Volume 80 Issue 1

DART THE

ST. TERESA’S ACDEMY KANSAS CITY MO VOULME 80 ISSUE 1

The Education Experiment

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SEPTEMBER 18,2020

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

DEAR READER,

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elcome back! We are so excited to start the school year with a brand new issue of the Dart. We are so proud of our resilient new staff stepping up the unprecedented times that we’re facing. Going into this year was never going to be easy, but everyone on Dart beautifully stepped up to the challenge.

In times like these, being a journalist is more important than ever.

It’s not just our staff that has been resilient in hard times, but also the whole student body and faculty. St. Teresa’s is one of many schools experimenting with how to educate in the midst of a global pandemic.

The cover story takes a dive into

how these education procedures have played out at STA, and how they compare to other schools’ approaches around the city.

To learn about what student theater looks like in a pandemic, read Mara Callahan’s A&E story. She sat down with Ms. Prentiss to talk about what STA productions will be like and also heard from STA students about their experience with productions over the summer.

For a review of Netflix’s recently cancelled show, “Patriot Act,” check out Josie’s Fox’s review on page 10. Fox discusses how the show has impacted her personally as well as the cultural mark it left on the world.

Sophia Rall wrote a feature story about the state of the

United States Postal Service and what it could look like in the future. Rall covers the implications of losing the postal service for mail in voting and what students can do to keep it in business.

Black Student Coalition hosted a March on Windmoor to honor the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. For photos of that, check out Claire Smith’s gallery on DartNewsOnline.

For more online content, watch Grace Ashley’s first edition of “Dart in the Quad” on YouTube and Instagram, asking students and teachers their feelings on being back on campus. Ashley also talked to seniors on their thoughts on

their final year of highschool in a pandemic on the “Stargazer” podcast.

We want to thank you for always appreciating the hard work done by our staff cycle after cycle to provide you with new insights and thoughts about the world around us.

In a world that’s so different from normalcy, we strive as a publication to give you the facts and hopefully provide some ease.

Love,

DESIGNED BY LAUREN BRACKNEY

TABLE OF CONTENTS

04 STA adapts learning styles for COVID-19 06 Morgan Saxe 08 Bits & Pieces 09 Theater production in a pandemic 10 The gift of Patriot Act 12 A freshman year like no other 14 A look into the future of USPS Kansas City schools open amidst a 16 global pandemic

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The rebirth of “Avatar” One Direction: all good things must come to an end “Hamilton” acknowledges the founding fathers’ achievements and flaws Maintaining school spirit The reopening of the Nelson-Atkins Best parks to social distance at in Kansas City Urban Mining News briefs

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4 NEWS FEATURE

Trial and Error: COVID-19 Precautions

September 18, 2020

A look into how STA has been able to reopen, and what difficult decisions had to be made to ensure school wide safety.

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Story by Sydney Allen | Photo Editor

Photos by Katie Massman | Social Media Editor

the end, she knew what was right. t. Teresa’s Academy is back to school other intricate steps that we had to think “I think that’s the hardest decision is in-person, and with this comes some about to get the school ready again,” Dr. you’re gonna disappoint some people no changes in the day-to-day schedule due May-Washington said. “So every program matter what you do,” May-Washington said. to COVID-19. STA students have a brand area had to be reimagined.”

“And, you know, I’ve learned not to take new system to abide by when walking to Along with the social distancing rules that personally, you know, it’s not about me class, learning and having lunch — all while or guidelines, masks have played a role and my feelings.” maintaining 6 feet from their peers. in the school’s transition to safety, as well Sophomore Emery Danker believes that One of the bigger changes that has as in that of the modern world. At first, the changes STA has made are the right been made is the addition of classrooms masks were thought of as a potential issue. choice. She was both happy and outdoors. Due to limited space and the Girls showing up to school without a mask slightly confused to read about all need for social distancing, STA has of the changes that had been made been forced to move several classes to accommodate this new lifestyle. outside to ensure safety. The school “Administration has made some nurse, Angela Sweeney, commented really smart changes. I mean, of on this change. course, I’d love things to just, you “We have this campus available know, be how they always were,” to us to do that, because we’re very Danker said. “But I think that fortunate in that sense that it just they’re being smart about it and doesn’t happen that you have that trying to do all they can to like, much space outside that you can make sure we still have a good have so many classrooms outside,” school experience.”

Sweeney said. “I hope that stays to Another change was having some form.” students eat lunch with their St. Teresa’s Academy continues advisors.

This change was a shock, to stay open with all of the changes but Danker shared that she now it has implemented working well so Junior Iris Kline utilizes a hand washing station in the quad Sept. 1. Students are encouraged to frefar, and the STA community hopes quently sanitize and wash their hands in order to stay as clean as possible. photo by Katie Massman enjoys eating lunch with her advisory. to remain open. The changes that and claiming they left it at home or in “Honestly, it has kind of STA made were very serious due to their car was a problem foreseen by the brought me closer with the girls the ongoing pandemic and concerns administration. May-Washington shared in my advisory,” Danker said. “I’m from STA community members. They took what she first thought would happen with a lot more planning than one may think, spending like an hour or so with them every the mask rules. according to the school’s president Dr. single day and just catching up. That’s kind “I just can imagine them saying they Siabhan May-Washington. While students of brought us closer together.” forgot their mask, you know, coming may have been enjoying their summer, Danker expressed that the changes at to school without it. And that has not administration, like school president Dr. happened,” May-Washington said. “So we’re STA were needed, and that she respects May Washington, have been working to doing a great job in our community, it’s just the choices that the administration made. coordinate the many moving parts in the These difficult decisions have been crucial you know, sometimes you get a little close. reopening of the campus. to whether or not STA may stay in school But even though they get a little close, at “We hired some college interns to come or how many people continue to come to least they have the mask on.” in the summer and help with that work. class in person. Danker was excited to come The biggest struggle was deciding So that was massive. We also had to take back. on whether to go back to school at all a look at our ventilation and air filtration “I personally felt comfortable because according to. May-Washington. There are systems. We had to prepare to get, you I knew that STA was taking numerous always two sides to each debate and in this know, stickers on the sidewalks and in the precautions to make sure everybody was case, it was between the people who wanted buildings. Just other things that so besides staying safe,” Danker said. B to go back and the people who did not. In opening the doors there, there were a lot of

5 DESIGNED BY SOPHIA RALL

National news updates Complied by Allison Madden | Instagram Editor

California

The California wildfires may spread even more due to the gusty and dry conditions in the state. These devastating wildfires have already pushed out thousands of citizens out of their homes, and have turned forests and communities into falling ash and hazardous smoke. (The New York Times)

Kansas

Barbara Bollier is running for Kansas state senator. She raises hopes for the Democratic party in Kansas, as she plans to attract Republicans and independents in Kansas during the general election against the US congressman Roger Marshall. If she is to win the Senate seat she will be the first Democratic senator since the Great Depression. (The Guardian)

Ohio

In Columbus, Ohio, controversy circulated around the French award-winning film ‘Cuties’. Dave Yost, Ohio’s Attorney General joins other lawmakers in a fight to take down the film on Netflix. (WKBN 27 First News)

Florida

Arizona

Tempe, AZ received photos and a letter to the Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ from Micheal Crow the Arizona State University President about the alleged multiple bars on Mill Avenue that have violated health guidelines for COVID-19.

(ABC 15 Arizona)

Texas

Ken Paxton, the Texas Attorney General says that he’s appealing a judge’s decision to let the Harris County clerk to send mail-in ballot applications for all registered voters in America. (NBCDFW 5)

Florida now is approaching 8,000 deaths due to COVID-19. It is predicted that that total will be doubled around early October and exceed 19,000 by Dec. 1. (Local 10 News)

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STAR SPOTLIGHT

MORGAN SAXE

SEPTEMBER 18, 2020

Senior Morgan Saxe has spent hours a week at the gym perfecting routines and learning skills since age three.

Story by Katie Massman | Sports Editor

During a meet, Saxe is pictured wearing a beautiful, sparkly leotard Jan. 19,2019. Saxe once broke her hand and now has two screws in it. photo courtesy of Morgan Saxe

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DESIGNED BY CARMON BAKER

Why did you begin gymnastics?

My mom did gymnastics, dance and was a cheerleader when she was in high school and grade school so I think it was kind of just something that she thought I would like, and I really liked it too. I think I started when I was like three or so, and then kind of like really got into it when I was seven.

How do you balance your social life and school with this sport?

It’s definitely tricky, but I just try to use up all my time at school to do my homework, and try to constantly be getting my work done ahead of time so that I can relax on the weekends and not have to worry about finishing everything.

How often are you in the gym practicing?

In the summer I went Monday through Thursday noon to 5 p.m., and in the fall I go Monday through Friday 2:30 to 6:30, so I have to leave school early. Every year I’ve had my ninth period free, so after eighth period I leave and get to practice a little bit late.

What level are you on?

I’ve been level nine [out of 10] for the past few years, but I’m trying to be level 10 this year.

What do you like about it?

I love gymnastics, because it is such a mental sport. While it is a team sport, it’s also so individual, and you’re kind of always pushing and competing against yourself.

There are guidelines and requirements for each level, and you have to meet them with different skills. You’re pushing yourself to see what you can do better and what new skill you can add. I just love how it requires so much constant determination and so much drive, and I like the feeling of finally getting a skill that you’ve been working on for so long. You never forget that, it’s the best feeling.

What do you not like?

The time commitment is very difficult to manage, but it’s also something you get used to and becomes part of your daily routine. Dealing with mental blocks is also something I really struggle with, when one day you know how to do a skill perfectly and the next day you feel like you don’t even know how to do it. It’s just being stuck in your own head about what you can and can’t do and losing that confidence.

the nail bed bent, so they had to go into surgery and clean out the bone. When you do something weird or get hurt, it takes a second to get back into full swing. You just can’t think too much about it. It’s just a matter of being confident with where you are and just continuing that.

How has COVID-19 affected your training?

In March, we obviously had to shut down, and for the first couple weeks my coach would just send us workouts to do at home.

Then they kind of gradually started adding basic floor skills like back walkovers and front walkovers, things that we could do outside. And then we started doing workouts a couple times a day. Normally we practice for four hours so we were doing two hours, with about 45 minutes of conditioning every day.

Do you plan to continue this sport next year in college?

It’s been a really really hard decision for me.

It’s super, super competitive in college, the whole recruiting process. A lot of girls are getting recruited their freshman year, so spots really fill up quickly, especially with a team of 16 girls. So I could go, but I think I’m deciding I want to start a new chapter in my life, and I’m ready to put it behind me.

It’s been hard coming back and going back into the gym after COVID-19 because I had that time off, and the end is so close, but I have to kind of reset which was definitely hard. B

Have you ever been injured?

In sixth grade, I broke my hand. I now have two screws in it. I’ve also pulled a few muscles. I broke my finger, because I snapped the top joint of my finger and then

Saxe shows off her uneven bars skills last Jan. 19, 2019. Saxe loves being a gymnast because it pushes her to do better than she believed she could. photo courtesy of Morgan Saxe

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BITS & PIECES

Made By Lucy Doerflinger BNS/News Editor

Photo of the Issue Over 140 students gathered to march around the quad for eight minutes and 45 seconds, signifying the amount of time George Floyd was suffocated by a police officer until his death Sept. 3. The Black Student Coalition put together this march. photo by Claire Smith

My life rocks Natalie Mitchell Sophomore “One good thing that happened to me over quarantine was that I spent more time working on myself and finally doing things that I have been putting off during school.”

My life sucks Grace Farkas Senior “This year my family had a planned trip to go to Poland because my sister was supposed to play soccer there. I was really excited to see and explore Poland but due to COVID the trip was cancelled. I probably won’t get another opportunity to go and I’m really bummed.”

DESIGNED BY SYDNEY WALDRON

A look at theater behind a mask

A&E

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Adjustment in performances are being made all throughout the theater community due to the Coronavirus and the effects of these changes can be seen in an actresses struggle to express emotion while wearing a facemask.

Story by Allison Madden |Writer Photos by Sydney Allen | Photo Editor

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enior Olivia Collet performed in a classic rendition of “Les Miserables” over the summer despite one minor detail: the actors performed wearing plastic masks to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

“We wore our masks to rehearsal, we had our temperature taken and we had to sanitize every hour,” Collet said. “The goal was to hopefully have masks off by performances, but then the mask mandate happened so we knew that that wasn’t going to be possible. But we still performed, and our masks were just clear.”

Having been in theater since she was 8 years old, Collet was more than willing to abide by the safety protocols that were needed to be able to stay active in the community; however, some of these restrictions proved to be an obstacle during performances.

“The mask was hard in the beginning,” Collet said. “It’s hard to sing when there’s something like that on your face, your sound is going to be muffled. I found myself focusing more on trying to pull [the mask] up to keep myself and everyone else safe while I was singing. That was a little distracting. The masks we ended up wearing for the show were like face shields and the only hard thing with that was that I could constantly see it, so when I’d look down it was like a makeup-covered plastic shield in front of me.”

COVID-19 has made necessary many social distancing protocols that bring drastic changes to the theater community.

Head of the Saint Teresa’s Academy theater department Shana Prentiss has coped with these protocols by establishing a Reader’s Theater this fall instead of proceeding with the usual fall musical.

Senior Olivia Collet, left, and Isabel Mayer are among their fellow cast members during a dress rehearsal July 28. The actors were required to wear plastic face shields that wrapped around their head, covering their noses and mouths. photo courtesy of Olivia Collet

“I spent a lot of time in the summer thinking about how we can do this; still maintain safety and have an audience if we can,” Prentiss said. “I started initially looking for plays that could be staged in a way where they were separate…

It’s almost impossible.

So I thought, ‘Okay,let’s revamp. Let’s look at this in a different way.’ Reader’s theater is designed to be done this way; it’s designed to be people just sitting or standing with mic stands and a script in front of them. There’s no interaction. It’s all about using your voice to tell the story. And so I thought, ‘Oh, that’s kind of perfect.’”

St Teresa’s Academy sophomore Keeley Spencer hopes to be able to share her love of theater with others by participating in STA performances this year.

“I think the only issue that would come in is that people couldn’t see past the face shield because the spotlight would catch on it and send a glare,” Spencer said. “But

the one thing I’m really worried about is not being allowed to have an audience. To me, theater is more about the audience being able to have an unique experience. I already get to be around the script and the stage and have heard the story, but for an audience member it’s all new.”

Despite the uncertainties of what this year’s theater program might hold, Prentiss is optimistic about the opportunities it will offer and encourages STA to have an upbeat attitude about this year.

“I hope that people get excited for this, it’s a different form of theater it’s a different form of performance but it’s one that I think is really fun,”

Read Full Story on DNO

10 REVIEWS

DATE SEPTEMBER 18

My Unsuccessful TikTok QuarantinE Over quarantine I decided to try out my cooking skills by trying some of Tik Toks newest cooking trends.

Story by Ellie Buttell

photo courtesy of Tribune News Service

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fter being stuck in the house for five months, I’ve learned a thing or two about how to stay active or find ways in my life to stay busy. For starters, I learned how to limit my screen time on Tik Tok in order to spend less time on my phone.

However, even with my limit on Tik Tok, I made time to try some of the most popular trends that went around during quarantine and this summer. My “For You Page” was constantly filled with recipes that I had to try because — what else was there to do?

I spent hours every day trying to make these recipes that were much harder than a 30 second video could convey. For one, finding the ingredients when I wasn’t allowed to go to the store, and supplies were low was a big challenge. Also, the people in the videos didn’t talk about the many challenges and messes that came with making these small recipes. Most of my cooking creations ended up in the trash before I could even try a bite.

There were so many recipes that I would be so excited about that would let me down. The “whipped coffee” recipe caught my attention from the first second I heard about it because I am a big coffee drinker.

As a fan of cold brew, I was ready to make the whipped coffee after watching the first video I saw about it.

Unfortunately, when I tried to make it,

it ended up being a grainy mess. I spent upwards of 20 minutes whisking away at the mixture of coffee, sugar and water. Later, I was told by my younger sister that the coffee I used was in fact the wrong kind of coffee and would never make the fluff y mixture I was looking for. I decided that I could somehow make it work and continued to mix and add ingredients.

Long story short, it didn’t work. My disappointment was immense because I was looking forward to having a new recipe that I could make most mornings. For a while, I retired from my cooking phase because all I was left with was a big mess in my kitchen.

However, after I heard about the cloud bread that was now circulating Tik Tok, I threw on my chef’s hat and apron.

I was super excited to make this new recipe, but making the cloud bread was not anywhere near as easy as the videos said it would be. Finding the right texture that was shown in the videos was confusing. In fact, it took more than one try to get the fluff y texture the videos told me to get. The process, however, was super timely. As for how the bread tasted, I can confidently say I’m not the biggest fan.

It was almost like the 30 grams of sugar did absolutely nothing because the bread tasted like scrambled eggs turned into fluff y bread. The process of making the bread was

most definitely more enjoyable than the bread itself. Seeing the bread slowly rise in the oven, to where it looked like a cloud, was thoroughly entertaining.

My results with these Tik Tok recipe trends weren’t the best and it leaves me to wonder if other people had as poor of results as I did or if I was just that bad of a chef. I would rate these Tik Tok recipes 2/5 stars! Even though I wasn’t always satisfied with the final product of the recipes, it was a really fun way to spend time away from my phone and be able to do something when none of us could go out. AABBB

The cloud bread, made by Ellie Buttell just out of the oven, on August 30th. This is the final result of the infamous famous recipe on tik tok. photo by Ellie Buttell

REVIEW

DESIGNED BY SYDNEY ALLEN

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My Everlasting Ode to Patriot AcT

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Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj has changed my outlook on politics, culture, and media in ways I never knew a Netflix series could. My personal connection to Patriot Act runs deep, right down to the fact that it was first released on my birthday.

Story by Josie Fox | Opinion Editor

n the midst of December, and a rather miserable sophomore year of high school, a bright beacon of light shone down upon me after I received a recommendation from my English teacher about a new show on Netflix called “Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj.” If you know me, and even if you don’t, you should know that “Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj” is not only my favorite TV show, but that it was also released on my birthday Oct. 28, in 2018. I can say without a doubt in my mind — even though I’m horrifically prone to second-guessing myself — that “Patriot Act” is the best birthday present I have ever unconsciously received.

That’s why I’ll begin in classic “Patriot Act” fashion, with a short and sweet “comedy book report” — as Minhaj has dubbed the show — but minus the comedy. In this report I’ll explore all “Patriot Act” has taught me and what it means to me.

“Patriot Act” was named after, or is in reference to, The USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 that post-9/11 not only surveillanceed all Americans, but disproportionately did so to Muslim Americans. Considering Minhaj is both Indian and Muslim American, he has carefully wrapped the show in this colorful perspective.

The weight that the bold name holds is one that — I kid you not — I think about every single day.

The whole reason Minhaj chose Netflix to be the platform for “Patriot Act” is because of Netflix’s global reach. I’m still awestruck by the risks Minhaj has taken in order to provide his audience with complete transparency of both global and national issues. In order to get to that truth, Minhaj had to take risks including possibly getting sued by the Indian government if he showed a picture of the disputed territory of Kashmir in his “Indian Elections” episode, as well as getting in hot water with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia after critiquing his rule and policies in his “Saudi Arabia” episode.

Right down to the topics Minhaj covers — Indian elections, hip-hop’s global reach, the dark side of Canada, protests in Sudan, censorship in China — “Patriot Act” isn’t just meant for Americans. I wouldn’t even say it’s an America-centric show. The diversity of worldly perspectives and issues covered has morphed this show into such a beautiful kaleidoscope of what it means to live in our modern world — what it means to be a global citizen.

“Patriot Act” calls each of us to ponder: what does it truly mean to be patriotic?

At the end of each episode when Minhaj shifts his tone in harmony with a dramatic shift in lighting, he stresses that dissent is patriotic. Minhaj had the audacity to name “Patriot Act” after an act that was meant to discriminate against his Muslim identity.

Searching and gleaning for the truth of a matter at hand is inherently patriotic, and that is exactly what “Patriot Act” accomplishes.

As someone who has personally struggled endlessly with what it truly means to be American, I can say that “Patriot Act” has led me at the very least one step closer to coming to terms with that very troubling and complex identity.

Unfortunately, on Tuesday Aug.18, 2020, Minhaj announced that the show would be coming to a close. It was around 8:30 a.m., and I was mindlessly scrolling through

Host, Hasan Minhaj, of the Netflix political comedy series “Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj,” after wrapping up one of his first two episodes of the series: “Affirmative Action” from Volume 1 released Oct. 28, 2018. Since Patriot Act first aired it’s won a Primetime Emmy Award, Peabody Award and more. photo courtesy of Tribune News Service

Instagram until I saw the dreaded post I had been afraid would come sooner than expected. I loved “Patriot Act,” and how much it was a part of myself when I double tapped my phone screen to like the post.

Devotion is an understatement in regards to how I feel towards “Patriot Act”; I think it’s safe to say that I am completely obsessed.

If I could have any birthday wish, I would thank Minhaj from the depths of my heart for not only releasing his show on my birthday, but for being staid in his values and delivery. He has inspired me unlike any other. My first genuine dream job was to be a researcher or writer for “Patriot Act.” While it may have been my favorite birthday present I have ever received, it came too early; it’s too bad you have to be eighteen years old to attend a show.

Clearly, I cannot stress enough how much I recommend “Patriot Act.” I cross my heart and hope to die that you will find a topic Minhaj covers that will be of interest to you and that it will be worth your time. “Patriot Act” has my heart, and, even though it is not my own, I do view it as an extension of myself. I am absolutely devastated that “Patriot Act” has been cancelled, especially considering I just started senior year and the last thing I need right now is the absence of something I love dearly. Deep down in my soul I know for a fact that the legacy of “Patriot Act” will not only continue in Minhaj’s future creative work, but also in myself. AAAAA

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September 18th 2020

FEATURE

A Fresh Freshman Year Story by Caroline Hinkebein | Photos by Lucy Doerflinger | Alternative Coverage by Caroline Hinkebein

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COVID-19 rules and restrictions have caused a shift in the freshman year like never before.

reshman year is an essential time for making friends and transitioning into a new chapter in life: highschool. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the game. Typical bonding activities and STA traditions cannot take place the same way they usually would, as social distancing and mask mandates must be followed. Nevertheless, STA is adjusting to make freshman year as normal as possible.

Frosh Fest is a freshmen-centered event held annually to help freshmen meet each other. Traditionally, Frosh Fest is held during the first week of school and involves activities such as advisory competitions and yard days where freshmen can eat lunch and spend free periods outside. This year, administrators decided to combine Frosh Fest with orientation. orientation was designed to be not only academic with activities like technology training and learning how to navigate Bistro, but also include some fun activities as well such as STA’s spirit club teaching the freshmen the school’s cheers.

Freshman Saylor Pickard had some

thoughts about the spirit club teaching the freshmen the school cheers.

“That was funny because they were trying to hype us up and like no one was doing it,” Pickard said.

Other orientation activities included meeting advisors, the other freshmen in their advisory and get-to-know-you games. However, meeting new people has proved to be somewhat difficult according to freshman Alice Coates.

“With social distancing and everything Corona-wise, it’s really difficult to talk to someone during class or after class, just like approaching people,” Coates said.

Freshman Gabi Vovk says that although she believes STA is handling everything that’s being thrown at them extremely well, a difficult aspect of making friends has been not getting to eat lunch with the rest of the freshmen class.

“It kind of put a damper on making friends because a massive place to make friends is lunch and the commons,” Vovk said.

Instead, freshmen have found social media helpful in making friends.

“Mutual friends and Snapchat and Instagram really are a huge thing,” Pickard said “I met most of the people from that.”

Principal for student affairs Liz Baker says that traditions are very important at STA so it was important to administrators that the freshmen were still able to experience those in the safest environment possible.

“I think my hardest thing is trying to figure out traditions and how do we do them in ways that are safe but also have them,” Baker said. “Trying to maintain and hold on to those kinds of things.

And we were like, how can we do that the most safely that we can but also bring it on campus too.”

The Passing of the Legacy service is an STA tradition in which seniors present freshmen with a medallion and give them a big hug as a sign of sisterhood and passing down the legacy of STA from the seniors to the freshmen. With the pandemic, this ceremony wasn’t exactly the same.

“They were like, ‘Make direct eye contact and give each other a fake hug,’” Pickard said. “I thought it was kind of

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DESIGNED BY CAROLINE HINKEBEIN Freshmen Julia Chartier (from left), Taylor Atwood, Alice Coates and Josephine Britt discuss their freshmen year experience in the quad Sept. 3. There has been a lot to discuss because of all the changes made for the COVID- 19 pandemic.

funny, and I laughed.”

Vovk thought it was a sweet idea and she appreciated that they still had the ceremony despite less than ideal circumstances.

“You kind of just wish that we were able to actually hug people.” Coates said. ”It just would’ve made it all the more better.”

A new addition this year is the launch of the big sister little sister program.

Each freshman is paired up with a junior or senior with similar interests and classes to them and that upperclassmen acts as their “big sister” for the year. This program was created and implemented to help freshmen feel more comfortable at STA and to further strengthen the sisterhood. Pickard thinks it’s nice to have someone more experienced to talk to when you have a question.

“I think it’s kind of cool, how we aren’t separated in our own grades, it’s nice to have diversity in between ages and having someone where you can be like, I don’t know what’s happening, can you help me, instead of asking a classmate that doesn’t know either,” Pickard said.

Though they are new to the school, the freshmen recognize the efforts being made to make their STA experience the

best it can possibly be.

“At least we’re at school, that’s definitely my good thing right now,” Coates said.

Vovk says the emphasis on personal hygiene such as washing your hands often and wiping down desks before class is also a plus.

“I really appreciate how much they’re trying to keep us in school and healthy at the same time,” Vovk said.

Freshman year can already be a difficult and transitional time for young people, and the pandemic does bring

along with it a few stressors.

“The distance is really hard and also just the whole pandemic thing in general is really stressful,” Vovk said. “I don’t worry about me getting it but I’m worried about giving it to my family.”

On the other hand, Coates thinks starting freshman year during a pandemic could be turned into a positive.

“I feel like looking back, maybe a couple of years from now, it’s gonna be a once in a lifetime kind of experience,” Coates said.B

This is Taylor Atwood, the only Freshman from Summit Lakes Middle School at STA this year. She plays softball and wants to try out for basketball and soccer. Her favorite part of STA so far has been the softball season.

This is Julia Chartier, the only freshman from Prairie Star Middle School at STA this year. She plays softball and wants to try out for basketball. She is excited for her English class this year.

This is Taylor Preuss, the only freshman from Overland Trail middle school at STA this year. She's on the golf team and she's

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FEATURE

SEPTEMBER 18,2020

USPS financial decline brings agency’s future, mail-in ballots into question

Junior Audrey Flavin overlooks one of the busy post office centers located in Kansas City, MO. Aug. 27. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the USPS has experienced immense financial issues.

The United States Postal Office’s significant decline has forced Americans to consider a future without the mail and package delivery system.

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Story by Sophia Rall | Features Editor

he United States Post Office has its roots in the very beginning of our nation, as Benjamin Franklin was declared the first Postmaster General in 1775. It evolved from a mail service between the American colonies to a newspaper delivery service to the service Americans know today — a package and mail delivery service. Throughout these changes, the USPS mission has remained the same: “to bind our nation together by maintaining and operating our unique, vital and resilient infrastructure.”

However, the USPS has endured significant financial trouble lately, with its annual losses at 8.8 billion, according to Government Executive. These financial issues have only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. With millions of Americans relying on the USPS for deliveries of prescription drugs, social security checks and vehicle registration, it begs the questions: why is the USPS struggling, and what can be done to help it?

Social studies teacher Kathleen Daily attributes the USPS’ financial issues to poor policy making, namely the Post Office Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006. This act required the Post Office to

Photos by Rebecca Speier | Photo Editor

prefund retirement benefits for employees, up to 75 years in advance. According to Government Executive, of the $8.8 billion dollars the agency lost in 2019, 83% of that went to its retiree pension and retiree health benefits funds.

The USPS has been losing money for a long time, and has not turned a profit since 2006, according to PBS. However, many Americans have grown concerned as its financial losses increased substantially this

“

There’s no way to see when you mail in a vote whether it’s Democrat or Republican. So this is an issue of the people Social Studies Teacher Kathleen DailY

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year.

“The post office removes mail collection boxes every year,” Daily said. “But, we know that last year they removed 4,200 mail collection boxes, and that’s more than the national average of about 3,000.”

A common misconception about the USPS is that it is not used anymore.

However, it delivered 143 billion pieces of mail to 160 million addresses in 2019, according to the USPS. Additionally, the USPS serves more than 46 million rural addresses— the only delivery service for much of rural America. Several STA students have utilized the service recently, such as junior Bella Avery.

“I’ve used the USPS to send my uncle, in Oregon, packages,” Avery said. “Many people rely on it for our communication, bills, medication, correspondents, social security checks —which for some is their only source of income, especially today with many out of jobs due to the pandemic—and to send and receive packages.”

Tens of millions of Americans are expected to use mail-in voting this November for the presidential election. In the primary elections held this year, at least 65,000 mail-in ballots were rejected because

DESIGNED BY SOPHIA RALL

they arrived past the deadline, through no fault of the voter, according to NPR. With higher mail volumes and the USPS’ removal of thousands of collection boxes, Americans are left wondering if their vote will be counted.

STA junior Kya Vulgamott believes mail-in ballots could be a huge factor in this year’s presidential election.

“Because it’s election year, mail-in ballots will be a really big factor in that 4 years ago, there were 333 million mail-in ballots,” Vulgamott said.

Daily mentioned the different reasons individuals might use mail-in and absentee ballots.

“We have these mailing ballots and absentee ballots for years,” Daily said. “Our military uses it, and people with disabilities have historically used it. I did it when I was in college and when I didn’t live in Kansas City.”

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, appointed in June 2020, implemented several cost-cutting measures which cut overtime, reorganized the agency’s structure, and called for late-arriving mail to be delivered the next day, which has caused significant delays. He acknowledged that these changes have led to some delays, but said in an interview with The Washington Post that improvements are underway. He still encouraged Americans to vote early though, as a “common best sense practice.”

Daily emphasized that although DeJoy is a major GOP donor, the issue is still bipartisan.

“There’s no way to see when you mail in a vote whether it’s Democrat or Republican,” Daily said. “So this is an issue of the people.”

Vulgamott also stressed that USPS delays or shutdowns could affect everyone.

“If COVID continues the way that it is, eventually, [STA student] will need the USPS,” Vulgamott said. “Preparing for certain things is just necessary.”

Both Vulgamott and Avery have used Instagram to repost and comment on posts concerning the USPS. Vulgamott offered other ways to advocate, such as signing petitions or starting a petition. Avery offered more advocation ideas, specific to high school students. “[STA students] can help educate themselves and others on how to

vote by mail if that is what they are planning to do,” Avery said. “They can call congress members and ask them to support the USPS and say that they won’t stand for what is happening today.”

Daily, like Vulgamott and Avery, emphasized the many uses and importance of the USPS.

Compiled by Sophia Rall | Features Editor

15 “I also think that the issues that we’re facing right now, with the absentee and mail-in voting, the people are saying that they want access,” Daily said. “And that’s historically been something that the people of the United States have always wanted. Are their voices heard and do they have access?” B

Design by Sydney Waldron | Design Editor

The importance of the USPS

SEPTEMBER 18, 2020

16 CENTERSPREAD

THE EDUCATION

EXPERIMENT: re-opening schools during a pandemic

Students and teachers across Kansas City are going back to school and administrators are trying to make sure they can do it safely. However, the plans for doing so differ from school to school significantly.

Story by Claire Smith | Editor-in-Chief Rachel Robinson | Editor-in-Chief

Photos by Becca Speier | Photo Editor

DESIGNED BY CLAIRE SMITH

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t was exhausting,” Liz Baker said. “I will not lie. It was like, I mean, if you turn to the calendar, it’s the six month into this pandemic, and for six months that’s all I’ve thought about is COVID-19 and how to keep kids safe.”

Baker is the principal for student affairs at STA and along with the rest of the administration, she has been crafting a reopening plan for the 2020-2021 school year nonstop since March. It was clear to them from the initial surveys sent out to students, parents and teachers that the community wanted to be back in-person. The question, at that point, was just how to accomplish it.

“Can you see this? This is the COVID file,” Baker said, opening a filing cabinet filled to the brim with papers. “We used kind of a matrix and put people in teams to make sure that we were getting every kind of—there’s so much involved in just like maintenance and facilities and academics and the health app and things like that—and just trying to make sure that we were thinking of every little thing.”

The file consisted of everything from documents on how to social distance in the classroom to guidelines for choir performances to rules about how to use a microscope in a chemistry lab.

“It’s just things that you wouldn’t naturally think about in terms of an epidemic or pandemic,” Baker said. “So we took those items, kind of split them up into teams, worked on them quite a bit over the summer and then just started using that research to do actions.”

These actions took shape in the form of markers on the floor guiding students on how to social distance, signs pointing the way to exit the buildings and a presentation for students outlining these procedures during orientation, among countless other measures.

STA detailed three different education plans to their students through an informational packet sent out over the summer: in-person, hybrid or virtual learning. Students were to start the year in person, and a rise in cases would dictate a switch to another plan. Senior Mara Kugler is one of a few students who have been learning virtually since the beginning of the year.

She knew she wanted to pursue a virtual option from the moment she learned that STA would be having school primarily in-person.

“I wasn’t surprised, but I wasn’t happy about it,” Kugler said. “I was hoping it wouldn’t go that way because I already knew that it was getting worse in Kansas City, and I didn’t want to be inperson, so I decided to go online.”

Although Kugler had a relatively easy time Junior Lissette Sessler sits working on her computer during her history class Aug. 28. During class, students are divided by plastic shields that separate each student.

17 getting permission to learn online, she thinks the process could have been more accessible for other students.

“Yeah, the only reason I knew about going online is because my sister, her immune system is compromised,” Kugler said. “That’s the only way that I knew I could go online, but I’ve talked to people about it and they don’t really know about the option. It’s not that it’s hard to go online, it wasn’t very obvious that it was an option if that makes sense.”

Principal Barbara McCormick confirmed that the school did not offer a virtual option to the student body at large, but that they did make sure immunocompromised students were accommodated.

Hybrid, Virtual, or Completely Online

73.3 % said Hybrid 14.9% said Completely inperson 11.9% said completely online

Completely Online In the name of tradition" is not a good reason to open schools. The world would go back to normal more quickly if everyone would just stay home for the fall semester.

-Kya Vulgamott, class of 2022

Kugler says her experience as a virtual student so far has been mixed, but it has improved significantly since more people have joined the virtual classroom during hybrid learning.

“It’s harder to forget about students online if there’s like five of them than if there’s one,” Kugler said. “Now that [the teachers] have become more accustomed to it and it’s more people online, they pay more attention to us when we have questions so it’s a lot better.

Definitely.”

English teacher Kelly Finn has found that teaching virtually is much easier now than it was in the spring because she was able to prepare for this semester and make a virtual learning plan ahead of time.

“I think teachers were allowed to kind of process it over the summer and say, ‘Okay, what are the best practices and what do I want students to sort of get out of this experience?’”

Finn said. “So I think that the quality of teaching only increased.”

The biggest challenge Finn has faced so far is teaching a mix of in-person and virtual students in the same class.

“You’re trying to meet the needs of your students in dramatically different environments,” Finn said. “You’ve got your students in-person and technology limitations kind of prevent you from, you know, walking away from your computer. I know that we’re trying to look into some different technology solutions for trying to engage the people who are studying virtually so they can sort of hear better and feel like they’re more present, but I will say that that is the most challenging of the environments because as a teacher, I set really high expectations for myself, and if I feel like I’m not meeting the needs of one of those environments 100%, that’s a struggle.”

In contrast to STA’s reopening plan, Shawnee Mission School District started virtual school Sept. 13. While coming up with a plan for the year, SMSD consulted parents, students and teachers about their preferences for online or in-person learning. While gathering this information, SMSD director of communications David Smith found that the community was very divided.

“We have a strong component of folks who want one thing and a strong component that want another,” Smith said. “So knowing that those groups were polarized, it was clear to us, it didn’t matter what we did. Anything we did would segment the community terribly. It was the worst thing in the world to do.”

Despite current grim conditions, Smith is optimistic about the idea of sending students back to school later in the semester.

“It’s our hope and desire, and you know one of the things that we don’t control but, we wish with all our hearts and minds that the community would take seriously all of the precautions, including wearing masks and social distancing and not having gatherings of kids or adults,” Smith said. “All of those things, so that we might be able to begin bringing our kids back in a hybrid environment within the next month or so.”

As of Sept. 9, SMSD now plans to start transitioning into hybrid learning for elementary students Oct. 5 and have those students be fully in-person by Oct. 23. Middle and high school students will remain remote for the foreseeable future.

In contrast to the SMSD plan, President Shane Foster of the Barstow School has been facilitating in-person learning since Aug. 20. The

Pre-K through 12 grade institution is offering three options to parents.

“One is a come to school every day, the second option is a hybrid option… Our hybrid option is: you can come to school in the morning, you can come to school for an hour, and then you can choose to go home” Foster said. “The third option we have is a full stay home option, and we have some students who are doing that. But again, our option is you don’t have to sign up for one or the other, you can come any day.”

Foster feels that Barstow is ahead of the game on their virtual education style. As a school that conducts learning internationally, they adapted to online learning platforms long before the pandemic.

“We’ve been doing online learning since 2011… so, and I hate to say this in a bragging way, we’re pretty good at it because we’ve had a lot of practice,” Foster said.

Years of preparation opened up new technological opportunities to enhance virtual learning. A device unique to Barstow is the Swivel, which is used to create an in-person classroom experience virtually.

“Basically you just set an iPad straight into it, you have a little device which is no bigger than an Apple TV remote and it just sits on your neck and it tracks you around the room wherever you go and the Swivel moves around,” Foster said.

“So you could be at home right now, Zooming into your lesson, and as the teacher is moving around, or she can give the swivel key to a group, and then you’re riding with them.”

Although Foster believes his school is as prepared as they can be during this time, he recognizes the value of connecting locally to discuss health concerns.

“We’re tracking all of the information in Johnson County and Jackson County, following not only CDC guidelines, but also Children’s Mercy because you know while Kansas City’s got a reasonably large population, we’re not New York City, and we’re not Atlanta, and we’re not Chicago,” Foster said. “It was more important for us to look at what somebody like Children’s Mercy was telling us to

do because they’re not only following protocols from CDC, they’re also local.”

Diving into a local health perspective, Dr. Marvia Jones is the violence prevention and Policy Manager at the Kansas City Health Department. Her additional role during this time has been to help develop policy guidelines for reopening during the pandemic response, which she fully recognizes a wide spectrum of needs that must be met.

“I see that we are in a position where everyone is trying to best meet the needs of

“ What happens in the schools reflects what’s going on in the community DR. MARVIA JONES

Senior Isabel Mayer sits in the Commons working on her computer during her eighth period free Aug. 28. Many senior privileges this year have been taken away due to the precautions for COVID-19.

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SEPTEMBER 18, 2020

multiple stakeholders,” Jones said. “I know those stakeholders include students, it also includes, obviously, our community, parents, as well as teachers and other staff… A lot of the schools have been really trying to figure out how to do this safely and meet all of the different needs... I believe that people have been sincerely seeking out data and guidance around the issue.”

Specifically with the issues of schools reopening, Jones believes that there is no one catch-all solution.

“All schools don’t serve all the same students, and we know that there is some nuance in the risk levels of different students,” Jones said. “It is very difficult to give a broad statement about whether all schools should be open or closed, that has been a difficult process, because we do believe that there are measures that can be taken to make any school safer. But if the community transmission in the community is not under control in certain aspects, that will minimize some of the effects taken within the school environment.”

The process of schools reopening acts as an experiment of normalcy—what it will take to proceed with life as it once was. But this can only be achieved through following sanitation techniques religiously.

“What happens in the schools reflects what’s going on in the community,” Jones said. “It is not so much that the school has anything magical about it that creates transmission; it’s that people are already infected, and they are bringing it into the school because of their own day to day engagement. So just continuing to speak to some of those core recommendations about, of course, hand washing, but also just being more consistent in wearing masks when we’re around other people, avoiding crowds. That doesn’t sound fun or sexy, but that’s the basics.”

Alicia Kotarba, the president of

DESIGNED BY CLAIRE SMITH

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Notre Dame de Sion junior Mia Eakins sits in front of her school’s sign while wearing a mask Aug. 26. Students attending Sion have recently gone back to school with precautions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Notre Dame de Sion, like Barstow has reopened school in full. But as Jones stated, cracking down on the spread of the virus does not strictly rely on schools’ precautions.

“We’re controlling the spread within the walls of the school,” Kotarba said. “But really what’s going to impact our ability to stay in school is what people are doing outside of school and on the weekends and how they’re following social distancing guidelines.”

Kotarba recognizes the importance of maintaining close connections through the community during this time. However, daily there’s a looming anxiety about what could happen during this unprecedented time.

“I think every day I have concerns and anxieties about this,” Kotarba said. “I just kept coming back to this idea of ‘don’t lose who we are, stay true to Sion’ as we think about the planning of this. So to me, that means a connected, close community and keeping with our traditions, so we’re big on traditions, as I’m sure you all are.”

STA and Sion have more in common than traditions, however. Kotarba and Dr. Siabhan May-Washington have been in discussion for months on how to handle the pandemic.

“All of the area independent schools—the heads of schools and the presidents—typically

would get together once a month for lunch when we are in pre-COVID times,” Kotarba said. “...But given just what an interesting, unprecedented time this all was—and we were all facing such similar challenges—throughout all of this spring and the summer, we actually had weekly Zoom calls with all of us to share different topics that were coming up, sharing resources, align on where the others were at with plans for reopening, just so we could use a peer group to rely on and also better understand what the other schools were thinking.”

Baker says that she, along with McCormick and Dr. May-Washington, also consulted heads of other schools in the area and shared ideas about how to keep students safe.

“It’s a lot of back and forth and trying to make sure that we’re all on the same page, especially during summer school because we were all having camps and academic kinds of things,“ Baker said. “There’s a lot of camaraderie about it because it is something that is so important.”

After six days of in-person learning, STA had to switch to hybrid classes for a two week period until the school’s number of cases dropped to below seven. However, Baker is grateful for any time that students and faculty get to spend on campus, even if it becomes limited in the future.

“I feel like the first week went really well in the sense of kids connecting with their friends and being able to be a bit normal again in the midst of all this craziness,” Baker said. “That is really important to kids for their mental health, their physical health and their spiritual well-being. And once we got through that first weekend, it was like, okay whatever happens happens, but having kids be able to connect with their teacher, especially for freshmen, that’s huge.”

As for Baker’s priorities for the semester, she wants to focus on protecting students’ mental and physical health while maintaining a sense of normalcy whenever possible.

“We’re trying to keep that routine and that normalcy for kids so they have that feeling of, ‘Okay, I know what I’m doing. I got it now.

I’m powerful. I’m empowered,’ to keep people feeling like they’re not spinning,” Baker said. “It’s hard. When you think about normal, and that this is anything but, it’s hard, but if we can keep it somewhat normal, it’s good.” B

SEPTEMBER 18, 2020

20MAIN EDITORIAL The Pandemic Has Offered a New Outlook On Life

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ccording to an article from the New York Post, the average American only gets 43 minutes of “me-time” per day which equates to 5 hours per week. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a surge in stress due to the uncertainty of today’s world; however, it has also given Americans more “me-time” and presented them with a new outlook on their lives.

Trapped at home and living with themselves, many were able to self-reflect on a deeper level than before, prompting a new understanding of identity.

The uncertainties of the future offer opportunities for Americans to become more appreciative of things that would usually just ‘fly over their heads.’ Going to the grocery store or taking a walk around the block are things that are now looked forward to; whereas, in the past, they could have been considered involuntary.

Along with a newfound appreciation for small moments in life, America also developed new ways to stay optimistic.

Taking a break from rigid schedules of work or school resulted in more time for creativity. Alternatives to sports and entertainment were established and the universal ‘boredom’ brought a quarantined country together.

Interesting Engineering came up with a list of twenty-nine ways people are getting creative with their time in quarantine. The list includes everything from ‘window tennis’ to playing tic tac toe with your cat. Someone even invented a new ‘Olympic’ Sport which involves curling with robot cleaners.

Just as people found new ways of entertainment, many struggled through a new outlook on unemployment and what it means for families. Many Americans lost their jobs and were forced into the impending search for income during isolation. An article in the New York Times states that there have been a total of thirty-six million unemployment claims in the past month alone. With more people becoming unemployed,

many Americans are being forced to spend more time with their families For some, this helped strengthen relationships between immediate family members, creating a stronger connection between them. For others; however, this tight-knit living has amplified ordinary household challenges. Homes can become chaotic when each family member is trying to take care of their own tasks.

The perception of time has been one of the major factors affecting America’s view of the new pandemic infused world. Time spent together has either strengthened or defused connections between families and couples. On the other hand, the pandemic has induced self-reflection that re-established our “me time” and led to a flow of creativity.

Ultimately, the pandemic has brought forth new thoughts, opinions, and perspectives of the world. B

RIGHT ON TARGET Junior Annie Niemuth “It’s showed me that we all have to work together by social distancing and wearing masks if we want to beat COVID-19. Everyone has to do their part.”

Senior Jacki Flower-Carrothers “Quarantine has been hard for everyone in one way or another, it has shown who your true friends are. Those that really care about you will find ways to safely stay connected, and will go out of their way to shw you that”

DESIGNED BY BECCA SPEIER

Mask up: our lives are worth more than political views

PERSPECTIVES

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In the world of Coronavirus, we need to separate our political viewpoints from verifiable scientific fact.

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crolling through my TikTok “For You” page, I sigh to myself. You never should have downloaded this app, I think. Now you’re addicted, and it’s a distraction. But I continue to scroll anyways for a few more minutes, before stopping in shock to watch a video of a woman screaming at a store clerk. While I don’t remember exactly what she said, it was something along the lines of, “I don’t have to wear a mask!

That’s my right in the Constitution.”

I was shocked. Over the course of quarantine, this has not been the only video I have seen of individuals behaving like this.

Every time I see one, the same two thoughts always cross my mind: When did it become acceptable to risk another’s life just to avoid a mild inconvenience? And when did scientific fact become synonymous with political opinion?

Over the last few years, I have seen other similar instances arise in U.S. politics. When discussing climate change, I have heard someone exclaim, “That’s just a liberal conspiracy!” Or when reading an opinion piece from an antivaxxer, I have heard, “Vaccines cause autism, I don’t have to vaccinate my child.” These instances make me incredibly frustrated, and I wonder why something that is proven scientifically is being considered a political issue. It seems to me that our country has become so polarized politically that we have begun to confuse political opinion with basic scientific fact. Instead of believing science, some are choosing instead to follow the

“opinions” of their political leaders, which could potentially be very harmful.

It is an indisputable fact that masks protect against COVID-19. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, wearing a mask protects you and those around you from COVID-19. It is worth the mild inconvenience of having to breathe in recycled air for a few minutes or having your glasses fog up occasionally when you are in a store if it means protecting yourself and others. The lives of atrisk populations, including the elderly and the immunocompromised are not a political opinion.

Everyone deserves the right to live a healthy life, and our political beliefs should not interfere with that.

Seeing how our country has reacted to the pandemic has made me extremely disappointed. For me personally, it almost seems like our government is making a mockery of a serious issue, and I have been horrified to see how certain government officials have responded to the pandemic. It has become a political issue when it should not be. When I look at the news, all I see is Donald Trump blaming the pandemic on liberals or his representatives arguing with reporters over scientific fact. People are losing their lives to this disease. It is a real, tangible, scientific issue, but it is being treated as a political one instead.

This pandemic could never have been completely avoided, but its effects could have

been less extreme, had we ignored our own political bias and followed the examples of other countries. For example, according to Time, as of August, Singapore had only seven COVID-19 related deaths. The article believes that this is the result of quick action, including closing borders and contact tracing. The U.S. has not been as effective in their response, generating a far larger number of deaths.

In my opinion, we have gone through too much to still be treating COVID-19 as we are. As of Sept. 11, there have been almost 200,000 deaths in the United States alone due to coronavirus, and that number continues to rise. For now, we all need to set our biases aside. This pandemic, along with so many other issues in our world today, is not a matter of opinion. It is not a matter of political belief or affiliation. It is an urgent crisis, and we need to come together and solve this problem. We need to acknowledge the facts and let go of our stubbornness to truly resolve what plagues our country today. B

SEPTEMBER 18

22 PERSPECTIVES Hamilton does not glorify enslaved people’s owners “Hamilton”, the renowned musical released on Disney+ July 3, does not romanticize slave owners, but rather justly illuminates the founding fathers’ complex legacies.

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s the date inched closer to July 3, 2020, I became more and more excited for “Hamilton” to be released on Disney+. I had seen it the previous summer and was anxiously anticipating being able to watch it again, and again, and again.

However, I began to see the media buzz about “Hamilton.” Amidst civil unrest due to America’s recognition of corruption in the police system as well as systemic racism, Black Lives Matter protestors began to topple statues. Namely, in Portland, Oregon, B.L.M. protestors tore down statues of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, both prominent characters in “Hamilton”. Like thousands of other Americans, I began to question, is “Hamilton” glorifying enslaved peoples owners?

After watching Hamilton again and reading interviews by the musical’s creator, Lin Manuel Miranda, I have come to the conclusion that Hamilton does not glorify enslaved peoples owners. Like most historical figures, the characters in Hamilton positively contributed to the birth of our nation, but also perpetuated social injustices, like racism and slavery. The musical does justice to the complexity of historical figures by pointing out their achievements, while acknowledging their many flaws. The musical covers everything from Alexander Hamilton’s

moral failure when he cheats on his wife, to Aaron Burr’s jealousy of Hamilton, to several characters’ inaction about slavery.

Alexander Hamilton, the namesake of the musical, opposed slavery, but rarely spoke out against it. This is perfectly manifested when Hamilton raps in the infamous “Cabinet Battle 1,” “A civics lesson from a slaver, hey neighbor. Your debts are paid cause you don’t pay for labor.” This fiery statement is directed towards Thomas Jefferson, who owned about 175 slaves in his lifetime (Monitcello). However, it is one of Hamilton’s only mentions of slavery, which reflects how Hamilton lived his life: he opposed slavery but remained complicit within the system.

Another important aspect is that Hamilton has a mostly Black, indigenous, and people of color cast. In fact, all of the slave owning characters—Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Aaron Burr, the Schuyler sisters—are played by B.I.P.O.C..

Christopher Jackson, the original George Washington actor, said in a recent interview, “It was a very powerful choice to take the idea of these men and present them through the bodies and vessels of Black and brown actors.

It represents the fact that our role in building this country has never truly been acknowledged, and I think it opened up the audiences’ minds to

the spirit of what these men meant, even if they were woefully incapable of living it out in their own experiences.”

(Indiewire). Other Hamilton actors and actresses have echoed this sentiment, and view the casting in the musical as a way for BIPOC to stake a claim in American’s early history, a claim that has been largely ignored by history books and historians.

The final song of Hamilton, “Who lives, who dies, who tells your story,” perfectly encapsulates the complicated legacy that America’s founding fathers and other prominent figures have left. Eliza Hamilton, Alexander’s wife, is responsible for keeping Alexander’s legacy alive.

She sings, “Who keeps your flame?

Who tells your story?” In fact, Eliza Hamilton collected Alexander’s letters and documents for nearly 50 years after his death. The book “Alexander Hamilton,” a main inspiration for the musical, relied heavily on Eliza’s saved letters and documents. She did justice to Hamilton’s legacy, acknowledging his flaws and his achievements. I believe that Lin Manuel-Miranda fairly portrayed the founding fathers in Hamilton. Furthermore, Hamilton poses an important point to watchers: the founding fathers were highly flawed individuals, and we can learn about them without glorifying them. b

DESIGNED BY BECCA SPEIER

How One Direction taught me to be excited about forward to the future

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We should strive to be more like One Direction, who knew sometimes change is for the better.

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f you are like me — and dare I say most 10 year old girls—then you may have gone through a One Direction phase anywhere between 2010-2020.

If you did not, then first of all I am sorry and second of all I’ll give you the rundown. It was composed of five boys, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Zayn Malik, who were brought together by the X-factor in 2010 but sadly broke up in 2015. Since then, all five have produced their own music and have been fully embraced by the public as individual artists.

The peak of my 1D devotion was around 2014 and even though I fell out of it for awhile, I recently reverted back to my fourth grade self this summer before their 10 year anniversary. If anything, I love them even more than I did when I was 10, probably because social media is much more accessible to me now. One glance at my Tik Tok ‘for you page’ and it is very evident I am one of their biggest fans.

However, as I mentioned earlier, they are not currently together as a band. As a lifelong fan, this is upsetting, and I know I’m not the only one who has wished, on multiple occasions, they would reunite and take the music world by storm again.

So it may come as a surprise when I say I ultimately think they are

better off going their separate ways, and getting back together may be a mistake.

Obviously, I would be extremely excited if they DID reunite, and pay any amount of money to attend a concert, but that’s just my strange personal attachment to them talking.

They split at the peak of their career, at the end of a stadium tour and after releasing a chart-topping fifth album. So why did they decide to go on a break? Harry Styles said in an interview he didn’t want to exhaust the fan base, and that “if you’re shortsighted, you can think ‘lets keep touring’ but we all thought too much of the band to let that happen.”

Styles makes a great point which I think can be translated to various parts of our lives—that just because something is good doesn’t mean it needs to last forever. Sometimes things, people, experiences, etc. are brought into our life for the sole reason of helping us through a certain time period, and then we must let them go.

Oftentimes people, especially now, look back to a time period in their life that they see as different or fun and grow bitter because their life now just isn’t the same. But what does being bitter accomplish? Shouldn’t we celebrate the good memories we have simply because we have them instead of putting all our energy into being sad

they are over?

I think a lot of us at STA look back to the way things used to be before everything “went downhill” (as one of my classmates put it) and get sad remembering all we have missed out on this year. But amid all of this craziness, there’s been some hidden treasures along the way. Every single person I know grew as a person in some way this summer, and we are not the same people we were in February.

Just like the members of One Direction grew more as individuals when they started their solo careers, we are learning more about ourselves and growing stronger every day as we navigate everything thrown at us.

Now they are different artists with individual styles, yet they are no less the same amazing people. They have grown for the better, and it would be quite strange if they kept trying to be the same people they were 10 years ago.

Life changes every day, and we shouldn’t constantly be trying to stay the same and do things as we used to in an attempt to recreate experiences.

Move forward, grow and simply be grateful for all the experiences and people that come your way. Because in the long run, you don’t want to waste your life wishing you were in the past, because before long your whole future has been ruined. B

24 SPORTS FEATURE

SEPTEMBER 18, 2020

Isolated Athletics During the pandemic, school spirit has changed drastically, as safety precautions prevent spectators from attending events.

A

s junior Sydney Swan prepared to start running at a cross country meet Aug. 29, the course was quiet. Instead of seeing her family and friends lining her running path, all she saw was empty space, dotted with a few teammates.

“Especially when you’re running, it’s just nice to have people cheering you on,” Swan said. “It’s encouraging because I mean, you’re running.”

One of the effects of COVID-19 has been that athletics have changed drastically. Teams are taking more precautions, and spectators are no longer allowed into sporting events.

According to Swan, spectators play an important role for runners, so meets, as well as their strategy, have changed.

“We really rely on spectators to get us going,” Swan said. “They tell us when somebody’s behind us, if somebody’s catching up, if we’re good, what place we are, what our time is. And now you have to think about your running a lot more. Think about your pacing. It’s a lot more individual.”

Because of these changes, Spirit Club co-presidents Elise Johnson and Daisy Oxler believe that school spirit will not be as prevalent at STA this year.

“It’s going to be a lot harder because spirit is like the visual representation,” Oxler said. “It’s kind of hard to get in

Story by Carmon Baker | Web Editor

the mood if you’re not there. I feel like it creates an energy being around other people.”

Looking forward, Spirit Club is modifying so that they can continue to generate school spirit during the pandemic.

“I feel like it’s kind of hard because a lot of things for Spirit Club are pretty interactive with pep rallies and going to games,” Johnson said. “So we’ve had meetings, and we’ve talked about still making videos that we do at pep rallies but just sending them out in emails instead.”

Johnson and Oxler hope to build off of the social media presence that Spirit Club started last year to generate school spirit during the pandemic. According to Johnson, it is Spirit Club’s goal to make school spirit more interactive and accessible this year, regardless of whether that happens in person or online.

“We’d have a goal to try and make whatever we do end up doing a pretty interactive thing,” Johnson said. “[We would try to] keep it as normal as we can.”

Swan has noticed an overall change in team morale amidst the change.

“We’re all kind of tired. I feel like a lot of the older girls are just starting to give up a little,” Swan said. “They’re starting to lose a little bit of hope for the

season. They lost their track season and for a lot of the girls that’s their favorite season. They’re concerned for college, they’re concerned for their spot in the team with all these strong freshmen.”

Oxler agrees with Swan, saying that she has seen the mood on campus change, especially among the upperclassmen.

“I’d say right now [the mood is] a little bit down,” Oxler said. “Freshmen don’t really know the normal routine, but I feel like for seniors it’s a little down because it’s just not normal, or we’ve missed out on a lot of stuff.”

In addition, many of the cross country seniors were quarantined during their first meet, which, according to Swan, was also difficult for the team.

“When we found out that they were going to quarantine most of our seniors, that was heartbreaking,” Swan said. “I feel like a lot of people are just waiting for their turn to be quarantined.”

Despite the pandemic, Johnson is still looking forward to her senior year in Spirit Club and hopes to have a good year.

“The past three years I’ve been looking up to the seniors and it’s kind of exciting to finally be them,” Johnson B said.

Check out the full story on DNO

DESIGNED BY CARMON BAKER

SPORTS UPDATES

25

What you missed in sports.....

National Sports News Fantasy Football 2020 The fantasy football season has officially begun. The season started Thursday, Sep.10 in the midst of a new and pandemic riddled football season. As always, ESPN has compiled fantasy football cheat sheets, mock drafts and projections for the season.

The San Francisco 49ers standing on the Levi’s Stadium field during the pregame BLM program portion of the season opener Sunday Sep. 13. photo courtesy of Tribune News service

Head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich, stands as the players, staff, and Sacramento Kings kneel around the Vista Athletic Center’s Black Lives Matter logo recently added to the court before a game at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex July 31. photo courtesy of Tribune News Service

Survey finds that public support for sports declines as BLM protests and pandemic prolong According to a Gallup poll conducted last month, it found that “Americans who have a positive view of sports dropped from 45 percent positive in August 2019 to 30 percent” August 2020. This drop in a positive view of sports is in correlation with the rising number of BLM protests among national sports teams such as the NBA and NFL. College trainers are reporting coaches are not fully complying with COVID-19 protocols ESPN reported that The National Athletic Trainers’ Association recently conducted a survey that concluded “about a third of college athletic trainers said their athletes were fully following COVID-19 safety protocols, and less than half reported that coaches and staff were in full compliance.” Overall, there appears to be a good mix of both coaches and athletes that are “somewhat” following the safety measures.

Athlete of the issue

Brynne Mcghie

University of Kansas volleyball player, Riley Foltz — position outside hitter — in the midst of spiking the ball during a game. photo courtesy of @ kuvolleyball

Coming up SEPTEMBER

SEPTEMBER

JV and Varsity Tennis Matches vs.

Lee’s Summit West at the Plaza Tennis Center at 3 p.m.

Varsity softball game at Plattsburg at 4:30 p.m.

21

22

MARCH

24

JV and Varsity cross country meet at Swope Park at 3:30 p.m.

Brynne Mcghie enters her second year at STA as the starting setter for the volleyball team. “The environment makes me feel like I’m a part of something bigger than just my team. It’s definitely something anyone should get to experience,” Mcghie said. Her women, as she calls her teammates, are some of the most hardworking and genuine people she knows. Brynne is driven by her teammates and their work ethic, and takes that motivation onto the court every time she plays.

DATE

26 COMMUNITY

The Nelson Akins Reopeans

Finding Inspiration At The Nelson During COVID-19

The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art has brought art lovers together for years. But with Covid-19 the Museum has had to stop in its tracks, and has faced a lot of uncertainty as they prepare to open on September 12. camp counselors. Unfortunately with this another dance and other fun events planned Story by Allison Madden|Writer Phosummer, these plans had to come to a halt. for the spring, but all of it was cancelled tos by Syndey Waldron | Design Editor “The Teen Program hasn’t done anything due to the pandemic… Not only are these big to keep teens engaged, but the museum events major for the Teen Council, but they he Nelson Atkins Museum of Art has also hold a place for memories and talents as a whole has put out virtual tours on inspired young minds in the Kansas to be shared amongst teens… Open Mics, YouTube,” Roddy said.

City area with community teen This spring and summer was going to be were a once-a-month event we did to create activities year round. But with COVID-19, big for the Teen Council too. This summer space for creative expression and acceptance the museum had to close its doors to the for teens who often feel silenced… it’s public on March 13 of 2020.The Nelson been really hard to not be at the museum, and it’s programs have attempted to keep especially in the summer. Our teen in contact with the community, but have community has been a wonderful safe struggled in doing so. Elie Roddy is a part space for me, and I’ve missed that a lot.” of the Teen Council at the Nelson, so her Roddy said. summer was impacted by the changes, and The Teen Council faces a lot of tells about what her summer has looked uncertainty too. With these big summer like since the outbreak. plans being cancelled the Teen Council “Previously, I attended biweekly was left unsure of meetings at the museum, but since how to engage with Senior Ellie Roddy the COVID-19 outbreak, we have the community, and met a few times over Zoom to with each other too. discuss the future of teen “I miss all my programs,” Roddy said.

Teen Guide pals and The Teen Council all the wacky kids was going to have open mic nights, works year-round at the that we have given a formal ball, and Shuttlerock, a Nelson and oversees all the tours.

We still don’t Battle of the Bands concert to support teen programs including teen know if there will be local bands in Kansas City. workshops and the teen guide any Teen Programs “This winter, we also held a large, summer program. Typically, the teen for this school year, or masquerade themed ball that was very programs provide events and jobs that will even be a council,” popular. We had over 700 attendants, and if there allow teens to fill in their summer such Roddy said. were very proud,” Roddy said. “We had as teen tour guides and Nelson summer Brent Bellew, is Elie Roddy’s manager for

T

“

“I miss all my Teen Guide

pals and all the wacky kids that we have given tours.

“

DESIGNED BY SYDNEY WALDRON One of the Shuttlecocks on the lawn at the Nelson Adkins Aug. 29.

These sculptures were a generous gift from the Sosland family and were completed in 1994. photo by Sydney Waldron

the Teen Programs. He oversees their New Dimensions teen workshops, the museum’s Teen Council, and the Teen Guide summer program.

“It’s certainly been different,” Bellew said. “When we first left in mid-March, the assumption, like many had at the time, was that we’d be back in the office within a few weeks… For me specifically, it’s been difficult because so much of my job normally involves actively running programs inperson.” Bellew said.

The programs held at the Nelson have found it hard to stay in touch with the community.

Normally, the Teen Council’s programs are physical and inperson events, and what makes it special is the atmosphere that comes with being at the museum.

“We have our social media platforms, but they’re limited in how much they can do. For instance, a lot of programs focus on interactions between event attendees, such as our Open Mic Nights,” Bellew said. Since these events are very in-person based, the connection to other teens just isn’t the same virtually.

But, luckily these programs don’t plan to stop.

We have some new ideas that we’re working on, but it’s all experimental right now because this is uncharted territory for us,” Bellew said. “We spent a long time focusing on inperson interaction, so we’re trying to create these new virtual opportunities for our community to stay in touch with the museum and our Teen Council.”

Christian Alldredge works under Brent Bellew and aside Elie Roddy as a part of the Teen Guides program. Additionally,

Christian frequents Teen Council activities that include the Open Mic Nights. There, he performs his original music, and cheers on his peers as they perform too.

“I was at the Nelson at least one night a month for their Teen Council events, namely the Open Mic Nights, in which I would debut new music to a really warm, inviting, and accepting crowd of talented musicians, poets, and otherperformance

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, closed since March 14 due to COVID-19

artists.”

Christian says.

Christian’s involvement in the Teen Guides program began in the summer of 2019, he and other teens that were a part of this program worked every day over the summer giving tours around Nelson.

These tours were for kids who attended the many summer camps held at the Nelson.

“Teen Guides is a summer job, in which we’re giving tours of the Nelson’s sculpture garden, and tours of the Anita B. Gorman

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Mo opens Sep. 12

Community

27

Discovery Center Grounds. The Discovery Center has partnered with the Nelson’s Teen Guide program for many years,” Christian says.

With the Teen Council programs being shut down, Christian reminisces about the activities and events that he and many others were going to attend this summer. He talks fondly of these activities and events saying, “ I miss many of Teen Guide opportunities, which would’ve included things like giving tours of the Sculpture Garden on the Nelson’s lawn, working events like the Shuttlerock Battle of the Bands, and enriching kids summers through education and intersection of art and nature, which is what the Teen Guide Program strives to do.”

Alldredge remarks. He plans on attending Teen Council program events, and hopefully being employed through the Teen Council program as soon as it is up and running again which is soon to be determined.

In preparation to reopen on September 12th, the Museum has created a “Frequently Asked Questions” page on their website, nelson-atkins.org. This page covers their new policies such as the museum remains free, but timed tickets are mandatory to ensure social distancing requirements.

Masks are also required in the museum and hand sanitizer stations have been placed all over the Nelson as well. Additionally, the museum has a frequent cleaning of all surfaces and spaces. With all this preparation the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art is ready to re-open their doors and continue to inspire the creative minds of Kansas City.

28

LAST LOOK

SEPTEMBER 18, 2020

quarantine-friendly Parks are a great place to meet with friends and family and they are even better for social distancing. These parks are some of STA student’s favorite parks to go to. Information courtesy of KCParks.org, Leawood.org, and Meadowbrookpark.com Coverage by Lauren Brackney | Twitter Editor

Leawood city park 10601 Lee Blvd, Leawood, KS 66206

Leawood City Park has several amenities for nearly every sport. There are basketball courts, tennis courts, baseball fields, soccer fields and a 2.5 mile trail for walking and jogging. This park is perfect for working out or playing games with friends and family members.

Also, shelters and wide open space can be used for picnicing and gathering - 6 feet apart of course.

Loose Park

5200 Wornall Rd, Kansas City, MO 64112 Loose Park is 74 acres of land with many features. The open land has plenty of space and shade for a social distance picnic or gathering with friends. The park also had two trails, ranging from 1.04 miles to 1.16 miles, perfect for getting out of the house and some exercise or walking a family pet. There is also a rose garden and duck pond that are fun to walk around and admire nature. Over 82% of the polled STA community visited Loose Park over quarantine.

29

DESIGNED BY LAUREN BRACKNEY

Meadowbrook Park 9101 Nall Ave, Prairie Village, KS 66207

Meadowbrook Park would be great to visit with friends or younger siblings because of the many amenities that it offers for all ages. The park was formerly part of the Meadowbrook Country Club but was redesigned into an 80 acres park of land featuring several playgrounds and pavilions that have been curated specifically for gathering. The grand pavilion can seat up to 120 people regularly, although that number is expected to be reduced due to the pandemic. Trails that go around the several ponds provide scenic exercise opportunities and there are pickleball courts for playing with friends.

Swope Park

3999 Swope Pkwy & E Meyer Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64132

SW

PE

Kansas City

Another park is Kansas City’s largest park, Swope Park.

This park is 1,805 acres of land and has over a dozen features that are sure to ease quarantine boredom.

Kansas City Zoo, Starlight Theatre, and the Lakeside Nature Center are just three of the more well known features, all of which are still open. There are several walking trails and even an off leash dog park. With so many features at Swope Park, you can visit it multiple times and find something new each time to explore.

Nearly 25% of the 125 students polled visited this park over their quarantine.

Most visited Parks

Students were asked which parks they visited over quarantine. Information is out of 125 responses.

Alternative coverage compiled by Lauren Brackney | Twitter Editor

82%

of students polled visited Loose Park over quarantine.

17%

29%

of students polled visited Swope Park over quarantine.

of students polled visited Leawood City Park over quarantine.

8%

of students polled visited Meadowbrook Park over quarantine.

SEPTEMBER 18, 2020

30 PHOTO ESSAY

A vintage Magnavox computer is on display along with a rotary phone and various other trinkets.

The items in this store come from over 40 dealers that sell their findings through Urban Mining each month.

Welcome to

A patron checks out a vintage book on display Sept. 3. The store originally opened in 2006 as an eclectic antique store that combines modern style with vintage treasures.

Urban Mining is an iconic Kansas City antique store that is only open the weekend of First Fridays. The store is known for combining retro style with modern design elements.

Photos by Rachel Robinson | Editor-in-Chief

A store employee examines a display and rearranges misplaced items Sept. 3. In addition to art, the store also sells vintage jewelry, furniture, clothing, books and much more.

A printed poster of singer Elvis Presley hangs with a spotlight illuminating it Sept. 3. When London bought the store, she decided to focus on modern and mid century art.

31 THE DART/DNO STAFF 2019-2020 EDITORS-IN- CHIEF COPY Claire Smith, Rachel Robinson

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Design Editor Sydney Waldron

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Rebecca Speier, Claire Smith, Rachel Robinson, Sydney Waldron, Sophia Rall, Lauren Brackney, , Carmon Baker, Sydney Allen, Grace Ashley

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Sports Editors

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Staff Writers Ellie Buttell

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Web Editor

Carmon Baker

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