Drops of Ink -- March 2021

MARCH 18, 2021 VOLUME 93, ISSUE 5

ONE YEAR LATER PAGES 12-13

REMEMBERING MR. BOGUMIL PAGE 8

@lhsdoi

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SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION PREVIEW PAGES 9-11

CROSSWORD: WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH PAGE 27

Libertyville High School Drops of Ink

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LIBERTYVILLE HIGH SCHOOL’S STUDENT NEWS PUBLICATION

CONTENTS

6

NEWS 6 LHS

7 COUNTY

LEAF Transforms Courtyard into Native-Grown Garden

Lake County Continues to Administer Vaccines, Now Including Teachers

12-13

8 LHS

14-15

Remembering Mr. Bogumil

FEATURES

19

9-11 DISTRICT 128

12-13 COVID-19

Breakdown of the D128 school board candidates

One Year Later

14-15 LIBERTYVILLE

16-17 PERFECTIONISM

MainStreet Businesses Take Recycling Into Their Own Hands

Under Pressure

26 WHAT’S TRENDING

27 CROSSWORD

Sustainable Solutions

Women’s History Month

23

OPINION

SPORTS

19 STAFF EDITORIAL

20 COLUMN

24-25 SPORTS

Parents Shouldn’t Shelter Kids from Everything

Eating Disorders During a Disorderly Era

21 COLUMN

22 COLUMN

Negative Coaching Experiences Cause Some Student Athletes to Quit

Course Requirements Limit Student Exploration

Did I Waste My Teenage Years?

23 COLUMN

The Top 5 Taylor Swift Songs WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU Contact us at doi@lhswildcats.org Cover photo and design by Lily Hieronymus 2

DROPS OF INK

WHO WE ARE Drops of Ink is a student-written, edited and produced high school publication. Our publication functions as a service to the school and greater community of Libertyville, first and foremost delivering open-minded, informative content that is relevant to our readership. While not our primary motive, Drops of Ink also looks to provide entertainment to our audience. We aim to challenge readers to see different perspectives and gain knowledge of the world around us.

CONTENTS

CHECK US OUT ONLINE Hannah Sachs

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Peyton Rodriguez

THE SHOW MUST GO ON

Alex Clark

THE BACK AND FORTH ON CLIMATE CHANGE IS GOING TO GET US NOWHERE

THE DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS OF MICROAGGRESSIONS

Amal Hasan

MAYOR WEPPLER LOOKS BACK ON HIS TIME IN OFFICE

Maddie Handrich Anika Raina

EDITORIAL BOARD

SARA BOGAN Managing Editor

PAVAN ACHARYA AMANDA BLACK AND ELLA MARSDEN Editors in Chief amanda.black@lhswildcats.org ella.marsden@lhswildcats.org

Online Editor

ANIKA RAINA News Editor

LILLY WILLIAMS Features Editor

DREW BENOIT MICHAEL GLUSKIN Faculty Adviser michael.gluskin@d128.org

Opinion Editor

CHRISTIAN ROBERTS Sports Editor

PEYTON RODRIGUEZ Photo Editor

JADE FOO Layout & Design Editor

STAFF Simon Amyot Katherine Barry Jack Birmingham Dino Bougiotopoulos Andrew Brooks Ariella Bucio Alex Clark Ellie George Maddie Handrich Amal Hasan Rowan Hornsey Natalie Isberg Jasmine Lafita

Dimitrios Mitsopoulos Kajsa Murphy Molly Muscato Olivia Poell Hannah Sachs Jacob Short Lyann Tam Johnny Thames Katherine Thomey Liam Tucker Avery Vang Paige Vang Sarah Wuh

LILY HIERONYMUS Social Media Editor

MARCH 2021

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MARCH 2021 5

NEWS

LEAF TRANSFORMS COURTYARD INTO NATIVE-GROWN GARDEN Ariella Bucio

Rowan Hornsey

The courtyard (on the left) is expected to have benches, a compost center, more pathways and a solar powered fountain in the future. The blueprints for these plans are shown on the right.

Four years ago, the Libertyville Environmental Action Force (LEAF), an environmentally-focused club, began planning the major project of transforming the courtyard near the language cube and the main hallway into a native-grown garden, a plan that has greatly developed over the past year.

Dave Lapish, the club’s faculty advisor, explained that before any changes were made, the courtyard was merely a patch of grass with scrubby bushes and many weeds. After getting through some obstacles and gaining support, LEAF was able to put their plan into action last year.

Mr. Lapish said the first step was clearing out the grass.

“One of the goals was to do everything as environmentally soundly as possible and so we decided as a club to kill the grass without using any chemicals, and one of the ways to do that is to starve the grass,” he said. This was done by depriving the grass of sunlight and water by using large plastic sheets.

After covering the grass up for a few weeks, the club was able to start rototilling, breaking up the soil. This was done because the soil was so compact and they needed to loosen it up for the new plants in order for their roots to grow. LEAF was then able to plant hundreds of native plant species in the courtyard and make it into a native prairie garden.

“I remember doing all the tarps for that and then after that, [the courtyard] didn’t look great,” senior Mark Ekdahl, a member of the club, said. “But over time, it’s nice to see a little progress because I planted a lot of the flowers, and we’re still working on it, so it’ll be exciting to actually see some of those come out.”

It was very important that the plants that were chosen were 6

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native because, as senior Courtney Simpson, the club’s co-president, said, “the goal was to add more native plant species to educate other students who aren’t a part of LEAF about the different plant species in Illinois.” Mulch was then added to keep the weeds from returning and over the summer, it was watered and sprayed.

Mr. Lapish explained that there will also be a big compost center in the courtyard. LEAF hopes to “coordinate with the cafeteria as time passes so we’ll mix dead leaves and stuff like that with lettuce and leftover [food] from the cafeteria, and that’ll be turned into usable soil later on.”

In addition to the compost center, LEAF has additional plans for the courtyard. The club is going to add benches and more pathways to make a teaching center for teachers to take their classes out there on nice days.

“I think it’s also a way to make the courtyard more interesting to go to or just another place for students to study and just one more thing to add to the school,” Simpson said.

A solar-powered fountain is also expected along with new paintings in the gazebo, which will help “incorporate the school more with LEAF,” according to Simpson.

Once the courtyard is finished, Mr. Lapish expressed that the club is “really looking forward to seeing students being able to go out there and spend time during their breaks.”

Ekdahl added, “It was nice to have had a project that everyone could focus on and be a part of and also after you leave high school, it’s nice to know that there’s something there that you took part in and will always be something that other people can enjoy down the line.”

LAKE COUNTY CONTINUES TO ADMINISTER VACCINES, NOW INCLUDING TEACHERS Katherine Thomey

Natalie Isberg

Places like the Lake County Fairgrounds are currently giving out Covid-19 vaccines by appointment for those over 65, essential workers and long-term care facility residents.

S

tarting in late January, eligibility in Lake County for the Covid-19 vaccine extended to adults 65 and older and frontline essential workers. Those now able to receive the vaccine include public transit workers, corrections workers, inmates and educators, including LHS teachers and administrators.

One teacher who has received his first vaccination dose is Ryan Ebling.

“I felt a little bit emotional, like [the vaccine] is the thing that we’ve been waiting for for so long, and I’m getting it now,” Mr. Ebling, who teaches English, shared.

While access to the vaccine is still limited, Lake County has instituted the AllVax Portal, an online registration on the county’s website, so that residents can be notified when they are eligible to schedule a vaccination appointment. Lake County Board Member Jennifer Clark, who represents Libertyville, attributed the county’s organized distribution of vaccines to this tool.

According to the Lake County Coronavirus Data Hub, there are over 330,000 registrants through the portal yet only just under 73,000 vaccine doses have been received by the county’s health department. The county as a whole has administered more than 102,000 doses, resulting in nearly 3.6% of the population being fully vaccinated.

As indicated by the entire county administering more vaccines than the health department alone, vaccination sites set up by the health department are not the only way to receive a vaccine. Other distributors include local hospitals, health care providers and pharmacies, with more sites planned to open.

Choir director Jeff Brown received his first vaccine dose at Round Lake High School, one of two sites accessible to District 128 teachers, the other being Stevenson High School.

Registrants could not enter the building before their designated time and each vaccine recipient was required to wait 15 minutes after their shot to be monitored by emergency medical technicians for negative bodily reactions to the dose, according to Dr. Brown.

“Everybody was very nice and kind,” he said, describing the approximately 30 minutes he spent at the site. “I think everyone there felt good to be there and be able to get in and get [their vaccination] going.”

The Lake County Health Department’s goal is to vaccinate 80% of the population, approximately 560,000 people, but with inconsistent quantities of vaccines received each week, it is uncertain when this will be accomplished. The week of Jan. 4, over 13,000 vaccines were received whereas the week of Feb. 8 saw only 8,300 vaccines.

“If we were to [vaccinate] all these people in six months, we would need 43,000 doses a week to distribute, which the Lake County Health Department could totally

NEWS

do,” Clark said. “It’s literally [that] there [aren’t] any more vaccine...each week when they get the doses, they allocate every single dose.”

It is unclear when the county will move into the next stage of vaccination, 1c, which includes people ages 16-64 with health conditions that place them in a high-risk category as well as additional essential workers. This description is not definite as each category’s requirements are subject to change.

For now, teachers such as Mr. Ebling and Dr. Brown are able to slightly ease their anxieties over their safety from the virus. “[The vaccine] gives me a sense of hope that we can get back to our normal lives, that we can walk around outside without a mask on and feel like we’re not going to die,” Dr. Brown said, noting that while he feels more secure being around people following his vaccination, his interactions and commitment to safety will not change.

Research surrounding the vaccine is inconclusive when it comes to a person’s ability to continue transmitting the virus after being fully vaccinated.

“How much the vaccine impacts transmission...makes me a little bit nervous coming home to my family or being closer to students,” Mr. Ebling shared, noting that his in-person interactions with students would not change as he completes his vaccination process.

“I felt really grateful to the people who were there,” Mr. Ebling said as he detailed his vaccination experience at the Stevenson High School site. “I felt like I admired them, the people who were asking me the screening questions, and telling me where to go, and the person who gave me the shot...I just felt a lot of admiration and gratitude for them.”

Clark shared similar sentiments. “It’s the happiest place on Earth,” she said. “People cry, they’re so happy, and everyone who works there is so nice.”

The first two Covid-19 vaccines approved for use require two shots to be effective; Pfizer-BioNTech recommends doses of its vaccine be given a minimum of three weeks apart while Moderna recommends a full month between doses. A single-dose vaccine, produced by Johnson & Johnson, was authorized for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration at the end of February, making it the third vaccine approved in the U.S. As the vaccination continues to reach more of the population, Clark emphasized the county’s efforts to ensure its equitable distribution. “People can rest assured, as long as they sign up for AllVax, they will get a vaccine. It is free, and it doesn’t matter your immigration status,” she said. “For public health, you need everyone to get it, so...we want people to feel welcome.”

MARCH 2021

7

NEWS

REMEMBERING MR. BOGUMIL Katherine Thomey

Ella Marsden

“One of the first things [I noticed] is how caring he was of his staff A constant smile and joyful, contagious laugh continue to echo in and players,” Mr. Zyrkowski shared. the minds of those whose lives were touched by Scott Bogumil, Jason Schroeder, the G-P LST team director, worked with Mr. who passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack on Feb. 13. A Bogumil for 10 years and noted the way he would continue to “tell passionate coach on the basketball court, loving father and new stories about stuff from the past that you had never heard...and husband, and a devoted counselor at the high school, those closest they were all true.” to Mr. Bogumil remember his willingness to listen and the energy he Mr. Zyrkowski also recalled many of his memories of Coach brought to each part of his life.

Bogumil sharing stories about the “basketball situations, coaches he A “basketball junkie,” his proficiency in every aspect of the sport has met, [and] players that are in the NBA that he remembers in little was admirable to many. Head boys basketball coach Brian Zyrkowski, kids camps.” who started his LHS coaching “He always brought up stuff career under Mr. Bogumil, [about] how much kids impactrecounted his continued ed him, how much coaches amazement at Mr. Bogumil’s impacted him,” Mr. Zyrkowsknowledge when he sought ki said. “But really, if we think advice for an upcoming game. about it, it was...more him “He knew every single thing impacting coaches and him about [our] opponent that we impacting those kids.” were playing that weekend,” Mr. Mr. Bogumil’s presence on Zyrkowski noted. “He [hadn’t] the basketball court and in the seen them play. They haven’t LST were known to be vastly played in over a year, but he different as he kept those knew every single player who spheres of his life separate. left, who was on [the team], School nurse Cam Traut what they were going to do... described her first experiences and I remember stepping [into] getting to know Mr. Bogumil, the game like ‘oh my gosh, he remembering his in-school called it.’” personality as “very mild After a successful coaching mannered” and “very quiet... and counseling career at Gordon except for his loud laugh.”

Technical High School, now “I remember going to the DePaul College Prep, Mr. Bogumil first game to watch him and entered LHS in the same roles in he [was] totally opposite,” she 2004. He served as Libertyville’s shared. “You would never know head coach for 11 years and then that that’s the same guy that resigned to pursue an assistant Mr. Scott Bogumil passed away on the evening of Feb. 13. Mr. Bogumil was a counselor in the G-P LST and a basketball coach for many years, as well as a coaching position at Northridge devoted Cubs fan. Mr. Bogumil touched many lives in his time at LHS, and his would sit here so quietly and do his job...and when he got on the Preparatory School in Niles. impact will not be forgotten. court, and if you look at some Even with the prominence of of the pictures...his arms spread out, and you could just see the basketball in his life, Mr. Bogumil always maintained the energy to be emotion and the passion with his hands flailing and stuff, and he’s with his wife and two daughters. stomping his foot.”

Briant Kelly, District 128’s associate superintendent who coached Whether he was walking into the LST with his daily cup of Dunkin’ under Mr. Bogumil as his assistant for three years, emphasized the Donuts coffee or sharing his love for the Cubs, one aspect of his life love Mr. Bogumil had for his family. was consistent: his character.

“Being a coach, being a counselor, being in school, you spend a lot “If you asked him how he was doing, I just always remember that of time away from your family, but he always tried to make sure that his response was ‘I’m doing terrific,’” Mr. Kelly shared. “He just he took time with them...whether it was on the weekends or [when enjoyed coming to work every day, whether it was [as] a counselor it] wasn’t during basketball season,” Mr. Kelly said. or was [as] a coach.”

Mr. Zyrkowski echoed this sentiment: “It’s very easy to spend less “He was a very morally just person...he always did things the right time with family during the seasons [but] he found ways. He always way, would never cut corners, especially when it comes to working had the energy to do it.”

As a grounded and compassionate teammate, Mr. Bogumil focused with kids and making sound decisions on what’s best for them,” Mr. Schroeder emphasized. “He did what was right all the time, even if he on cultivating relationships. didn’t think anybody was going to see it.”

8

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NEWS

Breakdown of the D128 School Board Candidates Pavan Acharya Liam Tucker

Amanda Black

Paige Vang

This year’s local elections will take place on Tuesday, April 6. Among other races, four seats on the D128 Board of Education are up for election, determining the majority of the makeup of the school board for the next two years. This election features two incumbent board members and eight first-time candidates. Voters can vote for up to four candidates. The group of 10 candidates running for the school board is the largest number in recent memory.

View an extended version of this story online by scanning this QR code.

Drops of Ink interviewed nine of the 10 board candidates in order to learn more about each of their values, goals and qualifications. They are listed in the order they will appear on the ballot.

Photo Courtesy of Kevin Huber

Kevin Huber

Kevin B. Huber is running for reelection to the Board of Education, having served as a board member since his election in 2017. The retired CEO of the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund and current chairman of the Illinois Students Assistance Committee, Huber has overseen construction projects on the LHS pool and wrestling gym and Vernon Hills’s west gym from the district’s fund balance. Huber has voted to enter the hybrid model since the start of the school year and voted for a full-time in-person option to be offered starting this April. He supports a remote option being offered for sick students, even after the pandemic.

Kathryn Talerico Kathryn Talerico is running for the Board of Education for the first time. As a pediatrician at the Erie Health Center in Waukegan, Talerico believes that her health care expertise and experience could provide the board with a unique perspective on Covid-related issues. She believes that D128 schools should have begun the hybrid model last August and stated in February that more in-person options, such as inschool lunch, should be explored over the coming months. Furthermore, Talerico thinks that the district should look into the issues of toxicity and air quality in their schools.

Talerico is also a mother of three who has spent time volunteering for D128 at school dances and EKG testing.

MARCH 2021

9

NEWS Photo Courtesy of Cara Benjamin

Cara Benjamin

Cara Benjamin is running for the Board of Education for the first time. An LHS alumna, former high school teacher and Vernon Hills resident, Benjamin now works as an ACT/ SAT tutor. She emphasized that she does not have a child in high school. Benjamin stressed the importance of students being brought back to in-person learning only when it is safe to do so. She wishes more students would opt into Covid-19 testing and supports mandating testing to attend in-person school or extracurriculars. Benjamin supports culturally responsive teaching, explaining that teachers’ attitudes can have an impact on students. Benjamin endorsed Carmichael, Drumke and Kulkarni.

Sean Gay Sean Gay is a first-time candidate for the Board of Education. He declined to be interviewed by Drops of Ink. On social media, Gay has called for a return to full in-person learning since the summer, calling for all administrators and teachers opposed to a return to in-person school to be fired. In campaign materials, Gay states plans to “create efficient learning environments” and “negotiate sustainable finances.” Gay has argued on social media that transgender students should not be able to use bathrooms and changing rooms nor be on sports teams of the gender they identify with.

Sean Gay dec lined to be photographed or to provide a photo

Don Carmichael Don Carmichael is running for reelection, having been elected to the Board of Education for a two-year term in 2019. Carmichael taught science at Stevenson High School from 1985 to 2014, returning to the school for a few months during the remote learning period last spring. While on the board, Carmichael has worked for Sustainable D128, an initiative promoting sustainability. He voted against a shift to hybrid learning throughout first semester, voted for hybrid learning to begin at the start of second semester and voted for a full-time in-person learning option to start in April. Carmichael prioritizes equity and cited the district’s recently introduced Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy as an accomplishment. Carmichael endorsed Benjamin, Drumke and Kulkarni.

Kara Drumke Kara Drumke is running for the Board of Education for the first time. A resident of the district’s choice zone, Drumke has spent 30 years teaching elementary school students and is a practicing attorney. She believes the DARING mission provides the district a strong target to aim for. Drumke emphasizes the need to ensure social-emotional learning is still prioritized during the pandemic. While she wishes there could be full-time, in-person learning, she understands and agrees with current restrictions. Drumke also supports the district’s Covid-19 testing regimen, though she acknowledges the ways this data collection can skew metrics. Drumke endorsed Benjamin, Carmichael and Kulkarni.

10 DROPS OF INK

NEWS

Chris Coughlin Chris Coughlin is running for the Board of Education for the first time. Outside of his work as a mobility specialist at CDW, Coughlin is a member of the D70 school board, which covers elementary schools in Libertyville. Coughlin praised the D128 hybrid plan, appreciating the amount of face time it provides for students learning in person. Beyond Covid-19, Coughlin believes that the district should work on long-term goals, such as updating its buildings to accommodate for population growth. Furthermore, Coughlin wishes to find ways to encourage parent involvement in the district. He believes that a partnership amongst the teachers, staff and parents of D128 to educate their kids would make up the ideal school district.

Sonal Kulkarni Sonal Kulkarni is a candidate for the Board of Education for the first time. She emphasized that she is a quick learner, decision maker and effective listener. Kulkarni proposed creating a volunteer bank of parents to be called on for gathering community feedback or creating task forces. Such a bank would allow parents to get involved and allow the board to receive feedback from representative groups, she said. Kulkarni supports the district’s response to the pandemic and emphasizes the importance of Covid-19 testing. A supporter of the Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning Standards bill, Kulkarni said she values diversity and equity. Kulkarni has endorsed Benjamin, Carmichael and Drumke.

Jim Connell Jim Connell is a first-time candidate for Board of Education. In addition to owning a small marketing company, Connell teaches a Social Media & Business class at CLC. He prioritizes supporting incoming superintendent Dr. Denise Herrmann’s vision and goals for the district. Connell also hopes to improve the district’s communication. Connell said he isn’t focused on second-guessing the board’s decisions regarding the pandemic; he supports the district’s current testing regimen and emphasized the importance of listening to the Lake County Health Department as school grows closer to normalcy.

Connell has attended Parent CATS meetings and volunteered at homecoming and the senior graduation party.

Photo Courtesy of Dale Sherman

Dale Sherman Dale J. Sherman is running for the Board of Education for the first time. Sherman has worked as a lawyer for the past 26 years and has served on the Executive Board for the Libertyville Boys Club. Sherman has been a critic of the current board’s handling of school reopening and believes that D128 schools should be fully open and not in a hybrid model. Sherman emphasized his ability to listen, citing the importance of listening to his supporters and critics. He thinks that the district should conduct more focus-group discussions with all types of students, not just student leaders. Sherman currently has a senior daughter attending LHS and has cited her senior year experience as one of the reasons why he chose to run for the board.

Dr. Julie A. Brua initially filed to run for the Board of Education but has since withdrawn from the race. Her name will not appear on the ballot.

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FEATURE

ONE YEAR LATER Ellie George, Jasmine Latifa and Liam Tucker

O

Lily Hieronymus

Sara Bogan

n Wednesday, March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially declared Covid-19 a global pandemic. That week, Libertyville first saw everyday life upended by the pandemic, as schools announced a switch to online learning.

Drops of Ink interviewed students, teachers and administrators to understand the harrowing first days of the pandemic, one year later.

The first Covid-19 case in the U.S. was found on January 21. Some staff members began to see signs that Covid-19 could pose a threat.

Dana Brady (science teacher): I think when there were the first few cases in the U.S. and you started to see them popping up in different parts of the country, I knew something was amiss and that things were going to shift. Did I predict it to this magnitude? No, but I definitely thought there would be a shift.

John Woods (athletic director): When I heard that my son’s school was going remote and my daughter’s school was going remote, that’s when I started to figure out this thing is happening pretty quickly.

Mia Khan (then-eighth-grader at Highland Middle School): I was upset [about the cancellation of an orchestra state competition] because we scored well and we worked hard, and now we can’t go.

Andrea Lara (U.S. History teacher): I was in a meeting in my classroom with the Student Council Executive Board, and it’s a very tight group of kids. There was obvious concern amongst the seniors. They were already thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve lost my soccer season’ or all of that. And I remember at that time thinking, ‘Well, not for sure. It’s spring break. And then we come back and we get back to normal.’

Ms. Brady: I knew [LHS closing] would happen based on information from the past 48 hours and from other schools, but it was just a matter of time.

On Wednesday, March 11, NBA player Rudy Gobert tested positive for Covid-19. Shortly after, the NBA suspended its season.

Matthew Maderer (then-sophomore): I just remember it being so surreal because we talked about Covid this and Covid that at the beginning of March, but [Gobert’s positive test is] when everyone was getting an idea that this might actually be coming to us.

Tom Koulentes (principal): We were talking about, what if somebody tests positive? How do we make sure they’re safe?

How do we make sure they’re taken care of?

Mr. Woods: I think it was about 9 [p.m.] when I was on the phone with Dr. Lea (D128 superintendent) and Mr. McDonald (VHHS athletic director) and we’re having conversations about our winter sports awards night that Thursday (March 12). We had to postpone that, and there’s a lot of preparation that goes into that, so the sadness I felt for the kids and for the families was pretty extensive.

At the start of seventh period on Thursday, March 12, Dr. Koulentes announced that all extracurricular activities would be postponed indefinitely.

12 DROPS OF INK

Clara Beauchamp (then-junior): I think when the extracurriculars were canceled, that was definitely when it clicked that things were gonna start being different now.

At 2:40 p.m. on Friday, March 13, Dr. Koulentes made another announcement: school would be conducted remotely until April 6.

Mr. Woods: Dr. K just has such a calming presence. I remember that announcement like it was yesterday. And you sat and listened. And of course, you listened to what you knew he was going to say.

Dr. Koulentes: I wanted to be brave, and I wanted to be steady for students, so that people didn’t panic. And I didn’t want people to be scared. But it’s been said by a lot of people that fear and courage go hand in hand. And I definitely was afraid.

Christopher Thomas (English teacher and theater director): I remember feeling very sad for my students. I know that students come to school for a variety of reasons. There are a lot of good things about our school community that kids love.

Allison Chung (then-freshman): Like everyone else, I was a little excited because I was like, ‘Oh, this is just going to be a few weeks.’

Khan: Honestly, I thought, “Sweet, no school, no schoolwork” when [Highland Middle School] first closed.

Jenna Krakowski (then-freshman): When they announced the e-learning, I was like, ‘This is the new norm? Yeah, it’s gonna be weird.’

FEATURE

In the next few days, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker announced a stay-at-home order and Illinois recorded its first Covid-19 death.

Maderer: I really expected it to be [that] we’ll finish the school year with online learning and we’ll be good to go for next year.

Dr. Koulentes: I definitely had a lot of concerns that there were going to be a lot of people that I cared about who were going to be really sick or maybe die. I guess confusion is a good word. Confused emotions, confused Upon entering the building, students are required to have their about what are the actions we have to take. I think a lot temperature checked. The auditorium entrance features one of the temperature check stations. of that was spinning in my head.

Khan: I saw a lot of videos of people in the hospital beds, dying of this crazy, unknown illness that no one knew anything about, and it was pretty morbid. I saw this video of a 16-year-old girl who had no oxygen in her limbs, and it felt [like], “Wow, that could have been me”.

Beauchamp: As time passed, the cases were increasing a lot more, and I feel like that made [everything] feel a lot more real.

Chung: When they kept saying “Oh, we’re going to be in quarantine for a few more weeks,” that’s when I felt like we probably aren’t going to get out of this anytime soon.

The halls of LHS look different this year, as a two-way hallway system has been implemented to enforce social distancing.

With the one year anniversary of the start of the pandemic, some are taking the time to look back.

Ms. Lara: I don’t think I would change anything. I think the reality of this year played out the way people like me could digest.

Mr. Thomas: When we were in the moment, I believe that everyone was doing their best, not only to keep people safe but also to continue to be positive.

Dr. Koulentes: I don’t really know what it all means. I hope we’ve done a good job. I hope that we’ve kept people safe. But it’s hard sometimes when you’re still living it.

The hybrid model allows Dr. Jennifer Kahn’s AP Environmental Science students to hold class discussions that both online and hybrid students can participate in.

View the extended version of the story and photo essay online by using the QR code below:

The hybrid model has allowed AP Physics 1 students to conduct labs such as the spring lab, pictured above.

MARCH 2021 13

FEATURE

E K A S T D S N E A S H S E N N I W S O U B R I T E E H E T R O T T S N N I I G N MA I L C Y C RE Ella Mars

den

Amanda

Black

Paige Va

ng

In downtown Libertyville, whether or not a business recycles is up to the building owner, either the business owner or a separate landlord. For those properties managed by a landlord, the landlord has the final say in the decision to recycle or not, Village Administrator Kelly Amidei explained over email.

There is currently no Village of Libertyville employee responsible for overseeing recycling or other environmental issues, Amidei said. This leaves much of the waste disposal process up to the discretion of individual businesses and their landlords.

The village has a commercial recycling contract with Groot Industries, which gives MainStreet businesses the option to recycle a limited amount of waste for free. Once

that limit has been reached, businesses can continue to recycle at a reduced rate.

Despite this, some businesses downtown do not participate in recycling. Amidei credits this mainly to a lack of space for an additional dumpster on a building’s property.

Hansa Coffee co-owner Kevin Kane echoed this, stating that his business doesn’t have space for a second dumpster behind their building.

He said that they tried to implement a recycling program in the past but quickly found that much of what should have been recycled just ended up in the trash, making the cost of recycling not worth the gain.

Not only is a business

or building owner required to spend additional money on a dumpster to dispose of recycling products, but there’s an additional expectation that employees be paid more for handling this extra step in the waste disposal process, Kane explained.

“IF THE VILLAGE WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY A CENTRAL WASTE, RECYCLE AND COMPOST AREA IN THE LARGE BACK PARKING LOT BEHIND US, IT WOULD HELP MOVE THIS INITIATIVE ALONG” -JOHN DURNING “What it comes down to is, is the benefit worth the cost?” Kane said. He and his co-owner Tom Maegdlin have come to the conclusion that, in their situation, it is not.

Kane also noted that much of the waste produced at Hansa cannot be recycled anyway, so the extra hassle of setting up

Dan Temesey, a co-owner of Green Room and Birdy’s Coffee House, pays out-of-pocket for recycling. They also participate in “food recycling,” or composting, which requires an additional fee.

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FEATURE

“I KNOW WE’RE NOT GONNA FLIP TO ELECTRIC CARS TOMORROW, BUT THERE IS A NEED FOR THE CHANGE. IT’S GOING TO BE UP TO THE YOUTH 20 YEARS FROM NOW” - DAN TEMSEY a recycling system would not have a significant overall impact.

Pizzeria DeVille owner John Durning shared a similar belief, saying that since his restaurant is not currently open for dine-in eating, they are not producing much recyclable waste. The vast majority of cardboard that comes from deliveries does get recycled thanks to the village’s contract with Groot, so there’s not many recyclables that end up in the garbage, according to Durning.

Before the pandemic struck, Pizzeria DeVille was working with the village to set up a composting and recycling program. This, however, was put on hold as they weren’t prepared to invest in a new dumpster enclosure while navigating the challenges posed by the pandemic. Durning said he feels that it would be beneficial for the village to take the lead on proper waste disposal.

“If the village were able to identify a central waste, recycle and compost area in the large back parking lot behind us, it would help move this initiative along for all of [the businesses with this shared parking lot],” Durning said via email.

Murphy’s Health Foods & Juice Bar shares a dumpster with Pizzeria DeVille.

Sales associate and juice bar attendant Philip Roach noted that much of their inventory is delivered in cardboard boxes, so all of that cardboard, along with plastic, paper or glass waste goes in the dumpster. Additionally, the cups and straws used at the juice bar are biodegradable, Roach explained. This means that even if they aren’t disposed of correctly, they will go into the landfill and break down there.

“Economically, it’s cheaper to throw everything in the dumpster. And I’ve worked at companies where that was the practice,” Roach said. He shared that he’s glad that Murphy’s takes on this additional cost to care for the environment.

Owner of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Tom Lockowitz has taken recycling into his own hands. Lockowitz pays

out-of-pocket to recycle cardboard. He paid to install a dumpster in the parking lot behind his store, which he keeps unlocked to allow anyone who needs it to use it.

For other recyclables, like plastic, Lockowitz collects them in the back of the shop and brings them to his own house to dispose of correctly.

As Lockowitz sees it, businesses shouldn’t wait for village guidance to start recycling. It’s a responsibility businesses should take into their own hands, he shared. He acknowledged that recycling is a practice everyone should participate in and if a business or building owner waits for direction, no change will ever be made.

The owner of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Tom Lockowitz, pays to recycle cardboard and paid for a dumpster in the parking lot Dan Temesy and his behind his store himself. Lockowitz also collects other recyclables in wife, Maria Mandarino, the back of the shop and brings them home to recycle properly. owners of Green Room and Birdy’s Coffee House, also Temesy said. The staff is “getting used to view recycling as an important part of not just throwing [waste] in the garbage their businesses. Temesy and Mandarino but [thinking about] ‘what am I exactly pay out-of-pocket to ensure that waste throwing away?’” from their two restaurants is disposed of The responsibility Temesy feels to recycorrectly. cle and compost stems from his Canadian Temesy shared that, in addition to background. There, everyone must recycle recycling, their businesses also particor they’re fined. It’s also required to ipate in what he called “food recycling,” separate recycling based on the material or composting. Any food scraps or other the item is made out of. biodegradable waste is sorted into bags Temesy emphasized that he underseparate from recycling and garbage stands that his impact is small, but it’s a products. Both Green Room and Birdy’s step in the right direction. He also feels pay an additional fee — which Temesy a responsibility to train his young staff estimated is about $40 per month — to to continue these practices in their lives have a service pick up this compost and outside of work. dispose of it correctly.

“I know we’re not gonna flip to electric “You have to implement and train your cars tomorrow, but there is a need for the staff to [recycle] because everybody’s change,” Temesy said. “It’s going to be up just so used to, as I call it, being lazy,” to the youth 20 years from now.”

MARCH 2021 15

UNDER UNDER PRESSURE. PRESSURE. PRESSURE. FEATURE

PRESSURE.

PRESSURE. PRESSURE. PRESSURE. Molly Muscato

Natalie Isberg

Avery Vang

In many ways, the experience of a phobia is similar to that of a nightmare. Literally referred to as irrational fears, these anxieties are largely baseless, and on some level, those who suffer from them can even recognize this. Yet the fear remains just as real as any other. For high school students who struggle with perfectionism, any indication of room for improvement immediately morphs into a scathing declaration that they should have done better. An A- grade is subconsciously internalized as a permanent academic blight. An unliked photo is a forewarning of growing unpopularity. And a slip up at practice is treated as unforgivable instead of human.

Knowledge surrounding the damaging effects of perfectionism has become more mainstream in recent years. Nevertheless, research in the fields of psychology and sociology reveals that each year, more and more high school students across the country struggle under the weight of unrealistically high expectations set by themselves and society at large.

AN APPEALING TRAP AN AN APPEALING APPEALING TRAP TRAP AN APPEALING TRAP

At first glance, the mindset of perfectionism can seem reasonable and even admirable. After all, why shouldn’t we hold ourselves to high standards so we can become better versions of ourselves and succeed?

However, as Psychology Today reports, perfectionism diverges from healthy patterns of self-discipline and goal setting in that a perfectionist’s drive for success is built upon unrealistically high expectations and an almost paralyzing fear of failure.

Junior Charlotte Bossler elaborated on how the perfectionist mindset so effectively creates a set of unattainable goals, explaining, “I find that whenever I meet one of my goals, I’ll just heighten it again, so it’s like it’ll never be good enough.”

Brene Brown, a researcher at the University of Houston, emphasized that perfectionists often view themselves with a mindset of “I am what I accomplish and how well I accomplish it. Please. Perform.

Perfect.”

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High school students striving for perfection set an extremely high bar for themselves, which can cause stress and anxiety if such a bar isn’t met.

Thus, perfectionism can lead one’s entire self-worth to hinge upon a set of standards that are designed to be nearly impossible to reach.

According to Medical News Today, these habits often lead perfectionists to struggle with serious mental health concerns including depression, eating disorders, and low self-esteem.

Sophomore Ben McDonald mentioned that at the height of his perfectionism, “I was constantly staying up until 3 [a.m.], 4 [a.m.]” in an attempt to meet the high standards he had set for himself.

And far from being a pathway to success, perfectionism can actually weaken one’s academic or athletic performance.

LHS Prevention and Wellness Coordinator Brenda Nelson stressed that perfectionism can actually lead to chronic procrastination because “we want things to be so perfect that we kind of give [up] and don’t even try...because [the first step] just feels overwhelming.”

IN A HECTIC WORLD

IN IN A A HECTIC HECTIC WORLD WORLD

IN A HECTIC WORLD

“

You don’t have to live under this dark cloud of

Despite nationwide efforts to improve students’ mental health, national data suggests that the number of students experiencing perfec-tionism has skyrocketed in recent years.

For example, a landmark study from Thomas Curran and Andrew Hill found that college students in 2016 reported much higher levels of perfectionism than their counterparts in 1989.

This discrepancy was highest in the category of socially prescribed perfectionism; growing 33%, the increase in this category reveals that many students are placing themselves under an immense amount of pressure because of the expectations they feel that others have of them.

While there’s no doubt that rates of perfectionism among students are increasing rapidly, there is more uncertainty regarding what specific cultural and technological developments are most responsible for elevating students’ expectations for themselves to such unhealthy levels.

For example, Bossler attributed some of the growing pressure that teenagers are placing on themselves to have the “perfect” life on social media and the competition it creates, stating, “Every day, I see 10 TikToks that are [about] how you can get the perfect morning routine so that you can live a perfect life. [...] We see other kids succeeding on social media, and we’re like ‘Oh, why can’t that be me?’ So we just feel like we should be working harder than we are.”

Psychology teacher Kara Bosman expanded on this idea, expressing that as a high school student, she had less social anxiety than many teenagers today due to the absence of social media pressures.

“I [didn’t] see a live highlight reel of my peers...most of my classmates had lives that I didn’t know about, which was awesome in

PRESSURE and EXPECTATIONS...

EXPECTATIONS...

FEATURE

PRESSURE

“

It’s not easy to step out from that, but I think we still gotta try.

-Brenda Nelson

hindsight [because] I didn’t know what I was missing out on,” she said.

In addition to the pressure to craft the perfect social life, many high school students also struggle with academic perfectionism.

McDonald explained that because college admissions and the job market are so competitive today, “it feels like [success] isn’t attainable unless you ace all of your tests [and] you get into the best college imaginable. It just feels like if you don’t do everything right, then you’re not going to succeed.”

Similarly, University of Michigan Professor Daniel P. Keating tied growing academic perfectionism to greater trends in social and economic inequality.

He argued that the growing wealth gap in the U.S. “[heightens] the competition to achieve at ever-higher levels” because “the potential risks of sliding down the ‘social ladder’ are much higher when an ever-smaller percentage at the top can gain access to social and economic success.”

THE HOPE FOR ESCAPE

THE HOPE FOR FOR ESCAPE ESCAPE THE HOPE

THE HOPE FOR ESCAPE

Some perfectionists feel the pressure to be perfect academically, especially in high school, where grades help determine one’s path to college.

For perfectionists searching to escape entrenched patterns of unhealthy pressure and low self-esteem, it’s essential to remember that you’re not alone and to have patience with yourself.

According to the Harvard Business Review, making small efforts to slowly adjust your standards to meet more reasonable goals is much more effective in battling perfectionism than mulling on times in the past when you could have had a more positive outlook.

McDonald echoed this idea, stating that in order to overcome his perfectionism, he consciously avoided using “should” statements such as “I should have done better on this test” because they “[keep] you in the past and kind of [prevent] you from doing anything more productive in the future.”

While perfectionist students often feel as if they must dedicate all of their time to their schoolwork or a sport, Ms. Bosman emphasized the value of making sure “you’re still taking time for yourself...

It’s okay to close your textbook and go for a walk or hang out with friends on a Friday night. Things like that are really important.”

Finally, Dr. Nelson summarized both the challenge and hope ahead for students looking to overcome perfectionism, reassuring students that “you don’t have to live under this dark cloud of pressure and expectation...It’s not easy to step out from that, but I think we still gotta try.”

MARCH 2021

17

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18 DROPS OF INK

OPINION

Parents shouldn’t shelter kids from everything

DOI Staff Peyton Rodriguez Jade Foo

Note: This piece is a staff editorial, which is an opinion article meant to reflect the opinions of the Drops of Ink staff.

Because of this, the author’s name does not appear alongside the story, as the opinions shared in here are based on class discussions about the topic among the 37 DOI staff members. The staff is composed of students of all grades from a variety of backgrounds and experiences; therefore, the editorial speaks to the publication’s view on a subject and is not representative of each staff member’s exact view on the issue at hand.

W

hen children inquire about a controversial concept, many have lessons and create bonding moments.

Despite a parent’s unwavering efforts, sheltering a child often heard the phrase “I’ll tell you when you’re older” in response, seems to invoke the opposite effect. Many parents would agree that or a fabrication in its place, from an adult with good intentions. telling a child to not watch a certain TV show makes them desire the However, evading the truth often leads to a level of mistrust when activity even more. Explaining to a kid why they shouldn’t participate kids are later faced with reality. in an activity is an important aspect of their compliance and moral The best method is for parents to reveal a degree of factuality and facilitate a discussion regarding difficult topics. In this way, adults development.

Before parents avoid the time and effort required to conduct can carefully expose their children to important events and advise discussions, they may want to consider why they are sheltering them on how to process their resulting feelings. their child in the first place.

On the other hand, it’s Sometimes, a parent’s actions important to recognize a may not be in the child’s child’s need for innocence and best interest but rather to the psychological effects of suppress their own worries exposing them to a probor keep their children from lematic or traumatic idea too growing up. early. Another consequence In addition, avoiding certain of premature exposure could topics, such as mental health be introducing a child to hate, issues, can contribute to the which can culminate in already existing stigma within discriminating behaviors. a community.

For these reasons, Social media, however, is a conversations about complex different beast and must be situations must be delivered handled delicately. With such at the right time and without a wide variety of platforms, elaborate details. Rather than the exposure that children age, parents should receive is unregulated. Fake consider a child’s level of news, especially on Twitter maturity. More specifically, and Facebook, can easily alter adults should evaluate whether children’s views because they their child demonstrates Although some topics discussed in the news may not be suitable for young open-mindedness and are more perceptible to children, it is still important for parents to start educating their children emotional intelligence. misinformation. Childrens’ instead of completely sheltering these topics from them.

Libertyville itself is often brains are still developing and sheltered from a range of negative experiences due to the town’s the toxic “likes” system of Instagram won’t help them. socioeconomic status, resulting in lower crime rates and less Parents should allow their children to utilize Snapchat and violence. It is often challenging for parents to put into perspective messaging apps to connect with their peers but postpone the the larger scope of current events to their children because they do introduction of other social media applications until their kids are not interact with these realities on a daily basis. more mature. If platforms are introduced at a younger age, parents With the inevitable exposure to disturbing events, children walk should instruct their children about cyberbullying and online safety. on a tightrope between education and ignorance.

Even in high school, students continue to be overly protected in But instead of sheltering children, what if we educated them various ways, such as through location tracking, strict curfews and about Covid-19 deaths in an effort to teach them the importance of from sensitive information within our families. While less rigid than mask wearing? What if we taught about police brutality in order to young children, the sheltering of teenagers should also maintain a inform children about the systemic racism in our country? There is balance between trusting their child and creating regulations. no need to uncover gory details to deliver these messages.

Although it is challenging to determine the extent of sheltering If these conversations were commonplace, parents could view needed for a child, the most important aspect is communication and the discussions as opportunities to teach their children important a commitment to fostering healthy mindsets in children.

MARCH 2021 19

OPINION

Eating Disorders Need to be Better Addressed During a Disorderly Era Sarah Wuh

Kajsa Murphy

Olivia Poell

Since the era of COVID, eating disorders have become more common due to multiple factors.

U

nquestionably, the Covid-19 pandemic has been a tremendous catalyst in psychological and emotional issues. A study conducted

by Jama Network Open, a medical journal published by the American Medical Association, found that depression symptom prevalence was more than three times higher during the Covid-19 pandemic than before. Further, many mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, can trigger eating problems, or even prompt a relapse in eating disorders.

As we are living through the tumultuous effects of a pandemic, sporadic fluctuations in appetite based on our emotions is totally normal. Having some ice cream when we’re feeling down, or losing our appetite because we’re nervous about something can be a perfectly natural response. However, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, symptoms such as a preoccupation with food, weight and body image, as well as a feeling of loss of control over food, among others, constitute disordered eating. On the very far end of this spectrum are more commonly known eating disorders like anorexia nervosa, bulimia and binge-eating disorder.

The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders states that 9% of the U.S. population, or 28 million people, will experience symptoms that fit into the criteria of an eating disorder in their lifetime.

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This excludes the majority of people who suffer from disordered eating, which is not diagnosed as an eating disorder. Furthermore, eating disorders are among the mental illnesses with the highest mortality rates. There is little data available online of how these numbers have been affected by Covid-19, as we are still in the thick of the pandemic. Statistics concerning teens are especially scarce.

Teens are already susceptible to issues with body image and self-esteem, and the pandemic likely has exacerbated that for many.

The pandemic threw everybody from their usual structured routines. An abundance of newfound free time was accompanied by feelings of isolation and loneliness. As an athlete myself, during quarantine, I felt pressured to watch what I ate more closely, and participate in workout videos in an attempt to stay in shape. However, without a routine, I saw myself repeatedly disappointed in my actions regarding food and exercise. I also found it difficult to share my troubles with my friends.

Additionally, Covid-19 saw teenagers (and adults) increasingly active on social media. It feels too easy to scroll through posts and inadvertently compare yourself with the physical appearances of the bodies you see on social media.

“Our screen time increased, meaning that we were more likely to be exposed to thin or

athletic ideals through the media, while decreased physical activity may have heightened negative thoughts about weight or shape,” the lead author of a study linking Covid-19 to a rise in body image issues, Viren Swami, stated in a news release.

On all social media platforms, in the beginning of quarantine, I saw tons of content of teens seeking “glow-ups,” or going on diets and exercise plans to achieve their goals over quarantine.

Influencers such as Chloe Ting became internet sensations for their workouts that claimed to give viewers their ideal body shapes. However, as 2020 went by, and as it’s been a little more than a year from when Covid-19 first forced quarantine, I saw this content shift along with my own mindset.

“The only thing that the pandemic has given me is an eating disorder...But it’s fine, because I lost weight,” said a TikTok post recently, to resounding agreement in the comments. Many teenagers interacting with this video had similar experiences to the one in the video. What started as a teenage popularity spike in workout and health videos devolved into a normalization of disordered eating and toxic mindsets towards body image, which in some cases, became something even more dangerous.

There has to be more awareness surrounding this in the teenage community. We need to do more to address when we, or our friends, are suffering from disordered eating or eating disorders. Eating issues should not be normalized, and we need to work towards breaking that standard.

It is vital for us to recognize when we, or those around us, are struggling with a toxic relationship with food.

If you or someone you love is struggling with an eating disorder, contact The Eating Recovery Center at 1-866-753-3817 or the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) at 1-800931-2237.

OPINION

Course Requirements Limit Student Exploration Ella Marsden

B

efore I entered my freshman year at LHS, I received tons of advice from current and former students. Everyone advised me to take advantage of all the opportunities LHS has to offer, including a wide range of classes available to students.

This thrilled me. I couldn’t wait to try something new. Maybe I’d even take an art class (despite my friends’ and family’s assurances that I’m not artistic)!

But I quickly learned that even though what everyone had told me was true — there really is an insane number of classes offered here — I simply didn’t have room in my schedule to fit many of them in.

I’m grateful for the classes I’ve taken and the teachers I’ve had the last four years, but I wish I’d gotten to experience more. I wish I could have taken guitar. Or ceramics. Or maybe Philosophy and Film.

Each year as I was filling out the following year’s course selection sheet, I’d first fill in the classes I knew were practically non-negotiable: math, English, science, social studies and gym. Plus, I’d need a period for lunch. That only left me with two classes per year where I had some flexibility. And each year, I’ve chosen to take Spanish, and Drops of Ink has been my elective.

I’ve spent the last four years taking gym classes where I played badminton and traveled to bowling alleys. While I’ve had some fun, it only took one semester of gym to teach me that I definitely wasn’t passionate about physical education.

The state of Illinois requires physical education as a means to maintain student health. This makes sense, but as someone who (when there isn’t a pandemic) goes to the gym every night, I take exercise into my own hands. Yet, I was required to take that class every semester in high school (except the one where I had to take health).

Instead of four years of gym, I wish I’d been able to take an art class. I wish I’d been able to take Current Issues. Or Dark Room.

I wish I’d at least had more freedom to choose.

High school is supposed to be a time where we can explore our interests and

Amal Hasan

Olivia Poell

figure out what we want to do with our lives. How can I discover what I’m truly interested in if I haven’t even been given the full opportunity to search for it?

The next four years of my life will be dedicated to what I think I’m interested in.

I’ll be spending tens of thousands of dollars every year to attend college. What if everything I think I’m interested in now no longer interests me four years from now?

I know I can go into college undecided on a major — and that’s what I plan to do — but what if I spend the beginning of college taking classes about journalism but then discover that I’m passionate about the arts? What happens to all that money I spent learning about journalism?

The high cost of college doesn’t allow the flexibility that high school should allow. If I’d truly been able to discover my passions in high school, I wouldn’t have to worry about that.

This isn’t a criticism of LHS specifically; rather, it’s a criticism of the education

system as a whole. It’s a criticism of the lack of flexibility given to students who are expected to discover their passions in high school.

In our interview, Ole Stevens, the director of student services at LHS, said that in his time as a counselor before his current position, he’d often have students bring these concerns to him. Students complained that there wasn’t enough time in the day to take the classes they wanted to take.

So it’s not a new problem, yet it continues to persist. I’m not suggesting that we get rid of core classes, and I understand why the school and the state have certain requirements.

I just wish I’d been able to take advantage of all the opportunities offered at LHS. I wish I’d had the chance to really discover what I’m passionate about. I wish high school gave me the opportunity to take classes because I was interested in them, not just because I was required to.

MARCH 2021

21

OPINION

DID I WASTE MY TEENAGE YEARS? Hannah Sachs

Like many others, quarantine left me with an excessive amount of time for deep and sometimes terrifying self-reflection. This stuck me with one question that continues to beg for an answer I don’t have. My time as a high schooler is withering to an end, and I’ve found myself perpetually asking, “Did I waste my teenage years?”

I entered high school with strict, self-enforced rules on what I was and wasn’t allowed to do. The rules were as follows: I would never consume illegal substances. I would never go to reckless parties. I would never lie to my parents. When I created these rules, I was watching my high school brother struggle with substance abuse and addiction while he lied constantly about his actions and intentions. Additionally, I was entering a new stage in my pursuit of a professional ballet career. As a result, my middle school disinterest in substances became an obsessive rejection of them for the benefit of my health, my career and my family. This began my identification as a sober and responsible “golden child.”

I feared being in the presence of any illegal substance and having heard my fair share of middle school and parental lectures, I planned to stay clear of large-group hangouts as I believed substances were almost guaranteed to be present. Because of this, I found it easiest to become antisocial by choice. I busied myself with my ballet career and jam-packed every weekend with studio hours, leaving no option for a social life. Being too busy to socialize felt better than being too terrified to join.

My lack of a social life and rejection of classic teenage activities introduced to me the idea that I wasn’t living out my high school experience. In attempts to drown out that thought, I justified my actions to myself through my all-consuming dedication to dance.

While I am healthy and accomplished thanks to every extra hour I’ve spent in pointe shoes rather than socializing, I have never successfully silenced the voice in my head that knows what I’ve never experienced.

I’ve never smoked. I’ve never vaped. I’ve never drank. I’ve never snuck out of my house. I’ve never felt the energy of a high school party. I’ve never experienced the rush of adrenaline I imagine comes from lying to my parents. But why do these actions define a fulfilling high school experience in my mind?

After much thought, I’ve attributed it to the portrayal of teens in the media, the ability of my classmates to do what I couldn’t and the social acceptance of teenage irresponsibility.

More often than not, when I’m watching my age group being portrayed on a screen, I see them use substances and make reckless decisions for the purpose of an entertaining and realistic plot. With this constant representation, it didn’t take long for me to question if this then meant my life was dull. My Saturday nights at the studio would surely be a bore if added to the typical teenage plotline.

Thanks to the “gift” of social media, I’ve also been made aware that some of my classmates actually live out these film “fantasies” through their blurry party selfies and clumsy drunk videos. From word of mouth, I’ve heard endless stories of hysterical nights brought upon by varying substances. I’m always left standing and 22 DROPS OF INK

Kate Barry

Maddie Handrich

listening, never able to relate.

The nail in the coffin for me is the widely accepted ideology that high school is the time to “live life” and “be reckless” when the reality behind these phrases is most commonly “break the law” and “ignore the risks.” Why is there so much emphasis put on irresponsibility?

Why have I been made to feel like my commitment to responsibility means I haven’t “lived life”?

While I would love to have undying pride for my health-conscious and career-driven choices, I’ve never been able to avoid the thought that I’ve wasted my years as a teenager. I have no stories of funny drunk nights and hysterically horrible decisions made with best friends. While I know in the long run I’ve made the best choice for myself, I don’t know the answer to the question “did I waste my teenage years?” and in all honesty, I’m not sure I want the answer.

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Look What You Made Me Do

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cardigan

Shake It Off

Sparks Fly

OPINION

Our Song

Lover

Mine

The Top 5 Taylor Swift Songs

betty

Fearless

Christian Roberts

Kajsa Murphy

Olivia Poell

Should’ve Said No

Taylor Swift is one of the most talented songwriters the world has ever seen. With 10 Grammys to her name, as well as being one of only six artists to ever win two Grammys for Album of the Year, Swift is one of the most highly celebrated artists of our time. Throughout her career, Swift has released nine studio albums, starting with her self-titled debut album in 2006, and spanning to her latest albums, “Folklore” and “Evermore” in 2020, to round out one of the most complete discographies in all of music.

Without further ado, here are Swift’s top five songs:

1. “All Too Well” This song is a masterpiece. For five minutes and 27 seconds, Swift takes listeners on a roller coaster ride, slowly telling a story of heartache from a relationship that failed. With lyrics containing small, super intimate details from Swift’s relationship with actor Jake Gylenhaal, one can feel like they witnessed this whole relationship unfold right before their very eyes. As Swift is the queen of heartbreak songs, it would only be fitting that she write the greatest love song the music industry has ever seen.

The only bad thing about this song is that the original recording was supposed to be over 12 minutes long, but before the release of the album “Red,” five verses were removed.

Best Line: “You call me up again, just to break me like a promise / So casually cruel, in the name of being honest”

2. “New Romantics” Taylor, why was this song not included on the standard edition of “1989”? It’s weird, because it just so happens to be the best song on the album by far. This song doesn’t get the love it deserves, solely due to the fact that it’s on Swift’s most popular album to date (five of her top 10 most popular songs are on this album, according to Billboard). A landmark song in Swift’s jump from country to pop music, “New Romantics” has a chorus so catchy and euphoric, it literally feels addicting.

Best Line: “And every day is like a battle / But every night with us is like a dream / Baby, we’re the new romantics” To see an extended list of these rankings, scan this QR code:

3. ”Dear John” Few songs can invoke such strong emotions like “Dear John,” Swift’s longest song to date, clocking in at just under seven minutes! One of her most iconic songs to date, Swift rips apart singer John Mayer, with whom she had an emotionally manipulative, short-lived relationship. During the chorus, Swift talks about the 12-year age gap between the two, singing “Don’t you think nineteen’s too young to be played by your dark, twisted games?” Swift goes on to call out Mayer’s toxic behaviors, and if it weren’t for “All Too Well,” this would be Swift’s most emotion-driven song.

Best line: “The girl in the dress wrote you a song / You shoulda known”

4. “New Year’s Day”

Taylor Swift has been a popular singer for years; here are some of her top-rated songs.

Although somewhat out of place on Swift’s “Reputation” album, “New Year’s Day” shows that even when experimenting with new genres, Swift is still one of the best songwriters in all of music. The closing track of her 2017 album, “New Year’s Day” uses a New Year’s party as a metaphor for holding onto memories and people. When the parties in her life are over and the new year begins, memories of the good times are all she will have left. Swift relates a lasting love to someone who shares a kiss with you on New Year’s Eve but is still with you in the morning to begin the New Year.

Swift is speaking to her lover in the chorus when she says “I want your midnights, but I’ll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year’s Day.” She wants the magic of a kiss at midnight but also the rough times that may follow.

Best line: “I’ll be there if you’re the toast of the town, babe / Or if you strike out and you’re crawling home.”

5. “Cruel Summer” “Cruel Summer” is so pop-oriented that it feels like it would’ve perfectly fit on “1989,” not “Lover.” While “Lover” was shaky at times, “Cruel Summer” is the exact opposite. With one of Swift’s best hooks and choruses to date, the second track off her 2019 album is one with a deeply rooted history, dating back to Swift’s 2016 feud with Kanye West. Swift went through a very dark period around this time but also met her current boyfriend, Joe Alwyn.

Thus, the song switches back and forth between the good and bad times of this specific summer, hence the name “Cruel Summer.”

Best line: “And I screamed for whatever it’s worth, ‘I love you,’ ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard?”

MARCH 2021 23

SPORTS

coaching experiences are causing student athletes to quit Negative

Ellie George Lily Hieronymus Jade Foo

*Note: The student sources in this story were granted anonymity in order to speak openly about their experiences without singling out specific sports or coaches.

ccording to The New York Times, more than 45 million children in the United States are engaged in a sport at a young age, but 70% will quit playing by the age of 13. This could be for various reasons, for example, choosing to focus on a musical or artistic activity or financial difficulties preventing a family from paying for their child to continue playing.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that physically active youth have better weight control, academic achievement and mental health, as well as a decreased risk of heart disease and lower likelihood of diabetes than those who are not. Additionally, they found that a relationship between a coach and athlete is more important and impactful than one may think.

Having a non-family member as an adult role model can be extremely beneficial to some children, the CDC reported.

Being able to wind down at a practice and focus on a sport with an adult leader who can help guide young people can set the foundation for not only athletic success, but in life as well.

A junior female athlete said that many of her coaches were “some of the most influential people I’ve had in my life.” She was a three-sport athlete for LHS until this year, when making the decision to not continue playing for a sports program at school.

This junior explained that,

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from her own personal observations and experiences, the varsity level experience of one of the sports she played was “not something [she] was eager to be involved in.”

“Favoritism is something to expect at a varsity level, and I knew that,” she explained.

“But I felt it got to the point where it was even beyond that.”

She played at the junior varsity level of this sport last year, and her decision to not continue with the sport is similar to that of many of her peers.

“Out of the 14 girls on my team [last year], 10 of us are deciding not to play,” she remarked. “None of us liked the varsity coaching style from what we could see [being on JV]. They only put effort into the top players. I don’t think I would have

been valued as a player.”

A junior athlete echoed feeling this same sentiment for the athletic team he decided to quit this year.

“I stopped playing [because] I wouldn’t have gotten better,” said the junior. “Coaches at the varsity level only care about the kids wanting to play in college and wouldn’t give feedback to kids like me who were [just] there to play.”

A senior female athlete feels that not all coaches choose to give equal attention to athletes who aren’t playing in college compared to those who will be.

“When in season, the girls that were already being scouted got the most attention,” she remarked.

The senior decided not to continue with

SPORTS

athletics at LHS last year after she felt that her coach couldn’t “emotionally support [her] or give quality feedback.”

After making varsity as a freshman and being moved down to JV for sophomore year, and again being placed on JV junior year, she felt “beat down and defeated” by the time she was a junior.

“After being moved down sophomore year, I reached out to the coaches to see what I could improve on,” she explained, “and I [really] didn’t get much. It didn’t feel like they actually wanted to invest in future varsity players. Their energy and focus was only on current varsity players.”

The senior wanted to make clear that going into sophomore year, she “might not have had the [best] attitude going into the season about playing on JV.” But she said she doesn’t feel that gives the coaches an excuse to treat her differently.

“Of course I was going to be upset not making the [varsity] team. They knew that, and I was allowed to be upset. They could have been more understanding,” she remarked.

A different female senior athlete quit a JV sport at LHS after her freshman year as a result of what she described as a mentally exhausting situation, which, in her opinion, was caused by a varsity coach.

“Whenever I was given criticism, it felt like it was only to embarrass me and to prove a

point. I was so focused on being embarrassed that I couldn’t even focus on the criticism I was getting,” she remarked.

She explained that it felt as if she was “automatically disliked” by the varsity coach because she was a member of a different club team during the offseason.

“It was just not a good environment, and there was [clear] favoritism and dislike towards certain members, which was the part that was most unhealthy for me,” she said.

This senior mentioned that her self-esteem was “at its lowest” while she participated in the sport because of the attitude she feels her varsity coach had towards the team as a whole.

“I would [literally] start crying before practice because I didn’t want to go,” she explained. “That was so unusual, and I [just] didn’t understand why I felt that way. And then the second I went back to club, I was fine. I still loved the sport” One resource athletes have to describe these feelings and experiences is the Student Athlete Experience survey that the athletic office sends out at the end of every season.

“We [really] do value those surveys,” Athletic Director John Woods explained. “We want to know what’s going on with our kids.

We want their feedback.”

The survey contains questions ranging

from the passion of coaches and teammates to the quality of practices and communication. “[We] have conversations with our coaches at the end of the season evaluation process. Our coaches take a [hard] look at the feedback that they get from our student athletes, and from [their] parents and guardians as well,” Mr. Woods remarked.

“If somebody chooses not to provide feedback, respond to the surveys, send an email or come and talk [to us], it’s going to be difficult to know why somebody quit and how we can help,” Mr. Woods mentioned.

Boys varsity lacrosse coach Brady Sullivan remarked that he and his coaching staff use the Student Athlete Experience surveys as much as possible.

“I read through every single one of the parents’ and student feedback forms they send us. As the varsity head coach, I look at all levels -- from varsity to JV to freshmen,” he explained.

Mr. Sullivan feels that the key for a high player retention in high school athletics is for both the coaches and players to “be on the same page for what each party wants from the other and be comfortable to have conversations with one another.”

Mr. Woods added that the athletic department encourages students to come to them to organize meetings in order to start a conversation with them, their coach, their parents and himself.

“If we’re not having those conversations, then it’s not going to get any better. If the relationship is going to improve, it has to improve between all parties involved,” Woods said.

Added Mr. Woods: “We love our student athletes, and we hope they have a great time playing for LHS. Getting a positive experience out of athletics is what we want the most and what we strive for every season.”

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FEATURE

What's Trending

Sustainable Solutions

Rowan Hornsey

Jade Foo

In the 21st century, sustainability is the ability to meet our own needs without compromising future generations’ abilities to meet theirs.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, sustainability recognizes that in addition to the resources that sustain life, social and economic resources are necessary in order to meet true global sustainability through commerce.

Avoiding Disposable Items

Plant-based consumption

Instead of using plastic bags at the grocery store, opt for paper or bring tote bags. Additionally, great alternative options for zip-up plastic bags, such as food containers, are available and don’t take up much space while simultaneously saving money in the long run.

While veganism is most effective, increasing the overall amount of times you eat plant-based foods also has impact. All over Instagram and other social media platforms, there are many content creators who post their easy, delicious recipes with ingredients you have at home.

Support stores that advocate for sustainability

Rethink transportation

Supporting local and sustainably conscious businesses encourages the sustainability of this movement. Purchases from these businesses are most likely to benefit your community and reduce environmental impact, as they have a smaller overall footprint. If making an effort to stay local, Hansa, Conscious Cup, and secondhand stores are sustainable choices. Popular franchises that focus on sustainability goals are Coca-Cola, Patagonia, Chipotle and Starbucks.

As there is a rise in hybrid and electric vehicle production, considering these as an option when purchasing your next car is a great way to transition into sustainability. In the suburbs, walking and biking can replace a drive. In cities, turn to electric scooters or public transportation to reduce traffic.

WHy should we care?

Why should businesses care?

It’s important that the long-term results that come from sustainability are prioritized. According to the University of Texas, these choices accumulate to an improved future for underrepresented groups, our environment and the livelihoods of the next generation.

Sustainability is a priority for the three main stakeholders of corporations: investors, employees and consumers. According to the Harvard Business Journal, sustainable companies are an investment that will prove to be successful over time. Deloitte recognizes that millennials present in the workforce and members of Generation Z are aiming to work for sustainable companies. Forbes states that consumers are 88% more likely to be loyal to a company that is socially and environmentally responsible.

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CROSSWORD

Avery Vang This crossword recognizes women’s accomplishments throughout history and recent years across activism, science, politics, sports and more.

Across 2. A Native American woman who accompanied Lewis and Clark on their expedition across North America.

5. First Indian woman to go to space. Flew in 1997 and in 2001 on the Space Shuttle Columbia.

7. An 18-year-old climate activist and winner of Time magazine’s 2019 Person of the Year.

9. A popular Hispanic singer known as the “Queen of Tejano” and “Queen of Latin music”.

12. The first woman to complete a transatlantic flight.

14. Crucial to the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA. Her work has only been recently recognized after being wrongfully accredited to Watson and Crick.

15. First and only queen of the Hawaiian kingdom, ruled for two years between 1891 and 1893.

Down 1. She rescued around 70 enslaved people on the Underground Railroad; nicknamed “Moses” for her brave efforts.

3. First Asian American, African American and female to be vice president of the United States.

4. A civil rights activist and journalist who started an anti-lynching campaign during the 1890s.

6. Her diary, written in hiding, helped historians better understand the Holocaust.

8. First Jewish woman and second woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court, fought for gender equality and women’s rights.

10. A Pakistani activist for female education and youngest nobel prize laureate.

11. First woman of color to be elected to the House of Representatives in 1964, and first asian-american to run for president 13. A Mexican artist and feminist icon remembered for her self-portraits and unibrow.

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