THE VALHALLA LAKESTEVENSHIGHSCHOOL JANUARY25TH,2011 VOL#83 ISSUE#5 - LAKE STEVENS SCHOOL DISTRICT

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THE VALHALLA LAKESTEVENSHIGHSCHOOL JANUARY25TH,2011 VOL#83 ISSUE#5 - LAKE STEVENS SCHOOL DISTRICT
the Valhalla
Lake Stevens High School   January 25th, 2011   Vol #83 Issue #5   lshsvalhalla@gmail.com
THE VALHALLA LAKESTEVENSHIGHSCHOOL JANUARY25TH,2011 VOL#83 ISSUE#5 - LAKE STEVENS SCHOOL DISTRICT
2news
Profile pictures on Facebook linked to awareness and pedophiles
                                                                                                                                                                by Hannah Bartow
A popular post has people wondering the campaign came from and what it means                                                                                         Sports Editor
    Many have heard of Facebook and a majority of             “Although the NSPCC did not originate the child-
students even manage an account. Of those with             hood cartoon Facebook campaign, we welcome
an account, some recently changed their profile            the attention it has brought to the work we do,”
pictures to cartoon characters to support the “fight       said the group according to their Twitter posts.
against child abuse.” The campaign that started on            About halfway through the week and 90,000
December 5th, urged people to change their pro-            “likes” later, reports arose that pedophiles started
file pictures to pictures of their favorite childhood      the photo fad.
cartoon shows in order to trigger fond memories               “The rumors are now sweeping the net that the
from Facebook users’ childhood.                            campaign is actually a smokescreen for pedophiles
    The original message posted on Facebook for            hoping to narrow down which users are children,”                            Photo courtesy of creativecommons.org
the profile picture swap read, “There should be            according to Sarah Nelson from DailyMail.com.
no human faces on Facebook, but an invasion of                After the articles broke out, chain posts were              the shows on TV when we were little. If a picture
memories. Everyone is to swap their profile pic-           found all over Facebook warning people about                   of SpongeBob is a person’s profile picture then
tures with their favorite childhood cartoon char-          changing their pictures.                                       it probably is a little kid,” said sophomore Louie
acter.”                                                       “Did everyone hear about the group asking                   Tayag.
    Many people believed that the fight against            everyone to change their profile picture to their                 Although the campaign brought great publicity
child abuse campaign was started by the chil-              favorite cartoon characters is actually a group of             to organizations hoping to stop child abuse many
dren’s charity National Society for the Prevention         pedophiles? They’re doing it because kids will ac-             found it an ineffective solution.
of Cruelty to Children, NSPCC. However, the NSP-           cept their friend requests faster if they see a car-              “Putting a post on Facebook isn’t really going
CC organization denied any involvement with the            toon picture. It has nothing to do with supporting             to make a difference. If people wanted to help
photo craze.                                               child violence; it was on tonight’s news, please               stop child abuse then they should go out and talk
                                                           copy and paste,” posted sophomore Chelsea Hunt                 to people to help support the cause,” said sopho-
                                                           on her Facebook wall.                                          more Aaron Piega.
                                                              Facebook spokesperson, Simon Axten, was                        An article on CNN.com pointed out that child
                                                           quick to deny the claims of the originators of the             abuse awareness should not be limited to just
                                                           cartoon campaign.                                              one time in the year. However, the National Child
                                                              “The rumor [about pedophiles starting the                   Abuse Prevention Month for the fight against child
                                                           child abuse campaign] is false,” Axten told Fox-               abuse is in April.
                                                           News.com. “Thousands of people have taken up                      “I don’t see why a campaign would come out
                                                           the campaign, none of whom can be identified as                almost half a year before the actual designated
                                                           either young or old based on the profile picture               month. It just doesn’t make sense to me,” said
                                                           chosen.”                                                       Tayag.
                                                              Some disagree with the claims made by Ax-                      Although the Cartoon for Child Abuse Campaign
                                                           ten, while others were unaware of the allegations              became a top search on Google, the originators of
                                                           spreading by the messages being posted on their                both the cartoon swap and pedophile allegations
                                                           walls.                                                         are still unknown. Even though no one has taken
                                                              “Well, if someone puts up a picture of Rugrats              claim to starting these viral announcements, it did
                                                           or The Wild Thornberry’s then it’s going to be                 not stop people from changing their profile pic-
          Photo courtesy of creativecommons.org            someone our age because those were some of                     tures to support child abuse.

The Korean conflict escalates                                                                           Keeping Connected:
                                                                 by Connor Wilson
US troops are sent to South Korea                                    Staff Reporter                               News around the world
   Recently, North and South Korea         South Korea to participate in war
                                                                                           -Death toll expected to reach 1,000 after a landslide in Brazil: With 207 still
have been exchanging artillery fire        games with the South Korean mili-               missing and 741 already found dead, the landslide on January 19th is one of the
over disputed areas near the border        tary, which further frustrated North            worst landslides in decades (www.reuters.com).
between the two countries. This has        Korea. North Korea recently stated
raised international tensions to the       that military action will be taken if           -Italian prosecutor’s, Silvio Berlusconi, reputation is damaged in sex scandal:
highest in decades.                        South Korea encroaches on the bor-              The seventy-four year-old man is accused of hiring an underage prostitute (www.
   “It was kind of a [rude] move on        der by even “0.001 millimeter,” ac-             reuters.com).
North Korea’s part. The whole thing        cording to huntingtonpost.com
seems uncalled for and almost un-             The United States has stated that            -Starbucks’ new Trenta size: Starbucks has come out with a new cup size. Trenta
provoked,” said senior Miles Titland.      it will defend South Korea from an              is Italian for thirty, but the cup really holds 31 ounces and is only available for cold
    Four South Korean citizens have        attack by their communist neighbors             drinks and only in 14 states (www.bsckids.com).
been killed and some are wondering         from the north. The U.S. presence in
                                                                                           -Vietnam’s communist goverment blocks Facebook: As the government begins
whether or not war will break out,         South Korea is raising tensions, not            to fear self expression on the web, different blogs and sites have been locked. New
and if the United States will become       only in the North, but has also raised          legislation could force cyber-cafes to install monitoring software on their computers
involved.                                  questions about China: Whose side               (us.oneworld.net).
   “It might lead to more of the com-      will they be on? Well, China recently
bat training we’ve been participating      stated that they would not defend               -A Philadelphia doctor charged with murdering babies: Dr. Kermit Gosnell is be-
in with South Korea,” said Titland. “If    North Korea in the event of a new Ko-           ing charged with performing late-term abortions as far into the pregnancy as eight
the shelling continues it might even       rean war. China said that they would            months and even killing newborns after inducing labor (www.bbc.co.uk).
lead to a war between North and            no longer remain North Korea’s ally,
South Korea.”                              unless they cease their “spoiled child          -A third suicide attack kills 15 more people: The �irst attack occurred when a
   Since the artillery strike, U.S. non-   attitude,” according huntingtonpost.            man drove an ambulance packed with explosives into a police training center, killing
                                                                                           13 and injuring 70. The second attack, in which a man in an explosive vest detonat-
combat troops have been sent to            com.
                                                                                           ed the bomb near a convoy, killed two more people (tothecenter.com).

                                                                                           -Mental health screening for troops: Screening troops for mental health problems
                                                                                           before they deploy has been shown to signi�icantly reduce the chance of developing
                                                                                           behavioral or psychiatric problems (healthland.time.com).

                                                                                                                                                           Main Street Center
                                                                                                                                                           1805 Main Street
                                                                                                                                                           PO Box 903
                                                                                                                                                           Lake Stevens, WA 98258
                                                                                                                                                           (425) 377-2850

                                                                                                  Come on in:
                                                                                                                          e e G   a m  i ng Room!
                                                                                                                       Fr                             e
                                                                                                                                           ur favorit
                                                                                            Tues.- Thurs. 4:30-8 p.m.
                                                                                                                              p l a y  y o
                                                                                                                      Come
                                                                                                   Fri. 2-8 p.m.
                                                                                                 Sat. 10-8 p.m.
                                                                                                                            b o a  r d g  ames!
                                                                                               Sun. 12:30-6 p.m.
                                                  Photos courtesy of creativecommons.org
                                                                                                                                                        gamesplus@isomedia.com
THE VALHALLA LAKESTEVENSHIGHSCHOOL JANUARY25TH,2011 VOL#83 ISSUE#5 - LAKE STEVENS SCHOOL DISTRICT
news3
Wikileaks sparks global controversy Superheroes come to Seattle
Julian Assange on trial pending sex crimes                                                Protecting the city with courage
                                                                      by Austin Carlton                                                            by Jennifer Rojas
                                                                         Staff Reporter                                                               Staff Reporter

   Great debate has been seen in re-        its support for North Korea if it contin-        On November of 2010, a
cent months over a certain watchdog         ued to act like “a spoiled child”. This       group of people dressed in su-
site, called Wikileaks. For several years   came just as tensions in the North and        perhero costumes were found
now the site has been circulating dif-      South Korea rose amid a particularly          roaming the streets of Seattle.
ferent documents which are intended         cold standoff, after North Korea killed       Police say that they have been
to show things not intended for the         several South Koreans in an artillery         patrolling the streets at night
general public. In the past, Wikileaks’     strike.                                       trying to save people from
founder, Julian Assange, has been un-          Also in the leaks was a key Saudi of-      crime.
der scrutiny by the United States and       ficial recommending that the US “cut             The group of ten call them-
other governments for his release of        off the head of the snake” if need be,        selves the Rainy City Super-
information. The “Iraq War Diaries”         while talking about Iran.                     hero Movement Thorn, Bust-
and “Collateral Murder” videos were            However, not all students here at          er Doe, Green Reaper, Gemini,         Photo courtesy of creativecommons.org
the first times Assange and his organi-     LSHS share the opinion that the re-           No Name, Catastrophe, Thun-
zation sparked controversy.                 lease of classified documents is a good       der 88, Red Dragon, Penelope         go anywhere in the world
   Recently however, the controversy        thing. A lot of controversy has come          and Phoenix Jones the Guard-         whenever I want, like super-
comes from the release of over 250,000      over a few of the diplomatic cables           ian of Seattle are the names         man,” said junior Jessica Mc-
classified and declassified documents       which have given details on US troops’        that the group members go            Gee.
stemming from the U.S.’s diplomats’         locations and other classified informa-       by.                                     Phoenix Jones was caught
conversations with others around the        tion.                                            On January 2, 2011, Phoe-         in action on tape while at a
world. Students at LSHS are mostly             “I think that some of the documents        nix Justice, one of the masked       comic book store. On tape a
supportive of the release of the diplo-     being released put U.S. troops in un-         avengers behind the Rain City        man enters in a room that
matic cables.                               necessary danger and there should be          Superhero Crime Fighting             was hidden behind a book-
   “I like seeing what goes on behind       laws in place to stop this kind of thing      movement, prevented a car            shelf and emerges as Phoenix
closed doors, as it gives me a better       from happening again,“ said sopho-            jacking in Lynnwood, Wash-           Jones.
                     understanding of       more Autumn Woolridge.                        ington.                                 Police say that what these
                     how government            Despite some of the Wikileaks’ ca-            According to CNN News,            real-life superheroes are do-
                     works,” said junior    bles clarifying some things the public        Dan, the victim of the attempt-      ing is something very dan-
                     Jared Rose.            would otherwise not have access to,           ed car jacking, said, “From the      gerous and that they can get
                        The conversa-       like a cable which showed that Saudi          right, this guy comes dashing        hurt, but. They still risk their
                     tions      between     Arabia was actually encouraging the           in just wearing this skintight       lives for the safety of others.
                     diplomats and for-     U.S. to deal with Iran. Controversy has       rubber black and golden suit            “When I walk into a neigh-
                     eign officials have    arisen over some specific documents           and just starts chasing [the         borhood, criminals leave be-
                     sparked      world-    which detailed key U.S. buildings over-       suspect]away.”                       cause they see the suit. I sym-
                     wide controversy       seas, in what some called a list that            The main superhero of the         bolize that the average person
                     as many reveal         terrorists could use for making targets       group is Phoenix Jones. He           doesn’t have to walk around
                     secrets that gov-      around the globe. Though no such at-          may not have super powers            and see bad things and do
                     ernments would         tacks have happened as of yet, the U.S.       like the ones in movies, but he      nothing,” said Phoenix Jones,
                     rather not be pub-     views the release of the documents as         carries tasers, nightsticks and      according to ABC News.
                     licly known. One       a threat and has since been trying to         pepper spray to defend him-             Like comic books these real-
                     cable involving a      come up with a case against Assange.          self in the fight against crime.     life heroes prevent crimes,
                     Chinese diplomat          Currently Assange is awaiting trial           “If I could have any super        but let’s just hope that the vil-
Photo courtesy       said that China was    over allegations of sexual misconduct         power I would want to have           lains don’t come out and try
creativecommons.org willing to abandon      with two women.                               flying powers so that I could        to destroy the heroes.

AP Government strives to become a regular class                                                                                                 by Paige Whitney
                                                                                                                                                   Staff Reporter

Students are encouraged to take on the new advanced placement class occuring in room 109
   AP Government is a “seventh period class.” It
happens after school in Room 109 and is taught by
Darrick Hayman. Last year, not enough students
signed up for the class and so it was moved to af-
ter school; the class was not advertised to many
students.
   “The only way I found out about AP Govern-
ment was through a couple of students I knew
who were doing independent studies. They sent
a survey around asking if people would take the
class and so I signed up for it,” said senior Tatiana
Weems.
   Even though not many students are a part of the
class this year, there are many reasons one may
consider taking it next year. For one, it is an AP
class that will show up on high school transcripts.
Another reason is it gives students a chance to
learn about the inner workings of the United
States’ government.
   “I was interested in how our government works,
and I thought our government had some flaws. So
I wanted to see how it is supposed to be run com-
pared to how I saw it being run,” said Weems.                                                                                                  Photo by Veronica Walker
   This class, however, does not replace required       Seniors Sydney Gellerson, Michelle Prior, Tatiana Weems, Brandon Reddeman, Jessyca Brubaker, Sean
history classes.                                        Perry, Austin Carlton, and Alexander Glaves are hard at work in their AP Government class.
   “AP Government does not count as Contempo-
rary World Issues or Contemporary American Is-          a class during the school day if more students sign   ested in the field of politics,” said senior Rosemary
sues even though everything we are doing cross-         up.                                                   Reyes.
es over, and it is basically the same thing,” said         “I think it would have been an interesting class      When the time rolls around for students to cre-
Weems.                                                  because it gives an insight on how our country        ate their schedules, there is hope that more stu-
   Currently, there are only nine people enrolled in    runs our government and our structures. Also,         dents will step up to the challenge and consider
the class. AP Government could possibly become          it might be a good class for those who are inter-     taking AP Government.
THE VALHALLA LAKESTEVENSHIGHSCHOOL JANUARY25TH,2011 VOL#83 ISSUE#5 - LAKE STEVENS SCHOOL DISTRICT
4sports
Lake Stevens’ wrestlers sign a contract with MTV for their own televisionbyseries
                                                                            Sarah Ruiz
The 4A “powerhouse” gains national recognition as filming starts for their new show                                                                    Editor-in-Chief
   Lake Stevens High School’s           banners, showing off the wrestling      15 minutes, learn some technique,              and the pride of being a Viking is
Wrestling Team has won award af-        team’s accomplishments.                 drill, [practice] live situations, live        often all it takes to keep the team
ter award, but now more than just          With five state titles and only      matches and then some condition-               working hard every day.
the Lake Stevens’ community will        two district losses in twenty-two       ing. Our routine is basically nine                “When you walk out on the mat,
know it. Recently, the wrestling        years, the wrestling team has al-       practices a week between morning               you know you have to represent
team signed with MTV Productions        ready been recognized nationally.       and after school, unless a match               where you’re from and you already
for their own television series.           Brent Barnes came to coach           or tournament conflicts with it                have an attitude that you’re going
   Varity wrestler, junior Kinsey       the Vikings’ Wrestling Team in his      and we need a little break. I train            to demolish the kid you’re wres-
Johnson said, “We were all jacked       early twenties and has been coach-      during the regular wrestling sea-              tling because in our program, we
when we heard there was a pos-          ing for twenty-two seasons. His ac-     son, which is three months. Then               wrestle with the most talented
sibility that MTV could be doing a      complishments with the team have        freestyle starts up maybe a month              kids in the state. It’s just an honor
show on us. We all started working      left highly respected coaches wish-     after the school season is over and            to represent Lake Stevens and to
out to P90X trying to get ripped        ing to work with him.                   that goes basically all year round.            have this opportunity to show what
for the show, and it was just [excit-      The talent of the team is not by     The only time I’m really not train-            really goes on in our lives because
ing] to know that our hard work         any means due to luck; the team         ing for wrestling is right after the           most people have no idea what we
was starting to show to the world       trains incredibly hard to reach their   school season is done, and we get              go through on a day-to-day basis. I
more.”                                  accomplishments. A rigorous rou-        a couple week break at the begin-              mean in a two and a half hour prac-
   Camera crews have already been       tine keeps the team in shape and        ning of summer,” said Johnson of a             tice I can lose eight pounds; it’s the
seen on campus, in classrooms and       ready for any upcoming matches.         Viking’s typical routine.                      hardest workout of your life,” said
at wrestling matches. Thursday,            “In the morning before school           For the Lake Steven’s wrestlers             Johnson.
December 9, the crew filmed dur-        we run for about twenty min-            there is more to wrestling than                   Surely the hardworking wres-
ing the wrestling match for the         utes then we do drill moves in the      just fame. While the perks of be-              tling team’s work is paying off.
first time. An increased number         wrestling room for about 15 min-        ing filmed are also exciting for the           With so many state titles and the
of supporters were also present at      utes. Then we do some technique,        wrestlers, for many there is much              upcoming show, the team is off to
the match.                              and then we do live situations and      more that keeps them working                   a great start to bringing more well-
   The match took place in the Lake     then maybe some live wrestling.         hard.                                          deserved attention to the Lake Ste-
Stevens gym underneath the many         After school we warm up for about          The support of the community                vens community.

                                                                                                  Photos by Samantha Wade (left and center photos) and Sarah Ruiz (right photo)
Left: Sophomore Brandon Johnson wrestles a Moses Lake student. Center: MTV crewmen record wrestling match for upcoming docu-series. Right: Senior Jack
Reeves [Lake Stevens] wrestler pins down a Moses Lake student for the win.

Leigha Staffenhagen’s love of the Beatles and Converse makes for one unique “Cheerio”
                                                                                                                                                         by Benny Saack
One Lake Stevens’ cheerleader isn’t afraid to break the traditional cheerleader mold to create a look all her own                                           Staff Reporter
   Leigha Staffenhagen is like a transformer.        school,” said Leigha.                                                   “I would really like to be a baker and
There’s more to her than meets the eye.                  The thing she is most passionate about is her                      own my own bakery,” said Staffenha-
Staffenhagen goes against cheerleader                 dancing, she has been doing it for thirteen years                      gen.
stereotypes by taking AP classes. One                      and practices regularly.                                             This extraordinary goal just proves
of the main things that set                                      Something that is truly impres-                            that this student is a truly interesting
Staffenhagen apart is her                                      sive about this cheerleader is                                  individual.
unique personality. “I love                                     her challenging classes.                                            Leigha does a lot outside of school
the Beatles, and I kind of                                       She is currently in AP                                           too. One of her favorite things to do
prance around the halls like                                      English and AP U.S.                                              is cook.
an idiot,” said Staffenhagen.                                     History and is involved                                             “I really like to make fried po-
   Needless to say, Leigha is a                                   with DECA and partici-                                          tatoes. Cooking is great, but I hate
different sort of person. She is ex-                            pating in the anual competi-                                   cleaning up”
traordinarily outgoing and char-                            tion. As a student, she goes above                                    Aria Wexler, Leigha’s self pro-
ismatic.                                              and beyond what is required. Her mo-                                   claimed best friend has nothing but
   Leigha said she tried out for                     tivation to succeed combined with her                                   good things to say about her.
cheer because she wanted to be                       involvement in school activities is truly                                  “I have been BFF’s with Leigha
a bigger part of Lake Stevens High                   remarkable.                                                           Staffenhagen since Kindegarten at Hill-
School. Though she is a part of                          “I like to challenge myself and at-                              crest in Mrs. Ogden’s class!,” said Wex-
DECA, she wanted to expand her                        tempt things that are more difficult                               ler
school involvement to have a well                      than I’m used to,” said Staffenhagen.                                 Overall, Leigha is a very well -rounded
rounded high school experience.                           This ambitious student’s goals ex-                             individual. Cook, cheerleader and high
   “I’m a dancer and I thought                         tend far beyond high school. She has                              achieving student. The only question
that dance and cheer went well                         a passion for cooking and hopes                                  that seems to remain; is there anything
together, and I really wanted                           to take this skill and apply it to                             Leigha can’t do?
to get more involved with our                           her future career.                                              Photos by Veronica Walker
THE VALHALLA LAKESTEVENSHIGHSCHOOL JANUARY25TH,2011 VOL#83 ISSUE#5 - LAKE STEVENS SCHOOL DISTRICT
sports5
Snowboarding - not a hobby, a lifestyle US World Cup bid denied
Two students make the most of this season’s snow                                             by Paige Whitney
                                                                                                                   Qatar to host 2022 Cup                 by Austin Carlton
                                                                                                Staff Reporter                                               Staff Reporter
                                                                           Farmer.
                                                                              Farmer and Lavering                      Turns out U.S. soccer fans will have to wait until
                                                                           pride themselves on being               at least 2026 before they get another chance to host
                                                                           huge risk takers. They never
                                                                           hesitate to perform intense             the world’s largest cup dedicated to the world’s most
                                                                           stunts.                                 popular sport. On December 2, 2010, many U.S. soccer
                                                                              “My favorite is a double             fans felt World Cup 2022 was snatched away after the
                                                                           backflip,” said Farmer, “There          small gulf country of Qatar was announced to be the
                                                                           are no rules ‘cept when city            host of the 2022 World Cup. The U.S. bid for the cup
                                                                           hall kicks you out during an            was backed by big names such as Morgan Freemam
                                                                           urban sesh.” In snowboard
                                                                           language, “sesh” means for              and Bill Clinton.
                                                                           session.                                   “I am surprised to hear of so many high-profile peo-
                                                                              These two impressive                 ple supporting the bid,” said junior Sydney Peterson.
                                                                           young men put their life into              The support of these famous Americans shows
                                                                           snowboarding and see it                 the growth and support of professional soccer in this
                                         Photo courtesy of Benjamin Farmer more than a sport to do on
Senior Ryan Lavering (left) and    junior Benjamin Farmer (right) the weekends.                                    country.
gear up for a day on the slopes.                                              “It makes me look cool.                 The bid included the proposed use of stadiums in
                                                                           Just kidding ‘cause it’s really         19 different cities: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas,
   Every winter students            a video game but has turned fun, duh. You don’t have a                         Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los An-
gear up for the upcom-              into a lifestyle. They snow- coach ruling your life. You do                    geles Miami, Nashville, New York City, Philadelphia,
ing snowboarding season.            board anywhere they can. what you want and how you                             Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa and Washington
Snowboarding has become a           However, they prefer some want do it,” said Farmer.                            D.C.
common hobby at Lake Ste-           places over others.                       Lavering added, “Snow-
vens High School.                      “Steven’s Pass is the great- boarding is about friends,                        The announcement that the U.S. had its bid denied
   However, for senior Ryan         est place on earth. Baker is new tricks, blacking out a                        was a significant blow to those who wanted this bid to
Lavering and junior Benja-          perty cute too. Oh and Ben’s few times a day trying to                         be the sign of the U.S.’s coming of age in the world of
min Farmer, it is more than a       backyard. Booya!” said La- do a 720, Ben blowing up                            soccer.
hobby.                              vering.                                his spleen, slashing powder,               Though the U.S. has hosted one FIFA World Cup
   “I was like 12 when I start-        These two boarders have sticking your tongue on lift                        in 1994, many feel that the U.S. soccer program has
ed. We got a game called Am-        also met their fair share of polls, laughing, having ev-
ped for Christmas. It made          famous snowboarders.                                                           improved greatly since then and that if given another
                                                                           erything possible go wrong
me want to be on snow, and             “Aaron Brittner was the but not caring ‘cause you’re                        chance, the U.S. could truly come to except the sport,
then my brother was a huge          first one I met. Me and Ben snowboarding, but most of                          which has been hit and miss in the country for so long.
influence,” said Farmer.            were super nervous. I think all being away from every-                            Regardless, of U.S. fans’ feelings on Qatar’s winning
   Lavering also started in a       I said, ‘You are really cool’ or thing.”                                       of the bid, their winning marks a milestone for the
similar way.                        something like that. I’ve met              Although they have both             cup as they are to be the first Middle Eastern nation
     “Amped kind of intro-          billions more since him,” said been injured, they continue
                                                                                                                   to get the chance to host a world cup. Qatar’s bid was
duced me to the sport. Then         Lavering.                              to pursue the sport and per-
I got one of them little plas-         Lavering and Farmer are fect their skills.                                  comprised of plans for new stadiums and accommoda-
tic snowboards from Target,         so dedicated to boarding,                 Farmer and Lavering have             tions for the world’s soccer fans that would no doubt
and I’d go to my cabin and          they don’t even need snow. an infatuation with snow-                           flock to see their national teams compete. Recently
spend days just building little     This type of boarding is called boarding that will always be                   Qatar has requested that they host the cup in a winter
jumps and doing little 180’s        “jibbing”. Jibbing is used as a a part of their winter season                  month as opposed to summer as per usual, due to the
and things. Then I started          replacement when there isn’t and a permanent part of their                     extreme summer heat which can exceed temperatures
riding at Steven’s and that is      any snow available.                    lives. As these two continue
basically where my life be-            “Jibbing is riding on any- with their passion of snow-                      of 105°F.
gan,” said Lavering.                thing that isn’t snow. It is boarding, many students are                          Russia was also announced on December 2nd to be
   Their hobby started with         also sometimes death,” said sure to follow suit.                               the host country of the 2018 World cup.

Girls’ Basketball adds to their winning record                                                                                                               by Sarah Ruiz
                                                                                                                                                           Editor and Chief

Another winning season will most likely take the team to State for the second year in a row
   Last Wednesday the Girls’ Varsity Basketball Team played against Jack-                      teams. The Vikings’ starting line took the court after receiving cheers from
son in the Lake Stevens’ gymnasium. The Lady Vikings took to the court                         the crowd, cheerleaders and mascots. Starting for the Vikings was junior
to warm up while listening to music and wearing their matching shoes.                          Katie Goddard, senior Meghan Warbis, senior Corrine Burke, junior Abigail
Fans of the Vikings cheered as the starting line-up was announced for both                     Molstre and sophomore Brooke Pahukoa. Interestingly enough, both teams
                                                                                               had a set of twins on their roster, Brooke and Brittney Pahukoa for Lake and
                                                                                               Kaitlyn and Megan McArthur for Jackson.
                                                                                                  Taking the tip-off for Lake Stevens was Brooke Pahukoa and Hayley
                                                                                               Gjertsen for Jackson. Gjertsen won possession of the ball for Jackson, but
                                                                                               Goddard grabbed the ball from Jackson and brought the ball down to Lake’s
                                                                                               side where she scored a basket in the first minute of the quarter.
                                                                                                  When the second quarter kicked off, Molstre was on fire and her aggres-
                                                                                               sion paid off as she won multiple rebounds and managed to make a number
                                                                                               of steals. A memorable moment in the second quarter was when Brooke
                                                                                               Pahukoa went in for a shot, and made it, but did not receive the basket
                                                                                               because she had taken down her defender, receiving a foul. A long pass at
                                                                                               the end of the quarter from senior Mahea Puha to Goddard led to another
                                                                                               point, and a score of 25-19, Vikings.
                                                                                                  Returning from halftime for the Vikings was Burke, Brooke Pahukoa,
                                                                                               Warbis, Goddard and senior Kayla Wilson. Burke played a strong game as
                                                                                               point guard by playing smart and remembering to the slow the ball. Senior
                                                                                               Jolana Ziskovsky kept Jackson at bay with strong defense and by the end of
                                                                                               the quarter the score was 35-26.
                                                                                                  During the fourth quarter Burke had to be helped off the court after a
                                                                                               tough fall, but she made an appearance back in the game; her game did not
                                                    Photo courtesy of lkstevens.wednet.edu     seem to suffer from her previous injury either. Brooke Pahukoa scored a
The Girls’ Varsity team’s record as of January 20, 2011 was 15 wins and only                   remarkable basket after she fought through the Jackson defense to put up
two losses. Upcoming games the following Friday could add to the girls’ win-                   a basket to bring the score to 40-30, with two minutes left to the end of the
ning record.                                                                                   game. The end of the game came to a close with a score of 44-32, Vikings.
THE VALHALLA LAKESTEVENSHIGHSCHOOL JANUARY25TH,2011 VOL#83 ISSUE#5 - LAKE STEVENS SCHOOL DISTRICT
6focus
                                     What are students looking forward to most i
                        junior

                                                                                                                  junior Taytum
                                                 “[I’m looking forward to] getting my
                                                 AP tests out of the way.”
                       Troy Mateo

                                                                                         junior
                                                                                                                                        “Second semester I would
                                                                                                                                        like to see more guys

                                                                                        Rami Nasr
                                                                                                                                        wearing V-neck sweat-

                                                                                                                  Kreutzer
                                                                                                                                        ers, especially on Logan
                                                                                                                                        Merrill, Peter Ruiz, Ty
                                                                                                                                        Partington and Nick
  “[I’m looking forward to] better                                                                                                      Majors!”
  classes and more challenges.”

            Traveling back in time                                                                               by Avery Cavazos
                                                                                                                        A&E Editor
                                                                                                                                                              E
             Reviewing the pop culture from 2010                                                                                                               R
                          As the New Year continues onward, people                ceremonies. Most notable was Lady Gaga’s many                               Tw
                       take a look at the past year with all its ups and          surprise outfits at the VMA’s, especially her dress                      lead
                       downs.                                                     made entirely of meat. Taylor Swift also took her                           Th
                          Last year many artists and bands became well            stand when she sang “Innocent” in response to                            pear
                       known and gained a large following. These artists          Kanye West’s interruption of her acceptance                              attem
                       included Bruno Mars, The Ready Set, B.o.B., Trey           speech at the VMA’s and stated that she forgave                             Bo
                       Songz, Willow Smith and Jason Derulo. Many of              him.                                                                     their
                       these artists had top spots on the MTV’s News                 The woman who captured the hearts, yet                                   De
                       Top 25 Songs of 2010; B.o.B. took two spots, at            again, and was the face of 2010 comedy was 88                            that
                       #14 with “Nothin’ on You” featuring Bruno Mars,            year-old Betty White, who made an astounding                             are c
                       and #10 “Airplanes” featuring Hayley Williams              skit on Saturday Night Live, and starred in many                         ing t
                       from Paramore.                                             light-hearted commercials.
                          Eminem made a comeback with his songs “I’m                 There were many mainstream break-ups in
                       Not Afraid” and “I Love the Way You Lie,” featur-          the media including the shocking divorce of San-
                       ing Rihanna.                                               dra Bullock and her ex-husband, Jesse James, af-
                          Pink, Katy Perry and Ke$ha made many catchy
                       pop songs including Pink’s “Raise Your Glass,”
                                                                                  ter discovering his many affairs. Also, the split
                                                                                  of Billy Ray Cyrus and Tish Cyrus, Miley Cyrus’
                                                                                                                                                  Have yo
                       Perry’s “Teenage Dream” and “Fireworks” and                parents, was suspected to be caused by Tish’s in-
                       Ke$ha’s “Your Love is my Drug,” “We Are Who We             fidelity with Bret Michaels.
                       Are” and “Tik Tok.”                                           From the shocking outfits at the VMA’s to
                          Artists also made statements at different award         heartbreaking splits, 2010 will not be forgotten.

        Top Ten New Year’s Resolutions
       10. Erase Miley Cyrus from existence
       9. Create MySpaceBookTublr
       8. Don’t go to prison…again
       7. Become the Master of Disguise
       6. To be the very best Pokemon trainer
       5. Tame a magnificent eagle
       4. Not get stuck in limbo
       3. Get my Dark Mark removed
       2. Accept senioritis
       1. SURVIVE
THE VALHALLA LAKESTEVENSHIGHSCHOOL JANUARY25TH,2011 VOL#83 ISSUE#5 - LAKE STEVENS SCHOOL DISTRICT
focus7
in 2nd Semester?                                            by Hailey Nobach
                                                               Staff Reporter

                                                                     “[We’re looking                             “[We’re looking forward to] school
         Porscha Dacoscos
         Malory Gibson &
                        sophomores

                                                                     forward to]                                 almost being over and spring sports”
                                                                     new schedules and

                                                                                         Meghan Warbis
                                                                                         Alexis D’Souza &
                                                                                                       seniors
                                                                     how grades start
                                                                     over!”

                                                                                                                                                                                        JAN
Economy & Politics Update                                                                                                                               by Connor Wilson
Republicans hope to repair deficit following recent elections                                                                                               Staff Reporter

 wo months ago mid-term elections placed republicans in control of the House of Representatives. With their newfound power and
dership of republican John Boehner, the right wing plans to take control of the deficit by cutting government control and spending.
 his and the republican takeover are largely in part thanks to the Tea “Take Enough Already” Party, a party of republicans that ap-
 red in 2009 in response to President Obama’s economic stimulus and health care reform bill. Now, the House is using its power to
 mpt to extend Bush-era tax cuts.
 oehner plans on having the Constitution read aloud in the House chamber in an attempt to prove that “democrats have overstepped
 r constitutional authority,” according to BBC News.
 espite losing control of the House, President Obama plans on attempting to launch a second stimulus package. “I’m pretty confident
t they’re going to recognize that our job is to govern and make sure that we are delivering jobs for the American people and that we
 creating a competitive economy for the 21st century. Not just for this generation but for the next one,” said President Obama accord-
 to National Review Online.

ou made any New Year’s Resolutions?
                                                   by Michelle Bennett
                                                        Staff Reporter
     “[ I want to] quit bad habits. [It’s going] good
   so far. [I] haven’t done anything bad yet [but there
   are] lots of temptations.”
                                            - senior Mariah Eceves

      “[I want to] watch as many zombie movies as [I]
   can and to get as many different pairs of skinny
   jeans as [I] can. [I] haven’t started yet.”
                                     - sophomore Jessica Thornock

     “[I’m wanting to] get through college, get good
   grades, [and] hopefully pass.”
                                      - sophomore Ramon Granda

     “Be a better person. So far so good. [I’ve] been
   kind to everybody.”
                                        - sophomore Matt Browder

     “[I want to] get fit for track. [It’s going] good.
   Kinda, sorta, in a way trying to lose weight. [I’m
   going to] work out and run a lot.”
                                          - sophomore Julie Moore

                                                                                                                                                        photos by Veronica Walker and Courtney Jardin

                                                                                                                                                                                          pg. 7
THE VALHALLA LAKESTEVENSHIGHSCHOOL JANUARY25TH,2011 VOL#83 ISSUE#5 - LAKE STEVENS SCHOOL DISTRICT
8opinion
One girl tackles two controversial pop culture discussions
Plastic body parts take it too far                                                  by Hailey Nobach
                                                                                       Staff Reporter
                                                                                                               TV is stealing our innocence
                         Nose jobs, lipo-       but that does not sound appealing to              Who would have thought televisions would evolve from antennas and
                      suction, face lifts       me in any way, shape or form.                  VCR’s to televisions that can be hung on the wall and including a remote to
                        and Botox injec-           Then there are always the risks that        change the channel? Technological advancements continue to impress many,
                          tions are just        accompany cosmetic surgery. Patients           but these new and improved objects raise a new problem.
                            a few of the        take the chance of blood clots, stroke            Casper the Friendly Ghost, the Flintstones, and Yogi the Bear were chil-
                             many proce-        or sometimes even death, and these             dren’s favorites from the 50’s to the 70’s. The thing that all these shows had
                             dures peo-         are just a few of the many dangers. Of         in common was innocence.
                             ple undergo        course, don’t take my word for it. Tune           No one heard sexual comments, cuss words or alcohol references. Now
                             to be consid-      into any show, such as Dr. 90210, to           viewers must be careful about what may or may not come on TV. Take the
                             ered “beau-        get some vivid scenes as to what these         Burger King ad, “Square Butts,” for an example. It shows the Burger “King”
                         tiful” in society.     people inflict upon themselves.                                                    walking around with different women in
                         Don’t get me              Twenty-seven percent of both men                                                        tight short dresses, shaking their
wrong, I like to look good in public and        and woman ages 18-24 have already                                                          butts as if they were in a modern
maintain my appearance, but the pain            had cosmetic surgery according to the                                                      rap music video. Kids at such a
that some people go through, and the            American Society for Aesthetic Plastic                                                     young age are influenced easily,
                                                                                                                                          and that commercial is portraying
prices that they pay are ridiculous in          Surgery. The human race has definitely
                                                                                                                                      and suggesting the way kids should
my opinion. Is it really worth having to        lost sight of the difference in the mean-
                                                                                                                                    dance and act, which is rather inappro-
be drugged, knocked out, and having a           ing of the words “need” and “want.” It
                                                                                                                                 priate in my opinion.
knife cut your skin open just to be bet-        would not surprise me if in the years                                               However, kids are not the only victims
ter looking, according to the public?           ahead the age of cosmetic surgery                                                  here; I have found myself appalled at some
   Take a face lift for example, ac-            starts to get younger and younger.                                                   of the things that I see on television. On
cording to American Society for Aes-               Everyday people fall for the words                                                MTV they were advertising a new show
thetic Plastic Surgery, the average             “look like this today” and before and                                                called Balls Out Comedy. Of course with
cost would be around $6,298 and the             after pictures advertised on TV, ra-                                                the name they felt the need to show a
recovery time is two to three weeks.            dio or magazines. These advertise-                                                    boy walking around with his “private
First, the surgeon makes incisions be-          ments try to make people think that                                                    part” hanging out. Even though it was
low the neck and around the hairline,           with these “quick” fixes life could be                                                 blurred out, it was still unbelievable to
and then separates the skin from the            so much better. The world today has                                                     see this on TV. I wish there were more
fat and muscles. He or she then cuts            made most of us believe that we have                                                     shows that we could watch without
or suctions the fat from the face, then         to have perfect hair, skin and bodies,                                                    having our jaws drop at what we
replaces the skin back on the face with         pretty much perfect everything in or-                                                      see or hear. What happened to the
stitches. Now, I don’t know about you,          der to fit in.                                                                             innocence?

 Rants and Raves... The complaints and compliments of the Valhalla staff
             “                                                                              “                                                                    “
                             Dear Eminem,
                                  I enjoy your music, I re-                                             Last week was a very busy week, but I needed a
                         ally do. Songs such as “I’m Not                                       new purse, and I definitely didn’t have time to go to the
                                                                                        Rave

                         Afraid”, “Cinderella Man”, and                                        mall. This led me to look online where I ended up buying
                         “Like Toy Soldiers” have claimed                                      the purse of my dreams with the click of a button! If you
                         a permanent place in my heart.                                        ask me, online shopping is the best invention ever. No sit-
                         That being said. . .”Love the Way
                         You Lie”. What on earth were           “                              ting in traffic, no having to elbow people in your way., just
                                                                                               one click and it’s on its way, simple as that!

                                                                                             “
                         you thinking? This song is outra-                                                                                   by Hailey Nobach
                         geously awful. Every time I hear
                  Rant

                         this song on the radio, I change                                                                                       Staff Reporter
                         the station, violently. I cannot
                         stress this enough, that is NOT                                                          What’s with embarrassing parents these
                         why they call it a windowpane.                                                 days? Everyday I come to school or talk to my
                                              by Riley Fraser                                           friends about an embarrassing moment that hap-
                                                                                                        pened because of my parents. Like Sunday for ex-

  “
                                               Staff Reporter
                                                                                                        ample, we went to Taco Bell to grab a quick lunch
                                                                                                        on the go; we roll up to the drive-thru window, and
                                                                                                        my stepdad hands the cashier his credit card. As
                                                                                                        the cashier closes the window to charge the card,
                  My AP Art and U.S. History teacher amazes me. I can’t get
                                                                                                        I catch a glimpse of the cashier’s face. My jaw
              over how organized he is, and every day his organization
              shocks me. Perhaps I am so impressed because my lack of or-
              ganization has constantly made finding one assignment dif-
              ficult, but his ability to keep track of hundreds of documents
                                                                               “                        dropped and I thought out loud, “He has pretty
                                                                                                        eyes.” So I mind my business, answer a text and as
                                                                                                        the cashier returns my stepdad’s card I hear, “My
                                                                                                        daughter thinks you have pretty eyes.” I wanted to
      Rave

              is incredible. He has a place for every single paper, book and
              computer file. The amount of material in both these classes
              is remarkable and the fact he so seemlessly organizes his
              material is a profound testament to his committment to his
                                                                                                        melt into the upholstery of the car and disappear.
                                                                                                        My stepdad added to my humiliation by asking,
                                                                                                        “So do you go to Lake Stevens High School?” As
                                                                                                        it turned out he graduated last year, so he would
                                                                                                                                                                 “
                                                                                               Rant

              classes. Mr. Talley, my hat’s off to you.
                                                                by Sarah Ruiz                           have had no idea who I was (thankfully). The only
                                                                Editor-in-Chief                         way it could have been more embarrassing would
                                                                                                        be if he had actually seen me. Needless to say I’ll be
                                                                                                        avoiding that Taco Bell like the plague.
                                                                                                                                        by Avery Cavazos

                                                                                            “
     the Valhalla Staff                                                                                                                        A&E Editor
     Editorial Board:                                            Staff Reporters:
      Sarah Ruiz: Editor-in-Chief, Feature Editor
                                                               Austin Carlton
      Alicia Terry: Design Editor, Focus Editor
      Kaylynn Tobias: Business Manager
      Avery Cavazos: A&E Editor
      Isabel Kowacz: Opinion Editor
                                                                  Riley Fraser
                                                               Tatum McLeod
                                                               Hailey Nobach
                                                                                                        Floral print is NOT dead and buried with your
                                                                                               grandmother’s 1950’s vintage curtains. I personally be-
                                                                                               lieve floral print is a necessity. Now maybe this is just me
                                                                                               and my weird obsession with old lady clothes, but I really
                                                                                                                                                                 “
                                                                                        Rave

      Hannah Bartow: Sports Editor                              Jennifer Rojas
      Samantha Wade: News Editor                                  Benny Saack                  do love my floral print dresses; I have one for practically
                                                               Paige Whitney                   every day of the week. If I had it my way, I would have one
     Photographers:                                           Connor Wilson                    for every day of the month. And for males, argyle, obvi-
      Courtney Jardin                                        Michelle Bennett
      Veronica Walker                                Advisor: Julie Henggeler
                                                                                               ously isn’t out of style either.          by Isabel Kowacz
                                                                                                                                                  Opinion Editor
THE VALHALLA LAKESTEVENSHIGHSCHOOL JANUARY25TH,2011 VOL#83 ISSUE#5 - LAKE STEVENS SCHOOL DISTRICT
opinion9
Old enough for war, but too young for alcohol?                                                                                                      by Jennifer Rojas
                                                                                                                                                       Staff Reporter

 People are questioning whether or not the government is fair about age restrictions
                  Why is it that people have to         not allowed to drink. I think that if people can           People shouldn’t have to wait until they are
                 be 21 years old to drink, but to       vote they should have a say in whether or not           21 years old to drink because if you can join the
                  be in the army they can be as         they should be drinking.                                army when you are as young as 18 then stu-
                     young as 18 years old? I ask          If people have the choice of deciding to hold        dents should have the choice whether to drink
                        myself if this makes any        a gun in their hands and fight for their coun-          or not at that same age.
                         sense, and no it doesn’t;      try then why can’t they have that same choice              Imagine not being able to make your own
                         it’s all nonsense.             when it comes to alcohol?                               choices, but having others make them for you,
                            People      are    al-         Those who are enlisted in the army demon-            how would you feel? Don’t let others make
                       lowed to and encour-             strate that they are mature enough to make very         the choices. No one knows when they will die
                   aged to join the army,               risky decisions. Enlisting in the army provides         it could be today, tomorrow or in a month or
where they fight for their country in wars              responsibility for many. I think that respon-           two. That’s why I think it’s important to do ev-
with a significant chance of dying, but aren’t          sibility is key to making good choices. For ex-         erything you want to do before that day comes.
allowed to go have a drink with friends.                ample if people are responsible enough to fight         Those who want to join the army should, but
When turning 18 years old, people suddenly              for their country, then it shows that they can be       those who want to drink when 18 should also be
become “adults”, earning the right to make their        responsible for making the choice whether to            allowed to. I believe that if you are responsible,
own decisions.                                          drink or not.                                           then you can always make your own choices.
   Being able to smoke, own a gun, consent to              Let’s be realistic, not everyone follows the            If teens are responsible enough to join the
sex, have a child, and die for one’s country on         rules. Now-a-days when teens are told not to            army, then they can be responsible with many
the battlefield are some of the things that peo-        do something, it’s like you’re telling them to go       other things. For example moving out of their
ple can do at the age of 18. That’s why I wonder        do it. Teens don’t like it when they are prohibit-      houses and being on their own. If they can do
why it is that people who are capable of making         ed from doing anything, so they decide to rebel         that then they can make any choice as long as
many decisions, like voting at the age of 18, are       against the things they aren’t allowed to do.           they make the right ones.

                                                                    Starting school later, the best idea since sliced bread
    Hello Vikings,                                                  Students might rather give up late starts than get up early                  by Tatum McCleod
                                                                                                                                                      Staff Reporter
      It seems just a while ago that I was sitting at home at                        The most dreadful part of my day is when my alarm clock awakens me from a
   one in the afternoon, right after waking up and drink-                          deep slumber at the hour of 6 a.m. I am not a morning person and thrive in the
   ing hot cocoa during winter break. When I returned to                              night life. Unfortunately, school starts bright and early at 7:35 a.m., well be-
   school my mind seemed to be dragging, most likely still                               fore I am ever willing to be function, let alone learn.
   somewhere tangled in my sheets, asleep. However, my                                      School should start later. Need I say more?
   mind had to quickly jump back into the school mode in                                   I can be very irritable in the early hours of the day and am usually run-
   order to brace for the finals that loomed ahead.                                     ning late to class.
      Finals are bogus, completely unnecessary in our high                                 If school started later in the day, students would be less likely to make 1st
   school world. I would love to wave my magic wand and                                  and 2nd period their siesta time. Also, students would be more likely to show
   forever banish the abomination teachers call finals. Our                            up to school on time or even show up to school in the first place!
   school year is divided into two parts, semester one and             Doctors say that teens should be getting a little over nine hours of sleep a night. But let’s be
   semester two. As if it is not enough to have to work for         honest, who goes to bed at 9 p.m. these days? With the immense amounts of homework I am
   nine months of the year, we are teased with a winter
                                                                    given, going to bed at a decent hour is near impossible.
   break before the end of semester one, and then bru-
   tally put through the horror of finals.                             Finally, studies show that teenagers peak in their circadian arousal (a psychology term) in
      I do understand that finals are almost four weeks             the afternoon, around 11 p.m. Teenager’s thinking is at its sharpest and our memory is most
   after we come back from break, but we all know how               accurate at this late hour.
   quickly a month goes by during school, and prepara-                 If school started later and first period didn’t start until after 8 a.m., then I would have a
   tions often starts much earlier than that. Many of us            higher chance of getting better grades because I would be more awake.
   struggle as it is to come back after having two glorious            The serotonin levels in teenagers don’t kick in until 11 p.m. which induces sleep. And it
   weeks off, and having finals even a month after break            doesn’t evaporate until 8 a.m. which is when teens feel more awake.
   is torturous. The kinks in our necks from shoving our               If teachers and the school board wants us, their students, to perform better in class, then the
   noses into books for hours is certainly not the way we           time that school starts should be moved to later in the morning.
   should have to come back to school and prepare for se-
   mester two.
      Instead of having to transition from relaxing winter
   days to hump-busting workloads, we should be able to
   come back and wait to have finals till the very end of
   the year. Or there is always the option of completely
   eliminating finals. I see no need for a four-page test
                                                                          Get Focused
   that creates large scale panic to establish what we have
   learned. For one, it is too risky. Many students work
                                                                          on Your Studies
   hard through the entire semester and take the final and                Choose from over 30 options of study from
   totally bomb it. This results in a poor grade for this stu-            American Studies to Biology and Education.
   dent. No one’s grade should depend solely on one test.
   No test should have the power to so radically change a
   person’s grade.
      I vote to do away with finals. There is simply no
   need for such a quizzical and time consuming chal-
   lenge of our knowledge. I am tired of working hard for
   the school year only to have to up my studying time by
   nearly 100 percent to study for finals. Text books go
   from helpful tools of the learning process to a resented
   plenum of knowledge that I would rather throw in the
   recycling bin along with my soda pop cans.
      The people in charge should gift their students the
   elimination of finals. By ridding our lives of the hor-
   rible testing, students would be able to get more out
   of their school year. Think of all the time wasted in                  Join us for a housing tour!
   classes studying for material we have already learned.                 January 26, 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
   Wouldn’t it be more productive and rewarding to in-
   stead teach us more? If finals are somehow necessary,                  UW Welcome Center
   then we should have only one at the very end of the
   school year. America is falling behind on the interna-                                                                       425.352.5000 | www.uwb.edu
   tional academic scale, and though I am not sure there                  Get Focused
   is a correlation, I blame finals, even if it is not its fault               on Your Future
   at all.
                                               -Editor-in-Chief
THE VALHALLA LAKESTEVENSHIGHSCHOOL JANUARY25TH,2011 VOL#83 ISSUE#5 - LAKE STEVENS SCHOOL DISTRICT
10a&e
Opposing Viewpoints: A look at Taylor Swift’s talent     by Samantha Wade              by Avery Cavazos
     A waste of the airwaves                                   News Editor             A&E Editor                An inspirational pop goddess
   People all around the country         same thing. Every song is about a                 The 21 year-old singing sensation,      Swift put herself in that situation and
need to stop drinking the Taylor         boy, whether she has broken up with           Taylor Swift, has gone through many         thought about what she would do.
Swift Kool-Aid. Swift is made out to     one or just fallen in love; the lyrics        changes in the past five years. Many            She exemplifies her wisdom with
be much more than she truly is.          are all the same. These songs come            idolize and border on adoration, and        regards to regrets in life, “I’ve just had
   When the young pop-country star       from a girl who claims girls don’t            there are others who dislike her and        to realize that what might have been
first walked onto the music scene in     need a boyfriend to be happy. Really,         border on exasperation.                     is imaginary, and it’s this beautiful il-
2006, everyone was in awe.               Swift? It seems to me that her songs              Many people consider her music          lusion of how it could have been if you
   The then 17 year-old was an inspi-    are saying otherwise.                         to be repetitive, but that is simply be-    had just done this right . . . But things
ration to deranged teens in America         Not only did Swift prove she can’t         cause they have the emotional range         don’t line up and boys don’t like you
who had big dreams. Swift was the        sing in public at the 2010 Grammys,           of a rock. Her break-out song, “Tear-       and you mess up for a reason,” said
poster child for innocence and good      but she has also finally lost whatev-         drops on my Guitar” is about a guy          Swift according to an interview with
old family values.                       er creativity she had left. When she          who she cared about so much that she        Seventeen magazine.
   Recently it seems that Swift has      sang “You’re not Sorry” at the 2010           would sit in class everyday and listen          Taylor Swift has not only captured
been losing her family values. For       VMA’s, the lyrics sounded awfully             to him talk, about another girl.            the hearts of countless teenage girls,
instance, this year many spent their     close to the song “Apologize” by One              Sophomore Carina Elston said, “I        but she has also reached out to a
Thanksgiving dinners with their          Republic.                                     listen to death metal, and I                          younger audience.
families; however, the pop star flew        Taylor Swift was inspirational in          still listen to Taylor Swift,”                            “I like Taylor Swift be-
out to Brooklyn to spend time with       the beginning, and I admit some of            showing Swift’s ability to                             cause her music makes me
her new beau, Jake                                      her songs are fun to           appeal to a larger audi-                               wanna dance,” said pre-
Gyllenhaal.                                             blast in the car, but          ence.                                                  schooler, five year-old Joely
   Swift also receives                                  let’s stop trying to               Swift also admits                                  McManus from Lake Ste-
mad props from                                          make her out to be             that the idea of her song                              vens with a smile.
some for the fact that                                  something she’s not.           “Speak Now” came from                                     No matter what she sings
she writes all of her                                   Swift is just another          a real-life situation, in                              about, there is no doubt she
own songs. But let’s                                    country star, she is           which her friend was                                   touches the hearts of count-
be honest, all the                                      not the Dalai Lama or          confronted with her first                              less girls.
songs are about the                                     the next Elvis Presley.        love getting married;                                           Photos courtesy of creativecommons.org

Dead Space 2:                                                        Sounds Around the Sound                                                              by Alicia Terry
                                                                                                                                                          Design Editor
Journey deep into the               by Riley Fraser
                                                            Ra Ra Riot, an American indie rock band, is coming to Seattle. They have a fun, funky vibe that ev-
                                                         eryone can enjoy, especially Northwest natives. Fans of Passion Pit, The Shins or Vampire Weekend will

dark secrets of space                Staff Reporter
                                                         want to see these New Yorkers at Neumos on Thursday, January 27th at 8 p.m.
                                                            1990’s hit band Cake is making their comeback! You may remember hearing that they came to Seattle
                                                         for the 2010 Deck the Hall Ball, and they’re on their way back for a show at the Moore Theater at 8 p.m.
   Survival horror games have created a standard,        on February 12th. The American alternative rock band from Sacramento, California just came out with a
almost conformist formula for their genre: aliens,       new album, titled Showroom of Compassion, that is worth listening to. If you’re interested in Weezer, The
zombies or demons are after you; you’re all alone,       Strokes or Tom Petty, check out their new album or go see them at the Moore!
and you must kill the aforementioned fiends.                On February 16th, Ke$ha is coming to the Showbox Sodo. Ke$ha has cited artists such as Madonna,
Combined with the sci-fi element of outer space,         Debbie Harry, Queen, Johnny Cash, Aaron Neville, Bob Dylan and Beastie Boys as musical influences and
this plotline can be very cliché.                        has a fun-loving sound that is great to dance to, or to rock out to  inby your car. If Lady Gaga, Cascada and
                                                                                                                          photo
   However, one game stands out in this crowd,                                                   sdfasdfasfasfsdfasdfasd
                                                         Cobra Starship are on your iPod, you would love seeing this American pop singer/songwriter at 7 p.m.
with its disturbingly twisted visuals, grippingly        at the Sodo.
detailed story and unique combat system that
earned it the title of 2008 Game of the Year. This
January, gamers will once again follow the horri-
fying adventures of Isaac Clarke in Dead Space 2
for the Xbox360, Playstation 3 and PC.
   Following the events of the first game, three
years after engineer Isaac Clarke escaped the
murderous onslaught of the necromorphs, Isaac                                                                                           Photo courtesy of creativecommons.org
finds himself on the Sprawl, a space station lo-
cated on one of Saturn’s moons. Haunted by his
traumatic ordeal aboard the USG Ishimura, and
suffering from a lethal form of dementia, Isaac is       Echoreason impresses Lake Stevens again                                                              by Benny Saack
                                                                                                                                                                 Staff Reporter
suddenly thrown back into the nightmare as the
alien infection arrives onboard the station, begin-     The release of their new album, Observations, is sure to please
ning round two of his struggle against the alien           David Whitlock, an alumnus           Lake Stevens community in general,         in an album…It feels and sounds like
menace.                                                 of Lake Stevens High School and         but Whitlock also considers the al-        a real rock record. It was so strange
   Dead Space 2 will feature a broader storyline,       2010 Prom King, has soared to new       bum a great personal success, and          to me to see a barcode on the back
with larger environments, new weapons and an            heights by getting his band out of      overall a fulfilling experience.           and shrink wrap over the case,” said
improved protagonist. Isaac will finally ditch the      the garage. The band, Echoreason,          “To me, it’s really a trip to be        Whitlock.
irritating silent protagonist persona and use dia-      has just released its first- ever CD,   playing with these guys in the first           Echoreason is sure to survive
                                                        Observations. The album transcends      place; as Eric Krakora’s band 4orth-       past the college years. Whitlock
logue and story to relay the plot and his personal-
                                                        the norms of generic music by in-       coming was the band I looked up to         stated that the next album will be
ity.                                                    corporating an edgy progressive         back when I started playing at all in      released on a label, and they have
   Isaac will also not be outmatched against his        sound with impressive talent. What      seventh grade. I never would have          an extensive tour of the West Coast
enemies as before; the game developers have de-         really makes the album is the guitar.   guessed I’d now be working with            planned for the summer.
signed the game to have moments of pacing where         When Whitlock gets into his groove,     these guys. Observations is really             “This summer we’re planning
Isaac is in control of the battle and is the superior   he transforms into an inexorable        more than I could’ve ever hoped for        a tour that starts in Seattle, goes
threat to balance out the familiar moments of vul-      dynamo of the fret board.                                                          down the West Coast through Cali-
nerability and panic from the first game.                  “The [song] closer “Observa-                                                    fornia and Nevada, through Ari-
   One new feature that is sure to excite gamers        tions From Earth” deals particu-                                                   zona and New Mexico and ends up
is the new multiplayer option, where gamers can         larly with one more serious issue                                                  in Houston, Texas. I think the band
play online as either security officers, who work       I’ve struggled with coming from                                                    will survive through college for sure
                                                        Lake Stevens; losing a friend from                                                 because this project is in a different
together to accomplish a mission, or as necro-
                                                        my graduating class and having a                                                   league than anything any of us have
morphs, who try to stop the officers from com-          few more currently struggle from                                                   done before,” said Whitlock.
pleting the mission.                                    drug problems. If you pull the disc                                                    So who knows? Maybe we will
   Fans of the first game are sure to enjoy the new-    out from the CD tray, underneath it                                                someday see the name Echoreason
est chapter in the Dead Space saga, and should          reads that the album is dedicated to                                               in lights.
prepare for tomorrow when the shuttle takes off         Tyler [Reside],” said Whitlock.
for the Sprawl.                                            Not only is it a big deal for the                                              Photo art courtesy of David Whitlock
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