Volume 36 Issue 6 - Hoffman Estates High School

4 The Arts
Opinion
5
Hawkeye View March/April 2009 Hawkeye View March/April 2009
Go, grease lightning
Maitri Majithia
Staf f Repor ter
If you see poodle
skir ts, leather jackets, high
tops and saddle shoes, one of
the first things that comes to
mind is the popular fifties musical,
Grease.
That’s right, this year
Hof fman’s theatre went back
in time and transformed the
stage to a scene straight from
the fifties, complete with
cheerleaders, T-Birds, Pink
Ladies, and the rest of the students
at R ydell High School.
In contrast from last
year’s musical, Evita, this
year’s show was much lighter
and comedic. It also attracted
a variety of students to audition
and bring their talents to
the stage.
“It’s such a relatable
musical, all about the variety
of people in high school and
just being yourself, and I love
how ever yone can connect
with it,” said Meghan Redding
(’09), who played the par t of
Sandy Dumbrowski.
“I absolutely love this
‘Slumdog’ wins award for Best Picture
Amita Prabhu
Staf f Editor
The 81st Academy
Awards, held on Febr uar y
22, ended up being a night
for the dogs, with Danny
Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire
coming out on top receiving
eight awards including Best
Picture and Best Director.
Keeping in mind that these
results are just based of f of
the Academy’s decision, what
did Hof fman Estates High
School think of this moder n
day rags to riches film? Did
the Academy get it right?
“I absolutely loved Slumdog
Millionaire,” said Ric Lindeen,
Social Studies Depar t-
ment. “It showed a great deal
show,” said Kathy Wandro,
English Depar tment. As head
director, it was Wandro’s duty
to put together the musical
and bring the script to life.
The directors began working
on the script last summer,
tr ying to make this musical
the best it could be.
“Ever y time I do a
show, my favorite par t is how
we all put it together, from
the beginning to end, and it
makes all the hard work pay
of f,” said Wandro.
To create this musical,
it took a whole lot of people.
Along with Wandro, there
were other directors who specialized
in various areas and
helped to per fect the musical.
Laura Mallon, World Language
Depar tment, was the
show’s choreographer. Dancing
is a big par t of Grease as
well as all other musicals, and
she worked hard to make it
seem as though they were really
back in time with the fifties
dance moves. Songs like
“Summer Nights” wouldn’t be
the same without the choreography.
“One thing I loved most
about Grease was the dancing.
It was coordinated and it
made it look like a lot of fun,”
commented Shr utva Parikh
(’11), who attended one of the
per formances.
Kim R yon, Social Studies
Depar tment, Dung Pham,
Music Depar tment, Jason Stevens,
English Depar tment,
Juan Medina, Ar t Depar t-
ment, and Matt Schlesinger,
Music Depar tment were all
assistant directors for Grease.
They produced the show, led
the orchestra pit, designed
the amazing scener y and sets,
and trained the actors and actresses
to sing like stars, respectively.
Ter ri Busch, principal,
even joined in the fun,
choreographing two dances
for the show, “High School
Hop” and “The Hand Jive.”
The directors, cast, and
crew worked tirelessly to
make this musical one that
will always be remembered. It
was a great hit and, all around
the school, the musical was
something ever yone talked
of realism and had a message
that there is always hope.”
Lindeen felt the movie
was well deser ving of its
awards as it had an excellent
script as well as enduring
characters por trayed by
ver y talented actors. The
realism of the movie made
it ver y touching as opposed
to another top film of 2008,
The Curious Case of Benjamin
Button, which he found to be
too technical.
Slumdog Millionaire is
the stor y of a young boy who
is raised in a slum yet ends
up on the show “Who Wants
to be a Millionaire.” He has
no formal education, but he is
able to answer ever y question
using knowledge he gained
throughout his vibrant childhood.
The plot is formed around
the concept of destiny, and its
practical approach made the
film ver y popular.
“I liked the way the
romance was inter twined in
the stor y. It made the film appealing
to a wider audience”
said Vicki Shah (’11). “It was
not only an accurate way to
depict the slums in India but
there was also a lot to lear n
from the movie”
The film does have
some intense scenes, which
explains its R rating for violence
and disturbing images.
In India, there was some controversy
over these scenes
as the residents of the slums
felt their homes were not being
accurately depicted.
Cast members of Grease dance to ‘We Go Together’ during a per formance
of the popular show this past March.
Photo by Marshall Macri
However, the HEHS
reaction was overall ver y
positive. Many students were
able to interpret the main
message of the stor y.
“It was a ver y touching
stor y. I liked the movie because
it succeeded in showing
the evil side of society which
many movies fail to por tray,”
said Kulsum Ishrati (’10).
Ishrati also noted that
the film was based on a book
and she felt the movie was a
successful interpretation of
the book, a feat she finds to
be ver y rare. “The cast and
crew deser ved ever y award
they won,” she said.
If the thrilling plot
and por trayal of characters
weren’t enough to create interest
in the film, the original
about. In fact, the show was
sold out almost ever y single
night, an impressive feat for a
high school production.
The students and directors
began working on the
musical in December. There
were per formances held on
March 6 and 7 and March 12-
14.
score by A.R. Rahman was another
feature that drew a new
audience.
“I heard the music from
the movie first and really
liked it. That made me more
interested to see the film”
said Luke Lewicki (’11).
Other notable movies
from the night included Milk,
for which Sean Penn won the
Best Actor award, and The
Reader, for which Kate Winslet
won the Best Actress
award.
“Kate Winslet was well
deser ving of her award,” said
Lindeen. “She had a tough
role but ended up doing a
great job. Par ts of this movie
were dif ficult to watch but
the plot had an interesting
twist.”
HEHS band receives top scores at IHSA
Will Creedon
Senior Editor
It was a cold, rainy
morning and high school
students from all corners of
the Nor thwest Suburbs were
already beginning to make
their way to Lake Zurich High
School. They did not have
their track spikes or their tennis
racquets; these students
were bringing their tr umpets,
violins, and flutes. These students
were young musicians.
The day was March
7, and these musicians, some
having prepared for months,
were ready to per form solos,
duets, trios, and small ensembles;
the IHSA State Solo
and Ensemble Contest had
ar rived. The students performed
their musical pieces
in front of experienced judges
who rate each per formance
using established criteria.
Many students enjoy
the freedom to make the most
of their individual musical talent.
“Solo and Ensemble Contest
is a chance for music students
to express themselves,”
said Apur va Bhatt (‘09). “In
my four years I’ve never had
a better oppor tunity to do so
with my instr uments—playing
the recorder and clarinet
has been an awesome experience.”
Two Hof fman per formances
received third place
or “good” scores, 28 per formances
received second place
or “excellent” scores, and an
outstanding 32 per formances
received first place or “superior”
ratings.
Overall Hof fman was
well represented with a total
of sixty-two individual and
group per formances. Eightyeight
students from the band
and orchestra made the valiant
ef for t to prepare and perform
in the state contest.
“It’s fun to do something different
and focus on your individual
instr ument and performance
and not the entire
band,” said Elijah Johnson
(’09), a percussionist. “This
year went ver y smoothly for
percussion.”
These young musicians
are judged on categories such
as tone quality, rhythm, balance/blend,
and technique,
as well as appropriate appearance
–musicians had on their
formal, professional apparel
to complement their clean,
distinguished per formances.
The day may have its tension
as students tr y to get ever
ything to sound just right,
but it is also a fun experience
to share with friends. Dave
Kr yzpicki (’10) said the contest
is “a special day in which
we have the ability to display
our individual talent, as well
as per forming with friends.”
The pressure of per formance
“is not that stressful,”
and “it’s mostly fun preparing
for contest,” said Elise Hwang
(’10). Elise is a flutist and is
already looking for ward to
next year.
Band Director Bob Erickson
also shared the students’
enthusiasm and satisfaction as
he was “ver y pleased with the
way ever yone per formed and
it is cer tainly a credit to the
students who are so involved
in so many dif ferent activities
that they are able to per form
so well.”
For fur ther listening,
keep an eye, and an ear, out
for the Choral Classics concer
t showcasing Hof fman’s
Chor us at Prince of Peace
Lutheran Church on April 16;
Hof fman Estates’ 50th anniversar
y parade, led by Hof f-
man’s marching band, on the
morning of April 18; the Symphonic
Winds Spring Band
concer t May 5; the Jazz Band
concer t May 14; the Choral
Showcase May 21; and the Orchestra
concer t May 27.
Prom nomination process needs revision
Alex Oda
Staf f Editor
I’m excited to say that
this year’s prom cour t seems
to represent the school’s diverse
student body extremely
well- oh wait, didn’t you know?
Apparently, this year’s prom
cour t nominees have already
been chosen! By whom you
ask? The ten to fifteen members
in junior and senior class
club of course!
That’s right, you
heard cor rectly. Prom cour t
nominees have already been
chosen by our class club representatives.
If you didn’t hear
about the nomination process,
it’s obviously your fault,
right? Isn’t it your fault that
you didn’t hear the one announcement
about class club
voting? Isn’t it your fault that
you didn’t question why there
wasn’t a single poster in the
halls publicizing the event?
And isn’t it your fault that you
didn’t know this process has
been used ever y single year?
Sarcasm aside, this
is a problem that most people
are not aware of. In fact
if it weren’t for select friends
and insiders, I wouldn’t have
known about this until prom.
Ever y year since the class
clubs have been formed, students
in the clubs have voted
on prom cour t nominees.
The clubs eventually allowed
the addition of students going
to the class club meetings
on “election day” in order
to nominate nominees.
Many of you may be thinking
that this is a fair and legitimate
process, right?
Wrong. First of all,
how could students come to
the election meeting when
the event is hor ribly adver
tised? The mor ning announcements
barely mentioned
any news sur rounding
election day for the prom
cour t. To those of you who
may say, “Well they made
the announcement, so it’s
your fault for not listening,”
I can honestly tell you to cut
the crap; some students miss
first block because of seminar-based
late star ts, while
others are unable to hear
the announcements over the
roar of their immature peers
(shame on the students and
teachers).
The lack of flyers and
posters around the school is
also pathetic; if class club
wanted to honestly make
an ef for t to keep voting fair
and unbiased, they could
have created posters to be
approved by the activity director.
Secondly, the excuse
that this process has been
used for years is invalid.
Even though seniors and
juniors of years past have
gone through the same process,
it doesn’t necessarily
make it excusable; low class
club par ticipation and single-minded
voters guarantee
that the process can be biased.
This leads me to my
third point- rigged voting.
As much as many would like
to deny it, rigged voting is
an unavoidable consequence
Freedom of speech stretched?
Will Creedon
Senior Editor
Nobel Prize winning
author Alber t Camus wrote, “A
free press can be good or bad,
but, most cer tainly, without
freedom a press will never be
anything but bad.”
Many of us remember
when, two years ago, a Danish
newspaper published a car toon
depicting the Muslim prophet
Mohammed with a bomb in
his turban. Muslims were outraged,
and they surely weren’t
alone as the stor y circled the
globe and the media had a field
day disseminating the impassioned
comments of of fended
Muslims or those arguing publishing
freedoms.
More recently, this
past July saw the controversial
New Yorker car toon of Barack
Obama in Muslim attire with
Michelle Obama in a commando
suit with a Kalashnikov rifle
and the American flag smoldering
in the fireplace.
Already this year, on
Febr uar y 20th, the New York
Post published the car toon
that made national news by, according
to some, depicting the
president as a shot-dead chimpanzee.
So what is going on?
Car toonists, of course,
are protected by the liber ty of
free speech. They were in Denmark,
and they cer tainly are in
the U.S., where that freedom is
guaranteed in the First Amendment
of our Constitution. As
we have seen, some recent cartoonists
have fully exercised
that liber ty.
There are limits, however,
to this freedom in the
U.S. and other countries. The
Supreme Cour t, where the
gravest cases of possible First
Amendment violation are tried,
“
uses several tests. In the Danish
case, it might apply the
clear-and-present danger test
to determine if the speech
creates an imminent danger
of inciting an unlawful act. In
Denmark, the questionable
car toon did, in fact, lead to
violent threats from ter rorist-like
Muslims.
What the Danish
newspaper did when threatened
was even more newswor
thy. It republished the
car toon as an act of defiance
and an asser tion of their right
to free speech. Muslim leaders
disagreed with the tactic,
Media has the
attitude that they
can publish whatever
they want,
however they want
calling it “divisive” and unsuppor
tive of ef for ts to live
in peaceful coexistence.
It appears, then, that
newspapers and other media
have taken the attitude they
can publish whatever they
want however they want to.
This is the wrong
attitude—there does need
to be close scr utiny of the
freedom of speech and punishment
may result in some
cases. In one sur vey, one in
ten people believed Obama
was a Muslim. Clearly, the
creative car toons of the New
Yorker perpetuated a false
understanding—Obama is indeed
a Christian.
Fur thermore, racism,
whether intended or
not, can be interpreted from
these car toons and they can
send inappropriate messag-
”
es. With regard to the most
recent red-flag car toon, author
Andrew Rojecki wrote,
“The cops are saying, ‘someone’s
going to have to write
the next stimulus bill.’ Well,
who wrote the last stimulus
bill? It’s Obama and the
Democratic Par ty, but really
it’s associated with one person
- and that’s Obama.”
Following up, Al
Sharpton commented the cartoon
reminded him of “historic
Black attacks…which
depicted African American
as monkeys.”
Now the civil rights of citizens,
in this case African
Americans and Muslims, are
being stepped on.
The problem of continuing
to guarantee the
press freedom while ensuring
that false assumptions
or racist implications are not
published is a delicate problem.
For tunately, this
problem is in par t solved by
the fact that the news media
is a business that must satisfy
its readers and viewers.
Public distr ust of the media
has steadily grown since
1985 and due to the high degree
of competition between
news sources today, the
sources must appear fair and
reliable, not biased and inaccurate.
Returning to Camus’s
wisdom, we must protect the
privilege of an open society
and many of us would agree
that without such press freedom,
we risk the loss of liber
ty and the foundation of
cultural-political and intellectual
growth. We must also
accept that from time to time
inappropriate and of fensive
statements will be made.
of the cur rent nomination
system. Now I am not saying
that our noble class club representatives
would ever tr y
to sway nominations in their
favor, but the likelihood of
this happening is extremely
high. Besides, friends vote
for friends, and groups of
friends become nominated
as a result; it’s only natural.
Incidentally, the cur rent
nomination process is full of
ridiculous flaws.
What’s the solution
to this chaotic system? It’s
simple: change the voting
process to the way students
vote during homecoming.
Clubs should nominate students
for prom cour t, but
only if you haven’t been nominated
for homecoming; this
way, a diverse group of students
would be represented,
the school would see a new
group of nominees, and voting
would be fairer in each
club. Fur thermore, you have
to be a junior or senior to
vote in your respective clubs
(sor r y underclassmen, you’ll
have to wait like the rest of
us). Don’t like that solution?
Fine, here’s an even simpler
way to get fairer results: AD-
VER TISE! This means making
more than one announcement;
class club should
create flyers, make posters,
and notify the student body.
In shor t, the solutions are
painfully obvious. Either student
reform or mass notification
will prove to ef fectively
guarantee an unbiased prom
cour t.
Some students care
about prom cour t nominations,
and others don’t. To
those who care and have
hopes of being nominated,
you deser ve a chance. It
doesn’t matter which side of
the fence you’re on; what’s
impor tant is that the underrepresented
should deser ve
a chance to be noted for
their accomplishments in
school. And besides, to those
of you who are a little cocky
about being nominated, you
shouldn’t have to wor r y about
a little competition, right?
Lend a helping hand
Amr uta Bhatt
Staf f Repor ter
A student r ushes down
the stairs holding a lot of
belongings. He trips on his
shoelace and is plunged face
for ward with all of his books,
letters of recommendations,
and papers scattered across
the ground. Some students
point and laugh, while others
just stare. But one studentappalled
by other students’
reactions- bends down and
helps the student pick up his
belongings.
It seems that teenagers
are so caught up in their
own problems and are so
self-centered that they forget
what an impact they can have
on other individuals. If a student
sees something wrong,
the student will most likely
hesitate to do anything about
the situation, wor ried about
other people’s opinion. A
Hof fman Estates High School
student who wished to be remained
anonymous stated, “I
absolutely feel that majority
of HEHS students are selfcentered,
but it’s not their
fault. The society that we live
in definitely encourages and
expects this self-centeredness
from all high schools
students. We care too much
about our so-called image and
reputation.”
Margaret Mead once
said. “Never doubt that a small
group of thoughtful, committed
citizens can change the
world; indeed, it‘s the only
thing that ever has.” Teenagers
often forget what an influence
they can have on others.
Sure, all teenagers have
their own share of problems.
Just because a teen is going
through a lot of problems
at home doesn’t give them
a right to degrade others. I
once had a conversation with
another student. She stated
that she “had an excuse” to
behave the way she was behaving
because she never really
got to see her dad. She
would constantly have a pessimistic
attitude, and she had
the power to negatively influence
others around her. She
treated her situation at home
as an excuse.
Another situation that
comes up is students or individuals
standing up for what
they believe is right. A great
example of an individual who
stood up for what was right
was my English teacher, Mr.
Macnider.
I recently recall a stor
y Mr. Macnider had told to
our class. It involved teenagers
vandalizing a public speed
limit sign. He witnessed
countless others who just
drove by, without even stopping
to confront the teenagers.
Now Mr. Macnider didn’t
know whether or not the teenagers
had any sor t of threatening
weapon, but he stood
up for what he believed was
the right thing to do.
Our society needs
more people like this, people
that will not be ashamed or
frightened by standing up for
their beliefs.
So the next time you
see a degraded individual, an
angered student, or a shy individual,
smile and introduce
yourself. Sit by someone new
in the cafeteria. Reach out to
others who need your help.
Stand up for what you believe
is right.
In the end, you’ll find
that your actions, attitude,
and character are what really
can change society.