The Worthington ALC Insider
Volume 1, Issue 18 April 2, 2004
Worthington, Alphaville and the (virtual) world… By Mayra Esqueda     Students were surprised when ALC teacher Ray Lowry showed up in school one day asking about The Sims Online, an interactive internet game. Lowry was directed to ALC math teacher Lynn Schoburg, herself an avid Sims player.  She explained how the game works – players create their own characters who interact with others in the virtual city known as Alphaville.  They have jobs, earn money, build houses, develop relationships with other players, etc.  When she asked why he was interested, Lowry related the following story. University of Michigan philosophy professor Peter Ludlow, a native of Worthington and a former classmate of Lowry’s, appeared the night before on The Daily Show, the fractured news program on Comedy Central.  The Daily Show reported that Ludlow and his character Urizenus were kicked off of Sims Online by its owners, Maxis, because Ludlow was bringing attention to some unseemly elements of the game. (Continued à)	University of Michigan Philosophy Professor Peter Ludlow and his banned Sims character Urizenus    The game is rated T for teen (13 and up). But Ludlow found many aspects of the game unsuitable for teenagers.  Cyber prostitution, con-artist scammers, real-world criminal conspiracies  – all can and do occur in this game which functions like a giant chat-room.  When Ludlow reported these incidents to the game’s owners, he was ignored.  (Continued on page 2)

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When he reported on them in an online newsletter called The Alphaville Herald, he was threatened by the owners, and ultimately had his game account – and his character Urizenus – terminated.

News of Ludlow’s ouster from Alphaville soon appeared in Salon.com, The New York Times, and BBC online.  The reporting was not favorable toward The Sims Online’s owners. The general opinion was that Maxis was trying to censor Ludlow.

      Interestingly enough, Ludlow and Lowry caused a similar ruckus by publishing an underground newspaper known as OINK, the Voice of the People, in 1971 when they were in eighth grade. The Worthington Jr. High administration tried to censor them as well.

     District computer support specialist Tom Ahlberg recalled when he and Ludlow – as high school students – wrote a program that locked-up a teletype connection between Worthington Community College (now Minnesota West) and a mainframe computer at the University of Minnesota.  This also occurred in the seventies, years before words such as internet or hacker entered our vocabulary.

“I actually have no recollection of this,” said Ludlow. But he added, “Not that it didn't happen... “ Ahlberg, however, has distinct memories of the incident.

      Coincidentally, another of Ludlow’s former school pals was none other than ALC Dean of Students Paul Langseth.  It seems that Lanseth, Lowry and Ludlow all had their lockers right next to one another.

Animationfactory.com

Here’s your morning wake up call!!

By Sami Koehne

Starting On Wednesday there is now Cappuccino in Da Bodacious Store!! There are two different flavors – Butterfinger and French Vanilla. There is also hot chocolate being sold. The chocolate and the cappuccino are being sold in 16-ounce containers for $0.75 each.

This means that now the store is going to be open in the mornings before school as well as during lunch. The containers do NOT have lids right now and are served very hot. In other words DON’T take a big drink right away, you WILL burn your mouth. There have been students that have had this happen already.

One of the concerns for the store is if people spill their purchase, we will leave a big mess for the custodian to deal with. If that occurs, we may be unable to sell the cappuccino or hot chocolate until further notice. So please don’t mess around and ruin a good thing for everyone else.

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Cheyenne River Tribal Government By Steven Blue Arm The United States Government defined within the United States Constitution has governmental relationships with international, tribal, and state governments. The Tribal nations have always had a government-to-government relationship with the United States government. The Tribes of the Great Sioux Nation signed treaties in the 1800's with the United States. These are the legal documents that establish our boundaries and recognized our rights as a separate and sovereign nation and governments. The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal lands were originally reduced to a reservation with defined boundaries by a law enacted on March 2, 1889. This law identified all the Lakota/Dakota reservations in what is known as the Great Sioux Settlement. (Continued à) Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal flag

computer-wallpaper.com The Tribal governments maintain jurisdiction within the boundaries of the reservations over such things as rights-of-way, waterways, and watercourses and streams running through any part of the reservation to others lands that may later be added or given back to the reservation under the laws of the United States. Tribal government operates under a constitution consistent with the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. This was approved by the Tribal membership and Tribal Council of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. The Tribal Council consists of a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, and additional Council Members who are elected by Tribal members. The Tribal Council Chairman serves a four year term and functions as the administrative head of the tribe. Three of the Tribal Council members are elected at-large and the remainder are elected from their individual districts.

The Insider April 2, 2003 Page 4

American Idol By Alesha Seifert American Idol is down to 9 finalists. Matthew Rogers and Leah LaBelle were two of the top twelve but were voted off the last couple of weeks on American Idol. The remaining ten finalists included: Amy Adams age 24 from Bakersfield, California, Camile Velasco age 18 from Haiku Maui, Diana DeGarmo age 16 from Snellville, Georgia, Fantasia Barrino age 19 from High Point, North Carolina, George Huff age 22 from New Orleans, Los Angeles, Jasmine Trias age 17 from Mililani, Hawaii, Jennifer Hudson age 22 from Chicago Illinois, John Stevens age 16 from East Amherst, New York, Jon Peter Luis age 24 from Rexburg, Idaho, and La Toya London age 25 from Oakland California. Last Wednesday, March 31st, Amy Adams was sadly voted off. She sang Dancing in the Street. The American Idol final nine will return Tuesday, April 6, at 8 p.m. Central. American Idol final twelve

HOROSCOPES (Can you handle ‘em?) Aries (March 21-April 19) Get a job you big, fat, pathetic loser. Taurus (April 20-May 20) Lose some weight quick you rolly-polly porker. Gemini (May 21-June 20) Get off your butt and get a job you big lazy tub of lard. Cancer (June21-July 22) Get a life you good for nothing bum. Leo (July 23-Aug.22) You definitely need a brain transplant you pathetic moron. Virgo (Aug.23-Sept.22) Learn how to cook. You’re gaining a ton of weight from all those fast food burgers. Libra (Sept.23-Oct.22) Buy a toothbrush and some toothpaste and use it. Scope would be good, too. Scorpio (Oct.23-Nov.21) Next time you buy clothes, go somewhere other than TAC. Sagittarius (Nov 22-Dec21) Invest in some underarm deodorant now. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Quit your whining you good for nothing belly-aching piece of crap. Aquarius (Jan 20- Feb 18) Try to shower more often you stinky arm pit of a person. Pisces Feb (19 –March 20) You smell like a dead fish. Get outta here!! Yuch!!

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The Truth about Drugs By Patrick Cummings Do people today really know the truth about drugs? Do they know the affects and the harm that drugs can do to your body? Do they really know what is in the drugs that are in their city? Do they even care? Most people don’t pay much attention to the drugs on the streets. Most people ignore the harm drugs do to people they know. Most people just try to ignore one of the biggest problems in America. So here are some facts about the drugs on our streets today. METHAMPHETAMINES Ø Between 1990 and 1996 methamphetamine use among high school seniors has more than doubled. Ø Busts of clandestine meth labs in the Midwest increased tenfold between 1995 to 1997. Ø 90% of all drug cases in Midwest communities involve methamphetamines. COCAINE Ø Cocaine can cause brain damage and addiction. Ø Cocaine can produce psychological and personality changes. Ø Cocaine affects the liver’s ability to detoxify blood. (Continued à) .

MARIJUANA Ø Marijuana can cause brain and central nervous system damage. Ø Marijuana affects our reproductive system. Ø Marijuana smoke has twice as much “tar” as cigarette smoke and significantly increases chance of lung cancer, inflammation and infection. Ø Marijuana depresses immune systems ability to protect itself and body against invading bacteria and viruses that may invade the body. ALCOHOL Ø Alcohol impairs behavior, judgment, memory, concentration, and coordination. Ø Alcohol in a chronic matter may cause alcoholic hepatitis and then cirrhosis in the liver. Ø It impairs the liver’s ability to remove yellow pigment and skin appears yellow. These are a few of the affects caused by drugs. If you think that someone you know is taking his or her drug use to far, talk to them let them know that they are hurting themselves and also the people that care for them and are in their everyday lives.

The Insider April 2, 2004 Page 6

Binge Drinking becoming a problem…

Sami Koehne

Most of the time, when you hear that someone is binge drinking you don’t really realize how few drinks it takes to actually be binge drinking. For a man all one needs is five drinks in a row, and woman need only four drinks in a row.

Did you know that around 5.5 billion dollars is spent on alcohol a year, and the average college student spends $466 annually? Most of this money is spent on beer.

Students report multiple reasons that they binge drink. Among the top three are: to get drunk (yeah, of course that is going to be a major reason!), the status that is associated with drinking, and peer pressure that students feel toward drinking.

There are many side effects to drinking other than getting drunk. A survey reported that students who drink are more likely to miss classes, have un-planned (Continued à)

sexual activity, fall behind in their school work, damage property, be hurt or injured themselves, have unprotected sex, or even drive a vehicle after drinking.

Some more unwanted effects of drinking also include:

Ø 71% have trouble sleeping

Ø 57% have to be taken care of by others

Ø 23% get into serious arguments

Ø 16% are associated with some sort of property damage

Bluto Blutarski – Binge drinker

This Week’s Separated at Birth

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