So many noteworthy things — most of them positive, some negative — happened at Uni High in 2008 that fitting them into a top 10 list was hard to do. But we gave it a try. When selecting our stories, we tried to get a good balance of all realms of Uni life— from sports to academics to student life. Also, you may have noticed one glaring omission: the search for Uni's new director. We decided that while this was an ongoing process throughout 2008, the new director will be the big story of 2009. We're sure we've left out a few other noteworthy items, so feel free to post comments below, sharing what you think we've overlooked in this, our final — yes, final — top 10 list of things that caught our fancy, for good or ill, in 2008.

Senior Prank
You might remember last year's senior prank, supposedly the best senior prank in years! It was pretty sneaky making every student walk through the maze of string and hurdle over the piles of cups. Props to the Class of '08. They set the bar high!

Student Council Innovations
Shown above is the second annual ice skating party sponsored by Student Council in November. StudCo was busy in 2008 with many other projects, including new ways to boost student attendance at Uni sporting events. Thanks to hip new T-shirts, students can now get into Uni athletic contests for free. In addition, a punch-card program allows students to enter a raffle and win amazing prizes just for showing up to support their peers. High quality sports entertainment plus a raffle plus not so much money out of your pocket equals brilliance.

Vending Machine Restrictions
When new restrictions that only allowed diet soda to be sold in Uni's vending machines were put into effect this school year, some students were mortified. The funny taste and possible health complications associated with artificial sweeteners were cause for concern. Now instead of worry about obesity, which isn't a problem at Uni thanks to the fitness program, Uni students must worry about cancer and heart problems. Students have to choose between diet soda or having to pay 10 extra cents and visit DCL for their beverage choice. It's a Uni High tragedy.

End of the Renner Era
First to go was three-sport standout Andy Renner, Class of 2005. Then it was Al Renner, Class of 2006, another three-sport star. And in May 2008, the last of Uni High's famous Renner trio, youngest brother Mike, graduated, having broken the school's career-scoring record in boys basketball that Al set just two years before. It may well be a long time before Uni has a brother act as athletically renowned as the Renners.

Student Awards
Students won an impressive variety of prestigious awards in an array of different categories last year. As usual, Uni academic teams took high honors at annual events like the ICTM state math contest (runner-up), the IHSA state journalism meet (runner-up), the IHSA state chess meet (11th overall, first place among small schools), and the WYSE Academic Challenge (state champs for the 10th time in 11 years). Individually, the list of student honors in 2008 is vast — to name a few, senior Richard Wang was a regional finalist in the Siemens Competition, senior Isaac Chambers was selected for the United States Senate Youth Program, then-sophomore Chris Yoder won the state journalism title in sports writing, and then-junior Kareem Sayegh made it to the state finals in Poetry Out Loud, finishing in the top five.

Teacher Awards and Schoolwide Honors
Students weren't the only high achievers in 2008: our teachers rocked, too, and it shows. Math teacher Craig Russell (above right) and history teacher Chris Butler (above left) both won recognition for classroom innovation. Nominated by Uni students, Russell became one of just 23 teachers nationwide to win the Edyth May Sliffe Award for excellence in math teaching. Butler was one of 30 finalists in the Golden Apple Central Illinois awards program, which was in its first year in 2008. Uni as a whole received national recognition, earning a place yet again on Newsweek's annual list of "public elites."

Attempted New Security Policy
We all had to stand in the long lines and pay $20 for our brand new prox cards that would allow us into the building. The system was in effect for approximately two days, but due to some complications it is still not in operation. Nonetheless, it has given us all a lot of stress: Who knows when we'll be locked outside in the freezing Illinois cold?

State Finalist Athletes: Welch, Taylor, Boyce, Boys Cross Country
In the spring of 2008, then-senior Ruthie Welch (above center) placed ninth in Class 1A for her performance at the IHSA state track and field meet in the 800-meter run, with a time of 2 minutes, 20.10 seconds. Approximately one week after Welch's performance, then-junior Malcolm Taylor (above left) placed second in Class 1A with an astonishing effort in the 400 dash (49.74). This fall, junior Lisa Boyce (above right) placed fifth at the IHSA state swimming meet in the 100-yard backstroke (56.56) and 11th in the 100 freestyle (52.97). The team of the year was boys cross country. Led by Taylor, the Illineks became the first Uni boys team in any sport to win both a regional and sectional IHSA championship. They capped off their spectacular season with a fourth-place finish at the Class 1A state meet. Last year was definitely a memorable time for Uni High athletics.

Renovations and Generosity
So we all loved the home-sweet-home feeling of Uni when the 2007-08 ended, but when the new school year started in August, there was an entirely new Uni. We now have newly painted white walls and brand new non-rusted lockers, and the second and third floors have blue and white tiles. In December, the kitchen even underwent a makeover. Most of school renovations were funded by the U of I, but a substantial part of the kitchen refurbishing was due to the work of junior Jared Doyle's father (above right) and uncle (above left), who generously donated labor, time, and material. Speaking of generosity, the school received a most welcome gift in October of $200,000 from alumni Catherine Chou Gruschow (Class of '94) and George Gruschow ('95). The school has yet to decide how to use the money.

Alex Zhai: King of the Math World
How did it feel to have a child prodigy/genius in your presence? On May 31, Uni graduated mathematician all-star Alex Zhai. After his sophomore and junior years, Zhai competed for the U.S. in the International Mathematical Olympiad, dubbed the "world's toughest math contest." He won a silver medal in 2006; a year later he placed in the top 10 and won a gold medal. In the summer of 2008 he went back for one last Olympiad. The result? He earned a perfect score, tied two students from China for first place … in the world, and led the U.S. team to a third-place finish overall. Yeah, that's right, you went to classes with one of the smartest kids in the world. And he even starred in a movie.