Globe Newsmagazine, May 2018, Issue 8, Vol. 89

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TRAFFICKED Human trafficking in St. Louis

issue 8, volume 89 Clayton High School. Clayton, May 2018.

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contents may 2018 issue 8, volume 89

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Retiring Faculty: Feature Human/Sex Trafficking: Cover Liam Simckes: Athlete Profile Love, The Globe: A Column

Seniors posing in their college gear on May 1.

(Photo by Michael Melinger).

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CONTENTS

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STAFF

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EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

SENIOR MANAGING EDITORS

Noah Brown and M itali Sharma

Madeline Bale

CHIEF DIGITAL EDITOR

M ichael Bernard Charlie Brennan

Lauren Prais s

J acob LaGes se

CHIEF PHOTO EDITOR

SECTION EDITORS

Michael Melinger

Justin Guilak, NEWS

COPY EDITOR

L i l a T a y l o r , F E AT U R E

N e e l Va l l u r u p a l l i

Daniel Cho, SPORTS

CHIEF VIDEO EDITOR

Olivia Joseph, OPINION

Sean Kim

Richard Cheng , RE VI EW

GRAPHICS EDITOR

REPORTERS

Lizzy Mills

BUSINESS MANAGER Daniel Cohen

PAGE EDITORS

Ashley Chung

Hongkai Jiang

J osephine Cross

Ke i l a n M o r r i s e y

Camille Curtis

Laura Par vu lescu

Cody Krutzsch

Philip Stahl

S a m Ze i d

Ka t i e H e

Paul Liu

Junyi Su

Ca therine Walsh

Maddy Ackerburg

James Malone

Victor Wei

N ikki Seraji

Lise Dersken

Neema Naemi

Noor J era th

Grace Snelling

Mariclare Ga tter

William Redington

Za ch a r y Fi s h e r

Ka t i e S n e l l i n g

Gracie Morris

Sophia Thompson

David Higuchi

Sarah Baker

Theo Fehr

S a m Yo u k i l i s

Sara S temmler

PHOTOGRAPHERS Synthia Baer

I sheeta Khurana

Erin Brown

Paige Holmes

Barrett Bentzinger

Fiona McGuire

Isabella Clark

Xuenan Jin

Elizabeth Cordova

Mallory Palmer

Ka t h r y n C o o p e r

Caroline Marsden

Alex Darmody

Sophia Ryan

Gwen Duplain

Ka t h e r i n e O w i n g s

Ella Engel

Annika Sandquist

Madison Gudmestad

Mia Redington

Catherine Holtzman

Emma Siegel

Alexandra Hardie

Madison Rudd

Professional Affiliations: Sponsors of School Publications, Missouri Interscholastic Press Association, Missouri Journalism Education Association, National Scholastic Press Association, Columbia Scholastic Press Association

FROM THE EDITOR In a mere two weeks, we will be passing on the torch of the Globe leadership.

It has been four years since we joined the Globe staff as young eager reporters, ready to absorb the lay of the land of scholastic journalism and extend the bounds of our education.

Needless to say, our education is not concluding after we cross the stage on May 31 -- these years were only the beginning of a much longer journey. But, we are prepared to embark on this journey because we have learned so much vital information over the course of the past four years.

This learning extends far beyond textbook pages and problem sets, and we would like to use this space to share a few of these things with you. Before we walk out of CHS’ doors one final time, we cannot help but ponder where we’d be if it weren’t for the Globe and CHS communities.

Most importantly, we’d like to extend our gratitude for the experiences the Globe community has afforded us – experiences that have served as everlasting reminders of the power of people - and the power of stories.

Our experiences during our four years on the Globe staff have converted seemingly cliché concepts about the power of storytelling into tangible reality.

Journalism, of course, is deeply rooted in this power.

From our inception as Globe reporters, we were reminded of the power that lies in using our journalistic platform to be “bearers of light” - that is, to shine light on stories, wherever they might reside.

Grouping individuals into masses is easily done in today’s society -- especially concerning social issues.

When people are grouped into masses, empathy and understanding is easily lost. We’ve grown to recognize storytelling’s ability to clear this clouded lens - to provide clarity in a world lacking its fair dose.

Telling individuals’ stories highlights the depth and nuance of their human nature, returning human identity to the previous ghosts of the masses.

This humanization is at the core of compassion: once we begin to see figures as multitudes of stories, we connect, we relate, and we feel.

Individuals are indeed a multitude of stories. That’s what Globe has taught us.

From the many staff conversations in the office to the conversations with interviewees, we know that a universe of stories can exist within a person -- that a person is not surface, a person is deep. And we have felt our own empathy and sensitivity grow because of this everlasting lesson.

Thus, we would like to thank the Globe for not only solidifying our belief in the power of stories, but also catalyzing our personal growth as we continue developing and fine-tuning our understanding of the world around us.

Losing connection is a seemingly facile action in our world today.

Hopefully, the believers in storytelling will help strengthen these connections between humankind and build a world full of compassion and understanding.

noah brown @noah.20

&

mitali sharma @mitasharma

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

The Globe Newsmagazine exists to inform, entertain, persuade and represent the student voice at CHS. All content decisions are made by the student editorial staff and the Globe is an entirely self-funded publication. Not every story that our reporters write is published in the print newsmagazines. Visit www.chsglobe. com for additional stories and photos and for more information about the Globe itself. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisement - for more information about advertising and subscriptions, please contact our office: Clayton High School Globe 1 Mark Twain Circle Clayton, MO 63105 (314) 854-6668 globe@claytonschools.net

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LETTER

Senior Daniel Cho kneels down to position a golf ball. Cho qualified for the State Tournament which takes place May 13 and 14.

Photo by Marci Pieper

News and Notes

‘We are both dragon energy.’

Kayne West, describing his support for President Trump in a series of tweets last week. He continued, “You don’t have to agree with Trump but the mob can’t make me not love him.”

‘Scouts BSA’

is the new name for the Boy Scouts of America’s flagship program after 118 years of being called ‘Boy Scouts.’ The name change comes after girls were first allowed to join the program last year.

‘This path is not the one I would have chosen for Missouri and my colleagues. Unfortunately, this is where the facts led.’

Todd Richardson, Republican House Speaker announcing the unprecedented convention of a special session for the purpose of the potential impeachment of Gov. Eric Greitens. This is the first time the Missouri General Assembly has initiated a special session which required a 3/4 majority in both houses. The session could lead to the first ever impeachment of a Missouri Governor.

Photo: Missouri House Communications

(Inter-Korean Summit Press Corps/AFLO/Zuma Press/TNS)

North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean Leader Moon Jae-in shake hands during the 2018 Inter-Korea Summit. Kim became the first North Korean Leader to cross the DMZ and enter the South Korea.

Good Week Marvel,their latest movie, Avengers: Infinity War set a new record, grossing over $257.5 million domestically in its opening weekend.

Handout/TNS

Bad Week

White House Physician Ronnie Jackson withdrew his nomination for VA secretary and is reportedly out of a job after allegations emerged that he over-prescribed pills and drank on the job.

(Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/TNS)

Seventeen-Million To One

the odds of hitting back to back holes in one, a feat accomplished by Clayton parent Howie Sher and friend Brian Halpern on Apr. 29 at Westwood Country Club.

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the symbolic settlement the city of Philadelphia agreed to pay two black men arrested for sitting at a Starbucks cafe. The city also agreed to start a $200,000 program for young entrepreneurs.

RETIRING TEACHERS of 2018 After years of dedicating their lives to working with students, these four faculty members will be leaving CHS. The Globe Staff has created this feature to pay tribute to our beloved staff members.

Laura Sher

By Grace Snelling “Just a couple of weeks ago, I got an email from a former student, and she sent me a drawing that she did, and the email said, ‘I just wanted you to see the drawing that I did and let you know that I’m using all of the skills that you taught me,’ and that was really sweet,” CHS art teacher Laura Sher said.

Sher is retiring this year after working in the Clayton School District for a total of 13 years, five at the middle school level and eight at CHS. Before moving to St. Louis, Sher taught students of varying ages at several K-12 schools in Seattle, Washington.

“I actually liked all different ages for different reasons. One thing I loved about the really little kids is that they’re just so cute, and just small things like getting a new color out of the paint closet was exciting for them,” Sher said.

According to Sher, however, teaching at the lower levels could have its more interesting facets.

“One little boy in elementary school had just started crying.

Like, hysterically crying. And I just pulled his little chair out from the table and made him turn around to see if something was wrong with him and he was crying so hard that he couldn’t speak.

And I finally got him to calm down enough and I just held his shoulders and looked at him right in the eyes and said, ‘what is wrong?’

And he looked at me and said, ‘I’m hot!’ because it was really hot that afternoon in my classroom. Poor little guy had a turtleneck and a sweater on!” Sher said.

Although this particular instance stuck with Sher for obvious reasons, it is other, more subtle moments that make the teaching experience so impactful to her. In these moments, Sher said, her hard work as an instructor is validated.

“In general, [the best part of teaching is] to see students really struggle with something, and then have the ah-ha moment when they’ve finished it and it’s just absolutely beautiful, and they’re surprised at how good their work is. That to me is so rewarding,” Sher said.

Debra Wiens 10

A young farm girl did not know she would have teenagers referring to her as “Queen” in the future, but this is indeed the case.

Students revere CHS history and government teacher Debra

Photo by Paige Holmes

Sher, who is both a teacher and an artist (specifically a painter) also enjoys the fact that through her classes, she is able to find students who share her love of artwork. This gives her an outlet to discuss her interests in-depth and to encourage students to discover their own enthusiasm for the art world.

“I guess the thing that I most enjoy about it is sharing my passion for art with students because I’m an artist, I’m a painter. And it’s so much a part of my life and who I am that when I get a chance to share that with kids that appreciate it, it’s very very satisfying for me,” Sher explained.

After teaching for over 13 years, Sher hopes that she has been able to leave a positive impact on her students.

“Well, I mean, I hope that my students would describe me as being a good art teacher. I would hope that they learn a lot from me and I hope that they think that the atmosphere in the classroom is one that is conducive to being creative,” Sher said.

Although her career in full-time teaching may be ending, Sher plans to begin teaching part-time and aspires to become even more focused on her art in the future.

“Yeah, I’m going to have a studio and try to show my work again. I hope I’ll be able to do gallery shows. And the goal will be to sell my work,” Sher said.

First and foremost, Sher will be moving back to Seattle where she can have her own studio to paint. After that, she hopes to continue doing what she loves and sharing her passion for art with the world.

By Mitali Sharma Wiens for her energy and passion, as well as her dedication to bettering the world around her.

Wiens’ government classes are renowned for students learn-

ing through interaction with current events and real civic engagement. Last year, for example, students worked to pass a 911 Good Samaritan Bill in Missouri legislature.

“I’ve never had an experience like it. I’ve never had a teacher so involved in both local and national, to a certain degree, politics. She was someone who was bringing it closer to home and getting us involved in the classroom to push for statewide notions and statewide laws. It’s very cool,” senior Rahul Kirkhope, a member of Wiens’ AP Government class, said.

Wiens’ enthusiasm for history draws back to her childhood when she would spend hours pouring over national geographic, reading biographies and dreaming about seeing the world beyond her Iowa farm.

The interest in politics followed, arising her senior year in high school. Lacking a strong government teacher, Wiens took it upon herself to learn the subject matter and was enthralled by the world she found within the government textbook.

Wiens also found a calling to the world of social policy due to a desire to help the less fortunate, a desire that grew from empathy: farm life in Iowa was grueling and Wiens’ family was constantly apprehensive of losing their farms.

“We did end up losing all of our farms except for one and I remember the banker coming out and taking them. I remember selling everything that we owned and didn’t absolutely need. We sold all the machinery, we sold all our animals, we sold everything to keep the farm that we stayed at. I remember the grief that caused. I remember very, very difficult times on the farm and my father would say, ‘if we just work harder, we can make a go of it.’ I knew farm life was not for me but I think that drove who I am today because I empathize with people that don’t have,” Wiens said. “When I look at people around me, I think something can be done to help. To get people through until they can get on their feet again.”

Wiens’ father was able to get back on his feet again, and earned enough money to send Wiens to college. Wiens matriculated to Wheaton College in Chicago to pursue a degree in history, along with a teaching certificate.

Wiens spent her time at Wheaton with the international crowd, marveling at what cultures existed beyond rural Iowa.

Her freshman year roommate was from Taiwan. Her best friend was from the Netherlands and spoke seven languages. College was Wiens’ ticket away from the farm and into the world she yearned to explore.

College also introduced Wiens to a budding geophysicist. The pair got married soon after graduation and Wiens’ husband went on to pursue a PhD at Northwestern. Wiens, on the other hand, was set on teaching. However, finding a teaching job in Chicago was impossible during those years.

Wiens was living in the inner city of Chicago, amongst prostitutes, the homeless and Southeast Asian refugees. So, at just 21 years old, she and two other women started a school for this impoverished community. Wiens was in charge of teaching all subjects -- from art to math to drama -- to 6th through 8th graders, all while writing the curriculum and raising funds herself. “[The Chicago school experience] was both tremendously rewarding, it was exhilarating but it was also exhausting, it was terrifying, it was overwhelming. It was the height and the depth of teaching,” Wiens said.

However, a new journey was calling and Wiens would be leaving Chicago. Her husband had finished his PhD and jobs in geophysics were scarce.

There was an opening on the border of Mexico and in Saskatchewan, Canada, but Wiens’ heart found no connection to these places.

The final opening was at Washington University in St. Louis.

Wiens was adamant that her husband could not accept a job if no teaching jobs existed for her. At the time, St. Louis had a surplus of teachers and no jobs. But, all of a sudden, one opening was posted. Wiens was chosen out of 400 applicants and thus, her career at the Clayton School District began in the social studies department of Wydown.

Early into her career at Wydown, administrators told her, “we have a plan for your life.” If Wiens accepted their proposition, she was to go receive her PhD -- paid for by the District -- and then serve as an administrator for at least seven years.

Wiens was ecstatic; however, she and her husband also had decided to start a family -- she was pregnant with her first child.

Wanting time with her newborn, Wiens told the superintendent she would not be able to do the PhD program and asked for one year unpaid leave. The superintendent’s response surprised her.

“He said I’ll hold [your job] for three [years]. This is a quote: ‘hurry up and have your two babies and get back here,’” Wiens said.

Wiens accepted the offer and had her two kids, Andrew and Julia, during that time. After the three years had passed, Wiens wanted just one more, but the District did not agree and gave her position away. Nevertheless, Wiens’ lack of employment did not last for long. One year later, the District called and asked what it would take to have her return. Wiens requested part-time at the high school and it was done. Later, when a fulltime position opened, she took the spot.

“I am loyal to this district forever. That’s what treating employees like that does -- it builds this forever relationship,” Wiens said.

Wiens’ long teaching career, spanning more than 30 years, did not pass without questioning, however. Wiens wondered

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why she was staying with such a highly demanding job that did not offer a proportional salary.

“I gave serious thought to leaving teaching. But what kept me here was the love of teaching and the students’ love to learn so I never left it. I felt that at the end of my life when I looked back, it would be the most fulfilling thing,” Wiens said.

As retirement is fast approaching, Wiens does not regret her decision.

“I am not leaving a bitter teacher. I am the opposite of bitter: I’m more energized and enthusiastic about the future because of the kinds of kids that I have now. I feel like the students now are more engaged, aware, energetic, wanting to change the world

than any students I’ve taught,” Wiens said.

Although she will be saying farewell to her work in the classroom, Wiens’ civic engagement will continue strong. Her plans include furthering her work with Syrian refugees, writing grants for a community center in North St. Louis, and spending time on her Iowa farms. Adventures are also planned.

“I’m going to go to Alaska -- my husband has a project there -to make sure he doesn’t get eaten by a bear,” Wiens said. “I think we’re (also) actually going to rent a camper and just travel around and if we see a place, turn off the road and just park by a river, sleep for the night and get up and watch the salmon jumping.”

Alice Morrison

By Sara Stemmler Two 15-minute conversations. This is the average amount of time CHS guidance counselor Alice Morrison spends each year with 225 students planning, solving and discussing.

“You would think something like having a conversation about classes for next year for 225 of you, one after another for almost a month and a half, you would be like ‘are you kidding me?’ But every single one of the conversations brings up another area we should think about or plan for in a proactive way,” Morrison said.

While these sessions are short and may outwardly appear solely as planning for future classes, Morrison feels that they also provide her with perspective on the Clayton culture and student success as a whole.

“It’s just amazing the amount of students that are bright and motivated and hardworking. And to think that they’re going to go off and be really successful ... It just reflects the types of students that you get in this type of education. They can hardly help but be successful,” Morrison said.

Morrison has been a widely appreciated source of guidance for Clayton students for ----- years now, her exceptional ability to connect with student’s thriving as a result of her first profession as a teacher. Morrison studied at University of Missouri and went on teach biological science in Rockwood School District.

“In counseling, what landed me here is that I was in the classroom and loved the classroom. You build relationships with students that you see every single day, day after day. But I was really doing a lot of counseling from the position of teaching. So I started taking classes and found my people,” Morrison said.

Although her job consists of mending the struggles of students on top of her own, Morrison claims this is all part of the job that she could not possibly love more.

“I constantly have to be learning and doing and thinking and collaborating. That’s what counseling is; reacting to emerging things that come up all the time. You have to stay on top of it.

And then you get a group of students that you transition from eighth grade and follow with them to with almost young adulthood. It’s the best. I’m not kidding you. It’s the best,” Morrison said.

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Morrison has spent the past three years cultivating a relationship with the current CHS sophomores, and is preparing for a bittersweet goodbye as she prepares to retire at the end of this school year. As she approaches her final weeks, she asserts with no uncertainty that her love of the job has not dwindled in the slightest. “[My year] has been interesting in a lot of ways and challenging in a lot of ways,” Morrison said. “You know, students have had a lot of interesting challenges and opportunities, but the thing about this job is that every day I wake up and still really love it.

As far as her parting, Morrison has been working diligently with the rest of the Counseling Department to fill the void in a way that makes sense for the current sophomore class.

“We’re thinking about lots of things because it gives an opportunity to say, ‘who do we want that fits the best in the community?’

That’s really important. But you know, there are amazing people out there and I feel like we’ll get somebody that’s going to be pretty good,” Morrison said.

retiring teachers of 2018 Although Morrison believes there will eventually be a replacement guidance counselor, she is not worried about the success of her sophomores, as she feels they have been given all the information over the past two years that they need to move forward into their final two years of high school.

“I thought carefully about the rotation and about what made the most sense of when to leave. Once we have the junior, senior plan, [the sophomores] are no longer adjusting to the high school,” Morrison said.

Although she is parting with one passion, Morrison looks forward to exploring many of her other passions in her retirement.

“It’s not like I have a plan to go off and be a counselor at another place, necessarily, but I have a lot of things that I would like to do, maybe some things internationally,” Morrison said. “I travel and backpack do those kinds of things. I’d love to be able to do some more stuff in the community that I haven’t had time for.”

Morrison emphasizes that although there are certain activities she is looking forward to in retirement, there is not one thing that she prizes the most because she is interested in anything and everything. As far as exploring these activities, Morrison plans to

devote herself to life in retirement as she would to her current job.

“I’ve been given the gift to be able to finish one career and then open the doors of another, that’s pretty amazing,” Morrison said.

Although CHS will be sad to see her go, Morrison has left an everlasting mark on the students she has cultivated, and she can safely say they have left a mark on her as well.

“To see the change from an eighth grader to a high school graduate, it’s like watching birth to three or four. Every day there’s something new, every day something evolving and it’s a privilege to be a part of it and to be to watch it and to be able to stay with a class over time.”

Mike Rust

By Liam Reddington “They went from chalkboards to overhead projectors to whiteboards to the Chromebooks, but I’ll miss out on the Chromebook,” said Clayton High School math teacher Mike Rust, who plans on retiring at the end of this school year after 27 years of teaching in the District.

“When I got hired, Clayton had a reputation of not hiring new teachers, and people in the area were like, ‘oh don’t even apply, Clayton doesn’t hire new teachers.’ But they did [hire a new teacher] and I got the job.”

Rust originally intended to teach at an international school after gaining a few years of experience from Clayton, “I knew nothing about Clayton, I just knew they had a math opening, so I thought, okay I can teach here for a couple years and then apply to teach at an international school, but it’s so amazing here that 27 years later, 2 years turned into 27 years,” Rust said. Rust credits the long stay to the community in Clayton. “The people I work with, there’s a lot of amazing kids, a lot of amazing families here.

So just building those relationships.”

During his years at Clayton, Rust has been very involved outside of the classroom.

“I’ve been coaching track and I’ve coached football here, I’ve coached volleyball. So especially during the track season it’s very busy and don’t get much done around the house.”

Rust credited Clayton’s many academic successes with the dedication of our students of staff. “You look at physics competitions, chemistry competitions, the Globe, I mean, we’re winning awards for everything we do, amazing theater programs, music programs, it’s all incredible so it’s a good place.”

After retirement Rust plans on taking a break from the action.

“I think I’m going to take a year and not commit to anything for-

mal, so do some things around the house, do some traveling, do some things with friends.”

But Rust doesn’t think he will end his career just yet. Already an avid traveller, he dwells on the possibility of working for Delta Air Lines so that he can fly for free.

“Maybe some tutoring, or teaching at a private school, or pursuing a job with Delta to some capacity would be ideal, but traveling is somewhere on the list I think.”

Even with plans for a potential new gig and travel all over the world, Rust doesn’t plan on moving anytime soon, but he says anything could be possible, “hey, life’s short and I’ll go see what happens.”

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P E Y TO N K N I G H T Former Clayton student Peyton Knight takes to the runway

“Our agency had a dinner right before we started fashion week and we were just a whole crop of newbies. The vice president of our agency was just saying, ‘I know there’s a lot of you here, but maybe two or three of you will have a good season and that’s just realistic.’ It ended up being me and one or two other girls who actually had a pretty decent season,” Peyton Knight said.

Knight, who attended school in Clayton School District from the elementary level to eighth grade, began her career as a model over eight years ago, and since then, has risen to be one of the most visible models in the industry, gracing over 20 magazine covers.

“I was scouted when I was 11.

I had gone to the movie theatre with my mom and we didn’t see this table but there was an agency from New York called Elite that was sitting there. Ronnie’s theatre is one of the most trafficked by young teenage girls and so they set up camp there. One of the scouts came behind me and my mom and tapped us and was like, ‘would you guys be comfortable coming in and filling out an info card? We’d love to sign you.’ So I signed with Elite and then switched agencies to IMG when I was 13,” Knight said.

At first, Knight explained, modeling for Elite was not necessarily work, but more of a hobby which she would pursue during her free time. However, as she got older, her commitment to the job increased, and it became clear that her passion for modeling made it a viable career path for her. At just 15, Knight’s agency flew her to Japan for six weeks for shooting opportunities, an experience which allowed her to discover other cultures and encouraged her to work even harder to pursue her dream.

“The first year in modeling I traveled over 150,000 miles. I went to Japan for six weeks and within that time I really got to explore the temples and famous geographical spots like Mount Fuji and go and see all of the most popular things to do in Tokyo and that was really exciting. I’ve been all throughout Europe,” Knight said.

According to Knight, both of her parents were unfalteringly supportive of her career as a model, as long as it remained a dream that she hoped to pursue. Her mother Allison Knight agreed.

“We’ve always been about her following her dreams,” Allison Knight said.

FEATURE

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Consequently, her parents were on board when Knight decided to graduate high school two years early in order to become further invested in her career at IMG. “When I transferred from Clayton to Kirkwood [in ninth grade] I had a full extra credit of language and then I also doubled up on English in my senior year, so I’d take two English classes every single day for the entire year. And I’d take online classes.

It was convenient. I mean, I liked school as far as learning and everything and it was a really fun time for me because I was also on dance team, but I kinda wanted to just start in the world and get it going. I had this opportunity that I’d been waiting to pursue full time since I was 11. So it was a long time coming,” Knight said.

Although, Knight said, it is very difficult for a young woman to make it in the modeling industry, she had few doubts about her own ability to remain strong, persevere and succeed.

“There’s always the chance that something is not gonna work out for you. I mean you could want to be a rocket scientist but if you don’t put in the hard work to get there, you know, you’re not going to be a great rocket scientist. I had always stayed really dedicated to my passion and what I wanted to do. I was working out and eating healthy and taking care of myself inside and out. I think that that drive is really evident when you’re working with people and they love to work with people who want to be there. So if you present yourself with that attitude you’ll make Photos from Knight it so much further in anything you want to do,” Knight said.

Immediately following her graduation, Knight flew to Rome to walk for Chanel, an event which has remained one of the most memorable of her life.

“Chanel flew an entire show’s worth of girls to Rome for a prefall show when I was 17. So the first day that we got there we basically were allowed to explore the entire city all we wanted with everybody. Several of my friends were in the show too so we just got to go and see all the ruins. For the show itself they recreated a street in Paris with a train station and we all came up out of this train station and walked around through all these really cute shops that they had as the set. Then when the show was over all of the audience and all of the girls in the show could go to these shops. They would open up and they’d be like cheese places, cake

shops, or fish markets, so it was supposed to be like this big street in Paris that was actually in Rome. That was a really cool experience that I’ll always remember,” Knight said.

Other unforgettable moments in Knight’s career include a shoot in Berlin where she sprinted across a pebble roof in six inch heels, or, in a similar instance, when she ran through an abandoned mall for a Gucci campaign video. Her job has also brought her into close contact with countless notable people such as the Beckham family, the Jenners, Anna Wintour (the editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine) and even the rapper Cardi B, for whom she is a self-proclaimed “fangirl”. In one particularly striking instance described by Knight, she was complemented by Lady Gaga.

“My first season [modeling] was a little bit intimidating because, you know, you would turn the corner and Hailey Baldwin would be getting her makeup done. At one of my first shows I was getting my makeup down right next to Lady Gaga and I was thinking, ‘oh my god, I’ve listened to you since fifth grade!’ but I didn’t want to say anything or act weird so I was just sitting there and then I was like, ‘you’re really beautiful!’ and she said, ‘oh my gosh you’re so beautiful too.’ I couldn’t believe that Lady Gaga had just said that.”

However, according to Knight, the shock factor of meeting celebrities eventually wears off, especially because one realizes that they are simply normal people. Even the modeling industry itself, she said, is not as glamorous as the outside world perceives it to be. “[Modeling] is really not necessarily what people think it is.

Like flying on a plane and trying to sleep is not very fun. And then going straight to work. I’ve flown in and immediately started shooting ecommerce, which is basically where you’re putting on 30 looks that day and you’re standing in the same position for 10 hours. I’ve flown in and gone straight to a job like that for two days straight with really bad catering. And that’s not fun. I ended up being kind of sick to my stomach after that experience,” Knight said.

According to Knight, her career can often be physically and mentally taxing, but she has never had to drastically change aspects of herself in order to succeed.

“I’ve never had to compromise anything like my education, my morals, anything … to be in this industry. And that’s really saying something. I’ve never been put into a situation that has been bad or negative, I’ve always enjoyed my job. Which I feel, you know, empathetic for people who go to work and they hate their job. I love my job, it’s a fun job at the end of the day. There are trying times and it is sometimes a struggle and I do have to work out and be mindful of how I take care of myself all the time, but it’s a passion,” Knight said.

Additionally, Knight commented on the idea that most models have an eating disorder or compulsion to exercise.

“There’s always been this stigma that models don’t eat, or they don’t eat enough, or they’re obsessed with working out, or this and that, and genetics play such a huge role in it. That sounds like such a lame excuse but it’s true. You can tell the difference between someone who is not eating and someone who is built extremely skinny, there’s such a difference. The quality of hair becomes so poor if you’re not eating, your nails fall apart, your skin gets really sallow, you get really dark eye bags … all the signs of an eating disorder are very apparent. It really breaks my heart when I see friend of mine who are definitely skinnier than I am getting ridiculed online because people will tell them that they’re anorexic, putting this label on them,” Knight said. “When I very much see these girls go and eat plate-fulls of pasta and eat normal foods and do normal things but their make-up and their metabolism are

just so different from a lot of people. It is heartbreaking to see girls who [do have eating disorders] because it does happen, it’s not a complete fallacy, there is that in the industry … but those girls don’t make it. Those aren’t the ones that you see on the runway as much. They’ll have a good season or two because they’re skinny and whatever but they fall apart mentally and physically, they just disintegrate. The agencies will drop you or they’ll get you help quickly.”

Knight maintained that although she sometimes receives hate through her social media page, and even criticism on her body and appearance, her upbringing and passion for her job have helped her to develop a thick skin.

“It’s just kind of keeping strong all around and focusing on what you want,” Knight said.

grace snelling @its.grace.s PAGE EDITOR

Instagram: @peyton.knight

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FEATURE

JASON’S JOURNEY

Wilson’s experiences lend to his vision for diversity in Clayton as a new Board member

J

ason Wilson, newly elected member of the School District of Clayton’s Board of Education, is the first African-American man to serve on the Board. He strives to improve diversity in Clayton, educate the community on the importance of communication and expose students to an inclusive global community.

Wilson not only cares about students’ experience at Clayton, but also wants to successfully prepare them for the diverse world they will encounter after high school.

Being the first ever African-American member of the Board, Wilson has faced the various unjust tribulations that come with being a minority in today’s society.

Wilson was stopped twice by Clayton police while canvassing for his campaign.

His first encounter with the police occurred as he was leaving a previous board member’s house, and he was told that they assumed he was a solicitor. He had a second encounter with the police weeks later which he decided to video tape and post online.

Wilson was stopped for the second time because he fit the description of a suspicious petitioner in the Clayton neighborhoods.

“In my lifetime I have heard that so many times,” he said, “people are falsely accused, accosted and arrested for something they didn’t do only because they fit the description. This is something that I have always dealt with. I have lots of experience in this area where I have been pulled over because I’m black. It is incidents like these that are exactly how people go to jail, good or bad. It doesn’t matter sometimes.”

Wilson decided to post the video of his interaction with the police to reveal the prevalence and unfairness of racial stereotyping.

“I put the video online and I kind of allowed people to form their own opinions,” Wilson said.

He has received a lot of support from the community in response.

FEATURE

16 3

Photo of Wilson from the Clayton School District

“I [had] met some great people and I didn’t know they were going to be so supportive of me, so that was amazing.”

Experiencing the effects of being an African-American in a predominantly white neighborhood further increased Wilson’s desire to improve diversity and equity in the Clayton community.

Wilson also has two children at the Clayton schools. His oldest son had an incident at Captain Elementary where another student called him a racially-offensive name.

“Intuitively I thought to go to the parents and have a conversation with them about it and get the kids involved so that [the kids] know that they’re not bad people,” Wilson said. “And we wanted to take the blame off them and on us, because they got it from somewhere, right? So that is part of the reason that made me examine more how Clayton is as a diverse population.”

Wilson hopes to prepare students for the real world by increasing the diversity of staff members, training students and staff to communicate effectively, and increasing the inclusivity within Clayton’s culture.

“Kids at Clayton are going to go out into the world and are going to run into someone from a different place, a different culture, or a different ethnicity, and I want to make sure they are prepared for that and are not impeded by a lack of experience and not knowing how to communicate effectively,” Wilson said.

The Clayton School Board has already begun to implement programs in order to achieve its goals regarding equity and diversity.

“We have a committee of teachers that are representatives from each of the schools that come together and have been actively working,” Board President Kristin Redington said. “We have professional development programs for all the new teachers coming in, and they go through mandatory stereotype and bias training with specialists who come to do these programs.”

The Board is also honing in on the racial discrepancies in achievement, analyzing data and why the education gap exists.

Pam Littleton, a member of the District Equity in Education Committee, explains that eliminating racism within schools starts at the level of the Board and staff.

“You can’t blame the students, [and] you can’t blame the students’ parents. You really need to look at the level of instruction and who’s delivering the instruction and what the level of expectation is, not just for all students, but specifically the students of color.”

Wilson, as the first black member of the school board will add a new perspective to the implementation of equity in the schools.

“He’s had various experiences as an African American male and as a business owner that haven’t always been easy. I think it will serve the community very well to have his vision and his wisdom as a part of the Board,” Littleton said, “As far as someone who looks like him, someone who’s had his experiences, someone who has dealt with some of the things she’s dealt with, that has never been present ... You have a good Board when you have diverse people on that Board. The more diversity you have on a Board, the better it serves the community and the school system.”

olivia joseph @olivia.joseph OPINION SECTION EDITOR

laura parvulescu @lauraparvz REPORTER

WYDOWN SOCIALI ST UNION Wydown students experiment with different forms of government in a unique club

I

n a world defined by convention and rules, a group exists that defies all: the Wydown Socialist Union. This unofficial club at Wydown Middle School has over 70 members and meets on Wednesdays for a Lord-ofthe-Flies type gathering. While the club was started as a joke, it quickly evolved and is now viewed “as legitimately as the nature of it allows for,” according to founder and General Secretary eighth grader Isaac Millians.

Millians, along with friends Tudor Belean and Zachary Wang, first started the club after learning about the values and effects of socialism. Founding and then participating in this club is a way for these students to actively apply the concepts they have been learning about in school to their own lives.

“Our main purpose is to educate people on what socialism really is… many people are under the impression that socialism is somehow an evil thing, due to propaganda spread from the Cold War to today,” Millians said.

Socialism is a political and economic theory in which all resources and means of production are owned by the community, and any kind of private enterprise or property is outlawed. The aforementioned community is made up of equal members with a common objective that has been defined with the good its members in mind. This system relies on the cooperative efforts of people to advance society.

The WSU is run in a manner emulating that of a real country.

This allows members to observe how aspects of socialism play out in their immediate community, as well as a chance to speculate how and why their simulation differs from actual socialist countries. “[The group] also tries to simulate a Socialist government to educate people on how the party and government work,” co-founder and Minister of Foreign Affairs Zachary Wang said.

In addition to informing members on topics such as the October Revolution and Mikhail Gorbachev, the club maintains a complex bureaucratic system.

“We send out demographic surveys, start state-funded experiments, and even we began our own military of sorts,” Millians said. “As part of the government, we send out central committee elections to the public … The central committee has to approve laws before they are passed, and can make suggestions.”

The club was founded upon a genuine passion for the socialist philosophy, however, its meetings display a more light-hearted side to the students’ passion. On the last Wednesday in February, a group of about 20 eighth graders clamored into the history wing of Wydown Middle School at 11:37 a.m. for a meeting. Almost immediately, any semblance of order was drowned out by multiple students talking loudly over each other for the attention of four boys at the front of the room - Isaac Millians, Zachary Wang, Tudor Belean and Don Ung. Ung is head of the monarchist group known as the Commonwealth of Don (CoD).

“I liked the idea of a fun little government simulation activity

and thought that it would be exciting to have a mini Cold War between our two clubs,” Ung said.

This group formed and broke an alliance with the WSU to help defeat the 7th grade capitalist group known as the Republic of Wydown four times during the 25 minute meeting. The overall chaos only escalated as the four students all stood at the front of the room and each directed a different conversation over one another. A few kids seated at the back of the room at desks asked each other if the club was still called the Wydown Socialist Union, or if it had changed its name yet again. Others wondered if the CoD had switched political ideologies once more - as Ung revealed it frequently did.

After the group was somewhat silenced by history teacher Richard Baugh, it became clearer that the point of the meeting was to elect a new member of the People’s Parliament. After a haphazard election, the winner, chosen by popular vote, was sworn in with the Soviet Anthem blaring in the background.

“At the first couple meetings all I saw was chaos,” Baugh said.

“But after a while there was a method to the madness … I love seeing the students engage and show interest in history and political theory.”

Early involvement in politics is a disputed issue, with legitimate arguments on both sides. Baugh, however, thinks that the club is a good way to learn about and get involved in the world of politics, as well as a positive way to interact with passionate classmates. “There are countless votes, motions, revotes, coups with lots of laughter and great back and forth arguments.”

The school environment provides students with a structured and safe space to explore their political views, while adopting leadership roles in their educational simulation. Due to the student direction, members can also have some fun with their learning to make it more comprehensible and engaging.

“Most teachers seem rather amused with the organization.

We are, after all, still children pretending to be something more.

However, I feel that youth should be told the truth, so they can form their own opinions. We might not have very much power at this stage in our lives, but being active from a young age is very important,” Millians said.

Although the meetings may not always appear to fully capture the students’ commitment to spreading the values of socialism, the intellectual intent of the club is strong.

“The goal is not to glorify the actions of the Soviet Union or defend the horrors of Communist China, but to take the American lenses off of people and let them interpret history and an alternative economic system without [their] previous biases,” said Ung. “We wish to teach others about what socialism has and can accomplish,” Millians added. “We want everyone to know that socialism will lead us to a better age.”

noor jerath @noorjerath REPORTER

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G

GL

D BY E

BIES

The Globe dedicates a spread to its departing senior staff members, their time on the Globe staff, and their future plans.

Staff photographs taken by Michael Melinger.

Maddy Ackerburg Page Editor University of Iowa My favorite part of Globe has been “the sense of community.”

Cody Krutzsch Reporter University of Washington My favorite part of Globe has been “the community.”

Samantha Zeid Page Editor University of Wisconsin - Madison My favorite part of Globe has been “the ability to completely immerse myself when working on a story, especially with a cover story because you really get to dive deep into a topic and make connections.”

Nikki Seraji Page Editor University of Missouri Kansas City M.D. Program My favorite part of Globe has been “the editors’ dinners.”

Mariclare Gatter Page Editor Gap Year “Globe taught me how to be an active member of the community in a way I wasn’t aware I could be before I joined the staff.”

Lizzy Mills Graphics Editor Loyola Marymount University My favorite part of Globe has been “working with new people.”

Theo Fehr Page Editor Washington University in St. Louis My favorite part of Globe has been “the sense of community.”

FEATURE

20 3

My favorite parts of Globe has been “the platform it’s given me to explore important issues in the community -- and the people.”

Noah Brown Editor-in-Chief Washington Univerity in St. Louis

Catherine Walsh Page Editor University of Wisconsin - Madison My favorite part of Globe has been “having multiple mentors that I can always turn to.”

My favorite part of Globe has been “all the friends I met and the relationships I built.”

Daniel Cho Sports Section Editor Dartmouth College My favorite part of Globe has been “being part of a welcoming community and getting to know Daniel Cohen.”

Olivia Joseph Opinion Section Editor University of Michigan

Mitali Sharma Editor-in-Chief Columbia University “There is a certain vitality within the staff -- full of passion for bettering the world around and having deep, intellectual discussion. These people have constantly inspired me and I will miss the special community I have gotten to call my home in CHS.”

Lauren Praiss Chief Digital Editor Barnard College of Columbia “Throughout my three years as a Globie, I have most enjoyed the editors’ dinners and developing lifelong friendships. The Globe office will always be one of my homes.”

Neel Vallrupalli Copy Editor University of Pennyslvania My favorite part of Globe has been “learning about the local community.”

Sam Youkilis Reporter Washington University in St. Louis My favorite part of Globe has been “having a bunch of friends to work with.”

Charlie Brennan Senior Managing Editor University of Virginia My favorite part of Globe has been “finding my moral compass.”

Gracie Morris Page Editor Emory University My favorite part of Globe has been “the amazing conversations that we always have during our meetings that always open my eyes to different perspectives.”

21

FEATURE

the

tRAFFICKING CRISIS

MICHAEL BERNARD, JACOB LAGESSE, GRACIE MORRIS and LILA TAYLOR | STORY RICHARD CHENG | DESIGN

It’s been 150 years since the Emancipation Proclamation, and slavery seems like an antiquated relic of the past.

Yet, even in a country that claims to have eradicated the slave system, some individuals are forced to suffer lives of servitude. Photo by Richard Cheng.

intro “I didn’t see a way out. I didn’t think that I could get out. I convinced myself that I needed to be there, and that was my life. It happened pretty fast. They played on my fears.”

Katie Rhoades, founder of Healing Action in St. Louis, an organization that provides support to those affected by human trafficking, is a survivor of trafficking herself. She was introduced into this world of servitude at the age of 18.

“I was struggling with undiagnosed PTSD, I was severely depressed. I was having panic attacks and flashbacks,” Rhoades said. “I thought I was crazy. I struggled to get through high school.

When I finally graduated I did what most kids do: get away from their parents. So I moved out.”

Rhoades turned to alcohol to escape her troubles, and did not realize that she had an addiction. She was unable to hold down a job, and did not have a place to stay as a result of her dependency.

“I couldn’t go back home. I did not have a great relationship with my family. My dad was actually dying of cancer, so to go back home was to face that,” she said. “[I had] a pretty negative relationship with my mother. I was sleeping in my car. I didn’t have a job. I was struggling with addiction.”

Rhoades almost gave up searching for a job when an old friend from high school who worked at a strip club came to her with a job offer. To Rhoades, the thought of stripping was absolutely terrifying. However, she was desperate to leave the streets. So Rhoades began her career as a stripper.

However, shortly after the start of her new life, Rhoades was approached by a woman with a different job offer. This time, she would travel to California, and Rhoades believed the new job would allow her to escape her substance dependence and life as a stripper.

Within three days, Rhoades traveled to California and met with the woman’s boyfriend and business manager that she was going to be working with.

“It became apparent very quickly that it was not going to be legitimate work, it was going to be working in clubs, it was going to be prostitution. I didn’t have any contacts or a way to get back,” Rhoades said.

Rhoades knew these circumstances were not going to end well.

She wanted a way out. Rhoades attempted to escape once, but eventually found her way back to California after her dad died.

Finally, after she got into trouble with her procurer, Rhoades decided it was time to get permanent help.

“I had made eye contact with another pimp on accident. He told my pimp that I was out of pocket [when a victim is not under control of a pimp, leaving her vulnerable to threats, violence or

STL lens

calls. Out of the 420, 140 were validated as actual human sex trafficking cases,” CHS social worker Sheila Powell-Walker said. “Out of those, 50 came from victims and survivors of human sex trafficking” Powell-Walker has attended multiple conferences exploring the human trafficking problem in St. Louis and has been in focus groups designed to protect high school students from the issue.

24

harassment to influence her to choose a pimp],” Rhoades said. “I got put on the streets in what’s called a pimp circle, where other pimps have an opportunity to try to get me to go with them. I knew that I was going to get killed by a trick or end up in a dumpster.”

Rhoades convinced her owner to send her back home. The pimp agreed, and Rhoades was greeted by her family at the airport just days later. Rhoades kept her past a secret, despite her wanting to reveal her identity.

“During that couple months I was back home, my dad was really sick and ultimately died,” Rhoades said. “I didn’t think I could talk about it. Why would they be worried about me? My dad’s dying.”

Soon after her dad passed away, Rhoades fell back into the same boat. She started drinking again and her relationship with her mother fell apart once again.

“I did what I knew what to do and I went back to the strip clubs. I thought I was smarter this time around, and I wouldn’t get roped in again,” she said. “Within a month of my dad passing away, my pimp called to check in on me. He’s like, ‘Let’s meet. I know you had a really crappy time. Let’s talk about why you left.’

He reeled me back in.”

Once again, Rhoades was back in California––but this time was different. She would have more control over what was happening in her life. She figured this agreement would make the work she did bearable.

“Once I got back to California, it was like a moment of clarity. Geez, Katie, what did you do? I’m back in this crap. I started planning my next exit. He left me alone in Portland at the club. I reached out to a family physician of mine, and said I can’t do this anymore,” Rhoades said. “I need to get into treatment. I didn’t really tell her the whole story of what was going on. She was able to work with my mom in getting me into rehab.”

Rhoades entered rehab, and her mom supported her through the recovery process. As a result of her experience, Rhoades was compelled to use her story to help others. She applied to and was accepted at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. After receiving her degree in social work, Rhoades started the Healing Action organization to help other survivors like herself.

“To think that we all think that it can’t happen to our kids, and that’s just not the case,” Rhoades said. “It’s not about intelligence, it’s about emotional vulnerability and just vulnerability in general. I don’t know what would have happened if [my parents] would have asked more questions.= “In Missouri in 2017, the sex trafficking hotline received 420

She is not just worried about high schools located in the eye of the human trafficking storm, but in those places that one might not expect to be troublesome, such as in Clayton.

“We should be talking about this at a high school level because any one of us could become a victim of it,” she said.

According to Jessica Wilkins, the Reducing the Risk Coordinator for the Covering House, a non-profit organization in Brent-

Just how prevalent is trafficking in Missouri?

SINCE 2007*:

140

Total Calls: 2,390 Total Cases: 589 Total Victims: 684 * Statistics are up to December 31, 2017

420

Human traf f icking cases repor ted in 2017

Calls in 2017

humantraf f ickinghotline.org | SOURCE

wood dedicated to providing therapy to human trafficking survivors, St. Louis is especially susceptible to trafficking. According to Polaris, a human trafficking advocacy group, Missouri has the 17th most reported human trafficking cases in the United States.

“St. Louis has a ton of highways. They span the entire country, and the International Airport; these make trafficking easier,” Wilkins said. “Also St. Louis has a high number of [runaways], shunned by their caregiver for whatever reason, and they end up in that situation where they have to make decisions to get their basic needs met that most people don’t consider.”

Much of the sex trafficking in St. Louis occurs in brothels, often in the form of Asian massage parlors. Asian massage parlors are common in the U.S., and these often serve as fronts for sex trafficking rings.

“They lie to women in Asia and tell them, ‘oh, we need you to be a waitress or a housekeeper,’ and they bring them here and force them into prostitution,” Pam Gonzalez, a St. Louis nurse, said.

According to Gonzalez, the girls do not speak any English and lack passports and identification. These women are trapped inside these parlors that are used daily by the average St. Louisan.

“One day, before the FBI shut down Backpage, I got on Backpage.com to look for some brothels, and within a matter of 20 minutes, I found 35,” she said. “And I’m sure there’s way more, but I was just looking near me, up and down Manchester Road basically and in the South County area.”

Diana Fine, the former co-chair of the National Council of Jewish Women in Creve Coeur, first joined a task force five years ago through the council years ago when a friend of hers learned that she was a therapist by profession.

“Our goal [was] to improve the lives of women and children and families,” Fine said. “We don’t usually have direct contact with the victims of sex trafficking, but a large part of our focus is getting the laws in our state changed to protect victims and survivors and to also make it more difficult for the traffickers.”

Transitioning into this new line of work was new for Fine, especially given the severity of the human trafficking problem in St. Louis. She had never worked with victims of trafficking before.

“I really didn’t know what I was doing,” she said. “I didn’t really know anything about human trafficking, but we met every couple of weeks over a period of about two years and it became very clear that St. Louis was a real hub of human trafficking.”

Fine quickly realized that human trafficking was an issue that needed to be halted.

Human trafficking in the St. Louis area, as well as the nation, is far from being resolved.

“The national center for missing and exploited children, they have reported that in the last five years, there has been an 846 percent increase in child sex trafficking reports,” Missouri State Representative Ann Wagner said.

25

the victims “We have to get away from the stereotype of the creepy old dude somewhere on the internet who goes and snatches a child,” Wilkins said. “It can happen in so many different ways.”

There are many situations that can lead to the victimization of a person at the hands of a trafficker. According to Wilkins, it is often hard to differentiate victims of human sex trafficking from other people, because except in extreme cases, they lead lives very similar to anyone else. However, there are certain signs that could hint at a person being involved with trafficking.

“You might have someone that’s suddenly missing class a lot, or absent from schools on random days,” Jessica Lydon, Administrative Assistant of the Covering House, said. “Isolating from friend groups, having grades suddenly drop. These are basically your normal signs that something has occurred.”

Other signs include people suddenly coming into possession into expensive, brand-name goods they would not normally be able to afford and changes to someone’s social media accounts.

The ways people enter into the world of trafficking vary from young boys and girls getting picked up off the street to dysfunctional romances. According to Lydon, for more than 85 percent of the victims that come through the Covering House, trafficking began with a seemingly innocent relationship.

“We had one girl’s boyfriend say, ‘I don’t have enough money to pay off my debts, but here’s my girlfriend’s address, you can go to her house and get my payment for what I owe you in whatever way you want,’” Lydon said. “He’s not a traditional pimp in this situation, but it’s still trafficking.”

Other victims are sold by their parents to traffickers in exchange for drugs or other payment, a practice reminiscent of trafficking elsewhere in the world.

“In most other countries in the world, it’s your family members that traffick you, your parents or a member of your community trafficks you, because of the tremendous amount of poverty in your community,” Gonzalez said. “That happens in America - that family members sell their children - but it’s not the norm.”

Although not as common as other forms of trafficking, the stereotypical scenario of children getting snatched off the streets is still very relevant in St. Louis. This aspect is worsened by the city’s high number of child runaways who leave home as a response to problems in their lives.

“A lot of kids get into sex trafficking because of already being a runner. Maybe they ran and ended up in having to participate in some kind of survival sex that turned into trafficking. Or maybe they keep falling back into trafficking because of the running,” Lydon said. “What we deal with is a lot of inability to think clearly because of all the emotional trauma, and for them, running becomes something that is like a habit, becomes their initial response.”

The problem of sex trafficking is not just perpetuated by male pimps, as is a common misconception.

26

“One of our young ladies was trafficked by another woman, just in building a friendship,” Wilkins said. “That friendship was exploited.”

Human trafficking victims are often first recognized at local hospitals. Victims will occasionally seek medical care on their own; however, these victims are typically accompanied by the men that are pandering to them to ensure they do not escape.

“We had one person who came in. It was her third visit in the week. She was a young female,” Melissa Kroll, Emergency Medical Services physician at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, said.

“She was in a sex trafficking ring, and she didn’t want to be there anymore. She was not happy where she was.”

The young woman, who was only in her early 20s, went directly to Kroll for help. According to Kroll, the woman was not just running from her procurer, but also the law.

“She was like, ‘I’m being used. I don’t want this. Because I’d been forced to sell myself, there are prostitution charges against me. I missed my court date. My captor wouldn’t let me make it.

So I have warrants out for my arrest, am I gonna be arrested?’”

BY THE NUMBERS

11-14 846%

Average Age of Victim

Increase in Reports in Last Five Years

1,500,000

Victims

Jessica Lydon, Javier Cardenas and Jessica Wilkins of the Covering House in St. Louis.

Photo by Michael Melinger Kroll said. “I couldn’t promise she wouldn’t be arrested. She left the emergency department before we were able to get her help.

She just disappeared.”

Unfortunately for medical care providers, these victims are not always upfront with their distress. It often takes a surplus of potential indicators for the doctors to confront the patient.

“We had one that didn’t speak English. He came in and gave his birthdate that made him 16. We were trying to contact his parents who were in Mexico,” Kroll said. “He didn’t have a phone number to his parents. What 16-year-old doesn’t have a phone number to their parents?”

The teenager was accompanied by another man who was translating for him. According to Kroll, the 16-year-old appeared to be physically abused.

“This poor kid had a very large cut on his face. We had to take care of the cut. The number one priority is to take care of the health of the person in front of you. We took care of that. Then we said, ‘because you’re a kid, we have to get permission to treat you.’ And then he [gave us] a new birthdate,” Kroll said. “[He said], ‘they didn’t give my date of birth right. They misheard me.’

When he gave the new date of birth he was 20 so we could treat him.”

Kroll was decidedly suspicious of his story. After further investigation by Kroll and her colleagues, it became apparent that the young boy was being trafficked.

According to Kroll, the hospital should not overwhelm and intimidate these victims.

“Our only hope is that every time they come into the hospital, they recognize that the hospital is a safe place,” she said. “That any point in time they decide they want to leave [trafficking], they have a safe place to go to.”

Although the new homes for the victims while encompassed by the world of trafficking are seemingly harrowing and unpleasant, to the victims their new residence can be quite the opposite.

“A lot of these victims come from very dangerous locations, [to] a lot of these victims, the place that they are currently living is not as bad as the place that they came from. These are kids that you would hope have a family somewhere,” Kroll said. “But a lot of these kids, who ended [up] in human trafficking have been through the foster system or are runaways because their home environment is not good. Their biggest fear is getting sent back home.”

When the children are finally able to escape trafficking, their first concern is not getting pulled back into trafficking. Instead, it is of being pushed back to their original home.

“When we think of human trafficking, we think of it as a very much in our faces, where we can look at it and say, ‘oh yeah, that’s what happening,’” Powell-Walker said. “But it doesn’t necessarily work like that. There are so many ways it could happen, and it can happen to anyone.”

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legal issues Jaytonya Claydorn-Muldrow, Detective Sergeant with the Intelligence Division of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, supervises human trafficking investigations.

“The problem is very prevalent,” Claydorn-Muldrow said. “Our problem mostly deals with minor females or black, juvenile females between 14 and 16 years of age. That’s the most common victim that we identify within the St. Louis City Police Department.”

Bringing sex trafficking cases to light can be difficult. To have a solid case against a suspected pimp, there needs to be a victim who’s willing to risk it all in order to make a case against the trafficker.

“Once we receive those referrals, a detective is assigned to investigate that case,” Claydorn-Muldrow said. “They have to meet with the victim and see what’s going on. I will say that most cases, especially with our juvenile victims, the victims will not disclose immediately.”

According to the detective, it typically

takes multiple visits before a victim will disclose their situation. Once a case of human trafficking is verified, law enforcement will collect evidence to attempt to file charges against a suspected trafficker.

The role of the police in the cases made against traffickers is essential. Gathering information for the report as well as securing a reliable victim to cooperate are both key pieces in a trial against a sex trafficker.

“Without the police officers conducting the investigation, writing a report, gathering evidence and identifying a victim and a suspect, there would be no case to present in court,” Claydorn-Muldrow said. “Before we can take the case to our circuit attorney’s office we have to have those three elements in place.”

They will then take the police report to the circuit attorney’s office for further review, involving a decision to issue or refuse charges. In some instances, the trafficker cannot be pursued due to the sudden absence or noncompliance from a victim.

“There are times where we have victims

who say they’re going to cooperate but we will arrest the suspect and then the victim will go into hiding or go on the run,” Claydorn-Muldrow said. “Without a victim, we can’t prosecute a case.

That’s most often why those types of cases are refused once we take them to the circuit attorney’s office.”

Often in these types of scenarios, prosecutors will find other incriminating evidence to use against the defendant. Other charges can be pressed to incarcerate the criminal when solid evidence against a trafficker is lacking.

“A lot of these traffickers end up with drug possession charges, they end up going to jail for marijuana or cocaine,” Javier Cardenas, Manager of Donor Development and Legislative Affairs at the Covering House, said.

Jail time can vary greatly for those convicted of human trafficking.

“With the St. Louis City Police Department, we usually try to take our cases federal whenever possible because

Photo by Aaron Zoll

28

the federal system has stiffer penalties; however, sentencing can depend on the suspect’s past criminal history and the judge that’s hearing the case,” Claydorn-Muldrow said. ‘There are a lot of variables that come into play and it’s very hard to pinpoint just what a sentencing would be.”

Pleading guilty versus not guilty can vary ones outcome as well.

In 2013, a male took another female across state lines to participate in prostitution.

He was faced with a 25-year sentence if the case went to trial, but he accepted to a plea agreement of 10 years.

Although the issue of human trafficking has become more

widespread in St. Louis over the last few decades, the laws surrounding it have not changed much in response.

“I think that the difference now is that there’s more awareness,” Claydorn-Muldrow said.

“There’s more people paying attention and referring cases to us, but I think the numbers have always been the same. There’s no way to verify that, we just don’t know, but I think people are being educated on the topic of human trafficking or being more aware. They’re actually wanting to do something about it and get involved.”

“People are being educated on the topic of human trafficking. They’re actually wanting to get involved.”

- Claydorn-Muldrow

PAM GONZALEZ Pam Gonzalez, who has worked as a nurse for 34 years, has a passion for fighting human trafficking. She has been a part of multiple human trafficking boards throughout St. Louis.

“The [group] I started with in the beginning [is] called the Protect Me Project and that is a group that works solely in South America to fight human trafficking,” Gonzalez said. “Their whole premise is to prevent it, so they work in schools with teachers and through local community groups and even in churches to kind of get the word out to teachers and parents what some of the common denominators of girls that end up getting trafficked are.”

The Protect Me Project currently works to save victims in six countries of Latin America. However, the group does take part in some domestic work as well.

“I went to Houston with them last year to the Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl is the biggest human trafficking day of the year in the United States because it is the biggest sporting event,” she said. “Unfortunately, whenever you have a large group of men that gather, there’s always a high demand for prostitution, and wherever you have a high for demand for prostitution, you’re going to have a lot of human sex trafficking going on to fill that prostitution need.”

Gonzalez spent some time in Houston spreading awareness of the issue.

Gonzalez recently joined another rising human trafficking awareness group in the St. Louis area: Tiger Lily.

“They work with both women that have been rescued out of sex trafficking, and they want to start working with the men. Because if we don’t stop the demand for sex trafficking, then what’s going to happen is when we rescue girls and women out of trafficking, the traffickers are just going to get more women, because there’s still a need and they’re making money,” Gonzalez said. “So we will have ended up facilitating more girls getting trafficked that might not have been trafficked in the first place.”

Although Tiger Lily does not yet have a house for the victims, Gonzalez plans to help implement a facility that can hold at least 10 women during their recovery.

Photo from Gonzalez

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THE COVERING HOUSE “It usually takes about six months to where they’ve built enough trust and feel safe enough in the environment and feel ready to actually start processing their story,” Lydon said. The Covering House, a non-profit organization in Brentwood dedicated to providing therapy to human trafficking survivors, consists of a year-long rehabilitation program, saturated with constant guidance from the many staff members that have dedicated part of their lives to helping these victims.

The Covering House consists of 10 administrative staff members and six board members, and houses girls aged 13 to 17 years old. The Covering House allows anybody to refer a potential client directly from their website. However, not all of the referrals live in the house. The Covering House offers community based services that allow sex trafficking victims to live at home while still receiving supplemental services, such as group or individual therapy.

“In community based services we have more flexibility to have transgender clients, boys and girls and different ages. Our oldest referral was 57,” Lydon said. “We can work with a much bigger demographic.

We really want to open a home for boys. There are not many services for girls, there’s barely anything for boys.”

There are two phases to the recovery. According to The Covering House website, “The first phase explores the meaning of safety and self-care as well as feelings and fear identification. The second phase focuses on developing self-awareness and efficacy as well as establishing appropriate boundaries and connection within relationships.”

However, the residents of the home do not spend all of their year in therapy meeting with counselors and talking through their past. The Covering House places a large emphasis on education and experiential learning. The girls will learn basic culinary, gardening and photography skills, as well as participating in drama courses and Bible study.

“We are seeing a lot of the transformation through the relationships they are building with the staff,” Lydon said. “Really just building what we call a chosen family to help them walk through the process.”

On April 6, 2018, the website Backpage.com, an infamous hub for sex advertisements and prostitution, was forcefully shut down

by U.S. federal law enforcement agencies. Until its closure, the website had served as one of the largest online marketplaces for sex trafficking.

The closure of Backpage.com and numerous other similar websites came as a result of the passage of the “Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act” (FOSTA) bill through Congress. According to Rep. Wagner, Backpage.com had remained protected from law enforcement for a simple reason.

“The [Communications Decency Act] (CDA) was written back in 1996, before the internet was much of a thing, and courts had been siding with Backpage, even though they didn’t want to, because Backpage was hiding behind an immunity clause,” Wagner said. “The courts were saying, ‘Hey, Congress, we need legislation, not litigation, we need you to verify congressional intent.’”

The CDA was designed in order to control obscene content, including pornography, in cyberspace.

“There’s a link between pornography and this very casual attitude towards sex and human sex trafficking and prostitution,” Gonzalez said. “They all kind of run together, and it’s really hard to separate them out and say which one leads to the other, because they all just kind of run in a circle. Because ultimately, sex trafficking and prostitution and pornography all are the commodification of women, and saying that a woman’s parts are more significant than a woman as a whole.”

Before the FOSTA bill, in lawsuits against sex advertisement-oriented websites, courts had to side with the websites because of section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act. This section states that “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider”, meaning the websites could not be held accountable for what users posted. The FOSTA bill is aimed at revising this in the context of websites promoting sex trafficking.

According to the Congresswoman, the chief sponsor of the bill, since the signing of FOSTA, the online economy around trafficking in America has decimated.

“We never intended for the internet to be a red-light district,” Wagner said. “If it is a crime offline, it is a crime online.”

President Trump signed the bill on April 11, with Wagner and multiple human trafficking victims and their family members present.

According to Wagner, since the bill’s passing, there has been an 80 percent decrease in online advertising for commercial sex.

“To have a piece of legislation that actually saves lives, and has such an immediate impact, we’re proud of some of the results we’ve already seen,” Wagner said. “FOSTA is probably the most significant anti-online sex trafficking bill Congress has passed in nearly 20 years.”

There is some concern that the FOSTA bill infringes on First Amendment rights, as it limits what people can post on websites.

However, Wagner believes that because of the bill’s specificity to posts regarding prostitution or trafficking, this is not an issue.

Wagner has been leading the fight against sex trafficking since she came to Congress in 2013. From 2005-2009, Wagner worked with the state department as the U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg. It was there where Wagner was introduced to the severity of human and sex trafficking in modern society.

During this time, Wagner watched as young women and boys were trafficked from Eastern Europe to wealthy countries in Western Europe. After she returned to St. Louis, she learned that the city ranked among the top 20 cities in America for sex trafficking, and was inspired to take action.

However, Wagner believes that it takes more than just political action to solve problems.

“I do not believe you can solve all of society’s ills through legislation,” Wagner said. “It takes education and awareness. I’ve been to the covering house, all the state houses, and across the country.

I’ve worked with parents and victims and volunteers, they’re the ones I think about when I pass this kind of legislation. I want them to know that they’re not alone, that there are people looking out for them in our society, to try to make our community safer.”

making a difference Although human trafficking remains a prevalent issue in today’s society, high schoolers and other community members have several opportunities to help reduce its occurance.

The first step to taking action is educating oneself on the issue.

“What I would recommend a high schooler doing is number one: get involved and learn about the issue,” Cardenas said. “Talk to your parents and talk to your friends.”

Moreover, Cardenas warns against writing or calling lawmakers. Oftentimes, an assistant will receive these letters and phone calls, but will not pass the message onto their executive.

“If you want to make a difference, then you also have to vote.

That’s the reality of it,” Cardenas said. “Lawmakers are more afraid of your ballot than your call.”

Gonzalez remains optimistic that human trafficking can eventually be prevented altogether.

“If you turn the water in your sink on full force, and you let it fill up and run over onto the floor, and all you do is dry the floor but you don’t turn the faucet off - and I’m certainly not suggesting that we don’t need to be rescuing women out of human sex trafficking,” Gonzalez said, “because we do - but if we don’t do something to stop it, then we are just wiping up the floor. We have to turn the water off.”

But in the meantime, the only way to reduce the risk of trafficking, is to raise awareness of the issue. An issue, according to Kroll, the asperity of which is often severely underestimated. “[Human trafficking],” Kroll said, “is modern day slavery.”

Call 1-888-373-7888 or Text “HELP” or “INFO” If you think that someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, please call or text now.

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ADZICK FIELD FRENZY

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ainy weather has forced the Clayton Baseball team to cancel multiple home games this season, and constant flooding of Field #7 causes most of the cancellations.

The District plans to renovate the unreliable field and make necessary improvements.

Many members of the Clayton community feel that the current field does not measure up to the high standards of the School District of Clayton.

“Clayton does a great job educating its kids and sometimes we take the athletic part for granted,” said CHS baseball parent Bill Goodfriend. “If we want to be a world class school district, we need to at least have usable facilities.”

The new field will be named Adzick Field after a former teacher. “Nick Adzick taught history and coached baseball at Clayton High School from the late ‘50s through the mid ‘80s,” said Elizabeth Macanufo, community relations specialist for the Clayton School District. “Nick’s son Scott wants to honor his father with an upgraded field.”

Improvements to Adzick Field include new fencing, safety netting, backstop, dugouts, bullpens, seating, batting cage, lighting upgrades, scoreboard, press box and entry gates. The Clayton Education Foundation hopes to raise $2 million for the construction.

So far, the foundation has collected about $1.2 million to go toward the renovations. Funds have come from many donors including parents, alumni, Clayton residents and local businesses.

The Clayton Education Foundation has posted promotional videos on its Facebook page highlighting the bright future of the field. One video features Clayton alumnus and current St. Louis Post Dispatch sports writer Benjamin Hochman, advocating for support.

“I think back almost daily about Clayton High School baseball memories. So let’s do that for our next generation,” Hochman said in the video. “Let’s upgrade the fields for them and make sure that when they’re my age and when they’re my parents age, they look back and smile about their Clayton memories.”

Besides baseball, other CHS sports such as softball and field hockey will use the field for games and practices. Clayton students will use the field for P.E. classes as well as SummerQuest activities.

The Clayton Education Foundation hopes to begin construction in September 2018 and have a playable field in March 2019.

Macanufo said, “It’s really an effort for the whole Clayton community and we’re grateful for any support people have given and any support that they would like to throw behind this.”

jimmy malone @jimmymalone3 REPORTER

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Design of Adzick Field from the School District of Clayton (Top). Current CHS baseball field.

Photo by Annika Sanquist (Bottom).

Athlete Profile:

A

Liam Simckes

t 8-years-old, Liam Simckes, junior at CHS, did not feel well.” the rush of excitement as he chased after the opposAlso joining the track and field team his sophomore year, ing team’s flags. He dreaded the idea of having to go Simckes has felt very natural while competing in events like the back to practice every week. As he raced across the javelin throw discus and shot put. flag football field, Simckes thought that football was “I just care that I beat my personal record each time I go to not the sport for him. my meet. I hold the school record for the furthest javelin throw.

“I actually despised the sport and never touched it again,” I hope that I can break records for shot put and discus as well.”

Simckes said.

With all of his hard work on the field, Simckes has matched It was a huge relief for him when his parents told him to stop this enthusiasm for the classroom. Through his dedication for playing because he would get a concussion or get injured. both athletics and academics, he hopes to continue both activities However, after moving to the Clayton School District in his in the future. freshman year, Simckes was willing to try it out again.

As a result of his dedication and skill in football, Simckes is be“A lot of my ing scouted by top friends played on schools athletically the team and enand academically couraged me to join. including Harvard Also, I knew playing University, Yale Unifootball would help versity and Wesleyme get bigger physian University. cally,” Simckes said.

Simckes is grateAfter joining the ful for the football team his sophomore coaching staff who year, an unlikely has helped make passion for the sport his game known to was born. In particthese top schools. ular, Simckes found “The football a very valuable ascoach has been pect in football. really good about “I really like the putting stuff in daimportance of the tabases for me. And team in football and it’s helping me get the importance of a noticed,” Simckes single person. As in, said. there’s a really nice Overall, Simckcommunity.

But, es is appreciative in a game, you can for the doors that have a significant sports have opened individual impact up for him.

Simckes competing in the discus throw. Photo by Xuenan Jin and doing your play “Sports has given p r o p e r l y,” S i m c k e s me the discipline and said. has forced me to make myself a more well-rounded person. I also As a starter and rising leader, Simckes has grown in his short, enjoy being physically healthy and in shape and want to continue yet fruitful time on the team. that for the rest of my life.”

“Football has made me a lot more disciplined. I had really poor daniel cohen grades freshman year. My parents told me that in order to play @danielc_52 football, I had to fix my grades. So in that sense, it made me more BUSINESS MANAGER disciplined because I have to work out everyday, practice, and get my homework done,” Simckes said. “It brought a large sense of daniel cho community and an aspect of leadership to my life.” @cho__bani But even beyond his growing skill and leadership on the footSPORTS SECTION EDITOR ball team, Simckes has shown this same intensity in a different sport during the spring: track and field.

“I heard about track, and I heard about throwing. I also heard about the technique, skill, and strength that you need,” Simckes said. “I also heard that football players had success in it so I 33 SPORTS thought it could be a good way to increase my strength and do

V I C TO R I O U S V I DA LS The Globe sat down with senior Angelo Vidal and freshman Andres Vidal, brothers on CHS boys’ varsity tennis team.

Angelo Vidal returns a volley at practice. Photo by Michael Melinger

Q: What inspired you to start playing tennis?

Andres: My dad is a tennis coach and from a very young age I loved playing tennis.

Angelo: My dad was a collegiate and a pro level tennis coach.

You’d think I would want to start playing at a younger age but it wasn’t until around 8th grade that I realized that I wanted to play tennis. [This] was probably a result of being around my dad so much and seeing how the sport affected his life.

Q: How does playing on the same team change the dynamic of your relationship?

Andres: I wouldn’t say we’re more competitive but there’s definitely more to talk about between us. He treats me like any other teammate.

Angelo: So it’s not really different because we’ve been in this position for a long time. We’ve both been brothers, we’ve both been playing the same sport, there’s been competition between us in practices when we play together, so we bring that atmosphere onto the court with the rest of the team. You can see in practice that we’re both working hard and setting a standard for the rest of the team.

Q: What do you enjoy most about tennis?

Andres: This would probably be other people’s least favorite thing but I like the competition because my dad always says tennis is a mental game, and you [have to] be there mentally and physically to play good tennis. I think there’s always a lot to learn when you lose and no matter how good you are there’s always something to improve on.

Angelo: Tennis is a really challenging sport that pushes me to be better every single day. You have to be completely on top of your mental game, you have to be calm, collected and smart. At the same time you have to be gritty and tough, and you have to be able to withstand 2-3 hour matches. It’s tough and it makes me appreciate at the end of every match regardless of whether it’s a win or a loss that I am out there, and I’m fighting as hard as I can.

Q: How much does having a family that is very involved in tennis help you as a player?

Andres: A lot because sometimes we do family tennis outings and have a lot of fun. My dad always works with me and gives me advice on what to do better, and as a family we love tennis so that helps me a lot.

Angelo: The biggest resource I’ve had in my tennis career is my

Brothers Angelo (left) and Andres (right) Vidal play together for CHS varsity tennis.

Photo by Isheeta Khurana dad. It’s awesome because I don’t have to go to a club or a tennis academy every day to get better. I have a pro with all the knowledge living in my own house, and I just absorb all of his knowledge.

Q: What are some long term goals that you would like to achieve in tennis?

Andres: We’re probably headed to state this year as we have easy districts and I would like to win that. I also definitely want to play on a college team and keep winning tough matches against other schools.

Angelo: I want to reach my potential in college because it will be my first time that I am completely enveloped in a high intensity program. Hopefully [I will] qualify for the NCAA championship and [that the Kenyon team] advances and possibly win a NCAA championship.

Q: What is your greatest achievement in tennis?

Andres: [A couple years ago] I won a tennis tournament and it was the first one that I won. I think I had to win four straight matches to win, and I was really proud of myself for that.

Angelo: I don’t really want to say what my greatest achievement

is because I’m still striving for it. There’s not a particular moment that I’m super proud of because everything that I’m working towards is a goal that I have for the future. I want my greatest moment to be winning a state championship for the Clayton Greyhounds this year.

Q: What is your greatest strength as a tennis player?

Andres: I think my greatest strength as a tennis player would be my perseverance and will to fight to the end. I’ve been getting better at staying focused and more in the moment during a match.

Because of that I’ve been winning tough matches.

Angelo: My greatest strength is my grit. I know that no matter how much of a deficit I’m down, I can still fight back because matches in tennis aren’t over until the last point is scored because there’s no mercy rule and there’s no time limit. So I’ve been good at fighting all the way through until the end which is one of my favorite things about my style.

zachary fisher @zach_t._fisher REPORTER

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SPORTS

MOVI ES for When you are about to rewatch “Lord of the Rings” for

Solo: A Star Wars Story May 25 th Sci-fi, Adventure.

This movie is about Han Solo’s background as a young pilot. Many years before joining the Rebellion, Han Solo meets Chebacca, his future copilot, along with Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover) and Kira (Emilia Clarke). The movie follows their adventure into a dark criminal underworld. Solo: A Star Wars Story is an addition to the Star Wars plotline.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom June 22nd Action-Adventure Sci-fi The fifth movie to the classic Jurassic Park series. Starring Chris Pratt, Jeff Goldblum, Bryce Howard. When the island’s dormant volcano begins roaring to life, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Howard) mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event.

99% want to watch on Rotten Tomatoes.

Sicario: 2 Soldado June 29th Crime, Thriller The drug war on the US-Mexico border has escalated as the cartels have begun trafficking terrorists across the US border. To fight the war, federal agent Matt Graver re-teams with the mercurial Alejandro.

97% want to watch on Rotten Tomatoes

REVIEW

36 3

th

r

the SUMMER the 100th time check out one of these films instead.

July 27th Drama

Daniel (TimothĂŠe Chalamet) comes of age, and accidentally gets into drug dealing and falls in love. Set in 1991, Cape Cod, this film focuses on how the teen made decisions as he can decide for himself.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 80%

Hereditary June 8th Drama, Horror, Mystery When the head of the Graham family dies, her daughter, Annie (Collette), suspects her spirit was left behind.

The ghost comes for her teenage daughter, Charlie (Shapiro). With the household under threat by a supernatural force, what can Annie do to keep Charlie safe?

Rotten Tomatoes: 100%

Eighth Grade July 13th Comedy

A teenager tries to survive the last week of her disastrous eighth-grade year before leaving to start high school. This movie has modern elements like snapchat and dabbing teacher.

INDIE MOVIES

Hot Summer Nights

Hongkai Jiang @hong_k_j Reporter Victor Wei @victorw10 Reporter

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%

37

REVIEW

Z AC H ’ S PI C KS J. Cole - KOD

J. Cole delivers a mixed bag of an album that reflects on the effects of modern addictions on his personal life and the youth today.

“KOD” is the 5th Studio Album from the North Carolinian rapper J. Cole who is famously known for going back to back platinum without features on his previous two albums, “2014 Forest Hills Drive” and “4 Your Eyez Only”.

He continues the trend of no features on “KOD” by only featuring his alter ego “kiLL edward” on two tracks. Between his album hiatuses, J. Cole is known to be somewhat of a philanthropist who donates back to his community by starting his own charity called the Dreamville Foundation. Through his involvement with the youth and local communities, you can see where he gets his anger from rappers promoting drugs in today’s culture to their predominantly youth audience.

On this album he uses his singles to focus on problems that plague our society such as drugs, social media, the government, corrupt leaders, lust, and materialistic culture. J. Cole is known for his quiet and generally laid back style that he combines with minimal 90’s rap beats. While on “KOD” he doesn’t fully break out of this mold we see moments of change such as on the title track where he takes a more aggressive approach to his rapping style with an overblown bass and trappy hi-hats layered throughout.

Outside of “KOD” and “Motiv8” there’s almost no change in production style throughout the album, and while it isn’t displeasing to hear, the production comes off as lacking depth and makes the singles less unique as a whole.

A positive of the album is themes and motifs presented about addiction and the glorification of drugs in rap culture. His commentary sometimes uses personal anecdotes such as in the song, “Once an Addict (Interlude)” where he describes his conflicting relation-

ship with his alcoholic mother.

Even though the majority of his commentary on this album is surface level and lacks depth, his personal anecdotes intertwined throughout add a layer of intimacy to the album and a personal perspective on how today’s vices can ruin people.

Lyrically he’s improved from previous albums, but still nothing outstanding. The hooks and choruses, while somewhat catchy, are extremely repetitive to the point of fatigue such as in Motiv8 where the repetition become irritating by the end of the song.

On this album he features his alter ego kiLL edward which is just a pitched down version of his voice that comes off as an unnecessary and corny afterthought that wasn’t necessary to the album.

Overall this album, while a slight improvement from his other albums, still lacks experimentation and depth. Many of the singles are repetitive and forgetful, this along the repetitive hooks makes this album feel mediocre at best.

Sleep returns from their last album release two decades ago with a hard hitting, gritty and explosive heavy metal project.

The heavy metal trio, Sleep, from California surprised listeners with a new album release after a 20 year hiatus. The group themselves even stated in an interview with NPR in 2014 that they doubted they would record again after the copious legal issues with their 1998 album “Dopesmoker”, but they did say if they were to release a new album it would be an “amalgamated effort of decades of riff immersion.”

The waves of guitar riffs, drums, and bass resonates

REVIEW

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with their aggressive sound that provides an experience that can be described as nothing else but captivating as the album envelopes you with its sound. The mixing and sound design are immaculate as nothing sounds over or underbalanced.

Overall this album is loud, heavy, aggressive, and everything else you could want from a heavy metal album, even though it’s been 20 years since that last Sleep release it feels as if they haven’t missed a step.v

Sleep The Sciences zachary fisher @zach_t._fisher REPORTER

We Fit Everybody

Serving everyone with resident rates for all School District of Clayton families.

Center C C The Center of Clayton

314-290-8500 | 50 Gay Ave., Clayton, MO 63105

www . ce nt e r o f cl a y t o n. c om

We Fit Everybody

Serving everyone with resident rates for all School District of Clayton families.

Center C C The Center of Clayton

314-290-8500 | 50 Gay Ave., Clayton, MO 63105

www . ce nt e r o f cl a y t o n. c om

Photo by Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/TNS

ERIC GREITENS AND HIS TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD YEAR Missouri Governor Eric Greitens was a rising star in the Republican Party. The fresh-faced Navy Seal was an outsider with a remarkable resume on track for a big future in politics. Then suddenly, everything went wrong.

The apparent fall of Eric Greitens came as fast as his sudden rise. The recent announcement he would be facing two more counts of felony computer tampering in addition to his felony invasion of privacy charges marks a new low for Greitens, the governor who once had presidential aspirations is now increasingly likely to face impeachment.

Ambition was nothing new for the Maryland Heights born Greitens who graduated from Parkway North in 1992. A 2016 St. Louis Post-Dispatch interview with Greitens’ Kindergarten teacher revealed he had political ambitions from a young age.

“When I would read the little kindergarten books, ‘What I

OPINION

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Want To Be When I Grow Up,’ and at the end, I would go around the circle and ask the children what they wanted to be, I remember this: He wanted to be president,” recalled Anne Richardson, who was Greitens’ kindergarten teacher at McKelvey Elementary. “He was the only kid I ever remember saying that.”

Greitens had what seemed like the perfect resume. He graduated from Duke University and was selected as a Rhodes Scholar to study at Oxford. He served as a humanitarian working with orphaned children in Rwanda and Cambodia, as well as in Mother Teresa’s home for destitute and dying in India. After 9/11, Greitens joined the military and served as a Navy Seal in Afghanistan where he earned a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. After returning home, Greitens wrote a New York Times best-selling book about his experience as a volunteer and a Navy Seal. He started “The Mission Continues,” a non-for-profit helping veterans find opportunities. In 2014, Fortune Magazine named him one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders and he was featured in Time’s 100 Most Influential People In The World.

While the announcement he was running Governor in 2015

was Greitens’ first official foray into politics, his interest began much earlier. It was discovered someone registered the website, ericgreitensforpresident.com in 2009, a full seven years before his eventual run for governor. It’s no surprise that with such a background, Greitens, who was a Democrat until at least 2013, had been recruited by both parties to run for office. In 2015, Greitens wrote an Op-ed for the New York Times explaining that has he got older he became disenfranchised with the democratic party and “no longer believed in their ideas”.

Following an unorthodox campaign that included machine guns and explosions, Greitens won the governor’s election as a Republican, with 51 percent of the vote, riding the red wave that swept the state across the state in 2016.

However, outside of being seemingly perfect, Greitens had skeletons in his closet, past mistakes that did not take long to catch up with him.

Almost exactly a year after being sworn Missouri’s 56th Governor, it was revealed Greitens had an extramarital affair in 2015.

Worse, he was accused of taking a semi-nude photo of his paramour against her will in an attempt to blackmail her into silence.

St. Louis Circuit Attorney, Kim Gardener, announced she would begin a criminal investigation, and a month later, Greitens was indicted on Felony Invasion of Privacy Charges.

Under Missouri law, Felony Invasion of Privacy is defined as, “Photographs, films, videotapes, produces, or otherwise creates an image of another person, without the person’s consent, while the person is in a state of full or partial nudity and is in a place where one would have a reasonable expectation of privacy.”

Greitens was arrested before being released on bond. The surprise indictment sent shock waves through Missouri politics and indemnity put the governor’s future in jeopardy. Greitens, while acknowledging he made a personal mistake, has maintained he has not committed a crime and repeatedly called the investigations against him a “political witch hunt” and a “misguided political decision” by a “reckless liberal prosecutor”.

The woman’s allegations, detailed in a newly released House Oversight Committee, reported on April 11, described in disturbing detail the forceful sexual contact between the Missouri Governor, Eric Greitens, and his personal hairdresser in 2015.

The sworn testimony paints Greitens as controlling and quick to use physical force to get his way. The woman alleges Greitens struck her in the face, taped and blindfolded her, groped her without her consent and called her a “whore.” She expressed her fear and shame.

“I was definitely fearful. I was so embarrassed and ashamed, because I really felt like a whore because I had let him get me in this position before we’ve even kissed. I felt really used. I felt like what the – who are you? I think it was the thing that just kept playing through my mind is, who are you? What is this? What IS this? Oh, my God, where am I? Get me out of here – because I just kept saying, get me out of here. I’m not ready for this.”

The reaction to the report has been swift, Republican House Speaker Paul Richardson said he would seek a special session to investigate and explore the possibility of impeachment. “The testimony outlined in the report is beyond disturbing,” Richardson said. “The power given to the Missouri General Assembly to take disciplinary action or to remove elected officials from office is one of the most serious and consequential powers the Constitution grants the Legislature.”

Adding to the legal firestorm surrounding the Governor, just last week St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner announced Greitens is now facing two new charges of Felony Computer Tamper-

ing stemming from his use of his charity donor list.

A report released May 2 by the House Committee investigating Greitens shows that he ran a shadow campaign before officially registering to run and lied in campaign filling to the state’s ethics commission, a class A misdemeanor. The evidence showing that Greitens campaign used exploits to gain an advantage, using illegally funded money from a private donor list which he pledged to keep private.

Greitens’ future is grim, with his invasion of privacy trial coming up on May 14 and new scandals seemingly breaking everyday, his chances of making it through the end of his term is becoming increasingly unlikely.

Mugshot of Eric Greitens. Photo by St. Louis Metropolitan Police Dept./TNS

david higuchi @hi_guchi REPORTER 41

OPINION

Love, The Globe: A Foreign Affair

introduction We put a lot of emphasis on love at the Globe. We’ve tried to keep this focus on love a central part of our paper. We continue to have touching conversations, build community and encourage love for human storytelling and observation of the world around us. And we’re taking a step to expand the realm of this philosophy of ours.

Greatly inspired by the New York Times’ “Modern Love” column, Globe is following suit and presenting a “Love, The Globe” column. Each issue from now on will feature a commentary following one writer’s story with any form of love. In a world where the news can get heavy and dark, we hope these stories will help the light of love shine a little brighter. mitali sharma @mitasharma EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Love is often pictured as an infatuation, an attraction, a connection to a tangible being. But for me, love is an intangible passion for an intangible existence. Love is the deep clutch we hold on that which makes us glad to be alive. This love, my love, is not for a person, a place or even one thing. My love burns for the world that has opened up for me through my passion for languages.

In elementary school, I always felt talentless compared to my classmates. There were the soccer stars, the notebook doodlers, the girl with the pretty voice, the science geeks; I had nothing. I was just bland. Ordinary.

Until sixth grade during 4th period, when I entered my first French class. It was like something hit me, a coup de foudre. Love at first sight, or sound, I guess.

I felt myself blush, first a little, and then a lot. I was shy then, to a fault. The slightest idea of enjoying what my classmates seemed to dread-- repeating words in another language- - gave me anxiety, so even just participating seemed like a courageous act. It seems crazy, but just hearing myself speak another language gave me an adrenaline rush. I felt something in me come alive, like someone who wasn’t myself. A spirit leapt out of me, and I was simply happy.

It was an indescribable pleasure, like someone had given me a taste of what I’d been deprived of for so long. But I was scared, obviously.

It was middle school, and it wasn’t cool to be smart. Especially not at something like this.

I know what you’re thinking, what? But hey, at 11, you’re looking for something to define you, to put you in a box at this lunch table or in that clique. That never came for me. What did come, however, was a sense of a new beginning.

Maybe I didn’t need to fit in, or get the guy, or hit the volleyball over the net because I had something special. I knew it on the first day, that I didn’t just have a passion for something for no reason. This was going to be good. French was a new beginning, a new start.

It isn’t just the idea of learning a new language. It was the fact that for the first time in my life, I had something I was good at. Something that I was excited about, the way my dog got when he saw a new toy, or my dad when someone told him James Bond was on TV. All of a sudden I was excited to learn, because in my head, when I spoke French, I didn’t have to stay inside claustrophobic hallways or push past crowded lockers. I could go anywhere I wanted in the world, I could be anything I wanted to be, because suddenly I started believing in myself.

At night when I used to lie awake, running conversations over in my head, hating myself for wearing those neon pink jeans, I found that I could change the channel of my vision. Now middle school woes were traded in for Chanel pumps and sorbet by the Seine. When I tossed and turned about mean girls and out of bal-

ance hormones, I could blink and find myself sitting on a terrace by the Eiffel Tower. I began to get lost in my reveries, forever dreaming of the perfect life in the perfect place. It didn’t matter if I looked fat in those dreary gym uniforms because in my head, I would be tall, thin, and beautiful as my heels clicked on the pavement in the city of light.

When the years passed and the day to day battles got worse and worse, I immersed myself deeper into this vision. I held on so tight, too tight.

Fast forward a few years, and I was sure that the world was my oyster. I started picking up every scrap of a word I could find left on a shampoo bottle; I started seeing links between different languages and wrote anything and everything down. The vision remained clasped in my hand, but I started to also build up a drive for learning more languages, as communicating and understanding people from around the world grew to be my quest. I stalked random foreign exchange students and even pushed myself to learn Spanish; I just couldn’t get enough. My confidence grew and I never held back.

While doing all of that, I held on so tightly that I crashed.

Just like everything we love, we crave the things that hurt us. Yes, this intangible passion nearly broke me because I squeezed so much perfectionism out of it. If I couldn’t control anything else in my life, I could control that. I would, I had to control that. I turned a passion into an excuse to demand impossible standards for myself, some of which I still hold on to today, as much as I try not to.

So this love, my love, brought me down a little, but it also taught me a lot. I’ve come up on what I think is the other side, at least it seems to be, and I still have that brazen curiosity and ardor.

I fought the uphill battle and now I reap the rewards, an incredible view of the lifetime that lays ahead of me. They aren’t dreams anymore, because I’ve lived them. I’ve spent summer afternoons swirling around in a sun dress in the village of Talloires, I’ve gotten lost in the falling dusk inside a city that was foreign, but never strange. I know that I am capable of doing what I’ve always imagined, because I’ve done it and I’ll do it again.

When I was in seventh grade, I announced to my French teacher that I had plans to move to France after college. Of course, she smiled, and laughed at me, and so did my parents.

Well, see you on the flip side, or, as the French like to say, à bientôt

samantha zeid @samstl PAGE EDITOR

PRO: LA CROIX Sparkling water’s crisp carbonation and satisfying hydration makes it a perfect substitute for sugary sodas and bland water. For people who hate the taste of regular water, sparkling water can prove to be a great alternative.

La Croix has zero calories, no sugar and no sodium. The only ingredients are carbonated water and natural flavor. Many members of the CHS community have developed a taste for this delicious beverage.

“There’s no guilt that comes with it, it’s not like soda, but at the same time, it’s not as boring as water,” said CHS sophomore Lila Taylor.

Taylor finds La Croix to be a refreshing and exciting change from regular, tasteless water.

CHS sophomore Grace Snelling drinks La Croix daily and drinks it more often than regular water.

“I like that La Croix is more flavorful than water, yet not sweet, so you don’t have to feel guilty about drinking it,” Snelling explained.

An added appeal to La Croix is its undeniable sophistication. CHS journalism teacher Erin Castellano explained.

“To me, La Croix is like the drink equivalent to Lululemon, where you know it’s kind of a ridiculous highly privileged category of consumer goods, but yet it is so good at the same time that it’s kind of worth it actually.”

In Castellano’s opinion, it is the quality of La Croix that justifies purchasing the product.

CHS sophomore Anna Sturmoski also enjoys the quality and refreshment provided by La Croix.

“I really enjoy that [La Croix] is kind of more refreshing than normal water and sometimes normal water is boring, you wanna jazz it up a little bit. [La Croix] is delightful,” Sturmoski said.

CHS students and staff are not the only members of the community who have acquired a taste for La Croix. CHS parent Julie Taylor expressed her love for the bubbly drink.

“It fuels my day with effervescent deliciousness. The apricot flavor is especially refreshing. It has zero calories, zero sodium and 100 percent happiness,” Taylor said. “Why is this a Pro/Con? Is your next Pro/Con on oxygen?

This makes no sense.”

Simply stated, La Croix is elevated water. A plethora of delicious flavors allow consumers to indulge in many varieties of their favorite beverage. La Croix is not just water, it is a flavorful experience.

44 PRO/CON

katie snelling @k80_snelling PAGE EDITOR

CON: LA CRAP Simply stated, LaCroix is objectively a horrible product.

First and foremost, LaCroix tastes like runoff from a normal soda factory. It offers just enough essence of flavor to turn a stomach. In the 21st century, the average American has the means to occasionally treat themselves to a soda or juice outside of their normal water consumption. There is no reason to subject themselves to a beverage that tastes like they’re licking the mouth of another person who’s drinking actual fruit juice.

It confounds me that some individuals enjoy guzzling down a can of essentially liquid soda burp. It’s not even egregiously bad on a flavor to flavor basis; each of their products offer nothing palatable. Their “pure” variety tastes like you left ten pennies in a can of normal sparkling water, and the Coconut LaCroix is in essence sunscreen. An even though sparkling water happens to not be my cup of tea, I can still appreciate other carbonated beverages much more than a sad can of LaCroix.

Sophomore Emilio Rosas shared a similar sentiment. “LaCroix has a funny taste,” he said. “I prefer other sparkling water brands without the strange fruit flavors.”

And even disregarding the fact that LaCroix tastes like you Bing searched the term “soda,” its pretentiousness lowers my regard for the beverage even more.

La Croix was founded in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and yet they chose the French-sounding name “La Croix.” Not only is it off-putting that this Cheesehead company chose possibly the most snobbish name possible, I now have people in math class correcting me that La Croix is actually pronounced “La Kwa” and how I should be more conscientious of my French. I also cannot respect a company that insists on calling grapefruit “pamplemousse.”

And to those who rely on La Croix products for hydration, I’m skeptical for your dental health in the future. A study from 2007 found that sparkling waters “demonstrated erosive potential similar to or greater than that of pure orange juice, an established erosive drink.” And while this is probably only a minor concern to the average Joe, the carbonic acid from consistently drinking multiple cans of La Croix everyday leaves me concerned.

Stick with water for the most part please. If you crave carbonation, go for a sparkling water or even just a normal soda from time to time.

But I recognize the loyalty of the La Croix fan base, and so I guess I’ll just watch people gulp down another can of “pamplemousse” with a raised eyebrow.

richard cheng @rcheng01 REVIEW SECTION EDITOR

45 PRO/CON

Students in the auditorium serving their lunch detentions after the student walkout. (Michael Melinger)

S TA F F E D : D E TA I N E D CHS students welcome the consequences of civil disobedience Detention. The epitome of a high school punishment. When portrayed in media, it is lacking energy, boring, and silent. But during lunch periods on March 19 and 20, the mass detention in the auditorium was humming with energy. About 300 students had received detentions for walking out in protest of gun violence.

On Wed, March 14, at 10:00 A.M., Clayton High School students, along with students from more than 2,500 other high schools across the nation, walked out to protest the increasing amount of gun violence. Some protesters carried signs demanding changes in gun laws and others supporting the victims of gun violence. Students gave speeches on varying topics surrounding gun laws and violence. Many of those who participated in the walkout felt inspired and empowered.

The nationwide walkouts were sparked by one of the world’s most deadly school massacres. About three months ago, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, a total of 17 people were shot and killed: 14 students and three staff members.

Although this was not the first school shooting in America, the response that came from this tragedy was very different from those of other shootings that had happened. As people all over America mourned the victims, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students began to demand change from legislators.

Through the use of technology, demonstrators organized nationwide events, one of which included the National School Walkout.

The punishment that came with the walkout was productive.

With the supervision of history teacher Debra Wiens, students watched news footage of CHS and other high schools across the nation. The coverage of student walkouts mirrored the impact and change demonstrators had created. Additionally, small groups discussed ideas and made suggestions on how to make changes to gun laws. Overall, many felt that the detention was important,

STAFF ED

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and it helped demonstrators debrief and further understand what demonstrators had walked out for. Students felt pride and a stronger sense of unity.

This sense of pride, however, was not shared between the students and the community surrounding them. Instead of focusing on the reason of the walkout, TV coverage and other forms of media focused instead on the detention following the walkout. As a result, viewers throughout the entire country criticized Clayton Administration, blaming them for not supporting the walkout.

Because of this backlash, the Clayton School Board was contemplating the decision to change the policy. The changed policy would ensure that students who walked out would not get detentions, but members of the Clayton High School Student Action Committee (SAC), which organized the walkout, spoke out against the idea. At the meeting, senior Mitali Sharma described, “Civil disobedience is only powerful if it is truly disobedience. We did not get a free period for 17 minutes of free time. We have chosen to accept penalization and use the act of defiance to make our voices heard.” Her statement underlines the main purpose of the punishment that come from civilly disobedient actions.

Furthermore, if the school board were to change the policy, they would lose their neutrality, a key part of a public school. It would be wrong for the school board to be allowed to pick which issues are “right” and excuse punishments. Also, the administration had obvious support for the actions of SAC, and they tried to help as much as they could.

The Globe encourages those who disapproved of the administration’s actions to understand the position of neutrality administrators need to maintain. Administration has had unfaltering support for the walkout, and the punishment that comes from the walkout is educational and safe.

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