The Mariner Compass

By Mallory Drover and Aurora Rodrick

According to History.com, Valentine’s Day is romantic holiday celebrated on February 14th which is based on three saints, who were all martyred.

History.com also tells us that there are three possible legends, one legend for each saint. One talks about a roman priest.  He served an emperor that didn’t believe in young men getting married, because it made them bad soldiers.  Saint Valentine, the priest, believed this was wrong and married young men secretly. The emperor had Saint Valentine put to death immediately after discovering his defiance. The saint’s death sentence was carried out on February 14th, and now we associate the anniversary of his death with romance.  

The next legend says is that a Saint Valentine helped prisoners escape from jails which gave unmerciful beatings without cause. The Saint was caught helping the prisoners escape in early February and sentenced to death. His death sentence was also carried out on February 14th.

The last saint  was imprisoned for treason.  While he was imprisoned, he was believed to send out the first Valentine’s love letter. This letter was written for the jailer’s daughter who secretly came visit him, when her father was preoccupied. According to the legend he signed the letter “Love, Your Valentine.”

In Homer High School today, Valentine’s day is filled with a variety of modern traditions and celebration. The times have changed the celebration of love in honor of the saints who were martyred into something primarily more commercial, involving roses and chocolates. This year’s Matchmakers are hosted by the sophomore class, while Dana Olesh and Traven Apiki are selling roses for four dollars each on behalf of FFA.

“It’s for a good cause. The money is supporting our trip to the Envirothon,” explained Dana. “We’re delivering [the roses] during lunch or right before lunch on Valentine’s day. We’ve got lots of good sales this year, and we have really been appreciating all of the business. Roses make people happy.”

There will also be a Valentine’s Day dance on the 24th. There has been talk among the student council about having a ‘best ask’ contest, in which people take a photo or video of themselves asking their date to the dance in the most elaborate way possible. The winner and his/her date will get free admission into the dance.

By Michael de Moura

Homer’s medley of talent and potential has gotten a facelift since World Café was first revamped last winter, under the new name and artistic director. Brand new acts originating from the Middle East all the way to Kachemak Bay make the show “more diverse and more fun!” said Sally Oberstein, the second director to take the helm of the production.

She elaborated, saying that this year’s Out of the Woodwork will incorporate a “mix of rock, soul, folk, salsa, poetry, comedy theatre, belly dancing, tap dancing and sea shanties” performed by virtuosos drawn to the ‘End of the Road’.

The show starts at 7 p.m. on Friday, February 18th at the Mariner Theatre.

“A lot of new faces, a lot of surprises” accompanied and rivaled by more prominent figures and voices, like that of the Shivering Gypsies, and KBBI’s Marcia Lynn “makes it Out of the Woodwork”.

Oberstein asked any artists who performed in previous shows “to do something out of the ordinary for them.”  Changing the content of their acts also shows off their versatility as performance artists.  Challenging circumstances produce a “very colorful” show.

Revelations of musical, choreographic, and theatrical talent shine an entirely new light on Homer’s community, “there’s so much talent in this town, it’s just amazing” Oberstein remarked.

A group of five High Schoolers can pay a mere $15 for their admission. Normally, tickets cost $5 dollars for youth, $10 for Homer Council on the Arts members, and $15 for general admission.

By Carson Duggar and Isabelle DeArmoun

The Homer Mariner Hockey season ended this past weekend after coming one goal away from doing something no other Homer team has ever done, make it to state. Ranked 6^th after the regular season they went into the North Star Conference Region Tournament with one goal in mind, win two games and advance to state. Due to horrendous blizzards throughout Alaska, officials were forced move the games to Thursday, when the Mariner’s faced off with 3^rd ranked Colony.

Homer hit the ice with authority, getting a first period goal by freshman Kiril Sanorov assisted by Kai Simmons. The scoreboard would remain untouched until ten minutes left in the 3^rd period, when senior forward Erik Rosencrans took a backhanded shot from the top of the hash marks and snuck it past the Colony goalie’s glove. They struck again minutes later; a shot by Rosencrans was tipped in by freshman Clem Tillion. The Mariners would go on to win 3-0; it was the first time a Homer team had won a game at Regions since 2007.

Erik Rosencrans, who plans to play hockey at a junior college next year, exclaimed, “The goal for this entire season was to win a game at regions, and then make it to state. We have succeeded so far.”

Saturday morning the squad faced the 2^nd ranked Palmer Moose. They held a one goal game all the way until a minute left in the game due to the stellar performance by goalie Alex Sanarov. He had 48 saves on 50 shots, shutting down countless Palmer attacks. Homer skated hard but fell short in a 2-0 loss to the Moose. Homer was eliminated and the Moose would go on to win the Region Championship against Wasilla, although both teams advance to state.

Opposing coaches acknowledged juniors Alex and his twin brother Dennis, Dennis earned First Team All Conference, and Alex Second Team All Conference. “It feels great to be number two, but I want to be number one!” Alex Sanarov said. “We are taking steps each year; next year, we are going to state.”

By Lauren Cashman and Cayenna Anderson

Do you aspire to become chef? Or maybe just want to expand your knowledge of cooking? Mrs. Casseri will offer an F.O.L. and after school clinic from February 20th to 24th with French chef Michel Villon.

Villon, a French chef residing in Anchorage, has worked in multiple restaurants and currently coaches people on cooking techniques. Mrs. Casseri discovered him while he was judging a cooking competition at Skills U.S.A. in Anchorage and was able to talk to him about the work he does with students.

After hearing that Casseri could not teach her class to de-bone a whole chicken, Villon was quick to offer free sessions to Casseri’s students on how to accomplish this task.

Students are to bring a whole chicken, veggies and other cooking supplies and will make various dishes oriented around chicken. At the end of the week students will either be able to take their dish home or the food will be served at a school meeting.

This clinic is not just oriented towards Skills U.S.A students, but anyone who shows an interest in cooking. To learn from a chef of this caliber is a unique opportunity to a place as small as Homer.

If you are interested in attending these classes, please contact Mrs. Casseri, so that arrangements for rides can be taken care of in advance. Space is limited, but there is room for around 40 students.

by Gabriel Selbig and Ryan Navrot

It hit our small fishing community on the first of February. Relentless through our much sought after four-day weekend. It cancelled events, closed businesses, and immobilized vehicles of all sorts. Indeed, the mad snowstorm of 2012 did not greet Homer welcomingly.

Last week’s storm left Kodiak’s Safeway with a damaged roof, but no such local news has been reported. Although, certain Homer High students were eager to tell their comical inconveniences caused by the numerous feet of snowfall.

Last Friday, Sophomore, Dylan Wylde woke up searching for his truck. He realized after a few moments, the snow bank parked in his driveway was his ’96 Chevy! “About two hours into shoveling, I tried to back my truck out of there. I must’ve not seen the mountain of snow directly behind me, and the truck was then bottomed-out.” Mr. Wylde believes it was a combination of the snowfall and the wind (typically known as a blizzard) that blew under, over, and every which way around the vehicle that caused the mishap. When asked about his thoughts of snow shoveling, he angrily retorted, “Shoveling? Oh, that is my least favorite thing to do.”

The real heartbreaker of this dreadful storm was the affects taken on young Mady Gerard’s 16th birthday. Amidst the aftermath of the blizzard, Gerard had no options but to grab her shovel and clear the snow for hours on end, while quietly and tearfully singing to herself, “Happy Birthday To Me.”

Burl Tonga, senior of Homer High, reaped the benefits of a nice weekend stranded at home with no obligations and no worries. Both the family van and his own Subaru were snowed-in for a total of two days, so Burl was truthfully left with no option. With massive amounts of snow sliding off the steep metal roof of his house, the railing of the porch was “taken out”, as Burl likes to phrase it.

Homer High Sophomore, Elsa Simmons had more difficulty than anybody as she must drive all the way up East Skyline past Ohlson Mountain, down an iced over dirt road, and still must snow machine down her make-shift path a quarter of a mile just to reach her front door. She estimates about six feet of snowfall needed to be dealt with. The most exciting part of her day was shoveling off the tall roof of the Simmons’ family cabin. “It was pretty scary watching Dad throw himself off the roof, but I remembered how much snow we had at the bottom”, Elsa explained as her father enjoyed making the best out of an aggravating situation.

It is now a week later, and the snowfall is not what’s lingering on everybody’s mind. Weather temperatures have risen dramatically in the past week, as it has reached about forty degrees all through the week. Driveways and roads alike appear iced-over or puddles of slush. Debates of an early spring are rattling in the minds of students. As quickly as the blizzard came in, it’s melting away day by day.

Mallory Drover and Meaghan McCallum after performing on Wednesday.

By Carson Duggar

 Students in Mr. Campbell’s AP senior language class got introduced to new tactic of learning. The class embarked on a new task of performing plays. This was a large change from writing essays and reading novels as they had been previously doing in the first semester.

Campbell broke his students into five groups and each chose from eight diverse plays to perform. Additionally, within their groups they discussed and read their plays to make sure they had full understanding.

They were expected to make cuts, making them shorter. Campbell emphasized that making cuts to a play is very challenging because they had to edit it, yet still keep the content and vital pieces of the story. Once each group properly condensed them, they rehearsed and developed props and costumes.

The next step was the performance. Many students had never participated in a play before. Although, after watching the plays this was not evident. The kids developed accents and odd traits to best portray each and every character.

Lauren Cashman claimed that performing helped her comprehend the piece, “It made you go beyond just the writer’s words and put you in the shoes of the characters. After performing I had a much deeper level of understanding of the play.”

By Gabriel Selbig

With long legs for running, giant hands for snatching rebounds, and a tall stature just for good measure, Tayla Cabana appears a perfect fit for the sport of basketball.

Cabana is in the midst of her sophomore year at Homer High, and she has worked her way up to a starting forward position on the varsity Lady Mariners’ basketball team. Spectators can always spot Tayla rushing after loose balls, putting herself at risk for any and all rebounds, and continuously weaving her way to open spots around the basket.

Over this past weekend, Tayla traveled with her team all the way to the valley for games against Colony High School and Palmer High School. After two back-to-back losses against the large valley schools, Tayla’s spirit goes unshaken. “We will be winning before the season is done; our team just has too many skilled players.”

Coaches call her the “sparkplug” of the team, as her primary skill is giving her teammates the energy when their stamina is dwindling.

There are two big assets Tayla possesses at her disposal. One is her left. One is her right.

When asked just how big she believes her colossal hands are, she chuckled with a reply. “Well I’ve been able to palm a men’s basketball for a couple years now.” With such paws, it’s no wonder Tayla Cabana can be seen in every game snatching rebounds out of the air, diving to the court for loose balls, and simply swiping the rock from any opponent’s grasp.

Tayla Cabana, the “sparkplug” of the Lady Mariners basketball team.

Tayla Cabana Enjoys her Ceramics Class

Alaskans and the weather are at war six months out of the year. Usually the weather wins and we put on extra socks and sweaters and lean into the wind on our way out to our frosty cars. Hope is not lost for Alaskan-kind though, there are still the rare symbols of inspiration who retain their rights to bare arms, legs, and toes. To shed some light on how fashion can be upheld, even in the dead of winter, I asked some of these people;

“How did you get to school wearing that?”

“I actually wear shoes until I get to school.”
-Avid flip-flop wearer, Richard Ginter

“I wore pants over this, then I strategically removed them when I got to school.”
-Grace Steiner

“It wasn’t cold outside, I was in -48 degrees weather recently, so this isn’t cold.”
-Hannah Baird

And if you’re wondering how Grace can get across the ice on these,

“Actually, it takes a long time and it’s really slippery.”

The creators of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) presented the bills before congress this month in an effort for media corporations to control online piracy, copyright infringement, and intellectual property theft. Online pirating of movies, TV shows, and music has caused a serious decrease to cooperation and artists’ profits, costing millions of dollars over the past several years. According to Declan McCullagh with cnet.com news, if the bills had been passed, it would have meant that websites accused of copyright infringement would be subject to law suits and court orders to shut down. Not only that, but it would be up to the Internet providers to monitor visitor’s traffic and both websites accused of violating the infringement laws.

“Any website with user-generated content, such as Facebook or Twitter, would likely shut down because of the expectation placed by SOPA to police all the content posted on the site,” explained senior Tori Vaz, who has been watching the progress of the bills closely.

For some time it looked like the bills would pass, with more than enough support from government officials and co-operations like the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), according to Stephanie Condon with CBS News. However, on the 18th of this month, there was an Internet blackout lead by Reddit (a link sharing website) and Wikipedia, in which thousands of Internet websites blocked themselves from public access for 24 hours in protest of the bills, and to stimulate what would happen had they been passed. Google.com placed a black bar over their logo, simulating the censorship that might take place. An estimated 50,000 people took part in the protest, causing most sponsors of SOPA and PIPA to pull out.

After the wide and massive protesting from Internet users, the bills were essentially killed. The new threat to Internet sharing is ACTA (the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement).

Unlike SOPA or PIPA, ACTA is a movement on an international level, and has already been signed by several countries, according to accessnow.org. While originally an agreement between nations to help governments trade without fretting over counterfeits goods, it is becoming clear that the agreement would also have an effect on more minor patents across the Internet. Internet providers would need to watch their visitor’s traffic and report those who are flaunting copyright laws, just like the expectation detailed by SOPA. It will mean it will mean prison and large fines for companies that that are accused of copyright piracy if ACTA is put into effect, and websites convicted of such offenses would most likely have to stop operation.