passagenorthwest

Volume 41 Issue 11 March 12, 2010

Worth the risk?14

Worth the risk?

come sail awaySophomore Jack Roeder has blended his passion for building and sailing. 12

stunned into silenceThe boys’ basketball season ended in heartbreaking fashion against the Leavenworth Pioneers. 20

In search of the perfect bronze, many teenagers overlook the dangerous effects of

indoor tanning. Is it really

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top: Sophomore Colby Evertt races to grab a ball before his opponent during the Dodgeball Tournament.bottom: Junior AJ Spencer tries to shoot the ball around a Leavenworth defender in the Sub-State Championship game.

_________________________________ news04 / news briefs See what’s going on around the school and in the community.

06 / schmix page Plan your schedule around this week’s happenings plus some random stuff.

______________________________ opinions08 / awkward, my one true love A Passage staff writer reflects on his own awkwardness.

09 / set your alarms a little earlier A new final schedule will force students to wake up earlier.

09 / budget cuts to affect students Crucial district programs may be cut to appease the budget.

10 / better bleached than bronzed Tanning is an instant beauty fix, but the long term effects are not worth it.

scene12 / scene static Apps of the Issue, Live Noise, Sudoku and the Student Shuffle.

____________________________ features14 / worth the risk? An in-depth story on the dangers of tanning. 14 / come sail away Sophomore Jack Roeder has blended his passions for building and sailing.

sports19 / the boss Best sports picture and athlete questionnaire.

20 / the shot that stung The boys’ basketball season ended on a last-second shot.

23 / column page March Madness is upon us. co-editors in-chief / david catt, ryan mccarthy

copy editor / ed spaunhorstdesign editors / ashley lane, stephanie spicer photo editors / david freyermuth, hannah williams graphics editor / tyler absher news editor /lauren komer opinions editors / david catt, ryan mccarthy features editor / maria davison scene editor / evan shinn sports editor / clay coffman ads editors /ashley calvert web technical / andrew keith web managing editor / mary salazar web master / stephanie rupp staff writers / nick alexander, jeremy allen, rachel alvey, wyatt anderson, nick feighner, rachel ferencz, kelsey gasser, claire gordon, tyler gilliam, andrew keith, brady klein, brianna leyden, maddie niemackl, cj reliford, madi watts

The purpose of The Northwest Passage is to relay important and interesting information to the community, administration and students of the Shawnee Mission Northwest High School. As a newsmagazine, The Northwest Passage will cater to the interests and concerns of the student body. Outside concerns and activities will only be covered if they somehow affect the school or students. The Northwest Passage is a 24-page newsmagazine. The paper will be distributed every two weeks during third hour. Subscriptions will be available to the community for $25. The Northwest Passage firmly supports the First Amendment and opposes censorship. The content of the newspaper will be determined and created by the entire staff. When questions concerning word choice, legal problems or ethics arise the editorial board and adviser will discuss the problem to find a solution. In these cases, the co-editors-in-chief will the have final say in all decisions. Letters to the editor will be accepted and encouraged, but will only be published if signed. The staff reserves the right to edit for grammatical mistakes, length and good taste. Letters may attack policy but not people. In no way will ideas or viewpoints be changed. The co-editors-in-chief reserves the right to refuse any letter.

Shawnee Mission Northwest12701 West 67th St.,Shawnee, Kan., 66216

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staff

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cover photo / Ashley Lane

backpage photo /Andrew Keith

20

BrIttANy BoNSIgNore

04/march 12

The spring musical, Big River, will open on April 8 and run through April 10.

The musical, originally written by William Hauptman, is based on Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written in 1884. The musical follows the story closely; Hauptman took direct quotes from the novel and put them into the script.

“I’ve wanted to do [Big River] for a long time, so I’m pretty excited about it,” drama teacher Keli Rodgers said. “William Hauptman has a way of showing you something that makes you go, ‘Wait, that’s not right!’ He let’s the audience work. I think that’s brilliant.”

About 27 students are involved in the cast, in-cluding senior Teddy Trice as Jim, senior Andrew Shaw as Huck, sophomore Tanner Rose as Tom Sawyer and junior Claire Martin as Maryjane.

Although only these 27 students will appear on stage, nearly 40 will help produce the musical.

“I have a lot of boys this year who are full of tal-ent, so that’s why we have had more male-oriented plays this year,” Rodgers said.

Next year, Rodgers will be looking for plays that offer more parts for women because the current ju-nior class is filled with predominately female talent. Next year’s performance line-up will be announced at the year-end drama banquet.

Tickets go on sale the weekend after spring break. All tickets will be $7 and students’ tickets with an activity pass will be $3. Rachel Ferencz

Sophomore Eric Zoellner throws a dodge ball at the tournament on March 6. Zoellner’s team name was the Amish Plows.

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Dodgeball tourney raises over $600

Robotics team scores at regional competitonThe robotics team placed 17th out of 61

teams at the KCFIRST Robotics Competi-tion, March 4-6.

For two days, robotics teams from the Greater Kansas City area met to compete and show off their robot-building abilities.

“They did a very, very good job,” sponsor Bob Stewart said. “It really is something to be proud of.”

The competition requires that students design and build a radio-controlled robot capable of competing against other robots in a soccer-style game. Each team attempts to score points in a two-minute time period, avoiding hilly terrain and blocks from the

opposing team. New this year are rules that prohibit the robots from lifting the ball. Only kicking is allowed.

Members of the Cougar Robotics team competed in 10 matches — winning seven, losing twice and tying once. The team scored high early on, but lost out late in the game.

“In robotics, we face a difficult task, building a robot in six weeks,” junior Ryan Kirkendall said. “It takes a lot out of you, but once the robot is completed, you realize how much you have learned. We do these things because they are hard and challenging, and when it’s all over, we are glad we did it.” Andrew Keith

The 2nd annual dodgeball tournament that took place last Saturday raised over $600 for the Johnson County Christmas Bureau.

Fifteen teams competed in the tourna-ment. The winning team included seniors Chris Mansker, Alex Geis, Matt Nowak, David Catt, Brian Ayers, Rachael Zdeb and Lisa Imgrund.

“It was a lot of fun. It was intense com-petition and the 2nd year our team has won,” Geis said. Geis and his team will compete in the District Dodgeball tourna-ment in April. Rachel Ferencz

Eight students brought home fourth place for their mock trial performance on Saturday and secured a spot in the state competition.

In Mock Trial, students use their acting and debating skills to personify either a lawyer or witness in the trial being performed.

“You want to fit your character,” Mock Trial performer Erica Waltman said. “You have to know a lot of back-ground information on your character, especially for the expert witnesses.”

Students receive their trial assignment a few months prior to the competitions.

“Although we have the trial months in advance, we don’t really start buckling down until a few weeks before the competition,” Waltman said.

Before any practices are completed, each student decides whether to act as a witness or a lawyer. Each student selects

a characters that fits his or her own interests and strengths. This, in turn, enhances the performance.

“Generally people who can act be-come witnesses, and lawyers are people who can think on their feet,” Waltman said.

At the competition, each school performed their trial four times, competing against a different school in each round. Rounds are judged by local attorneys and law students.

This year, the NW trial involved a former soldier who shot a friend. The defense debated against the prosecution to prove that the client, Sazer Larson, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

“The doctor witnesses have a lot to memorize,” Waltman said. “They have a lot of background and medical informa-tion to recall.” Rachel Alvey

Mock trial participants head to state

Big River to open April 8th

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Junior Adam Chase gazes forward at Mock Trial Competition.

news\05

The parents of Blake Robbins, a student who attends a school in the Lower Merion School District in Pennsylvania, filed a class action law suit against the district on Feb. 19.

The parents claim that the school took advantage of the technology offered with the school’s laptops and covertly spied on their child.

Robbins said that he was accused of selling drugs by an associate principal on Nov. 11 after she saw him with pills in his bedroom. The principal cited this information with a picture taken from Robbins’ laptop. The pills turned out to be Mike and Ikes.

With the assistant principal’s accusations came a national controversy. The situation left people wondering if the school system could legally monitor student activity at home using means not revealed to the student. Some think this is a direct infringement against the Fourth Amendment which guards Americans against unreasonable searches and seizures.

According to the District’s superintendent, the original intentions of the use of webcams weren’t to spy on students but to track stolen or missing laptops. It still didn’t answer the question as to why Robbins’ system activated and took a picture.

“A school doing this is unbelievable,” junior Joey Schmits said. “I understand the school wanting to keep track of their items, but it has to stop at a certain point.”

The Lower Merion School District stated that they have only used the laptop security system 42 times in the past 14 months and recovered 28 missing laptops. The system has now been deactivated.

“It’s beyond my comprehension,” associate principal Tom Moss said. “I wouldn’t think [Northwest] would ever do this. It’s very well an invasion of privacy.”

Even with the reassurance that laptops at Northwest do not have the capabilities of spying, some students still are uncomfortable with the possibility of any school district doing this.

“I don’t like the thought of a district taking advantage of technology like this,” Schmits said. “It’s disheartening.

Jeremy Allen

Pennsylvania school accused of e-spying

“The Girl Effect” is a new club designed to support girls and women around the world as well as those in their communities and schools.

The founders of the club, juniors Addie Evans, Kaitlyn Carl, Caela McMillon, Kadie Nugent, Rachel Alvey and Jenny Skells, searched at the beginning of the year for a way to help women both overseas and at home. In late January, Evans found an organization online called The Girl Effect. The organization is all about working to improve girls’ lives and, in turn, improving the world.

“It’s about empowering girls to allow them to improve their lives and, therefore, their families and their communities,” sponsor Debra Brewer said.

The Girl Effect was approved as a club in mid-February after meeting with principal Bill Harrington. Although the group is using the name of the organization, they have adapted the purpose for what they want to accomplish. While the organization gives money to girls in

developing countries. The mission statement of the club states that they will raise funds to empower women in developing countries as well as work to empower themselves and the women in their school.

“We want to focus on helping women in other countries and women in our school as well,” Skells said.

While The Girl Effect is about helping and supporting women around the world and in their community, the founders don’t want it to be looked at as a club only for girls.

“It’s not a feminist club, and we don’t want it to be viewed that way,” junior Jenny Skells said. “We just want to be there for girls in our school.”

Five boys attended the first meeting along with 24 girls.

“That really showed that this is not going to be a group only girls can be involved in,” Skells said.

The Girl Effect meets at 7:10 a.m. on Tuesdays in Room 204. Maria Davison

The Girl Effect works to support women internationally and in their community

The 25th annual Jazz Cabaret was held in the cafeteria and auditorium last Friday, March 5. Twelve jazz groups performed. CCC and Band Booster Club provided refreshments.

This year, the event took on a festival approach. Beginning jazz musicians performed in the audi-torium while professionals played in the cafeteria. Spectators chose between venues and enjoyed re-freshments in the cafeteria.

Sophomore trumpet player Kelley Gamm thought there was a good turnout.

“My favorite thing was all the energy, all the jazz musicians keeping the beat,” Gamm said.

Among groups performing were the SMNW Alumni Band, Southwest Missouri State University Jazz Symposium and String Vibrations.

String Vibrations is composed of beginning string players taught by Cecily Mahan.

“We’re probably the only jazz strings group in the state,” Mahan said. “I started this group to ex-pose [the students] to one of our greatest American genres, which is jazz.”

Jazz teacher Doug Talley said everything went pretty smoothly and hopes to continue the tradi-tion.

“I think my favorite thing [was] seeing all the people gathered together to listen to jazz music and have a great time,” he said. “As much as I love the music, I think seeing the people is my favorite.”

Lauren Komer

Performance at 25th annual Jazz Cabaret

Sophomore Kylie Lambeth plays the alto saxo-phone on Feb. 23 in the cafeteria. Lambeth also played at the Jazz Cabaret on March 5. “I think the concert went pretty well,” Lambeth said. “Playing in jazz band is always fun.”

CAITLYN MASSY

rif( )reduction in force

\`rif\ verb. To cut teacher positions. Is currently being used at NW as the dis-

trict considers cutting positions to help meet the projected budget.

google

more ThaN

320-400 nanometers

According to a 2004 survey,

1 IN 10 youThs ages 11 To 18 use A tAnning bed eAch yeAr.read more: http://www.time.com/

Well... WoW. I already have tWo of these.

http://www.imslp.orgThe Petrucci music Library is an internet-based collaborative music score library and is currently the main project. You will find tens of thousands of scores composed by thousands of musicians, all available for free download.

06/march 12

march

2215 First day of spring break

mon

Last day of spring break

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25 Seminar Sophomore Top 100

thurs

23 6pm Cheer banquet

tues

12 Last day for AP test registration

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—Sandy Powell, winner of best costume design at the 2010 Oscars.

the capital city of fiberopticsTopeka’s mayor, Bill Bunten, says the city shall temporarily be referred to as Google, KS, in an effort to persuade the Internet giant to test an ultra-fast internet connection in the state capital. Bunten issued the proclamation Monday after no City Council members objected to the monthlong change. Bunten said he hoped the proclamation would set Topeka apart from other cities, including Grand Rapids, Mich. and Baton Rouge, La., vying for Google’s attention.| The Associated Press

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According to Expedia, spring break flights to Orlando, Los An-geles and New york all jumped more than 25% this year.

Flights to spring break destinations in the Caribbean are down as much as 20% this year.

,KS

20%Use of the tanning beds boosts the risk of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, by 20%.

In an analysis of 20 such studies, the International asso-ciation for Research on Cancer found that people who use tanning beds before age 30 increase their risk of develop-ing skin cancer.

75%ultraviolet a radiation (used in tan-ning) is in the wavelength range of

%25AS MUCh AS

%20SPRInG BREAK

Wisconsin is the only state that bans indoor tanning among kids under 16.

in 28 other states, teens under 16 need parental consent or accompaniment.

did you know? xThe nW school fight song played at sporting events is not the original fight song. The original fight song was the theme from “hawaii Five-O”, a television series in the 1970s and 1980s. Basketball band members still play “hawaii Five-O” as a pep band song.

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here she was, sitting in the hallway. Of

everybody in this class, she had to be the only other person who missed the test the day before. I would have preferred to meet anyone else out there: the boy in the class who picks the skin off his hands and eats it; the girl who constantly scrutinizes and contradicts everything I say; heck, I’d even take the boy who has the tendency to “let one rip” at the most inappropriate times. But, no, as I walked out of the classroom door, there she was.

I guess I brought this on myself. I decided to take a mental health day which, causing me to miss a test so I had to go into the hallway while the rest of the class reviewed it.

I had sat in class by my fellow

temporary exile for the entire school year. Even when we received new seats, by some divine plan, I was placed right next to her again. The school year is more than half over, and I still haven’t even managed to break the ice with her. Once I almost did, but she gave me the “don’t even think about talking to me” stare. It’s not that she was stuck up; it was that she was, for lack of a better word, awkward.

Thrown into this situation unwillingly, I decided to use it to my advantage and attempt to get to know her, if for no other reason than to make sure I hadn’t offended her in some way. Even if I could just barely break the surface, small talk would suffice.

There we sat, both blending in

with the murals painted on the walls — in silence. The only thing breaking the quiet were the passers-by who likely assumed we had been kicked out of class.

The silence was deafening; the weight of it unbearable, crushing me from all sides until I didn’t think I would be able to take it anymore.

But then I came to a sudden realization: it wasn’t my desire to talk to her and her offish response that made me feel uncomfortable; it was that within all this awkwardness, I was entirely comfortable. I was the most comfortable I had been in a long time. And that, quite frankly, made me feel awkward.

I live for awkward moments in my life. And I must admit, when the teacher came out to say that we could

come back into the room, I was a little sad.

Awkward moments, more specifically creating them, gives me a sense of comfort. I’ll be honest, I don’t like that awkward feeling initially; it’s only after the situation when I realize how much fun it was. I think the comfort comes from the fact that I know that it takes two people to make a situation feel awkward. She was experiencing it with me, if not more than I was.

As for the girl, I appreciate the fact that she, in some fashion, allowed me to bathe in the awkwardness. And, just to clarify, I haven’t said a word to her, even to this day.

Awkward, my one true loveHigh school is a time for people to come to terms with their idiosyncrasies. I’m thankful that I’ve finally been able to accept mine.

nJEREMY ALLEN T

en American missionaries were detained at the Hai-

tian border Jan. 30 when they tried to take 33 children out of the country into the Dominican Republic. The 10 missionaries, members of the Idaho Baptist Convention, admitted that they did not have permission or the proper paperwork from the Haitian government needed to transport the orphans across the border.

“We were just trying to do the right thing,” said Laura Silsby, the de-tained leader of the missionaries, in an interview with MSNBC.

“Our point was to draw attention to the plight of Haitian orphans” told Corina Lankford, a fellow detainee, to The New York Times. “We came here to help, not to become the story,”

Ostensibly, their intent was to transport the children to the Domini-can Republic and then to the United States, where they could be adopted. The missionaries were fully aware that what they were doing was wrong,

so the Haitian government has been especially harsh toward them. Prime Minister Max Bellerive was angered by their actions.

“It is clear now that they were trying to cross the border without papers,” Bellerive said in an interview with MSNBC, “and it is clear now that they knew what they were doing was wrong.”

Although the Haitian govern-ment dropped all charges against the last two of the 10 detained Americans in question Feb. 25, the lesson to be learned from this incident stands.

Prior to the incarceration of the 10 Americans, 15 Haitian children a day were being airlifted from the larg-est pediatric field hospital in Haiti to the United States. Pilots would airlift the children to the United States, and then take care of the paperwork after they had arrived.

When the 10 Americans were captured and accused of kidnap-ping, the Haitian government started

cracking down on the rules surround-ing medical airlifts. Immediately after the jailing of the 10 Americans, Hai-tian officials required doctors to have all papers in order before the children could be airlifted to the United States. This was a near-impossible task, be-cause the papers needed were bur-ied under mountains of rubble. As a result of the lock down on medical airlifts by Haitian officials, only three children were airlifted to hospitals in the United States for the 24 days following the incarceration of the Americans. Pilots who violated this new policy faced up to a $400,00 fine and jail time if they airlifted children without the proper paperwork.

“For these kids, the kidnapping case isn’t just a distraction; it has be-come the difference between life and death” said Dr. Lee Sanders, a pedia-trician who is treating children in a makeshift field hospital set up inside an airport. One girl could lose her leg if she cannot get out of Haiti in time.

The infection is spreading, and doc-tors will need to amputate.

The 10 Americans should have left well enough alone; they have only caused more problems for the Hai-tians. Innocent children have died because of their actions. If they had followed the rules, at least 300 ad-ditional children could have sought much-needed medical attention in United States.

The actions of the 10 missionaries were counter-productive, and have also detracted from the real issue at hand in Haiti, as their story was being splashed on the front pages of count-less newspapers across America.

They had good intentions, but as the saying goes, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” And that’s exactly what the Haitians are experiencing — a living hell.

Best of good intentionsThe actions of ten Americans in Haiti, jailed and accused of kidnapping Haitian orphans, has only added to the plight of a nation ravaged by an earthquake.

nANDREW KEITH T

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08/march 12

still have two-and-a-half years of high school left. And the way things are

going, it’s very possible that, at the end of that time period, Northwest won’t be nearly as great of a place to go to school as it is now.

Almost $11 million were cut from the SMSD budget for this year. The cuts for next year haven’t been announced yet, but, according to the budget and finance director for the district, Tim Rooney, district officials expect to slice another $10 million or so from next year’s budget to meet the state’s budget deficit.

With the cuts that were made this year, programs like “teachers on assignment” and “New Beginnings” were lost. But, in reality, who knows what those programs actually did?

The district did that on purpose.

They cut the things that they knew would have little to no affect on the majority of students. And they did a pretty good job. A lot of money was cut from the budget, and I barely noticed it.

But when the district has to cut another $10 million or more for next year, what will be cut? The most expensive programs are things like honors, AP or IB classes with 10 or fewer students and the gymnastics team. They already eliminated everything that students don’t care about, so what’s next? According to Rooney, everything is on the chopping block.

It seems like arts are one of the first things to be considered when the district is talking about making budget cuts. Northwest is a great place to go to school partially because of the

great art and music programs. With every program being considered for cuts, the art programs may well take a punch in the gut.

If I didn’t have newspaper, orchestra, and cross country, I would never want to go to school. I wouldn’t have anything to look forward to during the day. Just going from English to math to science to Spanish and then home would make the high school experience so much less enriching.

And even more to the point, newspaper and orchestra are the two classes I learn the most in. I don’t spend that time taking notes about how to find the determinant of a matrix or how many moles of sodium chloride are in 2.65 grams. I learn how to work with people and how to manage time, and, most importantly,

those are the places I learn what the real world is going to be like.

Students who are involved in extracurricular activities are also more likely to graduate from high school, become leaders, voice opinions and complete tasks, according to the Montana State University Extension Service.

Extracurricular activities are what makes Northwest, and the whole Shawnee Mission School District, a great place to go to school. If all of our programs eventually get cut because the people in Topeka refuse to raise taxes or just can’t come to an agreement about what’s best for the future of public education, the future is going to be rather bleak.

opinions\9

Set your alarms a little earlier With the start of this spring semester finals, students will now be starting at 7:40, which could effect the students sleep and test performance.

nCLAIRE GORDON

Budget cuts to affect studentsWith the cuts the district made this year, and the amount of money they will need to cut next year, any number of important programs.

nMARIA DAVISION I

s a freshman, I haven’t had much experience

with taking finals. When winter was approaching, I would frequently hear my teachers remind the class, “this might be on the final” or “finals are coming up soon, so you should start studying.” I was worried, to say the least.

My outlook improved when I saw that school would actually start late at 9:15 a.m. and get out at noon. This would allow me to sleep longer and, in the end, improve my mood. Studies from the National Sleep Foundation found that teenagers need at least nine hours of sleep to perform efficiently. Side effects can include poor memory, reduced work efficiency and decreased decision-making skills, which, if I’m not

mistaken, you need to take a major test. It also said that 30 percent of teens fall asleep during school without the recommended amount of sleep.

With one semester of finals under my belt, I felt more comfortable with the idea that we would only have half days. I could study before or after taking the finals and get help from teachers. But now, we’ll no longer reap the benefits of a late start during finals.

This semester, finals will start at the regular time of 7:40 a.m. As a result of a bus company change. It was a problem to get our students to school and make sure that the students for the middle schools and elementary schools get to their schools.

Sure, we get out earlier, but does that make up for the sleep that we could be getting? We aren’t just taking a regular test in one of our classes; we are taking tests that count for up to 20 percent or even more of our grades. We should at least get the opportunity to get an adequate amount of sleep.

And a very vital piece of information from sleepeducation.com, is that teens have a biological clock that controls when you feel sleepy and when you feel alert. The only problem with this is that it is set for teens to start falling asleep at 10 p.m. or later. This means that students would be more alert in the afternoon or evening rather than earlier in the morning. But it’s not just the students who will suffer.

Also, teachers are using this extra time before school to hold study sessions to help students cram before finals. What happens to the students who work or have other obligations and can’t come in after school? These students could end up having to stay up all night to study. This is not good for the students, or their grades. And if our school has to change our final schedule, why couldn’t we just make it later in the day?

This would benefit students who either study in the mornings, or students who need the sleep. This would help students to be well rested and prepared to take these finals.

A

Better bleached than bronzedTanning looks great now, but over the years, damage to the skin accumulates and can causes major complications to your health.

nMARIA DAVISION

Tyler Absher

ccording to most forms of western media, the

“perfect” woman, and even the “perfect” man, should have a flawless tan. Their skin should be a deep, rich brown. No one with my pale-as-paper skin is on the cover of a magazine this month, or any month of the year.

But where did that notion come from? Being tan used to mean that you were poor, and you worked in the fields all day. The higher class people had soft, pale skin. The paler, the better. Anytime these high class women stepped foot outside the house, they wore a sun bonnet or carried a parasol just to protect their skin from the sun’s rays.

Over the years, that standard has somehow changed.

Now, people lay outside for hours on end waiting for the sun to fry their bodies like an egg on the sidewalk. And while too much exposure to the sun is harmful, it is natural to be darker in the summer. More time is spent outside because the weather is nice and you’re not in school.

But paying to lay under light bulbs that imitate the sun’s rays and do nothing but damage the skin is probably taking it a little too far.

According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), there is also a significant link between the use of tanning beds at a young age and melanoma, the

most fatal form of skin cancer. People in the tanning business

argue that if you don’t get burned, or if you only tan for a few minutes, nothing bad will happen to you. But according to Skincare-news.com, all of these arguments are false. Whether the skin is exposed to ultraviolet rays for 10 minutes or six hours, anytime the skin changes color, damage is happening. (For more information, see pages 14-15)

Yeah, I’m pale, and yeah, I get made fun of for it. But the risk isn’t worth it to me. It’s not the risk of cancer that scares me the most; I’m told three times a day that something I’m doing puts me at risk for cancer. It’s the risk of being incredibly

wrinkly when I’m 40 years old that scares me.

Being unnaturally tan in the middle of February looks great now, and the skin doesn’t show any signs of damage immediately. But when I’m middle-aged, I don’t want to be sitting in a hospital room wondering why I tanned so much as a kid. I will know it wasn’t worth it when I have skin cancer and my skin looks like that of a 70-year-old.

No matter what the media or tanning salon advertising says, the benefits of tanning don’t outweigh the risks. Being beautifully bronze right now isn’t worth the wrinkles and possibility of cancer that could haunt me later in life.

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10/march 12

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Ring-a-ling by Black Eyed Peas“My friend Sara and Megan always rock out in the car to this song. It is the perfect dancing song.”

When The Stars Go Blue by Bethany Jaoylenz“I got this song off of One Tree Hill. Tyler Hilton has the hottest voice. I listen to this song before I go to sleep. It’s relaxing.”

Slow Dancing in a Burning Room by John Mayer“John Mayer is such a heartthrob. I don’t know any girl who doesn’t love him and his talent.”

You Don’t Know Me by Ben Folds“My guitar teacher, Andrew Shaw, introduced me to Ben Folds not very long ago, and now I love his music.”

Samantha MooreJunior

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ophomore Kaitlin Eubanks lies in a tanning bed for the first time

nervously. A salon worker sets the timer for the bed and leaves the room. As Eubanks relaxes under the bright illumination of UV lights, she begins to feel the heat of the bulbs surrounding her. After getting out, she real-izes, upon later examination, that she had actually ended up with a harsh burn.

“I was in the bed way too long because the worker had set the wrong time,” Eubanks said. “I ended up red all over, especially on my stomach.”

Stories like these are common among those who use tanning beds, but despite the danger of getting burnt, many still think the pros to outweigh the cons. With both spring break and prom drawing closer, many teens may be looking to get a nice tan without the annoyance of having to sit outside for hours. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) has found that about 1 million people stop by tanning salons every day in America, and with salons’ busy season of spring about to start, that number may increase.

According to the AAD, only 70 percent of use indoor tanning beds are female. With the popularity of tanning on the rise among people of all genders, ages and ethnicities, researchers from the San Diego State Univer-sity discovered that salons can be found in

some cities more frequently than Starbucks and McDonalds.

“I started tanning when I was 14,” Eu-banks said. “I just started to hate looking pale, and now I go at least three or four times a week.”

Whatever the reason, 2.3 million teenag-ers like Eubanks pop into a tanning salon at least once a year, according to Time maga-zine. Yet, all over the continent, laws are be-ing passed to protect minors from tanning beds. In Canada, laws prohibit children un-der the age of 8 from tanning, and 31 states have enacted similar restrictions for those under the age of 14, ac-cording to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

“We had a lot of different ages come in, like around dances, when lots of high-schoolers come in. But I even saw people in their 70s, which was pretty interesting,” said Lesa Eden, senior and former employee of Electric Sun Tanning Salon.

Using tanning beds can be healthy — to some extent. Vitamin D can be received from sunlight, which strengthens the immune sys-tem, among other benefits.

“You can get your daily allowance from

just 10 to 15 minutes of sunlight,” derma-tologist John Rupp said. “Since we know that the sun increases the chance for melanoma, basal and squamous cancers, we are advocat-ing that you get vitamin D through vitamin supplements orally; it’s the safer way to get it.”

Studies have also shown that the body produces endorphins, hormones that can contribute to a better mood, while tanning. The rush of endorphins can create an arti-ficial high, and a study by the University of

Texas Medical Branch at Galveston found that 26 to 53 percent of people who head to the beach to tan exhibit signs of addiction to tanning, an addiction that can be commonly referred to as “tanorexia.”

“I’m happier after tanning,” senior Jas-mine Radice said. “I feel much better about myself. It’s extremely relaxing, and I don’t even think about anything that’s going on.”

A few doctors and dermatologists think that tanning can help with some skin prob

worth the risk?Debates are cropping up all over the country over the dangers of tanning. Is it really...

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lems, like psoriasis, acne and eczema. Psoriasis is a condition that causes irritated, red and flaky skin, and eczema causes itchy and inflamed rashes. The National Psoriasis Foundation does include using a tanning sa-lon as a way to help the conditions. They only recommend it as a last resort.

Many salons promote “facts” that aren’t true to attract more customers. The Federal Trade Commission recently attacked the In-door Tanning Association for false statements in a promotional campaign. They advertised falsehoods such as government approval of indoor tanning and claims that sunbeds are safe because the amount of UV light received is monitored, etc. The association is now pro-hibited from making misleading statements to the public and can not claim in ads that indoor tanning is safe.

For example, some salons claim beds are safer because they block the “burning” UVB rays. Although most beds do have UVB blockage, that doesn’t necessarily make them safer. The sun produces three different rays of ultraviolet light; UVA, UVB and UVC. The skin needs a form of UV light to stimulate pigment in the skin. UVA rays are consid-ered the lesser of two evils, but essentially both rays are dangerous.

“UVA rays penetrate deeper in the skin and also increase the risk of skin cancer.

That’s why we don’t advocate that people to go to tanning salons,” Rupp said.

One of the biggest reasons tanning beds are not considered safe is skin cancer, along-side eye damage and photoaging, a process where the skin becomes wrinkly and spotty earlier in life. Basal cell carcinoma (the most common type of cancer), squamous cell car-cinoma and melanoma (the deadliest skin cancer) are all on the rise. A tanning bed can increase the risk of getting squamous cell carcinoma by 2.5 times and basal cell carci-noma 1.5 times, according to the National Cancer Institute.

“I’m already at risk for skin cancer be-cause it runs in my family,” Radice said. “I do worry about it, and that’s why I don’t go every single day. I split it up, and only go tan-ning before dance competitions or [school] dances.”

Damaged skin cells are harmless at first, but if they are not watched carefully, they could develop into any cancer. They can be formed from just one use of the tanning sa-lon, because as soon as people tan, their skin cells are damaged, causing the DNA to make abnormal cells. Although there is still dan-ger from just being in the sunlight, it takes a more prolonged exposure to be as dangerous as a concentrated dose of UV light in a tan-ning bed.

“Skin cancers are very rare in [the teen-age] age group, but I’ve seen a few girls who have melanoma, the most aggressive and deadly cancer,” Rupp said. “Two were 15 and one was 18, and one was actively going to tanning salons. Now I see those teenage girls every six months getting checkups for skin cancer.”

Dermatologists recommend spray-on tans, tanning lotions and creams. It’s a safer, but less popular, option.

“It makes you look splotchy, and it washes off easily,” sophomore Morgan Kronawitter said.

Several states require that schools begin teaching safety in the sun as early as possible to try to thwart the rapidly increasing rates of skin cancers, but it is harder than ever to stem the huge flow of teenagers going in and out of tanning beds every day.

“When you see someone who has been in sun all their life, their skin is saggy, leathery, has spots, and the skin does not act right,” Rupp said. “If you see someone tanned, their skin has been injured or damaged—people are beating up their skin.”

For more information on tanning or to find a dermatologist near you, visit www.aad.org, the site for the American Academy of Dermatology.

Brianna Leyden

Doctors prefer patients to receive their vitamin D either by eating the right foods, like fish and fortified dairy prod-ucts (milk, etc.), or by taking pill supplements.

Tanning is actually more dangerous than sunbathing at times because some tan-ning beds release more UV radiation than the sun

Any long exposure to UV rays, whether they are the “burning” UVB rays or the tanning UVA rays, can cause cancerous cells.

Just a 20-minute session in a tanning bed is equivalent to sitting at a beach for several hours, according to the Bos-ton Globe.

Tanning beds are the best way to get Vitamin D supplements.

Tanning is safer indoors, where the amount of UV light received is controlled, preventing the user from receiving too much.

Only burning the skin can cause skin cancer.

UVB rays are more dan-gerous than UVA, because UVB rays cause burning and peeling.

Using the bed for just a short amount of time doesn’t do any harm.

fact or fiction

features\15

The SailorSophomore Jack Roeder stood

proudly before the pristine cover in his garage. The fluorescent orange name “Jack” was crudely painted across it. It disappeared into a heap on the floor as he drew back the cover, revealing the white hull of a sailboat. Against the wall were the boat’s tightly wrapped sails, which, unraveled, consist of about 80 feet of fabric.

“Man, it can be a challenging boat sometimes,” Roeder said.

Roeder moved to the other side of the boat and stared at it with the watchful eye of a parent.

The boat, a present bought by his parents three years ago, is a 1980s Laser named “Pride”. Roeder started sailing only four years ago at Bartle Scout Camp when he took the sailing merit badge. He has made racing, sailing and now boat building his life’s passion.

“I have no idea where I would be without sailing, honestly. Before I started sailing, I was just your typical teenager playing countless hours of video games. Now that’s stopped,” Roeder said. “Sailing is what I live for now. I’ve shaped my entire life around it.”

Although it may seem like an unusual hobby for a midwestern teen, sailing is something that runs in his family. His cousins, who live in Miami, are avid sailors. Every summer, he makes the trip to visit them and, of course, it’s a great excuse for him to get some time in on the water.

“Sailing on the ocean is exhilarating; that’s the only way to describe it. You

have five-foot waves that send your boat flying,” Roeder said. “I can remember once we were sailing off the coast, and we saw a lot of dark shadows beneath the boat. It turns out it was a school of sting rays below us. What other sport is going to give you that opportunity?”

Since Roeder began to sail, he has embraced it fully. To fuel his passion for sailing, he occasionally instructs sailing at Olathe Lake during the summer. It’s this love for sailing that has helped him to decide a career path.

“I really want to get into the Naval Academy. I know it’s a long shot, but I’m hoping that sailing is something that can help me get in,” Roeder said.

If he graduates from the Naval Academy, Roeder plans to continue in pursuit of a career in the Navy.

“I want to help people, and the Navy seems like the best way to do that. Not to mention, I will be on the water for a long time. I would be doing something I love,” Roeder said.

Roeder organized the equipment lying in the boat and sighed. He slipped the boat’s cover back on with precision.

“You know, no matter what happens I will always have sailing.”

The Builder“I’ve always loved to expand on

simple items and, as I’ve gotten older, those simple items have gotten just a bit larger,” Roeder said.

Roeder stared down upon his newest creation. He ran his hands over the coarse, white sides of the boat as he pulled off miniscule bits of plywood. His creation is a 10-foot motor boat made out of wood and sealed together artlessly. The boat stood awkwardly on a trailer outside in the cold. It was motorless and barely gave the appearance that it would be buoyant if placed in any waters.

“I’m going to launch it at Shawnee Mission Park,” Roeder said. “It’s hard to

believe that this boat is even real; it’s even more hard to believe that my own hands built it.”

His plan to build the boat actually started out as a joke between himself and senior Carter Clond in woods class. They were assigned a project of their choice.

“We both just said one day, ‘Let’s build a boat.’ I don’t think either of us took it serious, and I started the project with a bit of skepticism,” Roeder said.

Roeder half-heartedly went through with the idea thinking it would just be a waste of time.

“Even when I continued building the boat, I was still surprised that I was actually doing it.”

Building has been one of Roeder’s favorite things to do since he was little. He used to have RC cars that he would upgrade. He now spends time improving on his 2007 Dodge Magnum.

Roeder eyed the boat and remarked on the boat’s symmetrical qualities. He was amazed that it could be so well built in two months and with the $40 he had to build it. The boat, however isn’t entirely finished.

“I still have to put another coat of paint on it. I also plan on attaching a 4-horsepower motor to it.,” Roeder said. “I’ve seen it run, though; I know it will work.”

He laughed nervously.“I hope it will work.”He took a step backward, admired

the boat in the cold winter air and shot a sly grin at it.

“People are telling me it isn’t going to float. It’s nothing but motivation for me,” Roeder said. “I know that if it floats I’ll prove everybody wrong. If it doesn’t float, well, at least I can say I did some-thing. How many other 15-year-olds do you know that have built a boat?” n Jeremy Allen

come sail away

“Sailing is what I live for now. I’ve shaped my entire life around it.” —sophomore Jack Roeder

The birThof a boaTHere’s a time line of Roeder’s boat from beginning to the present. Over all, it took Roeder roughly two months and under $40 to complete. Photos courtesy of Jack Roeder.

Jack Roeder always loved building things. Four years ago, he stumbled into the world of sailing. He never thought his two passions would collide.

KEVI

N BU

IE

1/22/10: Both sides of the boat are cut out, and the final measurements are made. The hull is now placed together. The shape of the boat is starting to show.

12/17/09: After all the measurements on paper are complete, the boat’s construc-tion begins. Here, the port side and stern are completed and sealed together.

16/march 12

2/4/10: Roeder’s boat sits on a workbench in the school’s workshop after having a fresh coat of sealant applied to it. It is the first of two coats that will be ap-plied before the boat is painted.

Sophomore Jack Roeder examines the symmetry of his boat. Roeder has been working on this boat in both woods class and at home.

1/28/10: Roeder adds the second seats to his motor boat.

1/22/10: Roeder’s boat gets clamped together to join both sides.

1/28/10: On January 28, Roeder completes and places the first seat for his boat.

features\17

sports\19

best of sports shotBOSS

This issue’s BOSS photo was chosen because of its stop action, timing and lighting. Senior Hannah Singhal practices the butterfly stroke during practice. Singhal is a three-time state swimmer. Photo by Hannah Williams

Brittnee Edelman Freshman Swim and Dive

Austin VanderpoolSophomoreBoys’ Basketball

Chase QuarnstromJuniorBaseball

Kent HollingsworthSeniorTrack and Field

Reese Witherspoon Elle Woods Happy Meal with a toyMount Rushmore

Candyland Megan Fox Taco Bell two of everything

Caulin Pendleton

Sadly, nowhere Tyler Amble Will Greenhaw #2 combo at Sonic

Disneyworld Spiderman Steve Carell Chick Double(McChicken and McDouble)

Where are you going for Spring Break?

Who was your hero growing up?

Who would co-star with you in a movie?

What’s your favorite fast food meal?

The Northwest Passage would like to apologize for an inappropriate reference made in the sports

section of last issue. We regret any of fenses that may have resulted from our error.

The NW fans sat in disbelief. Leavenworth had run down the game clock to

less than 10 seconds when senior Kyle Wiggins be-gan to cross-over his dribble, slowly working closer to the basket. Suddenly, he pulled up and swished a two-point basket. Coach Mike Rose had called a timeout with 1.7 seconds left but, at that point, ev-eryone in the gym already knew the outcome of the game. The clock would run out. The game would be over.

“Give the kid credit. He came down and knocked down a shot when he needed to, and it was a big one,” Rose said following the 54-52 loss to Leavenworth in the substate championship game.

Band members and the entire parents section stood in amazement. The only person sitting was Ben Meseke, looking out on the court with the same expression he had when the Cougars were eliminated last season by Wichita Heights in the state tournament.

Northwest attempted a last-second shot, as se-nior Steve Carver redirected the full-court pass to junior Trey Fruehling who heaved up a desperation three as the buzzer sounded.

It was a different Leavenworth team than two weeks before when Northwest controlled almost the entire game and beat the Pioneers 69-52 in one of their better performances of the season. North-west also beat the Pioneers in last year’s substate championship game, which sent the Cougars to Emporia. But last Saturday, roles were reversed.

“They definitely came to play this time,” Carver said following the game. “They definitely had re-venge on their mind tonight, not just because of the last game, but because of last year. I think they came out strong and wanted it just a little more than we did.”

Coach Rose also gave the Pioneers credit.“They definitely played a heck of a basketball

game compared to a couple of weeks ago. Their energy level was tremendous. They were knocking down a lot of shots,” Rose said.

The most glaring statistic of the night for the Cougars was their free-throw shooting.

“I thought our kids played well, and you hate to look at one little thing, but 8-18 from the free-throw line is going to be tough in a game like this,” Rose said.

The boys’ basketball team finished the season with a 15-7 record, not quite as impressive as last year’s state semifinal team, but it was exceptional compared to some of the Cougars’ past seasons.

“Looking back on it, I’ve really enjoyed the memories I’ve made with these kids,” Rose said. “You talk about those three seniors: Brady, who just accepted his role on this team and was there battling every day in practice; Nick, who’s going to play baseball at CMSU; and Steve, going to Holy Cross. I now get to be able to say that I coached those kids for a year in high school. They’re not just great athletes, they’re great kids, and they’re great students in the classroom as well.”

This season was a roller coaster of wins and losses. After drubbing their rival SM North to open the season, the Cougars went on to lose to Wash-ington High School the following night.

There were other head-scratching losses to me-diocre opponents SM West and SM East at home — the first losses at home over the past four seasons.

On the other hand, Northwest played some of the best teams in the metro to the final buzzer. They went on the road to Olathe South and pulled out a 44-43 victory over the Falcons. They took the na-tionally ranked Bishop Miege to the final seconds of the Saints Classic Tournament, and they battled the Olathe East Hawks through two overtimes.

“You know I’ll take time to sit back and re-flect, and there’s a lot of good memories — beat-ing Olathe South at their place and the Olathe East double overtime game and a lot of things that go on at practice that a lot of people don’t see. Just build-ing that camaraderie with those kids is really what it’s all about,” Rose said.

As the final spectators left the gym, stragglers remained, crying over what they had just seen.Others cheered on each player as they entered the gymnasium.

The players were comforted by family and friends as they came together one last time as teammates.

“You know just how close we were, especially off the court,” Carver said. “I love every one of these guys, and I definitely wouldn’t trade anything for them,” Carver said.

nRyan McCarthy

It was raucous all Saturday night inside the gymnasium, but it was silent after a jump shot sealed the Cougars fate.

silence stunned into

nHolding his head, junior AJ Spencer reacts in agony to losing the substate game against Leavenworth 54-52. nSenior Steve Carver goes up for a dunk during the second half of the last game of the season. This was his final high school basketball game.

Photos by Hannah Williams

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Dec. 4 vs SM North 75-48 (W)Dec. 5 at Washington 62-59 (L)Dec. 11 at SM South 38-35 (W)Dec. 18 vs Lawrence 46-42 (W)Dec. 19 vs Rockhurst 52-50 (L)Jan. 5 at SM East 62-44 (W)

Jan. 12 vs. Free State 61-49 (W)Jan. 15 vs. SM South 57-55 (W)Saints Classic- at STA Jan. 21 vs. Northeast 58-40 (W) Jan. 22 vs. STA 58-39 (W) Jan. 23 vs. Bishop Miege 58-54 (L)Feb. 2 vs. SM West 41-37 (L)

Feb. 5 at Olathe East 69-62 (L) (2OT)Feb. 6 at SM West 60-33 (W)Feb. 9 vs. Olathe North 76-45 (W)Feb. 12 vs. SM East 45-43 (L)Feb. 16 at Olathe NW 57-45 (W)Feb. 19 vs. Leavenworth 59-42 (W)

Feb. 23 at Olathe South 44-43 (W)Feb. 26 at SM North 54-46 (W)Sub-state Tournament at SMNWMarch 4 vs. Lawrence 63-53 (W)March 6 vs. Leavenworth 54-52 (L)

season results

With 1.7 seconds left in the substate game, the basketball team huddles around coach Mike Rose as he tries to come up with a plan to score the two points needed to tie the game. The Cougars missed the final shot and lost 52-54.

sports\21

Girls’ Soccer: Thurs. April 1, at Shawnee Heights 7 p.m. Mon. April 5, vs. Topeka West at SMAC, 7 p.m.Tues. April 6 vs. Olathe Northwest, at SMAC, 7 p.m. Thu. April 8, at Leavenworth, 6 p.m.

Girls’ Swimming and Diving:Wed. March 24, SM North Spring Meet, 4 p.m. Fri. March 26, vs SM East at SMNW, 4 p.m. Wed. April 7 vs Olathe South at SMNW, 4 p.m.

Baseball:Wed. March 26, vs. SM North, at 3 & 2, 4:30 p.m.Tues. March 30, at SM East, at 3&2, 5 p.m.Thurs. April 1, vs. Lawrence, at 3&2, 4:30 p.m.

Softball:Thurs. March 25, vs. SM West at SMSD Softball Complex, 4:15 p.m. Thurs. March 25, vs. SM West at SMSD Softball Complex, 6:15 p.m. Tues. March 30, at Olathe East, at CBAC, 5 p.m.

Track and Field:Thurs. March 25, SM North All Corner’s Meet, 3 p.m. Sat. April 3, SM South Relays, 9 a.m. Fri. April 9 Blue Valley Relays, 3 p.m.

Boys’ Tennis:Wed. March 24, at SM East, 3:30 p.m.Tues. March 30 vs. BV Northwest, 3:30 p.m. Thurs. April 1, at Olathe South, 3:30 p.m. Boys’ Golf:Mon. March 29, at Lionsgate, 3 p.m. Mon. April 12, SMNW Invitational 3 p.m. at Lake Quivira

USA Today Basketball Poll 1. Kansas (30) 29-2 2. Kentucky 29-2 3. Syracuse (1) 28-3 4. Duke 26-5 5. Purdue 26-4 6. West Virginia 24-6 7. Ohio State 24-7 8. New Mexico 28-3 9. Kansas State 24-6 10. Villanova 24-6

by the numbers

The march to madnessThree local teams, Kansas, Kansas State, and Missouri, each have a chance of advancing in the upcoming NCAA basketball tournament.

BrADy KleiN

upcoming games

the margin of defeat for the girls’

basketball team against the top

seeded SM East. The Cougars led by six

after the first quarter.

place for senior Loryn Goebel at the

6A State Bowling Tournament last

week. This was the best placing in NW

bowling history.

0 11 8th 7Projected Big 12 Men’s Basketball

teams in next week’s NCAA Tournament.

Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, Missouri,

Texas, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma State.

sports\23

losses by the Nebraska Women’s

basketball team this season. The

Cornhuskers and the UConn

Huskies are the only undefeated teams.

The opening round of the NCAA Tournament is scheduled to start on Tuesday. And three of the most popular local teams will desperately try to win it all. For Kansas sports fans, this will be one exciting tournament; both Kan-sas and Kansas State have the fire power to make it to the Final Four. The Missouri Tigers also are pre-dicted as a tournament team.

Kansas State heads into the tournament after a disappointing senior night loss at home against Iowa State, but was it a fluke or a meltdown? This definitely worries me about the Wildcats because there is no excuse for a loss against a team as disappointing as Iowa State.

To do well they simply need to play a lot smarter ball. Forwards Ja-mar Samuels and Curtis Kelly seem to always lose their temper and get into foul trouble much earlier than they should. Composure for these two big men is the first thing that they need to work on. If they can stay in the game down low, and not cause any problems while going to the foul line, things could be much improved for the Wildcats.

K-State also needs guard Denis Clemente to be on top of his game. Clemente has to be the most in-consistent player I have seen in a long time. If he plays anything like he did against Texas, where he only scored five points in 33 minutes, then it will force Jacob Pullen to do double the scoring. On the other hand, if he delivers a performance similar to the first game against Iowa State, in which he scored 30 points and was six for six from three-point land, things

could be alright for them. With a great coach and good

team players Kansas State could get that number two seed and be the team to beat in the tourney.

Missouri’s chance of making it far in the tournament is highly un-likely. I have seen the Tigers play strong defense, but unfortunately, they are consistently bad on of-fense. Their shooters will definitely need to get hot from outside. Guards Kim English and JT Tiller need to be lights out from the floor, and Zaire Taylor's defense must dominate for the Tigers to keep the score close. If it is kept close the entire way, Mizzou will have a great shot at winning. But if they get behind early on, like they have against Kansas, then the Tigers will strug-gle from their lack of resiliency. In all likelihood, they probably won’t go very far in tournament play be-cause they don't have a key player to lead them. If they make it to the Sweet 16, I'll be surprised.

Now on to the Jayhawks — the team that has been expected to dominate college basketball since the season began. Lately, they have been doing just that. Kansas has been nearly invincible the last two games after a tough loss against Oklahoma State. The Jayhawks have played excellent ball and have finally proved to be a true team, not just a bunch of superstars playing for themselves. The credit should go to coach Bill Self, who had the difficult task of getting all these players to work as a team, es-

pecially on defense. Another thing that should

also really help Kansas is Xavier Henry’s play. In the last four out of five games he has scored at least 17 points. Henry has also started to become more of a team player. If Henry can be that third musketeer to join Cole and Sherron the team could be sitting pretty on their way

to the Final Four.The only thing that

I think the Jayhawks need to improve on is free throws, which have plagued top teams for years. The most memorable free throw drought oc-curred when Kan-sas beat Memphis in

the 2008 championship game. If Memphis could have made just one more free throw in regulation then they would have been the Na-tional Champions. Right now KU is ranked 146 in free throws, and in a game against Colorado they shot 48 percent from the line. This could really hurt them in the tour-nament.

My prediction for the Jayhawks is that they lose in an unpredict-able Final Four to a good team that was not expected to make it to the final game. As for K-State, I can't see them getting past the Sweet 16, and Mizzou’s play as of late has made me think that they may not even advance past the first round.

If you can’t wait for the tourna-ment to start, check out the new NCAA video vault (vault.ncaa.com) to watch every classic game from the past 10 years of tourna-ment competition.

IN

“Both my sister and my dad have trouble giving blood; I have a family history of fainting during things like this. Last year I fainted in the anatomy lab, but I’m managing now. I’m not nervous. I think I’m breaking a family curse.” —senior Christian Buller

focus