"Fat Man" Relay surprise

While the Burris Track team is used to thrilling finishes on the behalf of their guys 4x4 team, it was a different four-man relay that stole the spotlights Friday during the Relay Medley meet at Madison Grant.

The "Fat Man" event is the exciting closer each year. In this event throwers from each team are given the chance to use their legs as a 4x1 team. Burris found their calling, as well as a resounding victory, in this event. With their first leg man, Academy Senior Jacob Reusser, running just under 12 seconds (the second fastest time on the entire boys track team, just

behind Burris Junior Faelon Lipscomp). The throwers managed to finish the 400 only a few

seconds behind the teams regular 4x1 line-up.

Both Reusser and another Academy Senior Stuart Hilsmier had looked forward to this event for some time. They knew they could compete, Hilsmier being an apt alternate sprinter when the team calls upon him.

This was not the only unique event at the 8 team meet. Each year the usual structure of a track meet is tossed aside and the focus is set upon relays. Such as the Distance Medley (consisting of a unique 1200 meter run). The only open races are those for sprinters and mid-distance.

The Burris boys usually finish their meets with their explosive 4x4 team consisting of (depending on the meet) Academy Senior Eric Lechner, Burris Senior Jesse Etsler, Burris Junior Reilly Delk , Sophomore Jack McGee, and last but certainly not least, the

aforementioned Lipscomb.

Although respectable, but less than enthusiastic placements of 6th for the guys and 3rd for the girls, a solid victory was won for the ego of a few. This ending the meet on a lighthearted note, with the Shot Put coach Jeremy Hutchinson exclaiming, "The most important event in the history of Track & Field! You can quote me on that!" as the team was packing up their camp and heading back onto the bus.

Academy Senior Jacob Reusser beginning his leg of the "Fat Man" at Madison Grant.

Academy Senior Stuart Hilsmier finishes the last 100 meters of the "Fat Man"

Coach Hutchinson gleefully watches as his throwers come in well ahead of the other "Fat Man" relay teams

Reusser and Coach Hutchinson share an ecstatic exchange of words after their surprisingly good performance.

Reusser and Hilsmier talk to a few of the teams coaches after their spectacular run

bin Laden Poll

by Derek Packard

This weak I did a survey on whether or not people thought that the US took the right move by flying into Pakistan and capturing/ killing Osama Bin Laden.

My results were swayed severely to one side. That being the side for the US invading Pakistan to capture the mass murder, my results ended up being about 97 percent for and only 3 percent against. Whether or not that three percent were joking, I am not completely sure but this is obviously a one way vote.

One the other hand though it would have been interesting to see how these surveys would have been in middle eastern countries or even European. From an American stand point though it sways extremely for it. While others it may be more of a 50 to 50 in Europe, or even a 20 to 80 in the Middle east.

Lockdowns

Hannah Badger

On Monday May 2 some may say that we were placed on a semi-lockdown. This meaning that two of the three entrances to the school were locked. The way you could get into the school was through the entrance closest to the office.

This “semi-lockdown” was not the only issue concerning lockdowns at schools. Wapahani High School had a threatening message located in a bathroom. Many students did not attend Wapahani on Monday due to the threats.

Also reports of lockdowns at Muncie Central and Southside had been reported. The Muncie Star Press stated the reasons behind the lockdown were because of “rumors of a possible incident”.

“I think the lockdown was kind of pointless because nobody was watching our unlocked entrance,” stated Burris Senior Katie Murphy. Many students agreed with Murphy.

Track season coming to a close

Alex Nancarrow

As with the other spring sports, the track season is quickly coming to an end. The boy’s team has competed in seven meets and has won four so far. The girl’s team has competed in eight meets this season and has won five of those.

For nearly all of the meets the weather has been cold, rainy, or both in some cases. “It really annoys me that is has been so awful outside,” said Burris junior Molly Boylan, “it makes it difficult to be excited for meets and to perform well.”

The only competitions left for the boys and girls are the Madison Grant Relays on May 6, Mid-Eastern Conference on May 10, and finally Sectionals. Sectionals take place on May 17 and May 19 for the girls and boys respectively.

This is not only then end of the season, but also the end of a high school athletic career for seniors. “I’m sad that this is my last track season,” said Burris senior Hannah Clemmons, “I will miss long jump.” Clemmons has helped the team win 3 conference championships, setting a new long jump record for Burris at last years conference at 17 and ¼ inches. She has also gone to regional’s her sophomore and junior years competing in the 4x4, 400 meter dash, and long jump.

Starbucks Frappuccino Happy Hour Returns

Starbucks 'Frappuccino Happy Hour' is back. The popular iced coffee beverages will be half-priced between the hours of 3 and 5 pm from May 6th to the 15th. Starbucks has added a new addition to their wide flavor selection, the latest a Mocha Coconut. In addition to the variety of flavors, the frappuccinos are customizable, allowing customers to chose low fat milk and sugar free syrups. Customers can also add protein powder and whipped topping, along with a plethora of other add ins, to their drinks. The frappunccinos are regularly priced between $3.52 and $4.57. "I'm excited about the return of happy hour," said senior Hannah Clemmons, "Starbucks Frappuccinos are my favorite."

Pictures Of The Biology Frog Dissection

Juniors, Raquel DeAugustine and Chase Brammer pair up to dissect their frog in Mrs. Millers Biology class.

Students prepare the dissect of the frog by removing layers of skin from the areas they plan to exam.

Students remove the skin from the stomach of the frog and examen the frogs internal organs.

Burris vs. Cowan Baseball

Problems in the middle east

Austin Quinn
These past few weeks our military and U.S. leaders have been very busy in the Middle East. First uprisings with Libya then issues with Gaddafi and his control now Osama Bin Laden. President Obama and his military have had their eyes opened with no sleep for weeks now trying to control the problems that have been occurring in the Middle East. Many students have been debating among each other over which issues are better/worse for the American people and our security and prosperity.
"A lot of the classes I'm in keep talking about the killing of Osama and not about any of the other issues that are occurring after the fact" said senior Lucas Parsons. He went on to talk about how they're still caught up in the fact that we killed one of our most tracked enemies but forgot about other problems. Parsons went on to say, "We killed a mans son and grandchildren, you don't think he's upset with us?"(referring to Gaddafi and his family). Many kids have been discussing the killing of Osama and thrown the other Pakistani problems to the side.

This week I'm taking a poll on whether people believe the killing of Osama is more important over other surfacing issues around our daily lives:

People believing Osama is the most important/interesting issue: 31.1%
People thinking problems with Gaddafi is more important: 22.4%
People stating that gas prices are our greatest concern as of now: 46.5%

This shows that, gas prices aside, most of the focus has been put onto Osama and the recent events. Students that talked about the problems with Gaddafi showed concern for his actions from NATO and U.S. officials taking control against them. Gas prices have sky rocketed since these Pakistani problems have surfaced and are in the back of everyone's minds

Senior Honors Night Scholarships by Hannah Clemmons

Senior Honors Night for the Class of 2011 was held on Wednesday, May 4, 2011. The following seniors received scholarships:

Daren Dixon Memorial Scholarship: Kelsey Carr

Joseph Decaroli Citizen - Scholar Award: Hannah Clemmons

Thomas Edward Dale Scholarship: Alysha Ellison

Nancy J. Mannies Scholarship: Linda Sherfick

Delaware County Hall of Fame Scholarship: Kendra Carr and Jordan Swoape

Heintzelman Scholarship: Faulkner Allocco

US Air Force Academy Presentation: Connor McGee

John C. Cooley Memorial Scholarship: Nickole Regala

W.A. Hurley Memorial Scholarship: Jasmine Childress

Alice Miriam Kitzelman Memorial Scholarship: Kendra Carr

Phillip Nash Nelson Scholarship Award for Music: HaEun Hong

Arthur D. and Josephine M. Robling Scholarship: Alex Nancarrow

Jennifer Strother Scholarship: Monica Mikolajczyk

Angie Wilson Scholarship Award: Rachel Rector

Congratulations to these outstanding seniors.

Owl Walk Results

The results of the Burris Owl walk that took place on April 21 are finally in! The purpose of the Owl walk was to raise money for the Burris Library, and it was successful. Although numbers are still being added, it is certain that Burris students raised more than $2,000 to contribute to the library.

The Owl walk also offered a pizza party contest to the class who raised the most money for the library. The winning class was the Kindergarten, coming in with a total of $659 in donations. Burris K-12-er and senior Hannah Badger said,“I think it’s good that the Kindergarten raised the most money for the library, hopefully those students will continue to care about it and help in years to come.”

The Owl walk also had a drawing for $25 Books-A-Million gift cars, giving one to an elementary, middle and a high school student. The winner of the elementary gift card was Jo Cross, the middle school was Kyler McCarty, and the high school winner was Drew Odle. Congratulations to all the winners!

Overall, the results prove that the Owl walk was not only successful because of how much fun it was, but also because it really helped the school make valuable contributions to one of the best educational resources Burris has available, the library.

AP Exams

Staff writer

Faulkner Allocco

This week AP students open their books to study for the infamous AP Exams that are being proctored this week and next.

Advanced Placement classes are usually taken by junior and senior students at both Burris high school and the Indiana Academy. These tests range from an array of subjects from language to math and science. These tests are taken after the completion of a yearlong class in the area of study.

The Advanced Placement courses are more challenging then regular classes and are meant to simulate a college level class. Scoring highly on an AP test can get you college credits, which is the main goal of most students who take the tests at the end of the year.

Every year the AP tests are given the first two weeks of May and during this time both Burris and Academy students open their books and study for the test. You can see Academy students with books open at sporting events, during their lunch and on the weekends prior to their exams.

Burris senior Monika Mikolajczyk took the Calculus AB exam on Wednesday May, 3^rd in the Student Center Ball Room along with almost 50 other Burris and Academy students. “To study for the test I memorized a lot of formulas about area and volume, I also looked over my old notes and did some practice problems.”

Burris senior Amelia Heintzelman took the AP English Lit exam on Thursday May, 5^th on the third floor of the student center with her 20 classmates. “To prepare for the test I looked over the summaries of all the books we read and I looked over the literary terms we learned this year. I also drank a lot of coffee to help me focus.” Also taking the AP Spanish Language and AP Calculus AB Exams, the AP Lit. Exam was her third test in a row, which, like the others, took place from 8-12.

Burris senior Katie Murphy has yet to take her AP Statistics Exam, which will be proctored early next week. Katie says, “I’m going to look over my notes and over AP practice problems that we were given in class to prepare for the exam.” Preparation for AP exams are highly time consuming since these test are cumulative reviews from the whole year, and because of May Term a lot of Academy and Burris students will end up overlapping studying for the AP Exams along with their other finals.

Murder in the Auditorium!

"I'll kill you for this, Simon Gascoyne!"

With the stress of classes coming to a close, what better way to relax to some entertainment than to witness a murder mystery? The cast of this spring's play extends an invitation for this Friday evening at 7 o'clock, where they will offer you an adequate brain boggling. Murder, lust, innocence, confusion, and a whole lot of mystery compile to form 'The Real Inspector Hound,' a work by British playwright Tom Stoppard (famous for 'Rozencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead'). Directed by Burris's own Mr. Scott Hinkley, this production casts Jamie Trost and Aaron Whiteman as rival theater critics, Andrew Becker as the ladies' man that he is, Emily Zhang looking seductive in her sexy attire, Olive Sponseller as the innocent young beauty, Blake Mellencamp as the wheelchair-bound relative, Taylor Hubble as the nosy help, and Autumn Delk as a very peculiar Inspector Hound. Oh, and we can't forget the guest appearance from Barbara DeLarm! Come out and enjoy the show; it's bound to be memorable!

Friday, May 6th.
7:00 PM
Tickets are $3 for students and $5 for adults.

Fast Five races to the top at box office

     The movie that was supposedly going to set off the summer with a boom did not disappoint audiences around the nation. Universal Pictures released the fifth installment to the Fast and Furious series on Friday and the movie exceeded expectations cashing in the weekend at $86,198,765.
     The fifth and last movie in this series definitely left audiences wanting more as the favorites from each movie returned to the action series. This movie set out to be different from the rest straying away just from the main theme of racing as the actors were in Brazil, Rio de Janeiro which was the set for a very aesthetically pleasing scenery.
     To add to the all-star cast of  Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Ludacris, and Tyrese Gibson was Dwayne Johnson who played the role of a CIA agent that was set to recapture the escaped convict Dominic Toretto. After escaping to Brazil, the cast finds themselves in trouble with the law in Brazil that is corrupt by drug dealer Reyes who sets out to eliminate Toretto and O'Conner.
     This movie keeps the audience at the edge of their seats stimulating the passion for racing and action as the cast moves through all of Rio while dealing with the CIA and drug lord Reyes after them. If you enjoyed any of the Fast and Furious movies this one will be a joy to watch as well.

   Check out the trailer!

May Term

By: Tanna Jones

May Term will be starting May 16, which is in two weeks. A few classes that students are excited about are, Candy Wars, Cooking, and Yoga. Candy and cooking are mostly made up of all seniors. Senior Paige Chambers says, “ I am excited for finals to be over and to start May Term. My classes are cooking, candy wars, and bowling.” Another senior Kylie Smith says, “ I have yoga, fitness, and candy wars.”

I think everyone is ready for finals to be over and to begin May Term. For myself, I think Mayterm is a fun way to end the year, especially for the seniors, since we will not have much to worry about.

Final Preparation

Burris students will soon begin their finals, which means a lot of studying! Finals at Burris start on Thursday, May 12th. Finals are on Thursday, May 12th, Friday, May 13th and Monday, May 16th. Students are beginning to prepare for finals and doing their last assignments and projects. Students feel like most teachers cram a lot of information into the last few weeks before finals.

When asked if their teachers crammed the last few weeks, Michelle Jones said, "Yes, my teachers cram a lot of stuff into the few weeks before finals!"

Paige Chambers said, "I don't like the terrible fast pace up until finals!"

Biology Dissection

The end of the year brings a special type of lab in the biology classes, dissections! In both Mr. Dodrill's and Mrs. Miller's biology classes, students have begun to dissect frogs, rats, and sharks. Students break off into groups and use a guide to dissect the animals and identify body parts. Participating in dissections is important to the biology classes so that students can see an up close and personal example of the things that they have learned throughout the year. After going through the process of dissecting, students are tested on the body parts to reinforce what they have learned. "I don't like dissections at all, but I feel like it's a good for us to do because I've learned a lot through this hands on experience," junior Michelle jones said. The dissections, while important, are not always liked. "I hate it because I think it's disgusting and I want nothing to do with it!" junior Chantelle Jones exclaimed. Others seem to enjoy the dissection labs. "I think dissecting the animals is interesting. It's fascinating to see the insides and see how everything works," junior Emily Spears said.

Osama Bin Laden is DEAD!

Osama Bin Laden

Crowd cheering in front of the White House

President Obama giving speech on Bin Laden's death.

By: Paige Chambers

After the 9/11 terrorists attacks on the World Trade Centers in 2001, the man responsible for it all is dead. President Obama released this information on Sunday, May 1st at 10:35 P.M. The president gave a speech in the East room of the White House. He first stated that Osama Bin Laden had been shot down by American Troops in the place of which he was hiding, for nearly ten years.

"It was nearly 10 years ago that a bright September day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history. The images of 9/11 are seared into our national memory -- hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky; the Twin Towers collapsing to the ground; black smoke billowing up from the Pentagon; the wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the actions of heroic citizens saved even more heartbreak and destruction," said President Obama during his speech to America.

The troops flew over Bin Laden's condo area, not planning on landing their vehicles, but that was changed when one malfunctioned. Troops then ran in, finding Bin Laden armed with a rifle, who then began to shoot. The troops shot him down, along with one of his many wives, sons, and others. No American troops were injured.

Troops then took his body on the helicopter and brought it back to the base. Although there are said DNA tests, many American's are skeptical on whether the news is true. Apparently no one has seen the body, and they claim his body is now somewhere in the ocean. Also, many think this is just a political gain for Obama as he will be running once again in the 2012 election.

Bin Laden's was put in the ocean because no country was willing to take it. America does not want to leave it in Bin Laden's home country in fear of a shrine being created for the mass terrorist.

Overall, the American people, along with the rest of the world cheered in happiness with the news of Osama Bin Laden's death. Crowds of people ran out to the streets, waving the American flag.

Music Review: Mumford and Sons

By: Allison Norton

Winner of the ARIA Most Popular International Artist in 2010, Best British Album for Brit Awards in 2011, and Grammy Award Nominee for Best New Artist and Best Rock Song (Little Lion Man) in 2011, Mumford and Sons is rising to the top of the charts and to the hearts of British and American audiences alike.

Bonding over their love for county, bluegrass an folk music, the band formed in December of 2007, in Britain, as a four man group with Clive “Marcus” Mumford as the front man; other members include Ben Lovett, Country Winston, Ted Dwane. They combined a sound like no other, with deep lyrics, a harmony sung by each member, and a variety of instruments played in one given song including: the mandolin, cello, guitar, piano, accordion, drums, banjo, dobro and string bass.

After releasing their EP called Love Your Ground in December of 2008, the fans grew in number. In the coming May of 2009 they released a second EP called The Cave and the Open Sea which then allowed them to produce their first real album. In Britain, their album Sigh No More released in October of 2009 and released in the United States in February 2010. They had their first T.V. performance, on the Late Show with David Letterman on the 17th of February, performing Little Lion Man live.

If you love music as much as I do, you should check out either, White Blank Page or The Cave. Both songs are on the album Sigh No More, as well as the single Little Lion Man. This band will really grow on you, with there genuine sound and beautiful lyrics.

And the winner is...

The results are in! Academites voted, and at the Academy Awards, certificates were presented! Here are this year’s top students, SLC’s, and faculty members:

STUDENTS

Most Athletic

Þ Eric Lechner

Þ Chelsea Toth

Þ Ivan Keene & Marshall Hopkins

Þ Sarah Reason

Best Dressed

Þ Grant Callen

Þ Kylie Bowen

Þ Brennan Murphy

Þ Caroline Strange & Susan John

Biggest Insomniac

Þ Ajay Panicker

Þ Grace Saylor

Þ YeChan Lim

Þ Brianna Weis-DeBragga

Most Likely to Return as Faculty

Þ Sasha Chemey

Þ Grace Casimer

Þ Oliver Thornton

Þ Sarah Reason

Class Clown

Þ Sean Conley

Þ Jamie Trost

Þ Corey Dixon

Þ Sarah Collenbaugh

Biggest Procrastinator

Þ Grant Montgomery

Þ Gwen Murphy

Þ YeChan Lim

Þ Shavongh Evans

First to make $1,000,000

Þ Strahinja Ciric

Þ Emily Zhang

Þ Anish Karlapudi

Þ Mallory VanMeeter

Biggest Gammer

Þ Fahad Ahmed

Þ Erika Walsh

Þ Wade Rogers

Þ Ashley Krineski

Best Personality

Þ Aaron Whiteman & Evan Kalember

Þ Alex Dansby

Þ Marshall Hopkins

Þ Sarah Reason

Biggest Flirt

Þ Wes Stanfill

Þ Jiwu Lee

Þ Keifer Taylor

Þ Kay Wise

Best Nickname

Þ Andrew Becker

Þ Erin Woehlke & Kat Boots

Þ Stu Hilsmeir & Will Prusinski

Þ Kay Wise

Most Likely to Flee the Country

Þ Fahad Ahmed

Þ Candice Burke & Kalah Gallapo

Þ Ivan Keene

Þ Susan John

Most Likely to Get Lost in a Revolving Door

Þ Ajay Panicker

Þ Leeah Worley

Þ Nick Tokarcik

Þ Abigail Fisher

Most Likely to be Late for Graduation

Þ Sean Conley

Þ Gwen Murphy

Þ Nick Wilczewski

Þ Monica Schultz

Best Musician

Þ Sam Drews

Þ Alex Poindexter

Þ Matt White

Þ Madeleine Achgill

Best Artist

Þ Caleb Polston

Þ Becca Thomas

Þ Ryan Snyder

Þ Mallory VanMeeter

Best Dancer

Þ TK

Þ Alex Dansby

Þ Jin Yoon

Þ Abigail Fisher

Cutest Couples

Þ Alex Solivais & Haley Adams

Þ Jon Hilsmier & Grace Casimer

Þ Jon Staff & Chloe Mounayar

SLCs

Most Likely to Ground You

Þ Kurt

Þ Claudia

Most Likely to be an SLC Forever

Þ Paul

Þ Claudia

Most Memorable

Þ Scott

Þ Erika

Most Likely to Leave and Never be Seen Again

Þ Ryne

Þ LJ

Most Likely to Walk in on an Awkward Conversation

Þ Matt

Þ Erika, Laura & Shanise

Most Likely to Make You Laugh

Þ Scott

Þ Erika

TEACHERS

Most Likely to Have Class During the Apocalypse

Þ Pentecost

Best Catch Phrase

Þ East

Most Likely to be a Secret Agent

Þ Watson

Most Likely to Take Over the World

Þ Schuh

Most Likely to State the Obvious

Þ Mayfield & Hartwell

Most Likely to Fall Asleep in Class

Þ Haynes

Messiest Office

Þ Rajca

Best Sense of Humor

Þ Schuh

Most Likely to Win a Nobel Prize

Þ M. Smith

Most Time Spent at the Academy

Þ Shobe

Best Dressed

Þ Nagelkirk

Most Dedicated to the Academy

Þ Stuart

Special thanks to this years MCs and presenters, who made the Awards hilarious and enjoyable; and to those who helped to create the Academy Annual Slideshow. :)