2 THE MOUNTNEWS

Changes In Class Offerings

Olympic Sized Corruption in Sochi

Russia has long been known for its high levels of corruption and shady business, but this year’s Winter Olympics are ridiculous even by its standards. Bloated with corruption and ineffi ciency, the 2014 games will certainly be record breaking, but for all the wrong reasons. Following a massive economic and social push led by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the International Olympic Committee awarded the games to Russia in 2004. Ever since then, the country has gone in to a frenzy of building to prepare the country for the infl ux of visitors and worldwide attention. Initially, a budget of $12 billion dollars was set aside to pay for the games. Since then however, the budget has ballooned to over four times its original amount, peaking at around $51 billion dollars, an all time Olympic high. One estimate from Businessweek stated that over $30 billion of the $51 billion spent has been embezzled, going straight into contractors’

and bureaucrats’ pockets. In Russia, where regulations are few and far between, scandals like this are not only widespread, but shockingly easy to pull off. One of the most cited examples of corruption is a railroad that was built to transport visitors around Sochi and the surrounding mountains. Corruption on the project started at the top, when Putin gave money to his longtime friend and head of the Russian Rail Commission, Vladimir Yakunin, to pay for the project. Yakunin then presumably pocketed a percentage of the money and handed it further on down to building contractors, who in turn took a percentage of the funds they were given. As the project went on, more and more money was put into it (and taken out), until the fi nal cost of the 30 mile long railroad reached $8.7 billion dollars, a sum higher than the entire cost of the last Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Nearly every project that has been developed for these games has been plagued by similar levels of corruption. Russian offi cials have long hoped that these games will bring newfound levels of prestige to their country so they don’t acknowledge and don’t care that the game’s massive budget is being put to waste. In these times of global austerity, Russia has spent silly amounts of money in an attempt to make these games one of the best ever. Unfortunately for Russia, however, the costs may be too great.

THE MOUNTStaff

Jacob Eyth & Jackson TaylorI Co-Editors-in-Chief

Kevin Jewell I Head Staff Writer

Young Joon-Park & Harrison Hohman I News Editors

Cooper Wilson I Sports Editor

Matt Okalebo I Entertainment Editor

Colin Svoboda I In-Depth Editor

Brian Kim I Head Photographer

Oliver Jarosik, Colin Svoboda, Will SLeddens, Brian KimI Graphic Designers

Evan Pink, Sung Han Yoon, Robin Britt, Will Sledens, Peter Xu, Mickey Coughlin, Mick Steier, Oliver JarosikI Staff Writers

Gina Fosco I Adviser

The Mount is a monthly publication of the students at Mount Michael Benedictine. Our goal is to provide an accurate and informative news source for the student body. Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the entire school.Letters to the editor: jeyth@mountmichael.com or jtaylor@mountmichael.com

Honors Organic Chem (Open to juniors and seniors; alternates every year with A.P. Chemistry)

Personal Finance (Open to seniors)

Non A.P. Calculus

A.P. Calculus II

Intro to Theatre (Pending)

Changes in Junior Theology

A.P. Biology (Now available to juniors and seniors)

Forensic Science is the study of evidence from crimes using various aspects of the scene. This ‘familiar’ subject has been made famous through television shows such as CSI, Law & Order, and Bones. Thanks to chemistry teacher Leah Zohner, forensic science has become a subject that Mount Michael’s students can learn. It has been well received. “It really helps a lot because it covers all three science subjects: physics, chemistry, and biology,” senior Blake Batten said.

In the spring of 2012, Zohner planned to develop the class after she met Greg Cooper who is currently teaching at Lincoln South West high school. Through her experiences helping Cooper, Zohner knew she wanted to teach this course someday.

According to senior Chanyong Jeong, analyzing hypothetical crime scenes and acting out the scenes are the fun parts of the class. The blood splatter experiment, which is a simulation of a murder scene, is a typical example of some unusual class experiences.

Along with forensic science, Zohner has also wanted to teach organic chemistry which she has a Masters Degree in. “When I interviewed for Mount Michael I brought this idea to Dr. Peters, and he was very supportive in implementing this as an elective,” Zohner said.

She is now developing an Organic Chemistry class for next year. The class will be an honors class and will replace

A.P. Chemistry for the year due to limits in Zohner’s schedule. This elective will

be offered to juniors and seniors. Organic Chemistry and A.P. Chemistry will then be offered on alternate years so that juniors and seniors have the opportunity to take both.

Zohner is excited to bring this opportunity to Mount Michael. She previously taught the course at the University of Nebraska Lincoln as a graduate assistant and as a temporary lecturer. “The class will be taught for students who are interested in pursuing pre-med,” Zohner said.

Zohner In Her Element

photo courtesy of Wikicommons

January 29, Athletic Director, Jon Borer held a meeting which made the department’s long term plans public and enlightened the attendees regarding the future of Mount Michael football, soccer and athletics as a whole. Several members of the Project Home Field Advantage commitee were in attendance including facilities director Jim Lewis, head soccer coach Kevin Grey and head of school Dr. David Peters. Borer described the plans for advancing the school’s athletic facilities to roughly 25 interested parents, coaches and benefactors.

After welcoming the attendees, Borer began the presentation with a video he made of students and administration giving their reasons for why they wanted a new sports fi eld. Many of the students’ responses echoed one another, each claiming that the new fi eld would be a massive boost to the players morale, all of whom have never played a game at “home,” or “under the lights.” Administrators, meanwhile, spoke about the recruiting advantage a new stadium would bring: nicer facilities, more people visiting the campus, and a sense of growth, potentially bringing more students to Mount Michael. Following the movie, Borer then went through each of the four planned phases, giving a price, timeline, and explanation for each. Phase 1, Borer explained, has already been completed, at a cost of $61,900. This step involved widening the soccer fi eld, which had previously used illegal dimensions, moving the jumping pits for track, and

building the new storage press box. Phase II, which has yet to be completed, will allow Mount Michael to play host to varsity football games by adding sidewalks, bleachers, fencing, a scoreboard and a new sound system. This phase will cost roughly $136,000, although over $31,000 of this has already been raised. Phase III will allow Mount Michael’s teams to play home games at night by adding a new lighting system, estimates for which have been around $74,500.

The fi rst three of the four total phases could be completed in the next few years. However, the fourth and final phase may take decades to be realized.

This fi nal step, also the fi nal part of the capital campaign, involves building an entirely new football stadium east of the current school, returning the soccer fi eld to its orginal purpose. One audience member was curious why the plan didn’t include artificial turf, and why money was being spent on two fi elds. Borer explained that the costs of turf ruled out an artifi cial field, and due to wear and tear, it would be impossible to permanently host both football and soccer on the same grass fi eld.

To conclude the meeting, Borer issued an ultimatum: if enough money can be raised for phase II by March 1, Mount Michael will host its fi rst ever home football games next fall, While night games ‘under the lights’ won’t be a reality next fall, making Phase II happen would be a step forward for a school that has never played a varsity football game at its true “home.”

Meeting Outlines Athletics’ Future

Sung Han Yoon | Staff Writer

graphic by Brian Kim

Harrison Hohman | News Editor

photo by Sung Han Yoon

Senior Elijah Buckhold enjoys a blood spatter lab in forensics.

Harrison Hohman | News Editor | Opinion

Harrison HomanHeadlinesMount Michael

November

Opinion 3

Qatar is home to many things. A population similar in wealth and size to Nebraska’s, a landmass equal to that of Connecticut, and in 2022, the World Cup. That’s right, in less than ten years, a country without the financial means or infrastructure to do so will host the world’s most prestigious sporting event. In 2010, an election organized by soccer’s ruling body (FIFA), awarded the World Cup to this small Arabic kingdom. The election was plagued by accusations of bribery, with multiple parties claiming that the leadership from Qatar paid other nations massive sums of money for their votes. Mohammed Bin Hammam, leader of the Qatari World Cup committee, resigned from his position after he was accused of giving $4 million dollars to anyone who agreed to vote for Qatar. This, in addition to dozens of other allegations has caused many fans, players and officials alike to call for a revote that would reassign the World Cup to another country. Another problem with Qatar is the weather. Traditionally, the World Cup has taken place in the summer months in a milder climate. However, in July when the world cup would theoretically take place, temperatures consistently rise above 125 degrees Fahrenheit, according to USA Today. This heat would give an enormous advantage to players from warm-weather countries, completely tarnishing the

Harrison Hohman | News Editor

FIFA’s Folly: A World Cup in Qatar

“Binge Watching” Changes TelevisionKevin Jewell | Head Staff Writer

quality of the games played. In the future, the technology may soon be developed to allow the World Cup to be hosted in a country this warm. However, until that time, FIFA should consider moving the event to a more mild-weather country. In addition, Qatar would have an

extremely difficult time drawing foreign fans to a country that is already way off the beaten path. Scorching temperatures, irritating security measures, and the incredible cost of traveling to and from a country in the middle of nowhere will surely hamper attendance and the foreign

investment needed for a successful tournament. Unfortunately, due to Qatar’s tiny population, more foreign fans than ever will be needed if Qatar wants to fill the stadiums and make the World Cup the spectacle that it has always been. Lastly, Qatar should not be the host of

the World Cup in 2022 because it’s simply too small. This miniscule nation is home to only 1.5 million people. After hosting the 2010 World Cup, South Africa, with over 50 million inhabitants, has failed to utilize the massive stadiums built for the month long event, leaving the inescapable

feeling that despite how much exposure the World Cup brought South Africa, it may have been a poor choice for a country that could simply not handle the enormous economic burden that came with hosting the tournament. If South Africa, with around 35 times Qatar’s population, has failed to use their stadiums, how could Qatar possibly believe that they could find any use for theirs following the 30 day period that they will be needed? If the cup were to be hosted in America, stadiums that have already been built could be used, eliminating the need for new building projects and saving billions of dollars in the process. Unlike Qatar, the United States has the professional sports infrastructure needed to continue using these stadiums for many years after the World Cup. Qatar is an interesting place. It has a fascinating culture, jaw-dropping wealth, and a rich history. And while that’s great, none of these things suggest that they will be able to host a good World Cup. There is no way that a country of less than 2 million people will be able to build up and maintain the infrastructure needed to host this event, before, during, and after it occurs. The only way to salvage the 2022 Cup will be if FIFA can convince the world that a revote is necessary. Despite FIFA’s idealistic hopes, Qatar can not host a successful world cup.

The Commercialization of ChristmasWill Sleddens | Staff Writer

photo courtesy of CNN.comThe oil-rich nation of Qatar will host the World Cup in 2022. For a country with the popula-tion of Nebraska, many are wondering if Qatar was the right choice after all.

This Christmas season, holiday shoppers are expected to spend upwards of $59.1 billion dollars on Christmas gifts, with the average adult spending $423 on their own, according to Hibah Yousuf of CNN. Much of this spending is done on Black Friday, the popular shopping holiday on the day after Thanksgiving. This day has generally marked the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. However, over the past few years, Black Friday seems to have come earlier and earlier, with stores opening early in the morning, at midnight on Friday, and even on Thanksgiving Day. This year, over 150 chains of stores across the nation, such as Walmart, Target, and Macy’s, opened for Black Friday on the night of Thanksgiving, with some opening early on Thanksgiving morning. While some intense shoppers were overjoyed to hear that their favorite stores are opening a day earlier, this growth of Black Friday can have devastating impacts on the lives of employees in the retail industry. Instead of staying home, eating a turkey dinner and enjoying the company of their family and friends, these employees are working to help the massive crowds doing their Christmas shopping. So where should the line be drawn for Black Friday? Will we simply allow stores to keep opening earlier and earlier, impacting more employees lives? Maybe.

As a society, we’re allowing Thanksgiving to be taken over by shopping. Every year, we go out to get good deals, not thinking about the lives that we’re impacting. Thousands of retail employees across the nation are spending their Thanksgivings at work to fill our need for instant gratification and Christmas bargains. And what’s worse-- we’re being completely disrespectful about it. I went out on Thanksgiving as some stores were opening and watched the chaos. I watched employees get barraged with questions and demands, and even get yelled at by angry customers. Once, I saw a Target employee knocked over in a large crowd. This destruction of Thanksgiving needs to stop. For retail employees across the nation, one of the most important holidays of the year is being ruined. However, we all have the power to stop it. Stores only open early to please us as consumers. If we don’t go, the stores won’t open. So when you’re starting your holiday shopping next year, give a little thought to the lives you are affecting. Have fun and get good deals on Black Friday, but do it respectfully, and show the big corporations that we won’t let them kill Thanksgiving.

We’ve all done it at least once: Grabbed a blanket, snuggled up in our comfortable clothes, brought the laptop screen within inches of our face and binged. For hours, we lay waste to our social lives by diving into a whole season of the most recently released show. It’s not a fad and it’s not uncommon. A recent study found that 88% of Netflix users binge at least once a month. As most high-schoolers could tell you, it’s becoming a commonplace in teenage society in particular. Many can’t go a day without reading a tweet or a Facebook post about someone’s most recent binge. Binge watching is the yet another shift of the social media age. Video sharing sites like Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime experience a surge of views during the initial release of their shows. Essentially, when Netflix adds a new

season on their app, it is viewed more times in the first month than any other time. The problem lies here: according to their earnings release to shareholders in October, Netflix pays for each episode it airs. Consequently, when so many episodes are being watched at one time it makes it difficult to distribute payment. The process for the consumer is really quite simple, increasing its popularity. For a small monthly cost, a customer has nearly endless viewing possibilities. Netflix has thousands upon thousands of choices from silent, foreign, black and white films all the way to the popular Hollywood blockbusters. Binge watching empowers people. People finish entire seasons or even entire series in the time it takes for the next week’s episode to air. There’s a certain thrill to almost “outsmarting” the show. That phrase “New Episode Next Week” is something of the past, as well as the pain of “To Be Continued…” Binge watching shows no signs of slowing down. Netflix is constantly gaining shows by the thousands to add on to their current 23,000 movies and TV shows. As for the teenage population, we’ll probably stay lazy for the time being, increasing our likelihood to binge watch. With the upcoming winter season, as more time is spent inside, more time will be spent inches away from the computer screen.

Video streaming has changed how we watch television.

photo courtesy of etruth.com

photo by Will SleddensShoppers looking at Nebraska Crossing

September

News 3

“I never actually experienced any North Korean threat living in South Korea,” Junior David Choi said. “but this thing is crazy.” A member of the National Assembly of South Korea has been arrested by South Korean prosecutors on charges of treason and instigating revolutionary organizations of an armed rebellion in case of a North Korean assault. In early September, the Korean Intelligence Service took Suk Gi Lee, a member of a liberal faction in the Korean National Assembly, into custody. In a series of recordings released by the Korean prosecution, Lee addresses 130 members in an underground pro-North Korea assembly with undemocratic rhetorics. “North Korea is not a single-party dictatorship. They’re patriots – everything they are doing is patriotic. They deserve a reward,” Lee says. “We must raid arms storage of the military and police stations to act as the bridgehead of the revolution.” Lee graduated from the Korean University of Foreign Languages in 1988. After a short political career in the Unifi ed Progressive Party, he was elected as a member of the assembly in 2012. Later publications of the Korean Intelligence Service revealed that he had been arrested in 1998 under charges of affi liation with anti-establishmentarian organizations. Lee used the ambiguous wording of the Disclosure of Personal Information clause to hide his jail time. Voters, unaware of Lee’s past, won him his seat in the assembly. Authorities are accusing Lee of multiple levels of treason that could potentially lead to a death sentence. The politician is denying all charges. In a

South Korean Congressman Exposed as SpyYoung-Joon Park I Features Editor

press conference, the Korean Intelligence Service released additional details of the pro-North assembly’s sabotage targets in case of a future Northern offensive. According to Korean Intelligence Service Chief of Operations Nam Jae Joon, “The group prepared to attack the nation’s largest natural gas repository, Pyongtaek US Military Base, Dong-Doo Chun US Military Base, Hae Hwa telecommunications center, and Boon-Dang internet data center in short notice.” In the midst of the scandal, the South Korean Supreme Court issued arrest warrants for 80 suspected members of the organization that Lee was heading. All the warrants include charges of “abetting and supporting an enemy state.” Because the Korean Constitution categorizes North Korea as an anti-government organization, there has been question whether this charge could be included. “North Korea is a second piece of Korea. But it’s also true that all of the military drills in South Korea target North Korea,” Senior Steve Jeoung said. “In a sense, North (Korea) is the enemy of the state.” Indeed, the public seems supportive. If the Supreme Court is to confi rm the prosecution’s charges, a death sentence seems very likely. “I’m sure espionage goes both ways for North and South Korea,” Junior Jin Seo Kim said. “But it’s shocking to learn that Pyongyang has infi ltrated the house of representatives – that’s like the heart of democratic politics. As for Lee, I think he does deserve the death sentence.” North Korea has yet to respond to the current situation. Some media reports suspect direct connections between Lee and Pyongyang, hypothesizing that Lee was following orders of the late Kim Jong Il. “People always forget it. If you think about it, that’s a problem,” Choi said. “We’re still at war with North Korea.”

Photo courtesy of KoreabangSuk Gi Li smiling for photographers

Photo by Brian KimOliver Jarosik scans his fi nger in the lunch line.

Finger Scanner: Help or Hindrance?

Ever since the kitchen introduced a check-in meal system, there has been a considerable amount of controversy concerning its use and effectiveness for the school. Having previously used a magnet card system and a number combination for each student, the computer has recently been upgraded to feature a futuristic fingerprint scanner and new software. Over the years the system has retained a negative reputation with the students, mostly because it slows down the food line. Anyone who has mistyped their code remembers their frustration, and the angry looks from fellow classmates waiting in line. One of the goals of the fingerprint system is to eliminate this problem. But what’s its purpose? According to Mr. Cormier, Dean of Students, the underlying reasons for the system’s existence were to count the number of meals that are served each day. It helps the kitchen plan ahead and know how much food they need to prepare for meals. “It helps them predict how many people will be there on any given day,” Cormier said. Students however do not seem to understand the merits of it. The interpretation of the purpose of the system ranged from crowd control to not having a purpose at all. Junior Gus DeMayo thought it was for surveillance. He put it in a category with the numerous cameras around campus, to ensure security and proper conduct. In reality, it is simply used to record statistical data throughout the week. Additionally, the fingerprint scanner makes this process relatively painless in contrast to past systems. “People forgot their numbers. When the fingerprint scanner is working, and it seems to work pretty well, it just moves a lot faster,” Cormier said. So far there are no problems to report,

Robin Britt | Staff Writer

THE MOUNT Staff

Jacob Eyth & Jackson Taylor I Co-Editors-in-Chief

Kevin Jewell I Head Staff Writer

Harrison Hohman I News Editor

Young Joon-Park I Features Editor

Cooper Wilson I Sports Editor

Matt Okalebo I Entertainment Editor

Colin Svoboda I In-Depth Editor

Brian Kim I Head Photographer

Oliver Jarosik, Colin Svoboda, Will SLeddens, Brian Kim I Graphic Designers

Evan Pink, Sung Han Yoon, Robin Britt, Will Sleddens, Mickey Coughlin, Mick Steier, Oliver Jarosik I Staff Writers

Gina Fosco I Adviser

The Mount is a monthly publication of the students at Mount Michael Benedictine. Our goal is to provide an accurate and informative news source for the student body. Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the entire school.Letters to the editor: jeyth@mountmichael.com or jtaylor@mountmichael.com

and DeMayo notes that “ it takes much less time than entering the number code.” This renders the system as a win-win solution for both students and the administration. Cormier notes that it affects his work personally, “With the system working I don’t have to think about it as much. I don’t have kids coming to tell me ‘I forgot my number, can you tell me again?’, because it’s hard to forget your finger.”