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The Mill Stream's third issue of the 2010-2011 year.
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mill stream
11.12.2010
www.mill-stream.orgMatt Loriaeditor-in-chief
Katie Soudersproduction editor
Jayde Klavephotography editorcirculation manager
Zach Hopperbusiness manager
Jace Hodsonfeatures editor
Jenna Larsonopinions editor
Brittany Burkhaltersports editor
Kendra FoleySidney HuberMadi McNewphotographers
Abraham EcharryQuinn ReiffNavar Watsonartists/cartoonists
Alejandra CoarRachel CoxAinee JeongCarlie JordanAnna KreutzAndrew MusselmanAustin Northwriters
Krista Shieldsadviser
2010-2011Mill Stream Staff
v41.318111 Cumberland Rd. Noblesville IN, 46060
Controversy strikes over
breast cancer bracelets
pg 4
Debate overYouTube purposescontinues
pg 6
Girls’ basketball roster is out, MVP
goes to theupperclassman
pg 10
Q&A with Q&A: wrestling
pg 11
Brittany [email protected]
Tools of mass procrastination--they include Facebook, Youtube, texting, hanging with friends, and of course, TV. Every day students procrastinate. Whether it is on homework, a project or just doing something they were asked to do, students
find ways to avoid doing work. “I remember I had this paper I had to write. My teacher thought I was working on it the entire time,” junior Josh Clark said. “I worked on it the night before and ended up getting an A on it.” Clark knew he had to do his paper but simply did not wish to start it until it was almost too late.
Photo by A. Echarry
Story continued on top of page 6
Now landing in destination procrastination
Mill Stream is published by Block 5 journalism students and distributed free of charge. The staff will publish 13 issues during the 2010-2011 school year.
Mill Stream is a student newspaper, run for students, by students. We provide a public forum to serve as an outlet for student ideas and opinions; we work as an agent for change and provide credible, objective reporting to inform, entertain, educate the reader and better serve the reader.
We welcome both signed letters to the editor and guest columns, which cannot exceed 350 words in length.
Mill Stream reserves the right to correct grammatical errors and ask for the au-thor’s assistance in editing. Mill Stream will not print letters that attack individuals or that contain obscene language. Letters may be submitted to room 137, the Mill Stream mailbox located in the commons or via www.mill-stream.org.
The staff reserves the right to reject advertisements that are political in nature, false, promote illegal substances to minors, misleading, harmful, or not in the best interest of its readers.
Mill Stream is a member of the Indiana High School Press Association.
Mill
Str
eam
Pol
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18111 Cumberland Rd. Noblesville IN, 46060
2 opinion Mill Stream11.12.2010
[the way we see it] Mill Stream staff editorial
Think about the funniest thing you’ve ever seen. Can you picture it? Now, consider why it was so funny in the first place. Is it because of violence, crude humor, or unjust treatment of
an individual? When comedic films first hit the big screen, they displayed classic actors like Charlie Chaplin known for cheap laughs
with slapstick tactics. In modern comedies, however, humor is often presented in the form of provocative, adult-oriented, and crude content. Such films often come accompanied with the foreboding R rating. However, students know as well as anyone else that at the age of 17, this restriction means nothing.
Many high schoolers have viewed popular modern comedies such as The Hangover or I Love You, Beth Cooper. The former is known for trashy jokes and laughs that revolve around dirty content or completely inappropriate circumstances. The latter film earns giggles through comedy interlaced with overt sexuality. The audience buys into the humor in both films.
In real life, however, such events as a raunchy bachelor party in Las Vegas or a wild night on the town, breaking rules and partying, hopefully would not prove as entertaining.
Students also have access to the Internet, which plays host to such websites as YouTube. Although the video search engine holds a variety of genuinely entertaining videos, some even educational or insightful, a good amount of the content is wildly inappropriate.
There are documented beatings and many acts of bullying that have been broadcast to the world via this website. For example, last February, three executives from Google were presented with six-month suspensions. They were
found guilty in a case about a video posted to YouTube in which a teen with Down Syndrome was taped while being bul-lied by ruthless peers.
Although the executives were found to be at fault for allowing the video to be posted on the Internet, it’s the makers of the video and all the viewers who should think about the feelings of the teenager involved. Imagine being bullied for a disability you have no control over. Then imagine the event being shown to people everywhere for mere entertainment.
The Mill Stream staff urges students to consider what they’re watching, what they’re sharing, and what they’re find-ing funny.
Whether you know it or not, comments you post on videos fuel other viewers to watch them. If you’re commenting on inappropriate content, or things that shouldn’t be posted on the Internet for the world to see, you should at least be aware of the effect you have on other viewers.
Likewise, make sure you know the boundary between entertainment and reality. In lieu of recent school events, recognize that a situation that may be comedic in a film may be illegal, dangerous, or inappropriate in real life. Keep in mind what you’re watching and why.
Two NFL players get into legal trouble; one ath-lete is sentenced to 30 days in jail, one is sentenced to 23 months in federal prison. One player went to jail for taking a human’s life, the other a dog’s. Which athlete was given which sentence? The answer may surprise you.
On December 10, 2007, NFL quarterback Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months at the United States Peni-tentiary in Kansas for his role as a full partner in a dog-fighting ring.
Wide receiver Donte Stallworth, on the other hand, only served 24 days of his 30-day sentence in jail in April 2009 for driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.12 and
striking 59-year-old Mario Reyes, killing him instantly. Mötley Crüe guitarist Vince Neil was in an almost
identical position. Charged with a DUI and vehicular manslaughter, he served a meager 15 days of his 30-day sentence.
What does this prove? It proves that the American justice system has placed the lives of animals above the lives of its citizens, those whom it was meant to protect.
The justice system isn’t the only guilty party, though. After Vick pleaded guilty to the charges that were pressed against him, NFL fans
across the country burned his jerseys and destroyed other Vick-related memorabilia. He
was made into a mockery by the media, and still holds the stigma today of being a “dog killer.”
But how many Donte Stallworth jerseys were burned? None. How many protesters stood outside the courtroom hurling insults at him before his trial? None.
This disparity of public reactions is inexcusable. We have, as a society, placed the life of an animal above the life of a human being.
Some would argue the treatment Vick received was justified, as pets can’t help them-selves and must be taken care of with responsibility and care. While this may be true, this doesn’t excuse the huge inequality in both sentencing and public outcry Vick and Stall-worth received as a result.
While I agree that Vick’s actions were egregious, the American has to keep its priori-ties straight when it comes to bringing justice to those who deserve it. There is no justice in giving a murderer a one-month sentence in county jail and giving a dog fighter two years in federal prison.
The American public needs to be held accountable for realizing this. If we don’t stand up for what’s right and demand a change in these laws, situations just like these will con-tinue to occur.
American justice system gone to the dogs
Austin [email protected]
?saywhat
Eavesdroppingat its funniest
3opinionMill Stream11.12.2010
“All of a sudden it’s like sugar is attack-ing my nose.”-Spanish III
“It’s a really creepy, come-get-ice-cream-from-my-truck kind of song.”-English hallway
“We try not to laugh in Hell.”-Sr. Lit/Comp
“Where there’s a will, there’s a dead person.”-AL
“Oh my gosh, it’s like heaven in a bottle! And it’s sani-tary!”-US History
“I mean, I have more spoons in my purse, you can use it.”-Physics
“Looks like you ate a lightening bug.”-Library
“I doubt that there’s a womb cannon.”-Spanish
“Make your number kool-aid.”-Aerospace Engi-neering
“Touch my wazzle, feel it all over.”-Physics AP
Empowering. Fun. Unique. These are words that come to mind when thinking about Taylor Swift’s new album, Speak Now, released on Oct. 25.
All of the songs on the CD have the same creative, Taylor Swift feel to them when it comes to the lyrics, but this time Swift played around with a lot of new sounds other than just the usual acoustic guitar, making the songs have more of an electric sound.
The album shows fans an ex-citing new chapter of Swift’s life that they haven’t seen before, and I love it. I think most of you will, too.
Most of Taylor Swift’s previous songs include
sad lyrics about her break-ups with guys from one point in her life. But on Speak Now, some of the songs take on a completely different audi-ence.
“Never Grow Up” for example, is a soft song I could see being written for a child, tell-ing them to never grow up so his life could
stay simple. “Better Than Revenge” is aimed toward a man-stealer who’s about to get back what she dealt out. “Innocent” goes to someone who’s made some pretty hefty mistakes, but lets them know that those mis-takes don’t define them. All three songs add a unique twist to the album.
Swift also put some slow songs on the CD too, like “Dear John,” “Last Kiss,” and “Back to December.” All three songs are beauti-fully written and are perfect to listen to on a bad day.
The rest of of the album is filled with upbeat songs, each with a different mean-
ing. “Haunted” and “Mean” are empowering songs that get stuck in my head the instant I listen to them, while “Enchanted,” “The Story
of Us,” and “Speak Now” tell a story in a fun, creative way. All of them are easy to relate to for teenage girls across the world.
“Mine,” “Sparks Fly,” and “Long Live” are happier, feel-good songs. The songs are really catchy and will have you singing them all day.
Speak Now has songs for everyone. There are powerful ballads, sad songs, uplifting tracks, etc. The album keeps Taylor Swift’s old style, while incorporating some new. It’s an addictive album that I encourage everyone to purchase.
Taylor Swift’s Speak Now leaves listeners “Enchanted”Sidney [email protected]
“Oh my God, you have no idea! So-and-so was totally Facebook stalking me last night. He commented on all my pictures and kept saying really creepy things.”
Oh my God, you have no idea, typical American teen-ager. You totally need to up-date your definition of “stalk-ing,” because you’re using the term way too loosely.
Don’t get me wrong, I know that a majority of the usage of the term is playful, but the word just plain annoys me when it’s used incorrectly. It’s one of those phrases that downright irks me, like “It’s whatever” or “Get at me.”
Stalking is not having ev-ery single Facebook photo commented on by one person. Stalking is not being followed around playfully by a friend in the hall. Stalking is not getting bombarded by texts after you give someone your phone number. Stalking’s a little more serious than that. It can actually can be a crimi-nal charge. In some cases, it’s legitimate harassment, and it’s nothing to laugh at.
For instance, stalking can
be someone breaking into your locker. It’s especially disturbing when that some-one leaves creepy notes and seemingly bloody roses, while using the pseudonym of a movie character. And when all the while you haven’t got a clue who it is—yeah, that counts as stalking. Which is a true story, by the way.
Stalking could also be hav-ing a mere acquaintance show up at your house (perhaps in the middle of a birthday par-ty) and sit outside of their car for a bit before showing up
at the door and insisting on being let in. This, of course, occurs after she followed you home from a restaurant be-cause she didn’t know where you live. This also is a true story, though neither hap-pened to me personally.
But even things that seem less severe can be considered stalking. Things like being called repeatedly by someone you didn’t give your phone number to can be considered borderline harassment.
And then there’s the clas-sic, textbook definition of stalking—a creeper stand-ing under your window and peeking up through your blinds. Or hacking your com-puter, would be the more modern version. Though those aren’t quite as common as other forms of the word.
So while I understand that our generation uses the word “stalking” loosely, it doesn’t mean I have to like it. I actually despise it, and I wish people would stop us-ing it incorrectly. Honestly, I feel that way about quite a few misused phrases—like “That’s so gay,” for instance.
This is 21st century stalking
Photo from mtv.com
Jace [email protected]
Graphic by A. Echarry
4 features Mill Stream11.12.2010
First came the LIVESTRONG, a yellow little bracelet that caused quite the stir in trends six years ago. American adults and children nationwide loved supporting can-cer research and aware- ness sim-ply by wearing these silicone wristbands.
Today, it’s bracelets about “boobies.”
Ever since the Keep-A-Breast Foundation released the new “I (heart) Boobies” bracelets, these o n e - i n c h wide wrist-bands have taken over the fashion industry and have reached the popularity LIVES-TRONG once had but with a more controversial result.
Some do not see these new bracelets supporting breast cancer awareness with as much positivity as they saw the LIVES-TRONG ones because of the use of a certain “taboo” term.
In several schools throughout the nation, teachers have had to ask students to turn
their bracelets inside out because of the in-appropriateness of the phrase.
English teacher Mrs. Lisa Logsdon ad-mitted to have never actually seen someone wear the bracelets, but she still finds them innappropriate for school.
“They’re for a worthy cause,” Mrs. Logs-don said, “but the saying itself is innappro-priate.”
Other teachers, however, could honestly care
less.H i s t o r y
teacher Mr. Eric Gun-
dersen feels pretty lax on the subject of the bands, saying that they do not necessari ly bother him.
“I can only hope that they (wristbands) are being
worn for the right reasons.” Mr. Gundersen said.
Every student also has his or her own view of these bracelets and support of breast cancer awareness. Junior Karlie Elbert, for example, strongly supports breast cancer
awareness and believes that incorporating it into everyday clothing is a novel idea.
“I see more and more people wearing them (bracelets),” Elbert said. “But, a lot of people think the bracelets are ‘funny,’ so I don’t know how many people actually wear them for the right cause.”
Stephanie Uggen, however, believes that “I (heart) Boobies” may be supporting a good cause but is definitely inappropriate, especially if the person is only wearing it “to satisfy their own perverse and stupid sense of humor.”
The front page of keep-a-breast.org shares its personal views of the foundation’s unique wristlets.
“Our mission is to help eradicate breast cancer by exposing young people to meth-ods of prevention, early detection and sup-port.”
Many say that Keep-A-Breast has good intentions, but is this mission really shown through the three-word sentence on their manufactured bracelets?
There are some students who do wear them for personal reasons, because of a grandmother, aunt, or loved one who suf-fers with the illness, so they agree that the mission to “eradicate breast cancer” is car-ried on through the bracelets and merchan-dise.
However, Elbert believes that there are definitely other, better ways to get involved with breast cancer support without wearing
some trendy bracelet. “I think that if people really want to
help and know about breast cancer, then they should donate directly to a breast can-cer awareness organization. It would be more heartfelt than just buying everything pink.”
Uggen agrees that donating to an orga-nization is a far more superior way to fund breast cancer awareness than wearing a bracelet that people find “funny.”
“I don’t find anything funny about can-cer,” Uggen said. “Nobody should.”
“Boobies” bracelets create controversyNavar [email protected]
See what’s up in student government
What is student government? What exactly is it that they do to represent the voice of the Noblesville High School stu-dent body? The truth is, most students at NHS don’t know too much about student government and what they do.
What some people don’t realize, is that the student government does many things for the community. Some of these things are done via service projects.
These service projects include the Dance Mara-thon, breast cancer awareness stickers, canned food drives, buying toys for under-privileged kids at Christmas, the blood drive, and buying Thanksgiv-ing food for people in need of it, according to senior and Vice President Sydney White and student gov-ernment sponsor Mrs. Debra Marcum.
“The student government serves an avenue for the students to promote school activities and we serve a positive link to the community with school-wide service projects,” Marcum said.
Extracurricular activities such as homecoming and the winter dance would not happen without the student government promoting and organizing them, according to Mrs. Marcum and Principal An-netta Petty.
“It [student government] does have an impact be-cause there are some events that just would not oc-cur without student government,” Mrs. Petty said.
With the recent loss of senior honor code, many people are wondering what is being done to com-pensate seniors for their losses. Some seniors feel that they should be given more time out of school in
other times of the day, since honor code is taken away.For example, senior Elaine Barb feels that seniors should
be let out of academic lab early on a hand full of days. Barb says that seniors should “have extra time for lunch. I always seemed rushed.”
Senior Robert Saxon feels that seniors should be let out at
least somewhat early on a few select days.“Maybe seniors could leave at 1:35 on gold days due to
the extra thirty [minutes] they went on the black day and the thirty [minutes] they wouldn’t have to be there on gold days. If not, then at least let seniors leave at 2:05 each gold day,” Saxon said.
Mrs. Marcum said that as of now, the student gov-ernment is coming up with different service projects that seniors would have the choice to participate in, or they can stay in their academic lab.
Students show their spirit by wearing pink at the Oct. 8 football game. This was an idea student government had on promoting support of breast cancer awareness. They encouraged students to show school spirit at a sporting event while also support-ing a cause.
Photo provided by B. Denny
Photo from www.zumiez.com
12 caboose Mill Stream09.03.2007
Drew [email protected]
5featuresMill Stream11.12.2010
What really goes on during the an-nouncements class? Students see them ev-ery day, whether they truly watch them or not. But there are things that go on during the announcements that most people don’t know about.
Senior Scott Tirman uses a single word to describe an average day in class: interest-ing.
“You can never tell what it’s going to be like. It can be really freakin’ funny,” Tirman said.
Speaking of funny, Tirman remembered one of the funniest things that happened during class.
“We were filming a Halloween clip, and we scared two girls in the hallway,” Tirman said. “We were hiding in a hallway, and Sam screamed at them. We had to get out of there really quick. We did.”
The announcements advisor, Mr. Matt Lane, also had a funny story about class.
“We had a bottle of glue, and the lid was supposed to be on,” Lane said. “It wasn’t.”
Lane was going to pretend to pour the bottle on a student, and instead he ended up pouring the glue all over the student’s head.
“Lots of funny things go on. What hap-pens in here sometimes stays in here,” Lane said.
But Lane pointed out that the announce-ments class isn’t all fun and games. He tries
to keep the class professional, but has fun at the same time.
Most people don’t see behind the scenes of the class. According to Lane, a lot of work and organization goes into the announce-ments every day. The students have to get clips and introductions planned ahead of time.
Every student in the class is also re-quired to film a number of clips outside of class. Specifically, they do public service announcements against drinking and driv-ing and smoking. They also do some videos with local businesses to offer services to the school and community.
However, this class is different from oth-ers in one main way.
“Everyone can see what happens in here,” Lane said. “Other teachers close their doors, and no one knows what goes on. We’re vis-ible.”
This fact stops the announcements from being just another high school class. Because it’s not an average class, some students might think that it would be an ‘easy A.’ According to junior Zac Pritchard, this is not true.
“Something that everyone might not know is that it is not an easy class to do if you want a good grade. You have to work hard to put on the announcements each day and try not to screw around too much,” Prit-chard said.
So next time they’re on, it might be a good idea to pay attention to the announcements that the students spend time to put on every single day.
Behind the scenes of the announcementsMadi [email protected]
Photo illustration by N. Watson and M. Mcnew
7:35 – Bell rings for class to start.
7:40 – Last students straggle in.
7:45 – Mr. Lane lec-tures for being late.
7:50 – Mr. Lane goes over clips that are due and how the past announcements went. “We talk about what’s going on in school and what we can film to get involved,” an-nouncements advisor Mr. Matt Lane said.
8:10 – Scripts come in for the announcements. Equipment checks are performed while the an-nouncers look over the scripts.
8:15 – The news, sports and weather announce-ments are filmed.
8:45 – The announce-ments are edited until they are ready to be played. “My favorite part is being able to watch the job I did and being able to say ‘I did that’ and feel accomplished about it,” junior Zac Prit-chard said.
8:50 – Students work on clips until the bell rings.
6 the focus 11.12.2010
Matt [email protected]
http://www.facebook.com/ is blocked by the Noblesville Schools content filtering guidelines. Blocked. Just like YouTube and Twitter. What most students don’t know is the reason for blocking these sites. According to Mrs. Petty, the school doesn’t dis-approve of such web sites, only their use in school.
“There are new technological advancements be-ing made all the time. With this current technology I know we can’t fight it nor can we ignore it, but rather, I want to make it work for us,” Petty said.
Don’t believe it? Take a gander at English teacher Mrs. Steele’s A.P. Literature and Composition class. “I started the group on Facebook at the end of the 2010 school year in an attempt to get my students more involved in the class,” Steele said.
According to Steele, the purpose of using Face-book over Moodle has everything to with image. Steele believes that Moodle represents teacher con-trol and school, a “Do Not Enter” sign to students. Facebook, on the other hand, is an application used
by many students during their free time. Hence the A.P. Lit/Comp Facebook group.
“If students are going to use Facebook, then I’m going to use Facebook. They’ll login, check their up-dates, and there it is, extra information over a diffi-cult text for class. It’s all part of my elaborate ploy to get my students to take that extra step,” Steele said.
A word of caution: just because the school ap-proves of Facebook, does not mean it approves of all its content. According to Petty, the school will take disciplinary action if a parent or reliable source brings in information regarding cyber bullying, il-legal substance use, or other actions that would have consequences in the school building.
“Contrary to popular belief, the school does not monitor Facebook. We find out about certain activi-ties through information brought to us. Once we have information and evidence we look at the prec-edents. Every month a new case involving Facebook in school comes out. By watching these cases and their outcomes, our school can better understand the legalities of what it can and cannot do,” Petty said.
witter? Isn’t that what baby birds do before they learn how to tweet? - Bio teacher Mr. Aaron Chastain
ith Facebook, I’m better connected with my family in the Philip- pines, but I don’t think Twitter really ‘connects’ people.
- junior Gayle Ocampo
believe Twitter is better than Facebook. I like looking at people’s statuses and posting my own. It helps me stay updated. - senior Delaney Riddle
witter is more active than other sites. You say what you’re doing and so it’s more updated with your life.
- senior Nick Coffeen
witter seems pointless. All you do is post status updates all the time and I don’t think everyone needs to know what you’re doing every minute.
- junior Gabby Johnson
verything on Twitter is more advertising and promotional. You can follow companies and businesses and they post updates on sales and stuff.
- senior Erika Sovacool
egardless of popularity, I probably wouldn’t join Twitter, because I don’t want people to know about my life every second. - junior Abby Alvey
Illus
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Fact: Two billion videos are uploaded and watched on YouTube daily, 52 percent are from teenagers.
Theory: Everybody wants to be famous.For some Noblesville High School students, filming
is just what they do. Freshman Trey Hutchinson for ex-ample, enjoys filming in-line skating, rollerblading to an extreme, so filming his friend Parker Alexander, while he dominates the skate park, isn’t about fame.
Others think it’s just messing around and having fun.
Sophomore Dallas Monk admits no one would turn down an opportunity to play alongside his or her music idol (for him, Rascal Flatts), but he’s not putting himself out there to become a star. He’s always been a guitarist, and YouTube has broadened his horizon.
“I’ve been doing this for a couple of years now, and it’s really all just for fun, mainly,” Monk said.
More often than not though, this theory becomes fac-tual.
“This is what I do, and people are watching,” said sophomore Jordan Pierson.
Pierson is an up and coming rap artist. He believes everybody has a fair shot.
“You just have to put yourself out there,” Pierson
said.Pierson says he knows just about everything that
comes with YouTube and stardom. He knows the risks that are involved.“You’ve got to be you, you can not get lost,” Pierson
said.Pierson knows it’s more than remaking music or
creating original verses, not that creativity and passion doesn’t matter, but being heard is all in the advertising.
As Monk reminds viewers, some videos are definitely viewed more often than others, but Pierson can actually see his multiple advertisements turn into a huge suc-cess.
One thousand views isn’t much when compared to Weezy’s videos, but for Jordan Pierson, it is.
Even Hutchinson, who broadcasts his friend because it’s his hobby, knows this is how teens start to really get their names out there. YouTube is free, so anyone who re-cords and has Internet access can broadcast themselves.
All agreed fame is more than appealing, but the num-ber one reason to upload is to stay true to oneself.
The majority of students do not even seem to real-ize what they could get out of YouTube. It’s all fun and games until someone gets heard, according to Pierson. “‘Til I die and in the ground my corpse lie,” Pierson free-styled.
Students upload to get their fifteen minutes of fame. Fact or fiction?
Carlie [email protected]
“I’m doing just fine without Facebook. It’s not like I’m shut off from the world without it or anything.”
Com
ic b
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. Ech
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the focus 711.12.2010
said.Pierson says he knows just about everything that
comes with YouTube and stardom. He knows the risks that are involved.“You’ve got to be you, you can not get lost,” Pierson
said.Pierson knows it’s more than remaking music or
creating original verses, not that creativity and passion doesn’t matter, but being heard is all in the advertising.
As Monk reminds viewers, some videos are definitely viewed more often than others, but Pierson can actually see his multiple advertisements turn into a huge suc-cess.
One thousand views isn’t much when compared to Weezy’s videos, but for Jordan Pierson, it is.
Even Hutchinson, who broadcasts his friend because it’s his hobby, knows this is how teens start to really get their names out there. YouTube is free, so anyone who re-cords and has Internet access can broadcast themselves.
All agreed fame is more than appealing, but the num-ber one reason to upload is to stay true to oneself.
The majority of students do not even seem to real-ize what they could get out of YouTube. It’s all fun and games until someone gets heard, according to Pierson. “‘Til I die and in the ground my corpse lie,” Pierson free-styled.
Students upload to get their fifteen minutes of fame. Fact or fiction?
(Continued from cover)“I remember I had this paper I had to write. My teacher
thought I was working on it the entire time,” junior Josh Clark said. “I worked on it the night before and ended up getting an ‘A’ on it.” Clark knew he had to do his paper, but he simply did not wish to start it until it was almost too late.
According to the Cali-fornia Polytechnic State University website, pro-crastination is a “complex psychological behavior” that affects everyone in one way or another. Studies show that procrastinators do not use their time wise-ly even if they know they should be doing an assign-ment or their chores.
For instance, a student is given 15 days to com-plete a paper. He knows that he has two weeks to complete it so he thinks, “I have time” and puts it off. Now the student is down to four days and still has not started their paper.
Eventually those four days turn into one and the student is now rushing to complete their paper. He stays up during all hours of the night to finish said pa-per and completes it at the break of dawn. The student is now falling asleep in his first period class and it is all due to procrastination.
Students procrastinate every day, and some think procrasti-nating can be a good thing.
“I work better under pressure,” senior Kathryn Welder said.
Welder does not put off her work because she feels like she does better when she has to rush to get something done. How-ever, she thinks other people procrastinate because they do not take their deadlines seriously enough.
“Deadlines don’t really become realities until the day before or the day the assignment is due,” junior Ian Smith said.
Smith feels most students procrastinate because they don’t feel like doing the work. He says they know they have some-thing to do but just chose to go on Facebook or watch TV in-
stead.Ms. Maggie
Coyne feels that students procrasti-nate because they feel under a mental pressure and doing homework or chores is not something one would choose to do.
“ I think students procrastinate be-cause humans are naturally more mo-tivated to engage in activities that we choose to do, like talking to our friends or watching TV,” Coyne said.
She also feels that when a student is told to do homework or chores they are put in an uncomfort-able mental state.
“By procrastinat-ing, we are avoiding that uncomfortable feeling,” Coyne said.
The California Polytechnic State University website also says that students keep the habit of procrastinating because they see that they can still get a good grade on a paper even when they do their paper the night before, but does this go for everyone?
Brittany [email protected]
Graphic by K. Foley
The majority of 50 students interviewed in the cafeteria voted Facebook as the top procrastination website when putting off homework. YouTube ranked second.
“If students are going to make Facebook their lives, then I believe I can use Facebook to connect my class to their lives.”
“Since I don’t have a Facebook, I don’t have to worry about having it hacked or losing personal information.”
“I’m doing just fine without Facebook. It’s not like I’m shut off from the world without it or anything.”
“I like Facebook’s chat feature. I can find out about homework, see who’s on, and just be myself.”
Facebook and YouTube illustrations by M. Loria
8 features Mill Stream11.12.2010
Woah! Watch out front row. Senior Evan Slusher, em-barks on a journey to master the art of choreography for his upcoming lead role in Pippin. Slusher works to get every move just right during one of his final hours of practice.
Looks as if freshman Ashley Owens is a bit head over heels for the fall musical Pip-pin! Ownens said she knows she wasn’t in any real danger, she’s been in theatre all of her life and has partici-pated in other stunts.
Let’s groove tonight! Pippin’s ensemble prac-tices hours a day to get their steps just right. This dance break is one of senior Evan Slush-er’s only short breaks before taking back the stage.
Students pipe into PippinThe musical opens Thursday, November 18 and runs
through Saturday, November 20.
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Fishers. 595.94029783 East 116th Street
Carmel. 687.8839 2450 East 146th Street
Carlie [email protected]
Photo essay by S. Huber
9featuresMill Stream11.12.2010
It has become some-thing of a childhood right of passage to walk into the cold, sterile doctor’s office for your first school shots. Even now in high school, getting needles stuck into your arm every year is not in the list of favorite things to do. Recently, however, the school district has made its stance on current immu-nizations and they stand firm behind their drastic measures to keep students who have yet to receive their immunizations out of school, all to keep the stu-dent body safe.
“We are so firm in stu-dents getting the immuni-zations because above all, they need to be protected,” school nurse Peggy Car-penter said. “In the past, many people have died from these diseases, and they are still just as fatal.”
With the importance of these shots so empha-sized this year, the con-sequences of neglecting your immunizations are even more extreme. If stu-dents do not comply to the regulatory immunizations, which must be completed by the end of the semes-ter in December, they will not be allowed to return to school until the shots are received.
With this new regula-tion in place, parents and students alike are rushing to get to clinics and hospi-tals to receive the immuni-zations.
“There are many stu-dents who cannot afford the shots that can cost nearly two hundred dol-lars each, “Carpenter said. “To help this, the school, as well as other clinics, are
giving out free or reduced price immunizations to the students and their fami-lies.”
While these rules may seem to be somewhat of an extreme, Noblesville High School principal Annetta Petty explained that “me-dia coverage of the addi-tional requirements has oc-curred during and since the legislature passed the bill. Since July, schools’ notifica-tion efforts have increased; they have notified parents through the website, phone calls, letters, and emails.”
The regulation stated that all students in grades six through twelve must have these shots, but there are some exceptions.
“The only exceptions are reserved for students with religious or medical restric-tions, and documentations for these must be updated yearly,” Carpenter said.
One students under such restrictions is sophomore Rosemary James, whose beliefs keep her from get-ting the immunizations.
“It’s less of a religious influence and more of a personal choice,” James said. “My mother believes that my immune system is strong enough without [the immunizations].”
With Rosemary’s rea-sons not to head off to the doctor’s office, some of her peers worry about the neg-ative effects on her.
“A lot of people seem to be concerned, think-ing I’ll be carrying around some deadly disease or something,” James said. “I honestly feel pretty safe without them; I’ve never gotten seriously sick and I don’t have to go through some of the negative side-effects that come with the vaccines.”
High school students have varying opinions on the new measure that came along with the immuniza-tions. Junior Jessica Boone doesn’t think that the hype is necessary.
“I think everyone should have a choice in whether or not to get the shots. If you get sick, you get sick; if you don’t, you don’t,” said Boone.
Other have the oppo-site opinion, such as Junior Breanna Frailey, who be-lieves that the vaccinations should be mandatory.
“Even though it’s your body, if these diseases can make you really sick, stu-dents need to be protected from them,” Frailey said. “The deadline gave every-one enough time to get ev-erything that they needed, and it’s important for not only the students to be protected, but the people around them as well.”
Both Petty and Carpen-ter agree that while faiths and beliefs on immuniza-tions should be respected, they both stress the impor-tance of receiving the vac-cines.
“[The illnesses] can be so easily transmitted that it can quickly infect many students, who, in turn, can infect many of those around them, both in school and out,” Petty said.
While getting the re-quired immunizations may seem like a burden to parents and students alike, they are in most cases a necessary step in a stu-dent’s high school career. Students may not like vac-cines or even understand why they are so important, but if they are to stay in school, the immunizations are requirements that must be met.
State cracks down on vaccination requirements
This will only hurt a bit...
Lending a hand, or at least some blood cells
Each semester student government or-ganizes a blood drive, and this past month on Tuesday, Oct 26, students gathered in the main gym in order to give blood and save lives.
This recent drive experienced an increase in donors. In all, 120 units of blood were given on Tuesday. The average person con-tains 14 to 18 units, so the blood equivalent to about eight entire people was collected.
Seniors Zach Downard, Kayla Norris, Travis Cook, and Taylor Ashby all said that they gave blood to potentially save lives and because giving was the right thing to do.
Many Indiana high school students seem to agree. Last year schools across the state organized 555 blood drives and added 34,548 units of blood to Indiana Blood Cen-ter’s supply, accounting to nearly 20 percent of Indiana Blood Center’s annual donations, according to the center’s website.
That means that Indiana high schools did their part to potentially save over 2,000 lives last school year alone.
Overcoming the queasiness doesn’t seem to be that big of a deal to those who donate. “It’s not that big of a deal in your life to give blood,” senior Megan Van Pelt said.
“But it could be in someone else’s,” ju-nior Brandon Dawes added.
The general opinion among donors is that although donating can be a daunting experience, the outcome is worth the pain of a prick.
Although these blood drives help hospi-tals across the state, more donations are al-ways needed. In nearby Carmel and Fishers there are full-time donation centers where nearly anyone can schedule an appointment to give blood.
Especially if someone is O-negative, the universal donor, he or she should consider donating regularly. According to the web-site, as of 8 a.m. on August 10, Indiana Blood Center was short 96 units of O-negative alone on that one day.
But saving lives isn’t the only rea-son people choose to give blood. There are, for instance, the extremely cool armbands. They come in array of neon colors--a popu-lar trend amongst high school students.
Junior Brandon Dawes stated that he felt pretty cool in his bright green arm-band, not only a badge of honor for saving a life but a fashion statement, as well.
The armbands project an air of coolness and nonchalance about the wearer while staunching blood flow at the same time. If that’s not functional fashion, then what is?
However, no one that was inter-viewed was in it for the armbands. They genuinely wanted to contribute to society and help a person in need. And that was truly the greatest success of this past blood drive.
If you missed the opportunity to give blood in October, there will be another drive organized for the spring semester that will take place in the LGI room.
Rachel [email protected]
Alejandra [email protected]
10 sports Mill Stream11.12.2010
Sweatpants, sweatshirts, messy pony tails, and headbands. That’s right - the girls’ basketball season has begun, and this year the division in the ages is more distinct than ever between the usual rank-ings of freshman, junior varsity, and var-sity.
Unlike previous years, the varsity team is now officially made up of entirely ju-niors and seniors. However, there is hope for moving up, especially with JV and var-sity practicing together for the first time.
“We have several freshman and soph-omores who could get time on varsity,”
Coach Keck said. Although for now the juniors and seniors hold the dominating title.
As for the reaction of the underclass-men, aspired players were surprised when the roster was released.
Sophomore Ciera Bugress played on the freshman team last year and has once again found herself in the very same posi-tion.
“When I found out the results that I made freshman again, I was disappoint-ed, but now I’ve realized that I can really spend my year entirely focused on improv-ing and getting stronger,” Burgess said.
With the new teams organized and the upperclassmen leading the way, there
is also a high expectation for a sectionals title. Seniors Faith Reece, Karli Davis, and Janie Swafford agree in unison that they could win sectionals this year.
“I think that if we all stay positive and work as hard as normal, winning section-als is definitely a possibility.” Davis said, also adding that players’ health is equally important to the team as their work ethic.
“At tryouts, it seemed everyone did re-ally well and got considerably better since last year,” sophomore Michaela Muench said, who made JV but has hope for varsity still. “So sure, sectionals seem likely.”
In the meantime, the first game of the season takes place in the NHS main gym against Fishers on November 6 at noon.
Girls’ basketball roster is out, and the MVP goes to the upperclassman...Anna [email protected]
Photo by S. Huber
11sportsMill Stream11.12.2010
Sprinting past the compe-tition, the Miller boys cross country team placed second at the IHSAA state cross country finals on October 30 with a team of almost all seniors.
For the first time in Noblesville history the boys cross country team placed on the podium and earned sec-ond place rings. Running for the state team was Christian Bowers, who placed 31, Ryan Ferguson, 32, Sam Roud-ebush, 41, Collin Ginebaugh, 67, Neal Tardy, 76, Jacob Small, 122, and Richie Sell-ers, 177.
Coached by Kent Graham and James Pearce, the boys had a questionable start to the tournament placing second at sectionals, fifth at regionals, and third at semi-state. They didn’t know how state was going to turn out. “I knew a podium finish was in our grasp, and we weren’t going to finish how we have done in previous races,” senior Ryan Ferguson said. Ferguson also made clear the team’s determination as they saw the state championship and runner up plaques.
The boys did not know that they got second until they heard, “an in third, with a score of 174 points, Lawrence North!” the Noblesville fans in the crowd errupted
with cheer. “I has happy and surprised we got second,” Senior Richie Sellers said.
The boys have yet to recieve their rings. They will be distributed to them during a basketball game this winter.
Running for ringsKendra [email protected]
“Going in, I thought we had a shot and our whole team had the thought we could do it,” se-nior Neal Tardy said.
“I went in to it not expect-ing getting on the podium but the thought of second or even an upset for first was always in the back of my mind,” senior Collin Ginebaugh said.
Q&A: How long have you been wrestling?Pat Mangan: Eight years.Q&A: And have you enjoyed that?Mangan: Mmmhmmm.Jordan Edwards: I started in the sixth
grade and continued since then. I’ve done some tournaments none recently but, you know, I’ve gotten my experience from that.
Wayne Specht: Since I was four.Q&A: Wow… long time.Q&A: Do you think you could beat Maver-
ick from Top Gun in a wrestling match?Mangan: Of course!Q&A: Why?Mangan: Because I’m awesome? That’s why?Edwards: Well of course, any day. Haha, It’s
me.Q&A: So, you’re not intimidated by Tom
Cruise?Edwards: No. Tom Cruise is… a joke.Q&A: Right.
Specht: I don’t know… it is Tom Cruise.Q&A: Is he too much of a man for you?Specht: Naa…Q&A: If you were a pro wrestler who
would you be?Mangan: If I was a pro wrestler?Q&A: Yeah, like WWE.Mangan: Yeah, I got that. I would be... Bone-
Saw from Spiderman.Q&A: Right on. But why?Mangan: Because he fights Spiderman and
that’s awesome… even though he loses…Q&A: Yeah he does lose…Edwards: Just like a name I would make up?Q&A: Yeah, well, you can make one up or
just a pro wrestler that already has a-Edwards: The Undertaker.Q&A: The Undertaker? Alright!Specht: Oh. God. None of them, it’s fake.Q&A: If you had to wrestle an administra-
tor, who would it be and why?
Mangan: An administrator? I don’t know, I don’t know any of the administra-tors.
Q&A: Like a prin-cipal or something.
Mangan: Oh I would SO wrestle Mrs. Petty.
Q&A: You heard it Pat’s calling you out Mrs. Petty
Edwards: Mrs. Swan.
Q&A: Oh! Mrs. Swan… alright!Specht: (whispers) Mrs. Swan. *We later realized this was because we were
interviewing in front of her office.Q&A: Haha, that’s what Jordan said.Q&A: If He-Man and Lion-O got in the
ring together, who would win?Mangan: He-Man… obviously.Q&A: How so? Mangan: Because his name is He-Man!Q&A: Makes sense. Edwards: Um… Lion-O would probably win
because his little cat-butt is probably flexible as who knows how can be, and he’s probably fast too.
Q&A: Yeah... I gotcha. Specht: Definitely He-Man!Q&A: Sounds like the decision is He-Man
then.
This week, Q&A with Q&A weighs-in on the great sport of ‘wrastlin with NHS wrestlers. We tee off with more Top Gun than even Cruise and Kilmer can handle. Q&A step in the box to ask the age old question: HE MAN or LION-O?
Q&A WITH Q&A
“I was confident. I expected us to at least get on the podium. deep down i wanted first or second,” junior Sam Roudebush said.
photos by K. Foley
Photo provided by K. GrahamThe boys cross country team poses in front of a welcome banner at the IHSAA state finals. The team went on to place second.
12 caboose Mill Stream11.12.2010
plan ahead...by Brittany Burkhalter
school eventsEarly Release Nov. 17
Thanksgiving BreakNov. 24
cd releaseslive shows
John Mellencamp Kt Tunstal Nov. 16 Nov. 19Embassy Theatre Vogue Theatre Soulja Boy Nov. 19Indiana StateFair Grounds
Nov. 16 Nov. 22 Born Free Cannibal Kid Rock Ke$ha
Nov. 16 Nov. 22 5.0 My Beautiful DarkNelly Twisted Fantasy Kanye WestNov. 16LoudRihanna
Nov. 22AkonicAkon
movie releasesIn Theatres On DVD Nov. 19 Nov. 19 Nov. 23 Nov. 30Heartless Harry Potter and the Deathly Eat, Pray, Love The Sorcerer’s Hallows Part 1 Apprentice
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