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Written by Hannah Koenekamp
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 The Bear In Mind Book Club which is South Campus’s student run book club is proud to be a part of “White Bear Reads.” This is a "one book - one community" reading program for the White Bear Lake Area including White Bear, Vadnais Heights, Hugo and Centerville. This year's book is Tales of the Road: Highway 61 by Cathy Wurzer. Included are stories that range from the Outlaw Bridge at the Canadian border to La Crescent, the Apple Capital of Minnesota, on the southern Minnesota border. Ms. Wurzer is currently the host of Morning Edition on Minnesota Public Radio. She is also the co-host of Almanac, a weekly public affairs program produced by Twin Cities Public Television.  The book is a companion piece to the documentary that aired on locally on public television. As part of “White Bear Reads” Shawn Gritzmacher’s film class is using the Highway 61 theme to produce documentaries. Cathy has made two visits to Mr.Gritzmacher’s class to talk about film techniques. Cathy’s videographer, Denny Behr gave students a wealth of tips to enhance the look of their presentations. On Cathy’s second visit, Lisa Blackstone discussed editing techniques to make their videos pop. The Bear In Mind Book Club invites students to meet Cathy Wurzer and kickoff the White Bear Reads program at the library in White Bear Lake on February 2 at 6:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served.. |
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Written by Eric Best
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 As a flurry of New Moves students rush into her classroom the day before mid-semester, Ms. Leonard, the NHS advisor, makes a few last minute plans on this year's National Honor Society Blood Drive. NHS has been working hard for the past two weeks to get White Bear Lake students who are able to give blood to donate. This year the blood drive fell on Friday, November 13th, which may seem
like the unluckiest day for any event, but it’s not unlucky for the Red Cross and the 5 million people who will require blood transfusions this year. This year 160 students and staff members will donate blood, saving nearly 480 lives.But this blood drive has been a little different from years past as many students eager to donate noticed. “The Red Cross has changed their height and weight criteria for donors. In the past, if a student was 17 years old and weighed 110 pounds, they were allowed to donate. Now there is a specific guideline for males/females based on their height and weight,” elaborates Leonard, who has been working on blood drives for the past ten years. But the Red Cross hopes that these guidelines will only help maintain the health of the student donors. As a first-time participant in the blood drive, I was a bit anxious walking into the gym this morning. I was greeted by Marylou, a Red Cross volunteer, who welcomed me into an enclosed area next to the bleachers. I had given blood a few months before that day, so the preparatory part of the donation was a good sign that this would be like my last donation. Marylou proceeded to take my blood pressure, to take a blood sample, which is supposedly the worst part of the donation, and I am inclined to agree, and finally took me through a short test on how safe my blood is. The questions, though random and seemingly irrelevant, always succeed in making me wonder. With questions like, “Have you lived in the UK for more than six months between 1980 and 1996?” and “Have you had sex with a man, even once?” I wonder if maybe my parents were lying to me during the entirety of my childhood and were actually British assassins. |
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Written by Leah Schatz
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 Have you ever seen students after school going from class to class with rolling trash bins? This is the recycling team.
This organization started last year and is comprised of 8-10 students. They gather all the bottles, cans, and paper, and sort the recycle bins. Trash that students put into recycle bins are hand picked out by the recycling team. They then bring the trash and recycling outside and put it into its proper bins. Ms. Whitcomb said these recycling practices have, “reduced the amount of trash by 50 percent from last year.”
Alex Ngure is the head of the operation but he realizes that if there isn’t a student willing to take over it will cease to exist. There aren’t enough custodians and time to do it, so the school needs volunteer students who are willing to help out and save the environment.
How can we improve? “Students need to be more conscientious,” says Ms. Whitcomb. The easiest thing anyone can do is to put your trash in the trash bin, and your paper, bottles, and cans in the recycling bins. You can also volunteer with recycling. Anyone can join and they meet every Tuesday and Friday after school in the cafeteria for a half hour to forty-five minutes. |
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Written by Danny Neren
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People are packed onto a crowded dance floor, rap music blares from huge speakers and couples grind passionately into the night; is this a nightclub in Minneapolis? No this is a dance at White Bear Lake High School. What is and is not appropriate at a school dance? Is dirty dancing wrong? Or is it just kids having fun?  The subject of appropriateness at school dances has long been on administrators minds’. “Same conversation, different kids,” says Principal Tim Wald. Mr. Wald and other administrators firmly believe that the push for change at school dances has to be made by students themselves. “The norm needs to be flipped, and that can only be done by students.” What is going on at school dances that make them so inappropriate? Mr. Wald says that about 40% of dancing is viewed as inappropriate. The grinding that takes place quickly becomes sexual and out of control. Students have told administrators that they feel uncomfortable and have even been groped. “When students are uncomfortable with what they are seeing that can be considered harassment and then that is the school’s problem,” comments Mr. Wald. “It all comes to down to the fact that what’s appropriate at a nightclub may very well not be appropriate at school,” say administrators. |
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Written by Leah Schatz
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 Recently, I found myself sitting in class, wondering how often these desks are cleaned. I try to avoid “flesh contact” with them as much as possible, especially since flu season is approaching. When I hear people cough and sneeze, I hold my breath out of fear. In a way it’s not surprising I became known as a clean freak when I first brought hand sanitizer to school in 4th grade. I love it, and I just feel better when I use it after each class.
But how safe should I be feeling this flu season? The custodial staff has made some changes from last since year in cleaning practices due to H1N1. According to Rick, a custodian, they began wearing rubber gloves, and are using different chemicals that contain more disinfectant. They are washing the door handles and pencil sharpeners daily, and the desktops weekly. What about the computers? How often are they being cleaned? “I’m not sure,” Rick confessed. He said they do a major clean down in the summer when they are cleaned, but during the year, not very often.
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