The BLURB

Having freshman twins means double trouble

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SUMMER SNACKSp.8

EVOLUTION p.10

June 2nd 2011

THE BLURB

INDEX A & Epg.3 GET A JOB! We know you’re not busy during the summer.

p.4 SELF DEFENSE Be ready for anything life throws at you

p.5 IT’S GETTING HOT IN HERE Ice cream, ice cream, get your ice cream

FEATUREp.6 DOUBLE FRESH Are you seeing double?

p.8 A YUMMIER SUMMER(ER) great snacks for fun summer times

p.9 SILVER CORDS Volunteering is great; Here’s one more thing you can thank it for

p.10 OUR EARTH See what WHS students and teachers have to say about how the world was made

OPINIONp.11 IT MATTERS WHS students unite to support an im-portant cause. It matters to us.

Board members: Shirley Wang, Katie Mons, Amelia Moser,Tyler Voss

Megan Clements ‘14

Allison Clements ‘14

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Cover

photo complimentary of Allison Clements

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On the Spot:What was your favorite summer job as a teenager?

“Walking beans, we went through the fields and picked the weeds. My favorite part was when i got to drive the trac-tor up and down the field.”

Sra. Hodges

Ms. Woodhouse

Mr. Shutt

“My favor-ite and only summer job was working at McDon-ald’s.”

“My favorite summer job was when I was a nurse aid at the medical clinic where my dad worked.”

Get a JobBy Tyler Voss

3 June 2nd 2011. The BLURB.

1. Babysitter- This has been a popular job among teenag-ers for decades, and still is. It’s easiest when neighbors or family friends have children. Then, you can find a job in an instant. The pay usually depends on the family and how long you work for. Some pretty normal prices are about $5 an hour for one kid. $5 an hour is good for just watching, playing, and keeping a little-one safe.

4. Bagger- Right next to West High School, Fareway is an easy com-mute for any West High student. The hours are flexible and the money is reasonable. The work is also pretty easy: bagging groceries and taking them out to customers cars for them.

We all know summer is a time to slack around and do nothing. But, if you have the spare time then why not spend it making money? Here are some popular summer jobs.

2. Snacker- The Coralville Aquatic Center Snack Shack could be the job for you if you want to be able to enjoy the summer weather while getting paid. However, you will have to fill out an application from the Coralville Rec-Center. For this job the customer orders their food and you give them what they paid for. Not too difficult.

3. Mower- Mowing is usually a popu-lar job with guys. It can be some hard work especially under the hot sum-mer sun. The pay is usually pretty high, but it also depends on how large the yard is. If you want a workout, then this could be a good job for you.

5. Lifeguard- Another way to enjoy the summer weather is life guarding at the Coralville Aquatic Center. The process to get to the point of making money includes a lot of train-ing to make sure your fit for saving kids lives. Once you get the job its pretty easy, if the kids are well behaved and you don’t have to save anyone’s life. Then, you just get to sit there, watch the pool, and enjoy the summer weather. But, if you happen to encounter a drowning kid it can be a very scary experience, for you and the child. You really have to be aware of the people around you and make sure everyone is okay.

Be aware: Anything can happen when you’re not paying attention. Don’t get caught up in what you’re doing and be blind to your environment. “So many times I see young people walking around in groups and not focusing on what’s going on around them,” said Mebus. “They’ll walk into trouble or trouble will walk into them.”

Use your common sense: It doesn’t have to be that at the last minute when you’re wishing you locked that door, or double checked that area. Look in your car before getting all the way in, park under a bright light at nighttime, and travel in numbers. Doing very basic things like these can prevent you from getting hurt.

Have back-up plans: Mebus said the most common mistake teens make is that they “become afraid when they get into a situation and they don’t know how to get out of it.” It’s hard to think clearly in a tough situation, so create a plan that you can use in any case. Mebus said that teens should have a code word system with their par-ents. With this system, if teens can get to a phone they can say just one word to their parents and their parents will know to get help.

Speak out: When somebody is getting a bit too close, or your gut is telling you that something is not right, just say something. “Most importantly use your words. If a guy is doing something you don’t want him to do, tell him what you expect.” said Mebus. “It also keeps you breathing because if you’re breathing it also keeps you strong.” Mebus also said yelling “help” or “get away” can make a difference. “If it’s loud, there will be more witnesses.”

Know when to take action: At some point, words won’t do much and there will be no choice but to get hands on. “It’s going to be a different time for everyone,” said Mebus. Depending on you and your preferences, you can decide when to fight back by acting at that time when it gets the most uncomfortable. If someone’s body language says they are ready to attack, they most likely will, and you want to be ready. “The simple fact is that by the time you have to use hands on, then it’s already bad.”

SeLF defense Fire drills, pretend lockdowns and tornado drills; we are ready for lots of things that can go terribly wrong. But what prepares us for those dangerous moments when a bad person targets you, and it becomes one on one? How about when the person you’re up against has huge physical advantages over you? Luckily Iowa City Police officer Al Mebus gives assurance by letting us know exactly how we can get out of a sticky situation. Here are five things you should always remember:

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BLB: What is one thing you think teens should carry around at all times?A bag of common sense. Teens more times act before they think, and then that causes them more difficulties than almost anything else. I wish I could give every teen a bag of common sense, but we have to work things out for ourselves. Sometimes it’s not just one thing I mean I’d like every teen to have proper identifica-tion because if they need help, if someone doesn’t know who they are, or if they are hurt or injured or unconscious, we don’t know who to contact.BLB: Who should teens call immediately in any given situation?Sometimes teens don’t make the right call, they will call a friend, rather than call the police or parents. They will call their parents instead of the police, they will call the police instead of their parents. And, again, that’s something about the common sense issue. If there is an immediate danger, they need to call the police. If they need to get out of a problem or a situation that they go to a house and all of a sudden there’s alcohol stuff, drugs and they may want to leave, that’s a call to parents or friends. I would hope that if a teenager calls home and says “I need to come home,” that were would be no questions. The mom or dad would just simply come and get them.BLB: Where do u think is a spot where teens are more likely to get into a dangerous situation?At a private residence. It’s one of those things that we see pretty regular. Say you invite 3 or 4 girlfriends or 3 or 4 guyfriends to come over to watch a movie or do something like that. Well pretty soon other people hear about it. And I say that private residence without adult supervision, because somebody will hear about

that and say “Hey we got a party over here at this house,” and somebody pretty soon walks in with alcohol and pretty soon things get out of hand.BLB: What are some signs that something is about to go wrong?You know your friends, right? Do you know when your friends are getting to the edge of what you consider their comfortable personality is? When they get to that point and you’re starting to see, he or she doesn’t normally do that, they’re at the edge. Whether or not they come back or take another step if dependent upon the situation and what’s going on. Sometimes all it takes is somebody in the group to say “herBLB: How would you describe a person who is more likely to be targeted?A criminal element looks for target of opportunity. We describe it that way all the time. The burglars go for open doors, they don’t want to have to break in. They look for people who leave their doors unlocked. The robbers, the purse-snatchers, they’re looking for the people who don’t (pay attention to their environment). They look for people that are focused on a very small bubble around them. Because if they don’t the bad guy can be coming up and they can get up, get away and then the victim says “I only saw them for a second”. That’s what they want.

I won’t use the term quiet, I’ll use the term ‘a teenager less sure of themselves’. The reality of all of this is you may not know it, because [a victim] maybe be able to put out a front or an act and you think that they are very confident, but really inside, they’re scared to death. It’s the person that lacks confidence in themselves, and is unsure of their social skills, their interaction skills [that are targeted].

Q & A with Officer Al Mebus

BY SHIRLEY WANG

photo courtesy of Al M

ebus

4 June 2nd 2011. The BLURB.

5 June 2nd 2011. The BLURB.

Hyne’s Ice CreamLocation: Many people at West High aren’t aware of this ice cream spot. Located near Southeast Junior High on 811 S 1st Ave in Iowa City makes it an out-of-the-way ice cream shop. But Heyn’s ice cream has expanded to many locations including Cafe Del Sol in the Coralville Public Library.Variety: Heyn’s has very unique flavors - ranging from Apple Pie to Blueberry Cheesecake to Oatmeal

Creme Pie - giving you a different experience.Taste: This ice cream is homemade daily and has bold and unique flavors. It’s as fresh as it gets.Price: Price is pretty low for such fresh ice cream. One ice cream scoop is $1.68 and $3.97 for the double.

Dane’s DairyLocation: Located at 1430 on Willow Creek Drive it’s an easy commute for most people but hidden away by Casey’s, it is usually forgotten.Variety: Danes doesn’t have as large of a variety as some but it offers most basic flavors to satisfy your needs.Taste: The flavor doesn’t really pop out at you. It instead resembles Dairy Queen.Price: The prices for cones range from $1-$3.25 for waffle cones. The price is about the same as most ice cream hot spots.

Cappanna GelatoLocation: Located downtown by the Iowa City Public Library, 136 S Dubuque St, makes it an easy commute from any local downtown spot. Also, It’s a perfect location for those hot summer walks.Variety: Capanna offers 22 flavors to mix in match. If you order a “medio” you can have four flavors and if you order a “grandissimo’”you can have five flavors.

Taste: The gelato is rich and mostly fruity in flavor. Just what you need to cool down on those hot days. Price: The price is more expensive than most especially for such small portions. The smallest in size (bambino) is $2.75, medio is $4.35 and the grandissimo is $4.91.

Whitey’s Ice CreamLocation: This popular ice cream shop is located in the Coral Ridge Mall food court and in downtown Iowa City,.112 E Washington St. Makes it a perfect place to hit after a meal or shopping.Variety: Whiteys offers a large variety. They have around 32 flavors plus shakes, slushies, and sun-

daes and their own version of a blizzard that you can get with yogurt.Taste: Whiteys ice cream is not too rich but not too subtle. Their ice cream has the perfect flavor that most people enjoy.Price: For one dip it is $2.29, for two dips it is $3.27 and for 3 dips it is $5.09. The prices aren’t too high considering the amount given is enough ice cream to satisfy you.

The sun is shining, BBQ’s are roaring, and shorts are now out in full force. Those are the sure signs that summer is approaching. With those hot sunny days right around the corner, we all need some-thing to cool us down: ice cream. But which local ice cream place should you go to to get the best? The Blurb has all the answers you need.

It’s Gettin’ Hot in Here

By Tyler Voss

What’s West High ‘s favorite local ice cream place?

Whitey’s? 41

Hyne’s Ice Cream? 8

Cappanna Gelato? 9

Dane’s Dairy? 21total=79

Two heads are better than one? Maybe. 10 pairs of twins are better than one pair? Obviously. The Blurb asked the twins of WHS’ freshman class what they think.

BLB: What is your favorite thing about your twin? Kate: This is a really challenging question...sometimes she does things for me like make cookies and stuff. She’s a good

cook. Alex: I like her when I can manipulate her, cause she does stuff for me. I tell her I won’t go somewhere unless she does my hair or picks out my outfit. BLB: What is your least favorite thing about your twin? K: She manipulates me all the time. A: It’s so fun! I’m kidding. Sometimes she gets mad for no reason and then she’ll just walk away and not tell me why she’s angry. BLB: What do you think you have the most in common? K: We’re really shy. It’s just like neither of us are very outgoing. A: We were born on the same day. BLB: What is your twin most useful for? A: Sometimes I copy her homework … sometimes she brings her textbook home and then I don’t have to. K: I help [her] with stuff a lot. Like sometimes I do [her] hair. Cause [she] makes me. BLB: What are people’s initial reactions when you tell them you guys are twins? A: They say “No you’re not. You’re a liar.” K: Because we don’t look alike and everybody says like

“Whoa, you’re a twin?” and I’m just like “yeah”.

KATE AND ALEX MILLER

Jacklyn and Joselyn JosekBLB: What is your favorite thing about your twin?Jacklyn: Nothing at all.Joselyn: Yeah nothing. She’s annoying. We’re just always

together; you’re always (in the) same grade, you have to have the same friends.Jacklyn: We share a room, so that’s bad.BLB: What would you say you had the most in common?Joselyn: We look the same, we both play soccer.BLB: What is you twin most useful for?Joselyn: Doing stuff for you when you’re hurt or she’s always there for me. Like when we moved here, [I] have a friend.BLB: What’s the biggest difference between you two?Joselyn: She’s more sporty than I am (and I’m more) girly.

Jacklyn: All about her looks and everything.

2Double trouble

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3Moe and Ali Rashid

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Megan and Allison ClementsBLB: What is your favorite thing about your twin?Megan: Well, we can help each other with homework and stuff, that’s always good.Allison: Same classes, same friends.BLB: What is the most interesting thing about your twin?A: Her sense of style.M: She’s like the complete opposite of me, (in) everyway; preferences on food, everything.BLB: What is your least favorite thing about your twin?M: We can disagree a lot, we’re kind of competi-tors. We tend to compete each other even though we shouldn’t.A: (Compete with) Grades, friends.BLB: Do you ever have twin telepathy moments?M: If I’m thinking one thing, she’ll say it out loud just what I was thinking.A: Or we look at each other at the same time and be like “ahh, same thought”.

photo courtesy of Joseks

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BY SHIRLEY WANG

6 June 2nd 2011. The BLURB.

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Olivia and Grant EwingBLB: What is your favorite thing about your twin?Grant: Probably how nice she is; she’s a nice lady. She’s nice because she’s always there for me when I’m feeling down, she helps me with my homework, and yeah that’s about it.Olivia: Probably how smart he is, considering he always helps me with my homework so I don’t get stuckBLB: What is your least favorite thing about your twin?O: When he does stuff to annoy me like when he taps things and stuff and I ask him to stop and he keeps doing it just to annoy me and get a reactionG: Maybe how she overreacts at stuff. She usually makes mountains out of molehills, a lot, like me tapping. I guess I could see how it could get on her nerves, but she kind of goes berserk after a little bit. There’s that, and like tapping, singing; things like humming songs.BLB: Any cute nicknames?O: Well, our dad he gave us nicknames so we call him(Grant) Pooty ...I don’t know why we call him Pooty I don’t even know where it came fromG: And my dad, he came with Pooty for me, but, I think what was weirder, (was that) Olivia got Pats; I don’t know how that happened. Yeah, Poots and Pats.BLB: Would you say your personalities are similar?G: She’s probably a little more nicer.O: Yeah I think I’m probably more responsible too cause I always try to take control over Grant and like mother him and act like a big sister kind of role. Whenever he’s doing stuff that I don’t think he should be doing out in public, like if he just says some-thing or kind of (is) breaking the rules I always tell him “No, Grant, don’t do that now” and he gets mad at me.G: She really doesn’t say anything it’s usually just like a glare to me and I know what it’s about.BLB: What are people’s initial reactions when you tell them you’re twins?O: People are usually like “I didn’t know you guys were twins I knew that you guys were related but I didn’t know that” but (then) they usually say “you guys don’t look alike but you have the same nose”G: Yeah it’s always the same nose. People always say we have the same nose

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Adam and Ben DellosBLB: What is your favorite thing about your twin?Ben: The competitiveness between us always and trying to get each other better by beating (each other), and pushing each other to get bet-ter. It’s good and bad; sometimes the competitiveness can be bad.

Adam: Having someone to compete with. It goes over the top; we don’t usually fight because Ben grabs a tennis racket.BLB: What is your least Favorite thing about your twin?B: Probably just back to the competitiveness thing. Everything we do we’re trying to one-up each other.A: (in) tennis, Call of Duty, pretty much any sport, grades is a big one. Pretty much anything you could be better than someone at.BLB: When you were little your parents...?A: They dressed me in red every single time they dressed Ben in blue.B: So people could tell us apart.A: And that they (parents) could make it easier to not mix us up.BLB: What is the most interesting thing about being twins?

B: He looks exactly like me. It makes Halloween costumes really easy.A: We can dress as each other. Except then Ben gets all the girls.

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Shopan and Alhan Bilal

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June 2nd 2011. The BLURB. 7

6Issac and Clay Moel

photo by Shirley Wang

Summer is so close, you can almost smell it. Literally. It’s that time of year when we get the barbecue grills back out, head down to our favorite ice cream place, and our favorite fresh fruits are in season again. These students share their favorite ways to satisfy hunger with these fun and delicious snacks.

8 June 2nd 2011. The BLURB.

Amalia Introna ‘13 - “You mix a bunch of fruit juice and put it in the freezer over night. Then you take it out of the cup, blend it up with some fruit, and make a slushi.”

Summer Snacks

Bailey Bowman ‘14 - “Cut up apples, bananas, and grapes, and put them in a big bowl. Then add cool whip, stir, and enjoy!”

Kate Miller ‘14 - “Popsicles.”

Artwork by: Shirley Wang

Natalie Koberna ‘12 - Texas Caviar

Mix the following together, drain, and rinse them: one 15 oz can of black eyed peas, one 15 oz can pinto beans, and one 15 oz can black beans. Then in another bowl mix the following: 4 oz pimento (diced and drained), one green pepper, one cup of chopped red onion, one can of 11 oz white snow peg corn (drained), one small can of diced jalepenos (drained as well), and finally 1/2 to 1 bunch of chopped fresh cilantro. Then to make the ‘dressing’ you need to mix 1/4 cup canola oil, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of cider vinegar, minced garlic (to taste), and salt and pepper. Boil these for a few minutes then allow to cool. Then you mix all of the ingredients and pour the dressing over them. mix well and serve with tortilla chips.

Erin Kleinow ‘14 - “S’mores, minus the chocolate.”

By Katie Mons

GOING FOR THE SILVER

400 hours. 24,000 minutes. 1,440,000 seconds, all spent to help someone else. Several of West’s senior graduating body have earned the Silver Cord, an award showing that they volunteered for a minimum of 400 hours during their high school careers. This is West’s first year with the program.

“It definitely encourages more people to volunteer...everyone was excited to compete the hours and they always asked me if there were events that still needed volunteers,” Libby Logsden ’11, said.

To participate in the program, you just have to fill out a form that can be found in the office and get signature to prove that you volunteered.

While they all have the common goals of bettering the world and perhaps in the process themselves, volunteers participate for a variety

of reasons.Alli O’Deen ’11, a

student who earned a cord, said, “I volunteer because I love giving back to the community. The feeling you get is so rewarding.”

Amanda Gillispie ’11, another recipient, had similar feelings. “The best part of volunteering is knowing that you helped someone out and made their lives a little bit easier,” Gillispie said.

For those looking to start volunteering more often, and maybe try to achieve a Silver Cord themselves, there are many different options to choose from.

“There is the 1440 Interact club that volunteers, as a member of Student Senate you volunteer every trimester, the hospital is a great place, the animal shelter, food pantry, children’s museum...getting involved with Silver Cord is super

easy,” Gillispie said. While there are many

choices of places to volunteer, often after trying different places people find one that matches them best, or where they enjoy volunteering the most.

“The Ronald McDonald house is my favorite place to volunteer. The people and atmosphere are so awesome and you feel like you are really making a difference for families with sick children,” O’Deen said.

Not only does

volunteering so much help others, it also has an effect on the volunteers themselves. Libby Logsden volnteered in Mexico, helping a pharmacy team that was distributing deworming pills to children.

“My job was to look in the kid’s mouths to see if they had enough tooth surface to chew the pill. In a lot of cases there was severe decay...I decided that I could do something to help them so I decided to be a dentist,” Logsden said.

While traveling to other countries to help those that perhaps need it the most is fantastic, volunteering in the the community can have a lasting effect as well.

“I’ve learned how much people appreciate help and how even just a happy smiley face can really brighten up a downer situation. It’s so rewarding to know that you made an impact on someone’s life, even if it was just for a moment in the tiniest way,” Gillispie said.

Photo art by Shirley Wang

By Amelia Moser

9 June 2nd 2011. The BLURB.

Wendy’s Frosties are a tasty and cheap way to cool down in the summer! It’s gettin’

hot, hot, hot. So Buy a Pool pass! and hit the pool this s u m m e r !

SUMMERHappy last day!

SUPPORT

WEST

HIGH

BASEBALL

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SOFTBALL

Obviously, teach-ing the theory evolution...is important, but the model of teaching evolu-tion in schools currently is one of absolute dogmatism without regard to…any of the numerous problems with the theory. With over 78% of Americans doubt-ing the theory of evolu-tion…combined with the

fact that 40% believe in intelligent design, it is an absolute atrocity that not even a mention of creation-ism exists in most public school curriculums.

Evolution should be taught in schools more than the theory of gravity is. We know a lot more about evolution based on observation and theories that make sense and have few loopholes, while grav-ity is all mathematical guesses, and we have

really no good explanation of what it is and why it happens.

It’s a good thing because it’s a respected theory that is accepted by the majority of scientists today. Whether you agree with it or not, the logic be-hind that theory has come to shape historical events and the way society inter-prets things to such an ex-tend that understanding it is crucial, absent its objec-tive accuracy.

The Iowa Core Cur-riculum…states that an essential con-cept and/or skill for students in science is that students un-derstand and apply knowledge of biologi-cal evolution…it dem-onstrates…how much

evidence is required for something science to accept a theory.

Should evolution be taught in public schools?

West High students and a teacher give us their take

Jeffrey Ding ‘12Conor Henry ‘14

Sarah Kang ‘14

Liam Hancock ‘12

Well, it’s not neces-sarily good or bad. It’s nice to know there are different ways on how humans were formed and stuff but it’s not all facts so it’s not as ac-curate [to teach just evolu-tion].

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10 June 2nd 2011. The BLURB.

Compiled by Amelia Moser

Once upon a time, an adorable little girl watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Afterwards, she vowed to never go through that frightening and scary-real feeling again. So she made her mother hide her books (all four of them) in various places around the house so she would never have to lay eyes on them again. Forever.

The little girl? That was me. Before you start laughing, think about it; wouldn’t you be a little scared if a weird snake-man was out to get some innocent little boy and there

isn’t really anything there is to do about it even though he’s freaking magical?

As I grew up, however, I realized that this wouldn’t be terrifying; it would actually be pretty exciting.

It all started when one of my friends began her obsession with Harry Potter. All day I would hear about ‘crazy hilarious’ inside jokes that only readers would understand. Tired of being left out, I decided it was time to grow up and jump on that train to Hogwarts. By the time I had found the first book in the cabinet of my laundry room and was about halfway through, I realized I could not put these things down. So I sent my little brother on the hunt for the second.

The rest just kinda fell into place. At this point I had gained an unhealthy obsession with the books. My head was filled with quidditch and horcruxes and Harry. What’s Uncle Vernon’s job? What were Petunia and Lily doing with they first met Snape? He sells drills, and they were playing on the swings. Easy.

So maybe I do enjoy that my friends have me under Cho Chang in their cell phone contacts, or that I give house points instead of high fives. It’s hard to think that I was super close to not looking for that book that day. I almost let that teeny little fear dictate what kind of person I am today. I just know I would’ve missed out on a lot of fun stuff.

Like when I got to go to Harry Potter World during winter break. I spent that day walking the streets of Hogsmeade, stopping for a souvenir mug of $10 butterbeer or browsing around in Zonko’s joke shop, while wearing my cozy Griffindor scarf I waited 50 minutes in line for.

The next time a chance for change comes like this, I’m going to take it without a doubt. Never will I let the fear keep me from trying new things. Sure, when the time comes and the potential loss is greater, it’s going to be hard, but I just can’t let that control me.

Because in the end, I guess what really happened is that instead of running away from Harry Potter, I embraced him, and he gave me a big warm hug. Magical.

Marry Me, Harry Potter

Budget cuts. A month ago if you had walked into an ICCSD classroom, said those two words, and watched the debate that ensued there would have been half a beat of silence before the students divided into three army camps: the Murley-haters, the School Board haters, and the Branstad-haters. Despite the original bickering about the cause of the bud-get mess, ICCSD students were united behind this cause. We heard about the problem, we knew we were going to see the effects soon, and we found the solution: we fought.

With good reason, too. According to a Cen-ter for Applied Linguistics survey of random schools across the nation, 36% of US middle school or junior high students are enrolled in a foreign language program, as of 1997. Not 36% of junior highs offer languages. 36% of students sign up for the classes. Language-

wise, the ICCSD would potentially have found its way to somewhere in the bottom 64%. The combination of having no German program and having no junior high programs would mean significantly overcrowded high school Spanish and French classes.

Of course, cuts didn’t just end with languag-es. Many other electives had the potential to be cut too. People make light of the fact that one of the show choirs, for example, was be-ing cut, but it would have had a large effect on the students. West strives to not be too ex-clusive when it comes to electives and activi-ties – that’s why we have things like JV sports. Not just the superstars get to play. It becomes more difficult for that to be the case when classes and programs get cut. This is unfortu-nate because electives are where students can find what they really like to do and go on and

With a United Front

focus their college courses in that direction. We all heard about the overcrowding that

was expected to occur next year, but many didn’t think about the implications of that. It meant teachers would be forced to spend less time grading individual projects and papers of students. It meant teachers would be forced to take more of a one-size-fits-all approach in their classrooms. It meant less time talking, less time asking individual questions, and less time for the teachers to get to know each of the students. Kids would start falling through the cracks.

We’re not 5 anymore, which is part of the reason we were able to come together so ef-fectively and let our voices be heard. Our age, maturity and independence is what got people’s attention in the first place. Look at the rally for the teachers, or the video with hundreds of views on YouTube, how many stu-dents are voicing opinions to try to save their favorite classes and teachers. We figured out what caused the problem, what the conse-quences would be, and we got moving. Groups on Facebook started, students showed up to school and to the board meeting wearing the neutral color navy blue. We may just be “a bunch of teenagers”, but when we saw things we cared about like teachers and classes be-ing taken away from us, we didn’t just stand by and watch. Because it mattered to us. Next year, when we face this all over again, it’s still going to matter to us. And so we’ll fight.

11 June 2nd 2011. The BLURB.

Artwork by Shirley Wang

By Shirley Wang

The hot, bright sun in beautiful Orlando, Florida beat down on approximately 150 West High band members and chaperones the week of April 25. Students spent the week in Universal Studios and Walt Disney World marching in two parades, and spending all day and everyday in the parks. Though there were many sunburns, sore feet, and lots of sweat, this was a week where many memories were created that will last a lifetime. Here are some pictures that show just how much fun these students had.

A Week to Remember

LEFT: At Islands of Ad-venture, Hogwarts sits atop a hill in Harry Potter World. It official opened on June 18th, 2010. From Olivander’s wand shop to butterbeer, this place truly makes you feel like a witch or wizard.BOTTOM RIGHT: Hol-lywood Tower of Terror stands in Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World. This is one of the more popular rides at Hollywood Studios. Drop-ping thirteen feet at an extremely fast rate, this ride is sure to make you scream.

ABOVE: Band students enjoy a nice lunch at The Three Broomsticks. This is one of the res-turants located in Harry Potter World. Along with lunch, a warm butterbeer was a popular drink choice.

BOTTOM LEFT: Sudents line up to go eat a surprise breakfast at the Rainforest Cafe in Animal Kingdom. This cafe is decorated to look like you really are eating in the rainforest. Afterwards, students got to be some of the first people in the park.

By Katie Mons