Ashland as we know it aspires to an ideal of envi-ronmental sustainability and eco-friendliness. One would think Toyota is headquartered here with all the Prius in Ashland. Conservation and environmental awareness is one of the things that define an “Ashlander.” But are we living up to the standard that we have set? The answer, as usual, is complicated and depends on whom you ask. For AHS Principal Jeff Schlecht, the re-sponse is no. “I don’t think the [Ashland] high school campus could be called a green campus,” Schlecht said. Schlecht explained that financial struggles to keep edu-cational programs afloat are the main reason more money hasn’t been given to green development. “Every cent has

been given to save programs,” Schlecht said. In previous years, there haven’t been as many construction opportu-nities to introduce green designs. The remodeling of the new gym is the first major project since the construction of the Mountain Avenue Theater building. For improving old buildings, the money is absent. “There is no money to retrofit,” Schlecht said. However, with the new construction across the District, the Ashland schools may finally get an environmental re-model. According to Ashland School Board Chair Mat Marr, the District added $1 million in new green projects this year and is considering bigger future projects like solar panels if there is any left over bond funds.

AHS has many environmentally friendly programs, and is planning to add more in the new construction, but is it good enough?

by Phoebe Parker-Shames and Zack Kitamura

A green profile on AHS

See Green on Pg. 6Photo by Azure Ginsberg

The Wilderness Charter School’s cobb oven.

Is Fresh Start fresh out of money? With all the news about budget cuts and how that will effect teachers and school days and programs all around the district, one might begin to wonder how all of this will impact Fresh Start, the interactive overnight experience for freshmen conducted each year before the start of school. The good news is that there will be Fresh Start next year, the bad news is that it won’t be the same. Each year part of the high school’s budget it set aside for Fresh Start, which covers the majority of the cost. But often times other costs will be green-sheeted, when costs are paid for outside of the school budget, and these costs must be paid for to continue the program. But with the recent budget cuts, there is little money left to pay for these unexpected costs and Fresh Start is going to suffer because of it. Cuts and reductions will have to be made within the Fresh Start program, but hopefully the high school will receive a grant that will make these changes minimal. “Fresh Start is such an important program for the high school. We have to figure out a way to keep it going and healthy,” Assistant Principal Ken Kigel said. Those who have participated in the Fresh Start program know how powerful and helpful it is. So the Rogue News has decided to help mimic that experience despite reductions to the program by answering some question posed by current eighth graders soon to be entering the high school.

by Žena Shelton

Submitted photo2005 Fresh Start group, this year’s seniors, participate in a game.

www.roguenews.net Vol. III Issue XAshland, Oregon

April 23, 2009

See “Terminator seeds” on Pg. 7

Submitted photo

Genevieve Harding, Nico Toll and Brenna Heater cheer on their team during “Piranha River”

Submitted photo

2005 Fresh Start group plays “Piranha River”

The Rogue News an-swers eighth graders’ questions about AHS:

Q: How long is lunch? How long is class? (From Niilo Snyder)

A: 50 minutes and 95 minutes.

Q: What is the work load like? Is it harder or is there just more of it? What is the average amount of homework? (From Ellia Shelton)

A: It’s more and a little harder but as long as you’re orga-nized and stay on top of it, it will be fine. It’s like going from sev-enth to eight grade.

Q: I’m concerned about Fresh-men Friday, I’ve heard horror stories about it. (From Eternity Duncan)

A: That Friday is to help all the freshmen get to know the school. All horror stories are myths. It can be a little nerve racking the first day, but everything will be fine.

Q: How do you make it from class to class if they are far away? (From Nora Godfry)

A: You have ten minutes between classes, which gives you plenty of time. The campus is also pretty compact.

Editorial BoardEditors-in-Chief.......... Zena Shelton, Phoebe Parker-ShamesFront Page Editor..................Phoebe Parker-ShamesQuadlife Editors.....................Zack Kitamura, Phoebe Parker-ShamesFeature Editor............................................Abbie DealIn-Depth Editor....................................Hannah SaylesGreen Pages Editors............Phoebe Parker-Shames, Sadie Shelton, Zack KitamuraBack Page Editor.............................Arthur Lawniczak

Graphic Designer/Ad Designer........Jesse SmithManaging Editor................Brenna HeaterAdvertising Manager...........Adam PavlichDistrubution Manager........Nicholas Dake

Rogue News

The Rogue News strives to practice professional journalism at Ashland High School. It aims to be a voice for the student body, and an important contribution to the school and community. In order to achieve this goal, the Rogue News attempts to do the following to the best of its ability:• Report accurate and objective information• Uphold all journalistic ethics and standards• Attempt to cover school events fairly and evenly.

• Provide an outlet for voices within the school through letters to the editor and editorials. Unsigned editorials represent the views of the staff, all others are signed. Letters to the editor must be signed unless extenuating circumstances warrant a students name being withheld, as decided by the Editors-in-Chief or newspaper advisor.

When you ask people what their plans are for the summer, you usually hear “going on vacation,” “just staying here,” “getting a job” and so on. But many people come to Ash-land for our outdoor activities that we rarely think twice about. One of those exciting out-door experiences is rock climbing. Tanager, a senior at Ashland High School, has been rock climbing since she was nine years old. Some of the locations Tanager recommeds are Acid Castle boulders and The Green Springs Craig, but her favorite place would be Smith Rocks. One thing that Tanager likes about rock climbing is that it’s an independent sport, but also includes teamwork, building trust in oth-ers and making new friends. The highest she has climbed is 6 pitches high. A pitch is a measurement used in Lead Climbing without a top anchor. In this type of climbing, the leader can only go a certain distance, or pitch, before setting up another anchor point.

Tanager loves the hobby and encourages people to try it out. “It’s a fun sport and you make new friends!” Tanager said. So if you want to try it out, we have won-drous mountains right outside our small town for people who are advanced climbers. For beginners there are two local rock-climbing walls, one in Ashland and one in Medford. Ashland SOU rock climbing is located at the SOU rock gym and their phone number is (541) 840-7245. Along with access to go rock climbing for $5, they have camps and lessons for beginners. The Rogue Rock Gym in Medford has 6,000 ft of climbing terrain, 30 ft walls with top rope and lead climbing. Medford rock climbing has qualified climbing instruction for youth and adults, and you can rent the space for birthday parties, church events, and scouts. The daily passes are $12 for adults, $10 for students. Equipment rentals range from $2-6.

Rock Climbing

Ashland Rowing Club—Ash-land High School’s lean, mean, rowing machine. These regatta-winning athletes are going at it again now that spring has arrived. The Rowing Club, which is commonly referred to as “crew,” is a group of high school students that get together Monday through Thursday to row their boats on Emigrant Lake. “[One of the main focuses of the club is to] teach people the mechanics of rowing and instill a feeling of teamwork,” Corrine Lombardi, a member and coach of the Rowing Club, said. “Teamwork is essential when rowing because if you don’t work as a team, you won’t go anywhere.” The daily routine for crewmembers starts with moving the boats from the boathouse down to the lake. It takes several people lined up along the side of the boat to carry it down the hill to the lake, and as some crewmembers atest, it is quite a feat. They then row around on the lake to practice and train. After they finish rowing, crewmembers have to get their boats out of the water, take them up the hill to the boathouse and put them back on their respective racks. This again is quite a feat. On days when the weather is bad, crewmembers do “dryland training.” Their workouts include abdominal exercises, lunges, jogging up and down a hill and

erging: rowing on a machine instead of a boat. All the training and practicing that crew does gets them ready for the regattas, their competitions. Freshman Autumn Micketti likes regattas. “They’re really tiring and fun...my favorite part about rowing club is rowing on a clear, sunny, wind-free day because the water is like glass.” “I absolutely love the regattas because they are a bonding experience that makes us feel like intense athletes,” senior Dahna Black, the girls’ team captain, said, The Rowing club uses several different sized boats. Most of the time crewmembers aren’t in the same sized boat for more then a few days in a row and they change rowing partners just as frequently. Some crewmembers like the constant change because, as Autumn Micketti said, “some of the people are really frustrating.” Other people don’t like the change because they have to relearn how to row with new people again and again. “I like rowing with my peeps,” sophmore Max Hartly said. Black agreed, although she sees the good part of it. “For the most part, I get frustrated because I don’t like change, but I found it has made me a better rower,” Black said. “My favorite part is my sense of freedom I get when out on the lake with other crew members,”

Black said. To join the Rowing Club, all you need is $190.00 for each term, spring and fall. You can sign up in the main office and scholarships are also available.

Row your boatby Justin Aziere

by Meris B

Tanager climbs in San Diego. Photo by Sean Coyle

Page 2 Rogue News April 23, 2009

When you think of a teenager, what pops into your head? Acne, a filthy room, a closet full of saggy jeans and baseball caps or v-neck tops and mini-skirts? A self-conscious, stressed-out adolescent who’s just trying to figure out who they are and where they belong? It’s rare to find someone as young as say, 15, who already feels comfortable in their own skin and knows where they want to be in 10 years, but freshman Ford Murawski-Brown has it all planned out and his self-confidence and individuality are truly impressive. If you’re not sure who I’m talking about, think again. You know that tall, lanky guy across the Quad who wears a spiffy suit, instead of jeans and a t-shirt, and carries a briefcase in lieu of a backpack? Yeah, that’s Ford alright, and he’s not afraid to let his inner self show. “I’m really just myself,” said Murawski-Brown, “I don’t succumb to peer-pressure. I don’t let anyone tell me what to do or how to think.” This moral standpoint, he explained, came from being raised in a Waldorf Charter School in Nevada City, California, where the kids were taught to embrace their uniqueness. It was at the beginning of eighth grade when Murawski-Brown made up his mind to exchange his plain colored t-shirts and tan pants for dress shoes, ties, button-downs, and matching coat/pant combos. “When I was little I’d see people dressing classy on TV, and it always appealed to me,” he said, “but my new look really started when I decided to wear a suit while selling Christmas cards around town. We needed money for a class trip and were competing to see who could sell the most cards, and I really wanted to win.” After that, he was sold. “By the end of the year, I was dressing better than the principal,” Murawski-Brown admitted. “I love it—by wearing my suits I can appear dapper all the time.” If you’ve had the pleasure of introducing yourself to Ford, then you know what a gentlemanly, honest,

good-natured, and all around easy-going guy he seems to be. But, if you ask him, there’s a lot more to it than that. “I have sort of a split-personality. The guy on the outside is just the actor, but the director—that guy on the inside calling all the shots—he’s the one who keeps me from doing anything stupid. Hopefully, as long as I respect that little guy, he’ll stick around.” Murawski-Brown assures us that your personal conscience or “director” is not hard to hear if you’re truly listening. “And it’s been totally worth it,” he said, “it’s gotten me to be the confident and happy person I am today.” You probably saw Murawski-Brown in the musical, “The Pajama Game”, where he played the character “Heinz”, a pajama worker and well-known time study man. In fact, meeting Heinz would be a lot like meeting Ford, since their personalities are so similar. Acting isn’t just a hobby for Murawski-Brown, it’s what he wants to do for a living. Well, that OR directing, OR screen-play writing, or really anything that has to do with theater; it’s no wonder he’s such a character in person.

The AHS Theater is taking a break from comedy and song to focus on the dramatic side of life. “Anatomy of Gray” is deeply entrenched in controversy, religion, disease and love. While this play will seriously challenge your beliefs, don’t worry, “Anatomy of Gray” has a funny side too. Once again you get to see Ford Murawski-Brown drinking, with his pants around his ankles. Playwright Jim Leonard, author of “The Diviners,” wove together his personal experiences and emotions when he wrote “Anatomy of Gray.” When Leonard’s close friend was dying of AIDS he didn’t know how to react to the disease. Lack of knowledge about the sickness fueled fear throughout his community. The experience prompted Leonard, a Christian himself, to consider a controversial question: What if only the Christians got sick? Leonard wrote for two and a half years, but he wasn’t satisfied with the results so he put it away. Ten years after his friend’s death, a still grieving Leonard had a dream that revealed how to tell the story. The play is based in Gray, Indiana, a small, boring, mostly Christian town. June, played by Emma Harding, prays for a healer after her father’s death. Soon after, the local preacher Phineas, played by Nick McKernan, becomes the first one to get “the mark” – which heralds a mysterious disease. Since a traveling doctor (also named Gray) came to town around the same time, the preacher and the townspeople accuse the doctor of bringing “the mark.” June doesn’t believe that Gray, played by Ford Murawski-Brown, has anything to do with the disease, even though her mother Rebekah, played by Aurelia Grierson, is a victim. Beyond the plot, the one of the most interesting things about “Anatomy of Gray” is that it is mostly student produced. Betsy Bishop is directing, with assistance from senior Jeffrey Star. Senior Genevieve Harding is directing the musicians: Isabelle Austin, Morgan Ginsberg and Phoebe Knowles. Emily Erlich-Inget, costume designer, is mentoring senior Aubrey Bauer. And of course, this production would not be able to happen without the complete dedication of all the technicians who work endlessly after school, attending twelve-hour light calls and working on show nights, with the help of advisors Doug Ham, and David Perderen. In hopes of bringing in the next generation, the cast is mostly freshman and sophomores. AHS has produced great plays in the past, and the senior-free cast of “Anatomy of Gray” upholds the long lasting reputation for great theatrical productions.

by Sophie Javna

A blend of controversy and comedy arrives at the Ashland High School theater

by Nicholas DakeFord Murawski-Brown with his bike

Ford Murawski-Brown

Photo by Grace Riley-Adams

Photo by Grace Riley-Adams

Photo courtesy of AHS Theater Department

Students rehearse a scene from “Anatomy of Gray”

Page 3April 23, 2009 Rogue News

What is 15,000,000 degrees Celsius, 150 km away from the earth, and has an expected lifetime of 11 billion years? I know this is a tough question and it may take lots of thought and research, but I’m going to save you the time. It’s the sun! It is true. Winter is gone. Spring has sprung. The flow-ers and trees are in bloom. The grass is greener and not just on the other side: everywhere. The truth is, everyone’s hyped up because of the weather change. I’m sorry clouds, but spring has paid the ransom to Winter’s kidnapping and now the sun is free to shine. So, get ready, this big ball of light is eager and excited to stretch its rays all over this little valley of ours. During the winter, people lose their wonder-ful summer tans and, due to lack of sun exposure, end up looking like a clan of albinos, minus the red eyes. Well, say goodbye to albino-ism and say hello to your old friend, Mr. Tan. The sun is out and willing to help get rid of what winter made you. Grab a Popsicle, your favorite magazines, lay in the grass, and soak up that

Vitamin D. Maybe after a few hours sunbathing, you won’t camouflage in with the snow anymore. Also, smiles are more abundant during the springtime. Most frowns leave on the same train as that of winter. Winter tends to be a season that brings with it not only mass amounts of snow and rain, but also depression. There are some cases of de-pression that get worse as the environment gets dark-er and light becomes scarce. So, when spring comes around, people watch the sun erupt over the horizon every morning and they find hope and joy in each in-dividual ray that trickles over the land. But, I’m sorry to say, not everything about the sun is happy. Sun is one of the main causes of skin cancer. Overexposure to UV-radiation is quite harm-ful to the skin and the sun is to blame. So, if the sun is shining brightly, make sure to slap on some sunscreen before going outside. You won’t regret it; unless you forget to rub it all in and you go around town looking like a mime all day. Talk about embarrassment. Any-

way, the sun isn’t the only one to blame for overexpo-sure. One of the other causes is tanning salons. Every time you get into a tanning bed, artificial UV radiation is beaming down on your body, thus increasing your risk for this dangerous disease. So, the bottom line is: enjoy yourself, enjoy the sun, and enjoy the beautiful weather spring has brought. And remember, the sun doesn’t have a desire to give you cancer, it really doesn’t have a choice. So, be responsible and throw a hat on your head, some shades over your eyes, and some sunscreen, well, ev-erywhere. It will surely benefit you in the long run and you may find yourself thanking your grandma for giv-ing you that hideous visor last year.

by Laurel Sager

Aside from buying a shiny new Prius, there are many ways you can make your drive to school greener while saving some gas. Take a look:

*Carpool. Pick up a friend on your way to school or catch a ride with someone else. *Follow road rules. Excessive speeding and quick stops waste gas. *Avoid rush hour. Not that we have one in Ashland, but con-stant stop-and-start driving leads to unnecessary emissions. *Open the windows. Turning off the air conditioner can increase fuel inefficiency.

by Ella Riely-Adams

1. Plan ahead and Prepare: It’s always important to know the rules of the place you’ll be stay-ing. Certain locations have special concerns anywhere from wild fire danger to poisonous plants and dangerous animals. Things would have been different if Dorothy had brought bear spray. 2. Don’t clear the area in order to camp: One should never have to alter a site to camp on it. Who knows what kind of animal lives there; no one wants to stumble upon an angry Sasquatch. 3. Dispose of waste prop-erly: Anything you bring in, you bring out with you. Before you leave, inspect the site for trash or spilled food. As for go-ing to the bathroom, I’m sure most of you have read “Holes” by Louis Sachar. Refer to that. 4. Leave What You Find: Even if you find a rock inscribed with an ancient Mayan message or just a really intriguing stick, there is no “finders-keepers” in the great outdoors. Leave natu-ral objects where you find them.

5. Minimize Campfire Impacts: Keep fires small. This isn’t the Burning Man Festival. Use a light-weight stove for cooking and a lantern or flashlight for light. Do not start a fire in a place where there is a fire ban. Chances are there is a pretty solid reason they aren’t allowed.

6. Respect Wildlife: Do not follow or approach wild animals, both for their safety and yours. As ex-citing as it is to see a deer, keep in mind that here in Ashland you can see them in people’s yards by the dozen on nearly every block. Re-member, do not feed the animals. 7. Be considerate of other visi-tors: An elderly married couple may be expected a quaint get-away and a group of screaming neighbors is the last thing they’ll expect or tolerate. Singing and telling ghost stories are part of camping, but at some point its time to leave the chirping up to the crickets.

Camping season is just around the corner, and I can already hear the “Kumbaya” chorus. It’s always a fun sum-mer activity to hit up a favorite outdoor location with your friends or family for the night but it can be more de-structive to the environment than one would think. Before you pack your car and get ready to roast marshmal-lows to the perfect golden-brown, here are some tips to keeping it clean and green: Leave No Trace Camping.

by Anna Hume

Some upgrades have already been made: new fluorescent lights funded by the City of Ashland were recently installed, saving 30 percent more power on lighting. More is yet to come. Some of the planned upgrades for school district buildings include photo sensors to turn lights off when they aren’t needed, skylights to use natural light-ing, external shading devices to help control heat, radiant heating in the new gym floor-ing, low flow toilets, urinals and showers, rubber flooring and polymer roof shingles. The HVAC (Heating and Ventilation) sys-tem in the high school will also get a much-needed makeover. “[Heating] is where the most waste is,” Schlecht said. “Installing the new heating system will save the dis-trict lots of money.” The new system will employ a passive cooling method. Passive cooling will use outside temperatures to heat and cool the building, which according to construction Project Manager Lou Tarnay could boost efficiency at least ten percent. “I think we’ve gone a little farther here than in other places,” Tarnay said, adding, “Green construction is becoming hotter. Our society in general has become more aware of our ability to build in a way that’s

less destructive to our environment. We can do it, so now we do do it.” However, construction is only one piece of the sustainability puzzle. AHS also prides itself in some of its existing programs. There is a composting program in the cafeteria and in the environmental science classes. Native plants were planted around the fountain near the library building and fresh bark chips replaced grass in several places, saving water. According to Environ-mental Science teacher Jim Hartman, the recycling program is among the best in the area. “I would be shocked if a school in the valley had a better recycling program.” A key project being worked on is the green roof on the office. This roof will have stu-dent-designed modules and will contain na-tive plants, which provide habitat for birds and other creatures. It is a natural way to store and clean water, beautify buildings and absorb energy. Few if any other schools have completed a project like this. “It’s cool AHS is forward thinking enough to do that,” Stu-dent Teacher Rueben Davis said. The Wilderness Charter School, an alter-native AHS education program, stands out as a green leader in Ashland. “The commu-

nity is really starting to see this as a hub of awareness,” teacher Katherine Holden said. The program is housed in a strawbale build-ing, with photovoltaic panels, a living roof, compost pile, garden, greenhouse and cobb oven. Curriculum is another point Schlecht says is important. “Our school should have a bal-anced curriculum that includes principles of sustainability,” he said. “In my mind, Sustain-ability is one of the most important things a student needs to know.” So how green is AHS? The answer is good, but we could be better. There are many more pro-posed programs for the school, including food scraping and paper use programs like used one-sided paper. “Every little thing we do to save

energy saves money. And those savings can add up to preserving someone’s job,” Marr said. However, students are rarely conscious of the environmental efforts put out by AHS and truly it is their awareness that has the greater ability to protect the environment. “With so many young voices shouting out for environmental awareness and trying to give back…the word can slowly spread out,” WCS student Rayna Hagie said.

With our world changing at such high speeds, tech-nology has to keep up with it. If you haven’t noticed (and I hope ALL of you have), our world is attempting

by Madison Knox

Is our green facade a lie?

Green Continued From Pg. 1

It’s time to take environmentalism into our own hands, or “paws,” as the case may be.

The new construction at AHS and other District schools will bring new eco-friendly options.Photo by Jesse Smith

Page 6 Rogue News April 23, 2009

to go “green.” I say attempting because so far, the most intelligent minds on earth have only come up with me-diocre ways to help with the disasters we are facing. So, instead of waiting for a miracle to happen, we all should take a stand and contribute to reducing fossil fuels and energy by doing all of the “little things that count.” These suggestions are in no way meant to be your “guide to saving the world” but instead a helpful resource for finding out something simple for an aver-age person to do in order to “save the world.” Ashland seems to be a very liberal town, but are we actually doing our part, or just pretending, with masks over our faces? Last time I checked, almost every stu-dent at this school with a license is driving to school almost, if not every day of the week, which adds tre-mendously to the 1000 barrels per second of oil used by the world. Think about it. Every second of the day, billions of people are in their cars – the impact is cata-strophic. There are so many simple ways that a teenager can contribute and yet, almost every teenager at this school is ignoring the facts. Yes, it may be lame, but there ARE busses that are capable of picking up every single stu-dent. If that’s not cool enough for your liking and you happen to own a car, then carpool with other kids in

your neighborhood! These are just a few options for your outside-of-school lives. During school is a completely different story. As soon as the first bell rings, bags and bags of paper are being consumed. Yes, there are recycling bins in every classroom, but when it comes to the many assignments that students produce every year, a lot of paper is wast-ed and not recycled after going through the grading process. For instance, some teachers on campus like to give pop quizzes that averagely contain about five, short-answer questions that take up a maximum of half a page. These papers are then graded and returned to students whereupon they are either thrown away or recycled immediately with only the miniscule amount of writing that it contains. To avoid this, try ripping off the unused part of paper and stick it in a pocket of a binder for the next pop quiz and recycle the used piece. With our world changing at such high speeds, tech-nology has had to keep up with it- and we have to keep up as well (or at least try). There are so many simple things that a student can attempt to do so as to assist our world in “going GREEN.” All we have to do is make the effort.

Illustration by Heather Case

The terminator seeds “will be back”

This spring, the air is breezy, flowers are blooming, and it’s sunny again. Yet, once again, the environmentalists are back at it. Yes, there are only a few people I hate in this world, and they are: people who annoy me endlessly and ‘environmentalists’. Oh look, environmentalists fit into both categories. The reason why I hate them so much is that they harp endlessly on carbon emissions and global warming. All I want to do is drive my car in peace. Sure it doesn’t get like 35 miles to the gallon, but still. How many teenagers can afford that kind of car? Regardless, all the commercials I see reminding me to recycle and not drive as much irritate me. “Why?” you might ask. It’s because the whole thing is a hopelessly fu-tile gesture. According to Science Daily (it happens to be a scientific publication) at the current rate, the ocean will acidify in 30 years. Do I need to tell you what happens when it acidifies? It’s not too hard to grasp. Ocean acidifies, plankton die, the oceans ecosystem is destroyed. Oh and the world blows up too. Either way humanity as we know it will end unless we are suddenly able to inhale carbon dioxide and methane in copious amounts. The idea that we can stop Global Warming is basically a scam invented by Al Gore to make up for the fact that he lost out on the presidency. He probably stated to his cronies

‘Eh, the world is going to end

anyways, why don’t we just make

some money off of it?’ Unless you can somehow genetically engineer billions of plankton to absorb MORE carbon dioxide, or have rockets attach saran wrap to our ozone layer, there is really nothing you can do. I mean, you can’t stop what’s already going to happen. So I say to you ladies and gentlemen, there is no hope. The sky really is falling and there’s nothing you can do to help. So please, go outside and help quicken the inevitable. Stall your car next to a river while spraying aerosol into the air. Don’t forget to throw oil into that river and maybe start a small fire if you have time. (Use the aerosol can to light it, it works.) There is no hope unless aliens appear out of the sky and give us the technology to end so called global warming. Or maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the world won’t end, and maybe the planet can be saved by not polluting as much. I still think it’s global cooling, not warming. (Has anyone else no-ticed it’s been really cold lately? I’d take global warming over this cold nonsense any day of the week.) Still, can you rally to the cause and prove me wrong? I mean, maybe, just may-be if I don’t drive my car that extra day, the world won’t end. Maybe then environmentalists like you would leave me alone. Weirder things have happened.

Spring is here! Flowers are blooming, fruits and veggies are fresh, and with all the sunshine, it’s hard to think about just where our produce comes from. The answer is simple: all life comes from a seed, and all seeds are a precious resource. Now consider the metaphor of a seed literally destroying itself and you have the concept of the Terminator seed down pat. How might a seed un-fertilize itself ? The powers of biotechnology of course. Maybe the real question is why, and the answer is thick with politics, greed and depending on who you talk to, deception. Rafael Alegría of Via Campesina, a leader of an organization representing over 10 million peasant farmers worldwide in an interview for Time maga-zine said, “Terminator [seed] is a direct assault on farmers and indigenous cultures and on food sover-eignty. It threatens the well-being of all rural people, primarily the very poorest.” Monsanto is responsi-ble for the research of Terminator seeds, produc-ing and selling the majority of them. The USDA and Delta and Pine Land (DPL), a Mississippi seed company developed the technology applied to Ter-minator seeds, and the patent was given to both the DPL Company and the Monsanto Company. Shortly after receiving the patent, Monsanto made a $1 billion-plus offer to buy DPL, which was quickly accepted. So why are all of these business deals and moneymaking schemes important in little old Ash-land? Well, it’s directly affecting our local farmers, which affects where we get our produce, how much it costs and how good it tastes. Environmentally conscious sophomore, Maggie Schein said passionately, “I think the current situ-ation on this issue is appalling, and hope that one

day we all realize and help to improve the problems we’ve caused,” According to Banterminator.org the top 10 larg-est seed companies control half the world’s com-mercial seed market. If Terminator seed technology is commercialized, corporations will likely incorpo-rate sterility genes into all their seeds. This is be-cause genetic seed sterilization would secure a much tougher monopoly than patents — instead of suing farmers for saving seeds, companies are trying to make it biologically impossible for farmers to re-use harvested seed, which means they must annually re-buy seeds from large corporations. Politically, President Obama commented in a speech on CNN in late November: “It is time for a new kind of leadership in Washington that’s com-mitted to using our lands in a responsible way to benefit all of our families.” Yet Opednews.com pro-duced information, which shows that Tom Vilsack, the man Obama employed as Secretary of Agri-culture, has ties with Monsanto, one of the major companies behind not only Genetically Modified Organisms, but also the Terminator seeds, which are causing quite a ruckus around the globe. Don’t forget that Monsanto’s GMO, as well as termina-tor seeds have not actually been proven safe by any impartial scientific study, again according to Ban-terminator.org. Ashland High School students can make a difference by undergoing a few simple steps. According to the Chair of Community Service Committee of Ashland Belleview Grange, and local farmer Sean Gordon: “Grow your own food with open pollinated varieties of seeds and save your seeds.” Beyond this, it’s important to be educated and aware of not only Terminator seeds, but GMO products as well. Every step we take to learn about what’s going on in the world is a step in the right direction.

Endlessly annoying environmentalists

by Morgan Hall

by Elle Swarttouw

Wheat stocks. Grains are a typical kind of terminator seed.

From sxc.hu

Rogue News Page 7April 23, 2009

“In my house, you’re never sitting around saying, ‘I don’t know what to do.’ There is always a board game to play!” says Max De-Frisco, a senior. Max and good friend Taro Shido have planned a very original senior project - a series of two game nights at the Ashland Public Library. The boys got the idea for a game night from Max’s father, Chris, who already holds regular games nights at the library and also hosts a massive board game collection of his own. The senior project game nights will be held on April 25 and May 9 from 5 p.m. to midnight in the library basement. The boys will supply a well thought out selection of about 200 games. “We will figure out games that are easy to learn,” says Max, as all ages are expected. The games will also

Photos submitted by Max DeFrisco

by Emily Greenblat

Max DeFrisco and Taro Shido host game night

vary in type. There will be party games, strategy games, and an abundance of resource management games. Possibly majority of the games will be unknown to those outside the board game world. “Most people only know ten to fifteen board games!” says Max, as Taro adds, “It seems like a bunch of people are just obsessed with video games.” The week of the game nights, the boys plan hang post-ers around campus and spread the word to as many friends and classmates as posible. Due to the DeFrisco family’s extreme dislike of “luck” board games, the games that Max and Taro play are based on strategy and usually pretty complicated. Taro’s personal favorite is a vampire game called Traders of Genoa. “There’s a whole bunch of guile and trickery,” says Taro. Max’s pick is a colonization game called Starfarers of Catan. When referring to its sis-ter game, Max says, “ Settlers of Catan sold twice as many copies as Halo 3!” The boys agreed that the most difficult game they have ever played, or attempted to, is called Twilight Imperium. It takes several hours to set up, boasts hundreds of pieces, and takes six hours to complete. They also agreed that the game they play most often is a tile placing game called Inge-nious. Taro and Max also know several new and creative party games. There is a betting game called Wits and Wagers, which is similar to fictionary, and also a fun card game called Munchkins. Each person is a character and they defeat monsters and search for treasure. Aside from public game nights, Max and his dad also host weekly game nights at their home with Taro and his father. In every box, cabinet, or drawer in Max’s house, there are at least a few board games. Or, as Taro

says it, “There’s like twenty games in pull-out-thing in his house!” “We own five versions of Risk, a mini Risk, and a Japanese Risk game called Shotgun!” boasts Max about his expansive col-lection of games. Chris DeFrisco also frequents the popular gamer site, boardgamegeeks.com, where other gamers rate 1000’s of board games nationwide. Board games are a very big part of the DeFrisco’s life. As Max says jokingly, “My dad will write in his will, ‘Max gets all my board games!’”