Bulldogs hope for upset in first round

With a victory under their belt from a 24-12 win against the Ridgewood rebels, the Bulldogs are going into the playoffs looking to strike again. 

The Bulldogs started the season by packing into the buses and heading down to face the Metamora Redbirds. In the Bulldogs’ first game, they managed to throw up 41 points against the Redbirds who went on to be second in state. Even with the impressive show of offensive force the Bulldogs fell with an end score of 52-41. 

The bulldogs then faced the Nazareth Roadrunners at home. The bulldogs misfired that night and lost in a crushing defeat of 51-7. 

After being routed, the bulldogs went into their third game against Robeson looking to get their first game the season.  The Bulldogs came out firing on all cylinders and crushed the Robeson Raiders 65-26. 

After this victory things were looking up for the Bulldogs as they headed into week four, which was the start of the conference play. In a surprise upset, the bulldogs lost to the Fenton Bison, in an upset of 33-22. 

Since that day, the bulldogs have gone undefeated and ended up with a record of 6-3. The Bulldogs now face the playoffs. Leading the offense is senior Mark McDonagh who has not only broken tackles for touchdowns, but also almost every single receiver record in the state. The Bulldogs will now face their first opponent, Hubbard, this Friday at Gately Stadium in Chicago. 

The Bulldogs are confident for this game, “We got a good draw,” said quarterback Billy VandeMerkt.  Billy has completed 237 passes this season for 2648 yards, and averages 294.2 yards per game. The Bulldogs are looking to strike fast, and score points and then let their stellar defense take the field. 

The Bulldogs are going to be playing Hubbard, a team that has gone through the season as 7-2 and is ranked six while the Bulldogs come in a eleventh with a record of 6-3. 

If the Bulldogs can beat Hubbard, they will either be playing ranked three Chicago Robeson who the Bulldogs beat 65-26 or the Crystal Lake who is ranked tenth. 

The Bulldogs are excited and ready to strike on both sides of the ball. When the bulldogs have won it was due greatly to the defense who in their six wins let up less then ten points per game. “When everyone does their job we play well, which leads to a more aggressive attitude,” said senior defensive tackle Vince Arvis. When the Bulldogs lose however they lose big [averaging about 45 points per game let up]. 

 They key to a Bulldogs Victory is for them to get up early, and get points on the board. When the Bulldogs win they have outscored their opponents 221-55. If the season is going to be any indication of the game expect the bulldogs to up at least 32 points, in what will prove to be a shoot out as Hubbard is averaging a total of 31 points per game. 

The Hubbard Greyhounds are led by quarter back Quincy Skanes and rusher Jerome Laseter. 

Hubbard is by no means the toughest team they have met all year, but it’s not going to be a walkthrough. The Bulldogs are going to have to bring it all together to advance into the next round.

Day of Service, four years strong

Just as many Seniors have matured in their four years at RB, so has the Day of Service. From its humble beginnings four years ago, when 130 students turned out, to now it’s fourth year where approximately  550 students showed up to give back. 

When the Day of Service started four years ago as a way to give back to the community, no one could have expected the growth and development it would go through. Almost doubling every year the Day of Service has gone from being new to being a staple of the RB year, from not just the students but from the community as well. 

“They come to expect it, and they are showing up to support it, either volunteer wise or financially,” said social studies teacher and Day of Service organizer Cara Gallagher. “Parent volunteers tripled. It’s a way of life now.” 

Students who participated in the day did a variety of activities. One that has, seen the most growth is the Senior Citizen Project. Students were driven to seniors homes where they then helped clean up in the homes. Students raked leaves, pulled weeds, and moved heavy objects like furniture. Some students even helped them with there computer problems. 

Reaction to the students has been overwhelmingly positive. RB administration got responses from the community that shows the feelings of community and their thoughts on RB giving back. Thought from the community were varied, but all commented on the work ethic of the students. 

The most telling response was from a senior who said, “[The students] were very pleasant and eager to please, they even asked if there was anything further. This is my 3^rd year-God bless you all- I am beyond pleased.”

In addition to helping seniors, students made RB’s surrounding neighborhood a little more scenic by planting flowers, cleaning up the Riverside train stop, and also clearing the Zoo Woods. 

Students lead by science teacher David Monti went into the Zoo Woods and cleared the woods of buckthorn, an invasive species that chokes the natural plant life of resources.

“Basically 1/3 of the students, and staff population was present at the Day of Service,” said teacher Angela Ziola “ A lot of students didn’t come back for pizza, and a lot just showed up without signing up for a job before.” 

Gallagher added, “The day of Service is something I am excited for from start to finish. It is one of the best things RB does.

DESERVED: Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize

When one thinks of the Nobel Peace Prize, what comes to mind? Someone who has done what exactly? What makes a noble prize winner worthy of the awards?

To win the noble peace prize the award is given to the one person who has done the most work for fraternity between nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies and the holding and promotion of peace congresses.

With the 2009 Peace prize being given out on Oct. 9^th much attention is being given to the winner of the award, Barack Obama.

The first question asked is what has Obama done to deserve it? In fact that is the main issue with Obama winning the award. What in his first year as President of the United States, has Obama done?

To grasp what he has done you need to look at the atmosphere of the world today, and think back to what it was before he came into office

In 2008 tension in the Middle East was on the rise. Iranian communication was cut off; all Government cooperation with the United States was slim to none. The only country where the government actively sought the help of the United States was Iraq, a country that we we’re fighting a war in.

Then on January 20^th 2009 Barack Obama became the 44^th president of the United States.

The first Middle Eastern country to open communication was Iran. A day after Obama was elected president, the President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that he “Welcomes basic and fair changes in U.S. policies and conducts, I hope you will prefer real public interests and justice to the never-ending demands of a selfish minority and seize the opportunity to serve people so that you will be remembered with high esteem”.

In May of his first year as president, Obama went on a visit to the Middle East. Starting in Saudi Arabia, Obama made a trek across the Muslim world to visit those world leaders.

In recent news Obama is publicly preaching for the reduction of nuclear arms.

That is what Obama has done to promote Peace, and Fraternity.

A 25-nation poll of 27,000 people released in July by the Pew Global Attitudes Project found double-digit boosts to the percentage of people viewing the U.S. favorably in countries around the world.

At home Obama is attacked for trying to follow through with his agenda, healthcare being the main headline, but around the world Obama is a symbol of unity.

What Obama stands for is a change in world thinking.

For the last eight years when dealing with the Middle East our approach has been it’s our way, the right way and there way is wrong. As soon as Obama was elected president this hostile atmosphere was gone, we were talking now we were building a community, a global community.

Obama in the world stands for a new attitude of understanding. The Noble Prize committee doesn’t care about the US as an individual, they don’t care about our Healthcare, or anything internally, they care about the world.

The change in thought, the atmosphere and the attitude of the whole world is so dramatic that it does in fact deserve a Noble Peace Prize.

Obama is no Martin Luther King, he is no Woodrow Wilson.  He doesn’t have the major achievement under his belt. But there have been over 116 prizes given, and the MLK and Mother Teresa’s of the world are the minority here. The Argument that Obama doesn’t deserve to win it is like saying that The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King is not as good as Casablanca. It is like saying that Jay Cutler isn’t a good quarterback because he is no Brett Farve. Not everyone is going to be the greatest there has even been, but there is no denying that Obama has done something for the world.

My question is why are American citizens getting upset over Obama’s victory? His win wasn’t fueled by some kind of marketing campaign, and there were no Liberals behind the scenes whispering in the ear of the committee. This victory was fueled by nothing but the world opinions. This means the world opinion is Obama deserves this prize.

We should be honored that people think that so highly of our President because like it or not, he represents America. He was voted into office to be our President, to deal with our country, and to represent our country to the world and the world’s reception to us is good. They believe America is on the frontlines of promoting peace, and fraternity.

If you dream it, you can use it

A long time ago some one could look at a game, and not know what to expect, long ago the thought of being a solder in World War Two was new, and fresh, where space pirates and Super soldiers were more a reach then an actuality. Today however it is the exact opposite.

First person shooters set in WWII crowd bargain bins, and one can’t go to  Game Stop without seeing ads for  a new game where one takes control of space marine X and saves the galaxy from alien Y. There is nothing wrong with these games but the originality that they once had is gone.

So when a game like Scribblenauts comes around with a fresh new original idea, it turns a few heads, and this is a task that Scribblenauts accomplishes however does the game fall on it’s face or meet its exceptions?

When developer 5^th Cell said they were going to create Nintendo Ds where a word was typed on the bottom screen, and then that object would appear on the top screen, more programmers laughed and said it was impossible. So when creative director Jeremiah Slaczka said the game was going to be released in September many gamers were excited to see Scribblenauts become either one of the most expansive games of all time or one that falls on its face.

But Slaczka’s dream became a reality when the game Scribblenaughts was release on September 15. Now I picked up this game I was skeptical, I didn’t believe it could be done, and that it was going to be returned to Game Stop in a few hours. Then I played it and I was blown away. I couldn’t put the game down, granted the first few hours where spent in the opening title screen with me entering word after word, of everything I could think of I finally started the game.

Scribblenauts is a game that breaks down the walls of everything you thought about a videogame. Literally almost any solution to a puzzle is possible. The game even challenges you to try to do each puzzle more than once, giving you bonus points for every time you do it with different items.

For example, I had the task of cleaning up a park, or as the game worded “Get rid of the trash in the park”. Now the obvious solution to the problem is to type in “T-R-A-S-H-C-A-N” and then have you main character Maxwell pick up all the trash manually, and throw it out.

Or you could type in “N-U-K-E” and blow up all the trash, the park and the city that surrounds it. Both of these solutions work, and both are fun.

However once the novelty runs out, is Scibblenauts’ a game that will still make you want to play?

The answer is no. Scribblenaughts idea alone is original enough to make you want to try different solutions to tons of different problems. However the game is not perfect the most notable flaw is the control.

Creating, objects is easy however maneuvering them is not. To move Maxwell you tap a open space. This may not sound so bad until you thing about how small the end of a rope is. The game becomes quickly frustrating, and the novelty wears off quickly.

Idea alone the game should be worth any gamers purchase, however a game that  due to its idea alone it is driven so close to perfections that when it falls on it’s face because of bad controls  it become unoworthy. This is a game where if it worked perfectly would be great but since it doesn’t you will find your self relying on the same one or two items to do all the puzzles.

My final score is a 7.5, in a game where anything is possible I found myself wanting to give it a higher score, but not being able to do so once the initial impression wore off you were left wanting more to be done in development.

Segway into the new year

As of the start of the school year RB security has been using a Segway to patrol the halls, and make sure kids get to class on time.

Many students have noticed that Segways have been roaming the halls of RB, and the student population has had mixed opinions on them.

“They’re dangerous and irresponsible,” said senior Hugh Berglin. In contrast side senior Sean McGonagill said, “They’re a awesome and a great addition to RB.”

For the first three weeks of school, “Segway of Chicago” loaned one Segway to RB. The loan comes from Jim Renyolds father of  RB graduate Preston Reynolds. The Segway was on loan until September 25 when it then had to be returned, and now the decision about purchasing is up to the school board.

Much of their decision well rely on Assistant Principal John Passarella, and whether or not he believes Segways are the answer to the problem that RB now faces.

“We have gained 80,000 square footage in the building, but we have gained no extra security guards,” said Passarella “so to be fiscally responsible, with our budget the way it is, I want to be creative, and figure out if we can somehow supervise the building without adding a person.”

This brings up the issue of how much benefit a Segway actually bring with its five thousand dollar price tag.

“I can circulate around the building and within minutes be back in my office. Security members could do the same. They can circulate the floor and wrap around numerous times, which you just couldn’t do before with foot traffic,” said Passarella when asked about the benefits. “It’s more efficient, and beside that you are eight inches taller a the crowd, the average person, and you can watch for problems. For example if you see kids hanging in a area and it seems it may be a problem, you can see that. It’s a great advantage.”

Community reaction was mixed when news of the Segway trial reached the public.  After a Riverside Landmark article detailed the Segway trial, several commenters mistakenly thought the school had already purchased the scooter.  Given RB’s difficult budgetary situation, taxpayer reaction was not strong.

Currently RB’s halls are Segway free while RB waits for the Board to make the its decision.

In the final stretch

The culmination of four years of hard work and dedication is coming to an end. In as little as half a year the construction will be done, and over for all RB students,

What started as a blueprint is now nearly complete as students return to classes with a new building. For many students it’s a shock.

“It’s weird to think that what started when I was a freshman is now finished.” said Senior Matt Landess. “I’d thought I would never see the end of it.”

In 2005 the villages of Riverside and Brookfield passed a referendum that raised money for RB that would revolutionize RB and its students.

The project started with the brand new football stadium and then went on to include a new band room, science department, new classrooms, a new library, a new cafeteria, and a brand new 41 yard pool.

“It really is like they built a new school instead of a renovating an old one,” said Sophomore Christina Daily. “It’s like some school out of a TV show.”

Currently the construction is finishing up work in the Little Theater and the Auditorium. The Little Theater is expected to be finished near the end of October while the Auditorium will be ready next year.

“From the very beginning, the Core Team has been diligent about spending money wisely. It’s gratifying to see those early choices moving towards a positive conclusion,” said Interim Principal Tim Scanlon.

The most notable and most visible addition is the new northwest entrance. The newest, and most ambitious, area of the school brings a look to RB that it has been missing in the past according to some students. In the new entryway a student gallery will become a focal point, as RB students now have a new area to showcase there work.

“We expect  that spot to become a natural gathering place for students because of its accessibility and visual interest,” said Construction Manager Andy Totten.