The Lansing branch of the Occupy movement, Occupy Lansing, continues its protest in Ruetter Park downtown.

Ground once littered with wandering protesters and randomly stationed tents is now a well-structured and organized base camp for the long-term movement. Enter Lansing’s little tent city and one sees a group of tents cen-tered around a semi-circular common area which houses stations for food, supplies and medical attention. The pro-testers vary in age and come from all walks of life.

Protestors Occupy Lansing

• November 17-19 - High School Musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”7:30 p.m • November 23-25 - Thanksgiving Break• November 28 - Board Meeting 7 p.m•December 5 - Winter Sports Meet the Teams 6:30 p.m• December 6 - Ralya Market Day 5-6 p.m.• December 7 - High School Financial Aid Night• December 12 - Board Meeting 7 p.m

What’s On Deck?

Another MeijerThe construction on Busi-

ness 69 just west of Marsh Road will become a Meijer. Construction on the building began roughly two months ago, there will be more added on in April 2012. The origi-nal clearing of the land and planning for the construc-tion began several years ago. Construction is scheduled to be completed either in late winter or early spring. The Meijer will also include a gas station.

Olson’s think tankHistory teacher Russel

Olson’s strategic discussion group (Think Tank) is slowly but surely growing. Students meet in Olson’s classroom ev-ery Wednesday after school to talk about world problems and their solutions.

The idea was created last year by juniors Taylor Gre-nawalt and Dustin Rice. The group consists of all males, but is seeking more female members.

by alex MURSHAK

UNDER THE INFLUENCE on page 4

viking LONGBOATLB 11.18.2011 haslett high school 5450 marsh road haslett mi 48840 volume 17 issue 3

PORT

SID

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BEN

EATH DBDECK

Facebook vs Twitter

Page 4

Black Friday shopping survival guidePage 5-7

by travis STIREWALTgraphic by erik FROBOM

It’s Friday night and fans are focused on the intense home football game against archrival DeWitt. The stadium lights are on, the sound of cheering is deafening and the bleachers are shaking under the movement of hundreds of enthusiastic students. But something is strange. Over the smell of the hot dogs, popcorn and sweat, there’s the faint smell of alcohol and marijuana lingering, and drifting throughout the student section.

There is no question that illegal drug and alcohol use among high school students has always been a problem. Nonetheless, according to Students Against Destructive Deci-sions, alcohol use is extremely widespread among today’s teens. Approximately 72 per-cent of all teenagers have consumed a substantial amount of alcohol – more than just a few sips.

Under-aged drinking has always been present outside of school, at parties, concerts, etc. and now students have begun showing up to school events under the influence.

O2 pinions

The Viking Longboat is a monthly publication of Haslett High School, 5450 Marsh Road, Haslett, MI 48840. It is published by the fifth hour Newspaper Production class and Journalism class. The Longboat has been established as a student run public forum circulated within the school and to subscribers in the community and outside the school district. The Longboat is a member of the National Scholastic Press Association, Journalism Education Association, Columbia Scholastic Press As-sociation and Michigan Interscholastic Press Association. The publication is an eight-time Spartan award winner and CSPA gold medalist. Letters to the editor are accepted at the discretion of the editorial board. Forms of speech not protected by the First Amendment will not be published. Letters must be signed by the author and may be edited for grammar, spelling and style. Direct all questions to the Publications Room, Room 411.

editor-in-chiefsLauren Hooper &Travis Stirewaltphotography editorSierra Doveopinions editor Maggie Turneysports editorShane Heston sports writer Adam Forenfeatures editorJill Detwiler

copy editorPhil Preschergraphics editorErik Frobomweb manager Austin Rosenbaumad managersKristen Everhardt &Logan Milliman adviser Julie Price

STAFFLaine AlexanderQuinn AlexanderNick AndresonAmy BaumgartnerJeremy BurtonCaitlin EddyReid FowlerPatrick GiffordTirzah HarterNick LemmerGriffin Marinez

Nicholas McPheeAlex MurshakTanay SalpekarShelby SavageJosh SawyerJordan ScottKurstian ShooltzAsha SultaniMorgan UnderwoodEmily VirkusRory Youngs

LETT

ERS ELTO

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Viking Longboat staffThe CREW

Have something to say?

Angry, frustrated or downright upset about what we’ve written?

Want to build a stronger student voice?

Want to tell us how well we’re doing?

Write a letter to us!

Drop the finished product off in the Publications Room, room 411, for con-sideration to run the in next issue of the newspaper. Thank you!

Let your voice be heard!

Letters to the Editor are here to help! We know that you all have issues with differ-ent things around the school and in our community. Trust us, we want to hear what YOU have to say.

We do NOT accept annonymous letters. If you have an issue with something, you should be able to admit who you are. Letters to the Editor are NOT here for you to simply rip on people, take on the issuses, tell the truth.

November 18, 2011

your hands on alcohol and students take advantage of that fact. However, the legal drinking age in Michigan is 21. The major-

ity of high school students are ages 15-18. Unless for some reason math doesn’t apply in the situation, 15, 16, 17 or 18 are less than 21. If someone gets caught drinking and is under the legal limit, they can get a Minor In Posession and go to court and even ju-venile detention if they are double offenders.

Is it worth the risk of having a criminal record just for a drunken night at a high school football game? Going to a game drunk also puts you at risk for suspension due to the no alcohol, drugs and weapons rule on school property.

Everybody knows when someone shows up at a game drunk. Their actions make it pretty obvious if the smell is not enough. So much for the not “getting caught.” A lot of times students know if someone is under the influence either by word of mouth or their own observations. They may not report it to an author-ity figure because they don’t want to be publicly humiliated or socially shunned by the students that got in trouble. Or some-times, they just don’t care enough.

Next time you’re at a game and you witness someone who is clearly drunk, tell someone. You can always ask to remain anonymous, to not to reveal your name to anyone. You can do the right thing, save yourself from social suicide, and make the game more pleasant for everybody else in a simple statement. Basically, you’re killing three birds with one stone. What’s there to lose?

There’s nothing worse than cheering on your significant oth-er or best friend at a game in the student section and some drunken teenager stumbles up behind you and partakes in stu-pid cheers, fits of laughter or tripping spells.

We’re going to the game for a reason. If you don’t have a good reason to be at the game or you just don’t want to be there, don’t solve your problem by coming drunk. So, if your solution is getting drunk first, don’t come. Don’t ruin it for people who actually care.

Let’s face it, we’re not even a quarter way through our lives. You’re going to have plenty of years to get drunk and party. Sure, these may not be the best years of our lives, but we don’t need alcohol to have a good time.

The point of going to a high school sporting event is to sup-port the team, have social interactions with friends or just to fit in. No matter what the reason, it’s almost always a good time. Wouldn’t it be nice to recall everything that happened at the game the night before? That intense touchdown, the last 20 sec-onds before halftime, or that funny inside joke you made with your best friend? Who would want to forget precious memories like those?

The usual reason students give for drinking is because they want to have a good time. These people feel the need to be un-der the influence to achieve this. Also, everyone knows someone who knows someone who is the cousin of someone who is over 21 and is willing to buy alcohol and sell it to minors. It’s not hard to get

STAFF EDITORIAL: Cheers to the weekend; don’t drink to that

graphic by erik FROBOM

O 3pinions November 18, 2011

End to football: not such a sad goodbye after all

Pokemon, what happened to you?

Logan’s parents Dirk and Penny Milliman greet him with flowers at the football season’s senior night.

by maggie TURNEY

by logan MILLIMAN

Five. Four. Three. Two. One. The score board hit zero and everything I has worked for since fourth grade was over. My senior football season had ended.

I had all sorts of different emotions washing over me. I was happy to be with my football brothers but mad at the way our season ended. It happened on Friday, October 28, 2011, with a 28-14 loss to Dewitt, our biggest rival, in the first round of the playoffs. But what my football family and I did was special.

As I was packing for Camp Tapico in August, I thought to myself, “I don’t know any of these juniors very well.” These juniors were given big shoes to fill after last years senior class and the infamous rave parties in the locker room. But during camp I started to love the ju-niors and made new traditions with them. At that point I knew this season was going to be fun. Long story short, we started out the season 1-3 and our playoff

chances weren’t looking good. This wasn’t how I had planned my senior season. But we bat-tled adversity with the tough-est schedule in Haslett history and believed our coaches when they said we could win.

What I will miss about foot-ball is the camaraderie and friendships I’ve made while playing that will last me a life-time. What I won’t miss is wak-ing up at 6 in the morning in the middle of nowhere to run and have football practice. What I will miss is the fun times I had at practice.

I will miss laughing and play-ing jokes on my teammates. I will miss Camp Tapico and the tasty food and the downtime in which players would spend just hanging out in other team-mates’ cabins. I will miss sit-ting in the showers at the high school after a long hard work-out talking about the upcoming season. I will miss the feeling you get when you are walk-ing down towards Jamie Gent Stadium on a crisp Autumn Friday Night. I will miss the coaches and all the advice they would give to me. But more importantly, I will miss playing with my best friends and broth-ers and going through Hell and back together.

What I won’t miss is run-ning sprints in the 95 degree hot August sun. I won’t miss the smelly locker room and the sweaty pads. What I wont miss about Camp Tapico is all of the

running and those meat locker looking showers. What I won’t miss is the long hours of hard work and sweat my teammates and I endured. What I won’t miss is the cold and rainy prac-tices when we were just count-ing down the seconds till it was over. What I won’t miss is when the coaches would yell at me. What I won’t miss is turn-ing my football pads back in to the coaches.

We didn’t listen to the haters at school who would come up to us and ask “Are you guys go-ing to actually win this week?” Nobody believed in us because we had six games left and had to win six games to be an au-tomatic qualifier for the state playoffs.

The team huddled around the televisions at the Blue Gill Grill and watched on Selec-tion Sunday to see if we were in. Haslett at Dewitt. That popped across the screen and the Haslett crowd erupted in cheers as we would get another shot to play them and get re-venge from the week three loss. That was all we wanted.

I never really knew how fast my senior season would fly by. We did what the last two Haslett teams couldn’t do. Made the playoffs. We were even better than last year’s “super team” which finished 4-5. We were the seniors who lead Haslett back to the state playoffs.

Our team had to deal with

adversity all year but what we did nobody can take away from us. I loved my team and my brothers. But as the saying goes you really don’t know what you have until its gone.

I think the hardest part about that final loss was that everything I did was going to be my last time ever. The hard-est thing about the cool, dark Friday night was taking my shoulder pads and my helmet off because I thought “when am I ever going to put this stuff back on?” That really hurt me because it hit me right then and there that I would never again do what I had done with my

football brothers. The bus ride home was even

harder as the finality set in. We drove by the Dewitt Junior field and I was able to smile as memories of a sixth grade foot-ball game came into my head. We won that year’s game over DeWitt on a last second touch-down.

That was six years ago and now I was driving by it for the last time. The reality set in that football, which was a major part of my life, was over and I couldn’t do anything about it.

When we arrived back to the high school I just sat in the locker room with other se-

niors because it would be the last time we would be in there together as a team. This was by far the most intense, fun and hardworking team I ever played with. I’m proud to call them my teammates and am honored to have the coaches that we had.

Even though it was a very rough way to end the season, our team accomplished our goal, which was to get Haslett back to the playoffs. We lived and died as a team and we made what are the most impor-tant things in life... memories.

photo courtesy of penelope MILLIMAN

I want my Red, Blue, and Yellow: Special Edition back!

When I was younger, all my free time was spent mash-ing buttons on my Gameboy color. I remember that I spent more time with that piece of pink plastic than I did with my family.

I had a few games, but my favorite was Pokemon. I ad-

mit I was a bit obsessed. My mother put an hour limit on my game play at one point in an endeavor to get me to inter-act with “real” people. Much to her dismay, I kept playing and would even sneak in some extra time.

Pokemon games over the years have been disappoint-ing. I want my Red, Blue, and Yellow: Special Edition back! The Leaf Green, Fire Red, Sapphire, Ruby and Emer-ald versions weren’t that bad. But when Pearl and Diamond came out, it was all downhill from there. The two versions released after those two was Soul Silver and Heart Gold. I enjoyed the fact you could have your Pokemon walking behind you. It reminded me

of Yellow: Special Edition and having Pikachu follow in my footsteps. However, a few years later when versions Black and White were re-leased I was super psyched.

I preordered it and was overjoyed when I opened the package that contained the game. When I started playing it, my excitement quickly died down.

You would think with hun-dreds of Japanese and Amer-ican game designers they would come up with cool Pokemon. Nope, it seems not an ounce of creativity was used. It seems that the de-signers created the creatures out of the random inanimate objects around them. Trash bags, candles, gears, and

ice cream cones… seriously? That’s complete rubbish. You can’t draw a stick, put huge eyes on it and call it Twiggy. That’s just lame.

Another disappointment was your character’s rival or “friends” in Black and White. One of the cool things about Pokemon was you could choose the name of your rival character you compete with throughout the entire game. I loved building up hatred against my rival. Choosing a name made things more per-sonal.

Black and White complete-ly lacks this personal touch. Instead, you have “friendly” competition with your sup-posed best friends Bianca and Cheren. Cheren is a smart,

logical based person and Bi-anca is a dimwitted, illogical person. You’re crazy if you think I want to battle these two “friends.”

I don’t want to play a game in which the battles are friend-ly competitions with two friends. I play to win. How can I feel the satisfaction of winning a battle unless my opponent storms off when they’re defeated?

However, I’m pretty sure no matter what I will attempt to play the new Pokemon games. I grew up with Poke-mon. There’s the rush of my Charmander evolving into a Charmeleon (fire type is the way to go). Frantically mash-ing the “B” button because I thought it would make battles

easier. The happiness when I finally “catch ‘em all.” It’s all a remaining memory of my short childhood. I hope to make it a lifelong memory.

You may call me a nerd. But I am a Pokemon Master. And if you can’t accept my awesomeness then… Totdile, I choose you! Totdile, use Swag-ger. Totdile, use Rage!

And in some extreme cases even smuggling drugs and al-cohol in for use at the event.

“I went to a basketball game last year pretty drunk because it was a Friday and I guess a big game,” a senior boy said. “It was really fun, worth every second of it. I wasn’t worried at all about being caught. A lot of students knew and didn’t tell or care.”

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Ser-vices Administration, the cur-rent marijuana use rate among youth ages 12 to 17 is approxi-mately 7 percent. Students have come forth and admitted to consuming the drug before school events to somehow en-hance the experience.

“If I smoke before a game or something, it’s just with friends to make it more fun. Otherwise it (the game) would be bor-ing,” a senior boy said. “It just makes the whole experience more fun.”

Illegal drug & alcohol usage is not limited to the male popu-lation. “I was using Blueberry weed, and I was with three

other friends and we decided to see what would happen if we smoked before a game,” a sophomore girl said. “It felt like we were in a dream and every-one was staring at us. We put eye drops in so the glaziness would go away and we tried to keep our cool around the police, principals and teachers. We also tried to stay away from them as much as possible.”

Many Students, disagree with or are even against their fellow students using illegal substances before attending school-related events.

“I feel as though if people are going to drink, they shouldn›t be coming to sporting events because it’s not only danger-ous to themselves but to others around them,” senior Amanda Barros said.

“Getting drunk is a personal choice and some people like it, others do not. But most people go to sporting events to have fun, spend time with friends and have a blast, not to deal with drunk people”.

On the other hand, some stu-dents don’t mind the behaviors

and respect their classmates’ right to make the choice to con-sume, or respect those students’ choices to do what they want, regardless of legality.

“I think it’s wrong, but if someone who did it thinks it’s worth the risk then by all means go ahead,” junior Ken-na Gebissa said. “You’d think someone would do it to make the game more interesting and enjoyable from their stand-point”.

Others offer solutions to solve the problem of students attending under the influence. “I don’t think its right. They (administrators and police) should monitor the suspicious looking people more often,” freshman Jason Hanson said. “If some people look suspi-cious, ask them nicely to come here for a sec and have them open their jackets.”

Students are undoubtedly taking a big risk by showing up to sporting and other school events under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

“The penalty is a five day out of school suspension and

that person will be banned from those games for the rest of the season,” associate princi-pal and athletic director Darin Ferguson said.

In response to a trend of students intoxicated at school events, the administration men-tioned possible solutions.

“We could do more patrol-ling in the student sections,” principal Bart Wegenke said.

“We could prohibit water bottles or open containers in the student section, but we don’t want to do that,” Fergu-son said.

In addition to the disciplin-

ary actions taken by the school if caught under the influence, there are also legal conse-quences.

“We will contact the Merid-ian Township Police Depart-ment for a Minor in Possesion,” Wegenke said.

According to Michigan.gov, the first time a minor is found to be in posessions of alcohol, or even have alcohol present in their system or even attempt to buy alcohol, the subject will receive a misdemeanor offense for an MIP. Although, a stu-dent may get the misdemeanor record waved so long as they complete probationary require-ments.

“If the student is still a juve-nile we would involve parents,” Meridian Township police officer Chrissy Scaccia said. “We’re there for a variety of reasons including fights, drugs and alcohol, and overall to keep the peace”.

Nonetheless, Wegenke said just don’t do it. “It ruins the ex-perience for everyone else who is there to legitimately enjoy the game.”

N4 ewsNovember 18th, 2011

by alex MURSHAK

Occupy Lansing from page 1

Under Influence from page 1

In this modern day and age, social media websites are becoming more and more popular. Teenagers are begin-ning to substitute face-to-face conversation with tweeting, or using the Facebook chat mes-saging features. It is extremely rare when social media sites can live together in harmony, and at the same time play im-portant roles in popular cul-ture.

Before Facebook became extremely popular, it seemed like Myspace would be around forever. Now most people couldn’t tell you what the main page looked like. But what was it that killed the social network? In February 2004, Mark Zuckerberg and his three college roommates launched a website that would finally take down Myspace. For a while all seemed well and good, but in March 2006, Jack Dorsey launched a new site called Twitter.

Born alongside Twitter was a rivalry that will last through the ages. While Facebook seemed to be dominating for the longest time, a strange thing occurred. People began to migrate to Twitter. Not just

old people anymore, honest to goodness kids, teenagers.

But it begs the question, can people use both these sites equally? It can’t happen. And of course it isn’t. Right now there is war brewing, one so small and trivial that many were probably unaware it was going on. That’s right, a war between facebook and twitter users.

According to sophomore Emily Tinney, “Facebook is cooler.” She said she has no real need for Twitter when Facebook is still around. “All your friends are on one wall,” Tinney said. She said the constant updates that would come from Twitter would be too much. In her opinion

by nick LEMMER

Face,book has more to offer. But for some people the sim-

pler the better. This is true for junior Ricky Aroze. Although Aroze does have a Facebook, he no longer uses it. “The new layout did it for me,” Aroze said of the recent update to the Facebook homepage. “For me Twitter is for updating your status, and people were already using Facebook for that.”

Despite her affinity towords Facebook, Tinney knows there are problems with the social networking site. But she remains loyal. “I stalk friends not celebrities,” she said.

But even through all that, some people still dare to find a middle ground. People like

Facebook or Twitter?

junior Nitish Pahwa. While his peers may be bickering around him, he still finds time to use both of these sites. “I use both equally,” Pahwa said. “Twitter is fun for the point-lessness of everything, and Facebook is good for socializ-ing with friends”

But not everyone is willing to be so open minded.

Others are either neutral or choose to have nothing to do with the popular new outlets.

“Social networking is a waste of time,” junior Jon Gaydos said. “It brings unnec-essary and unwanted drama.”

However, Gaydos does at-tempt to call the dogs of war by saying “Google Plus is where it’s at.”

graphic by erik FROBOM

From 2008 to 2009, the illicit drug use rate among students ages 12-17 increased from

of students have con-sumed alcohol by the time they’re a senior

of students have consumed alcohol by the time they’re in 8th grade

72%37%

9.3% 10%

A small group sits around a table discussing a variety of issues ranging from campaign donations to needed winter supplies. To some this may seem like a temporary ideal-istic gathering that will simply fade away over time. The pro-testers, however, have been here since Oct. 15 and plan on staying.

“We’ll be here as long as it takes,” a protester said.

The initial movement start-ed on Wall Street as a way for the public to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the economic downturn in recent years and their growing con-cerns over the heightening lev-els of economic inequality.

This inequality is prevalent between classes, more specifi-cally, the exponential growth in income levels among the countries top one percent of earners. The movement quick-ly spread across the country and around the world, encom-passing some 87 cities outside the United States.

The Lansing protest is the most local manifestation of this movement. The views and ideas of the protesters vary from political campaign financing reform, to whole-

sale restructuring of the fed-eral tax system. It is a motley crowd of retirees, unemployed workers and college gradu-ates, and disgruntled mem-bers of the community. Many of the protesters live and sleep in Ruetter Park, while others only come as day protesters.

Students at Haslett have positive opinions on the Lan-sing protests.

“It’s a pretty neat thing they’re doing” senior Ted Wil-son said.

Others have less favorable perspectives on the protestors and the movement in general.

“I think that the protestors need to get off their butts and go actually find a job with all of the time they’re wasting protesting” Senior Andrew Martin said.

The camp is run as a com-pletely democratically gov-erned commune. They vote on all camp-wide issues and try to achieve unanimous con-sensus in all their decisions. They are unified by a gen-eral disenchantment with the American Dream and the cur-rent state of our economy.

“I want my government to start working for me again, in-stead of corporations,” a pro-tester said.

graphic by phil PRESCHER

Plan for the attack!Seize the day!

BlueC 76 ompassNovember 18, 2011

graphic by erik FROBOM

Out of the red & into the black

by tirzah HARTER

Your Shopping Survival Checklist

Cut out and assemble ads a week or so before.

Make sure to fill up with food Thanksgiving night so breakfast isn’t necessary the next day.

Stay up all night devising a plan of action.

Run on treadmill for an excessive amount of time. You never know how fast you’ll need to run.

Practice on a punching bag.

Meditate visualizing necessary products needed to purchase and where they’ll be located in the store.

Camp outside the store. Reminder: make sure you get closest to the door; pushing may be required.

When the doors open, rush to the biggest deal. Reminder: Don’t stumble or you WILL be trampled.

Shop as quickly as possible. Wait in the never-ending line with coupons on the ready

Get in the car. Hint: small car is most ideal for weaving in and out of traffic.

When finished, get lunch (this will most likely be 7 a.m.).

Finish last minute shopping. Acquire things most people aren’t buying.

Watch from a bench all the craziness, sipping on coffee for getting reenergized.

Return home and hide gifts and devise a schedule for wrapping.

Sleep for the rest of the day.

Prepare for next year!

Tents are set up by the door and people are lined up around the building. They are all waiting to get the great deals that start off the holiday season. The doors swing open and people rush to the fully stocked shelves, knowing full well they will be empty by closing.

Starting only in the 1970s and not taking hold until 2002, Black Friday is known as a popular shopping day marked by good sales, early mornings and competing for the things you want. Although it is not the most profitable day of the year, it is the day with the most traffic and the day a business starts to make a profit.

Ever since she can remember, senior Victoria Bishop has been going shopping on Black Friday. She shops mostly at Macy’s and Yonkers for her favorite things: clothes and shoes.

“I love getting a good deal and spending quality time with my mom,” Bishop said.“We have a plan.”

Their plan looks like this: They go through the paper and cut out all the ads and put them in piles based on store. They then make an agenda taking into consideration what opens first and what they want the most.

Not only are students in on the shopping craze, but teachers as well. When she was in high school, Rebecca Kipp would get up early and go shopping with her mother and sister.

“I didn’t have a lot of money so the deals were great,” she said. Now with a career, a husband and baby daughter, her Black Fri-

day shopping isn’t as intense. “Now I don’t go until 10 a.m. or noon,” Kipp said. “If I really

want something, I will have my mom get it for me.” Even though many are for this so called “holiday,” some see it

as a waste of time and not worth the small rewards. Sophomore Ally Stoin went shopping on Black Friday last year with her best friend in Grand Rapids. “I never want to go again,” she said, “it was crowded and loud and I ended up falling asleep standing up in the middle of the shoe store.”

*www.blackfridayandcybermonday.com

by lauren HOOPER

JC Penney- opening at 4a.m.-Free gift for the early shoppers. -500 door-buster deals until 1p.m.

Macy’s- opening at midnight-Spend $65 on fragrance and receive a digital video camera free-iPod/iPhone docking stations 50% off

RadioShack-XBox with Kinect console for $199.99

Bath and Body Works-VIP tote bag which in-cludes 11 porducts totaling an $100 value

Express- 40% off everything before noon - 30% off everything after noon

Businesses as well as shoppers prepare for frantic holiday gift buying season

text graphics by maggie TURNEY

*bfads.net

F8 eaturesNovember 18, 2011

by eric FROBOM

Attired in a graphic T-shirt and black Vans, senior Car-los Vera appears as any oth-er high school student might. As it is said, books cannot be judged by their cover. Like-wise plots cannot be summa-rized with a single glance.

Carlos came to the United States when he was 9 years old. After a year in Chicago, his father had the family re-located to Haslett, so his sons would have better environ-ment to grow up in.

Vera holds a lot of respect for his father. “He uses his cre-ativity and will to keep going, to keep us together and give us everything we ever need-ed,” Vera said.

Carlos’ father lost his par-

ents while he and his siblings were still growing up and his schooling ended after second grade. He has since relied on himself to oversee the well be-ing of his own family, includ-ing Carlos and his brothers. He opened the local restau-rant, Cancun.

However, it has not been wholly smooth sailing. Im-migration issues haunted the Veras’ arrival into the Unit-ed States, and Carlos’ mother had to return to Mexico for six months. Legalities changed and six months became 30 months, and Carlos went back to Mexico while his older brothers lived in the states.

After a brief time in Amer-ica, Carlos was pleased to be

in Mexico again. There he and his family enjoyed some comforts unavailable to a lot of people. “We were privi-leged enough not to be caught up in a struggle,” Carlos said.

He knows of friends and rel-atives who have gone missing and never heard from again. “It is sad, because I know their kids, their wives,” Carlos said. “They don’t know whether they’re dead or alive. You know, you don’t know what happened to your parents- I don’t know how I’d feel”

While his father was work-ing with the restaurant in Michigan, the future was on Carlos’ mind. When he an-nounced he wanted to contin-ue to study, his parents whole-

heartedly agreed. The language barrier was

something that had to be breached. “I was forced to learn it (English),” Carlos said. “But it was helpful to have to learn it. I went into a kind of survival mode. To make it you have to learn the language”.

Difficulty permeated con-versation not only with friends but with teachers. “It was hard to tell them how I felt, or to explain what I needed help with,” Carlos said. He found an outlet in soccer and made the varsity team here at Haslett. “Soccer is my passion, I’ve been playing since I was young, and even now after the season ended.”

The sport provided a com-

fortable activity he was famil-iar with, something universal and unchanged across bor-derlines. However, his priority was to get through high school and find a path to follow or make one of his own.

“Some kids know what they’re going to do. I didn’t have that,” Carlos said. “But now that I’m settled, I can fo-cus on me and my future and what I’m going to do.”

Carlos is the first in his fam-ily to be on his way to a col-lege education. In the face of adversity he says, “Keep your head up and hope for the best. With every negative thing comes a positive.”

Hearts were racing, neon outfits were soak-ing wet and adrenaline was rushing. The stu-dents were pressed against the fence watching their team hold off Owosso at the goal line in the nail biting 16-13 football game.

When the time was right, students rushed onto the football field to celebrate with the team. Jamie Gent stadium was full of enthusiasm. “Everyone was so excited and cheer-ing. It was really fun,” freshman Emma Lynch said. For most Vikings, the Owosso game is the most memorable of the season. “You know you’re a true Haslett fan when you can stand outside when it’s pouring down rain, with the temperature rapidly dropping, wear-ing neon clothing and making sure Haslett’s team is fired up,” Principal Bart Wegenke said. Many football players also agree that the student section experience in the Owosso game was the best. “When you guys rushed the field...it was awe-some,” senior starter Joe Varlesi said.

Although Owosso is the most memorable game to students, staff and players, the stu-dent section brought enthusiasm, spirit and their support to every game this season. Hav-ing fun themes, all four classes participat-ing, and love for the football team is the per-fect recipe for a phenomenal student section. “I thought (the student section) was awesome, seriously,” varsity football coach Charlie Ot-lewski said. “They were much more energetic and colorful than previous years. They were awesome every week.”

Athletic director Darin Ferguson, We-genke and Otlewski have all said this year’s student section trumps previous years. What some people wonder is what exact-ly makes this year’s student section better than the others? One reason is because all four classes participated in being spirited.

“This year, we have four groups of stu-dents that are into making the student sec-tion the best it can be,” Wegenke said. “Pre-vious years it wasn’t all four, it was two or three. This year its four groups of kids who want to get it rockin’ and rollin’.” Another reason the student section overpow-ered previous years’ is because of the themes that were set for games by senior Emily Ray. The most popular themes were the camo-out for DeWitt, the farm-out for Williamston and the neon-out for Owosso. The use of themes brought unity to the student section, and made it convenient for people to show school spirit.

“I love the themes, it makes it so much more

fun,” Otlewski said. The Haslett Rollercoaster is a tradition as

well as another activity that sets Haslett apart from other schools’ student sections. The Roll-ercoaster takes place at half time and this year was lead by senior conductors Nick Angel and Claire Cantlon. Wegenke even conducted the famous rollercoaster and said getting to have the opportunity to do so was, “in line to be-ing able to hammer the gavel to close the New York stock exchange.”

Last but not least, the student section brought on the noise. The constant loud, row-dy cheering made everything that much better. “When you guys go crazy the adrenaline rush

doubles which enhances our abilities on the playing field,” senior Joe Varlesi said. “You guys go crazy for no reason. We can get three penalties and you guys will still cheer for us.”

But does it make a differ-ence or even matter? Absolutely. “It’d be so lame to have a boring student section and only have parents cheering for you,” Varlesi said. It’s cool to have friends cheering and yelling your name. When par-ents have your number on their face it’s kind of cool but having other people... it’s really cool. And if you look around at all the other teams we play, their student sec-tions are vulgar and cheer mean things to-wards the other teams. Haslett yells and cheers for us. That’s good sportsmanship.” Principal Wegenke agrees that Haslett is above average in supporting the athletes. “School Spirit is very important because it shows pride in the school and shows care and respect to all students.”

Having a spirited student sec-tion can also make the football play-ers feel even better about winning. “When we win it makes it that much bet-ter because we aren’t the only ones happy. It’s

the whole school,” Varlesi said, with a smile on his face.

As DeWitt scored its fourth touchdown and the time narrowed down in the playoff game on Nov. 28, the students in the student sec-tion still held their heads high and continued cheering for their team. Although it was hard to think about the season being over, the stu-dent section was determined to end on a posi-tive note. The love and support that filled the stands week after week couldn’t be taken away. They were more than just football games. They were memorable experiences and a bond be-tween the student section and football team

by kristen EVERHARDT

Superior in Spirit:

Student stays strong in times of adversity

photo by sierra DOVE

2012 student section is one of the best ever

Junior Jonah Brown dresses in a green suit during the Haslett vs. Owosso neon-out to show his school spirit.

photo by katie FLAGG

F 9eatures November 18, 2011

Meat of the matter: herbivores vs. omnivores

When people open the refrigerator or go to a restaurant, they often don’t think what they’re not going to eat. However, for the vegetarian, it’s a constant thought that crosses his/her mind.

Vegetarianism is not a shocking cur-rent event or any new matter, but it is a lifestyle that many in America have adopt-ed, whether it is to improve their diet or to opt out of promoting the mistreatment of animals. Arguments could be dealt out on both sides about the issue of eating meat versus straying away from it. From there, a person’s lifestyle is in his or her own hands.

There are a variety of reasons for people becoming vegetarian. Many wish to trim down on the intake of fat and sodium and maintain a healthier diet. Another great many feel killing animals is inhumane and do not wish to promote it by eating their flesh. Some, in fact, don’t even care for the taste of meat.

Junior Rachel Marlow concurs with these statements. “I couldn’t wrap my mind around eating something that was once living and breathing,” she said. “I guess I had guilt for eating animals. I also hate the taste.”

Vegetarians are not totally missing out, as there are substitutes for practically ev-ery type of meat or dish involving meat. “I would eat tofu, beans and veggie burgers,” Marlow said. She now will eat fish and chicken on occasion. However, Marlow still does not wish to advocate the slaughter of animals for food.

On the other side of the fence are the meat-eaters, who enjoy the taste of meat and aren’t fazed that they’re eating some-thing that was once living. Junior Johnny Wenzel is big into meat eating. However,

his source of meat is not from the shelves of stores.

“We raise chickens and pigs, hunt deer and buy grass-fed beef from our friends,” Wenzel said. “We like to know where our meat comes from. We don’t want all the carcinogens and chemicals in store-bought meat.”

Because of the freshness of this meat, it is a frequent part of Wenzel’s diet. “My mom is the most amazing cook ever,” Wenzel said. “She makes stews, roasts, steaks, burgers, pot pies, and things I’ve never even heard of.”

Wenzel would agree that animal meat is perfectly OK to eat. “We’re biologically made to be omnivores,” he said.

Junior David Reinke adds to this state-ment, saying, “Animals weren’t put on this earth for us not to eat.”

Whatever a person’s side, there is a thorough argument that could be made for it. Vegetarians and meat-eaters alike have comprehensible reasons for why they choose their lifestyle. Neither side is par-ticularly “right” or “wrong”. This is simply a matter of opinion, preference and, of course, taste.

by reid FOWLER

The old AMC sits vacant after its recent closing.

Everyone has those places with memories they look back on and remember throughout their lifetimes. These are places that, when they come up in a conversation, create a flash-back to the beginning chapters of our lives.

But once the old places shut down and the new ones open, young kids’ hearts come back to one piece and they can finally have an open mind to a potential new favorite abode to hang out. Everyone’s experienced that at one time or another.

Haslett, along with all the other surrounding small cities, is a prime area filled with these places. Students have many recollections of a variety of them. “I will never forget the Disney store in the Meridian Mall” junior Danni Mc-clure says. “It was like Disney world, but in a store.”

This isn’t the only store in the mall that left the children happy. Most of the ladies all went through the girly-girl stage as well, like the pink racks of Limited Too, now named “Jus-tice.” “I loved that store as a little girl,” senior Kelsea Ellis said. “They had a really unique style that fit everybody’s fashion needs”.

Beyond the clothes and toys in the mall, right behind were two very big places that ended with some emotional farewells. Ceasar Land, a place with play sets, jungle gyms, ar-cades, prizes, pizza, etc, was a traditional des-tination in Okemos that left some jaws drop-

ping in disappointment after it closed. “I went to Ceasar Land all the time. It was the sweetest place ever,” junior Taylor Grenawalt said. ”I’ll never forget the time I was hanging off the slide falling, screaming for help. A boy my age went up to me, reached out his hand and when I reached for his in gratitude, he stepped on my foot. I cried all the way down the slide.”

Besides the childish places, there was anoth-er entertainment site everybody in Haslett went too that was a shocking upset - the closing of AMC movie theaters. After being an employee there, Mariah Beebe knows what it’s like to say a heartfelt goodbye.

“When AMC closed, I was sad for multiple reasons,” Beebe said. “For one, I used to work there. Watching everyone lose their job was sad. I also used to go there a lot as a kid. My first date was there.”

Multiple restaurants have closed down in the community, as well. Bagel Haul, now replaced by Little Caesars in the Haslett Town Center, was a classic and is remembered as a irresist-ible café. “My favorite breakfast spot of all time was the Bagel Haul because of the amazing food and you could color a picture and put it on the wall. It was so homey,” junior Jenna O’berski said.

Bagels weren’t the only breakfast food that was hopin’ back in the day. Krispy Crème Doughnuts , located next to Eastwood Town Center, was a very popular place for people to

be addicted too. Alexis Schiebner was one of those people. “ I went to Krispy Crème after soccer practices with my step-dad. “ Schieb-ner said. “Whenever the Krispy Crème light was on, I would literally get so excited for free

doughnuts.”Even though getting older happens, it is still

nice to remember the younger days. The next real question is what’s next to come? Or go?

by emmy VIRKUS

Some childhood memories never fade

photo by sierra DOVE

The number of vegetarians increases 10 percent each year

Most of the vegetarians in the world are vegetarians because of their economic situation

7.3million Americans are vegetarian

S10November 18, 2011 ports

From 8th grade to varsity tryouts by shane HESTON

Standing in the gym next to the returning varsity basketball players, all freshman John Hudgins can do is think about is all the hard work and time he has put in to get ready for these tryouts.

“I thought there was no chance I would ever be trying out for varsity as a freshman,” Hudgins said during the week of tryouts.

To prepare to play with

the upperclassman on var-sity Hudgins has practiced for many hours shooting 400 to 500 shots a day.

“I’m really trying to prepare myself to play with the kids who are older and stronger than me, being my first year of high school basketball,” he said.

Trying to get any advantage he can for the season, Hudgins has also been lifting many days a week trying to condition.

“It’s a big step going from eighth grade basketball to varsi-ty,” he said, “playing kids who are four years older than me.”

As a ninth grader playing with the older kids, Hudgins knew it would take time to get used to guys on the team.

“At first I was just trying to show all the guys what I can do and everyone on the team was really good about me playing with them, and they respected me,” Hudgins said.

photo by sierra DOVEFreshman John Hudgins dunks with ease.

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Swimming: 10-1Golf: went to statesFootball: 4-4Tennis: 19th at statesVolleyball: 10-0Soccer: 7-7-3Cross Country: Boys: 2nd in both of their last 2 league meets Girls: 4th and 5th

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Ryan L.Swimming

Main Events: 50 and 100 meter freestyle races

What gets you pumped up for meets: Trying to achieve my goals for season like being all state

Favorite pre-game meal: Subway

Favorite professional athlete: Megatron

Favorite team to swim against: DeWitt

It’s 5 p.m. and dark outside the school. Wrestlers, basket-ball players, bowlers, swim-mers and gymnasts trudge outside, worn out from their respective practices.

The repetitive routine for these winter sports partici-pants is a tough one. Arrive at school in the dark, and leave it the same way. The fun and excitement that these athletes reap, however, make up for these unfortunate conditions.

Each winter sport has its own clear, unique character-istic that makes it worth the while. Which winter sport is the best, however? That’s not so clear.

Students play sports be-cause they enjoy them. They all believe that their sport re-quires the most skill and is the most enjoyable.

Athletes all around the school are preparing for their seasons, and making a case

for their winter sport.“It’s very fast paced,” junior

hockey player Ryan Tyer said.To go along with being fast,

it also involves a lot of con-tact.

“It’s much more physical than any other sport, and the environment is the best; it feels like you’re outside,” he said.

Tyer also believes his team (The Eastside Stars) will excel this season.

“We are going to finish games and win a lot more than last year,” he said.

Junior Nathan Cotrell be-lieves bowling is the best of the winter sports.

“With bowling, you actually enjoy going to practice instead of dreading it,” he said.

With bowling, the practices are just the same as games.

“Every day I get to just play a game, instead of grueling physical activity,” he said.

Cotrell also believes the team will repeat as division

champs and continue its suc-cess in the upcoming season.

Seniors Corey Koone and Jess Tyer both love the family environment that basketball provides.

“Everyone grows very close, it’s the close knit group of players that is unmatched by all the other sports,” he said.

Tyer agrees, professing her appreciation for the “fun, fam-ily environment.”

Koone loves the feeling in the gym on Friday nights. “Basketball is definitely the most popular winter sport,” he said. “More fans come to bas-ketball games than any other of the winter sports.”

Koone and Tyer also both believe their teams will do well.

“We’re going to sweep De-Witt and win the league again this year,” Koone said.

Tyer has high expectations as well. “We’re going to win a lot of games this year. I’m excited,” she said.

Junior Bruce Giesen is ex-cited for the upcoming wres-tling season.

“It’s going to be a good sea-son,” he said. “We will have a lot of people place high in tournaments.”

Giesen believes that wres-tling is the most team oriented of all the winter sports.

“You grow together as a team and make a ton of new friends,” he said. “I can’t wait to get going.”

Contrary to the other win-ter sports, senior Jacey Jackard admires the individualistic op-portunities that gymnastics al-lows.

“There’s a ton of different routines, so there is something for everybody,” she said. “The events are all completely dif-ferent so each person can, in a sense, do their own thing.”

She is also looking forward to a successful season for the gymnastics team.

Junior swimmer Bryn Wil-liams believes the pool pro-

vides the best environment of all the winter sports.

“The pool deck is incred-ibly loud, it’s hectic and fun to be a part of,” he said.

Williams also enjoys the challenges of swimming.

“It really pushes you, a lot more than people think,” he said.

The swim team loses some important key contributors from last season, but Williams still thinks that they can “up-set some people” this season.

Each winter sports provides something for its athletes that is unmatched by the other sports.

Whether it’s basketball’s team environment, hockey’s physicality or the relaxing mantra of bowling, all winter sports are invigorating.

Each participant undoubt-edly believes that his or her winter sport reigns king, but it is an open ended discussion that will most likely never be answered.

The battle of the winter sportsby patrick GIFFORD

Varsity boys basketball is just about ready to tip off. This year’s team looks to contend for another conference cham-pionship. And, while the new squad is expected to have a different look than last year, it’s still loaded with talent.

The team returns two start-ers in senior point guard Joe Varlesi and fellow senior power forward Jake Wamhoff. Other key contributors include se-

nior center Eric Vering, who returns after missing last sea-son to injury and senior guard Nick Mowid, who is due for a breakout season. The X-factor of this team could be (6-foot, 6-inch) freshman center John Hudgins, who has the ability to change shots around the rim.

“We played really well in the summer together.” Mowid said.

Team chemistry will be a re-

ally important to team success. This year’s team has a lot more size than last year’s, although it does not have quite the same team speed as it did a year be-fore.

“This year’s team will be more of a two-man post team, rather than a run and gun team of last year.” Mowid said.

The season begins Dec. 6, with an away game against Perry.

Boys Hoops:Let the season beginby nick ANDRESEN

S 11ports November 18, 2011

photos by: sierra DOVE

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Describe the season in one word

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Senior Lexy Mitchell of the volleyball team sets up her team for a hit. photo by sierra DOVE

Volleyball team finishes season strong

by adam FOREN

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Going into her senior year, Colette Reed wasn’t sure what to expect from the volleyball team.

“We lost all seven starters from last year, and didn’t re-ally have much experience coming back,” she said.

With a mixed squad of five seniors, two juniors, four soph-omores and one freshman, it took some early struggles at Hope Summer Team Camp to start to come together.

“We didn’t play very good

at camp, but we got to know each other and grew closer than we had been before,” sophomore Maria Kronner said.

The early problems they had at camp now seem like a distant memory as the team finished the regular season as CAAC Red Champions with a perfect 10-0 league record and its first District Title since 2007.

“People kind of underesti-mated us in the league and we

were able to take advantage of that,” Reed said.

The big highlight of confer-ence play was beating archri-val DeWitt twice.

“We had a couple of intense practices during the week, and we were ready to play them,” Reid said. Senior Brey Otlewski believes another rea-son for the team’s success this season has been the young front court.

“We have had one of the tallest front courts in the league, and they are all ath-letic and can jump well,” she said.

The front court consists of three sophomores and one

freshman, and Kronner cred-its the senior leaders for stay-ing positive with them, and giving the young front court confidence.

“They let us know that they supported us, and starting in conference play we started to play aggressive and go for more blocks,” Kronner said.

With the success that the underclassmen have had this season, the future looks bright for the varsity volleyball pro-gram.

“I think next year we can be even better if we keep improv-ing because this year we pret-ty much had a new team and went pretty far,” Kronner said.

Almost undefeated, the girls come out with a successful record

P12 hotoStory

1. The cast of Joseph preforms a number on stage.2. Seniors Michelle Daniels, Melody Stokosa, Rachel Feighner narrate. 3.Senior Nick Angel and junior Joel Reynolds on stage. Reynolds plays Angel’s father. 4.Juniors Kathren Ryan, Taylor Braazt and sophmores Alexa Walkowicz, Morgan Robinson and Elizabeth Carter perform on stage.5. Junior Rachel Linneman and sophomores Emily Tinney, Ariel Fahey, Elena Petrovich, Quinn Rulison and Meghan Vorce portray a group of happy young women in Egypt. 6.Seniors Jade Brayton, and Nick Angel exchange dialogue on stage. 7. Joseph’s brothers played by Austin Lyndsey, Jason Durr, Jordan Wal-ing, Nitish Pawa and Matt Sauer preform a number on stage.“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” continues with shows at 7:30 p.m. tonight and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Saturday.

November 18, 2011

amazinglyJosephphotos by Seth Carncrossdesign by Sierra Dove

1

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5 6 7What is your favorite part of musical?“ My favorite part is how we are a family.”- Junior Joel Reynolds

What is your favorite part of musical?“ My favorite part is learning all the songs and choreography.”- Junior Jordon Walling