Volume 60
Issue 3
18 November 2016
Letter from the Editor... As we recover from the political campaign madness that was every commercial break and Twitter post these past months, it’s important to remember the importance of unity. Right in the middle of this issue, you will find a huge story put together by four of our staff members. This story took us a long time to put together because we felt it was important that we all had time to heal from the situation and had correct and final information before we could tell you the story. Coming to school the first couple of days this year was undeniably strange without many of the the staff members we knew and loved roaming the halls with us. But, what I love most about Wash is our willingness to adapt to change and our open-mindedness to walk away with greater understanding. This is the same with the presidential election results. Many may be bothered by who America chose, but it’s vital that we accept it, move on and continue, within our school and in our country, to prosper.
Emily LaGrange
Emily LaGrange
Addi Westpheling
Claire McKinstry
Rielle Jones-Teske 2
Staffbox
Betsy Smith
Gunnar Bosking
Sarah Altemeier
Billy Lemos
Brandon Cullen
Jillian Gannon
Matthew Andersland
Kate McCartan
Editor-in-Chief
Emily LaGrange
IN THIS ISSUE: News 4 Asbestos Still Lingers... New Rules
5 Election Results
6 2016 All-State Selections
Opinions
7 Staff Editorial- Family Fights 8 Time to Chill- An Open Letter 9 Respecting Opinions
Feature 10-12
Dr. Plagman, Mary Beth Haglin, and the CRCSD
Profiles 13 FBOM- Ben Dent
Wash’s Got Talent 14 Debaters Talk China Treason 319 15 Artist of the Month- Jackie Ripoll
Sports
16 Running Isn’t That Bad 17 Billy Goats and Black Cats
Mission The Surveyor is established as a school-sponsored designated forum dedicated to informing and entertaining its readers. The staff will report as fairly and well-balanced as possible. All activities and news will be covered to the best of the staff’s ability. The Surveyor accepts the Society of Professional Journalist’s Code of Ethics as the basis for good journalism. Readers are encouraged to express their viewpoints through guest editorial. The Surveyor also welcomes letters to the editor, with these guidelines: it is no libelous or obscene, it explains the material clearly, it is not longer than 500 words, and that it is signed.
Creative Commons “CC by” represents that our staff has taken content from Creative Commons, a nonprofit that offers an alternative to full copyright, and that we have done our best to correctly attribute the author to their artwork in order to avoid copyright infringement.
Non-Discrimination Policy It is the policy of the Cedar Rapids Community School District not to illegally discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age (employment only), marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and socioeconomic status (students/program only) in its educational programs and its employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. District employees with questions or a grievance related to this policy should contact the Executive Director of Human Resources, 319-558-2000. Students and others should contact the Manager of Student Equity, 319558-2000. The District mailing address is 2500 Edgewood Rd NW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52405-1015.
Affiliations
Iowa High School Press Association, National Scholastic Press Association, Journalism Education Association, Quill and Scroll.
Season Change 18 All Key Impact Players
A&E
19 No Worries by Yes Lawd Mo’s Original Show
20 I Dream of Jean-ie 21 “Grease” Emily LaGrange
Editor-in-Chief
PHOTOS Cover page by Kyle Phillips
Table of Contents
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Asbestos Still Lingers... Becca Turnis Staff Reporter Throughout the last two years, Washington High School has had some well-known issues with asbestos in the school. Asbestos is a set of minerals that used to be a common building material, but has now been shown to cause certain cancers if not properly contained. During school construction in the summer of 2015, there was an incident of improper containment of asbestos that led to possible exposure. It was thought to be under control, but earlier this school year rumors started circulating that there was a new asbestos issue in the little theater, the site of many events such as PAM Slam, MuDaCo, and yearly plays. Those rumors aren’t necessarily true. For starters, it’s hard to tell if something contains asbestos unless it’s exposed. “Up until last year we
Ben Janseen Managing Editor
had floor tiles that had asbestos in them, but the danger is when those tiles break, they release a little bit [of asbestos], but one tile breaking isn’t a huge risk,” said Assistant Principal Dr. Valerie Nyberg.
removed from fine arts, I just don’t know the specific areas,” said Nyberg. A third issue is the risk associated with asbestos. “It can’t be that bad if it’s just under the tile. I don’t think it’s a problem, I really don’t,” said Cameron Adams ‘16. Asbestos does not pose much of a health risk in this situation. “The issue we had that shut us down was [the abatement team] improperly removing asbestos… in an unsafe manner,” Nyberg said. “The team that did the fine arts wing [asbestos removal] was not the same team that we had an issue with.”, said Nyberg. With that being said, there might be asbestos in the little theater, but as long as no one tears up the floor or the walls improperly, the students and staff at Wash should be safe.
Another issue with these rumors is whether or not asbestos was even found in the theater the first time. “I don’t know specifically [if there was asbestos in the theater].There was asbestos Photo by Rielle Jones-Teske
New Rules CC by: Open Clip Art Library
1 2 3 4 4
News
Refund Policy- This year each student can get three refunds from the vending machines. Students may only ask for refunds during passing time and only for up to $3.00 Harsher Ticketing- Students are receiving more tickets on their cars for acts that may have gone unnoticed in the past. Tardy policy- If a student walks in late they must go to the office and get a pass to go to their next class. Failure to get the pass could result in an unexcused absence. Doors locking during the day- The North lot, South lot and cafeteria doors will be locked for a majority of the school day. They will unlock five minutes before passing time and lock five minutes after passing time. The doors in the arcade will always be unlocked. News Editor
Sarah Altemeier
Election Results Gunnar Bosking Copy Editor Republican nominee Donald Trump won a stunning victory on Election Day, which happened to take place on Nov. 8, beating Democratic favorite Hillary Clinton in the Electoral College vote by a margin of 305 electoral votes to 233 electoral votes. Clinton, however, won the popular vote. She won 47.7 % of the vote, compared to Trump’s 47.5%. Trump scored major victories in the battleground states of Florida, North Carolina, and Ohio. He also managed to flipflop the states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, states that were considered to be heavily favored towards Clinton. Trump will go into the White house with a Republican-dominated Senate and House of Representatives. In the end, Nov. 8 was a stunning triumph for Republicans.
Trump triumphs over Clinton CC by: Michael Vadon
Cedar Rapids In Iowa, Trump won a landslide victory. He got 51.8% of the popular vote, compared to Clinton’s 42.2%. He also pulled 94 of the 99 counties in the state. The only counties Hillary won were the counties of Polk, Johnson, Linn, Black Hawk, and Story. All these counties contain the heavily Democratic college towns of Des Moines, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, and Ames, respectively.
Graphics by Gunnar Bosking
Sarah Altemeier
News Editor
News
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2016 All-State Selections
Kate McCartan Copy Editor
“A regional representation of the finest high school musicians Iowa has”; this is how the Iowa High School Music Association defines All-State. Every year, hundreds of high school musicians gather from all over the state of Iowa in hopes that they will be selected into the prestigious All-State choir, orchestra, or band. It is an extremely selective process and only a minimal amount of students from each school are picked. Those who are selected will gather with the other acceptees from across Iowa on Nov. 19 at Iowa State University to sing together and, at the end of the day, hold a concert. This year, 17 singers, four orchestra members, and five band members were chosen from Washington High School alone. This is the largest number of stu-
dents picked for All-State from any single high school this year. This acceptance was well deserved, as most of these students have been practicing for the audition since summer. But for Mr. Westphalen, a choir teacher here, he believes in the process more than the tryout. “All-State is the best singers in the state determined over a seven minute period by a subjective judge,” Westphalen said. “I care more that the students get something out of the experience than if they make it in or not.” This is not to say that it is not a very exciting moment to see your name on the scroll. For Maggie Clair, ‘17, this year was her third and final year auditioning for AllState choir and she has made it every year. “The last two years I was extremely
proud of myself and how hard I worked, but this year being amongst the seniors in the group, I felt it was more of a duty to help the younger and new kids to the group who have never gone through this before and be there for them,” said Clair. Of all the choir acceptees, only two of them were sophomores. Alex Haggin was one of them and he said how overwhelmed with joy he was when the list got posted. “Everyone from Wash saw my name and ran over to me with their arms wide open giving me huge hugs. It was really overwhelming and I felt so loved. It was one of the best days of my life!” Haggin said. The All-State concert will be held at Iowa State University at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 19. The performers would love to have their fellow Wash students come support them!
Orchestra All-Staters (left to right): Anna Kalan, Ella Wolle, Bailey Renfro, and Anna Kolln
Band All-Staters (left to right): Libby Gibson, Tyler Cruise, Cameron Fristad, John Woodhouse, and Rahel Nshimirimana
Chorus All-Staters (left to right): (front row) Courtney Peckosh, Devon O’Donnell, Maggie Clair, Reagan Martin, and Peter Nassif (second row) Ethan Cooper, Paul Linville, Scott Griffin, Regan Heying, and Emily Nelson (third row) Lauren Flory, Brennan Regan, Alex Haggin, Thomas Corbett, Nathaniel Burke, and Ava Klopenstein (not pictured) Tyler McGuire
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News
Photos by Len Struttman
News Editor
Sarah Altemeier
Staff Editorial This autumnal season when you, your siblings and/or people who live with you in your home, your parents/legal guardians, and any extended familial pods or friends sit around the festive table to consume the autumn poultry (or tofu substitute for vegans), remember to be weary of those less fortunate and privileged than you, and try not to be too offensive. This article can be used as a guide for you and your familial pod, in being politically correct this season of autumnal festivities. This can be quite difficult for many individuals, as even the roots of the autumnal celebration are quite offensive. The origins of this holiday are ones of privilege, discrimination, and bigotry committed by the white man. The pilgrims (bigots) who first arrived on our fine continent were not very good humans. They were very close-minded individuals who only accepted their preconceived notions of gender, sexuallity and personality. They persecuted the indigenous people of our nation, cast judgements based off of skin color and didn’t accept their religious beliefs, while they themselves held extremist Christian views—pretty hypocritical, eh? Believe it or not, many of the traditions associated with our annual autumnal celebration are actually extremely offensive to celebrate, as they were appropriated from the Native American cultures. For example, the Native Americans ate their autumnal meals as families on tables. We sit around tables in our familial pods and eat food without even thinking about the natives that have had to suffer so much to defend their culture. Any person who sits around a table with their familial pod this year should remember that s/he should be feeling terrible about the atrocities that have been committed against the natives to our land. In this day and age, it has become more and more difficult to engage in PC (politically correct) activities that typically revolve around the Autumnal Celebration. Familial pods are finding it harder to enjoy festivities, now that the culture has shifted to a movement of acceptance,
Jillian Gannon
and resistance to racism and bigotry. This does not mean you cannot enjoy being thankful for things going right in your life, while at the same time appeasing the safety of all genders, racial identities, and creeds. Spending time around the typical oval eating surface is, however an acceptable tradition, given the discussions have are presented in a constructive, nondiscriminatory manner. To begin a non-offensive conversation with your peers you can use these suggested sentence starters such as; “Today I helped take out racism and bigotry by...”, “What scares me about the future can be changed by me by...”, and of course “I can’t help but be offended by...” This holiday has been commercialized into a white privileged mockery of native cultures that whites destroyed to satisfy their own selfish lifestyles. Pilgrims were bigots who singled out those who lack the caucasian skin tone and should not be praised for the slaughter unleashed upon on the native Navajo, Sioux, Cherokee, Chippewa, Choctaw, Apache, Pueblo, Iroquois, Creek, Blackfeet people, and the list goes on much much further. Now that there are wholesome food markets such as Whole Foods around the need to murder a gracious animal once so elegant it was considered as the national bird. Over 46 million turkeys are slaughtered for feast each time this year. Now the image of this illustrious winged creature has been reduced to that of a crude demeaning hand doodle. Things need to change and for this I am not thankful. I’m triggered.
Opinions Editor
9 out of 9 Editors agree with this
Family Fights Jared Scherrman, ‘18 “My dad has six older sisters and they are rarely all at Thanksgiving so whomever doesn’t make it that year gets a ton of shade thrown at them.” Ashley Chipokas, ‘18 “One of my relatives cut themselves while cutting the turkey so we just threw the whole thing in the garbage.” Elizabeth Chadima, ‘17 “Once I got super dehydrated and passed out and when I woke up in the hospital, my grandpa decided that that was a good time to tell me he was engaged.” Story compiled by Kate McCartan
Opinions
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Time to Chill An open letter to Wash administration
Dear Wash administration and ticket issuers,
Claire McKinstry Profiles Editor
Please chillllllll with the parking tickets.
If you are in that situation, you don’t deserve a $10 ticket just to act as the cherry on top of your not-so-fabulous day.
While it’s understandable that parking tickets are necessary, they are definitely not needed every day. Students know that when they park illegally, they’re subject to ticketing. However, this should be more of a gamble rather than a guaranteed ticket.
Yes, there are repeat offenders (@ me), but most of us are aware that there is the looming possibility of getting towed if we rack up too many violations. This is why ticketing should only happen a couple times per week. That way, students learn their lesson eventually, but aren’t $100 in debt to the school by mid-October.
Everyone knows that illegal parking spots are illegal for a reason-buses sometimes can’t get past the ones in the front of the jock lot, and cars are subject to getting hit much more easily in the back of the lot, especially in the winter. But students are aware of the risks.
To me, ticketing every day seems kind of fishy. It didn’t happen last year, and it’s another unnecessary change that doesn’t need to be occurring. I’m aware that the school can always use more funding, but, if that is the goal, this isn’t the way to do it. Smart people just pay their ticket fees on half-price ticket day, anyway, when all of the proceeds go to charity.
Sometimes, students are just having a rough day. Maybe their alarm didn’t go off, or they had some sort of unavoidable crisis that caused them to be late. Whatever the issue, parking in the pot lot will simply cause students to be even later. PLUS, with the new policy that requires students to get hall passes if they’re late (which is pointless in itself and only disadvantages students, sorry not sorry), students are easily 10 minutes later than they would’ve been had they just parked illegally.
With the holiday season approaching, easing up on the incessant ticketing would be a jolly way to spread the holiday cheer. I can only hope that the administration agrees... Sincerely, Claire McKinstry
Photo by Jillian Gannon
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Opinions
Opinions Editor
Jillian Gannon
Respecting Opinions What happened to being accepting of other people’s opinions? Leftists preach the concepts of love and tolerance and a lot of them practice it, however, we don’t see that. Tyler McGuire All we see is the protesting of Trump rallies and Staff Reporter now the protesting of the Trump presidency. We see people’s personal property being vandalized for simply having a different opinion. You’re telling me that you would vandalize something of someone else’s because you can’t beat them in the arena of ideas? Now, some people think it’s justified because they find a person’s word “offensive”. Well, you have a right to be offended, but you don’t get to meet words with actions. You have absolutely no right to do that. For example, burning a US flag. Wow. Not only are you disrespecting the current soldiers that are fighting for us, you’re disrespecting soldiers that have died in the line of duty. They can’t even defend themselves, what a cowardly thing to do. There is a petition in North Carolina right now to convince
the electors to go against the people and elect Hillary Clinton because she won the popular vote. They claim it’s “undemocratic”. However, it is not a democratic process. You would think they would be educated enough to know that we aren’t a democracy, since they’re so concerned about white, uneducated, male voters “making” Trump win. People are burning effigies of Trump. How would that be perceived if it were Obama or Clinton? Racist and sexist. Again, people think this is justified because he is “offensive”. This sort of offense-taking, trigger-warning, safe space, virtue-signaling, politically correct, culture that these leftists have created is telling us that we must celebrate our differences and that we have to be accepting of others. It’s tearing our country apart. We should celebrate our similarities and focus on what brings us together as a people.
Photo by Jillian Gannon
Jillian Gannon
Opinions Editor
Opinions
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Dr. Plagman, Mary Beth Haglin, and the CRCSD Behind the scenes of the story that caught national attention... Emily LaGrange Editor-in-Chief On Aug. 2, Dr. Ralph Plagman, Washington High School’s principal of 35 years announced his retirement, effective Aug. 3, in a mass email sent to all Wash parents and staff. Plagman explained in the email that the school district asked him to step down due to allegations about a possible sexual relationship involving Mary Beth Haglin, a long-term substitute at Wash, and a 17-year-old Wash student. Plagman expressed in the email that he did not want to continue without the support of the school district, so he complied with their request. Later, the school district sent out an email expressing that these were Plagman’s view of the events. Following this announcement, students, parents, and alumni of Wash expressed their resentment toward the ending of Plagman’s long tenure serving not only Wash, but other high schools in the Cedar Rapids Community School District, including Metro and Kennedy. The ways in which this resentment was expressed spanned from an online petition to bring Plagman back to the principal position, social media posts voicing what Plagman meant to them in their years at Wash, and protests that took place outside of Wash’s front entrance. On Aug. 8, a regularly scheduled board meeting was held with some of Wash’s students— and others wanting to voice their concern with Plagman’s leaving— in attendance, one of these students was Peter Greubel, ’17. “I spoke about Dr. Plagman and how the board’s decision left us without the heart and soul of our school,” said Greubel. In reflecting on the impact Greubel had
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on the board’s settlement, it seemed as if there was not much that could be done. “I feel like that board was disrespectful and didn’t care what we had to say. They were very defensive on the issue and their decision had been made whether we liked it or not,” said Greubel. “I worked at Wash 35 years, all as principal, and I worked for the District 49 years,” said Plagman. “My first job, the first five years, was a social studies teacher at Kennedy and that was the first five years Kennedy was open. And then I was on [a] leave of absence and a graduate assistant at the University of Iowa, working on my doctorate. When I came back, I helped start Metro and I was at Metro for seven years from 1974 to 1981 as lead teacher and, the last two years, principal, and then principal at Wash.”
THE INCIDENT
News first spread around Wash during the winter of 2016. “I received a phone call [from a parent] at my house one night in early February telling me that her student, her child at Washington, had heard rumors about a student and a substitute teacher. That was the very first I heard of it. I called Mr. [Mike] Johnson [assistant principal at the time] on his cell phone immediately that evening because stuff like that was kind of in his wheelhouse, he was… the discipline guy. Mr. Johnson, nothing against Dr. [Valerie] Nyberg, had been there a long time and he would have been my go-to guy for stuff like that. The next day we interviewed the student who was allegedly involved with the substitute teacher and I think three of his friends that we picked sort of randomly, and the
substitute teacher,” said Plagman. During the interviews, Haglin denied the rumor and student interviews were inconclusive. “Our conclusion after those interviews was that it was not true, we didn’t believe it. We believed the substitute teacher,” said Plagman. In dealing with such a sensitive subject, the parents of the student in question were also contacted. “In the course of the investigation, we did communicate with a parent of the student who completely agreed with us and didn’t believe it either. That was a pretty key factor. I don’t feel that this was a situation that this was a sexual harassment or abuse complaint, this was a rumor that we investigated and we investigated rumors very frequently,” said Plagman. At the time, it seemed as if the right decision had been made. Because of the lack of evidence, Plagman and Johnson decided that it was best to believe the adult that was part of the situation and was, not to mention, one of high standing. “Miss Haglin had high credibility at that time. She had been a very successful student teacher for Mr. [Adam] Witte [language arts teacher at Wash] the previous spring semester and she had actually applied and been interviewed for a full-time job, and that was actually the job that Mr. [Mark] Hilton [language arts teacher at Wash] got— he had more experience.When the need came up for a long-term substitute teacher in January, that’s who the English Department immediately thought of, that’s who they wanted because she was very well-thought of. She had substituted a few days in the fall last year. She was, we thought at that time, a very credible
Editor-in-Chief
Emily LaGrange
source,” said Plagman. That said, it turned out that confidence was placed in the wrong hands. “As a school administrator looking at disciplinary management, you get lied to a lot. You just have to come to the best conclusions you can. As I said in the very first interview for Channel 9, we just got it wrong, we believed the wrong people and that basically is it, for a while,” said Plagman. Plagman felt that everything that could have been done to be sure that the right decision was made had been done already. “I remember distinctly, later that day in February, Mr. Johnson and I briefed Dr. Nyberg on the situation and I remember us saying that we couldn’t think of anything else to do. If there was something else for us to do, we would have done it,” said Plagman. “If someone files a complaint either in written form or just by telling us that they were a victim or their child was a victim of sexual harassment or abuse, there’s a protocol. It’s not very different from what we actually did, but you just have to report it. You interview all the people involved, you communicate with a parent.” After some time, the situation seemed to fizzle out— nothing more came of it until months later. “Over the course of the next two or three months— the rest of February and March and April— so much happens in the life of school administrators, it’s difficult to remember every little thing. There may have been a couple things that we followed up with a little bit at the time, but there was really no investigation because we still had no evidence, people weren’t coming forward with any more information until May. That was a strange deal,” said Plagman. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this whole story is the fact that this was not the end. In May 2016, word got out again and, this time, there was evidence. “It got to our Human Resources (HR) Department. Miss Haglin had basically told this random person, I have no idea who it was, about the situation and that person told somebody else, I have no idea who that was either, and that got to the head of HR, Jill Cirivello and she called me. That day, near the middle of May, she had a way that night of going into Miss Haglin’s email and that led to no smoking gun, but a little bit of a clue. That clue led Jill Cirvello and me to investigate it more thoroughly on that next day in May. At that time, that was the very
Emily LaGrange
first time that I believed it was true,” said Plagman. Immediate measures were taken following the discovery of this information. According to an email sent on May 18 to SubCentral, the system that the CRCSD uses to assign substitute teachers, Dana Hartman, principal’s secretary at Wash, asked for Haglin’s name to be removed from the classes she taught at Wash. Following Haglin’s dismissal from her classes at Wash, it was up to the rest of the Language Arts Department to take over her classes during their preparation periods starting on May 18. Because of this, non-seniors in Haglin’s classes were exempt from taking a final exam at the end of the school year, according to emails exchanged between the Language Arts Department and Plagman. Haglin had also planned to partake in the Guatemala service trip in June 2016, but following her dismissal she was told by Wash administration that she could not attend. Haglin was also informed that due to binding contracts, which she had agreed to, she was unable to be reimbursed for the payments she made toward the trip. While it’s obvious the toll this mistake took on the students and staff at Wash, no one should take full blame for the investigative mistake. “The reason I don’t have all these guilt feelings about that is because Mr. Johnson, he’s good, he’s very good at that job. Discipline was his deal. He wrote the schedule in the book of discipline and he and I were exactly in accord on it. That’s why, when it all turned out to be true, we were both surprised,” said Plagman. Something that served as a breaking news story in local newspapers involved a chain of emails between Plagman and Haglin in which Haglin asked for a letter of recommendation on May 12. The news outlets reported that Plagman agreed to write the letter of recommendation while she was suspected of a sexual affair with a student.Plagman felt that the request to write the letter of recommendation was poorly reported by the local press— it was shortly after these emails were exchanged that Haglin admitted to the relationship and was fired. Because of this, Plagman never ended up writing the letter of recommendation for Haglin. The three people who the CRCSD felt were the main orchestrators of this mistake— Johnson, Plagman, and Cirivello—
Editor-in-Chief
ended in the three of them being let go. For Plagman, the choice seemed pretty clear. “I had the choice of resigning or facing termination. I was 72 years old at the time, it was likely to be my last year— I was likely to work one or two more years. The decision on that hinged a lot on my wife’s work, she’s a full-time professor at Coe, and whether she would work two more years. I felt then, and I feel now, that I had the very same passion and the very same energy last year than I did 30 years before that. I didn’t feel I had lost any energy or enthusiasm or passion for the job at all. But, still, it was getting time. My wife felt strongly that it was my time. She said many times that she was not going to take me to Washington High School in a wheelchair, but I needed that,” said Plagman. The CRCSD has constantly stood by their position that these were retirements and that these people were not being forced out. “...A firing didn’t actually occur,” said Buck. As for the CRCSD’s explanation as to why these people left, not much could be said. “Appropriate personnel actions were taken as a result of the investigation,” said Dr. Brad Buck, CRCSD superintendent. Beyond this, Plagman recognized how pursuing the fight would affect others. “I’ve always felt I had a good relationship with all the people I worked with and for, and even if I would have survived that, I would have been working with people who didn’t want me there anymore, and that wasn’t going to be any fun. On the balance sheet— resign or termination fight— the equation was heavily on the side of resigning,” said Plagman. Plagman felt that the decision he made was right not only for himself, but for those involved as well. “Fighting termination, it’s a big deal. I could have faced being suspended during the investigation, I just didn’t want to spend my last year doing all of that. I didn’t think that would be in the best interest of me, I was pretty sure that wouldn’t be in the best interest of the student, the substitute teacher, or the school. My attorney and I discussed it, but not very long. It was a decision I could come to pretty quickly,” said Plagman. Following the investigation, Plagman has come to a comfortable conclusion. “The one thing a lot of people have said was they respected me for taking the high road in this whole deal. There were a lot of times that things were said in the press and
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stuff that I really disagreed with, but I had numerous conversations with my wife and Mr. Johnson… We just decided it’s passed, we decided to let it go,” said Plagman. As for trying to understand the heart of the situation, getting this information is something not many will be able to obtain. “Two things are working together here so the details can never be known, one is students rights. Students have the right to have information kept confidential, so we have that piece. And personnel decisions, our employees, they have to right to keep that information confidential as well… When you have both of those things working together, it creates a situation where I, unfortunately, will not be able to give you very many details,” said Buck.
RETIREMENT
Since leaving Wash, Plagman has thoroughly enjoyed retirement life. “I wasn’t ready to leave and obviously I don’t like the conditions under which I left, but being retired is not bad at all. Every day is Saturday. I get a long walk in every morning, usually four and a half miles… I’ve put about 650 miles into my bicycle since August. I get a bike ride in three or four days a week… We got this puppy, Jack, on Aug. 12 and that’s been great fun and I have no idea how people house train, or train in general, puppies if they work fulltime because it’s a big job. It’s been a lot of fun, we just have one more session to go in puppy preschool,” said Plagman. “I’ve always enjoyed reading, I like to read novels and I didn’t have much time over the past 35 years so I’ve been catching up on that. I’m almost finished with a trilogy by an author named John Jakes, a historical novel called North and South about before, during, and after the Civil War it’s about 2,400 pages, I’m down to about the last 300.” In reflection of his years in the CRCSD, Plagman feels a sense of gratitude for all he was able to be a part of. “For me, it was an awesome 49 year run— I got to work in Cedar Rapids high schools for 49 years, I got to be at opening day for two of them— opening day at Kennedy and opening day at Metro. I loved my 35 years at Wash, I was very blessed. As I said at the retirement function, I consider myself the most blessed person on this planet. But, what’s over is over,” said Plagman. For many, Plagman had a large impact on their high school experience and his
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absence has been obvious. “I think [the school year] has gone fine, but everything feels different without him at the forefront of everything,” said Greubel. On Oct. 15, a retirement celebration was held, with Plagman and his entire family in attendance, in Wash’s cafeteria. “What I know is this— the research done on principals is clear, principals have an impact on the outcomes for school, that’s clear. The best principals use distributed collaborative models, and by that I mean they empower other people and other people buy into the work that’s being done so in the moment, principals matter a lot. The hallmark of a great principal, I believe, is when the stuff that matters most in a school stays after he or she leaves,” said Buck. Plagman misses the interaction with the students the most since leaving Wash. His message for all Wash students? “I love them all. I really did. I tried to model kindness to everyone and I hope that they would be kind to each other and do their very best, push themselves as hard as they can. I really think those are the simple themes of my 35 years there.”
THE FUTURE
As Wash moves on and looks to the future, plans are put in place to find a permanent principal to replace Dr. Carlos Grant’s interim position. “We have already put out a document that describes the process we’re going to use to hire the permanent replacement for principal... In January we intend to begin this process to find the permanent replacement for principal. We’ll try to do a nationwide search so we’ll put it in publications… That process will include stakeholders from Washington High School, and when I say stakeholders, I mean specifically that we’ll have students involved in the process, we’ll have staff members involved in that process, we’d like to have some parents involved as part of that process. That’s fairly typical when we hire a principal that we would include some staff members and at least a parent or two… We hope to have somebody by April or so,” said Buck. A similar process will be done in order to replace Grant Schultz’s interim Activities Director position to one of a permanent status. As for changes at the district level following this incident, there are many things that could be of focus. “We learned
that our Level I investigators, they’re supposed to recertify every five years… they had not been recertified in far longer than five years. They’ve since been recertified, as you might guess. That’s something, in the future on that five year cycle, be sure that they’re told that they need to be recertified and that they become recertified,” said Buck. “When I talk about Level I investigators, is if there is a belief that a student is being physically and/or sexually abused by a school district employee that should trigger a Level I investigation.” Learning that there were communication errors within the district has also called for the realization that changes need to be made there. “The substitute teacher was allowed to teach at Cedar Rapids schools even after this was identified and that was a miscommunication between how the process typically works at the building level. Since she was supposed to be removed at the district level, that actually should have happened through the district HR department. That did not happen through the HR department, and as a result she continued to sub… One of the things we need to do is create a communication loop that tightens that up so that doesn’t ever happen again,” said Buck. Additional reporting by Brandon Cullen, Sarah Altemeier, and Gunnar Bosking.
THE TIMELINE
2014- Haglin student teaches at Wash Fall 2015- Haglin is asked to long-term substitute for Sam Green Feb. 2016- First investigation May 2016- Second investigation May 12- Haglin asks for Plagman to write a letter of recommendation May 17- Haglin fired July 2- Cirivello retires from District HR Aug. 3- DP’s last day Aug. 6- Johnson retires Aug. 8- Board meeting Oct. 15- Plagman’s retirement celebration
Editor-in-Chief
Emily LaGrange
Wash’s Got Talent
Single-No-More Freshman Bachelor of the Month Araya Dunne Staff Writer
Julia Carlson Staff Writer
Could YOU be the lucky girl that Ben Dent, ’20, is crushing on? The cheeky performer says that although he is single currently, he might have his eyes on one of you. Dent is involved in show choir, Grease, Tennis, and Orchestra. This 6ft, blue-eyed charmer loves to make people laugh and says that he’s pretty good at doing so. He’s looking for someone who is kind, smart, and likes to laugh. He also says that it would be ideal if she was shorter than him, but he looks for a good personality first. Dent is a dance captain for Vivace, likes to fish, has traveled abroad, his favorite food is Goulash, and his favorite movie is Jurassic Park. He has his school permit currently so I bet that if you’re the lucky girl, you guys could go on a date...if it was on his route. In middle school, Ben played “Link” in Hairspray so don’t be surprised if you see him as a future leading man in the Washington Drama Dept. or maybe even a “Triple Threat” award winner! Who knows what the future holds for Ben in his high school adventures, but if you want to be a part of what is to come or just want someone to make you smile, he’s your man.
Lorenn Turner, ‘18, and Jackie Scharf, ‘17, are two artists at Washington High School who have been known particularly for using faces to explore their artistic abilities as opposed to a plain canvas. Their artwork has taken notice by many students as they have made themselves known around the Wash community with new looks and photos of their artwork. Turner and Scharf discovered their interests in makeup in similar ways. “I got into makeup at first by discovering my mom’s makeup drawer. I’ve loved it ever since then. I even used to get in trouble back in elementary school for wearing too much!” said Turner. Scharf’s take on makeup began at an older age. “In 7th grade I really found that I loved doing makeup and it took off from there. I started watching YouTube tutorials and wanted to be able to do the things I was watching,” said Scharf. What started as a mere hobby, soon became a passion, as they started to display their art not only on their own faces, but the faces of paying customers.
Business came about for both girls as they started booking appointments for WPA and Prom last year. “Makeup is a form or art to me, I just enhance faces instead of painting a canvas. Everyone has their own beauty and I just want to showcase that to the client. I love the reaction I get when someone sees how beautiful they are,” said Scharf. Like Scharf, Turner’s growing “I love the way it makes people feel when they have a look in mind and I’m able to bring it to life and make them feel beautiful. It’s an amazing feeling for me as well,” said Turner, “I definitely look forward to future opportunities.” As Turner and Scharf continue to explore the endless possibilities of their makeup and facial artwork, don’t be afraid to book an appointment. They strive to make others truly happy with their beauty and strive to improve their talent everyday. From a mauve smokey eye to a sparkly highlight, these girls have got you covered.
Photos by Claire McKinstry, Lorenn Turner, & Jackie Scharf from left to right
Claire McKinstry
Profiles Editor
Profiles
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Debaters Talk China Bryan Gosch Staff Writer The amount of attention the average teenager directs towards politics tends to be minimal, if any. The debate team here at Washington High School aims to encourage students to step into the shoes of a politician, the class revolves around taking on a political issue and exactly how to approach it. Patrick McKinstry, ‘17, is varsity debater at Wash, and he dedicates many hours to critical thinking, while training himself to analyze as a politician would. McKinstry has been on the debate team for all four years of high school, as well as attending summer camps specifically to improve his debating skills. Being a debater on a team takes a lot of practice, time, and constant effort. The ability to form a constructive argument on the spot is a very useful skill that McKinstry says has impacted the way he thinks. He says, “debate helped me develop critical thinking skills and general knowledge over
Jillian Gannon Opinions Editor
Profiles
solution. “It requires a lot of strategy to take down an opponent you are debating against you have to do a lot of research for the negative side of things finding evidence to put together a case to why other teams’ affirmatives are bad ideas.” Most of the core research for these topics is done at the debate camps during the summer, and these camps contribute to a wide majority of the study material. McKinstry has worked very hard to get to where he’s at with debate and encourages anyone interested in joining to do it, saying, “If you’re interested in debate you should definitely give it a shot. It’s a fun and great way to learn new skills that will help you not only in high school but for the rest of your life.”
Treason 319
Feel like supporting a new local band or just yearning for a taste of something new? No matter your reasoning, local band Treason 319 is definitely worth a listen. Treason 319 started in October of last year, but they have only started doing shows since August. With musical inspiration from bands like Green Day and Sum 41, the local band features ‘80’s/’90’s style punk music. An interview with guitarist and vocalist Joel Ramirez-Hernandez shed some light into the band. “[Treason 319] began doing shows August of this year, but we started in October of last year.” said RamirezHernandez. The band features both covers, and original songs at their shows. “Right now we’re just local, but we’re hoping to
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a lot of different topics, which has bettered me throughout my high school career and just overall in general.” The debaters are currently studying the issue of U.S. involvement with China, which, in itself, covers a wide array of topics and how to go about solving problems. McKinstry explained the type of research required to know as much as possible about a topic, specifically the topic they’re covering now. “So with U.S. engagement with China, we start by researching U.S. trade and diplomatic policies currently passed or being debated in Congress and learn about what’s going on now, said McKinstry. “We then gather evidence to support an affirmative action, normally the theoretical passing of a legitimate deal or policy that hasn’t been passed yet in Congress.” Debaters must immerse themselves within a topic and go in depth researching both the positives and negatives of a
make it big one day,” Ramirez-Hernandez explained. “If the band continues on it’s present course, we’ll get signed.” Treason 319 is more localized than one might think. All four band members have either graduated from, or are currently enrolled at Wash, which gives those searching for a new band to listen to, an option that is closer to home than others might be. Of course, being a band member requires a lot of work. Hours of practice are usually required before one can feel ready enough to play in front of people. Band members may spend a lot of their free time practicing with their band, but they spend even more time practicing by themselves. “[Practicing]
individually, it’s more like twenty to thirty hours per week. It’s like having a part-time job,” said Ramirez-Hernandez. Treason 319 stays true to the punk style in their message. “We talk a lot about government, which makes us kinda controversial,” Ramirez-Hernandez pointed out. Treason 319 is about the most local band that a Wash student can support, and for those looking for a new ‘80s/’90s punk band, this is a rocking place to start.
Profiles Editor
Claire McKinstry
Artist of the Month: Jackie Ripoll Araya Dunne Staff Writer
Jackie Ripoll, ’18, has always had an interest in art, but her brother showed her the ropes as early as when she was in second grade. Her brother tends to draw intricate designs by hand and this style is reflected in her art today. Jackie describes how her interest in art used to get her in trouble at school because she would throw tantrums when the teachers would ask her to stop drawing and finish her assignments instead. She says that she would never have to write her name on her papers because her teachers knew by the doodles on the pages, it was Jackie. This sassy tone and individuality is what makes her art her own.
When Jackie began taking painting seriously, she started by creating pop art pieces similar to one of her favorite artists, Lichtenstein; and by creating action scenes similar to those that you would see in a comic book or from Marvel artist, John Buscema. Jackie has been painting for a few years and now paints mostly aliens or portraits from the shoulders up. Sometimes, the subject is completely random and she doesn’t know how to translate the thought in her head onto canvas, so she sometimes sketches those in her “doodle book”. With her busy schedule, it’s hard to find time to paint since she doesn’t take any “hands on” art classes, so she usually starts a painting
sometime between 2-5am. Although some of you might think that is a weird time to start, she says, “ it’s hard to create anything good outside of that time frame.” Ripoll hates when people dislike art because they don’t think that they are skilled enough. She says, “Art is art!” and if you are genuinely interested in it, you wont let anything hold you back from getting better. She sells 16x20in acrylic paintings on canvas usually for $20 - $60 and takes requests, so if you ever need a painting from a sassy individual who does her own thing, she’s got you.
Courtesy of Jackie Ripoll
Claire McKinstry
Profiles Editor
Profiles
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Running Isn’t That Bad Men’s Cross Country Makes It To State Sarah Altemeier News Editor 24 400s with a minute rest 4 mile repeats at a 5:30 minute pace Run to Xavier and back, a total of 13.1 miles The men’s cross country team did all of these workouts and many more multiple times over the course of their
“...No matter what happened, we always had fun through tough workouts, bad meets, and injuries. Find things to laugh about. Don’t let Max near your grandfather either. Stay goofy.”
memories of this season was winning the district championship by over 15 points and placing third individually. Last year, we had barely missed out on qualifying and I got fifth to last in the entire race. Then to turn that around and have all of our top five runners in the top 15 was an experience I’ll never forget,” said McDermott. With three returning varsity runners, no one could quite predict what this season would bring. “To be completely honest, and through no fault of the previous seniors, I think we had a team dynamic this year that Sam, all the other seniors, and I just haven’t felt before. The team felt inseparable in every practice, workout, and most importantly in every meet. Knowing that you have six guys to back you up is a tremendous feeling when you race and I’m grateful I got to be a part of it,” said Gorman. The state meet will be an event that McDermott will always remember. “The state meet was my favorite memory from high school. Having thousands of people
lining both sides of the course cheering you on is exhilarating. It was an awesome experience and I’m glad I was able to run the race with an awesome group of friends,” said McDermott. When looking back on this season, Coach Harte will remember this particular team by the three following words, “goofy (I mean that as a compliment), pack (our strength, at least at the varsity level, came from running together as a pack), and resilient (we stayed healthy, did the extra work, and raced our hearts out),” said Harte. As Gorman and McDermott graduate alongside Josiah and other senior members of the men’s cross country team, Gorman has some advice for the rest of the guys. “Don’t let anything get in way of having fun. I think that was our secret. No matter what happened, we always had fun through tough workouts, bad meets, and injuries. Find things to laugh about. Don’t let Max near your grandfather either. Stay goofy.”
cross country season. And this year, they had even greater success than usual that made all the hard work definitely pay off. Coached by Will Harte, a math and Russian teacher at Washington High School, the varsity squad consisted of co-captains Sam McDermott, ’17, and PJ Gorman, ’17, accompanied by members Josiah Lydon, ’17, Caleb Kleman, ’18, Paul Schneidermann, ’19, Max Locher, ’20, and Lewis Kleman, ’20. Typically, Wash sends off about one runner to state each year, but this time, the whole crew attended the state meet in Fort Dodge on Oct. 29. A runner earns an entry to state either by placing in the top 15 individually or by having their team place in the top 3 at their district meet. These boys earned a team entry to state by placing first overall at districts, “One of my best
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Sports
Photo by Scott McWherter
Sports Editor
Brandon Cullen
Billy Goats And Black Cats Quinn Spivey Staff Reporter Forget Billy goats, black cats, and all curses alike, the Chicago Cubs have won the 2016 World Series. In a face off of two championship drought ridden franchises, one 108 year curse ends while that of the Cleveland Indians’ 68 years lives on. Redemption was the tale in this year’s Fall Classic, two loveable losers fought for their weary cities and a chance at legitimacy. The hype for the Chicago Cubs started well before even the season started. Coming off a season in 2015 that included a trip to the National League Championship Series (NLCS), expectations were high from the getgo this season. The later season posed as a trial young for an incredibly young and talented team. Led by NL MVP candidates on the hot corners, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, this team included an All Star defensive infield and a starting pitching rotation relatively unmatched by the rest of baseball. This trip for the team seemed inevitable. The Cleveland Indians on the other hand did not have quite as high hopes as their opponent. Coming off a season where they ended just one game above .500, things were expected to stay relatively similar in Cleveland. However, strong leadership from the heart and soul of the team, second baseman Jason Kipnis, and the emergence of an AllStar and possibly future MVP candidate,
Brandon Cullen
Sports Editor
shortstop Francisco Lindor surged the team to a successful season. The starting pitching of the often underappreciated Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer also played a huge factor into the Indians trip to the World Series. The midseason addition of long and crafty reliever Andrew Miller transformed the Indians bullpen into one of the best in baseball and gave the Indians just the tools they needed to thrive. In their journey to the Fall Classic they each won their respective division, the NL Central division, and the American League (AL) Central division for the Indians. The Cubs finished with the best regular record of baseball, 103-58. The Indians finished eight games in front of their nearest competition in the AL Central with a regular season record of 94-67. In their first playoff matchup the Cubs defeated the San Francisco Giants in four games of the best of five series in the National League Division Series (NLDS). This advanced them to the NLCS where they defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games, in a best of seven series, which clinched them their first NL pennant win since 1945. The Indians playoff run started with an American League Division Series (ALDS) trip against the Boston Red Sox which the Indians won in a three game sweep. They followed this victory with another in the American League Championship Series (ALCS) where they beat the Toronto Blue Jays in five games. When the two met in the World Series, through the first four games it was looking as if the Indians pitching may be too much for the Cubbies. The Indians took a 3-1 series lead highlighted by the dominance of Corey Kluber who started both games 1 and 4 and in the two outings combined surrendered only one earned run in twelve total innings pitched. However in Game 5 the Cubs bats started to spark. Led by the eventual World Series MVP Ben Zobrist the Cubs battled back to win games 5 and 6
to reach a final battle in Game 7. This conclusion of the back and forth power struggle between the two teams was one for the ages. In perhaps one of the most important and enthralling World Series ever, expectations were met and then some. A clash that lasted some ten innings ended with the Cubs standing victorious. Even through a rain delay and the powerful pitching of Corey Kluber and Andrew Miller, the Cubs bats proved to be too much for the Indians. After this World Series, Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein will undoubtedly go down as one of, if not the best front office men the sport has ever seen. After reversing the former “Curse of the Bambino” for the Boston Red Sox in 2004 and 2011, he came over hoping to do a similar deed for the Cubs. The impact of his presence in the franchise cannot be overstated as he did what was previously thought to be impossible and turned the Cubs into a powerhouse that is here to stay for years to come. Talk of this year’s World Series will carry on for years to come as it marks the beginning of a new era in baseball. The impact goes far beyond the field as it has given life to starving cities. With the passing of this World Series a passion is reinvigorated in previous fans and for new fans there is a previously unexplored excitement for the game that has never been seen before.
Graphics by Seth Keplar
Sports
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All Seasons Change Winter Sports Start Up As The Fall Sports Come To An End Gunnar Bosking Copy Editor As the 2016-17 winter sports season is getting under way, many Washington High School teams are looking to keep their spots toward the top of the totem poles. Those teams include men’s and women’s basketball, bowling, wrestling, and men’s swimming. The men’s swim team will be looking to continue their long trail of success, after coming off an impressive 201516 campaign that included a 53rd consecutive district championship. This year, the Warriors have a deep team with many of last year’s big-impact guys returning, including Jeremy Thronson, ’19, George Durin, ’18, Kaleb Donels, ’18, and Cameron Kelley, ’17. “We just want to pick up right where we left off and have even more success than last year,” said Donels. “Of course we’ll be going for the 54th district title, but our ultimate goal is to be at the top of the podium.” The women’s basketball team will be going into the season with a new head coach at the helm. Chris James will be taking over for Frank Howell who, in the offseason, took the head women’s basketball coaching job at Graceland
Mariah Rodriguez Staff Reporter
Sports
with the latter being the only member of the team who made the state tournament last year. This year, they hope to send many more than that to Des Moines. “I think our biggest plan is: have multiple people go on to state then go on to place,” said Billy Faulkner, ’17.
Photo by Scott McWherter
Key Impact Players
Sammy Mia: This aggressive 5’7” sophomore is not to be messed to be with on the basketball court this season. Mia has been on the women’s varsity team since freshman year, and can play almost any position. Mia also participates in Team Iowa, an elite basketball team, when she’s not on the Wash courts. Will Foreman: Also known as WillySmoov on the wrestling mats, this junior is very strong for his 126 pound, 5’6” figure. With an excellent technique
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University. The Warriors posted an impressive 15-8 record but lost to topranked Johnston in substate. They will certainly be tested this year, but their lineup appears to be solid. “I think we’re going to be good this year, said Grace Carey, ’17. “I think our biggest strength is our speed; we have a lot of fast girls. Our biggest weakness is probably our height. No one’s really that tall.” The men’s basketball team will be looking to improve from their last season, where they posted a 7-15 record. They will be coached by Justin Decker, who , and lead by returning letter winners Hunter Strait, ’18, Donovan Beard, ’17, and Ian Thomas, ’17. “I think this year we have better team chemistry and more quickness,” said longtime assistant coach Dan Rhine. “This should help us have much more success this season.” The wrestling team overcame having a short roster in 2015-16, and was able to have a solid season. This year, they’re looking to build on last year. The team will be lead by Logan Sears, ’17, Chris Karamitros, ’18, and Will Foreman, ’18,
and work ethic, Foreman hates to lose and has big expectations this season. Cameron Kelly: This D1 bound senior is a defending state swimming champion. Kelly has gone to state since his freshman year and is expected to do the same in his final year as a Warrior. Kelly has always been a consistent swimmer but still claims he has room to improve. Jada Mcginnis: Catch Jada at Lancer Lanes every Tuesday this winter. McGinnis has been a bowler her whole
life but decided to try school bowling her sophomore year. McGinnis is good enough to be a varsity bowler but mostly participates in JV meets. Her main goal is to have fun and hangout with players on the team. Hunter Strait: A junior point guard hoping to live up to the hype and lead his team to victory. Last season he was the the third highest scorer for the team and the top two have graduated making him the highest returning scorer.
Sports Editor
Brandon Cullen
Mo’s Original Show Andy O’Neil Staff Reporter
Washington High School’s varsity show choir, Momentum, is one of the top show choirs in Iowa. Momentum, or Mo for short, excites crowds at every competition and school event that they perform at. Every new show Mo does is something to look forward to, and this year, they are doing something unlike any other show choir; they have created and are performing an entirely original show. Mr. Peter Westphalen, Momentum’s director, worked with Rob Nassif, a voice teacher and lyricist, and together they created this year’s show. Westphalen described the creation of the show as “collaborative.” He would send model songs to Rob, then Rob would reply back with something that had the “same groove.” Along with coming up with song ideas, Westphalen provided an outline for how he wanted the show to be constructed. One shocking piece of that outline was to not include any kind of solo. Westphalen’s goal with this was to keep all attention on the ensemble. He wished not to exclude any member of the show choir by creating solos, so he decided to not have any. Most people would be surprised by this decision because of the many “best soloist” awards that Mo has won in the past. Westphalen wants to ensure everyone that the decision was not because of a “lack of talent” in this year’s group because he knows that this group is very capable of having good soloists. He just wants to make the show is welcoming for all members. “There were a couple things taken into consideration when deciding to do the original show. First being that the show choir industry is heavily tracked by copyright laws. There is a company that researches and keeps track of all show choirs
Addi Westpheling
A&E Editor
for copyright infringements. Because of this, Mo had to pay over $3000 in royalty fees last year,” said Westphalen. Westphalen believes that spending money to perform those songs last year didn’t help improve the Momentum members. He thinks that spending money on writing the original show, rather than on royalty fees, is wiser and will help Mo. Momentum members are starting to embrace the concept of an original show. There’s a lot of work put into it, and Nathaniel Burke, ’18, said, “Changes happen on the fly. You have to keep working with it.” Embracing the show also comes with some realizations. Ethan Cooper, ’18, said, “It’s risky, but it will set us up really well in the future.” This year’s seniors get to end their show choir career at Wash with this new idea. This is their last chance to really make a mark on the show choir department. Spencer Moore, ’17, said, “This year’s show is very unique and really cool to be a part of because it’s the first of its kind.” Westphalen said, “We are the first show choir to have an all original show. Some show choirs have a song or two that’s original, but not an entire show.” He really encourages people to really watch and pay special attention to the lyrics. He hopes everyone sees the message conveyed in the show. Competitions aren’t all that important to Westphalen. He really focuses on making an entertaining show. He even claims to throws trophies from five years ago. “That’s how much they mean to me,” he said. “This year’s group is one of the most hard working groups I’ve ever worked with, and the show should be great.”
photo by Anna Rizer
Yes lawd! Billy Lemos Web Master On Oct. 21, producer/vocalist duo NxWorries released their debut album, titled “Yes Lawd!”. The project features an eclectic blend of ‘90s era, sample-based production from Knxwledge and soulful, catchy vocals from Anderson Paak. The album kicks off with “Livvin”, a brief but memorable track where Paak discusses his come up and success over spacious horn and guitar samples laid out by Kxnwledge. Track four, “Best One”, has Paak reminiscing on a relationship he struggled with while homeless. Once again, Knxwledge comes through with warm, wavy guitar samples that mesh perfectly with Paak’s ethereal vocals. Track six, “Kutless”, is one of my personal favorite cuts on the album. The song was created as an ode to one of Paak’s favorite cars, the Oldsmobile Cutlass. The production on this track features glossy key and synth samples layered on top of a subtle, pumpy drum pattern created by Knxwledge. Track eleven, “H.A.N.”, is hands down my favorite track of the album. This track has Paak criticizing and chastising those who have tried to get famous by leeching onto his own, personal success. Paak’s vocals on this track are supplemented by some incredibly lush synth production from Knxwledge. Track 14, “Starlite”, has Paak telling a detailed story about how he tried to win back a past lover. Knxwledge created a classic soul soundscape on this track, layering lively, ‘70s vocals with minimal, filtered drums. Track 15, “Sidepiece”, features some exceptional R&B crooning from Paak over yet another percussive and gentle instrumental from Knxwledge. Track 18, “Another Time”, has Paak expressing excessive braggadocio concerning the originality of his sound and style. The track’s instrumental features ‘80s gospel samples and a bouncy bassline that suits Paak’s chorus effortlessly. Overall, “Yes Lawd!” is an outstanding album with timeless, throwback production and infectious, clean vocals from Paak. I would strongly recommend this album to fans of Curtis Mayfield or, broadly, any classic soul albums from ‘70s.
A&E
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I Dream of Jean-ie How to Thrift the Mom Jeans of Your Dreams Betsy Smith Web Editor
Let’s face it. For those of you who don’t make weekly trips to your local Goodwills and Salvation Armys and/or have their store hours and locations committed to memory, thrifting can be incredibly daunting. Seeing racks on racks of wildly mixed and rarely organized clothes can be enough to strike fear into the hearts of even the most fearless shoppers. Sure, it may be easier to flock to stores like Revival and White Rabbit who are more than happy to do the heavy-lifting for you, but for those of us who have 10 or more pairs of thrifted jeans on rotation (each are unique in their own way, Mom, I don’t have a ‘problem’), stores that pre-screen clothes for you can get very expensive very quickly. Plus, why pay $24 for a pair of Lee’s you can just as easily buy for $3 at Salvation Army. Not that it isn’t important to support local businesses like White Rabbit and Revival-- they’re both phenomenal places to buy super unique items. By saving money on staples like jeans, you’re able to spend more on statement pieces. Here are the tried and true tricks of the trade to help you get your foot in the proverbial door of your local thrift shop.
Ralph Lauren and, my personal favorite, Wranglers. While they’re slightly harder to come by, if you find a pair that fits just right they will instantly be your favorite and last literally a lifetime. Obviously I’m not saying you have to strictly stick within these brands, but they’re definitely a great place to start.
In most scenarios, being a brand addict gets you grouped with ‘posers’ but in thrifting knowing a thing or two about brands really pays off. Not to mention, saves you a ton of time. Knowing what brands to keep an eye out for lets you significantly cut time that you would normally spend inspecting each pair on the endlessly long rack of jeans. Brands I stick to when looking for the superb ‘mom’ jean are Lee, Levi, Riders, Calvin Klein,
The beauty of thrifting is how inexpensive it is. If you buy a pair of jeans thinking they’re the perfect pair only to get home and realize they don’t work at all, don’t stress out too much. At most you wasted 5 or 6 dollars, which is indeed unfortunate, but certainly better than spending $60 on a pair of jeans you’ll never
The three C’s are quite simple to remember; commit, commit, commit. To really excel at thrifting you need to commit time, effort, and yourself. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will your collection. You have to exercise dedication to finding the perfect pair or be stuck overpaying. The best advice I ever received was to try on anything and everything that you even remotely like. It’s not a successful trip if you aren’t trying on at least 10 (or more) things. Since you’re going to be encountering sizes and cuts from every decade, your ‘usual’ size isn’t going to cut it. I’ve purchased things from XS to XXL, from size 4 to size 14. Don’t get discouraged if a size you normally wear doesn’t fit or isn’t flattering, even now sizes vary drastically from brand to brand.
If at first you don’t succeed try, buy again
Make friends with your local tailor
Not all jeans were created equal. Especially not those made in the 80’s, 90’s and especially 2000’s. Don’t let bootcut ends deter you. If they fit everywhere else, having the legs taken in on your jeans is one of the easiest tailoring jobs you can have done. It’s a fantastic way to not only support local businesses (s/o Lucy’s Alterations in Lindale Mall) but to ensure you’ve got pants that fit impeccably. Plus since the jeans themselves were only a few bucks, it’s completely worth it to tailor them, which usually costs about $15-$20, still keeping them cheaper than jeans you could buy at most major retailers.
Embrace deformities, variations, wear, tear and the beauty of the butt fade
Like I’ve said, not all jeans were created equal. You’re going to see everything from weird stains to weird patches to finding weird things in the pockets. These variations are what make your jeans one of a kind, so I say take them in stride. This is what will set your jeans apart from your everyday pair.
pho tos by B
etsy
Sm it
h
It doesn’t hurt to be a brand addict
The Three C’s
wear. Additionally, with them being so cheap, you can buy multiples with different good qualities about them. One pair might be the perfect shade of blue, another might be the perfect length, maybe they have interesting pockets or distressing. Thrifting jeans is the best way to build up a massive collection of unique pants that no one else will own. Not to mention, if you’re a fan of DIY, you don’t have to be afraid of royally messing up and being out tons of money on a pair of jeans that you may or may not have tried to iron patches onto but ended up singeing.
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A&E
A&E Editor
Addi Westpheling
Ben Janssen Staff Reporter This year, Washington High School’s drama department put on the classic musical “Grease”, a love story about a reserved new girl named Sandy Dumbrowski (Regan Heying, ‘18), and a greaser named Danny Zuko (Tyler McGuire, ‘18). The story, combined with the unique characters, and memorable soundtrack, meant that the students had their work cut out for them, to put on a good show. A large part of any production is the set and the make up, so both were worked hard on to perfect for the show. Lots of simple props and improved the set. This included a blinking traffic light, and the golf cart, made to look like a car, driven by Quinn Wilcox, ‘18 (Kenickie) The stage was dramatically changed for “Grease”. The stage was expanded, covering up the pit area. A large jukebox was put onstage for the band to play in, so the usually hidden musicians were in plain sight of the
audience. The, perhaps, most commented on part of a musical is the vocals, and Wash’s production of “Grease” did not disappoint. Lots of talented young actors and singers took part in “Grease” this year, but there are always performers that particularly stand out in the minds of the audience. One person who received very positive feedback was Scott Griffin, (Doody) ‘18 when he sang “Those Magic Changes”. Director Kyle Woollums worked hard to make sure that this productions was more than a couple of good songs and actors. He wanted to ensure that the entire cast, crew, and band performed to the best of their abilities. “We couldn’t be happier with how the show turned out. “Grease” is a challenging show to get just right. I think we created something that sounded wonderful, told a great story, and made
the audience forget about the real world for a couple of hours. What more could we want? This was only possible with the dedication of our cast, crew, musicians, and directing team,” Woollums said. Wash’s production of “Grease” had a lot to live up to, but with help from a strong cast, crew, and band, they exceeded their expectations.
Photo by Scott McWherter
Photos by Len Struttmann
Addi Westpheling
A&E Editor
A&E
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Eyes of the World- The Greatful Dead
Roses
World Spins Madly OnThe Weepies The Great Beyond- REM
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I Found- Amber Run
Gary Johnson faking heart attack
Happy Halloweiner Scarlet Letter Edward Cullen President Trump When you have to fart in class College applications
“Grease” is over (for cast & crew)
Spooky Black now Corbin? Arctic Monkeys not on tour Band tours in Europe, not US Fall is leaving us
New coffee shops that are goodnamely, Aurora in Marion
New record shop New Surveyor sweatshirts Thanksgiving break
Wash football team is Top 4 in Iowa Still time left to bring up grades
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Mary Beth Haglin
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