Devils' Advocate November 2017

What goes into that perfect ACT score? p.14

HINSDALE CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOl-HINSDALE, ILLINOIS-VOLUME 90-NOVEMBER 2017

photo by Caroline Bowater

Contents

Features 12

Knolls Explosion

Meet the father that became a local hero after saving a life

Standardized Success Explore the work (and money) that goes into students’ ideal test score

Undercover News

14

20

Fake news is not limited to politicians, it also is found within school

Unhappy Holidays

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Why the holidays aren’t “happy” for all students

Newsfeed

A&E: Infographic

See page 10 for more details Parent participation day, career cruising, and heart rate monitors - the highlights from the past month

A&E: Trends

See page 24 Ivy by numbers: how many students are applying to high-tier schools

See “What’s Trending” on page 26 Find out what’s trending this month and which holiday shows you should binge over break.

Letter from the Editor

3

Battleground

5

Did the DNC rig the election?

Health & Wholeness

photo by Caroline Bowater

Perspectives

6

How to survive the holidays with fitness in mind

Editorial

9

Clubs that are too selective in their membership fail to influence the student body

Profiles Club Spotlight Tune into the radio station

photo by Nora Wood

Photo Feature

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Special Olympics basketball game through the lens of Nora Wood Contact Info: @hcDevilsAdvo on Twitter & Instagram @devils_advo on Snapchat Adviser: Cherise Lopez, clopez@hinsdale86.org

Front cover photo & design by Jayne Gelman and Alex Choi Correction: In the October Issue, in Claire Lozier’s section of Battleground, the word “constitutionality” was published at the end, when it should have been removed from the final column.

Mission Statement:

Devils’ Advocate strives to provide fair and balanced reporting to its readers by working with students, teachers, and community members. It is a student-run monthly newsmagazine that wishes to inform the student body of Hinsdale Central.

Staff Letter From the Editor

Club Contributors Hannah Ahdab Emma Bauschard Katie Buscher Audrey Carter Catherine Dolan Emily Goggin Nubaira Kabir Elizabeth Litwin Anuna Parvateni Keshav Sanghani Jenny Witt

Minna Hassaballa Editor-in-Chief

Juliana Mayer Managing Editor

Alex Choi Business Editor

Jayne Gelman Design Editor

Adam DeDobbelaere Design Editor

Julia Baroni Illustrator/Copy Editor

Julia Chatterjee Copy Editor

Charlotte Sudduth Trends Editor

Anya Uppal Feature Writer

Clairice Krzysik Photographer

Nora Wood Photographer

Caroline Bowater Photographer

Ed Pletas Designer

Cassie Kruse Columnist

Layo Adelakun Feature Writer

Bilal Khokhar Feature Writer

Lauren Lee Feature Writer

Amanda Bagby Feature Writer

F

rom the PSAT to the SAT and ACT, from AP tests to Subject Matter tests, standardized testing is always lingering in the back of students minds. Though at Central we may be praised for our achievement in these exams, the attention to the work getting to that shiny score is often neglected.

Our reporters dove into how far students go to get their goal score for our cover story this month.

Our infographic pairs well with this feature, showing how many seniors have applied already to different top ranking universities from the ivies to the “hidden” ivies.

Inside the magazine we also have featured a local man who became a hero when he successfully rescued a woman out of the Knolls apartment complex during a fire.

Beyond just the scope of our community, you’ll find a feature on fake news within the community.

We all know problems in the media persist, but sometimes there are other sources at fault.

This is our last issue of 2017 so we hope all our readers have restful winter breaks full of holiday celebrations and return to 2018 ready for the Devils’ Advocate January issue.

Sincerely, Juliana Mayer

Annika Agrawal Feature Writer

Zaina Ahmed Feature Writer 3

4

Battleground

by Sophia Horowicz and Claire Lozier

DONNA BRAZILE: TRUTH OR LIBEL? CONTEXT: Donna Brazile, a prominent strategist within the Democratic party, published an excerpt from her new book to POLITICO on Nov. 2.

In the excerpt, Brazile claims that while she was serving as interim chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from July 2016 to February 2017, she discovered that the Clinton campaign had signed a financial agreement in 2015 to pay off the DNC’s debt. Because of this agreement, Brazile accused Clinton of rigging the 2016 Democratic primary. Because of Brazile’s involvement with both the Clinton and Sanders campaigns, both parties have voiced concern regarding the the merit of and motivation behind her claims.

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his is not the first time Donna Brazile has made up allegations. In 1988, while working the Dukakis presidential campaign, Brazile lost her job after telling reporters that GOP nominee George H.W. Bush was leading a racist campaign and urging them to follow unproven rumors of an affair. Years later, CNN accused Brazile, who was then working as a CNN election analyst, of favoring Clinton by giving her advance warning of the questions to be asked during debates. After Brazile resigned from the network in 2016, a CNN spokeswoman said the network was “completely uncomfortable with what [they had] learned about her interactions while [Brazile] was a CNN contributor.”

Now, a year after the shocking democratic loss, Brazile is launching more unfounded rumors and receiving a fine amount of money while doing so. In 2016, following the Obama campaigns, the democratic party was in massive debt. As Brazile states, the DNC reached out to the Clinton campaign with a financial agreement, which they accepted to revive the DNC’s dying funds.

However, what Brazile conveniently leaves out is that this same agreement was brought to Bernie Sanders. As Robby Mook, former Clinton campaign manager explains, “we as the Clinton campaign acknowledge that other campaigns were welcome to […] an agreement with the DNC of their own.”

The L.A. Times also reported that the Sanders campaign was offered a similar financial agreement, but refused to help. Sanders himself has avoided admitting to this “political gossip.” Instead, he sticks to vague statements about the need for a “fair and transparent political process,” neither confirming nor denying Mook’s claims.

Brazile also purports that, while serving as DNC chair, she devised plans to replace Hillary Clinton with Joe Biden- even after American voters chose Clinton in the Democratic primaries. Yet Brazile did not have this power.

As chair, Brazile could have begun a convoluted consideration process, but she was unable, as she claimed, to remove Clinton from the ticket. The Clinton campaign was appalled by this deceit, and on Nov. 4, more than 100 Clinton aides signed an open letter expressing their shock that Brazile had contemplated “overturning the will of Democratic voters.”

Brazile’s allegations are sensationalized and false. After years of flagrant power plays and unauthorized manipulations, Donna Brazile is once again trying to instill fear and anger into American politics. Now, each of us must decide if she will succeed.

SH Perspectives

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et’s get one thing out in the open: Donna Brazile is trying to promote her new book. Why else would she reveal the fracture within her own party? But, promoting a new book doesn’t drive someone to libel; it drives someone to reveal the hard truth. And revealing the hard truth has merit.

Brazile states that the financial agreement between the DNC and the Clinton campaign “specified that in exchange for raising money and investing in the DNC, Hillary would control the party’s finances, strategy, and all the money raised...The DNC also was required to consult with the campaign about all other staffing, budgeting, data, analytics, and mailings.” This agreement was signed in August 2015, about a year before Hillary even secured the party’s nomination. Brazile rightly states that this agreement “compromised the party’s integrity.” How could the primary have been fair if the Clinton campaign controlled the very vehicle that nominated her?

It makes perfect sense for Brazile to act as a whistleblower a year after the election, because it’s also an opportunity for her to rehabilitate her own name. During the 2016 Democratic primary, while Brazile worked as a CNN political analyst, she was accused of favoring Hillary over Bernie Sanders. And, after the Russians hacked the DNC and fed emails to WikiLeaks, it was revealed that Brazile had used her CNN position to share potential Democratic primary debate questions with the Clinton campaign. Amid the controversy, she was forced to resign from CNN. So it’s clear that Brazile went out on a limb for Hillary. But it’s also clear that Brazile now wants to distance herself from Hillary because she sees her failed campaign as a drag on an increasingly-progressive Democratic party.

In the excerpt, she describes her emotions after informing Bernie before the primary of the “unethical” financial agreement with the Clinton campaign: “When I hung up the call to Bernie, I started to cry, not out of guilt, but out of anger. We would go forward. We had to.” She knew she had to support Hillary, who was the old-guard establishment pick and the source of most of the DNC’s funding.

Therefore, Brazile’s claims have merit in light of her objectives to rehabilitate her own name and to distance the Democratic party from Hillary Clinton, who seems reluctant to go away.

illustration by Julia Baroni

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designed by Jayne Gelman • 5

health & wholeness

by Cassie Kruse

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he holiday season is absolutely my favorite time of the year. Between the glowing lights, festive feelings, and movie classics, I am definitely my happiest self. But for me, one thing is also in the mix, guilt. It always creeps up when I eat one too many of my grandma’s red velvet cookies, (which are absolutely amazing). According to the New York Times there is a stereotype for the holiday season that you overeat and overindulge on the holiday foods, and then feel super guilty afterwards. I’m here to tell you that enjoying yourself during the holiday season is not a bad thing, or something to feel guilty about. In my experience, the guiltier I feel about eating one bad food, the more bad foods I eat. Don’t feel guilty about enjoying yourself this holiday season. If you follow these tips, you will not be set back on your fitness journey.

1. Participate in active festivities Holidays can be about so much more than just food. This year, try getting active. There are a lot of races in the area that you can participate in. For the last two years I have run the Bonfield Express in Downers Grove with my family on Thanksgiving and absolutely loved it. On Thanksgiving there is also the Dan Gibbons Turkey Trot in Elmhurst, the Beat the Bird in Oakbrook, and the Evanston Flying Turkey 5k. If you exercise before eating, you won’t feel as guilty because you just burned off a bunch of calories.

2. Wait on the food item you really want There is always one special food during the holiday season that you just need to eat. For me it

is my grandma’s pecan cinnamon rolls. I wait all year long to be able to eat them on Christmas day, and I would be super sad if I didn’t get to enjoy them. For you it may be a slice of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, or a sugar cookie on Christmas Eve. Whatever it is, wait on it. Don’t snack before your holiday meal, save the calories for your favorite holiday food. This helps you not feel so guilty about eating because you are really just treating yourself.

3. Choose your bird wisely If your family cuts a turkey during the holiday season, you can still enjoy it. According to the New York Times, picking light meat allows you to still eat the meat, while eating fewer calories and less salt. If your family is a chicken family, taking off the

skin also greatly reduces the number of calories and salt that you eat.

4. Eat until you’re satisfied, not stuffed It can be hard to listen to your stomach when you are surrounded by all the amazing holiday foods. But eating until you are full still allows you to eat all the holiday foods without all the extra guilt. I recommend drinking a glass of water before your meal. According to WebMD, drinking a 16 oz. glass of water before a meal helps you not eat as much. Make sure you also take your time.

Eating slower allows your brain to catch up to your stomach, and this helps you realize when you are full sooner. While it is inevitable you will consume more calories on Thanksgiving, not stuffing yourself will not only allow you to eat less, but also not feel as guilty afterwards.

5. Forgive yourself Finally, it is normal to eat more during the holiday season. According to the Huffington Post, the average person gains only about a pound between Halloween and New Years. This is because in order to gain one pound you need to eat an extra five hundred calories every day for one week straight. So, allow yourself to have fun over the holidays, and don’t beat yourself up about it.

As long as you are mindful of what you are putting into your body, you won’t completely derail your fitness journey.

photo by Claroline Bowater

The holidays are an amazing time of the year, so do not let yourself be stressed out about the food you are eating. You are allowed to splurge and eat that piece of pie. It’s a part of the season. Don’t completely lose sight of your fitness goal, but also understand that you can indulge yourself. Have a great, stress free, holiday season.

6 • Perspectives

designed by Jayne Gelman

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HAVE #MONEYGOALS? We’ve got the tips and tricks to being your own money manager. It’s easy to make decisions when you’ve got the right tools.

Work it out Working a part-time job after school or on the weekends is a great way to earn money and become more familiar with the working world. From understanding taxes to learning the value of hard work, it definitely pays off!

MoneyGoals Putting your money in a safe place to save for your college and future is an awesome idea. A great place to do that is your local

bank where you can create an account that’s perfect for you and your goals. It’s exciting to have your own money, but it’s easy to overspend. Sticking to a budget is key so you’re saving more than you’re spending.

With some savings in the bank, you’re on your way to being independent.

Check out a checking account With a student checking account, you can make the choices about what money you keep and what money you use. It’s also great for practicing depositing and withdrawing bank funds. You’ll be a pro in no time!

Budgeting Planning out your savings and spending helps balance your account and is a great way to map out your financial goals. Whether you’re saving part of your paycheck, depositing cash from babysitting or caddying, or withdrawing money to pay back a friend, sticking to a budget keeps you in control.

This plan can help you set and achieve a goal of saving for the future while still having fun.

Now you’ve got the basics. And we’re always here to help. Remember: Ask us anything. No question is the wrong question!

AND, HERE’S A GREAT TOOL TO GET YOU STARTED!

STUDENT CHECKING! Available for students 13 to 25 years of age.

A CARD OF YOUR OWN! If you’re over the age of 13, you can get a debit card of your own today!1

AWESOME TECHNOLOGY!

FREE ATMS!

With our mobile banking app, you’ll have access to:

We’ll refund you up to five times per statement cycle for any out-of-network ATM transactions!3

Online & mobile banking2 | Remote deposit2 Person-to-person payments2 Cardless Cash2 | Online bill pay2 E-statements2 | and more!

HINSDALE’S COMMUNITY BANK 25 E. First St. | Hinsdale, IL 60521 630-323-4404 | www.hinsdalebank.com

1. Overdraft fees may apply. Debit card available to those 13 years of age and over. 2. Third party message, data, and/or internet fees may apply. Use of online Banking is required for access to Mobile/Remote banking and Person-to-Person Payments. Mobile/Internet connectivity is required. Remote Deposit requires an established Checking, Savings or Money Market deposit account for personal, family or household purposes with the Bank for at least 30 days and has had no more than six overdraft occurrences within the past or current calendar year. Person-to-Person Payments requires a Checking account. Cardless Cash requires a checking account and debit card with the bank and is available only at Wintrust Community Bank ATMs. 3. The bank does not charge its customers a monthly card usage fee. No transaction charge at any ATM in the Allpoint, MoneyPass, or Sum surcharge-free networks. Other banks outside the network may impose ATM surcharges at their machines. Up to five (5) surcharge fees assessed by owners of other ATMs outside the network will be reimbursed per statement cycle. Reimbursement does not include the 1.10% International Service fee charged for certain foreign transactions conducted outside the continental United States.

8

Selective and Ineffective

illustration by Julia Baroni

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irst, get recommended by your teachers. Make sure you’re an athlete if you even want to be considered. Then, attend a meeting in the auditorium among the other nominees, around 50 of them, to learn how to apply. Perfect your application over winter break and submit. Next, out of the batch of resumes, be one of the 16, eight boys and eight girls, chosen for an interview. Nail the interview, make it to the final four of your sex, and five to six steps later: you’re in the club.

This is the lengthy application process sophomores go through to be a part of J. Kyle Braid (JKB), a leadership foundation created to foster leadership, social harmony, and action among students to prevent drug and alcohol usage. All sixteen members take an oath to not drink or use drugs in high school.

There are numerous clubs at Central that intend to create a positive, encouraging school environment through their devotion to causes, such as anti-bullying or alcohol and drug use prevention, but they would make a greater difference if their focus shifted to inclusivity rather than their selectivity.

Breaking Down the Walls is a club that strives to prevent bullying at Hinsdale schools through skits and videos. However, it has two branches: red, which is selective, and white, which is open to all students--but it is the issue of having the more selective branch that highlights the limitations of these types of clubs.

“We are looking for students who are already seen as leaders in the school and leaders by their peers,” said Mr. Christopher Wilbur, sponsor of JKB. Mr. Wilbur said that eight students is all the club and the organization can handle per year as a result of external requirements.

It is definitely important to have clubs that identify leaders in the

school, but it should do so in a way that is not perceived as elitist. This is when clubs with good intentions become ineffective, losing the ability to influence peers for the better.

According to a study performed by Dr. Erin Buhs at the University of Nebraska, suffering from feelings of exclusion during the teen years can be detrimental to a student’s participation in school activities, both inside and outside of the classroom.

When students are not allowed to join exclusive clubs, their perspectives of them become hostile and they are driven away from ever listening to the meaningful messages of the clubs. Selective clubs should create helpful experiences for both their members and for students not in the club by immersing themselves within the student body.

JKB exists at ten other high schools in the area, one being Lockport Township High School. At Lockport, 16 students are nominated to apply rather than an indefinite amount like at Central. Out of the 16, four are selected. With the current policy at Central, many more students experience denial, which they have said makes them feel unworthy of being able to contribute to a club’s cause. While JKB at Lockport remains selective, it does not alienate as many students from listening to the club’s message through the application process.

Hosting more events at school or communicating directly with the student body would be more effective for these clubs than decorating a hallway or stamping post-it notes on lockers. Inclusive activities would take the emphasis away from a club’s exclusivity. Evidently, many students want to be a part of selective clubs, so clubs should develop their interest rather than make students feel rejected.

This editorial is the consensus of the Devils’ Advocate editorial board.

Perspectives • 9

Newsfeed Paths to Choose

by Audrey Carter and Nubaira Kabir

T

hroughout the week of Nov. 6, the guidance department directed a series of Career Cruising sessions to help juniors further consider their academic and professional plans.

The Career Cruising program was first introduced to students during their sophomore year. This year, the groups met in the library and the Community Room to review the results of last year’s “Interest Inventory” test.

To expand on the previous year’s questionnaire, the juniors were asked to fill out a skill assessment to narrow down the list of potential careers they were given last year.

“I do enjoy looking at all the choices of careers because they help me see more options in the field I plan to go into,” said Enaya Khan, junior.

Upon receiving this list, students were instructed to research more about a suggested career option by using the program to find information on wages, earnings per state, and the advised college majors necessary to pursue that career.

“I have a general idea of what I want to major in, but I’m not really passionate about it,” said Chloe Chen, junior. “[The quiz] makes it easier for me to know what direction I should go in.”

According to the guidance department, the data from the Career Cruising exercises will be revisited this coming spring as the juniors continue their research in planning conferences.

“There’s so many different fields, just getting an idea for what you would like, whether it’s through this career cruising exercise or shadowing a parent in [their] field can only be beneficial,” said Teresa Marshall, Central guidance counselor.

Hearts Racing

by Emma Bauschard and Catherine Dolan

M

rs. Courtney Wallace, a personal fitness coach and health teacher at Central, implemented heart rate monitors into her three personal fitness classes at the end of October.

The monitors read heart rates through a transmitter that is attached to a chest strap. This data is then transmitted to iPads via Bluetooth, allowing personal fitness students to receive individualized information and feedback about their workouts.

“At this point, [the students] are looking at [the personalized data] as a way to gage how hard they need to work in order to stay in a moderate movement zone,” Mrs. Wallace said.

Mrs. Wallace said that she wants students to aim at participating in moderate to vigorous physical activity because it is the type of exercise that promotes reduced stress, aerobic capacity, maintained weight, and muscle building.

“I can show [my students] their individualized information and then we can go off of that and talk about why they’re in the zone that they’re in and if they might need to up their workout a bit,” Mrs. Wallace said. “Or maybe they’re right where they should be and should keep doing what they’re doing.”

Students have the opportunity to wear the monitors during weight training and on ellipticals, treadmills, spin bikes, and ropes.

According to Mrs. Wallace, the feedback on the new heart rate monitors has been positive. While currently they are only being used systematically in Mrs. Wallace’s Personal Fitness classes, she said that the equipment is open to other physical education course instructors who are interested.

“It’s cool to know how your heart rate changes when you use different equiptment,” said Eugenia Bouchelion, senior and student in Mrs. Wallace’s first period class.

Extra Chairs in Classrooms

by Hannah Ahdab and Sydney Thayer

E

very year Parent Participation day allows parents to shadow their children and see what life as a high schooler is really like. On Nov. 14, parents put on their Parent Participation Day name tags and attended classes along with their kids.

Just like the students, parents file into class and sit in a desk. In the case of Caroline Menza, sophomore, her mom even helped her with her math warm up.

“I wanted my mom to come because I wanted her to see what I was learning about and see what I am like in a classroom environment,” Menza said.

Menza’s mother said she loved being able to see her daughter in a classroom environment and was also impressed by the intellectual and analytical conversations she got to witness in her daughter’s AP European History class.

Elliana Teuscher, sophomore, said she wanted her mother to see a typical day in her life. Her mother sat through a Spanish 3 Honors class despite not knowing Spanish at all.

“I think we bonded today and continued to grow our relationship because we were able to share another experience together,” Elliana Teuscher said.

10 • News

Charlie Johns, senior, and his mother in a phsyics class on Nov. 14..

Jake Griffin, senior, concentrates on a game of video game of strategy.

Club Spotlight

by Amani Mryan and Jenny Witt

are WHSD’s club sponsors. One of Mr. Hipskind’s favorite things about being a WHSD advisor is watching students grow throughout high school as leaders and students.

“Students are passionate about music. [Radio Club] provides them a forum within which to share that passion,” Mr. Hipskind said.

Members have the opportunity to pitch ideas for radio shows, and they get freedom when making music choices, as long as they are school appropriate.

“My music taste definitely broadened last year to a bunch of artists that I’m in love with now,” Sharma said.

Tune in to 88.5 FM to listen to WHSD and talk to Mr. Russo in room 232 or Mr. Hipskind in room 292 for more details.

photo by Emily Goggin

T

he sign above the radio room flashes red, indicating a radio show has just begun. For years, the Radio Club has provided students with shows almost every day of the week. These shows range from comedic and entertaining to serious and topical.

Ambika Sharma and Raabia Sheikh, juniors, began their weekly radio show as a way to find new music, express their opinions, and meet people that they can connect with. Every Thursday at 7 p.m. they join the airwaves on 88.5 FM to play their favorite tunes.

“What I love most about having a radio show is that it’s a break in my week for an hour and a half. I get to just exist and play all the music that I want to hear and share it with people,” Sheikh said.

Mr. Alex Hipskind and Mr. Robert Russo, social studies teachers at Central,

photo by Michaela Malec

Grace Doyle and Marissa Rohan, seniors, have their own show where they broadcast local Chicago bands.

Junior Raabia Sheikh hosts a weekly show on WHSD 88.5 FM.

designed by Jayne Gelman • 11

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Knolls Explosion

by Anya Upal and Layo Adelakun

Student’s father rescues woman from Knolls Apartments fire

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avid Dal Porto, resident of Willowbrook, woke up to a loud boom coming from across his complex.

Instinctively he looked out of his bedroom window, and saw his neighboring apartment in flames. While the fire was not intense, he felt an urge to get up and help.

On Oct. 20., an explosion occurred in the Knolls Condominium community in Willowbrook between 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Police Chief Robert Pavelchik said he believes that the explosion occurred when gasoline was leaked into a sanitary sewer and gasoline fumes made their way into the laundry room on Knollwood Road. When the dryer was started, that source ignited the fumes and the explosion occurred.

“The explosion affected the entire Knolls complex as both electricity and natural gas were turned off to every building,” Chief Pavelchik said.

According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, a Speedway gas station on Cass Avenue had a spill that led to the explosion at Knolls, a fire, and “flashes” in the Flagg Creek sewer system.

There were also several other private residences along 63rd Street near Clarendon Hills Road that were affected because of the gasoline fumes that leaked into their homes.

“When (the woman) started the dryer the door closed behind her and that’s when the explosion happened. It blew a hole in her dining room wall, [blew] out all of the doors on the lower lever, and broke off the outer building’s wood infrastructure, and then the fire began,” Dal Porto said.

Adrenaline pumping, Dal Porto rushed outside of his building towards his neighboring apartment to find his 80 year-old neighbor yelling for help.

“I was relieved that I got her out safely and put the fire out so that no further damage

could have occurred. She is currently doing a lot better, and I’m really happy to know that she is doing better each day in the hospital,” Dal Porto said.

Stephanie Dal Porto, senior and David Dal Porto’s daughter, was in school when the explosion happened. When the school announcement instructed the people living in Knolls to report to the dean’s she said she didn’t think much of it. Once she learned that there had been an explosion she called her parents right away.

The Dal Porto’s were evacuated for one night, but the firemen told them to pack for a

“I have never been involved in such an incident.”

Stephanie Dal Porto minimum of two days away from home.

“I have never been involved in such an incident,” Stephanie Dal Porto said. “It’s one thing to hear others in the nightly news who are involved in fires, explosions, and other catastrophic events, however, once put into my own perspective, I was able to have a much more empathetic viewpoint for those who have been, or even will be affected by similar situations.”

Stephanie Dal Porto did not know that her father had saved the woman until she was going back home from school.

“The fact that one would give their own safety in order to save another in distress is CAUTION extremely remarkable. I am proud to call him my dad,” Stephanie Dal Porto said.

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designed by Jayne Gelman • 13

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by Zaina Ahmed and A

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nd Annika Agrawal

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ilen Spegar, senior, sits down for the fifth time to take the ACT. By now, he knows the proctor’s whole spiel, right down to the exact amount of time allotted for each section.

This time, he knows he’ll get his 34. He’s used Khan Academy, ACT prep books, and online practice tests to prepare. But if he doesn’t, it’s no big deal. He’ll just take it again.

However, many students don’t have this security. At $46 per test, or $62.50 when taken with 0writing, the cost of taking the ACT multiple times can stack up, as it can with the SAT, which comes in at $52.50 a test. Even though taking tests multiple times to better one’s score is a common practice at Central, it’s not an option available to all high school students.

Business Insider ranks Hinsdale as the sixteenth wealthiest suburb in America, based on poverty rate, median income, and median property value. Hinsdale’s poverty rate is less than half of Illinois’ rate, and the suburb has a median income of $162,722 and a median property value of $834,700, both of which are far above state medians of $59,588 and $194,908, according to the U.S. Census. Many students at the school acknowledge that this affluency means that finances are not an issue for them when considering how many standardized tests to take or colleges to apply to.

“My parents are fine with spending the money because they feel college is worth it,” Spegar said.

For those students who cannot afford the price of these tests, there are fee waivers; however, many students may fall in the “gray area” where they do not qualify for the waiver but still cannot afford the price of the tests.

According to U.S. News and World Report, eight percent of Central’s student population is economically disadvantaged.

Central is also ranked seventh in the state, out of 658 high schools. Rankings are based on proficiency in English and math, graduation rate, and college readiness index, which is broken up into the percent of students who take Advanced Placement exams and the percent of those students who pass those exams.

Thomas Graeb, freshman, said he believes it is the quality of education that accounted for Central’s stellar reputation.

“Central has very good teaching and academic instruction,” Graeb said. “It also has a wide range of things I can pursue [such as] sports and extracurriculars.”

16 • Features

About 66 percent of students take an AP test at some point throughout their high school career here. Ninety three percent of those students get a passing score of a 3, 4, or 5, with the average score around 4.0, according to Newsweek. With Central’s catalog of 29 AP classes, there are several students who take multiple AP tests throughout high school, another cost that can add up quickly, as AP tests cost $94 per exam, with the exception of AP Seminar and AP Research, which cost $124 each.

In addition to being able to afford taking multiple standardized tests, depending on household income, some students utilize test prep courses, review books, tutoring services and more resources to improve their scores.

Central’s average ACT score is a 26.8 compared to the national average of 20.8, according to the Illinois Report Card.

For some, improving test scores means seeking out professional tutors or test prep services as well. Francis Taylor, director of Western Springs’ C2 center, a national tutoring company, noted that about half of their clients are Hinsdale Central students. C2, which provides a personalized curriculum to each of its students, offers help with the ACT, the SAT, and every AP course that Central offers.

“Here at C2 last year, 85 percent of our students were accepted to top 50 colleges,” Taylor said.

However, personalized tutoring isn’t free either. Taylor said that of the different packages C2 offers to students, prices range from $99 per hour, where parents can pay by the hour, down to $42 per hour for 500 hours.

The average package bought by parents is the 100 hour package, which at $61 an hour, comes to $6,100.

This combination of higher GPAs and improved test scores gives Central students that use tutoring services an edge when it comes to college applications. The school has a long history of students receiving admission to selective schools, creating a competitive atmosphere among students. In recent years, the rise of an industry known as educational consulting has provided students who can afford these services another chance to get ahead.

Educational consulting is a field designed to help students throughout high school with the ultimate goal of exploring which colleges will help them succeed, and assisting them in the application process. The industry, which currently makes $400 million a year, is growing fast. According to CNBC, a national survey conducted by communications firm

Lipman Hearne found that 26 percent of students scoring in the 75th percentile of the SAT or above, or around 160,000 college applicants, admitted to using an independent educational counselor.

Using a private counselor is not an uncommon practice at Central, where many students target top schools. Ella Pope, junior, is one of these students. “[My family] figured it might be better to get something more one-on-one,” Pope said. “The scholarships, the college advice--they just have everything all together.”

Pope stated that her family pays around $4,000 for the private counseling services, which is slightly below the average price tag for independent counselors. These counselors can range from $50 an hour for a college application essay review, to $150,000, according to New York based educational consulting company IvyWise, which prides itself on getting students into Ivy League schools.

Kevin Krebs, founder of Partners for Achievement, an independent consulting company in Oak Brook Terrace that caters to several Central students, says his company helps in various ways.

“Partners for Achievement looks at [the college admissions process] holistically,” Krebs said. “We help the kids build the best college list possible, enhance their odds of getting in, work with parents to maximize merit aid and scholarships, and help the kids in college graduate in four years with a job.”

Grace DeAngelis, junior, consults a private counselor for many of these reasons, including the possibility that it will give her a better chance in selective college admissions.

“I know that it’s fairly expensive but it’s definitely worth the cost,” DeAngelis said.

On the other hand, some believe that outside college counseling is not necessary.

Mrs. Jennifer Regnier, head of guidance, said that she believes the school counselors are more than adequate.

“It’s personal preference for students, but I feel that the counselors here really focus on college counseling,” Mrs. Regnier said. “We do a lot to guide students through the process.”

The school’s counselors also give Central students an advantage compared to some other high schools. According to the American School Counselor Association, the recommended ratio of counselors to students is 1 to 250. Central’s ratio is about 1 to 220, allowing counselors to provide more in-depth guidance than schools with higher ratios, sometimes going up to 500 students per counselor.

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Central, which receives $84 million annually in property tax revenue alone, employs almost twice as many counselors as the average high school in Illinois with the same number of students. The school can also afford to employ highly educated teachers, 74 percent of whom have Master’s or doctorate degrees in their subject and receive additional stipends for those qualifications, which reflect the district’s value in those higher degrees.

Part of Central’s status as a highly ranked school also comes from athletics; the school won eight IHSA championships in the fall of 2015, setting a new state record. Like academics, student athletes can also use services to improve their performance, giving them a better chance at athletic wins and consequently, scholarships at the colleges they are looking at.

GetFast is one of these performance improving services that many Central athletes use, such as junior Sydney Collignon and sophomore Alaina Hamood, who both play on the girls’ lacrosse team. Lessons can range from $15 to $35 an hour, and average $189 a month. The company focuses on making clients faster, improving their technique, and keeping them off the bench by preventing injury.

“The premise of our training is injury prevention and strengthening,” said Dave Deeves, owner of GetFast. “This gives our athletes a competitive edge.”

Of the students they trained last year, GetFast produced 47 scholarshipped athletes, many of them being Central students. Their work on athletes is designed to give kids an advantage when competing so that recruiters will see them as stand-out athletes.

Whether there is a value in spending money for private counseling or coaching is an opinion that differs from person to person, but most students agree that finances account for some of their success.

“If you have the money for tutoring or private college counseling, you should take advantage of the resources at your disposal,” said Joy Chen, senior. “But all you have to do is take a look at average test scores by income bracket [to see that] rich people do better on standardized tests, and that’s a fact.”

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18 · Photo Feature

Special Olympics Basketball Hinsdale Central’s Special Olympics basketball team competed against the D99 Hoops team on Nov. 15 in the annual matchup.

Freshman Priya Philipneri (right) and Carolyn Wagner (left), junior, get ready to pass before scoring.

photo by Nora Wood

YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT THIS STORY IS ABOUT Students discuss how fake news affects media

by Bilal Khokhar and Lauren Lee

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enior Reagan Brownell nervously rehearses her speech again and again in her head. She is in the state of Alabama for the National Forensic Speech competition. Shakily she looks in front of the room, filled with judges and competitors waiting for her oratory performance to begin. She goes over her speech one last time to remember the little details. She practices a few tongue twisters to get rid of the jitters. Sweating, she steps onto to the stage upon hearing her name. With a calm manner, she starts to speak.

In her speech last June, Brownell explained the ramifications fake news has on media.

According to Politifact, fake news is defined as “fabricated content that intentionally masquerades as news coverage of actual events”.

An article from The New York Times describes how fake news has become more popular because of the past presidential election. The report highlighted how the possible collusion with Russia by President Trump plays a significant role in the popularity of fake news.

Brownell noted in her speech that fake news occurs as something deceptive and described it as when a story can be real, but the facts are false.

Mrs. Sanskruti Patel, a social studies teacher, understands the struggle in trying to find credible sources to give to her students. She finds news stories by comparing headlines with other newspapers. For example, she had her class compare an article from CNN and Fox News, and discussed the differences.

“Casually throwing around the term fake news, doesn’t really address what’s at the heart of it,” Mrs. Patel said.

Post giving her speech, Brownell mentions that she believes that people should be fact20 · Features

checking their news. She highlights that the easy accessibility of the Internet allows anyone to post a fake story online and have it trending on Twitter the next day.

“It’s lame to exploit the most vulnerable of our society, but then it comes down to people being able to recognize [fake news] for themselves,” Brownell said.

Alek Malone, junior, believes in verifying the information with another source. Malone, being on Model U.N., has to find stories weekly. He said he believes fake news creates a significant effect on people, and for this reason news consumers need to be more aware of global issues than focusing directly on problems that only affect themselves. “[In this community], a lot of us, including myself, are a bit self-centered, and end up missing a lot of things that happen in the world,” Malone said.

Brownell finds that people who share articles on social media without checking its information add to the problem of fake news.

In agreement, Malone believes that individuals are the problem; he said people should be skeptical of the news, and fact-check frequently.

Model U.N., a competitive club that assigns their members countries to role play diplomacy, requires students to research for their assigned country to experience international relations.

Malone finds that it takes him five to six articles to verify information to be confident in his research.

“If you are looking at the same source, [you] have to question if you yourself become a bias,” Malone said.

In a study conducted by Devils’ Advocate with a sample size of 195 students, 60.5 percent of respondents said they do not fact check

their news.. According to a survey conducted

by Zignal Lab, 86 percent of people who read articles on social media also do not fact check the information.

Mrs. Patel mentions that fake news has always taken presence in media but under different names.

“If you look back at the Spanish American War, one of the causes was yellow journalism, which was this type of exaggerated news media.

I don’t see a difference [between] that and what we see today,” Mrs. Patel said.

An article from Poynter, explains how people can be more selective about which type of news they want to see. Brownell adds to this idea by explaining how people just want to get away from real-world problems. Malone agrees, adding that he wants people to get out of their comfort zones.

“You have to look at different sources, even though you might not want to,” Brownell said.

In the same Devils’ Advocate study, 67.2 percent of students find that Central does not educate students enough on global matters. The school does have a global issues course and the library media center has a goal of incorporating more international topics. .

“Our goal in [global issues class] is to help kids set a foundation for their understanding of contemporary crises, in hopes that they will not only accurately interpret the news, but to explain why things are going the way they are,” Mrs. Patel said.

The library media center in the past has strived to educate students when it comes to understanding research. For this reason, Mrs. Lauren Otahal and Ms. Leah Giarritano, librarians, worked over the summer to create a four-day media literacy unit for sophomores.

The unit involves discussion, debate, and listening to Ted talks, in the hope that they will help students to avoid the trap of fake news articles. “[Students are] unsure of how to determine [the] credibility of information on what’s real and what’s not,” Ms. Giarritano said. “We are arming students with [this unit] to navigate this new environment that we are living in.”

Malone said he understands how integrating news into classes would be difficult. With how fast information comes out Malone said he believes it would be hard to get news stories that are current. He suggests having students be assigned a story and have a weekly news update.

Brownell said she believes that fake news is an endless cycle that people need to recognize.

“I think as a democracy, the press is one of the pillars of our democratic society,” Mrs. Patel said. “We need both a respectable press that upholds the values of journalism, while we also need respect for the press.”

photo by Clairice Krzysik

21

UNHAPPY HOL Students share their stories on having mental illnesses during the holiday season

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22 • Feature

a mental illness before adulthood, with only 30 percent getting treatment for their depression disorder, according to the Center for Discovery.

While SAD is different than depression, they still have similar causes and symptoms, such as a loss of interest in hobbies and activities. There are many factors that lead to depression and SAD, according to the Mayo Clinic, with some including genetics, changes in hormone levels, and stressful situations. Depression also has physical symptoms such as headaches, sleepiness, and stomach aches. People with SAD have these symptoms as well, but mainly around the season that affects them. “[Students with depression have] trouble concentrating, [are] always tired, feel hopeless, have a hard time sleeping (or sleeping too much), [have] somatic pains, [can] overeat (or loss of appetite), [and have] suicidal thoughts or attempts,” Mrs. Cave said.

Hunter Murphy, junior, was diagnosed with depression three years ago after he experienced physical symptoms that he initially thought were cold symptoms.

“I thought I was physically sick with something because I was like sleeping a lot, but [then the doctor] told me that it was a mental thing,” Murphy said.

With SAD affecting those only during the holiday season, depression may also be triggered by the cheerful atmosphere of November with the start of Thanksgiving, and especially throughout December.

“Around the holiday season it’s harder to look at stuff that’s happening over the season and be positive; you just have a bad feeling overall,” Murphy said.

The expectation for ‘happy holidays’ adds pressure to students who already struggle with depression. In an article for Psychology Today, researchers found that holiday events can sometimes remind people of the “excessive commercialization of Christmas, with the focus on gifts and the emphasis on ‘perfect’ social activities. Others get depressed because Christmas appears to be a trigger to engage in excessive self-reflection and rumination about the inadequacies of life.”

But for some who live with depression, the holiday season acts as a way to see more positive aspects of life and serves as a reminder of

understanding how others feel.

“You never know what anyone’s going through,” said Lily Jimenez, sophomore, who was diagnosed with depression when she was nine years old.

An aspect unique for students with depression is the standard two week break during December to January. For some it may highlight a time for isolation and loneliness, but for others, it helps to relieve school stress.

“It makes me more at ease and just happier because it gives me time to relax with friends with no limited amount of time,” Jimenez said.

Even though each of these students has different stories with depression; each agreed that people shouldn’t be treated any differently because of it.

“Sometimes it’s hard to know what to say and what questions to ask or how to be supportive.

Just remember the acronym LIFE,” Mrs. Cave said. “Talk, listen and respond with: LIFE (L is for Listen – listen carefully to what your friend is trying to say and do not start giving advice; I is for Insist on honesty – encourage your friend to talk honestly about the pain and sadness they are feeling; F is for Feelings – you must share them – let him/her know that the things you hear them say makes you feel scared and sad, and E is for Extend a helping hand and get your friend some help – You must be willing to risk your friendship to save a friend.”

According to Jimenez, there is a myth that depression can just go away, but it can’t, it’s an illness that takes time and effort to treat. While there is no cure for this illness, there are forms of treatment to help symptoms that come along with it, which can include therapy, medication, and many others.

“Depression isn’t a doctor’s visit away from gone. It’s there, it sticks, it stays,” Jimenez said.

“Even if I’m ‘better’ I’m not fixed. You can’t fix broken, you can just heal the scar, but you still see it.”

Ratcliff agrees, adding, “ If you think your friend has [depression], don’t treat them any differently...just be a bit more understanding if they seem a bit out of it.”

photo by Nora Wood

here is a low hum as aunts, uncles, siblings and cousins discuss current events and their excitement for the meal they’ve been waiting for; the words “it smells delicious” fades as the warmth of a nearby fireplace radiates through the room.

Even holiday music is playing throughout the house, and from the adjacent room, the Christmas tree adds colorful lights to an already festive mood. But Colin Ratcliff, sophomore, isn’t listening to his family as they chuckle in anticipation for the dinner his parents have prepared. Instead he is rhythmically tapping his fingers against the table, trying to ignore the anger he’s feeling, unsure why he’s even feeling it. He wishes the fireplace was off; he’s feeling hot, and before he can stop himself, he storms out of the room to find a place to cool off, hoping the anger will dissipate by dessert.

This isn’t an uncommon occurrence for Ratcliff. He has Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a type of depression that starts and ends the same time every year. For Ratcliff, SAD occurs around the holiday season each year.

He was diagnosed in the eighth grade and has struggled with it in different ways.

“Mostly the winter affects me, like as soon as the leaves fall off the trees. Everything just feels gloomier and it hits me especially hard when it’s really snowy,” Ratcliff said.

Sometimes beginning as early as October, people with SAD begin to feel the symptoms, which can include sadness, anger and desires for isolation. Many people associate the word “depressed” with sadness, however, SAD is related to the changes in amount of daylight throughout the year. According to Mayo Clinic, SAD can affect one in every three persons, and is classified as a different mental illness than depression.

“A lack of sunlight means our brains produce less serotonin, a neurotransmitter that affects our mood,” said William Weggel, a psychiatrist at Mayo Clinic Health System in an article with U.S.News.

Year round depression can affect as many as 350 million people worldwide. According to Mrs. Cave, a social worker, depression is one of the most common mental illnesses, affecting more than 16 million American adults each year.

Nearly 20 percent of teens worldwide experience

by Amanada Bagby

LIDAYS

designed by Edmundas Pletas • 23

The Ivy League was formed in 1954 for football purposes.

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242,621

27.8% 37,348

Total applications received by all Ivies in 2016

167

Total Early Round applications received by Ivies for the class of 2021

Early Decision acceptance rate at Dartmouth

Came from Hindale Central

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55.4%

15

40000

THE CO$T OF COLLEGE

35000 Cost (U.S. Dollar)

Applying for Ivy

Application data taken from the counseling office, courtesy of Mr. Formanski and Mrs. Wheeler. Rankings taken from U.S. News and World Report Best National Colleges 2018. Ivy by Numbers taken from Ivy Coach.

% of spots filled by Early Decision at Penn for the class of 2021

Median Salary (Men)

30000

Median Salary (Women) Avg. Cost of Private University

25000 20000 15000

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2005

2010

2015

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Counter -clockwise from top. # of applicants to each school by Nov. 1

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8. Penn

14

2. Harvard

14

14. Brown

14

3. Yale

14

5. Columbia

6

11. Dartmouth

9

1. Princeton

8

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14. Cornell

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The Rundown

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Ivy Competitors

MIT

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Chosen from U.S. News Top National Schools & “The Hidden Ivies.” Sorted by rank, # of applicants shown at right

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3. UChicago

40

5. MIT

13

5. Stanford

20

9. Duke

14

10. CalTech

6

11. Johns Hopkins 12

Some schools only offer an “Early Decision” option for early admission, meaning once a student is accepted they are committed to that school.

11. Northwestern

86

14. Rice

10

14. Vanderbilt

37

18. Notre Dame

41

18. WashU

33

20. Georgetown

15

27. Wake Forest

13

40. Tulane

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What’s Trending Dec. 2017

Jan. 2017

Entertainment

Technology

Social Media

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• trends

Feb. 2018

Mar. 2018

Apr. 2018

May 2018

Jun. 2018

More Like The Lion Queen Beyonce is set to star alongside Danny Glover and James Earl Jones in a live-action remake of The Lion King, to be released in 2019. It’s the ciiiiiiircle of remaking every Disney movie everrrrrrrr!

A ? Hate Apple

In Apple’s new update, the letter “I” is displaying as the letter “A” followed by a question mark in a box, ever confusing the older generation into thinking the youngins are using some new-fangled slang term. The company has advised users to use the text replacement function until a proper bug fix is released.

Faith in Humanity Restored

In the wake of the countless sexual assault allegations against celebrities in Hollywood, people have been sharing their “nice allegations” on Twitter. Some Advocate staff favorites include the late Robin Williams sticking up for a homeless man who was being yelled at by a pedestrian, and Mara Wilson’s on-screen parents from Matilda, Danny DeVito and Rhea Pearlman, taking her into their home while her mother received cancer treatments.

photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Nov. 2017

Which holiday-themed episode should you watch tonight?

It’s officially that time of year - the weather is getting colder, people are stringing up their holiday lights, and your teachers are piling on the projects. Which holiday television episode should you cuddle up and procrastinate with?

Which question makes you reconsider your life the most?

If an island is a body of land surrounded by water, aren’t all land masses islands?

In the word scent, which letter is silent the “s” or the “c”?

Do you like the new “victory bell?”

No, it’s so awkward!

It’s making a tradition.

What’s your least favorite part of the holidays?

Seeing relatives. No, Aunt Betty, I haven’t chosen a college yet.

Which Thanksgiving food did you devour last week?

Stuffing.

Pumpkin pie.

If you get out of the shower clean, why is your towel dirty?

The cold weather.

How much have you been absent this year?

Under four times.

Christmas Party

The Limo

You’re not a true fan until you scream at Pam to PICK THE TINY TEAPOT ALREADY!

We’d tell you to watch it on Netflix, but it was just removed.

THE AUDACITY.

from The Office

Not being able to relate to everyone who celebrates Christmas.

from How I Met Your Mother

More than I can count.

The One with The Holiday Armadillo from Friends. Enough said. designed by Charlotte Sudduth

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