February 2006 - Lincoln East High School - Lincoln Public Schools
February 2006 - Lincoln East High School - Lincoln Public Schools
February 2006 - Lincoln East High School - Lincoln Public Schools
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
oracle<br />
february 24, <strong>2006</strong>, v 38 i 6
Juan Rico, co-owner of Los Dos Hermanos and an <strong>East</strong> alum, is feat (Photo by Susanna Webb, Front<br />
cover photos by Shuqiao Song, design by Jake Meador)<br />
About the covers: <strong>East</strong> swimmer Jerr Merrit and the rest of the <strong>East</strong> <strong>High</strong> swimmers are featured in<br />
sports, pages 20-21. (Photo by Jonathan Miller) Back cover, A number of Spartans recently celebrated<br />
Chinese New Year, read more about it in A/E, pages 16-19. (Photos by Shuqiao Song, design by Jake<br />
Meador)<br />
Right: For four years, <strong>East</strong> senior Lulu Al Marshoud has balanced life as a student, wife, and young<br />
mother to her three-year-old daugther, Goot, read more in Focus, Pages 12-15. (Photo by Shuqiao Song
4-5 News: Examine Omaha’s battle for<br />
“One City, One <strong>School</strong> District,” and learn<br />
how the controversy might affect <strong>Lincoln</strong> life.<br />
6-7 Voices: From tech talk to <strong>East</strong><br />
excellence to Palestinian politics, it’s all inside<br />
Voices.<br />
8-11 Faces: Cyberlife - the Oracle’s<br />
look at life online.<br />
12-15 Focus: <strong>East</strong> <strong>High</strong><br />
senior Lulwa Al Marshoud blends<br />
lives from two lands. Read her story<br />
inside.<br />
16-19 A/E: The<br />
Oracle staff travels the<br />
globe without ever leaving<br />
<strong>Lincoln</strong>.<br />
20-21 Sports:<br />
Some Spartans swim in<br />
water. Others skate on<br />
top. Track both their<br />
stories in this month’s<br />
Sports section.<br />
LINCOLN EAST 05-06 ORACLE STAFF<br />
A two-time Cornhusker award winning publication<br />
editor sally hudson_design editor jake meador_news and business editor william chen_voices editor sol eppel_faces edtior jetz jacobson_focus and copy<br />
editor sammy wang_a/e editor kari tietjen_sports editor buddy maixner_photo editor erin brown_kelli blacketer_carrie chen_darja doberman_sean dwyer_melanie<br />
fichthorn_artist lindsay graef_danny jablonski_jessica lane_sarah melecki_chris oltman_roshni oommen_peter panther_tasha roth_shuqiao<br />
song_aaron stephenson_bj valente_salome viljoen_susanna webb_katherine wild_tina zheng_advisor jane holt<br />
The Oracle is the official newspaper of <strong>Lincoln</strong> <strong>East</strong> <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong>. It is published 9 times a year and serves as an open forum for students, teachers and administrators.<br />
Letters to the editor, articles, original artwork and photographs are welcome. Letters must be signed, but you may request anonymity. The Oracle reserves the right<br />
to edit the letters and articles for length, clarity, and factual accuracy without attempting to alter meaning.<br />
Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Oracle staff. Signed editorials and columns represent the opinion of the Oracle staff. Signed editorials and columns<br />
represent the opinions of the individual writers.<br />
The Oracle meets daily during 3 rd period in B-159.
Omaha’s “One City, One <strong>School</strong> District” Issue Heated<br />
One District<br />
Tina Zheng<br />
_ Staff Writer<br />
Seven years ago, Omaha <strong>Public</strong> <strong>School</strong>s<br />
ended its mandatory busing program. This system<br />
was supposed to “promote integration” in<br />
schools. Not only could students attend their<br />
neighborhood schools, but also transfer out of<br />
districts easily. Now, the statistics show a divide<br />
between students, racially, monetarily, and<br />
culturally. The OPS population has 56 percent<br />
minority students, compared to 39 percent a<br />
decade ago. This defined schism has been<br />
controversial, even being compared to racial<br />
segregation.<br />
In Summer 2005, Omaha <strong>Public</strong> <strong>School</strong>s announced<br />
the passage of a resolution often dubbed<br />
“one city, one school district.” If it were implemented,<br />
this resolution would allow OPS to take over the public<br />
schools in Omaha, including twenty-two Millard schools<br />
and six Ralston schools. OPS cites a Nebraska statute, 79-<br />
535, that legally authorizes them to reorganize Omaha<br />
school districts. The Omaha school board estimates<br />
property-tax revenue per student would increase<br />
from $4,330 to $4,428.<br />
The issue is still being hotly debated. Alternative<br />
proposals have been introduced to maintain<br />
the equity of Omaha schools. Three such bills are<br />
LB1024, LB1017, and LB1167.<br />
LB1024 was proposed by Senator Ron<br />
Raikes of <strong>Lincoln</strong> to create “a learning community”<br />
by providing a single tax base for a<br />
common general fund levy in Douglas and<br />
Sarpy counties.<br />
Raikes argues that a common tax base<br />
would promote diversity and equitable funding<br />
in area schools.<br />
“You need [the common tax base] if everybody<br />
in the metro area is going to pay for the<br />
education of every child in the metro,” said Raikes.<br />
OPS advocates Raikes’ position.<br />
LB1017 offers another proposal. Douglas Gibbs, Legislative<br />
Aide for Senator Gail Kopplin, who introduced the bill,<br />
said, “LB1017 differs from LB1024 substantially. While Senator<br />
Raikes’ bill would essentially create a “super school district,”<br />
LB 1017 would maintain current district boundaries.<br />
The bill would encourage Omaha metro school<br />
districts to work together to implement programs<br />
that alleviate racial and economic disadvantage<br />
and promote integration.<br />
Kopplin preserves the Ralston and Millard<br />
school districts without what Gibbs calls a “complete<br />
overhaul”.<br />
Senator Pam Redfield introduced LB1167.<br />
Redfield supports of a Boundary Committee,<br />
but prefers only one high school per district.<br />
The bill states that the criteria for boundaries<br />
will be the size of buildings, number of students,<br />
and distance traveled by students to school. This<br />
would prevent many students from simply picking<br />
the school they attend.<br />
The common theme of equity shines in these<br />
three Legislative bills. Though their goal may never be<br />
met, the school districts must not knowingly prevent equal<br />
opportunities in Omaha schools.<br />
LB1024<br />
Sponsored by Senator Ron<br />
Raikes (<strong>Lincoln</strong>)<br />
• Establish “learning communities”<br />
• Learning communities would be divided<br />
into districts<br />
• <strong>School</strong>s would be funded from a single<br />
tax base<br />
• Each district must have a minimum of<br />
2,000 students and a maximum of 25,000<br />
• Districts must equalize economic diversity<br />
• Boundaries that need to be<br />
changed must submit a proposal to<br />
the State Committee of Reorganizing<br />
<strong>School</strong> Districts<br />
LB1017<br />
Sponsored by Senator Gail<br />
Kopplin (Gretna)<br />
• Allows minorities and free/reduced<br />
lunch kids to transfer to surrounding<br />
districts<br />
• Students can transfer to a district where<br />
there is a smaller percentage of their<br />
minority than their current district<br />
•The state will reimburse transportation<br />
fees<br />
• Participating districts can establish<br />
magnet bills<br />
• Current boundaries are<br />
protected<br />
LB1167<br />
Sponsored by Senator<br />
Pam Redfield (Omaha)<br />
•Districts would be reconfigured to<br />
include only one high school with elementary<br />
and middle feeder schools<br />
• Districts would have a minimum of 4,000<br />
students<br />
• Students would be free to transfer from<br />
district to district<br />
• Transportation would be provided for<br />
those who qualify for reduced lunch<br />
• Each district may also start<br />
magnet programs at the<br />
high school and middle<br />
school level<br />
4/News <strong>February</strong> 24, <strong>2006</strong><br />
Status quo<br />
“One city, one school district” proponents<br />
have good intentions. Senators Raikes, Gopplin,<br />
Redfield, and countless others have a<br />
bold vision of Omaha schools on equal ground.<br />
But the critics argue the harms outweigh the<br />
benefits.<br />
Funding, public support, and the instability<br />
of “one city, one school district” need to be<br />
addressed prior to long-term planning.<br />
Proponents of district integration argue<br />
that demographic gaps between Omaha <strong>Public</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>s and surrounding districts warrant reform,<br />
such as the Millard schools. However, according to<br />
the Nebraska Department of Education 2005-<strong>2006</strong><br />
statistics, the average Omaha <strong>Public</strong> <strong>School</strong> student<br />
receives $4,772 in local tax resources, The average Millard<br />
student receives $4,792, only a twenty dollar difference.<br />
Furthermore, because State and Federal Aid is based on<br />
a variety of factors, including income, Omaha <strong>Public</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> students actually receive more relative to their<br />
resources. OPS students received $8,664 while Millard<br />
students averaged $7,471. OPS also exceeded<br />
Elkhorn’s totals. Elkhorn averaged only $7,345 per<br />
student.<br />
OPS estimates that “one city, one school<br />
district” would produce another $65 million in<br />
property tax revenue for the district. However,<br />
OPS would also have to provide for 14,000 additional<br />
students.<br />
Dr. Keith Lutz, superintendent of Millard<br />
<strong>Public</strong> <strong>School</strong>s, opposes the concept of “one<br />
city, one school district.”<br />
“Omaha <strong>Public</strong> <strong>School</strong>’s plan would wreck<br />
and devastate [Millard] schools. There would be<br />
a serious space issue because 11,000 kids would<br />
be in our schools alone,” said Lutz.<br />
Instead of these boundary bills, Lutz stresses the<br />
importance of working in cooperation with Omaha<br />
<strong>Public</strong> <strong>School</strong>s to reach an agreement without completely<br />
reshaping the districts.<br />
In addition, “one city, one school district” has heavy<br />
opposition, not only from Millard and Ralston schools,<br />
but also from within OPS itself. The MSR group of<br />
Omaha, a Market Research Firm, reports that 59%<br />
of people surveyed from the Omaha Metro area<br />
disagree with the Omaha takeover. OPS is the<br />
only district with a majority of students from minority<br />
racial groups. It is also true that Millard<br />
<strong>School</strong>s have a 92% Caucasian population.<br />
Yet, more money would not be provided<br />
through “one city, one school district” to alleviate<br />
any racial issues.<br />
Furthermore, under the Nebraska statute<br />
79-535, as long as the school is in the city of<br />
Omaha, it should be in the single district. With<br />
Omaha being an expanding city, further complications<br />
would result.<br />
Dr. Keith Lutz commented that all of Nebraska<br />
could later be affected.<br />
“There are and there will be boundary wars from<br />
Grand Island to <strong>Lincoln</strong>,” said Lutz.
Fjust<br />
the<br />
acts<br />
<strong>Lincoln</strong> untouched by Omaha’s woes<br />
B.J. Valente<br />
_ Staff Writer<br />
<strong>Lincoln</strong> <strong>Public</strong> <strong>School</strong>s are in a relative state of<br />
tranquility. This is stark contrast to Omaha’s boundary<br />
battle. Omaha’s <strong>Public</strong> <strong>School</strong> system is on a mission.<br />
OPS officials want to combine Omaha’s core with suburban<br />
school districts such as Millard, Elkhorn, Ralston,<br />
and Westside to create one massive school district. The<br />
suburbs are in uproar. Omaha’s call for “one city, one<br />
school district” is being called a “hostile takeover” by<br />
the other schools.<br />
OPS wants to annex the other school districts due<br />
to monetary, equity, and racial-segregation concerns.<br />
State Senator Ron Raikes introduced LB 1024, which he<br />
said is designed to maximize students’ learning abilities<br />
by providing good learning opportunities and promoting<br />
economic and racial diversity.<br />
“There would remain in the metro area separate<br />
school districts, but there would be inter-district governance,”<br />
said Raikes. “So there would be separate<br />
districts with autonomy, but there would be an interdistrict<br />
governance to have control overall.”<br />
To increase student learning potential there are<br />
certain things a school district can do. In the past<br />
decade, <strong>Lincoln</strong> has built several focus-schools. ITFP,<br />
Zoo <strong>School</strong>, and Arts & Humanities are the current offerings,<br />
with a new entrepreneur focus school scheduled<br />
to open next year. Raikes’ bill would initiate similar<br />
focus programs for metro-districts to use and share in<br />
Omaha.<br />
“Part of the method for addressing education<br />
opportunities would be providing for magnet focus<br />
programs. All the metro schools would participate in<br />
this,” said Raikes. Sharing borders and schools would<br />
require create transportation issues. To cope with funding<br />
issues, the bill provides for a common financial base<br />
for operations and buildings. Raikes said this should<br />
increase the mobility of students between schools. One<br />
of the more interesting facets of this bill is its maximum<br />
on the number of students allowed in any one school<br />
district: 25,000. This is a shock considering even <strong>Lincoln</strong><br />
has over 30,000 students. Smaller school districts would<br />
have to pick up students from the districts that have<br />
passed the maximum threshold. There also would be<br />
some school district lines redrawn to accommodate<br />
for the changes.<br />
Courtesy of <strong>Lincoln</strong> Journal Star<br />
“The other bills are similar approaches to metro<br />
issue,” said Raikes. “LB1017 would attract students<br />
from OPS into the other districts. In LB1167, each high<br />
school and its feeder elementary and middle schools<br />
become their own school district. LB1262’s main focus<br />
is the creation of a campus of high schools where different<br />
high schools from different districts would all be<br />
in one place to create Oxford-like campuses.”<br />
With all these proposed changes to a large school<br />
district such as Omaha, it begs questions on the fate<br />
of <strong>Lincoln</strong>. Could any of these bills have an impact on<br />
the capital city’s educational systems? Will <strong>Lincoln</strong> be<br />
required to comply with these proposed bills, which<br />
are meant to change districts in “metropolitan class”<br />
cities? So, is it time for <strong>Lincoln</strong>ites to join the opposition,<br />
or the allies of annexation? Don’t worry about it, said<br />
Raikes.<br />
“It’s way too early to speculate on this coming<br />
to <strong>Lincoln</strong>. What has to happen first is that one of the<br />
bills goes to the floor. This won’t happen until the bills<br />
surrounding this issue have been changed and one bill<br />
will be submitted,” said Raikes. Before anything makes<br />
it to the legislative body for a vote, there will be an editing<br />
process to trim down, cut, and combine proposals<br />
into a single bill that addresses the controversy, If that<br />
bill became law, <strong>Lincoln</strong> likely would have to face a<br />
significant growth spurt to feel its effects. Nonetheless,<br />
the bill could affect <strong>Lincoln</strong>; but only by choice.<br />
“Unless <strong>Lincoln</strong> sees an advantage in adopting<br />
the final version of the bill, nothing needs to happen,”<br />
said Raikes. “However, it could potentially be<br />
an advantage. It could provide broader financial<br />
base and opportunities for some programs that are<br />
now not available.” Adoption of the final version of<br />
the bill would require approval from all the districts in<br />
Lancaster County.<br />
Immediate effects upon <strong>Lincoln</strong>: none. But<br />
don’t be too quick to breathe a sigh of relief since, as<br />
Raikes said, it might be a good idea for <strong>Lincoln</strong> to consider<br />
new school district organization tactics, funding<br />
schemes, and development ideas. Until a final version<br />
hits the floor, stay informed and watch to see how the<br />
bills develop.<br />
About Omaha <strong>School</strong><br />
Districts<br />
Westside<br />
White, non-Hispanic- 5,706<br />
Black, non-Hispanic- 364<br />
Hispanic- 176<br />
Asian/Pacific Islander- 230<br />
American Indian/Alaskan Native- 41<br />
Graduation Rate- 93.64%<br />
Average ACT- 24.2<br />
Omaha <strong>Public</strong> <strong>School</strong>s<br />
White, non-Hispanic- 21,403<br />
Black, non-Hispanic- 14,554<br />
Hispanic- 9,130<br />
Asian/Pacific Islander- 759<br />
American Indian/Alaskan Native- 703<br />
Graduation Rate- 67.92%<br />
Average ACT- 19.89<br />
Millard<br />
White, non-Hispanic- 18,684<br />
Black, non-Hispanic- 474<br />
Hispanic- 523<br />
Asian/Pacific Islander- 627<br />
American Indian/Alaskan Native- 63<br />
Graduation Rate- 93.71%<br />
Average ACT- 22.83<br />
Ralston<br />
White, non-Hispanic- 2,492<br />
Black, non-Hispanic- 124<br />
Hispanic- 392<br />
Asian/Pacific Islander- 96<br />
American Indian/Alaskan Native- 8<br />
Graduation Rate- 90.09%<br />
Average ACT- 21.7<br />
_Compiled by Melanie Fichthorn<br />
<strong>February</strong> 24, <strong>2006</strong> News/5
Let’s face it, we are obsessed with<br />
technology. The use of the World Wide<br />
Web became commonplace in the<br />
1990s, but the Internet was actually created<br />
in the 1960s as a network of communication<br />
among various computers.<br />
Because of its instant gratification, we<br />
have become dependent upon computers<br />
and the Internet.<br />
One problem with this dependency<br />
is that online communication<br />
has replaced social interaction. Instead<br />
of having actual conversations with<br />
people, we use tech lingo and abbreviations<br />
to convey our thoughts. As a result,<br />
we lose our personalities when communicating<br />
via the Internet because<br />
we can’t elaborate on our ideas. We<br />
can’t convey concise emotions through<br />
instant messages. Heck, even writing<br />
a complete sentence has become a<br />
challenge.<br />
In addition, our social skills plummet<br />
while our words-per-minute soar. Acceptable<br />
online behavior doesn’t fly in<br />
real life situations. We’re losing our sense<br />
of social decency because online conversations<br />
are dismissible, and we often<br />
carry that same demeanor into the rest<br />
of our lives. Internet conversations barely<br />
qualify as real conversations.<br />
Computers are not the only technology<br />
that we have become dependent<br />
upon. The number of cell phone<br />
subscribers in the U.S. reached almost<br />
160 million in 2003, up from 34 million in<br />
1995, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.<br />
When you have a cell phone, there<br />
is no longer an escape from society.<br />
We can now reach people anywhere,<br />
Staff Editorial: Digital Dependency<br />
anytime, yet cell phones also create<br />
separation. When we call friends’ cell<br />
phones, we don’t have to go through<br />
a family member. We hardly know our<br />
friends’ families anymore because we<br />
have direct contact with the person we<br />
want to speak with.<br />
Another sacrifice of digital dependency<br />
is privacy. The Internet is still<br />
a public domain, as much as we like<br />
to believe otherwise. Things we say are<br />
not private (certainly we’ve all been<br />
betrayed by the copy-paste instant<br />
message). Online security is also a major<br />
issue. Identity theft has become one of<br />
the most widely reported scams, with<br />
teenagers now a main target.<br />
Technology also promotes laziness.<br />
You could live very comfortably without<br />
ever leaving your computer. Restaurants<br />
now offer online delivery orders and<br />
stores and individuals sell anything you<br />
could ever want online. Money is no<br />
longer transferred physically; everything<br />
is electronic.<br />
Technology malfunctions are also<br />
becoming acceptable excuses for not<br />
completing tasks, yet we are still required<br />
to be computer-savvy. Computer skills<br />
are necessary for survival in this day and<br />
age. Teachers won’t accept handwritten<br />
assignments. Handwriting can tell a<br />
lot about a person’s character, but we<br />
lose that when we type everything.<br />
Even education is digitalized. PowerPoint<br />
presentations have replaced lectures.<br />
Explanations are too brief because<br />
they have to fit on a slide. Now olleges<br />
offer extensive courses online even for<br />
high school students. We wonder if<br />
computers can pass for professors.<br />
Along with online learning<br />
comes online living. We have had to<br />
redefine our communities and traditions<br />
because of the Internet. Digital<br />
culture is now its own underground<br />
society, separate from the world we<br />
once knew.<br />
Along with these problems,<br />
our digital dependency is driving<br />
a rift within our society. One obvious<br />
split is between generations.<br />
Parents and grandparents are out<br />
of the loop if they aren’t computer<br />
savvy.<br />
We also suffer from a socioeconomic<br />
split. A gap is growing<br />
across our country. After Hurricane<br />
Katrina, FEMA required victims to<br />
register for relief funds online when,<br />
most lacked Internet access. It is a<br />
ridiculous situation that should have<br />
been foreseen. We have to realize<br />
who and what we leave out by requiring<br />
people to be plugged in.<br />
Although the problems we’ve<br />
addressed are prevalent, this generation’s<br />
technology dependency<br />
is a state of being; it’s temporary.<br />
It goes along with the changing<br />
times and is a part of our modern<br />
evolution. We are dependent upon<br />
technology like people in the 1800s<br />
were dependent upon railroads.<br />
The Internet is our way of life now,<br />
but who knows what the future<br />
holds.<br />
Graphic by: Lindsay Graef<br />
Comic by: Buddy Maixner<br />
6/Voices <strong>February</strong> 24, <strong>2006</strong>
Turning Hamas’s victory into a win for Israel<br />
A new chapter is about to be written<br />
in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On<br />
January 25, Palestinians held Parliamentary<br />
elections. Fatah, the party<br />
of the late Yasser Arafat that<br />
has ruled that Palestinians<br />
for over 40 years, was expected<br />
to keep a majority<br />
in the Parliament, albeit a<br />
slim one.<br />
But the election didn’t<br />
go as planned. The militant<br />
group Hamas won 76 of the<br />
132 seats in the Palestinian Parliament<br />
in a shocking landslide. The United<br />
States, the European Union, and Israel<br />
identify Hamas as a terrorist organization<br />
responsible for scores of suicide bombings<br />
and attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers.<br />
Hamas’s charter calls for the complete<br />
destruction of Israel. It would seem that<br />
Hamas’s victory would completely close<br />
the door to the peace process.<br />
There are many reasons, though,<br />
why the Israelis and the world should attempt<br />
to negotiate with Hamas.<br />
For starters, Hamas is the democratically<br />
elected representative of the<br />
Palestinians. If the Israelis reject Hamas,<br />
they reject Palestinians’ democratic rights<br />
and thus disenfranchise them. Violence<br />
lists every class officer since the school’s<br />
creation. Another honors each valedictorian.<br />
Another celebrates the school’s<br />
drum majors. Yet another records every<br />
individual state champion, no matter if<br />
the students compete in sports or science<br />
or speech.<br />
Eagan <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong> is essentially a<br />
giant memorial to student achievement.<br />
When I landed back in <strong>Lincoln</strong>, I<br />
scoured <strong>East</strong> <strong>High</strong>’s halls for evidence<br />
of excellence. All is well for athletics.<br />
Trophies and plaques from every athletic<br />
tournament plaster the concourse walls.<br />
Aside from sports, though, I found few<br />
examples. The marching band, Apollonaires,<br />
and forensics team each have<br />
a concourse case crowded with accolades.<br />
The rest of <strong>East</strong>’s accomplishments<br />
are largely left unnoticed.<br />
<strong>East</strong> <strong>High</strong> is, first and foremost, an<br />
academic institution – you know, a school.<br />
But signs of academic achievement are<br />
absent from our halls. If you know where<br />
the honor roll case is, you’re much more<br />
observant than I. Odds are you’ve passed<br />
it hundreds of times. The plaques are posted<br />
on the east wall of the corridor which<br />
connects junior and senior halls. If you’ve<br />
never noticed it, you’re not alone. I found<br />
it for the first time last week while searching<br />
for signs of scholarship. It’s a miracle<br />
I managed that much. The hallway is so<br />
dark that I had to shine my cell phone<br />
screen across the glass to read the rolls.<br />
So much for the light of knowledge.<br />
If academic achievement isn’t<br />
kept in the dark, it’s kept secret from<br />
students.<br />
The Presidential Scholarship is arguably<br />
the most prestigious national<br />
academic award. In the last three years,<br />
will result, as history shows that Palestinians<br />
have repeatedly used violent tactics, such<br />
as suicide bombings, to combat Israeli<br />
oppression. If, however, Israel accepts<br />
Hamas, it will show the Palestinians<br />
that they have power beyond<br />
rocks and explosives, and that<br />
power lies in the voting booth.<br />
With new autonomy, Palestinians<br />
can choose their own destiny.<br />
Further, Hamas was elected<br />
not because it advocates the<br />
destruction of Israel but because<br />
Palestinians were frustrated with their<br />
domestic situation. Corruption and inept<br />
leadership plagued Yasser Arafat and<br />
Fatah. Arafat himself stole millions of dollars<br />
of international aid and deposited<br />
it into Swiss bank accounts for his family<br />
and friends. Fatah did little to improve<br />
the Palestinian economy, so poverty and<br />
unemployment run rampant. In Hamas,<br />
Palestinians saw a group that has funded<br />
schools and hospitals. Hamas promised to<br />
end corruption and provide the Palestinians<br />
with a better life and thus garnered<br />
the Palestinian vote.<br />
In order to govern Palestinians,<br />
Hamas needs money. Traditionally, the<br />
U.S., the European Union, and Israel have<br />
given Palestinians money. However, following<br />
the elections, leaders from all sides<br />
have threatened to cut off aid to the<br />
Palestinians unless Hamas ends violence<br />
and accepts Israel’s basic right to exist.<br />
This is likely to happen, especially since<br />
U.S. and Israeli laws make it illegal to give<br />
money to a terrorist organization. While it is<br />
conceivable that Hamas could continue<br />
to use violence and get money from Arab<br />
countries like Iran, but those countries<br />
have far less money to give to the Palestinians.<br />
Further, if Hamas continues to use<br />
violence, then Israeli military action would<br />
decimate the Palestinian infrastructure to<br />
the point where Hamas couldn’t improve<br />
the Palestinian situation regardless of the<br />
amount of money that it had.<br />
So, Hamas must make a choice:<br />
it can continue to use violence against<br />
Israelis while the Palestinians suffer, or it<br />
can renounce violence in order to fulfill<br />
its campaign promises to provide Palestinians<br />
with jobs, hospitals, and schools.<br />
If Israel and the rest of the world refuses<br />
to accept Hamas, the choice becomes<br />
unimportant because they likely wouldn’t<br />
get any money regardless of their actions.<br />
But, if the world brings Hamas to the negotiating<br />
table, its leaders will be forced to<br />
make the choice. According to several<br />
interviews that Time magazine conducted<br />
Excellence: <strong>East</strong> <strong>High</strong>’s best-kept secret<br />
At Lake Wobegone, all the women<br />
are strong. All the men are good-looking.<br />
And all the children are above average.<br />
You might remember the story about Garrison<br />
Keillor’s mythical Minnesota town<br />
from last month’s Oracle. In our education-themed<br />
edition, I reported that <strong>East</strong><br />
<strong>High</strong> falls just short of Wobegone’s record.<br />
Nearly 90 percent of Spartan seniors boast<br />
better than “C” GPAs. Grade inflation or<br />
not, that mark is tough to beat. It can’t<br />
be possible, I thought, to have all stellar<br />
students.<br />
So I decided to test Keillor’s story.<br />
Last week, I traveled to Minnesota for a<br />
speech tournament. Though there is no<br />
real Wobegone <strong>High</strong>, I found the next best<br />
thing: Eagan <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong>, an elite, public<br />
school in suburban Minneapolis. I didn’t<br />
even have to step foot inside to be wowed<br />
by Eagan’s excellence. Massive banners<br />
touting Eagan accomplishments framed<br />
its entrance: “Blue Ribbon <strong>School</strong>. “ “National<br />
<strong>School</strong> of Excellence.” Inside the<br />
front doors I found halls flooded with honors.<br />
State championship flags flowed from<br />
the ceilings. Cases crammed with trophies<br />
lined the floors. Posters celebrated play<br />
productions. Portraits honored Eagan’s<br />
hall of fame. Yikes, I thought. These kids<br />
must actually be good at everything. In<br />
short, Keillor had me convinced.<br />
But once my star shock wore off, I realized<br />
that Eagan was no Wobegone. As<br />
I examined their awards, I noticed many<br />
familiar honors: National Merit Scholars,<br />
Valedictorians, Golf State Champions,<br />
Class Presidents, Quiz Bowl teams, and Debate<br />
titles. Eagan students aren’t earning<br />
higher honors than <strong>East</strong> students. Eagan<br />
is just a lot better at recognizing their<br />
students’ achievements. One plaque<br />
<strong>East</strong> claimed three Presidential Scholars.<br />
If I were principal, I would shout that from<br />
the roof tops. Instead, the plaque is<br />
stowed behind the desk in the counseling<br />
center.<br />
Academics aren’t <strong>East</strong>’s only unappreciated<br />
achievements. Our science<br />
department is storing back-to-back<br />
Science Olympiad state championship<br />
trophies. Our DECA program<br />
boasts national caliber competitors.<br />
There’s no public evidence<br />
of our swing choir’s success or our<br />
countless theatre productions. Our<br />
math team is a perennial powerhouse,<br />
but you wouldn’t know it. The<br />
trophies are stashed on a department<br />
office shelf. <strong>East</strong> was one of only nine<br />
schools nationwide to earn “National<br />
<strong>School</strong> of Excellence in Speech” status<br />
last year. Eagan’s trophy adorns its front<br />
hall. Ours graces a gray basement file<br />
cabinet. Student Council members and<br />
class officers garner momentary glory on<br />
a paper poster, post-election. After that,<br />
their names are nowhere to be found. The<br />
Oracle you’re reading right now won the<br />
highest award attainable by a Nebraska<br />
school newspaper. I’ll confess that I don’t<br />
even know where that trophy is.<br />
I’m sure I’m forgetting other amazing<br />
accomplishments. If I am, tell me. Tell<br />
our teachers. Tell our administrators. Tell<br />
everyone. Your achievement deserves<br />
recognition.<br />
This isn’t, however, about empty<br />
applause. The purpose of recognition is<br />
not to inflate student’s self-esteem. I’m<br />
not trying to turn <strong>East</strong> <strong>High</strong> into Nebraska’s<br />
Wobegone. Rather, recognition creates a<br />
culture of respect for excellence. When<br />
freshman enter Eagan, they can’t help<br />
<strong>February</strong> 24, <strong>2006</strong><br />
with Hamas officials, Hamas’s main goal is<br />
to improve the lives of Palestinians. Thus,<br />
many Hamas members would be willing to<br />
abandon violence in order to accomplish<br />
that goal. One Hamas military commander<br />
has suggested as much, saying, “There<br />
are facts on the ground that we cannot<br />
close our eyes to. We are not going to<br />
tear up all the [negotiated] agreements<br />
[with Israel].”<br />
Finally, if Hamas is brought to the<br />
table and still perpetuates violence, the<br />
world will see that Hamas is not a partner<br />
for peace. If Hamas is exposed as a terrorist<br />
organization that refuses to renounce its<br />
ways, it will no longer have any pretense<br />
of legitimacy. Then, Israel can resume its<br />
fight against Hamas with the rest of the<br />
world’s support, support that it often lacks<br />
currently.<br />
The Palestinian elections have been<br />
called an “earthquake” for the Middle<br />
<strong>East</strong>. Many leaders in both the United<br />
States and Israel are at a crossroads. If the<br />
world ignores Hamas, nothing will change;<br />
for the Middle <strong>East</strong> it will be business-asusual.<br />
If the world gives Hamas a chance,<br />
however, Hamas will be at the crossroads,<br />
forced to make the tough choices. It can<br />
choose peace, or not; if it doesn’t, the<br />
world will know where the fault lies.<br />
but take pride in their high school. Everywhere<br />
they turn, they see opportunities<br />
for challenge and achievement. Eagan<br />
students know there are outlets in which<br />
to channel their talents and effort.<br />
At <strong>East</strong>, students receive the<br />
impression that their efforts<br />
will only be noticed<br />
once they leave our<br />
halls. One hundred<br />
and twelve portrait<br />
plaques deck the two<br />
distinguished alumni<br />
displays. I’ve yet to<br />
find one that honors a<br />
student, past or present,<br />
for accomplishments completed<br />
at <strong>East</strong> <strong>High</strong>. If you can,<br />
your sleuthing skills surpass mine.<br />
Odds are our current achievers will<br />
go on with their work, appreciated or not.<br />
I fear, though, that we’re losing the next<br />
generation of Spartan successes. When<br />
the Class of 2010 enters <strong>East</strong> <strong>High</strong> next<br />
fall, I don’t know how they’ll learn of the<br />
opportunities that abound.<br />
Some freshmen will be recruited by<br />
friends and family to join the ranks. Others<br />
will be left out because they won’t be<br />
exposed to our excellent programs. It’s<br />
a wonder <strong>East</strong> enjoys enduring achievement<br />
without advertising those outlets.<br />
We can’t be Wobegone <strong>High</strong>, nor<br />
do we want to. <strong>High</strong> school isn’t all about<br />
winning. Neither is recognition. When we<br />
give credit where credit is due, we not<br />
only commend those who achieve, but<br />
encourage others to challenge themselves.<br />
I’m proud of <strong>East</strong> <strong>High</strong>. I know<br />
others are, too. We shouldn’t have to<br />
hide it.<br />
Voices/7
MySpace controversy<br />
leads to suspended<br />
players<br />
Roshni Oommen<br />
_ Staff Reporter<br />
As a member of a school team, an athlete is held to higher standards than<br />
other students. At the beginning of each season, athletes are required to sign<br />
a code of conduct. Athletes not only have to uphold the standards set forth<br />
by LPS and <strong>East</strong> <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong>, but they also have to meet standards specific<br />
to their team.<br />
Seven members of the <strong>East</strong> <strong>High</strong> Varsity and Junior Varsity Boys basketball<br />
teams were suspended for 14 days beginning Jan 23 after a coach<br />
learned about possible code-of-conduct violations, including the consumption<br />
of alcohol. This evidence was found on MySpace Weblogs. According<br />
to Principal Mary Beth Lehmanowsky, these blogs were discovered after several<br />
students advised<br />
teachers to look<br />
u p M y S p a c e<br />
following the<br />
death of senior<br />
Shawn Noel.<br />
Because Noel<br />
had a MySpace<br />
website, some<br />
of the <strong>East</strong> <strong>High</strong><br />
s t a f f l o o k e d<br />
it up. At that<br />
time, a coach<br />
discovered<br />
<strong>East</strong> MySpace a c -<br />
counts that in-<br />
cluded<br />
information that<br />
revealed<br />
the violation of<br />
the basketball<br />
code of<br />
conduct.<br />
Even if they said<br />
they weren’t<br />
drinking, players<br />
who were at<br />
the party were<br />
violating the<br />
code. Athletic<br />
Director Wendy<br />
Henrichs likens<br />
that situation to<br />
a Minor In Pos-<br />
session (MIP)<br />
charge.<br />
“If the police had arrived at the party, everyone would have been MIP’d,<br />
not just the students who were drinking,” said Henrichs. “The decision wasn’t that<br />
difficult to make- the code of conduct was broken.”<br />
The seven basketball players were the only athletes to be suspended, while<br />
four cheerleaders were suspended. At least one of the suspended players thought<br />
the situation was handled unfairly.<br />
“It’s almost as if they used the seven of us as an example,” he said.<br />
The rest of the basketball team is also dealing with the suspension of their<br />
teammates. JV players have moved up, and the team is working harder. Junior<br />
Jim Ebke, one of the remaining varsity players, is one player who has had to pick<br />
up the load.<br />
“The morale is always where it has been, but it’s tougher to find people to<br />
compete with,” Ebke said.<br />
None of the suspended players were starters on the basketball team.<br />
Since the suspensions, some <strong>East</strong> students have refused to get on MySpace.<br />
Others have even canceled their accounts, fearing that teachers will continue to<br />
read them.<br />
“I don’t check websites,” said Henrichs. “It’s not a part of my job, but my job<br />
is to enforce the rules that our programs have in place.”<br />
Both Henrichs and the <strong>East</strong> <strong>High</strong> Administration want students to understand<br />
the risks of posting personal information on the Internet. That information,<br />
while posted in the privacy of a home, is accessible to almost anyone and it<br />
becomes part of the public domain. As some <strong>East</strong> students have learned, an<br />
online journal is a very public place.<br />
The basketball team went back to practice on <strong>February</strong> 6. Henrichs<br />
likes to view this as a fresh start.<br />
“We’re not passing judgment on those kids,” said Henrichs. “They made<br />
a mistake, but they handled the consequences in the best possible manner. It’s<br />
time to move on.”<br />
“If the police had arrived<br />
at the party, everyone would<br />
have been MIP’d, not just the<br />
students who were drinking.<br />
The decision wasn’t that difficult<br />
to make- the code of<br />
conduct was broken.”<br />
-Athletic Director Wendy<br />
Henrichs<br />
8/Faces <strong>February</strong> 24, <strong>2006</strong><br />
Design By: Jetz Jacobson<br />
Photos By: Erin Brown
Online Dating: The Dirt on Flirt<br />
Aaron Stephenson<br />
_ Staff Reporter<br />
Aaron aka “Raul”<br />
Height: 5’2”<br />
Weight: 250 lbs.<br />
Nation of Origin: Puerto Rico<br />
Occupation: Senior fry technician<br />
Place of employment: McDonald’s<br />
Income: Less than $20,000/year<br />
Looking for: A woman to satisfy his needs<br />
A woman who is very complacent and<br />
low maintenance. Very physically<br />
affectionate.<br />
Residency: Parent’s basement<br />
Person of inspiration: Captain Kirk, but<br />
doesn’t like being called a “trekkie”,<br />
prefers the term “trekster”<br />
Education: <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong> dropout after<br />
freshman year<br />
Activities/Hobbies: none. Watches sci-fi<br />
network<br />
As dating on the Internet continues to expand,<br />
many computer users have become wary of the<br />
dangers that such an enterprise presents. In fact,<br />
in conjunction with a few other staff members,<br />
we took it upon ourselves to create the most<br />
attractive, and unattractive person possible on<br />
the dating site, eHarmony.com.<br />
Meet the beautiful Francesca. She’s<br />
fun, she’s fit, and she loves playing watersports<br />
and baking for her significant other.<br />
eHarmony loves you, Francesca.<br />
Meet Raul. He’s sleazy, overly<br />
aggressive, and intensely competitive…with<br />
everyone…and he lives<br />
with his mom. In fact, eharmony<br />
was upfront with Raul saying,<br />
“Unfortunately, we are not able<br />
to make our profiles work for<br />
you. Our matching model<br />
could not accurately predict<br />
with whom you would be<br />
best matched. We hope<br />
that you understand, and<br />
we regret our inability to<br />
provide service for you<br />
at this time.”<br />
Raul’s Results<br />
Because of your enthusiasm, you may forget that<br />
others have different wants and needs.<br />
You don’t actively seek out conflict; however, you<br />
will confront those who stand between you and what<br />
you want to happen.<br />
You can be quite cautious and not trust people<br />
you don’t know.<br />
You can get so involved with an activity that you<br />
take charge, and this can frustrate others. You don’t<br />
mean to take charge, it’s just your drive.<br />
You will take issue and not shy away from confrontation<br />
when others disagree with how you feel or<br />
think.<br />
Some see you as cautious, but once you decide<br />
upon an action you can be direct and demanding.<br />
You may lack empathy and hurt the feelings of<br />
others without realizing it--this is not intentional.<br />
Your rapid mental activity becomes apparent<br />
when, rather than listening to others, you will be thinking<br />
of what you might say next.<br />
Your high ego traits coupled with impatience may<br />
have others read you as arrogant at times.<br />
You have a natural competitive style. It is important<br />
for you to feed that competitive spirit.<br />
You tend to be tenacious about solving problems,<br />
not liking to give up until something is resolved.<br />
You generally don’t like to back away from a<br />
challenge.<br />
You place a high value on being direct and honest<br />
when expressing thoughts and feelings.<br />
Salome aka<br />
“Francesca”<br />
Height: 5’7”<br />
Weight:125<br />
Nation of Origin:United States<br />
Occupation: Massage Therapist<br />
Place of Employment: Oakbrook Medical<br />
Health Center<br />
Income: $70,000-$100,000/year<br />
Looking for: Any man who can provide me with<br />
company, someone for whom I can provide<br />
completeness to his life.<br />
Residency: Downtown flat<br />
Person of inspiration: Ghandi. He made a<br />
difference in the world peacefully. I think that’s<br />
something we can all admire.<br />
Education: Masters in Massage Therapy<br />
Activities/Hobbies: running, water sport<br />
enthusiast, tennis<br />
Francesca’s Results<br />
You have a strong feeling of optimism, considered<br />
favorably by most people around you. Your perception<br />
is that the bottle is half-full rather than half-empty.<br />
You have a high trust level for others. Occasionally<br />
you may have trusted too much and was “stung”<br />
in the process. Your natural optimism, however, tends<br />
to pull you out of such slumps.<br />
You have a strong sense of humor. You usually<br />
know when to lighten a difficult situation, amuse and<br />
entertain people.<br />
You can generate enthusiasm in yourself and<br />
in other people. Your enthusiasm, often contagious,<br />
involves many people in a social activity who might<br />
not ordinarily become involved.<br />
You show sympathy to the feelings and needs<br />
of others. Your natural empathy style may draw others<br />
to you.<br />
Poised, confident, persuasive and impressive are<br />
descriptors for you. You are usually capable of speaking<br />
in a comfortable manner.<br />
You are a natural communicator. You love to talk,<br />
offer jokes and make sure that everyone is having a<br />
good time. This trait is especially evident at functions<br />
and outings.<br />
You take pride in being very loyal to friends and<br />
family.<br />
You are optimistic and tend to make others feel<br />
good about themselves.<br />
You are socially poised and people-oriented.<br />
You are very good at communicating with others<br />
and seeing their point of view.<br />
You are excellent at listening to the concerns and<br />
ideas of others.<br />
You are generally very patient with people.<br />
You are usually enthusiastic about activities and<br />
planning.<br />
You have an excellent sense of humor and tend<br />
to see humor in events spontaneously.<br />
<strong>February</strong> 24, <strong>2006</strong> Faces/9
Online Learning<br />
At <strong>East</strong>, the most prominent<br />
feature of online classes is the Novanet<br />
class, where students can take<br />
regular classes through an online<br />
computer program. To get involved,<br />
contact your counselor.<br />
Many <strong>East</strong> teachers put notes or<br />
assignments on the Internet to help<br />
students who’ve missed class or just<br />
want to have a copy of the lecture<br />
topics. Just go to the <strong>East</strong> website at<br />
www.ehs.lps.org and click on “Online<br />
Teachers and Departments” to see if<br />
your teachers provide this service.<br />
The University of Nebraska-<strong>Lincoln</strong><br />
offers online classes that can<br />
aid in credit toward a graduate<br />
degree and allow students to take<br />
classes with people from around the<br />
world! To get more information on<br />
UNL’s online learning, contact Carrie<br />
Myers, UNL’s admission counselor, at<br />
carriemyers.admissions@unl.org or go<br />
to the UNL website at www.unl.edu<br />
and search for “online classes.”<br />
Online Help<br />
Katherine Wild<br />
_ Staff Reporter<br />
Let’s face it. Teachers aren’t<br />
believing the whole “dog eating<br />
the homework” thing any more. So,<br />
if you’re stuck on an assignment or<br />
project, don’t worry! The web provides<br />
many resources to help fill your<br />
needs.<br />
For those hard-to-understand<br />
textbooks, www.sparknotes.com provides<br />
brief synopses of all kinds of<br />
literary works, as well giving help in<br />
math, history, science, and other<br />
subjects. Be careful though, and don’t<br />
use Spark Notes by itself. It’s meant to<br />
be a resource to study along with the<br />
real book, and doesn’t go into great<br />
depth. Try reading the Spark Notes<br />
and then reading the book assigned.<br />
You’ll be able to understand it a lot<br />
better if you already know what’s supposed<br />
to be going on.<br />
If there’s a difficult word that<br />
needs defining, www.dictionary.com<br />
will fit your needs. The website uses<br />
definitions from several different dictionaries,<br />
so you can find the one that<br />
fits best.<br />
Of course, you can always go<br />
to your favorite search engine and<br />
type in “homework help.” There are<br />
many online organizations that exist<br />
to answer your questions, including<br />
www.reference.com. These services<br />
often have chat rooms so you can<br />
talk out your problem with teacher or<br />
other students.<br />
If all else fails, you can always<br />
ask your teacher. The <strong>Lincoln</strong> <strong>East</strong><br />
Website provides all our teachers’<br />
email addresses, so its easy to get your<br />
questions answered.<br />
Novanet a different route to learning<br />
Darja Doberman<br />
_ Staff Reporter<br />
Walking into the room you are immediately<br />
greeted by the silent humming<br />
and purring of 18 computers. The warmth<br />
they create envelopes you the moment<br />
you step through the door, as though you<br />
have stepped into another world. Upon<br />
close inspection you hear the rhythmic<br />
ticking of students working away, oblivious<br />
to everything else going on around<br />
them. They are in their own world, one<br />
unlike the everyday classrooms of <strong>East</strong>.<br />
And this is where you will find Sara<br />
Taylor, at the third computer on the left<br />
typing away, stopping every so often<br />
to jot down some notes and a click of<br />
a mouse here and there to move to a<br />
new screen.<br />
This is the Novanet room, a classroom<br />
that isn’t quite a classroom. Novanet<br />
is an online learning program<br />
designed to give students their chance<br />
at success when a “regular” learning<br />
environment isn’t working. And it gave<br />
Sara Taylor, a senior, exactly what she<br />
needed.<br />
The regular “class setting wasn’t<br />
working, I just learn better on my own,”<br />
said Taylor. “I would sit there doing my<br />
own work while everyone else did their<br />
thing.” Taylor realized, with the help of<br />
her counselor and advice from friends,<br />
that Novenet<br />
might be just<br />
the place for<br />
her. Indeed, Novanet<br />
gave her<br />
the opportunity<br />
to work more<br />
freely at her<br />
own pace.<br />
“Sara was<br />
able to work at<br />
her own pace<br />
and didn’t have<br />
to deal with the<br />
teacher generated timeline. She can<br />
generate her own timeline here,” said<br />
Novanet Director Tim Bayne<br />
Currently Taylor is taking three<br />
Novanet classes—Health, Grammar,<br />
and World Geography. She will also be<br />
starting a keyboarding class soon.<br />
“It has been really good. I would<br />
do badly on the semester tests but here<br />
Sarah Taylor works at her own pace during a Novanet class. (Photo By: Susanna Webb)<br />
I do really well,” said Taylor. Right now<br />
her geography class “involves a lot of<br />
reading but there are really good pictures.<br />
And it<br />
is updated<br />
quite a bit<br />
compared to<br />
some of the<br />
other courses.”<br />
O f<br />
course with<br />
e v e r y p r o<br />
there must<br />
be a con.<br />
“They<br />
should offer<br />
more classes. Personally I think all except<br />
hands-on classes should be offered<br />
online. And some of the programs<br />
could be added and improved on, just<br />
updated in general,” said Taylor. Bayne<br />
acknowledged another shortcoming of<br />
Novanet.<br />
“Students miss out on the interaction<br />
and group discussions in class,” he<br />
“This is not a dumping<br />
ground.Look around. We have<br />
everything from at-risk kids all<br />
the way to highly gifted ones.”<br />
-Tim Bayne, Novanet Director.<br />
“ I think it has changed<br />
a lot.”<br />
--David McHale,<br />
Senior<br />
“ I think teachers will<br />
soon be replaced by<br />
electronic brains.”<br />
– Zach Davidson,<br />
Senior<br />
“ I think it has changed<br />
dramatically from 20 years<br />
ago, when everything was<br />
on the chalkboard.”<br />
--Roxi Sattler,<br />
Media Specialist<br />
said. However the pros seem to outweigh<br />
the cons,<br />
“Students earn credits, they<br />
learn as if they are in a classroom without<br />
the teacher dictated schedule, they<br />
pass the CRTs easily which shows that<br />
they are learning just as if they were in<br />
a classroom and often students tend<br />
to get through the courses faster,” said<br />
Bayne. With all that Novanet has to offer,<br />
though, misconceptions still exist.<br />
Some people smirk when they<br />
hear someone mention the Novanet program,<br />
wrongly assuming that it is limited<br />
to at-risk kids.<br />
“This is not a dumping ground,”<br />
said Bayne. “Look around. We have<br />
everything from at-risk kids all the way<br />
to highly gifted ones.” Bayne said that<br />
there is more than one way to run a Novanet<br />
lab, though.<br />
“Some schools run it as an at-risk<br />
program, but we don’t because that’s<br />
not what it is,” said Bayne. “It is a system<br />
that has allowed Sara to be successful<br />
at her own pace.”<br />
Spartans Speak Out<br />
Compiled by Kelli Blacketer<br />
How do you think our culture is dependent on digital interaction?<br />
“I am sad because we<br />
have lost personal communication.<br />
Everything is<br />
in email, nowadays. It’s<br />
better because it is fast,<br />
but I would like to go back<br />
to the old days with the<br />
letter writing.”<br />
—Marilyn Meyer,<br />
Special Education Para<br />
10/Faces <strong>February</strong> 24, <strong>2006</strong>
Online Service<br />
LiveJournal<br />
Private Posting Photo Hosting User Comment<br />
YES: Called<br />
“Friends Only”<br />
6 Photos with<br />
free account, more<br />
added with paid<br />
account<br />
“It’s a fun way to<br />
keep track of life,<br />
and to go back and<br />
see were you’ve<br />
been.”<br />
--Alem Barth, alumni<br />
Xanga<br />
YES<br />
3 photos with<br />
free account, 99 with<br />
“premium account”<br />
“I used to have one. I<br />
hate it because its all<br />
middle schoolers now.”<br />
--Ali Peterson, junior<br />
YES: Profile can<br />
be made private by<br />
identifying yourself<br />
as 14 or under<br />
12 photos in an<br />
unpaid account<br />
“It was pretty great<br />
until I had a fake page<br />
made about me. For<br />
the record I do NOT<br />
like Donny Osmond!”<br />
--Derek Outson,<br />
sophomore<br />
FaceBook<br />
YES: Profiles are<br />
blocked to kids from<br />
other schools<br />
Infinite Photos<br />
“Technically I’m not<br />
supposed to have<br />
this…So, no<br />
comment.”<br />
--Aaron Fluitt, senior<br />
Picture Recognition Site<br />
This site allows users to<br />
upload a photograph that it<br />
then matches to the faces<br />
of celebrities. The site, myheritage.com,<br />
yields interesting<br />
results, from matching George<br />
Bush to himself to matching<br />
Jesus Christ with Che Guevara.<br />
The site is free and it can<br />
upload most picture formats.<br />
Tricky’s Riddle<br />
This text-based puzzle site poses quite a challenge.<br />
The point of the game is to properly alter the<br />
website’s address<br />
in order to<br />
advance to the<br />
next levels. The<br />
game involves<br />
a n u m b e r o f<br />
text-based and<br />
picture-based<br />
hints and clues,<br />
as well as hints<br />
embedded in<br />
the source code of the page. Tricky’s Riddle can be<br />
found at people.ex.ac.uk/rbd201/riddle/ame.htm<br />
Quizzes<br />
Compiled By: Aaron Stephenson<br />
Designed By: Jetz Jacobson<br />
If you have an Internet connection and feel<br />
like you have nothing else to do, you can always try<br />
quizzes. These can range from testing your IQ to telling<br />
you what flavor of pie you are. There are plenty<br />
of sites devoted to quizzes including blogthings.com,<br />
but a quick Google search can yield plenty of other<br />
options.<br />
You are: A Boston Creme Donut<br />
Compiled by Sean Dwyer<br />
Terms 101<br />
AFK Away From Keyboard<br />
ASL Age / Sex / Location<br />
ATM At The Moment<br />
BRB Be Right back<br />
CUI Cracking Up Inside<br />
CUL8R / CULR See You Later<br />
G2G Got to Go<br />
IMO In My Opinion<br />
JK Just Kidding<br />
KOTC Kiss On The Cheek<br />
LOL Laughing Out Loud<br />
LYLAB Love You Like A Brother<br />
LYLAS Love You Like A Sister<br />
NM / NVM Never mind<br />
NP No Problem<br />
OMG Oh My Gosh<br />
POS / “9” Parent Over Shoulder<br />
<strong>February</strong> 24, <strong>2006</strong><br />
PPL People<br />
ROTFLMAO Rolling On The Floor Laughing My …<br />
SRY Sorry<br />
TMI To Much Information<br />
TTFN Ta-Ta For Now<br />
TY Thank You<br />
YTB You’re The Best<br />
WRUD What Are You Doing<br />
Faces/11
12/Focus <strong>February</strong> 24, <strong>2006</strong><br />
Mak<br />
h
ing<br />
er way<br />
Story by Kari Tietjen<br />
Photos by Shuqiao Song<br />
Design by Jake Meador and Sammy Wang<br />
Twenty-year-old Lulwa (Lulu)<br />
Al Marshoud is not your typical<br />
<strong>Lincoln</strong> <strong>East</strong> student. Lulu, 20,<br />
and her husband, Fahad,<br />
came to the U.S. in 2002<br />
from Riyadh, Saudi<br />
Arabia.<br />
<strong>February</strong> 24, <strong>2006</strong> Focus/13
“We<br />
moved here so Fahad could receive his degree<br />
in dentistry,” said Lulu. “A PhD from the United States<br />
is worth more than one from Saudi Arabia.” As a fulltime<br />
student and mother, Lulu is constantly busy with<br />
her three-year-old daughter Goot, her husband, and<br />
her homework. Upon arriving in the United States for<br />
Fahad’s schooling, Lulu sought to continue her own<br />
education at <strong>East</strong>.<br />
“When we came, I was so scared<br />
because we didn’t know anyone,” said<br />
Lulu, “and to go to school was such a<br />
challenge.” Being taught in a tongue<br />
foreign to her own, she struggled at first<br />
with the language.<br />
“At first, the accents seemed so<br />
heavy, and it was hard to understand<br />
the language,” said Lulu. In Saudi schools,<br />
students are taught British English, which<br />
uses slang that is not recognized by most<br />
Americans. “I would ask for the lift and<br />
people didn’t understand I was asking for<br />
the elevator,” said Lulu. As a result, she<br />
found it hard to talk to other students.<br />
“I didn’t like to answer people when<br />
they talked to me. I didn’t want anyone to<br />
not understand me,” said Lulu. She gained<br />
confidence in her English through <strong>East</strong>’s<br />
English Language Learner (ELL) classes.<br />
The language barrier between Lulu and<br />
her classmates still made it difficult to find<br />
friends at <strong>East</strong>, though.<br />
“I’m shy and I’m still always scared to<br />
say something wrong. It was hard to make<br />
friends,” said Lulu. Lulu’s frustrations went<br />
beyond the language barrier. At first she<br />
was taking classes she felt were too basic<br />
for what she wanted to learn.<br />
“I only took easy classes and I hated<br />
it. They were fun, but I already knew how<br />
to do what they were teaching,” said Lulu.<br />
She had already learned some of the basics<br />
like cooking and sewing before taking<br />
those courses at <strong>East</strong>. Now, however, Lulu<br />
is taking a rigorous load of courses, fulfilling<br />
the last of her graduation requirements in<br />
her final year at <strong>East</strong>.<br />
“I wish they would have told me about the<br />
graduation requirements earlier,” said Lulu. “I<br />
don’t know what we need to take.” The Saudi<br />
school system is much different from the United<br />
States’ method of education. Males and females<br />
in Saudi Arabia are separated by schools and<br />
students are given different schedules each day<br />
of the week, repeating the schedule every week.<br />
“I could take more classes. We were able to take<br />
60 to 70 classes in Saudi Arabian schools,” said<br />
Lulu. These days, she is enjoying every moment<br />
of her senior year.<br />
“<br />
“I didn’t like to answer people<br />
when they talked to me. I didn’t<br />
want anyone to not understand<br />
me,”<br />
“I like all my classes and teachers,” said Lulu. “In<br />
Saudi Arabia, the teachers were so strict. Here, the<br />
teachers are so personable; they come and ask how<br />
your weekend was. At home, they were cocky, they<br />
didn’t want to talk to us students.”<br />
Former ELL teacher Stephen Swinehart currently<br />
teaches Lulu in American Literature.<br />
“Lulu has done an amazing job here at <strong>East</strong>.<br />
Socially, she has done exceptionally and has made<br />
a great deal of progress,” said Swinehart. “She is<br />
well-liked, personable, and does a wonderful job at<br />
balancing academics and being a mother.”<br />
Amazingly, Lulu manages to find time to spend<br />
with her daughter and husband and still be a full-time<br />
high school student. “I usually get to spend about four<br />
hours a day with Goot, but I’m extremely busy,” said<br />
Lulu. “It gets very hectic. It is crazy having a child and<br />
going to school.”<br />
Perhaps one of the biggest difficulties of moving<br />
to the United States was becoming familiar with the<br />
American culture.<br />
“Lulu has to get used to the American academic<br />
pace, which is quite a big different than in her country,”<br />
said Swinehart. “Once she gets a better understanding<br />
of American culture, she will have much more success.<br />
She is extremely determined, which will help her succeed.”<br />
She does think about her home, however.<br />
“Sometimes I like things here, but sometimes I just<br />
want to go back,” said Lulu. She has five brothers and<br />
three sisters back in Saudi Arabia. “We are the only<br />
ones from my family in the United States,” she said.<br />
“I call my family and hear them having fun. It makes<br />
me miss them,” said Lulu. “Every week, my family gets<br />
together and stays up until midnight, drinking tea<br />
and talking.” She visits her family in Saudi as often as<br />
possible.<br />
“We go back about once a year,” she said. “We<br />
often stay one to two months at a time.” Lulu cherishes<br />
every visit to her home city of Riyadh, the capital of<br />
Saudi Arabia. “I miss a lot of things from my country,”<br />
including the latest fashions.<br />
“When I visited, I wore new clothing and my sister<br />
told me I could not wear it out because it was from<br />
two years ago,” said Lulu. “Americans are so behind<br />
in fashion compared to Saudi Arabians.” One of the<br />
14/Focus <strong>February</strong> 24, <strong>2006</strong>
<strong>Lincoln</strong>,<br />
Nebraska<br />
Riyadh,<br />
Saudi Arabia<br />
things Lulu misses<br />
most from<br />
her home is the<br />
cuisine.<br />
“The food<br />
is much better at home,” she said. “We cook only food<br />
from home here.” The last time Lulu visited her family<br />
was last August when she attended her younger sister’s<br />
wedding. Most women in Saudi Arabia are married at<br />
high-school age, usually around 18. The actual wedding<br />
ceremony is more like a party and much more formal<br />
than American weddings.<br />
“I went to a wedding here in a new outfit and I<br />
was much more dressed up than anyone else,” said<br />
Lulu. Even the Saudi dating system is different compared<br />
to American standards.<br />
“Marriage is not forced,” said Lulu. “It’s like matchmaking.<br />
Some men would come to ask for our hand in<br />
marriage and we didn’t like the man, so we said ‘no’ to<br />
him and sent him away.” Lulu and her husband Fahad<br />
married four years ago, after meeting through Fahad’s<br />
uncle. Because Lulu is Muslim, she wears a religious<br />
head scarf, or hijab, which must be worn in public by<br />
Muslim women.<br />
“The scarf is to cover women from men outside<br />
of their family,” said Lulu. “I don’t wear the scarf in front<br />
of my husband or any other men in my family.” As a<br />
Muslim Preserving the Saudi traditions, especially for<br />
her daughter, is one of her most important jobs in Lulu’s<br />
eyes. However, their daughter Goot is not old enough<br />
to learn about the Islamic religion.<br />
“Back in Saudi Arabia,” said Al Marshoud, “they<br />
already teach religion in the schools because it’s an<br />
almost one hundred percent Muslim population there.”<br />
Once Goot reaches about the age of 14, she too will<br />
wear the head scarf. Lulu, who is pregnant with another<br />
child, also wants to maintain her culture for her new<br />
daughter who she is expecting on March 13. The family<br />
only speaks Arabic at home, giving Goot a sense of<br />
the Saudi Arabian traditions.<br />
“I want Goot to learn Arabic and keep the culture,”<br />
said Al Marshoud. “Goot is learning English at<br />
preschool, so we speak Arabic at home.” Upon her<br />
husband’s completion of his PhD, the family is planning<br />
to move back home to Riyadh. Until then, Lulu is going<br />
to enjoy the benefits of Nebraska.<br />
“We like <strong>Lincoln</strong>, the people are friendly and they<br />
smile,” she said. “When we visited Chicago, I sat next<br />
to a person and smiled at them. They gave me a look<br />
saying, ‘Why?’ ” <strong>Lincoln</strong>, according to Lulu, is also an<br />
easy city to become accustomed to.<br />
Lulu is going to graduate in May from <strong>East</strong> and<br />
then will begin school at Southeast Community College<br />
next winter, spending the fall semester with her<br />
children.<br />
“<br />
She is well-liked, personable, and<br />
“Every day I have a new idea for what I want<br />
to do,” said Lulu. But above all, Lulu and her family<br />
believe maintaining their Saudi Arabian culture is the<br />
most significant aspect of their lives.<br />
“<br />
does a wonderful job at balancing<br />
academics and being a mother.<br />
- English teacher<br />
Steve Swinehart<br />
By the numbers:<br />
<strong>Lincoln</strong> Riyadh<br />
Population: 225,000<br />
Area: 75 square miles<br />
Area (<strong>Lincoln</strong> and Omaha): 182<br />
square miles<br />
Racial make-up:<br />
89 percent white<br />
3 percent African American<br />
.7 percent American Indian<br />
3 percent Asian<br />
2 percent other races<br />
Religious make-up:<br />
77 percent Christian<br />
13 percent nonreligious<br />
1 percent Jewish<br />
.5 percent Muslim<br />
.5 percent Buddhist<br />
.5 percent Agnostic<br />
.4 percent Atheist<br />
.4 percent Hindu<br />
.3 percent Unitarian/<br />
Universalist<br />
Literacy rate: 97 percent<br />
Per capita GDP: $41,000<br />
<strong>February</strong> 24, <strong>2006</strong><br />
Compiled by Jake Meador<br />
Population: 4.7 million<br />
Area: 600 square miles<br />
Racial make-up:<br />
90 percent Arab<br />
10 percent Afro-Asian<br />
Religious make-up: 100% Muslim<br />
Literacy rate: 78.8 percent<br />
Per capita GDP: $12,000<br />
Focus/15
Happy new year: The Chinese way<br />
Carrie Chen<br />
_ Staff Reporter<br />
In 1996, a group of Chinese graduate<br />
students, the Chinese Students & Scholars Association<br />
(CSSA), hosted the first public Chinese<br />
New Year party in <strong>Lincoln</strong>. With 300 people in<br />
attendance and an economical stage, the party<br />
was a modest success, but the event quickly<br />
found an audience among the Chinese and<br />
Americans alike, where <strong>East</strong> bridges to West and<br />
there is a mutual respect and understanding of<br />
cultural differences and similarities.<br />
The evening is divided into two parts, dinner<br />
and show. Volunteers are the backbone of<br />
the event; aiding in food and stage set-up, and<br />
as perform in the show, respectively.<br />
“All of the performers here, they are not<br />
professionals, they are students at this University,”<br />
said Dr. Wen Zhi Jiang, a director of the event<br />
and an actor of the “Pantomime”, one of the<br />
highlights of the program.<br />
Playing a conductor of a chaotic ensemble<br />
of musicians, the sound effects were right<br />
on cue to match the actors’ movements. The<br />
students’ time and dedication into their performances<br />
is evident in their execution. Variety was<br />
definitely the spice of the program. In addition<br />
to Chinese performers, Taiwanese, Malaysian,<br />
The conclusion of the Chinese New Year celebration <strong>2006</strong>. (Photo by Shuqiao Song)<br />
and Americans took part in songs and<br />
dances. “I thought the performances<br />
were very well done, especially considering<br />
that they were just volunteers<br />
and amateurs. They did a great job,”<br />
said Alice Ouyang, an <strong>East</strong> freshman in<br />
attendance.<br />
David Conover, an Audio/Video<br />
Producer, finds all aspects of Chinese<br />
culture fascinating – culture, practices<br />
and traditions, and especially food. The<br />
rhythmic pattern of language captures<br />
Conover’s attention<br />
“How the Chinese talk, it’s sounds<br />
as though it’s a song,” said Conover.<br />
Both Jiang and Conover, among<br />
others, are aware of the need for economic,<br />
political, and social communication<br />
between China and the U.S.,<br />
and the implications and possibilities<br />
are endless.<br />
“We have a lot of commonalities<br />
and we also need to explore each<br />
other’s cultures,” said Conover.<br />
Anime invasion: Attack of the mangas<br />
Chris Oltman<br />
_ Staff Reporter<br />
These days, whenever you walk<br />
through a video or electronics store, entire<br />
displays are focused on one genre. Anime.<br />
This unique style of animation made itself<br />
know in America during the 1970’s under<br />
the name “Japanimation.” However,<br />
despite all the work publicists have gone<br />
through to promote it, many people still<br />
have no idea what it’s about.<br />
Anime often features characters with<br />
large eyes and a unique animation style.<br />
Storylines may feature a variety of characters<br />
and can be set in different locations<br />
and in different eras.<br />
Anime may be broadcast on television,<br />
distributed on media (such as DVDs)<br />
or published as console and computer<br />
games. Japanese comics, (or manga,)<br />
often influence anime although there are<br />
usually some discrepancies between the<br />
two.<br />
“Anime is not necessarily cartoons,”<br />
said Matt Schorfheide, president of <strong>East</strong>’s<br />
Anime Club. “Anime is any style of animation<br />
that originated in Japan.” Under this<br />
definition, animators do not have to limit<br />
their creations merely to the 2D style of<br />
art.<br />
While true anime has its roots in Japan,<br />
American imitators are popping up as<br />
well. Lately, more of these “pseudo-anime”<br />
American companies have tried to cash<br />
in on the popularity of the real thing by<br />
including anime expressions such as the<br />
sweat drop or by drawing their characters<br />
with the large, saucer-like eyes that identify<br />
many animes.<br />
But a greater concern among otaku<br />
(anime fans) is the issue of censorship that<br />
many popular anime shows have had to<br />
endure after being imported to the States.<br />
Many animes have been severely edited<br />
upon their arrival in the states. Schorfheide<br />
attributes this to our country’s narrow-minded<br />
views on what could be considered<br />
“obscene” issues.<br />
“In Japan, they aren’t as uptight as<br />
we are about the human body. So lots of<br />
times the original stuff will either have been<br />
changed to something less offensive or edited<br />
out completely,” said Schorfheide.<br />
Censorship, however, has lessened<br />
considerably in the past ten years in part<br />
because anime creators are bypassing<br />
the FCC and releasing straight to DVD so<br />
that the fans can enjoy them with all the<br />
voice dubbing and none of the censorship.<br />
Those fans are an interesting and vital part<br />
of the anime community. Many times, they<br />
are almost as talked about as the shows<br />
they watch.<br />
Fans of a specific show or genre<br />
will have their own title or slang word that<br />
they’re referred to. Fans of the “Naruto”<br />
anime or comic (manga) are sometimes<br />
designated as “narutards.” The suffix “-<br />
ophile” placed at the end of an anime or<br />
character name is used to express someone’s<br />
fandom of a character or show.<br />
Music is another important element in<br />
anime. Each show has its own musical take.<br />
For instance, in the anime “Evangelion”<br />
when the characters are making battle<br />
preparations or engaging an enemy, background<br />
music featuring heavy drum beats<br />
and militaristic styles begins to play, which<br />
highlights the tension of the scene.<br />
Apart from each individual fan’s likes,<br />
dislikes, and how involvement, most are no<br />
different from ordinary people.<br />
“Most [otaku] are generally open-<br />
Anime dictionary<br />
Otaku- Someone who has a high interest in anime, manga, and Japanese culture. This has<br />
derogatory connotations in Japan, but not so much in the West.<br />
Baka- An idiot or fool, a common word in anime.<br />
Cosplay- When a fan dresses up as their favorite anime character.<br />
Chibi- A character style that incorporates large heads and deformed bodies. Generally<br />
used to exaggerate surprise, cuteness, and a variety of other emotions.<br />
Shonen- Anime or manga aimed at male audiences.<br />
Shojo- Anime or manga aimed at female audiences.<br />
Manga- Japanese comic books that may later be adapted into anime.<br />
Mechas- Any giant robot used in manga or anime.<br />
minded” said Schorfheide, “and since<br />
there are lots of opinions on lots of different<br />
animes, you really have to learn to<br />
get along with people who you don’t see<br />
eye-to-eye.”<br />
Anime- Any animation from Japan. Usually categorized as a specific art style in 2-D<br />
animation.<br />
Bento- A boxed lunch that is commonly eaten in Japan and appears frequently in anime.<br />
Seiyuu- A voice actor for any anime show. Generally refers to the original Japanese voice,<br />
but can be used for the dub as well.<br />
Pocky- A pretzel like snack dipped in chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla icing that is a<br />
favorite at anime conventions.<br />
Fan sub- Anime that has not been licensed in the West which Japanese speaking fans<br />
translate for non-Japanese speakers.<br />
16/A&E <strong>February</strong> 24, <strong>2006</strong><br />
Kawaii- The Japanese word for anything cute. Compiled by Buddy Maixner and Kelli Blacketer
<strong>East</strong> high grads prove they can really dish it out<br />
As <strong>Lincoln</strong> becomes cluttered with a plethora of fast food options for Mexican<br />
cuisine, a few fine establishments have stood strong against the barrage of<br />
commercialism. In fact, two <strong>East</strong> high graduates have taken it upon themselves<br />
to preserve their tradition and culture through a family restaurant.<br />
Ricky and Juan Rico, both <strong>East</strong> <strong>High</strong> alums, opened Dos Hermanos Tamaleria<br />
because food has always been an important part of their family. Walk into the<br />
restaurant and you will see evidence of this. Behind the cash register are Mexican<br />
and American flags proudly hanging side by side. Look around and the cultural<br />
influence becomes obvious. The restaurant is strewn with sombreros, artwork and<br />
other references to the Mexican culture.<br />
Really, the restaurant has been a family affair. The Ricos’ father sits at a table<br />
patiently awaiting the next customer. It was actually their mother’s idea to start the<br />
restaurant.<br />
“She didn’t want us to have to deal with an employer, and so our parents<br />
helped us start a business of our own,” said Juan. “My family has been working in<br />
restaurants for a long time, and so it was a very easy decision for us.”<br />
The restaurant business seems to come easily to the Rico brothers because<br />
Dos Hermanos is doing well. The restaurant has stayed in business for over two<br />
years, specializing in burritos, tamales, and chimichangas and the Ricos may even<br />
be looking to expand.<br />
“We would love to get a bigger place, and have a nice sit down restaurant.<br />
Right now its just about finding a location that is affordable for us. Once we find<br />
a good lease, I think we are ready to support a bigger restaurant, since we have<br />
been doing such good business here,” said Juan.<br />
And rightfully so, because I cannot help but rave about the place. As I<br />
walked into the restaurant, I was greeted with a smile and some pleasant<br />
c o n v e r -<br />
sation with Juan. The pleasant fellow took my order, and<br />
quickly<br />
Aaron Stephenson<br />
_ Staff Reporter<br />
went to work preparing it. In fact, the food was ready<br />
Latino fashions popular in<br />
<strong>Lincoln</strong>’s culture<br />
almost immediately. After tasting their green chile burrito and tamale, two of their<br />
best dishes according to Rico, and I was blown away. Not only was the food affordable,<br />
fast and served in huge portions, but delicious.<br />
“It’s always the green chile burritos and the chimichangas. My friends come in<br />
here all the time, and<br />
that’s all they ever<br />
get. They are really<br />
good,” said Rico.<br />
Though all of<br />
this success has been<br />
great for the Ricos’<br />
they haven’t let it go<br />
to their heads. Juan<br />
is grateful that they<br />
have stayed in business<br />
as long as they<br />
had. He was eager<br />
to talk about the lessons<br />
learned, and<br />
these<br />
Dos Hermanos proudly displaying their Mexican and American flags. Located<br />
at 6117 Havelock Ave. (Photo by Susanna Webb)<br />
the experience that<br />
<strong>East</strong> alums can take<br />
into life.<br />
“There are definitely<br />
some great perks to being self employed. You set your own hours, you make<br />
more money and you get to make all the important decisions,” said Rico. However,<br />
Juan only mentioned one downside.<br />
“You can never call in sick.”<br />
Salome Viljoen<br />
_ Staff Reporter<br />
With Hispanics as the largest minority in the U.S., bits of<br />
culture from south of the border can be seen all over <strong>Lincoln</strong>.<br />
Though most people associate Hispanic culture with Latin pop songs<br />
and delicious, spicy food, the Hispanic culture can be seen in fashion<br />
as well. Local places that specialize in Hispanic fashions include Nina’s, La<br />
Popular, and La Moda. These stores feature clothing in styles that are common<br />
in Latin America, and, while similar to styles seen in the U.S., they have some striking<br />
differences, including brighter colors and a greater variety in style.<br />
Though Hispanic food and music has had a great influence on the non-<br />
Hispanic culture, Latino<br />
fashion has been<br />
slower to spread to<br />
other cultures in the<br />
U.S. Janelli Sanchez,<br />
a student who works<br />
part-time at La Popular,<br />
says their clothing is<br />
designed and made in<br />
California, and are from<br />
a line made expressly<br />
for Latino customers.<br />
La Popular has mostly<br />
women’s clothing, specializing<br />
in everything<br />
from First Communion<br />
dresses and quinceñera<br />
formals, to dresses for<br />
proms and weddings.<br />
Hispanic fashion hot spot La Popular at 2021 ‘O’ St. (Photo by Susanna<br />
Webb)<br />
at the mall, but with a distinctive Latino flair.<br />
They also carry everyday<br />
clothing, a lot like<br />
something you can find<br />
<strong>February</strong> 24, <strong>2006</strong> A&E/17
Middle <strong>East</strong>ern movies making motion picture magic<br />
Recently, movie goers<br />
have been greeted with<br />
an influx of movies about<br />
the Middle <strong>East</strong>. “Munich”<br />
and “Syriana” have become<br />
box office hits in the<br />
U.S. Other movies, such<br />
as “Paradise Now”, have<br />
made waves of their own<br />
among critics and audiences.<br />
These movies and<br />
a string of others focus on<br />
political unrest within the<br />
Middle <strong>East</strong>.<br />
Despite the images movies create in<br />
our heads, much of Middle <strong>East</strong>ern culture<br />
is left out. Nizar Zhaiya is a case manager at<br />
Faces of the Middle <strong>East</strong>, an organization that<br />
supports Middle <strong>East</strong>ern refugees in <strong>Lincoln</strong>.<br />
“Unless you go see the people of Middle<br />
<strong>East</strong>ern countries and talk to them, you don’t<br />
know them,” said Zhaiya.<br />
A native Iraqi, Zhaiya has had many<br />
encounters with people who don’t know the<br />
Middle <strong>East</strong>ern culture and people.<br />
“Many people think of three things when<br />
they think of the Middle <strong>East</strong>,” said Zhaiya.<br />
“Desert, camels, and tents. In reality, eighty<br />
percent of Iraqi’s don’t live in tents but have<br />
homes of their own.”<br />
No one can dispute the fact that Hollywood<br />
has helped perpetuate stereotypes of<br />
the Middle <strong>East</strong> with classics such as “Arabian<br />
Nights”. But perhaps the new round of movies<br />
about the Middle <strong>East</strong> will do a bit more<br />
justice to the region. Zhaiya says he has seen<br />
improvements.<br />
“With my humble observation, I have<br />
seen development in the subjects of programs,”<br />
said Zhaiya.<br />
Keep watching as these eye-opening<br />
films continue to create a more accurate<br />
portrayal of life in the Middle <strong>East</strong>.<br />
“Munich”:<br />
Rated ‘R’<br />
This action-packed thriller examines the Israeli response to the killings<br />
of eleven Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in the 1970s. The movie follows<br />
the story of the lead Israeli assassin, Avner, a man sent to answer death with<br />
death. Director Steven Spielberg keeps viewers on the edge of their seats with<br />
tense moments and plenty of explosions.<br />
Playing: Coming soon to the Starship<br />
9<br />
“Paradise Now”:<br />
Rated ‘PG-13’<br />
“Paradise Now” is a personal story of<br />
two Palestinian suicide bombers’ last days of<br />
life. This movie reveals the humanity behind<br />
the Israel amd Palestine conflict, highlighting<br />
the people and families of those involved<br />
in the violence. The two main characters,<br />
played by Kais Nashef and Ali Suliman, struggle with whether or not more<br />
violence will solve their people’s struggle.<br />
“Paradise Now” brings a new perspective to<br />
the Middle <strong>East</strong>ern conflict we so often hear<br />
about.<br />
Playing: Coming soon to a video rental<br />
store near you<br />
“Syriana”:<br />
Rated ‘R’<br />
This Academy-Award nominee features Matt Damon and George<br />
Clooney and spotlights the global oil industry. Damon and Clooney play an oil<br />
broker and a CIA operative who face the harsh realities of global politics. Other<br />
characters are intertwined with Damon’s and Clooney’s, including those of a<br />
corporate lawyer and a Pakistani teenager. “Syriana” proves to be a thrilling<br />
critique of the global oil industry.<br />
Playing: Coming soon to the Starship 9<br />
Other movies focused on the<br />
Middle <strong>East</strong>:<br />
“Jarhead”:<br />
Rated ‘R’.<br />
Jake Gyllenhaal stars in this action movie about<br />
a U.S. Marine’s struggle as he is stationed in modernday<br />
Iraq. Available to rent now.<br />
“Looking for Comedy in the<br />
Muslim World”:<br />
Rated ‘PG-13’.<br />
This movie interestingly<br />
enough takes<br />
place in India, a country<br />
with more Hindus than<br />
Muslims. Albert Brooks<br />
is sent to India to find out what makes Muslim people<br />
laugh. Soon showing at the Starship 9.<br />
“The Syrian Bride”:<br />
Not rated.<br />
A tale of an Israeli woman engaged to a Syrian<br />
man who faces many obstacles in her attempt to<br />
marry. Look for this movie to rent soon.<br />
18/A&E <strong>February</strong> 24, <strong>2006</strong><br />
Compiled by Sarah Melecki
African band beats out other genres<br />
Roshni Oommen<br />
_ Staff Reporter<br />
Walk into Michael Opoku’s house, and you’ll<br />
see rooms filled with all sorts of amazing African artifacts.<br />
From statues to drums, the Opoku residence<br />
has it all. Opoku, who has lived in Nebraska since the<br />
mid-nineties, is the lead vocalist and percussionist in the<br />
band Ashanti.<br />
Named after his tribe from Ghana, Ashanti has<br />
brought the African sound and rhythm to the residents<br />
of Nebraska for over ten years.<br />
The band beats out their pulse on actual<br />
African drums and adds flavor with keyboards, saxophones,<br />
and trumpets. Jacob Varvel, who was a<br />
student teacher last year in <strong>East</strong>’s music department,<br />
plays the saxophone in Ashanti, and is also a music<br />
teacher.<br />
When Ashanti started, they had a large following<br />
because there were no other reggae-style bands<br />
around. Ashanti started in Europe as UN4, but when<br />
Opoku moved to the United States, the band had to<br />
start over.<br />
“Everywhere we played, there was a packed<br />
house,” said Opoku. “But we didn’t just want to play<br />
in nightclubs.”<br />
The band had an agent in California, but in order<br />
to make more money, Opoku started booking the band<br />
himself. Now, they play for organizations, colleges, and<br />
schools all over the country.<br />
Along with performing, Opoku also<br />
teaches students the history and musical<br />
skills which stem from the African<br />
culture. Elementary, middle, and<br />
high schools can book Opoku<br />
for a week-long residency,<br />
during which he<br />
teaches students<br />
to play African drums and perform African dances. At<br />
the end of the week, the students perform a concert<br />
for their school and Opoku sets up a market where he<br />
sells items from Africa. At the high school level, Opoku<br />
also works with bands and choirs, helping them to play<br />
and sing traditional African songs. <strong>East</strong> <strong>High</strong> is currently<br />
the only LPS high school where Opoku hasn’t visited.<br />
In order to book Opoku for a week, the music department<br />
must contact Opoku, who says that he would<br />
love to visit <strong>East</strong>.<br />
For more information on Opoku and Ashanti, visit<br />
their website at:<br />
http://ashantiafrica.tripod.com.<br />
The band Ashanti with its<br />
members. (Photo provided by<br />
Ashanti)<br />
Music through the ages<br />
The Work Song – Africans blended<br />
drum beats with chants as they worked<br />
through the clay. Often the songs employed<br />
“call and response” patterns. The<br />
songs, like their singers, fell victim to slavery.<br />
Many African slave owners prohibited<br />
their African captives from singing in their<br />
native tongues. Their captors feared such<br />
freedoms might spur revolts.<br />
1<br />
8<br />
0<br />
Gospel – During the final century of<br />
American slavery many slave owners converted<br />
their slaves to Christianity. Religion<br />
unified African Americans who embraced<br />
gospel music. Gospel offered relief from<br />
their troubles and hardships.<br />
The Blues – Though African immigrants<br />
were freed after the Civil War, they<br />
were still oppressed by the white public.<br />
Many African American musicians bought<br />
guitars and harmonicas because they<br />
were cheap and easy to travel with. With<br />
these instruments they created the blues.<br />
This genre allowed Black musicians to continue<br />
expressing themselves while staying<br />
true to their roots. The blues mimicked<br />
“the work song” in many respects which<br />
may have been why the genre became<br />
so popular.<br />
1<br />
9<br />
0<br />
1<br />
6<br />
0<br />
1<br />
8<br />
5<br />
0<br />
Jazz – During WWI, African Americans<br />
began to feel less like ex-slaves and more like<br />
Americans. They fought in the war, though in<br />
segregated troops, and they brought their<br />
music with them to Europe. Black musicians<br />
began mixing their blues with the brass instruments<br />
of France and jazz was born. Brass<br />
instruments were imported to all the French<br />
settlements in the United States and soon jazz<br />
had made its way through the country. For the<br />
first time, white musicians began to imitate the<br />
sounds of the Black music culture.<br />
Local African American hair salons<br />
Avid Salon<br />
Hair Weaving<br />
Meadowlane 70 th & Vine <strong>Lincoln</strong><br />
466-5050<br />
Oasis Barber Shop & Salon<br />
2208 O <strong>Lincoln</strong><br />
477-4282<br />
XY Hair Studio LLC<br />
1247 S 11 <strong>Lincoln</strong><br />
476-4727<br />
Compiled by Jetz Jacobson Photo by Susanna Webb<br />
Janay’s Electric Hair Salon<br />
525 N. 48<br />
464-8886<br />
Hair weaving cost is based upon how much hair<br />
there is per square inch. You can get a weave to<br />
make your hair thicker, or to make it longer. The<br />
cost is usually $7-$8 per strand. Hair weaves usually<br />
last 4-6 months and take about 3-5 hours to put in.<br />
The majority of weaving clients are between 25<br />
and 60 years old.<br />
R&B – By the mid 1900’s jazz had<br />
lost some of its appeal. To put the soul<br />
back into Black music, musicians began<br />
adding funky beats to their songs. They<br />
experimented with “shouting blues” and<br />
hard rhythm, which were huge hits on the<br />
radio. The R&B age was a revival period<br />
of Black music that would set the stage<br />
for later hits.<br />
1<br />
9<br />
7<br />
0<br />
<strong>February</strong> 24, <strong>2006</strong> A&E/19<br />
1<br />
9<br />
5<br />
0<br />
Funk – By the 1970’s loud music became<br />
almost standard. Funk emerged<br />
from electric R&B. Singers such as George<br />
Clinton and Miles Davis popularized soulfueled<br />
music. Funk became popular in<br />
dance clubs throughout the nation. It was<br />
the ultimate party genre.<br />
Hip Hop/Rap – By the 80’s, rock’s<br />
stronghold on the nation’s musical<br />
tastes began to waiver as<br />
a new sound emerged from<br />
the African-American artists.<br />
Putting voice to the<br />
violence and frustration<br />
many blacks face, rap<br />
and hip hop have impacted<br />
far more than<br />
the musical fashion to<br />
world. From politics to<br />
education, language,<br />
the influence of these<br />
genres are impossible to<br />
ignore.<br />
1<br />
9<br />
8<br />
0<br />
Compiled by Danny Jablonski
Down the ice, up the bracket<br />
Danny Jablonski<br />
Hockey is known for its booming<br />
atmosphere of the stadium sounds. From<br />
the thunder sticks to the notorious “face<br />
painters”, hockey has been entertaining<br />
<strong>Lincoln</strong> fans at the Ice Box for almost 10<br />
years. For many years <strong>Lincoln</strong> students<br />
had few hockey opportunities, but this<br />
year, things have changed.<br />
O m a -<br />
h a ’ s h i g h<br />
school hocke<br />
y l e a g u e<br />
o p e n e d u p<br />
competition to<br />
<strong>Lincoln</strong> schools<br />
for the first time<br />
ever. Two new<br />
<strong>Lincoln</strong> teams,<br />
including <strong>Lincoln</strong><br />
<strong>East</strong>, have<br />
joined the division.<br />
_Staff Writer<br />
“You still need to<br />
have a lot of experience.<br />
It gets kind of<br />
brutal.”<br />
-- Frank Gorecke<br />
Juniors Frank and George Goracke<br />
were ecstatic when they found out<br />
about the new high school league.<br />
“We’ve been playing hockey for<br />
almost ten years now. It’s a really fun<br />
and intense sport and we like being able<br />
to play it as a high school sport now,”<br />
said Frank.<br />
The Goracke brothers enjoy hockey<br />
despite its risks. “It’s open to pretty<br />
much anyone who wants to play but you<br />
still need to have a lot of experience. It<br />
gets kind of brutal,” said Frank.<br />
An estimated three or four team<br />
member injuries incur each season.<br />
George was lost for the season when<br />
one of his “checks” went wrong, ending<br />
in a dislocated shoulder, but he says he’ll<br />
be back next season.<br />
“It’s all part of the thrill of the<br />
game,” said George.<br />
The Spartans have been playing<br />
since October, holding a few team practices<br />
per week preceding each game.<br />
The <strong>Lincoln</strong> <strong>East</strong> team<br />
has struggled a bit this<br />
season, which is typical<br />
for a first-year team. At<br />
the beginning of <strong>February</strong><br />
the team was 7-10-2,<br />
standing at the number<br />
10 position in the rankings.<br />
The players hope<br />
to improve their stats as<br />
well as its fan base.<br />
“Not many people<br />
show up. It’d be nice if<br />
there was a better turnout,”<br />
said Frank. The playoffs begin in<br />
early March and a good turnout might<br />
just be the thing to rally the Spartans<br />
toward a win.<br />
Spartan hockey players aren’t<br />
dead set on winning, though. Most of<br />
the players compete just to have a<br />
good time.<br />
“I just play for the fun of it. I never<br />
take it too seriously. But if I have an opportunity<br />
to play outside of high school<br />
then I’ll definitely take up the offer,” said<br />
Frank. “It’s not my main focus or goal, but<br />
if it happens then that’d be sweet.”<br />
Players clearing the ice. (Photo by Shuqiao Song)<br />
Through broken teeth<br />
Jake Meador<br />
_ Design Editor<br />
Down at the Ice-Box hockey slan<br />
is passed back and forth like a second<br />
language. So, for anyone venturing to<br />
the hockey rinkwe have a list of words<br />
you might encounter.<br />
5-hole: Space between a goalie’s<br />
pads. 1 and 2 holes are above either<br />
shoulder, 3 and 4 are near the lower<br />
corners. The five-hole is the gap between<br />
his leg pads.<br />
Several players fighting for the puck against the boards. (Photo by Shuqiao Song)<br />
20/Sports <strong>February</strong> 24, <strong>2006</strong><br />
Hat-trick: When a player scores<br />
three goals in one game. A natural hattrick<br />
is when the player scores the three<br />
goals consecutively<br />
Sin-bin: Penalty box<br />
Deke: Different kinds of fakes used<br />
to evade the defender. Basketball has<br />
pump fakes, head fakes, etc. Hockey<br />
has dekes.<br />
Changing on the fly- When players<br />
enter and exit the game during play.<br />
Blue lines: Two lines that divide the<br />
rink into thirds, defensive zone, neutral<br />
zone, and attacking zone..<br />
One-timer: Shooting the puck<br />
immediately upon receiving it without<br />
stopping it first.
Pool chatter<br />
Around the pool you can expect to<br />
hear some serious slang. Here’s a quick<br />
list of some terms you may hear.<br />
Block- The starting platform.<br />
Bulkhead- A wall in a pool to separate<br />
it into different courses.<br />
Cut- Qualifying time.<br />
Failed Swim- When a swimmer<br />
doesn’t meat the standard to compete<br />
in a race.<br />
I.M.- Individual Medley, a competition<br />
where a swimmer uses the following<br />
strokes in order: butterfly, backstroke,<br />
breaststroke, and freestyle.<br />
Negative Split- Swimming the second<br />
half of a race as fast or faster than<br />
the first half.<br />
Split- A swimmers intermediate<br />
time in a race.<br />
Shave and Taper- Near the end of<br />
the season swimmers shave their entire<br />
bodies and practice shorter distances in<br />
preparation for finals.<br />
Scratch- To withdraw from an<br />
event.<br />
Streamline- Position to give the<br />
most distance from a start where a swimmers<br />
body is as tight as it can be.<br />
Middle Distance- Events 200 yards<br />
to 400 yards in length<br />
False Start- When a swimmer starts<br />
moving before the start.<br />
Circle Swimming- Position in a lane<br />
to allow the maximum number of swimmers<br />
in the pool at once.<br />
Anchor- Final swimmer in a relay.<br />
Bull Pen- Area where swimmers<br />
wait for lane assignments.<br />
Jump- False start by a 2 nd , 3 rd , or 4 th<br />
swimmer in a relay.<br />
Psyche Sheet- List of all the swimmers<br />
competing in an event.<br />
Touch Out- Reaching the touchpad<br />
first in a close race.<br />
Eu de bromine. No, not chlorine,<br />
bromine. That is the scent you notice as<br />
you pass the soon-to-be shaved swimmers<br />
who grace <strong>East</strong>’s hallways. The<br />
<strong>East</strong> boys’ swim and diving teams spend<br />
much of their lives in the pool, so they are<br />
bound to acquire the scent. However,<br />
all of their time in the water will soon pay<br />
off at State. And, with all of the successes<br />
this team has made this season, it seems<br />
evident that their pool time is already<br />
making a splash.<br />
Even at the beginning of the season,<br />
it seemed that these boys were<br />
going to waste no time in starting off the<br />
season the right way.<br />
“Some kids were swimming some<br />
of their personal best times, even some<br />
of their lifetime best times compared<br />
to a year ago,” said head coach Greg<br />
Fleming.<br />
Indeed, the boys’ thirst for victory<br />
is obvious. This year’s team has been<br />
extremely competitive, and has worked<br />
hard from the first practice. The numbers<br />
don’t hurt either. <strong>East</strong> has a total of 34<br />
boys on the team this year, 6 of whom<br />
are seniors.<br />
“We have a lot of good swimmers<br />
this year, with a lot more depth than last<br />
year,” said senior Brendan Ottemann.<br />
Some of the team’s success can<br />
be accredited to the unity and spirit of<br />
the team. Fans easily see the boys cheering<br />
one another on, a sign of their desire<br />
for everyone to do their best. These guys<br />
are their own cheerleaders.<br />
“There’s really good team unity.<br />
We do a lot of things together. We get<br />
up for each other during races and just<br />
cheer,” said sophomore Dain Finke.<br />
It’s all about what’s best for the<br />
team, really. A person may not consider<br />
the strategies involved in a swim team,<br />
but with all of the possibilities to put together<br />
different swimmers into different<br />
relays, many of the boys find themselves<br />
competing with their own team for a<br />
spot to swim at State.<br />
“There are so many different options.<br />
You just have to go as fast as you<br />
can to help [Fleming] make the best<br />
decision,” said junior Nic Genrich.<br />
So what’s the secret to prepare for<br />
State? After pushing themselves all year,<br />
there must be something special about<br />
the practices leading up to the defining<br />
moment of the season. In the swimming<br />
world, it’s referred to as shave and taper.<br />
The work load drops off and the swimmers’<br />
muscles get a chance to prepare<br />
for the big meet. Rest is essential. After<br />
conferences, the work load beings to<br />
taper off, and the two-a-day practices<br />
end. There are also strategies to help<br />
performance.<br />
“Both the boys’ and girls’ swim<br />
teams will shave their legs and arms so<br />
Jerr Merritt pushing himself to the limit. (Photo courtesy of Jonathan Miller.)<br />
they can go to State having a slick and<br />
fast feeling in the water,” said Fleming.<br />
Every millisecond is crucial. If shaving<br />
arms and legs will help, then you can<br />
be sure the swimmers will shave and taper.<br />
Many of the boys shave their heads<br />
as well, whether it is for the benefit of the<br />
race, or purely for tradition.<br />
Along with the swimmers, the divers<br />
will also be focused on driving <strong>East</strong><br />
towards victory. Senior Derek Forgey has<br />
had a successful season for his first year<br />
on the team.<br />
“I had worked with coach Eppert<br />
before, and had been into diving off<br />
and on. Overall it’s been a good time,<br />
and we’ve had a lot of success,” said<br />
Forgey.<br />
The coaches for both the swimming<br />
and diving teams want their teams to be<br />
pushed to their very best, hoping all that<br />
hard work will pay off in the end.<br />
“We have a lot of the top teams<br />
in state competing, and the boys have<br />
responded very well as far as on a competitive<br />
level. It’ll be exciting to see what<br />
this team can do in a championship<br />
format,” said Fleming.<br />
Living in the fast lane<br />
<strong>February</strong> 24, <strong>2006</strong><br />
Story by Jetz Jacobson<br />
Sidebar compiled by<br />
Tasha Roth<br />
Sports/21
22 / Ads <strong>February</strong> 24, <strong>2006</strong>
<strong>February</strong> 24, <strong>2006</strong> Ads / 23
oracle february 24 <strong>2006</strong> v 38 i 6