341 Edgewood Rd NW • 319-396-7096
Edgewood Plaza in Cedar Rapids