the black and white. dec. 2012. volume 21 issue 5. 5152780449. 6501 NW 62nd ave. johnston, ia

It'saniPadworld

the b&w index

The Black and White is published solely by the Johnston High School newspa-per staff. Its goal is to inform, enlighten and entertain Johnston students. It is an open forum. In accordance with Iowa law and board policy, students assign and edit material and make all decisions of content. The paper is published ten times per school year. The paper will avoid material that is libelous, obscene or an invasion of privacy. The law does not require parental permission to use student quotes. Ethically, we believe students can speak for themselves. Staff editorials represent the opinion of a majority of the editorial board. Editorial and opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the adviser, school officials or the district. Letters to the editor must be signed. Like all material, letters may not be libelous, obscene or an invasion of privacy. Bring letters to room 413 within one week after publication to be considered for the next issue. The Black and White strives to report accurate and timely information. If you believe that an error has been printed, please contact the editors at jhsblacka-ndwhite@gmail.com. The Black and White is a member of CSPA, NSPA, Quill & Scroll, and IHSPA. Recent issues of the paper earned these honors: Colum-bia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medalist, National Scholastic Press As-sociation First Class rating, Quill & Scroll Gallup Award, IHSPA state placings and sixth in the National Best of Show.

PHILOSOPHY

new

s 3photo essayMadrigal brings another success in entertaining guests

5prescription medsPrescription medica-tion is easily accessed. Sharing them can lead to consequences

11 concussions frequent in fall sports

Fall season head injuries have increased, more than ever before

back

page

Laura Scieszinski Austin BuschClare FarrellNiki FergusonMonica GagneAaron GrayMollie GreenwoodMyles GlandorfTaylor JoensKatelyn Lunders

Staff writers

meet the staffEditorial board

Hannah Soyereditors in chief

Paige Cramer

design editorKenzie Foldessub-editorsSarah Margolin- CopyAnne Rogers- SportsSarah Ross- Feature

Ethan MarshallCourtney MithelmanZoe WilsonJeremy Caracci

tattoos 8 Students share their thoughts on tattoos and what it holds for their fu-ture

With the benefits that an orchestra brings, the school should look into adding one to our music department

orchestra needed at JHS9

12what Christmas means nowadays

Students of different religions discuss their views on the holidays

6 the basics about iPadsBecome informed about the need-to-know infor-mation for iPads7 sp

orts

4coyote meetingResidents meet to dis-cuss coyote concerns

Rumor BustersRumors around the school are put to the test

feat

ure

edito

rial

ente

rtain

men

t

10See how the Asian Cul-ture has made its way into our own entertain-ment and society

Asianinfluence

in this issue

][december2012Take a trip upstairs to room 413 to get your voice heard. Have an opinion you want to get out there? Want your response to an article published? Write a letter to the editor and you could get your opinion heard! Write it within one week of this publication to be considered for the next issue!

Mallorie Goodale- News

the b&w newsp.3

Victoria Trost uses Jacob Gehrke as a bench while Brandt Swallow (all seniors) puts a boot on her foot to prove she is the right fit. Trost’s dress was the envy of some girls because of its color and

sheer back.

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Clare Farrell/BW

MadrigalMusic from the 90’s... the 1590’swords & layout Clare Farrell

Senior Joscey Miner delivers her argument to senior Amelia Hammond. After admitting to killing Hammond’s donkey, senior Alex Kaptain who takes on the role of the king threatened Miner with

five years of hard labor or one semester of Integrated Language Arts.

2Junior Josh Dell begs for money at the annual madrigal dress rehearsal Nov. 27. Dell earned around $140 from the audience and was able to keep it. “I put most of the money towards my show choir

fee,” Dell said. “The rest I kept for gas and stuff like that.”3

Leading the prayer, senior Jacob Gehrke recites the prayer while everyone else hums before the annual Madrigal dinner starts. Gehrke played the role of jester. 4Lit only by candle light, sopho-mores Barbie Sullivan and Bec-ca Stahr sing “Silent Night.”

Senior Laura Smalley sung the last verse of the song while the choir blew out their candles. Then Smalley blew out her candle and the church went dark.

5

Clare Farrell/BW

Clare Farrell/BW

Austin Busch/BW

Clare Farrell/BW

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3

2

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the b&w newsp.4

A captive coyote that keeps to himself stands quietly in the background while Ron DeArmond from Wild Life Pella Company gives information about coyotes and how they interact with humans.

Coyote Concernswords & layout Kenzie Foldes

Wildlife experts said coyotes are not dangerous at a meeting held Nov. 15 at Summit Middle School. Orga-nizers called the meeting in response to recent coyote sightings in the Johnston city limits.

“Up until two weeks ago, I was not aware that we had coyotes in Johnston,” Mayor Paula Dierenfeld wrote in her blog in November.

Dierenfeld wrote about a Johnston mother of two who emailed the mayor after she spotted a coyote in her backyard.

“Had it not been for the fact that it was cold and rainy out, she said her children would have been playing in the backyard,” Dierenfeld wrote in her blog. “This mother was concerned and wanted to know what the city was doing to respond to these “new” sightings of coyotes in our community.”

The day the staff received the email, students from the schools were brought inside from recess as a pre-caution.

The Johnston Police Department contacted the dis-trict about the increasing amount of phone calls the Department had received about coyote sightings. This prompted Horizon Elementary and Summit Middle Schools to keep students inside for recess as a precau-tion. “Not knowing a lot about the situation, we thought it was best to keep the [students] inside,” Tim Kline, direc-tor of buildings and grounds said. “Then through talking to the Johnston Police Department and DNR we edu-cated ourselves.”

The message of the Nov. 15 meeting which drew 50-60 people, was similar. Jeff Swearingen from the Iowa DNR and Ron DeArmond from the Wildlife Pella Com-pany assured troubled locals by giving basic informa-tion about coyotes and answered questions residents had.

A coyote’s diet consists of small rodents, including mice, rabbits, and squirrels. Coyotes hunting small ani-mal pets and children are highly unlikely, and through the practice of hazing, a strategy to ease fear back into coyotes by producing loud sounds such as yelling or blowing whistles, coyotes will lose their sense of well be-ing in residential areas.

Kline was surprised by the number of people who at-tended the meeting. “A cougar was shot in Des Moines about two blocks from an elementary and when a pub-lic meeting was held, only 15 people showed up,” Kline said. “It was really surprising that coyotes received more attention.”

Kline feels education will help people understand coyotes. “We are moving into their area, and they are adapting to humans,” Kline said. “Learning more about them is the first step to keeping our pets and kids safe.”

How to prevent a

coyoteencounter

Coyotes become territorial between the months of January to March due to breeding season. Here are a few tips to prevent an encounter.

Protecting your petCoyotes are often intimidated by

humans. Accompanying your pet when you are outdoors can help prevent an encounter.

Do not leave pet food or treats out-side for this can attract coyotes.

Use a leash when walking your pet in the park.

Use a coyote-proof fence in your yard. It must be at least six feet tall and extend at least 12 inches underground.

Use effective hazingHazing is a strategy to scare off a

coyote and hopefully prevent it from be-coming too comfortable in a residential or populated area.

Some effective hazing skills include yelling or being loud. Banging pots or throwing objects are also effective if a coyote is spotted in the area.

Continue to haze until the coyote has left the area.

Information provided by The Humane Society of the United States

CONFIRMED:Teachers who wish to wear jeans on Fridays must pay two dol-

lars per week. “What we have asked, is that teachers who want to wear jeans on Friday contribute to a fund that is used for Dollars for Scholars, and the other half goes to families in need,” princi-pal Brent Riessen, who created this policy, said. Before Riessen became principal, teachers were not allowed to wear jeans at all. “I think it’s great because the money is going towards a Dollar for Scholars scholarship,” French teacher Mary Moermond said. A benefit for teachers that pay for this is giving back to the students through Dollars for Scholars Scholarships. “And also, it’s one day a week that I don’t have to think about what I’m going to wear,” Moermond adds.

Jeans on Friday’s

BUSTED:The high school handbook states that all parking lots are off

limits during the school day. “What we ask of kids is that if you are scheduled for a class,

that you’re at that class,” principal Brent Riessen said. There can be consequences for going to your car, but they can vary from each situation.

“If they need to go to their car, what we would ask them to do is come to the office and check,” Riessen said. “Typically then it’s a matter of signing out, getting what you need and signing back in.” That’s exactly what choir director, Samantha Robilliard does. “I always make people check into the office before they go to their cars,” Robilliard said. The reason that students are asked to check out of the office is so the administration always knows where kids are in case of an accident, or emergency.

Parking lot access

Finals are Dec. 19, 20, and 21 and students must stay in their classes for the entire time that is set for that class. “For classes that you don’t have a final in, or where you just present a project, I think that once you present your project you should just be able to leave because most kids aren’t even listening to the project anyways be-cause they just want to go home,” sophomore Ruchi Shekar said. Students will be allowed to go to the library during finals week, but only if they do not have a scheduled class at that time.

Students stay in finalsCONFIRMED:words & layout Courtney Mithelman

RumorBUSTERS

you get ‘em, we bust ‘em

the b&w newsp.5

School nurse Susan Krebs sees it every year — students keeping their prescription medication with them instead of taking it to the nurse’s office at the beginning of the year, as is the school policy.

Associate principal Jerry Stratton said that the rea-soning behind this policy is so students do not give their prescription medication to other students. While this does not happen often, it is still an occurrence, and there are serious consequences if a student is caught. This can often lead to police involvement.

On Nov. 5, senior Peyton Pagliai, 18, was arrested and charged with distributing prescription drugs to a minor during school hours. The minor, a 15 year-old female, was charged with possession of prescription drugs and other drug paraphernalia. A $10,000 bond was posted Nov. 6 for Pagliai by Iowa Bail Bonds. Pagliai’s lawyer Sean Spellman appeared in court on Nov. 13 to plead not guilty. The Honorable Judge James Birkenholz ordered Pagliai to undergo a sub-stance abuse evaluation by her arraignment hearing Dec. 13. She was then ordered to have a trial by jury which will take place Feb.13.

School Resource Officer Jessica Jensen said that the use of prescription drugs has “skyrocketed” since 2007 due to the increasing availability of them.

Whatever age someone is, giving prescription medication to one that does not have that prescription

ally realize [I forgot to take my medicine] while I’m in class and realize I’m not getting anything done. I don’t want to have to leave class and take time to go get my medicine when I could just get it out of my pocket.” The student does agree, however, that the policy is a good idea.

If a student is caught in possession of prescription medication, that person will be asked to leave it in the nurse’s office for the rest of the day where Krebs will keep it locked up. A phone call will also be made to the parent(s) to verify that it is indeed the student’s medication. Parents are asked to encourage their stu-dent to bring it to the nurse’s office in the future.

In regards to suspension, associate principal Jerry Stratton said, “If I believed that there was enough in-formation to turn it over to a police officer, I would say there’s a really strong likelihood that I believed you were doing it based on my findings. I can’t believe that I would ever turn it over to a police officer unless I would suspend them.”

Stratton said he doesn’t know how big of a prob-lem prescription drugs are here, but that he knows it exists. “I think I’m throwing a dart against a wall, I don’t know for sure. To me, any time that we have drugs, alcohol or prescription drugs, one is too many, because we’re talking about student safety. For me, any time I think it’s out there it’s a problem.”

is illegal. Once someone becomes an adult, however, the charges can become much more serious. If a stu-dent is a minor giving a prescription medication to an-other minor, he or she can be charged with a serious or aggravated misdemeanor. If someone is an adult giving a prescription medication to a minor, he or she can be charged with a class C felony.

On top of this, if a crime is committed by an adult, that person faces the adult court system, which is put in place to punish. Jensen attests to this. “The juve-nile court system is meant to help teach and sway,” she said. “If you’re 18 and you get in trouble, you’re going to be put in jail, you’re going to see a judge.”

Giving prescription medication to someone without a prescription can be dangerous, the main reason for the school policy. Krebs said that depending on the type of medication, different reactions could oc-cur. For one, a student could have a severe allergic reaction. “Pain medication is one of the most poten-tially dangerous prescription medications out there,” Krebs said. “If it’s strong enough, the student could pass out.”

Despite this reasoning, many students choose not to follow the school policy. “I can barely get to school on time,” a female student said in regards to her ADHD medication. “I don’t have time to go to the nurse’s office and wait in line for my medicine. I usu-

words & layout Hannah Soyer

Pills become prevalentHannah Soyer/BW

the b&w featurep.8

When 16 year-old Craig O’Keefe told his parents, Brian and Wendy, he wanted a tattoo, their reaction was typical. “Nice try,” they said.

His mother opposed the idea the most. “You don’t want a tattoo,” she said. “It’s going to be there forever.”

Iowa law prohibits people under 18 from acquiring a tattoo even with parent consent. Nebraska, however, al-lows 16 and 17 year-olds to get one with parent con-sent.

O’Keefe kept up the pressure. He travels to Omaha often for medical tests. Eventually, his mother gave in. “There are way worse things kids can do,” she said. “Craig goes there all the time so I thought it might be a nice gift.”

After researching online and talking with his parents, O’Keefe decided on a tattoo of his family crest. “I didn’t know what I wanted at first,” he said. “Then I realized I wanted the O’Keefe crest because family is something that is very important to me.”

A Body of WorkWhen local tattoo artist Matt Schager started tattoo-

ing people he had trouble getting comfortable with the process. “Getting over the permanency factor was one of the hardest things for me,” Schager said. “It’s somebody else’s body and you’re putting something permanent on them.”

According to a Harris Poll, 14 percent of Americans have tattoos. Of those, seven million people say they re-gret getting their tattoo.

Schager, who co-owns the Skin Kitchen tattoo parlor on Douglas Avenue, said his own tattoos have meaning.

The tattoos on his knuckles are just some examples. “I got this one in honor of Johnny Cash when he died,” Schager said. “I got this one as a tribute to 9/11.” About 60 percent of Schager’s body is covered with tattoos. O’Keefe recommends getting a tattoo, but advised, “Just not in a very sensitive spot.”

Against the advice of his artist, O’Keefe chose to put

Students and artists share their experiences with tattoos

words & Layout Jeremy CaracciKenzie Foldes/BW

Danny Gould, a tattoo artist at Skin Kitchen, gives Shane Strant a tattoo on his left arm. Gould is one of the five tattoo artists at Skin Kitchen.

Kenzie Foldes/BW

his tattoo on his rib cage. “(It was) excruciatingly painful,” O’Keefe said. “It felt like I was getting stabbed repeat-edly in the ribs.” O’Keefe described this as the worse part about getting a tattoo.

After 17 years as an artist, Schager said creating a tattoo is not hard. “Ninety percent of the tattoo job is mental, the rest you could pretty much train a monkey to do,” he said, “but you do have to have some sort of artistic talent.” He said some people draw a sketch of the tattoo on the person before to use as a guide.

“Me personally, I like drawing it on paper and making a stencil,” he said. “You just wet the skin and it leaves like an outline. Then you just work off that.”

Tattoos in Training

Junior Bailee Nelson has put some thought into be-coming a tattoo artist. In the fall she used a black Sharpie to draw tattoos on the varsity volleyball team before the Pella Christian game. “We were sitting watching the JV game,” sophomore Hayley Dotseth said. “She just start-ed drawing on each of us.”

Most people wanted the nonpermanent tattoo on their wrists. “Everyone had something different,” Dotseth said. “I don’t know if it helped us physically, but it helped us connect more as a team because we were connecting emotionally before the game.”

“I started really drawing on people in fifth grade,” she said, “and that’s about when I started thinking about be-ing a tattoo artist.”

Dotseth praised Nelson’s work. “She’s very good at what she does,” Dotseth said.

“I usually just draw on my friends, I draw on myself a lot too,” Nelson said. “When people see things on me that they like, they ask me to draw it on them.”

Inking ExperienceOther than taking drawing with teacher Daniel Weiss

last year, Nelson has no other drawing expertise.Schager didn’t take any art classes in high school. “I

started college and I didn’t really know what to do, then I found commercial art,” Schager said. “I graduated, but I didn’t do anything as far as career-wise.”

For Schager, becoming a tattoo artist simply fell into place. “I worked some odds and ends jobs here and there, but my sister-in-law lived in California and she was a cosmetic tattoo artist,” Schager said. A cosmetic art-ist does make-up tattoos around the eyebrows and lips. “She told me I should look into [tattooing]. So I found a place that did apprenticeships and kind of went from there.”

Nelson plans to attend college and study graphic de-sign. “I’m not sure if you need a college degree to be-come a tattoo artist,” Nelson said. “It’s not a definite de-cision yet, but it’s definitely something I’d be interested in.”

the b&w editorialp.9

The editorial board votes on the opinion behind the editorial. A simple majority is needed to pass. This month’s vote was 4-0.

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The Sound of ChangeFor years Johnston has been on top of providing the best

for its students. Administrators exceed in finding doors to new

worlds for students to expand their education and invest in new

things. Currently they are focused on bringing the Ipad’s for stu-

dents and faculty and creating the model for a new high school

for future students. Why is advancing our arts programs not a

part of these new changes?

For every student there is a whole world of opportunities, ex-

cept with instruments. Johnston is limited to the select instruments

in the common band. Meanwhile, schools like Valley and Waukee

are finding ways to broaden the horizons in their school by providing

an orchestral class to students who wish to play a different instru-

ment like a violin, bass, cello, viola or harp.

Junior at Valley, Emily Roose, has been in the school orchestra since

5th grade when she picked out the bass as her new instrument.

I love the bass. It’s because the bass is the foundation of the orchestra. It’s

the instrument that adds depth to the sound. I love being able to ‘hold up’ the

rest [of the] orchestra. My bass is a part of me and I couldn’t imagine my

life without it.

It is only orchestras that can bring a love of music

this strong to so many students.

“Orchestral music is the real history of instru-

mental music,” band director Pat Kearney said. “[It

is] the music that is studied in colleges around

the world.” Schools like Valley have realized the

progress that needs to happen to open up the

music world to even more students. The truth is

that Johnston needs to catch up and bring the

opportunity to students across our district.

Numerous students in the district already

play orchestral instruments. Sophomore Marcus

Miller has been playing the violin for seven years

and has been cooperating with the band for songs

that may allow for a violin. “I think many people these

days, especially in these tough economic times, overlook

the arts programs, such as an orchestra,” Miller said. “An

orchestra program would be beneficial to the district in nu-

merous ways, such as attracting new students from outside

the district, providing opportunities for our students here at John-

ston, and also to better enhance the music department.”

Junior Bella North played the violin as a child but over time

dropped the instrument for other sports and classes at the high

school. “I think having an orchestra would be cool to give kids an

opportunity to play together,” North said.

Kearney gives his stance on how to go about getting a or-

chestra for Johnston.

Ultimately it is both a curricular and financial issue. The school

board would first have to approve a class and an orchestra cur-

riculum. Another issue is that the orchestra has to be funded.

Given the constraints that the school board faces in terms of dol-

lars from the state, either there would need to be an increase in

funding to the district from the state or other programs would

have to be eliminated to pay for an orchestra.

Luckily, Miller is already working on it. “The plans aren’t final

yet, as I am still waiting for a reply from David Law, who works

with the Iowa Alliance for Arts Education, for some information

and tips on presenting my ideas to the school board,” Miller said.

“I contacted a Waukee representative, and they told me that they

partnered with the Des Moines Symphony, and now offer private

lessons through Community Education. This is something I was

thinking about, rather than trying to jump into a full strings pro-

gram, if we could gradually ease our way similar to what Waukee

does.”

Waukee is one of the many schools struggling to provide more

opportunities to their students without cutting funds from the al-

ready existing music program.

“I think that classes being offered through Community Edu-

cation are pretty easy to do, so long as you have an instructor,”

Principle Brent Riessen said. “As for an orchestra program, that

is a far more complicated process to work through. I would never

rule out a possible course of study, but I know that there are a

lot of demands on students and schedules already. It has been

looked at in the past, and can always be reviewed.” The idea of

an orchestra must be looked at again soon if we hope to further

opportunities for all students.

the b&w entertainmentp.10

layout Monica Gagnewords Sarah Margolin

A snapshot of Korean pop cultureAsianInvasion

Not ready to transition into full blown Korean songs? No problem, some Korean

singers have English versions released.

Korean music

Flower Boys

Couples vs. friends

1.2.3.

4.5.

Public displays of affection between couples: Not often. Hand hold-ing maybe, but kissing and hugging are not really common. Korea is just more into the emotional part of a relationship versus the physical. Between friends: Totally normal. Girls will hold hands with each other as well as guys if they are close friends. This is really com-mon between guys in the same band. While on talk shows they touch each others faces a lot, and will just be really close to each other in general. It is very normal for guys to be sitting on each others laps and sleeping in the same room. This is not weird in Korea and they are not seen as dating, just really good friends.

Korean artist

The idea of a flower boy is something that is seen in Korea and in a lot of Korean music videos. A flow-er boy is someone who dresses super nice, always has his hair styled and will wear makeup on a normal basis. Flower boys do look very feminine but that is their goal. In Korea, it is normal and girls love them. These guys are like the Bradley Cooper of Korea.

English song-In Korea, there are many things that we as Americans do

that make no sense to them, and vise versa. Prime example, beauty. In America, everyone has a different idea of what is beautiful. In Korea, there is one thing that everyone (both male and female) strives for, these are:

1. Long legs2. Large eyes (doll-like effect).3. Pale skin. This one is the most different from us as

Americans whose goal in the summer, or anytime of the year is to go and fry our skin and keep it as tan as possible. Ko-rean’s will wear long sleeves in the summer to keep their skin pale.

4. X-Lines/ S-Lines. Both of these are different body types in Korea. S-Lines, being the more curvy type, and X-line is long legs and arms, with a tiny waist.

5. Small face. Korean’s in pictures will sometimes do peace signs by their cheeks. This is an attempt to cover up their cheekbones because they view them as sticking out big-ger then it really is.

6. V-Line. This goes with the idea of the ideal face shape. A V-Line is the idea of having a slim face. In Korea, there are things like face rollers and different drinks that claim to slenderize your face.

Korean Beauty

Boys Girlspoprock

rap

hip-hop

dance

R&B

indie

Super Junior

CNBlue

B.A.P

Love Korea

Girls Generation

Eve

BIGBANG

2NE1

U-Kiss

Taeyang

Handsome People

4Minute

Wonder Girls

Lee Hi

Urban Zakapa

2NE1- “Can’t Nobody”Girls Generation- “The Boys”The Koxx- “Take me Far from Home”

Taeyang- “Wedding Dress” and “I’ll be there”

BIGBANG- “Lies”

All this information came from Simon and

Martina who are a couple that lives in Korea

and blogs about their life in Korea. Learn more

at eatyourkimchi.com, or their YouTube page at

SimonandMartina.

All illustrations done by Monty Cason

the b&w sportsp.11

Counting down the concussionsSenior Joscey Miner watches from

the sidelines as her cheerleading squad pumps up the football crowd. Oct. 12, Miner

suffered a blow to the head, which took her out of participating in cheer for the rest of the season. “It’s sad, and really hard to sit and watch because I’m so used to being in-volved,” Miner said.

Her concussion happened when a flyer’s back came down on her head during a prac-tice. “Only my back hurt at first, so I didn’t think anything of it,” Miner said. “Later that night, I got really bad headaches, and I would consistently get them everyday.”

Miner waited six days to go to the doctor until she realized things were getting

worse. “When I was writing my gov-ernment essay one day in class, my head was literally pounding,” Miner said. “Afterwards, my mom took me to the doctors because it

was hurting so bad.” After her visit to the doctors, Min-

er was out of school for the next two weeks because of the severity of the concussion.

Concussions have always been a

problem in athletics. There were 18 concussions in school athletics this past fall season. “There was a handful of football players, at least five on varsity,” head football coach Brian Woodley said. Three varsity cheerleaders, Miner being one of them, got concussions this fall as well. Athletes seem to push away the severity of concussions so they are still able to participate in their sport. They tend to ignore their concus-sion when they need to be taking care of it. “[The cheerleaders] know the impact that just one girl missing from practice can have on the team when it comes to stunting and pyramids, so they may not tell anyone they have a headache because they don’t want to sit out,” said head cheerleading coach, Lexi Shafer.

Football players pretend to be fine as well. “Some players just don’t want to miss playing time,” Woodley said. “But this is their head, their brain, and they need it to function for the rest of their life.”

Junior Grant Riessen got a concussion this past football season in August, as the team start-ed two-a-days (two practices in one day). “I dove on the ground for the ball and someone landed on my head,” Riessen said. He played the rest of practice, but went to the doctor’s right after. “I felt really out of it and I had a really bad head-ache,” Riessen said. “I knew I had a concussion though. When someone gets a concussion, they just know.”

Riessen got constant headaches for two and a half months after the first concussion. He end-

ed up sitting out the rest of the football season. “Yeah I was mad I couldn’t play, but I know con-cussions are dangerous,” Riessen said. “When it happened I wasn’t thinking straight, so I thought I was fine. Now I’m glad I stopped playing after that practice.”

In order to prevent concussions, coaches need to stress to their athletes to always take safety precautions. Football coaches constantly tell the boys to ‘see what you hit.’ “As coaches, that’s the most important thing we say to them. Don’t put your head down, see what you hit,” Woodley said.

In cheerleading, technique is key. “We are constantly coaching and correcting the girls in their technique, so that they can learn preventa-tive measures to prevent injuries,” Shafer said.

Nurse Susan Krebs sometimes sees athletes who have concussions in her office. “Athletes need to be smart about the play. They have got to be careful,” Krebs said.

What athletes do not realize is that if they don’t take the time needed to recover from con-cussions, there could be serious damage in their future. “I’ve seen people with permanent brain damage, memory loss, even people in wheel-chairs,” Krebs said. No matter how much they love the sport they play in, athletes need to be precautious and take the time to heal from a con-cussion. “If you have concussion symptoms, lis-ten to it,” Krebs said. “It’s a matter of four weeks out of one year, or the rest of your life. Think about it.”

preventing concussions*• Use the right protective equipment• Follow safety rules and rules of sport• Practice good sportsmanship• Do not return to play with a known or

suspected concussion• Always practice safety • Be careful

*According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Left: Junior Kelsey Kramer prac-

tices a prep stunt with her cheer-

leading team. Kramer has also

gotten a concussion from falling

out of a stunt.

Left: Sophomore Jordan Weddington carries the ball at a football game

against Dowling Catholic on Aug. 17. Although Weddington did not get a

concussion this season, many of his teammates did.Provided/Dragon

symptoms of concussions*

• Unusual sleepiness or difficulty being awakened

• Trouble using arms or legs• Slurred or stuttering speech• Convulsions or seizures• Increasing headache• Increasing or onset of vomiting• Increasing confusion

words Anne Rogers layout Paige Cramer

the b&w backpagep.12

words Mollie Greenwood

Is Christ still a part of Christmas?

Carly Crist- Aditi Dinakar-HinduAtheist

Natalie Vander Ploeg-Evangelical

Josh Hjelmaas-Jewish

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layout Monica Gagne

We put up our Christmas lights during [Diwali] so we just have them up early. We do put up a Christmas tree. It’s obviously not a religious celebra-tion of Christmas, just kind of like a cul-tural thing. We have a little tree, we’ll do presents sometimes, but it’s noth-ing as extravagant as most Christians would have.

Christmas is very important to me because it’s a time to remember how much God loves each of us and de-sires to have a relationship with us. He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to earth for us. And the amazing thing is that it doesn’t mean that I have to be perfect. No matter how hard I try, I will never get everything right. But He will forgive me for my mistakes if I ask Him to. That’s what Christmas is about: The God of the Universe sacrificed His only Son for each of us because He wants us to be a part of His family.

I love all of the festivities and hoopla surrounding Christmas, but I don’t ac-tually observe the holiday. I don’t at all think that Christmas has turned into a secular holiday. It has become so inter-twined with American culture. Just think of the scores of Christmas TV specials and movies coming out this time of year, as well as the consumer madness start-ing with Black Friday. It’s hard to say that Christmas is purely religious in this country.

Even though Christmas start-ed as a Christian holiday and ob-viously it was started from the whatever of Jesus that happened on that day. Wasn’t it his birthday or something, or did he die that day? I don’t even know! But, even though it started that way, Christ-mas has become more of a social holiday. It’s become more Ameri-can, rather than Christian.

From left to right: Senior Fatiha Iqbal and junior Aditi Dinakar

In December, many people partake in the Christmas traditions such as Christmas trees and caroling. However, not every-one does these as a celebration of the birth of Christ. Have the traditions kept with their Christian origin or has Christmas become more commercialized throughout the years?

Mollie Greenwood/BWProvided/Aditi Dinakar

Provided/Natalie Vander Ploeg

Provided/Josh Hjelmaas