2017 October Issue

District Divided

A comprehensive report on the buffer zone and its effect on District 86

p. 14

HINSDALE CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL- HINSDALE, ILL. - VOLUME 90 - October 2017

photo by Nora Wood

Contents

Features 12

Danger in Numbers New security measures implimented in light of tragedy in Las Vegas

14

District Divided Cover Story: Buffer zone creates enrollment imbalance within the district

18

Different End Zones

Students discuss the ramifications that come with kneeling before the national anthem

Photo Feature Inside look at the cheerleader’s half-time performance at the conference championship football game

Newsfeed

A&E: Infographic

See page 8 for more details Advocate’s coverage of the Freshman Play and the Live Day of Art

See page 24 Advocate surveys students to discern their greatest fears

Editor’s Letter Battleground

3

Boy Scouts of America

5

Health & Wholeness

6

A&E: Trends

See “What’s Trending” on page 26 Find out what’s trending this month and which Stranger Things character you are

photo by Clairice Krzysik

Perspectives

22

Learn ways to improve water intake during autumn and winter months

Editorial

7

photo courtesy of the Bowmans

Money used for annual motivational speakers should be allocated for causes more useful to students

2

Profiles Club Spotlight Video Game Club merges to form Table Top Gaming Club

How I Met Your Teacher Married teachers discuss the effects of sharing a workplace on their relationship

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Front cover design by Ed Pletas Back cover design by Adam DeDobbelaere Contact Info: @hcDevilsAdvo on Twitter & Instagram @devils_advo on Snapchat Adviser: Cherise Lopez, clopez@hinsdale86.org

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 Andab 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 Photogapher

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

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ypically, the National Anthem that plays at the commencement of sporting events is a time to unite and stand for our country; however, recently, the “Star-Spangled Banner” has been surrounded by controversy, beginning with political discourse that has extended to the freedoms guaranteed in the first amendment rights. This month Devils’ Advocate examines the idea of kneeling before the flag and what that means in regards to the tradition of American football that gathers crowds of people across the country.

Additionally, in light of devastating events that occurred in Las Vegas earlier in the month, inside this edition you can read students’ opinions on new security measures being implemented into hotels and at concerts to ensure higher crowd safety. On a lighter note, you will also find the implications of having a significant other in the same workplace, as well as how the annual motivational speakers inspire more quirky inside jokes rather than serving as positive admonition.

Finally, the Advocate writers sat down with the superintendent of the district to discuss the current buffer zone debate. Navigating one’s way through the packed hallways of school is a typical occurrence for students at Central. However, at Hinsdale South, passing through vacant hallways are more common.

It’s facts like these that have sparked debate within the community, leaving the district divided on how to solve the issue of imbalance between the two schools. Our cover story this month explores this problem and its suggested solutions.

We sincerely hope you enjoy this month’s roundup of stories and remember with college application deadlines approaching and other academic stressors to not sweat the “paper tigers.”

Sincerely, Minna Hassaballa

Annika Agrawal Feature Writer

Zaina Ahmed Feature Writer 3

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4

Battleground

by Sophia Horowicz and Claire Lozier

THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA CONTEXT: On Wednesday, Oct. 11, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) announced that as of 2018, girls will be allowed to join the organization. Cub

Scout dens, the smallest group, will remain single-sex, while Cub Scout packs, the groupings of eight children within a pack, will have the choice of being either single-sex or gender-inclusive, based on an unanimous vote by its board. The Boy Scouts of America states that the decision, “comes after years of receiving requests from families and girls.” Girls Scouts USA later stated that, “the need for female leadership has never been clearer or more urgent than it is today -- and only Girl Scouts has the expertise to give girls and young women the tools they need for success.” There is an ongoing debate about the merit of integrating girls into the BSA.

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ncluding girls in the Boy Scouts is nothing new. Scout leaders are often girls, and local Boy Scout councils have been making decisions and accepting girls independently from the BSA’s policies for decades. This decision is not a staggering one.

Yet, some opponents are wary, arguing to expand co-ed programs already existing under the BSA. These programs offer outdoor experiences to all genders- while keeping the Boy and Girl Scouts single-sex.

However, of the four co-ed programs available, only two, Venturing Scouts and Sea Scouts, teach outdoor skills. But because these are available only to high-schoolers, the majority of girls are left on the sidelines. This leaves opponents with two options: 1) lower age requirements or 2) create a new, child-friendly program open to boys and girls.

While this three-program system sounds great in theory, it lacks practicality. The Venturing and Sea Scouts are too hazardous for younger children, and a new program that is child-friendly while offering outdoor experiences would greatly resemble the original Boy Scouts, except in its gender policy. Why, then, would we waste resources to clone the Boy Scouts when we could integrate girls into the BSA that already exists? Having a third Scouts program reserved for mixed genders is unnecessary and impractical.

Other opponents argue that the organization was founded on conservative values. In the progressive year 1910, the BSA was founded to instill traditional morals in boys so they might turn into righteous men. Part of this conservative backlash was the reaffirmation of “manliness” and gender division.

However, The Boy Scouts was founded and named before women even had the right to vote. The BSA has since adopted a more modern approach to its values: In 2013, 2015, and 2017, the BSA ended discrimination against homosexual and transgender scouts. The BSA is defined by its values, not its gender. Children should be free to choose what kind of Scout they want to be, rather than being herded into a stereotype they don’t fit.

It is easy to get hung up on a name.

But tritely remarking that “it’s the boy scouts” won’t end the debate, nor will it satisfy the thousands of young girls seeking adventure. Regardless of the motive behind the BSA’s decision, opening the program teaches girls to fish and climb and use a knife just as well as any boy. This isn’t about a name, it’s about giving girls a chance.

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Perspectives

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oy Scouts of America has a controversial past. Its historically conservative and rigid reputation has resulted in public backlash and PR nightmares. The organization was founded in 1910, but, up until 2013, they denied membership to gay scouts. In January 2017, BSA finally decided to allow membership to anyone who self-identifies as male, making room for transgender members. In contrast, Girl Scouts USA has had transgender-friendly policies for years.

The integration of girls seems to be yet another ploy by BSA to please the public and to increase membership. But, despite their recent policy changes, youth membership has continued to decrease from its high of 6.5 million in 1972; in 2012, they had just 2.8 million members; in 2016, 2.3 million. Instead of focusing on issues like increasing minority participation, BSA has exceeded their boundaries in targeting girls, injuring the Girl Scouts organization in the process.

Maybe the one thing BSA has over Girl Scouts is their Eagle Scout Award, which is focused on intense participation at all levels. Girl Scouts USA has what’s called the Gold Award, given to girls who complete a seven-step community service project. Clearly, the Girl Scouts need a “Lady Eagle Scout” equivalent to promote membership at older ages.

But, the fact remains that Boy Scouts are for boys and Girl Scouts are for girls. I agree with the Girl Scouts’ position, that “the benefit of the single-gender environment has been well-documented by educators, scholars, other girl- and youth-serving organizations, and Girl Scouts and their families. Girl Scouts offers a one-of-a-kind experience for girls with a program tailored specifically to their unique developmental needs.” I’m a graduate of the Girls Scouts’ “daisies” program (grades K-1) and “brownies” program (grades 2-3). If I had the choice at that age to be with boys, their “cooties” would have deterred me.

The Boy Scouts posted an Instagram picture the day of the announcement featuring a young boy and girl laughing.

They were about the age of a Daisy and a Cub Scout. This advertising is strategic, because adults are less likely to object to co-educational programs when kids are younger. However, what does that picture look like once the boy and girl are in junior high? Rather than laughing, are they awkwardly standing next to each other for a photo-op?

Just because BSA needs girls does not mean girls need BSA, constitutionality.

CL

illustration by Julia Baroni

designed by Jayne Gelman • 5

health & wholeness

by Cassie Kruse

1. Switch to La Criox This is by far my favorite drink find of the year. La Croix is a sparkling water that has more than 15 flavors to choose from. My favorites are Passion Fruit and Berry, and if you love Sprite their lemon flavor is a great substitute. They have the same consistency of a soda, without any of the dehydration or guilt. La Criox have 0 calories, 0 carbs, and 0 grams of sugar. It is the perfect way to spice up your regular water without giving into the sugary drink temptation.

2. Get a cute water bottle I have to confess, I am way too proud of my water bottle. Each sticker on it has a special meaning to me, and I also just love carrying it around with me throughout school. By getting a water bottle you can decorate, you are more likely to remember to drink it because you’ll be proud of it. Using a fun water bottle makes me pay attention to it more, which causes me to remember to fill it up more often. It’s a win-win situation.

3. Add lemon According to Cleveland Clinic adding lemon to your water helps supply your body with Vitamin C, providing a potassium boost, and helps you break down the acid in your food.

Pumpkin Spice Lattes, apple cider, and hot

6 • Perspectives

photos by Clairice Krzysik

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he foamy latte is overflowing, its pumpkin spice aroma filling your nose with the sweet smell of fall. These lattes are a must drink, from the warm apple cider to the hot chocolate filled with mini marshmallows. Personally, I couldn’t wait to drink a Pumpkin Spice Latte when it came out this year. But, I still believe I, and everyone else, should know what is going into my body. According to Starbucks, a grande of their famous “PSL” is almost 400 calories, has 52 grams of carbohydrates, and 50 grams of sugar. While indulging in these drinks is amazing, the fall is the time during the year when water consumption can fall short. According to the Mayo Clinic, the average person needs to drink an 8-ounce glass of water eight times a day. During the fall I notice that, especially on late start days, many students decide to have a sugary warm drink in the morning instead of a water bottle. This is especially a problem because coffee and tea are diuretics, meaning they draw out the body’s water. So, if you find yourself reaching for warm beverages more this time of year, remember how important it is to continue to drink water. It is hard to do this, especially when there seems to be so many other enticing drinks. But here are five easy and fun ways to get more water into your diet.

Kruse embraces the positive energy of hydration.

chocolate can’t do this for you because they have so much sugar in them that they are actually hurting your body. Plus, adding lemon into your water can add just the right amount of flavor.

4. Drink a glass when you wake up It’s clear that the main reason people, including me, drink coffee is to wake up. But, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and other sources like the National Institute of Health, water can actually wake you up in the morning all by itself. This is because your body goes through a fasting period while you sleep, and drinking water helps replenish your body. So simply hydrating it after this fasting period can be enough to wake you up all by itself.

Using these five habits, I have drastically increased my water intake. It is super important to be hydrated all of the time because when you are hydrated you are less prone to breakouts, are more able to focus, and just overall happier according to the Huffington Post. Our bodies run on water (with a 75 percent water content) so let’s treat them well and get enough in our system.

5. Dilute sugary drinks While drinks like Gatorade and Powerade have electrolytes in them which are helpful for the body to recover after an intense game or workout, they come with 21 grams of sugar for every 12 ounces.

If you don’t want to give them up, diluting, or removing some of the drink and replacing it with water, is super helpful. I recommend splitting the contents of the sports drink into two different bottles and filling the other half with water. That way you are not only getting two sports drinks, but also not consuming too much sugar.

designed by Jayne Gelman

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t r at

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by J u l ia

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Money Talks I

t’s the first day of school; it’ll be another week or so before the AC kicks in, and 3,000 sweaty bodies begrudgingly pile into the gym. It’s time to listen to this year’s motivational speaker. We turn our attention to the stage to hear a stranger’s life story and the lessons learned along the way.

The problem is, hardly anyone is listening.

Instead, many students are on their phones, sleeping, or paying attention to anything but the speaker.

The school spends anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 on speakers every year, according to Mrs. Philip, head of the activities department.

The money comes from the activities passes that students purchase at the beginning of each year.

This is an exorbitant amount of money to spend for a speaker and we feel that this money should be redirected towards the other activities our passes fund. The students’ money should go toward something that impacts them on a more personal level. Clubs and sports that students have chosen to be

a part of make deeper impressions than a speaker’s words do.

Just saying the words “paper tiger” elicits a resounding groan from the students who remember Dr. Ginsberg in 2014, though he was funded by the PTO and not the activities budget.

This year’s speaker, Aaron Davis, is remembered for pointing out tall students in the crowd. People seem to remember speakers not for their moving speeches, but for their quirks.

Of course, though, there are students who do enjoy the speeches. Stephanie Rakos, a senior, said, “I liked speakers that connected with us and had stories that applied to every single one of us.”

But many speakers left the audience untouched, their messages washing over our heads.

Sometimes they are not relatable, or their delivery is off, or students just don’t care for their message.

Considering these shortcomings, the money used for speakers can instead be used in a more effective way, such as to provide additional

funding to clubs. Robotics Club has an entire business department dedicated to fundraising for their competition fees and other club expenses.

While they are not necessarily underfunded, the extra money could help them focus more on their projects instead of their wallets. Since Robotics and other clubs fall into the activities category, it would be appropriate to use the money we pay for activities passes to fund these extracurriculars.

The administration’s willingness to spend this money on speakers comes from their desire to set a positive theme for the school year, this year’s being ‘I choose to be a Red Devil.’

“I feel like a motivational speaker does wonderful things for the student body and staff as it constitutes the message for the school year,” Principal Walsh said.

While the goal behind the speakers is admirable in that the school wants to unite the students and staff under a common theme, the activities pass funding should be allocated to various clubs and sports that reach more students.

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

Perspectives • 7

Live Day of Art

by Nubaira Kabir and Keshav Sanghani

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onday, Oct. 16 was the annual Live Day of Art, an event that features art students at work. The artists worked all day at tables in the hallway outside of the gym and in the cafeteria.

Throughout the day, their peers were able to observe their process during passing periods and at lunch.

“The idea is to show people that art is not only a product but also a process,” said Anushka Nair, senior art student.

Nair intends on pursuing art professionally after high school. Nair said her passion for art inspired her to share it with others. This year, while she worked on art in front of the cafeteria, Nair also gave presentations about the art department to the freshman P.E. classes.

“It is important for people to realize that art is not merely visually appealing images, but rather, it is a means of conveying greater messages about the world,” Nair said.

Students demonstrated their artistic abilities through various mediums like digital arts, pottery, and sketching.

“The guy creating digital art started from nothing at the beginning of the day, but at the end of the day, he turned it into some sort of intricate masterpiece,” said Krupa Patel, senior.

The annual event aims to influence student enrollment in art courses.

The event also showcased projects made by current students in ceramics, drawing, and graphic design.

“I really thought the pottery was interesting,” said Iva Petkovska, junior.

“Watching them make little bowls made me want to make a bowl myself.”

photo by Elizabeth Litwin

Newsfeed

Tina Nair, senior, works on a drawing during the live day of art on Oct. 16.

Freshman Play Shines Spotlight on Mental Health photo by Emily Goggin

by Anuha Parvataneni and Audrey Carter

Jessica Miller, freshman, rehearses her scenes for Divided We Fall.

8 • News

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he freshman play, Divided We Fall, highlighted mental health, and debuted on Thursday, Oct. 5 and ran until Saturday, Oct. 7. The production introduced the newest faces of the drama community while also drawing attention to issues that teens face today, in accordance with National Bullying Prevention Month.

The play consisted of a series of monologues on a topics ranging from kissing and hair hygiene to anxiety and toxic relationships.

Prior to the show’s premiere, many worried that such sensitive subjects would be too difficult for the freshmen to portray.

“Our first thought [after reading the script] was that [our director] was crazy,” said Assistant Director Michelle Brown, sophomore. “But when we saw how well the kids handled the subject matter, it was clear we could pull it off.”

The play’s performance dates directly corresponded with the beginning of National Bullying Prevention Month, established by PACER Center, to raise awareness about and combat

bullying in the month of October and beyond.

In order to expand the outreach of the production, the show aimed to encourage students to talk about their problems, beyond the show, with people they are comfortable with. Six of Central’s social workers made an appearance in the show in a pre show video each night, to introduce the idea of mental health and offer their services and resources for student support.

“The play is about being supportive of one another regardless of characters’ experiences and how they may differ from yours,” said Quintin Craig, a freshman cast member. “Everyone’s going through something and to have support from friends and even strangers is really helpful, especially during high school.”

Following auditions in late August, in the coming weeks the cast worked for two to three hours each day.

“Everyone becomes kind of like a big family,” Craig said. “Drama club in general is a pretty welcoming and friendly environment which definitely helps when you have such dark subject matter.”

Drama Club’s next project will be Metamorphosis, debuting Thursday, Nov. 16.

Club Spotlight

by Jenny Witt and Hannah Ahdab

Emilo Davila, freshman, races in Mario Kart. photos by Emily Goggin A member of Tabletop Gaming Club shuffles cards for Munchkin, a strategy board game.

Tabletop Gaming Entertains

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s the last bell rings for the day, room 300 quickly fills with students sharing a common love for both board games and video games.

Tabletop Gaming Club is a relatively new club. Last December, juniors George Gao, Syed Akbar, and Michael Hu, approached Ms. Sasha Boheme, Speech Language Pathologist, to sponsor their idea of a board game-based club.

“We felt that many students at our school loved to play board games, and the club would bring them together as a community,” said Hu, co-president of the club along with Gao. Ms. Boheme was already sponsoring a video game club that was proposed a few years prior.

When the juniors asked her to sponsor a board game club, she agreed and decided to merge the two clubs to form one: Tabletop Gaming Club.

At a typical meeting, members set up a variety of games at different tables. Some of

these games include Uno, Risk, Munchkins, Monopoly, and Mafia. The room across the hall holds televisions and monitors that students can use to play their favorite video games. In an attempt to diversify the games played each week, club members are encouraged to bring their own favorite games from home.

“It’s a small club with passionate members,” Ms. Boheme said.

Tabletop Gaming Club is not a large time commitment; with two meetings per month, students are free to come whenever they aren’t busy. New members are always welcomed with open arms.

“This club has a very friendly atmosphere and anything goes. Everyone is accepted to play the games and everyone has a good time,” Gao said.

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

designed by Jayne Gelman • 9

photos by Caroline Bowater

How I Met Your Teacher

by Layo Adelakun, Bilal Khokhar, Lauren Lee, Cassie Kruse, and Charlotte Sudduth

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t the start of class last year, Serena Tolani, then a senior, approached Mr. John Bowman, ready to congratulate him on his rumored engagement to her past teacher, Ms. Wendy Orloff. He replied sarcastically and said that he filed a restraining order against Ms. Orloff. Tolani walked away confused and flustered.

As Tolani told Ms. Orloff about the encounter with Mr. Bowman, Ms. Orloff reacted with the same sarcasm, responding with a sly grin.

“I’m going to kill him,” Ms. Orloff said.

Their engagement was true; the Bowman’s got married in the summer of 2016 after dating for seven years.

The Bowmans is not the only couple of married teachers in the building. While the district does have a nepotism policy preventing teachers from being hired in the same year if they are already married, for the couples who are married in the building, they met while teaching together.

According to Domenico Maniscalco, chief human resources officer,there is a total of 10 other couples 10 • Profiles

in the district.

Nepotism policies are management rules in which an institution can forbid relatives from supervising another family member, have an influence over their hiring, salary, or promotion and sometimes work in the same department.

Mr. Maniscalco said the school’s nepotism policy specifically addresses conflicts of interests with the Board of Education and Administrators hiring family members. The policy also addresses the violation of supervisory relationships. It is not allowed for an administrator to evaluate a relative.

The nepotism policy was updated in 2016.

But for the current couples at Central, the policy did not apply.

The Bowmans

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he Bowmans are calculus AB teachers that work across the hall from each other. They were hired in the same year, 2005, but did not start dating until six years into teaching.

The first time Ms. Orloff said she noticed Mr. Bowman, she thought he was attractive, and while eating her lunch in the math office, she caught his attention when she mentioned her new townhouse needed a lot of work done. “[Mr. Bowman] chimed in on the conversation and stated that he would install new light bulbs for me,” Ms. Orloff said.

Later that week he texted her trying to set up a day to install the lights. Ms. Orloff said prior to the message she didn’t think of him as anything else than a colleague, but in that moment Ms. Orloff said she “freaked out”. She replied back that it was not a good idea and that he should forget about installing them. Mr. Bowman asked why.

“I am pretty open and honest and responded, ‘because I find you attractive.’ My phone immediately rang,” Ms. Orloff said.

Mr. Bowman felt that they should go on a date and install the lights at a later time.

They married in July of 2016.

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The Griffins

rs. Kelly Griffin and Mr. Brian Griffin said their common interests in teaching, students and family led them to dating. Mr. Griffin teaches geometry honors and pre calculus, while Mrs. Griffin teaches algebra 2 honors, algebra 1, and geometry block. They were both hired in 2008 and were married by 2012.

The Griffins met while filing paperwork. Mrs. Griffin said that she immediately called her mom after meeting him, excited about working with someone friendly.

They both taught algebra 1 and geometry their first year, so they often worked together on material for the classes.

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“[Mr. Griffin] was totally handsome, so that didn’t hurt either,” Mrs. Griffin said.

During the initial stages, they kept their relationship quiet. The secret came out once Mr. Griffin proposed; he said it was harder to hide their relationship once she had a ring. Mrs. Griffin also said that everyone was really excited for them, including their students who had hunches they were secretly dating.

“Some claimed that they knew it. But I think students match up young teachers together all the time,” Mrs. Griffin said. “I think I won the jackpot in husbands, and that’s just a fact.”

The Otahals

r. Otahal, a social studies teacher and JV swim coach, and Mrs. Otahal, a part time school librarian, met while doing a new teacher’s workshop in 2002. They dated for three years and got married in the summer of 2005. They find that their relationship is easier compared to others because they work in different departments. This, they explained creates an environment in which they don’t see each other often.

“I think working here together is great because it gives us like a lot of common time at home,” Mrs. Otahal said.

Mr. Otahal continues that with their busy schedules the only time they can see each other is if he plans to

bring his classes to the library. Mrs. Otahal mentions that communication between them is easier to understand and let’s them have more fun. For example, if they were to discuss something regarding a specific policy they would both know what it is about. Both of them also love working together at Central because it is easier for them to go on vacation and spend time together as a family with their children because their breaks are the same. The only challenge they face is not talking about work at home.

“It’s harder to leave work at work, [but] I think there’s more advantages [to working with your spouse],” Mr. Otahal said.

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The McClouds

rs. Alisha McCloud mentions that she finds it funny when students come up to her and ask if she’s related in any way to Mr. Alan McCloud.

For this reason she often starts off a year saying to her younger students, “By the way there’s a Mr. McCloud, he’s my Mr. McCloud.”

Mr. McCloud, earth science honors and MA/ GO teacher, and Mrs. McCloud, Latin teacher, were employed in 1999 and 2000 respectively. They often met in teacher’s meetings and luncheons, but the first time they got to know each other well was after a science teacher invited them both to a dinner. This initial meeting led to them dating and after less than a year they got married.

According to Mrs. McCloud, the worst thing about having her husband work in the same school is having a “lame” e-mail address. With both of their names starting with an A and a word limit to names in an address, she was stuck with the e-mail AlMclou.

After 15 years of marriage the McClouds both agree that they have learned a lot more about each other’s subjects that they teach through many of the experiences that they’ve shared together. During the summer, the couple and their two children often do many science related things, such as visiting well known parks, in which Mrs. McCloud finds she has learned a lot about. In regards to her subject, Mr. McCloud observes that he still doesn’t know much Latin, but has at least learned about Roman history and culture.

To both of the them, one of the most positive things about working together is hearing students talk about how they like the other’s classes.

“It’s kind of fun that you have [marriage], that window, and I don’t know if there are any real challenges to it,” Mr. McCloud said. “It’s fun to tell the students what our family is up to and they have another connection to that [part of our life].”

Designed by Adam DeDobbelaere • 11

courtesy of Ben Cresto

Danger in

12 • Features

Numbers

by Catherine Dolan, Emma Bauschard, and Aneesh Balusu

In the wake of the Las Vegas shooting, students discuss their opinions on crowd safety

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waying back and forth with the rest of the concert goers, Sarah Badawi, sophomore, listened happily to Perfect by Ed Sheeran. It was Sept.

15, and Allstate Arena was packed full of Sheeran’s eager fans. As she sang along to her favorite Ed Sheeran song, “Photograph”, the thought that her safety could be in danger never crossed her mind.

Many concert goers just like Badawi were enjoying Jason Aldean’s performance at the Route 91 Harvest music festival on Oct. 1 in the Las Vegas Strip when a shooter open fired from the Mandalay Bay Hotel looking over the venue.

In the midst of the chaos, people were trampled and killed. Additionally, many concert goers cited confusion over how many shooters there were and where the shots were coming from.

The lone gunman, Stephen Paddock of Nevada who committed suicide during the attack, had killed 58 people and wounded dozens more. The news that followed included political discussions on gun control and just how safe people truly are at venues with large crowds.

Days after the mass shooting, the investigation into Paddock revealed he had allegedly booked two rooms at the Blackstone Hotel on Michigan Avenue overlooking Chicago’s music festival, Lollapalooza, in August, according to the Chicago Tribune. The revelation has pushed city event coordinators to think more critically about crowd safety at events. Given the Vegas event happened days before Chicago’s annual marathon, it prompted security changes.

“We learn from every event...and we learned from Vegas as well,” said Anthony Riccio, chief of the police department’s Organized Crime bureau, in an interview with the Chicago Tribune. “So one of the things we’re doing is we’re putting a significantly larger number of undercover officers.

They’re going to be intermingled with the crowd, they’re going to be around the runners. They’re going to be at the finish line.”

The recent tragedy, including Chicago’s connection, came as a shock to students, considering that some were a part of the marathon as well, and many had attended Lollapalooza.

“That’s crazy. I know this is really cliché, but that could have been me or someone that we know,” said Ben Cresto, a sophomore who attended Lollapalooza.

According to the Chicago Tribune, local emergency response officials have conducted several “active shooter” drills to prepare for the worst in concert or athletic events. Mayor Rahm Emanuel told WGN9 that the city has administered six of these training events in Chicago’s stadiums, parks, and other big venues.

Sydney Thayer, sophomore, recently attended a baseball game at Wrigley Field in October during the Cubs’ playoff run.

“I’ve been to Wrigley so many times and it’s never occurred to me that something would happen,” Thayer said. “When you walk [into the stadium] you have to go through metal detectors and there’s security all around the stadium.”

Wrigley Field implemented metal detectors at every entrance to the historic baseball stadium at the beginning of the 2016 season.

Everyone who enters the ballpark is required to go through the screening in addition to the standard bag check.

Badawi said that she had to be screened by a metal detector before she was allowed to enter Allstate Arena for the Ed Sheeran concert she attended in September. If attendees brought bags with them, they were also searched through prior to entering, according to Badawi.

Rich Guidice, first deputy for the Office of Emergency Management and Communications, told the Chicago Tribune that the improvements are based on what Chicago learned from the Cubs’ playoff and World Series games last year.

Although new safety measures taken can help prevent someone from bringing weapons into Wrigley, there are no safety measures or instructions in place that would help baseball spectators take cover or exit the ballpark in the case of emergency. Thayer describes Wrigley as being overcrowded, citing this as a major reason why it would be difficult to get out if necessary.

To a similar effect, Cresto said that evacuation from Grant Park , the park

where Lollapalooza took place, would have been difficult had Paddock decided to make Lollapalooza his target.

“There’s so many people and to have an exodus, it would be chaos,” Cresto said. Cresto also said that the setup of Lollapalooza, which has few entrances so as to keep people from sneaking in, would be a large problem if people should ever need to exit quickly.

Greta Kumskis, senior, ran in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Oct. 8. The event attracted more than one million people, both spectators and runners. Kumskis said that only runners with bibs could park cars at Grant Park for a certain amount of time and the only bags allowed in had to be clear. Throughout the 26.2 miles, she saw police monitoring the public streets the race took place on.

“There was a lot more security than I thought there was going to be, but it made sense,” Kumskis said. “[The marathon organizers] addressed the safety concerns in an e-mail a few days after what happened in Vegas.”

Payton Frankiewicz, sophomore, attended the Chicago Marathon to watch her mother run.

An after party was held in Grant Park after the marathon, and Frankiewicz said that this was the only time she experienced individualized security, where her bag was checked.

“For the most part, the only safety measure taken was having the police stationed around with the occasional SWAT team member just standing around,” Frankiewicz said. “I would say that there definitely could’ve been more safety precautions taken before the race even started.”

Not only public events, but hotels, are assessing the need for new safety precautions.

According to Business Insider, large hotels experience difficulty getting people checked in and up to their rooms in a limited number of elevators. Adding safety measures would create congestion in hotel lobbies.

“I think it’s really important now, just after hearing what happened in Vegas and what happened at Lollapalooza, for neighboring hotels and establishments to be more tight on security,” Cresto said. designed by Jayne Gelman • 13

14 • Features

photo by Nora Wood

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s the meeting was called to order, the seven members of the District 86 Board of Education sat around a table, ready to discuss the singular item on the agenda - the enrollment imbalance between the two high schools within the district, Hinsdale South and Hinsdale Central.

One of the schools had too much space, and the other one didn’t seem to have quite enough. For months, citizens in the buffer zone between the two schools had been worrying about the Board’s decision, knowing it was quite possible that they would no longer have a choice between the two schools, as they had in the past. It was several months later that the Board finally came to a decision, electing to spend $3.3 million at Central, building 24 new classrooms across two floors to

account for the enrollment imbalance.

The date was September 15, 1997.

Twenty years later, the Board is faced with the same decision.

Since 2015, the Board of Education has been wrestling with the issue of the rising enrollment imbalance between Hinsdale South and Hinsdale Central.

Currently Central’s enrollment stands at 2,778 students, while South holds 1,629 students. At 80 percent capacity, which is historically ideal for public schools, according to John Kasarda, a demographer hired by the Board, Central should have no more than 2,490 students enrolled, while South should have up to 1,930.

These numbers, which were outlined by independent architects hired to appraise the capacities of both schools, have served as a guideline for

demographic projections. The Kasarda report shows that over the next decade, Central’s enrollment is likely to continue rising well above capacity, while South’s enrollment is projected to stay well under ideal capacity.

Demographic projections and capacity are both used to determine the Board’s next steps, as these numbers can be used to calculate the efficiency of each school, which can help optimize facilities, according to Dr. Bruce Law, Superintendent.

“There are two numbers that we’re looking at when it comes to student enrollment: one is how many students can go to school at Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South, the other is how many students will be going to our schools in 10, 15, 20 years,” Dr. Law said. designed by Adam DeDobbelaere • 15

“Buffer Zone”

The enrollment disparity between the schools is partially due to the “buffer zone”, a strip of land bounded by West 63rd Street to the north, West 67th Street and Plainfield Road to the south, Cass Avenue to the west, and South Garfield Street to the east. Families within this area have the choice of sending their children to either high school.

Established by the Board in the ’80s, the buffer zone was intended to mitigate disproportionate enrollment, should the situation ever arise. While the Board retains the right to “establish attendance boundaries for each attendance center in the District and may adjust attendance boundaries as necessary,” as outlined in the Board Policy Manual under Policy 7:31, it has yet to make changes to the buffer zone and its attendance boundaries.

In the spring of 2016, despite the existing imbalance, the Board voted to expand the buffer zone, redrawing its southern and eastern boundaries to include additional neighborhoods in Willowbrook.

This year, the district reported that out of the 223 current high school children living in the buffer zone, 197 are enrolled at Central and 25 at South.

Students living in the aforementioned areas give various reasons for their choice, including both academic and social differences as deciding factors.

according to US News and World Report.

The academic differences are perspectives shared by various individuals, with some citing their opinions as extensions of their middle school experiences. Central draws its students from District 181, District 53, and District 60; South from District 61, District 62, District 63, and District 180. On average, districts that Central pulls students from are ranked higher than the districts that feed into South, according to average PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) scores that determine school readiness taken from the Illinois Report Card.

Academic Perspectives

Central is ranked seventh in Illinois; South 28th, according to U.S. News and World Report.

Both schools are ranked among the top 1,000 high schools in America, with Central ranking #332 and South ranking #981. Rankings are based on a variety of factors, including proficiency in English, proficiency in math, graduation rate and college readiness, which includes the number of students who take AP classes and the percentage of those students who pass the respective AP exams.

Sanjanaa Shanmugam, senior at Central who lives in the buffer zone and elected to enroll at Central, cites Central’s academic ranking as the reason behind her decision.

“I chose [Central] over South for its more rigorous academics and because more people seemed to go to top colleges,” Shanmugam said.

Erica Hoffman, senior at South, disagrees. Like Shanmugam, Hoffman also lives in the buffer zone, but chooses to attend South, stating that South’s smaller size affords its students more opportunities.

“When we registered for classes, I didn’t feel like Central offered me some of the same opportunities South does,” Hoffman said. “There’s no such thing as first come, first serve with classes [at South] because the size of our school is so small.”

The size differences between the schools are further reflected in the student to teacher ratio (Central: 15:1; South: 13:1), and the average class size of both schools (Central: 21.2; South 19.4) 16 • Features

Social Perspectives

Students and teachers at South alike believe that the school’s smaller size impacts the social environment.

Students at South also cite its diversity as one of the reasons they love their school. South’s student population is 45 percent diverse, meaning 45 percent of enrolled students are minorities, whereas Central has 25 percent diverse students, according to U.S. News and World Report.

“With how diverse our school is, you get to know different types of people and so you can relate to each other easier than people at Central can,” Hoffman said.

Dr. Law emphasized that many of these perceived differences have been perpetuated by community members, and that both schools provide amazing environments for education.

“I think perception played a role [in the enrollment imbalance] but I think it is being fostered by people who are trying to reach some conclusion,” Dr. Law said. “Students at South and students at Central love their school.”

District Options

Several options have been proposed as solutions.

One of the earliest suggestions was to create grade level centers where Central and South would be merged into one school that all students in the district attended. All freshmen and sophomores would attend classes at South, while all juniors and seniors would attend Central, organized like Lyons Township High School. Although the Board said this option does have the potential to reduce costs for athletic and academic activities, it would also increase transportation costs and students would have fewer opportunities for competitions.

Because of that, grade level centers were informally eliminated as an option on Sept. 18.

Another option is the possibility of creating a magnet program at South. Magnet programs are federally funded programs centered around a specific theme, such as STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), world language immersion, or performing arts.

Board member Robin Gonzalez, along with others, stressed the importance of recognizing not just an enrollment imbalance between Central and South, but also the trends in rising enrollment at Central and declining enrollment at South. Gonzalez argued that taking 400 kids from Central and moving them to South would only temporarily solve the issue and do nothing to address enrollment trends.

In order to change this trend, it was argued that the perception of South within the community has to be altered. A magnet program at South, which would serve a subset of students within a larger public school setting, could create a more prestigious reputation for South to attract homebuyers to South regions, according to the proposal.

Hoffman, however, does not agree with the option to create a magnet program.

“I think that it makes our school seem like it’s not smart,” Hoffman said. “Our school is very smart. We have tons of students get Dean’s List and Honor Roll and our academics are great.”

On the other hand, Hoffman does acknowledge that the enrollment imbalance is an issue.

“I think South could use more students, but they shouldn’t have to be forced to come to our school, they should want to,” Hoffman said.

According to Dr. Law, the magnet program

could be centered around a robotics program, specialized computer coding classes, or something else entirely. However, Board member Keith Chval mentioned that there is no concrete definition of what the theorized magnet program would encompass, as this solution has yet to be fleshed out.

It was further suggested that the Board make the same choice as the Board of Education in 1997 - expand Central to create more space. In following with this possibility, a referendum regarding issuing $76 million for improvements at both schools was put to a vote on April 4 last spring and subsequently rejected. Many parents said that they voted against the referendum because the majority of the money was to be spent on expansion of Central. When the referendum failed, the Board began considering the aforementioned options to resolve overcrowding at Central.

The option arguably most contested by the community is to change the school attendance areas. This would mean redrawing zoning boundaries around sections of land which determine which families go to Central and which go to South. Primarily, redrawing attendance areas would call attention to the buffer zone.

The Board considered no longer giving buffer zone families a choice in which school to attend.

This option was met with uproar by parents and students alike, at a special meeting held on Sept. 12.

“The least expensive thing to do would be to take 400 kids from Central, probably from the buffer zone, and put them in South,” said Mr. Ritter, a history teacher who has taught at both schools and currently teaches at South. “On the other hand, it also seems unfair to those people at Central. I would be angry if I bought a house in the buffer zone, expecting I could send my kids to Central and now all of a sudden, they’re going to South.”

Additionally, the Board considered rerouting District 53, a school district in Oak Brook which houses Brook Forest Elementary School and Butler Junior High, to South. This option was not taken favorably either, as Oak Brook parents were quick to point out that it would increase their children’s commute to get to and from school on the bus.

“District 53 is the farthest away from South out of all the districts that go to Central and the people in Oak Brook have moved into Oak Brook expecting to go to Central,” said Alyssa Lee, a sophomore at Central. “I don’t think it’s right to [change] that because kids will be uprooted.”

Since the last Board meeting, no new options have been suggested.

Community Perspective

From the beginning, the issue of the enrollment imbalance not only involved the Board members, but also the members of all communities within the District 86 boundaries. Dr. Law described how the push to address enrollment imbalance came

from the community, in response to the Board’s consideration to follow in the footsteps of their predecessors two decades ago. “[By 2015] it was understood that Central needed space, so the Board came up with a list of projects that they wanted to do, and some of those included building classrooms at Central,” Dr. Law said. “But the question that was posed to the Board from people in the community was ‘Why are you building classrooms at Central to relieve overcrowding when you have available space at South?’”

Based on this, the Board began to consider options to solve the enrollment imbalance, asking the community for input along the way. In order to hear from community members regarding their thoughts on the various options, the Board elected to hold special meetings on Sept. 5 and Sept. 12, reserving almost the full two hours during both events for residents to speak.

Nadia Kalish, born and raised in Oak Brook, attended Central and spoke to the Board members on Sept. 12 to express her concern about rerouting Butler.

“I don’t support any solution that moves our

“ ” You can’t put a price on education.

children to South,” Kalish said. “It’s a great school but I don’t want my kids to travel 10 miles to visit friends or for school projects, [or] to sit on a bus for an extra five hours a week.”

The division and allocation of district funds was another topic of much debate at the special meetings, with several parents from South stating that the Board was spending more money on Central than South, an argument that reflected earlier ones made during the referendum discussion last spring. Some parents drew connections between funding per school and property taxes paid by residents in each zoning area. Dr. Law, however, was quick to dispel the notion that funding was determined by property taxes. He stated that, while more money is spent at Central, Central is also a much older building.

“When people complain about how much money we’re spending on Central [it’s because] Central has more needs,” Dr. Law said. “When South has the needs, we spend the money at South.

We look at what building needs what.”

Other parents, such as Charles Zaher, who moved to Clarendon Hills so his children could attend Central, believe that the Board should not take away a choice that all families who bought houses in the buffer zone spent years thinking they would have. He was one of many parents who spoke at the special meetings to protest any change

for current and future buffer zone families.

What Happens Next?

Despite the heated community response regarding the issue, the Board may turn away from addressing it at all for now. A recent turn of events indicated that the original capacity numbers may not be accurate. While previous figures were calculated based off how many students could fit in both buildings, these new numbers are revised to factor in usage of the available space within the schools.

Furthermore, after speaking to multiple parents at elementary and middle feeder schools for both Central and South, Dr. Law said that he thinks the schools’ facilities are the real issue.

“The only thing that people are concerned about are the facilities,” Dr. Law said. “No one cares about student enrollment. We don’t need to settle it right now.”

Board Secretary Kathleen Hirsman agreed, stating that the focus should turn back to optimizing facilities at both schools, the subject which the debate on enrollment imbalance originally sprung from.

Moving forward, possibilities that arose during the enrollment imbalance debate may still be on the table. Dr. Law, for one, is in favor of a magnet program for the district. Rather than housing it at South in order to entice families to the school specifically, he stated that it could be beneficial to the district as a whole.

“I think there’s an opportunity there,” Dr. Law said. “But we should be doing that because it’s good educational practice, not because we’re trying to relieve overcrowding.”

When the enrollment issue arises again, as Dr. Law believes it eventually will, he does not think the Board will relocate any students, as redistricting would not be an easy thing to do, and could additionally result in the fracturing of feeder school districts.

“If we have options, why would we split up elementary districts? Why would we put the community through that?” Dr. Law said. “I do not see [the Board] redrawing attendance areas. If they did, I’d be very surprised.”

Samantha Jones, a real estate agent located in Hinsdale, has spoken on how the discussion about the enrollment imbalance and the possibility of redistricting has negatively impacted the real estate market. She believes that the district needs to focus on moving forward, rather than letting this issue divide the community, both for the sake of the housing market and for community members themselves.

“I think it’s important that we’re focusing on the future, helping both of our schools and their students excel,” Jones said. “All of us need to cast aside the drama, put our heads together and find a way to enhance both schools, because you can’t put a price on education.”

For more information, visit hcdevilsadvocate.com • 17

Different End Zones Athletes discuss kneeling during the national anthem

by Lauren Lee and Bilal Khokhar

18 • Features

Varsity football players Ryan Rodriguez, Prescott Miller, and Robert Mikes stand for The Star Spangled Banner at the varsity football game against Lyons Township on Oct. 13.

O

photo by Alex Choi

s

n Sunday, Sept. 24, in Soldier Field in downtown Chicago, fans roar across the stadium, excited for the beginning of the game. But the roaring slowly comes to a silence as they are signaled for the singing of the national anthem. Fans and players from all sides rise, take off their hats, and place their hands over their hearts. Standing on the field are all the members from the Chicago Bears, while only one player, who is a veteran, stands from the Pittsburgh Steelers. He stands in silence waiting for his teammates to rejoin him.

This trend of protesting started nationally, in September 2016, when professional football player, Colin Kaepernick, shocked the world by kneeling during the singing of the national anthem.

According to the Washington Post, Kaepernick believes that the flag should represent everyone, and that people of color are being oppressed, therefore he kneeled, protesting this oppression. Kneeling during the anthem has created a nationwide debate on this new way of modern protesting.

According to a recent poll by CNN, 49 percent of the nation find that the protesting is wrong. The poll also highlights that the issue is sharply divided by race, being that 59 percent of whites say the players are doing the wrong thing while 82 percent of blacks say it is the right thing to do.

This issue has overtaken schools, inspiring many to join the cause while also dividing football lovers on this discussion of civil rights. According to an article from the Chicago Tribune the national anthem pays respect to the people who have risked their lives, been injured, or died defending the United States. In a survey, that was conducted by Reuters, 72 percent of Americans said that they thought Kaepernick’s behavior was unpatriotic.

According to PBS, 38 percent approve of the recent kneeling, believing that the U.S. is not living up to its ideals of democracy.

While NFL guidelines encourage players to stand during the anthem, it is not mandatory. This issue has made its way to the high school setting, with local schools, such as Evanston High School’s football team, becoming part of the debate. Many students at Central have also discussed whether it is ethically OK to kneel or not.

Senior Caleb Lagestee is one of the captains for the varsity football team and disagrees with kneeling and finds that the athletes who choose to do so are being disrespectful. He also goes on to explain how this hurts the sport in general. He wants people to know that he believes in the civil rights movement, but wishes it could be done in a more respectful way, saying that while NFL players have the right to kneel, it does nothing to raise awareness.

“I just wish their way of raising awareness for their cause didn’t directly conflict with mine and other persons’ views on patriotism and respect alike,” Lagestee said.

Lagestee continues to explain that if one of his teammates were to kneel during a game, that the team would not talk about it, and it would divide the dynamic of the team.

Senior varsity soccer player Brady McKay also agrees with Lagestee and mentioned that he finds this action by players as unprofessional.

“Protest against the individual who said something that was nonsense, but do not disrespect our nation as a whole because this place has a whole lot to offer,” McKay said.

According to an article by the Washington Post, it is important to realize that social media can make people more likely to participate in protests. They also elucidate that when a protest becomes violent people are less likely to participate. The article also highlights that these protests by NFL players have never been violent.

According to an article by The Washington Post, Erica Chenoweth of the University of Denver and Maria J. Stephan of the United States Institute of Peace find that nonviolent movements tend to be twice as more effective in creating change than violent protests.

Mitchell Thompson, junior on varsity sailing, agrees with this form of protesting and finds that it is effective.

He mentions how kneeling during the games is spurring the movement against racial injustice and in turn, getting national coverage. In contrast with McKay, he doesn’t find kneeling to be disrespectful.

“I believe [kneeling] has to be maliceful to be disrespectful. It only becomes disrespectful if you want it to be,” Thompson said.

He also wants people to look at all sides of the story, not just their own point of view. He believes that people should be discussing this issue rather than fighting over it. Thompson explains that people get too caught up in the fighting and the details rather than having a productive conversation.

According to an article by Medical Daily, people argue because they need to feel like their worldviews matter, regardless of what the truth may be.

Senior Lonnell Smith, a varsity football player, would not take a knee unless he faced racial injustice personally. He understands why players are protesting, and explains that people have the right to because of the first amendment. “[Players] are not kneeling [towards] the national anthem to be disrespectful, they’re kneeling for something that actually matters,” Smith said.

Thompson agrees with Smith that the action of kneeling falls under the first amendment and players should not be punished.

He wants players to feel comfortable protesting

and he agrees that there will be critics, but says many will find this an admirable action.

In contrast, in an article by The Source, Greg Magarian, a professor of law at Washington University, explains that employees of private companies do not have constitutional rights against their employers. He further mentions that it means that professional athletes do not have the right to protest during games.

Many find that protesting the national anthem disrespects the military. McKay, who has many military veterans in his family, is deeply affected by this. He cites the specific incident of the Pittsburgh Steelers staying in their locker room during the national anthem and the one player who did come out, Former Army Ranger Alejandro Villanueva.

“The Pittsburgh Steelers stayed in the locker room during the anthem, but an ex-military vet decided to leave the locker room to look at the flag and to stand there with pride. That whole team may not think they are disrespecting that player, but reality

“[Players] are not kneeling [towards] the anthem to be disrespectful, they’re kneeling for something that actually matters.”

-Lonnell Smith, senior

is they are. That man risked his life for this country,” McKay said.

Senior Nick Biancalana, another varsity football captain, finds that if an individual has a legitimate reason for kneeling, then they can do so.

“The basic reaction is, wow, these guys are really unpatriotic, they hate America and they disrespect the soldiers,” Biancalana said. “But even the Pittsburgh Steelers guy said that [other] players who kneeled came up to him after the game and thanked him for his service.”

Thompson understands why individuals in the military may feel upset, but also feels that protesting is still permissible, because he supports the civil disobedience movement.

“To all the servicemen who [are against kneeling]: I know they are disrespecting you, but imagine what it feels like designed by Edmundas Pletas • 19

being African American in the U.S.,” Thompson said.

This issue has also brought up how people should respond when seeing someone kneel. In the past few weeks, professional athletes have been booed at during games because of their choice to protest. Many have voiced that this is ‘anti-flag’ and President Donald Trump has made remarks in favor of firing players who choose to “disrespect our flag.” According to a study by the Cato Institute, about 38 percent of the nation agrees with President Trump in firing NFL players after protesting.

“When you have people saying that whoever is kneeling should be fired, then I believe that is disrespectful; they should think about why [players] are doing this, instead of saying they should be punished,” Thompson said.

While on the other side Natalie Spitzer, junior, believes kneeling is disrespectful and should not be allowed in the NFL. “[Kneeling] distracts players and spectators from what they are there to pay attention to, the game, [and] not a larger social issue,” Spitzer said.

James Balderston, sophomore football player, feels that if someone has an opinion they must enforce it productively in order to make a change. In another article from The Washington Post, research shows that having protests are productive, and over the years protesting has changed many political views. The article highlights the civil rights movement and connects it with the Women’s March from in January.

“You can scream, yell, and even cry all [you want] about someone else’s differing opinion, but unless you act upon in a positive way then you cannot say anything,” Balderston said.

Many critics believe that because of the political issues, it has affected NFL ratings.

According to ESPN, the week six ratings were down 7.5 percent; this year on average 15.1 million people watched the first six weeks, while last year it was 16.1 million people. There are many different answers to why the ratings are down. According to ESPN, the overall decline of ratings was because of the election last year. This left the ratings down by eight percent from 2015.

They also believe the protesting was a factor in this year’s ratings.

Senior Quentin Wallace, another varsity football player, agrees that athletes can protest during games, but finds that political statements may turn many people away from watching.

“I don’t think [protesting] takes away from the sport. I just think that people want to get away from the troubles of everyday life by watching sports or mindless TV and for players who took a knee, it sort of made 20 • Features

[viewers] upset because they wanted to relax and all they are seeing are political statements,” Wallace said.

However, some supporters of the protest believe politics did not play a role in the lower ratings. A survey by the firm eMarketer shows that 22 million Americans will stop paying for cable and satellite by the end of 2017, a growth of 33 percent more than in 2016, while 34 million Americans have never paid for cable service, up just under six percent from 2016.

According to an article in Time magazine, MSNBC averaged 1.52 million viewers and in second place Fox News averaged 1.5 million. Lastly, CNN ranked fourth among all cable networks for the day with 1.13 million viewers.

Many, such as Mr. Tom Dorrance, varsity football coach, find that the media is blowing this controversy out of control.

He explains how this issue started from opposition against racial injustice, but it turned into the argument of disrespecting the flag and the nation.

“As a white guy, I can’t even relate, can’t even fathom, what [racial injustice] would be like,” Mr. Dorrance said. “I do think the media missed that whole thing.”

While Kaepernick’s protest has reached a nationwide discussion on civil rights, it has also reached the level of many high school football teams.

Many teams have reacted differently to the kneeling, some praise the idea, while other teams believe the student athletes should be punished for their actions.

According to the Chicago Tribune, at a game between New Trier and Evanston high schools on Sept. 28, 20 players kneeled from Evanston while one kneeled from New Trier. Evanston’s principal spoke out about this issue supporting the football teams’ actions. While in contrast, two players on a Texas football team got kicked off for kneeling during the national anthem. According to Sports Illustrated, the Texas coach had warned his players to not kneel during the game referencing his military service in the marines. Even though no one on Central’s football team has kneeled during a game, many coaches have different ways of handling the situation for their team.

According to the Athletics Department, “If a student on the athletic field or in the classroom, chooses to remain seated

or kneel during the national anthem he/she should be allowed to do so. This is in keeping with our existing practice of allowing students to express their first amendment right to free speech so long as it does not significantly disrupt or compromise the learning environment or the contest or game.”

While Lagestee agrees that players do have the right to kneel, people have to understand that under the first amendment, people also have the right to their opinion.

“If they have the right to kneel, [people] also have the right to say it is wrong,” Lagestee said.

According to many of the football players, Coach Daniel Hartman, the head varsity football coach, talked with the team regarding kneeling during the anthem. “[Coach Hartman] was down for what we want to say, as long as it’s not too disrespectful,” Smith said. “We can do whatever we want to do and he’d be with us all the way. There’s no ostracising us if we do it.”

Mr. Dorrance wants people to understand that there could be backlash, and before kneeling understand the consequences that could happen from people. He said he is a firm believer for people standing up for their beliefs and the only thing he might do to a player if they kneeled is ask their reasoning behind it.

“Could there be consequences from the community? Absolutely. There are some veterans who feel very strongly about the flag and the respectfulness of it,” Mr. Dorrance said.

Many have called for understanding of the opposing side.

“I sort of recognize that people believe what they believe for a certain reason and I think you need to find out what those reasons are before you are quick to criticize,” Wallace said.

Many like Biancalana, are still optimistic that football can still continue without political controversy. He wants people to understand that even though the kneeling does bring a lot of awareness to the problem, it will ultimately not change anything.

“At the end of the day everyone is just out there playing football,” Biancalana said. “Things happen before and after a game, but when you’re on the field everyone is equal.”

“If they have the right to kneel, [people] also have the right to say it is wrong.”

-Caleb Lagestee, senior

21

HCHS v. LT Football Game Friday, Oct. 13

Cheerleaders perform their routine during the halftime show of the varsity football game against Lyons Township on Oct. 13. The game also included senior night for the cheerleaders, marching band members, and pommers. The night ended in a win for the Red Devils (21-20).

22 • Features

photo by Caroline Bowater • 23

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• 25

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Fashion

photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

What Stranger Things character are you?

Which one of these awkward situations do you hate the most?

When people hold the door for you when you’re really far away and you have to do the awkward run-shuffle so you don’t feel like a jerk.

When the server tells you to enjoy your food and you say “You too!”.

Which 2000s movie is your favorite?

Aquamarine

High School Musical

Have you taken the ACT or SAT yet?

Nope

Yes, it was excruciating.

You’re Eleven Unafraid and ready to take on anything.

When you’re walking in the hallway. you realize you passed your class, and have to pull a freshman move and turn around really quickly.

Which breed of puppy is the cuddliest?

Princess Diaries

St. Bernard

Poodle

A rescued mix

Why did the chicken cross the road?

To avoid lame jokes.

You’re Mike

Faithful and willing to go the distance for friends.

...to cross the road?

You’re Jim

Blasé, but steps up to the plate. designed by Charlotte Sudduth • 27