December #2 2011 Issue

page theROYAL Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011 Volume 30 Issue 4www.royalpage.org

Dealing with diabetes (P. 8) - C-Spread

Art curriculum undergoes review (P. 2) - News

The case for auditing classes (P. 5) - Opinion

LMPM rocks Hollidazle (P. 7) - Variety

Students learn unspoken language (P. 12) - Feature

Rodgers returns to HHS (P. 14) - Sports

inside the RP

Athletes navigate tough sports dietsJason Showers and Sarah UngermanSports Editors

A New York Times article from 1997 called amateur wres-tling “perhaps the simplest and purest of all sports.”

That same year, three experienced, well-trained collegiate wrestlers died over a six week period. Their autopsy reports all listed “strenuous weight loss activities” as leading to their deaths.

All had been on experimental weight loss supplements, were training in rubber “heat suits” in sauna like temperatures to shed water-weight, and were barely eating or drinking. They all shared similar goals: lose 21 pounds (or more) over a three week period to make a certain weight class.

In contrast, during his swimming training for the 2008 Olym-pics, 14-time gold medalist Michael Phelps ate up to 8,000 calories a day. During an interview with the New York Post in that year, Phelps described his average breakfast as including “three sandwich-es of fried eggs, cheese, lettuce, tomato, fried onions, and mayon-naise, a five-egg omelet, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast with powdered sugar, and three chocolate-chip pancakes.”

This diet was necessary to support his rigorous training regimen in which he burned upwards of 1,000 calories an hour, according to Ms. Leslie Bonci, University of Pittsburgh Director of Sports Nutri-tion, in a WebMD health news article.

Sports dieting, specifically in the fields of wrestling and swim-ming, has become increasingly specialized to keep up with standards required in these sports today. At HHS, athletes are taking their nutrition seriously and using an educated approach, according to players and coaches.

Jake Price, senior captain of the wrestling team, is familiar with the struggles of fasting for his sport. At the time this was written, Price weighed approximately 125 pounds. He hopes to wrestle in the 113-pound weight class by the beginning of January.

Price has been wrestling since age six and his body has become accustomed to drastic weight changes over short periods of time. Still, he acknowledged that there is a certain degree of caution re-quired when cutting weight.

“It has to be done the right way,” Price said. “I have seen guys go two or three days without really eating or drinking anything, and that is terrible for you. If you just stop eating, that’s dangerous and really unhealthy; I still eat three meals a day and even have snacks.”

“I just make sure that I adjust my diet to include foods that help with weight loss. I focus on a lot of fresh fruits, vegetables, and com-plex carbs, and completely cut fast food, pop, sugars, really anything processed or junky. The worst part of cutting weight is resisting the urge to eat or drink something you shouldn’t, but that helps develop discipline, which is one of the best parts of wrestling,” he said.

Price has had ample support for his weight-loss goals in terms of home-cooked guidance from his father and wrestling coach, Mr. Al Price, Physical Education. Coach Price is an assistant on the wres-tling team staff and has been helping Jake and other wrestlers with their diet and nutrition for many years.

- SPORTS DIETS continued on page 13

Since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan, the coun-try and its people, have been caught in the cross� re of violent con� ict. And for two years, Mr. Mark Peterson,

Hall Para, called it home.“One of the first days when we went out to the firing range

for weapons training local kids came to watch us. I think their parents sent them. After we had finished, they would come down and gather the brass shell casings from the rounds we had fired so that they could bring them home and melt them down for money. They were at the firing range every time we were,” Peterson said. “I was always afraid that they would get hurt.”

Keeping us safe at home and abroad

Peterson began his career as a Minnesota State Trooper and as Minnesota State Highway Patrol Academy Director, train-ing, examining, and teaching recruits. Peterson retired in March, 2009, after 25 years of service with the State Highway Patrol.

After retiring, Peterson was offered a job by a defense com-pany to work as a contractor in Afghanistan. Peterson accepted the offer and soon left for Virginia to receive weapons and med-ical training as well as a cultural overview of Afghanistan.

Two months later, Peterson and 12 other contractors arrived in Afghanistan at a desolate Kabul International Airport on a day "none of us smiled," Peterson said. Shortly thereafter, Peter-son was stationed at a forward operating base (FOB) in Gardez, the capital of the mountainous Pakita province in Afghanistan.

Patrick GallagherStaff Reporter

Left: Peterson in his gear in Afghanistan. Top: Afghan police trained by Peterson visit with Afghan villagers. Bottom left: Peterson (second from right) with Col. Raz Mohammed of the ANP (to Peterson’s left), Mohammed’s second-in-command (to Mohammed’s left), and two German soldiers (far left and far right). Bottom right: Peterson hands out supplies to Afghan kids.

- PETERSON continued on page 10

home and abroad

Left: Peterson in his gear in Afghanistan. Top: Afghan police trained by Peterson visit with Afghan villagers. Bottom left: Peterson (second from right) with Col. Raz Mohammed of the ANP (to Peterson’s left), Mohammed’s second-in-command (to Mohammed’s left), and two German soldiers (far left and far right). Bottom right: Peterson hands out supplies to Afghan kids.

Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011RPThursday, Dec. 22, 2011thenews2

Art curriculum going under review for changes Josh GallopStaff Reporter

Pledge of Allegiance reinstated in HHS classroomsTaylor LeeStaff Reporter

Although art has been a strong part in culture for mil-lions of year, the way it is done at Hopkins could soon change.

The Hopkins School Dis-trict is at the beginning of a four-year process reviewing and revising the art curriculum. Year one will involve information gathering and in-depth research done by the entire Hopkins School district art staff and school board.

During the following three years, the school board and art staff plan to take action, begin-ning with a community survey next year as a process of phase two. After studying the results of the surveys the board and art staff will come up with changes. In year three, they will do a trial of those changes, and in year four the trials that are success-ful will be permanently imple-mented.

One thing the school board is trying to accomplish with this art review is making the depart-ment filled with more technolo-gy. “For kids, technology is art,” said Ms. Ellen Dustman, school board director, during the Dec. 1 school board meeting.

As the Hopkins School Dis-trict becomes more technologi-cally advanced, so does the art department. All nine teachers in the district have their power-points uploaded to one moodle site for all of them. As of now, four of the nine teachers use

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2. 3.Photos by Josh Gallop

1. Although art hours are shortened in elementary, some students continue at HHS. Paintings reveal their talent.

In Mr. Vin Paolucci’s Mon-day Advisory, there is no flag, but when the PA system comes on Monday morning, Paoluc-ci stands up and says, “Hey! Pledge time!” The students rise with him to face the television and recite the Pledge of Alle-giance.

Classrooms participate in saying the Pledge of Allegiance, whether everyone stands or only part of the class stands. “I don’t think twice about standing, it’s just the respectful thing to do,” said Abby Larsen, senior.

Back when HHS had Royal Links, the Pledge was said, but it wasn’t until this year that the school put it back into action.

In other classrooms, how-ever, not everyone stands. In Mr. Robert Fuhr’s, Technol-ogy Education, classroom, only most of the kids stand. “I re-spect their right not to stand, but I don’t understand why they wouldn’t,” Fuhr said.“By stand-ing and saying the Pledge, it is just one small gesture of thanks for those who serve our coun-try.”

Saying the Pledge of Al-legiance is viewed as a contro-

versial issue, especially in public schools, since there is a collec-tion of students who don’t share common values. “I don’t stand during the Pledge because I feel it is an outdated sign of patrio-tism due to such sayings such as ‘One nation, under God’ be-cause there are many people that don’t identify with a ‘god’,” said Matt Sinderson, senior.

“The phrase ‘under God’ has more than one meaning, it is translated to mean that you can worship whatever divine pres-ence you wish,” said Mr. Mark Peterson, Hall Para, who an-nounces the Pledge. “It also rec-

ognizes each state individually, as well as the nation collectively, not to exclude anyone,” he said.

In HHS, there are exchange students who do not say the Pledge. “As a sign of respect, I have been taught to stand, but not to place my hand on my heart or say the Pledge,” said Ana Gastaldi, senior, an ex-change student from Brazil.

The fact that not everyone stands doesn’t bother some teachers. “Saying [the Pledge] is an opportunity; if it were mandated it would be hypocrit-ical to what the Pledge stands for,” said Mr. Douglas Dart,

Language Arts. “We have a liberty not to say the Pledge.”

“I’m not that fond of say-ing [the Pledge]. I don’t think by not saying it that makes you any less of a good person,” said Mr. Don Habel, Science. “I don’t stress saying the Pledge because when you go back to the words of it, we have our own choice to say it or not.”

Some classrooms do not have a flag in them, leaving students to find somewhere else to face.

“Historically, American classrooms have had an Amer-ican flag in each classroom and

it wasn’t recently that that has changed,” said Mr. Tom Klein, Social Studies. “However, there is no precedent for having a flag. In America we celebrate diver-sity, and the history behind the flag is part of the tradition we have to honor America.”

“If we think carefully about the countries who don’t have freedom, we can say thank you, America,” Fuhr said.

“I enjoy doing it, I enjoy edu-cating people and helping them realize that men and women are serving us to make sure we enjoy the freedoms that we participate in,” Peterson said.

smartboards, and the school district would like to see all nine using them soon, Sandy Merry, district Fine Arts Coordinator told the school board.

Marlee Krietzman, senior, has an idea to incorporate tech-nology into art. “I would like to see new technology allowing us to computerize our thoughts such as sketching on a comput-er. That way we wouldn’t have to waste paper,” she said.

Not everyone agrees that the review should lead Hopkins to more technology within the art curriculum. “Kids take our classes to do something hands on, not with a computer,” said Ms. Terry Chamberlin, Art De-partment Chair at HHS.

Chamberlin does not cur-rently use a smart board. She has tried using one before but said she does not believe they apply well with art.

Changes Chamberlin would like to see include reduction in class sizes and mandatory art classes reinstated and returned to their old length at the el-ementary and junior high level. “Art is very intense, it requires a one-on-one teaching process and is more successful with smaller classes,” Chamberlin said.

Art is no longer a required subject for seventh and eighth graders, and this year only 56 students chose to participate in it as an elective. The art period for elementary level students has shortened from one hour

to 45 minutes. The elementary art teachers must be conserva-tive with their expenses, as they receive only $4.50 per student from the district.

The review will result in changes to the curriculum to accommodate less time in the art room at the elementary and junior high level. The program for elementary art that is be-ing used now was developed 30 years ago.

At that time, the first grad-ers studied Hopi Indians, and in return the students made Hopi pots in art class. Students no longer study the Hopi Indi-ans, yet, due to the unchanging art curriculum, the pots are still made.

“Women are not repre-sented well enough in the cur-rent curriculum seeing that students learn primarily about male artists,” Merry told the school board. Changes to the art program may also include integrating it to more modern times, and becoming more in-clusive of women, minorities , and other cultures.

“I think art is important because it lets kids use differ-ent parts of their intelligence: observing, problem solving, critical thinking, and creating,” Chamberlin said.

For some students at HHS, art is one of the subjects that is most important to them. “For me, art is a break in the day to express myself, it’s therapeutic,” Krietzman said.

2. Students create ceramic pieces on potting wheels at HHS. Elementary students create Hopi pots in art class. 3. Art portraits created by students. These may be more tecnologically-orienteted if the art curriculum changes.

Monday Advisory provides time to recite state-mandated Pledge each week, participation is optional

RPThursday, Dec. 22, 2011the news

Junior high financial literacy courses prepare students

2.

3Homecoming incidents inspire students to work togetherJack WernerStaff Reporter

Staff ReporterChandler Luhowskyj

Due to increasing economic pressure, students are being urged earlier and earlier to learn how to spend wisely and how to properly save their money. In an attempt to further educate stu-dents about financial literacy, the Hopkins School District has made it mandatory for all future freshman and seniors to enroll in a financial literacy class.

“Being enrolled in a financial literacy class would help me a lot in the future,” said Alec De-witz, junior. “I know what the concept of a budget is but I don’t know how to completely man-age one,” Dewitz later added during a phone call.

The students will first take a basic financial literacy class and later on, during their senior year, enroll in a more in-depth class.

Hopkins is the first district throughout the whole state of Minnesota to make financial lit-eracy a course requirement. The course idea was first brought up at a board meeting in 2008. At this meeting, the committee

gathered a list of what they be-lieved HHS students should be prepared for prior to graduation time, being financially literate was one of these.

Other important factors in-cluded college readiness, 21st century skills, and increased foreign language requirements. This requirement will impact between 600-700 freshman each year depending on the class size.

These same freshman will then take an in-depth personal finance course in either their ju-nior or senior year. “Therefore, each year roughly 1,200-1,400 students will be learning about the topic of financial literacy,” said Mr. Jesse Theirl, Business Department.

“At the freshman level the class meets every other day for a total of roughly 21 days, it’s more about concepts such as decision making, budgeting, in-surance, credit, savings, and in-vesting,” Theirl said. Properly creating and managing a budget will be taught through these courses, teaching them how to

save money later in life.In a 2008 Charles Schwab

“Parents and Money” survey re-sults showed that out of 1,000 parents with teenagers polled, only 34 percent of the parents taught their children how to properly balance a checkbook. “I feel like [my parents] taught the basics of financial literacy, but there’s probably a lot more I should know, taking a course would be helpful,” said Maddie Malat, sophomore.

According to a recent HHS survey of 132 students, only 24 percent would consider them-selves “very” financially liter-ate. An even larger amount of students would consider them-selves to be “not very” with the majority of them believing that they are “some what”.

Once students reach senior year, they will learn more about picking a career and preparing for that career. On top of that, students will also be using their previous knowledge learned from the freshman course and be placed in a variety of situa-tions to test that knowledge.

Genocide survivor visits HHSSpecial ContributorAli Freie

News of the fight at this year’s homecoming football game spread throughout the student body. Much less publi-cized, though, was what the stu-dents have done afterward.

Upon getting together, the students decided to do more than just let the incident go.

“It started from our media-tion process,” said Mr. Terrall Lewis, equity and integration specialist and director of the project. “We did a group media-tion, and from that we wanted to do some project based learn-ing.”

“We came to a mutual con-sensus to not just resolve the problem, but to do something about it and step forward with it,” said Eli Fhima, senior. The group is currently making plans for a fundraiser show during Black History Month in Febru-ary.

Quinn Duke, senior, is in-

corporating his anti-bullying campaign into the project. He sees the problems that led to the fight and bullying as similar is-sues.

Duke describes his cam-paign, called “We’re All In This Together” or W.A.I.T.T., as “anti-bullying that speaks to our generation in a different way.”

The campaign started with a video, entitled “The Gist of It...” telling the story of Duke’s expe-riences as a victim of bullying. Duke hopes to eventually cre-ate a comprehensive program. “We’re trying to make a pro-gram that we can do at other schools, it is not just for our school,” Duke said.

Duke hopes to spread his campaign on a national and possibly even global scale. Al-ready, Duke’s video has been shown to students at Gatewood.

Other portions of the show and project are still be-ing planned. The group hopes to incorporate a variety of per-

formance types into the show. “Some kids are planning a play, some movies, and some music,” Fhima said.

As for goals of this project, Lewis stated a desire for stu-dents to understand each other’s backgrounds. “Our goals are to increase awareness, to cre-ate a safe space and forum for students to not just talk about who they are and where they came from, but to talk about why that’s important and to cre-ate something useful from these discussions,” Lewis said.

Fhima echoed similar sen-timents, also bringing up the role racism played in the fight. “I want African American and Jewish people to understand that we came from rough back-grounds. We’re both oppressed and have similarities. Instead of working against one another, it sounds cliche, but I want us to work together to make the world a better place,” Fhima said.

Carl Wilkens had a choice to make: the choice to stay in his home and help save lives during the Rwanda genocide, or save his own life.

“The story of Rwanda needs to be told,” Wilkens said.

He resigned from his job four years ago to travel around the world to speak about his experiences. Wilkens came to speak to HHS on Dec. 5, 2011.

Ms. Felicia Homberger, Language Arts, played a large role in organizing this event. “I was planning on showing a movie clip from Hotel Rwanda on the day Carl came. So it was an amazing opportunity to have a person who experienced the genocide instead,” Homberger said.

Wilkens recognizes the importance of a war that took place over a decade ago because similar wars are still happening today.

“I had no idea what that choice would do in changing my life,” Wilkins said.

The war was fought when the Hutu majority attempted to eliminate the Tutsi minority in Rwanda.

“The only difference be-tween these two people were the label on their ID cards. People assume they hated each other, but they married each other; why would people marry the ones they hate?” Wilkens said.

Wilkens remained the only American left in Rwanda dur-ing the genocide, which took nearly 1 million lives, because he refused to leave.

When the killers came to his gate, he was thankful of his Hutu women neighbors who defended him by telling stories. “Simply, their children played with our children,” he said. That was all it took.

“I believe stories have the potential to change how we

think, how we feel, but can they change how we act is the ques-tion,” Wilkens said.

So many people realized whats going on, felt sorry, but they did nothing about it.

“I believed my presence could make a difference,” Wilkens said.

While Wilkens was there he made a difference by supplying water and other things to the orphans, preventing the massa-cre of hundreds of children over the course of the genocide.

“The idea of risking my life for others was based on rela-tionships with the people not the logic, there is not logical ex-planation for staying,” Wilkens said.

After the genocide, Wilkens said he still believes “people should not be defined by the stupid things they do.”

“We can not accept the un-acceptable,” he said. “Our anger and frustration can be changed into action.”

RPThursday, Dec. 22, 2011 theopinion 4

Charles Isaac Bank is a staff reporter for the Royal Page

Editorials are the collective opinion of the Royal Page editorial board

Chuck’s tips for HHSAs we approach New

Years and come to think about ways we can improve ourselves in the coming

year, I have thought about what I can do to better not only myself,

but the environment around me. An idea came creeping into the fur-

thest most reaches of my subconscious. In the coming year, I will commit myself to improving the underclassmen here at HHS by imparting my words of schol-arly wisdom unto them.

I’ll save you all the advice that I’m sure you’ve heard a million times like, “just get your homework in on time” and “stay classy Hopkins”, which, even though are extremely, important we hear it almost everyday. I’m looking to em-bolden you with some new knowledge.

The great entity to which we swarm every day, HHS, has graced us with 30 minutes of lunch.

I’m just pointing this out because a lot of students, even seniors, seemingly believe there is only ten minutes of lunch because after that the lunchroom emp-ties out faster than my bowels after eat-ing Chinese food, leaving me to sit there eating alone for the duration of lunch. So please, utilize the entire 30 minutes given to us and don’t leave me by myself.

One good pointer I’ve learned is to Dodge, Dip, Duck, Dive, and Dodge. This is extremely useful when playing dodge ball but also when navigating the mall during passing time or when Kris Humphries decides to drop by.

Also, mark Omelet Day on your calendar well in advance. If you do not rush down to the cafeteria on Omelet Day, you might need more than those 30 minutes to get one.

Another tip I’ve learned is that you should attend the sporting events here at HHS. All of them from the ever popular basketball and football games, to even a softball game or two. I promise you that all of them are fun, or you can make them fun, ask some of the Girls Soccer Super Fans from this past year.

Also, if you’re even close to the same level of baller that I am (ask around, I ball real hard, all niked up), then try your hand at some intramural basketball. If you’re not that much of a baller and you get intimitated by even thinking about posting up on me, join one of the many clubs or groups found here at HHS.

In summation, Dodge, Dip, Duck, Dive, and Dodge, keep up on the lunch menu, and get ballin.

CharlesBank

Discovering yourself in an ever transitioning twenty-first century

MonaOmar

When I was in elementary school, my teacher made me write a poem. It was a self reflecting poem titled the “I Am” poem. Aside from the Halloween parties and fre-

quent field trips we took, it was the most enjoyable and memorable piece of my el-ementary career.

If I were to attempt the same assignment today, after hours of reflection, I think the only ink you’d see on my paper would have been my name and the title.

We as humans are constantly evolving. We learn from our mistakes, and quite often it changes our views and perception because we learn a certain lesson. Therefore, its unpractical and unaccurate to answer this question firmly.

Not only are we unsure of tomorrow’s outcome, we are uncertain of how those results will shape us.

I am a long way from being eight years old. My wis-dom, judgement of people, and experiences changed so now I find it very hard to answer the question “who am I?”. It’s not that I don’t have the slightest clue, but that it’s difficult to sum myself up in few paragraphs.

The most challenging part is that the question “who am I?” is very broad and lacks clarity.

Whenever I see this ambiguous question on entrance exams and college applications, it often results in me won-dering “what do they mean?” I ask because I’m not entire-ly sure if I should describe my views, lifestyle, and beliefs, or if I should give a simple, straightforward answer.

The problem with the question “who am I” changes over time depending on the alternating answers one gives depending on their age. Who you were five years ago is significantly different from the person you are today.

Today we feel very confident of who we are but tomor-row is only a thought. People and events determine the way we preceive oursel

For instance, the start of my poem when I was eight went along the lines of “I am kind, funny, and talkative.” Although I still carry those traits today (I think), it’s fair to say that my description of myself today is far more elaborate than they were nine years ago.

A general answer to the question “who am I ?” would be that I am torn between my Somali heritage and my American upbringing. However, a refined answer would be, I am Somali by blood, Pakistani by family refugee, American by upbringing, and curious by nature.

I have a strong need for adventure, excitement, and novelty. I don’t wary of new things, and tend to stay away from the the tried-and-true. Yet, my description does not describe who I am.

What I came to learn is that, we as humans, will never be able to answer this question fully. We are only capable of answering in the present.

Editorial: Schools should teach healthy habitsChildhood obesity has more than

tripled in the past 30 years. Accord-ing to Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2008, more than 1/3 of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.

For either case, there may be other factors aside from poor eating habits that contribute to this weight gain amongst teens.

Schools have an impact on their students’ health. By providing stu-dents with time for recess, healthy food choices, and a safe and stable environment, they can create a health-friendly environment encour-aging children to stay in good physi-cal shape.

However, when we leave school, we have the freedom to snack on whatever we can find in the cup-boards, so establishing a bountiful knowledge of good health and physi-cal activity is important.

This is especially beneficial as we grow older and our metabolism’s speed decreases.

Our District has adopted the national Physical Education stan-dards and uses their suggestions to base their benchmarks on, along

with guidelines from the Minnesota Quality Teaching Network. These Phy. Ed classes provide students with a time for physical activity that is beneficial for their health in addi-tion to instilling good eating habits. However, we believe requiring it more in high school, even in all grade levels, would be helpful and benefi-cial for students.

Currently, our District requires Phy. Ed throughout elementary school along with administering the FitnessGram health-related fitness test to students in grades 4–8 and 10, but how likely is it that a ten year old will put forth the effort and actually utilize the things they learned in Phy. Ed class? Not likely.

When Phy. Ed classes aren’t re-quired, but rather they are just an elective option, it is hard for the older students who are more school-focused to gather the motivation to do adequate exercising.

If students are not required to participate in Phy. Ed classes, some may feel that it is not needed and put all of their focus on school rather than their health. The pressure from teachers, parents, and peers to suc-

ceed in classes may outweigh their desire to get physically fit.

Participating in Phy. Ed classes, especially in high school when a student is more likely to understand and utilize the things that they learn, helps students gain knowledge and skills that they need to engage in lifelong physical activity.

This comes into play especially during the college years. Most col-leges and universities provide stu-dents with “meal passes,” allowing them very easy access to food at nearly anytime. Having a more re-cent knowledge of physical educa-tion would aid these students in es-tablishing beneficial choices.

In 2004, only 5.8 percent of se-nior high schools required daily Phy. Ed or its equivalent for the entire school year for students in all grades in the school.

If statistics like that continuously become more popular, it will become increasingly harder for students to carry on beneficial, healthy habits.

@theroyalpageOn Twitter?

Mona Abdulle Omar is the Opinion Editor of the Royal Page

Cartoon by Liena Hamza

RPThursday, Dec. 22, 2011 5the opinion

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Supreme Court

Fab 5 (JJ’s intramural Team) v. Varsity Basketball

Tebow v. Heathens

HHS v. Adidas

Marcus Levesseur v. a pack of lions (He’d win, easy)

Nike v. Swaggerless Donkeys

Tall English teacher Mr. Williams with glasses v. tall English teacher Mr. Wil-liams with glasses

Youakim v. Clippers v. Chris Paul

Mr. Swenson v. 100 tiny sophomores

10 : opT9

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cases

Hall Paras v. Ice Cream Cones

Mankind v. Nickelback

The deeper meaning of the sounds around us

Elijah Moses Fhima is a sta� reporter for the Royal Page

Ryan Benjamin Levi is an Editor-in-Chief of the Royal Page

Universally speaking, everyone loves music. Music is an artistic way of expressing emotions, ideas, and beliefs. Music has no face or guide-lines, it’s just music.

Your story in life might deter-mine what music you listen

to. If you just got sentenced to prison, I doubt Bach or Michael Buble will be on your playlist. On the other hand, if you lack hardships in your life, the music that appeals to you might be more laidback. “My favorite artist is Wiz Khalifa, be-cause of his carefree lyricism that I can relate to,” said Ian Cochran, senior.

As far as lyrics go, I find that the most pow-erful artists have lyrics that connect to people’s emotions and experiences. “The artist that I admire the most is Jack White (The White Stripes). I can relate to the lyrics ‘I’ve been thinkin’ about my doorbell. When ya’ gonna’ ring it, When ya’ gonna’ ring it?’ He’s talking about any given relationship and that feeling of wait-ing for someone to come back around for you, ” said Nick Eagon, senior. I am always striving to expand my music taste. I started out listen-ing to The Spice Girls and No Doubt when I was five, now I listen to everything and anything that I can relate to. Although, I prefer music that makes me think about the lyricism. Therefore, I

can listen to the same song 2,000 times and on the 2,001 time I can elicit a new meaning out of the song that I never did before.

However, some music is really hard for me to get into. For example, I never feel the need to wild out to heavy metal music, but some find the beauty in it. “I love heavy metal music. It is a positive message in a dark form. I love the contrast.” said Ben Mallonee, senior.

It just so happens that my favorite artists come from Minneapolis. I think my bond with Minneapolis has enabled me to relate to artists from Minneapolis. I was born, raised, and cur-rently live in Minneapolis, so artists like Atmo-sphere, P.O.S., Lifter Puller, and Prince I find really easy to relate to.

I went through my pretentious-poser stage where I thought that the music I listened to was the cream of the crop. But, the more and more I see people rapping Lil’ Waynes’ clever simil-ies, humming Lady Gaga’s seductive melodies, screaming to AFI’s sinister lyricsism, or vibin’ out to Skrillexs’ distorted baselines, I understand that we all have a different story and we all strive for something we can relate to.

Elijah Fhima

How to return the joy of learning to schoolEver since we got off the bus on our first

morning of kindergarten, we have been told that school and learning are one in the same.

But when I think about those words, I see two very different things.

For me, learning has always been the enjoy-able gaining of knowledge on interesting sub-jects, whether that’s the ABCs or the role of

Rasputin in the lead up to the Russian Revolution. School, on the other hand, has come to represent the constant struggle to maintain consciousness in classes while doing a satisfactory level of work to achieve a desired grade.

We have become professional students as opposed to profes-sional learners, focusing so much on test scores and GPAs that we lose sight of the fun part of school: learning.

All of you teachers can exhale now. This article is not about getting rid of the grading system. Instead, I am proposing a small change I believe would help return the joy of learning to the school day.

I would like to see seniors who are on pace to graduate given the option to audit (take a class without receiving a grade) one Ad-vanced Placement or Honors class per semester. Students would participate fully in the class with the exception that they would not

have to take tests nor would they receive a grade for the class, instead receiving a “credit/no credit” grade similar to a student who acts as a TA. Auditing students would enter into a contract stating that they will be an active participant or face being dropped from the class.

I am confident that an audit system like this would solve many problems I have seen at our school.

For one, it would encourage more students to take challenging courses in their senior year. People always complain that seniors don’t take hard classes, but If they knew that they could take an advanced class in a subject that interested them without having to worry about what grade they would get, I think there would be a lot of interest.

Also, an audit system would allow seniors who chose not to take a higher level class as a sophomore or junior for fear of getting a poor grade to go back and take those more advanced courses. For ex-ample, a lot of sophomores and juniors choose not to take AP social studies classes because they are worried about not doing well in the class and hurting their GPA. If there was an audit system, a student who took World Studies as a junior but is interested in European history could, as a senior, audit AP European History without hav-ing to worry about their grade.

Finally, and I think most importantly, an audit system would place the emphasis back on learning for the sake of learning. If I’m

listening to a lecture about a topic I’m going to be tested on, I’m focused on taking notes and trying to figure what’s most likely to be on the exam. If I don’t have to worry about a test, I can focus solely on the teacher and their lecture and learning about the topic.

After talking to several teachers and students, I am sure that an audit system like this would be well received by staff and students alike. The logistics of instituting this type of system, however, could present a serious roadblock to its adoption.

Class sizes are already at record highs, especially in AP courses, and adding auditors could raise those numbers even higher. I would suggest only allowing auditors in classes that have 35 credit-earning students or fewer registered.

The other problem would be how to handle the scheduling if classes are available for auditing. My solution would be to allow ju-niors to register for senior classes as an auditor and fill out an ap-plication covering why they would like to audit that specific class. Then, space permitting, teachers would review the applications and choose which students they would like to allow to audit their class.

I really believe that most students who say they hate school, hate the tests and stress that come with grades, as opposed to hating the act of learning. I think that most kids truly enjoy learning, and an audit system would allow them to learn more.

Ryan Levi

Would you audit advanced classes if you were given

the opportunity?

Go to royalpage.org to vote in our poll

Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011 Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011 RPthevariety6

Red Stag Supper Club eating eco-friendlySonja MuusWeb Czar

Tables for people to sit at, a bar, an open kitch-en, waitresses serving, and hosts seating custom-ers, these are all things that a customer would see upon entering the Red Stag Supper Club, making it seem like any other restaurant.

This restaurant, however, is not like any other. It is a restaurant that is completely focused on be-ing environmentally friendly.

Located in Northeast Minneapolis, the Red Stag Supper Club opened on Nov. 19, 2007 as the first restaurant in Minnesota considered to be “Leading in Energy and Environmental Design” (LEED). In order to receive this title, a LEED building must be constructed using mainly re-claimed materials and focus on the use of highly energy efficient design.

The materials used in constructing this restau-rant are mainly refurbished, including a bar that was reclaimed from an old time restaurant. The building itself used to be a warehouse.

Its dim lighting and red walls with wood ac-cents add to a relaxed mood that the Red Stag Supper Club creates. The waitresses wear red and black giving the restaurant a slightly edgier look.

Besides re-using old materials, the Red Stag Supper Club also serves organic food, conserves resources and composts wastes.

By choosing to be environmentally friendly, the restaurant uses 70 percent less water and 50 percent less energy than an average restaurant. The entire building is lit using LED lights which use 90 percent less electricity.

The Red Stag Supper Club has also joined with other local companies including Barbette

and Bryant Lake Bowl, both located in Minne-apolis, to promote environmental causes.

Environmental reasons are not the only rea-son the Red Stag Supper Club joins with local companies. They also buy their food from 14 lo-cal farms including Fischer Family Farms, Star Prairie Trout Farm, and Pastures a Plenty among others.

The Red Stag Supper Club also hosts lo-cal musicians. The upcoming schedule includes James Wallace on Monday, Dec. 26.

This restaurant offers a variety of menus de-pending on the time of day including brunch, lunch, dinner, hors d’oeuvres, Friday fish fry, and cakes.

Brunch and lunch prices range from $6 to $16, dinner prices range from $3 to $27, and hors d’oeuvre prices range from $1.50 to $3.25. Cakes are $30 for a 6 inch cake serving 4-6 people and $45 for a 10 inch cake serving 7-14 people.

The Red Stag Supper Club also hosts events including cheap date night on Tuesdays, offering a bottle of wine, two entrees, and a dessert for only $32.

They also host a yearly block party support-ing environmentally friendly practices. There is no cost to attend. This block party is considered to be a “no waste” event and includes live music.

The restaurant has odd hours, staying open very late into the night. So late that they offer “late night snacks” as a part of their menu. It is open Monday - Friday 11 am - 2 am and Saturday and Sunday 9 am - 2 am. There is also free park-ing on the side of the building.

The Red Stag Supper Club is the perfect place to eat for a consumer seeking a quality meal with-out leaving a large ecological footprint.

Jingle Ball fails to ring the jingle bells of the audienceUrsula ArhartStaff Reporter

Every year, thousands of “tweens” pack the Target Center in Minneapolis with their energy and lust for boy bands at Jingle Ball. The concert put on by radio station KDWB is the event of the year for mainstream bands and solo artists. This year, the lineup was especially heavy on said boy bands, but there were a few black sheep groups that didn’t quite fit.

Four plus hours of music may sound like heaven to some, but with nearly two accumulative hours of stage set-up between acts, this concert re-ally kept the audience waiting. Far too much time was spent on setting up the stage lay out, leaving the music acts short.

Foster the People, an Indie-pop band from California, was the first band to perform. Playing only three songs, they still provided a passionate energy that fed the crowd and acted as a nice warm up. Starting with semi-popular “Helena Beat” and ending with an extended remix of radio-sensation “Pumped Up Kicks” Foster the People also created variety and excitement in their set.

Next in line was the ever cliché, Hot Chelle Rae, sons of Nashville songwriters. Their songs may be cute and catchy, but there is nothing im-pressive about a quartet of grown men referring to their fans as “beautiful freaks”. The moves were too choreographed –– especially the hand waving and clapping –– and the choruses were repetitive with generic lyrics.

Nickelodeon stars, Big Time Rush (BTR), put on an extra choreographed and pampered perfor-mance; lyrics and music getting lost in their seem-ingly important appearances. It became clear that their looks and over staged performance was much more important than their songs and voices. BTR was the ultra-boy band with matching outfits and pristine hair.

Cobra Starship, New York originating synth-pop band, began with an ode to themselves, play-ing off of the famous chant “We Will Rock You” and changing it to “Cobra Starship.” Lead Gabe Saporta’s ego filled the arena while he strutted around stage, but his band sounded solid around him. Victoria Asher’s vocals meshed well with Cobra’s decent, clubby rhythms, and this group kept the crowd amped up.

A mesh between alternative hip-hop and rock, Gym Class Heroes was a bit nostalgic for this generation opening with their 2005 hit “Cupid’s Chokehold.” Travie McCoy proved to the audi-ence that he still has his talent and kept it real. The guest performer, Neon Hitch, may have been a bit provocative in her act and dress for this audience, but she added an original voice and sound to the concert.

Displaying smooth dance moves and a strong voice, Jason Derulo gave high energy and dance club feel. His four back-up dancers were also skilled and prepared, but there was something missing without a band. Also, Derulo only sang

and danced to a tape, leaving some verses unsung and played on the recording.

Headliner and original American Idol, Kelly Clarkson was the last performance of the night. Performing her powerful classics, she stayed true to herself with her signature, raspy voice. Clarkson ended the night on a strong note, demonstrating that she hasn’t lost her skill.

Minneapolis Jingle Ball 2011 had a bit of a different lineup from previous years, catering to a varied audience and relating to every part of the crowd. From hipsters, to teenyboppers, to Ameri-can Idol fans, there was something for everybody in attendance.

Photos by Mike Newcomer

Top left: The hostess area at the entrance of the restaurant. Top right: A stag located on the outside of the entrance to the restaurant. Bottom left: One of the restaurant’s daily flat bread pizzas. Bottom right: The restaurant’s french fries seasoned with parmesan cheese.

“Foster the People was my favorite. I didn’t think Mark Foster’s voice was as good live, but it was.

They were sick,” said Annette Leach, junior.

“Kelly Clarkson was my favorite. I knew her songs, so I could sing along. I also liked how she would talk in between her songs,” said Mickela

Heilicher, sophomore.

RPThursday, Dec. 22, 2011 the variety7

Red Stag Supper Club eating eco-friendly

Jingle Ball fails to ring the jingle bells of the audience

LMPM marching into the holiday seasonKatie CeraVariety Editor

Along with the approaching holiday season comes cold weather, causing many people to stay inside. However, a group of HHS students chose to brave the winter temperatures.

The school’s pep band, the Lean Mean Per-formance Machine (LMPM), performed in the Holidazzle parade on Dec. 15. LMPM had over 60 members marching in the parade this year. “We arrived at school around 4:15 and took our two buses to the hotel,” said Rachel Dieter, senior and drum major of LMPM.

“[At the hotel] about 38 of us got little toy sol-dier costumes with lights going down the sides,” said Samantha McCarroll-Hyne, senior and alto saxophone player. “The rest of us had to be in all black.”

The Holidazzle started at 6:30 p.m. on Nicol-let Mall going from 12 Street to 14 Street. “It is a short route which is good, ” said Mr. Kyle Miller, Music Department and director of LMPM.

“Once we finished the route, we got loaded in shuttles, which are city buses, and the shuttles take us back to the hotel,” Dieter said.

“We got back to school at around 8:30,” Mc-Carroll-Hyne said.

Every year the pep band plays in the Holidaz-zle, they play a traditional holiday tune, Jingle Bell Rock. LMPM polished and memorized the song

Tumbling into social networkBridget BennettStaff Reporter

“Twitter is getting worse and worse, just like facebook #darnshame” tweets @max_E95, Max Engler, junior. With users growing more dis-pleased with their current social networking sites, who knows where will they turn to next.

Turning back to MySpace could be cool and less mainstream. Twitter is another option. Al-though, an alternative site that is growing in pop-ularity not only at HHS, but across the world wide web, is Tumblr.

The point of a social networking site is to be able to connect with people, and most important-ly, connect with friends and acquaintances. But Tumblr is different, and that is the glory of it.

Tumblr defines itself as “millions of people sharing the things they do, find, love, think, or create.” It’s a place where people can host their own blog for free and post, rant, write, share what-ever the user pleases, whenever they like. This site makes it easy for users to share their own original works of art by posting, or that of others by re-blogging.

“I use it as a way of discovering a lot of differ-ent things. I have found out about a lot of artists and cool websites though tumblr,” said Maddy Hinck, junior.

Through the discovering of new interests, it is also a place where one can come across others that share those interests. It is a “community of really

nerdy people; it’s pretty great,” said Skyler Dorr, senior. Dorr embraces the people on Tumblr that share interests that he has, that many others that he personally knows do not.

Most don’t see Tumblr turning into the “new” social networking site. Most users only know a fraction of the people they follow and that follow them. Therefore, it cannot replace the function that the current popular social networking sites, like Facebook, have such as being a tool to connect with friends and acquaintances.

Dorr and Hinck both state that they only know a handful of the people that they follow, and that follow them, on tumblr. “I follow 322 people, and only know personally about 10 to 15 of them,” Dorr said.

Tumblr becoming more main stream is actu-ally a worry of many of the current bloggers that use it. “I am concerned that it is becoming popu-lar... and worried that the content is going to be changing because of all the new people joining,” Hinck said.

“It wouldn’t be the same if everyone else used it,” Dorr said.

As its users only know such a small fraction of their followers, tumblr does not look that it could completely replace other social networking sites like Facebook.

Facebook states that they have over 800 mil-lion active users, over 20 times the amount of Tumblr blogs, which tops out around 36 million users.

before the night of the Holidazzle. “Tradition is a big reason to do it [play in Holidazzle],” Miller said. “It is good exposure for our band and school.”

The replaying of the song is broken up by cadences played by the drum line. “The cadenc-es are a lot more technical [for drum line] than the LMPM songs,” said Liam Doyle, senior and member of the drum line.

It isn’t only the musicians that get cold during the parade route; the instruments were impacted by the cold weather as well. “It can be tough; cold instruments play very flat,” Miller said. “Drum heads can loosen up.”

“We get kazoos in case our instruments stop working,” McCarroll-Hyne said.

“[For brass players] buzzing their lips on a very cold instrument can be difficult,” Miller said.

Before the actual night of the parade, LMPM took things outside. “We had a special practice where we rehearsed outside marching,” Dieter said.

“During our Thursday rehearsal we were only outside for about ten minutes. It was so cold that by the end of the song, I knew what notes to play, but I couldn’t feel what fingers were moving,” Mc-Carroll-Hyne said.

“It is physically harder to move our hands; it is so cold,” Dieter said.

Even though it was a cold night LMPM got a lot out of the evening. “The recognition from the people watching the parade; that is the most fun,”

Miller said.“It is a great opportunity to be with friends

and play fantastic music,” said Gabe Daitzchman, sophomore and alto saxophone player.

“LMPM is the most visible part of the band department. How we play and how we portray our band represents our music department and school as a whole,” Dieter said.

Photo by Naomi BorowskyLMPM practice their marching in the evening of Thursday Dec. 8 around the bus loop.

Mathews was first diagnosed with type 1 diabetes the summer after sixth grade when she went to her physical exam required for junior high school. “Because it was softball season, we didn’t really look into why I had been feeling tired and weak,” Mathews said.

At the doctor’s appointment, Mathews’ pediatrician ended up sending her to Children’s Hospital for tests to determine if she had diabetes. “There was a lot of waiting that day... do I have it? Do I not have it?” Mathews said.

To manage her diabetes, Mathews uses an insulin pump, which is a medical device used to give the body insulin. “I test my blood sugar 3-4 times daily with my meter and I use a pump. It’s not a big deal to use it at lunch, I usu-ally just do it under the table,” Mathews said. Once every three months, she goes to a doctor who is a specialist in diabetes.

Diabetics need to pay close attention to the food they eat. “There’s a misconception that people with type 1 dia-betes can’t eat certain things. I could eat a piece of cake, I would just have to give myself more insulin,” Mathews said.

HHS students with diabetes can take advantage of programs specifically for teens experiencing the same thing. Mathews attends a YMCA camp on the St. Croix River called Camp Needlepoint. “Everyone thinks I sew, but really it’s a camp for diabetic kids,” Mathews said.

Mathews has been involved with Camp Needlepoint for the last five years, originally a camper and now a coun-selor. “It’s cool because it’s just a normal camp, but everyone is diabetic. We all test our blood sugar before meals, and a doctor comes in the mornings,” Mathews said.

“For younger kids who don’t know diabetic people at home, they come to camp and see that there are other people just like them,” Mathews said.

Amy Mathews, senior

Tim Amlie, Technology Education, is pre-diabetes, meaning he does not have diabetes but as he gets older, he has a chance of developing type 2 diabetes.

“I was diagnosed with high blood sugar six years ago, and I’m trying to keep a full diagnosis of diabetes away as long as possible by being cautious now,” Amlie said.

“I used to have a huge glass of orange juice every morning, which has a lot of sugar in it, and I was always tired at work. Taking that glass of orange juice out of my diet has helped me have more energy,” Amlie said.

By making subtle changes like buying sugar-free products, Amlie is able to prevent type 2 diabetes for the time being. “Watch your sugar and carbs. Carbs turn into sugar,” Amlie said.

Amlie checks his blood sugar a couple times a week to make sure it is not too high or too low. “You get to know your system, and things make sense. If I eat pizza one night, and I feel bad in the morning, I know I blew it last night,” Amlie said.

Although many people who develop diabetes are overweight, this is not true for everyone. “Type 2 diabetes can happen to anyone. It typically happens to people who are obese, and I’m not obese,” Amlie said.

Tim Amlie, Technology Education

Seth Gellman, senior, knows the exact date on which he was diagnosed with diabetes, Feb. 27, 2003. After experiencing trouble sleeping, a dry mouth, and extreme thirst, a family friend who was a pediatrician suggested that he could have diabetes. “The day it began was tough,” Gellman said.

Gellman manages his diabetes by checking his sugar levels and giving himself insulin with a needle injection.“I check my blood sugar four to five times a day. People might ask or watch, but of course it’s not something to be embarrassed about,” Gellman said.

When physically active, it is especially important for diabetics to be aware of their sugar level. “When I played baseball, if my blood sugar would get too low, I would just take a break between innings,” Gellman said.

“Friends generally know that I have diabetes and will check to see how I’m doing,” Gellman said.

“Diabetes is a part of my life. I try not to let it affect me. I just take care of it like it’s another thing I need to do.”

Seth Gellman, senior

Dealing With Diabetes

While most teens rush from one thing to the next - classes, homework assignments, sports, jobs, and social events - some students manage all of that on top of dealing with a chronic illness. “Diabetes is not super crazy, but it’s just crazy enough that it really does affect my life,” said Amy Mathews, senior.

Although it is challenging, diabetes does not keep HHS students from achieving their highest goals.

Left: Amy Mathews, senior, checks her blood sugar level at school.Above: Matthews pricks her pinky to check her blood sugar level.

Photos by Mike Newcomer

Brianna Carter, sophomore, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the beginning of seventh grade, which is later than when most are diagnosed. Carter takes insulin with a needle injection every time she eats, except when the food does not have much sugar.

“When the bell rings for lunch, I just go to the bathroom with my friend and check my blood,” Carter said. Carter gives herself insulin before she goes to bed so that her glucose stays at a normal level during the night.

There is no way to know that a classmate has diabetes just by looking at them. “Most people are shocked when I tell them I have diabetes because you can’t tell,” Carter said.

Brianna Carter, sophomore

Seth Gellman, senior, knows the exact date on which he was diagnosed with diabetes, Feb. 27, 2003. After experiencing trouble sleeping, a dry mouth, and extreme thirst, a family friend who was a pediatrician suggested that he could have diabetes. “The day it began was tough,” Gellman said.

Gellman manages his diabetes by checking his sugar levels and giving himself insulin with a needle injection.“I check my blood sugar four to five times a day. People might ask or watch, but of course it’s not something to be embarrassed about,” Gellman said.

When physically active, it is especially important for diabetics to be aware of their sugar level. “When I played baseball, if my blood sugar would get too low, I would just take a break between innings,” Gellman said.

“Friends generally know that I have diabetes and will check to see how I’m doing,” Gellman said.

“Diabetes is a part of my life. I try not to let it affect me. I just take care of it like it’s another thing I need to do.”

Seth Gellman, senior

Dealing With Diabetes

While most teens rush from one thing to the next - classes, homework assignments, sports, jobs, and social events - some students manage all of that on top of dealing with a chronic illness. “Diabetes is not super crazy, but it’s just crazy enough that it really does a� ect my life,” said Amy Mathews, senior.

Although it is challenging, diabetes does not keep HHS students from achieving their highest goals.

DefinitionInsulin is what helps the body to metabolize sugar. In type 1 diabetes, the body stops producing insulin, which is extremely problematic because the body can’t metabo-lize sugar without it. This results in a high sugar level, which can be deadly.

StatisticOnly 5 percent of people with diabetes have type 1

At HHS15 students

What HHS is doing“By the time they get to the high school, I want students with type 1 diabetes to be as independent as they can be. If their blood sugar is ever too high or too low, or they have other questions about day to day management, they can come to me. I am their support and resource person,” said Ms. Bobbi Pointer, School Nurse.

CauseThe cause of type 1 diabetes is unknown, however genet-ics may play a role in the process.

DefinitionWhen someone has type 2 diabetes, their body is either unable to produce insulin or ignores the available insulin.

What HHS is doingEating healthy and exercising are the major ways to maintain a healthy weight and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. HHS helps students maintain a healthy weight. “At Hopkins, the lunch room food options for students are the best,” Pointer said.HHS also provides access for students to exercise at school. Students can become involved in school sports, use the resources at the Lindbergh Center, and take gym classes to stay healthy.

CauseBeing overweight is a big risk factor for type 2 diabetes. “They used to call type 2 diabetes ‘adult-onset,’ but with obesity rising, it’s become more common in teens,” Pointer said.

At HHSAt least 12 students

StatisticAccording to Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” program, the number of children with type 2 diabetes is increas-ing so much that if the problem is not solved, one third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives.

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 1 Diabetes

Staff ReporterNaomi Borowsky

Insulin is what helps the body to metabolize sugar. In type 1 diabetes, the body stops producing insulin, which

Bjorn Leach, junior, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was nine. His parents were in Sweden and he was staying with a friend. “I was extra tired and thirsty,” Leach said.

Leach manages his diabetes by testing his blood sugar every time he eats. “At school, I test my blood in class after lunch,” Leach said.

“If my blood sugar is too low, I eat more, and if it’s too high, I take more insulin,” Leach said. He finds that he needs to carry extra equipment to school to be prepared for his diabetes.

Because he has lived with it for so long, Leach has discov-ered how to keep his diabetes from affecting him too much.

Bjorn Leach, junior

Photo by Bridget Bennett

Right: Bjorn Leach, junior, checks his blood sugar level during school.

Brianna Carter, sophomore, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the beginning of seventh grade, which is later than when most are diagnosed. Carter takes insulin with a needle injection every time she eats, except when the food does not have much sugar.

“When the bell rings for lunch, I just go to the bathroom with my friend and check my blood,” Carter said. Carter gives herself insulin before she goes to bed so that her glucose stays at a normal level during the night.

There is no way to know that a classmate has diabetes just by looking at them. “Most people are shocked when I tell them I have diabetes because you can’t tell,” Carter said.

Brianna Carter, sophomore

RPthefeature10 Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011

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The Royal Page 2011-2012

PETERSON from page 1

Keeping us safe at home and abroadFor the next nine months, Peterson worked as a Sub-

ject Matter Supervisor, teaching a 16 week course at a U.S. military academy for local Afghan police (ANP). Using his experience from his time as director of the Minnesota State Highway Patrol Academy, Peterson created lesson plans and oversaw academy progress.

While at Gardez, Peterson worked alongside U.S .service men and women. “I was really amazed with how young they were and how responsibly they acted in the field,” Peterson said. “But when we returned to the FOB they were kids again.”

Peterson also worked with coalition servicemen from Germany, Poland, Australia, and the United Kingdom as well as Nepalese Gurkhas, and Romanian security con-tractors.

Peterson was constantly reminded of the danger that surrounded him. The FOB was encased by eight-foot

high cement sniper walls and razor wire further encircled by a mountainous landscape. “It wasn’t uncommon to en-counter mortar attacks while in the FOB,” Peterson said. “You never forgot that you were living in a war zone.”

One of the most incredible things for Peterson was his new students. “Village elders would send young men to us... when they arrived at the academy, they would hand us their paper work and say, ‘I’m 18,’” Peterson said. “We could tell just by looking though...there was no way in hell some of these kids were 18.”

Peterson also worked side by side with ANP in the field. “We would go on proactive patrol to local villages to meet with the village elders,” Peterson said, “We usually talked about local concerns as well as Taliban activity in the area.”

During these visits, Peterson often interacted with lo-cal children, giving them school supplies as well as Power Bars or water. “I did my best to make sure that the girls got some of what I was handing out because the boys

would try to steal it from them,” Peterson said.While in Afghanistan, Peterson became familiar with

some of the less savory aspects of Afghan culture. “Child labor and deprivation of women are alive and well in Af-ghanistan,” Peterson said.

After completing his two year tour in Afghanistan, Pe-terson returned home with the opportunity to retire; Pe-terson had no intentions of retiring, however. “[Retiring] is something that I don’t ever want to do... I will always have something to contribute,” Peterson said.

This attitude led Peterson to apply for a job as a hall para at HHS. “My wife and I moved into the Hopkins Public School District in the mid 80’s because we wanted our kids to go to a good public high school,” Peterson said. “I just wanted to give something back.”

“I have known [Mark] Peterson for a number of years,” said Ms. Anne Campbell, assistant principal. “His wealth of knowledge in safety and security made him a great ad-dition to our already outstanding hall para team.”

Schmid excels with business mindset Emily BuckStaff Reporter

Dan Schmid, senior, juggles three sports, multiple businesses, DECA, and high school. “I love being busy,” Schmid said. “If it was up to me, I would go out to dinner with someone every night of the week.”

One of Schmid’s business ventures is 50 Buck Tux. Run out of his house, 50 Buck Tux gets its name from Schmid’s stock of 50 tuxedos that he rents out at $50 a weekend. So far, Schmid has only rented his tuxedos out to his family, but he hopes to find customers at high school formal dances.

Because HHS has only one formal dance, prom, Schmid will market his tuxedos to other schools, like Minnetonka, that have more formals. Exactly how he plans to reach his customers is something Schmid is still figuring out.

During prom season last year, Schmid watched as his friends struggled with the high prices of renting a tuxedo. “Throughout prom it was sort of in the back of my mind. Men’s Warehouse was ripping people off,” Schmid said. “There’s a lot of people who would be thrilled to go to prom for the social reason but wouldn’t be thrilled to pay a lot of money.”

Then one night, Schmid was presented with an op-portunity. While searching for cuff links on Craigslist, he found someone selling 50 tuxedos. He bought them on a whim, and 50 Buck Tux was born.  

Along with his tuxedo business, Schmid owns an LLC, a Limited Liability Corporation, that takes care of lawns for bank owned houses. With the help of his brother or a friend, Schmid does the lawn work himself. Now, during winter, the workload for his LLC falls with the snow.

After noticing the price gap between used iPods on Amazon and Craigslist, Schmid saw another opportu-nity. Schmid buys iPods from the cheaper local market on Craiglist and then sells them used on Amazon for a higher price. A true businessman, Schmid used the 50 percent profit margin created by this venture to pay for his 50 tuxedos.

Schmid is also working on buying a house to rent out. Schmid will split the cost of the house with his dad and

use the money he earned in his lawn care business to pay for the down payment. After that, Schmid will need loans to pay for the rest.   

After buying the house, Schmid and his dad plan to get it ready for renting. “The first month will be crazy,” Schmid said. Together, they will tear down wallpaper, fix the roof, and take pictures in preparation.

Schmid has been interested in business, “forever,” he said with a chuckle. “Probably since before kindergarten.” One day during kindergarten, Schmid sat down with his parents and said, “Mom, I’m really good at cutting out paper hearts. I’m going to go sell them.”

Although the passion for business has always been there, Schmid says it wasn’t until ninth grade that he began to take it seriously. “Some people have a passion for baking or fashion,” Schmid said. “I have a passion for business.”

Schmid also joined DECA last year and with his partner, Jordan Walker, senior, won districts. “DECA has helped me to use my entrepreneurial skills in more of a corporate setting,” Schmid said. “It’ll be good for when I have to work for a company.”

According to Schmid, the hardest part of managing a business is managing the people involved. “It’s just not fun to tell people to do stuff, or to motivate them to do something they don’t want to do,” Schmid said. Another challenge he has found in running his business ventures is, “giving yourself enough credit, and being confident.”

Along with his business ventures and DECA, Schmid participates in three sports: football, wrestling, and la-crosse. To balance everything, Schmid doesn’t take school-work home. “I don’t do schoolwork at home, so school stays at school. I’m always using my time, in and out of school,” Schmid said.

Business doesn’t stop for school. During the day, Schmid keeps an Android tablet and his phone within reach to stay in contact and conduct research for his busi-nesses.

Schmid doesn’t have to look far for support. “My fam-ily is very open to my business ventures,” Schmid said.

When living in California, Schmid’s family owned and operated a balloon shop, and now, in Minnesota, Schmid’s parents are still engaged in business.

Photos provided by Dan Schmid

Above: Schmid sits on park bench as he takes his senior picture. Below: Schmid’s rack of rental suits in his basement.

Margaret StelznerSpecial Contributer

RPthe feature Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011

Horseback riding: fun passion, pastime Casey PaskoStaff Reporter

11

Taylor Jacobs, junior, has been riding hors-es since she was five years old. “I started riding because I loved horses from the moment I saw them,” Jacobs said.

Shira Zats, senior, is also an avid rider at Cen-ter Pointe Stables. Zats puts in about ten hours at the stables per week and five hours each day from May to Oct during the competition season. “I started horseback riding when I was six years old because I was too young for horse camp,” Zats said.

“In the show season it’s about 20 hours a week, and I get up at 3 a.m. I spend five hours getting ready to show in the morning in addition to wash-ing my horse and practicing patterns,” Jacobs said.

A great deal of a riders’ time goes into taking care of their horse. Dedicated riders develop a spe-cial bond with the animal, which beneficial during competitions.

“When my horse, Randy, hears my footsteps going to the stall he starts nickering like crazy. We are definitely a great pair,” Zats said. She has been training with the same horse since she started rid-ing, and has developed a unique relationship with him.

Jacobs owns three horses: Irish is her show horse, Daphne is her first horse, and Walker is her newest horse that is still being trained.

“I am the closest with Irish since I spend the most time with him, and I can always tell what he is thinking by his expressions and his eyes,” Jacobs said. “He is my best friend, no one understands me better.”

Angie Smith, junior, rides horses as well. “I was born into a family who horseback rides so I’ve been riding since I was little,” Smith said

Smith rides her horse, Kryp, four to five times a week, for two to three hours at a time. When-ever she isn’t riding, Smith cleans the barn, washes equipment, or helps out around the stables.

Smith, Jacobs, and Zats participate in three different types of riding: gaming, showing quarter horses, and saddle seat, respectively.

“Gaming consists of barrel racing, pole bend-ing, and jumping figure. I train all winter long for and then compete in the spring, summer and fall,” Smith said. Smith took up gaming because she found it more exciting than show jumping, her previous division.

“I show in quarter horse shows in Minnesota, and I hope to qualify for the world show in Okla-homa before I graduate,” Jacobs said. She will be

attending the All American Quarter Horse con-gress in October of 2012, the largest horse show in the world.

Jacobs placed all around second in state this year, and plans on taking first place next year.

Zats competes in one of the smaller divisions of horseback riding called Show Pleasure, a sub division of saddle seat.

“My favorite competition was my most recent

one where I won the championship class, and it was my last class as a junior exhibitioner,” Zats said.

Jacobs participated in one of her biggest shows ever this year, when she participated in horse shows at the Minnesota State Fair and won mul-tiple classes.

“When you win there you are supposed to do a victory lap, and it felt so amazing,” Jacobs said.

Photo provided by Taylor Jacobs

Angie Smith (left) and Taylor Jacobs (right), juniors, after a riding practice. Smith and Jacobs have been riding horses together for fun since they were five years old. They are both very passionate about riding.

Struggles in Rwanda lead Umutoni to America

Afsana Umutoni, only four at the time, walks home from school, alone in Rwanda 2001.

The school system that Umutoni attended in Rwanda allowed corporal punishment on the stu-dents. “On one occasion the teacher who was in charge of teaching us English told us to memorize the word “stop”, and recite it for her the next day. The next day came and unfortunately everyone in my first grade class couldn’t remember...The teacher was furious and everyone was to get ten lashes to their hand or bottom,” Umutoni said.

The basic needs a person has to survive were at bare minimum, for example schools, home life, and infrastructure. This, on top of the genocide

taking place, was not something Umutoni’s par-ents wanted their children growing up around, so they decided to come across the Atlantic to a fresh start in America.

Coming to America “was like one big adven-ture,” Umutoni said.

Rwanda is so different from America that ev-erything from the airport to the buildings were exciting to her.

Minnesota has become Umutoni’s home. “Minnesota and Hopkins in general are super ac-cepting, it feels like I belong,” Umutoni said.

Umutoni, now a sophomore, is glad she came to the United States when she did, but her family couldn’t all come across together. Umutoni’s par-ents had to come to America first to save up the money and then make a trip back to Rwanda to

get her. While America can be full of new promise and

opportunity, Umutoni said, “The move here sadly brought our family apart just a bit.”

Umutoni has gone back to Rwanda since the initial move. “It was like finding something you never thought had been lost,” Umutoni said. She doesn’t think she will ever move back though, due to the danger happening there.

Umutoni is only one of many students at HHS that moved to America from another country. Selamawit Shannon-Tamrat, senior, moved here from Wonji, Ethiopia in 2007. She had a hard time adjusting to America after living in such a different country for so long.

“Language was the hardest, and making friends,” Shannon-Tamrat said.

Shannon-Tamrat still calls Ethiopia home. She still has family back there, because when she came to America she was adopted.

“I love my family here so much, but it’s hard being away from my old friends and family,” Shannon-Tamrat said. She is considering moving back after she gets an education in the states.

Ms. Melissa Brooks, ELL, shed some light on how many foreign born students are at HHS. “We have 55 students in the ELL program right now, but approximately 175 foreign born students in the school,” Brooks said.

The diversity in the HHS community can be seen in the 13.9 percent of the population in Hop-kins, Minnesota that is foreign born. Minnesota receives about 1.2 percent of the foreign born ar-rivals to the country.

Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011RPthefeature12

Teaching an unspoken language at HHS Lucy OrensteinFeature Editor

Ms. Jenny Gough, World Language stands on a chair at the front of the classroom waving her arms while her students watch and write. This is how tests are given in the American Sign Lan-guage class (ASL).

Gough has been teaching ASL for eight years, but this is her first year teaching the class at HHS.

Gough was born unable to hear and sign lan-guage has been her principle means of communi-cation. “American Sign Language is my primary language and passion. I want hearing people to be more aware of our language and culture,” Gough said.

Gough’s passion and enthusiasm for sign lan-guage inspires her students. “My most memorable experience from teaching sign language was when a student of mine ended up becoming an ASL in-terpreter for a deaf community,” Gough said.

Gough hopes that more students will chose a career as an interpreter. “We need more qualified signers,” Gough said.

“I love how in this class we not only learn how to sign but also about the culture,” said Pheobe Cohen, sophomore in Gough’s class. “I never knew that people in the deaf community have their own traditions and special social gatherings,” Cohen said.

This is the first year level one is being offered to ninth graders at WJH and NJH. Gough loves it when her level one students show interest in

learning more signs by enrolling in level two and three classes.

Mr. Jamey Guille, World Language, teaches the upper level courses as well as level one. “I have been teaching at HHS for ten years and I will be teaching for many more years to come,” Guille said.

Unlike Gough, Guille’s impairment is not con-genital. “When I was two, I was diagnosed with Spinal Meningitis,” Guille said. Since then, he has been using hearing aids; he learned sign language in elementary school.

Guille shares Gough’s enthusiastic attitude about teaching sign language. “I love when kids ask me, ‘What is the sign for this?’ I like knowing that they really want to learn and are interested,” Guille said. “When I see 30 kids staring up at me, focused on my signing, it really makes me happy to be a teacher.”

According to Guille’s students, he incorporates many fun activities to teach the students sign lan-guage. “My favorite part of the class is when we play board games like Scrabble and Battleship,” said Drew Resig, junior in Guille’s level two class.

“At first I took this class because I thought it would be easy, but now I love it and want to be an interpreter in college,” Resig said.

Thanks to the efforts of Gough and Guille, 280 students are involved in the ASL program.

“I want to preserve this very unique language. Students are not familiar with this language and it’s very challenging for them, but I enjoy teaching students ASL,” Gough said.  

Learning to sign:A few letters to know

A S LHHS brings good karma

When students join the Good Karma Project, they take on a role of making a difference in the lives of people in the community. Three seniors started the club this year, and their efforts have already begun to make a difference in individuals’ lives through their community service projects.

The adviser of the club is Ms. Jennifer Heim-lich, Social Studies, and the starters and leaders are Anna Cich, Mari Fromstein, and Emily Buck, seniors. “Emily, Mari, and I had a lot of fun in Young Liberals Club last year and wanted to sort of keep that going,” Cich said.

“After talking to Hannah Borrowsky, the for-mer leader of Young Liberals Club, we got in-spired. We changed it to Good Karma Project so it wouldn’t seem so political. We thought we could have fun and do some really effective community service projects,” Cich said.

Earlier this year the girls put together a shoe drive through soles4souls. This Nashville-based charity gathers donated shoes, distributing them to people in order to give simple and practical aid to people hurting worldwide. “We are anticipating putting together a benefit concert in order to raise money to reduce teen homelessness,” Fromstein said.

The girls are putting a lot of focus on trying

Rachel AlterStaff Reporter to spread the word about the club, since it is new.

“We’ve had fun so far, but the more people we get the more of an impact our projects will make. I think that the issues we want to focus on are in-credibly important ones, so the more people the better,” Cich said.

The club meets once a week on Tuesday morn-ings at 7:15 a.m.  

The Good Karma Club has a group of people who regularly attend, which makes the club more engaging and exciting, according to the leaders. The girls have planned this school year filled with many volunteer projects that affect both the com-munity and people throughout the world. “Every-one that shows up is awesome, so the meetings have been fun so far and we’re really excited about the projects we’re planning,” Cich said.  

The girls want to get the message out to other students that giving back to the community can be fun.  They advertise the club through posters and a group on Facebook.

“My favorite part has been being able to meet new people that have tried the club. It is really cool to get to know other people who are willing to try something like this,” Fromstein said.  

“The students who are in the club are so gen-erous and have such warm hearts. They not only think about others in the school or community, but they think about others worldwide,” Heimlich said.

Above: Breanna Clark, senior, teaches a new sign to her younger sister Erin Clark, junior, for an upcoming test. Photo by Bridget Bennett

RPThursday, Dec. 22, 2011 the sports 13

Dedication to diet: there is a right and wrong way“We will never, ever tell a wrestler he must

make a certain weight class,” Coach Price said. “It’s always a personal choice. If an athlete does choose to try to lose weight to be a better compet-itor, our philosophy is that he does it the right way and for the right reasons. There is a good cycle and a bad cycle.”

According to Coach Price, the “good cycle” in-volves fueling the body with food to have energy for working out, exercising to burn more calories than taken in, getting hungry, and refueling to re-peat the process. The “bad cycle” happens when someone starves themselves to lose weight, but then has no energy to practice hard and therefore, do not improve as a competitor.

As in any competitive undertaking, there is a high level of dedication and effort required when dieting.

“We do body composition tests on our kids to make sure they don’t drop below seven percent body fat, which is a state regulation for the health of the athletes. These kids are careful about what they eat and are often working out outside of wrestling. For example, Jake went out last week-end and ate a big meal at Perkins, but the next morning was doing a hard aerobic workout of his own choice. On top of that, we have practice every day and tournaments on the weekends,” Coach Price said.

Price described the benefits that cutting weight provided in terms of a competitive edge. “When I was wrestling, I remember after going through all that stuff. I would look at the kid across the mat from me and say no way am I losing to you after

cutting that weight and all that hard work.”This competitive spirit carries over into the

world of swimming, but the nutrition practices followed by some HHS swimmers represent a sharp contrast to wrestling diets.

Like Phelps, varsity swimmer and team cap-tain Alex Bonoff, senior, eats a smorgasbord of food at every meal during the season. During one average school lunch period, Bonoff ’s meal con-sisted of three pieces of pepperoni pizza, a plate of pasta fresca, a side of peaches, a side of edamame, a plate of salad, a bag of Sun Chips, an oatmeal chocolate bar, two cookies, and two skim milks.

On an average day, he consumes nearly 7,000 calories.

To balance out all the calories he takes in, Bonoff burns them off during high-intensity workouts. “It’s important that swimmers receive enough food, particularly because of the exhaus-tive nature of practices and the sport in general,” he said.

Swimming involves events and workouts that are both aerobic (with oxygen, endurance training) and anaerobic (without oxygen, explosive train-ing), and practices every day after school (along with some morning practices) can be very intense and high in caloric burn. Bonoff keeps pace by fu-eling his body to it’s maximum allowance.

“If the pace of the exercise does not match the diet intake, negative weight gain will happen quickly,” he said. “That’s why I can eat so much but maintain a low body fat and high muscle ratio; I am swimming all the time.”

“I encourage the team to eat healthy and not eat junk food all day, knowing that they have to

increase calorie intake,” said Greg Bartz, Math-ematics and head coach. “We don’t give them a specifics, but we endorse healthy and high caloric diets. Most of the swimmers change their diets on their own because they are aware that in order to gain and maintain energy they must increase the amount of calories they consume.”

Swimming burns about 3 calories per pound of body weight for every mile logged. For the average weight of a high school male, the average amount of calories burned in one hour varies from 500-700. “Some of the guys who really push them-selves are burning about 1,000-1,500 calories a practice,” Bartz said.

Carbohydrates are valuable tools for building and storing energy in the body, so Bartz organizes team pasta parties before meets to carbo-load.

Even before routine practices team members take extra steps to fuel up their bodies. Adam Tarshish, sophomore, eats about three to four snacks before practice every day. “In the beginning of practice I feel full, and by the end of practice I am really hungry again,” he said, “but practice is always tiring, no matter how much energy I had coming in.”

During the long, difficult swimming workouts it is important to stay hydrated, especially when burning a large amount of calories, according to Tarshish. “We drink about 32 ounces of water throughout practice,” he said.

“I don’t mind the fact that I have a swimming diet,” Tarshish went on, “because I can eat as much as I want, and I don’t have to lose any weight like in other sports.”

While not many sports require as much dis-

cipline in regards to diet and weight as wrestling and swimming do, Ms. Kim Plessel, a registered dietitian at the Marsh Center for Balance and Fitness in Minnetonka, advocates an emphasis on exercise and healthy-eating for all high school stu-dents. “If you embrace a healthy lifestyle when you are young,” she said, “you will be more prepared to navigate the milestones ahead. It will increase your longevity, quality of life, and lower your risk of chronic disease.”

She also agreed with some of the statements about dieting the “right way” made by Jake and Al Price. “Cutting weight through dehydration can be dangerous and will compromise athletic per-formance. Athletes should ensure adequate fluid intake before, during, and after exercise if they are seeking optimal performance.”

Joel French, Director of Health Services and Health Education at the Marsh, brought up the dangers of eating disorders associated with sports-related dieting. “These disorders used to impact mainly women, butnow men are being affected as well. A lot of people are obsessed with losing weight, but others are just as obsessed with adding muscle and weight.”

“Body image is so important,” Plessel said. “Teens and college-aged adults are in a high risk age category for the development of eating disor-ders, so influential results, especially coaches, need to promote healthy lifestyle habits.”

“It’s simple math,” French said. “The measure-ments on the front end have to equal the ones on the back. If you are not eating or drinking before a competition it’s like getting in a car with no gas and expecting it to work.”

SPORTS DIETS from page 1

Photo by Emily Buck

School lunches for swimmers and wrestlers often represent a sharp contrast. While both watch what they eat during their respective seasons, they take different approaches at times.

RPThursday, Dec. 22, 2011 thesports 14

Rodgers finds HHS to be right fit

Boys hockey team hires third coach in three years

Nina Rodgers, sophomore, played varsity hockey in eighth grade before she left to at-tend the North American Hockey Academy (NAHA) in ninth grade. She came back to HHS, and joined the hockey team that has only three seniors.

Younger players have to play important roles this season.“We have strong senior leaders on our team this year. They have helped the younger players step up,” Paolucci said.

She does not regret her decision to go to NAHA. “NAHA made me a much better hock-ey player, and it was a good experience,” Rodg-ers said, “I left because NAHA gave me a good chance to get noticed by college scouts and test myself against really good competition.”

Rodgers had strong reasons to leave NAHA. “They changed my tuition at NAHA and Hopkins has better academics,” Rodgers said, “Playing with my old teammates again also played a role in my decision.”

“It feels like I never really left,” said Rodgers. NAHA is a hockey school in Stowe, Vermont

with 40 students, all of which are female hockey players.

The students are split into two teams, one team with freshmen and sophomores, and one team with juniors and seniors. The students at NAHA live in a ski house then walked down to the schoolhouse every morning. The classes range from two to eight people.

Mari Mankey, senior and captain, was excited

when she heard Rodgers was coming back. “I was happy for her when she left, just because of the opportunity she would have, but I am really happy to have her back on my line,” Mankey said, “She really helps the team.”

“The hardest thing to adjust to was going to normal school and not playing hockey 24/7,” Rodgers said.

Mankey has helped Rodgers adjust to Hop-kins. “I’m with her all the time, at hockey and at school, and we eat lunch together every day,” Mankey said.

Mr. Vin Paolucci, hockey coach, is happy that Rodgers is back at Hopkins. “This is a good spot for Nina and she is with people that care about her,” Paolucci said, “She is obviously a good hock-ey player, but that’s secondary to how good of a girl she is.”

Paolucci thinks that Nina’s experience at NAHA will really help her in the long run. “I think that because of the unique experience she had, she will become a better leader in the future,” Paolucci said.

According to Corbin Boyd, freshman and line-mate, Rodgers fits well with her line this year, both on and off the ice. “We are always laughing and having a good time,” said Boyd.

The line of Rodgers, Boyd and Mankey com-bined for 10 points on Dec. 9 against Dodge County.

Rodgers return has been an important part of the young team’s success this year. Through Dec. 17, they are 7-2-1 and Rodgers has 12 goals and four assists.

Eli BadowerStaff Reporter

Top: Nina Rodgers, sophomore, controls the puck as she skates down the ice. She is a key cog in the success of the girls hockey team. Bottom left: Rodgers chasing down an opposing player. Bottom right: Rodgers during a face-off.

It has been a few seasons of change for the boys varsity hockey team who have a new head coach for the third consecutive season.

After the 2009–2010 season, Chad Nyberg, who had been the varsity head coach for six years, resigned due to a change in family status. The as-sistant varsity coach at the time, Justin Degriselles, took Nyberg’s place as head coach.

With the change in coaches, however, the staff was not as cohesive. “Coach Degriselles was on a different page with his new assistant coaches, and he was very quiet and reserved,” said Andy Wick-lund, senior.

Degriselles resigned as head coach at the end of his first year. “The job just wasn’t right for him at that particular time,” said Dan Johnson, activi-ties director at HHS.

Once again, Johnson began searching for a

new coach. “We won’t just hire someone who was a star in high school; they have to have knowledge of the sport, have experience coaching the sport, be well organized, and know that hockey isn’t the only thing in these students’ lives,” Johnson said.

According to Johnson, he knew he had found someone who met the requirements when he in-terviewed Rolf Ulvin. “Our committee was unani-mously in support of him being hired. We feel that he has a real future as a head coach and we are looking forward to working with him,” John-son said.

Upon being hired, Ulvin hit the ground run-ning and immediately shook things up. “Coach Ulvin completely replaced all the coaches, which caused some disorganization. However, he is very focused on winning and just playing the game,” Wicklund said.

Ulvin devotes a great deal of energy to the game and expects his players to do the same. “It is a great opportunity to work with these kids every day, a real privilege, that I don’t take lightly. If we both give that effort consistently, we will be a good team come playoff time,” Ulvin said.

With the new coach came a new style of play. “We have become … more of a dump and chase type offense. He [coach Ulvin] is all about defen-sive zone, so we have worked very hard on our man-to-man defense, which is very new to us,”

said Joey Brettingen, senior and captain of the hockey team.

The game of “musical coaches” has not been easy for the team. “It has been a tough change, especially for the seniors because this is now our third coach,” Brettingen said.

Johnson acknowledged that Ulvin has his work

Staff ReporterHarry Orenstein

Photo by Mike Newcomer

Photo by Mike NewcomerPhoto by Mike Newcomer

“It has been a tough change, especially for the seniors be-cause this is now our third coach” - Joey Brettingen, senior.

cut out for him but is confident that Ulvin is up to the challenge. “Coaching high school sports is not an easy job. I think our coaches in every program do a really good job. They are very passionate and care for the kids in the program,” Johnson said.

The boys varsity hockey team stands together for the national anthem before their Dec. 9 game against Hermantown. Rolf Ulvin is the team’s third head coach in as many years following after Chad Nyberg and Justin Degriselles. The Royals are 2-4-0 up to this point under Ulvin.

Photo by Mike Newcomer

RPThursday, Dec. 22, 2011the sports 15

Girls basketball dominates with class

Spotlight Athletes

Name: Julia Lavanger Name: Demetrius Martin

Grade: 12 Grade: 12

Athletic Idol:

Petter Northug

Athletic Idol:

Kobe Bryant

Sport: Nordic Skiing Sport: Basketball

Quote: “Our Nordic team is

like a big family and we are all

supportive of each other and

want each other to do well.”

Quote: “I like playing at

Hopkins because it has a win-

ning tradition, and I just love

everything about the sport.”

off to an 9-0 start, and have often found them-selves winning games by large margins with their starters riding the bench much of the game.

“Occassionally you will experience games where the score will reflect the disparity of the skill level of the two opponents,” said Lisa Lis-simore, MSHSL Associate Director.

“When this happens, coaches have the op-tion of changing defenses, mixing up the line up, pulling starters when they’re under matched, and working on other aspects of the game such as passing and ball movement,” Lissimore said.

“In the rare event that a team gets a lead to 40 points in the first half, a decision has to be made from a coaching standpoint about how far it has to go. As a coach, in a blow out game I have a num-

Skiing on the snow,

schooling at home

Siena Ellingson’s day starts like most kids her age. She gets up to go to school, like all student athletes do. However, she does not get in her car or shuffle to the bus stop.

She walks into her kitchen. As a stay at home student, Ellingson juggles

her work with the difficulties of Nordic skiing and Biathlon events.

Ellingson started Nordic Skiing when she was in seventh grade, encouraged by her mother. “My mom made me go to captain’s practice one day and I immediately loved it,” Ellingson said. She has been skiing avidly since then.

“Being home schooled is nice because I’m not obligated to be anywhere during the day. I can do my work where I want. It also helps with my train-ing.” Ellingson said.

Ellingson’s development as a skier has been enhanced as a home schooled student. She is al-ready a Junior Olympic athlete and she’s only in her second year of competitive skiing.

This contributes to her success as a biathlete. She began competing last March and is already one of the better athletes in the field.

The biathlon is a different sport that requires the athlete to push themselves like a cross coun-try ski race then change it up and force the ath-lete to calm themselves down enough to shoot. A typical race has two to four shooting phases with

the shooter in either a prone or standing position combined with a six to ten kilometer ski.

During the summer she competed in a sum-mer biathlon race at Mount Itasca. Ellingson came in fourth among other top competitors. Ellingson said that she liked the experience and “jumped in from there.”

The fact is not missed by her teammates.“Siena is amazing. She has helped solidify our chance at success this year,” said Nordic captain Allison Schaefer, senior.

However, according to John Narum, senior captain, Ellingson doesn’t let the praise go to her head. “Siena is an incredibly modest girl for some-one who has enjoyed so much success.” Narum said.

The praise of her abilities comes not only from the captains but from the coaches as well. “I’m very happy to have Siena on the team because of her incredible work ethic and the fact that she loves being on the team and being with her team-mates,” said head coach Mr. Robert Fuhr, Tech-nology Education.

Fuhr expressed his joy in watching his athletes pursue not only higher goals within Nordic but also in different activities that they enjoy. “I look forward to watching Siena develop as a Junior Olympic athlete, a bi-athlete, and a Hopkins ath-lete,” Fuhr said.

Through the team’s first five games of the sea-son, girls basketball outscored their opponents by 236 points.

At halftime against Minneapolis North Com-munity High School, HHS was winning by a score of 80-0.

“By any standard that qualifies as running up the score,” said Jim Houston, girls basketball head coach atx North Community High School. “I know what my team got out of that first half. I wonder what the Hopkins team got out of it.” Houston said.

Hopkins coach Brian Cosgriff supported his players and their team philosophy.

“As coaches we try not to coach to the score but rather to the possession,” he said. “We want to execute with precision on offense and defense no matter the score or what players are out on the court. As students and coaches of Hopkins High School, we as a team will never do anything that doesn’t represent Hopkins School District in the best possible fashion.”

During the 2010-2011 season, the Hopkins Royals girls varsity basketball team went 30-2 and captured the state championship by defeating Eden Prairie, 67-45. This year, the girls team is

Staff ReporterAndrew Hall

Staff ReporterSam Jacobwith

ber in my head where I make a conscious decision to not let the game become even more of a blow out and that number is well south of 80 points,” Houston said.

Cosgriff is changing his rotation; the starters are being pulled sometimes as early as a few min-utes into the game or not even starting at all.

“The second string started [during the game against North], and the starters probably played about 5 minutes the whole game, JV played the whole second half,” said Gracia Hutson, senior. “[Varsity starters] don’t mind not getting as many minutes in the second half of some games, because we love to see our JV girls get varsity minutes.”

Varsity basketball girls huddle up before a game. The team has enjoyed success so far this season.Photo by Mike Newcomer

“We as a team will never do anything that doesn’t repre-sent Hopkins School District in the best possible fashion” - Brian Cosgriff, Hop-kins girls varsity bas-ketball coach.

The starters at HHS don’t take their roles for granted. “Nobody is guaranteed a thing so they really look forward to anytime they get on the court,” Cosgriff said.

In the end, Hopkins is still a tough team to play no matter who is on the court. Andy Mein-hardt, head coach at Bloomington Jefferson, had only good things to say about the Royals.

“It was an honor for Bloomington Jefferson to play an elite team like Hopkins. I feel that Hop-kins played with class the entire game, and I have nothing but respect for their players and coaching staff,” said Meinhardt.

RPThursday, Dec. 22, 2011 theback page16

It asserts my individuality. It’s another way to stand out from the crowd. My clothes say that I’m not afraid to be myself. I’m confident in who I am and

what I wear.”

”

-

Fashion inspiration:Zooey Deschanel

“She’s really classy, she puts herself out

there.”

Claire Huber, senior

It’s my style. I feel comfortable. I enjoy going to shop for new clothes. They

reflect my personality. ”

”

Favorite brands:

Polo Sevens

Ed Hardy Buffalo Jeans

-Colin Wieberdink, senior

(On dressing well) It makes you feel better about yourself. It makes you seem like you care a little bit more; it says you

have it all together. ”

”

Favorite current style:

Big sweater and leggings

-Waverly Johnston, junior

FASAT H HSHION

LOOKING BACK...

What do your clothes say about you?

SUMMER FALL WINTER

H o p k i n s t h r o u g h t h e y e a r s1984 1989

HHSSAAFFAAFAFFAFFAFAFFAAFAF STYLES OF 2011

1991 2002

Jordans Tights

Cardigans Scarves

Oversized fits Boat Shoes

photos by Ursula Arhart

photos by Mike Newcomer

photos taken from HHS yearbooks

My clothes say that I’m one of a kind. They show I have swag.

” ”

Where he gets his clothes:

“My Mom does my shopping for

me.”

Fashion Inspiration: Andrew Freidman,

senior

Alex Timm, senior-

By Lydia WilsonBack Page Editor