5th @ State! by TARA KNELLER.

THE SPARTAN VOICEVOLUME 4, ISSUE 9 JANUARY 21, 2011

WICHITA COLLEGIATE SCHOOL

DIGITAL EDITION:WWW.THESPARTANVOICE.BLOGSPOT.COM

Dawning of a New Aquarius?According to the Minnesota Planetarium Society, here is where the real signs of the Zodiac should fall. Get ready for your world to change forever. . .

Capricorn: Jan. 20-Feb. 16. Aquarius: Feb. 16-March 11. Pisces: March 11-April 18. Aries: April 18-May 13. Taurus: May 13-June 21. Gemini: June 21-July 20. Cancer: July 20-Aug. 10. Leo: Aug. 10-Sept. 16.Virgo: Sept. 16-Oct. 30. Libra: Oct. 30-Nov. 23.Scorpio: Nov. 23-29. Ophiuchus: Nov. 29-Dec. 17. (Yep, this one is new).Sagittarius: Dec. 17-Jan. 20.

Ophiuchus: The Serpent Bearer is a constellation on the celestial equator between Libra and Aquila.

Over this past weekend the Collegiate debate team traveled to Kansas City to compete in 4 speaker state. Tiffany Massey, senior; Edgar Corrigan and Adam Saidian, juniors; and Jonathan Go, sophomore all competed in the tournament. They finished 5th, which is very exciting since they were the youngest team there in many ways.

Head Coach Rodney Wren explains how, “We are still an extremely young program in three ways. In the first way, the existence of the program is much shorter than most of the schools there. In another way the coaching. I’m only in my 3rd year of coaching, where as some coaches there have been coaching for ten or twenty years. And a final way would be the experience of the debaters, we have a relatively young team; we were mostly competing against 4th year debaters at state.” The debate team this year has had a very successful season but can still improve in certain areas to make next year even better.

Wren tells what areas he thinks the team lacked in. “Oratorical skills need work; we are very solid on our fundamentals, argumentation, organization and debate mechanics.” Wren explains “What separates us from other schools is that most of the debaters spend 5-10 hours outside of school practicing speeches; however, those schools aren’t quite as academically rigorous as we are, which makes it a little tougher for us.”  

This year has been a great one for the debate team, and next year is one to look forward to, with most of the 4- speaker state team returning, besides Tiffany Massey. Wren feels very pleased and happy with this year. “Overall it’s been a great season! It’s the biggest the program has ever been, I’m hoping it will continue to grow. My goal is around 40 students, which would enable us to compete against bigger schools for team trophies. Forensics will be an exciting season; there will be lots of success!” Wren says.

SNOW DAYS = SNOW NICE!

By Alex Waldeck

On January 10th, 2011, a young lady received the Newbery Award for her new book, “Moon over Manifest.” The Newbery award is like the Oscars for books. Ms. Clare Vanderpool’s debut novel is based in Manifest, Kansas during the Great Depression. Abilene Turner, the main character, arrives in the quaint, little town after her father sends her there for the summer. The story takes a turn when Abilene finds out about a longtime mystery. With the help of the local townspeople the 12-year-old girl manages to uncover clues and solve the mystery. “Clare took her experience of growing up in a neighborhood, in a square mile of Wichita, Kansas, and she took that experience and made it universal,” says Ms. Bagby, the owner of Watermark Books and Café. “It has a historic voice that connects the past to the future.” Sounds like a great read to me! But, what some of you may not know is how close of a tie Clare Vanderpool has to each and every one of us. This Newbery Medal winner is a Collegiate Graduate! Our very own Mrs. Hill is a good friend of Clare’s. By reading this book you are supporting your school not to mention it just sounds like an awesome novel. Happy reading!

Students Enjoy a Day of SnowBy: Diana Kim, Kalli Sikes, Brooke Withrow

Students at Collegiate woke up to six inches of snow and negative temperatures, a combination that could only result in 24 hours of freedom. Whether your first reaction was putting on a snow suit and hitting up the sledding hills, or drinking a warm cup of hot cocoa and watching an episode of Jersey Shore, this day could only be described using one word: freedom. Freedom from tests, freedom from homework, and freedom from the everyday stresses of school. Some students were just glad to catch up on sleep like freshman who Meredith Brice slept in and went sledding with her friends. Whether you celebrated a victory or mourned a loss after the 2011 BCS championship game, it was a relief for some to hear that they would be having an extended sleep time. There were even facebook statuses informing of a cancellation even before the call was made, which gave false hope to many students. For those who stayed up waiting on the call, it was finally made around 11 o’clock. When Mr. Tom Davis made the call that school would be canceled, and students were informed within minutes via Facebook statuses, text messages, and phone calls.

MOON OVER MANIFEST

FACEBOOK IS EVIL: PART 2

BY SERJAY SAMBROS

Goes to Wichita Collegiate High School Lives in Wichita, Kansas From Lincoln, Nebraska Born on 15 February 1994.

121 Friends

Amy Levy sent every Collegiate student on Facebook a friend request over Christmas break. Yes, even school administrators got bored. Although Amy, who claims to be a WCS Junior, but does have quite a few friends from South Barber High school in Kiowa, so who really knows, it could be a curious parent. The fact is that it doesn’t matter who Amy Levy is, students are jumping to the conclusion that it is the school attempting to spy on them and it is very revealing of the hostile attitude students have. The facts lead to it being likely related to the school in some way, and who wouldn’t be a bit upset if they thought they were being spied on by the school. It’s kind of like if your parents were secretly Facebook stalking you, but instead of your parents, it’s the guy down the street making sure you’re staying out of trouble or checking out your pool party album.

An Interview with an Amazing Tennis Player: Brooke Withrow

By: Ellen Healy

SV: How long have you been playing tennis?BW: Since I was three years old.

SV: What do you like about the sport? How does it make you feel?BW: I love everything about it. I love that it’s a solo sport and that you have to depend on yourself.

SV: What are some of your achievements?BW: I’ve won two national tournaments, I went into round sixteen in the Orange Bowl, top five in Missouri Valley, top 100 in the nation, and broke top 2,000 within the world.

SV: What’s your practice schedule like?BW: I practice at least five hours a day.

SV: How do you prepare yourself for a match?BW: I sit by myself for at least thirty minutes just concentrating on what’s ahead, listening to music on my Ipod and doing many stretches.

SV: What other sport have you played? What did you like and dislike that sport compared with tennis?BW: I played volleyball, and I liked being in a team, but tennis will always be my favorite sport because you depend on yourself.

SV: Do you have a favorite player? Why is he/she your favorite?BW: Definitely Roger Federer. He’s my favorite because of his accuracy on the court and how amazing he is stroke wise.

SV: Who are the hottest tennis players out there?BW: Novak Djokovic. And Andy Roddick is pretty good looking too.

SV: Best racket “swoosh”? Best tennis skill?BW: My fore hand.

BLACKSWAN

By Riley Kemmer.

Android VS AppleBy: Jake Barrett

Android and Apple iOS, the two best operating systems for smart phones, cause much controversy amongst their users, but the real question is: “Which is really the better of the two?”The answer will have to be in your personal opinion, and your decision will mostdefinitely be based on whether you have an iPhone/iPad or a Droid phone or tablet. Themarkets for each are quite different with many different apps and games. Sure, someDroid users may admit that the Apple market has a few good games that the Droid market does not. But, both markets have Doodle Jump, Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja. These are the only games that really determine whether a phone has good games or not. The Apple market does have a couple advantages in this category with the newly popular games Deathworm, Tilt To Live, Rat on a Scooter and the classic Robot Unicorn Attack. (But I got tired of the last two very quickly, so I don’t count those as much of an advantage). So far, Apple is leading 1 to 0 because it has arguably better games.One other thing to consider is: “What phone service do I have?” If you have AT&T or Verizon, you may have an iPhone because those are the only two services youcan have if you have an iPhone. If you have any other phone service, and even if youhave Verizon or AT&T, you can enjoy the Android. Because of the diversity of services that the Android can function on, now the score is tied 1 to 1.

After all the pain I have endured in some pretty bad movies recently none have evencome close to comparing to The Black Swan. This movie staring Natalie Portman has ahard to follow story line that keeps you guessing until the end… That is if you manageto stay awake for the duration of the movie: So here are my top 5 reasonsnot to see The Black Swan.

Why not to see The Black Swan:

!.Ballerinas: that right there should be enough said2.The lead stabs herself to death with a mirror shard but doesn’t know?3.The girl is practically anti social! What’s worse than an anti social ballerina4.Possibly the worst story line since Broke Back Mountain5.She goes insane but it gives the audience no grasp on what is her reality or her hallucinations.

PAPER TWEET: Featuring Coach Fiegel. By Jake Barrett

Q: Q: If you had to get a tattoo, what would it be?A: A frog on my shoulder because you’ve got to be really proud of, and inspired by, your past.

Interview with Coach Fiegel before El Dorado Tournament. By Tara Kneller

SV: What happened last year at the El Dorado Tournament?

CF: We thought we had played the championship game on Friday night versus Kapaun and thought we could beat Great Bend without a tremendous effort and Great Bend didn’t follow along with our plan.

SV: Do you expect us to beat Circle?

CF: I hope so, if we come out there and use our capabilities and keep them off the free throw line and dosome of the things that we need to do to be as good as we can be, we have a great shot to be in thesemis.

SV: What do you think will be the key for Collegiate’s success?

CF: The things that have carried us and separated us from the other teams in the last four years have beennumber 1, our unparalleled unselfishness as a team, and two- we have allowed our defense to becomeour identity. It’s been how we identified ourselves, and this team hasn’t gotten there yet. When theydecide to get there, they’re going to be of a championship caliber too.

SV: How have the players been preparing for this tournament?

CF: Everybody has been focused; I’ve felt real good about how we’ve listened this week. I’ve been pleasedwith our work ethic, we’re working hard, and we just need to work a little bit smarter.

SV: In the tough loss against Circle, what did the team learn?

CF: Well what I hope we learned from that game is that you can’t foul thirty one times and expect to besuccessful on the road against a quality opponent! More importantly let’s just wipe out whomeverthat opponent is, we play an aggressive style of defense but it is very possible to be aggressive withoutfouling. And we’ve got to get that down. Very simply put, fouling negates everything that we’re about.It negates our depth, it negates our rotation pattern, it negates the fact that we can’t wear them down. It allows them to rest and it allows them to score without us guarding them. So in essence fouling is keeping us from being as good as we want to be.

Android VS Apple cont. p. 46

By: Jake Barrett

Another weighing factor is phone diversity. The Android system has manydifferent phones you can choose from. If you prefer a solid keyboard over a touch screen,they have that. If you like just touch screens, and huge ones at that, they have that. Evenif you like smaller phones that are slim and all touch screen, they have that too. With theiPhone, all you get is the iPhone. You don’t get to have a personal preference; it is eitherthe Apple iPhone way, or the Android highway. Android now pulls ahead because of themany different phones that it has to make the score 2 to 1.Finally, we have, less important than others but still somewhat important, historyand bias. The Apple iPod has been around since October 23rd, 2001. Many of you, or your families,may have even been a user of the iPods since then. The iPhone itself came out June 29th,2007, and I’m sure a good number of WCS students have had one (or even gotten a newone, or two…) since then. Android is relatively new, and it is a prime target for purchaseto those of you who are/were not AT&T, but who were still drooling over the iPhone. Thepoint for history and bias would have to go to Apple, which ties it up at 2 to 2. Both aregreat smart phone operating systems, but these days it isn’t about the phone, but thefeatures that come with the OS. All in all, get the phone that you want, and if it makesyou happy with what it does, great. It is all about personal preference.

(P.S. Personally, I prefer Android)

The Rhetoric of the Arizona Shootings . . .by Max Craddock Let me start this article by saying that I DO NOT believe Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and Fox Newsare directly responsible for the Tucson shooting. Jared Loughner, the shooter, was a mentally unstableman and had the potential to perform something of this nature with very prodding from outside sources.HOWEVER, that being said I believe the rhetoric of the political world is at a point where something mustbe changed or more assassinations will continue to happen.

For those of you who do not know, on January 8th in a Tucson, Arizona parking lot, JaredLoughner opened fire on a large group of people, wounding 19 and killing 6 with Arizona congressmanGabrielle Giffords being his main target. Giffords survived the attack but remain hospitalized. At firstglance this just seems like another instance of a psychopath trying to assassinate a politician. However,one thing is different: she was on Sarah Palin’s “list”.

The “list” is a map that Sarah Palin put on Facebook with crosshairs posted over the districtswhose congressman voted for health care reform. If that isn’t a publicized death threat then I don’tknow what is.However, Palin isn’t the only one to spew political threats before. Glenn Beck is in fact famousfor his. Some of his famous one include:

''I'm thinking about killing Michael Moore, and I'm wondering if I could kill him myself, or if I would need to hire somebody to do it. ... No, I think I could. I think he could be looking me in the eye, you know, and I could just be choking the life out. Is this wrong?'’ —Glenn Beck, responding to the question 'What would people do for $50 million?', The Glenn Beck Program,' May 17, 2005

''This president I think has exposed himself over and over again as a guy who has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture....I'm not saying he doesn't like white people, I'm saying he has a problem. This guy is, I believe, a racist.'' —Glenn Beck, on President Obama, sparking an advertiser exodus from his FOX Newsshow, July 28, 2009 ''Barack Obama ... chose to use his name Barack for a reason -- to identify, not with America -- you don't take the name Barack to identify with America. You take the name Barack to identify with what? Your heritage? The heritage, maybe, of your father in Kenya, who is a radical? Is -- really? Searching for something to give him any kind of meaning, just as hewas searching later in life for religion.'' —Glenn Beck, ''The Glenn Beck Program,'' Feb. 4, 2010

''I have been nervous about this interview with you because what I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies. ... And I know you're not. I'm not accusing you of being an enemy, but that's the way I feel, and I think a lot of Americans will feel that way.'' —Glenn Beck, interviewing Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim U.S. congressman,Glenn Beck's show on CNN's Headline News, Nov. 14, 2006Perhaps Glenn Beck is exaggerating when he says these things. Maybe he isn’t being “literal”. Unfortunately, his viewers do not always understand this. In July of 2010, Byron Williams of Oakland attempted to murder George Soros of “The Tides Foundation” in San Francisco. He stated that Glenn Beck was his motivation.

“People think of it as a conspiracy theory,” said Williams “Except the official report is the lie. The conspiracy is the truth.” “I don’t think he’s a natural newscaster,” said Williams on Beck “I look at it more like a school teacher on TV.” Things have started to get ridiculous. What radical conservatives have done recently isn’t just wrong; it’s savagery. And if things continue to go as they have they’ll find some people fighting back.

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Just A Sport Or A Way Of Life?

By Rachel Klingenberg.

I found myself in a mysterious place alone except for an unknown

companion. We wandered around by ourselves throughout the white maze for a

way out. Soon we came across a window and saw that we were somehow in space.

Before we knew what was happening we were attacked by thousands of people in

space suits. The fight ended as quickly as it started. My friend and I were standing

amongst piles of unconscious bodies. That was the entire dream, I didn’t see the

actually fighting but then again I didn’t know anything about fighting. That was the

first and main reason why I decided to take a karate class after school. I wanted to

research about fighting so I could write about it more accurately and the best way

to do that is through firsthand experience.

Now that isn’t the normal reason to join some sort of martial art class but

that was mine and I’ll never regret it. Karate isn’t just about how to beat someone

up, actually it’s quite the opposite; it’s about how to defend yourself. It isn’t just

martial arts, it can easily become a way of life. Karate does not just teach you how

to fight but it teaches discipline, patience, and perseverance. All of those qualities

have helped in many aspects of my life.

At first staying with karate is really tough and not the greatest but when you

don’t know anything of course it’ll be hard. Once you get the hang of things the

class becomes fun and enjoyable. The class is not all hard work we play games too

like blockers. When we play blockers we use blockers (foam swords) and try to hit

your opponent in a fatal spot and be the last one standing. This is especially fun and

difficult when we play this in the dark.

Once you get used to karate it becomes a part of your life. It is a fun and

healthy way to relieve stress, anxiety, and anger. If you want to join a karate class

there is one held in the basement of the high school. The classes are from 4:15 pm

to 6:15 pm Monday, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. There is also class held on Saturday

from 9 am to 11 am.

Within our generation tattoos and piercing are even more popular than before. More and more people our age are getting tattooed or pierced. You may even want a tattoo or piercing. Common spots for tattoos are the shoulders, arms, chest or back. Or if you are more into piercing, common places to pierce are your ears, eyebrows, nose, lips and cheeks. Obviously there are many other places to tattoo or pierce… If it belongs to you, it is tattooable or piercable. Body art is often seen by the older generations as taboo or tasteless, but if done right it can be a great addition. The key to a good looking piercing or tattoo is subtlety. Body art that is small and modest that fits you can look great. However, before you get caught up in all the hype seriously consider the potential consequences of getting a tattoo or piercing.

If you are going to get a tattoo, stop and think about what you want on your skin. Get a tattoo that stands for something meaningful in your life, for example- a memorial to someone close to you. Or, if you just want one because they look cool get something you will be comfortable with being permanently on your skin. Many people walk around with stupid tattoos because they did not give it enough planning or forethought. Obviously a tattoo is permanent! You can remove them with laser removal, but it is painful and will leave scarring. Piercings can be removed, but depending on where and the gauge scarring will be left, and sometimes it will not heal back together. Another thing to consider when deciding on whether or not to get body art is others’ perceptions of you. If you have Bullinger riding a dragon into hell on your arm you may not get that job at that prestigious law firm

If you are going into highly competitive or prestigious fields, and you do want some sort of body art a tattoo can be perfect, if it can be hidden. If you plan on any sort of arm tattoo and wish to hide it then it would be a good idea to put on a short sleeve T- shirt. Then, with the shirt on note where the sleeves stop, then go up your arm another inch and mark it. Your tattoo should not fall below this line, that way you can rock T – shirts without any worry. Same goes for legs. If you do not want to show your tattoo and can’t hide it with skirts or shorts then they are out. It would not be very comfortable to wear pants in 100 degree weather. Tattoos are not something that you want to do on a whim. Take your time and plan it, treat it like an investment.

Piercings are similar to tattoos and can be a bit more versatile. If you do not go crazy on your gauge or placement then you can remove your piercing for an interview or job and no one will notice. However, with the piercing gone there will be a hole left; so choose a spot that looks good pierced, but is a place where the holes left are not easily seen. Due to my experience with my piercings I find that they work great. I have gone into numerous interviews for scholarships and jobs with my piercings removed and the interviewers did not notice. After the interviews, I simply put my piercings back in.

pick your poison . . . by DEVON RUTLEDGE

THE SPARTAN VOICE ACCEPTS THE FOLLOWING RESPONSIBILITIES:The Spartan Voice is a newspaper operated by students at Wichita Collegiate School. Content in the Voice will consist of articles, editorials, letters, and any other material pertaining to the Wichita Collegiate community.

The Spartan Voice was founded in the principle that all students should have an equal opportunity to share their opinion in an open, unbiased forum of discussion.

Students, faculty, administrators, and parents make up the four fundamental parts of the Wichita Collegiate community. Although controversial subjects maybe featured in The Voice, no part of the community will be discriminated against.

The views expressed in printed material do not necessarily represent the views of The Spartan Voice or Wichita Collegiate School.

SPARTAN VOICE STAFFMax Craddock Serjay SambrosEllen Healy Jake BarretTara Kneller Diana Kim Riley Kemmer Kalli Sikes

Brooke Withrow Devon Rutledge

AlexWaldeck Rachel Klingenberg

& Zach Alvarez

spartan

basketballPREP OUT@ El dorado

8:45pm

CONT. pg 9 As of right now I am gauging my ears. For those who don’t know, gauging is the process where larger and larger gauge spikes are inserted through the piercing. Gauging often looks bad and is irreversibly damaging. However, when gauging is done right, it looks fine and is like any other piercing. I am staying on the safe side and only going to a 10 gauge. The best way to gauge is to take it very slowly and gradually. By methodically and slowly widening the piercing you will not cause any damage, and the gauges can be removed and eventually will close up.

Pain is going to be a part of any sort of body art that you get. If you happen to have a low pain tolerance, then tattoos and piercings most likely are not for you. However, if you do decide to get body art the biggest key to pain management is yourself. In my personal experience it does not hurt that bad. A piercing is a sharp pain for two seconds and after that it is mainly a dull pain where it really just feels like you are sore. Tattoos are a bit different. Depending on the size of the tattoo the process will last anywhere from an hour to several hours. The initial process of getting inked does not hurt as much as you would think. In fact, I have had friends who have fallen asleep while getting a tattoo. However the tattoo can burn for days after the procedure and it will itch for weeks. Weston Arnel recommends Lubriderm to help with that. If you really are committed, then the pain involved is certainly worth it.

If you really want some sort of body art, take your time and choose a spot that you are comfortable with. If done tastefully tattoos and piercings can be awesome ways to set you apart from the crowd. However, if you do not take the time to plan your tattoos or piercings you can end up with a permanent mistake; and you will be very unhappy.