EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL SHORT FILMS MAKE A BIG CONTINUING THE TRADITION IMPRESSION AT THE OSCARS OF EXCELLENCE The Register Staff expresses their beliefs on same-sex The Oscar Live-Action Short Junior Marika Svolos marriage and supports the Films are screened at Filmstreams achieves perfect ACT New Jersey Assembly bill. annually. This year, there was a lot and SAT scores. to be said for the qualifying titles. OPINION, PAGE 12 NEWS, PAGE 3 ENTERTAINMENT, PAGE 10 Central High School 124 N. 20th St. Omaha, NE 68102 The Register 402.557.3357 A High School Newspaper Practicing Professional Journalism [email protected] Chess Team . 3 Skipping Class . 11 Emily Hill. 6 Piercings . .12 Monday, March 26, 2012 Inside: Be Yourself . 7 Truancy Bill . 13 Don Gaby’s . 9 Oak Hill Game . 17 Car crash ends with an Eagle’s untimely passing BY JENNIFER ROONEY “Whether you know him or not, because we are a community, you will always feel the loss. It feels like we’re not complete,” said Dr. Keith Bigsby, Omaha Central’s principal. “We are going to have to work to get through it.” Central lost 17-year-old student Victor Rojas on Sun- day, March 4th, right before 8 a.m. Teachers, students, friends and (most important- ly) his family were hurt from what had happened. GRAPHIC BY KATHERINE SCARPELLO/REGISTER PHOTO COURTESY OF O-BOOK “When you listen to the news and to hear a young person die, your heart goes CENTRAL’S SUCCESS ENCOURAGES out to them. You don’t plan for things like this. It hits stronger when it’s us. You just hope everyone’s okay,” said Mrs. Leslie Hill, Rojas’ counselor. Rojas was killed in a single car crash on the Kennedy Ex- A DIFFERENT KIND OF CAP pressway in his SUV. He was traveling south on Interstate 480 While the district has been forced to put a lid on enrollment for the class of 2016, onto the JFK Expressway when his car went out of control. He then crashed into a barrier near the F Street exit. Eagles are still confident they will blow the lid off of upcoming years, continuing the After that, he was taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. Investigators tradition of excellence and ending their high school careers by walking across the stage. soon figured out that he was not wearing a seat belt. That may be the most effective way to survive a car crash. Historically, athletically and aca- Word of mouth took off following BY MEKENZIE KERR Victor Rojas had been on his way to his brother Alfredo demically famous, Central stands as the Open House in January, eminent in the Rojas’ house that morning. When he didn’t show up, Alfredo oldest high school in the Omaha area, comments on the Omaha.com article on “I was not anticipating it,” said Cen- built in the dawning ages of the 1900s. Central’s , noting the “eager” Central stu- tral Principal Keith Bigsby, “not in my Central pulls students in from around the dents who relayed interest in the eighth wildest dreams…” area with its AP program and athletic tra- grader’s tastes, tailoring the girl’s tour to Including both parochial, OPS and ditions in all areas. fit her as an individual. With both a posi- Any event like this outside school districts, an estimated “We invent realities for others to tive and professional atmosphere, Central 1,000 eighth graders chose Central High perceive,” said Bigsby, “and we’ve devel- has been able to attract students from all changes us. We just School as their No. 1 pick for the upcom- oped one as an outstanding high school over the metro. ing 2012-2013 school year. As a direct re- with unbelievable opportunities.” Dr. Bigsby also feels the diversity of have to appreciate the sult of the surplus in interested students, In addition to the recent boys and Central is a huge pull for both students Dr. Bigsby’s wildest dreams came true; girls 2012 State Basketball Champion- and parents, acknowledging that some around 400 of the 1,000 that applied re- ship titles, Central’s status as an Inter- may look down upon it, as a high school students here. We can’t ceived letters containing the downer news national Baccalaureate Candidate school we value the rare diversity we encompass. that Central was full, and Central had to has significantly increased the magnetic “Diversity creates a sense of medi- take life for granted cap enrollment. pull for students. ocrity,” said Bigsby, “but it has nothing to Central reigns as Nebraska’s largest The “key to us [Central High School] do with race, ethnicity, but individual op- and have to be kind to high school, with a current enrollment of is not a bunch of ads,” notes Bigsby, “but portunities.” 2,397 students; for the 2012-2013 school parent and student word of mouth.” These As an urban high school that draws year the high school had about 685 spots students talking up the school to their in students from all the varying demo- everyone. readily available for freshmen, and all parents and friends are the best marketers graphics of Omaha, diversity is expect- “ - Leslie Hill were filled quickly. for incoming Eagles. ed. Following an article in the Omaha Continued to ‘CAP’ on Page 2 Rojas decided to go looking for him, eventually coming across the accident scene. Police officers later stated that there was no alcohol, drugs or mechanical problems involved in the crash. The wind most likely Boy and Girl Eagles share in Championship made him lose control. The worst part was that Victor Rojas’ mother was in Hous- ton, Texas, on her way home from Mexico. She received a call joy, Omaha Central dubbed “Champ High” that there had been an accident and booked an emergency flight home. She was later told that he was gone. NSAA STATE Teachers, students, friends and his family are all trying to BASKETBALL work through this tragedy. Hill went to each of his classes Mon- day, March 5 to talk to the students. “ SCORES Victor Rojas was the type of person who talked to everybody he knew. People knew him as a funny and social guy who valued Boys Basketball everyone. He really enjoyed people. He was also very respectful and polite to adults. vs. Bryan: 56-52 The teachers of Central High School found out about the vs. Lincoln North tragic event from Mrs. Bette Norton Ball, head of the guidance Star: 67-47 department, who contacted them via phone. Most of them were shocked. “It caught me off guard. I had to get proof, I couldn’t vs. South: 55-38 believe it,” said Bigsby. Friends of Victor Rojas have made shirts and such things as posters to give to his mother to show how much they loved Girls Basketball and appreciated him. A few students even made a huge banner vs. Fremont: 59-44 for any student of Central High to sign, which they later gave to Victor Rojas’ mother. vs. Papillion LaVista “I was very impressed and proud of the compassion and South: 48-40 kindness and support the students give one another. It’s so beau- tiful,” said Hill. Several students even asked Bigsby permission vs. Lincoln South- to wear Victor Rojas’ button at graduation, but this request was east: 36-35 declined. Rojas’ visitation was from 1 to 8 p.m. on Friday, March 9th. PHOTO BY KATHERINE SCARPELLO/REGISTER The funeral was on the following Saturday, March 10th, at 10 Coach Eric Behrens, left, and Coach Thomas Lee, right, congratulate one another on their matching state titles. a.m. at St. Peter’s. Victor Rojas’ mother encouraged anyone who knew Victor and wanted to attend to come to his funeral. Both teams share the joy of being Nebraska State Champions. Ms. Alejandra Soto, a bilingual liaison, called the Rojas family to give them her personal sympathy. “I wanted to be the BY MEKENZIE KERR the Central site, but these wins mean much more than simply one to talk to them to tell the mother the school felt her loss. I years of trophies--2012 has ushered in many firsts. have talked to her before. She was glad to see that we cared,” said The Omaha Central girls’ and boys’ varsity basketball teams Central’s boys team, lead by Coach Eric Behrens, made Soto. didn’t have magic on their sides this 2011-2012 season. Many the Eagles the first Class A boys basketball team in 23 years Soto talked to the siblings over the phone, but decided to teams hope to win the state basketball championship title, and to go undefeated. A solid victory of 55-38 over Omaha South make a personal visit as well to the Rojas’ home to talk to all of hope springs eternal: with heartfelt ambition, sweaty hard work finalized the undefeated record that has been following the Ea- the relatives. “The mom recognized me right away and I just let and impressive leadership skill, both the Lady Eagles and Boys’ gles around the entire season. her cry on my shoulders,” said Soto. team brought home the state championship title. The boys team’s 2012 state championship title makes the Central will always remember Victor Rojas, who inspired Both state championship titles marked numerous achieve- sixth state title in the past seven years, and served as the first un- and changed throughout his time. ments for the Central Eagles, establishing records and memories defeated season in Class A since 1989.