Noodles, rice and chicken from their appetizing meal.

Glenn Beuchlien set up a new way to let students and staff associate and get to know one another a little more. For the first time this year, using a randomizer, three students from each grade level, along with four of the staff, were selected. Kyla Beier, culinary and child development teacher, had her third period culinary class make all the food for the bunch. The food included fried rice, egg rolls, noodles, chicken, and fruit pastries. This program to get the campus closer in subjects other than school was hosted by Beier in room 513 Thursday. Brian Wilson, Joe Shelton, Dr. Traci Lori, Zoe Biggs, Kayla Fuhs, Gabby Eck, Lexi Korn, Luke Hopf, Judy Hubster, Katie Wininger, Deb Schum, Tisha Peraza, Cole Taber, Jade Gress, and Grant Sanders all were chosen and sat around a table. It started off with stating names and some facts about themselves. The group shared lots of humorous and personal stories. They also talked about future plans, as well as plans staff had made back then. The staff politely let the students go first when getting their buffet of food. Everyone’s nervous giggles changed into heartfelt connections.After everyone had their fill, the chatting kept on going across the table. The conversations went on about Netflix TV shows that everyone suggested, recent movies that they have watched with their ratings on it, popular issues on the news, current sports and their favorite team’s scores along with the best players. Shelton got a ton of recommendations, he even admitted that he binge watches on Netflix shows all the time. There was times where people grouped off and talked only to people around them and then they would all join back together as one conversation that everyone was in. The circle ended their meal with fortune cookies, and shortly after they got sweet mints.

Wilson asked the students if there were any suggestions to make the meet up better. He suggested himself that next time they should use name tags, not only on shirts, but to put people in a certain order, rather than choosing who to sit by. Shelton commented on the way people sat closer to their peers, rather than the staff. “You guys migrated to your comfort zone”, he joked to Lexi, Tisha, and Jade. Tisha and Jade admitted they sat next to each other only because they were friends with each other out of the group.

Everyone agreed that this eventful meal was exciting. They all learned something from one another after this experience. “It wasn’t as terrible as I thought it was going to be, just a bit awkward at first.” Katie confessed.

Claudia Hernandez, junior, holds her “#enough” sign up during the walkout. Although she was never asked to speak during the walkout, Hernandez spoke about what the walkout meant. “I’m really glad that she took charge,” said Wiseman. 

On the 19 anniversary of the Columbine shooting, students participated in a walkout to protest for common sense gun laws. The walkout lasted 17 minutes in honor of the 17 students who were killed in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Students were unable to join the national walkout on March 14, the one month anniversary of the Parkland shooting, because of a previously scheduled eLearning day.

The walkout was organized by junior Sydni Wiseman through her Instagram account @jhsgunviolencewalkout. Through the account Wiseman gave updates on where to meet, what to wear, and how students could participate.  “I’m like not very social in real life, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity for me to get my voice heard without actually having to speak to people,” said Wiseman, “I was scared of getting hate for it, I was scared that it would be a complete fail.” Andrew head, sophomore, helped Wiseman with her account, and Tara Eckman, a leader of One Dubois County, offered to help Wiseman make signs.

Leading up to the walkout Principal Brian Wilson sent out school wide emails notifying students of additional security measures that will be enforced at the school. The new measures include: regular drills, a second social worker, opaque LGI windows, increased entry supervision, an addition of a bullet proof film on the windows at the front entrance, and remodeling the main entrance to lead directly into the main office. A new section will also be amended in the student code of conduct for the 2018/2019 school year. This section will outline the Right of Expression for students who wish to propose future protests.

Photos by Emily Huddleston.

Some teachers have caught students who bring them and try to sneakily smoke. Although some teachers may be far off from this new vape generation, they do have a general idea about them. “It’s dangerous. It still contains nicotine and tobacco, like a cigarette,” commented Cathy Overton an English teacher. “Vaping is a bad idea for kids and people all around,” said Overton.

The main ingredient in both vape juice and cigarettes is nicotine. It’s a very addictive substance that could kill a human with a small dose. “The level of nicotine in vaping could be high and bad for kids,” stated French teacher Devin Rottet, “the smoke is just the same as a cigarette’s and doesn’t have a filter.”

Some people think it could be used as an alternative, or just a way to quit smoking cigarettes. Although vapes don’t have a plan like actual ones do, such a nicotine gum, which shows the amount and how long you should use. “People do think it’s healthier, but it’s the same as saying “‘it’s better to get knifed once, than twice'” remarked Rottet.

Assistant Principal, Glenn Buechlein, has dealt with some students who brought them to school and has a bit of a collection from the violated vapes. He’s found out a lot about these smoking devices, and how students are coming up with ways to hid them in school. One in particular is called a Juul. It’s a smaller and lighter version of a vape designed to be inconspicuous. “Juuls are vapes that can look like USBs, and you can plug them in without anyone noticing it’s a vape,” informed Buechlein, “but they don’t make as much smoke as the regular vapes.”

The school’s policy states on page 27 that “in order to protect students who chose to not use tobacco from an environment that might be harmful to them, the School Board prohibits the use and/or possession of tobacco by students in school buildings, on school grounds, on school buses, or while attending any school-related event.” The policy continues with saying “The possession of an electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) is prohibited which also includes any item that looks like or is represented to be an electronic cigarette.” The first report gets a student one day suspension and the police will be notified. The second report gets out of school suspension for three days as well as notifying the police. The third report gets out of school suspension for five days and of course, police notified. After all three reports, a student will be expelled. “This school is a tobacco free campus,” Buechlien affirmed, “athletes who get caught lose 30% of a season, so if you have 20 games you lose 6.”

There isn’t enough research to say whether it’s healthier than smoking cigarettes or completely safe at all. So if you do vape, don’t bring it to school. Not only will you get in trouble, but the smoke might harm others. The secondhand smoke could possibly be dangerous to their health, and our school is meant to prevent that.

“Some schools don’t even notice it, but we’re looking for them and aware of vaping.” Buechlien disclosed.

 The committee made shirts for students that say For the Kids, FTK.

On March 16th, students and staff and students gathered in the auxiliary gym to dance and have a great time for their annual Riley’s Dance Marathon. It went on for five hours. They enjoyed various activities, including dodge ball, Mario Kart, Riley stories, food, and dancing. Concessions were included as well. They got to listen to families share stories, win prizes in various games, learned different dances, and have tournaments.It was free to enter, however a $10 donation was appreciated. The organization aimed for their highest goal in history this year, a goal of $15,000 for Riley Children’s Hospital. They ended up reaching $17,497, surpassing their goal.

A student enjoys a game of dodgeball at the dance.

In preparation for this event, the High School offered the common spirit week activities. These are dress up days where the students follow the theme given in order to raise the points for their class, either class of 2018, 2019, 2020, or 2021. The dress up days Jasper decided to use this week were, on Monday, America, Tuesday was sports, Thursday was meme day, and Friday was neon day. Many students walked the halls bearing the theme of the evening in promotion of the dance.

The Riley Dance Marathon is held to raise money for the children at Riley’s hospital. They held it in 1991 for an AIDS advocate, Ryan White. The amount they raise increases each year, which benefits the children seeking treatment greatly. This years dance was a huge success. Many people in the community utilize the Riley Children’s Hospital services, making the dance a huge deal that everyone can’t help but to appreciate. Children and families share stories about their lives, making huge heartfelt moments.

Jasper High School students of all grades worked together to make this happen. Fundraisers that were held include puppy chow sales, basketball game collections, a shirt sale, and various others. This wasn’t just a school dance, it was a dance marathon to help children and families in the community and raise money for the Riley Hospital.

Emma Grow, Hannah Kluemper, and Kennedy Kieffner perform the memorial dance.

The Jasper Dance Team stepped out onto the basketball court dressed in yellow and black stripped overalls. To any other team, these outfits have no significance. But, the Jasper community immediately knows the story behind their unique costumes and performance.

For many years, Jasper has had a number one fan in the stands chanting every game. Frankie Ebenkamp, dressed in his yellow and black overalls would chant to the crowd his iconic cheer, “alright, alright, alright.” No one else would dare to scream the words of Frankie’s cheer, it was best said by him. This past year, Frankie Ebenkamp passed away, but his legacy at Jasper High School remains current. Jasper fans continue to cheer and honor him, but this year, the dance team found a different way.

The dance team wanted to perform in honor of Ebenkamp. “We thought that he made such an amazing impact with his cheering and spirit on our community,” stated Hannah Welp, senior. The team wore outfits similar to Ebenkamp’s striped overalls, and chanted his cheer at the end of their dance. “We made this dance to honor and give back to Frankie, thanking him for all those years he continually cheered on Jasper,” said Welp.

Evan Elrod, media teacher at Jasper High School, feels these days coming up fast.  However, he does not feel an effect on the student’s side of things. “We tend to prep a day ahead thinking that we’re going to miss this day so we need to cover this faster or we need to alter these plans,” said Elrod.  He also mentions the IASB contest, a statewide contest which has a deadline of this Friday.  A contest like that simply does not cater to those that may have missed a few days because of some random winter storm.  “It’s not like an internal assignment where I can just push the due date back…I have to do something to speed that along,” stated Elrod.  His wife, Mrs. Elrod, a science teacher at Jasper High School, also feels the crunch for time.

Mrs. Elrod teaches AP Chemistry, a class that has a corresponding AP exam that teachers prep their students for over the duration of the school year.  “They’re not going to change the AP date…she has to do different things there to make sure that those students get that content before that test date,” said Mrs. Elrod. 

There is another side of the story, though.  The students often embrace the snow and ice for that one particular call from the corporation giving them a lot more sleep than what they would have had normally.  Mackenzie Cooley, a junior at Jasper High School, like a lot of a students taking AP classes is feeling that crunch with schoolwork.  Like a lot of her fellow peers, she does pay close attention to the weather forecasts.  “I have been kind of looking at the weather, but I’m hoping, crossing my fingers that there’s ice,” expressed Cooley.  She is not alone.  The majority of the student body shares a similar opinion.  Like Mr. Elrod, the snow does have an effect of trying to move things along quicker than what would normally be the case.

“I feel like in my classes they’re trying to hurry up,”  said Cooley, “we get these weeks off and we’re going slow and then they hurry up and try to finish up these chapters.  I just feel like all of my classmates are getting slightly lazy because we’re begging for snow.”

Sure, the snow gets everyone in a frenzy just looking at phones impatiently waiting for the verdict on the next day.  However, things go a lot deeper than making days up during what would have been the first days of summer.  With snow, there comes the catch up game that follows that is played by almost every single teacher in not just Jasper High School, but at this point every single teacher in the city of Jasper.  In a situation in which extending the school year potentially into summer break, it heightens everyone’s tensions about coursework and how they will have to make it up.  Whether this system keeps Jasper schools out for multiple days or not, the effect has already shaken up the students and teachers of Jasper, now it is about how much the damage really will be in the coming days ahead.

(Left to right) Maggie Getzin, Laurel Hubster, Kennedy Day, Sarah Monesmith, and Annie Brake smile for a picture with Mr. Uebelhor who was taped to the wall for one of their many fundraisers. Photo by Emily Huddleston

Jasper High School has hosted Riley’s Dance Marathon for the past three years. The event will take place from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, March 16 in the auxiliary gym. Admission is free and open to all students, but a donation of $10 is encouraged. Riley’s Dance Marathon was originally held in 1991 to honor Ryan White, an advocate for AIDS. The Marathon eventually evolved to raise funds for the families who use services at Riley Children’s Hospital.

The Popp family were one of two families who spoke about their experience with Riley Children’s Hospital. The Popp’s son, Luke, nervously looked up to his parents as they spoke about his treatment process.

This years goal is $15,000, the largest goal in the history of the Riley’s Dance Marathon at JHS. “We wanted to set a goal that is higher than we’ve ever done before.  We have one of the fastest growing high school dance marathons in the state (we almost tripled the amount we raised in our first year our second year).  If everyone helps and pitches in even a small donation, we can reach our goal,” said Sarah Monesmith, a senior and of the marathon committee. To reach their goal, the committee consisting of JHS students of all

grades has hosted several different fundraisers. Some of the smaller fundraisers were: bake sales, puppy chow sale, “tape a teacher to the wall,” basketball game collections, door-to-door collections, and a shirt sale.

This year the Dance Marathon committee also hosted a Will Read and Sing event with Scott Saalman. Will Read and Sing was created by Saalman to raise awareness for community needs, but he decided to partner with the Dance Marathon because Riley is a part of many Jasper residents. 

“[Will Read and Sing] is an awesome way to reach out into the community to spread awareness for our cause and to raise money.  So many families in the community have utilized the services at Riley Hospital for Children, so the event was a great way for our community to share touching stories and give back to such a great place,” said Monesmith. At the event several different performers sang and read short stories. The last two speakers were the Popp and Dills families who both have experience with Riley Children’s Hospital.

“Dance marathon is so much more than a school dance,” said Monesmith. To start off the marathon attendees learn a line dance, play games, have tournaments and competitions, win awesome prizes donated by sponsors, and listen to families share their experiences with Riley. Concessions will also be provided for the dancers. At the end of the Marathon the committee will reveal the final total raised. Each hour of the dance marathon has a different theme. The five themes are:

For several years, the yearbook program has fundraised for the program through the sale of past yearbooks. The yearbook class, or Interactive Media, has a surplus of many yearbooks dating all the way back to 1954. The Holiday Sale helps in the production of future yearbooks for students, and allows for the creativity of the editors to be expressed without strict restraints on funding. To incorporate the history of Jasper High School and The Comet, the school newspaper that has ran for almost 100 years, the yearbook will be an anniversary edition. The book will contain facts about past school events and major milestones from different decades scattered throughout new memories.

“2018 is a year full of anniversaries for the school and we wanted to honor that,” says senior and co-editor of The “J” Yearbook, Mila Vernon.

“When I started working at Libby’s, I had never seen the upstairs.” states Getzin. “The first time I stepped foot into the space I knew it had the potential to become a gallery.”

“Photography is just so different. It takes an eye to know the perfect time and place to take a photograph.” Getzin boasted. “ But when I find the one of hundreds that stands out from the rest, you can feel it, the emotion, the warmth, and the security. It feels like I finally belong to something”

With all the work that a student has to do their senior year, the gallery had always been in Maggie’s head, until she set a date. “One of the hardest things to do was all the labor. Hanging the art, planning what goes where. It all takes time and money,” she explained.

The gallery consists of drawings, paintings, and photographs from local artists, most of which are done by Jasper High School students. Getzin’s goal was to include different schools within the area, although many never get back to her. “When they never got back to me, I thought of all the talented people I know and started asking around. Each and every person is unique in their art.”  Along with the many photographers and painters, there will also be live music by choir and theatre students. The performers include Emma and Lydia Grow, Morgan Decker, Marissa Bradley, Daniela Serrano, Allison Bielawa, and Kaitlyn Timm.

Maggie, who will be attending Ball State next fall to study photojournalism, started taking photography seriously after a New York trip with the choir this past winter. “I started with taking photos on my phone, just for fun.” she smiles, “I was reassured after [the trip] that I wanted the life of learning about people and capturing the emotions that words can’t. I want to travel and learn about the world.”