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1104 north providence 65203 volume 90 issue 2 december 2009 think you re hot stuff guess again and actually find out pg 10 skinny wallet pg 16 get advice on applying and being interviewed for a job singing into the cold cold night pg 7 get advice on applying and being interviewed for a job

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graphics.com seasons greetings kewpies kringle enterprises by maya handmade clay ornaments and decorations want to be heard the p&g wants to hear your opinions leave a note outside the door to room 254 a place where dreams come true.

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publishing the purple and gold newsmagazine is a production by the newspaper class of david h hickman high school 1104 n providence rd columbia mo 65203 all material published except advertising or otherwise indicated is copyrite the purple and gold any letter to the editor may be sent to room 254 and should include your name signature and phone number editorials columns and letters reflect the opinion of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by the purple and gold 10 of being cute benefits what really makes you attractive and how it affects the way you are treated by gaby lopez contents 4 news 8 opinion 9 features 14 sports staff editor in chief reporters tierney o brien haydn campmier jaime hibbard gaby lopez jake schimpf maya terrell aubrey winn chelsea wells 4 chance to be santa health sciences club collects gifts and donates to needy families by joseph williams ashley smith ashley armstrong mary cason and samantha chhoeung online and print design editor skye ramseyer photographer advertising dana murdock jaime hibbard gaby lopez aubrey winn kim acopolis 12 how to get a job effective tips for interviews and applying for jobs by jaime hibbard adviser on our cover choir prepares for their holiday performance 16 varsity sports v p.e should varsity athletes be getting physical education credit by gaby lopez

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news headlines upcoming events must reads clubs adopt holiday families chhoeung by joseph williams ashley smith ashley armstrong mary cason and samantha we ask for families with children because we like to buy toys one year we bought three bikes the voluntary action committee is preparing for their annual adopt a family where underprivileged families are provided christmas gifts this is their 25th anniversary of the program the vac has been finding families who deserve this program and as well as families who are willing to provide them with the proper holiday cheer most of our sponsors actually aren t families but businesses or civic programs the director of the program marissa todd said once a sponsor is chosen they are asked to provide food for a christmas dinner at least one gift for each person ages 18 or younger as well as those who are elderly or disabled each year the vac chooses 1,200 families and they have seen a 17 percent increase in the number of families that have applied to help families we ask for families with children because we like to buy toys one year we bought three bikes health sciences club leader janis haffey said health sciences has been around for about 25 years and we ve been doing the adopt a family program for about 10 or 15 years families still need sponsors and vac is still accepting applicants to provide for these families we haven t started matching families yet and we are still in the process of accumulating sponsors todd said headlines get involved organizations wishing to get involved should contact the health sciences club w2w4 living windows festival dec 4 upcoming events what to watch for in december ered in chocolate we came across a surprising number of recipes suggesting chocofinals are over and you have late covered bacon which frankly just sounds revolttwo weeks to eat christing so if you re daring mas cookies and relax we definitely won t be doing any make some bacon and dip it in chocolate and bring us of that chemistry homework some if it s good for the assigned for the long break not-so-adventurous try bamu men s basketball vs nanas oreos pineapple or the ever-popular strawberoral roberts dec 9 take ries covered in chocolate a break from studying and dig out the black and gold gear in your closet cheer on the ti the imaginarium of gers as they take on the oru doctor parnassus dec 25 eagles at 7:00 p.m we re sure that the basketball team after you spend the mornwill do well considering they ing opening your pile of can t do much worse than the presents go to the movies and spend the afternoon football team did this year following the lives of a national chocolate cov theater troupe whose leader has made a deal with the ered anything day dec devil this movie has not 16 when googling various been met with the best of foods that should be covreviews rotten tomatoes by aubrey winn haul out your winter coat and your mittens and head to the district for the annual living windows festival downtown stores go all out to capture your attention through live mannequins and portraying scenes in their front windows window shop take a carriage ride or listen to the carolers as columbia gets ready for the holiday season last day of school for 1st semester dec 18 giving it only 5.8 out of 10 stars but it should prove to be interesting if only because it features the late heath ledger battle at the blue note xii dec 4 if you have $20 to spare and no plans for your friday night we suggest you go to this night of mixed martial arts cage fighting it s going to be full of blood sweat and clinch holds so the weak hearted should most likely spend the night at home 4 purple and gold december 2009

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must read weighted grades not policy a reality parent complaint starts rumors of changes in by zoee sommer john brooks ashton rhine kirstin alverson and andrea trieweiler despite a recent jammin with jeffers session and a parent complaint it does not appear after discussing the issue with administrators that columbia public schools will implement a system of weighted grades any time in the near future students really have not rallied around this issue like they did three years ago principal michael jeffers said weighted grades in which honors and ap classes use different grading scales are a somewhat controversial topic for high schools rumors of a possible shift reached the ears of the staff especially after hearing that the district superintendent was looking at making a transition dr chris belcher clarified that his inquiry stemmed from a single parent complaint over class rank the rock bridge parent complained that their student s class rank did not accurately reflect their gpa as a result the district superintendent asked the guidance counselors throughout the columbia district to submit recommendations regarding weighted grades and/or possibly modifying class rank systems for honors and ap classes however that is as far as the district has gone jeffers stated that we are in a discussion stage right now but also said that if there is sound reason to change we will seriously consider it however jeffers also stated that the discussion has not yet evolved to an action stage both principal jeffers and district superintendent dr belcher have worked at schools with weighted grades and without both dr belcher and jeffers said that their personal beliefs regarding weighted grades would be against changing the current system weighted grades are not really in the best interests of students jeffers said jeffers believes that colleges place less of an emphasis on grades as criteria and students will not take classes that will not help their class rank if they are not weighed i see no reason to change from the current system dr belcher said he believes that colleges place less of an emphasis on grades as criteria and students will not take classes that will not help their class rank if they are not weighed i see no reason to change to weighed grades should only be made if a recommendations by guidance counselors and parent complaints mer it but personally is against it however dr belcher also recognized the fact that he is new to the district and still learning about columbia and said that he will try to do what is in the best interests of the students purple and gold 5

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news headlines upcoming events headlines students compete in extreme cross country race a group of wildly costumed runners raced through a cross country course at the midway expo center on saturday november 14 at 9 as part of the annual xcx cross country race the race is a strange combination of cross country and costume party with contestants dressed as spartan penguins and other oddities racing through the woods the race s winners are decided on both costume and finishing place the participants really brought their a-game this time around race director must reads the particpants really brought their a game this time around by caleb marsden jennifer walker anthony oetting and wade schoengarth michael denehy said the attendance for the race was a little over 200 runners and a dozen volunteers according to denehy the majority of the crowd was high school to college age with a wide age range from 7 to75 the course was designed to challend all ages and abilities denehy said as the race director i am just creating a scene for participants to act out denehy had just moved to columbia from iowa when he and a high school buddy decided to recreate a traditional living history farms race the largest cross country race in the country which originated in urbandale iowa there were even some hhs students who participated this year like junior jaye wilcox who had run the race twice before it s a really fun way to exercise without even realizing that you re getting tired wilcox said after running the four miles through the obstacle course chased by volunteer monsters ghouls and chainsaw killers participants cooled down at the post-race party where there was a concert a distribution of free xcx tee-shirts and prizes handed out awards for the best costumes free h1n1 vaccines hickman will have a free h1n1 vaccination clinic on january 11 2010 in the auditorium the auditorium setup will be quick and efficient according to nurse linda evans students will be able to enter and line up on one side of the auditorium walk across the stage to one of the ten estimated nurses stations to receive their vaccine after they will continue to file to the opposite side of the gym get a pass back to class and be on their way parental consent forms will be handed out to all students get `em here by gaby lopez stopped to save the patient cost and time after there had been diagnosed cases in columbia before the clinic date if the student or parent does not fill out the consent for the student will not be able to receive the vaccination when asked about the due date for consent forms nurse secretary lisa chalupny said forms would be due about a week before the clinic hickman expects to vaccinate between 40 and 50 percent of all students based on the patterns of the elementary clinics even if a student has already been diagnosed with h1n1 there are not negative effects to getting the vaccination especially since formal testing was 6 purple and gold december 2009

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laughing all the way choir sings at their winter concert choir and band students will perform at their traditional winter concert in the auditorium on december 8 at 7:30 p.m the choir and band students will be playing in two different concerts symphonic and concert bands plus the men s chorus bel canto women s chorale and les chanteurs will perform december 8 while a capella wind ensemble and orchestra will play on december 10 the wind ensemble has a really good crowd there are usually around 300 people who come assistant band director denis swope said the choirs have been practicing their songs since october 19 and they hope to advertise the upcoming performance on facebook through their friends in attempt to get airplay it would be nice if we could get it on the radio sophomore jasmine wang said many of the performing students hope that friends and family will come to see them perform the pieces they ve been practicing for weeks that s why a lot of kids are in band we love to perform sophomore tyler decker said all the directors are looking forward to see the final outcome of their students practice it s great to see the product of their efforts band director rob nichols said the concert will be free and includes songs with holiday spirit such as dance of the sugar plum fairy laughing all the way nutcracker suite and the dark softly calling to honor tradition the choir insisted they keep the song sleigh ride to sing at the end choir director matt felts said by lauren sapp alexia barnes mariah miranda ashley smith hayli meredith samanthan chhoeung mary purple and gold 7

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her opinion our opinion miracle whip the substitute mayonaise for hipsters jamsters and prep school yuppies maya terrell is addicted to infomercials television commercials and nick junior she owns the shamwow the magic bullet a snuggie and power cleans with the shark steam cleaner they advertisement agency market miracle whip as this trendy new college hipster sauce but really they couldn t be more wrong i m sure you re wondering why does she hate this commercial so much it s not that serious well friends i hate it because it lies to the public miracle whip is as fancy as the most expensive escargot and twice as expensive when i was seven i went to a private school we did everything together and nothing ever went out of order we weren t just a uniformed school we were a uniformed people that is until that fateful afternoon it was sandwich day and we all brought our perfectly wrapped wonders constructed for our consumption there we sat in neat little rows of twelve prepared to devour our lunch the smell of sweet mayonnaise substitute filled the room as we all picked up our crust less sandwiches taking care to not stain our monogrammed silk handkerchiefs of course we all had the same thing for lunch it was a private school the sandwitches were all prepared by the our personal chefs i remember the one poor kid at lunch going to school on a grant being ridiculed because his sandwich had store brand mayonnaise instead of the god sent paste of miracle whip so friends remember this next time you call someone `hickish and `traashy for eating miracle whip on white bread think about how expensive it is after all it is stocked by the caviare and champagne miracle whip goes with private school like white on rice column 8 purple and gold december 2009

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our opinion cps feels the squeeze budget cuts job loss foreclosure everywhere you turn lately you re assaulted with the negative forecasts about the economy it s seemingly inescapable while most people only think in terms of what this gloomy recession means to their families and businesses columbia is looking at what it means to their school system recent reports claim that the columbia district could lose 15 of their state funding money this year which is equivalent to roughly 7 million dollars district officials and teachers are now looking at what that means in terms of jobs and programs for us at hickman it will be loss of staff principal mike jeffers said rumors have been flying district wide the most popular falsity is the idea of teachers working on a six hour teaching schedule which doesn t sound all that bad what s one more hour anyway in actuality the impact could be phenomenal according to jeffers the teacher-student ratio for hickman is between 120-140 students per teacher if teachers take on another instructional hour they will be adding at least 20 more stu looming budget cuts concern district officials by chelsea wells dents under their direction it seems harmless if they can handle 140 students what difference does 20 more make imagine an english teacher assigning a five page essay and having to grade 140 papers that are 5 pages each that s already 700 pages total to read and grade now add a sixth teaching hour at least 20 more students that s 100 more pages to read and grade not only would a sixth hour significantly increase the teacher workload it also takes away an immeasurable resource to students one on one help with the teachers resources like the kmac and the starr most likely would cease to exist while this would be an adjustment for teachers their main concern remains with the students there will be very real consequences for kid s educations and that s more important than any anger or resentment a teacher may have history teacher mark janda said extra and co-curriculars like sports fine arts and journalism have made it to the clearing of the financial forest and stand to survive cuts this time around these activities always seem to be the first things people want to cut most likely because the word extra is right in the title however cutting these programs really will not have much of an impact to the budget at least not one great enough to justify axing them if they cut clubs anymore we wouldn t have any jeffers said dr chris belcher the superintendent of schools made it clear that this budget cut had to deal with state funding not local property tax the state s not honoring what they promised us belcher said around 65 of the budget will be pooled from local funding and property taxes to be fair the district is not trying to appear as if they are the only one s experiencing financial problems we have been very conscious we are not alone we can be regretful but we shouldn t whine belcher said while all the number crunching can be overwhelming and leave a person questioning if all these expenses are necessary it s imperative that people remember what it s all for the future to provide a good education for kids is very expensive however to not do it is more expensive in the long run janda said students here s your call to action write letters to our congressmen make an impact it s easy to convince yourself that no one will care what you have to say however it s our opportunity to give input on what directly affects us as students and the teachers who have helped us get here today students need to be heard too often they are underestimated if you think things are unfair you have the right to change them jeffers said purple and gold 9

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a world not apply in high school by gaby lopez society adopted a beauty is good stereotype long ago what if in high school we weren t always in stride with society what if like in so many other instances things were flipped the beauty is good stereotype could be what divides us into our groups cliques pairs and cults as well as determined our interaction within society i think beauty standards are true for everything but high school high school is a world of its own in high school people think the pretty people are stuck up and annoying senior jessie ross said stereotypes are as much a part of nature as they are nurture at the university of texas at austin judith langlois ph.d a social development researcher found that 12 month olds spent a longer time looking at strangers with attractive faces versus strangers with unattractive faces the infants also preferred to play with the attractive strangers versus the unattractive ones prettier people feel friendlier so people want to be friendly back to them you don t want to go up to someone that s a slob and doesn t look nice because that s just awkward ross said separation of others continues on after they ve graduated from strangers to acquaintances to friends langlois continued her study of beauty of human interactions with children between the ages of 3 and 7 in the experiment the children were presented with two pictures corresponding to a story one picture being attractive the other not the children were told a story and asked to attribute characteristics to one of the pictures the children overwhelmingly chose to attribute positive characteristics to the attractive photo and negative characteristics to the unattractive photo the children used the same strategies to assign characteristics to their friends and classmates you hang out with people that are like you and similar to you so you don t have to stand out in the crowd ross said within a school setting it could not only affect our classmates but also our teachers most people that dress less presentably don t have as high of self esteem so they don t participate in class more presentable people participate in class because they aren t afraid about being persecuted and teachers like their students that participate in class ross said comparatively presentable people find obvious benefits in life sharron lennon consumer sciences professor at ohio state university ran a study basing 90 women on 10 presentation factors and found that women with better hair styling clothing fabric purse and accessory quality were of its own beauty standards may high school is a world of its own

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junior jaime hibbard and senior tierney o brien s boyfriend jared carron from jefferson city high school shop in dillard s shoe department dressed up they received more friendly service than seniors tierney o brien and dana murdock who were dressed in hoodies helped quicker in with their shopping and given friendlier more courteous service that the less presentable women your very own p&g staff members tierney o brien dana murdock and jaime hibbard recreated the experiment in the columbia mall dressed in dark skinny jeans gray suede boots black turtle neck and a long gray striped cardigan jaime was given immediate and friendly service while meandering through dillard s shoe department tierney and dana dressed in jeans and athletics hoodies walked in front of the sales woman and were ignored fair or not society placed an emphasis on the beauty is good stereotype and as products of our society we are destined to portray these characteristics in our lives but who s to say that we can t shift our emphases to something a little deeper than an epidermis layer below senior tierney o brien wears sweat pants and a hoodie similar to her mall outfit murdock murdock 10 purple and gold december 2009

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trouble finding a job as high school students become older their expenses grow they need money for gas clothing and college savings unless they re lucky enough to have parents who pay for all their expenses they need to find a way to start making money that s when many come up with the common solution getting a job however in these tough economic times it s not as easy as it sounds hopefully this guide will be helpful as a teenager applying for a first job it s virtually impossible to succeed unless you have one of two things connections or good timing if you have connections take advantage of them if your uncle owns a shop downtown don t be afraid to ask him if he has an opening also if your friend works where you re applying ask them talk to the manager about what a great worker you are if it s true apply when there is a need for employees if a store is just opening this is a great time also there are always certain seasons where your chances of getting certain jobs are higher for example a lot of stores are where to apply always looking for extra help around the holidays get started early if you hear your favorite store at the mall is hiring go and apply right away many other people want jobs too if you wait too long they will fill the opening have a flexible schedule with most teenage jobs a busy inflexible schedule will kill your chances don t be too picky the wider your range of acceptable jobs the more likely you ll get hired getting hired at mcdonalds doesn t mean you have to work there until college employers are more likely to hire someone with previous job experience so work at mcdonalds for a few months and then try applying for macaroni grill don t waste your time certain jobs have requirements that you may not meet mainly age requirements if you re not 18 there are quite a few jobs you won t be able to apply for so find these requirements out before you spend thirty minutes filling out an application when handing in your application you should strive to make a good first impression studies have shown that first impressions are quickly made and hard to change handing in your application 12 purple and gold december 2009

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ask for a manager while handing your appick a good time if it s a plication to the nearest employee may work it s time when they re better to hand it to a manager directly the embusy you don t ployee could forget to give it to their manager want to also it gives a face to your name incondon t lie if you get caught lying there is no venience way you will get hired and if they find out after them for you re hired you will most likely be fired a restaurant try going in the afternoon the interview on a weekday if you ve gotten this far you ve done well for a store the interview is generally the final step in getmake sure ting the job so give a good interthere aren t good point view and the job s yours any special seem interested but not over-zeal dress sales going on ous why would an employer want up even if prepare to hire someone who s not really ahead of time interested in the job they wouldn t you re apif it s a chain plying at the so find reasons other than money for restaurant or why you want the job you re applydollar store ing for and make them clear in your store go google the name most interview at the same time don t dress up big companies will be over the top in your enthusiasm have a job site with about the job it will make you sound information about fake positions hiring policies and ask questions at some point in nearly even applications to print off all interviews the interviewer will ask the applithe knowledge you learn from cant if they have questions if you have questhese sites could be very helptions it will show your interest in the job ful also if you go in with an pay attention to your body language application already filled out you smile maintain eye contact with the employer take less of the manager s time and and don t fidget these will help you keep a seem more prepared good impression dress up even if you re applying their chances will be improved probably at the dollar store dress up while it if they re outgoing or make good eye contact may sound impractical you should dress a said smith level above the employees this standard will make you seem more serious about the job follow these instructions and hopefully you will be successful in your job hunt the first appearance is going to stick in my by jaime hibbard mind even if it s picking up an application that they took the effort is important said brenda smith the cashier manager at d&h drugstore purple and gold 13

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take your best guess get schooled trivia try your hand at this tricky sports think you know the answers drop them off at room 254 if you get them all right you will be rewarded we will reveal these answers in our next issue 1 what year was hickman s first sporting event a 1963 b 1941 c 1927 d 2004 3 what year was hickman s first state championship won a 1931 b 1936 c 1941 d 1927 2 which sport won hickman s first state championship a football b girls basketball c swimming d wrestling sports picks kyle asbury senior spencer washington junior emily peel junior garrison coats senior wednesday december 2nd nba basketball cleveland cavs v phoenix suns thursday december 3rd college football oregon v oregon state saturday december 5th college basketball missouri v oregon sunday december 13th women s basketball missouri v murray state saturday december 19th nfl new orleans saints v dallas cowboys pheonix cavs cavs pheonix oregon oregon oregon oregon state mizzou missouri oregon mu mizzou missouri mu murray state saints saints saints cowboys 14 purple and gold december 2009

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fans page chances are if you have ever been to a sporting event you have seen a fan section they come early they leave late they re there win or losefor the most part and they can range from a few meek cheers throughout the course of a sporting event to shouted obscenities that will make you cringe people have different views about fan sections some people even think they take away from the game but the truth of the matter is a fan section is a place where for a few hours a group of people from completely different backgrounds and even states can unite under the common cause of seeing their team to victory fan sections have become just as much a part of sports as the game itself and the traditions for some fans are old and run deep into the history of the games themselves missouri tigers fans have from 1971 to 2005the instillation of collapsible goal posts pending a goal post being torn down have taken the goal post to harpos which was a popular spot among alumni and fans because of its consistent ownership student fans for penn state football choose one game a year in which to have a white out where 100,000 plus people cast a blinding white glow into the night in support of their team in fan sections traditions aren t learned they re inherited in an interview with espn s ryan mcgee georgia state coach describes these fan sections as college football is all about students on saturday they remind us of that loudly if they aren t on our side who is as a tribute to fan sections these are the p&g s 5 five most prominent fan sections nfl cleveland browns the dawg pound making their home in the east end of the end zone this fan section is known for its rowdy antics towards opposing teams and fans including an infamous incident in a 1989 game against denver in which batteries were hurled at the broncos during the fourth quarter harming some of the players ncaa football penn state nittany lions regarded by players and coaches alike as the worst fan section in college football with a reported 397 police reports in 2008 and it s not im sports that s right a page just for you by jake schimpf proving as that number nearly doubled the 177 reported cases in 2006 ncaa football georgia bulldogs with a reported 300 student fan ejections per game the bulldogs have earned a reputation as a terror for opposing sec schools european soccer club fans argentina uruguay among othersacross the pond fans take their team spirit to another level that makes the worst of american fans pale in comparison many riots over the years including the august 15 riot in argentina in which the military had to use tear gas to subdue fighting fans ncaa college basketball duke blue devils known as the cameron crazies as a homage to the famous cameron indoor arena where the blue devils make their home with a student section that fits 1,200 people their name is well deserved duke university does not have student tickets in order to get into games fans wait sometimes weeks before a big game in the student line know as krzyzewskiville to be admitted into the game chapman purple and gold 15

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