The Falcon Flyer

As the medal was placed around my neck and I shook hands with Al Neuharth, founder of USA Today, I thought back on the crazy week I just experienced an a participant in the Al Neuharth Free Spirit Scholarship and Journalism Conference.

An anxious car ride to the airport. The impatient wait for the plane to board. A long 4-hour plane ride. Finally, at 4 pm I landed in our nation’s capital completely unaware of just how incredible the next week would be.

After a quick orientation and dinner at the Hard Rock Café, 51 of the country’s best high school journalist boarded a bus headed to a place that would become very familiar in the week to come, the Newseum. The Newseum is a museum founded by Al Neuharth that is dedicated to free press and the media. Although the Newseum usually closes at 5 pm, an exception was made for the Free Spirits. We told our favorite parts of the First Amendment, played a trivia game, and gazed at the spectacular view from the observation deck. At 11 pm, we sleepily went back to our hotel.

The next five days were full of speakers I would never in a million years have thought I would be sitting in front of. We got a piece of interesting piece of advice from NBC’s David Gregory; do not major in journalism. We sat in the chambers of the House of Representatives and the Senate. We roamed the pressrooms in the Capitol building. We meet three of the original Freedom Riders and heard their amazing stores. We crossed the city taking in the breathtaking monuments as the sun fell below the horizon.

Another big part of my week in D.C was learning about the first Amendment. Did you know that more Americans can name the members of the Simpsons family than can name the five rights guaranteed by the First Amendment? Throughout the week we focused on the rights and how they are being used across the country, especially in high schools. The First Amendment is printed on the front of the Newseum. All 51 Free Spirits and our adult mentors stood on the street and informed the citizens of their rights. There was only one plausible way to do this; yelling it as loud as we could.

From the speakers I listened to, the places I saw, and the simply amazing other participants I got the joy of meeting, my entire week in D.C was the best experience I have ever had. Throughout the week we were told that we would become a family. I am proud to call every single person I met that week my family.

Yoga pants are quite obviously as popular with guys as they are with the ladies. While this new fashion is backed in full by public support (the student body,) is there a line that should be drawn when it comes down to what’s appropriate?

Most say that they are content with the way things are now.

Over the past few years, there has been a dramatic increase in the percentage of girls who wear yoga pants, as well as the frequency. Jeans and dresses are now the minority when it comes to the typical girls’ first choice getting ready in the morning. This style choice has become an epidemic.

“I only wear leggings, yoga pants should not be worn on a daily basis,” says senior, Ashlann Wood.

Melissa Alberts said, “Yes [they are appropriate for school,] as long as they’re not see-through.”

This is one issue that I do see with the wearing of the forming pant, there are a select few that wear them every day. Once in a while is well-appreciated, but making it an exceedingly common piece of apparel can get old.

Discretion. This is the one bit of advice someone should receive when debating on whether or not they should consider yoga pants. Different styles fit certain people. If someone likes their appearance in yoga pants, then they should be able to wear them.

The popularity of this attire is evident, but are they appropriate for a school setting? According to a recently conducted Facebook survey, 52 people were in favor of their appearance in our public schooling system, whereas only 3 were opposed.

These numbers say it all, and in today’s culture we should not be limited to what we wear. Yoga pants are not and should not be considered risqué by any means. It is a popular trend with girls (and boys) and ultimately is a choice.

The goal of the Environmental Protection Club (EPC) is to help students commit to making our school a green environment. Created four years ago, the EPC has been dedicated to helping the environment within the school as well as the community.

Senior Olivia Sobczyk has taken charge of the EPC ever since her brother had created it during his junior year.

“He had a worthy mission statement,” said biology teacher and club advisory Jennifer Finley. “[When we] first started, it was a good way for students to be involved in something in their school and community and [something to] be passionate about.”

Since then, the club has been recognized by King County and adopted by Auburn-Black Diamond road and club members to pick up litter twice every year. The EPC has also joined a program through King County to transform Kentlake into an official green school.

“We’re a couple months into it,” said Sobczyk. “We’re working on basic recycling.”

The meeting on Dec. 1 went well for the club because of the progress they are making. One of the requirements for the school to be officially recognized as green, is to have more than one advisor involved. The club leaders e-mailed multiple staff members, and received numerous teachers’ responses with promises to help.

“We plan to split up tasks so we’re done by the end of the year,” said senior Laura Rayfield. “It’s our biggest goal.”

Since the club is rather small, the members feel they definitely need more people. The club consists of ten people altogether, each member being a senior.

“We [will] need either a sophomore or a junior to take over,” said Finley. With more time and more people, the club would be able to accomplish more tasks, quicker.
“[We want] to put our ideas into first semester of 2012 next year,” said Rayfield. One of the ideas from the meeting was to substitute the Styrofoam trays at lunch to plastic, re-usable trays.

“Everything that’s made creates pollution. When you just throw something away that you could have recycled, [it] leads to a larger ecological footprint,” said Rayfield.

The club plans to hold multiple fundraisers like selling bags of earth-friendly falcon gear, as well as recycling old cell phones. The money raised would benefit the club and go towards possibly buying required green equipment for the school. Join today, save the environment, and help Kentlake gain green recognition.

True religion, MEK, Joes, Rock and Revival, Big Star; today, everything is designer; starting with your jeans pockets. Kentlake’s halls are filled with girls and boys sporting their social “class” or style by the logo on their rear ends.

How did women go from morning dresses to yoga pants? They have gone from afternoon tea dresses to a revealing romper. When did “an evening gown turn into a pair of 200 dollar bedazzled designer jeans?

Throughout time, style has changed drastically. Woman went from polka dot dresses with a ribbon in their hair, to MC hammer pants. Now the new trend is popular designer jeans. Designer jeans are so prevalent today.

“They look nice and stand out. They show you have class,” said Senior Kevin Rodriguez.

According to the Big Star official website, one pair of boot legged classic jeans costs one hundred and thirty six dollars and on the Rock and Revival website, a pair of flared jeans cost two hundred and three dollars.

According to the true religion website, one pair of flared jean sells for two hundred and twenty four dollars. The website claims to have “redefined premium denim.”
The founder, Jeffrey LaBelle had a vision for a timeless looking jean, and according to their success, he has achieved his goal. People have responded well to his idea, and the prices.

Senior Ryan Archibald said he personally thinks the jeans are worth the money.

“They’re the most comfortable jeans I’ve ever had,” said Archibald. Many agreed with him.

“They tend to fit me perfectly,” said Senior Paige England.

Although they have a nice fit and are comfortable, several are saying that you can find a pair of comfortable, well-fitting jeans at any other retail store, for less than half the price.

“Spending hundreds of dollars on a pair of jeans is kind of ridiculous; I have better things to spend my money on,” said senior Sam Cooper.

It seems like people today are putting more effort than ever before into their image, and many are willing to pay the price, even if it means dishing out big bucks for the signature pockets of comfort and premium denim.

The next trend could make designer jeans the old fad as “styles come and go,” said Cooper. Time has proven his statement to be true. Students at Kentlake as well as celebrities and the media have paved the way for the future of designer jeans.

The future looks bright, and expensive. Jeffrey LaBelle recently opened new True Religion stores in Europe Asia and Canada. This epidemic has left the country, becoming more popular around the world. Styles do come and go, but from the looks of it, designer jeans will be staying for a while.

Everyone knows that the day after Thanksgiving, famously known as Black Friday, is one of the busiest and possibly craziest shopping days of the Christmas season. Many people procrastinate and wait until Black Friday to begin their Christmas shopping.

But, what’s the big deal about the day after Christmas? Do you remember all those shelves retailers worked so hard to keep stocked with everything and anything all the way up to Christmas? Those shelves are still stocked, but now they are stocked with irrelevant Christmas items because the holiday is now over.

They have all the items they hoped you would buy prior to Dec. 25 to give as gifts, to wear, to eat; Christmas decorations for your tree, your house, your yard; and wrapping paper, bows, ribbons, and cards still sit on their shelves.

Surviving the day after Christmas is about getting out of these stores after getting what you want and scooping up the holiday items at deeply discounted prices, doing it quickly and efficiently to save money, time and sanity.

How do you do it? Think back to when you were shopping for Christmas items. You know what stores have what items. You know what you wanted to buy but did not because of the cost or practicality. Now Christmas is over, so make a list of those items you passed up and where you saw them, flip through the current ads and compare prices and not what time each store plans to open, plan a store location route based on what time each store opens and then go shopping.

The respect shown at the Veterans Day Assembly by the student body was heinous and revolting. Although it was over a month ago, those actions are still embarrassing.

As citizens of the United States of America, it is necessary to respect those who have served for and protected the United States of America regardless of one’s stance on war or the military. Over 2.5 million soldiers have given the ultimate sacrifice to defend the freedoms of the United States of America. Observing the one day a year dedicated solely to honoring those people is the least one can do for them.

To not care is one thing, but to disrupt and interrupt a Vietnam War veteran is distasteful. Abraham Lincoln, amongst others, once said, “[It is] better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” The students who caused disruptions at the assembly ought to be ashamed.

The behavior at the Winter Recognition Assembly parallels the Veterans Day Assembly in that students were rambunctious. However, one was a “pep assembly” and the other was to be taken seriously. Therefore, the students’ behavior should be polar opposites. But the blame cannot be placed entirely on the students.

The Falcon Flyer asks why the Veterans Day Assembly was seated by year instead of by advisory teachers. The administration made the call and, ultimately, decided the fate of the assembly. And while students were unruly, not enough action was taken to bring the behavior to an appropriate level.

Those who could not be respectful for 30 minutes are selfish. They were probably too busy texting on their phones and arguing about Call of Duty to listen to an impactful speech delivered by a Vietnam War veteran. In fact, they will probably not even read this because, “why read something I don’t care about?”

All things considered, the assembly was a disaster. Reactions, especially on Facebook, were ablaze with disappointment and displeasure; mature students would like to forget that day. But it is not that simple.

Despite the respectful students, the entire school appeared insensitive. No apology can undo the behavior and nothing can right the actions. Future assemblies must be better. If this behavior continues, nobody will be proud to be a Falcon.

Pro I-1183

by Caleb Mathena

Simply put, Initiative-1183 essentially privatizes the sale of liquor in Washington State (or allows stores that are not state owned to sell liquor,) doubles the fine on selling liquor to minors, and increases the regulations required for businesses to even sell spirits. Both sides of this issue will argue about the “facts” on I-1183, but in reality, both only have theories as to what they believe may happen if this legislation is passed.

The “no” sides stance is primarily based on the common good of the community. They believe that I-1183 will present more opportunities for minors to obtain alcohol and thus, increase the teenage death rate. They also state that this initiative is just another excuse for big businesses to take the people’s money using the 27% tax that comes with buying liquor.

These reasons are unwarranted and misinformed, however, the statements that are made could sway uninformed people.

I-1183 comes with strict specifications that a business has to meet before even being considered to become a legal vendor of liquor. The store has to occupy a certain amount of space and is required to be enclosed. The vendor must also have a clean record as far as not having a history of selling liquor to minors. This means that gas station convenience stores will not be allowed to sell hard alcohol because of the small space they take up.

Furthermore, I-1183 will eliminate government involvement in our businesses and remove the monopoly it has on liquor sales. Revenues from these sales will increase and more money will be circulated through our community. All in all, this initiative is against large government and promotes the small businesses and the people of Washington.

Con I-1183

by Jason Hirschey

Dough, moolah, coin, greenbacks, cash. Whatever you call it, money steers government. It is a sad truth and it is definitely not what the Founding Fathers wanted. They probably never considered that Costco would donate $22.7 million to pass Initiative-1183.

I-1183 won, a huge blow to American freedom. Many extend the thanks to Costco for leading the charge. And the truth is, Costco did contribute more than it should have.

Costco is the role model for other big corporations looking to buy an election. More than anything, I-1183 should have been snubbed to stick it to megacorporations.
Costco bought the votes and I-1183 passed. Not only is liquor become more readily available, underage drinking increases, and megacorporations (i.e. Costco, Walmart, Safeway) monopolize the liquor industry, but elections are auctions. And which megacorporation is next? Big oil? Tobacco? Disney? China?

If Costco is truly concerned about the wellbeing of the state, why not donate some money to the state’s crazy debt? The WSDOT, parks department, public health, and education could use some money. Instead, services are being guillotined, but Costco would rather drink itself into oblivion.

Washingtonians cannot be fooled by Costco’s tricky antics. They must stand to preserve good ol’ fashioned American freedom and fight the megacorporations.
The Occupy movements are not resisting capitalism as much as they are resisting megacorporations. Nobody has a problem with mom-and-pop shops, rather the bad apples are the Costcos, Walmarts, and McDonalds of the world. They suffocate small businesses and force legislation to suit them. Sound familiar?

Costco has no right to buy an election. If it was a good idea, there would not be a need for huge, record-breaking donations; it would simply pass by the voters’ wish. I-1183 is the gateway drug to a world run by megacorporations, a world run by Donald Trumps, Bernie Madoffs, and Mark Zuckerbergs.

Eighteen is a major turning point for teenagers. Students are considered legal adults and are allowed to make their own decisions. Not only can students sign themselves out of school and get a tattoo, they also become a part of the vote.

Senior, Ryne Shelton recently celebrated his eighteenth birthday and sees the transition from a front row perspective.

“I now hold my own life in my hands, and voting gives me the chance to elect someone who can help me and my community. I’m trusted to make my own adult decisions and I’m in charge of my future,” said Shelton.

For many of us, that’s a scary thought, to others us an opportunity to make a difference. Many eighteen year old seniors are making the choice not to vote this year. There are a lot of factors to weigh in, because one vote does have the power to make a difference. The brave ones who are taking the election seriously have many things to look at.

Ryne Shelton said that he is looking for the right person to run the country.

“I am looking for a person who has ambition and the ability to adapt to problems that our nation could face. I don’t want someone who is going to be dumbstruck when his plan fails.”

Although it is a scary thought, it is an exciting thing to consider that we now have the power to make a significant difference. We have a voice in the country we live in.
Senior Caitlin Swienty said, “Many issues are at hand here that need to be addressed: The legalization of marijuana, abortion, alcohol being sold, gay and lesbian rights and many more. I now have the power to say my opinion on each one.”

Even though many of us feel that we have issues we want to address and a difference to make, turning eighteen does not change you over night.

“I think many of us are still too immature to make such a big decision in something that affects so many people,” said Shelton.

Choosing the person who is going to run our nation is a serious decision, and the one vote you make will add up to the millions of votes that declare who our president will be. Being eighteen does not automatically make you educated enough to choose who will run our country.

Pam Cosby in the Athletics office has worked in the building for a while now. Even so, Cosby enjoys working with the kids. “I really enjoy exposure with kids, interacting with [them].” Cosby looks after a number of tasks around the school, including helping students.

Cosby tracks all athletic payments as well as assisting the cashier when she is away. She processes all athletic paperwork, including registration, grade checks, and field trips. Cosby also follows up with running-start athletes as well as home-schooled students participating in sports. Apart from that, she also schedules all building usage, even for outside groups.

As of now, football is her favorite sport, even though she likes all of them. Cosby participates in the pay booths at French Field for not only falcon football games, but for all of the Kent high school games every week.

At home, Cosby likes to read and scrapbook. She loves to spend time with her two kids, both attending college at Central Washington University and the University of Washington. Since both of her kids have graduated from Kentwood, Cosby is now a full-time falcon fan. There is no doubt that Cosby loves working with the students. She even describes Falcons as a,“Great group of kids.”

Interact Club members Alex Posielski, Mitchell Hillyard, Austin Tinnel, Becca Simon, Maddy McKeague, and Eugene Zhelezniak | photo by Michael Raybuck

The year-long speaker series by UW professionals is just the beginning of what the Interact Club plans accomplish. Russ Ballard, the club’s advisor, says they hope to do at least three projects this year, with one reaching out to the local community and one reaching out to the international community.

Interact Club is a club organization sponsored by the Rotary. The Rotary websites said, “Interact is Rotary International’s service club for young people ages 12 to 18. Interact clubs are sponsored by individual Rotary clubs, which provide support and guidance, but they are self-governing and self-supporting” (www.rotary.org).

Interact Club began when Rotary members approached Dr. Joe Potts about starting one here. From there, Potts went to Ballard, one of the school’s chemistry teachers. Ballard said, “Doctor Potts approached me, and I decided it was the type of thing I wanted to do.”

According to Ballard, the club currently has 20 to 25 members, with senior Mitchell Hillyard heading as President, and senior Alex Posielski as Vice President. Other officers of the club are junior Maddy McKeague as secretary and senior Eugune Zhelezniak as treasurer.

Ballard is trying some new and innovative ways for club members to interact in their goal of community service. “I’ve started an electronic site for our members to discuss ideas over a forum,” said Ballard. The club will still meet regularly, in Ballard’s room on Thursdays from 2:20-2:50 p.m., with Rotary members also being involved in the meetings.

While they have not started work on any of the three projects they plan on doing, they are involved in the UW speaker series that has been advertised all around the school. According to Ballard, the speaker series has been in planning for longer than Interact Club, but once the club had started the two combined.
The next speaker will be Lupe Salazaar speaking about oncology and careers in science on Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. Interact Club plans to have a speaker the third Tuesday of every month until May.