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the colonel 

October 31, 2011 • Volume 83 • Issue 2 

p. 10-11 

Dare to be different 

Theodore Roosevelt High School • 1400 N. Mantua St. Kent, Ohio

The place 

is Ray’s! 

Great Food - Drink - Fun 

www.raysplacekent.com 

Congratulations 

to Kelly Nielson for 

qualifing for the State 

Championships in 

golf! From The Colonel 

142 N. Water Street, Kent, OH • 330-673-9827 

4023 State Route 43, Brimfield, OH • 330-673-9556 

100 E. Main Street, Ravenna, OH • 330-298-3104 

www.homesavingsbnk.com 

2 THE COLONEL OCTOBER 31, 2011 

MEMBER 

FDIC

THE STAFF 

Editors in Chief: 

Victoria Bracher 

Matisse Woodruff 

Editorial Staff: 

Art Editor: Kristen Lillvis 

Business Manager: Monica Sincel 

Entertainment: Elan Pochedley 

Feature: Nicole Blom 

Here and Now: Michael Bellinson 

Layout: Callie Cunningham 

Online Editor: Andrew Crooker 

Opinion: Sophie Kruse 

Sports: Graeme Mohan 

Writing Staff: 

William De Cárdenas 

Daniel McIlduff 

Logan Prestegaard 

Kyra Walker 

Art Staff: 

Dylan Diblik 

Makaylah Goudy 

p. 12 

p. 9 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Editorial 4 

Opinion 6 

Wall Street 

Stop and Listen 

Ravenna Violence 

Here and Now 8 

KSU Population Increase 

Saudi Women Freedom 

Issue 2 Poll 

Acorn Alley II 

Center 10 

Diversity 

Feature 12 

History of Candy 

Band Dummy 

Veganism 

Homecoming Photo Spread 

Entertainment 15 

Reviews in Brief 

Book vs. Movie Review 

Hot List 

Dance Moves 

Sports 17 

Browns 

PTC Wrap-Up 

Rising Stars 

Two sides? 

p. 10-11 

Make sure to check us out on my.hsj.org/oh/kent/colonel 

OCTOBER 31, 2011 THE COLONEL 3

OPINION 

Editorial: Students upset with new lunch items, prices 

The 2011-2012 school year began 

with many new changes, 

some positive and some not 

so positive. As most have noticed, 

the school breakfast and 

lunch menu has also undergone 

some changes. Prices have gone 

up, portions have gone down, and 

those items that don’t fall into 

either of those categories have 

been transformed. The school is 

trying to present a healthier lifestyle 

by cutting back on fry allowances 

and selling cookies made 

with more nutritious ingredients, 

which has upset those students 

who relied on portions and tastes 

that matched the prices. 

“Each year, we receive information 

about the cost of living increase 

which affects price changes 

in the schools,” Kent City Schools 

business director Jim Soyars said. 

Soyars explains they consider this 

increase and incorporate it accordingly 

to apply it incrementally 

to the schools. This year, the 

meal prices have increased by five 

cents. However, milk prices remained 

the same. 

The prices are subject to change 

at the beginning of each year, 

but are only expected to change 

in a way that will not greatly affect 

students who rely on buying 

school lunches. 

As for changes in taste, menu 

items have been altered and brand 

new items have been added. “Last 

year we sold Otis Spunkmeyer 

cookies. This year we are selling 

a brand called BeneFit. These 

new cookies are lower in fat and 

sugar and conform to the 35-10- 

35 rule that Ohio adopted (SB210) 

regarding Calories, saturated fat 

and sugar,” Kent City Schools food 

service director Patrick McMullen 

said. 

McMullen also points out additions 

to the menu, which include 

beef steak wraps, fish tacos, chicken 

cordon bleu sandwiches, Freudels, 

and mini pancakes. 

Future changes are expected to 

come slowly, but will most likely 

included lower sodium content, 

fewer processed meats and increased 

fruit and vegetable portions. 

Though we know the reasoning 

behind the changes, we still 

feel the same disappointment 

with the school lunches. A packed 

lunch would suit any student better 

in health, taste and price. 

Editorial 

Cartoon: 

‘Tis the 

season for 

parking 

problems 

4 THE COLONEL OPINION OCTOBER 31, 2011

OPINION 

Editor’s Column: T h e l i t t l e t h i n g s 

by Matisse Woodruff | Editor-in-chief 

The other day, I was waiting 

patiently in line at a fast food 

drive-thru. I was stressed and 

busy, tr ying to rush back home 

so that I could work on ever ything that 

I had to do. As I pulled up, the woman 

at the drive-thru window handed me 

my food and announced that the car in 

front of me had paid for my food. Although 

it had been no more than a few 

dollars, a stranger took the time out of 

her own day, used her own money and 

paid for my meal. That random act of 

kindness made a world of difference in 

my stressful day. I drove home happy 

and was shocked by the kindness of a 

complete stranger. 

With that in mind, I’ve decided 

that it is the little things in life that 

make the biggest differences. The 

big things, good or bad, are always 

noticed. The little things, on the 

other hand, are often unnoticed and 

unacknowledged, but they are the 

things that guide your daily attitude. 

Whether it is a paper extension from 

your teacher, the piece of gum from 

a classmate, or even something as 

simple as a compliment on your outfit, 

those are the little actions that determine 

whether or not you have a good 

day. Conversely, the little things like 

Guest Column: 

by Donteil Lewis & Stacee Purnell|Guest Columnists 

Dear reality, 

I wish one day I could just 

pretend that everything will be ok, I 

know that I haven’t clicked my heels 

and found the magical fantasy land of Oz. Until 

then I will share the pillow of prosperity with 

Martin Luther King and dream that something 

great will happen to a population of downtrodden 

societal members. If you can dream it, you 

can achieve it. So I guess you could say my head 

is always in the clouds. 

I sometimes give into temptation and dream 

that something great will happen like becoming 

rich due to my various talents. I also know that 

the temptation of riches is the allure of reality 

and comfort. All the riches in the world can’t 

satisfy a KING so why would the root of all evil 

bring me happiness? I came from the bottom 

and can’t go but up, so the adversity I encounter 

is nothing but a minor set back for a major 

come up. I also know that nay sayers can place 

my ambitious efforts in the spotlight and promote 

me, so I guess I will keep persevering until 

I succeed. 

a scold from a teacher, an unnecessar 

y remark from a friend, or a hurtful 

comment brought up in jest determine 

whether or not you have a bad day. 

If that is the case, why don’t 

we pay more attention to those little 

things? If someone does something 

little for you by complimenting your 

shoes, why not show your gratitude 

by letting them know or giving someone 

else a little boost for the day? If 

someone takes you down by a hurtful 

comment, why not let them know so 

they don’t do it again? We often ignore 

the little negativities because we have 

grown to expect them. We weather 

many ups and downs throughout the 

day, and half the time, don’t even really 

notice why. The adults in our lives like 

to call it mood swings, which I suppose 

is partially accurate, but in a lot of 

cases we are just reacting to those little 

things in life. 

Perhaps if we paid more attention 

to how the little things affect us and 

others, we might be able to manipulate 

the effect they have. If we are more 

conscious of how a little remark or jest 

might hurt someone’s day, we might 

be able to filter ourselves better. If we 

notice how far a compliment can go, 

we might tr y to start complimenting 

This is a true west side story, so I do it for 

those who may not have had the opportunity 

to bask in the glow of success. I am nothing but 

a concrete rose, I know I will continue to blossom. 

I am the son of Donny Lewis and Gennie 

Spear, and was born with the blood of a SLAVE, 

and the heart of a KING. The wings of fate and 

the winds of destiny have punched my ticket 

and will exault me to tremendous heights. I 

do it for my children also. Every time Jahad 

Emmanuel Lewis and Aasiyah Naveen Lewis 

look their FATHER in the eyes I know I have a 

legacy to continue my journey to success. 

Teacher Donteil Lewis 

and senior Stacee Purnell 

P.S. We all have the ability to rise to greatness, 

always remember you are the master of 

your fate and you are the captain of your soul. 

Everyone else is already taken, Always Be Kool 

Like You Be Kool. 

others more, ourselves. What starts as 

a little thing to you, in the end, could 

perhaps be the driving force in someone 

else’s day. The little things go a 

long way, and so can you by using just 

a little bit of effort. 

Teacher, student share positive insight 

OCTOBER 31, 2011 OPINION THE COLONEL 5 

art by Victoria Bracher & William de Cárdenas 

Donteil Lewis and Stacee Purnell work 

together in Lewis’s English class. Lewis 

and Purnell expressed their inspiring 

ideas in this collaborative piece.

OPINION 

Two Sides, One Story: Wal Street Protests 

I got 99 problems, but being the 1% ain’t one 

by Sophie Kruse| Opinion Editor 

I 

consider myself lucky. With my parents 

having received higher education in both 

their fields, they now own three small businesses 

in the area. But even with that, there 

are always struggles. With college less than a 

year away, the scary thought of tuition is always 

weighing heavy on my mind, along with 

my parents. Even once I get college payed for, 

the fact that there is no guarantee for a job for 

a hopeful journalist in the slumping economy 

worries me even more. I am the 99%. 

There’s a 99% chance you’re in the 99% too. 

On Sept. 17, Occupy Wall Street (OWS) took 

on Zuccotti Park (affectionately called Liberty 

Plaza by locals and protesters) in Lower Manhattan. 

Categorized as a peaceful protest, thousands 

of people have flocked to the private park 

in hopes of getting their voice heard, following 

closely after that of the Arab Spring movement. 

The whole idea of Occupy Wall Street was proposed 

by anti-consumerist magazine Adbusters 

in mid-July, and rose from the simple ‘hashtag’ 

#occupywallstreet. The magazine stated that “beginning 

from one simple demand – a presidential 

commission to separate money from politics 

– we start setting the agenda for a new America.” 

The main reasons for protesting is centered 

around government corruption and the 

excessive influence of big businesses and the 

wealthiest 1% of Americans on politics. OWS 

has attracted all kinds of people, from liberals 

to conservatives or stay at home parents to 

small business owners. All of these people have 

different backgrounds, financial situations, political 

views, and locations, but are brought together 

but the similar hope to make their impact on our 

nation. Frustrated by living in a world made for 

someone else (the 1%), converged first on Wall 

Street before moving into 40 other cities across 

the country. These protests have no official leader, 

making it unique to many others in the past. 

The OWS protests are faced with their fair share 

of opposers (including a movement titled “We are 

the 53%,” a forum for those having a conservative 

ideology who represent the 53% of Americans 

who pay federal income tax), but their protest really 

is spot on. Wall Street is the key culprit in the 

problem, where the Wall Street investment firms 

laid the ground work for the financial crisis with an 

appetite for mortgages that would make huge profits, 

which lead to irresponsible lending. There is a 

growing focus on the “shareholder value,” searching 

for profits, buy outs, mergers and acquisitions, 

and private equity deals. They have undermined 

the American middle class and workers by finding 

ways to justify any cost-cutting measures that 

boost quarterly earnings, like foreign outsourcing, 

eliminating benefits, and ruining unions. 

It is estimated that the financial industry has 

spent over $570 million on lobbying and over $170 

million on campaign donations since the start of 

2009, and over $5 billion on donations and lobbying 

in the past 15 years. Other donations to 

conservative think tanks helped Wall Street lead- 

ers and institutions weaken regulatory safeguards, 

lessen laws to improve working families’ quality of 

life, and undo our social insurance programs. The 

firms have also jump started efforts to privatize 

Social Security, which would result in a benefit for 

the financial industry but major economic risks for 

Americans. The industry has also strongly resisted 

efforts to close the carried-interest loophole, which 

improperly treats income that private equity executives 

and hedge fund manages earn by investing 

other people’s money as capital gains. This allows 

some of the largest paychecks in America to be subject 

to the lowest tax rate. Since the “Buffett Rule” 

(which would close this loophole) has been put 

into place, Wall Street is quickly lobbying against it. 

Since 1996, the year that finance became 

America’s most profitable sector, overtaking 

manufacturing, 90% of income growth has 

gone to the top 10% of incomes. Average pay 

in finance is now 181% that of the average private 

sector worker. Stock market activity has 

also inflated the pay of executives as more have 

come from the tax-preferred capital income. 

With all of these elements, not a single Wall 

Street trader or executive has been held accountable 

for any of the actions to cause this financial 

crisis, and is working to kill reforms. “Separately 

we are weak, but together we are the 99% 

and together we are unstoppable,” says a member 

of occupywallst.org. Standing together is 

the way we will make a change, because we are 

the majority. We matter. We are the 99%. 

Capitialism breathes its last breath 

by Callie Cunningham| Layout Editor 

From New York to Cleveland, 

Chicago to Los Angeles, word 

on the street is that capitalism is 

old hat. For several weeks now, Wall 

Street has been occupied by protesters 

blasting corporate greed and a corrupt 

economic system. They are not 

only an annoyance to New Yorkers, 

but are also are becoming counterproductive 

with their agenda. As they 

protest the big corporations, they are 

causing small business owners to lose 

money because they are discouraging 

people from taking their business 

in areas that are near the protesters. 

Even with the support of Democrats 

like House minority leader Nancy 

Pelosi, the initial “shell shock” is wearing 

off, and the Dems might be the 

ones who have to suffer in the end. 

While the grievances against the 

rich are numerous, one of the main 

issues against the wealthy is that they 

aren’t “paying their fair share” of the 

taxes. According to the National Taxpayers 

Union, the top five percent of 

people in the country pay over half of 

the taxes, while the bottom fifty percent 

pays less than a mere three percent. 

On top of this, the Democrats are 

pushing for an additional five percent 

to be added for people with incomes 

over one million dollars have to pay 

in taxes to support Obama’s jobs plan. 

These Robin Hood ethics are an 

inlet to socialism or communism 

where everyone is “equal.” Equally 

poor, of course. If you want equality, 

try a flat tax where everyone, regardless 

if they make ten-thousand or 

a hundred-thousand dollars a year, 

pays the same percentage on their 

taxes. The ninety-nine percent that are 

complaining about having to “carry 

the burden” of the taxes: remember 

that you are paying sixty-two percent 

of the taxes in the country, while the 

last percent pays thirty-eight. By the 

property of common sense, shouldn’t 

“paying your fair share” mean that the 

ninety-nine percent pays the same 

percentage as the top one percent? 

While the protesters continue 

to bash our capitalistic system, they 

have been careful not to say what they 

would see as a good alternative, either 

because they’re afraid to or simply because 

they don’t know. Whatever the 

reason may be, one could infer that 

these same people who support the 

redistribution of the wealth probably 

also support communism, or more 

likely, a socialist system similar to that 

of Canada. Why would we model ourselves 

after a system that clearly doesn’t 

work for them? Having the govern- 

ment control every aspect of life seems 

to impede on the whole “life, liberty, 

and pursuit of happiness” thing, which 

is kind of an important idea in America’s 

culture and history. The framers 

of the Constitution set it up so the 

federal government was limited, giving 

more discretion to the states and 

more independence to the people. 

James Madison and Benjamin Franklin 

would be sad to see the people of 

their country handing over so much 

power to the federal government. 

As an overall cause, I am all for 

protesting. Protesting is what fueled 

the Civil Rights movement 

and the Women’s Liberation movement, 

both of which are important 

causes in American history. People 

have the right to protest their government, 

but be wary, America; you 

might just get what you ask for. 

6 THE COLONEL OPINION OCTOBER 31, 2011

OPINION 

Let’s hear it for real spirit 

by Victoria Bracher | Editor-in-Chief 

For most, O c tob er means br ight 

colors, apple cider, and war m 

f ires—a pleasant environment 

for t he cold Ohio autumn, 

but Roosevelt O c tob er is a 

completely different at mosphere: It 

consists of t he ant icip at ion and celebrate 

d r ivalr y of R avenna we ek. 

You’d t hink an academic institut 

ion t hat p aints t he word “sp or tsmanship” 

a l l over its g ym walls 

wou ld maint ain a civil comp anionship 

wit h its opp onents, but as t he 

R avenna p ep rally gains momentum 

and rol ls in, we f ind our sp or tsmanship 

replaced wit h rat her violent t act 

ics of showing our “s cho ol spirit.” 

It’s okay to b e proud of your s cho ol. 

In fact, b eing proud of t he at h letic 

accomplishments of your te am is encourage 

d, but w hat happ ens w hen it 

isn’t s o much ab out promot ing your 

te am anymore, but ab out diminishing 

t he quality of t he opp osing one? 

O verall, our spirit we ek is just 

t hat—spirite d—wit h our t heme days 

and class colors. C ome Thurs day, howe 

ver, we get into a more s erious tone in 

t he s cho ol. We ar ing black to “mourn 

t he R aven” isn’t t hat b ad. In fact, it’s 

s or t of comical. It’s a l l f un and games 

unt i l t he p ep rally, w here we actually 

burn t he raven. The symb ol of t he 

mas cot of our r ival is car r ied in a coff 

in to b e burned in a huge, celebrator y 

b onfire. We are f igurat ively k i l ling 

our opp onent. I don’t t hink we want to 

rais e a te am, or e ven a student b o dy, 

w ho relies on re ducing t he condit ion 

of t he ot her te am to b o ost our ego. 

R avenna isn’t s o inno cent, eit her. 

For mer R avenna student and c urrent 

Roosevelt junior C as e y Pau lus s aid t he 

p ep rally t he R avens hold is just as violent. 

Going through a similar pro cess, 

t he R avens car r y a “dead” R ider fo otb 

a l l player around in a cof f in af ter t he y 

burn t he “body” and “mourn t he R ider.” 

These p ep rallies are made to unite 

t he s cho ol and cre ate a b ond among 

a l l students. Typically, high s cho ol 

students (cons ciously or not) judge 

ot her students b as e d on t heir g rade 

level, and t hough t his is acknow le 

dge d in comp etit ion for t he spirit 

b ell at t he p ep rally, it is resolve d 

w hen we all group together to exe c ute 

t he R aven. But w hy shou ld we b e coming 

together as a s cho ol for a violent 

caus e? I don’t s e e it as p osit ive in any 

way. Yes, we are showing unity against 

our r ivalr y, but do we re a l ly want 

to rememb er our t ime together as a 

strong ly b onded s cho ol doing s omet 

hing wit h such a destructive concept? 

I’m not saying we need to eliminate the 

Ravenna pep rally or stop reading “The Raven” 

or even stop mourning our rivalry’s 

mascot. What I am saying is we need to 

stop physically burning the symbol of our 

opponent. That is by no means sportsmanlike. 

We should be content winning or losing 

as long as we play our best or show our 

most encouraging support for the team. We 

don’t win by hurting the other team. We 

win by promoting our team. Booing doesn’t 

get us victories. Cheering gets us victories. 

Instead of the burning of the Raven, we 

should all join together in something that 

boosts our own team’s hopes, like a schoolwide 

ritual to some song about winning or 

being champions. Remember, encouraging 

the loss of the other team is not synonymous 

to encouraging the victory of our own team. 

The sportsmanship banner in the gym 

reads, “Roosevelt High School Believes 

Sportsmanship is an Expectation! Please Let 

The Players Play, Let The coaches coach, Let 

The Officials Officiate, Let The Spectators 

Be Positive!” Take a look at that last line, 

“let the spectators be positive.” We are the 

spectators and killing a symbol of Ravenna’s 

pride is in no way positive. 

Stop and listen: Somaly Mam Foundation 

by Nicole Blom| Feature Editor 

Recently I bought a bracelet online. 

It’s more than a neat accessory, 

though—it’s a symbol of change 

for the woman who made it, as 

well as a tangible sign for empowerment. 

This bracelet of mine was made by a survivor 

of sex slavery. I’m not sure who she is, 

or what her story may be. She learned from 

her sewing class in a rehabilitation center 

how to weave threads together to create 

beautiful bracelets. These bracelets are sent 

to those who make a donation to the Somaly 

Mam Foundation. They have been affectionately 

named Akun bracelets, which 

is the Cambodian word for “thank you.” 

Every morning, most of Roosevelt’s students 

go through their regular routine to get 

ready for school. It usually goes down like 

this: hit the snooze to shut off that annoying 

alarm, wake up with not enough time to 

spare, and get ready for a day that you will 

soon repeat all over again. In Cambodia, for 

example, a thirteen-year-old girl may not even 

get the chance to wake up before her body is 

assaulted. She doesn’t have the opportunity to 

hear that annoying alarm and sleep for an extra 

ten minutes. She is not like most of us—we 

know that—yet we do nothing to help her. Including 

myself, we are all too consumed with 

our own life to better someone else’s. This, to 

me, is pathetic, since we should realize how 

selfish we’re being. There is absolutely no 

need for complaining about what we don’t 

have or making a mountain out of a mole hill. 

The majority of the people who live in the 

United States of America don’t realize how 

blessed they are in contrast to those who live 

outside of our nation. I’m not condoning the 

abuse that happens here, but the frequent occurrence 

and severe amount of abuse in other 

countries is utterly horrible. In fact, one to two 

million children will be sold into prostitution 

within the next 12 months. Those numbers are 

alarming and pain-staking. So many people— 

too many people—are ignorant of the cruelty 

that happens here and around the world. 

This is not intended to be an angry 

rant toward those of us who are concerned 

about what we look like to the 

opposite sex or anything. This is a wake 

up call. My words are your annoying 

alarm clock beeping in your ear, and I’m 

begging you to not shut me off. You can 

make a difference in this world—big or 

small—as long as you make a difference. 

Though a mere bracelet seems small, its 

impact is incredibly significant. 

October 31, 2011 OPINION THE COLONEL 7 

photo from http://www.empowermentstore.org/

HERE & NOW 

Saudi women get the vote 

by Sophie Kruse | Opinion Editor 

On Sept. 25, Saudi Arabia announced 

that King Abdullah 

would extend suffrage rights 

to women. Women now will 

be able to vote for members of the Shura 

Council along with having the opportunity 

to run for positions in the assembly. 

“Because we refuse to marginalize 

women in society in all roles that comply 

with sharia [code of conduct or religious 

law], we have decided, after deliberation 

with our senior clerics and 

others... to involve women in the Shura 

Council as members, starting next term,” 

King Abdullah said in a news conference. 

The Shura Council is a 150-member 

assembly appointed by the king to advise 

on legislation. It consists of 12 committees 

that cover topics including human 

rights and foreign affairs. The council 

is permitted to propose laws and present 

them to the king. Since Abdullah 

took the throne in 2005, he is slowly 

edging towards liberalizing the Saudi 

Arabian society, especially in regards 

to women. In 2009, he appointed Norah 

al-Fayez as deputy education minister, 

which was the first position given to a 

women. Just a few months later, Saudi 

Arabia opened King Abdullah Univer- 

sity of Science and Technology, which is 

the first co-ed university in the country. 

Even with theses changes, a recent survey 

by Newsweek ranks Saudi Arabia in the 

top 20 worst countries for women to reside 

in, with not being able to drive, seek 

divorce, or inherit property main factors 

in the vote. Fellow middle eastern country 

Afghanistan is ranked second worst, 

even though the women in their country 

received the right to vote in 1983. Saudi 

Arabia was also ranked the least democratic 

country in the Middle East, according 

to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 

Democracy Index. It has been ruled by 

six kings since it was established in 1932. 

Saudi Arabia has also recently been 

making headlines for the driving ban on 

women. It is currently the only country in 

the world that prohibits women (including 

foreign women) from driving. Families who 

can afford it are forced to hire live-in drivers, 

for approximately $400 a month. Those 

who can’t afford that expense have to rely 

on male relatives to drive them the places 

they must go. Najalaa Harriri is among the 

dozens of women involved in the campaign 

Women2Drive, rebelling against the ban, 

in which the women post videos of themselves 

driving on the internet to draw a 

international focus on the rising problem. 

Since then, Harriri began her own campaign, 

titled “My Right, My Dignity,” which 

calls for an end to all forms of discrimination 

in Saudi Arabia. Another women, Shaima 

Jastaina, was found guilty of driving without 

government permission, and was sentenced 

to ten lashes. This sentencing was the first 

of its kind for the Women2Drive movement. 

The underlying problem in all of these 

restrictions is the fact that women can’t do 

much of anything with out a “mahram,”or 

male guardian. They cannot work, travel, 

marry, divorce, gain admittance to a public 

hospital, or live independently without 

male permission. They can also face the 

possibility of being beat if they don’t obey, 

and fathers and brothers can prevent a 

marriage if they don’t approve of the suitor. 

In 2008, a group of Saudi Arabian women 

opposing equality in their country launched 

the petition “My Guardian Knows What’s 

Best For Me,” and gathered over 5,000 signatures. 

This petition request punishment for 

activists demanding equality between men 

and women, along with mingling between 

men and women in mixed environments. 

While this is only the beginning 

of a sure change for Saudi Arabia, 

the progress is undeniable. 

Kent State becoming larger than life 

by Graeme Mohan | Sports Editor 

There’s that time of 

year in Kent, Ohio 

when it is so p eaceful 

and easy to get 

around the town. The p eople 

who live here year round 

really look for ward to the 

time of year where the city 

is calm and not f illed to the 

brim with college students. 

There are fewer p olice sirens, 

fewer problems downtown, 

and of course, fewer 

drunken students stumbling 

around in the streets causing 

problems for the rest of 

the regular citizens. B elieve 

it or not, these things could 

b ecome a more common o ccurrence 

over the next few 

years b ecause Kent State 

is accepting more students 

than they ever have b efore. 

It’s not certain whether or 

not that is a go o d thing, 

but whether Kent citizens 

like it or not, Kent 

State is growing rapidly. 

This summer when the 

f reshmen came onto campus 

was that typical crazy 

time when all of the f reshmen 

move onto campus. 

However, this year it was 

even worse b ecause Kent 

State had its highest enrollment 

of full-time f reshmen 

in the histor y of the university 

with 4,284 students, 

according to the Kent State 

University news team. The 

previous record was set in 

the fall 2009 semester with 

4,030 students. Now while 

it may not seem like a significant 

difference, adding 

more students means 

having to add more apar tments 

and dorm buildings, 

meaning that there 

is less land for the city of 

Kent to use and preser ve. 

Not only was there an 

increase in f reshmen in 

campus, but Kent State 

also continued to have an 

increase in international 

students. It was quite a 

big numb er as well, with 

the numb er of international 

students increasing 

by 35 p ercent. Kent 

has always b een known as 

a ver y diverse town, and 

the reputation seems to 

have spread as more international 

students ever y 

year f lock to Kent State. 

The p opulation increase 

doesn’t just involve 

the main campus in Kent. 

This semester Kent State 

University at Geauga saw 

an increase of students as 

well, 10.6 p ercent increase 

to b e more exact. Par t of 

Kent State’s growing p opulation 

is its academics 

as well. According to the 

Times Higher Education, 

a L ondon-based higher 

education magazine, Kent 

State has b een rated as 

one of the top 500 universities 

in the entire world. 

The increase of enrollment 

at Kent State University 

is something that has 

b een a long time coming. 

Many of the programs at 

the scho ol are rated ver y 

highly. Whether or not 

that is why more p eople 

are f locking to the university, 

it’s not certain. Regardless 

of the reason, it’s 

a fact that the university 

is getting bigger and even 

though Kent citizens enjoy 

their p eace and quiet, more 

students have come to the 

city and it doesn’t look like 

that trend will slow down 

anytime soon. B etter keep 

those apar tment buildings 

coming, b ecause it looks 

like the university is getting 

bigger by the day. 

8 THE COLONEL HERE & NOW OCTOBER 31, 2011

Kent’s new look: 

by Daniel McIlduff| Staff Writer 

Over t he p ast decade or s o 

Kent has b e en cleaning up 

t he city wit h ne w downtown 

shops and stre ets, 

refurbished parks and the river cleaning 

has g iven Kent a ne w look. A 

fe w ye ars ago Kent op ened Acor n 

Alley and Kent accelerate d into b eing 

refurbished. Ne ar t he end of t his 

ye ar Kent will b e pleas e d to st ar t 

adding Acor n Alley II as an att ract 

ion and cont inue wit h its ne w look. 

Even t hough ne w g round has 

b e en in broken s ome w hat re cent ly 

b etwe en Acor n Alley I and t he s e ct 

ion near completion w here stores 

are s o on to op en, Acor n Alley II 

has b e en in t he works for t he p ast 

fe w ye ars or s o but is expecte d to b e 

complete d wit hin t he near ing ye ar. 

C onstruction was slowe d down over 

t he p ast ye ar due to t he we at her. 

From t he b eginning a l l spaces 

have b e en s old out. Shops like Wi ld 

E ar t h O ut f itters have a lre ady op ened 

and many more are to come. Stores 

like Popp e d! a sp e cialty p op cor n 

shop and Z oupwerks a “Funky s oup 

and C howdah Joint” will b e coming 

s o on a ls o. L aziza a Me diterranean 

rest aurant and The Fashion S cho ol 

Store f rom Kent St ate will b e added 

to t he list of complete d places to go. 

When aske d w hy he chose 

Acor n Alley II over ot her places. 

“I t hought it had t he most p otent 

ial. I like a l l t he development going 

on down here,” Tim Nightengale, 

HERE & NOW 

Acorn Alley II nearing finish 

New Info on Issue 2 with poll results 

by Andy Crooker| Online Editor 

Election season has already arrived 

at Kent. There are a few official issues 

on the ballot this year. However 

there is one issue, issue 2, that 

has received more publicity than any other. 

As debated last month in “Two sides, one 

story,” the issue started as Senate Bill 5, 

and now has voters for it and against it. 

There is an official argument for each side. 

“Issue 2 keeps the best teachers in the 

classroom by ending the unfair practice of 

seniority-based layoffs... returns control of 

our schools to taxpayers... returns balance 

and ensure fairness... gets spending under 

control, retain jobs, and protects taxpayers. 

A YES vote on Issue 2 will make long 

overdue reforms to unfair and costly government 

practices in Ohio. Your YES vote 

on Issue 2 will protect good teachers and 

improve our schools,” stated in the Official 

Argument for Issue 2 prepared by Representatives 

Joe Uecker and Louis Blessing and 

Senators Kevin Bacon and Shannon Jones. 

“Issue 2 [is] unsafe, unfair and hurts 

Ohio’s middle class families. Issue 2 puts 

all our families’ safety at risk—making it 

harder for emergency responders, police, 

and firefighters to negotiate for critical 

Kent breaks new ground in Acorn Alley II. 

This project has been underway for years. 

safety equipment and training that protects 

us all. Issue 2 will make our nursing shortage 

worse. It makes it illegal for nurses, 

hospital and clinic workers to demand reasonable 

safe staffing levels—so nurses will 

juggle more patients while their salaries and 

benefits are cut. Instead of creating jobs to 

fix our economy, politicians like Governor 

Kasich gave away hundreds of millions in 

corporate tax breaks—draining our state 

budget while Ohio continues to lose jobs— 

and passed flawed laws like SB 5 to pay back 

their campaign donors. Issue 2: Another example 

of the politicians turning their backs 

on Ohio’s middle class,” stated in the Official 

Argument against Issue 2 prepared by 

Michael S. Weinman, Deirdre Ann DeLong, 

Michael Harrison, and Natalie Y. Wester 

Another point of view comes from 

former RHS student Teacher Mr. Casey. 

“The ability that teachers have in this 

school right now will ultimately be hindered 

by Issue 2, no matter what happens. 

The problem with this is what we call a 

precedent, meaning that as this is active 

something else could easily happen. Well 

you know [this] is active and everyone else 

is still here so why don’t we do this. It is 

Wi ld E ar t h O ut f itters manager s aid. 

Along wit h shops, Acor n Alley II 

will include s ome ap ar t ments ge are d 

towards students or shop-owners. 

There will als o be a meeting space for 

Kent Are a C hamb er of C ommerce, a 

g iant s quirrel st atue. In e dit ion t here 

will b e a sp e a k ing cor ner for e vents or 

anyone us e. For e vents like Kent Herit 

age Fest t he are a will b e wire d for 

a s ound, have a large p or t able st age 

and have space for k iosks or vendors. 

As Acor n Alley II st ar ts to come 

near completion we can’t forget ab out 

its coming next-door neighb ors. A ne w 

Par t a C enter will b e constructe d wit h 

p arking space, bus stops, and a fe w 

e ateries. In addit ion a ne w D ave y Tre e 

and Ametek complex, a ne w hotel, and 

a convent ion center will s o on b e built. 

All t hese ne w changes have Kent 

excite d for t his ne w era for t he city. 

There is s omething for a l l ages and 

demographics of p e ople in t he ne w 

downtown and p arks. Kent can once 

again s ay t hat we are proud of our city 

and can b ack it up. 

hurting programs. At the end of the day 

this is about collective bargaining. I think 

that anyone who does a good job everyday 

should be respected for what they do 

and I do not think Senate Bill 5 does that.” 

Many students will be able to vote in 

this election. Their votes could be the key 

factor toward the future. 

OCTOBER 31, 2011 HERE & NOW THE COLONEL 9 

photo by Kristen Llivis 

yes 

26% 

don't know 

10% 

no 

64% 

A Colonel conducted poll 

shows that a majority of sudents 

in RHS are against Issue 2

C E L E B R A T I N G , A C K N O W L E D G I N 

Dear Readers, 

Roosevelt has been known for its 

wide acceptance of diversity and 

overall open-mindedness. It has 

come to our attention, however, that 

students may not feel as comfortable 

as faculty members believe. Little 

discrimination and diversity-based 

issues ever get to the administration 

level or to the guidance department. 

“When we do get them, though, 

it’s all at once. It’s over one issue 

and they are linked together,” assistant 

principal Dennis Love said. 

As you can see in the speakout below, 

many students feel as though 

they have been discriminated against 

here at Roosevelt. If this is occurring, 

the administrators rarely catch wind 

I’ve received jabs about my height, for 

one. Some people also make fun of my 

‘bubbly’ personality, calling me dumb, 

even though I’m quite the opposite. 

- Anonymous 

I lived down in Cincinnati for 

a little bit, and [I was] made 

fun of for being the only white 

kid in the class; they called me 

‘white trash,’ ‘trailer trash’ and 

a bunch of other stuff. But 

once you get used to it, you’ll 

get used to it. 

- Anonymous 

I have before. It’s like when I’m in 

choir and drama guild, that kind of 

stuff. But I really don’t care because I 

do my own thing and forget about it. 

- Gordon Wall 

I’m gothic, and people 

don’t seem to enjoy that. 

- Anonymous 

of such conflicts and therefore, can 

do nothing to address these issues. 

“I encourage everyone to be assertive. 

Try to maintain dignity 

and say that ‘I am offended.’ If you 

can do that in a calm manner, 

you gain so much respect,” senior 

counselor Randy Kline said. “Don’t 

let those issues go unattended. 

Speak up in a dignified manner.” 

Does discrimination go unnoticed 

and unreported here at Roosevelt? 

The Colonel would like to invite you 

to write in with your own opinions 

and experiences with discrimination. 

Please sign your letters to the 

editor and put them in Mrs.Harr’s 

mailbox or deliver them to room 119. 

- Matisse Woodruff, Editor-in-Chief 

Speakout: 

Have you ever been 

discriminated against? 

I’m different than everybody 

else. I like the 

same sex, and people 

think that’s wrong. 

-Anonymous 

I am a really big Harry Potter fan, as a lot of people 

know, and some people just don’t respect it that much. 

It’s probably because they don’t understand. 

- Madeline Vonstein 

Yeah, people pick on 

me because I’m big, but 

I’m myself so I really 

don’t care. 

- Anonymous 

Most people don’t like [my] 

funky colored hair, and I’ve 

gotten made fun of before. 

- Anonymous 

compiled by Nicole Blom| Feature Editor 

Skateboarding and the style 

of clothes I wear are associated 

with bad things, I guess, 

like drug use or something. 

- Styler McKinney 

As a cheerleader, 

people judge us 

a lot. They think 

we’re stuck up and 

really dumb. The 

stereotype [for 

cheerleaders] isn’t 

true for everyone. 

- Ashley Martin 

People make fun of me 

sometimes for being too 

skinny and ask me if I’m 

anorexic, and I’m not. 

- Anonymous 

I feel like I get sort of 

judged or discriminated 

because I choose 

not to use certain substances, 

like I don’t 

smoke, I don’t drink, 

and I feel like sometimes, 

people are, ‘Oh, I 

don’t want to hang out 

with her’ because, you 

know, unfortunately 

we don’t have that in 

common, so there’s 

nothing really for us 

to do, which, I mean, I 

get high off life. I don’t 

need any substance or 

any beverage to make 

me happy. 

- Annette King 

I got called racial slurs 

[before]. I got made fun 

of because I couldn’t 

speak good English. 

- Anonymous 

I get made fun of 

by being a little 

overweight. 

- Corey Thur 

I always get called ‘anorexic’ 

because of how skinny I am. 

- Matt John Ryan 

10 THE COLONEL CENTER OCTOBER 31, 2011

G D I F F E R E N C E S , D I V E R S I T Y 

photos by Kristen Lillvis 

Dear bullies:Thanks for making us stronger 

by Michael Bellinson| Here & Now Editor 

If you’re the person that calls me a faggot every 

time you see me, thank you. If you’re the person 

who told me that the only straight I am is 

straight up bitch, you’re the best. If you’re the 

person who let me know that the world would 

be better off without me, you mean everything 

to me. If you’re the person who is wondering 

if all of these things really happened, they did. 

Every thing you say to me, to put me down, 

to make me feel like I mean nothing, makes 

me stronger. This is the reality of being me. 

This is the reality of being gay at Roosevelt. 

Every day, we hear the stories of those 

less fortunate, great people who just couldn’t 

take it anymore. Another day, another suicide. 

We all know of Tyler Clementi, who 

jumped off a bridge after being exposed 

online, and Jamey Rodemeyer, who committed 

suicide four months after making an “It 

Gets Better” video. Are you ready to add another 

name to that list, one you already know? There 

are people walking in the same hallways you 

are who might just become a part of that long 

list of suicides. The sad thing? It’s your fault. 

Think of the last time you said “that’s so 

gay,” “no homo,” or some other homophobic, demeaning 

term. Something as small as that can 

push someone over the edge. Having a word used 

Real life: 


The word I would use to describe my brother 

would be annoying; however, no more 

annoying than any typical eight-year-old 

brother is supposed to be to his older sister. 

When my brother was about two years old, 

he was diagnosed with autism, a psychological 

developmental disorder. While my brother is 

very high on the spectrum and is in most ways 

like a typical kid, there are certain tendencies 

and actions that set him apart from other kids. 

Like most of the children on the autism spectrum, 

he has some repetitive inclinations and has 

some trouble with his speech. But despite those 

things, he never fails to amaze me. His grades 

are perfect and he’s a total whiz kid when it 

comes to mechanical and technological things. I 

know people don’t always give him enough credit 

for how truly brilliant he is, myself included. 

One of the things that is exceptionally unusual 

is the range of reactions I get from people 

who see him. People who know him and have 

a basic understanding of the situation always 

comment on how far he’s come along since he 

was first diagnosed. On the other hand, I of- 

to describe you become a synonym of “worthless” 

doesn’t help your self esteem. Each time 

you use one of these words, think of what you’ve 

done. You’ve taken away hope. Take a stereotype 

about you. If it was used daily as something that 

meant “stupid,” “worthless,” or something worse 

hundreds of times each day, how would you feel? 

I’ve been told that I deserve what happens 

Members of the Gay-Straight Alliance contributed to 

this article. GSA is a club where all are welcome and 

all you need to join is an open mind. A student-run 

group advised by Spanish teacher Laura Ban, the club 

helps educate and raise awareness about issues faced 

by LGBT students. If you’re interested in learning more 

about what you’ve just read, come to the next meeting 

on Thursday, November 10, at 2:45 pm in room 230. 

to me, that it’s my own fault. You might see it that 

way, but I don’t. If you could look at the world 

through my eyes, you wouldn’t either. Think 

about being forced to deal with insult, injury, 

and injustice every day, just because of who you 

are. What does this mean? Ask your classmates. 

Ask the girl who was disowned by her family 

for liking other girls. She now lives in foster 

care with eight other teens. Ask the boy who was 

assaulted in a school bathroom for taking anoth- 

ten catch glares from people in restaurants and 

the like that seem to say that my parents cannot 

handle their out of control child. I am never 

surprised by the ignorance and judgment of 

people. As infuriating as that is, not much can 

be done, but it has helped to reinforce one of the 

most important lessons my brother has taught 

me: patience. I have learned that it may not be 

visible or obvious, but all people have some sort 

of struggle they are dealing with at one time or 

another, some more often than others. Another 

very important lesson I’ve learned from my 

brother is that there is always something to be 

happy about. Even though life has given him a 

bit of a rough time already, he is probably one 

of the happiest kids I know. His ability to smile 

and laugh despite what he’s had to face and everything 

he will have to face will always stun me. 

In addition to all of the cliche-sounding but 

true lessons, there are more serious issues that 

concern me. One of my greatest fears is seeing my 

brother being bullied. Even the most average kid 

on the planet like myself has faced some sort of 

bullying at one time or another, but it’s very sad to 

er boy to prom. He’s now in therapy and goes to a 

different school. Ask the many people who are too 

scared to come out and let the world know who 

they really are. They don’t know where to go. You 

probably know one of these people. Think of them. 

There are many, many more of these stories 

of those who are losing hope and wondering 

what comes next. Those are on you, Roosevelt. 

There are some great people, those 

who are considerate and know how much 

it hurts, but there are many more bad ones. 

Those are the people I’m talking to. I ask for 

you to do only one thing: think. Think of how 

what you do hurts others. Think about the 

consequences of your actions. Think about 

how the next person you bully might just 

be the next suicide and the next headline. 

Why is it that I’m fine with everything 

that you say and do to me? It makes me stronger. 

I’m one of the fortunate ones. I have a loving 

family, great friends, and everything I need 

to be successful in life. If what you’ve just read 

won’t stop you from directing your abuse towards 

me, I invite you to continue. Come at me. 

Just remember what you’ve just found out and 

think about the consequences. On the other 

hand, you could actually get to know me for who 

I really am. A human being. It’s your choice. 

Having a special needs sibling 

think about my brother, or anyone for that matter, 

being made fun of for something they can’t help. 

Living with someone who is special needs 

is something that you never get used to, but 

something that just becomes a part of your 

daily life. In 

most ways, it’s 

like having a 

typical younger 

sibling; you 

babysit them, 

help them with 

h o m e w o r k , 

cook them 

dinner, and so 

on. Each day, 

the differences 

seem a little 

less noticeable 

and the progress 

seems to 

be a little more 

so. Here’s looking 

at you, kid. 

OCTOBER 31, 2011 CENTER THE COLONEL 11

FEATURE 

Band Dummy: 


The noise is so deafening, you cannot 

speak, much less think. The rhythmic 

thumping is syncopated with your heartbeat. 

In the midst of this cacophony, you 

begin to wonder how this racket can actually 

sound like music. Welcome to marching band. 

Arriving almost an hour before the game, the 

band takes the practice field to begin their warmups. 

Soon, it’s almost time for kickoff. The band 

that would usually march out on the field playing 

the “Alma Mater” and the “National Anthem” 

tries to cram themselves into the undersized 

bleachers that Crestwood has to offer. I choose to 

sit with drumline, because they are the only section 

with a little bit of spare room for me to sandwich 

myself into. I climb over plastic cowboy hats 

and various percussion pieces trying not to trip, 

or worse- break something. Squished between 

a few friends, I attempt to start a conversation. 

Soon after I begin talking, I hear the tapping on 

the rim of a snare, and the fight song immediately 

follows. While my words have been completely 

lost in the sound of cymbals and drums, I still 

know one thing for sure without even looking 

at the scoreboard; we just scored a touchdown. 

While I try to catch a glimpse of the game, I 

see fluorescent papers being waved around in my 

peripheral. I turn to see senior field commander 

Maggie Manocchio shouting at the band to pay attention 

to what’s written on the card in her hands. 

Like clockwork, the band snaps to attention and 

begins to play as directed. I can faintly hear the 

squeal of the trumpets over the pounding drums, 

but that’s about it. I cannot believe that even 

though they are almost completely deaf to the rest 

of the band, they are all still in time with each other. 

As the clock winds down towards the end of 

the second quarter, it’s time for the band to spring 

into action. While the rest of the band marches 

through the gate and readies themselves, the pit 

wheels the sets of bells and carries the drum set 

to the opposite side of the field. Wheeling a set 

of bells that has no turning radius across the field 

proves to be difficult, and even more so in the 

muddy area that has been designated to the pit. 

The field commander climbs up the ladder she has 

planted in front of the pit and blows her whistle. 

On the count of four, they begin the march out to 

their positions, and stop. All eyes are on the field 

commander. Knowing she has the full attention 

of the band, she begins to direct them. I stand in 

front of the pit and next to her and watch the band 

complete their set. Their “Trip Across the Country” 

set includes Kansas’ “Carry on My Wayward 

Son,” Boston’s “More Than a Feeling,” and 

Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4.” While the performance 

is great as usual, I notice something very different. 

What seems to be a flawless machine from 

the stands suddenly seems real to me. I can see 

their faces now, and they are a painted with total 

concentration. As they glide past each other, I see 

them checking to make sure they’re in the precise 

position to execute their next move. On top of 

all of this of course, they have to remember what 

they’re supposed to play. After four years of seeing 

them march, I’m still impressed by their accuracy. 

As they march off onto the track and back to 

the stands, the pit scrambles to evacuate the field 

by throwing covers on their bells and dragging 

them out of the mud. A “can you carry this, 

please?” is uttered and a bass drum is shoved into 

my hands. Hauling the drum across the field 

proves to be difficult enough for me to almost regret 

doing this article. I am the last one back to 

the stands, and I practically throw the drum 

down with my aching wrists. At the risk of breaking 

anything else I might have to potentially pay 

for, I decide I’d better hand it off to the pros. 

History of candy:Some old sugar 

by William de Cárdenas| Staff Writer 

On Halloween, millions of pounds 

of candy will be eaten by people of 

all ages. Some of the candy will be 

things like Baby Ruth bars, Laffy 

Taffy, Pay Day, Nerds and the classic Hershey 

chocolate bar. The candies, like the ones above, 

will be received, stuffed into a pillow case, 

dragged for a mile or two and then devoured by 

young sugar craving monsters. But many people 

don’t realize how long it has been since their favorite 

candies were first introduced to the public. 

Some have been made for over a century and are 

products of recipes that have been tweaked and 

critiqued many times over. We’ll look at the top 

three selling candies in the United States in 2010. 

A classic by the confectionery giant Hershey’s 

is their classic milk chocolate bar. The recipe 

for the famous and number three best-selling 

chocolate bar was originally used in coating 

caramels, Milton S. Hershey’s first candy 

business. He began selling the Hershey’s Milk 

Chocolate Bar in 1900 for around two cents a 

bar. In 1908 Hershey added almonds into the 

Bang your head 

photo by Kristen Lillvis 

mix with the Hershey’s Milk Chocolate with 

Almonds Bar. Later in 1925, Mr. Goodbar was 

introduced and in 1938 came the Krackel bar. 

From 1941 to the end of World War II, Hershey’s 

provided millions of ration bars for the troops. 

Another candy, the number two best selling 

candy in 2010, was Reese’s Peanut Butter 

Cups. The chocolate cups filled with smooth and 

creamy peanut butter are hard not to love. This 

candy was thought up and created by H. B. Reese 

in 1928 who, shortly before, worked for Milton S. 

Hershey, founder of Hershey’s chocolate. By the 

1930’s Reese’s cups were so popular they were being 

sold individually for a penny a piece. Reese had 

a line of other candies, but the Reese’s Cups were 

so popular he discontinued his other products. 

Throughout the 1940’s and 50’s, Reese’s Cups were 

being sold to wholesalers and stores nationwide 

and were well known by their orange packaging. 

A few years after Reese’s death in 1963, his company 

was sold to the Hershey Chocolate Company. 

Along with many other variations down 

the line, Reese’s Pieces were introduced in 1978. 

And the number one selling candy in 2010 

were those colorful little circles with “M” painted 

on them. M&M’s were first introduced in 1941, 

during the second world war as a way for getting 

chocolate to troops without it melting first. 

But it wasn’t until 1950 that they received their 

trademark “M” imprinted on them. Four years 

later the tasty M&M’s Peanut Chocolate Candies 

are introduced along with the animated 

M&M’s characters in commercials. Surprisingly 

it wasn’t until 1960 that M&M’s received 

their makeover of yellow, red and green and 

in 1976 there is the addition of orange to the 

M&M palate. In 1980 the colorful candies are 

sold internationally, and in 1996 M&M Mini 

are introduced as well as Colorworks, a service 

introduced that allows customers to order 

their own M&M’s with custom text and colors. 

So, hopefully this Halloween season you get 

to have your favorite candies, whatever they 

might be. And you’ll savor the taste of that 

Hershey’s bar a little more, knowing that it’s 

been perfected over a period of 111 years. 

12 THE COLONEL FEATURE OCTOBER 31, 2011

y Sophie Kruse| Opinion Editor 

I’m no stranger to tricky eating choices. 

Seven years ago I made the choice 

to become a vegetarian at the young 

age of eleven. I didn’t quite know what 

I was doing, but it seemed easy enough to 

cut meat out of my diet. Even before then, 

I had never eaten red meat before, so the 

overall switch only involved cutting out 

chicken and a small amount of fish. To be 

honest, it was easy. It made me feel good to 

know I was saving a my share of animals, 

along with having a bit of a healthier lifestyle. 

I was proud of this, just as I am now. 

Reaching high school, I became more 

involved and knowledgeable with this 

choice. I did a good share of research, talked 

to many fellow vegheads, and viewed 

Meet Your Meat (if you want to kick start 

a vegetarian diet, watch this NOW) and 

many other PETA (People for the Ethical 

Treatment of Animals) videos. What 

can I say? I was hooked on my choice. 

I was always curious, though, about the 

even more extreme dietary choice: veganism. 

I’ve been a member of PETA for 

quite some time now, and the heavy slew 

of information thrown my way always 

pointed out the benefits in this choice. 

For those who don’t know, vegans don’t 

consume any animal products, including 

meat, dairy, and eggs. It seems to many 

lifelong vegans, the lifestyle is effortless. 

I had always wished I had this kind of 

dedication. So that’s what I wanted to try: 

one week living my life as a vegan would. 

Let me tell you, it was definitely not effortless. 

Starting out, I made several trips 

to Kent Natural Foods Co-op and the local 

grocery store, picking up more than 

enough healthy vegan choices (among the 

purchases: fruits and vegetables, chili mix, 

LOTS of peanut butter, assorted crackers 

and snacks, Morningstar bacon, chicken, 

and burgers, soy milk, and Tofurkey). Vegan 

food makes quite the dent in your wallet 

(thanks, mom!), about as much, if not more, 

than organic 

food is. By far, 

the trickiest part 

about shopping 

was ensuring 

there was no 

milk or egg products 

in anything 

I was buying. 

As a high 

school senior, I 

am SUPER busy. 

My meals tend 

to be fast food 

grabbed between 

school and work, 

a quick pasta 

dish that I can 

whip up late 

at night while 

tackling piles 

of homework, or a slice of pizza brought 

home from the shop my parents own. There 

is definitely a limited amount of vegan options 

for this, and I found myself packing 

lots of snacks for the day instead. I definitely 

felt better physically, though, eating 

an apple and pretzels instead of a cheesy 

bean and rice burrito from Taco Bell (even 

though they are delicious). Being forced 

only one time to find a meal not put together 

by myself, ironically at a journalism 

conference, I managed to find a delicious 

lunch of hummus,veggies, and pita. Other 

FEATURE 

Veganism:Into the heart of deliciousness 

These pictures explain that vegan food looks as good without 

the animal products (and taste just as good, if not, better) 

days I enjoyed things like chili (Chicago 

style, of course!) and pizza bagels. Snacks 

ended up being things like granola bars, 

assorted fruits, pretzels and peanut butter, 

or delicious chocolate chip cookies 

(made with soy chocolate and no eggs). 

Everyone has a different reason for the 

vegetarian or vegan diet choice. Some are 

brought up that way, knowing that lifestyle 

only. Others adopt it later in life after finding 

out the endless amount of facts about the 

animal industry (did you know approximately 

660,000 animals are killed an hour for 

meat?). Others do it for the health benefits 

(you can reduce your chance of a heart attack 

by 15% if you cut meat, dairy, and eggs out of 

your diet). But no matter what the reason, it 

still requires immense dedication and drive 

to keep up the choice. Kudos to you, vegans! 

I admire the choice you’ve made! 

October 31, 2011 FEATURE THE COLONEL 13 

photos by Andy Crooker

FEATURE 

Homecoming: Gliding through the galaxy 

by Kristen Lillvis & Michael Bellinson| Photo Editor & Here & Now Editor 

Photos donated by Heidi Myers 

Seniors Ryan Anderson and Courtney Greer win Homecoming 

king and queen. Kent later defeated Streetsboro, 22-6. 

Siblings senior Gannon Lavins and sophomore 

Megan Lavins spend some 

quality time together at the dance. 

Donna Crews and 

Heidi Myers enjoy the 

Homecoming fun. 

S e n i o r s 

and longtime 

friends 

S h a w n e y 

H a m i l - 

ton and 

Meghan Finley 

take a 

break from 

d a n c i n g 

for a quick 

p i c t u r e . 

It was a cold and rainy October night 

when Roosevelt students and their guests 

glided through the galaxy for Roosevelt’s 

2011 Homecoming. King Ryan Anderson 

and Queen Courtney Greer danced 

the night away with 800 other attendees. 

Seniors Emily Bowman, Abby Wemhoff, 

Christine Keener, and Maggie Connell 

model in their fabulous dresses. 

Seniors Hannah Schaefer, Daniella Rice, 

and Erin Waples look out of this world. 

14 THE COLONEL FEATURE OCTOBER 31, 2011

Reviews in brief 

‘Arrested Development’ rules 

by William de Cárdenas|Staff Writer 

Most popular sitcoms, not all, on television today are 

rather sub-par. They don’t know whether they’re funny 

or not so they use horrendously annoying laugh tracks 

to reassure themselves they are. But one show which 

aired on Fox in 2003 was a special gem. The show, “Arrested Development,” 

had a special flow to it. It featured such famous comedic actors 

such as Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, David Cross and even a young 

Michael Cera and was written and created by Mitchell Hurwitz. The 

list of actors goes on, making the show a symphony of comedic gold. 

The spectactular plot is based around the dysfunctional Bluth 

family. The formerly rich and well-off family loses all of their money 

because George Sr. is prosecuted by the Securities and Exchange 

Commission for defrauding investors and gross spending of the 

company’s money for “personal expenses.” Due to the recent loss of 

income, the family falls apart as they try to live without such luxuries 

as “diamond cream” or exspensive Corvettes. Instead they drive 

a n airport stair-car, live in a Bluth company model home, and all 

struggle to find their places in the workplace. The family is held 

together by the only character with common sense, Michael Bluth 

(Bateman’s character), as he tries to revive the family company. 

The show only had 53 episodes over three seasons which are all available 

for purchase on DVD. Recently it was announced that the show 

would return for ten more episodes that would all lead up to a movie 

but a release date has not been confirmed. This show did not receive 

the amount of publicity it should have and is extremely entertaining. I 

highly recommend it as it is one of, if not my favorite television show. 

iTunes top five songs: Hit or miss? 

by Elan Pochedley|Entertainment Editor 

1. “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber was originally released on October 

17, 2011. Encompassing a laid-back feel good tonality, one 

may categorize it as “festive reggae”. Although an undeniably 

catchy number, Bieber can’t pride himself with sole writer’s credit 

for the song. Composed by the song-writing trio the Messengers, 

this track is sure to fare well in today’s current music market. 

2. “Sexy and I Know It” by LMFAO was originally released on 

September 16, 2011. LMFAO is known for the outrageously entertaining 

live shows and albums, this song being yet another example 

of this. Through deliberate overindulgence of the song’s electronic 

elements, they create a song that’s both comical and creatively genius. 

3. “We Found Love (ft. Calvin Harris)” by Rihanna was originally 

released on September 22, 2011. Easily the most pop-ish song on 

the list, it’s not incredibly memorable. Focusing on an array of cheap 

hooks and cheesy synth lines, the track lavishes on pop cliche’s. It 

will probably fade out of the top 5 rather fast, but only time will tell. 

4. “Someone Like You” by Adele was originally released 

on January 24, 2011. The famed British singer is known for 

her beautifully powerful voice, yet this song shows a more 

delicate side to it. It’s a rather stripped down song strongly 

dependent on piano and voice. A rather personal number, 

it’s easily the most fragile and beautiful track on this list. 

5. “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People was originally released 

on September 14, 2010. The earliest released song on this 

list has been continually climbing the charts for over a year, becoming 

a “chart progressive” single to its fullest definition. Through 

filtered vocals, electronic-instrument focus, disturbed lyrics, and 

nonstop hooks, Foster the People creates a song that one can enjoy 

for its unsubtle strangeness as well as its undeniable catchiness. 

ENTERTAINMENT 

Bikilas let us down: 

Vibram FiveFingers’s 

Bikila take a step 

back 

by Daniel McIlduff | Staff Writer 

Over the past year or so a wave of barefoot running has taken 

the running nation and leaked over into other sports. 

Whether or not the forefoot running form actually helps 

your performance in sports or not may be in your opinion, 

but everyone can agree that Vibram FiveFingers is leading the way with 

shoes. FiveFingers is a style of shoes that has each toe in its own sleeve 

and looks like a glove on your foot. They are at the top of the market, 

boasting 13 different specific styles of FiveFingers for men and women. 

I have only been a barefoot runner for a little over a year now and 

I can say that nothing feels like running barefoot. I started with a pair of 

Vibram FiveFingers KSO. The Vibram FiveFingers Bikila I got ten months 

later was a step down for me after the KSOs. The Bikila model was much 

less flexible which could be expected if you look at its out-sole difference 

but the less than one millimeter difference was not proportionate. They 

were also much less durable. My pair of KSOs only lasted ten months because 

I wore them 24/7 and took them rock climbing, running, biking, 

even swimming at times in all weather and wore the soles thin. Within 

four weeks of getting the Bikilas they started ripping apart and were 

stained within two months (KSOs always cleaned up in the washer). The 

stench was also much worse taking me to the point where I had to wash 

them three to four times a week and couldn’t keep them in my locker. 

On the positive side (which is very small) the Bikila had much better 

traction than the KSO because of added treads, though this is still 

much less than any normal shoe. The second up side was that if you 

colored the blank toe spots black you looked like you had bear claws. 

In the end the Bikilas didn’t measure up to my expectations and 

the expectations of others. If you’re looking for the barefoot feel I would 

go with the KSOs or just not run in shoes. I’m glad that Vibram didn’t 

put all its eggs in one basket because Bikila definitely came up short. 

Parti, Parti, Partizani: Balkan music 

remixed 

by William de Cárdenas|Staff Writer 

Sometimes music today can get a little repetitive and generic. It’s good 

to mix it up and listen to an unexplored genre or to an international 

artist. It can lead to a new fascination and expand your musical palette. 

An artist that goes by Shantel also known as Stefan Hantel makes 

some good music, perfect for an inquiring listener that’s looking to try 

something new. Shantel is a German producer and artist, of Romanian 

descent. In many of his albums he remixes traditional Balkan music with 

electric and techno beats and has worked with gypsy brass orchestras. 

His album “Disko Partizani,” released in 2007, is more on the traditional 

side than the techno side. Two of my favorite songs on the album, “Disko 

Boy” and “Disko Partizani” both have a fun dance invoking sound 

to them that combines a traditional foreign sound with modern pop. 

In July Shantel hinted at an upcoming set of Mexican Salsa 

remixes titled “Voyage On My Flaming Taco.” So there’s that 

to look for as well as Shantel’s many other previous albums 

like “Super Mandarine,” “Great Delay,” and “Planet Paprika.” 

October 31, 2011 ENTERTAINMENT THE COLONEL 15 

photo by Kristen Lillvis

ENTERTAINMENT 

Kristen’s Korner: Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy 

by Kristen Lillvis| Photo Editor 

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” 

written by Douglas Adams was published 

in London on October 12, 1979. 

This is the first book in its five book trilogy 

and is the great start of a phenomenal series. 

It was originally broadcast in the United 

Kingdom by the British Broadcasting Corporation 

(BBC) Radio 4 in 1978, and soon was 

on the BBC World Service, the National Public 

Radio in the U.S. and the Canadian Broadcasting 

Corporation (CBC) Radio station. 

Arthur Dent, the protagonist of the story, 

tries to save his house while the contractors 

try to demolish it to get to the hyperspace bypass. 

Arthur escapes the Earth’s destruction as 

it is demolished to make way for a hyperspace 

bypass. Arthur spends the next several years 

helplessly going from crisis to crisis while 

trying to straighten out his lifestyle. He enjoys 

tea, but has trouble obtaining it in the far 

reaches of the galaxy. Later, he learns how to 

fly and finds himself to be sandwich-maker. 

Ford Prefect, also known as Ix, is a close 

friend to Arthur. He is an out of work actor from 

Kent’s annual downtown 

Halloween celebration 

is coming up on Oct. 29. 

From “terrorific” costumes, 

to an overall fun 

time, it’s bound to be 

quite the spectacle. College 

students tend to overpopulate 

the area (some 

of whom will be under 

the influence) so make 

sure to exercise caution 

throughout the night. 

photo by Buena Vista Home Entertainment 

the town of Guildford, Surrey. He is seen carrying 

around scripts that he is supposed to be audi- 

Kent’s much anticipated football game against 

Ravenna is coming up on Oct. 28. Always a highly 

competitive game, it’s sure to have both teams 

performing at their best. Although it’s an away 

game, much support can be expected from all 

sides. One must not also forget about the “Roasting 

of the Raven,” it’s a yearly tradition, after all. 

Elan and Logan’s 

HOT LIST 

by Elan Pochedley and Logan Prestegaard 

If you’re looking for some cheap entertainment, 

the Kent Plaza Theatre may be the place 

for you. Ever y Monday, movie-goers are charged 

$5 for a ticket and a small popcorn. C ompared 

to modern cinema prices, this is an undeniably 

killer deal. Go and see that movie you’ve 

been waiting for without the hefty price-tag. 

tioning with for plays. Though is actually a journalist 

from a small planet somewhere around 

Betelgeuse, he originally came to Earth to do 

some research for an article he was writing on it 

for the Guide. Ford came to Earth for a week and 

got stuck there for 15 years, leaving only when a 

fleet of Vogon constructor ships appear to demolish 

the planet, taking Arthur Dent with him. 

Even though they only made the first book 

of the series into a movie, it was still a great way 

to show the series off. As a reader, it was better 

this way because people could really get 

the grasp of the series and read the rest of the 

books if they wished to do so. The actors fit 

their parts very well and did a wonderful job 

delivering what the book was trying to show. 

Anyone, especially Science Fiction fanatics, 

would love this phenomenal series for its 

humor, wit, and charm. After reading the first 

book, you will be dying to read the rest of the 

series. When you pick it up, you can barely 

stop laughing. It was a wonderful fictional 

book for the readers who like to break outside 

of their own mind and lifestyle for a while. 

For those looking to play out 

at larger venues, the Kent 

Stage now appears to be 

holding open mic nights on 

specific Tuesdays throughout 

October. This classic location 

has a rich history in the folk 

scene from the last half century. 

Playing on such a renowned 

stage is quite an opportunity, 

and through open 

mics, such an opportunity is 

now available to everyone. 

16 THE COLONEL ENTERTAINMENT OCTOBER 31, 2011 

photos by Kristen Lillvis

PTC Wrap-up: 

by Daniel McIlduff| Staff Writer 

T 

h i s y e a r ’ s P T C i n c r o s s 

c o u n t r y d i f f e r e d f r o m 

p a s t y e a r s f o r b o t h b o y s 

a n d g i r l s . B o y s m o v e d u p 

f r o m f o u r t h o u t o f s e v e n t e a m s 

l a s t y e a r t o t h i r d o u t o f s e v e n 

t h i s y e a r w i t h j u n i o r N a t e G o o d - 

h a r t c o m i n g i n f i r s t f o r t h e t e a m 

a n d s e c o n d o v e r a l l w i t h a t i m e 

o f 1 7 : 3 9 . O t h e r p l a c i n g r u n - 

n e r s f o r R o o s e v e l t w e r e s o p h o - 

m o r e G r a n t Wa n g , j u n i o r s N a t e 

C o n d o s a n d E v a n P a i n o a n d s e - 

n i o r Z a c k S h a n n o n . T h i s y e a r 

t h e g i r l s m o v e d f r o m f i r s t t o 

t h i r d o u t o f e i g h t t e a m s . L e a d - 

i n g t h e t e a m w a s j u n i o r L i b b y 

B r a d f o r d i n t h i r d p l a c e o v e r - 

a l l h o l d i n g a t i m e o f 2 1 : 0 0 . 

O t h e r k e y p l a c e r s w e r e j u n i o r 

S a r a h M c C l u r e , f r e s h m a n A l e x 

M a r s i n e k , s e n i o r H a y L e a W y c k - 

It’s that time of year in 

Nor theast Ohio. The 

leaves are changing and 

along with that, so is 

the change of the Cleveland 

teams playing. The Indians 

f inished in S eptember after 

a long, exciting season 

of baseball. Typically there 

would be two teams to follow 

in Cleveland, but because 

the National Basketball Association 

(NBA) will not 

star t on time, there will not 

be any Cavaliers discussion 

for a while. Even though 

that Cleveland has always 

been a football town, the 

long years of futility have 

star ted to catch up with the 

Cleveland fans. The Browns 

used to be one of the league 

leaders in attendance and 

had one of the most loyal fan 

bases in the entire league, 

but now, the attendance has 

star ted to drop and the fan 

base is star ting to crumble 

down to just the die-hard 

fans like me. It’s just something 

I have become used to 

and I embrace the Browns as 

the lovable losers that they 

are. Even though their record 

doesn’t show it right 

now, the Browns are improving 

and we need to 

star t realizing that fact. 

Since the team came back 

into the league in 1999, the 

Browns have never been the 

same f ranchise. Even though 

the name of the team is the 

same as before, the aura isn’t 

the same. There has been 

only one playof f appearance 

and that ended with a hear tbreaking 

loss to the archrival 

Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Also, in the 12 years that 

the Browns have been back 

in the league, nine of the 12 

years have ended with double-digit 

losses. There is a 

reason for all of this constant 

losing and it comes 

down to two main variables. 

The f irst one is lack of stability 

at the main positions 

on the team, f rom the quarterback 

all the way up to the 

general manager. Since the 

Browns came back into the 

league, including current 

quar terback C olt McC oy, 

they have had 16 different 

SPORTS 

Rough Riders place high 

Senior Tony Britt celebrates a 

touchdown. 

o f f , a n d j u n i o r S a r a h F e t t e r s . 

T h i s y e a r ’ s g o l f t e a m o n c e 

a g a i n w o n P T C f o r t h e s i x t h 

t i m e . T h e y f i n i s h e d w i t h a t o - 

Browns starting to improve 

by Graeme Mohan| Sports Editor 

star ting quar terbacks, the 

most in the league during 

that time span. There have 

also been f ive head coaches 

during that span. For comparison, 

the Steelers have 

had three head coaches in 

their entire histor y. It’s 

just a plain fact that the 

Browns have failed because 

of the lack of stability up 

and down the organization. 

However, things have 

star ted to look up over the 

past year for the entire organization. 

The Browns 

hired former coach and Super 

B owl champion Mike 

Holmgren to be the president 

of the organization. 

Once he was in place, he 

star ted to make new hires. 

He hired Philadelphia E agles 

general manager Tom 

Heckert for the same position 

here in Cleveland and 

f ired coach Eric Mangini 

to hire St. Louis R ams offensive 

coordinator Pat 

Shurmur as the new coach. 

Along with the new 

people in the f ront of f ice, 

the Browns f inally star ted 

t a l s c o r e o f 3 1 2 , f o l l o w e d b y 

R a v e n n a ’ s s c o r e o f 3 3 3 , C r e s t - 

w o o d w i t h 3 4 0 , a n d F i e l d w i t h 

3 4 5 . C o n t r i b u t i n g t o t h e s c o r e 

w e r e f r e s h m e n M i k e K e n - 

n e y ( 7 6 ) a n d C o l e S m i t h ( 7 8 ) 

a n d j u n i o r s J a m e s S t r a n g e 

( 7 7 ) a n d K e g a n W i s e ( 8 1 ) . 

T h e 2 0 1 1 g i r l s ’ t e n n i s t e a m 

w o n i t s P T C t o u r n a m e n t t h i s 

y e a r . S e v e n p l a y e r s ( w i t h s o m e 

s u b s t i t u t i o n s f o r i n j u r e d p l a y - 

e r s ) a l s o c o m p e t e d i n t h e s e c - 

t i o n a l w i t h j u n i o r A n d r e a K r e b s 

m o v i n g t h e f u r t h e s t . A l s o w i n - 

n i n g P T C w a s t h i s y e a r ’ s g i r l s ’ 

v o l l e y b a l l t e a m w h o w e n t 1 3 - 1 

i n t h e P T C s e a s o n . S t a r p l a y - 

e r s w e r e j u n i o r A l l i C u d w o r t h 

w i t h p l a y e r o f t h e y e a r , s e - 

n i o r T a y l o r P e n s y l , a n d 

s o p h o m o r e C o r t n e e B o w s e r . 

to draft well, something 

they have not done since 

they came back into the 

league. O ver the past two 

drafts, the Browns have 

drafted eight players that 

are currently star ting for 

the team. There’s of fensive 

guards Shawn L auvao, 

Jason Pinkston, wide receiver 

Greg Little, cornerback 

Joe Haden, safety T.J. 

Ward, defensive tackle Phil 

Taylor, defensive end Jabaal 

Sheard, and of course quarterback 

C olt McC oy. Not 

only are the Browns doing 

well early in the draft, 

but they are also getting 

players later in the draft 

that were overlooked and 

turning them into star ters. 

The Browns have a good 

thing going on right now. 

Yes, they might be struggling, 

but they are going 

through a rebuilding process. 

Don’t worr y, in a few years, 

the Browns will be a contender. 

S o just keep watching 

and look for the subtle 

improvements, because 

soon it will be massive. 

October 31, 2011 SPORTS THE COLONEL 17 

photo by Callie Cunningham

18 THE COLONEL OCTOBER 31, 2011

Two sides, one story: 

Athletes only 

by Monica Sincel| Business Manager 

Athletic recognition is sometimes unnoticed 

throughout high schools. 

Many individual sports get pushed 

aside unless a state championship is 

announced. For the most part, only team sports 

like football, basketball and lacrosse get noticed. 

Individual sports like golf, swimming and track 

and field do not. However, the one thing that 

brings student athletes together are their letterman 

jackets. Those who deserved that letter for 

the hard work and dedication they gave to that 

specific athletic team, whether they were noticed 

are not, are recognized now. Nevertheless, 

seeing band members, choir members and drama 

guild members wearing jackets that express 

“Marching Band,” “Choralworks,”or “Drama” 

doesn’t specify those people as student athletes. 

It is in every cliché high school movie like 

“Mean Girls,” “John Tucker Must Die,” and even 

dating back to the movie “Grease.” All characters 

in those movies that wear letterman jackets 

meet the criteria and stereotype of “jock.” 

Throughout the cliché high school movies, it is 

the jocks that are wearing the letterman jackets, 

not the band, choir or drama guild. This stereotype 

has made people think that it is weird and 

not well-deserved when they see a letterman 

jacket with “band,” “choir” or “drama” compared 

to actual student athletes. Although, many people 

may think this is wrong, the facts add up. 

Band, choir and drama should be justified as 

a club activity. Yes, I understand the hard work 

and dedication that is given to that activity. I 

understand that some go on competitions and 

go to camp for “training,” although the work 

ethic is completely different when it comes to 

comparing activity vs. sport. Singers who sing 

in choir do not deserve the same recognition 

as an athlete who does two-a-days or trains. 

The work ethic is nowhere near similar. Yes, I 

understand that you bring money to the school 

with your competitions and shows, but there are 

more clubs that compete and a lot of other clubs 

that bring money to the school as well. It is very 

rare to get full-ride scholarships or even some 

money for being in the marching band, choir or 

drama. They do help with college applications, 

but that is what every club does and for that matter, 

if clubs get letters for “how hard they work” 

and “how much money they bring to the school,” 

then how come clubs like French Club, Spanish 

Club, Booster Club, Amnesty International, 

Student Council, and so on, don’t get letters? 

Just because Roosevelt High School is known 

for being diverse and unique, it doesn’t make it an 

exception to this fact of life. Bottom line is, many 

people don’t see being in a band, choir or drama 

as an athletic achievement, so don’t make it one. 

SPORTS 

Varsity letters just for athletes? 

Varsity letters not just for athletics 

by Graeme Mohan| Sports Editor 

IIt’s something that non-athletes get a lot of grief for: either framing their 

varsity letter or putting it on a letterman’s jacket and wearing it. There 

are a lot of athletes at the school who believe that they are the only 

people who deserve to get recognition for their accomplishments and 

hard work. Nobody wants to give someone credit if they’re not running a 

cross-country course, catching a football, or playing some kind of sport. 

I’m not knocking what athletes do at all. They work incredibly hard and 

that they deserve a lot of recognition and praise for what they do. What I 

am saying is that people who are involved in band, Choralworks, and the 

drama guild deserve just as much recognition and praise for what they do. 

There are a lot of people believe that those who are not participating in 

athletics should not receive a varsity letter, something that most people stereotype 

as just an athletic accolade. You know what I do to people who say 

that? I laugh in their face. Not just because I completely disagree with them, 

but because I have a personal stake in this issue. I am involved in both choralworks 

and the drama guild and have experienced first hand the amount of 

work that is needed to do both of those activities well, not just performing a 

mediocre show. I also have friends that are in band and have seen what they 

have to do in order to have not just a good concert, but an exceptional one. 

I’ll tell you exactly what people in the drama guild have to do to put on a 

show and you ask yourself if that is deserving of a letter or not. To begin this 

process, you must go into a room that just has the two directors. Now while 

the main director is a very nice person, if you are not comfortable with public 

speaking or even if you are, there is only one chance to prove how good of an 

actor you are and to show why you should be get a part over the dozens of the 

others who are trying out. After you make the show, you have to memorize 

several lines word for word and memorize blocking, or where you are suppose 

to be on stage while you say your lines. Do you think that memorizing lines 

is easy? How about 388 lines? That is how many lines the lead character Alex 

Dennison, played by senior Corey Thur, has in the fall show “Rehearsal for 

Murder.” And they aren’t all just short lines. Some are huge paragraphs that can 

take up almost half the page. I have a role in the fall show with only 102 lines 

and I am stressing out about remembering all of my lines and my blocking. 

Then there’s Choralworks, band and orchestra. There are four choirs, two 

all girl choirs, one male choir and a mixed choir offered at Roosevelt. Choralworks 

is the highest choir at Roosevelt and you must be in another choir 

for at least a year and then audition in the spring to get in for the next school 

year. While I got in as a sophomore after only one year in Men’s Chorus, 

most people don’t get in after just one year. It typically takes two hard years 

of learning music theory, learning countless songs and being able to work 

together and blend with all the other voices. It might sound easy, but it’s a 

lot harder then people think. Band and orchestra do a lot of work too. Band 

spends from August until November marching for the football team. A lot 

of people think marching is easy, but it’s very precise and not anyone can do 

it at any time. Then after that, pep band spends the entire basketball season 

playing for the team. Then after that they have jazz band and have to practice 

that all the way through May. Band is basically working all year doing 

all sorts of things and supporting the athletes. I wish I could say the athletes 

came and supported all of the non-sports, but that doesn’t always happen. 

I’m tired of hearing about how much work it takes to be successful 

in athletics. I understand how difficult it is and I respect every single athlete, 

regardless of what sport they play. Athletes should be praised and get varsity 

letters. So if athletes are praised for their accomplishments and get varsity 

letters, why not give them to people that work equally as hard intellectually 

in the arts? Forget the stereotype that only athletes can wear the letterman’s 

jacket. Drama Guild, Choralworks and band members should be allowed to 

wear one and show their off their hard work. 

October 31, 2011 SPORTS THE COLONEL 19

LET’S GO ROUGH RIDERS! 

photos by Callie Cunningham 

L U N C H 

S P E C I A L 

10 a.m. 

to 1 p.m. 

(meal details in store) 

on the corner of Fishcreek and Graham

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