“Giving you a better view.”Vol. XVIII Issue 2 Southeast High School

Black HistoryMonthEMMA FREDRICK Special Correspondent

Black History Month is here. It is a time when people remember famous African Americans and their heritage. Black History Month has, in its essen-tials, been going on since 1926, when it was “Negro History Week.” Now it is an international event. It is celebrated in the U.S.A., as well as Canada and the United Kingdom. “It’s not going to be an extrava-ganza, but we will be doing displays out front, having to do with black fraterni-ties and sororities, and also have African American literature along with Mrs. Pennington from the library,” literature teacher Mr. Ted Harrison, who is heading Black History Month at Southeast said. There also may be an African American film festival, which would be featured in the library Fridays in Febru-ary. There will also be several African American speakers coming. Every day in the commons, cafeteria and some classrooms, a tele-vised program called Keep Your Eyes on the Prize, is aired. It is broadcast by a closed-circuit Southeast channel. The show features the lives of famous African Americans. Another daily occurrence this month will be a Black History Month Fact of the Day thanks to the Multi-Cul-tural Club.

Poetry out loud GENNY ELKINAssistant News Editor Poetry Out Loud is a Competi-tion for which the competitors memo-rize a poem and perform it in front of an audience. For most English classes, participation in the classroom competition is required, however only a few - two from

each class - are selected to perform in the school-wide competition. An assortment of talents were displayed January 19. Mr. Philip Martin, substitute teacher at Southeast, Mrs. Nzinga West, director of 21st century, and Mrs. Wineburn-er, a student teacher in Mrs. Holton’s literature class, judged the school competi-tion. Despite many wonderful perfor-mances, only three came out on top. Razeak Jackson-Morgan, a junior at southeast, won first place, reciting “Paradox” by Paul Law-rence Dunbar. Second place was

Kayla Sisson, freshman, having recited “Sonnet XVIII” by William Shakespeare. “To me poetry is a great way to just vent, because reading, writing, hear-ing the right poem at the right time can change a whole outlook,” winner Razeak Jackson-Morgan said. “I love poetry,” said Kayla, “I can express myself in ways that I usu-ally can’t.” In third place was Emma Fred-rick, senior, having recited the poem “Dirge Without Music” by Edna St. Vincent Millay.

Emma chose her poem because she thought “it sounded cool.” She is very excited about having won runner-up. These three contestants will be

performing on February 9 at 3:30 p.m. at the Hoogland Center of the Arts. Mrs. Susan Pennington, South-east’s librarian and director of Poetry Out Loud in Southeast, invites everyone to come. “I think it’s fun to listen

to poetry being performed because you get so much more out of it—you get the emotion, the soul, and the intensity that the poet intended,” Mrs. Pennington said.

There is a monster lurking within the halls of Southeast.

See page 3

Southeast Takes City! See page 6

Are you Hungry for a new book? See page 8

Photograph courtesy of Ms. Paige, newspaper advisor. Respectively, Razeak Jackson-Morgan, Kayla Sisson and Emma Fredrick recite their poems to the audience.

-you get the emotion, the soul, and

the intensity that the poet intended.

“

School Improvement Grant for SoutheastMARY SENGEREditor in Chief

The Southeast community may remember the controversy last year over Southeast and Lanphier being placed in the bottom 5% of schools in Illinois. The placement was based on results from the PSAE that students take their junior year. Because the school’s Annual Yearly Progress, or AYP, has not improved much over seven years, Southeast qualifies for the School Improvement Grant (SIG.) The SIG is a government grant which is fun-neled through the states as part of the No Child Left Behind Act. The SIG is a six year grant. Southeast will be awarded $2 million a year for three years. Over the next three years, Southeast must be able to stabilize itself financially. The money goes toward professional development for staff, specifi-cally classroom teaching. “Money and programs do not change a school,” Principal Jason Wind said. Mr. Wind said that the staff and how they implement the money and programs will be what changes the school. Southeast’s Site Leadership Team (SLT) is the core group working on writing the grant. All staff members are welcome to be a part of it through the SLT. Southeast has viewed presen-tations by two lead partners, Learning

Points Associates and Scholastic Achieve-ment Partners. Learning Points Associates presented on Wednesday, January 26. Scholastic Achievement Partners presented on Monday, January 31. There are four intervention mod-els defined by the grant; turnaround, trans-formation, restart and closure. Closure results in closing down the school; restart involves firing all the staff and rehiring new teachers and administrators; turn-around and transformation involve evalua-tion of teachers and administrators. Southeast falls under the trans-

formation model. By observing classroom teaching, using testing and other data-based methods, both programs offer to establish the best way to help Southeast under this model. There are four com-ponents to the model: (1) teachers and leaders, where the new method of evalua-tion comes into play, (2) instructional and support strategies, (3) time and support, in which they increase the amount of learning time and give social-emotional support to students, and (4) governance. “The hard work that goes with it is huge,” Mr. Wind said.

Photograph courtesy of Ms. Paige.

Photograph courtesy of Ms. Paige.

Is America really free?

See page 7

NEWS page 2

Food, Not Bombs MARY SENGEREditor in Chief

Teens and young adults are en-couraged to be active in their community. A group of local youths have taken that to the next level. Springfield High School senior Roxanne Hanna operates Spring-

field’s local chapter of Food, Not Bombs, an international organization dedicated to the welfare of the local community, specifically the less fortunate. They protest war peacefully by providing vegan and vegetarian food to combat hunger in the homeless community. Springfield had a Food, Not Bombs group before this one, but it was

disbanded years ago. Talk had circu-lated about reinstating one, but nothing was done until Roxanne decided to do something about it. The first meal was in November of 2010. “I started Food, Not Bombs after I read about it in a book called Food, Not Lawns by H.C. Flores,” Roxanne said. Her boyfriend, Benjamin DeWitt, as-sists Roxanne, along with a group of ten or so high school and college students. Local musicians such as Andrea Heath, Morgan Williams and members of the bluegrass band Our Lady are very active within the group. Roxanne and Benjamin also collaborate with Homeless United for Change. Meals take place every other Sunday at locations downtown, usually in front of the Old State Capitol. Members bring warm vegan soups, coffee, tea, co-coa and other goods that they can provide.

Members and private organizations do-nate all of the food. Food Fantasies often provides goods. Meetings are called as needed. Roxanne encourages people to come to meals. “I love seeing new faces,” she said.

Not a lot of high school students would be interested in running such an organization, but Roxanne loves it. “It’s easy to do, it makes a lot of sense, and it’s worth doing.” Roxanne said. “I think it’s

rewarding, too,” Ben adds. Southeast students can help the cause by donating food and cloth-ing, coming to meals and spreading the word. Students can learn more by e-mailing Roxanne at foodnotbombs217@gmail.com .

Photograph courtesy of Roxanne Hanna. Roxanne and fellow volunteers ladle soup.

MARY SENGEREditor in Chief

Southeast students love chicken. The senior class has used this fact to their advantage. They have begun selling Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen chicken in the commons during lunch. The idea had been circulating within South-east, but it was not imple-mented until senior class president Luke Buscher took action. Luke carried out all of the required tasks the first week, but hopes that more seniors will volunteer to keep the program run-ning. Students are needed to pick up the food, transfer it, sell it and pass out the food. Students that pick up the chicken are given a box for free as compensation for using their car and gas. “The entire reason we are doing this is to raise money for the senior class, plus, I like eating tasty food,” Luke said. The senior class is selling Pop-eyes due to distaste for the cafeteria food and because they want a choice, Luke says. Popeyes is the most popular option and is close to the school, allowing for

Got to love that chicken

maximum profit. They pick the food up from the Popeyes on South Grand. Not all students favor Popeyes. “Well, Popeyes is not for me. It’s a good idea, but I would definitely prefer KFC,” said senior Katelyn Leonardo. The Popeyes boxes consist of three chicken strips, mashed potatoes and a biscuit. They are selling the boxes for $5. “I think that it is a great idea and it’s fairly priced; it gives students a wider variety so that they don’t have to stick with the monotonous lunch menu,” said senior Jennifer Le. The senior class plans to sell Popeyes every Friday indefinitely in the commons during both A and B lunches.

Photograph taken by Mary Senger.

“It’s easy to do, it makes a lot of sense, and it’s worth doing. ”

21st Century radio station to hit the airwaves

GENNY ELKINAssistant News Editor Tweny-First Century, the group responsible for the founding of Sparta-cups, will soon be creating an online radio station titled WSUL. The goal of this project is to educate the young com-munity of various issues affecting them. The programs will include an hour of “old school” music and an hour for a talk show with a community wellness focus. The participants in WSUL will develop various public announcements concerning HIV/AIDS, STDs and other topics relating to adolescents. The radio station began in January. In this time, participants created a business plan and model. Broadcasting begins in February and will continue until May, Monday- Friday from 3:30-5:30 p.m. WSUL radio station was made possible by 21st Century director, Mrs. Nzinga West, who is the site coordinator, and Ryne Goodrich, the WSUL instructor and coordinator. The Springfield Urban League is also an essential component to the construction of the online radio station, providing the funding and aiding in the co-ordination. Funding was also provided by

21CCLC and BASUAH grants. Many of the 21st Century students who will be involved in this project are also members of Youth Wellness Bureau of Sangamon County. Mrs. West says the WSUL radio station is being made because she is “always seeking new ways to gain student interest and provide opportunities that allow them to gain a new skill set.” She continues to say that “students also do many things outside of school that com-bine music, entertainment, and education.” (Also known as “edutainment.”) Ariel Burns, a student at Lincoln Land and 21st Century assistant says he “thinks it’s a great... thing to get the kids active and set their mind’s creative fluids going.”

Windows needs your help! We need a new Spartan-head logo. Submit a new logo for the header and you may see your work displayed at the top of the front page every month! Entries can be entered to Mary Senger, editor in chief, or advisor, Ms. Paige. Thank you! We hope to see your work!

Can you draw? partan even

MARY SENGEREditor in Chief

Every Friday, students may notice that the teachers wear blue jeans. Every other day of the week, the teachers are not allowed to do this. By paying $25 a semester, teachers are grant-ed this privilege. This has been in place since last school year. Fifteen-hundred dollars has been raised so far. The money the teachers were paying was, until recently, being used to pay for buses for college trips. Last week, the teachers voted for a new use for the money. Paying for prom tickets came in

close second, but the winner was Spartan Seven incentives. The incentives have not yet been established, but teachers are encouraged to offer suggestions. “That’d be tight ‘cause I think it might make kids behave better because they know that the rewards are actually coming from teachers,” junior Hayley Kincaid said. Guidance dean Ms. Rachel Streeb is in charge of the program, but wants principal’s advisory, Principal Wind and Mrs. Barcik to decide the in-centives together. She wants the students to have input in the program. Ms. Streeb thinks the Spartan Seven program is a “big success.” This semester, 83.5 percent of students are on level, meaning they will receive these rewards.

$ $ Dollars for denim

FEATURES

SEAN MILBURNStaff Reporter

Technology is always changing and forming into something new and exciting, but what about brand new technology that has just been developed or created? How about a jet pack, a squirt gun that disables bombs, or a credit card reader that works on a smart phone? Most inventions nowadays are just updates of older technology, but there are a few people who make the leap to make brand new inventions. For instance, the Martin Jetpack is the

planet’s first practical jet pack that will sell for about $100,000. It is not yet available for

purchase, but will be field tested this spring.

Another exciting stride in technology is a

squirt gun that disables roadside bombs. The clear plastic device is filled with water and when set off, generates a thin blade of water that disables the target. In addition to these futuristic and extraordinary inventions is the Square. Square lets anyone process credit cards while attached to a smart phone. You also

do not need to wait for a receipt, because

after you sign your signature on the

screen, Square sends a copy straight to your e-mail.

Technol-ogy will always

progress into the future no matter the obstacles or the risks thanks to people who want to put their dreams into action.

MARY SENGEREditor in Chief

Lurking in this school are vicious monsters. They steal money from the poor and prevent them from receiving their food. They sometimes give students food that they do not ask for. They only wake to take requests at certain times, leaving students thirsty. There were once nice creatures that supplied healthy beverages, but now only the ones that supply less delectable beverages. Yes. The vending machines are monsters. Police Officer Jones and the security guards report a rough esti-mate of how often they have to shake the vending ma-chines. They say they must beat these monsters into submission once a day so that they will give up the food. They hear complaints about students’ money being eaten just as often. “Vending machines are like bullies. It took my lunch money,” senior Ryan Estes said. Many students feel cheated by the machines. When senior Josh Zeter asked for M&Ms, the vending machine gave him what he described as “gross gummies.” “The vending machine left me emotionally distraught,” Josh said.

“I” before “E” GENNY ELKINAssistant News Editor

Students have been taught from a young age about grammar usage. Many are under the impression that proper gram-mar usage is declining due to spell-check, texting and social networking sites such as Facebook. This observation, however, has been argued.

Jarrett Martineau from www.nowpub-lic.com draws speculations in his article Researchers Studying ‘Texting’ as its own Language that texting is not defacing the English language, but rather, becoming a language in of itself.

“Language is constantly changing. Some of that change is okay and adds to

the language, but if it were to break down completely we would lose the ability to communicate at all,” said Mrs. Teresa Holton, head of the English department at Southeast.

Mrs. Holton, however, does not believe that grammar usage is failing in today’s society, but that texting lacks beauty, art and figurative language. These are the things that make language a beautiful thing.

Ebony Forsland, a junior at Southeast, in contrast, believes the average indi-vidual’s usage of grammar is decreasing “because the modern thought of our gen-eration is that ‘We don’t need grammar; we already know what we need to know,’” but that one needs to learn more in order to “exceed past generations.”

Tech-tastic

The beast within

SAMANTHA LEWISStaff Illustrator

Is a child with a learning dis-ability the same as a child who is mentally challenged? “They are completely differ-ent. Kids with learning disabilities just have issues with certain subjects like math or reading and can be im-proved with help from teachers and tutors,” says junior Joshua Cleaver. According to helpguide.org he is only partially correct. A child with a learning disability cannot try harder, pay closer attention, or improve motivation on their own; they need help to learn how to do those things. A learning disability, or learn-ing disorder, is not a problem with intelligence. Learning disorders are caused by a difference in the brain that affects how information is re-ceived, processed or communicated. Children and adults with learning disabilities have trouble processing sensory information because they see, hear and understand things dif-ferently. This is a lifelong issue ac-cording to ldonline.org. With the right support and intervention, however, children with learning dis-abilities can succeed in school and go on to successful, often distin-guished careers later in life. In fact 15 percent of the U.S. population, or one in seven Americans, has some type of learning disability, according to the National Institutes of Health. Joshua then goes on to say “however kids who are mentally disabled have a condition that can-not be improved, and prevents them from doing certain things.” According to mamashealth.com it is believed that heredity plays the strongest role in arrest-ing a child’s mental development while a variety of environmental factors can also contribute to it. The most common factors include brain damage, an infection that occurred during pregnancy, RH incompat-ibility, taking drugs while pregnant and malnutrition. Regardless of the cause, simple tasks such as eating, toilet training and even learning to walk properly can be difficult for the mentally challenged child. “Their disabilities [prevent] them from being educationally equal,” said junior Jamal Simms.

Slacker-Be-Gone*FAITH MIDDLETONAssistant A&E Editor

From class ranks to scientific discoveries, slacking does not pave the road to success. No matter what the situation, these tips will encourage students to work efficiently. *Determine goal(s) and motiva-tion. What needs to be achieved and why? *Eliminate distractions when working toward the goal. *Give room to ask questions and learn. Procrastination may result in sloppiness. *Be surrounded with positive, hardworking individuals that wish to help, not destroy or laze around. *Remember that hard work can get anyone to where they want to be. “Try not to rush yourself,” ju-nior Rachel Murphy said. “Make sure you are pacing yourself while continu-ally working.”

The vending machines also only wake up at predetermined times. Thirsty A-lunch students must wait until their lunch period is almost over before they can buy a drink on shortened days because

the machines do not turn on until 11:07.

Many students are frus-trated by the loss of

the Dole machines. Mrs. Palmer

says that the school is in a contract with PepsiCo, but

PepsiCo owns Dole, so we are not entirely sure where the Dole machines went. At the begin-ning of the year, there was some mix –up with the sodas in the machines. Stu-dents that asked

for a Code Red often received a regu-

lar Mountain Dew, and vice versa. Sometimes, the sodas were

not cold, or the soda picked was not there. These problems have not been as frequent recently. Whether it is stealing money or giving students the wrong food, it is clear that the vending machines are the domi-nant species at this school.

Page 3

*Individual results may vary

All drawings with the signature DH are courtesy Dave Heinzel. The Windows staff would like to thank him for his contributions. For more of his work, visit daveheinzel.com.

Challenged?There’s a difference

Sandra DevoeFAITH MIDDLETON / Assistant A&E Editor

Mrs. Sandra Devoe is a new teacher at Southeast this year. This is her first year in District 186 after teaching in Quincy schools for the past fifteen years. She is the coach for the Southeast girl’s basket-ball team.

She works in the special education de-partment. The subjects she teaches are inclusion, geometry, algebra and science.

Mrs. Devoe attended Heath High School in Kentucky. She also went to Paducah College, Austin Peay State University, Quincy University, and Culver-Stockton College.

She thinks that Southeast is very tight-knit since different grades are close socially. This, in her opinion, is what sets SSHS apart from other high schools.

She enjoys teaching at the high school level the most because middle school stu-dents are too immature and high school students are more mature. She has known since the eighth grade that she would aspire to be a teacher and coach. Mrs. Devoe is dedicated to being a posi-tive influence to her students and team.

She is the mother of two children; Halle is a sophomore and Harrison is in the eighth grade.

Mrs. Devoe would describe herself as an approachable, hard working, hard-nosed go-getter who loves her family and friends. Her greatest fear is letting herself down.

Mrs. Devoe believes the student popu-lation is diverse and dynamic, and that there are so many different personalities all in the same school. She loves SSHS and is happy to be at her current location.

Kadence KoenLAUREN ALLEN / Sports Editor

Ms. Kadence Koen is a new addition to the Southeast teaching staff this year. She is teaching Algebra I, Algebra II and Geometry. Ms. Koen had her high school career at Glenwood High School and re-ceived her college education at UIS, re-ceiving two bachelor’s degrees. Ms. Koen is also currently attending college to re-ceive her master’s degree.

She has two sons named Tyrus and Parker who both attend Elementary school.

Ms. Koen has previously taught at Lan-phier High School and decided to come Southeast because there was an open position.

“Southeast has a good learning environ-ment, and the students are great,” says Ms. Koen.

If Ms. Koen had not become a teacher she would have wanted to own her very

own children clothing store. “I love children and thats one of the reasons why I be-came a teacher,” said Ms. Koen.

Ms. Koen has come to like her students

even though they can be “crazy” at times. She

decided to become a math teacher because she enjoys

the subject and attended math camp as a child. Over this past sum-mer, Ms. Koen taught Summer school at Springfield High School where she taught 234 Geometry. “The kids were great and kept me entertained with laughs,” said Ms. Koen.

Ms. Koen has enjoyed her new career at Southeast and has enjoyed the new stu-dents and other teaching staff members. It seems that students seem to enjoy her, too, because of her humor and willingness to help them as they learn new things.

Heather MurdockMARCI STEVENSON / Features Editor

Heather Murdock is a literature and speech teacher at Southeast High School. This is her first year teaching at South-east, but she has taught for the district for four prior years at Lanphier High School and Lincoln Magnet School, as well as two Chicago elementary schools and one Indianapolis elementary school. She re-ceived her bachelor’s degree from East-ern Michigan University and went on to gain her master’s degree from Roosevelt University. Mrs. Murdock describes herself as “creative, dependable, and flexible.” She has no children of her own.

Even as a child, Mrs. Murdock aspired to be a teacher. Her favorite part of teaching is “seeing the light bulb go off when a stu-dent understands something or when my students realize that I’m here to help, not hinder.” She feels that there is not much that sets Southeast apart from other high schools; rather, she finds it a typi-cal school with both positives and negatives to it. She likes that there are students at-tending Southeast that are willing to work hard, but feels as if the hallways are crowded, a problem which she says makes getting from classroom to classroom with her teaching cart difficult.

Mrs. Murdock states that she was given the choice between teaching at Southeast and Lanphier. “I met with Mr. Wind and he made me feel extremely wel-come,” said Mrs. Murdock, so she chose Southeast. Rather than getting to choose which classes she teaches, Mrs. Murdock was assigned to teach literature 135, American literature 334 and speech 205 due to the fact she is certified to teach English classes. She enjoys teaching all levels of students, as long as those stu-dents are willing to work with her and take responsibility for their own education.

Lindy WilkinsonJESSE NELSON / Op-Ed Editor

Mrs. Lindy Wilkinson is a returning new teacher to Southeast. After college, she taught at Our Saviour Jr. High in Jackson-ville, Illinois for two years. She moved to Springfield and began working as a sub-stitute teacher at Southeast through the LEAD grant. She taught at Southeast, Lindsay and Pleasant Hill. She became a full-time teacher at Southeast teach-ing English 134. In 2008, she was trans-ferred to Washington Middle School, but returned to Southeast in 2010. She now teaches a reading lab and English 234.

When she was a child, Mrs. Wilkinson wanted to become a nursery rhyme writer because she was bored with the current nursery rhymes and wished to alleviate the boredom of future children. Her first real job was at a ShopKo in Dixon, Illinois while she was in high school. She is certi-fied to operate a forklift thanks to this job. She went to Dixon High School, Illinois College in Jacksonville for her bachelor’s, and Western Illinois University in Macomb for her master’s.

“I love Southeast! The students, staff, school spirit and traditions are all very special to me. This is home,” Mrs. Wilkin-son said.

Mrs. Wilkinson believes that the people at Southeast set it apart from other high schools. Her favorite part about the job is “meeting young people and watching them grow into productive members of society.” She thinks the students at South-east are the “best kept secret in Spring-field.” She acknowledges that Southeast gets a bad reputation, but that “there is nowhere else I’d rather be.”

Mrs. Wilkinson has two kids, Brendan who is 14 and Sydney who is two. She says that she loves her life in all aspects: home, school and family.

“Life is good,” she said.

SAY HELLO TO OURNEWEST SPARTANSThe Windows staff introduces eleven new staff members.

“Southeast has a good

learning envi-ronment, and the students are great.”

– Ms. Koen

Kassie JonesGENNY ELKIN / Assistant News Editor

Kassie Jones started teaching high school literature for the first time at Southeast this year, choosing it for its urban sur-roundings and its diverse environment. Ms. Jones teaches literature because it “brings up difficult subjects that helps [students] to find their voice,” and pres-ents the opportunity to teach tolerance as controversial topics are brought up in the books that are read.

Ms. Jones, however, did not always want to be a teacher. When she was a child, she wanted to be a lawyer like her father. This aspiration remained unchanged until she

went to college at SIUE. Before she was able to move on to law school, she was required to get a major and she chose to study English. By graduation, Ms. Jones had reconsidered her future and resolved to start a career as a teacher, having en-joyed English so much.

Basketball is also of importance to Ms. Jones, so she decided to coach the South-east’s girls basketball team. She had been a basketball player in her own high school in Rochester, and her brother and father both played in college, making Basketball an active part of her life.

Another hobby of Ms. Jones’ is listening to classic rock on vinyl records and read-ing American classics and Harry Potter books. She enjoys making crafts as well. She often finds herself walking by artistic stores, looking at the crafts being sold and thinking ‘I can make that.’ Ms. Jones also enjoys photography and likes to put the pictures she takes into collages “keep-ing those memories alive.”

So far, Ms. Jones feels “supported and welcomed” at Southeast. She loves the staff and the kids she has met. She trav-els on a cart, making her one of South-east’s many nomadic teachers. She tries to maintain a positive attitude and do the best job she can.

Cassandra HeitzigKATIE BAER / A&E Editor

Cassandra Heitzig is a new teacher on staff here at Southeast. She teaches Al-gebra 335, 135, and 134. She went to Jerseyville High School and University of Illinois in Depaul. This is her first teaching job, although she has done some tutoring

at Sylvan Learning Center and River For-est, as well as teaching children how to swim. She decided to teach because she loves working with kids and her mother was a teacher. When she was younger she wanted to be “a nurse or a babysitter, something with kids.” She enjoys teach-ing at the high school level because she feels it’s more independent. She says that she enjoys teaching here because the stu-dents are unique and the administration in focused on succeeding.

She first heard about teaching here from Madame Harmon, the French teacher. She applied for the position of Algebra teacher and liked it right off the bat.

“The school is pretty diverse and every-one’s really high energy here. And there’s definitely a lot of school spirit that you don’t see at other schools,” Ms. Heitzig said.

She thinks the students here are interest-ing and she enjoys building relationships with them.

Ruby LatifSAMANTHA LEWIS / Illustrator

Mrs. Ruby Latif teaches English 234, speech and drama. This is her first year of teaching. She decided to teach at South-east because of the students and the at-mosphere. She also believes that she will grow at the school.

She teaches English to juniors and speech and drama to all grade levels. Her favor-ite part of teaching is interacting with the students in class.

Her experience at Southeast has been full of ups and downs, but it has been marvel-ous. Mrs. Latif went to high school and college in Pakistan. She came to the U.S. and went to U.I.S. and Lincoln Land.

She is married and has three kids. She is a positive person who likes to learn and is physically active, very determined, en-ergized and ambitious. She does not like negative thinking. Mrs. Latif feels that this is the place for her to be.

Kelly SchultzMARY SENGER / Editor-in-Chief

Mrs. Kelly Schultz is Southeast’s new at-tendance office secretary. She enters calls from parents, answers phone calls, tracks in-houses and suspensions and parent and student interaction. After having heard many good things about Southeast

students, faculty and staff, Mrs. Schultz thought it would be a great environment to work in. Mrs. Schultz’s first job was a babysitter and Southeast is the first high school she has worked at. Mrs. Schultz attended Pawnee High School, Lincoln Land Community College and Benedic-tine University.

The fast paced environment and working with students, staff and faculty are her favorite parts of the job. As a child, she wanted to be a stay-at -home mom and have 10 kids. She has two daughters, Elizabeth, 10, and Madison, six.

“I am a wife, daughter, grand-daughter, great granddaughter, mother, sister, and friend to many; my life revolves around my daughters and my family,” Mrs. Schul-tz said.

She finds the students here to be very in-teresting and loves Southeast. Everyone has made her feel very welcome. She has been working for the district since August of last year.

Todd ZentefisMARY SENGER / Editor-in-Chief

Mr. Tod Zentefis teaches special educa-tion inclusion, science of the physical world, biology and geometry.

“I love teaching, and love the idea of lev-eling the playing field to allow all students

equal access to information and neces-sary lesson concepts,” he said.

Mr. Zentefis’s went to Barrington High School and later Southern Illinois Uni-versity in Carbondale. His first teaching job was at Carbondale Community High School where he taught government. As a child, he wanted to be a Jamaican bob-sled team member. However, he encoun-tered the problem of not being Jamaican, he said.

Mr. Zentefis finds that the camaraderie between faculty, staff and administrators is “one awesome aspect that sets [South-east] apart from other schools.” His fa-vorite thing about Southeast, though, is the dedicated faculty because they care about students’ general welfare as well as academic.

“My wife and my thoughts for my future children [inspire me],” he said. “I want to be the best dad and I want to be doing the best I can right now.”

Justin BentleyLAUREN ALLEN / Sports Editor

Mr. Justin Bentley teaches both science of the physical world and biology 134 at Southeast. He teaches freshman, soph-mores, and juniors. This is his first teach-ing job since his graduation from UIS in 2010. He majored in chemistry and a mi-nored in secondary education.

Since being at Southeast he has discov-ered that the students “at times don’t ap-ply themselves as much as they could,” Mr. Bentley said.

As a child, Mr. Bentley wanted to become a veterinarian because he wanted to be able to help animals.

“I like animals,” he said.

For his high school career he went to Lanphier High School and graduated in 1999. While in high school, he received his first car at the age of 16, which was a 1985 Cutless Sierra.

“Man, I loved that car,” he said.

In high school he would have put himself in the “smart jock” category because he was a smart student and was a wrestler. At this time he met his wife.

The two high school sweethearts got mar-ried in 2004 and now have two daughters named Lyla and Ryenne.

Of all the crazy things that Mr. Bentley has done in his life, the one that he chose to tell was his adventures of white water raft-ing in Australia.

Outside of Southeast, Mr. Bentley en-joys watching his favorite television show Smallville. Mr. Bentley also engages him-self in dodge ball tournaments, snow-boarding and paintball.

Kim JohnsonBRITNEY HECK / Staff Reporter

Kim Johnson spent the last 3 years teach-ing English at Jefferson Middle School, so she thought it would be interesting to teach something different. She teaches special education biology, secondary work training and modified P.E.

As a child, she always wanted to be a spe-cial education teacher, because her mom was one as well.

She loves southeast because it has great students and staff and a fun atmosphere. She loves to have fun, hates to be bored, and loves the GreenBay packers. She at-tended Illinois State University in Bloom-ington/Normal. Go Redbirds!

Her favorite part of teaching is when stu-dents get excited about what they are learning. She also likes when she sees a student understanding something that they previously thought was too difficult.

Boys tennis! JERRY ROBINSON Staff Reporter

Calling all male tennis players. Tennis season is back in session for all that want to come out and support the Southeast Spartans tennis team. We need many boys to come and try out for your personal ranking. We go to competitions and compete in finals in state every year at Washington Park. Head coach Mr. Stoddardt and assistant coach Mr. Davis will teach you the skills needed to be a pro tennis player. Come on out and show your Southeast tennis spirit.

LAUREN ALLENSports Editor Cameron Jones, a Harlem Globetrotter, came to Southeast as an aid for special ed. Mr. Jones came to Southeast because there was an open position and it was a “better change.” Mr. Jones has been throughout all of Dis-trict 186 and has been to all grade levels, but mainly prefers elementary and high school. “Elementary students are inno-cent, middle school students have too many hormones, and high school students are more mature,” he said. Mr. Jones is currently living in Springfield and mainly picked Springfield because he finished his last year of college at Robert

-Sports-

FAITH MIDDLETONAssistant A&E Editor

Blue Crew has leapt into the stands of Southeast sporting events. What many do not know is the method behind the “madness.” Justice Collins, sophomore class president and founder of the Blue Crew, had something to say about the topic. “I hate Springfield, and they always win,” Justice said. The spirited group cheers in the stands of volleyball and basketball games. While some audience members and athletes may have been distracted by this, much feedback has been posi-tive. “In the past, there hasn’t been a core group of students with much school spirit and it’s great to have a group,” said Ms. Streeb.

to find alternative uses for the indus-trial adhesive, from bracelets to entire outfits. The traditional Blue and Gold Day that was scheduled for Friday did not take place since bad weather led to a district-wide school cancellation.

“It was fun to see all the creative outfits,” said senior Evan Wilson, who stated his favorite day of Spirit Week was Duct Tape Day.

The basketball tournament itself began on Thursday, January 20 at the Prairie Capitol Convention Center. A pep rally was held Thursday afternoon at Southeast to energize students for the games. Southeast played in the second game at 8:00 each night of the tourna-ment.

MARCI STEVENSONFeatures Editor

The annual City Tournament for boys basketball took place from Thursday, Janu-ary 20 to Saturday, January 22.

Festivities began at Southeast on Tuesday, January 18 with the first day of Spirit Week. Students were encouraged to dress up each day according to themes that had been previously announced. Tuesday was Celebrity Day. Students could dress up as a celebrity or well-known figure they resembled or admired. Wednesday saw the arrival of “senators,” “lions” and “cyclones” in celebration of Dress Like You’re From Another High School Day. Thursday’s Duct Tape Day invited students

Courtesy of Sean Milburn

Morris earning a busi-ness degree. As a child, Mr. Jones wanted to become a police officer since he was fascinated by them, but realized that it was not for him. Mr. Jones got his start in the Harlem Globe-trotters by contacting one of his old high school friends who happened to be on the team. This is his first year on the team and he has “enjoyed” it. His advice to high school students is, “Make sure you finish strong because you never get another chance.”

Also, he had advice for students who would like to become a future Harlem Globetrotter. “Make sure that it’s some-thing that you really want and make sure you don’t mind traveling a lot,” he said.

Spartans sweep City

Spotlight: Hoop, here he is

The first game of the tournament saw a Lanphier victory of 71-63 over Sacred Heart-Griffin. Southeast won the second game 73-59 against Springfield. Fri-day night’s games ended similarly, with Lanphier beating Springfield 76-71 and Southeast taking their own victory against Sacred Heart-Griffin at 60-53. SHG took third place Saturday night, winning against Springfield 51-42. The City title went to Southeast for going undefeated in the tournament, winning against Lanphier 67-55 in the final game.

“It was a lot of fun. It’s

great that we won,” said sophomore Jes-sica Massey.

Springfield and SHG did not walk away empty-handed, however. The two schools tied for both the Spirit of Giving Award and the Sportsmanship Award.

Blue crew?

KATIE BAER A&E Editor

You take a break from playing a sport and take a swig of your sports drink. It has everything you need to stay hydrated, right? Not all sports drinks have what you need in them. Since sports drinks were made about 40 years ago, they have been de-signed to do three things: prevent dehydration, replace electrolytes and provide carbohydrates. A lot of sports drinks are packed with sugar and have benefits for the body, like Gatorade and Powerade. The amount of sugar and carbohydrates is only good for an athlete. It is too much sugar for the average person. Sports drinks do not hydrate bet-ter than water, but some are most likely to drink more of it. You can get a carbo-hydrate boost from sports drinks, plus electrolytes you lose while sweating, but these drinks usually have lower calories than juice or soda. They can help with muscle recovery and soreness, prevent-ing dehydration and providing stamina and increased endurance during strenuous exercise. So, when it comes to finding out the best way to hydrate yourself and keep yourself healthy after a workout, you should read the labels. Look for the things you need in a sports drink.

It has electrolytes!

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Photos by Mary Senger & Dave Heinzel

Varsity Boys BasketBall schedule

Friday 2/4...6:00PM@ Jacksonville High School

Saturday 2/5...5:00PM v. Rochester High School

Saturday 2/12...5:00PM v. Champaign Central High School

Friday 2/18...6:00PM v. Jacksonville High School

Friday 2/25...6:00PM v. Taylorville High School

Come out and support our team!

Opinion

SAMANTHA LEWISStaff Illustrator

Hey, girls of Southeast! Have you ever wondered what your other half thinks about you? Here’s your chance to find out. Some guys believe that girls are spoiled and way too emotional to deal with. Some even think that they have their own language. According to an article on parenting.com, girls have a fussier fashion sense and a bigger capacity to hold grudges than guys do. Females are also people-oriented, so they are very good at reading nonverbal signals like facial ex-pressions or tone of voice. From an early age, girls seem to be better at sharing feel-ings and observing details. Parenting.com also says that women are less confident, more insecure and more nurturing. If you are wondering what the male population of our school has to say, then listen up. They “cause drama,” said Ian Jones, junior. Dylan Lowder, junior, said that girls have “attitudes.”

MARCI STEVENSONFeatures Editor

One of the most frequent com-plaints accompanying winter storms is the hassle it causes for transportation. Trac-tion decreases and the chance of finding oneself in an accident goes up. The added stress can seem even more burdensome to high schoolers who drive themselves to school, sometimes to the point where students would rather see school canceled than have to risk the roads. But is taking a snow day for bad driving conditions really worth it? Those in favor of canceling school when the “going gets tough” say it is a matter of safety. According to Autos.com, teen drivers are four times as likely to get into a car accident, and icy roads only heighten the odds. “I’ve swerved before and it’s really scary,” said senior Amanda Dodd. There are other factors to consider, however. School cancellations affect the entire school district. Parents of elemen-tary schoolers might have to stay home from work. Students from low-income families might not have access to meals without school-provided breakfasts and lunches. “You can always just hop on the bus,” said senior Rachel Pasko. While driving on icy roads is risky, there are alternatives such as taking the bus or having a parent drive. Overall, education is more important and driving conditions alone should not be a reason to cancel school.

FAITH MIDDLETONAssistant A&E Editor “O’er the land of the free...” The last echo of these words haunt events all over America. The ques-tion has been posed: do these words hold true? America is viewed as a free country. There are amendments that pre-vent laws being made that censor speech and press. Written rights are abundant compared to those of other countries. The infrastructure allows citizens to look at each other as equals. However, some dis-agree with the assumption that America is as free as it seems. “If this country is as free as everyone says it is, I am a duck,” sopho-more Jordan Stelivan said. “And I can fly.” Seeing as Southeast does not enroll ducks, not everyone agrees that America is truly free.

Freedom? Not all the guys had bad things to say about girls. According to Clifton Jones, junior, they are “very special.” For all the boys out there, don’t worry; the girls also have a few things to say about you. Actually, you should worry because a lot of girls think that you’re overprotective, annoying and very stubborn. On parenting.com, it is said that guys are impulsive, rambunctious and aggressive. Unlike girls, guys are more action-oriented than people-oriented. That means that guys are natural risk-takers and are less verbal, so they have trouble connecting their feelings with words. “They don’t think before they act,” said junior Treynika Knighton. Mrs. Fields said that they are “one-dimensional,” and they have a “one- track mind.” “Men. You can’t live without ‘em, can’t kill ‘em. J.K!” said math teacher Mrs. Kincaid. She then went on to say that men are “more honest.” They can be when they want to. When all is said and done, we end with a question. Who really is the winner in this battle?

MARY SENGEREditor in Chief Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was published in 1884. Written by Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, it was a controversial book for the time due to its sympathies with African-American slaves. Today, it is controversial for the exact opposite reason – people fear that it will offend African-Americans. In order to prevent alienation of students from the text, Mark Twain schol-ar Alan Gribben of Auburn University did the unthinkable and changed the “N” word to “slave” in his revision, which combines Huck Finn with The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Few people support the revision. “I think that literature needs to

reach future generations and that it “al-lows for a more comfortable read.” This is not a good reason to change a book. Huck Finn clearly is an anti-racist book. Students old enough to read the book should be old enough to

appreciate the theme. Literature is a win-dow into the reality of past times. Twain did not use that word to offend people – he used it because it was the real word that was used for African-Americans during and prior to his time. Many other books

have offensive terms that are not cen-sored, but are still taught in schools. Word choice is important to an author. We would not be reading Mark Twain today if he had been censored. “Great literature exists for a reason in its original state,” said literature teacher Ms. Jeczalik.

be left alone. If that’s the way he wrote it, that’s the way it needs to be read,” Mr. Harrison, a Southeast literature teacher, said. Many other Southeast literature teachers share this sentiment. “I certainly can understand why the author wanted to try to create the revision to bring the book Huckleberry Finn back into students’ lives,” literature teacher Mrs. Holton said. “It’s impossible to under-stand his anti-racist theme if there is no blatant racism in the story.” “I think [the “N” word] is necessary to the book,” junior Razeak Jackson-Morgan said. A supporting viewpoint was not found at Southeast, but some people in the United States do agree with it. One re-porter for the Texas Christian University, Jessica Peterson, wrote in an online article that the revision would allow the book to

Battle of the sexes: boys v. girls

What’s in a word?

“The growth of government is constantly infringing on people’s liberties in the name of societal engineering,” so-cial studies teacher Mr. Andy Volpert said. In order for a “perfect” society to be reached in the eyes of government, various rights and freedoms that are legal to exercise are shoved down, scolded and henceforth viewed as improper. How the U.S.A. measures up to other countries in this category is a topic in and of itself. “[America is free] compared with Communist countries, maybe, but getting less and less free with or by choice,” main office secretary Cheri Dalton said.

Ice-Road Drivers

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Everyone wants to be respected. It is a human right to be respected by our fellow human – when we deserve it. Many people have begun to demand respect where no respect is earned. Due to their own self-infla-tion, they believe that everyone should respect them. This is becoming a problem. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind, just as only giving respect when one receives it will re-sult in an extremely disrespectful world. Someone has to give. More respect will be earned by being the first to give respect. Aside from the aspect of personal opinions, treating people with respect is also important. More and more, students feel compelled to talk when others are talking, especially teachers. It seems that students feel that their conversations are more important than school. That may be the case, but that does not excuse talking while a teacher is talking. That is an unforgive-able form of rudeness. No one likes to be ignored or talked over, so why do people continuously do it to each other?

Hallway civility is in massive decline. Students who do not walk on the right side of the hallway still tromp through as if they have every right and reason to be walking there and tend to be aggressive toward the people who are walking on the correct side. People no longer say “Excuse me” when squeezing through tight spaces, or “Sorry” when they bump into people. Yet, many of these people that are doing the bumping are the ones that become aggressive when bumped. The world is becoming a wholly negative place. Minor incidents like this have a butterfly affect over the world. A small, insignificant scowl at another student may cause someone to have a horrible day due to the domino effect. If we want the world to continue like this, then we can continue demanding respect without offering it, be-ing rude and walking around like we own the place. If we want to change the world for the better, then we can bring back some civility. Windows Staff

Editorial: R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Arts & Entertainment

Animation started out as nothing more than a series of unmoving frames on things like bowls and murals from thousands of years ago. The first flip book was patented in 1868 by John Barnes Linnet, yet again bringing us closer to animation. It wasn’t until Charles-Émile Reynaud created an animation system using a device called Théâtre Optique, which was like a film projector to showcase his animation of 500 frames, that animations as we know them came into being. The first animated feature film was El Apóstol, made in 1917 by Quirino Cristiani from Argentina, although it has been lost since. The earliest-surviv-ing animated feature is the silhouette-animated Ad-ventures of Prince Achmed from 1926. Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is often con-sidered to be the first feature length animated film, while in actuality, at least eight others were released before that. Stop-motion was another step forward to animation. For those who don’t know, stop-motion is the process of taking a physical object, photograph-ing it, moving it slightly and photographing it again. Repeating the process produces this type of anima-tion. The first example of stop-motion animation was the 1899 short film called The Humpty Dumpty Circus. Many films today such as The Nightmare before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach are examples of stop-motion animation. The next revolution in animation came in the form of Computer Generated Images (CGI.) The first animation to use CGI was Toy Story. It was still very tedious at the time, given the use of 3D modeling. More films using CGI have been produced, such as Up and the Shrek series. Animation still seems to be advancing before our eyes, so we may be pleasantly surprised at what’s to come. And with its beginnings and recent advances, it is safe to say that animation will be around to entertain for a long time.

Animation: A History

KATIE BAER A&E Editor

The Hunger Games, a novel written by Suzanne Collins, is a highly intense and suspenseful book that has gripped many enthusiastic readers since its publication in 2008. By the time I had finished the first chapter, I was seized by its compelling story line and engaging characters. Set in the dystopian society created after the destruction of North America, the story opens introducing the main character, Katniss Everdeen, as she volunteers for the annual Hunger Games in the place of her younger sister. The Hunger Games is a largely advertised and widely viewed fear tactic The Capitol holds, forcing 24 children between the ages of 12 and 18 to participate. The children are locked in a vast, but isolated, natural environment where weapons, limited food and limited water are supplied. In order to leave the arena alive, every other “tribute” must be dead. In order to survive, Katniss must be able to find food, water and shelter, while having to deal with the conflict of whether or not to kill the other tributes as a pawn to The Capitol, on top of her emotional confusion with the other tribute from her district, Peeta Mellark. If there is any problem with this book, it is that it is geared toward the young adult audiences, but the story is very graphic, containing scenes that are fairly disturbing. Overall, The Hunger Games is a fantastic, enthralling book that is sure to have you at the end of your seat before you reach chapter two. Everything from the characters to the plot, the writing to the setting, exceeds my expectations. I would give the novel 5/5, gauging it to be an excellent read.

SEAN MILBURN Staff Reporter

What is motion gaming? To put it simply, it means playing a game without a controller, instead using body movements. There are three well-known motion gaming devices - the PlayStation Move for the PS3, Ki-nect for Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii. The Kinect for Xbox 360 is a motion bar that plugs into the Xbox 360 console. Instead of using a con-troller to play a game, the Kinect reads body movements with its sensor, so the players act as the controllers. Kinect has its ups, like no more sore hands from holding a con-troller and a futuristic menu system. It also has its downs,

Wii like to Move and Kinect

Book review: The Hunger GamesTOREY ELKINSpecial Correspondent

When I got to Kiku, they sat me down at the sushi bar right away. It was cool because I got to watch them make my dinner. I had the seafood soba udon with shrimp, scallop, imitation crab and vegetables. I also ordered Hotate Gai (scallop), Kanl Kama (crab stick) and asparagus sashimi. Before my food came, they brought out Tamago (egg) sashimi and a seaweed salad. The salad had a very unique taste to it. I loved my meal and the service was great when compared to similar venues. I was so stuffed by the time the waiter brought me the check. The total cost of the meal was around $22 plus tax. I recommend eating at Kiku whenever you’re in the mood for something different.

FOOD FIGHT! A review of Kiku

SAMANTHA LEWIS JESSE NELSONStaff Illustrator Opinion Editor

Fine dinning is somewhat of a rarity in Springfield. However, some eateries do their best to serve unique foods at fair prices. Kiku Japanese Seafood and Steak House Grill is one such place. While not the place for a calm relaxing evening, the available Hibachi grill makes for an entertaining spectacle. Their chefs are trained not only to produce outstanding food, but also to do so directly in front of the patrons in a reasonably short amount of time. Hibachi is not the only option available, however; they also have an extensive sushi bar and a specialty sushi chef who will specially prepare any sushi not on the menu. Over all it is a tasty experience and an excit-ing meal, if you can fit the bill.

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GENNY ELKINAssistant News Editor

A musical sensation is coming to the Southeast stage in the form of an educational spectacle of timeless tunes that will surely rock the schoolhouse. Southeast’s choral director, Tiffany Williams hopes “this is a show the entire school can enjoy.” A take on a children’s show from the 1970s, Schoolhouse Rock Live is the story of a new teacher who, while starting his career with a good attitude, quickly loses hope as he is faced with an unruly pack of beasts where his students ought to be. Disheartened, he returns home and falls asleep in front of the television, Schoolhouse Rock and its medley of classics playing on the screen before him. Soon, he is overtaken by dreams and he meets the various characters in the musical show. During his exploits, he finds ways to effective-ly teach his student as well as learning about himself. Lessons will not go unlearned in the audience either, as each song imparts a lesson about subjects such as gram-mar, government and math, enlightening the young and delighting the old. “Incorporating music and learning brings out the kid in all of us,” Mrs. Williams said. “I like Schoolhouse Rock; I think it will be fun for the kids to come and see. I’ve seen the movie. It’s pretty catchy,” said show choir student and senior Emma Fredrick. Starring the Southeast choir, Schoolhouse Rock Live will be featured in the auditorium on May 20 and 21.

Rocking the schoolhouse

for example, the price of the Kinect is $150 without any add-ons. When one takes a look at the Nintendo Wii, they see that its controllers follow hand movements. Like the Kinect, the Wii has its pros and cons. One of the pros for Wii is that the controllers are easy to use for all ages. On the flip side, the online play is somewhat questionable because players constantly have to enter Friend Codes in order to play online with a friend. Last is the PlayStation Move for PS3. In order to play, a Move controller and a PS3 Eye camera are needed. With this system, one has games made for both kids and older gamers. On the other hand, there’s a lot to set up to get started and it will be hard to get used to.

V. V.