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Friday, February 8, 2013 Vol. 53 No. V Fairview High School 1515 Greenbriar Blvd. The fhsroyalbanner.com

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Friday, February 8, 2013Vol. 53 No. V

Fairview High School1515 Greenbriar Blvd.The

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oyal

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Bits and PiecesRoyal Banner 2Up & Coming

4-Day Weekend!Monday 2/18: President’s Day Tuesday 2/19: Teacher In-Ser-vice DayWednesday 2/20: Love Your Pet Day

newsobama’s second term: what’s up for discussion? 3neal kornreich’s campaign journey 4royal banner’s 2013 celebrity predictions 5

This WeekendSunday the 10th:Holiday: Chinese New Year

All WeekBring Books for the Book Drive!

TodayFriday the 8th:Basketball Vs. Horizon (Men at Home)JV Wrestling State ChampionHoliday: Boy Scout Day

Next WeekTuesday the 12th:Basketball Vs. Mountain Range (Women at Home)Holiday: Mardi Gras

Wednesday the 13th:Knight of Transition Season Premiere: Survivor

Thursday the 14th:Holiday: Valentine’s Day Pick up your Love/Friend match-es at the top of the school - $2.00

Friday the 15th: Last Day to turn in books for the Book Drive! Basketball Rematch Fairview vs. Boulder (Fairview is away)Holiday: Singles Awarness Day

In the future...Course Selection - 2/25 to 3/1Pops - 2/26 to 3/2 Spring Play - 3/2 to 3/4

entertainmentvalentine’s day playlist 7oscar predictions 8grammy nominated album of the year review 9

nothing’s fair in love and war 10hate valentine’s day? 11

opinions

extrasknight memes 6advertisements 22, 23couples of the castle 24

in-depthvirtual reality vs. virtually harmless 12mental health = social health 13moving forward on gun control 14ohio football scandal unravels online 15

sportssexy sports duos 18winter sports report 19(BONUS: crossword puzzle)student life

thoughts on valentine’s day 20fairview grants a wish 21

humornot even once: the struggle for atonement 16señior oviatt: the silent killer 17

Cover photo by Emily Ellis

NewsRoyal Banner 3Obama’s Second Term: What’s up for discussion?

In a political era defined by polarization and partisanship- staunch beliefs and unyielding stances- there are numerous contro-versial policies in 2013 to be grappled with. Here is a review of hot topics that Obama is bound to wrestle with in his second term: Gun Control

At a vigil held three days after the Newtown Elementary School shooting that claimed the lives of 20 children and 6 adults, President Obama told the crowd of grieving community members, “We can’t accept events like this as routine.”

The widespread discussion of gun con-trol began brewing since Trayvon Mar-tin’s death and the Aurora shooting and was only ignited more by the Newtown Elementary tragedy. Politicians, television reporters, and community members alike have sprung into action. The President said he plans to do so as well in his next term.

“I will use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens from law enforcement to mental health pro-fessionals to parents and educators, in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this,” Obama said.

Immigration Reform The DREAM Act, which stands for

development, relief, and education for alien minors, will be reintroduced to Congress early this year. This legis-lation would allow youth immigrants who graduate from high school in the US to have an opportunity to receive green cards.

Obama addressed the issue in July of last year saying, “It is this constant flow of immigrants that help make America what it is... to this day Amer-ica reaps incredible economic rewards because we remain a magnet for the best and brightest for people around the world. In an increasingly intercon-nected world....being an American is not a matter of blood or birth it is a matter of faith.”

Gay RightsThe 2012 election was a huge

milestone in having LGBTQ repre-sentation in Congress. The Senate gained its first openly gay member, Tammy Baldwin. The first openly gay Representative from New York was elected, and previous openly gay Congress members were re-elected. In 2013, same-sex marriage became legal in Maine, Washington, and Maryland.

Last year, when Obama said he supported same-sex marriage, he created an inevitable platform for discussing LGBTQ rights in 2013. Obama addressed this topic in his second inaugural address by saying that America’s “journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law.”

Age Previous Job New Position Job Description Replacing Party

John Brennan 57 Deputy National Security Advisor

Head of CIA Direct and coordi-nate the CIA and its missions

Michael J. Morell None

Chuck Hagel 66 US Senator from Nebraska

Secretary of De-fense

Head of Armed Services and US miliary

Leon E. Panetta Republican

John Kerry 69 US Senator from Massachusetts

Secretary of State Chief Advisor to the President involving foreign policy and matters

Hillary Clinton Democrat

Jack Lew 57 White House Chief of Staff

Secretary of the Treasury

Chief Economic Advisor to the President

Timothy F. Geithner

Democrat

New Term, New Jobs: Who is going to head to D.C. this term?

By Sharone Goldman, Lucia Rose, and Rachel Perley

By Rachel Perley, Lucia Rose, and Elise Maclean

Photos from Wikimedia Commons

NewsRoyal Banner 4Neal Kornreich’sCampaign Journey

Photo donated by Neal Kornreich

Neal Kornreich, senior, was a field or-ganizer for the 2012 Obama Re-election Campaign just last year. After putting many hours in as a volunteer in the Boulder Baseline office, he was promoted to a staff member on the campaign. He decided to skip his first semester of senior year and take the job. With the recent inauguration for President Obama’s second term, the Royal Banner decided to interview him on his experience.

RB: What did you do for Obama?NK: I was staff, so I was a field organizer, so primarily organizing volunteers.

RB: What was the best part of the experi-ence? NK: Probably when the President came twice when I was on staff, once when I was an intern. We dealt with such large crowds of people and we really got to see our vol-unteers take on responsibilities they hadn’t before and organizing these masses.

RB: How did this experience change you as a person? What did you get out of it? NK: I learned a lot of basic office skills and leadership skills on the campaign, definite-ly a different side of politics.

RB: What are you looking forward to in Obama’s second term?NK: There are a couple of pieces of legislation, one I am interested in seeing is immigration reform which we should see in a couple of months. I’m also interested in seeing any foreign policy devel-opment.

RB: How do you plan to stay involved with the administration? NK: There is going to be a “campaign after,” I want to intern for it. I probably won’t do that much with it because I have to go to college. I hope to potentially jump on in 2014 with the Senate race.

RB: Do you want to pursue politics as a career? NK: Maybe. Possibly!

One benifit of Neal Kornreich’s work for the Obama Campaign was that he was able to go to the Inaugural Ball at the Convention Center back in January.

By Melissa Cuddington

NewsRoyal Banner 5Royal Banner’s 2013 Celebrity Predictions

4) 2013 is the year Lady Gaga is finally going to go off the deep end. Except not. That happened like three years ago. I mean, have you seen the way she dresses? It’s really not fair though. Why does she make millions after wearing a dress made out of meat, but if I try to wear big plastic bubbles instead of clothing I get funny looks?

1) Taylor Swift will go through at least four breakups, and subsequently come out with a new album and make millions. So basically what we’re thinking is that when T-Swift needs some extra cash, she goes out, finds a boy, dates him for a couple weeks and breaks up with him. Also, since she is the new relationship advice columnist for 17 Magazine, we can safely predict that she will advise a lot of teenage girls to break up with their boyfriends. They will then go listen to Taylor Swift’s music, a she will make more money. We’re on to you Taylor. But hey, it’s good business!

2) Look out, humanity! There’s a new Kardashian on the way. Unfortunately for Kim, 9 months is a little lon-ger than 72 days, and there’s no way she and Kanye are going to last that long. Face it: If Kim had an emotional meltdown after losing an earring in the ocean, she’s not going to be able to handle the agonies of childbirth. She won’t be able to stand the Kontractions and will have a K-Section. Poor kid, alone in a world of Kardashian women. You can’t feel too bad for the little K in the oven though. Kim and Kanye did just purchase an 11 million dollar mansion.

3) There will be a mass-movement to boycott “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” because society will finally realize that watching the exploitation of a six-year-old girl gorge herself on corn syrup is a grossly self-gratifying practice. LOL just kidding. People will never cease to find sick ways to feel better about themselves, and besides, the show is kind of entertaining... not that we watch it... it’s just what people have told us...

5) Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj will claw each other’s eyes out in this season of “American Idol.” After a leaked video of Minaj yelling “off with her head!” (in that British accent she tends to whip out every now and then), Carey admitted to hiring additional security measures to feel safe. In spite of the feud, viewership will continue to decline. This show is awful.

How much money will T-Swift make this year?1) 1 break up: $10,000,000 2) 2 break ups: $20,000,0003) 5 break ups: $50,000,000

After Harry Styles’ break up with Taylor Swift, who will keep him “Up all Night?” 1) Selena Gomez 2) Carly Rae Jepsen 3) Liam Hemsworth

What will Lady Gaga’s most interesting dress be made of? 1) Chocolate 2) Jello 3) Wood

Polls: Answer online at www.fhsroyalbanner.com!

Photos from Wikimedia Commons

By Rachel Perley and Lucia Rose

By Shoshana Pollack and Sharone Goldman

MemesRoyal Banner 6

KnightMemes

Memes by James Kiousis

EntertainmentRoyal Banner 7

1) “Love”-- Joni Mitchell Good If you need a primer on exactly what we are talking about here- Mitchell defines love as “never look[ing] for love;/ love’s not puffed up, or envious, or touchy,” which rules out middle schoolers pret-ty quickly. Mitchell also sings about the need to recapture the innocent love of children. The best version of this song is on Travelogue: The lush strings help to underpin the Romantic conception of love present in the lyrics.2) “Waters”-- Electric Wire Hustle If you are harboring a tentative crush, give this jam a listen. “Can we just test the waters?” is the rallying cry of Electric Wire Hustle (an electro- hip-hop-type group from New Zealand, of all places) in this dark, angsty piece about finding a suitable partner. The singer’s cold falset-to preaches the virtue of “trying not to judge too quick-” but the song’s languid (and frankly kind of despairing) pace suggests some folly inherent in waiting too long to take action.3) “Good Vibrations”-- The Beach Boys Ever had that moment of dawning com-

prehension when you look at somebody a certain way, and they do it right back, and it changes your mood for the bet-ter the whole rest of the day? That is exactly what this song is about. Brian Wilson soliloquizes about “the colorful clothes you wear,/ and the way the sun-light plays upon her hair.” Then comes the famous (and catchy!) chorus about picking up “Good Vibrations-” that jit-tery, half anxious/ half elated feeling that comes when a sideward glance turns into something bigger.4) “In Your Eyes”-- Peter Gabriel Peter Gabriel tends to be pretty epic, and this anthem is no different- it is about finding completion and about fill-ing in a missing portion of one’s soul in the eyes of the one you love. It’s typical 80’s stuff- big synths, reverb on the snare drum, and a soaring melody that stirs the soul. It does not get much more de-monstrative than this masterpiece.5) “I’ve Just Seen a Face”-- The Beat-les You never forget Love at First Sight- it’s one of those experiences that gets burned in your mind forever, for bet-

ter and for worse. Thankfully the Fab 4 themselves released a wonderful song to help you process the overwhelming power of instantaneous infatuation. You will probably recognize this tune from the vibrant bowling alley scene in Across the Universe and the visual ana-logue is an apt one- in such a situation one definitely feels like releasing the en-ergy in any way possible.6) “I Would Do Anything For Love”-- Meat Loaf Rounding out the list is Meat Loaf ’s epic, overwrought power ballad, epitomizing everything that was both wrong, and right, with love in the ‘80s. The song’s title is actually a misnomer- the good ‘ol Loaf sings about how deeply in love he is and how he would indeed “Do Any-thing--” But he won’t do “that,” whatev-er that means, exactly. As over-the-top as the actual song is, the idea is not a bad one: Meat Loaf is essentially saying that we should stay true to ourselves, no matter how much we want to change for someone else. Check this oddball out for its message, if nothing else.

Nothing is better on Valentine’s Day than a good love song (except an ungodly excess of chocolate). Luckily, musicians seem to be just as interested in talking about the joys and pitfalls of romantic attraction as the rest of us, and just about every musician of our time has chipped in a love song of their own. So for Valentine’s day, we compiled a list of love songs of every stripe-- from orchestral ballads to Kiwi hip-hop. Enjoy!

By Eamonn Morris

Grammy Nominated Album of the Year

Reviews

Blunderbuss-Jack W

hite

El Camino - The Black Keys

Channel Orange Frank Ocean

Who do you think will win Album of the Year at the Grammys?

Oscar Predictions

Valentine’s Day Playlist

EntertainmentRoyal Banner 8

1) Best Picture - Lincoln- This one is a pretty clear winner to me. Just look at fellow historical biopic “The King's Speech” from two years ago, as well as director Steven Spielberg's previous wins with Schindler's List and “Saving Private Ryan” to see that this is a total shoe-in. Another important factor is the presence of renowned actor Daniel Day-Lewis in the titular role. While a case could certainly be made for “Silver Linings Playbook” and “Beasts of the Southern Wild” based on merit alone, “Lincoln” is the contender with the most items ticked off on its Oscar-winner checklist.2) Best Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis It's not everyday you get a contender of Day-Lewis's caliber (since he is notoriously choosy about roles,) so this one seems like a pretty obvious choice to me as well. Joaquin Phoenix (in The Master) is, to me, the contender with the most merit, but as I said above, the Academy is often looking for more than just a brilliant performance; and Day-Lewis has the edge in refinement over Phoenix for sure.3) Best Actress -Jessica Chastain- Since Kathryn Bigelow got snubbed by the Academy for Zero Dark Thirty, it's likely they'll make a concession to the film (which is supposed to be brilliant, by the way) by choosing Chastain as the winner in her category. Politics aside, Chastain is a brilliant actress who has shown her clout in a lot of A-list films recently (“The Tree of Life,” “Take Shelter”) and certainly deserves to be the top contender.4) Best Supporting Actress - Anne Hathaway- Hathaway had a standout role in the tear-jerking musical “Les Miserables,” and easily delivered the film's best and most authentic performance. Given that, I think she's an automatic choice, although Amy Adams in “The Master” might provide some competition.5) Best Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz- A Waltz character in a Tarantino film is the ultimate guilty pleasure. Even if they went for it last time, I think it might be hard for the Academy to resist giving the Austrian actor the honor he so deserves fo his portrayal of the film’s gleefully amoral bounty hunter, King Schultz. Philip Seymour Hoffman is another very strong contender, as his turn as an L. Ron Hubbard-esque demagogue in The Master certainly turned a few heads. 6) Directing - Steven Spielberg OR Ang Lee- This one's a toss-up. Ang Lee gained a lot of attention for his apparently very good adaptation of Life of Pi, but Spielberg has history on his side with this category. As of now, the category is too close to call. 7) Best Original Screenplay - “Zero Dark Thirty”- There's no way this one can't win-- unless Silver Linings Playbook manages to edge it out. But Thirty garnered a ridiculous amount of praise, and most of it was centered around the power and realism of the story.

By Eamonn Morris Sunday, February 24

“Mumford and Sons. Their music is so rockin!-Ella Ratliff, Junior

“Frank Ocean. I enjoy his music. I’ve been thinking about him a lot.-Davis Wheeler, Senior

“Frank Ocean. He sang “Thinking about you” and his high voice makes me melt.-Jessie Merheb, Senior

Continued from page 8Photos from Wikimedia Commons

Photos by Alex Flynn

” ””

Grammy Nominated Album of the Year

Reviews

Blunderbuss-Jack W

hite

El Camino - The Black Keys

Channel Orange Frank Ocean

Who do you think will win Album of the Year at the Grammys?

Oscar Predictions

Valentine’s Day PlaylistGrammy Nominated Album of the Year

Reviews

Blunderbuss-Jack W

hite

El Camino - The Black Keys

Channel Orange Frank Ocean

Who do you think will win Album of the Year at the Grammys?

Oscar Predictions

Valentine’s Day Playlist

EntertainmentRoyal Banner 9

Over the last ten years or so, rock

music has hit somewhat of a low as far as innovation and creativity go. It has been some

time since an independent blues rock album has caught as much attention as Jack White’s most recent attempt.

The first line of Blunderbuss, the debut solo album by Jack White, commences with a lyrical punch in the face: “I was in the show-

er, so I could not tell my nose was bleeding.” It’s hard to expect where the album will proceed from there.

Lyrically, “Blunderbuss” is a fearless and thrilling mess of thoughts about love, loss, and life. White sings of truth and authenticity and elaborates extensively about his personal backstory.The record is more down to earth than the infamous White Stripes. It has some of White’s best pure songwriting yet, which sacrifices the potential for commercially viable singles.

On “Blunderbuss,” White focuses on the pre-computer, post-hip-pie era of the 1970s. The style is comparable to the Rolling Stones, Led

Zeppelin, and the Who, all of whom started off with the stripped down rebellion of the British Invasion.

Blunderbuss is quite simply a marvelous rock album, one that, along with the Black Keys’ “El

Camino,” is injecting energy back into an ancient art form.

F o r nearly a decade, The

Black Keys was a band that managed to keep its head above water through local gigs and

small club venues. These days it’s hard not to stumble across one of their hits while scanning the mainstream ra-

dio. Since 2011 they have received several Grammy noms and this year, their song “Lonely Boy,” the lead single on their new album

“El Camino,” has been nominated for Record of the Year, Best Rock Performance, and Best Rock Song. “El Camino” itself is up for a pair of

nominations as an album. Though stylistically the songs of the new release sound familiar to dedicated listeners, the album maintains a more upbeat rock-and-roll tempo. “El Camino” achieves the classic, original blues sound for which The Black Keys have become a centerpiece of the contemporary scene. Tracks such as “Lonely Boy,” “Gold On the Ceiling,” and “Little Black Submarines” have earned extensive airtime on stations here in

Boulder, and have led to a resurgence in interest in blues music. These songs are simple, accessible, and catchy; in a way that is a typical

for Blues music and draws in younger listeners. “El Camino” earns high marks and should come away with some hard-

ware at the Grammys this February.

Channel Orange, the recent album

from soul/R&B debutante Frank Ocean, is creating a huge amount of hype in the Grammy

community, and for good reason - the album is proba-bly one of the finest offerings of the entire year. It’s intelligent,

heartfelt, unsentimental -- and really fun to listen to. The album is notable for its lack of hyperbole; it’s heavy on intro-

version and focus on languid, slow-burning grooves. Also important are Channel Orange’s textures - the music is exceptionally clear, so it’s gener-

ally pretty easy to pick out the lyrics. From the time Ocean sings about his first love (who he identified as a fellow male in an open letter on tumblr) in “Thinkin Bout You” the album is an accumulation of soul-searching pathos. The album’s standout track is “Super Rich Kids,” a collaboration with Earl Sweatshirt detailing the excesses of growing up in an affluent neighbor-hood. Ocean makes the prescient point that all this material wealth and op-portunity doesn’t make much of a difference. The song is unsentimentally

framed by a repeated piano chord, underpinned by a spare four-on-the-floor drum pattern, which allows the lyrics to be foremost in the lis-

tener’s mind. Channel Orange will not be remembered for its pos-

itivity, but for its incredible level of power and craft. With an album as good as this one, Grammy

recognition is practically a guaran-tee.

By Luke Schneider

By JJ E

vanoff

By Eamonn Morris

All Album of the Year Grammy Nominations1. El Camino- The Black Keys2. Some Nights- Fun3. Babel- Mumford and Sons4. Channel Orange- Frank Ocean5. Blunderbuss- Jack White

Grammy Nominated Album of the Year

Reviews

Blunderbuss-Jack W

hite

El Camino - The Black Keys

Channel Orange Frank Ocean

Who do you think will win Album of the Year at the Grammys?

Oscar Predictions

Valentine’s Day Playlist

Grammy Nominated Album of the Year

Reviews

Blunderbuss-Jack W

hite

El Camino - The Black Keys

Channel Orange Frank Ocean

Who do you think will win Album of the Year at the Grammys?

Oscar Predictions

Valentine’s Day Playlist

Grammy Nominated Album of the Year

Reviews

Blunderbuss-Jack W

hite

El Camino - The Black Keys

Channel Orange Frank Ocean

Who do you think will win Album of the Year at the Grammys?

Oscar Predictions

Valentine’s Day Playlist

Grammy Nominated Album of the Year

Reviews

Blunderbuss-Jack W

hite

El Camino - The Black Keys

Channel Orange Frank Ocean

Who do you think will win Album of the Year at the Grammys?

Oscar Predictions

Valentine’s Day Playlist

OpinionsRoyal Banner 10

In the middle of the most depressing, awkwardly short month of the year, the monotony of winter breaks in a lovely flash of pink, chocolate, and a laundry list of the

most unrealistic expectations since some apocryphal caveman stuck his hand in a fire, hoping it would give him magical powers. This holiday needs no introduction, I am sure. For girls, it is a time to sit around and long for some Y-chromosomed individual to bring them pretty things. For guys, it is a time to panic about sending the right physical and emotional messages to whatever young lady has caught their eye, and God forbid if they screw up. Not much fun for anyone involved, honestly. However, the traditional Valentine’s Day parallels the unfortunate dynamics of heterosexual re-lations in a way that’s disturbingly perfect.

In cultures all around the world, since time immemorial, women have been treated as things that need to be bought. For a long time, they were bought from fathers and brothers by their future husbands. Now, in our far more “civilized” times, they are bought from themselves. For my whole life, in pop culture and in my family life, I have been shown that to gain my affection, men need to give me presents. I like presents as much as the next person but this particular cultural myth devalues my worth as a person.

I am not a commodity to be bought and sold, people. Nor should my comrades in ovaries see themselves that way. It is this romantic capitalism that allows guys to treat their girlfriends as furniture. He gives you a necklace? You’d better get his pants off ASAP!! It’s supposedly his right, after all. Worse yet is the delusion that a gentleman who cannot pay for dates does not deserve the time of day. When you are subtly told to ignore your own feelings because the object of your admiration can’t or doesn’t bring you flowers once a month, you are losing control of your own future.

On the other end of this problem are the guys who find themselves unable to snag a girl on the basis of their personality and natural talents. The whole facade of romantic gift-giving sets their value equivalent to what is in their wallet. It is a construct which is deeply unfair to both genders.

When women are treated as objects and men as wallets, no one is getting treated like a person. Women are things to be used and men are users. This cultural label-ing makes acts like domestic abuse and rape astonishingly close to acceptable. If we stopped casting each other in these roles, we would stop giving others permission to abuse their assigned part.

So back to that aforementioned holiday. This year, guys and gals, change up the pat-terns we’ve been ingrained in for so long. Guys, do something that means more than a bunch of roses does. And girls, don’t be afraid to give that special guy something you think he’d love. Don’t wait for him to come to you. Appreciate your partner for who they are, not for how or if they meet your contrived expectations for the pinkest day of the year.

By Eliana Goldstein

FairNothing’s

inLoveand

War

Questions or comments? Visit us at:

www.fhsroyalbanner.comCheck out the online edition of the Royal Banner for

real time coverage of school events, additional cover-

age of print stories, photos, videos, and audio.

the royal Banner

12-13 staffeditorial Board Print Editors-In-Chief Megan DeBruyn

Paige reisMan

Web Editors-In-ChiefJanet Chen

eliana golDstein

section editorsNews sharone golDMan

Opinions Kali Crossen

Student Life savarone aMMann

Entertainment alex Flynn

Sports Cason MChose

In-Depth shoshana PollaCK

Copy Paige linDgren

staff reporters linDsay Barnes, natalie Bowes, KiMBerly Brown, owyn CooPer, Melissa CuDDington, eMily ellis, JJ evanoFF, Conor hall, raine KenneDy, elise MaClean, Keenan Marrinan, eaMonn Morris, raChel Perley, alex ray, luCia rose, DaviD saChs, luKe sChneiDer, ryan shuMan, MaDDie staChniaK, reBeCCa viCKers

BusinessBusiness and Advertising Manager Brett Matis-sen

Online Marketing Manager Brian lee

Adviser sarah M. Zerwin For Subscriptions: senD $25 to royal Banner, Fairview high sChool, rooM 814, 1515 greenBriar BlvD, BoulDer, Co 80305, Call 720-561-3259 or ContaCt us at

[email protected]

About the Banner The Royal Banner Newspaper is a 12 to 24 page newspaper.

The Banner is written primarily for the over 2000 students attend-

ing Fairview High School and is distributed free of charge to all

members of the school community. Accurate reporting of fact is

the goal of the staff. Commentaries, opinion columns and letters

to the editor are the expressed opinion of the author and not of

The Royal Banner and its Editorial Board or its adviser. *Disclaimer: Under Colorado law, no expression made by students in the exercise of free speech or freedom of the

press shall be deemed to be an expression of school policy. No school district, employee, legal guardian or official

of such a district shall be held liable in any criminal action for any expression made or published by a student. The

Royal Banner sells advertisements for publicity and to pay for printing costs. We reserve the right to refuse to run

any advertisement deemed inappropriate to the Fairview community.

OpinionsRoyal Banner 11

Remember when February 14th used to mean something? When the ides of February were known as Lupercalia, a three day festival that would honor the creation of Rome. Whether you were sacrificing, skin-ning and wearing a dog and goat, or being blessed with fertility by two young men clad in goatskin and splattering you with goat blood, you could show your respect for the She-Wolf Lupa, mother of Romulus, founder of Rome.

Now it’s about St. Valentine and showing Love and Affection. Today, Lupercalia has been, albeit poorly, disguised as Valentine’s Day,

a “holiday” that claims to have nothing to do with Rome and uses a Saint of the Christian religion to justify showing one’s love for a special some-one. Unfortunately this cult has succeeded in convincing the people that February 14th is about affection; in a survey of 62 students, 84% of them said February 14th was about St. Valentine and love, while only 13% said it was about the She-wolf Lupa, the remaining three percent said it was about commercialism and greeting cards.

Don’t you think Christianity has enough holidays? Shouldn’t we give Rome the respect and honor it so rightly deserves? I am not saying that we should all have a traditional Lupercalia on the upcoming ides, I am simply suggesting that maybe we should wear the skin of a goat that day and throw tomato juice at women. Doesn’t that seem like a better holi-day than all this silly love nonsense?

Remember when Valentine’s Day used to mean something? When you could tell the important people in your life that you cared about them on February 14th? And how it used to mean the world to most people?

Now it means nothing except to the candy companies that flourish from the materialism.

Valentine’s Day is a commercialistic, materialistic, pointless holiday that no longer means “I love you” and now means “How much am I worth to you?”

If this day was to have any semblance of meaning anymore, it would only be a monetary benefit to people like Hallmark who profit on people trying to out-buy each other for the better gift.

People have become so selfish about this day and now I want noth-ing to do with it. Now everyone worries if they’re present is expensive enough to “accurately prove their love.”

And that is not supposed to matter. Valentine’s Day is supposed to be more than that.

Back in the day, Valentine’s Day meant a box of assorted cards that you just handed out to all of your classmates and everyone felt special? Now you have around seven classes each filled to the brim with 35 students and, well, “Ain’t nobody got time for that.”

Now there’s all this drama about who-hates-who, who-likes-who, who-is-dating-who and it is honestly not worth it anymore. And I mean that in both the monetary value and dealing with this ignorant behavior.

I am not saying that we should completely abandon the holiday. I am just hoping that maybe we can stop being so selfish and find our way back to when this holiday meant more than something with a dollar sign in front of it.

H a t e V a l e n t i n e s D a y ?

By Keenan Marrinan

By Owyn Cooper

In-DepthRoyal Banner 12

In the aftermath of the tragic San-dy Hook shootings, gun control and regulation has now emerged as a main focus of politicians and the American public. However, according to the National Rifle Association, there are other culprits that may have caused this violence: video games.

“There exists in this country a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells, and sows, violence against its own people through vicious, violent video games with names like ‘Bulletstorm’, ‘Grand Theft Auto’, ‘Mortal Kom-bat’, and ‘Splatterhouse,’” said NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre at a press conference recently.

After Sandy Hook, the NRA received a lot of flack from the media and American public alike. One may not be surprised that they are attempting to draw attention away from themselves, especially to something like violent video games, which have always been controversial. But do these games really cause people to become violent?

“This analysis does not find support for either a causal or correlational link between violent media and subsequent aggres-sion in viewers,” said Christopher J. Ferguson and John Kimburn in “The Public Health Risks of Media Violence: A Me-ta-Analytic Review”.

More importantly, if violent video games do cause gun violence, then one would expect to see that countries that spend more on video games would also see an increase in violent crime. However, data has not supported this conclusion.

Countries like the UK and France, which spend around the same amount of money per capita on video games as the US have low gun-related murder rates, while America is at a much higher rate. In fact, according to The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, with 0.07 people killed out of 100,000 in 2009, the UK has one of the lowest gun-related murder rates in the world.

The NRA’s portrayal of these games as violence-inducing hardly seems fair when these facts come to light. And it isn’t exactly a new argument. In the 1930’s, adults worried that comic books were turning kids violent. It seems that nothing but the scapegoat has changed.

Many people play violent video games as a form of stress relief, but these people, just average American citizens, could never fathom actually committing these acts. There is clearly not a correlation between videogames and gun-related murder in the US, and the fact that the NRA is using this as a distraction, rather than having an actual discussion about gun laws, is contrary to making any progress on this vitally important national issue.

A CULTURE OF VIOLENCE

Photo Credit to Wikimedia Commons

Virtual Reality vs. Virtualy HarmlessMaddie Stachniak

In-DepthRoyal Banner 13

Last summer, James Holmes walked into a movie theater and killed twelve innocent people. In Decem-ber, Adam Lanza killed twenty seven in an elementary school, including twenty first graders.

There is a problem here.Out of the 62 mass shootings since 1982, 61% of the

killers suffered from a diagnosed mental health issue. 45 million people in the United States alone suffer

from mental illness. Of those, 11 million cases are considered serious. Clearly, mental health is a problem for America, and the growing fear and stigma against mental illness is doing nothing to help this. If mental illness can be better dealt with in the future, the num-ber of mass shootings we experience could decrease by more than half.

The majority of people who have serious mental health problems are not at all dangerous. They’re just normal people suffering from an affliction that they cannot con-trol. They are living with a disease in the same way that a victim of a physical disease is. The first step to being able to prevent those few deranged people from com-mitting devastating crimes is to look at mental illness with understanding and compassion.

Many believe that the isolating effects of the mental health stigma in fact contribute to violence from the mentally ill. According to Maia Szalavitz in her article for Times magazine,

“[It is] the stigma of mental illness that provokes [vio-lence], by exacerbating existing symptoms of delusion,

disconnection from reality, social withdrawal and lack of emotion.”

People with mental illnesses are oftentimes shunned by society. In the U.S, many look at mental illness as a contagious disease that could somehow rub off on us if we stood near it for too long. According to data col-lected by the World Health Organization, people with mental illness in developing countries are actually much less debilitated by their disorder than people here. The reason? In most developing countries, mental illness is treated like a cold or flu, a short illness that should be tended to. These people are not abandoned by friends and family because of a mental illness they cannot con-trol.

Not only does the stigma cause isolation for the men-tally ill, it makes us less aware of the warning signs that could possibly be interpreted to save countless lives. Mental illness becomes more confusing and hard to understand, for those who suffer with it and everybody else, because words defining serious mental disorders are thrown around in everyday speech. Have you ever heard somebody say, “I’m so bipolar, “ or, “you’re psy-chotic”?

Bipolar is an extremely serious mental illness charac-terized by mania, and extreme highs and lows (in some cases completely manic to catatonic). Unless you really feel like you are on this level of mood swing roller coast-er, then don’t say you’re ‘bipolar’. By undermining the disease, we isolate those who have it, and decrease our own understanding of its seriousness.

I want to reiterate again that almost all of the people who suffer from these symptoms would never in their lives hurt anyone. But being aware of the symptoms can help us understand and recognize people who may be suffering from a severe mental illness. If we can give these people the support they need, we may see less violent crime.

In light of recent atrocities, many reputable news orga-nizations, including CBS, have said that the disappear-ance of institutions for the mentally ill have contributed to the rise in crime. This opinion comes from a place of fear. Institutions are sterile, barbaric places that were shut down in the first place for the inhumane condi-tions, and the improper care of the children who resided there. The answer is not to lock all mentally ill people out of sight and thought, in the hopes of stopping the one who might do something terrible.

Continued on page 15

Photo Credit to Wikimedia Commons

Mental Health= Sociatal HealthBy Raine Kennedy

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Gun control is the hot topic of debate in the US at the present. With multiple recent mass shootings still in the memory of Americans, one can’t help but think that if the country had stricter gun control reg-ulations, those incidents may not have occurred.

In the US, where only fully automatic weapons are banned,4.2 out of every 100,000 people are murdered each year. This is, by far, the largest murder rate of all developed countries.

Most developed countries in the world have much stricter regulations on guns than the US, and consequently have far fewer murders per capita.

Gunpolicy.org states that in Australia, where any private ownership, sale, or possession of guns is illegal, there are only 1.2 murders by any means per 100,000 people. In Germany, whose laws fall just short of a gun ban, there are only 0.8 mur-ders per 100,000 people.

According to an independant study run by Kevin Smith, the UK only has 1.2 murders per 100,000 people with a total gun ban.

Looking at these statistics alone, it would be clear that a smaller number of guns equates to a smaller number of mur-ders. However, there are still many contradictions.

In Great Britain, Kevin Smith stated that the murder rate has averaged 52% higher since the outset of the initial 1968 gun control law and 15% higher since the 1997 ban on handguns. In Brazil, with regulations much like Germany, there are 22.7 murders per 100,000 people. After analyzing the worldwide statistics past and present, it appears impossible that increasing regulations on guns--or an outright ban--would have a nega-tive effect on society.

The only problem with this is, in fact, the US itself. In a country that prides itself on personal freedoms and a relatively small government, it is not possible for any significant increase on gun regulations to take place. Even with the Obama admin-istration, which has wholeheartedly backed gun control, pro gun representatives in Congress stonewall anything resembling process.

This leads me to another example: Switzerland. Both the United States and Switzerland are ranked in the top five

gun-owning countries per capita and even with the gun regula-tions of the two countries unmistakably similar, the US has 4.2 murders for every 100,000 people while Switzerland has only 0.70 murders per 100,000 people.

The only difference between the two countries is that, in Switzerland, every male is given extensive military and arms training by the age of 20, and there is no such training or regu-lation in the US.

If the US is to emulate its European counterparts without banning guns outright, it must do with the following:

1. Continue making significant strides towards (relative) economic stability. Obviously this is easier said than done, but a little wishful thinking can’t hurt. Brazil is a good example of the effect of economic stability on murder rate, as it has far less stable economic and social infrastructure than most of Europe and North America, yet has a murder rate close to six times higher than the US’s with stricter regulations.

2. Universal health care is another deciding factor in the murder rates. While the debate as to whether or not to have universal health care in the US is a whole different discussion, nations with this commodity have a much lower murder rate, with or without guns, as is shown in Europe.

3. Proper training and education is the last major factor, as well as the one that I believe should be at the front of the gun control debate in the US. Switzerland is a prime example of the effect of proper gun education.

The control of the first two variables is something that most developed countries have been able to do with lasting effect with or without a gun ban. However, with those two issues in a completely different conversation in American politics, the third is the best option for immediate change in America.

If the states were to implement a drivers-ed-esque system for all citizens, there would be an immediate effect on all homi-cides, accidental and otherwise. Proper firearm education on a large scale is an immediate, effective answer to the high US murder rate given that there is no immediately possibility of a gun ban.

A woman protests at a march in Washington.Photo Credit to Wikimedia Commons

Moving Forward on Gun Control

By Alex Ray

In-DepthRoyal Banner 15

In August of last year, the rape scandal involving a sixteen year old West Virginian girl and football play-ers from Steubenville High School in Ohio went viral through pictures, videos, Twitter posts, and all forms of social media. According to the New York Times, an Instagram photo was posted online allegedly displaying the girl being carried out of a house by her wrists and ankles. In other pictures posted on Twitter, users used the words “rape” and “drunk girl.”

The two footballs players involved in the crime were star players at their high school. After police investi-gation, they reported that the night of the crime the girl became intoxicated and was sexually assaulted by Mays and Richmond, some of which was caught on tape and photographed. When the girl woke up, she had no recollection of the turn of events that occurred the night before, but both she and her family soon discovered the pictures, Twitter posts, and videos that were posted online the night of the crime. The case involved many people both in and out of the town.

“The thing I found most disturbing about this is that there were other people around when this was going on,” said William McCafferty, the Steubenville police chief in a New York Times article while talking about the events that were unfolded. “Nobody had the morals

to say, ‘Hey, stop it, that isn’t right.’Anonymous, a hacking group who focuses on re-

vealing shocking information online, targeted the boys involved in the crime. KnightSec, a group within Anonymous that specifically targets rapists, threatened to release personal information of the football players who defended the accused men if there was no public apology issued to the girl. There was no apology by the hackers’ deadline, January 1st. A day later, a video was released of a teenage boy joking in a cruel manner about the sexual assault.

Many couldn’t believe that their star high school foot-ball players could commit such a crime. Some residents of Steubenville blamed the girl saying that she put the football players in the situation by putting herself in a place to be violated. According to the New York Times, the parents of the football players said that the boys were innocent and refused extended interviews. Their lawyers argued that the boys had been unfairly tried due to the online evidence and information already avail-able.

Some believed that their society was built by football players who thought they could get away with any-thing and she was just a victim of that society. Over 100 people signed a petition on a website that demanded that the school as well as the football coach publically apologize to the girl.

Mays and Richmond spent two months in jail after their arrest on August 22nd. The kidnapping charges were dropped, but Mays was also charged with dis-seminating photographs of a nude minor. They remain under house arrest on rape charges until their trial on February 13th.

Mental Health= Social HealthContnued from page 13.Research pertaining to serious mental illness is outdated. If we are going to help the mentally ill, and discover

and stop that one person who may end the lives of countless innocent people, we have to start fresh. New research needs to be done.

Study into the causes and treatments of mental illnesses needs to be continued. Most of the many popular medi-cations used by doctors to treat diseases like bipolar and schizophrenia aren’t even understood by modern science. According to an article by Molly Edmonds for “How Stuff Works,” “...researchers may not know why one drug works and another drug doesn't.”

In other words, doctors are treating symptoms with medicine, and they don’t even know why that medicine helps their patient. Mental health has become a field of guesswork instead of science. We need to streamline the science, and make sense of mental illness, in order to create drugs that really improve quality of life.

Through understanding, through compassion, through new science and more funding, we can turn around the mental health crisis that has gripped our country.

Photo Credit to Wikimedia Commons

Ohio Football Scandal Unraveles OnlineElise Maclean

humorRoyal Banner 16

It starts off slowly: “I’ll only do it one more time,” you console yourself. “Maybe just one more, and then I’m done for good...” But before you know it, you’ve lost your job, family, home and everything you love most in this world. That’s right folks.

I’m talking about Netflix addiction.Seven hour marathons of “How I Met Your Mother,” “Breaking Bad,” and “Psych”, followed

by a couple hits of “30 Rock” in between. That’s all normal on Netflix. An undisclosed study that I

made up has reported that six in every ten Fairview High School students suffers from this debilitating disease.

“It just consumes your whole life. I remember one particularly bad weekend when I woke up at 6 AM on Sunday just so I could finish Supernatural,” said one fictional Fairview student.

Take a minute now and look around. Survey your surroundings. See that kid in front of you on his phone? He’s probably watching Netflix. You should glare at him in disapproval. OK, stop staring at him now or people will think you are weird.

If you pay attention, you will see that almost everyone around you is on their phones, ipads, and laptops, and I can guarantee that they are watching Netflix, just gorging themselves on bad sitcoms like the sickos they are.

“I see it everyday, everywhere I go,” said a concerned Fairview teacher that I also made up. “It’s like a plague. I believe that the only way to solve this problem is to bring in the DTN.”

The DTN, or Death to Netflix organization, is a group sponsored by Blockbuster that has dedicated their lives to curing Netflix addiction, particularly in teenagers.

When asked to comment, the DTN spokesperson said: “If you are tempted to watch excessive amounts of Netflix, don’t give in. Maybe go out with friends instead. Or make friends. Seriously. Why don’t you have any friends?”

This addiction is becoming a serious problem not only to Fairview, but also to the world at large. It needs to end.If you or a friend is suffering from Netflix addiction, you can reach the DTN’s anonymous hotline at 1-800-GOTOBLOCK-

BUSTER.Well, I worked for 30 minutes now. I guess it’s OK if I watch just one episode of Psych...

The Court JesterBy Maddie Stachniak

Not Even Once: The Struggle for Atonement

The struggle for media is all-con-suming. Photo by Conner Hall.

Comic by Eamonn Morris

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Many students can name their least favorite teacher right from the get go. The answers vary (and I will not name names so I do not hurt any feelings). However, my one least favorite teacher is Señor Oviatt.

Don’t let his chiseled good looks and teddy bear-like heart fool you, underneath that beard is a truly scary cog in the education system.

The first thing that popped into my head thinking about Oviatt is his derogatory names. Throughout my freshman year in 7th period PIB Spanish 3, he would call me espinoso (the Span-ish word for spiky). This is obviously a deroga-tory term for those of us that choose the spiky hair lifestyle. In all honesty, it was hard for me to keep my resolve and stay spiky throughout this constant public humiliation.

Another thing that really grinds my gears is his teaching style. Señor Oviatt actually teaches Spanish to his students; it is unbelievable. In-stead of allowing his students to go outside, do copious amounts of (completely legal) drugs, and kill each other, he somehow believes that a relaxed learning environment is the key to a stu-dent’s success.

Finally, if a student is late in his class, harsh corporal punishment is administered. As many as 20 push ups have been given as a result of slight discrepancies in attendence records.

Despite his comforting mannerisms, there is nothing worse than taking a step into Señor O’s torture chamber of knowledge.

One of the prevailing questions in 21st century schools is what resides at the bottom of the insatiably hungry crevices known as lockers. To many, these are simply the devices with which to store your ex’s hair, suggestive smurf figurines, and those promiscuous pic-tures from homecoming. Yet Fairview students are surprisingly unrevealing about the contents of their lockers.

A respondent that wishes to remain anonymous said “weird brown stuff ” which seems to be the most common predicament among today’s youth. A senior who also does not wish to dis-close her identity recounted when “I had a hard boiled egg in my locker for two weeks.”

Along with food, various animal parts were abundant in the metal jungle. “I

had a live dog at the bottom of my locker for a while,” said one anony-mous junior. “Yeah! My cat used to stay in there!” said another.

Other students have reported slightly less savory friends.

“I guess there could’ve been mice and spiders in there,” testified one Fresh-man when pressed about the contents of her locker.

Dr. Strode claimed that in his lock-er in high school, he had a “holy cow.” Here at the Court Jester, we are as-suming that this was his locker part-ner.

By Alex Ray

Señor Oviatt: The Silent Killer

What Lurks in the Depths of Your Locker’s BottomBy Alex Ray

Photo by Maddie Stachniak

Photo by Raine Kennedy

SportsRoyal Banner 18

The 35-year-old Misty May-Treanor is a three-time Olympic gold medalist beach volleyball player. She was extremely successful in the 2004, 2008, and 2012 summer Olympics and even when the cameras were pointed at her after another one of her breathtaking volleyball matches, she continuously cheered for her husband, Matt Treanor, a catcher for the Dodgers. This kind of support and dedication throughout an eight year marriage between these two extraordinary athletes definitely bolsters their overall relationship rating.

Misty May-Treanor and Matt Treanor

A.J. McCarron, a quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide, has led his team to a National Championship two consecutive years. How-ever, the championship prize isn’t the only trophy McCarron comes home to. His girlfriend, Katherine Webb, is this year’s Miss Alabama beauty queen. Needless to say this couple gains rating points based solely on the possibility of all the beautiful children that they would make together. On the contrary, the constant publicity centered around the idea that Webb’s victory may be tied to her connection with the football player knocks their overall rating down a few bars.

Professional VolleballRelationship Rating:

A.J. McCarron and Katherine Webb

College Football Relationship Rating:

Hope Solo, a goalkeeper and double Olympic gold medalist has caught the public’s attention not only for her tremendous perfor-mance on the field but also for her outspoken beauty. In this past year, she began seeing Jerramy Stevens, a former Seattle Seahawks tight end. However, it was reported that Stevens went to court earlier this year for assaulting Solo, who, strangely enough, accepted his marriage proposal the very next day. This athlete couple has sure got the looks but the rushed engagement after only two months of dating and the potential court case took a drastic blow to their overall rating.

Professional SoccerRelationship Rating:

Hope Solo and Jerramy Stevens

Seimone Augustus is a 28 year old shooting guard playing for the Minnesota Lynx. She was awarded MVP honors for leading her team to a glorious WNBA championship in 2011. In May of 2012, Augus-tus popped the question to her long time girlfriend, LaTaya Varner who works as a fashion stylist. The couple has earned themselves a few bonus points having just taken their relationship to the next level with marriage now on the table. Additionally, Augustus’ audacity in coming out this year as well as delivering countless speeches encour-aging other closeted athletes to join her bumps up the score for this inspirational couple.

Professional Basketball Relationship Rating:

Seimone Augustus and LaTaya Varner

Eric Decker, the wide receiver for the Denver Broncos, has earned a special place on the hot list not only because he wears the sacred orange and blue jersey but also because he has been my long-time celebrity crush. Although I was devastated to discover that he was re-cently taken off the market for good, I resisted letting my own person-al obsession interfere with the relationship rating. Especially because his new fiance is none other than the beautiful and talented country singer, Jesse James. Talk about a dynamic duo.

Eric Decker and Jesse James

Professional FootballRelationship Rating:

Sexy Sports Duos By Megan DeBruyn

Photos from Wikimedia Commons

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Across3. This years location of Super Bowl7. Ravens Quarterback8. Last name of both head coaches9. There is four of them 10. AFC Champions11. Three points13. Number of the Super Bowl, Latin

Down1. NFC Champions2. 6 points4. 2 points5. The Pigskin6. 49ers Quarterback12. The trophy received for winning Super Bowl

Still undefeated as of press time, your Fairview Girls Swim Team is heading into the CHSAA 5A state championship very strong. With college bound senior swimmers like Louisville re-cruit Abby Houck and Northwest-ern recruit Lacey Smith, the Knights have a big chance of placing in the top three at state.

“It’s really nice to be part of a team with so much depth and so many stars,” said Junior Ellie Lupo. “A lot of

people don’t re-alize how intense girls swimming has become in Colorado over the last few years,” replied Lupo when asked about what it will be like to swim against four time Olympic Gold Medalist, Missy Franklin. Franklin will be competing in the state champion-ship along with her Regis team-mates. Fairview will have to work hard to over-come challenges similar to her.

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LS SWIM

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9-3 is their overall record and they are 4-1 in league play as of press time. Your Fairview Knights Boys Basketball Team have high hopes as they head into the halfway point of their season. Sat-urday January 19th marked the halfway point in their season with none other than the cross-town show-down at Coors Event Center. This was also

Valor-Chris-tian trans-fer, Austin Sparks, first game back from his suspension. Originally the South Dakota sign-ee looked rusty and entered foul trouble early in the game, but after coming off the bench in the second half Sparks came to life. Fairview went on to win the game 76-63.

BOYS BA

SKETBA

LL

Winter Sports ReportBy Ryan Shuman

(Above) Austin Sparks runs out of the huddle for the first time this year. (Below) The Knights Prepare last second before the game. Photo by Emily Ellis.

(Above) Both teams prepare for a race. (Below) Ray Ryan begins her drive for the FHS dive team. Photo by Emily Ellis.

Cross-Word Design by David Sachs

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Hearts. Candy. Flowers. Cards. Whether it makes us melt or gag, we all know the day. As mid Febru-ary rolls around, the sunshine comes out and the smell of pheromones lingers in the air. At Fairview, there is no question that it is the month of love.

With technology and contemporary thought engulfing us, it is hard to imagine living in the difficult war culture of the Roman Empire. Soldiers were training from dusk till dawn and drafted by the thou-sands, all forbidden from being married. Despite all this, a man named Valentinus believed in love and the privilege of marriage. In secret, he wed soldiers and women. He was later persecuted for this and imprisoned. Legend tells that while in jail, he healed and fell in love with the daughter of his jailer and right before he was executed he wrote her a letter and famously signed it “farewell, from your Valentine.” Thinking about that kind of commitment to the devotion of love is inspiring. It is this that our February 14th celebration is based on, a day that marks the death of this saint.

Numerous students, mostly girls, have expressed their distaste for Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately, “be-ing single” has taken away some of their enthusiasm for the day.

“It’s dumb if you aren’t in a relationship,” Holly Huggins and Ajanma Lamsal, juniors said.On the other hand, “I like giving people valentines,” said Freshman Lauren Adler, “It’s a good holiday.”It is well known that Valentine’s Day is meant to be a day to show our affection and appreciation to-

ward loved ones, but what does that really mean to Fairview students?So as the bright pink and red colored paper starts being stuffed into our lockers, we at Fairview make

a decision on whether to roll our eyes and crumple it up or smile quietly to ourselves and think about all those who we love and all who love us.

By Kimberly Brown

Thoughts on Valentine’s Day

Valentines Day Quotes:“It’s kind of a Hallmark holiday, but still a happy day. People should tell each other that they love each other everyday.”- Owen Martin (senior)

“I’m going to hang out with friends, eat choco-late, and make paper cards.”-Madison McCam-bridge (freshman)

“It’s dumb if you aren’t in a relation-ship.”-Holly Huggins and Ajanma Lam-sal (juniors)

“I like giving people valentines, it’s a good holiday.”-Lauren Ad-ler (freshman)

Got down at Win-terball yo! #ge-tatme -Ellie Lupo (Junior)

It was awesome! The change of venue was

nice and more roomy. The best part of the night was the casino! All and all this years winter ball was the best dance I’ve been to in my time at FHS. #allin #winterballrocks -Kyle Kihn- (Junior)

Only we would do a U.S History themed Winterball... AND I GOT A COOL FEDORAH! #YOLO-Jessica Merheb (Senior)

That awkward moment when your feet hurt and its only been 10 minutes in heels #winterballprobs. -Emily Miley (Junior)

Best night with my best friends. Keep-ing it classy. #nothingbutclass -Made-line McCarthy (Junior)

By Rebecca Vickers and Natty Bowes

P o s tW i n t e rB a l l T w e e t s

Student LifeRoyal Banner 21

$7,840 raised by one community, for one boy, who had one wish, a Disney Cruise with his family. On Friday January 18th Fairview High School came together as one community, in a col-laborative effort, to grant a wish for Finn, a six year old boy who was diagnosed with Leukemia at the age of two.

The entire school stuffed into the gymnasium and there was Finn, center stage, enthralled by 2000 smiling high schoolers, who gathered to support him. With his mother, Kate Hines, close by, he walked out onto the hardwood to address everyone. He spoke with confidence and thanked the school for helping him make his wish come true.

Head basketball coach and Athletic Director Frank Lee and the basketball team pre-sented Finn with a basket-ball signed by all the players along with a football hel-met, a hat, a jersey from the school, and countless high fives.

Few students expected such a tear-jerking assem-bly. Mrs. Hines gripped the microphone with one hand while wiping a tear away with another. She announced that she had news to share with the community. As of last week the doctors had dis-covered no trace of the disease in Finn’s bone marrow and he was now free of this horrific disease that overwhelmed and shad-owed him his entire life. The amount of cheering and clapping at any professional sports match would never have compared to the noise audible in the gymnasium during that moment. The students left the gym moved by the power of unity, realizing how large of an impact people can make on one another.

Principal Don Stensrud, who was thoroughly impressed by his students and their efforts in this event, spoke with gratitude about the Make a Wish Foundation and its plethora of wish-es granted for children like Finn, who could use something to cheer them up.

“For that one week you get to be like every other kid in the world,” said Stensrud.

Fairview is one of few schools that was able to raise the com-plete amount of money for the project, reaching the $7500 mark on the day of the assembly.

“I thought it was a hard goal, but a reasonable one,” Stensrud said about the thousands of dollars raised. His satisfaction with the student body stood out above all else. “The students’ reaction to Finn shows that our kids are very compassionate,” he said.

To complete such a enormous project is no easy task. It requir-ing vast support from an entire community and endless dedica-tion.

Stephanie Enright, a senior who organized the project, exhib-ited great dedication for this cause and constantly reminded the school to keep Finn in their minds.

The students’ response was staggering, raising money in di-verse ways and spreading the word among every avenue the school had to offer.

The first event held was at the Boulder vs. Fairview football game. “Both student councils worked to-gether to ask the community to do-nate. Just that night alone we raised $744.74,” said Enright.

After choreographing a flash mob dance at the school assembly, Enright was able to raise another $247. Money flowed in from sports events to choir performances, collecting donations from every branch of the school, a true and utmost collaborative effort. From Fairview’s musical alone, $1539 was raised, greatly advancing the run to $7500.

The week Finn was arriving proved to be stressful, as another $1600 was needed to reach the long awaited goal. Enright took charge and decided to do a huge last min-

ute fundraiser. “This is really when Fairview’s heart came out. For two days

straight every person in the school donated everything they could. It was amazing that I had the trust in my school to leave an empty bucket out and come back an hour later to see it filled with money. This really showed the integrity we have in our school,” said Enright, praising her peers.

After seemingly endless hard work the collective efforts paid off.

“It brings out the best in people,” said Stensrud. While he addressed the importance of global charity, he ex-

pressed that making an impact locally is very important and much more personal.

“Sometimes it’s nice to put a face to a charity,” he said. Enright was also aware that choosing someone nearby to sup-

port would increase the chances of success and greater heights would be reached through donations. With four cases to pick from, she chose Finn. “Finn caught my attention and I fell in love with him,” said Enright. along with Enright the school also fell in love with Finn. It was the power fueled by this love that made his wish come true.

By Savarone Ammann

Fairview Grants a Wish

Finn Hines shows Stephanie Enright and Fairview’s stu-dent body a magic trick.

Photo by Joey Heilman

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The

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PhotosRoyal Banner 24

Bryce Greenwald and Cree Lawrence (freshmen)

Couples of the CastleA Valentine’s Day special featuring some of Fairview’s cutest couples!

Cameron Fraizer and Monica Gronseth

(junior, sophomore)

Pyrenee Steiner and Gabe Tierney (juniors)

Mariah Durment and Harry Holmes (sophomores)

Alex Waters and Jessica Merheb (seniors)

Kyle Lund and Taylor Davis

(seniors)

Sean

LaV

ine

and

Mar

i Jew

ell

(juni

or, s

opho

mor

e)

Josie Russell and Steve D’Epagnier

(sophomores)

Natalie Sprowl and Anders Hill (juniors)

Daryn Copeland and Molly Marcus

(juniors)

Wyatt Dessel and Olivia Kois (freshmen)

Photos donated and taken by Lindsay Barnes and Paige Lindgren