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Cheers & Jeers: And now the end is near
Published: Thursday, May 7, 2009 - 4:48pm
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Graduation
For us seniors, our time at good old Uni High has nearly come to a close. Graduation is just around the corner, and we are (for the most part) ready to get out of here. Just a few more weeks!
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Elevator
Since its reopening back at the beginning of April, the elevator has remained open with no further appearances by any vegetables. Keep it up, guys! Maybe we can make it to the end of the year.
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Lots and Lots of Winning
Uni seems to be on quite a winning streak. We won first place in the nation in ExploraVision. Kareem Sayegh took third in the nation for Poetry Out Loud. The OG won an Online Pacemaker from the National Scholastic Press Association. The ICTM math team won seventh in the state against schools eight times Uni's size. We won first at sectionals in the IHSA journalism competition and then went on to win first in the state, with Chris Yoder repeating as state champ in sports writing. Daniel Borup and Greg Atherton were Presidential Scholar semifinalists. Borup was a regional finalist in the Chicago Tribune All-State Academic Team competition. Eleni Yannelis earned a trip to Europe for herself and English teacher Adele Mazurek-Suslick by winning the European Union Center's essay contest. Tej Chajed aced the ACT. Daniel Cheng won the Young Baroque Artists Competition. Elaine Gu won the Intercultural Friendship Foundation's writing contest on dialogue as the key to the future. The WYSE Academic Challenge team won the school's 11th state title in 12 years. And we haven't even mentioned our girls soccer team — the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Monticello regional playoffs — or track stars like the incomparable Malcolm Taylor and the blazing Tuli Bera. Way to go, Uni!
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Spring Musical
This year's spring musical, "West Side Story," was an absolute smash. Congratulations to everyone who made it possible, from Maria (Sheri Grill) and Tony (Daniel Borup) to the Jets and the Sharks and their girls to rest of the cast and crew and adults, led by director Barbara Ridenour and maestro Rick Murphy. Bravo!
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Prom
This year's prom, a swanky Vegas-themed soiree set to be held at the Champaign Country Club on Saturday, should be quite an excellent evening. Plus, the fact that it falls on the same day as the 5K helps dispel the pre-run anxiety that befalls many of Uni's finest around this time of year.
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X-Week
There's nothing better than raising money for a good cause, especially when you're raising it through Saltine cracker challenges and delicious bake sales. In total we raised about $2,000, and that's not even including next week's Big Show. Plus, it's always nice to have music playing during passing periods.
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New Air Conditioner in the Mac Lab
We've been overheating for months now, and some refreshing cold air makes journalism and yearbook students incredibly happy.
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Senior Supper
The senior class is being treated with style! As opposed to recent years, when the senior dinner was in Uni Gym, the Class of '09 will be dining at Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano. Bon appetit!
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Consumer Ed/Ec
We don't know exactly what this state-required test is called, but we do know that it's dumb. We also know we've had five years to complete this infuriating, time-consuming waste of energy, but since when were any of us known for doing anything early, let alone on time? This hours-long online quiz was super frustrating, and in many of our opinions, a state-mandated complete waste of time.
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5K and Prom Coincide
This little predicament deserves its own jeer. Someone scheduled prom a week earlier than usual. This affected the scheduling of Big Show and X-Week and made some upperclassmen a little upset about how busy their Saturday is going to have to be. Hey, people in charge of next year's prom — please remember this.
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End of High School
While most of the seniors can't wait to get out of here, there are also some underlying feelings of dread and sadness that come with thoughts of leaving Uni forever, and having to become real adults.
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College Tuition
Not only was 2009 apparently the worst year to ever be applying to college because of the huge numbers of students, but we're also in the middle of a recession, so paying for college is nearly impossible for some people. Some of us had to give up spots at incredible places simply because we couldn't afford it. Why again can't everything, like college and food, just be free?
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Swine Flu
The whole world's been awash in face masks and panic attacks. Bright yellow signs appeared all over the school urging people to wash their hands and not hug or kiss, prompting an immediate rise in the number of "swine flu hugs" and "swine fives." Anyone with a slight cough has been diagnosed by classmates to have caught the disease. Schools all over the world have been closing. While it may be fun to have school closed for a couple weeks, it wouldn't be fun at the very end of our senior year, and the reasons for the shutdown would most certainly not be fun.
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Work
As we've said several times, the year is almost over. And yet, some teachers seem to be piling on work like its February again. On those days where the weather is absolutely gorgeous, sitting inside doing work is pretty much the last thing we want to be doing.
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Trophy Cases
While we've mostly gotten used to them and they're a handy place to keep the remnants of our school's many accomplishments, the trophy cases make the Mac lab look like a dungeon. They're pretty much really ugly. Just saying.
