By: Neeka Choobineh
While many of us were relaxing during Spring Break, Lincoln East DECA was taking care of business at the Nebraska State Career Development Conference. This three day competition (held at the Cornhusker Marriott Hotel) was more than a firm-handshake, flashy smile, business casual get-together. Students competed in areas ranging from finance to entrepreneurship, honing their marketing and management skills. With a small team, Spartan DECA made a powerful showing. Here were their results:
1st place, Megan Dworsky, Principles of Finance
1st place, Keelan Chapman, Food Marketing
3rd place, Taytem Chapman, Principles …

By: Drew Bakenhus
In a month usually dominated by the talk of college basketball, the NFL stole the show. In a matter of days the Broncos picked up proven quarterback Peyton Manning and traded Tim Tebow to the Jets. Tebow’s move was somewhat expected after the Broncos signed the sure-to-be starter, Manning.
First things first, the Broncos’ effort to sign Manning comes as no surprise. Although Tebow found a way to win, his unconventional style turned off executive vice president of football operations for the Broncos, John Elway. For some reason, Elway …

By Griffith Swidler
For one month every year, basketball fans everywhere get to be apart of the insanity that is March Madness.
Hank Neal, a junior basketball player at Lincoln East says, “When March Madness rolls around I watch just a ton of basketball.  Probably more basketball than the rest of the year combined.”
Who can blame him?  How could you not enjoy 63 games in 20 days featuring the top teams in the country?  Of the 60 games played so far, 31 of them have been decided by 10 points or less.
It …

By Michael Shively
The Spartan golf team is off to a strong start this year after placing third at the Beatrice Invitational last Thursday.  East is using their poor finish at Districts and State in 2011 as motivation to play well right now.  “We were disappointed that we only qualified two players last year so we really want to do well this year,” said senior golfer Corey Labenz.
Sophomore Trey Pettit and Labenz led East to it’s strong showing in Beatrice by placing third and fourth respectively.  Labenz said that the positive …

By Jessica Qiu
On March 5, the Internet exploded with a singular name: Kony.
Joseph Kony tops the International Criminal Court’s “Most Wanted” list. Over the course of 26 years, Kony has been responsible for more than 65,000 kidnappings of Ugandan children. Young girls became sex slaves. Young boys became child soldiers for the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Originally a body intent on overcoming the Ugandan government, the fundamentalist and militant LRA quickly became associated with harrowing human rights violations.  Under Kony’s command, sons and daughters were forced to brutally murder their …

by Claudia Seravalli
Yea, summer. While I do love school (within reason) I really can’t wait for all the gleeful fun that awaits me after our rather early dismissal in late May. And, with music being one of my favorite passions, it only creates more excitement for one of the most outrageous summer music festivals out there: Bonnaroo.
Except: I’m not going (whoops) which makes sense, given my moneyless-teenager status, and the fact that my car would most likely break down in the middle of Tennessee. Nonetheless, this is something I’ve dreamed …

By Sarah Penner and Conner Dwinell
The track and field season has started off strong for the Spartan girls. They have only had two meets so far, but both have shown promising abilities in this years’ diverse team.  There are seniors ready to end their track life with a bang, sophomores hopeful to build off last year, and newbies experiencing track for the first time.
Jackie Osenbaugh, a senior, has ran the mile and 800 in track all four years at East. One of the highlights of her final season so far …

Story by Imani Wilson
On Feb.26, Travyon Martin, a 17-year old African-American male, was shot and killed on his way to buy some Skittles by Neighborhood-Watch patrolman George Zimmerman.  This event has proved to be very controversial, partially because Zimmerman has not yet been sentenced.  Zimmerman claims that he shot the teen out of self defense, and his actions can be justified by the “Stand Your Ground Defense,” a law in Florida that allows someone who feels threatened to “stand their ground,” or not retreat.  Conversely, many people believe that Zimmerman …

By Curtis Dlouhy
The one season every year where all Spartan athletes seem to excel is the spring, and the baseball team is no exception. Off to a 7-0 record, the Lincoln East baseball team is raising the bar. What is more impressive than the seven wins is the manner in which those wins came. All of the wins have been in an exceptionally dominating fashion, including an absolute dismantling of North Platte to begin the year. Although success at this level is hard to maintain, the team is confident that …

Review by Gabriel Gauthier
Comic by Randall Munroe (www.xkcd.com)
Webcomics. You’ve gotta love ‘em. They’re a synthesis of expression, illustration, humor, philosophy and more. Every one is worth a laugh, a thought, or a moment of your time. For me, a webcomic is an occasional visit into the mind of a fellow “creative-type.”
While everyone has their personal webcomic niche, my favorite is without a doubt “xkcd.” This triweekly series of paneled illustrations is Randall Munroe’s personal gift to other nerds. XKCD is famous for being intensely esoteric and for making the reader absorb the comic …