Superintendent Carol Comeau said generations of young people have benefitted from the extraordinary commitment of Tom Huffer, Sr. who served as a teacher, advisor, mentor and coach. He was the first football coach of Chugiak when it opened in 1969 and later went on to coach two state championship teams. In 2006, Huffer was honored with an Alaska School Activities Association Gold Lifetime pass. In the school board memo recognizing him, it read: He believed it wasn’t good enough to simply put on a uniform. To him, what mattered most was that each student did his or her best. Team reputations are often characterized by wins and losses. However, not once in all his years as coach, did anyone hear him tell his players that they needed to win. Instead he was frequently heard telling his players, whether it was school or family matters, that they needed to do their best and do the right thing.

Known as Mr. Football in the community, Huffer was the primary leader in garnering legislative and community funding for the artificial field turf and other amenities at the Chugiak High School stadium in the past few years.

A formal field dedication ceremony will be held at a later date to be determined by Chugiak and the Huffer family.

Mascot: Seahawks

Athletic division: NCAA Division I

Established: 1883

Institution: Four year private college

Tuition: $42,130 (including room and board)

Enrollment: 2000 undergraduate, 400 graduate students

Alumni: Laura Graham, executive director of the William J. Clinton Foundation; William Maxwell, artist; Molly Burnett, star of Days of Our Lives;  Bob Beckel, political commentator on Fox News Channel.

Interesting Facts:

• Wagner College recently received two 1st place rankings from the U.S. News and World Report’s ranking of “America’s Best Colleges 2010.”

• Wagner benefits from both a pastoral lifestyle and urban benefits with a 105 tree-fille acre campus on Staten Island.

For further information about this University, please visit the college’s website: http://www.wagner.edu/

College of the week is compiled by Meg Mielke.  Please send any questions or comments to CHSPegasus@gmail.com

“Well, being average is so boring.  Living everyday, following everyone else’s examples and norms.  No spice in your life.  The problem with being average is everyday is the same because average people don’t take risks,” local student Ian Blodgett said.

And Ian has a point.  Studies show that those who follow the basic path in life will graduate high school, attend a community college, get married, have one to three kids, follow a structured religion and join a community organization.

“I work at customer service for a phone company.  I make 12 bucks an hour but that’s all I need.  I don’t go out too much and I like to watch T.V.  I can’t afford a car so I use public transportation.  And I am not very good with women; I am just a regular, everyday, normal guy,” says aspiring musical artist Jon Lajoie,  “And I make pretty good spaghetti sauce.”

Every country has some abstract personification who represents the average person. In America, it’s John Doe, or John Q. Public, or Jose Six Pack or G.I. Joe; in Russia, Ivan Ivanovich; in China, Chang San. We often see these characters in editorial cartoons as exaggerated caricatures.

And Chugiak local Katrina Phillips can attest to that.  “I don’t like to stand out.  Blending in with the crowd is what I do best, and I like to keep it that way.”  When asked why, Katrina claimed, “It’s awkward getting stared at, knowing that people are judging you.  It’s just bizarre and uncomfortable for me.”

One student claims otherwise,  “’Cause the word ‘average’ these days is considered fake.  Average people are the ones who try to hard to create an image that they think everyone will like.  When in reality, in the future, no one will care about all the average people and the ‘average’ people most likely won’t be very successful.  I choose to be different because I am different.  And don’t like the way the average people present themselves,” claims Tatiana Athanasiou.

But then the question becomes: What isn’t normal? Is anyone abnormal? And what are the struggles of the abnormal person?

For the most part, realistically, students can’t possibly completely support themselves and have enough time for studying.  This is where student loans and parental support come in, “Yes, my parents help me,” she said with a laugh, “I wouldn’t have money for anything if I paid my own car insurance.”

This is the case with most students, and that’s why having a job that brings in a little bit of spending money is nice.

“I enjoy working for Starbucks, the tips are nice and I’m able to get just the right amount of hours to put some money in my savings account every pay check,” said Wintters.

The benefits of having a job at a coffee shop are numerous, but at the top of the list is free coffee,  “I get a pound of coffee or tea free each week, on top of the free drinks I get while working and my thirty percent employee discount,” added Wintters.

During the holiday season, it becomes even more convenient when the discount rises.  “For the holidays, we get an extra ten percent off,” beamed Wintters.  You can see how a budget-tight student may find discounts at popular coffee shops an excellent way to save a little cash.

“I really like my job, although it’s tough to deal with people directly, especially angry costumers, but I do love coffee.”  Although, Wintters does hint that a job change might be in her future.  “Yes, I have thought about it for a while, it just seems like the logical choice; working at a bank would give me set hours, particularly in the mornings through the day. I will have my student schedule set to night classes which will make it easier to plan ahead and ultimately get more study time in.”

Overall, jobs are good for college students to have.  And although at times, priority management may come into play, students generally have enough time for everything.  And as a last testament from Wintters, “No, your personal life doesn’t have to end just because you have a job and are taking a full school schedule; I know ‘cause it’s my life.”

No Substitute is a rock alternative band consisting of six students: Nicole Warner, Andrew Lochner, Danny Williams, Peter Williams, David Warner and Aaron Finkler.  This band alternated between two different singers (Nicole Warner and Andrew Lochner) and both the bass player and the drummer (David Warner and Aaron Finkler) switched between the two instruments.  No Substitute performed two cover songs and two original songs to round out their set.

Noise Brigade consists of four members: Doug Jones, Mikel Henry, Justin Schwartz and Kalvin Ruth.  This band played a combination of original songs and cover songs, and had arguably the loudest cheering section in the auditorium.

The band, Clockwork Orange, presented one of the most unique musical forces with Karly Matson on vocals, Max Silverman on the keyboard and David Smith on the drums.  Even without a guitar or bass player, the band performed some of the most catchy numbers of the night with two medleys, the Lady Gaga medley from Youtube and a Smith and Silverman original titled “The Annoying Pop Medley.”

The Molten Souls ended the night with Gabe Parsons, Philip Scott and Rusty Teller keeping the rhythm and the spirits up even till the end of the two-hour event.  Following in the tradition of the rest of the bands, the Molten Souls played a few cover songs as well as one original song titled “Moist Cake.”

Between the battling bands, the audience was left entertained by an air guitar competition between members of the crowd, and an informational speech and slideshow by event organizer Brandon Boyer and a drum-off between both audience members and competitors.

At the end of the evening the rankings were announced.  No Substitute received 4^th place with 55 points; Noise Brigade received 3^rd place with 70 points.  The top two bands came in a neck-breaking finish with the Molten Souls finally being named the runner-up with 74 points and Clockwork Orange receiving 1^st place with 75 points.  The close competition between all four of the bands highlighted the musical talent that Chugiak possesses.

Besides promoting music and the arts in our community, the event had another purpose.  The main focus of the event was to raise money for Kids’ Kitchen, a nonprofit organization centered in Fairview that works to feed children who would not otherwise have a meal. Each weeknight, 75 children sit down for a healthy meal cooked by the Kids’ Kitchen volunteer staff.  All of the proceeds from this event will go to this local cause in order to help local children have a safe environment.  From a combination of ticket sales and donations during the event, Chugiak raised over one thousand dollars for Kids’ Kitchen.

Leah Gilbert, a senior at Chugiak High School replies, “Well, I am hoping to get an apartment in Anchorage with a couple of people and go to school at UAA for my first year at college.”

Many seniors are looking for the most costly option of getting their own house or apartment, maybe with some friends.  However, others are considering joining a sorority or fraternity, or getting a dorm room instead of just living at home.

“To me, sororities and fraternities are good for socializing and getting around college.  The bad part I’ve heard about though is the hazing that happens when you are first initiated into the sorority or frat-house,” says Kimberly Smith, another senior going to college in 2010.

Hazing, as defined by Wikipedia is used to describe various rituals and other activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group.  It can cause physical and psychological stress to all involved, and is subject to expulsion in most colleges and universities.

When Robyn Hurley, an 18 year-old high school student was asked what she thought about hazing, she replied, “I think it’s not as frequent as it used to be, though I definitely will agree it can destroy a person’s life.  But I don’t think hazing is that serious unless you’re talking about a huge school like Notre Dame for example.”

The good side of sororities and fraternities is that statistics show that people who are involved with them are 10% more likely to graduate from college and help out in their community than those who are not linked to these groups.  A quote from TeenAdvice.com says that “Fraternities and sororities are not all bad; they are excellent networking groups for later life, give college students a second ‘family’ and are very philanthropic, giving hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours and millions of dollars to worthy causes every year.”

The trick is to find the one that best suits you, and learn as much as you can about all the different houses at the colleges you might be attending.  There are groups based all around a certain lifestyle, ethnicity, religion and of course there is the Greek system to choose from also.  Ultimately, the decision is yours to live where you want to live and do what you want to do, and a sorority or a fraternity may be the thing for you.

The first performer was Phillip Cote, singing “Mr. Brightside”. The crowd clapped ecstatically. Despite some nervousness, he did an exceptional job.

Between performances, the MCs passed out the door prizes. MCs for the night were: Hannah Claugus, Colton Fullmer, Sullivan Gilley, Angela Hartford, Joe Ives, Katie Holmes, Kelsey Johnson, Alex Pasinskis, Alyssa Rochon, Caulin Shattuck and Amber VanRyn.

Jordan Fullmer wowed the crowd with her powerful, spiritual piece, which involved dancing to “The Call”. The crowd was very moved.

Ben Perrell, singing “Single Ladies” by Beyonce, was one that the crowd loved. He was definitely a crowd favorite, getting people to sing along with him. He did an awesome job raising the audience’s spirits.

There was one act through the night that got the crowd buzzing even after the talent show was over. Jeffery Nix and Cody Klepzig stunned the crowd with their dance to “Low” by Flo Rida. It was a dance to remember.

MC Caulin Shattuck touchingly introduced his friend Jarom Christensen to the floor. For anyone unaware, Jarom is a piano player and one that will stun anyone that listens to him play. He impressed the crowd by playing his “Piano Extravaganza”.

Juniors Koren and Gavin Parsons entered the Talent Show for the third time singing “I Feel It in my Bones.”

Congratulations to all the winners. One particularly impressive award was given to Jarom Christensen and Katie Jan for People’s Choice Award with their swing dance.

The Talent Show was a success. Like usual, the turnout was great, and the talents showcased were spectacular. Of course, the show would not have been a success without all those in attendance, but especially the crew and show director Chris Rees.