Opinion: A Farewell to ‘The Owl’

By Chandler Baker & Keile Kropf, editors

One of the hardest things about senior year is saying goodbye and experiencing everything for the last time. We focus so much on the anticipation of college, graduation and summer that we sometimes forget to appreciate all the good things that already surround us. While we are ready to move forward, we’d like to take a moment and reflect on one of the most special parts of our Boulder High experience: The Owl.

For most students there is one place at the school that they are able to release their many stresses that high school brings and are able to find their passions. Whether it’s a quiet corner in the library, the photo darkroom or the shade in front of the school, it’s nice to have a place of solace when you need to get away. For us, The Owl has filled that gap. This class has never been an obligation or a drag to come to; instead, it’s been something we’ve always looked forward to. When you care about the things you do, it no longer becomes busy work.

Over the course of the last few years, the Owl/Odaroloc room has been a home inside these doors for us. The freedom and comfort of having your own place within the school has allowed us to grow. The journalism class itself is one of the few at Boulder High that allows students to take the reins by themselves and pursue the things that they are interested in through writing. 

Ready or not, Brazil, the world is coming

By Eris Hollingshead, staff writer

As this year’s World Cup fans eagerly count down the days until June 12 when the opening match will be held in São Paulo, Brazil, against Spain, Brazil rushes to get everything prepared in time to host such an extravagant event. The country has already faced many other problems in relation to the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Brazil’s World Cup will be the most expensive World Cup to date, already having spent $11.5 billion to build and refurbish 12 stadiums. The 2010 World Cup, hosted by South Africa, was very good at keeping to its budget, managing to only spend a little more that $1 billion. Brazil has already quadrupled its costs from its initial 2007 FIFA spending report.

Eyebrows have definitely been raised at these high costs, and speculation that corruption is involved in the World Cup are going every day. The Mane Garrincha Stadium in Brasilia cost more than three times the original estimate at a whopping $900 million total (making it the second most expensive arena in the world). With discrepancies like these, from the original to the final price, there is no doubt that something else is happening behind the scenes. Dodgy charges, as high as $2.3 million have been spotted on construction bills. 

High School students struggle to find summer jobs

By Jacque Szarmach & Kelley McQuillen, staff writers

Senior Baylor Graves works at the Colorado Athletic Club lifeguarding last summer. Several Boulder High students were employed at the Colorado Athletic Club also. (Photo by Chandler Baker)

As the school year comes to end, many high school students search for the perfect summer job. Around Boulder, it can be both easy and difficult to find a job, depending on what students want do. In the summer, there are many job openings for high school students because during the fall, CU students come in and take most jobs, but in the summer, they are all gone, and high school students jump on the opportunity to land a spot.

“Last year, it was really hard for me to find a summer job because I started trying to find one too late. This year, I’m starting earlier, and I hope I can find one because I need money for college!” senior Joe Szarmach said.

Common summer jobs for high schoolers include lifeguarding, hostessing, serving, babysitting/nannying and working in ice cream shops. Some students get internships instead with different companies or take summer classes at CU or Arapahoe.

“This summer, I got an internship with the District Attorney, and I’m super lucky and excited to learn since I want to be a lawyer,” junior Mariah Alexander said. 

Conference on World Affairs student planning committee celebrates another successful conference with annual breakfast

By Jayden Simelda-Longe, editor

Seniors Callie Carlucci and Sarah Ellsworth write thank-you notes to Conference on World Affairs panelists in the Boulder High library during B lunch. Both produced panels for the 2014 conference. (Photo by Jayden Simelda-Longe)

Many of the students who put together the Conference on World Affairs panels at Boulder High in early April gathered at Le Peep in Boulder to enjoy a free breakfast hosted by Boulder High media specialist Becky Vancura to celebrate the success of this year’s panels.

With more than 20 people involved in the planning of the conference, there were some challenges in getting everyone together for the brunch.

“One of the hardest things this year was to get all of the busy students together for our meetings,” Vancura said.

During the conference, students who helped plan the panels were excused for the day to watch the discussions they had helped construct. Those who worked to produce certain panels would get to meet with the panelists and talk to them before each panel. After the conference was over, students gathered in the library to write thank-you letters to each of the panelists.

LOYO students study substance abuse by attending community support-group meetings

By Jayden Simelda-Longe & Keile Kropf, editors

Taking a different approach to learning about drugs and alcohol, Living on Your Own teacher Nancie Halfmann suggested that students attend meetings in the community to learn about the issues of dealing with addictions. Many teenagers are touched by the issue of substance abuse, whether it’s through family or friends, and Halfmann’s hands-on approach is one that gives students a first-hand look into the cycle of addiction.

“It was really cool to see AA from a different angle than it is normally portrayed. They are so supportive of each other and optimistic about following the ‘12 steps,’ and I really appreciated the experience,” senior Madison Mayfield said.

Students have been learning about addiction, the cycle of abuse and the dangers of drug and alcohol use in the class, but the sit-in represents their final project for the class. While senioritis is setting in for many students, this project has been an interesting wake-up from the final cramming. 

Seniors plan for college as graduation approaches

By Eris Hollingshead, staff writer

As the 2013-2014 school year comes to an end, seniors at Boulder High are anxious to see what the next chapter of their lives hold for them. Although many seniors are feeling bittersweet about leaving their friends and the lives that they have led up to this point, the change is also something they are looking forward to.

This year, some of Boulder High’s graduating class are going to be attending very prestigious  schools such as Brown, Cornell, Duke and Stanford. These students have worked tirelessly to be able to accomplish this goal, but in the end all their hard work has paid off.

“I definitely worked [hard], but the number one thing that I think I had to my advantage was balance. I knew how to work hard but balance it with fun so I didn’t burn out my sophomore year. I also realized that I had to find that in a school, and so even though I got rejected plenty of places I thought were top choices, in the end I was so happy being accepted to Duke. I think that a school like Duke and all my hard work  sets me up in a place with endless opportunities to do things that I really want to do with my life,” senior Emma Koltun-Baker said. 

Boulder prepares for event-packed Memorial Day Weekend

By Zoe Dulchinos & Eris Hollingshead, staff writers

Memorial Day is around the corner, and as tradition has it, Boulder kicks off the summer with the 2014 Bolder Boulder 10K race and the Boulder Creek Festival. This year will be the 35th anniversary of the Bolder Boulder and the 27th annual Boulder Creek Fest.

Over time, the Bolder Boulder has become one of the largest 10K races in the nation with over 50,000 people participating in the race annually. The streets of Boulder the day of the race become unbearable to drive through because of the massive amount of people, not only those in the race but those cheering the participants on from their yards and those roaming the city after the race.

The race layout is unique to Boulder because it takes participants past many significant places in Boulder such as the Pearl Street Mall, the 29th Street Mall and, ultimately, CU’s Folsom Field. After all the participants have run the course, the professionals take to the course for the International Team Challenge. Last year’s winners were Ethiopia’s Merima Mohammed (women’s race) and Kenya’s Allan Kiprono (men’s race). 

Review: ‘Neighbors’ short on plot points

By Chandler Baker, editor & Eris Hollingshead, staff writer

From the get go, Neighbors had the audience weak with its witty jokes and funny scenarios. Starring Zac Efron and Seth Rogen, the film is very entertaining, much like Efron’s abs.

Rogen and Rose Byrne play Mac and Kelly, a young newlywed couple with a baby named Stella. The couple buys their first house expecting a quiet suburban setting only to find out that the house next door has just been sold to a rowdy fraternity from a nearby college. The two wander over the first night to introduce themselves and make friends with the head frat boys, hoping that they will respect them and “keep it down.” Instead, however, the next few nights the frat gets louder and louder, and their parties go later and later. Mac eventually calls the cops on the boys and thus declares war between the two houses for the remainder of the movie. 

Opinion: The dangers that can result from trespassing onto a domestic water supply

By Chandler Baker, editor & Hayleigh Criss & Isabelle Burridge, special to The Owl

Throughout our lives, there are times when we do something without thinking about the potential effects and harms that may occur due to our actions. Whether it’s taking the last slice of pie that your dad has been saving for a week or, in our cases, jumping over a fence in the pursuit of a really great photography project, there is always consequences to decisions we make whether or not we realize it.

On March 5, we made the conscious decision to cross onto the property of the Baseline Reservoir to take some pictures for our photography project at school. We chose Baseline because it has one of the most peaceful and prestigious views in Boulder County. However, what we neglected to realize was that no matter how innocent the action may have been, crossing onto someone else’s property without consent is not okay.

We had no idea that Baseline Lake is actually a domestic water supply and that crossing onto the property could have ended in a variety of different harms. Lafayette counts on the Baseline Reservoir for over half of its drinking water, and the city owns the majority of the shares in the lake. Other sources that draw from the reservoir include Boulder, Louisville and our very own Boulder Valley School District.

Advanced Placement exams offer a variety of benefits to students

By Chandler Baker, editor & Zoe Dulchinos, staff writer

While most high school seniors are winding down their Boulder High careers, for some the last few weeks are the most stressful. Advanced Placement exam weeks signify the conclusion of schoolwork for many  classes at Boulder High, including A.P. Statistics, A.P. Literature and Composition, A.P. Language and countless others.

Advanced Placement exams are beneficial in the way that they offer college credit to students who receive a score of 3 or higher, depending on the college that they choose to attend. Seniors also can strive to achieve the A.P. diploma. The Boulder High School diploma with A.P. designation is a point of pride and encourages students to take rigorous courses to achieve that status as a graduate.

“I have taken a variety of A.P. courses throughout high school, and I think that they are very rewarding. The teachers definitely know what they are talking about, and I think that it has given me a large advantage going into college with that knowledge,” senior Brian Long said.