By Deanna Shilkus and Tallyn OwensManaging Editor and Entertainment Editor

Even though Beloit College (Wis.) was the most expensive school senior Meagan Beattie considered attending, her decision to go there was not without good reason.

Last December, doctors diagnosed Beattie with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Dis-order (ADHD). Subsequently, she was forced to write off several of her prospective colleges, in-cluding Augustana, which offered her a signifi-cant amount of money but lacked the student services Beattie would need to be successful in college.

Beattie is the first of three children to go to college, and she noticed the strain her college choice had on both family’s finances and her younger sister’s love for horseback riding.

Because horseback riding is expensive, Be-attie’s family had to cut back to accommodate Meagan’s college expenses, prompting her to feel guilty about her college choice.

The Beatties are only one of the millions of families across the country feeling the pressure of financing their children’s education. With National Decision Day — the deadline to have decided on a college — quickly approaching on May 1, seniors everywhere are grappling with two essential questions: not only where to go to college but also how to afford it.

With tuition costs rising, college-bound se-niors are on a tight budget, and families are feeling the crunch to find financial aid and

scholarships to help cut down on tuition costs. Students are forced to reconsider their finan-cial options, sometimes leaving their dream schools out of the picture.

According to CNN, over the past decade, tuition has risen at an annual rate of 5.6 per-cent at public schools and 3 percent at private schools.

Some seniors look to options other than a four-year university because of tuition expens-es.

Senior Nicole Muscarello recently decided to attend Harper Community College in the fall. Part of her decision was based on wanting to fulfill her general education requirements first, but she was also thinking about her financial future.

Her parents left the college decision up to her, and Muscarello felt it was better to go to Harper over Illinois State University because it would not leave her with thousands of dollars in loans to pay back once she graduates.

College and Career Center (CCC) Assistant Kate Moody said Harper is a great option for those students looking to save money. Tuition is only about $3,000 a year.

While some students, like Muscarello, decide on Harper, others, like senior Robby Pittman, are left choosing between four-year public uni-versities and comparing financial aid packages before deciding where to attend.

Pittman is currently deciding between the

By Gina O’NeillCopy Editor

On the way to Kelly High School on the South Side of Chicago, senior Caroline Halvorsen was freaking her-self out.

The more she talked with her friends about walking into a whole new environment on the bus, the more nervous they became about potentially wearing gang colors or how the students would be “sizing them up.” By the end of the bus ride, they were “expecting the worst.”

“I thought [the students] would judge us,” Halvorsen said. “When we walked in, people were greeting us [and] talking to the class, and every-one was smiling. Instantly, [I thought], ‘Wow, we were over-reacting — times 10.’ I felt guilty.”

Sociology teacher Jason Cohen organized Prospect’s first exchange with Kelly High School, a public school, hop-ing this change in thinking would occur. On April 12, 30 Prospect students from Sociol-ogy 1 and 2 spent the day shad-owing students at Kelly. On April 15, Kelly students came here to do the same.

Cohen had wanted to do an

exchange like this for some time in his sociology classes but never had enough of a re-sponse from other schools un-til this year.

When one of his students heard of his desire to do an ex-change, she connected Cohen with her boyfriend’s sister, ‘97 Prospect graduate Melissa Sucheki. As a sociology teach-er at Kelly, Sucheki wanted to do the same kind of exchange.

Stereotyping is one of the issues Cohen and sociology teacher Kristen Ray cover, so he created the trip to see how students’ perceptions of oth-ers would change, hopefully reversing some of the nega-tive stereotypes they had.

“It really got to a point where I wanted the students to start getting more of a real experience [with] things that we’ve talked about in class,” Cohen said.

What Cohen, Halvorsen and the Kelly students found was that even though there was an environmental and ethnic difference between schools, the students were more or less the same.

“I wanted the students to see that it wasn’t necessarily that everyone’s different ev-erywhere,” Cohen said. “Even though the community might offer different situations for each group, they’re still teen-agers. They’re still going through many of the same is-sues.”

“It really kind of put a lot

A whole new world

!A DAY IN THE LIFE: Thirty students in sociology classes went to Kelly High School in Chicago on April 12 (above) as part of an exchange program organized to expose students to life in a city school. Kelly students  then visited Prospect on April 15. (Photo courtesy of Jason Cohen)

Sociology classes host exchange with city school

Fame, fortune and... charity?

After the tragedy in Japan, celebrities have used their fame to help those in need. To read more on fame and charity, see...

Entertainment, page 11

TheVoice of Prospect

since 1960

801 West Kensington Road, Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056

Volume 50, Issue 9 Friday, April 29, 2011

ROSPECTOR

With decision day looming, seniors search to answerthe $100,000 question: ‘How can I pay for college?’

Androids and the iPhone are some of the most popular smartphones in the market today. For a comparison of the two and an opinion on which is better, check out...

Features, page 7

Battle of the smartphones

See FINANCES, page 2

Breaking the bank

See KELLY, page 10

Body art 

While some students stick to the more traditional route of piercing their ears, others alter their bodies through tattoos. For more on students and body art, check out...

In­Depth, pages 8­9

Movie magic

It’s one thing to watch movies, but it’s an entirely different thing to make them — which is just what Film Club is doing. To learn about the new activity, turn to... Entertainment, page 12

Graphic by Ian Magnuson, Heather Dove and Alyssa Zediker

University of Illinois at Urbana-Cham-paign and Indiana University at Bloom-ington.

U of I’s estimated total cost is be-tween $28,000 and $33,000 for state resi-dents, but at Indiana — where Prospect students receive out-of-state tuition — the cost for the 2011-12 academic year is $39,000, according to the universities’ websites.

Originally, Pittman was looking at colleges for their music departments. After he narrowed it down to two colleg-es, he wasn’t sure how much financial aid the government would give him. Then Pittman received a scholarship from Indiana. Before, Indiana was more expensive, but the two colleges now cost the same.

He is currently leaning toward U of I and most likely would have chosen to go there if he had not received the scholarship from Indiana. Pittman is especially looking to save money for graduate school in the future.

Pittman didn’t receive much fi-nancial aid to help offset the cost of either of his two choices, even with the scholarship from Indiana. The Indiana scholar-ship is only a quar-ter of the tuition, and he is relying on his parents to pay the rest with-out much help from the Free Ap-plication for Fed-eral Student Aid (FAFSA).

FAFSA is usually filed in January and is a government-based process that looks to provide money for college to eligible students and families.

Based on factors such as a family’s income and savings, the government estimates what they think is a suit-able amount of money for the family to contribute to tuition costs. Then the potential colleges look at what the gov-ernment has issued and see if they can offer them grants — money that doesn’t have to be paid back — and loans so that the family will feel comfortable pay-ing the rest of the tuition, according to FAFSA.com.

Students aren’t left figuring out their finances alone, however. Prospect plays a large role in helping students make their college decisions.

For counselors, a large part of their job is to help students choose a college that suits them as well as find them financial aid. Moody said counselors bring students into the CCC and explain all of the resources they have to offer.

Moody thinks it’s important to give students all the options they can in or-der to make it affordable to go to school.

“We tell students that it is important not to be discouraged by the sticker price of a school,” Moody said. “A lot of times, there is money to be [given out] from those schools.“

Some parents, too, are willing to be more flexible with the price of a school for their children’s education, includ-ing Beattie’s father, William. He views a college education as an investment like any other, saying that people have to budget for it and figure in what money they have for other items.

“It’s neces-sary,” William said. “The whole family adjusts, and it’s an invest-ment the whole family makes. We’re like any oth-er family — we all have to live within our means, and now our means include a college education.”

For Pittman, his parents cal-culated a certain sum of money to give to him to help pay for college, but with the increase in tuition over the years, they had to

readjust their savings.Garrett Pittman, Robby’s father, feels

the price of a school didn’t have to af-fect Robby’s college decision.

“I really like that Robby is approach-ing college and looking at it with the end in mind,” Garrett said. “We treat [paying for college] as an investment in his future.”

However, price is still often a factor in deciding where to attend college. One of the main issues Moody sees with stu-dents who are looking for or even strug-gling to find financial aid is the cost of their first-choice school.

Unlike Robby, sometimes students have to find other schools to go to be-cause they just can’t afford the rise of tuition costs.

More specifically, U of I has seen a tuition increase of nearly 7 percent in the wake of the state budget crisis, and Director of Financial Aid Daniel Mann has seen the increased tuition affect en-rollment and aid distribution alike.

According to CNN, students at four-year public institutions received an av-erage $6,100 in grant aid and federal tax benefits for 2010-11. At private schools, the same aid averaged at $16,000.

According to Mann, pell grants — federal loans that do not have to be re-paid — and need-based aid have stayed constant. However, the largest increase he has seen is in the amount of bor-

rowed loans.In addition to the university’s en-

rolled students, Mann has also noticed a number of admitted students choos-ing a different school because of the high tuition and lack of aid.

But like Moody emphasized, the total tuition cost in the end really depends on the package the school and government give out, so some students might not end up having to pay a large sum.

According to U.S. News and World Report, the average annual tuition (plus expenses) at a private nonprofit four-year college is about $35,000. The net cost with financial aid is under $20,000.

For a public four-year school, the tu-ition (plus expenses) is under $20,000, and the net cost is just under $10,000.

The guidance the school offers as well as financial aid is the most impor-

tant part of the decision process.Throughout the process, Moody has

seen many students choosing Harper because they want to save money, and some students get their financial aid packet back from a university and see they can’t afford it after all.

Moody has also noticed a slight in-crease in the number of scholarship applications this year and believes it is due to the economy. Though there are more students looking for scholarships and applying for them, the CCC is not offering any more this year than usual.

But ultimately, the CCC’s goal is to help students with college searches.

“We definitely see students who have great have financial need,” Moody said, “and it really is gratifying to see some-one [who doesn’t have enough money] be able to find [it].”

FINANCE: Seniors factor in cost for college decisionsCONTINUED from front page

Purdue

2 NEWSFriday, April 29, 2011

call 847-255-2526

421 W. Prospect Ave. Mt. Prospect, IL

!!!!!"#!$%&'!()*+%,)(!-,+!-,.,/0.&!.0+1!the College and Career Center (CCC) offers multiple resources, including information on scholarships and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). In the fall during senior guidance, counselors meet with seniors to introduce them to the college application process, FAFSA, scholarships and Naviance so they can be prepared when they need to complete all the applications. District 214 also offers a junior Financial Aid night and a senior Financial Aid night every year that cover topics on what to plan for when it comes to paying for college. It also offers a FAFSA completion night for parents who need help with the application. In terms of scholarships, the CCC mails home a booklet in December of all local and community scholarships students can apply for while giving them a list on Naviance for more ('%/0-/!(/$#&.2($0'(3

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Daniel Mann, Financial Aid Director at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, recommends Fastweb, a website designed to -,+!(/$#&.2($0'(!)$.)!/.)%2!)#!%./$!student’s individual academic 4*.&0-/.)0#,!.,+!'%2(#,.&!.))205*)%(3! He also suggests that college-bound seniors start the search for scholarships over the summer because many of the scholarships featured on websites like Fastweb have deadlines near the beginning of the year. To register for an account on Fastweb, go to fastweb.com and enter the necessary information.

SCHOLARSHIPS ONLINE

Big 10 expenses for Illinois residents (tuition only)

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U. of MichiganAnn Arbor

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By Maddie ConwayExecutive News Editor

Lee Stanley, Assistant Principal for Student Services, is no stranger to change. Raised in a military home, Stanley has lived in six different states since growing up, and that con-stant movement didn’t stop when she

started teaching 28 years ago. Since then, she’s taught across the country, and her daughter, now a college stu-dent, has attended 11 schools — all because of her love for change.

Now, after her fourth year at Pros-

pect, Stanley is on the move again — this time, however, to a job a few miles away. Next year, Stanley will work at Rolling Meadows High School as its Associate Principal for Instruction.

And while Stanley is looking for-ward to meeting new people and learn-ing more at another school, she will always appreciate her experience at Prospect with both the students and staff. She’ll especially miss, she said, working with people who are so ac-cepting of her fondness for change.

“I acclimate very quickly,” Stan-ley said, “but I know for other people, change is really hard, and if they’ve been in one place for their whole lives or in the same position for a very long time, sometimes someone new coming in can be pretty scary.”

Despite that, Stanley said the oth-er teachers and administrators were

nothing but welcoming when she joined the Prospect community. Stan-ley said everyone has not only been re-ceptive to her ideas but has also helped her improve them.

Because the rest of the Student Services team was willing to try new things while Stanley was willing to talk about and tweak ideas, Stanley said they’ve found great success work-ing together, which is what she will miss most when she leaves Prospect.

Counselor Colleen Carroll agreed Stanley’s positive attitude has helped Student Services. Carroll said Stanley helps them use their time effectively — just what they need “to do as much as [they] can for kids” while creating a fun atmosphere at the same time.

But Prospect isn’t the only place where Stanley has tried to make a difference. With teaching experience everywhere from Wisconsin to North Carolina, Stanley has made her mark in education around the country.

District 214’s focus on college readiness skills then attracted her to Prospect, and in her time here, Stan-ley helped introduce students to Na-viance, an online program to help students with their college searches, among other programs.

At the end of the day, Stanley knows her mission as an educator — one she will carry with her to Rolling Mead-ows and beyond — and one both she and her daughter remember when they move somewhere new.

“We always say that we hope we made a difference while we were [in a new place],” Stanley said, “and we always say that we hope we made it a little better while we were there.”

By Jane BerryNews Editor

English and Fine Arts Division Head Erin DeLuga sat down her staff after school on Monday, April 18, for an impromptu meeting.

She told them she was leaving to become the Associate Principal of In-

struction at Wheel-ing High School. The English and Fine Arts depart-ment rose and clapped afterward, even with the bit-tersweet mood in the air.

“They were all so happy for me,” DeLuga said,

“which was a relief because I was a bit worried about how they were going to react.”

According to DeLuga, it all hap-pened so fast. The first interview was Tuesday, April 12, and the second was that Thursday. She was offered the po-sition that day.

“It was all a whirlwind,” DeLuga said, “but the whole staff handled it so well.”

All the teachers came up to congrat-ulate DeLuga, but English teacher Matt Love decided instead to “boo” her.

“For selfish reasons, I’m very disap-pointed because she has made an excel-lent division head,” Love said.

According to Love, DeLuga is a fierce advocate for the teachers in her depart-ment, understands

what the teachers do in the classroom, encourages her staff and is a very skilled observer.

DeLuga said what she will miss most at her new position is getting to teach creative writing, British literature and practical writing. She had not thought about it until, during her creative writ-ing class, one of her students brought up the fact that she would not be teach-ing next year.

She also said it will be saddening to leave the department because the teach-ers have all gotten to know each other, respect each other and have shared so many fun times together.

One late start Thursday, for example, during DeLuga’s first year, the depart-ment took an old broken copier into the parking lot and, like in the movie “Office Space,” beat it to a pulp. Even teachers from other departments came to take a swing at it.

The team has bonded so much that Love even body-checked DeLuga in the main office after she announced she was leaving and then exclaimed that he felt better.

“I think that the English and Fine Arts Department is a family,” DeLuga said. “We really do run that way.”

According to Love, DeLuga’s leave will be sad for the team, but she has more than earned the position. As far as DeLuga’s future goes, Love is hope-ful.

“I hope she fails miserably in her first two months and comes back to Prospect,” Love said.

By Andrew RevordNews Editor

Prospect has a reputation for high achievement. It has the highest percent of AP students of any of the District 214 schools, about 23 percent, according to Assessment Supervisor Jo Holtby.

While Associate Principal Michelle Dowling believes having too many stu-dents taking AP tests is a good problem to have, accommodating all the students raises issues, so students will now take their AP tests at Prospect instead of Forest View Educational Center.

Holtby said providing room for all the Prospect students at Forest View isn’t the only issue with testing there.

High numbers of students from all the district schools inevitably create more noise, which creates risk of tests being invalidated.

While Dowling said there have been no invalidation incidents so far, it still concerns her.

“Why do we want to push the enve-

lope when we have another option?” Dowling said.

Traffic can be high on testing days at Forest View, as well, creating a risk of accidents and limited parking space, so some students have arrived late to their tests. Also, freshmen and some sopho-mores cannot drive yet and have to rely on others for transportation.

“Trying to get them to testing on time does put a burden on some house-holds,” Holtby said.

Because the College Board insists that tests are stored at students’ respec-tive schools, Prospect also had to trans-port its AP tests to Forest View and back to Prospect every year.

Holtby has tried to have the AP tests here for about two years.

She thinks Prospect can do a better job of controlling the noise because she can choose where students test. The wrestling room and computer labs are two of those places.

Because Dowling was apprehensive at first about testing at Prospect, Holtby

and Assessment Center Resource Assistant Jan-ice Sokolik took a year to purchase more ta-bles and tried to find spots for students to test.

Senior Brendan Moriarty, who is cur-rently taking five AP classes, agreed having the tests at Prospect will help with transportation but is unsure if students’ scores will improve.

In addition, he thinks stu-dents will have an easier time finding their rooms on test days be-cause they are familiar with Prospect.

“Everyone knows how long it will take you to get to Prospect,” Moriarty said. “Most students don’t need to go to Forest View regularly, so they don’t know the routes as well.”

Students who take the tests are still able to leave after testing as long as they

leave immediately or after lunch in the cafeteria.

Holtby and Dowling are still looking for the best environment for students to take the AP tests and think it’s worth trying to have them taken at Prospect.

“We felt that we had an option — that we could actually do this and that it was a win for everybody,” Dowling said. “We’re going to give it a shot.”

3 NEWSFriday, April 29, 2011

Erin DeLugaLee Stanley

AP testing moves from Forest View

Stanley, DeLuga head to Rolling Meadows, Wheeling for Associate Principal positions

On the road again

Photo by Ian Magnuson

Photo by Ian Magnuson

Former Prospect student Matthew Nellessen appeared in court on March 25, await-ing a four-year sentence for violating his parole. Judge Thomas Fecarotta Jr. had seen Nellessen numerous times before for myriad of-fenses, including marijuana possession and robbery charges.

This time, Fecarrota took a chance on Nellessen, sen-tencing him to time served, which freed him from cus-tody and recommitted him to probation.

“I have already stuck my neck out on the line once for you,” Fecarotta said in a Chicago Tribune article, granting Nellessen leniency. “If you take another swing, trust me, you are going to go for a very long time.”

Six weeks later, Nellessen — along with three accom-plices — now finds himself accused of the first-degree murder and armed robbery of his father, George Nel-lessen.

The prosecution alleges

that April 12, Matthew and his friends duct-taped the 55-year-old to a chair, de-manding George’s signature on a check for $100,000, his social security number and the money and cards from his wallet.

On April 14, a witness discovered George’s body in his home on North Wilshire Lane — about two miles from Prospect — as Matthew fled the scene in his father’s car. This caused a soft lockdown at Prospect as well as other area schools.

To some, this ordeal is an inevitable occurrence in our sometimes violent world. Murder is all around us, from cop shows on TV to video games.

Others might accuse Fe-carotta of letting loose a vio-lent criminal, which eventu-ally led to George’s death.

Echoing the sentiments of

most readers, a commenter on The Daily Herald’s web-site named Poole wrote, “Judge Fecarotta instead extended Nellessen’s proba-tion and let him back on the street. The murder occurred after that dubious decision.”

Their complaints make sense. If Fecarotta didn’t

spare Matthew of four years of jail time, George’s mur-der would have most likely been avoided.

We, The Pros-pector, believe that Feracotta’s critics are only

playing a game of “What if ?” in this scenario. What if Feracotta noticed that all of Matthew’s previous crimes were nonviolent and did not suggest a future of murder and robbery? What if Fe-racotta made his decision based on that logic?

But that’s what Feracotta did. As a judge, he made a ra-tional decision based on the

evidence at hand and his gut feeling. He took a chance on Matthew that didn’t pan out.

Yes, this misguided leap of faith is support for those who believe that people should stick with popu-lar choices and never take chances.

While this tragedy most likely resulted from a failed act of trust, students and judges alike should keep tak-ing chances on each other. It’s these gut decisions that provide bases of trust be-tween people; they show pure empathy that humans seldom portray.

Since grade school, teach-ers have continually told stu-dents to trust their instincts on a test. They tell them the dangers of second-guessing themselves and picking “B” instead of their gut instinct’s answer.

Even if the correct an-swer is “B,” it’s no reason to doubt their decision making and ability for compassion.

It’s what makes us hu-man.

Within the panes of Hogwart’s green-house, Wolfsbane and Belladonna reside — two magical plants that have yet to be found outside of the world of Harry Pot-ter.

As unlikely as it is for muggle students to find either of these plants, it’s just as unlikely for them to find a greenhouse within Prospect’s property lines.

The closest Prospect has to a green-house is the uninhabited courtyard, and although it has been improved by the Bot-

any Club, it is essential-ly locked and unused.

By building a green-house, like one found at either Barrington or Glenbard North High Schools, the sci-ence classes could grow plants and flowers to be used in all levels from freshman biology to se-nior AP Environmental Science.

AP Environmental Science teacher Mollie

David explained how students would be able to study the impact of road salt and acid rain on roadside plants, a large unit in the AP course.

At this point in the curriculum, stu-dents are only able to read about the im-pacts of these chemicals.

If Prospect could build a greenhouse, students could see “the direct impact growing in front of them,” David said.

“Ideally, the science teachers would put a mini-greenhouse in between Rooms

324 and 322, connecting the two biology labs, “ biology teacher John Kenny said. “The greenhouse would be a small place for students to grow a few of their own plants for experiments, and it would give the biology teachers the proximity need-ed for the greenhouse to be beneficial.”

If Prospect built a greenhouse, the largest problem in addition to the cost would be determining where it would be built. For the best amount of sunlight, the greenhouse should face south, but that would place the greenhouse at the end of the field house — too far away from the labs.

Another choice, which the math department would find inconvenient, would be to take one of the southern-fac-ing third-floor math rooms and turn that into a greenhouse. It would, however, lack direct over-head sunlight without changes to the roof.

The final op-tion would be to locate a greenhouse right where the band h a l l w a y meets the larger aca-demic wing. A l t h o u g h some heat-ing, ven-

tilating and air condition (HVAC) units would have to be

moved, the addition to the fine arts wing would be the most realistic op-tion.

It’s close enough for the science teachers to access, and it would not require an architect to draw up plans

to renovate a math room. But without a strong student, par-

ent or teacher effort, the greenhouse will only exist in theory. This is a lost

opportunity for students. With the addition of a greenhouse,

Prospect would be able to have a botany class instead of just a club.

This class could pursue more in-depth learning about plants versus biology, which is the study of all life.

But the impact of the greenhouse would go beyond high school. Students would gain valuable hands-on learning experiences in plant propagation and management skills for small business if some plants were sold (see Common greens).

These experiences could possibly lead to a career course of horticulture.

Despite all com-plications, build-ing a greenhouse would be a way

for students to get another type of hands-on learning.

A l t h o u g h they wouldn’t get to work with Man-

drakes and Devil’s Snare, growing sun-

flowers and tomatoes opens new opportunities — admittedly a bit less magical.

The StaffEDITORS-IN-CHIEF

Kate SchroederNeel Thakkar

MANAGING EDITORDeanna Shilkus

COPY EDITORGina O’Neill

ASSOCIATE EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

Sharon LeeRiley Simpson

NEWS EDITORSMaddie Conway

Jane BerryAndrew Revord

OPINION EDITORSWhitney Kiepura

Katie BestNikki Gallup

FEATURES EDITORSMegan Maughan

Carly EvansAllie Fleming

IN-DEPTH EDITORSEmmy LindforsJenny Johnson

ENTERTAINMENT EDITORS

Kevin MallinTallyn Owens

SPORTS EDITORSMaggie DevereuxNick Stanojevic

Miranda Holloway

PHOTO EDITORSIan MagnusonWalker BrewerAli Preissing

CARTOONISTSQuinn Blackshere

Katie Maigler

ADVISERJason Block

Published by students in Journalistic Writing courses, the Prospector has won, most notably, the 2004-05 and 2006-07 National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker and the Gold Crown from Columbia Scholastic Press Association in 2006.

Mission StatementThe primary purpose of the Prospect High School Prospec-tor is to report news as well as explain its meaning and sig-!"#$%!$&'()')*+'+&%,&+-'%!,'(.&'community. We, the Prospector, hope to inform, entertain and provide a school forum for the unrestricted exchange of ideas and opinions. AdvertisingFor ad rates, call (847) 718-5376 (ask for Deanna Shilkus), fax (847) 718-5306 e-mail or write the Prospector, 801 West Kensington Rd., Mount Prospect, IL 60056, prospec-tornow@gmail.com.

Letters to the EditorDrop off letters to the Prospec-tor in the box in the library, in Rm. 216 or email letters to prospectornow@gmail.com. All letters must be signed. Please limit letters to 400 words. The Prospector reserves the rights to edit letters for style and length.

4 OPINIONFriday, April 29, 2011

Staff E

dit

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Take a second chance on me

Voting results of The Prospector staff regarding this editorial

AgainstFor

330

Whitney KiepuraExecutive Opinion Editor

White castle needs green thumb

Greenhouse plants can be anything from common fruits and 6%7%).5&%(!)#!+%/#2.)06%!8#9%2(3!Some of the plants most commonly grown indoors are:! :!;*,8#9%2( - Green Peas - African violets - Zebra Plant - Boston Ferns - Cattleya Orchid - Geraniums - Lavender

COMMON GREENS

Photo graphic by Heather Dove, Ian Magnuson and Alyssa Zediker

When substitute teacher Jean Chiaramonte asked feminists in my second period Honors World Litera-ture and Composition (HWLC) class to raise their hand, my hand shot up.

But, after glancing around and realizing that two other people were tentatively raising their hands, I took it down to a half-raise, afraid of standing out.

Low feminist turnout was re-peated through the whole day — Chiaramonte and Michael Andrews both found very few feminists in sophomore HWLC classes based on the in-formal polls they

took. In Chiara-monte’s first peri-

od HWLC class, no students counted themselves as feminists.

The survey has been done for three years, and every year, the num-bers are similarly low.

Though this phenomenon is dis-appointing, a lack of students pro-claiming their feminism doesn’t signify a lack of feminism. Many students are feminists but are either too afraid or ignorant to admit it.

After every poll, Andrews reads the dictionary definition of a femi-nist — a person who believes in equal rights and opportunities for men and women — and receives many more declarations of femi-nism.

This phenomenon signifies that high school girls subconsciously support women’s rights but will be less powerful in the future because they won’t have an idea like femi-nism to unite them.

Madalyn Bryant, a sophomore HWLC student, didn’t raise her hand during the poll in fear of what femi-nism entailed.

But now that Bryant knows more about feminism, her position has changed.

“I would consider myself a femi-nist in that I believe men and women should have equal rights,” Bryant said.

Sophomore Ellen Blunck, who is in HWLC, said that the stereotypical feminist is often portrayed as some-one who acts and dresses in a mas-culine way — someone who wants women to be just like men.

Many students wouldn’t even think twice before saying that they believed in women’s rights. Yet those same students — like those in my class — were terrified of being

labeled man-hating crazies. According to HWLC teacher Kar-

en Kruse, many students also don’t raise their hands because they feel that inequality between men and women no longer exists.

“The idea that women are not equal is kind of a foreign concept,” Kruse said.

“All the things that women have gained, I haven’t experienced,” Blunck said, citing examples like women’s suffrage and the continu-ing fight against job discrimination.

But Andrews believes otherwise.“You’re old enough to have an

awareness of what’s around you and have an opinion,” Andrews said. “You’re intellectually capable.”

Much of our generation advo-cates equality of rights and opportu-nities among men and women. Our generation is also afraid of being labeled feminist.

But what’s in a name? A feminist by any other name is

still a feminist — even if they don’t know it.

“There should be two royal people there. There shouldn’t be one royal and one not because she’s a peasant and he’s [royal]. He could’ve picked a better person than her anyway — someone who actually has some royal blood in her.”

-SeniorGreg Franzen

“I don’t know anything about the royal wedding. Well, it’s a wedding, so that’s awesome, but the fact that it’s royal, I don’t know — do royal people even matter anymore?”

-Junior Julia Wolfe

“They’re royalty so I guess they deserve it. I think it’s great that [Kate Middleton] gets to marry a prince, and she’s not even royalty. I think it’s cool.”

-FreshmanCheyenne Foster

“I saw it on TV and didn’t really care much else about it ... I don’t really think it’s a big deal; it doesn’t really relate to this country.”

-SophomoreMarc Pontello

5OPINIONFriday, April 29, 2011

Anna BoratynSta! Writer

Nikki GallupOpinion Editor

What’s your opinion of the Royal Wedding?

!BY ANY OTHER NAME:  Fewer students call themselves feminists, despite their support of women’s rights. (Cartoon by Anna Boratyn)

“I really could care less. I’m not ‘anti,’ but I really don’t care. It’s something that we don’t have in the states. It’s mysterious because we don’t have a monarchy and stuff like that, or at least whatever they have over there.”

-Psychology teacherDaria Schaffeld

I have struggled every semester with fitness testing in PE. After my sopho-more year, I stopped putting forth effort because no matter what I did, my score was still pitiful. I’ve had lovely 12-min-ute walks, getting about 10 laps (hey,

at least it’s in the double digits), and the strength test was equally as dis-appointing. I could never seem to mas-ter the art of the grip test, patheti-cally scoring barely in the mid 20s.

But the worst part of fitness test-ing was taking a single step on a

scale and seeing three innocent num-bers that spelled out my doom: my weight.

This year, the strength testing is done by calculating the students’ Body Mass Index (BMI) in order to find the

correct weight for a chest press. Then the BMI and the chest press weight are factored into an equation to get the final score.

I am not alone in my discomfort, and for some students, there is an issue of privacy at stake. It is the PE teachers’ responsibility to help students feel as comfort-able as possible while being weighed, but some teachers neglect this re-sponsibility.

Since this new way of strength testing is, according to PE teacher Timothy Miller, more accurate than the previous way, all of the teach-ers should have a common method for how to handle weighing the students to ensure success.

Sophomore Lexi Botts said that some PE teachers are disrespectful toward

the students’ weights.“[The teacher] comments on your

weight and how you should gain weight or lose weight,” Botts said. “[He says] you’re too skinny or you’re too heavy.”

The teacher she was referring to maintained that he, and no other PE teacher, would say this to a student.

These negative comments are not beneficial to anyone — they only hurt

a student’s self esteem. The teachers aren’t the only ones who hear these com-ments; it’s all the students in the class gathered by the scale who can hear them.

The rest of the class is supposed to be far away from the scale, but some teachers are less strict about the distance than others. This clearly violates the HIPAA Privacy Rule, which protects the privacy of in-dividually identifiable health informa-tion.

Martial arts teacher Aaron Marn-

stein provides an excellent example for how teachers should be weighing the students. Like all classes, his students go into a private room with the door open to be weighed. However, Marn-stein tells any other students to stay about five feet away from the room.

If students don’t want to see their own weight, they can step on the scale backward and only Marnstein will know the number. If the students don’t want Marnstein to see the weight, Marnstein offers to step on the scale himself and show the students his weight. Marnstein’s stepping on the scale not only helps build trust, but it also helps the students realize that the three numbers are just that: numbers.

“[The weight] doesn’t define you,” Marnstein said. “It’s just a snapshot of you at the moment.”

If weighing procedures could all be the same, a single step onto a scale would be the best part of testing. It requires the least effort for the best amount of information, though it might encourage students to run a few more laps.

orHot Not Hot - Criminal Minds:

If you like crime shows, this show will blow your mind. Literally. These criminal profilers get into the heads of the world’s most dangerous serial kill-ers and terrorists. Plus, the characters’ witty one-liners and nerdy interludes don’t hurt much either.

-Katie Best

Not - Analog clocks:

When I spend all my time hanging out with friends, playing hockey and being a part of three music programs, I can’t find the extra space in my schedule to check the time. It’s not that I’m lazy, it’s just that it’s really hard to do when you’re always in a rush. I can’t be ex-pected to read both the hour hand and the minute hand, can I? And when you throw in that second hand, it all becomes too much for me to handle at once.

-Kyle Brown

Hot - Any city but Chicago:

OK, we take pride in our city, but let’s be honest ... it’s about to turn to May and I’m wearing the same coat as I was wearing in October. -Nikola Stanojevic

=>%6(:1"24($#"4(10(?4.622(4624&.@(:#2(taking a single step on a scale and seeing three innocent numbers that 2$6886/(154(,*(/11,A(,*(:6&@%4BC

Fall of

feminism

No balance on gym scales

By Allie FlemingFeatures Editor

As he walks to math class every day, junior Kevin Somogyi sees his math teacher, Martha Kelly, standing at the doorway. Smiling, he holds out his fist for Kelly before crossing over to the classroom. Somogyi said this is their daily routine before the learning be-gins.

Little traditions like Somogyi’s help smooth and nurture relationships be-tween students and teachers. For his-tory teacher Frank Mirandola, the strength of these relationships was a major reason in his decision to come to Prospect.

Not only does he believe the staff gets along well with each other, but he also feels the student-to-staff relationships make it an enjoyable place to work.

For example, history teacher and boys’ basketball coach Brad Rathe said this atmosphere allows him to be more laid back, making it easy for his stu-dents and his athletes to get to know him.

Just like Rathe, senior Rick Petricca gets along very well with his teachers.

“I try to get along with all my teach-

ers because I see them every day,” se-nior Rick Petricca said.

Petricca said when he has a good re-lationship with a teacher, the grade re-sult is very successful. For example, as a freshman, he was in Cambria Myers’ English class, and he had her again ju-nior year. Having known her awhile in a classroom environment, he said he was not hesitant to go in for help numer-ous times on his research paper, which landed him a good grade.

However, when he does not get along with a teacher, he tends to avoids them. If he needs extra help in a class where he does not get along with the teacher, he will fail to seek the help needed.

Recognizing that fact, teachers do their best to prevent bad relationships.

“I refuse to have bad relationships with my students and athletes,” math teacher James Hamann said.

Just like Hamann, Rathe is proactive in avoiding or, if necessary, fixing bad relationships. For example, if a student is disrupting the class multiple times in a row, Rathe takes action. First, he talks to the student one-on-one. He will try to get through to them and explain they are disrupting his teaching. If that does not work, he will then remove them from class or make a call home to parents.

Most interactions, however, are more positive.

Psychology teacher Jay Heilman said when a student or athlete of his improves, he can’t help but beam with

excitement. When one of his basketball players makes a basket in a game or when a student finally gets that A on a test, he tries to make that person real-ize how great it is by expressing to them how proud he is or telling them what they did right.

However, Heilman feels that it is easier to start a relationship with an athlete rather than a student because an athlete chooses to be involved in the sport while a student may need to take the class he is teaching. Therefore, Hei-lman needs to be extra motivating to his students. He said he just acts like him-self and hopes the students accept him and his teaching.

But close relationships also develop in other activities. Petricca said he is very close with choir director Jennifer Troiano because of the amount of time they spend together. He has been in a choir class with her since freshman year, and this year he sees her twice, sometimes three times, depending on the day because of his participation in the music department.

He also said that in Madrigals, there are only fifteen other people, leaving more time for one-on-one interaction. Heilman and Rathe both agree with this because they each only have about fif-teen athletes but over 140 students.

In either case, Hamann said he en-joys coming into work every day be-cause of his students.

“I get my fuel from the kids’ improve-ments,” Hamann said.

From teaching to trusting

Just Friends? No

Are you new friends or

old friends?

New

Old

Do you have a relationship?

How long have you

been dating?

Do you want to start one?

Under six months?

Over six months?

Are you planning on a long-term relationship or just casual?Casual

Long-term

Do they have a good sense

of humor? Yes

Yes NoNo

NoOK, let’s be honest ... It’s time to make

a move. Or ...

Just ask in person Make them laugh Do something sweet Be a romantic Break out your funny side! Bring back an old inside joke or do something a little embarrassing to make them smile. Walk into their class singing or bake a cake and write “prom?” on it. Then, push their face into the generously frosted dessert. No matter what hilarious stunt you pull, make sure you know that person’s sense of humor so you don’t hurt his or her feelings.

Try to ask them when you have a chance to be alone in a casual setting, like over lunch (treating them to lunch would be a nice touch). Over the phone can work, but it is less personal than asking in person. What should be avoided at all costs is asking over Facebook or text. It’s prom; you need to be a little more classy than that.

!!!!!".<%!)$%!)0=%!)#!-,+!>#*2!0,,%2!softy to ask your potential date in a way that will make his or her blush. Write “prom?” down their walkway .,+!&%.6%!.!5#*4*%)!#?!8#9%2(!0,!their car. Fill their room with their favorite color balloons and spell out “prom?” with their favorite bite-sized candy on their bed. What ever you choose, make sure it is simple not over the top or it might seem creepy.

Come on cupid, take out that 5#9!.,+!.22#91!+07!+%%'!.,+!-,+!your inner Romeo and Juliet. Spell out “prom?” with candles on their front lawn and come out with a bouquet of roses. Bring out the bells and whistles and make a slideshow of pictures of you and that special someone to your favorite song, playing it on the morning announcements or while watching your favorite movie together.

START HERE:

Student, staff bond enhances learning

Yes

Yes

6 FEATURESFriday, April 29, 2011

IF YOU WERE A TEACHER FOR A DAY ...

“I would take all the students to Dairy Queen and buy them all blizzards.” Sophomore Bailey McGuire

“I would bring in mini basketball hoop and have a tournament. I would give the winner extra credit.”

Junior Nico Witanen

IF YOU WERE A STUDENT FOR A DAY ...

“I would start both a Twitter and Facebook account and spend all day on it at school. I will see why everyone is living a digital life.”

Social science teacher John Camardella

Having trouble thinking of the right way to ask a date to prom? Don’t know whether to do something romantic or just ask? Take this quiz to find the best solution.

Compiled by Kate Schroeder

By Tess BauerStaff Writer

Senior Joe Huber had a problem: he had broken his phone and iPod around the same time. Apple’s iPhone was the perfect solution, combining a phone and an iPod into one.

“That’s the reason I got an iPhone — so I could kill two birds with one stone,” Huber said, “so I saved myself [some money] and bought them together.”

Huber’s iPhone has had some com-petition, though. The smartphone mar-ket has been dominated by Apple and more recently by Android. Apple and Android have gone head to head, each trying to unveil the shiniest and newest gadget to consumers.

For Huber’s girlfriend, senior Laura Hudec, the choice was clear when she went to get a new phone in September.

Hudec said the HTC Desire, an An-droid phone, “was the only good one U.S. Cellular had” at the time. She had wanted the HTC Desire for a while but didn’t get it until U.S. Cellular offered it.

Both Huber and Hudec like their phones, but for people who love tech-nology, it has turned into an iPhone ver-sus Android debate.

The iPhone boasts more applications with 350,000 while the Android has around 150,000, according to the official iPhone and Android websites.

However, even though Android has less than half the number of apps, for most consumers, it is more than enough.

Hudec said she has all the apps she needs on her Android with games like Angry Birds and apps like Stumble-Upon to help her search the web. Hu-

ber uses his iPhone for everything. It’s his music source, Internet source and phone.

Cost wasn’t an issue for Huber or Hudec, but keeping the cost down for smartphones is hard on manufacturers. Hudec’s phone was good for her, and she only paid $70 after mail-in rebate. Androids range in price from free with a new contract to over $49,000 for The Chairman.

On the other hand, Huber, who bought his iPhone 4 the day it came out on June 24, 2010, paid around $200. He

gave his original iPhone 3G to his mom after getting the iPhone 4. Huber would have paid $300 if he had wanted a 32GB iPhone 4.

Without a two-year AT&T contract, the price more than doubles. For people who want an iPhone but aren’t willing to fork over the money, there are more reasonable deals. A 3GS 8GB iPhone is just $49 through AT&T.

Also, there is a major difference in the operating systems. Androids have multiple phones on the market with dif-ferent hardware: older versions might have Android 1.6, and newer versions have Android 2.2.

With the different kinds of hard-ware, it can be confusing for consum-ers to find out what features they may or may not have and what kind of up-grades their Android can receive.

However, Apple has one operating system: iOS (internetwork operating system), with each iPhone generation having a different version. Upgrades are free through Apple and come out annually.

Android has released 16 new smart-phones in 2010 alone, according to an-droidcompare.com. On the other hand, Huber may be one of those people camped outside of an Apple store be-cause he is hoping he will have saved enough money to buy the iPhone 5, which is rumored to drop in September.

With carriers like Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, AT&T and Verizon, An-droid has its hand in all the major mo-bile phone companies. Apple phones have only Verizon and AT&T. Hudec got her phone through U.S. Cellular while Huber was already under contract with AT&T, so getting an iPhone wasn’t a problem.

With so much debate over Android versus iPhone, it’s hard to decide which one is better. It depends on the needs and wants of the consumer.

Huber and Hudec like to tease each other about their competing smart-phones.

“Well, we all know the iPhone is bet-ter,” Huber said.

“No, we all know the Android is bet-ter,” Hudec replied.

Friday, April 29, 2011

Cartoon by Riley Simpson

TALE OF THE TAPE iPhone Androids

Info courtesy of smartphonebasics.com

Apps

Versions

Service providers

150,000

5+

30+

2

350,000

4

7

This issue, the Prospector interviews freshman Jack Tuttle’s girlfriend, freshman Ally Scaccia, and older sister, junior Megan Tuttle, to see who knows Jack better.

The Sister

What is Jack’s pet peeve?Junior Megan Tuttle

Harry Potter 7

WINNER

Who Knows You Better?

The Subject The GirlfriendWhat is Jack’s least favorite movie?

What is Jack’s jersey number for football?

What is the last movie Jack saw in theaters?

Who is Jack’s math teacher?

Freshman Jack Tuttle Freshman Ally Scaccia

Dear JohnThe Wizard of Oz

21

Hair in the sink

Wintermute

Harry Potter 7

Hair in the sink

Harry Potter 7

21

!

!

!

!

WINNER

The Wizard of Oz

!

Hair in the sink

Wintermute Harder

! !

21

!

FEATURES

Smartphone

showdown

They can be blue, white, red or black. They can have a full keyboard, slide keyboard or be completely touch-screen. They can be the size of a TI-83 calculator or smaller than the original iPod. They can update Face-book statuses and navigate the way

through Chicago. They are smart-phones, but not just any smart-phones — they are Androids.

These won-ders of the tech-nological world grace the pock-ets and purses of consumers worldwide.

According to phandroid.com,

Android supports 28 percent of the phones in the United States, which beats the iPhone share of 21 percent.

Yet, the debate of which is better, the iPhone or the Android, continues to pit technology fanatics against one another.

For me, there is no doubt in my mind. Everything about Androids — from their adorable widgets to their sturdy exterior — makes them top dog of the cell phone industry.

My love affair with Androids began freshman year when I got the famed “Google phone” from T-Mobile, which is supported by the Android market. Prior to the piece of technology that forever changed my life, I had “pay-as-you-go” phones — real classy.

The core of the debate between iPhones and Androids centers on their application markets. Apple can take all of the credit for developing the concept of applications, but the award for the best overall content cer-tainly goes to Android.

The iPhone may have more appli-cations than the Android market, but the content on the Android market is more versatile.

It is true that more than half of the applications are the same or similar; however, where the iPhone basically has one application for everything you may need, Android has dozens of variations of that application, mak-ing it easier to find what you are truly searching for.

For example, the iPhone has the ap-plication Meebo, which is an instant messaging application. Meebo sup-ports AOL instant messenger, Yahoo! messenger and Facebook chat. The Android market not only has Meebo but has different variations of it.

There is an application just for

simple con-v e r s a t i o n s on Meebo as well as the complete appli-cation.

Androids’ ap-pearances vary as well where iPhone has the same brick-like shape it has always had. Android offers phones with full keyboards, but for those who aren’t a fan of touch-screen key-boards, the iPhone won’t work for them.

It may seem trivial, but the iPhone only offers two different colors. Whether you want a simple black phone, an edgy red phone, a bold blue phone or just a plain, classy white phone, Android has it.

Color may not seem like a huge deal, but it is another way that An-droid adjusts to the needs of the con-sumers and allows them to personal-ize every detail of their phone.

Android is clearly doing something right because every cell phone carrier has at least one Android-supported phone while iPhone limits itself to two carriers. Android even has a bet-ter logo: A little green bug-like robot will always be cuter and cooler than a bitten apple — always.

Androids outshine the iPhone

Carly EvansFeatures Editor

8 IN-DEPTH Friday, April 29, 2011

By Kyle BrownSta! Writer

Perfection Dermagraphics in Des Plaines is not what someone would expect a tattoo shop to look like. For one, its interior looks more like a dentist’s office than anything else. The walls are a sterile white, and it has a quaint waiting room out front with a few comfy chairs and a reception desk.

Beyond that, the studio rooms bring back memories of pulling teeth with its bright fluorescent lights and dentist’s chair.

The store was designed to look like this on purpose — not because they fill and check for cavities in back but rather “because we’re extremely serious about being safe,”

Senior tattoo artist Ste-phen Knight said.

Part of being safe in the tattoo business is ensuring the equipment they use is sterile. If ev-erything is sterile and single-use only, the odds of infection, like staph, are eliminated.

“Anything that can be disposed of is disposed

of,” Knight said. “Obviously, [with] hard-ware like tattoo machines, we don’t throw in the garbage, but they need to be properly [stowed away] and disinfected.”

All tattoo shops get their equipment from tattoo supply companies who sell their sup-plies in different forms.

Perfection buys their equipment pre-as-sembled and ready for use. They also make sure the company disinfects the equipment “so we don’t have to worry about having an autoclave (see Autoclave) on the premises.”

If the shop does use an autoclave, they need to have sterilization records to show that their equipment is in fact sterile. The shop needs a lot number of what was sterilized, a date, an indicator and a pass/fail strip to ensure that the autoclave did its job.

“If you don’t have any [sterilization re-cords], then you have to take the [tattoo artist’s] word,” Knight said.

According to Knight, the state of Illinois has no regulations on what tattoo shops have to do in terms of safety, although they did try.

“[The state] failed miserably,” Knight said. “They gave up, as a matter of fact, be-cause they didn’t have enough information to be able to perform health inspections.”

Illinois tried to issue regulations for tat-tooing because there was a blood shortage, and the Federal Government says people cannot give blood if they have had a tattoo or body piercing in the last year unless the state regulates the places where these procedures take place.

County health departments were then commissioned to do health inspections, which, according to Knight, were not effec-tive at all.

“[The health inspection] was the most disgusting thing I’ve seen in my entire life,” Knight said.

The Cook County officials had a blue checkoff sheet with a list of vague criteria they were supposed to be looking for. Perfec-tion passed this test, but the officials never checked to make sure the facility was taking measures to stay safe.

“They were more concerned about wheth-er or not we had a self-closing bathroom door,” Knight said. “When they came in, I had my whole studio room set up as if I was going to tattoo so they could see how we do it. [The inspectors] didn’t care; [they] didn’t want to see that.”

According to Knight, Perfection became so frustrated that they actually demanded the inspectors take a look at the items on the blue sheet.

Knight said the officials then stopped the inspection and told him: “I don’t care what you guys think. I only care about what’s on this blue sheet. If it’s not on this blue sheet, then I don’t want to talk about it.’”

Since the state doesn’t do anything to regulate what is done inside tattoo shops, they can’t do anything to en-sure all the artists are prop-erly trained either.

“All the health and safety stuff is voluntary,” Knight said. “With every studio, there’s guys [who] do it and guys [who] don’t. The guys [who] don’t will do things like have a certificate they got online for their Blood-borne Pathogens Training through the Red Cross of Indiana, mind you.

“The class takes about 40 minutes to take, and you learn nothing. But it’s good enough to put on your wall, and then clients they don’t know any better.”

For now, little can be done to make sure every artist knows exactly what they’re do-ing when they put the needle to their clients’ skin except for proper training.

The typical apprenticeship to become a tattoo artist usually takes one to three years to complete, yet there are schools that charge $12,000 up front and claim to be able to teach people how to tattoo in two and a half weeks.

“Everybody’s trying to get a piece of the pie,” Knight said. “It’s a billion-dollar indus-try right now. Are there schools? Yes. Are they good? No.”

Illustration by Nikki Gallup

AUTOCLAVE Autoclaves are machines used to disinfect equipment, especially medical tools and tattoo equipment. In its most basic form, the autoclave is a pressure cooker. Water is heated in a pressurized environment to create steam. Autoclaves are usually made of steel and have various /#,-7*2.)0#,(!?#2!2%=#60,7!.02!prior to pressurization.

!SQUEAKY CLEAN: Perfection Dermagraphics, located in Des Plaines, is the only tattoo shop in the Northwest Suburbs. Senior tattoo artist Stephen Knight keeps the shop spotless even with no state regulations in place. (Photo by Kyle Brown)

Stephen Knight

‘Perfection’ inevitably achievedTattoo shop works to keep clean and safe

9IN-DEPTHFriday, April 29, 2011

Four teachers at Prospect believe there is not a problem of having a tattoo, nor has any regretted getting one. They also all agree that tat-toos are serious and should be thought out. See what teachers have and the reasoning behind it:

Information compiled by Jenny JohnsonPhotos by Emmy Lindfors and Ian Magnuson

By Sharon Lee and Emmy LindforsAssociate Editor-In-Chief and Executive In-Depth Editor

Senior Brandon Thompson started to feel nervous and a little jittery right before his conference title match. The feel-ing quickly subsided, however, when he remembered the tattoo on his side of a tiger wrapped around the phrase “Eye of the Tiger.”

“It symbol-ized the mental focus and edge over my oppo-nent [in wres-tling],” Thomp-son said. “It gave me focus on the prize.”

With that, Thompson went into the match and after a long struggle, came out with the prize – the conference title.

Thompson said his tattoo is extremely meaningful to him because of his dedication to sports. He thought about getting the tattoo toward the end of his football season, and after a long process of talking to his close friends and family about his tattoo idea, he finally got it the week before wrestling season started.

“I wouldn’t get a tattoo if it meant little to me,” Thompson said. “When I see my tattoo, it’s awesome. I don’t regret it for a second.”

According to vanishingtat-

toos.com, most people don’t regret getting their tattoos: in 2008, 84 percent of people did not regret getting their tattoos while 16 percent did. Most Pros-pect students who were inter-viewed said they were happy with their tattoos, although a few had to overcome parental opposition.

When senior Nikki Camp approached her parents saying she wanted to get a tattoo of the phrase “You are my sunshine” on her upper back this past year, her mom was “all for it” while her dad, Sam Camp, was “anti-tattoo.”

“I think that at an early age, kids need to realize that it’s a

life choice, and there’s no turn-ing back,” Sam said. “It’s with you forever.”

Senior Kayla Jones’ mom Kel-ly Cain was also uncertain about her daughter getting a tattoo.

“It is simply too early in life to make permanent de-

cisions when so much life is still ahead of them,” Cain said. “Tattoos are sometimes consid-ered trendy, fad-ish and just ‘the thing to do.’ So were giant mall-bangs and bad perms in my day … thankfully those weren’t per-manent fixtures but something that [has] changed over time.”

Not all parents have reser-vations, however. Senior Jeff Jennings’ parents actually sug-gested the idea of getting a tat-too to him over spring break last year. With parent permission, Jennings was able to get his tat-too at 17 instead of 18. His dad went with him and even got one

of his own. Jennings got a tattoo of the

word “music” in Chinese sym-bols on his chest because music is what he has “dedicated his life to” and is what he is plan-ning on doing with the rest of his life. Jennings said get-ting the tattoo was on the “spur of the moment,” and he didn’t really think much about it be-cause he felt there was enough mean-ing to it.

Senior Kiley Shelley also got a tattoo that is meaningful to her, but in a different way. She got a tattoo of a heart with “10/3” in it, which symbolizes the date her dad died as well as her mom’s birthday.

Shelley said she constant-ly questioned herself about whether she wanted something permanent on her body before stepping into Perfection Derma-graphics, a tattoo shop in Des

Plaines (see ‘Perfection’ i n ev i t ably achieved).

“ S o m e people get tattoos just to have it,” Shelley said. “Why would you want to

permanently write something on your body if it doesn’t have meaning behind it?”

Cain also expressed concerns with her daughter getting a tat-too because of its permanence.

“Neither Kayla nor I know

what her future holds, but it kills me to see people her age, if not younger, marking their bod-ies in a manner that effectively closes doors of opportunity to them in the future,” Cain said. “We can all complain about the bias and shout that ‘you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover,’ but that is not real life.”

Because of these concerns, Thompson acknowledges that it is important to approach tattoos in a broader perspective than just in the present.

“I think a lot of people get tattoos short-minded, and they like it in the now, but they don’t really look towards the future,” Thompson said. “I got one thing, and it means everything. Mine will last me forever.”

Students get meaningful

Teachers and Tattoos

“I got a Tasmanian devil on my ankle. I agreed to go get one at my former broth-er-in-law’s bachelor party, so we went down to Harvard, Ill., which is where a bunch of naval guys are based at. I ended up getting the Tasmanian altered because it had a sailors hat and was bending an anchor, and I didn’t really want that. I guess I’m like the Tasmanian devil because I am a person who will get the job done and won’t let anything stand in my way.”

Lance Burmeister

“I have a tattoo on my inner ankle of a bird that’s singing. I just like how birds are free; plus, birds have little legs, and I guess I’m known for that. I also love to sing, and that symbolizes the musical notes coming out of the bird.”

Michelle Rosenheim

“I have one on my wrist, and it’s the date of my [son’s birthday] and my wedding anniversary. Then I have one on my arm, and it’s of three birds because there are three of us [in my family], and they are my birds.”

“I have four stars. That represents the highest rat-ing you can get [in a movie]. Movies are my hobby. It helps me unwind.”

Paul Hennig

Elizabeth Joiner

A picture worth a thousand words

TOP FIVE TATTOO DESIGNS

1. Stars 2. Floral tattoos3. Scripts and lettering 4. Animals/birds5. In loving memory tattoos

Information courtesy of

“When I see my tattoo, &492(#:621,6B(;(/1.94("6@"64(&4(01"(#(26'1./BC

-senior Brandon Thompson

Jeff JenningsKiley Shelley

MEANINGS BEHIND TATTOOS ARE REVEALED

Brandon Thompson

Senior Jeff Jennings has two tattoos, one on his arm of the Chinese symbol for time, and the Chinese symbol for music on his chest. Jennings’ tattoos symboliz-es his dedication to music through the years.

Senior Kiley Shel-ley has a tattoo of the date her dad died as well as her mom’s birthday on her arm to honor the both of

Senior Brandon Thompson got “Eye of the Tiger” with a picture of a tiger wrapped around his side. Thompson wanted the tattoo because it symbolized “mental focus and edge over [his] opponent.”

of us in our place in terms of going there and just stereotyping,” Halvorsen said. “It was typical of what we were learning — just stereotyping — and then feeling stupid for doing so.”

Over 80 percent of Kelly’s students are Latino, and the school’s location in the city can be daunting compared to where Prospect is located. Halvors-en admits she took extra precautions when deciding what to wear and wheth-er or not to bring electronics.

All Kelly stu-dents have to pass through a metal de-tector to enter the school, and Cohen told his students not to bring a purse or a cell phone on the trip.

Sucheki warned Cohen of prob-lems in the past with exchange stu-dents bringing cell phones, as Kelly has been conducting exchanges — but not in sociology — for over 20 years. Sucheki told Cohen of gang activity and a “high theft problem” at Kelly.

“[Prospect students] were really scared going down there for fear of the community,” Cohen said. “They didn’t know what the students were going to be like, [and there are] a lot of gang is-

sues going into to Kelly. ... There was a fear of the unknown — going into the city and seeing what would happen.

“From a Kelly standpoint, it was a fear of coming into a place where they wouldn’t be wanted — that [Mount Pros-pect is] a very snobbish area, [thinking] ‘You’re from the suburbs; we’re not,

and we’re not go-ing to be accepted in a place like this.’ And I think they were pleasantly sur-prised.”

Kelly senior Alexus Gomez par-ticipated on the ex-change, expecting Prospect students to be stuck-up.

“I thought people were going to stare at me,” Gomez said. “They did, but it wasn’t dirty looks like at Naperville. [Prospect] is more diverse [than Na-perville], and people are not stuck-up here that I’ve seen.”

And although Gomez pegs the students as “pretty much the same,” she noticed a differ-ence in how much the students cared about school. She and Kelly senior Ed-

gar Garcia were both surprised on how clear the hallways were. At Kelly, it’s a struggle getting to class on time be-cause of how packed the hallways are.

“All these gangs are hanging out in the halls,” Garcia said, “[and] it makes it really hard to get through.”

Garcia’s favorite part of the day at

Prospect was in AP Psychology where the class was speed dating based on men-tal disorders. He had to pretend he had avoidant personality disorder, meaning introverted with low confidence, while he interacted for 30 seconds each with others who had different disorders.

“I thought it was cool; everyone was so into it,” Garcia said. “Everyone was actually doing the work, and they played the role they were supposed to.”

“I feel like you come to school to ac-tually do what you’re supposed to do, as opposed to in Kelly, people don’t,” Go-mez said. “They just come because they have to.”

Kelly senior Eric Amaya felt Pros-pect was very welcoming but noticed the school was “clique-y” unlike Kelly, where more people are friends with each other. Whenever there’s a party, anyone can come — even if they don’t know who’s throwing it (see Daytimes). Yet Amaya agrees about Prospect stu-dents’ dedication to their schoolwork.

“[Prospect students] seemed more engaged in wanting to learn rather than kids at our school, who are like, ‘Ugh, I’m at school,’” Amaya said.

When it comes to technology, Gomez has never done a project on the com-puter involving iMovie. Cohen noticed

Kelly’s lack of resources, like a library the size of a classroom, limited books and overcrowding — about 40 kids per classroom and not enough space.

Despite these physical differences, Halvorsen still feels that the students were so similar that it was easy to get along with them. Her host student skateboarded, like some of Halvorsen’s friends, so she introduced them and saw that they bonded quickly.

“I thought, ‘Wow, he would have fit into our group of friends if he went here,’” Halvorsen said. “[With] person-alities, we all fit together.”

Cohen attributes the similarity to the fact that all teenagers are going through the many of the same issues: relationships, academics, involvement in programs and lack of opportunities.

“[Prospect kids] went [to Kelly] with an attitude based on the perceptions of stereotypes,” Cohen said. “Once the students got to know the Kelly students, they realized [Kelly students] might be of different economic group or status, but they’re just students.”

“There were a lot of differences, but in the end, it doesn’t matter,” Halvorsen said. “We’re all just students trying to get through high school.”

By Megan MaughanExecutive Features Editor

Last year, PE teacher Aaron Marn-stein introduced Prospect to Girls Fight Back, a presentation for girls and their mothers educating them about dating violence and violence against women in general.

However, because of the seminar-like atmosphere of the presentation, the speaker, Erin Weed, reminded everyone that Girls Fight Back did not replace an actual self-defense class.

This year, Marnstein has taken it upon himself to take Weed’s advice and offer an actual self-defense class to girls and their mothers through an organiza-tion called Fight Like A Girl.

Though Girls Fight Back had great feedback last year from girls and their parents, because of the cost, the Dis-trict 214 schools decided to bring it back on a two-year rotation. Not wanting this year’s seniors to be left with nothing, Marnstein decided to bring in Fight Like A Girl for Prospect students only.

On May 15, Prospect will hold ses-sions hosted by Fight Like A Girl in the wrestling room. Girls and their moth-ers will work hands-on with instruc-tors, practicing how to use various de-fense techniques.

Marnstein said this training is espe-cially important for senior girls since they are going away to college. He said by having their mothers attend the class with them, the whole family can become more aware of violence against women and be better pre-pared to handle it.

“In college, you’re unsupport-ed,” Marnstein said. “Parents are putting a lot of trust in their sons or daughters, but they don’t know what other people are going to do.”

Diane Boldt and her daughter, ’10 graduate Emily, went to Girls Fight Back last year. For Boldt, the seminar

was an opportunity for her to be able to talk to her daughter about self-defense in a com-fortable environment.

“It opens up communica-tion lines for moms to be able to talk to their daughters about situations they were in and say, ‘It can happen, and this is how I dealt with it,’” Boldt said.

Though Boldt thought the seminar was helpful, she said Fight Like A Girl is what last

year’s seminar was missing.“The information the girls are

taught is going to stick with them better if they’re actually practicing it,” Boldt said. “Participation makes a big differ-ence. ... They’ll be more comfortable us-ing [the techniques] if they have to.”

Still, Marnstein knows that college isn’t the only place where danger could be waiting. He cited the recent mur-

der in Arlington Heights as an in-dicator that people can be susceptible to violence any-where.

“You can be robbed anywhere; you can be raped anywhere; you can

be assaulted anywhere,” Marnstein said. “Just because we live in a good neighborhood doesn’t mean we’ll al-ways be safe.”

In the future, Marnstein would like to build on the self-defense programs to reach out to everyone; instead of limit-ing it to just girls and their other female family members, he would like to have programs involving boys and dads.

According to Fight Like A Girl, one in six high school girls are assaulted by their boyfriends, and 80 percent of sex-ual assaults are committed by someone the girls know. Marnstein said the only way to lessen these statistics is to make everyone aware of them and teach peo-ple how to defend themselves.

“Knowledge is power,” Marnstein said, “and this is the type of knowledge that people need to have.”

Boldt also believes that self-defense is important information for girls and boys and hopes the class will still be available when her daughter in eighth grade attends high school.

“It doesn’t just stop with the girls,” Boldt said. “You need to educate boys, too, because they can also be attacked but also because they need to know what kind of behavior isn’t acceptable.”

Marnstein said the name Fight Like A Girl is a lesson in itself and a stereo-type that women need to break in order to protect themselves.

“When someone says, ‘Oh, you fight like a girl,’ it’s meant to be an insult be-cause the stigma is that girls are weak,” Marnstein said. “The way in which [the organization] uses this name is to em-power; we’re turning the meaning from a negative to a positive.

“The slogan for Fight Like A Girl is: ‘You have one life ... fight for it!’ So we’re going to turn this name around, and we’re gonna own it.”

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-PE teacher Aaron Marnstein

10 FEATURES Friday, April 29, 2011

KELLY: Exchange connects students, broadens horizonsCONTINUED from front page

!COMING TOGETHER: Prospect and Kelly High School sociology classes pose at Prospect during a one­day exchange on April 15. The exchange served as a tool to break the stereotypes the students had about each other.  (Photo courtesy of Jason Cohen)

DAYTIMES Kelly High School students give new meaning to the phrase “party all day and all night.” A reoccurring problem at the Chicago public school is what they call “daytimes,” a party during the day. “They get a text or plan a time to leave school and cut all day,” senior Caroline Halvorsen said. “[They] go to someone’s house and have a big party.” Besides during the day, Kelly students were in awe when Prospect students said only about 20 students constitutes a party; at Kelly, their parties consist of around 200 people and a DJ, and everyone’s invited. The consequences are much different, too. In all of sociology teacher Melissa Sucheki’s years of teaching at Kelly, she’s only heard of one student getting a drinking ticket. According to Halvorsen, if the cops come to Kelly parties, they don’t get in trouble. They just go home.

Teaching students how to ‘fight like a girl’

When: Sunday, May 15 at 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. or 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 pmFee: $40 per person. You can get a sign-up sheet from PE teacher Aaron Marnstein in Room 172 and return the payment to him by May 11.Where: Prospect High School wrestling room

Information courtesy of Aaron Marnstein

!SWIMMING WITH THE SHARKS: Dr. Josef Mengele (Gregory Peck) checks off the names of assassi­nated men on his list of targets. Mengele is an exiled Nazi living in Paraguay as he tries to bring about the Fourth Reich. 

Bono: the timeless rocker most famous for his trademark sunglass-es. Muhammad Ali: the legendary boxer who floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee.

Madonna: the iconic diva of the 1980s. Jim Carrey: the funny man of the 1990s.

Although these four may have different personalities and areas of expertise, they are all involved in something bigger than themselves,

coming to the rescue of people around the world (see Charitable do-nations).

With the re-cent tragedy in Japan, ce-lebrity charity organizations are benefit-ing from the additional ex-posure. Celeb-

rities who sponsor charities set a great example of service and dedi-cation for their fans and the public — whether or not they donate for publicity or from their hearts.

The giving spirit started back in 1984 when Bob Geldof, the lead sing-er of the Irish punk rock band The Boomtown Rats, brought together the biggest collaboration of British music artists for the first charity ef-fort in the music world.

An all-star cast recorded and sold “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” to bring in nearly $14 million for hunger relief in Africa. Bono, Phil Collins, Paul McCartney and David Bowie were all part of the star-stud-ded lineup.

This pioneering effort bloomed into fundraising projects such as Band-Aid, Live-Aid, Farm-Aid and Live 8, all including talented art-ists using their fame to raise money for those in need. Finally, the U.S. is starting to see celebrities step up and be part of something big-ger.

Even though these people can’t always be counted on to give from the heart, as long as money gets from their bank accounts to the people that need it, the sincerity shouldn’t matter.

Not only can celebrities raise money, but they can also raise awareness. 2.2 million people have joined in the worldwide struggle for human rights with Amnesty International.

Concerning the recent disaster in Japan, American celebrities have stepped up to the plate. Lady Gaga sold prayer bracelets for $5, several stars sent their love and prayers via Twitter — encouraging their fans to get involved with relief ef-forts — and Universal Music art-ists such as Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj and Bon Jovi are coming together to record a digital-only album for the Japan relief effort, available on iTunes.

Though the money may get to the disaster site too late to make a dent in the damage, the cliché still holds — it’s the thought that counts.

It was a pleasant surprise to see all of these names expressing such heartfelt feelings for those suffer-ing despite the fact that their ac-tions may just be ways to further hog the spotlight.

Bieber also decided to cut off his renowned locks for not only a new ‘do but also for a chance to auc-tion off the hair and donate all the proceeds to the Gentle Barn Foun-dation, an animal rescue organiza-tion. Although this is a great way to raise money for deserving organiza-tions, some stars can overestimate

themselves — it’s just hair.

Despite that fact, the “hairloom” sold for $40,688 on eBay to GoldenPalace.com, who often attends ce-lebrity charity auc-tions, according to The Huffington Post. The buyer claims they will take the hair with them to Bieber’s concerts to raise even more money for char-ity.

Whether it’s genu-ine or not, it’s inspir-ing to see the rich and famous helping out those in need and also helping out organiza-tions that can make their donations go even further.

“Celebrity is cur-rency, so I wanted to use mine effectively,” Bono said in an inter-view with MSNBC’s Brian Williams. “I love this work I do. It’s a privilege to serve the poor.”

By Neel ThakkarEditor-in-Chief

Toward the end of “The Boys From Brazil,” we find two old men — played by 71-year-

old Laurence Olivier and 62-year-old Gregory Peck — lying atop each other on a living room rug in ru-ral Pennsylvania.

Though it’s hard to tell from their feeble movements, the ran-

domly emerging blood stains on their bodies and their pained facial

expressions indicate they’re fighters, not lovers. A pack of attack dogs, a

gun and, later, a photographer, com-plete this ridiculous tableau.

If only there were a shark — then both Peck and Olivier could have jumped over it, like the character Fonzie fatefully did on “Happy Days” just the year before.

For that show, the shark jump marked its de-scent into absurdity; so it is with “The Boys From Brazil,” which spins a suspenseful, entertaining story for two hours, only to have it come a little unraveled at the end.

The movie, set in Paraguay in the late 1970s, centers around exiled Nazi and war criminal Dr. Josef Mengele — who in real life was known as the “Angel of Death” at Auschwitz — and his plot to establish a Fouth Reich through a series of 94 assassinations.

Opposite Mengele, who is played masterfully by Peck, is Olivier’s character: Nazi-hunter Ezra Lieberman (based on real-life Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal, who helped catch Adolf Eichmann).

How exactly Mengele’s assassinations will bring about world domination is the mystery, especially considering that his targets are not world leaders but instead geriatric civil servants — postmen, principals, teachers and the like.

After receiving a tip from a young American Jew (played by Jessie Eisenberg look-alike Steve Guttenberg) about Mengele’s plans, it falls to Li-eberman to take up the case.

Though it’s accessorized with elements from science fiction — most notably cloning and creepy Hitler babies (if nothing else, this movie will forever alter your conception of the Hitler Youth) — “Brazil” revolves around the building tension between its two stars, Olivier and Peck.

The versatile Peck, best known for his Oscar-winning role as Atticus Finch in “To Kill A Mock-ingbird,” is transformed here from Southern gen-tleman to fiery, disturbing German. Olivier, who won the Best Actor Oscar for his 1948 portrayal of Hamlet, masters the split personality of his character — he is at once a crumbly, kindly old Jewish gentleman and a steely, fearless prosecu-tor of justice.

Even as the movie hops around a half-dozen countries, the match of wits between Liberman and Menegele remains the movie’s center of grav-ity, as each aims to foil the other from afar.

That this intricate game ends with an awk-ward physical confrontation is one of the few de-fects that makes “The Boys From Brazil” a flawed — but still gripping — classic.

11ENTERTAINMENT

Speaking out for charity

Meghan DoyleSta! Writer

Anyone with a student ID will receive a 10 percent discount on any order!

Celebrity philanthropy :publicity stunt or genuine action? ‘Boys from Brazil’ an

absurd, intriguing film

Friday, April 29, 2011

CHARITABLE DONATIONS

Rocker Bono: Debt, AIDS and Trade for Africa (DATA), MusiCares, Make Poverty History, ONE Campaign, RED, Live 8, Millennium Promise Alliance, Millennium Villages Project, the HollyRod Foundation Boxer Muhammad Ali: The Holly Rod Foundation, Project A.L.S

Singer Madonna: Millennium Villages Project

Actor Jim Carrey: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Comic Relief

Actress Angelina Jolie: California Community Foundation, ONE Campaign, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador, Daniel Pearl Foundation, Direct Change, Global Action for Children, Jolie-Pitt Foundation, Millennium Promise Alliance, Millennium Villages Project

Singer Beyonce Knowles:

The Entertainment Industry Foundation Program’s National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance (EIF/NCCRA), Love Our Children USA

Information courtesy of 4seasons.homestead.

Graphic by Heather Dove

12 ENTERTAINMENTFriday, April 29, 2011

By Katie BestOpinion Editor

A superhero who can win any awk-

ward challenge he or she is given, a claymation and an “Insidious” spoof all have one thing in common. No, it is not the letter “o.”

These three topics are current proj-ects of Prospect’s Film Club, which juniors Vrajika Thakker and Katie Maigler started this year.

In Film Club, students can write, direct, act and film their own original short movies. According to Thakker, Film Club gives students a chance to “let their creative juices flow” and “get out of their comfort zone.”

Thakker originally started Film Club because she likes filming and be-ing in movies.

Thakker has acting and writing ex-perience through her participation in Speech Team and this year’s winter play, “A Midsommer Night’s Dreame,” and she thought people would be inter-ested in joining a club without having to be cast in a play or be in a speech event.

Junior member Mitch Ransdell loves that Film Club gives him an opportuni-ty to get involved and focus on what he wants to do, such as “cinematography, direction [and] anything along those lines.”

“[Film Club] is a great way for [stu-dents] who want to work with film to get involved,” Ransdell said.

After Thakker’s friends said they

would be interested in participating in the club, Thakker and Maigler, who was named “Vice President,” started to focus on finding a teacher to sponsor the club and they found that sponsor in Media Technology teacher Tim Schaap.

“[I chose to sponsor] because I hoped that [Film Club] would grow and spill over into my Media Tech class,” Schaap said. “They are very similar in the sense that the kids love to film and create.”

Before they start filming their mov-ies, Film Club members must first brainstorm and create story ideas and scripts. Two of their current projects are “KARL,” a superhero spoof, and “Surreptitious,” the aforementioned “Insidious” spoof.

The club has also brainstormed oth-er ideas, but according to Thakker, they “can’t be revealed right now.”

“[The brainstorm] is great because everyone just builds off each other’s ideas,” Ransdell said. “It’s like a feast of ideas.”

After the mass brain storming ses-sions, the writers begin to work on the scripts for story ideas.

Since the club is still new, there are not specific deadlines for projects, but Thakker is hoping to have the films done by the end of the year in order to have a film festival (see Film festival de Prospect)

From there, actors and actresses are cast while the script writers assume directing duties. Costume and makeup designers are usually members of the cast. According to Thakker, the club

is hoping to get access to some of the school’s costumes from plays and musi-cals, but as of right now, club members are bringing costumes from home.

For example, Thakker’s “KARL” cos-tume which consists of a wig, suspend-ers and a stuffed stomach made of shirts and other clothing items that could be found.

When they finish film-ing, a team of editors will put the clips to-gether. As of right now, filming loca-tions for projects, such as “KARL,” will be various locations at Prospect.

While Film Club is off to a good start, they have run into a few road-b l o c k s l i k e

Schaap’s Bass Fishing Club meetings, which clash with the Film Club’s meet-ings. Also, with Schaap being out of town, the club’s access to film and cameras has been limited, so they have had to

buy their own equipment by “pitching in some loose change.”

Despite the challenges, Thakker is optimistic about recruiting members and making her club a success.

“Everyone is creative in one way or another, so what better

way to show your creativity than working on films?” Thakker said. “And let’s be honest here, everyone secretly dreams of becom-

ing a famous superstar one day. Instead of just secret-ly dreaming about being a famous actor, Film Club gives kids the opportu-nity to star in their own mov-ies and a c h i e v e t h o s e

dreams.”

!!!!!@0&=!A&*5!0(!$#'0,7!)#!$.6%!.!-&=!festival in order to display all the work done this year. But according to Film Club creator junior Vrajika Thakker, the festival may not happen this year because of school ending soon and lack of pre-meditated scheduling. Since the chances of a full Film Festival happening this year is slim, Thakker said Film Club’s sponsor, Media Technology teacher Tim Schaap suggested showcasing their movies in the cafeteria during lunch periods. However, Thakker has big plans for next year, claiming she wants “to go full out.” This would entail a day– or possibly

even a weekend– where students can both

purchase tickets and vote for )$%02!?.6#20)%!-&=!)#!90,!.!BC2#(/.23D! A “Proscar” would be very much like an Oscar, and there would be an awards ceremony for the winners where )$%!-,.&0()(!/.,!5%!60%9%+3! This event would gives members of Film Club a chances to see their peers wins awards for the work they have +#,%!90)$!(/20')!920)0,71!./)0,71!-&=0,7!.,+!-&=!%+0)0,73! “This is all just a dream of mine,” Thakker said. “I certainly hope we can achieve it by the time I graduate next year, but if not, I hope future generations of Film Club can keep it

Film Club: reeling

with imagination

!LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: The members of film club get in character (above, right). Film Club member junior Max Rainey attempts to fit in one of the club’s costumes unsuccessfully, having one arm stuck in the dress and the waving a pom­pom (above, left). Founders juniors Vrajika Thakker and Katie Maigler embody their characters, Karl and his best friend before filming “KARL” (below). (Photos by Ian Magnunson)

FILM FESTIVAL

My perfect movie-going experience is simple.

I want my popcorn buttered and salt-ed, just like the rest of the world. But I like it the way ma used to make it (by pushing buttons on the microwave). Ice should think twice before jumping into my large regular Coca-Cola drink.

The squeaky chairs are the best be-cause I like to squirm in my seat to the tune of Foreigner songs. Sticky floors are a turn-off, although the sticky floors might be the result of a “turn-on.”

But most importantly, I want the most for my value. In other words, for the $10-ish admission ticket at the old AMC Randhurst 16 — plus the $10-ish bill for concessions — I wanted a pleasant eve-ning at the show.

But I never felt like I got enough out of the Randhurst 16. Personally, I have nothing against the soon-to-be-vacant theater. In fact, the place was a pensieve of movie memories (I saw almost every Oscar-nominated film there the past two years).

But I always favored Arlington The-aters for its cheap ticket prices and aforementioned squeaky seats.

I got the most for my value of $5.25 at Arlington.

But Randhurst is plotting a come-back. Today marks the opening of the brand spankin’ new AMC Randhurst 12, in the same place it’s always been — just revamped. Over the past few weeks, the theater has graciously been presenting free showings of older movies like “The Dark Knight,” “Inception,” “Iron Man” and others. AMC Director of Public Re-lations Ryan Noonan called the shows “a soft opening.”

On Monday, April 18, I obviously chose “Iron Man.”

Upon entering the expansive lobby, I first noticed the 30-plus movie quotes in huge letters above the box office. They have the usual old ones — “You had me at ‘Hello’” from “Jerry Maguire” and “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas any more” from “The Wizard of Oz” — and great quotes from recent movies like “The Hangover” and “Tropic Thunder.”

What did my friends first notice? The alcohol behind the counter at Mac-Guffin’s, a full-ser-vice bar at the the-ater, complete with its own flat screen TVs.

Yes, those over 21 with proper wristbands can order draft beer, bottled beer or any other alcoholic beverage and take it with them throughout the theater. Note: Mac-Guffin’s is separate from the theater’s concession stand.

Banners hang from the ceiling, each with a famous movie character: Iron Man, Maximus Decimus Meridius from “Gladiator” and Jack Dawson from “Ti-tanic,” among others.

“We want people to look up and go, ‘I know that movie [character]!’” Noonan

said on our tour of the theater on April 25 (for those of you playing at home, I’ve been to Randhurst 12 twice in two weeks).

At normal theaters, you stand in line and wait to order your popcorn and your drink at the concession stand. Then when you finally get to the register, you wait for the cashier to prepare your snacks. For Noonan and Randhurst 12, this was too much waiting.

The concession stand is a circle, with one portion devoted to beverages and the two Coca-Cola Freestyle machines (see Coke heaven?). Another part is all food: popcorn, hot dogs, pizza and moz-zarella sticks (which Noonan recom-mended). In the middle is a candy bank; it’s a circular island of tooth-killing joy — my teeth love the stab of original Re-ese’s Cups.

Lastly, a line of cash registers make waiting to pay a fleeting thought. I would

have been out of the marketplace in under a minute if it hadn’t been for all the “oohs” and “ahhs.”

“[The conces-sion stand] is a ‘your option’ heav-en,” Noonan said, “You can walk around at your own pace. In a way, it is [the first of its kind].”

T e c h n i c a l l y, there are three or four other AMC theaters in the country with this mini-marketplace of a concession stand.

Also interest-ing is the variety of food and drink in the marketplace — they serve Se-attle’s Best Coffee,

juices and other healthy drinks and ice cream. But variety seems to be a motto at Randhurst 12.

“I think the overall mes-sage is options — options for our guests,” Noonan said. “We’re all about giving our guests as many options as we can so they can choose what they want.”

We reached theater No. 9, which read “’Iron Man’ at 7:15 p.m.” on top. It didn’t prepare us for the comforting surprise waiting in the theater.

We scanned the aisles of red seats. They looked as comfortable as Egyp-

tian cotton, and we had only seen them. But we didn’t just sit in a row of seats. At the Randhurst 12, each theater has at least two booths on the sides of the au-ditoriums.

Four chairs. Three friends plus me. One table. It was too perfect.

Noonan called the booths “box seat-ing,” another new feature in AMC the-aters. Some auditoriums have two seats instead of four.

“It’s a nice little date night,” Noonan said.

Personally, I think it’s more of a risk for sticky floors.

We actually only experienced the box seating. There are three other types of seating in theater No. 9.

Sure, the box seating was perfect, but there were more heavenly options.

I don’t think anyone likes sitting in the front row at a movie. Most people tip their necks 180 degrees just to see the screen. At Randhurst 12, the recliner does all the work.

That’s right. The theater has reclin-ers. Darn comfortable recliners. If I wasn’t paying to see a movie, the leather of the recliner would soak me up, sort of like in “Killer Mattress.”

“I’m not a huge front row guy,” Noon-an said, “but I might be if I get to sit in something a little laid-back like [these recliners].”

The top row of seats is in its own time zone. There’s almost five feet of leg space between the seat and the next row of seats.

Now, since the seats in each theater fill up on a first-come, first-serve basis, what if you’re too late to snag a booth? Or even a recliner? Or the seats at the top that could easily accommodate someone twice as tall as Shaquille O’Neal?

It’s OK. The regular seats are more comfortable and supportive than nor-

mal movie theater seats.Oh, and these seats are just for the

regular 11 theaters. Wait, isn’t it the new AMC Randhurst 12?

The Enhanced Theater Experience (ETX) is like AMC’s IMAX. The ETX is a huge auditorium that seats 223 people.

“It has enhanced picture and sound,” Noonan said. “It really is a tremendous theater experience.”

For ETX shows, a $3 surcharge — $4 for 3-D movies — is added to the ticket price. That’s much cheaper than IMAX shows, which can cost up to $20.

At the end of our tour, I asked Noon-an if the prices for Randhurst 12 were jacked up for the increase in seating, concession, environmental (see LEED-ing the way) and overall atmosphere quality.

He told me that the theater would fol-low the standard pricing for industry. In other words, everything at Randhurst 12 will cost the same as Randhurst 16.

So ... more options at an overall better theater?

Sounds like more for your value to me.

13 ENTERTAINMENTFriday, April 29, 2011

RGoes to

the movies

New Randhurst movie theater gives more, asks for the same

!RATED R FOR RECLINER: The front row in every theater is made of the most comfortable reclining chairs I’ve ever touched. But the theaters don’t stop there. The top row has more than five feet of leg room. Each theater has one or two box seating areas complete with a table and four seats.  The regular seats are more comfortable than most. AMC Randhurst 12 opens today.

!CONCESSION STAND HERO: The AMC Randhurst 12’s revolutionary concession stand is more of a marketplace. Instead of standing in one line waiting for service, ordering snacks and waiting for the food, you can move at your own pace in Randhurst 12’s marketplace, ending at a bank of cash registers. Waiting has become a think of the past.

All graphics by Ian Magnuson and Heather Dove

OPENING WEEKEND The new AMC Randhurst 12 opens today, just a few hundered feet from the soon-to-be-closed Randhurst 16. Tomorrow, the theater will display two cars from “The Fast

and the Furious” movies to promote the fourth sequel in the franchise, “Fast Five.” According to the theater’s media contact

Amanda Wehr, the cars — a 1970 Chevelle and the 1987 Buick GNX — are on loan from the Volo Car Museum in Volo, Ill.

1970 Chevelle from =G#24(#./(G5"&152C(

!""#$%&'()*"(+,- The new AMC Randhurst 12 Theatres 0(!)$%!-2()!=#60%!)$%.)%2!0,!)$%!,.)0#,!area to be LEED (Leadership in Energy .,+!E,602#,=%,).&!F%(07,G:/%2)0-%+3!Overall, it uses 21 percent less energy than other theater in the nation. Recycled materials make up the

carpets, countertops, energy-saving faucets and urinals in the bathrooms. Next to most environmentally-sound appliances is a sticker that advertises AMC’s new direction (see picture). “Every opportunity we can get to showcase how we’re helping the environment, we want to do it,” AMC Director of Public Relations Ryan Noonan said.

for Riley

Rated

COKE HEAVEN?

We’ve seen Freestyle Coke Machines at local restaurants like the good (not great) Pei Wei. They now make their debut at the new AMC Randhurst 12 Theatre — it’s the third or fourth Freestyle in AMC theaters so far according to AMC Director of Public Relations Ryan Noonan. For the inexperienced, Freestlye Coke Machines have touch screens with about 106 +0??%2%,)!8.6#2(!#?!(#+.3!"$.)!+#%(,H)!even begin to describe the combinations #?!8.6#2(3 “I think somebody tried to do the math once,” Noonan said, “but it sounded obscenely high, so I didn’t commit [the number of combinations] to memory.” The machine is even hooked up to the Internet so the Coca-Cola Company can monitor the syrup levels. On the inside, the machine looks like a darn computer. Instead of canisters and syrup bags, LED lights and hard drives make up the Freestyle’s belly. However, since the machine has only one spout through which all the types of (#+.!8#93!I!7%)!.!2%7*&.2!A#<%!90)$!,#!ice, but couldn’t help but taste a bitter

By Jack MathewsSta! Writer

Two years ago, several sophomores were moved to the varsity baseball team to provide extra depth. Two years later, they are the leaders of the team that is in first place in the MSL East and ranked fifth best in the area by the Daily Herald. “Our team has kind of been built for this year because six [senior players] have been on varsity since they were sophomores,” head coach Ross Giusti said.

From a physical standpoint, this team’s depth of quality pitching has been a big part of Prospect’s success

and 11-4 record this season, but Giusti also credits their success to the expe-rience, leadership and confidence that his seniors have displayed this year.

Seniors Matt Molini, Ben Menich, Brian Bauer, Peter Bonahoom, Steve Dazzo and Joey Siers are the six who have been on varsity since sophomore year.

“I think [their experience] will be even more noticeable in the playoffs because some of these kids have been involved in 15-16 playoff games for us,” Giusti said.

The Knights have done well in big games and have won all three of their conference games this year, including a 9-4 win over Hersey, their biggest com-

petition in the East and reigning con-ference champions.

“We’ve been playing together for three years now, and that experience al-ways helps, especially in big games be-cause we are more relaxed and we have been there before,” Molini said.

The Knights hope their success con-tinues into late May when the playoffs start. Last year, the Knights were elim-inated early in a tournament game by Fremd, but they are looking to go much further this year and feel they can make a much deeper run.

“I think with the talent we have and the way things are going for us, we should be able to do big things,” junior Jack Landwehr said.

14 SPORTS

Experience earns excellence HOW IT WORKS Moving sophomores up two years ago turned out to be good for the team this year, but the program does not feel a move like that is necessary every year and has no sophomores on the varsity roster this season. This can partly be attributed to the abundance of senior talent the team has now. What to do is determined when all the coaches get together for an %,+!#?!)$%!>%.2!=%%)0,7!)#!-7*2%!#*)!9$.)!$#&%(!,%%+!)#!5%!-&&%+3!!!!!! “We rely heavily on the under level coaches to update us on how teams and individuals are doing so we can foresee what our varsity roster will look like down the road,” Giusti said. Although eight of the nine regular starters are currently seniors, the younger players get playing time on varsity and also have summer league games to gain experience. Despite the loss of most of the lineup after this season, Giusti is not worried about how his team will fare next season. “We have had several [juniors] who have already seen a lot of action and will certainly be big contributors,” Giusti said. “Plus, they are observing a senior group that knows how to get it done.” One of those players is junior Jack Landwehr, who is batting .500 and has a 5-2 record as a pitcher. Landwehr is the only junior who starts on a regular basis and says he looks forward to being one of the leaders of the team next season. “Next year will be my third year on varsity,” Landwehr said, “I hope to be a main contributor again and help take the team as far as possible.”

Friday, April 29,

Veteran seniors lead baseball team to new heights

!A SWING AND A HIT: Senior Luke Bergman bats during Prospect’s 6­4 loss against Conant on April 25. Bergman is one of the eight seniors who are regular starters for the team this season. (Photo by Ian Magnuson)

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BASEBALL’S SEASON

Team record

11-3 (3-0)HR leaders

Jack Landwehr-2Peter Bonahoom-1 Steve Dazzo-1Luke Bergman-1Anthony Charnota-1

RBI leaders

Landwehr -20Brian Bauer-10Matt Molini-10Dazzo-9

Strikeout leaders

Landwehr -52Ben Menich-40Dazzo-16As of April 26

By Miranda HollowaySports Editor

In his nearly 20 years as a softball coach, Jim Adair has always been able to go home and relax after a game. This year, however, Adair con-tinues to work after the games.

Adair now goes home to collect statistics to send to various local newspapers so they can report them the next morning.

That’s not all of the responsibili-ties Adair has taken over though.

“As a varsity coach, you have to worry about all the other teams and the stupid uniforms and this and that and buses and umpires,” Adair said. “It’s a lot more stressful.”

Since moving up to the varsity level this year after coaching both the freshman and JV teams, Adair has had to change the way he ap-proaches coaching.

On the lower levels of softball, Adair did not consider conference standings a high priority, but for the varsity team, it determines the even-tual playoff seeds.

“We just don’t remember fresh-man records. I always remembered them when I was a coach, but what people do is say, ‘How successful is your program?’” Adair said. “They want to know, ‘What did your varsity win lately?’ There’s more pressure. I’m more nervous — I don’t want to do anything to screw up and hurt the team.”

As a result of the added pressure to win, Adair has dropped some of the plays he used to work on with his freshman girls — such as trick plays — because the level of the varsity opponents is higher.

“[The varsity level players] throw the ball better,” Adair said, “so if you are trying to get them to make a throwing mistake by doing some-thing base running-wise, they are not going to really fall for that.”

To make up for the lack of trick plays, Adair now has the ability to put more skill into basic plays.

Instead of bunting to simply ad-vance a runner and give the inexpe-rienced players a chance to bunt, he need his players to bunt to a certain part of the field and hit the ball ei-ther hard or soft, depending on the situation.

“If you are trying to bunt on the freshman level and you bunt so a runner can go from first to second, you are just lucky if the girl bunts it,“ Adair said. “Whereas varsity-wise, they want it at a certain spot — down the third base line, up the first base line, hard bunt, soft bunt.”

As a varsity coach, Adair now worries about not only his own team’s status be-fore the game but the status of his opponents as well.

“I have a notebook where I look at the sports page every day and write down which teams beat who,” Adair said. “So if I turn to the Palatine page, I’ve already got a listing of 15 Palatine games: how they did, who they beat, which kid on their team had four hits or three hits, who their pitcher is [and] does she strike out a lot of people.”

By doing this, he has a sense of what is to come and which players will require the most attention.

“When you are on the JV and freshmen level ... the focus is devel-oping players,” Adair said. “When you are on the varsity level ... every game is really important, and that is stressful.”

A fast-paced schedule can be an-other main cause of stress for girls at the varsity level.

The girls have up to three games during the school week and usually

play doubleheaders on Saturdays.To stay prepared at a more ad-

vanced level, Adair, while still stressing the basics, focuses on the more technical aspects of the game and puts his players in more game-like situations.

“The only way to get better at fielding ground balls sometimes is to field 50 ground balls,” Adair said.

By practicing in these situations, the girls are more confident in game situations, and it takes some of the pressure off, according to senior var-sity player Nikki Surico (see Han-dling pressure).

“We have been in a lot of close games, and we have been play-ing tough defense without letting runners on base score,” Surico said. “We have come together re-ally well in clutch situations.”

Prospect is competing in one of the toughest conferences in the area, according to the Daily Herald. Elk Grove is ranked No. 1 in their circu-lation area, Conant is in fifth, Fremd is eighth, Barrington is 10th and Pal-atine is 11th.

Therefore, the girls have been put in many of these clutch situations (see Season so far).

“You have to put out a consistent effort every play, every pitch,” Adair said. “You have to expect that the ball is going to be hit to you.”

Putting in this effort on every play can be tiring when playing such competitive teams, but Adair also wants to keep fun and love for the game in every player.

“I want to bring new energy to the kids and some new enthusiasm and get them excited about softball,” Adair said. “We are looking to win some games and have some fun. Win-ning is fun. Losing is not that fun.”

!COACHING CONFIDENCE: Head coach Jim Adair coaches girls’ softball to a 12­2 win against Hersey on April 20. Along with winning games, Adair’s goal this year has been to make the team excited about playing softball. (Photo by Miranda Holloway) 

First- year varsity softball coach Jim Adair changes coaching tactics

HANDLING PRESSURE Along with Adair’s attitude ideas, individual players have developed their own methods for handling their nerves during a high-pressure situation. Junior Amy Graham, who plays #*)-%&+1!J*()!).<%(!.!+%%'!52%.)$!and reassures herself before a tough at bat or in the possibility #?!.!<%>!-%&+0,7!'&.>3!;%,0#2!K0<<0!Surico, on the other hand, tries to anticipate her next move. “I try to just stay focused on the '&.>!0)(%&?1!.,+!0?!IH=!0,!)$%!-%&+1!LI!think of] what I’m going to do with the ball when I get it,” Surico said, “That is what keeps me in the [right] frame of mind.”

SEASON SO FAR Games played:

Prospect def. Libertyville 14-8

Prospect def. St. Viator 10-0

Glenbrook North def. Prospect 2-1

Prospect def. Mundelein 1-0

Downers Grove def. Prospect 11-3

Hoffman Estates def. Prospect 9-6

Barrington def. Prospect 7-4

Prospect def. Hersey 12-2

Rolling Meadows def. Prospect 3-2

Buffalo Grove def. Prospect 2-1

Games to look forward to:

@Hersey 4:30 5/9/11

@Rolling Meadows 4:30 5/11/11

Information courtesy of DailyHerald.com

15SPORTSFriday, April 29, 2011

“You have to put out a consistent effort every $8#*E(676"*($&4'%BC-varsity softball coach Jim Adair

   Knight@

“Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!” yelled Howard Cosell as George Foreman inched back toward his corner.

Meanwhile, Joe Frazier jumped off the can-vas seconds later and kept fighting despite the fact that Foreman was known as one of the hardest punchers in boxing history.

And neither fighter was done just yet — Frazier stood up from a total of six knock-downs before the referee stopped the fight in Foreman’s favor.

The bout took place in 1973, but it lives on forever as the “Sunshine Showdown.” These types of fights make boxing great.

And yet, in recent years, the sport’s popu-larity has fallen like LeBron James in the final seconds of a game.

Instead, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) has grown heavily in popularity to replace it.

But boxing is still a terrific sport, and teen-agers need to realize it. Everyone tosses out Muhammad Ali quotes like they know him, yet we don’t even watch the sport he played.

Let me be the first to acknowledge that modern boxing has many redeeming qualities.

The loss of uniformity when it comes to ti-tle belts can be aggravating, and the high cost of Pay-Per-View makes all of my dead presi-dents cringe.

But there are still many reasons why box-ing deserves some love.

For one, it is a much more talented sport than it is stereotyped to be.

It is not two barbarians just punching each other brainlessly, and anyone who has watched boxers train would know that. Barbarians don’t have the footwork of bal-lerinas and the strength of an ox.

The sport also has plenty of young talent that could develop into stars. Amir Khan and Andre Ward are just two examples of possible stars, and one of them may knock off Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao both in fame and boxing titles.

And the cost of watching a fight can be off-set by watching in groups.

Get your dad, grandfather or anyone else who might enjoy the bout and chip in so that it won’t cost as much.

The most underrated aspect of boxing is the unpredictability.

Boxing is the reason the phrase “puncher’s chance” exists.

In the aforementioned Foreman vs. Frazier fight, Frazier was a heavy favorite but was de-stroyed and lost.

In 1990, Buster Douglas fought Mike Ty-son, when he was actually one of the most dominant athletes out there and not a pigeon-obssessed, cameon-making bankrupt soul.

Douglas was a 42-to-1 underdog but still took out Tyson in the 10th round.

Someday, another “Rumble in the Jungle” will happen, as will a “Thrilla in Manila.”

And we have the chance to either be on the right or wrong side of history. Even though George Foreman was a great fighter, I want to see him proved wrong.

He once said, “Boxing is like jazz. The bet-ter it is, the less people appreciate it.”

A farewell

It has been a fun ride writing this column over the last year.

I would like to now will it to my boy Jack Mathews, who will be writing it next year.

I just hope he will remember the difference between who Bryon Russell is and who Karl Malone is.

I had a little trouble with that one.

Sustaining the “sweet science” 

Adair’s adjustments

By Maggie DevereuxExecutive Sports Editor

As a thrower on the girls’ track team, weightlifting is one of the most impor-tant parts of senior Samantha Sturm’s practice schedule. While Sturm uses mainly free weights to do squats, the leg press machine is very important because whenever her back is hurting, she uses it so that she doesn’t fall be-hind.

Last week, however, when Sturm went to use the one working leg press, she discovered it was covered in cau-tion tape — a common sight in Pros-pect’s weight room.

“I complained to my coach, and he’s like, ‘Well, what do you want me to do?’” Sturm said. “I asked him to fix them.”

Knowing full well that her coach couldn’t fix the leg presses, Sturm has had to make adjustments to her lifting routine, like many athletes who use the weight room. She now has to do squats with less weight and more repetitions.

“I feel I’ll be just as fine; it’s just dis-appointing,” Sturm said. “I mean yeah, there’s the cable weight [leg press], but it’s not as much of a workout. I definite-ly think they should have had [the first leg press] fixed by now.”

Since the first leg press broke in April of last year, the weight room has slowly been falling apart. Both leg presses, three bikes and two ellipticals are currently broken.

With the administration struggling

to find a reliable company to maintain the equipment, different machines have been gradually experiencing the wear and tear of everyday use.

According to Assistant Principal and Physical Education Division Head Jo-van Lazarevic, much of the equipment in the weight room is outdated.

Due to their age, many of the parts needed to fix the machines are no lon-ger manufactured by Magnum Fitness Systems, the main supplier of most of the weight room equipment.

Because they are no longer in stock, many of the parts the school orders have to be custom made to fit the ma-chines.

“There’s a huge process that goes with it, and unfortunately we deal with middle men and not the company itself,” Lazarevic said. “I know it’s a frustration, but unfortunately we don’t have any control over those consulting groups that we work with. Whenever they can send us people, they send us people.”

The “middle men” Prospect uses are companies that come in, look at the ma-chines and then order the parts from Magnum. First, they check if the part is in stock. If not, the company takes pic-tures to send to the supplier so that new parts can be manufactured.

The school becomes dependent on the associated company not only to or-der the parts but then deliver them and install them in a timely fashion.

The unreliable service has left many

machines in the weight room unusable for months. According to head football coach Michael Sebestyen, the football team uses the weight room every day except Sunday: three days for varsity and three days for sophomores.

One of the major components of their lifting routine is the leg press, and now with both of the machines broken, they can no longer perform their nor-mal routine. Even when one of the leg presses still worked, it slowed down the team’s lifting by about 30 minutes.

Sebestyen also acknowledges that, more importantly, broken machines present a safety concern.

“[If a machine] is broken but not des-ignated that way or something wrong with it has not been taken care of and is about to break, someone could hurt themselves,” Sebestyen said.

In order to address these concerns, Lazarevic and Associate Principal Greg Minter are currently looking at two new middle-man companies to replace the old one. They decided to hire a new company after the last one’s “poor ser-vice record.”

“We find companies that say they are going to do the work, but they don’t fol-low through,” Minter said.

Minter hopes that one of the two new companies will be able to work not only in repairing broken equipment but also in tuning up some of the other ma-chines so that they don’t break.

Once they choose a company, Minter and Lazarevic will work with them to decide which machines can be repaired and which ones need to be replaced.

Lazarevic requested funding from the district for next year and they are also looking to get funding from the booster club (see Funding fitness).

Funding from the district will be used to buy seven or eight new cardio machines and ellipticals. The old or bro-ken cardio machines will be replaced.

Also, if funding allows, Lazarevic would like to purchase a new universal system that includes the lateral pull-down and seated row weight sets.

“Our goal right now is to get things as fixed up as we can that are worth fixing, but [we] really [want] to start the next school year with everything functioning properly, with a lot of new

equipment in there, having a preventa-tive maintenance program and a go-to person when something does go down,” Minter said. “I think we’re on the track to do that.”

When the machines are either fixed or replaced, it will ultimately be up to athletes and students who use the ma-chines to keep them in good condition.

According to Lazarevic, another one of his main goals has been designing a system to monitor the treatment of the weight room and possibly prevent fu-ture damage (see Clean up).

While the current system is on “an honor system,” Lazarevic feels more supervision that stresses the user’s responsibility to take care of the ma-chines will better prevent damage.

“Sometimes [students] just think someone else is going to [take care of] it for them,” Lazarevic said. “And their mom doesn’t live here.”

Graphic by Ian Magnuson

SPORTSFriday, April 29, 2011

The girls’ badminton team battled last year’s state champions New Trier at the Hinsdale South Invitational Saturday. Look online to see how the girls handled the competition as well as updated coverage on girls’ track and water polo.

HEAVY LIFTING

According to Associate Principal Greg Minter, the funding for the weight room comes from various places. The Athletic Booster Club bought many of the machines for the weight room. However, it has been Prospect’s responsibility to pay for maintenance, repairs and cost of new equipment over the last nine to 10 years. Minter has used building funds to pay for these expenses. For next year, funding for new equipment will come from a few places. The district is funding the purchase of about seven new cardio machines after Assistant Principal and Physical Education Division Head Jovan Lazarecic requested funding from the “Instructional Capital Equipment Fund.” Every three years, the district gives the PE department $20,000 from this fund to purchase equipment over $1,000. Minter and Lazarevic are also hoping to get funding from the Athletic Booster Club this year. Another idea Lazarevic has is to get different athletic teams who use the weight room regularly to fundraise money to assist with the cost of the -),%((!/%,)%23

FUNDING FITNESS

Weight room problems stack up as maintenance, repairs slip

Repairing old equipment and pur-chasing new machines is only one of Assistant Principal and Physical Educa-tion Division Head Jovan Lazarevic’s goals. Another key part of maintaining the weight room is designing a system to take better care of it. In order to do this, he has asked that different classes get involved in helping ).<%!5%))%2!/.2%!#?!)$%!-),%((!/%,)%23! Junior Leaders have gone into the weight room a few times to take inven-tory of the equipment. Prime Time Knights (PTK), which is part of the Sports and Entertainment Marketing

class, and Lifestyle PE classes have .&(#!7#,%!0,)#!)$%!-),%((!/%,)%2!)#!$%&'!clean up loose weights. Lazarevic also said that coaches and teachers have helped out in letting him know what equipment is needed in the weight room. If sports teams pitch in for the cost of the weight room, Lazarevic hopes that they’ll also play a bigger role in tak-ing care of the room. “If we get groups [and] sports [teams] to pay for part of [the cost], they’ll be a little more vigilant because then it’s really theirs,” Lazarevic said.

CLEAN UP, CLEAN UP, EVERYBODY DO YOUR SHARE

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