Volleyball Stars Take a Trip to State

by Claire McMannes

 

Bump, set, spike! The Platteville Hillmen girls’ volleyball season has come to a close with 40 wins and only 6 losses. Through all the sweat, hard work, dedication, and long practices, the girls’ hard work paid off. Yvette Updike is the coach and also Briette Updike (‘15) and, Brelynn Updike’s (‘17) mom. On Friday, November 7th in Green Bay, our very own Lady Hillmen went to the WIAA Division 2 State Tournament for the first time in almost twenty years. The girls played a hard three games. Losing the matches by only 25-19, 25-23, and 25-19 in the semifinals at the Resch Center. The student section was almost completely filled. Ashley Budden (‘15) says, “It was really great to see everyone come out so far to support the team. Also, seeing everyone participate in the spirit games was always really cool.”

The trip to state was bittersweet, as the the seniors and team captains, Budden and Updike’s very last Hillmen volleyball season has ended. But more is possibly to come in college for the two very talented athletes.

In all the Platteville volleyball girls made the Hillmen proud with their amazing season. Noah Tashner (‘15), and brother of varsity player Claire Tashner , says “It was really cool to see everyone come out for the game; our student section was huge compared to the opponents. It was really exciting to see the girls work so hard and give it their all. Go Hillmen!”

Punk's Not Dead, It Just Went Pop

by Anna Skubal

Remember the 80’s? Mullets, shoulder pads, acid washed jeans, Chernobyl? Unless you’re one of our sage, elderly teachers, you probably don’t remember that part. Maybe you know more of the pop music: Madonna, Prince, Duran Duran, Michael Jackson? How about the more hardcore-punk side: The Misfits, Dead Kennedy, T.S.O.L., MDC? Well, punk’s making a comeback, and it’s coming back strong.

In the early 00’s the band Blink-182 started to join other pop sensations on the charts with a style known as pop-punk. Other bands such as Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco soon followed them and drew many people into the other genres and bands that are part of the underground alternative music scene.

Four Australian boys in particular loved the pop-punk genre. Loved it enough, in fact, to start posting cover videos on YouTube from bands such as A Day To Remember, All Time Low, and Blink-182 under the name of 5 Seconds of Summer. The videos soon got noticed by major record labels and producers. This caused the boys to move from Sydney to London where they got some serious attention from another popular group based there… One Direction.  

They've been touring alongside teen heartthrobs One Direction since February 2013, but as Alternative Press said, “The massive major-label infrastructure pushing this band is highlighting the fact that they’re pop-punk—not trying to change them into a boy band.” 

Could 5SOS’s fanbase look more into the genre’s origin with the progression to We Are The In Crowd to Escape The Fate and possibly all the way back to The Misfits or Blink-182? There’s a very good chance, and it’s likely we’ll see more of this style trickle on to the mainstream radio.

How I Met Your Vampire

by Matt Schaefer

The story of Dracula is certainly not a new one, and since Bram Stoker penned his original novel, it has been the subject of countless adaptations. On October 10th, the latest adaptation Dracula: Untold was released to movie theaters, doing fairly well at the box office but failing to leave fang-like impressions on the critics.

Released by Universal Pictures, who intended it to be a reboot of their 30s and 40s monster franchises, Dracula: Untold spins an origin tale of the infamous vampire, attempting to couple the fictional Stoker tale with the real life inspiration Vlad the Impaler, though it shouldn’t be credited with being historically accurate. When Vlad’s kingdom is being attacked by an army of Turkish soldiers, he seeks the assistance of a cave dwelling vampire for the strength to vanquish his enemies, but needs to decide whether or not he wants to be a bloodsucker for eternity.

The story of the film is surprisingly solid and well thought out. Luke Evans does a great job as Vlad, being one of the only adaptations of Dracula to make the viewer sympathize with the internal struggle Dracula goes through. The action sequences are well paced and always entrancing, often accompanied with astounding visuals and larger than life set pieces. The gothic castles and spooky woods put you in the mood for a good ol’ fashioned monster movie.

There are flaws, though. The action is intense but in a PG-13 sort of way. This leads to a lot of sloppy cuts and nauseating shaky cam to hide the bloody impalings. The first third of the film is painfully slow, being burdened with too much frontloaded exposition. Also, the dialogue is far too heavy. It’s all loaded with cliched philosophy, and it seems like every trivial conversation transforms into a battle of wits.

In the end, Dracula: Untold is pretty good but nothing spectacular. If you’re a gore hound looking for some brutal violence or if you’re looking for an intense horror movie, you’ve come to the wrong place. But, I can guarantee that Dracula: Untold is a fun little monster movie that can be enjoyed for what it is. Plus, it makes the vampire movie something worth going to see again. That’s right: no sparkling.

They've Got a HUNCH: PHS's New Extracurricular

by Adam Roberts

 

For some PHS students, being on a research team for NASA has come a lot sooner than they may have thought.

Just this year, Platteville High School has been added to the short list of schools participating in the HUNCH program. HUNCH (High schools Uniting with NASA to Create Hardware) is a program that was created in 2003 to give high school students real-world hands-on experience while developing cost-effective hardware for NASA. Students participating in the HUNCH program design and test hardware that will aid astronauts in zero gravity.  “Our primary goal is to make life better for astronauts,” says Mr. Matt Heer, advisor for the HUNCH team.  

Platteville High School’s HUNCH team is comprised of 15 students hard at work to create hardware for the program.  The team began tackling their herculean task earlier this year by creating a proposal, which involves creating a device that will stabilize a GoPro camera in zero gravity.  With the proposal being submitted and approved, Dean Loeffelholz (‘15), Mike Donovan (‘15), Max Frommelt (‘15) and Katelynn Quario (‘15) will have the opportunity to test the prototype this April in Houston, Texas.

After testing in April, a symposium will be held with astronauts and engineers to review the top 8 schools’ experiments.  A maximum of three schools will be selected to test their prototypes at the International Space Station.  

While the HUNCH program is already in full swing, the team can still use support and encouragement as they continue to work on this project. Says Mr. Heer, “There are kids at Platteville working really hard to put something thing on the Space Station.”  So PHS, be aware of the efforts of the HUNCH team, and get involved!

You can follow Platteville’s HUNCH team on Twitter (@PvilleHUNCH) or on their website https://sites.google.com/site/pvillehunch2014/

Want to watch the full interview? Check it out here: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDIsF58FeD8

Rachel Holder Held Up the House

by Max Frommelt

Through the WGLR radio station, PHS got to see one of the newest country artists on November 14th. Rachel Holder, along with her guitarist, paid a visit to the school, and  while she demoed some of her new songs, she explained the purpose of her tour. 

The twenty-two-year-old singer is running for Miss Tennessee, and her trip to Wisconsin was a perfect chance to promote the Don’t Text & Drive program, which she hopes will be a hit in Tennessee, too. 

Tiana Gile (‘16) says of Holder’s performance and message to aspiring artists, “She was inspiring!” It takes a positive outlook on life in order to succeed in the music business. Even someone like the Chattanooga native  struggles with internal confidence. “I’m trying to find myself everyday of my life,” Holder admits. One of the best things that you can do is “have a great support system” as you go through life. 

Holder even shares about her younger years, “I got picked on a lot.” But, she maintains that this his should not deter you from making decisions. “If you feel like you're at a crossroads, make a decision and go with your gut.” While life is not always simple and kind, Holder says it’s imperative not to let things get to you.  Because, when it comes down to it, “Success is the best revenge.”

While the past two presenters, Holder and the up-and-coming Nashville sensation Tyler Barham, have been country artists, our future guests could bring anything. Mr. Engh explains,“The radio station is a reason for the musicians.” 

These presentations are not for the purpose of skipping class, according to PHS’s administration. They allow students to see what they can do with their future as they plan for college or whatever comes beyond high school.“Life has a lot of possibilities, not just what you see here in Platteville.” 

While some of the student body may not be interested in music, PHS will be having a special presenter come the week before winter break: Jerry DeClaire. While the name may not mean much now, wait ‘til you hear that he is a Marvel comic writer. He has written hundreds of comics for Marvel, including all of the X-Men series, Hawkeye, Ironman, Silver Surfer and Thor. He will be showing us the art of drawing comics and just how much science is involved. So, music is not the only tune that will be hitting our High School!