CORRAL
Parkway Central High School, 369 N. Woods Mill Road, Chesterfield, MO 63017, Vol 62, Issue 2, Nov. 3, 2017
up in smoke
How detrimental vaping is to the body and the brain pg. 12-13
2 CORRAL
CONTENTS
NOV. 3, 2017
CONTENTS
Athlete Superstitions pg. 5 Pep Rally Photo Essay pg.10 How to Survive a Horror Movie pg. 23 School Siblings pg. 11
Tall girl domination pg. 18
Archer’s Atmosphere tries a fancy brunch restaurant pg. 22
PHOTOS of the
Emily Cooper (12), Marissa Wright (12) and Elena Sherstoff (12) participate at the Post-Stockley verdict discussion.
ISSUE
Jonathon Nathan (11) dresses up as a rocket for day of service, representing his aclab
3 CORRAL
NEWS
NOV. 3, 2017
MID-SEMESTER MOTIVATION FROM THE CORRAL STAFF STAFF EDITORIAL CORRAL STAFF
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s the semester hits the halfway mark stress levels rise, anxiety increases, motivation drops, and sleep levels decline. It’s important to take a step back and take time to destress and reflect. Set aside one day a week to go to bed a little earlier, plan something fun with your friends to look forward to, and not check Infinite Campus obsessively. Sleep in on a Sunday morning, invite some friends over, and make breakfast for everyone. Stop by the pumpkin patch for a fall photoshoot, or roam around in a bookstore for a few hours. Whatever makes you happy, take some time to do it. Be proud of all that you have accomplished so far this semester, and take some time to reflect back upon all of the cool things you have done. Whether you’re a freshman in your first semester of high school or a senior just ready to be done, it has been a great
start to the fall semester. Although it can be easy to obsess over grades, don’t forget to switch the focus to something other than yourself. Be thankful for your teachers that have helped you, coaches and teammates that have given you the experience of a lifetime. Be thankful for the
Senior Tori Strege stressing out before an English test on November 1. It’s important for students of all grade levels to take some time out to relieve nerves. Photo by Madeline Lee
&
Yays Yays!
•• Two thirds done with this semester! •• Thanksgiving is coming up, five days school free. •• Winter sports are starting soon, are you ready? •• Lace up your running shoes for the annual Turkey Trot! •• TMac’s twitter is up and running •• Halloween was on an early release and late start was the next day!!
friends that you have made, and moments that you will look back on for the rest of your life. To quote the ever-beloved Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around every once in awhile, you might miss it.” As the semester hits its final strides, it is time to rally as a school and push until the end. Forming study groups, planning a new weekend activity, or setting aside some time to chill out as a group has positive effects on mental health levels, which in turn will positively impact your grades. However, if you’ve been slacking, it’s time to raise your game. Balance is important, so make sure to still leave enough time to keep your grades where they are by studying and doing homework. Set down the textbooks and head out to a football game, basketball game, soccer match, or swim meet. “We’re all in this together,” as the High School Musical cast once said. Those words have never been more true.
Neighs Neighs •• FINALS ARE IN SIX WEEKS •• We still had to go to school the day after Halloween... •• Annoying relatives will be joining very soon, enjoy. •• Bring out the puffy jackets •• #NoShaveNovember •• Fall sports are over, it’s been real.
10 Ways to De-stress 1. Have a DIY spa night, complete with face masks and a mani-pedi 2. Go for a long drive with your favorite music playing on the stereo 3. Brew a cup of tea and sit down with some Netflix 4. Go for a run or a walk! 5. Invite a few friends over and bake cupcakes (Pro-tip: Never put your cupcakes in the fridge, it dries them out. Opt for the freezer) 6. Meditate- there are hundreds of apps that you can download on your phone to help you get zen 7. Try some yoga! Whether you’re Mrs. Crusoe or first starting out, yoga can help align the chakras and relax you 8. Splurge on a relaxing massage 9. Have an impromptu dance party (“All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey is always a bop) 10. Take a nap
CORRAL Editor-in-Chief Libby Archer Managing Editor Athena Stamos News Editor Madeline Lee Staff Writers Gabby Abowitz David Amirdjanian Funmi Ayeni Leah Bachan Adam Burnett Henry T. Eubank Wesley Henshaw Ethan Hume Samuel Keller Jenna Lazaroff Logan Potts Abby Prywitch Nandhini Sivabalakannan Sydney Stahlschmidt Brett Smith Julia Solomon Graphic Designer Sam Benoist Adviser Mrs. Christine Stricker
What are your yays and neighs? pchcorral.com @pchcorral pch_corral Parkway Central Publications
We want to hear from you!
The Corral is a student-written, edited and produced publication of Parkway Central High School, 369 N. Woods Mill Road, Chesterfield, MO 63017; 314-415-7978. The Corral is given away free of charge to students and faculty. Subscriptions and patronships for one year may be purchased, starting at $20. The goal of this publication is to provide accurate, informative and entertaining information in the true spirit of responsible journalism and to operate as an open forum for students, faculty, administrators and parents. The Corral is created on Hewlett-Packard computers using Adobe Creative Suite 6 and is published by Missourian Publishing. Unsigned editorials reflect the views of the majority of the staff. Signed columns and artwork reflect the views of that individual. The staff appreciates comments and suggestions. Letters to the editor, guest editorials and other correspondence are encouraged but must be signed. The Corral reserves the right to publish or refrain from publishing, as well as edit, all submitted material.
4 CORRAL
NEWS
NOV. 3, 2017
SENIORS
UP
RISE
Seniors Eyal Kattan, Jonathan Yn, Justin Fang, Anusha Manjunath, Daniel Buffum, and John Kim were the six semifinalists for the 63rd annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Photo courtesy of Tim McCarthy.
Six semifinalists compete for National Merit
ATHENA STAMOS MANAGING EDITOR
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ix students were semifinalists for National Merit for the PSAT, the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test. Semifinalists include seniors Daniel Buffum, Justin Fang, Eyal Kattan, John Kim, Anusha Manjunath, and Jonathan Yn who all scored in the top percentage compared to other Missouri applicants. “It stands out on your college application, which gives you more of an edge when applying to schools,” Manjunath said These students are able to become National Merit finalists in the 63rd annual National Merit Scholarship Program, where there’s a greater chance for scholarships because they scored in the top percentages. During their junior year, they took the PSAT which gives the opportunity of National Merit. The PSAT contains fourt timed sections. In order to manage time, Manjunath encourages others to watch the clock and skip a question and come back to it if someone gets stuck on the question. Fang did not do much academically to prepare for his junior year PSAT. His main piece of advice for these standardized tests is to get a good night’s sleep the night before the exam, and to eat well. “I did eat a good breakfast,” Fang said. Similar to Fang, Kattan advises not to stress about these standardized tests and he believes that anxiety can affect people’s testing ability. “If you go in calm and stress free,” Kattan said. “It can drastically help your ability.” Kattan felt stress free while he took the test during his junior year and believes that is why he did so well. Manjunath’s older brother got National Merit which motivated her to do her best on the standardized test. On the other hand, Kattan was the first person in his family to receive this recognition. “It is nice to have something to show for all my efforts,” Kattan said. The summer prior to the PSAT, Kattan did ACT prep and that was it. Manjunath took practice tests specifically for the PSAT to judge how she would do on the actual standardized test.
Student Entry Requirements:
Fast Facts for the Future:
• Take the PSAT/NMSQT in high school no later than the third year of high school
• approx. 1.6 million entrants • approx. 50,000 score with the highest PSAT/NMSQT index scores • approx. 16,000 students qualified as semifinalists in September of their senior year • approx. 15,000 semifinalists are notified that they have advanced to the finalist standings
• Be enrolled in a traditional high school or be homeschooled • Must be a citizen of the United States or a U.S. lawful permanent resident Types of Merit Scholarship Awards: -National Merit $2500 Scholarships
-All finalists compete with all other finalists
-Corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards
-Finalists who meet a certain criteria
-Corporate-sponsored special scholarships
-offered to high-performing program participants
-College-sponsored Merit scholarships
-Finalists who plan to attend a sponsor college and have informed NMSC that the sponsor college is their first choice
According to NationalMerit.org
5 CORRAL
SPORTS
NOV. 3, 2017
ATHLETE SUPERSTITIONS: THE MENTAL GAME Players have specific and noteworthy rituals to combat bad luck and help them perform to their highest level. ABBY PRYWITCH
STAFF WRITER ince his first meet on Aug. 22, junior cross country runner Gottlieb Gerstenecker, has been taking an oatmeal bath the night before the meet to get prepared for the race. Gerstenecker says the oatmeal bath is therapeutic and makes your skin soft. Before any cross country race, as Gerstenecker and his teammates warm up before a race, he tugs up his all-white headband, which helps him know he was ready to take on the race. “So far I’ve been doing it at every meet and I’ve been doing pretty well so I don’t plan to stop,” Gerstenecker said. Doing this every meet has worked well for Gerstenecker, as he is on his way to State. Gerstenecker is not the only student to have premeet rituals. Junior Ben Prywitch prepares for his baseball games by pulling out his lucky blue pitching socks. “The socks look like typical baseball socks and are royal blue socks with a whole in the bottom of one,” Prywitch said. As this season is quickly approaching, he is on the hunt for a new pair of lucky socks. He is unsure on how this tradition started, but they bring him good luck, so he never stopped. “And yes, I wash them each time,” Prywitch said. Similar to the socks, tennis player Michelle Skroba has blue strappy sunglasses as her good luck charm to make her feel more prepared. During one match, Skroba left her sunglasses on the bus. Sure enough, she lost the district match. Was
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it because of the glasses? “Or that also could have just been because the girl was better than me,” junior Michelle Skroba said. Senior soccer player Maddie Canoy calms her nerves by chewing a piece of fruity bubble gum during her games. This has been a ritual of Carnoy’s since sixth grade when she was worried for her first club game and her mom gave her a piece of gum to help her relax. “Even when I can’t find fruit gum I find any type of gum I can so I have something to chew while playing,” Canoy said. Some people do more common things to prepare for a game. The varsity volleyball team gets pumped up by listening to Christmas music. They did this all season and they ended with a winning record. Noah Wittner, who is a senior on the football team, had not shaved during football season until their loss against Ladue. After that Wittner and his teammate senior Corey Freebersyser shaved after the Ladue game for a clean start, and they keep winning. “I am keeping it going to keep our win-streak going,” Wittner said. Wittner even postponed his senior picture until after football season, so he doesn’t have to shave. Freshman Maria Klein finds her good luck by wearing her lucky volleyball shorts. The shorts are all black and she has worn them for two years. These lucky shorts makes Klein’s serves more successful. When Klein is not in them she feels like it even helps with serving. “If I do not wear this pair during the game I won’t get my serve over the net,” Klein said.
Senior varsity football player Corey Freebersyser talks to his teammate sophomore Hugh Hodson at the game on Aug. 28. Freebersyser and senior teamate Noah Wittner haven’t shaved to keep their winning streak. The football team advanced to the Class 4 District 3 Championship game, which will be played Nov. 4 at Riverview Gardens. Photo by Wagner Portraits.
Freshman Maria Klein serves the volleyball at Webster Groves on Sept. 12. Klein wears her lucky pair of spanks. “When I don’t wear the certain pair of spanks I feel that I will not make my serve go over the net,” Klein said. Photo by Julia Solomon.
Gottlieb Gerstenecker runs through the course at Forest Park Cross Country Festival on Sept. 9. Gerstenecker placed third place at the Festival out of 25 runners, getting the time of 17:28.62. Photo by Wagner Portraits
6 CORRAL
SPORTS
NOV. 3, 2017
INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY INTO COACHING SAMUEL KELLER
STAFF WRITER Technology is ever improving and there are many different programs becoming available for use in athletics. Many coaches at the high school incorporate technology into their sports, using it to track athletes, communicate, and many other things. “With technology, coaching has made things easier and communication is fantastic, ” girls basketball coach Brian Guilfoyle said. Coaches can use technology to send out information to the athletes on the team so they know what is happening and when. “I use Remind 101 to send out information, for me technology is about communication,” Guilfoyle said. Hudl has also allowed athletes and coaches to review what they have done and how they can change it for the future. “Being able to see how you are actually performing so you can go forward and change it for the future,” Guilfoyle said. Coach Ryan Banta, the head coach of girls cross country and track and field, uses a survey system called Iris to determine how the athlete is feeling currently. The athlete takes a survey about if they have any points of aches, mood, how much sleep they got and how restful it was. He uses all the information he gets to create a database on the athletes, so he can track their progress and use the information to specialize their training. “I use Iris surveys to determine practice stuff, like how you tired and how you feel in the morning like how well did you sleep and mood and soreness. You can see the difference overtime and to see what you change,” Banta said. He also uses it to determine if there’s something in his training he might need to change. He can determine the source
TRIPLE THREAT Charlie Meier is the ultimate athlete ADAM BURNETT
STAFF WRITER laying three varsity sports during high school can be time consuming, tiring, and hard, but junior Charlie Meier does it. Meier plays basketball, soccer, and volleyball. Meier is a hard working, competitive, smart athlete. Wondering how he does it all? How he can manage sports and school? “I don’t think it’s hard to handle all three sports since I’ve been doing it all high school so I’m just used to it by now,” he said. “Playing soccer, basketball, and volleyball actually helps me stay on task with my school work because I have less time to mess around and I have to use my time wisely. I have to get my work done whenever I get that short period of time.” Many athletes say that having less free time helps get work done, and that it is a motivator to do work. With a packed schedule, there is less time to goof off, watch TV, play video games, so three-sport athletes often have a regimented schedule of sports, homework, eat, sleep. Being as busy as Meier can be frustrating because free time is really limited, and not being able to do as much as your friends is annoying. “Since I have practice every week and play on most weekends i don’t have a lot of free time, so I wish i had a little bit more of free time.” The sport that Meier is the most passionate about and loves the most is basketball. “Even though all the sports are important to me basketball has been my main sport,” said Meier. This year he will likely be playing on the varsity squad. Coach Mueller, the assistant basketball coach for the Colts talked about how Charlie will have a big
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of an athlete’s pain, recovery time needed, and how the athlete feels after the training. The athlete may not be happy with the training and they can tell him this in the survey they take. “I might think that I’m a great coach and I’m doing wonderfully but if athlete’s surveys say differently, there is something I need to change,” Banta said. Head boys soccer coach Brian Adam uses a video program called Hudl. The school subscribes to the Hudl program. Hudl allows coaches and teams to rewatch previous games to learn from previous mistakes and how they can correct then in the future. “The biggest influence is video, there is a program the school subscribes to has improved over the last 10 years,” Adam said. Hudl also allows athletes to create highlight reels of yourself that would be very difficult normally. Hudl allows you to see clips of certain athletes when they have the ball, score, or do anything else. This makes it very easy to create highlight reels of athletes. It also allows coaches to create and share videos of their team to help others learn strategy or to learn the strategy of another team. Adam has athletes who use Hudl for a variety of reasons, including self improvement and advertising their skills to the coaches at the next level. But there are many other benefits to Hudl. “It allows [athletes] to make highlight videos to send college recruiters. I also share videos with other coaches. I can get videos of other teams to learn the other teams strategies,” Adam said. Technology in coaching is evolving as technology ever improves and changes. New developments are being made everyday and coaching will begin to adapt and incorporate this new technology into the current technology they are using.
impact on the team this year. “Charlie will have a bigger role for us. Last year he was a solid JV player and at the end of the year he was a part of of the Final Four run,” said Mueller. According to Mueller, Meier is a very dynamic, flexible basketball player who can play basically anywhere on the court. “I see him having important role for us that involves anywhere from the point guard or small forward. Defensively, he is very versatile and can guard the other team’s point guard to the other team’s power forward.” Basketball may be his number one sport, but soccer is important to Meier too, and he’s good at it. The varsity soccer coach Brian Adams had a few good things to say about Meier. “Charlie brings competitiveness and experience from his other sports. I was able to trust him quicker on defense because he plays basketball for Kirby,” Meier is one of the starting center backs for the soccer team but can play almost anywhere on the field. Meier was on the 20162017 State Championship Volleyball team. Meier’s athleticism and hard work makes him a standout volleyball player. Shaffer, the head coach for the boys volleyball team had only good things to say about Charlie. “It always comes down to talent and ability. He is really athletic which helps him out a lot. It’s natural to him, and
Senior Charlie Rogers (12) playing in the varsity soccer game on Sept. 11. This game was against McCluer North High School.
he has always just growed up playing sports,” said Shaffer. Meier is excited for volleyball season, and they are hoping to win state to continue the streak after taking home the championship in a win against St. Mary’s. Not a lot of people can do what Meier does, but that’s what makes him special.
In a game during the 2016-2017 season, junior Charlie Meier goes up for a shot in a game against Parkway West.
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SPORTS
NOV. 3, 2017
CORRAL
ATHLETE’S AREA: GUIDE TO COLLEGE RECRUITMENT
MADELINE LEE NEWS EDITOR
Explore your options:
Aim high- but be realistic:
Look at all types of schools so that you can figure out which one you would prefer to call home for four years. Remember--not everyone has to play NCAA sports. Most schools offer intramurals and club teams as well.
The appeal of a Division 1 school is huge, but if your abilities are restricted to Division 2, 3, or NAIA, then don’t waste time looking at D1 schools if you want to participate in college sports.
Take advantage of unofficial tours:
Mind your parents:
The NCAA regulates how many “official” tours you can go on. Just going to the campus and taking a regular tour does not count as an official visit, so you can take as many as you would like.
Your parents usually have your best interests in mind, but if they are stressing you out then politely asking them to take a step back is more than acceptable. Remember: They just want what’s best for their kid.
Talk with your coaches:
Know the rules:
It is more than likely that your coach has gone through this with other athletes multiple times. Use them for recomendations, resources, and help.
The NCAA is full of rules and regulations. Check the NCAA website and consulte your coaches to make sure you don’t accidentally break a rule.
Do your research:
Don’t get discouraged:
Before you visit a college, do your research. Does the school have a good program? Does it have the majors you want? Remember to look at the college as a whole, not just sports.
Recruitment can be a stressful and time-consuming process. Keep pushing through, and remember your goal!
Remember the golden rule:
If you suddenly could not play your sport again, would you be happy at that college.
8 CORRAL
SPORTS
NOV. 3, 2017
SCHOOL SPORTS
SMACKDOWN
SCHOOL SPORTS, CLUB SPORTS, OR GRADES?
ATHLETES BELIEVE THAT THE LIMITED FREE TIME DOESN’T MAKE A DIFFERENCE ON THEIR GRADES, BUT SOME ADMIT THAT THEY WISH THEY HAD FREE TIME AND THEY DON’T GET THE GRADES THEY THINK THEY ARE CAPABLE OF.
PROS AND CONS OF PLAYING SCHOOL SPORTS LOGAN POTTS STAFF WRITER
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any students across the country take advantage of the privilege of playing a sport for their school. In our school, 372 students played a school sport this fall. Even though many students play for their school, choosing between sports can be difficult for some people. Some people believe that playing sports gets in the way of the students academics, and some people have to decide between club and school sports. Antonio Hutti is a sophomore that plays three sports, baseball, basketball, and football, and he does admit that sometimes sports get in the way of school. “Sometimes my grades suffer because there just isn’t all that much time to do homework and study as long as I would like and need to make the grades that I want,” Hutti said. Even though he can’t get the grades he wish he could get, he likes that the limited free time can keep him from doing stuff that he might regret. “I feel like if I didn’t have the limited free time, I would do stuff that I’m not supposed to do, and could possibly hurt me down the road,” Hutti said. Hutti plays school baseball in the spring and club ball in the summer. Club baseball has gained a lot of ground on school baseball recently. Some people prefer to play club because it’s sometimes better competition and you play a lot of tournaments. But Hutti likes school baseball better. “I like playing school baseball because I get to play with people that I know from school, but I’ve never played with most of them,” Hutti said. “It’s also fun to represent the school you go to and if you’re good enough to play varsity, you can play for a state title. ” Anthony Klein is also a sophomore who plays club and school baseball. “I like playing school ball because I get to represent the school and you’re actually playing for something,”
Klein said. “In club, you’re mostly playing for yourself.” Klein also played football freshman year but decided to not play this year. “I wanted to focus on improving my baseball skills, so I didn’t play,” Klein said. Sophomore Luke Schaefer plays club baseball, but decided to run Track instead of playing school baseball. “I decided to run track because I wanted to try a sport that I’ve never played before,” Schaefer said. “I also didn’t really like the freshman coach and I didn’t think he could help me become any better.” He does not regret running track over playing baseball for school, but he does admit it was hard for him to get back into baseball shape. “I don’t regret running track, but it was hard for me to get back into the baseball mindset,” Schaefer said. “My swing was kind of messed up for awhile at the beginning of the season, and I never really got on track at the plate, and I didn’t have the season I was hoping to have.” Kale Slayton is a sophomore who played football his freshman year, but decided to stop playing. “I quit football because I was putting in a lot of my time and effort to the sport,” Slayton said. “I didn’t get very much playing time and even though I attended all of the practices and games, I wasn’t rewarded for my efforts.” Another reason Slayton decided not to play, was because he wanted to focus more on school and getting better grades. “At this time last year, I had about a 1.9 GPA and was struggling to make good grades because I had to go to practice and games everyday after school,” Slayton said. “So far this semester, I have a 3.8 GPA.”
Junior Will Peacock Passes the ball to senior Cameron Baird in a game against Ladue on Sept. 7 (top). Many soccer players play year-round to keep their skills fresh. Photo by Abby Prywitch. Above, sophomore Antonio Hutti (2) breaks down in attempt to tackle the Parkway South punt returner on Aug. 25. “I feel like if I didn’t have the limited free time, I would do stuff that I’m not supposed to do,” Hutti said. Photo by Wagner Photography.
9 CORRAL
FEATURES
NOV. 3, 2017
FRESHMAN MAKES VARSITY DANCE TEAM GABBY ABOWITZ
STAFF WRITER llie Chamberlin walks onto the track along with the rest of the dancers ready to perform. This is the first year Chamberlin is on Varsity dance team, granted she is a freshman. They kicked off the year by performing at red and white night. Chamberlin has been dancing since she was only 2 years old and her mom,as her dance teacher. Chamberlin’s dancing genes have been passed down generation by generation, starting with her grandmother.
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“I dance at Dance Incorporated which is a studio and my grandma started it 51 years ago,” Chamberlin said. Her grandma was the one of the family to start
from the rest of the crowd. She had a great memory from past dance experience, when it comes to remembering all of the steps to a dance. Chamberlin had many strengths at tryouts. “Ellie has a clean triple, beautiful seconds, gorgeous leaps and her extensions are graceful with straight lines. She also has a background in acrobats which brings another aspect to the dance team that few girls are able to do.” Varsity Dance coach, Natalie Kilgore said. Ellie has a strong personality which has helped the team. “She never complains and works hard to learn new material. She stood out because of her leaps, turns, kicks tryout performance dance and facials. She was very high in the standings of the tryouts which was apparent she was varsity material.” To make varsity you need to meet certain standards.“Like in any sport, if you are good enough and stand out then you deserve to be on varsity. I didn’t want to hold her back but wanted to challenge her and I knew the Varsity Dance Team is where Ellie would excel.” Kilgore said. The varsity team has had a successful season so far. Chamberlin on the varsity team has been an overall good experience for the entire team.
first the sport. Dance has impacted her life greatly. ”My favorite thing about dancing is that no one judges you when doing it. Everyone is there to do what they are passionate about and no one is judging you on if you’re good or bad, everyone is cheering everyone on which I love.” Chamberlin said. The entire dance team encourages each other. “I’ll be performing for them and they are all screaming me on and clapping for me. They make me feel good about myself. Their strengths include not only being very talented dancers but also they create a very positive and fun environment to be around.” Chamberlin said. Chamberlin made the team because she stood out
Freshman Ellie Chamberlin on varsity dance team danced at the pep rally. “My favorite thing about dancing is that no one judges you when doing it. everyone is there to do what they are passionate about and no one is judging you on if you’re good or bad” Chamberlin said. Photo by Gabby Abowitz.
10CORRAL
FEATURES
NOV. 3, 2017
Rally
Red
in ATHENA STAMOS
MANAGING EDITOR
Homecoming pep rally brings out the best of Parkway Central
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3 4 5 1. Seniors Tori Strege and Maddy LaChance perform along with fellow colorguard members at the Homecoming Pep Rally. Photo by Athena Stamos 2. As the football team walks out at the beginning of the Pep Rally, the school mascot , senior Devonta Long pumps up the crowd. Photo by Madeline Lee 3. Varsity and junior varsity dance team perform a dance together at the Homecoming Pep Rally. Photo by Athena Stamos 4. Varsity cheerleaders from left to right: Tiana Ford, Libby Archer, and Allison Brown cheer in front of the upperclassmen. Photo by Athena Stamos 5. Athletic director, John Theobald and school principal, Dr. Tim McCarthy dress up to acknowledge the Homecoming theme, cartoons, specifically the Flintstones. Photo by Madeline Lee
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11 CORRAL
FEATURES
NOV. 3, 2017
SIBLINGS PUT TWIST ON SCHOOL EXPERIENCE LEAH RODIN STAFF WRITER
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aving an older sibling can be a blessing and a curse all in one. You’ll always hear people with siblings say that they wish they were an only child. And of course you’ll also hear it the other way around, where people who don’t have siblings wish to have brothers and sisters. Like many other things, there are outliers to this, but the general norm is that everyone wants what they don’t have. Freshman Jonas Rodin said that he and his older sibling, junior Aaron Rodin, mostly have a good relationship; they have each other’s backs. They are together when Aaron drives Jonas to school, but they don’t see each other a lot in school. Jonas said that age doesn’t affect their relationship, but it does affect who their friends are. “I’m not really friends with [Aaron’s] friends, but that’s okay.” Jonas said. Their personalities are similar however. “We’re both mean… when need be,” Jonas said. Outside of school they enjoy driving places, mostly to get food. Jonas is currently enrolled in a guitar class, which Aaron was previously in, so Junior Erin Smith, sophomore Brandon Smith, and senior Griffin they practice Smith. “Were all just a bunch of goofballs with some differnces together. He in our personalities,” Brandon said. likes their
current relationship, but wishes he was older than Aaron, just for with school, he’ll ask them for help, and they’re always willing the experience. to help, Jillian Hendricks, also a freshman, has an older sibling; junior “Usually my sister, Erin helps me more, Griffin sometimes is Julia Hendricks. a little moody, more persistent to help me, but that’s okay.” Bran“We fight, basically all the time, so it’s not the happiest,” she don said. Finally, he loves being the youngest in the family, said. Although they fight, she proceeded to say that, “we get “It’s just nice knowing that you always have someone looking along enough to get things done.” When she asks, Julia is willing out for you; of course I look out for them too, but they are the to help with schoolwork, but usually Jillian doesn’t need it. older siblings, that’s their role” Brandon said. Outside of school, they like to play volleyball together. She enjoys being younger than her sister, “[Julia] going through everything first; it’s almost like a dry run, helping me know what I would do the same or different,” Jillian said. Chelsea Baird, a sophomore, has an older brother, senior Cameron Baird. Similar to most siblings, “We fight, but it’s never really serious,” Chelsea said. She usually doesn’t go to him for help, only because it’s always been different; classes, teachers, etc. She was very quick to say that they had very different personalities, “He’s definitely more outgoing and bold, and I’m a lot more quiet and shy,” Chelsea said. She likes things they way they are, and “I feel like I get pampered sometimes - being the younger child, and I feel like I want to hold on to that,” Chelsea said. Finally, Sophomore Brandon Smith, has two older siblings at school with him, junior Erin Smith and senior Griffin Smith. He said that he feels very close to both, Griffin because they are on swim team together, and Erin because of their similar personalities. “We’re just the two goofballs in the family, we have a lot of fun together,” Brandon said. They talk more out of school, however Brandon enjoys seeing his siblings at school. He doesn’t go with them to school but wishes he could. “So I don’t have to wake up as early to catch the Junior Aaron Rodin and freshman Jonas Rodin are both brothers and guitarists. “We both love guitar, whether its for real or on the Wii,” Jonas said. bus every morning” Brandon said. When he needs help
COLORGUARD FAMILY LEGACY CONTINUES NANDHINI SIVA STAFF WRITER
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he older generation is always willing to give something from their time, to the younger one. Sometimes it’s Grandma’s famous cookie recipe or dad’s favorite wrench. For freshman Ellory Weinstein, it was her mom’s passionate love for colorguard. This sport involves the fast-paced spinning of flags and feet dancing to the choreographed beat of the music. Ellory’s mom, Deborah, said that during her childhood she lived in a small town and every year on Memorial Day they would have a parade through her hometown Main Street. Deborah was the very first person to hold the American flag in this parade. “It was so cool,” she said. Deborah was also the captain of her colorguard team. She admits that -Ellory Weinstein (9) she doesn’t really remember much of her experience as captain because “it was a really long time ago.” However, she does vividly remember the tiny moments with her teammates. “It was really fun just being with my friends and doing something we all loved,”
“It was really fun just being with my friends and doing something we all loved.”
Deborah said. For her it was all about “connecting with people.” Before she knew it, her own daughter was trying out for colorguard herself. “It was bit of a surprise when she told me,” Deborah said. She explained that she didn’t try to persuade Ellory in joining colorguard but that didn’t stop her from being any less excited for her daughter. “I actually called up my dad and told him that he would never guess what Ellory was doing,” Deborah said. It was a sport that Deborah had always loved doing and when her daughter mentioned she would be doing it too, she said that a little part of her went, “Yay I get to relive my childhood through you.” Ellory, though looking forward to the season, explains that she was a little nervous to start. “It’s a lot of work and effort. Some people think it’s just spinning flags but it’s way more,” Ellory said. The 14-year-old says that although she wants to be the best at what she does, the challenges can be overwhelming at times. “The physical aspect of it is exhausting, I mean holding a 6-foot-pole can get tiring after awhile,” Ellory said. Yes, that’s right, colorguard spins 6-foot poles in the air and if that’s not enough, they also have choreography to go with it. So, one might understand why Ellory might be a teensy-bit worried. Ellory on top of it has a mom who was captain, another thing that could possibly be stressing her. But she begs to differ. “No, no my mom just wants me to get the best experience out it and to really just have fun,” Ellory said. When kids have a parent who’s done the same sport as they have, some may tend to have a annoying habit of critiquing you
on everything. But Ellory has escaped this. “A lot has changed since my mom was in colorguard and what I and do and what she did is a lot different,” Ellory said. The teen’s mom says that she couldn’t possibly try to critique her daughter. “Nowadays colorguard is so intense and there’s so many new moves and spins that’s way more intense than when I did colorguard,” Deborah said. The mother-daughter pair both love having a common interest in a sport that they both love. In Ellory’s words,“It not only brings you closer, but it gives you a bond like no other.”
Freshman Ellory Weinstein follows in the footsteps of her mother’s favorite sport!
12 CORRAL
COVER STORY
NOV. 3, 2017
VAPING HAS DIRE EFFECTS, MADELINE LEE NEWS EDITOR
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oing by many names, and most well known as vaping or electronic cigarettes (e-cigs), some students ignore the scientifically proven negative effects and partake in the activity daily. One student in particular, junior L.*, usually vapes on the way to school. However, she doesn’t stop once she gets to school. Going to the bathrooms during class to vape or sneaking a breath during passing period, L. vapes during school, as well as after school. “I do it every day, even during school,” L. said. “It’s just satisfying, and you get buzzed.” Vaping can have a satisfying neurological effect, but according to Dr. Anthony Scalzo, Professor of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine, and Director of Division of Toxicology at Saint Louis University, the way vapor is taken in affects bioreceptors in the brain, and therefore one of the most dangerous parts about vaping is that you don’t know how much you’re inhaling, and therefore how much nicotine you consume due to lack of biofeedback. “I’m probably addicted,” L. said. “But I don’t really care.” Addiction doesn’t happen the first time you pick up a cigarette or electronic cigarette. “I wish I could tell kids that if you do it just once you are addicted,” Dr. Scalzo said. “The fact is that doesn’t happen.” Nicotine is an incredibly addictive chemical, and the possibility of getting addicted increases with the amount of times you inhale nicotine. “I don’t have a strong addiction to vape,” senior L.S. said. “Nicotine is addictive, but it’s not a strong addiction.” Electronic cigarettes contain less carcinogens per dose than actual cigarettes, but can contain more nicotine than a cigarette. However, due to the fact that smokers aren’t sure how much they are consuming, they could take in more cancer causing chemicals than they would smoking. Despite this, students ignore the risk and choose to participate in the activity anyway. “The feeling you get outweighs any health effects,” junior P. said. “I’ll
up smoke in
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do it the night before practice and th feel like they have less room in them There are multiple reasons as to w including social pressure and, in at le smoking habit. “I started [vaping] to quit cigarette personal benefit.” The social atmosphere also influen of some student’s culture- meeting up ing, and hotboxing cars with vapor. “Half the people I know who vap knowing,” L.S. said. “It’s definitely a On campus, vaping is not allowed faculty member of the school, they ar where students are typically given a “The risks of e-cigarettes are add those of traditional cigarettes,” buildi
alf the people I know who vape wouldn’t do it without their friends knowing. It’s definitely a social thing.” --L.S. (12)
tobacco products (including electroni at least 21 years of age. However, St. individual be 18. It is also illegal to b vapor products if you are under 18. Students who aren’t yet 18 know friend who has their own vape suppl “People have friends who work at old enough to just go in and buy one always card.”
13 CORRAL
COVER STORY
NOV. 3, 2017
, SOME STUDENTS IGNORE
he next day at practice your lungs m; but that doesn’t stop me.” why students have begun vaping, east one case, giving up a cigarette
es,” L.S. said. “Now I just do it for
nces vaping, and has become a part p to vape, going to parties and vap-
pe wouldn’t do it without their friends social thing.” d. If a student is caught by a staff or re sent to their grade-level principal three hour detention. dressed in health classes along with ing principal Tim McCarthy said. “But we have not engaged in a school-wide campaign focused on e-cigarettes.” Despite the majority of students at school being underaged, there are easily accessible ways to get vape pens, juuls (a nicotine-heavy vape pen), and vapor. “I can go to St. Charles and buy any forms of nicotine, tobacco, juuls, vapes, whatever contains tobacco or nicotine,” L.S. said. “All it takes is a small drive.” St. Louis County law mandates that the purchase of any and all ic cigarettes) require an I.D. proving . Charles law only requires that an be in possession of any tobacco or
people who are, or borrow from a lies. t vape shops or someone who looks e,” freshman K.B. said. “They don’t
Multiple vape shops were reached out to, none responded to comment. “They never checked my I.D.,” junior D.S. said. “I bought juice, but I would use someone else’s pen.” Not all of the effects of e-cigs are known due to difficulties in finding test subjects, according to Dr. Scalzo. Negative effects are known, ranging from breathing problems to neurological conditioning. One scarring effect of vaping is popcorn lung, which is permanent and irreversible lung cancer. D.S. decided the risks outweighed any gain, and left the activity in the past when he became a varsity runner on the track team. “You don’t really know all of the negative effects it could have while playing sports,” D.S. said. “I don’t vape out of season either. I all out stopped.” Not all athletes share D.S.’s viewpoint of the negative effects vaping could have on sports, and the appeal of vaping sometimes outweighs any negatives. Part of the appeal is the various flavors that are offered in shops and online. “I used to use apple [flavor],” L.S. said. “But now I use strawberry kiwi.” The numerous flavors are meant to attract a larger, and younger, market. With flavors ranging from candy to obscure, the temptation to try at least one flavor is one that many students take. “Unicorn puke is my favorite,” K.B. said. “I use a lot of different flavors.” Mint and green apple are unofficially the flavors of choice for many students, with others such as mango filling out a large spectrum. In addition to flavors, there are also different moderations that are available for vape pens that allow it to do different things. “Some of these mods allow for a device that’s supposed to be used for e-cigarettes to also be used for marijuana,” Dr. Scalzo said. “It definitely makes it easier to use drugs such as hashish, [a psychoactive drug], and weed.” Other moderations allow for a pen to have varying amounts of nicotine. Some professionals believe that the threat isn’t in the moderations, but on the function of the pen itself. “You’re taking a substance and heating it up into its most pure form” Dr. Scalzo said. “That is incredibly dangerous. Taking something so pure and putting it into your body-- that can have serious consequences.”
-Possession of vape and tobacco products are illegal for people under 18 -If you are under 18, you cannot buy tobacco and vape products in St. Louis County
A picture of lung cancer, a side-effect of long-term vaping and tobacco usage. The condition causes irreversible lung damage, and was named due to its occurence in artificial popcorn butter factories. Photo by Wikepedia Commons.
14CORRAL
FEATURES
NOV. 3, 2017
Halloween
SYDNEY STAHLSCHMIDT STAFF WRITER
It’s the night that children and adults look forward to all year, a chance to dress like witches, goblins, and clowns. Halloween, on Oct. 31, is a night where you can be whatever you wish. Halloween fell on a late start Wednesday, so student had time to sleep in after enjoying their night. However, it might not be enough time for students who have homework and want to attend parties. “Parties usually go very late…. I usu-
ally have 1 to 2 hours of homework a night,” said junior Felina Deck. In this case students who have as much homework as Deck, who is taking two honors classes or more may still not be able to complete what they need for the next day. Freshman Raahim Naeem agreed with Deck as he is taking all honors classes this school year. “I don’t think I will have enough time to do my homework because I want to spend time with my friends,” said Naeem. Many students are concerned about homework, wanting to hang out with friends, and just enjoying their holiday. But with school the next day they will not be able to accomplish or enjoy the night as they would wish. “I think we should have the day off after Halloween because then we’ll have time to do homework or projects and people will have more energy for school the day after Halloween,” said sophomore Rebecca Barnholtz. “I would rather have school and it be shortened or have no homework so we still go to school and learn, but we don’t have homework that was suppose to be completed and take away time from our fun holiday,” said Naeem. According to Barnholtz and Deck, most teachers understand it’s a holiday and don’t give a lot of homework on Halloween, however this is not always the case. “I don’t think we should have the day after Halloween off and I don’t take Halloween into consideration when giving students practice work,” math teacher Peter Papulis said. In this situation the students may not have time to complete homework if most teachers thought like this and handed out homework as usual. The holiday and traditions of Halloween all
started way back when this event was originally a festival of Samhain, on this day weird creatures with strange powers could wander the earth. Celts (people during the iron age) would have giant parties to scare them away. Later the Christian religion named the day before All Saints Day “All Hallows Eve.” In Mexico, it’s widely celebrated as Dia De Los Muertos. Finally in the 20th century the United States adopted all the traditions like pumpkin carving, trick-or-treating, watching scary movies, and so much more. Keith Marty, the Superintendent of Parkway Schools said that there are many different religious leaders like priests, rabbis, ministers and more on the board who are in charge of making decisions about holidays. “The topic never came up as a religious holiday. When surveyed on the school calendar, we have not had any comments about Halloween or the day after as a nonschool day,” Marty said. While the board is in charge of making these decisions there are people that also think differently about topic. Catholic private schools have the day after Halloween off because of the religious holiday that is taking place. All Saints Day is celebrated in the
Catholic church and Catholics are required to attend mass that day. Students who have to attend school as well will have to fit Mass in at another time since school will be in session. Freshman Sophia Becklenberg used to attend a Catholic grade school named Ascension. The students got the day after Halloween off and we required to attend mass because it is a holy day of obligation. “I will probably have to go to mass before school,” Becklenberg said, so she would be able to get it out of the way instead of at night. While Catholics are required to go to mass at some point on November 1, and there are some masses that would occur during school hours, they have many other options before and after school, which explains Marty’s claims that school would not interfere with the holiday.
FEATURES 15CORRAL P.E. CLASS PURSUES ROCK CLIMBING ADVENTURE NOV. 3, 2017
SAMUEL KELLER
STAFF WRITER On Oct. 13, the elective gym class “Adventure Pursuits” took a trip to a rock climbing wall at Parkway North High School. This gave many kids the opportunity to see what they can accomplish on a rock climbing course and see if they want to climb more in the future. “If jumping off a 30-foot log counts as an accomplishment then yes,” Sophomore Wilson Chen said. Few people get to experience rock climbing with their friends in a school environment so for many this was a first experience. “The trip was great. Our class got to do something that very few kids get to do in school,” senior Jack Allen said. This trip was planned in effort to introduce students to something they haven’t tried before and to give them new and skills and experiences to continue with after they graduate. “I enjoyed it very much and it was very stress relieving,” senior Hope Mueller said. “I really did love this trip.” The field trip to the climbing tower gave a lot of people who have completed rope courses and rock climbing a time to bond with people in the class while doing something new. “This class is super fun and you bond with people you never thought you would,” Mueller said. “I have completed a couple of rope courses before this one and I loved those as well.” This experience offered people who haven’t experienced something like this before to experience it even if they thought they wouldn’t like it.
“I really enjoyed the field trip a lot better than I thought I would have and it was pretty fun,” Chen said. The opportunity to go rock climbing allowed kids who didn’t know really what they could do, to see what they can challenge themselves to. Rock Climbing requires many skills that aren’t in regular sports. Many sports are team focused but rock climbing is much more individual, you have to set the goals yourself and figure out how you want to try to climb wall. Rock climbing also uses many arm muscles and core muscles that other sports don’t use, like soccer has a large focus on leg muscles but in rock climbing you don’t need those type of muscles as much. “This class shows a different side to physical activity that is often forgotten about in our younger audiences,” Allen said. Rock climbing is something that is very different from other sports. Rock climbing uses a lot of different equipment from normal sports, like belaying rope and spotters. Climbers wear a specialized harness to hold themselves to the rope so they don’t fall. Climbing gear isn’t used in very many other sports and it’s a new experience for many people. “Its an interesting experience in the sense that it’s unlike anything else you can do. No other sport is like it and it’s really incredible for you to experience a whole other activity,” Allen said. Jack Allen (12) on top of the leap of faith jump at the Parkway North High School climbing tower. The leap of faith is a telephone pole with a hanging bar a few feet away where climbers try to jump and grab the bar.
SPANISH TEACHER SHARES COLLEGE TRIP
Due to the buzz around the Peru Trip, Spanish teacher Andrea Williamson shares her story of her own college trip to Spain. WESLEY HENSHAW
family was just as interested in American culture as Williamson was in Spanish culture. STAFF WRITER In particular, the father of the family asked about how much rowing up in rural Missouri, Andrea Williamson at first money Williamson’s parents made. Something that “you just wasn’t very interested in Spanish. This changed in her don’t talk about here in the States” according to Williamson. junior year of high school where she went to Delicia, For Williamson, the experience was an eye opener. Growing Mexico to visit a foreign exchange student that had stayed with up in such a rural setting, Williamson was unaccustomed to forWilliamson’s family. eign cultures. Seeing these different ways of doing things in acShe cites this visit as one of the main events that sparked her tion changed her whole view on interactions with other cultures. interest in Spanish. In college, Spanish teacher, Andrea Williamson, went on a trip to Spain for five weeks. There she attended a Spanish language school and stayed with a Spanish family. “Spending time in another country, with another culture, was an eye opener,” Williamson said. The language school was open to students from all over the world. Students traveled from South Korea, Japan, France and, like her, the United States. There they would converse and socialize in Spanish. Everything from going out for café con leche(coffee) to getting the Spanish food, tapas. They all had to speak in Spanish. “Spanish was our common language,” Williamson said. “It was everybody’s second language, but our first language was not a common language.” Williamson stayed with a Spanish family for the majority of the five weeks. As an introvert, she felt nervous about how such an experience would go, mostly concerned being how she would communicate less common words. “If I needed something unusual, how would I get that?” Williamson said. “It was pretty nerve Andrea Williamson with her host family. Left to right, Maite (the sister), Eduardo (Maite’s fiance), Virgina (the racking at first.” other sister), Williamson, the mother and the father. (Photo by Andrea Williamson, 1997) Williamson found out quickly, though, that the
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“Those connections with people around the world are more important now than back then, because we can’t afford to be isolated from other parts of the world.” Williamson said.
Peru Trip Information
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he Peru trip will be approximately the last two weeks of June, subject to change by a couple days as plane tickets are purchased. The 14-day stay will begin with five days of sightseeing and touring. Students will visit many of the attractions of Peru, including wonders such as the Valle Sagrado (Sacred Valley), the Salinas de Mara salt flats, and the circular terraces of Moray. You will also, in these first days, see many archaeological sites and ruins, as well as the city of Cusco, and its accompanying attractions. For the next five days, students will stay with a Peruvian host family, where the students can practice their Spanish first-hand. After their family stays, students will enjoy some more sightseeing for the next four days before flying back home.
16 CORRAL
ENTERTAINMENT
NOV. 3, 2017
“BLADE RUNNER” IS BACK: WORTH THE WAIT? BRETT SMITH
STAFF WRITER years after the blockbuster film that was Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner” was released, we finally have a sequel to the Harrison Ford classic. However, does this film live up to its predecessor, or does it just add to the list of pointless and terrible hollywood sequels? Honestly, it is a bit of both. I’m not saying that this is a “bad film”, but it was partly a disappointing one. While the action in this film was great while it was happening, it was scarce. A lot of this movie focuses just on Officer K (Gosling) and his struggles with trying to find out where he came from and where he belongs. The problem I have with this is not that they showed a lot of Ryan Gosling in the film, he’s a great actor and I have a lot of respect for him. It’s just that I wasn’t aware or as prepared as I should have been. Take a look at the main poster for the film: it leads you to believe that Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford are the two stars, when in reality Gosling is the real star. Being a huge fan of Harrison’s work, I assumed that since he was one of the largest things on the poster that he would have a huge role throughout the entire film. That is not the case here. He is in the film for about 20 minutes in a 2 hour and 48 minute film. That’s a significantly small amount of time. I actually almost forgot that he was in this film by the time we finally saw him onscreen for the first time. Harrison Ford is to “Blade Runner: 2049” as Jared Leto (who is also in this film) was to “Suicide Squad” in the sense that they were both highly advertised and were a major selling point for the film, and yet hardly in their respected films. The plot, while at times feels rushed and underdeveloped, was actually really powerful. There are many levels within this film, giving the audience plenty to think about and discuss throughout the film. Unfortunately, when you have a large narrative, there’s bound to be so questions left unanswered and characters missing out on a completion to their story, and
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this film is no exception. There were so many loose ends by the end of the film, and I often found myself wanting more. There were lots of characters that were not given a proper ending in this film. Perhaps the biggest example of this is Niander Wallace (Leto). He is shown as one of these machines and he is creating all of these other sentient beings, creating almost an army of what he sees as perfect creatures. The last time we see Wallace he has Deckard (Ford) captured and is trying to get information out of him. And one way he tries to get him to talk is creating a copy of his lover from so long ago, and then killing her when Deckard mentions that her eyes are the wrong color. After that, we see nothing else. The next time we see Deckard he is being escorted away over the ocean. We see nothing else from that torture scene. We don’t know if Wallace succeeded, or what happened to him after that point. We don’t know what he did to Deckard, it’s all kinda left in the air. This film feels unfinished, and it also feels way longer than it needed to be, causing the film to drag - a LOT - which is a shame really. Especially after there was such a strong opening to this film with Ryan Gosling and Dave Batista. There were so many things I would have changed about the plot and some of the choices they made. However, despite a lot of this film feeling like a work-in-progress, there are many parts of this film that are freaking awesome. The action, the visuals, all of it are what really make this a movie you can’t miss. The visual effects are so impressive, really capturing that world and environment with all the technology that this world has access to. And the fight scenes have to be the best part of this film. They are so fast and powerful, and something that will not be so easily forgotten. I give “Blade Runner: 2049” a 6.5 or 7 of 10: it’s mixed for me. While the narrative is somewhat lacking and many questions are left unanswered, the movie makes up for it with the incredible visual candy and outstanding performance by the cast.
YEARBOOK Buy your Parkway Central High yearbook for only $60! Order by December 31. ORDER YOUR YEARBOOK BY CREDIT CARD Go to www.YearbookOrderCenter.com Use order number 17225.
17 CORRAL NOV. 3, 2017
FEATURES
DRAFT PICKS: FIND YOUR DREAM NBA TEAM SAM KELLER STAFF WRITER
18CORRAL
FEATURES
NOV. 3, 2017
TOO MUCH HOMEWORK TAKES A TOLL ON SLEEP JULIA SOLOMON STAFF WRITER
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tudents tend to get sleep deprived because of how late they have to stay up in order to do homework. According to The Children’s Hospital, the average teenager should get at least nine hours of sleep but typically get seven hours due to other activities students are involved in and homework, it is a challenge for anyone to get seven hours of sleep, let alone nine hours when school starts at 7:35 a.m. Additionally, student’s lives revolve around homework. Freshman Spencer Kessler is involved in football, band, religious school and guitar lessons. He goes from one place to the next with only a hour left to do school work. On his busiest day, he doesn’t get home until 10 p.m. “I’m always sleep deprived,” Kessler said. Kessler goes to bed at 11:30 p.m. each night but has to wake up in 5 hours to either go to Student Council or band practice. “I would say homework could be used more effectively, or at least not take up as much time,” Kessler said. He makes sure to leave a part of his day for homework, but would rather prefer to have down time. Unlike Kessler, senior Mackenzie Canoy has time to relax. Canoy is committed to varsity dance team and Spark, a programs where students go to pursue their interest during school hours. Canoy goes for her interest of teaching. On days when she doesn’t have dance, she gets home on around 2:45 p.m. “On those days I have plenty of time to relax before even thinking about homework,” Canoy said. On the days she has dance she doesn’t get home till 5:30 p.m. “I normally have an hour and a half of homework, not including anything with Spark, so it is sometimes challenging to have enough time to relax and still have a reasonable number of hours for sleep,” Canoy said. On a normal night she gets six hours of sleep, which is still not how much sleep a teenager should get. Sophomore Luke Schaefer gets home around 5:30 p.m. Schaefer is involved in soccer. He has at least two hours of homework
each night. “It is sometimes hard to make time to relax cause my homework has so much time in my day,” Schaefer said. He normally gets seven hours of sleep. Compared to the Children’s Hospital research, Schaefer may not get enough sleep, but junior Madison Finegan said she can’t go without sleep. “I need eight hours of sleep in order to function,” Schaefer said. Finegan makes sure she gets enough sleep almost every night. Finegan is involved in gymnastics. “On a good day I have up to an hour of homework, but most nights I have up to two hours,” Finegan said. She has time to do homework before her activities but would rather relax. On nights when she has gymnastics she doesn’t get home till 9:30 p.m. and still tries to get at least eight hours of sleep.
Freshman Amanda Becker starts her nightly English homework on Oct. 30 in Andrea Anderson’s classroom. Google Classroom is a way for students and teachers to communicate outside of school, but doesn’t affect the amount of homework we have. Photo by Abby Prywitch.
TALL GIRLS: HOVERING OVER THE REST FUNMI AYENI STAFF WRITER
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eople underestimate the affect height has on a person, especially for teenage girls. Jayla Kelly is one of Parkway Central’s tallest girls, measuring at 6’3, seven inches taller than the average woman. “I noticed I was taller than everyone in kindergarten, especially the boys,” Kelly said. For boys, it is expected that they be tall, strong, and exude masculinity. But what about girls? Tall girls experience some unique struggles, from clothes to social situations. About 36% of women are taller than average and 5% grow into being 5’ 11” and above. So what is it like to be a tall girl? Tall girls experience some unique struggles, from clothes to social situations.We tap into the lives and get the viewpoints of girls who are known for their height, Central’s 5%. Many of the girls report noticing their height difference before middle school, and some as early as kindergarten. Sophomore Johna Hinnah didn’t have to wait long for her growth spurt, she towered over most of her friends. “All my friends were short and I was done growing in about a year,” Hinnah said. Being taller when younger can sometimes make people mistake one for being an adult. Although, some girls are picked on for their height, others didn’t experience this. Kelly was always mistaken for being older. “People thought I shouldn’t be in middle school. They thought I looked like I was in 9th grade,” Kelly said. Many of the girls report feeling self conscious in middle and elementary school, but they grew into themselves and grow out of their insecurities as they got to high school. When high school rolls around they become more social and meet other tall girls that share the same experiences, like dating. Claudia Cooke, a sophomore, said she won’t date a guy who is shorter than her.
“Most guys are shorter and you have to be taller than me or it’s a no-go.” Many of the other girls share the same thoughts. In terms of a tall girl’s social life, it’s a bit different. Olamide Ayeni, a junior, says her social life is way different than the typical girl. “Most of my friends are guys because most girls are intimi-
Lana Cristiani (10), Claudia Cooke (10), Olamide Ayeni (11), Johna Hinna (10), Jayla Kelly (10) are all over 5’10. While they have different experiences, they enjoy being considered tall.
dated. They are scared to talk,” Ayeni said. She associates more with the boys, but she tries to be welcoming and show that she’s easy to talk to, regardless of how intimidating she may seem. Clothes are another struggle for tall girls, especially pants. Since many of the girls have long legs, they have to purchase extra long jeans from American Eagle or long leggings from Torrid, for fear that pants will come short. “Pants come skeet, so I have to roll ‘em up, then they turn into capris,”Ayeni said. Many of the other girls have to order their dress clothes online and some like to wear boots or shoes that go past their ankles to cover the short pants. Usually, shoes have to be purchased online as well. Many of the girls wear a size 12 of 13 in women’s shoes, whereas some of the girls just opt for men’s shoes like sneakers, mimicking the tall, athletic women today. It’s easy for tall girls to find good role models because of how many tall women play sports. Lara Coker, a junior, looks up to other tall women who haven’t let their height limit them. Because of being taller than average, it is believed that you can’t be normal or play normal sports, but many tall women who play professional sports have excelled. “I like Venus and Serena Williams. They look so great,” Coker said. The benefits have vary from everyday things like reaching tall shelves and playing sports to the “If you’re taller you live longer” rumor. Lana Cristiani, a sophomore, said her height helps her in volleyball because she has a better reach. Her height also allows her to pick people out from a crowd easily, since she can see over everyone. Kelly has an advantage in basketball, jumping high and developing skill while she plays. Above all else, tall girls love being tall. Lana Cristiani tells other tall girls to embrace their height. “It’s a good thing,” Cristiani said. In terms of the social issues and not fitting in Jayla Kelly tells future tall girls you can’t change this part about yourself but accept this part of yourself. “You are always going to be tall, but you will always find your space. It’s a good part about you,” Kelly said.
19CORRAL
FEATURES
NOV. 3, 2017
JUNIORS PARTICIPATE IN LITERARY CONTEST ATHENA STAMOS
MANAGING EDITOR n order to receive extra credit for their English class, juniors had the option to participate in a literary costume contest. The requirements were that the costume had to be appropriate and represent an American theme. The first place winner was junior Eliana Liebman who was dressed as Curly’s wife from Of Mice and Men. The second place winner was junior Kevin Scannel who was a frontiersman with a businness suit, Bill Bryson from Last American Man. The third place winner was Sandi Chasnoff who was dressed as Scout’s Christmas ham costume from To Kill a Mockingbird. The prizes were extra credit in their English classes. Participants signed up for a character, wrote a short paragraph on why they chose this character and then participated in the contest during Ac Lab on Oct. 27.
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1. Junior Prathithi Parasuram participated in the literary costume contest. Parasuram was the knotted tree from To Kill a Mockingbird. Photo by Christine Stricker 2. English teachers Laura Michael, Cynthia Krone, Christian Schaffer, and Mattie Rudolph confer in the theatre to decide the winners. Photo by Christina Stricker 3. English teacher– Mattie Rudolph congratulates first place winner, Eliana Liebman. Liebman was dressed as Curly’s wife from Of Mice and Men. Photo by Christine Stricker 4. English teacher, Mattie Rudolph hands a second place prize to junior Kevin Scannel. Scannel was a frontiersman with a businness suit, Bill Bryson from Last American Man. Photo by Christine Stricker
UPPERCLASSMEN VISIT PROSPECTIVE COLLEGES TO GUIDE CHOICES ATHENA STAMOS MANAGING EDITOR
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ith one year left of high school, junior Ariel Berwald is looking for her next home. Colleges are only a yearand-a-half away, and the process can be stressful at times. One way to ease that anxiety is to attend college visits on campus or when college advisors visit Central. Students are visiting a handful of colleges, and emphasize how doing so is not a requirement, but it is important. “It’s really fun to see what schools have to offer and just seeing how different it is compared to high school,” junior Ariel Berwald said. Berwald has taken only one official college tour, but has seen the campuses of others. She plans to visit other schools. She pays attention to the academic prestige, size, and its location mainly. According to Berwald, many competitive schools look at whether or not the student visited the school. Senior Drew Edelstein believes he would attend a school that would be the best option financially, while still having good programs that help his major of choice. Similar to Edelstein, junior Justin Hudgins believes that in the end, he will attend the college who gives him the most scholar-
ships. He plans to visit colleges in the near future. “I think it’s good to be able to see what the atmosphere of the college is and if it suits you,” Hudgins said. However, there are some circumstances in which visiting the desired school may not be possible due to time or finances. Looking at the school’s website or talking to people who attend the school are ways to research. According to counselor, Nana Prange she encourages others to even start following the colleges on social media to get a sense of that the campus and community is like. Senior Frances Adams, who has visited three colleges, looks at the town atmosphere when she does visit colleges and see the types of people at the different schools. Both Edelstein and Adams agree to have an open mind regarding colleges. “Whatever school you think you may want to go to, may not be the best choice in the future,” Edelstein said. Adams also emphasizes to keep options open and to try to visit a variety of campuses. “Even if you think you want to go to a big school, make sure to tour smaller schools just to make sure,” Adams said. Edelstein visited Truman State University with his brother, and enjoyed experiencing the college with not just a formal tour. “Don’t stress out about visiting colleges too much because it’s not as big a deal as people make it out to be,” Hudgins said.
Junior Ariel Berwald visits University of Maryland with her family over winter break last year. Her family and her are touching Testudo, the terrapin statue, University of Maryland’s mascot. Students rub its nose before exams for good luck. Photo courtesy of Ariel Berwald
20CORRAL
OPINIONS
NOV. 3, 2017
Political interest thrives, but attentivness falters HENRY T. EUBANK STAFF WRITER
I
n today’s world, politics and current events in the news are huge topics for discussion in our classrooms, hallways, and group chats. Anywhere that people congregate, discussions about what is going on in our world and in our government come up, and, for good reason, it is important to talk about these things in order to further understand what goes on in our world and how to deal with it. However, it does raise a few questions. How tinvolved are high schoolers in following the news? What issues do students care about? Do students talk about politics and the news. AP government teacher Skylar Kim has strong feelings on how students follow the government. “I encourage students to learn as much as they can about government. Then, they can make educated decisions about how they feel on policy.” Staying involved is a great way to keep up and have a grasp on what is going on in the government and politics. Junior Alex Edelman has a cynical view on high schoolers and their attentiveness to politics. “I believe people our age often think they know a lot about politics but are often misinformed or under informed about issues,” Edelman said. Government teacher Keith Herberger has a similar view tow Edelman about how kids follow politics. “Some students are very passionate about political, social, and governmental issues,”Herberger said, “However, I often discover that they have only explored one side of the issue.” Headline policy issues like taxes, entitlements, and the budget are hard for high schoolers to understand because they really don’t affect us individually. Frankly, it is easier to feel passionate about social injustices than it is to follow the changing tax codes.
shows that 85% of millennials say following the news is at least somewhat important to them. The study also shows that only 40% follow five or more hard news topics, such as policy movement, crime, war, or economic events. The percentages are consistent in showing that young people, including members of our school, believe that following politics is important. When it comes to following through and keeping up with current events, we do not keep our word. Herberger shows a CNN student news, or news clips from CBS, FOX, MSNBC, etc. for the purpose of keeping kids informed. “I show the videos to my classes to give them a better view on what is going on in the world, so they have an idea on what is going on.” He believes that listening to opposing viewpoints is extremely important to cultivate a good political view. “I’ll often show a Rachel Maddow segment and Bill O’Reilly segment on the same topic just so kids get a statement from both sides of an argument.” Kids like to watch their news by an overwhelming margin, 50%. Only 25% like to read their news, which is consistent with the statistics taken in the survey conducted by the Corral. A large majority of students say the like to watch their news on CNN, MSNBC, and FOX as opposed to those who like to read the news on The Huffington Post, The WSJ, and The New York Times. How kids get their news has changed a lot in the past few years. Social media has taken the baton to be the next major change in how news is dispersed. Apps like Snapchat now have functions where major news corporations such as CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and others put the news into daily “stories” that make the headlines easy to understand. Twitter and Instagram are also places for people to keep up on current events. In her AP Government class, Skylar Kim found that kids preferred social media to the main network news. “With Twitter they could get the information directly from the person, because they could interpret the tweets for themselves instead of having it filtered through a news agency.” Kim was also surprised to find that snapchat was a preferred way for kids to follow the news. “Snapchat works for students because they are already on it all the time, the news stories are easy to click through and pick something that is relevant to them.” Although social media makes news more accessible than ever, the threat of fake news or unverified news looms larger by the day. Fake news is all over the internet now that anyone can post opinionated videos. The likeliness of young people accepting fake news as fact is a danger to an effective democracy. This is why reading, watching, listening to real news is essential to building informed political ideologies and becoming informed voters. Avoiding selective exposure in the news and discussing viewpoints with people you don’t agree with is just as important. Understanding the opposition to one’s views makes people smarter, more informed, and this will make a difference on Election Day.
HOW OFTEN DO WE TALK ABOUT IT?
WHERE AND HOW OFTEN?
“I think that kids are interested in what affects them; its hard for anyone to be interested in something that they feel doesn’t apply to them.” -Skylar Kim, Government Teacher
“I have found that teenagers are more likely to gravitate towards social issues in building their political ideologies.” A survey conducted by the Corral of 131 respondents showed that 59.5% of high schoolers care about social issues, as opposed to 9.9% care mostly about fiscal issues. “It’s hard for a kid to have strong feelings about policy like taxes, entitlements and the economy, if they have not had much exposure to those topics.” Said Kim. Racism, sexism, and other isms are complex issues but are much easier to be upset at than tax codes or entitlement programs which affect people’s families in a drastic ways. As a community of students, we tend to pay attention to the news in a very moderate fashion. According to a survey conducted by the Corral, nearly 82% of students believe that following politics is important because they will be voting on the issues on day. However on 48.1% read or watch the news more than three days a week. A survey conducted by the Media Insight Project in 2015
WHAT DO WE CARE ABOUT?
21 CORRAL
OPINION
NOV. 3, 2017
RAP REVIEW: New album showcase SAM BENOIST & DAVID AMIRDJANIAN GRAPHICS EDITOR & STAFF WRITER
SATURATION II
THE BIGGER ARTIST YOUNG MARTHA
BROCKHAMPTON
A BOOGIE WIT DA HOODIE
YOUNG THUG & CARNAGE
‘Boy band’ and alternative Hip-Hop/ R&B group Brockhampton is back with their second album within the same year, and they came back stronger than before. Ever since the group teased it with the song ‘Gummy’ on group member Kevin Abstract’s Instagram page, I have been anticipating this album and Saturation II did not let down. Each song on Saturation II, back to back, is a hard hitting adventure into each of the members emotions and mental state, with songs declaring their individuality from everyone around them. Each song on this album has a different style, no two songs sound the same on this album and it gives the album a really unique listening experience and always keeps you guessing what they’ll do next. It never gets annoying or monotonous to listen to. Overall, Saturation II is very addicting and will leave you wanting more with every time you give it a listen
Following up his hit mixtape which earned him a spot on the XXL 2016 list, Boogie delivers his first studio album that is sure to make waves. He raps about growing up in the Bronx, and wanting nothing more than to make it out. His grit and toughness is seen through lyrics in “Undefeated” and “No Comparison”. He adds many big name features such as 21 Savage, Kodak Black, and Chris Brown. These contrasting flows blend smoothly and create and alternative vibe than you don’t get from most rap and hip hop. The Bigger Artist shows that Boogie is for real and will be going forwards.
Carnage released a four-song EP with the help with Young Thug, and as always, Carnage killed it with the production, the same could not be said about Young Thug’s vocals. Although Young Thug keeps an amazing flow throughout the entirety of Young Martha, energizes each song regardless what he says. The song ‘Liger’ has to be one of the worst songs lyrically on Young Martha due to how silly every other bar that comes out of Thuggers mouth, but somehow he makes every dumb thing sound so engaging. Don’t listen to this album if you’re expecting something clever, but this album is filled with masterfully produced party anthems. The only exception to what I said about Young Martha is the song “Don’t Call Me”, it’s more pop-y and low-key compared to everything else here, not to say it’s bad, but if feels very out of place. Overall, Young Martha is a blast to listen to.
Favorite songs: “GUMMY,” “QUEER,” “JELLO,” “TEETH,” “SWAMP,” “TOKYO,” “CHICK,” “JUNKY,” “FIGHT,” “SWEET” Least Favorite songs: “JESUS,” “SUMMER”
RATING: 9.5/10
Favorite songs: “No Comparison,” “Say A’,” “Undefeated (feat. 21 Savage),” “If I Gotta Go” Least Favorite songs: “Somebody (feat. Don Q),” “Beast Mode,” “Unhappy”
RATING: 9/10
Favorite songs: All of ‘em Least favorite songs: None of ‘em
RATING: 7.5/10
MR. DAVIS GUCCI MANE
Following his prison release, Gucci Mane has come out a changed man. The one thing that seemingly did not change was his ability to produce amazing songs that give off vibes found nowhere else. Gucci makes many references to his life and his rise to fame growing up in ‘Zone 6’ East Atlanta. Feature artists such as Migos, Big Sean, Nicki Minaj, and A$AP Rocky give him credit on the album for being such a great mentor and always keeping it real. That mentality can be seen in his music as he takes chances and values loyalty. Gucci explores new rhythyms while keeping his overall style the same throughout the album Favorite songs: “I Get the Bag (feat. Migos),” “Enormous (feat. Ty Dolla $ign),” “Changed (feat. Big Sean)” Least favorite songs: “We Ride (feat. Monica),” “Back On”
RATING: 8/10
22CORRAL
OPINION
NOV. 3, 2017
MY FOOD WAS GOOD AND BOUJEE
Archer's Atmosphere -Dining in Style-
LIBBY ARCHER
EDITOR IN CHIEF Jake Burstein and I found the cutest, bougiest, cafe in St. Louis the other day. Blondies Coffee and wine bar is located down the street from the City Museum, in downtown St. Louis. We came across this tiny brunch joint after visiting the City Museum for a class project. Once I walked in to Blondies I knew I was underdressed. Since I didn’t expect to be going to breakfast, I was still wearing my huge Ole Miss sweatshirt and leggings. Everyone else there was in dresses or at least business casual. There was a baby shower and a few other small groups, but other than that the restaurant wasn’t that busy. The whole restaurant was was filled with natural light and had windows and mirrors everywhere which made it feel two times larger than it actually was. Since it is a coffee shop, you could order food to go or you could be seated at one of the few tables and couches around the open room. They had a bar filled with brunch- drink mixings against the main wall and two elevated landings for more secluded tables. Jake and I were on the main floor next to two couches. Our waitress was very pretty and nice. I love it when I get actual career waitresses or waiters that seem like they really care about their job, and this was one of those times. We were given a drink menu and the main food menu with both a breakfast and lunch side. The drink menu showed a long list of different coffees, teas and coffee style drinks (frappes, lattes and expressos). Though they don’t have cold brew, which is my prefered coffee, they did have iced coffee. I ended up getting just a regular rost cup and jake got a froofy “Bang Bang Latte”, filled with butterscotch, almond milk and caramel. My coffee was strong and really full tasting while jake’s was really sugary but not exactly my cup of tea. The atmosphere was amazing and really calm even with a babyshower taking place the next table over. Everything matched, from the tables to the silverware to the light fixtures. The whole restaurant flowed
nicely. I ended up getting Popovers, which are large croissant flavored pastries that are more hollow on the inside. My three popovers came with a choice of sweet and savory spreads so I got one of each. Jake got a bowl of soup with a blueberry muffin. I won when it came to the better breakfast. When my popovers came, they were three times the size that I thought they were going to be. They were freshly baked and absolutely amazing. The thing that really made my meal was the sweet strawberry butter. The other spread I ordered was the savory sunflower seed pesto. Jake thought that the pesto was spicy but I just think he is crazy. I personally prefered the butter and would eat it on anything, or even probably by itself. Jake loved his soup and ended up cancelling his order for the muffin because he was helping me eat the popovers. They were even better when dipped in coffee. Overall, I strongly suggest checking out Blondies next time you are downtown. It’s the perfect place for a meeting, brunch, date or get together with friends. The price was okay compared to the fanciness of the location. My popovers were only $4 for three the size of my fist and about $1.50 for my coffee. Definitely would recommend!
Clockwise order: This is me sippin’ my black coffee (because I’m classy like that) while eating the cheapest thing on the menu. My black coffee next to Jake’s gross, sweet concoction. Mine was obviously better. This is my popover that looks like a dog head. Seriously, my dog looks exactly like that. It’s crazy.
23CORRAL
ENTERTAINMENT
NOV. 3, 2017
YOU ARE BEING CHASED BY A MASKED PSYCHOPATH. YOU SPRINT INTO THE KITCHEN WHERE YOU GRAB A PAN, TURN AND BASH HIM IN THE FACE, KNOCKING HIM OUT COLD.
DON’T Keep running Just because you knocked him to the ground, that doesn’t mean that you’re safe. You should not in that moment start screaming for help or try to find an exit. Chances are you were chased into a darker, more secluded area far from any reliable exit. There’s also a chance that he locked all the exits or at least blocked off access to them. The more time you waste trying to find an exit, the more time the psychopath has to get up, find you, and then get rid of you.
ART BY LILLIAN HUMPHREY
DO Continue hitting him While this psycho is down, don’t stop attacking him. There are too many times when someone who either stabbed or maybe even shot someone who was trying to kill them just leave the weapon there and run, giving their pursuer an opportunity to get up, grab that weapon they had used, and then continue to chase them. Instead, you need to sit there and not stop attacking him until you know he is dead. Remember, this man is trying to kill you. And you simply can’t let that happen. Whenever you get the chance, you strike. And if that strike is successful, you don’t stop until he stops moving.
YOU AND A GROUP OF FRIENDS ARE TRAPPED IN THE SCHOOL, AND THERE IS A MACHETE-WIELDING MANIAC ROAMING THE HALLS, SEARCHING FOR YOU.
DON’T Split Up The idea of moving away from the group in this situation is incredible idiotic. With something like this happening, this maniac will try to pick you off one by one. And if your group doesn’t stick together, that may be a fatal error. If the maniac were to find you when no one else was around, you would have no one to either turn to nor help you in that situation. You’d be truly and utterly defenseless, desperate, scared, and worst of all, you would be alone.
DO Stick Together There’s someone after you who wants to kill you, and you’re trapped along with a group of friends. The best thing you can do is stay in a large group. It doesn’t matter who it is coming after you, you have a much greater chance of survival if you’re with others. If you were by yourself and the maniac were to catch you, you’re pretty much toast. But should he find you while the group is together, you have some good options. You can stay and fight for sure: five or six against one have the odds definitely in your favor. Or you could find an exit, having people keep watch all around you while you try to pry open a door or break a window to make sure there’s no chance of him sneaking up on you.
BRETT SMITH STAFF WRITER
Luckerman’s perfect ACT, times two JENNA LAZAROFF STAFF WRITER
S
ome families share certain traits like hair color, the same nose, or even the same laugh. In Junior Kate Luckermans family, its the same ACT score. A perfect 36. Luckermans older brother Alex also received a perfect score, putting her on the spot. “I felt like it was just another expectation that he had set for me that I had to live up to,” Luckerman said. “I don’t know if I would have put as much effort into it if that expectation hadn’t been there.” Their parents must be doing something right if both children receive perfect scores. Nothing like your average family. “My parents are the ones who pushed me to take in it the summer so that I wouldn’t have anything else going on,” Luckerman said. “They pressured me to study in the week leading up to it. They kept joking that I had to get a 37 to be better than my brother and that made me feel super pressured but I guess it paid off.” A Lot of students prepare for the ACT by taking classes in or outside of school. This was not the case for Kate. To prepare you don’t just need to learn the skills, but become aware of what they are testing you on. “I used a book that my brother gave me that had the tricks for each section and a bunch of practice,” Luckerman said. “Since there are so many versions of the ACT they have to
test you on certain skills each time to try to make the tests similar and the best way for me to get prepared was to learn about all the different things the ACT tries to test you on, so when I was taking it I could recognize what they were doing.” Her brother helped had to help give her advice on what to do since he was pretty familiar with the ins and outs of the test. “He told me to take a practice test and act like it was really the test environment so I could know how I might actually do,” Luckerman said. After receiving a perfect score, you’re destined for college. Luckerman is only a junior this year. So what this means for her is she has a lot of options. But this doesn’t mean that she is slacking off in her academics at all. “I still try hard in all my classes because school is pretty much the only talent I have,” Luckerman said. “So to me it’s worth putting a lot of time into it. Also, my parents would kill me if I didn’t try hard in my classes because school is super important to them.” Finally, what comes along with taking any test stress or worrying to much about it. Relax and prepare yourself. “I never take too much time actually reading the reading sections,” Luckerman said. “I’m always so stressed out that I don’t remember any of it. I skipped questions that I didn’t know how to do at first because a lot of times I would come back to it and instantly know what I was doing wrong.”