September 22 issue by Michael Gluskin

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SEPTEMBER 22, 2016 VOLUME 90, ISSUE 1

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Manal Ahmed, Editor-in-Chief Becky DeAcetis, Editor-in-Chief Lola Akinlade, Online Editor Demi Glusic, Online Editor Hannah Hutchins, Features Editor Alo Garcia Escobar, Opinion Editor Jack Kosowski, Sports Editor Maria Thames, Photo Editor Olivia Griffith, Layout Editor

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Contact us at doi@lhswildcats.org

Brianna Baez Rachel Benner Maggie Burnetti Anna DeNoia Rachel Dudley Luke Ekdahl Allie Goldman Jenna Grayson Abbey Humbert Benjamin Kanches Breezy Listman Kevin Loumeau Molly Magill Elizabeth Manley Colleen Mullins TJ Murbach Sam Nelson Kyle Patterson Tia Petrzilka Matthew Price Colby Roberts Georgia Sampson Kelly Shinnick Matthew Smith Brandon Simberg Maya Trott Paige Ward Maddie Wasser Savanna Winiecki

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Letter to

2016-2017 Staff Listing Dear LHS Reader,

Welcome to the first Drops of Ink issue of the 2016-17 year! We can’t wait for you guys to see what awesome things we are going to DO(I) this school year. This issue is mostly written by the 14 returning staff members and a few new members, so we worked extra hard to make this issue great for our wonderful readers, aka, you! As a local newsmagazine, we will continue (suprise!) reporting about news at LHS and telling the stories of members of the Libertyville community specifically. We would like to stay away from reporting news that is national or international. When reporting a story that is not local news, the story is not as authentic as we would like it to be because we find ourselves getting information from other stories written about that topic. For example, if we wrote a story about the Zika outbreak in Florida using sources such as the New York Times, we have done no original reporting and basically just told you what you what someone else said in other words. “What’s Happening”, which will be returning this year, has the sole purpose of highlighting international news in a quick overview that helps readers understand main events and issues happening around the world that can often be complex or confusing. Also, we are not an LHS promotional magazine. This does not mean that we will be slandering Dr. Marina Scott’s name or denouncing everything LHS does, but our sole purpose is not to advertise for Libertyville High School. We are working to find a balance between what we call “fluff” and hard news. Meaning, we are still going to have “What’s Trending” and we are still going to highlight all the great things about LHS, but the DOI staff will focus on informing our readers what is happening in the community, regardless of it being positive or negative news/information. Phew. Props to you for making it through all that fancy journalistic stuff. For getting so far, you deserve a prize -- stop by room 259 and grab a one-of-a-kind Drops of Ink pen during 3rd or 4th hour. Shhh, don’t tell anyone -- they have to earn their own very valuable DOI pen. Offer valid while supplies last (yikes, that sounds like a commercial), so come on down as soon as you can! Thanks so much for reading our letter! We hope you enjoy this issue filled with the oneand-only Laura Zeng, international trips LHS sponsored over the summer, students who run their own companies, info on the school budget and more. Quick shameless self-promo! Be sure to follow us on all of our social media platforms: Snapchat-lhsdoi Instagram-lhsdoi Facebook- Libertyville High School Drops of Ink Twitter-lhsdoi Sports Twitter-lhsdoisports

Love, your Editors-in-Chief,

Michael Gluskin, Faculty Adviser Becky DeAcetis & Manal Ahmed September 22, 2016

Drops of Ink

10-11

Photo courtesy of Tiffany Owens

Photo by Maria Thames

Photo by Ben Kanches

News Running Out of Reserves, Not Revenue

Feature 6-7

An update and explanation on District 128’s budget.

Warning: No More Curfew Warnings

10-11

Libertyville is now enforcing a new curfew law that was passed this summer.

12-13

Opinion 14

Details about current trends/events in Libertyville and around the globe.

LHS Goes International Students traveled abroad in the summer to Spain to learn about the Spanish language and culture and Cambodia to participate in service work.

Cats With Companies Three LHS students have taken the next step of adolesence and created businesses of their very own.

Can I go now? DOI collects its staff’s opinions of the important matter of bathroom policies in this month’s staff editorial.

Sports

A Spot-less System: The Problems with the Parking Passes

19-21

The problems with the LHS parking passes viewed by a senior.

Extra-extra-extra-extra-extracurriculars: How much is too much?

Wildcat Stats Selected stats of each fall sport at LHS thus far.

Debunking African Stereotypes

September Spirit Covering LHS football and the spirit each student shows to support the team.

Online editor Lola Akinlade digs into the deeper meaning of African stereotypes and falsifies them.

Contents

Rhythm in Rio Learn about the life of junior and Olympic athlete Laura Zeng as she returns from Rio.

DOI voices opinions on extracurriculars - are students too involved? Or not involved enough?

What’s Happening & What’s Trending?

Contents written by Brianna Baez Cover photo by Maria Thames 3

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Running out of reserves, not revenue By Alo Garcia Escobar It’s not common for high school students to think of a school district as “They [the board] did ask us to bring our budget back to what we spent a business. And it’s not their job to have to think about education through last year before they approved them — usually your budgets can go up that lens (wait for college), but it’s not a bad idea for both students and with the consumer price index, but they asked us to cut back and go to parents to be aware of the recent developments in the district’s finances. what we spent last year, so I cut approximately $130,000,” remarked Dr. As the school board met this summer, it became increasingly evident Scott. “We skimmed some gravy off the top in places where we budgeted that the current $81 million in reserves is expected to fall every year, but didn’t spend that money in the last couple of years.” until being completely exhausted in a time frame of five to six years. Aside from that, the board has floated around other ideas as well. (It’s So what are reserves and why do they matter? critical to note that nothing has been voted on yet.) The district, for legal Superintendent Dr. Prentiss Lea, over a phone interview, explained it reasons, can’t raise money through a tax levy as they’re capped by the like this: “It’s a rainy day account so to speak...that would be the event Consumer Price Index. Instead, there are other options, one of which is that there’s some catastrophe or change in federal/state funding or if we raising student fees. The state of Illinois limits schools from charging had roofs go out in the middle of the winter, any of those type of things.” more than $350; Libertyville currently charges $250. To understand why the Moreover, in late September or district even has reserves in early October, the district will be the first place, it’s important forming a committee of volunteers to go back to 1997, when the tasked with identifying places community approved of a where the district can save money referendum to raise property without directly impacting the taxes in order to build Vernon quality of programs. Dr. Lea, as Hills High School and the a hypothetical example to clarify west gym at LHS. That tax the purpose of the committee, increase became permanent, commented that while raising thus contributing towards driver’s education from $190 to future reserves. In addition, $350 wouldn’t generate millions of Dr. Lea stated that prior to dollars, that increase, in addition to to housing market crash of other small nudges in the budget, the mid-2000s, Libertyville could raise significant revenue. experienced tremendous new Now, to address the elephant in growth and the district was the room: the pool, which has no able to capture that growth definitive status. and add it to the tax rolls. District 128 operates with several However, the referendum rolling financial plans, and one of was almost two decades ago. those is a major capital projects What’s happened in the last plan. There are three current capital few years is that expensprojects planned: constructing a es have risen faster than new pool at LHS, building a new revenue is being absorbed. gym at VHHS, and repurposing At the same time, the district the old pool at LHS — in order of had been using reserves to priority. underwrite day-to-day operWhile the original plan involved ations — a practice they’ve using reserves to pay for one, two, pledged to end for the sake of or maybe even all of the projects, preserving the reserves for as the current situation has shifted the long as possible, according to conversation to whether the district Dr. Lea. should move to start anything now, The complication lies in or simply put some or all of the how the district can move Photo by Maria Thames, Illustration by Kevin Loumeau projects on hold. That will be decidforward in a way that extends in future board meetings. In the next five to six years, the district’s reserves of money will be exhausted if a policy to change the ed“The the lifeline of the reserves district is not running out of without drastically impacting current budget situation is not implemented. money tomorrow. What the board its job of educating young is doing, working with all of us, is people. According to LHS principal Dr. Marina Scott, some steps were trying to manage the issue,” stated Dr. Lea. “The goal is to stretch those already taken in advance of this school year. resources out as long as we can...we believe we’ll be able to do it.”

News

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Warning: No More Curfew Warnings By Brandon Simberg

Alarm Clock Photo by Sam Nelson; Police Image from Wikipedia Commons; Photo illustration by Sam Nelson Curfew was recently dropped for 17-year-olds, and officers are no longer required to give a warning. This June, the village of Libertyville passed a new curfew law, which lowered the age that the curfew law applies to, from 18 to 17. The new law states that people under the age of 17, which also includes 17 year olds, cannot be unsupervised outside of a private residence from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weekdays (Sunday through Thursday nights), and from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. on weekend nights (Friday and Saturday). Another change made in this law is that officers are no longer required to give a warning to first-time offenders. The main reason this law passed is so Libertyville’s curfew law resembles the state law. “The Libertyville Police Department wanted to revise the old curfew ordinance and bring it in line with state law,” Libertyville police chief Clint Herdegen said in an interview conducted via email. The curfew rules are different for driving, however. Drivers 16 and 17-years-old cannot drive between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. on weekends. However, police officers cannot pull someone over because they look young. They must be in violation of a driving law to get pulled over, and then they would get an additional ticket. The curfew fine is a maximum of $500 and can vary. Even though officers are not required to give a warning to first-time offenders, they still might, especially if the offender is respectful, according to Herdegen. This new law now is the same as the state curfew law. However, not all communities, including some near Libertyville, have the same curfew time. In Waukegan, the curfew is 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weekdays (an hour earlier than Libertyville), and 12 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. Waukegan

News

also has restrictions on younger ages, which is something that Libertyville does not have. Anyone under the age of 14 has a curfew of 9 p.m. - 6 a.m. Waukegan is not the only community with a different curfew law than the state law. The city of Chicago’s curfew is 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weekdays for 16- and 17-year-olds and 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. on weekends. Similar to Waukegan, they also have a 9 p.m. curfew for anyone under the age of 14. However, in Libertyville, there is only one curfew for all ages, so 16-year-olds have the same curfew as 11-year-olds, which differs from Chicago and Waukegan. The general opinion around Libertyville High School is that the students like this rule change. “I like the new curfew law,” said junior Brian Flanagan. “I do not have to worry about breaking the curfew law now when I am 18 and can stay out longer if I want to.” The curfew laws in Libertyville only apply to public places. If a person is at someone’s house, even if it is not their own, then they are not in violation. But if a person is in public, an example being at a restaurant or mall, then they are in violation of the law unless they are accompanied by someone 18 years of age or older. Also, if someone under 18 is driving after curfew, then their license is not valid and that is an offense worthy of a ticket. There are some exceptions to this law, though. The law exempts someone from the curfew rules if they are returning from attending a school event or work.

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WHAT’S TRENDING By Hannah Hutchins and Kevin Loumeau

BIRKENSTOCK SANDALS

HALF UP/HALF DOWN BUN HAIR STYLE

COLD SHOULDER/OFF-THESHOULDER SHIRTS

SCRUNCHIES Photo courtesy of pinterest.com

CHROMEBOOK STICKERS

S’WELL WATER BOTTLES

Photo courtesy of pitcherstudios.com

Photo courtesy of pinterest.com

Photo by Hannah Hutchins

HARAMBE

Photo courtesy of mirror.co.uk

Feature

Photo courtesy of pinterest.com

Photo courtesy of fenwick.co.uk

FANTASY FOOTBALL

Photo courtesy of espnmediazone.com

BUTTON-DOWN SKIRTS

Photo courtesy of urbanoutfitters.com

BRALETTES

Photo courtesy of wanelo.com

FJALLAVEN KANKEN BACKPACKS

Photo courtesy of urbantraveller.com

HAIRCUT

Photo courtesy of pinterest.com

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WHAT’S HAPPENING By Jenna Grayson A bill proposing $1.1 billion funding for preventing the Zika virus was blocked in the Senate on Sept. 6. According to the World Health Organization, Zika virus is transmitted through mosquito bites, while viral transmission through bodily fluids is also possible. Zika is considered a mild virus, with the exception of pregnant individuals and fetuses. Although there is no evidence that an infection of Zika virus causes birth defects, a correlation between infected persons and severe pregnancy complications has been noticed and is currently being investigated. According to political fact checking website Politifact, the bill was blocked by Senate Democrats who initially agreed with the funding amount. This was due to a clause that Senate Republicans added to the bill that would deny Zika funding and treatment options to Planned Parenthood. Currently, the United States, including Puerto Rico, has approximately 16,800 documented cases of Zika virus infections, according to The New York Times.

James Gathany/CDC

Apple’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus were available for preorder on Sept. 9 and were released on Sept. 16. The new iPhone includes a dual-lens camera and will be thinner in width. Talk of the confirmed removal of the headphone jack provoked outrage on social media during early July because the update will inconvenience iPhone users with products that require a headphone jack to use. The iPhone 7 does, however, come with a headphone jack adapter and earphones. iPhone users may also purchase wireless headphones that connect via bluetooth, if desired. According to the technology-based news website TechRadar, in addition to the previous four colors available (silver, space grey, gold and rose gold), two new colors will be added to the lineup as well, including “jet black”

Gary Reyes/Bay Area News Group/TNS San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick made headlines after he chose not to stand during the National Anthem in an Aug. 26 NFL preseason game against the Green Bay Packers. In an NFL Media interview after the game, Kaepernick answered questions regarding his choice to sit, stating, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color...this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way.” Kaepernick has since been a topic of public debates, with some media outlets accusing him of being anti-American. However, other media outlets and individuals have been defending him, such as President Barack Obama, who, while speaking at a new conference in China, asserted that Kaepernick was “exercising his constitutional right”. Due to the attention that the protest accumulated, Kaepernick’s jersey has surged to the best-selling jersey

Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group/TNS On Sept. 2, Stanford sophomore and convict, Brock Turner, was controversially released from jail after serving three months of his six-month sentence, which has made the incident and its following procedures come back into the public eye. After Turner committed felonies on Jan. 18, 2015, he was found guilty of three charges of sexual assault in March and was sentenced in June. The prosecuting jury requested that Turner be sentenced to six years in jail, but he was instead sentenced to six months by Judge Aaron Persky. The victim of Turner’s rape and assault, known as Emily Doe, provided the statement that she read in court to BuzzFeed News, which was published on June 3 -- a day after Turner’s sentencing -and it has garnered over 18 million views. The shortened conviction sentence also received backlash on Twitter and created a multitude of trending hashtags, including #iamemilydoe, which survivors of sexual assault and/or rape used to share solidarity with Doe .

Multiple mayors of French cities, such as Nice, brewed up controversy this summer with their bans on burkinis, a popular form of swimwear for Islamic women. The swimsuit is for Muslim women who choose to abide by the Islamic law of covering up. Despite France’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, deeming the ban “unconstitutional” and the state court ruling the ban on burkinis an “illegal violation of fundamental freedoms,” 20 French mayors still refuse to lift the ban, according to The Guardian, a national and international news website.

Superior Court of California

Tim Wimborne/Reuters Feature

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Drops of Ink

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Feature

LHS GOES

Cambodia

On June 15, 10 LHS students chaperoned by science teacher Mrs. Tiffany Owens along with her husband, Mr. Chris Owens, and special services teacher Mr. Mike Mansell, traveled across the world to participate in a service project in Siem Reap, Cambodia, led by the organization Caring for Cambodia. Caring for Cambodia is an international nonprofit organization whose main goal is to improve early childhood education and make higher education an attainable goal for students attending schools in Siem Reap. They do this by sending groups of people from the United States to Cambodia to help improve the physical conditions of schools and work in classrooms. Although the trip took place during the summer of 2016, there was an abundance of work put in for the trip throughout the school year for both the chaperones and the students attending. “There was a tremendous amount of planning that went into the trip and I think a lot of it is because it’s not just traveling to Washington D.C. or New York, this was traveling to a third-world country halfway across the world. We spent a lot of time looking at travel advisories to make sure it would be safe,” Mrs. Owens stated. Students involved in Caring for Cambodia also fundraised for the organization throughout the year. They held Suzy’s Swirl sales outside of the cafeteria and a 5k “Ugly Sweater Run.” Students also participated in events at Feed My Starving Children several times, as the food packaged at FMSC is sent to kids in Cambodia. All of the money that was made from these fundraising efforts went towards donations for the international branch of Caring for Cambodia, and students were to individually cover the cost of their trip. “My parents said that they’d pay for half of my trip and the trip was a little over $2,000. I tried to do GoFundMe but it was kind of difficult. Some of my family members pitched in to help me. I [also] worked at Kumon over the summer and babysat,” senior Michelle Nee and attendee of the trip said. After months of preparing and fundraising for the trip, 10 students and three chaperones began their voyage to Siem Reap. On the way, the group had a 14-hour flight to Shanghai and a 24-hour layover there. During their time

in Shanghai, the group got to visit the Pearl TV Tower, take a water tour in the village of Zhouzhuang, try various types meats and vegetables, and shop around. The flight from Shanghai to Cambodia was about 4.5 hours. The beginning of the trip mainly consisted of sightseeing. Students and chaperones got to see famous temples around Cambodia, such as Angkor Wat, where they got to see the sunrise; Angkor Ta Prohm; and Banteay Kdei. Throughout the trip, the group also got to visit the Landmine Museum, which was a collection of underground mines from Cambodia’s civil war, went ziplining through a rainforest, and swam in a waterfall at Koulen Mountain. As for the service project, on an average day, students would wake up around 6 a.m., be picked up by their tour guides around 7:45 and head to the school they were working at. In the morning, students built roads outside of the school by hammering octagon-shaped tiles into the roads that they were paving. After a few hours of working, the group would head back to their hotel for their lunch break. In the late afternoon, they would go back to the schools and do ESL, or “English as a Second Language,” work in the classrooms, which consisted of teaching English to elementary school students. Around 5 p.m., students and chaperones would head back to the hotel, freshen up, and then go to the village, where they would eat and shop around in the market. Some days, students also visited the high schools in Siem Reap to talk to and play soccer with students there. As the 12-day trip came to a close, LHS students had to say goodbye to the students they met in Cambodia and reflect on everything that they had learned in the past days. “Especially with the younger kids, you could tell that they only had one pair of shoes, or not much going on,” Nee expressed. “But they were so happy, so much happier than kindergarten kids in a classroom at Butterfield school. Like those kids are adorable too but these kids were so excited to see foreigners, they would jump right on us and that kind of taught me joy, I guess. It made me so grateful for what I have in Libertyville because it’s so different on the other side of the world.”

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INTERNATIONAL

Spain

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At the start of June, 53 LHS Spanish students and eight chaperones departed for Spain on a trip organized by the International Languages Department Supervisor and Spanish II teacher, Señora Jennifer Goettsche. Touring the country north to south, they experienced firsthand the cultural aspects, landmarks, and food of the country, and used their Spanish skills. After learning that there had not been a Spanish trip to a Spanish-speaking country in around 20 years, Señora Goettsche worked with a travel company in order to find one for the students to go on. While the travel company took care of the flights, hotels, and events, this also posed a $3,500 cost for the students who wanted to go. In order to offset this, students were offered fundraising opportunities beginning in October and could pay for the trip over the course of eight months. Other aspects of taking high school students abroad were also handled by Señora Goettsche and her team, Mrs. Amaya Peterson, International Languages Secretary, Ms. Michaela Kendzior, the Language Lab Coordinator, and Señorita Elaine Petricca, a Spanish I and Spanish III honors teacher. The students were registered through the Smart Traveller Enrollment Program, “a free service to allow U.S. citizens and nationals traveling abroad to enroll their trip with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate,” in order to inform them of adverse conditions and aid them in emergencies, according to its website, step.state.gov. In addition to this, the team sent the students information about packing for the trip, helped them update their passports, and kept track of important medical information and allergies.

“Honestly, packing wasn’t that different from flying to another U.S. state. I just packed twice as many clothes in a huge suitcase,” stated senior Gillian Filler. In Spain, the students were able to make practical use of their knowledge for the first time: “We all really loved that we could see the students using the language, even just right from the get-go. I really think that it built their confidence in their language skills,” stated Señora Goettsche, who added that the trip was able to “bring alive what they were studying.” It was because of this that Filler went on the trip: “I really wanted to be able to use my Spanish in another country and explore the culture,” she said. In addition to getting to use Spanish on the trip, students were able to explore Spanish culture outside of the classroom. Students visited landmarks like Parc Guёll and la Sagrada Família in Barcelona and saw a Roman aqueduct in Segovia. They also visited the Mezquita in Córdoba and explored the Prado Museum, Royal Palace of Madrid, and the Plaza de España in Madrid. Taking a ferry across the Strait of Gibraltar, students even explored neighboring Morocco, where they rode camels and wandered the bazaar, or outdoor market, within the inner city walls of Marrakech. “My favorite part of the trip was using Spanish and exploring the streets of Barcelona with my friends,” Filler said. “I learned more about Spanish culture and how to use the language more effectively. Also, Morocco opened my eyes and allowed me to experience a third-world country.”

Cambodia phot os courtesy of Tiffany Owens Spain photos courtesy of Paige Ward Madrid, of the Royal Palace in the LHS students in front pala re whe e Europ one of the largest cesFainmily resides. Spanish Royal

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Drops of Ink

Cats with Companies

By Paige Ward and Tia Petrzilka Layout by Olivia Griffith

For many adolescents, high school is the time to focus on studies, try a new club, become a better athlete, and maybe even tackle their first job. All of these, of course, take dedication and motivation. But what about starting your own business? These self-starters know ambition beyond their years and have created opportunities for themselves by starting unique businesses of their own.

Rankin Landscaping Junior Matthew Rankin began his business outside the home. Literally. Rankin developed his business back in the seventh grade. “I was mowing my family’s lawn and then a lot of planting, trimming, and all types of stuff at my grandparents’ house. Both of my grandparents live a couple blocks down from us so I was always over there doing something,” he shared. To promote his his services, Rankin initially passed out around 2100 flyers by hand door-to-door. In the early days, Rankin only had a lawnmower and had no transportation to jobs; he had to “push [his] lawnmower down the street.” Eventually Rankin’s mother’s minivan became the company car and Rankin acquired more equipment based on the job orders he received. “I was doing a lot of the work on weekends, sun[rise] to sun-down [both] Saturday and Sunday to fit it all in,” he explained. For Rankin, spring is the busiest season, summer typically brings maintenance work, and autumn brings in the leaves. Rankin can provide a customer anything from simply mowing the lawn to more tedious word, such as weeding. “[Many] landscaping companies don’t really like to do it—it’s a time-waster for them and they like to get in, get out, and leave. I’ll take the weeding because I need the jobs.” In order to ensure everything goes as planned, Rankin meets with his customer and gives them an estimate, which is especially important if there are added costs. For example, a customer may want service in terms of laying mulch down, but may have not bought the mulch yet. After a stellar spring season this year, Rankin expected that “sales would level-out,” but according to Rankin, “[the] phones kept ringing,” he exclaimed. To even more of a surprise, his success continued into the summer months, which usually tend to be

Feature

less busy. Rankin hired a friend of his to work the summer in order to keep up with demand. “By the time this summer rolled around, it really grew and kind of exploded,” noted Rankin. “I wasn’t really expecting it to get as big as it has.” Rankin attributes his newfound mobility (he now can drive himself to jobs) as the major reason for the growth of his company, allowing him to service the whole town. While hard work is important, Rankin stresses that customer service and communication is key: “You have to be able to give them a quote and explain where that number is coming from.” When summer ended, Rankin’s jobs continued at a steady pace and he found himself working solo once again. He decided it would be in the best interest of the company to subcontract a few people to help balance the workload and school. These associates give him an estimate and provide the customer with the requested service, while he still receives a cut of the profit. At this point, Rankin hopes to expand even further and plans to meet with a local company in hopes in receiving support. “I would love to grow [the company] but right now, I don’t have the resources.”

Photos courtesy of Matthew Rankin “I really do enjoy cutting the grass. You can get those stripes looking real nice,” said Rankin.

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David’s Landscaping

Photos courtesy of David Serrecchia David works hard to perfect all the aspects of his company.

Not many people expect teenagers to want to mow lawns, but it’s all in a day’s work for sophomore David Serrecchia. His business, David’s Landscaping, is responsible for the upkeep of numerous yards around Libertyville. However, just like any other small business, David has worked hard to get where he is today, and he has another obstacle to balance that other business owners do not: he is a full time student. David’s Landscaping has been up and running for around two years now and offers yard maintenance services such as mowing, edging, and hedge trimming, as well as offering snow removal. Right now, David is running the entire operation all by himself. “When you step back and look at [a finished job], I like the feeling of looking and saying I did it,” he explained. Gratification is a large part of what it motivated David not only to start his company but in continuing to make successful. He also attributes his ambition to enjoying physical hands-on work, and this ambition has led to the expansion of his business. “I passed around some cards and

now I’m doing around a dozen yards in my neighborhood”, David relays. He maintains all of these yards as well as balancing his homework and classes, a workload not many can say they have. David started out lawn mowing and expanded from there to other maintenance services. He is planning to continue landscaping even after he graduates and goes to college. From there, he hopes to have a crew to help him run the business as he focuses on studying orthodontics. As for now, he relies on himself and the support of his family to manage his work. “My dad kind of helped me learn to run a business,” he reflected. David cites his father for working alongside him on his landscaping jobs as well. Although David’s Landscaping is currently confined to where David’s four-wheeler can travel (since he is not licensed), he plans to continue working hard to grow his business. He also hopes to have a website in the near future, but for now his contact information is available through a business card.

Kylie’s Krumbs

Photos courtesy of Kylie Rodriguez The finished products: Rodriguez’s creations.

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Junior Kylie Rodriguez started her own business in the sixth grade, what her peers refer to as “Kylie’s Krumbs,” where she bakes individual goods by order request for birthdays, graduation parties, and other occasions. For as long as she can remember, she has loved baking--a passion which sprouted from her mother. “My mom used to always make our birthday cakes and then I got into helping her and I started taking classes,” shared Rodriguez. “That’s how I got into more of the professional side of it.” Prior to living in Libertyville, Rodriguez began baking goods to sell after her family suggested that she take advantage of her hobby. After her move just three years ago, she lost the majority of her previous customers. During this time, things slowed down a bit, but eventually she began handing out her business cards, which include her phone number and email to her neighbors. Orders are typically determined through these means and initially the customer will be asked what type of baked good they are looking for, for their desired color scheme, and if there is a theme they would like to encompass in the product’s design.

After receiving their specifications, Rodriguez will send over a price estimate to the customer and address their budget. Rodriguez bakes everything on her own, creating unique items including cakes, cupcakes, and sugar cookies, which sell for 2 dollars a piece, which according to Rodriguez are less costly than local stores like Lovin Oven. “The restaurant business is pretty tough… People don’t realize how much work goes into [baking]. Sometimes they think it’s too expensive,” she explained. According to Rodriguez, the cookies take the longest and “are typically [made] over night,” in order for the icing to dry. This process usually takes two days, while she tends to finish her cakes in one session. At one time, Rodriguez will only tackle a maximum of two orders. Cupcake orders, for example, are typically around 40 servings per customer and more often than not, cakes are usually tiered, requiring more time to decorate. With school, a job, and her own business, time management is essential. Rodriguez utilizes the time her creations are in the oven to complete her homework. While in some instances it can be stressful for Rodriguez, her love for baking never wavers.

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Can I Go Now?

Staff Editorial

Photo by Abbey Humbert Teachers have different, uncommon bathroom passes like helmets and bathroom bucks. The loo, the pot, the water closet, the golden throne. No matter how you say it, you use it. With the additions of new gender-neutral bathrooms at LHS, there are now even more bathrooms accessible to students. However, why add more bathrooms if students are not always allowed to use them when they need to the most? In school, an emphasis is placed into teaching students how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. We are told to eat healthily and drink plenty of water to stay hydrated; however, once what we consume needs to leave our bodies, we are often asked to consider whether it is an emergency or not. There is no rule in the student handbook that describes any policy for using the restroom during class time. In result of the lack of a general rule, it is up to each teacher’s discretion whether a student is allowed to use the bathroom during class. Some are flexible with letting students go, while others make their own classroom policies with little tolerance of bathroom usage. The DOI staff believes that every student should have the right to use the bathroom when necessary as we do not have complete control over our bodily functions. It should not be up to each teacher to make the determination whether or not a student really needs to use the bathroom. They do not share a universal bladder with all of the students in the classroom, so how is it they can be able to determine whether we really need to go or not? Many DOI members agreed that it is demoralizing for a student to ask to use the bathroom only to be questioned in return whether if it is an emergency or not. Students may not always feel comfortable explaining personal situations to their teacher and entire class of peers. At one point or another, situations do arise that require attention. Most commonly for the ladies, who may have a surprise shark-week attack, some personal issues need to be addressed as quickly as possible. If a student leaves to use the restroom, it is his or her own fault

for missing lesson time. It is also put on them to learn the missed content; it is not expected for the teacher to re-teach everything the student missed. Often it can be more harmful to a student’s education to wait 50 minutes to use the bathroom rather than leaving for a few minutes during class to relieve the pressure. When holding it in, DOI students expressed that all their mind is set on is holding it in, not on the content currently being taught in class. Teachers’ individual policies vary class to class. Some allow a student to leave whenever they feel the need to without asking, while others attempt to minimize the usage of bathrooms by attaching extra credit for leaving class as little as possible. As a staff, DOI believes that attaching a reward to not using the bathroom is highly unreasonable. Some teachers’ methods have included giving a specific amount of bathroom passes to a student that double as extra credit. The passes can be exchanged for a single trip to the restroom, or if not used, can be exchanged for a set number of extra credit points. Why should refraining from a natural bodily function be capable of receiving a reward? The DOI staff concluded that teachers should be obligated to allow students to use the bathroom whenever needed and when the time is appropriate. However, it would be respectful to let the teacher know that you will be out of the classroom, both to be polite and also for safety reasons to know where students are in case of a school emergency. If a student continues to abuse the freedom, then the teacher can speak individually with that student and find a solution. However, the staff expressed from experience that with more freedom to go when we feel the urge will result in less abuse of leaving class only for the sake of leaving. If we leave, chances are we are not abusing privileges, but rather making sure our waste ends up in the appropriate space.

Note: As this piece is a staff editorial, it is representative of the opinions of Drops of Ink staff as a whole. The staff is comprised of LHS students from each grade level and spans a wide range of opinions from two class periods, with 38 students total. The author(s) of this piece did not place their personal opinions in the story; they merely reflect the staff ’s thoughts.

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A Spot-less System: the Problems with the Senior Parking Pass By Georgia Sampson

Photo by Demi Glusic Eligibility for a school on-campus parking pass has no outside factors influencing who gets one: it is all a randomized lottery system, leaving some students out of luck. After three years of bending over backward to complete tasks, struggling through classes, and getting shoved by upperclassman in the hallways, senior year has finally arrived, and with it, so many perks: lunch release, balloon fights, ditch days and more. But, one of the greatest, most-awaited benefits of senior year is the parking pass. This tiny sticker on a windshield immediately amplifies the glory of senior year, chiefly for those who live farther away from school. Instead of walking to school from the secluded parking lots of Dymond or Brainerd, seniors can pull up in front and make it to their first class with ease. Instead of hanging around the school and trying to find something to do on their lunch hour, seniors can hop in their car and get out of the school. The parking permit adds the one thing that senior year needs: a little more freedom. But, according to Mr. Robert Uliks, the head of security, there were 390 senior students who applied for a parking permit, but only 339 parking stickers were available to be given out, meaning that some seniors don’t have this much-awaited freedom. About 26 seniors, who are still on the waiting list for a parking pass, have to worry about whether there will be spots left at the remote parking lots or if they can find someone who will take them out during their lunch break. Neither are ever guaranteed. The current system in place that decides which students gets to park on campus is a randomized lottery. This means that a student who lives within walking distance from the school has the same opportunity to win as someone who lives in Green Oaks or someone who has a million obligations to fulfill after school. The current system ensures that the messy parts are left up to fate. Nevertheless, sometimes fate does not factor many things into who gets

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a coveted spot and who does not, such as Early Bird classes, proximity to the school, or clubs and extracurriculars. Thus, the system is bound to leave some people out. One of those individuals is senior Arthi Sekharan. Even though Sekharan lives in Green Oaks and has multiple clubs and sports after school, she is still forced to park off campus. “I think it’s a little ridiculous that someone who lives five minutes [away] and can walk to the school can get a parking pass, but someone like me can’t get one and it takes me 10 minutes to drive to school in the morning. They can walk to the school faster than I can drive,” Sekharan said. “I just think that if you live within a certain radius, you don’t really need a parking pass.” One of the main issues thus far with the lottery system is that it fails to accommodate people like Sekharan and offers parking passes to people who may take their proximity to the school for granted. As a student who was on the waiting list, this issue hits close to home. When I walked to school for the first two weeks, I saw students drive around the corner and park in a spot that was only minutes from their front door. Although the “lottery system” doesn’t show a prominent bias, it doesn’t differentiate between seniors who want and seniors who need a parking pass. The school could change this by simply asking for more information. When the school administrators send out the application for the parking pass, they should ask the student for their address and regular after school activities in order better regulate who gets a parking pass. Of course, this will make the school’s job a little bit harder, but this system will separate those who need a spot from those apply because they are a senior and they can.

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Column Face-off: NOT WORTH IT Maya believes that extra curriculars are not beneficial because they take away from student’s top priorities (school and sleep).

IT's TOO MUCH By Maya Trott

fter your three-hour long rehearsal, you rush to your shift at the local Jewel, getting home just in time to take a shower, eat dinner, and finish your homework by 12:30 a.m. Fortunately, the next day is a late start, so you don’t have to be to school until 7, when your morning practice starts; this is a big improvement as most days, practice starts at 5:30. You’re not even involved in everything you’d like to be, but when do you decide your involvement is too much? The expectations students put upon themselves to be excessively involved is detrimental; there is already a pressure to take all honors and AP courses, most of which require more homework than their regular equivalents, and adding onto that outside involvement in different activities, it is amazing anyone has time to sleep. With the pressure to be immensely involved, many students are in extracurriculars that they do not enjoy, for the sole purpose of having another thing to talk about on college applications. This does no good for you, as it can increase stress to be a part of something fruitless instead of being productive. It also hurts the other members of the organization, as they need the same level of commitment from you that they give to the club itself. I had a friend who joined a sport just because she thought she should be involved in a sport during that season, and she was miserable for months. She hated every minute for her involvement, and did not give much commitment to her team, which made them think less favorably of her than they would have if she had put in the effort. The idea of being involved in an abundance of extracurriculars makes it very hard to become dedicated to those activities. Without specific dedication, it is almost impossible to get the most out of what you choose to do. Even for those who do choose to only be involved in a few extracurriculars, they usually over involve themselves in them, taking every open shift they could possibly work, volunteering for everything the advisors need help with, making sure everyone else does what they are responsible for, and more. Over involvement can put strain on your enjoyment of the extracurricular, to the point that you may no longer

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enjoy what you are doing. While all these extracurriculars may seem fun, important or both, they leave little time for everyone’s top priority: school. At the end of the day, it is necessary to focus on school and homework, which can be difficult when you spend a ridiculous amount of time on extracurriculars. When it comes down to it, homework becomes much more difficult to complete when it’s late at night and you’re exhausted. This accounts for subpar work or the non-completion of certain pieces of homework, which does not help the learning process. Students should not be expected to ace tests when they can’t start studying until midnight or remember what they wrote in their notes when they do those even later. This cycle becomes awfully vicious when staying up very late to complete homework means that you cannot get as much sleep; being involved in less extracurriculars would give you more time to finish homework, and in turn allow you to get to sleep earlier. Everyone’s had at least one teacher who has complained about how early school starts and how teenagers need at least nine hours of sleep every night while giving them an hour and a half of homework per night. This is no better than a race official telling you that he expects you to medal in a race, and then kicking you a few seconds before it begins, keeping you from being able to perform at your best. With the average student’s intense extracurricular involvement and heavy course load, getting eight hours of sleep is not humanly possible. The lack of sleep makes it harder to focus during the day and can have a variety of other negative repercussions. According to the National Health Service, some of these repercussions include a weaker immune system, lower mental health, and an increased risk of heart disease. As fun and rewarding as extracurriculars can be, they are rarely worth the stress they provide and the increased difficulty of focusing on priorities. Students need to pull back from their involvement in order to focus on schoolwork and sleep, as well as giving a little time to themselves every week to spend relaxing.

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Extra-extra-extracurriculars: How much is too much?? never enough By Anna Denoia

he number one complaint I hear in the halls of LHS is lack of time (with “I’m hungry” coming in a close second). Most students I know barely have time to breathe, let alone get all their homework done or get a good night’s sleep. Even with the school day ending around three, it seems there is never enough time to get everything done. So what happens when you add afterschool activities? Why shove anything more into your already demanding schedule? The most obvious defense for the busy high school student is college applications. The more activities, the better to place your name a little above everyone else’s in an admissions counselor’s mind (a probably very nice admissions counselor whose shirt just really compliments their eyes wonderfully hi I’m Anna DeNoia please accept me). But that’s not the only reason some students choose to spread themselves so thin. Take me, for example. Trust me, I understand what it means to be pressed for time. I’d say pressed is an understatement -- I am constantly and completely flattened in the time department. I’m at school until at least six -- often later -- almost daily for the majority of the year to rehearse for the LHS plays and musicals. Add on AP classes, an afterschool job and what remains of a social life, and it’s a miracle I’m still (technically) functioning. And sure, maybe I accidentally wore two different shoes to school once because I was too tired to register color, but I have never had any regrets about my packed schedule. Despite the hectic, never ending time crunch that I live in, I am genuinely happy. As I stare blankly into my Statistics book at some ungodly hour of the night, I am content because I know that if I’d come straight home and gotten it done earlier, I wouldn’t have gotten the chance to sing or dance that day, two things I enjoy about one million standard deviations more than I enjoy Statistics. I believe that my sad sleep schedule is a small price to pay for pursuing my passion. Every day, I consciously sacrifice what might be a more comfortable, breathable, possible lifestyle for a life of music and

theater, and every day I am happier for it. However, this sacrifice is only worthwhile because it is truly a labor of love. Some students sacrifice their time and state of mind for what will just end up being another bullet point for that nice admissions counselor to skim. Pile activity after activity, hour after hour, sleepless night after sleepless night higher and higher without a strong base of passion beneath them, and it won’t take much for it all to come tumbling down. Of course involvement is important, and we can’t ignore that extra little boost it gives to your applications, but nothing is as important as your own well being. Extracurriculars are like a stimulant that must be taken in reasonable amounts. Pouring hour after hour into a million things things you couldn’t care less about is not worth the sacrifice it requires. Your sanity is more important than how many hours you’ve committed to this club or that club, no matter how important they seem right now. And if you do let yourself get so busy that the thought of sleep seems like a dream, the only thing that can keep you sane is serious, unwavering passion. So are all these time-consuming, sleep-depriving, sanity-threatening afterschool obligations worth the hassle? In short, if only to justify my own jam-packed lifestyle, I will say yes. Yes, spend your time after school singing or dancing or writing or painting or running or whatever it is you’ve committed your time to, but only if you wouldn’t rather spend that time anywhere else.

WORTH IT Anna takes the stance that regardless of the time commitment that extra-curriculars require, they are worth the time and effort in the long-run.

Photos by Sam Nelson Opinion

Debunking African Stereotypes By Lola Akinlade

Graphic made by Lola Akinlade People often perceive Africa as solely negative, disregarding all of its wonderful characteristics. As soon as I got back from my trip to Senegal this summer, (which is in West Africa—a question asked too often), I was unsurprisingly bombarded with questions regarding my trip. Sure, there were many ignorant ones, including the fixation of where I slept at night (no, I did not sleep in a tree nor in a hut), but one specific question irked me to no end. The first question my kind, smart, benevolent friend asked was, “Was it sketchy?” Now, this may seem minute, but as she said this, she washed away a whole continent’s incomprehensible vastness of beautiful culture and history into just one word: “sketchy.” She revealed the grave ignorance that has plagued the minds of many in America. So, let’s debunk some basic myths. First of all, Africa is not a country. Probably the most annoying, seemingly harmless, question I got asked was, “How was Africa?” Gee, I don’t know, I’ll tell you once I visit all 54 countries in Africa. I didn’t visit the whole continent, so I’m not really sure, but Senegal was great! When people broadly refer to specific countries as Africa, it tends to generalize the whole continent as one, which in turn leads to the reinforcement of African stereotypes. For example, in 2014, Ebola spread to three countries in West Africa, but many people concluded that the whole continent of Africa was infected with Ebola. There were cries to ban travelers that were

Opinion

coming from Africa from entering the U.S. Currently, in Miami there have been several cases of the Zika virus, yet no one has called for a ban of travelers from the U.S., let alone from Florida or Miami. According to the social categorization theory, it’s easier for our brain to generalize than to actually think of each person or place as its own, especially when we think of Africa as one big country with no appreciation for its diversity and richness. Senegal is a country full of alluring culture, vibrant clothes, and the most divine food I’ve ever tasted. Secondly, not all Africans are poor. In 8th grade, I vividly remember talking to my best friend about how my parents grew up in Nigeria. Then she eagerly asked, “Did they live in huts?” I knew she wanted my response to be “yes,” as it would coincide with her false reality of a backward Africa where everyone lived in huts while playing the drums, which is commonly portrayed in the media. However, that is not the reality of all Africans. Yes, some people live in huts in Africa just like some people live in ghettos in America, but that doesn’t mean everyone does. There is a great need for further appreciation and education of the positives of Africa, such as its extensive richness of history and the variety of different alluring culture that lies in each individual country. Omitting its uniqueness would be criminal.

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ceti s na s fateful Friday not long ago, a 16-year-old rhythmic gymnast stepped onto the mat in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Almost 10 years of training led to this moment and the crowd -- both in the arena as well as classrooms throughout Libertyville High School back home -- were silent, anxiously awaiting for her to perform. Sports

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Some may know this gymnast as Laura Zeng, LHS junior, while others simply recognize her as a teenage girl with a crazy amount of talent and a knack for bringing home titles. Since the young age of 7, Zeng has been involved in rhythmic gymnastics, and in the past month, was able to fulfill her dream of performing in the 2016 Olympic Games. 19

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Rhythmic gymnastics was not always something that Zeng was a part of. Before she started the sport at North Shore Rhythmics in Glenview, Zeng participated in Chinese dancing at her Chinese school. Zeng initially got into rhythmic gymnastics when her friend, who participated in both Chinese dancing and rhythmic gymnastics, introduced her to the sport. “(Rhythmic gymnastics) has become a part of who I am. And honestly, it’s one of the most photogenic sports, I think,” Zeng said, regarding why she loves the sport and why she stuck with it all these years. It wasn’t long until Zeng started competing, and winning. Although the Olympics were always a dream in hindsight for Zeng, she never thought of them as an attainable goal until later in her career. She competed in many local competitions throughout the U.S. and later qualified for the Youth Olympics in China in 2014. Shortly after, in September 2015, Zeng competed in the World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, where she qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics. After scoring 8th place in the 2015 World Championships, Team USA’s highest score for an individual, Zeng qualified for a spot on the United States rhythmic gymnastic team. Because of her victory, the United States’ group of rhythmic gymnasts qualified for the Olympics for only the second time in history. The last time that the rhythmics gymnastics group qualified was in 1996, when the Olympics were hosted in Atlanta and the team earned a spot for the courtesy of hosting. Zeng’s commitment and dedication is not only evident through her performances and titles that she earns but is also recognized by her peers. “Laura has an incredible ability to focus. Any successful athlete needs to turn on a super high level of focus for training and competition, and Laura is especially good at doing that. In the gym, whether she’s practicing or competing, she is very efficient and seems like she’s thinking only about gymnastics,” said Jasmine

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before

Kerber, a former teammate and current friend of Zeng’s. After learning that she qualified for Rio, Zeng got straight to work on practicing her routines and preparing for the trip. Since the Olympics were at the end of summer, Zeng used all the time that she had to double-up on her usual practice regiment, travel to Russia to train, and attend local and national competitions to perfect her four performances at the Olympics. Before her actual trip to Rio, Zeng did spent numerous days packing and making sure she had everything together for the journey. Team USA also invited all of its athletes to make a 24-48 hour stop in Houston, Texas, on their way to Rio de Janeiro. There, athletes were able to get official pictures taken, uniforms tailored, and any answers to questions they had before making the journey to Rio. Team USA also worked with companies such as Nike and Ralph Lauren to provide athletes with clothing from casual sweats to formal medal-ceremony outfits.

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during On August 13, Zeng was off, taking the 13-hour plane ride to Rio de Janeiro. While in Rio, Zeng stayed in “The Village,” which was a community where all of the Olympic athletes and their coaches resided during the games. The village was equipped with numerous gyms and cafeterias available for all athletes to use. In her free time when she was not practicing, Zeng was able to walk around the village, socialize with other athletes and trade pins with them from their countries. She was able to meet some of her favorite Olympians including; Team USA pole vaulter Sam Kendricks, Team USA diver Steel Johnson, and Team Guyana track runner Aliyah Abrams and many others. Zeng also visited the “Christ the Redeemer” statue, tried an acai bowl, and visited her parents at the P&G house -- where families of Team USA Olympians stayed. “Before, there’s a lot going on. I was of course just so grateful to be there, and the whole Rio experience was just amazing: getting to live in the village, getting to compete at such a big stadium with such a huge crowd. There’s definitely a lot going on, so before and after, it was my goal to take it all in,” she said. However, it wasn’t all fun and games. Zeng had four routines to perform on Friday, Aug. 19. Using her four pieces of equipment -- ball, hoop ribbon and clubs -- Zeng spent the entirety of that Friday performing, hoping to win a spot to compete in the finals. Zeng’s opening routine, using a one-pound red/pink ball, was a minute-and-30second series of turns and flips, while throwing the ball into the air and catching it. Zeng was consistently leaping and moving across the floor as she threw the ball into the air and relocated to catch it. She also had moments throughout the routine where the ball would be held by her neck or roll smoothly across the span of her arms. Zeng received a score of 17.6666 on this performance. Using a multi-colored hula hoop, Zeng moved along to perform her second routine. Throughout this one, she was constantly throwing the hoop in the air with her hands and feet, catching it with her arms and legs, and she also put the hoop around herself several times while performing flips, balances, and turns.

At the end of her routine, Zeng flicked the hoop away from her, and when it spun back towards her, she kicked it into the air and caught it with her hands for a strong finish. She finished this routine with a score of 17.650. For her third routine, Zeng used a purple, yellow, and orange ribbon in a captivating and energetic performance. She performed a series of tilts and other balances and movements, while continuously circling her ribbon in various patterns. Zeng also threw the ribbon into the air and across the floor a few times, twirling and flipping to the other side of the mat to catch it. With an unplanned drop of the ribbon at the end of her routine, she scored a 16.825. For Zeng’s fourth and final performance, she used two striped clubs. Throughout this routine, Zeng spun and juggled the two clubs while performing series of balances, leaps, and flips across the mat. She finished the routine by throwing one club into the air, getting down to floor level to perform a few flips, and catching the club. “The [routine] I performed the best in, was the clubs. I was really happy when I finished it because it was a solid routine and I was totally done with the competition, and it was just major relief,” Zeng stated. “I think there was just a lot of emotion packed into that routine.” And her score of 17.700 proved that Zeng did perform the best in her final routine. Zeng ended up finishing in 11th place overall, meeting the previous U.S. rhythmic gymnastics Olympic record. She was just shy of placing 10th and qualifying for the final round. However, she is not letting her placement hold her back. “Of course [the routine] wasn’t perfect, but that’s how sports go. Experience is priceless and so every mistake has its value,” Zeng expressed. “I was disappointed because I was so close, but really, it wasn’t my inherent goal in the first place. My goal was to do my best, as it always is. And for the next Olympics, that goal to perform to my absolute max will persist.”

What now For many people, measuring up to the Olympics might seem daunting, but not for Zeng. Next year, Zeng hopes to compete in the World Games, which will be held in Wroclaw, Poland. She also hopes to be able to go to Tokyo in 2020 for the next Summer Olympics. According to Zeng, coming home felt like she never left. She admitted that the first day back to school was a bit overwhelming, but she loved the championship march that LHS organized for her and “just wanted to give everyone a huge hug!” As of right now, though, Zeng’s primary focus will be catching up on academics and the near future, graduating from LHS in 2018. “I’ve spent the last two weeks working hard and [going to sleep] at 3 a.m. (even without practice then), but it’s all good. I’ve caught up to all my classes now, except for AP Physics,” said Zeng. This year, Zeng is taking four Advanced Placement courses, a challenge in and of itself, but especially when paired with a schedule as busy as hers. After the Olympics, Zeng had about a week and a half off of gymnastics, where she did not have to compete or go to practice. Her primary focus during that time was “school, school, school 24/7.” But now, Zeng is heading back to her daily 3-4 hour practices and dealing with the weight of her junior year while also continuing her journey as an Olympic athlete.

Sports

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By Brandon Simberg and Jack Kosowski

Sports

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September

By Jack Kosowski Layout by Olivia Griffith

Spirit

The sound of the marching band radiating throughout the cool, crisp air. The warmth of hot cocoa in the hands. The sun setting behind the stadium as players race out onto the field to a chorus of cheers. Football is back, and so is the liveliness of LHS students. There is never a part of the bleachers that is empty on a Friday night at Libertyville High School’s Walter R. Johnson stadium. Including the student section. With each football game, home and away, comes another spirit theme, but more emphasis is put on the home games as more students and fans are in attendance to cheer on the Wildcats. “We are all dressed up here and it is like a community feel in the student section, and all of us have spirit packs or something else and we are all here to support our team to win,” said senior Jake Slater. The first home game was on Sept. 4 and the theme for the night was a Hawaiian luau-out. Students readied themselves at the pregame tailgate as they dressed from head to toe in flowery clothing and large leis with paint splattered all over their faces. As LHS students were spoiled with blowout wins from last season and many students left after halftime, fans at this year’s home opener were treated to a wild game that ended in a loss in three overtimes, 34-31, to Batavia. Students and fans were stuck in their seats until the end, not able to move as their never-ending spirit for their football team kept them there.

In Week 3 of the season, and the second home game of the season, the Wildcats were pitted against Warren. A gray and ominous sky loomed over the stadium as rain softly fell onto the field and stands. But rain, sleet or shine, LHS students always come out to support their team. Dressed up in tie-dye apparel and paint-covered faces, students did not care that rain was upon them. They had to be there to cheer on the team. “I really feel like our energy creates an atmosphere for the players to build off on,” senior Alexis Darnall said of the LHS football fandom. With rain-soaked tie-dye shirts and other related clothing, students were packed in the student section, cheering on the Wildcats as they went on to defeat the Blue Devils, 28-26, after Warren failed to convert a two-point conversion that would have sent the Wildcats to a second consecutive overtime game. Junior Max Johnson was dressed up in his tie-dye apparel, splattered with different colors of paint. “I feel like you can’t really get into the game unless you go all out, and the more spirit we have, the team can win,” he said. LHS students are committed to their team and have a sense of passion that is present in their cheers, which are catered towards the opposing team and often heard after Libertyville scores. “The best part is the chants when they score. My favorite one is ‘I believe that we will win’. I think the team loves it,” Johnson said.

Photos by Sam Nelson Senior Ryan Gibbs leads a flashlight wave through the crowd. Feature

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