St Louis Park High School - Echowan Yearbook (St Louis Park, MN)

Page 33 text:

- E. Sundt, M. Parrington, C. Sellnow. L. Galvin, T. I Virum and C. Heitkamp actively participate in the | game called, The Human Knot. Committed to saying no Just Say No. This was a theme throughout the year for members of AFDA. Athletes for Drug Awareness (AFDA) was a group not only of athletes, but other student leaders committed to reducing drug use in their activities. The group talked about how they could prevent the use of mood altering chemicals both during the sports seasons and in the off seasons. Another important goal of AFDA was to provide the members of with better communication skills within their activity. AFDA helped me become a better leader because it showed me how to understand problems relating to drugs that might come up, stated synchronized swimming cocaptain Laurie Sumner, senior. According to Pam Fogel-Canning, advisor, in small groups the members talked about problems they had faced. Then the student leaders learned from each other how to handle different situations in which their teammates were using drugs. Along with becoming aware of drug abuse, AFDA members also learned how to communicate with other people. Swimming co-captain Wendy Schmitz, senior, commented, I think a major goal of this group was to develop better communication between captains, teammates, and coaches by understanding each other. AFDA has helped me understand different problems people have, said basketball co-captain Matt Parrington, senior, which means I am able to talk to them more easily about their problems. AFDA members had a busy schedule. They met at least twice a month, had morning breakfasts, and attended a sport education workshop. They also listened to speakers on nutrition and relaxation and spoke at the Junior High. Through these activities, the members were able to become more effective leaders. A Pam Fogel-Canning introduces Karen Oftendahl, a I guest from Hazelton Sports Educational Program who talks about promoting drug free activities. A AFDA: Front Row: J. L. Goldman. S. E. I Gannon, S. A. Gannon, T. Fischman, I Sumner, T. Manning, C. Heitkamp, R. Tillotson, K. Mueller, Row 2:). Roller, M. Skaug, D. Hop, L. Bannick, P. Grochow, N. Trump, S. Solberg. M. Hawkins, B. Bar-Coehn, M. Parrington, B. Yellen, Row 3: A. Fracassi, H. Thomas, M. Hunt. AFDA 29

Page 32 text:

J MOCK TRIAL TEAM MEMBERS: Front I Row:). Davis, P. Grochow, S. Larson, J. I Willis, M. Landis. Row 2: C. Willey, M. Anderson, C. Fisher, T. Coleman, M. Hughes, J. Lichterman, S. Christensen, D. Morine, K. Grover. J Mock Thai lawyers, Jon lichterman and Chris I Fisher confer on the legal aspects on this year s | Mock Thai case about the First Amendment. Learning new strategies The ability to speak, act and plan a strategy, along with a strong knowledge of the legal system were characteristic qualities of the members of the mock trials group. Students were challenged to prepare cases and present them in a realistic format. During mock trials, students took on the roles of attorneys and witnesses. The hypothetical cases differed from year to year, this time centering on the First Amendment, specifically the right to peaceful assembly. Students learned and assumed the roles of both sides (plaintiff and defendant) similar to a legal debate. The experiences of the trials left members with better communication skills. Some found it challenging and exciting to speak in front of people and present a case. John Lichterman, senior, said, I enjoy preparing a convincing argument and competing with others.” A consensus of students felt that mock trials was an activity that could be of value for their future. Dawn Morine, senior, thought that mock trials offered experience. It is very valuable for a career in law to learn how the judicial process works, she commented. A number of attorneys that students talked to stated that they wished they had an activity like mock trials in high school. The schedule of the mock trial members called for roughly 10 hours of preparation time for their cases. Never cut and dried, the cases offered students a lot to work with at their meets. Mock trials had three scheduled meets with the chance to go to state and national competitions. Both Park teams won in their first meet. In March, one team became the regional champions, winning the opportunity to advance to state competition. Students in mock trials learned a more rational, analytical way of thinking. Lichterman quipped, Don't misquote me, or I'll sue. Ilennifer Willis keeps track of the time used by the speakers as they are given limits to their time for speaking during the trial. 28 Mock Trials

Page 34 text:

Talent for Wanted: Students of any grade with any or many special talents to participate in the Quiz Bowl. The activity was much like a fun game for anyone to play. The difficulty of the questions varied along with the variety of topics. Alan Finkelstein, senior, said, The Quiz Bowl is much like Trivial Pursuit. There were questions from different topics, such as sports and literature. Anyone could participate in the game and do well because of the different types of questions. Some of the trivia questions were more like common knowledge, while others were harder because they were more specific from the different categories. Elizabeth Starr, senior, commented, I feel that the Quiz Bowl is good because each student has assets in different areas, which really helps us. Barbara Smigala, advisor of the activity, thought that most of the students went out for it for the sake of competition and just for fun. She felt that the main purpose questions was to have the students enjoy themselves while competing. Starr added that the Quiz Bowl was a good opportunity to meet a variety of people. While many of the students were actively involved with the Quiz Bowl, a few were also involved in other activities which could help them further their knowledge for the Quiz Bowl competitions. Jim Mashek, sophomore, was on the math, track, and soccer teams. He joined Quiz Bowl because he had heard it was interesting. Mashek especially liked the intramural competitions which were held between students in the school. Except for one meet, students wrote all of the questions and one student asked them. Each week two members of the team would volunteer to go through a book of Quiz Bowl questions. They would pick out toss up and bonus questions to use during intramural meets. They had one meet against another school, Minneapolis North, and won. I What letters coincide with the number seven on the telephone dial? is Dan Fox’s favorite question to stump other quizbowlers with. As the tension rises, Scott Paulin gets ready to hit the buzzer and take his best shot at answering a question. . QUIZ BOWL: Front Row: I.Cytron, A. Row 2: S. Paulin, P. Berman. A. I Wasserman, J. Dixon, D. Fox, C. Rossin. Finkelstein. J. Mashek. 30 Quiz Bowl