Page 5: Bagels by the Book reopening in late September Page 26: A Media Divided: Staff Editorial
Volume 92, Issue 1 September 27, 2018
S TA F F L I S T I N G
NEWS
Editors-In-Chief Maggie Burnetti Savanna Winiecki Matt Smith, Online Editor Molly Boufford, News Editor Olivia Gauvin, Features Editor Jacob Kemp, Features Editor Rachel Benner, Opinion Editor Maggie Evers, Sports Editor Ian Cox, Layout Editor Claire Salemi, Social Media Editor
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Letter to the Readers
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Bagels by the Book reopening in late September Why the beloved restaurant disappeared and when it’s coming back.
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@lhsdoi Libertyville High School
Drops of Ink
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Drops of Ink
Midterm elections upcoming in November An overview of the upcoming November elections, including a breakdown of who can vote and how.
Faculty Adviser Michael Gluskin Anya Belomoina Andrew Benoit Olivia Bertaud Annika Bjorklund Amanda Black Ariella Bucio Sayre DeBruler Moira Duffy Thomas Evans Kate Felsl Jade Foo John Freberg Stephanie Gay Aliya Haddon George Hayek Grant Herbek Rowan Hornsey Benjamin Kanches Ella Marsden Benjamin Mayo Allison McLean Charlotte Pulte Kirsten Townander Carly Wagner
The editors-in-chief explain this issue’s focus and what the magazine hopes to accomplish this year.
What’s Trending
Student favorites and recommendations from over the summer.
OPINION 26
A Media Divided
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A Bad Mood Doesn’t Justify Being Rude
Thoughts from the DOI staff about the current state of the media and how it interacts with the political and social climate of today.
Do personal circumstances excuse negative behavior towards others? No, and here’s why.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Contact us at doi@lhswildcats.org Contents by Annika Bjorklund
@lhsdoi Visit us at lhsdoi.com
Cover photo and design by Stephanie Gay Focus cover photo by Stephanie Gay Focus cover text by Maggie Burnetti and Savanna Winiecki
EVERYONE HAS A STORY
FEATURES 10-11
12-16
17-19
20-21
Focus Cover
Everyone has a story -- here’s how we created the featured stories in this issue.
Student Profiles
Get to know LHS students Anna Hirons, Lily Petree, Karina Konshin, Allison Hardy, and Zoya Hasan.
Staff Profiles
Find out about LHS staff members Mrs. Ronne, Mrs. Cote, and Mr. Aubin.
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Activity Profiles
A look into the backgrounds and missions of the Fencing Club and UNICEF Club.
SPORTS 22-23
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Sports Profiles
The girls tennis team is driven by young talent and team bonding, while the football team has created new offensive and defensive schanges this season.
Wildcat Stats
Statistics on fall athletes at LHS, breaking down participation totals for each sport.
17-19 22-23
LETTER TO THE READER Hey all, Welcome to the first Drops of Ink issue of the 2018-2019 school year! DOI is very excited for everything this year has to offer, along with some of the individual skills our different staff members bring to the publication. Over the summer, our editorial board -- made up of the 10 DOI editors -- brainstormed and chose various focus topics for this year that we thought would be valuable to present through our magazine. This first issue is centered around the statement that “Everyone has a story.” With a list of student, staff, sport and club names, we threw darts to randomly choose subjects for most of the stories in this magazine, in order to accurately portray the focus statement. For our student profiles, we recognize they are all girls. Everything was random and it was left up to chance that boys were not represented in this issue. Although some boys were initially selected, they did not want to be featured in the magazine. The DOI staff also made our own set of core values over the summer, which reflect the staff’s goals and purposes for the year; the editorial board added, eliminated and revised some of last year’s core values to create a new list. We as a staff hold ourselves to these standards: Give a voice to the voiceless Cover a variety of content for a wide audience Create a positive family atmosphere Work hard and communicate efficiently Be respectful Tell the truth You can also see our core values on our new shirts (designed by Layout Editor Ian Cox)! Beyond this issue, during this school year, our staff is looking forward to connecting with our readers, and in a larger sense, producing a publication for our readers. We want to hear from you! We strive to connect with our audience and start conversations with you, so we are encouraging you to write to us! (You can find more information about this on the “Contact Us” page on our website.) This can be a reaction to one of our stories or just comments and suggestions as a whole. Space permitting, we will potentially publish your letters in our future magazines and have a staff member respond. Thanks for reading and we hope you have a great school year! Savanna and Maggie
Editors-in-Chief P.S. What’s Trending is coming back in a number of our issues this year! Head to page nine to check it out.
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Staff Member Thomas Evans throws a dart during selection. Photo by Stephanie Gay
Drops of Ink
QR Code to our “Contact Us” page
Bagels by the Book reopening in late September By Molly Boufford
Bagels by the Book, a local breakfast restaurant, is reopening at the end of September by the same owner, Danielle Little, as when they closed down in June 2018. Little lives in Gurnee and has had ownership of the business since 2000, buying it from the original owner Mike Book. She was working at a fashion factory and was worried about losing her job because of factories outsourcing to Mexico. When Bagels, as it is commonly referred to, closed down there were no intentions of ever reopening. It was only a month ago that Little realized she would be able to reopen. According to a Daily Herald article published on June 18, 2018, “She wasn’t planning to close but her lease was not be renewed after a disagreement with the landlord.” However when Drops of Ink asked Little about this during her interview over the phone she did not want to disclose why the store closed initially. As for Bagels by the Book reopening, Little has been working this past month on renovation for the reopen. The improvements include a fresh coat of paint, improved plumbing, more seating for customers and more room for customer service as well as some slight menu changes. “There will be more standing room for customers waiting in line to order and less room for workers in the back,” explained Little in an over the phone interview. During the time that Bagels was closed, there was rumors of another local favorite restaurant, Pizzeria Deville, buying the shop and changing the name. Little declined to comment on this topic. Mr. John Durning, the owner of Pizzeria Deville, confirmed in an over the phone interview that he is looking to open up a new bagel/deli/grill concept shop in Libertyville and was looking into purchasing Bagels by the Book when it closed back in June. He had separate meetings with both Little and the landlord, to discuss the future of the store. However due to Panera’s lease contract that limits what other shops can sell in the stripmall, Mr. Durning decided to turn down the opportunity, but is currently in the works of looking at other places in Libertyville that would suit the new restaurant’s needs. Due to the fact that Bagels’ lease predated the Panera lease, they were allowed to keep selling their bagels when Panera opened a few doors down. According to Mr. Durning, other than bagels, Bagels by the Book is limited in what else they can offer to customers. Layan Abdo is a senior at Libertyville High School and has worked at Bagels by the Book since the summer going into her junior year. “I heard good things through the grapevine... so I just kind of applied on a whim with one of my other friends and we both ended up getting the job and I’m so glad [I] ended up doing it” explains Abdo. Abdo will continue to work at Bagels by the Book after they reopen at the end of September. When Bagels by the Book closed back in June,
Photo by Grant Herbek Bagels by the Book, a go-to breakfast spot for Libertyville residents, is opening back up after being closed for about three months. Renovations and improvements within the restaurant are being made to accompany its return. Abdo and her coworkers knew a little bit farther in advance that it would be closing, but only a few days before word got out to the public. While it was Abdo’s summer job, it was nice for her to have a break of constantly working. She instead just babysat periodically for the remainder of the break. “I was on vacation a lot in July so it kind of worked out that I just chilled a little bit and picked up a couple babysitting jobs here and there,” says Abdo. Little had quite the opposite break. She had many renovations to work on for the reopening and also working on her own home renovations. Abdo’s favorite part about working at Bagels by the Book was the atmosphere of the shop. “I think my favorite part was the energy, it was always super lively and super busy. It was awesome getting to see people come in through their teens and also working with such good people was amazing,” gushes Abdo. Little’s favorite thing to make for customers is their breakfast sandwiches and she enjoys them as well. “[Breakfast sandwiches] are my favorite to eat and make. I love seeing customers take their first bite of the sandwich,” stated Little over the phone. Little is very excited to be able to open up her shop again to customers and working with the employees again. She expressed through the phone, “I miss the kids the most. All the interactions and working with amazing employees has always been amazing.”
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Midterm elections upcoming in November By Claire Salemi
Photos by Amanda Black
State Congressional candidate Mary Edly-Allen (right) and Emily Harbin Watts, a friend who has helped with Edly-Allen’s campaign, discuss plans for Edly-Allen’s upcoming election.
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n Tuesday, Nov. 6, Illinois residents ages 18 and older can vote and help decide who will fill the positions of many statewide offices, including governor and those of many Illinois congressional districts. Locally, the Illinois House of Representatives 51st District seat is open; this district includes Libertyville as well as other cities within Lake County. Republican Nick Sauer recently held this position, but he had to step down in August due to a scandal. The ex-representative was accused of posting inappropriate pictures of his ex-girlfriend online without her consent, resulting in his resignation according to the Chicago Tribune. The local Republican party picked Mundelein resident Helene Miller Walsh to replace Sauer, and she has been serving in the role for just over a month; she is running for re-election for this seat. According to Walsh’s Facebook page, she believes that illegal immigrants are very harmful to the United States. Her Facebook posts also suggest that she is pro-life and pro-Second Amendment rights. Drops of Ink has called her campaign office multiple times for the purposes of this article but there has been no response; no official campaign
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Mary Edly-Allen is running as the Democratic candidate for the State House position for the 51st District. Her office is located near Panera Bread on S. Milwaukee Rd.
website could be located either. Libertyville resident Mary Edly-Allen is running as a Democrat against Walsh. Edly-Allen has four boys who have attended Libertyville High School and is also a sponsor for the school’s Science Olympiad team. Politics for Edly-Allen have always been important, but this is the first time she is running for office. She was encouraged to run by Illinois State Senator Melinda Bush, who represents the 31st District, just north of Libertyville. Edly-Allen’s major platforms are “safe schools and safe communities, as well as creating jobs while conserving the environment,” she explained in an interview at her campaign headquarters, located in the Cambridge Plaza strip mall on the corner of South Milwaukee Avenue and Valley Park Drive in Libertyville. Beyond Illinois, the results of the November midterm elections across the country can impact the federal as well as state governments. All 435 U.S. House of Representatives seats are up for election, one third of the U.S. Senate seats are on the ballot, and 36 governor positions are being voted on, including here in Illinois. For governor, incumbent Republican Bruce Rauner and Democrat JB Pritzker are
running. Pritzker is a billionaire with visions of improving health care and early education, and he wants to resist President Trump, according to his website. Rauner’s platform revolves around improving education, reducing taxes and criminal justice reforms, his website states. New voters have the opportunity to make their voices heard for the first time at the ballot box. Senior Bianca Johnson, who isn’t registered but plans on voting, wrote over email that “it really makes a difference if everyone votes,” when asked about why voting is important. Edly-Allen’s biggest advice to new voters is just to always vote. She added that “if you do or don’t like the things the way they are, then vote.” Senior Radu Manea is a newly registered voter at LHS who plans on casting a ballot for the first time. “I do have strong opinions, so I am glad that I get to voice my opinion now,” he said. Those who are 18 by Nov. 6 can vote in this election if they register by Oct. 10. Registration can be done online at Lake County’s official website or in person at a Department of Motor Vehicles branch.
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Drops of Ink | Feature
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For our first issue, we chose to highlight certain students, staff members, clubs and sports. Our focus is that “Everyone has a story,� a concept we truly believe. The following pages feature five students, three LHS staff members, two clubs and two sports. We selected these people and groups through a completely random process. To do this, we threw magnetic darts at a board of listed names. We took class time to throw darts and alternated which DOI staff members were throwing. The chance of being selected were:
0.05% for students 0.40% for LHS staff 1.43% for clubs 9.1% for sports Here are their stories.
Anna Hirons
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unior Anna Hirons had always loved the sound of the cello, so when the opportunity to play the instrument presented itself when she was in fourth grade at Rockland Elementary School, she decided to play. Around the same time, her mom began to take harp lessons, and she “soon jumped on board.” After taking lessons and picking up the harp, she “fell in love with the instrument.” For seven years now, Hirons has played both instruments. She plays for the school’s Symphony Orchestra and band, and is playing for the fall musical, “Pippin,” in the pit orchestra. Whether she plays the cello or the harp for a specific song depends on if the harp has a prevalent part. On average, she will play “one or two pieces every two concerts,” explained orchestra teacher Mr. Jeremy Marino. Though she enjoys playing both instruments, she prefers the harp: “I like the uniqueness of the harp, and it just comes easier to me.” Outside of school, she takes lessons from a private teacher and plays in the Chicago Harp Ensemble, a group run by her teacher and two other professional harpists. The group ranges from elementary school to high school students, and they cover mostly jazz or classical music for their two concerts a year. “There are many practices leading up to the concerts, and they are always very fun and positive environments,” Hirons elaborated. In addition to the Chicago Harp Ensemble, Hirons plays with the North Suburban Wind Ensemble, a group that “is made up of many professional musicians who are mostly teachers of their instrument.” She considers it an honor to be able to play with them. One of her favorite memories during her harp career is when she got to “form a harp duo with a good friend.” They were given the opportunity to perform in different events around the Lake County area. For LHS, she participates in different competitions through the school, like the one run by the Illinois Music Educators Association (ILMEA). One of her favorite experiences from playing with the school was when she played the harp with the LHS Wind Ensemble at Carnegie Hall in April of 2017. Playing the harp for school performances adds a new element to pieces: “There are moments where it’s just super great to have that color that [a song] was meant to have,” stated Mr. Marino. “It just adds an extra element that the composer wanted.” The school will on average have one harp player every four years, according to Mr. Marino; he also expressed they were “very lucky to have a harp player.” Mr. Dustin Helvie, the head of the Fine Arts Department and director of the pit orchestra, conveyed “Anna is an outstanding musician and student. She adds a wonderful timbre to each ensemble.” Hirons feels some pressure being the only
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harpist at the school, but there are several benefits: “It’s a little stressful [that] all of the harp needs are on one person. But I like it; it reduces the competition, so that’s good.” As the only harpist, there is a lot of demand from her to play in multiple performances. She stated that her workload is “at its peak right now” with learning music for the musical, preparing for ILMEA auditions, and getting ready for both orchestra and band’s winter and spring concerts. “It’s kind of hard because for harpists, we have to get our music way ahead of time so that we can adjust it for the harp because there aren’t a lot of harp parts,” she explained. “I have a lot of music for a long period of time and it eventually dwindles down.” For Hirons, music is her “main focus” in life. She sees music and playing instruments as “a different way to express yourself, and it’s a lot different than any sport or anything that you could do.” Her favorite part of playing the harp is the ability to play more contemporary songs that she enjoys: “I like when I’m able to learn new songs -- like songs that I recognize -- on my own. So not necessarily classical music that [I] have to learn, but more popular songs that I can pick up easier,” she expressed. “As I improve, I can play the songs I recognize easier.” Beyond high school, she doesn’t plan on becoming a professional musician, but rather wants to go into business or meteorology. However, she wants to continue playing music and join some orchestra groups in college.
By Rachel Benner Photos by Amanda Black Layout by Ian Cox
Anna Hirons, a junior at LHS, has been playing the harp for seven years. She is the only harpist at LHS and is currently in orchestra and band. She is also playing in the pit orchestra for the fall musical.
Lily Petree
By Savanna Winiecki Photos by Charlotte Pulte Layout by Ian Cox
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reshman Lily Petree is an identical twin with Chloe Petree. As Lily described, the two sisters get along well and rarely fight. “Lily and I are basically just best friends. We talk all the time and we can’t not think of something to say to each other,” said Chloe. Both sisters mentioned that people are constantly asking them about being twins, which can get annoying, they said. “It’s fun [being a twin] because people know me. There’s also bad parts because sometimes they don’t know my name or they ask us so many questions about it. Like in public everyone’s always like, ‘Oh my god, are you twins?’” said Lily. The two used to share a room, but since last year, they each have their own rooms, which Chloe likes. “If [Lily] really likes [something], Freshman Lily Petree opens up about her life, family, and plans for the future. she’ll get really motivated part of any clubs at LHS yet but hopes to school. Chloe said that she’s become more to do it,” Chloe stated. join some soon; Lily does plans to particitalkative, and their mom, Mrs. Sharon Redoing their rooms was an example of pate in Orchesis in the spring. Petree, agrees. Lily’s motivation, according to Chloe. Before she came to LHS, she was “Lily has grown into a confident, indeAt the age of 7, Lily and her family pendent young woman,” Mrs. Petree said moved from Minnesota to Libertyville, and hesitant about meeting new people while transitioning from Highland Middle over email. “I have always taught Lily to they have lived here ever since. During School to LHS. “[Middle school to high question everything. I have encouraged one of the long weekends this Sept, her school] hasn’t really been that much of an her to explore her own ideas and to family went back to Minnesota to visit her adjustment. [LHS is] just bigger and has determine what she has to say and how grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, more things to do,” explained Lily. So far, she feels about things. This has lead to who she sees once or twice a year. Lily she’s enjoyed the football games and looks incredible growth for her each year.” explained how she doesn’t know those forward to the ones in the future. Chloe described Lily’s best quality as family members too well but is close with She is fascinated by science, partly her understanding and empathetic nature. her mom’s extended family in Libertyville. because her mom is a scientist. Lily is “She gives great advice whenever you Lily emphasized that she loves to travel. currently taking biology, and her favorite need anything. She’s just a really great She recently traveled to St. John in the parts are the lab experiments. teacher whether it’s for homework or just Caribbean, and her favorite part about A short-term goal for herself is to get personal advice,” included Chloe. She also the trip was swimming and being with her really good grades. In the future, she noted that Lily is really caring and funny. family. would like to go to college and potentially “I’m really nice to everybody. I’m Lily and her friends are frequent movie become a lawyer or a marine biologist; never mean. I’m an introvert, but with my watchers, whether it’s at the theaters or a Lily loves animals. She’s always had a high friends, or sister or family, I can be an movie night in. She further noted that out extrovert and super talkative,” Lily exof all genres, her favorite is comedy. When interest in the oceans and its creatures. While she doesn’t know much about mapressed about herself. “I’m really honest. not watching movies, Lily said that her rine biology, what she does know intrigues I never lie. Even with my family; I’ve never friends like to just hang out and talk. her greatly. lied to them.” She plays the violin, as does Chloe, both Lily also wants to be less shy and step outside and inside of school, where she out of her comfort zone more in high is a String Orchestra member. She isn’t a
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Karina Konshin
By Molly Boufford
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oving from Russia in 1995, Karina Konshin’s parents came to the U.S., Chicago specifically, to give their future family a better life, and in March 2002, Konshin was born. Konshin’s parents followed her great-grandmother to Chicago to escape the discrimination they faced in Russia due to their family’s Jewish ethnicity. The United States also provided a way for the family to get out of the Russian economic system. “My parents wanted to be able to get out of that little economic hole because in Russia nobody owned anything … only the [very rich] had things like [cars and air conditioning],” Konshin explained. Even though Konshin did not move to the U.S. from Russia, she can speak Russian fluently, although she does struggle to read and write Russian. Not being able to read or write the language makes it harder to keep in touch with much of her family, whom she has met only once in 2013; they still live in Russia. “If there was one thing I could get rid of ... it would be the language barrier. It’s so rough because there are people you can’t be really close with because you don’t understand them, [and] that just sucks,” Konshin discussed. Konshin has one sibling: an older brother who she said she is very close to. Thomas Konshin, who is almost six years older than Konshin, has acted like a third parent to her, she said. Thomas now lives in Chicago and goes to college there; he commutes back home for the weekends to work. Her brother passed on his, what Konshin calls, “college traits,” meaning that she got his outgoing, talkative traits and skipped the usual awkward high-school phase that most people go through. “[Thomas] pushed me out of my comfort zone and because of that, I’m gonna make [life] a good time, so I’m gonna talk to everyone, and my sense of humor also kinda comes from him,” expressed Konshin. Konshin is very grateful for her brother guiding her through high school to this point and although they don’t talk as much anymore, when they do, she said it turns into a four-hour conversation. At LHS, Konshin is a junior involved in badminton, the debate team and choir. Her favorite course that she has taken so far has been Geography Honors with Mr. Bill Mix her freshman year. Konshin feels
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Photos by Ally McLean
it is important that everyone takes a geography class at some point during their high school career. During her free time, Konshin is a huge fan of going to the school dances and football games on Friday nights to hang out with her friends. Juniors Lexie Hill and Cassie Palmo agree that just hanging
Layout by Ian Cox
their kids be in the same place, so we travel a lot and put a lot of our funds towards travel,” said Konshin. This past summer, she took a twoweek trip to Spain with the LHS Spanish program to explore northern Spain with her friends. “My favorite part about the Spain trip
Korina Konshin, a junior at LHS, is interested in the arts of drawing, poetry and singing; most surprisingly, Konshin also enjoys freestyle rapping. out and watching some movies is how their group tends to enjoy spending time together. “[Our friend group] likes doing group sleepovers and fooling around, we have a really weird sense of humor so we just do random stuff,” Palmo said with a laugh. Traveling has always been a huge and important aspect of Konshin’s life due to her family’s past in Russia and not being able to leave the country. “In communist Russia, it is illegal for you to leave the area … so what my parents decided together was that they cannot let
was definitely being able to just explore some of the cities alone with just me and my friends,” explained Konshin. Looking towards the future, Konshin wants to go into a social studies field and possibly take a political route; however, she noted that she could see herself teaching. “[I] could always go [into] being a teacher because I feel like a have a strong suit in teaching or just helping other people in general,” she explained.
ALLY HARDY
BY SAVANNA WINIECKI PHOTOS BY CHARLOTTE PULTE LAYOUT BY IAN COX
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he 2018-19 school year marked the first time sophomore Ally Hardy was enrolled at LHS despite living in Libertyville almost her whole life. In the middle of eighth grade, when she attended St. Joseph's Catholic School, the Hardy family moved to Brisbane, Australia, for her dad’s job where he runs the international department of RustOleum. They arrived a couple of weeks prior because her school was smaller and to her freshman school it was easier to see her in the halls. year and began adjustIn Australia, they would also walk ing to their new life. to school and walk home together “Before we went [to and had more family bonding time, Australia, she] didn’t which she enjoyed. want to go. She was Carolyn believes that during the dreading going at all,” time they were living in Australia, said senior Carolyn HarHardy learned to be “a lot more dy, Hardy’s sister. open to new experiences [and] … Hardy expressed that came into herself.” she was genuinely afraid As Hardy explained, the adof change and didn’t justment period is proving hard want to leave her life for her, not just because of the in Libertyville. All her Sophomore Ally Hardy adjusts to life back in Libertyville after living homework load, but also because friends and family were in Australia for a year and a half. she had to, again, leave her best in Libertyville. She friends and a place she ended up had missed her eighth loving. She snapchats her friends In the classroom, Hardy had a difgrade graduation. She from Australia everyday and FaceTimes ferent experience than the traditional had to leave her dog behind. She had to or Skypes them a lot too. She’s planning American education system. Her school move across the globe. She felt like her on going back to visit them, but doesn’t didn’t have grades based on percentworld changed. know when. One of her friends is spendages of individual assignments, homeDuring her year and a half abroad, ing Christmas with them this year and work or tests compiled for one large Hardy met her “best friends for life” and her other friend is coming to visit next semester grade. Instead, she had about eventually grew to love Australia, as well summer. She’s reconnected best with her two grades for one semester: the final as exploring the country. Her town was family friends back in Libertyville. exam and one large, year-long project. just an hour between the Sunshine Coast “I’m not as afraid of change as I used Moreover, there was no homework, aside and the Golden Coast. She enjoyed to be. Like now I’m looking for somefrom revising work, but it was never for surfing, hiking in the national parks and thing else to do and something else to points in the gradebook. seeing the wildlife. She described how happen to try to get out of this routine. “I get home from school [now] and all kangaroo sightings, where fields would It kind of taught me that life is going to I do is homework. I was used to going be full of them, were just as common as throw you places and you’re just going to home and having time for myself and seeing a deer in the midwest. have to live with it and it’ll end up being it was so great. That’s been a bit of a Hardy was also certified for diving and great,” she said. shock,” stated Hardy. “You don’t really dove in the Great Barrier Reef. AddiMoving forward at LHS, Hardy is interrealize that the transition back home can tionally, her family traveled to Thailand, ested in potentially joining gymnastics, be kind of hard, too.” New Zealand and Western Australia. Advocats, Interact, and MedCats to Carolyn expressed she was able to Despite her adventures, Hardy really see Hardy more than she had back home become more involved. missed the changing seasons at home.
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A
Zoya Hasan
s Zoya Hasan, a senior at LHS, explained, her character centers around caring for others. “I’m generally a happy person,” she immediately emphasized when defining herself. “I like spreading happiness to other people. When someone is down, I always try and brighten up their day; I try to be as nice as possible.” For Hasan, kindness is a defining characteristic of her passions, along with helping others. In fact, this passion promptly sparked when she witnessed her grandfather’s medical struggles two years ago. “A couple of years ago, my grandfather had a stroke, and I couldn’t really do anything about it because you can’t undo a stroke,” Hasan explained. “It was really severe. He had hemorrhaging in the brain … He was unconscious, and [our family was] just watching him on the ventilator.” Though it was a troubling time for her as well as her family, Hasan’s grandfather survived, and this medical crisis shaped a deep passion for her, as she quickly realized just how much she values helping others. “I just have this urge. If someone is in distress, I’m the first one to ask, ‘Oh, are you okay? Can I help?’ I just have this urge to go and help [people],” Hasan stressed. Today, Hasan is interested in studying medicine, specifically occupational and physical therapy. She even volunteers for a free health clinic at her mosque which provides others with discounted medication they may not have been able to receive due to insurance expenses. Close friends of Hasan can attest to her kindness and care towards others — like Kora Costakis, a senior at LHS, and one of Hasan’s best friends.
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“[Zoya] is just extremely helpful. She makes me so much happier and just brightens my mood,” Costakis said with a laugh. “I think she’ll do really well in medicine because she just makes everyone feel good.” Costakis further noted that Hasan has an energetic and adventurous personality, especially when they’re together. One of her most positive and, as she emphasized,
mostly guidance By Olivia Gauvin between the Photos by Katie Felsl wrong and right Layout by Ian Cox choice. If I have any problems, I pray to God.” Hasan enjoys practicing and discussing her faith at Libertyville High School’s Muslim Students Association club, as they debate wide ranges of topics like Islam in
Zoya Hasan has a smile to brighten up anyone’s day while she tries to be as helpful as possible. funniest memories with Hasan was when “she drove me to this monument replica of the Egyptian pyramids out of nowhere. I don’t even know where it was. It’s like 45 minutes away. I had to go to work but she was just like, ‘Oh, come with me,’ and she drove me to this [monument] because she thought it was so cool.” Hasan enjoys close relationships with her teachers as well, and is particularly close with Mrs. Laura Guiard, a French and Spanish teacher at LHS. “When I ask questions and when I try to connect with her, she’s very open,” Mrs. Guiard noted. “I really find all of her life experiences so intriguing; she has so many connections to other cultures.” As Hasan explained, many of her values and life lessons center around her Muslim faith and culture: “For me, [Islam] is
American society or the toxic implications of gossiping. Hasan further noted how she feels supported at LHS as a Muslim: “I pray five times a day … [and] in the winter time, when the time changes and the day becomes shorter, the LST offers [a place for people] to come pray in the LST, because one of the prayers is in the afternoon time period. It’s really nice of them to do that.” Mrs. Guiard emphasized how much she had witnessed Hasan grow as a student throughout her years at LHS. Mrs. Guiard further noted how Hasan’s confidence and kindness brings a lot of energy to the classroom. “She’s always got something to say. She’s kind to everyone. She’s willing to try,” Mrs. Guiard said. “Zoya is, at the same time, bubbly and profound.”
Mrs. Ronne By Ella Marsden Photos by Katie Felsl. rs. Jewell Ronne, a secreshe has been tary in the G-P LST, grew up a Wildcat Layout by Ian Cox in a small town outside of for the past Lincoln, Nebraska, where eight years. she attended Malcolm High School. She Mrs. Katherine Cashgraduated with a class size of 30, which man, a secretary who was relatively large compared to the typ- works alongside Mrs. about lots of things.” ical class of about 15. She explained that Ronne in the G-P LST, knew Mrs. Ronne Mrs. Anne Fowkes, a health teacher at “if you’re in a really small school, you do 10 years prior to working together at LHS and a close friend to Mrs. Ronne, everything. So everybody’s out for volLHS. The two women met because they emphasized her wisdom: “She would leyball, everybody’s out for basketball, were involved in volunteer foster care always have great insight, so we would everybody’s out for track.” In addition through Safe Families, Mrs. Cashman help each other through whatever our to participating in these activities, Mrs. recalled. “She was fostering 3 siblings; kids were going through.” Both Mrs. Ronne was a member of the cheerleadone of them had some special needs Cashman and Mrs. Fowkes were quick ing squad and the choir. Though she hasn’t spent much of her life traveling, one of her most prominent childhood memories was make-believe travel with her dad: “We would lay on the bed and pretend we were floating down a river and [point out] all the animals you would see,” Mrs. Ronne explained. “Of course when you’re 2, you see [those animals].” She added that she did this with her four kids when they were growing up as well. She and her husband of 29 years have one daughter and three sons: her oldest son, Josh, lives in Wyoming; he and his wife work for a caterer. Taylor, the second-oldest child and only daughter, works as an oncology Prior to becoming a Wildcat, G-P LST secretary Mrs. Ronne was a librarian at Vernon Hills High School. nurse at the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. The two youngest are Justin and and was kind of a handful with the two to include how kind she is and how much Dillan, who both live in Nebraska. Justin younger ones, so I [fostered] the older she cares about her own kids as well as is a music teacher at a high school in sibling — the 3-year-old — and she all LHS students. Benkleman while Dillan is a John Deere kept the babies. We would get together Caitlin Josten, a senior, spends her technician in York. All four of her kids so the kids could play with each other,” study hall in the G-P LST, and has known went to high school at LHS. explained Mrs. Cashman. They’ve been Mrs. Ronne since her freshman year. Mrs. Ronne graduated from the Unifriends ever since; Mrs. Ronne was the “[Mrs. Ronne is] very happy, positive, versity of Nebraska with a bachelor’s de- connection that secured Mrs. Cashman and polite. She’ll never seem rude to you gree in education. While her first job was her job as an LST secretary. at all,” Josten said. Josten made sure waitressing at a diner in Lincoln, shortly When asked about Mrs. Ronne’s most to note that “whenever you’re in a rush, after college, her first full-time position defining characteristics, Mrs. Cashman [Mrs. Ronne is] super good at calming was as a history teacher at a middle mentioned that “she’s very funny… she you down and understanding what’s school in California. Prior to working at has a very quick wit.” Mrs. Cashman going on.” Libertyville High School, she worked as added, “It’s good to have somebody a librarian at Vernon Hills High School; you work with that you can laugh with
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Mrs. Cote By Moira Duffy Photos by Grant Herbek Layout by Ian Cox
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rs. Sherri Cote began working as a teacher support clerk in the Teacher’s Center because of her connection to the community and proficiency in customer service. This is her sixth year at LHS, and her interest in the job spiked after being a stay-at-home mom for the previous 21 years. During that time, Mrs. Cote spent a lot of time volunteering at Highland Middle School and LHS, volunteering with Parent Cats, the main parent group at LHS; she has been a board member of Parent Cats since 2007. “Working at a school just seemed the right place to be,” she expressed. Mrs. Cote has had four kids graduate from LHS, and her fifth child, Jillian Cote, is a current senior. When she went in for the job interview in the summer of 2013, Mrs. Cote was sure to keep an open line of communication with her kids about her potential job at the school. “They were a little apprehensive at first,” she admitted. “[But] we came up with this agreement that what happens at home stays at home [and] what happens in the Teacher’s Center and with the staff stays here in the building.” This includes times of fire drills, updates on a particular person in the building or any other information that doesn’t relate to her children outside school. Over time, Mrs. Cote recalled that her kids began to see the benefits of having a parent who works in the school. When they are in sports, her kids can drop off their sports bags in her office. If they forget money for lunch, all they have to do is stop by and ask. Mrs. Cote’s position at the school is convenient in other ways as well. “[Working here is] a really nice fit because I don’t have a lot of interactions with the students and their friends, so [my kids] were like, ‘Okay, you can be in my building as long as you stay in the Teacher’s Center,’’’ she laughed. Working in the Teacher’s Center gives Mrs. Cote the opportunity to help teachers with their printing. Her job responsibilities are to control incoming and outgoing mail and to monitor the copy machines, assisting teachers that drop by or have copy requests. “I really think of this job as a customer service job; I really enjoy the interaction with the staff.” Mrs. Audrey Glenn, the substitute teaching coordinator at LHS, works in the same office as Mrs. Cote.
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“She’s a pleasure. She really always puts everybody else’s needs in front of hers,” Mrs. Glenn said. She added that sometimes she tries to get Mrs. Cote to focus more on herself and leave on time at the end of the day. “‘No no no, [it’s 5 p.m.], you should go home!’” Mrs. Glenn said, imitating herself with a laugh. Mrs. Cote expressed that there’s something to be said for learning how to interact and deal with people. She moved to different towns and schools a lot when she was younger, but her family settled down after second grade. “[Moving around a lot] taught me I have to walk into a room where I may not know a lot of people and just kind of go for it,” she shrugged. This helped her delve into customer service as an adult. “It’s really important that I like the people that I work with; I wouldn’t stay if I didn’t,” Mrs. Glenn disclosed. Since she and Mrs. Cote are in close quarters for much of the day, Mrs. Glenn stated the two have become close after their years working at LHS. This year, Mrs. Cote revealed, “There’s a lot going on in the Cote household and here at school.” Her youngest of five, Jillian, is graduating high school and will be heading off to college, and another one of her kids is graduating college this year. “It’ll be interesting to see how [Jillian’s] transition is different from her brothers’,” Mrs. Cote said.
Before Mrs. Cote started working as a teacher support clerk in the Teacher’s Center, Cote had four children graduate from LHS. An important lesson Mrs. Cote believes all young people can learn is to “be open to new experiences [and] to try things to step out of your comfort zone a little bit.” Mrs. Cote herself didn’t go to college the traditional way (“if there is a traditional way,” she added). She worked full time while attending night school at Roosevelt University, graduating in 10 years. It gave her a new perspective when her kids were talking about college and further schooling. “[My kids asked], ‘What are [fraternities] and sororities like?’ I was like, well, they don’t really have frats and sororities at night school…” she said with a laugh. Mrs. Cote said this prompted her to realize people should take advantage of the chances and experiences when they can. “When you have that opportunity, take that,” she said. “Take advantage when you’re away at school go see a guest speaker, go see the play, reach out and talk to people that have had different experiences from you.”
Mr. Aubin F
rom childhood to adulthood, Mr. Casey Aubin has always been into sports. Growing up in the south suburbs of Chicago, he and his twin brother attended their two older siblings’ games, which sparked them to follow suit. When Mr. Aubin was younger, he “played all the sports that your parents put you in, like baseball and soccer,” but later found himself gravitating towards football and volleyball. He played those sports for school, at Carl Sandburg High School, and for club teams: “I was a very good, above-average high school athlete. I wasn’t All-State, I wasn’t All-Conference, but I was just having fun.” Part of his love for sports guided him to become a teacher; Mr. Aubin stated that his teenage self partially wanted to join the profession because it could be something that “really allows me to make a career out of coaching.” Additionally, his inspiration for becoming a teacher came from various adults in his life: “My teachers and my coaches were the people that had the biggest impact on me.” His mom, who was a well-respected and awarded — once a Golden Apple Award nominee — elementary school teacher, was another role model. Mr. Aubin attended Illinois State University and majored in education. Knowing that he didn’t want to deal with the stress and training of being a student-athlete in college, he joined intramurals to play the same sports he loved in high school but do so more recreationally. Once he graduated college, he worked at another school as a permanent substitute teacher, later getting a job at Libertyville after finding the opportunity at a job fair. Growing up around war veterans (he worked at a local Veterans of Foreign Wars office) and enjoying history documentaries, he became a lover of storytelling; he always knew he wanted to be a social studies teacher. In addition to knowing his ideal position, he also came to LHS hoping to coach some sports teams. Mr. Aubin has coached freshman football for eight years and boys junior varsity volleyball for seven. Though he doesn’t have a favorite between the two, he enjoys that the two sports are different: with football, he sees it as more strategy, “like a game of chess.” With volleyball, the game is “more fluid,” which allows the game to “take its course.” He respects that with each sport, there are different preparations and tactics used to win. Throughout his career, Mr. Aubin has found a significant correlation between coaching on the field and teaching in the classroom: “To be a good teacher, you
By Rachel Benner Photos by Grant Herbek Layout by Ian Cox have to be a good coach.” He’s found that certain skills he teaches can translate between the two: “You’re introducing new skills, introducing new information, trying to make it accessible for everyone, trying to take individual weaknesses of everyone and turn them into strengths. If you do that enough with individuals, you kinda lift the entire team or
class,” he described. “The way I teach and the way I coach are very similar.” His wife, Mrs. Melissa Aubin, a teacher-librarian at LHS, reflected on how she sees her husband as a coach and teacher. “He just has this knack of knowing what to say, whether it’s to the whole team or even just an individual player,” she explained. “I think that transfers over to him as a teacher in the classroom. He just knows what to say to lift kids up or give them confidence.” And just like with winning a sports game, there is a payoff and reward at the end of the day: Mr. Aubin said his favorite parts of being a teacher are “the relationships you form with people” and “when you help
A player turned coach, Mr. Aubin has always been passionate about sports like volleyball and football. Becoming a teacher at Libertyville not only meant that he could fulfill his desire to teach, but also continue his involvement with the sports he loves. somebody and it clicks, and then all of a sudden you’ve empowered them.”
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By Ariella Bucio Photo by Stephanie Gay Layout by John Freberg
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Fencing Club
n garde, ready, fence! High School[s]. I jumped at the chance. both individual and team events. The top The Fencing Club for District 128 I really enjoy teaching students and it’s finishers at the competitions get medals, is a co-ed fencing team called the really rewarding for me,” he explained. which are usually distributed for first Thundercats. It is a self-funded club, Villani became the treasurer of Thunthrough fourth or eighth place. started during the 2012-2013 school dercats the spring of 2018 when parents According to St. George, the Thunyear. It is not considered an official were being asked to take on different dercats strive to uphold a supportive sport, but they compete in the Great roles. She is responsible for handling the environment for each member. Megan Lakes High School Fencing Conference. money and deciding where the monNostrand, a sophomore Thundercat The Thundercats meet three times a ey should be spent for the fundraising fencer, agreed. week in the LHS cafeteria for practice events and activities. “[The environment of the club] is very and compete in positive. It’s very tournaments on jokey, so we most Saturdays. tease each other According a lot, but it’s kind to Mrs. Nanof like one big cy Villani, the family; I guess group’s treasurthat’s the best er and parent way to put it.” volunteer, the Nostrand stated. Thundercats Both Nostrand do not host and Joseph competitions Griffith, another at LHS; they sophomore on travel to differthe fencing team, ent schools to feel comfortable compete. The in the fencing enseason begins in vironment. FencNovember and ing has impacted goes through to their social life. the beginning of “It allowed me February. to find another Mr. David group of friends St. George, to hang out with, the fencing and it’s just Head Coach generally fun. I and the Epee think [the team Squad Coach, is] pretty close,” explained that Griffith said. Although fencing is generally recognized as a sport, LHS offers it as a club. Seniors Anna the club was Nostrand beSchellin and Charlotte Stevenson practice for a match. formed with the lieves that fencgoal of providing has given her ing more practice for fencers. There are three different weapons the opportunity to meet new people and St. George was one of the original in fencing: epee, foil and sabre. As St. form new friendships, which she said has founders. Last year, there were 43 memGeorge explained, epee and foil require pushed her out of her comfort zone. bers in the fencing club and this year, the fencers to poke their opponent with Some important skills to have when there are 31 members. their weapon and sabre requires the fencing are to “be able to outsmart your St. George has been fencing since 1998 fencers to strike their opponent in a opponent, that’s really the main part of and became interested in teaching it at slashing manner. it. It’s like mental chess, which is how my LHS after enrolling in a fencing class at Usually at the high-school level, only coach puts it,” explained Griffith. the College of Lake County as an adult. one weapon of fencing is practiced Similarly, Nostrand feels that, “you ob The sport suited his competitive personby each member. “They kind of find a viously have to be able to adapt quickly. ality. weapon that fits their personality,” said You have to have quick reflexes, and you “I was approached with the opportuSt. George. also have to be aware of what is going nity to help start a brand new fencing Regarding the competitions, the events on because you don’t know what your team at Libertyville and Vernon Hills are divided by gender, and there are opponent is going to do.”
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UNICEF
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NICEF, which stands for United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, was established in 1946 by the United Nations and has spread around the world to different locations, including Libertyville. The international UNICEF organization strives to “save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence,” according to the UNICEF website. Similarly, the goal of the UNICEF Club at LHS is to bring awareness to their purpose in the Libertyville community and raise money to support the cause of UNICEF. The club at LHS was founded by Mariam Tolba, a 2018 LHS graduate, about three years ago. Currently, Brendan Rattin, a senior at LHS, is the president of the UNICEF Club. Rattin got involved with the club at LHS during his freshman year. “At first I didn’t know what UNICEF was, so a friend invited me to join a meeting and when I got there, I kind of loved it because I loved everything [the club] stood for,” Rattin explained. Mrs. Jennifer Uliks, the activities director, is the faculty advisor for the club. She believes that for such an international organization, the role of the UNICEF Club at LHS is to “bring students together for a bigger global purpose … This gives kids the opportunity to help children all across the world.” Mrs. Uliks became involved after being approached by Tolba. After accepting the position, Mrs. Uliks remembered that she had a deeper connection to children from other parts of the world who are less fortunate than in Libertyville because she visited Vietnam with her brother and sister-in-law when they were adopting children. “I got an opportunity to see what the conditions were of children living in orphanages in Vietnam and how heartbreaking it was to see children in that environment,” discussed Mrs. Uliks. The club often hosts fundraisers to raise money and awareness for UNICEF. The group has worked at Culver’s, hosted bake sales, sold UNICEF t-shirts and held penny wars between classes in the past; they sent the money that they have earned to the international UNICEF organization. They have also produced videos for the morning announcements about different topics such as clean water, human trafficking and child labor. Every month, the UNICEF Club has a different theme to promote awareness. The theme usually coincides with what the international
By Ariella Bucio Photo by Thomas Evans Layout by John Freberg
UNICEF organization is advocating for that month. In October, there is an event called Trick-orTreat for UNICEF that the LHS club participates in. Instead of asking for candy, the club members go door-to-door asking for donations, which go directly towards UNICEF. According to Rattin, this event raised more than $800 last October.
slight understanding of how people in the U.S. and around the world have to live under these conditions on a daily basis. “[The challenge] was really hard, and I just couldn’t imagine how people could subsist on less than a dollar a day,” said Rattin. Mrs. Uliks said she is now more aware of the day-to-day commodities that we take for granted, such as clean drinking water, child
Students interested in UNICEF watch an informational video about how the organization helps children around the world.
The club meets every other Thursday in Room 1107 for roughly 15-20 minutes to discuss their goals, future awareness events and/ or fundraising ideas. Last year, the UNICEF club had around 25 members. This year, Mrs. Uliks hopes to have 35 members or more join UNICEF. One of Rattin’s favorite parts about being in UNICEF Club was participating in the “Live Below the Line” event, which challenges people to spend less than a dollar on food per day for a duration of five days; this is done to have a
labor laws and our daily meals. Rattin expressed how UNICEF has impacted him as a person throughout the years he has been in the club. “It’s definitely made me more aware about how lucky we are in Libertyville,” he said. “And it’s made me rethink my position in the world because we are in a privileged position where we have food and water and gender equality and access to education, but lots of children around the world lack that. It’s really made me thankful.”
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GIRLS TENNIS The girls varsity tennis team comes into the year with high hopes and two young talents leading their team. Sophomores Amanda Black (a DOI staff member) and Lily VanDixhorn are the team’s singles 1 and 2 players, meaning they are the top two players on the team, according to junior Kiley Nolan. “[VanDixhorn and Black] are our motivation since they’re so young and so good. If it wasn’t for them, we’d be messing around all the time,” said senior team captain McKenna Rudolphi. Nolan plays doubles 1 (the top doublesposition on the team) with partner Senior Anna Wolski: “We’ve had a tough time [this year] since we’ve played such tough teams, so it’s hard because they’re all so good. We played well, but I am excited for this season,” said Nolan. In order to get even better this season, Rudolphi believes that the team needs to
Teammates captain McKenna Rudolphi (left) and Rachel Benner, the DOI opinion editor, (right) rejoice after scoring against Carmel Catholic High School in a doubles match. “not get down on ourselves when we mess up, knowing that it’s okay.” As of September 17th, the team is 4-1. The Wildcats came into this year having to replace six graduated seniors from
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last year. “We have a lot of new people… so people are playing different lines for doubles and singles, so I have the same partner but a lot of people are playing different this year than they did last year,” expressed Nolan. One thing tennis does differently than other sports is buy their own uniforms. There’s about 77 girls on the team between the varsity, JV, and freshman levels. They purchased Lululemon uniforms picked out by the team and ordered by Rudolphi. The team practices on six different courts, which can make it challenging to teach everything, according to head coach Dan Kiernan. “Learning competitive skills is always a challenge on six courts,” he said over email. They do different drills in order to work on their skills, such as practicing all of their strokes (lobs, overheads, serves, forehand and backhands), and they also playout a lot of games during practice. “We prepare every day for singles or doubles, whatever needs to happen to win the next match or tournament,” said Kiernan. The girls have had to face tough competition this year, matching up against conference opponent Stevenson, who normally finish near the top of the North Suburban Conference. Their season began in August and ends in October, and they’re hoping some athletes’ seasons end on Oct. 20 at the IHSA state meet. In addition to the competitive aspects of the sport, a lot of girls on the team appreciate the lax attitude on the team. For example, they have “Wacky Sock Wednesday,” and every Friday, they wear all black, whatever the team leaders decide for them to wear. Rudolphi enjoys the team bus rides to tournaments as well: “We always have a speaker and our team the past two years have been super close and once everyone else’s matches are done, we sit together and cheer on the player in the last match, and it’s super fun.” To keep that close-knit group, the team has a lot of bonding opportunities, whether it is team pasta parties, or the bus rides or hanging out at tournaments. They also visit Black’s lakehouse during the season and become close there as well. This bonding contributes to many of the team’s alumni coming back to visit: “I really enjoy seeing the kids that I coached way back when come back and continue
By Matt Smith Photos By Ally McLean Layout By John Freberg
to enjoy the sport as adults,” said Kiernan. Kiernan has been around tennis for most of his life, coaching for 25 years, as well as playing in high school and at the collegiate level, at Illinois State. “I have many positive memories here at LHS, [it’s] hard to pick just one,” he said.
Junior Kylie Nolan keenly focuses on the competition as she and her partner, senior Anna Wolski, anticipates their serve.
F otball
By Maggie Evers Photos by Ben Kanches Layout by Jacob Kemp
Wildcat football has returned and is in the midst of their season. The Cats have adopted a new style of play this year with the plan to reload, not rebuild, their team. At the time of publication, the team was 0-4, with the hopes of turning around the second half of their season.
over is [that] we are going to run schemes that highlight our players. It’s not going to be the other way around,” Offense explained varsity footThe quarterback is the player on the field who sets the cadence ball Defensive Coordinator for the offense. The traditional, established pause for a huddle and Safeties Coach Mr. Tim in between plays allows time for the quarterback to run to the Budge. “We don’t want them to sideline for instruction and the next play call from the coach, have to fit into our schemes. We along with providing the other players time to catch their breath. want our schemes to fit around our But this season, the Cats are striving for a faster approach with strengths.” the ball by converting to a no-huddle offense. The Cats dedicated the summer to “The difference is the tempo and how fast it’s going to be. We’re transitioning into their new defensive trying to run a play after the ball gets set every 12-15 seconds,” roles by understanding their updated explained LHS varsity football Head Coach Mr. Mike Jones. placements and refined responsibilities. The play calls are now communicated from the coaching staff Coach Budge discussed that the biggest on the sidelines through a system of hand signals and symbols to challenge was simply just the learning curve of the entire team at the same time, as opposed to sharing the next running a new system and finding ways to focus play to the quarterback, who then tells the rest of the offensive on the changes from their old defense. players in the huddle. The players Senior cornernow are required to finish a play back Brendan Bowlby and immediately look to the explained that the coaches for the next call, testing defense transformation their stamina and ability to work was not just a quick fix, but cohesively with minimal time to a process. regroup. “We had to spend a lot of “Another thing that is a positive time off the field to learn all the is that [they] can’t worry about new concepts that we had to what happened in the previous do [for the new system],” said play because [they] have to go Bowlby. get lined up for the next play,” The team had various film said Coach Jones. “It helps get sessions and slowed down the that out of [their] mind and move speed for walk-throughs to enforward.” sure that players were able to get The strategy to move the ball a grasp of their positions. down field has remained the The 3-4 scheme allows the same, but now the usage of a players to utilize multiple differFor the second home game of the season, the Wildcats lined ent alignments and become more no-huddle system increases the up against the Stevenson Patriots. hopes of catching the opposing unpredictable to the opposing defense off guard. The efficiency and success of the offense rides offense. The biggest alteration occurred on the line, as the Wildon having all 11 players on the same page in order to execute and cats now rely on three defensive linemen instead of four, creating produce results. a more balanced front. The goal for the linemen is to penetrate “It’s always communication that is a challenge. You have to be into gaps and make plays as an alternative to reading and reactable to move fast, see the signal and line up in the right spot as ing to the offense’s first move. The new system allows the defense fast as you can. So, any breakdown in communication anywhere to employ different pass coverage options and new angles to blitz along the line causes an issue,” explained Coach Jones. from, Coach Budge said. “I think this is going to be huge in covering the spread offenses Defense in our conference and in the power-run game. We can do a lot After the coaches observed and took into account the type with deception now,” stated Coach Budge. of players the program currently has, along with those coming The concept of accountability was emphasized by the coaches up, they discussed the benefits of a shake-up for the defensive and embraced by the players. The idea of progressively getting scheme. Traditionally having size and strength, the Wildcats ran better each week and simply just executing the plays is a part of a 4-2-5 system, which was a front-heavy defense, but with small, the main plan for the Wildcats this season. yet fast and aggressive defenders, the program decided to move “We need to band together and always remember to stick to to running a 3-4 scheme. our roles…everything we do needs to be precise and deliberate,” “Our philosophy in coaching since Coach Jones has taken said Josh Stair, a junior outside linebacker, in an email interview.
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Staff Editorial
“The greatness of America is dependent on the role of a free press to speak the truth to the powerful. To label the press ‘the enemy of the people’ is as un-American as it is dangerous to the civic compact we have shared for more than two centuries.” -The Boston Globe
“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” -Thomas Jefferson
“A free and public press was so important, it was protected in the Constitution. Journalism is a foundation of our country. What is the first thing a dictator does? Gets rid of the free press.” -Dr. Koulentes “News reporters and editors are human, and make mistakes. Correcting them is core to our job. But insisting that truths you don’t like are “fake news” is dangerous to the lifeblood of democracy. And calling journalists the “enemy of the people” is dangerous, period.”
-The New York Times
“According to Trump, these are enemies of the American people. If that is in fact true, perhaps it’s a good idea to keep your enemies close after all.” -The Nexus, West Viest High School
Feb. 17, 2017- “The FAKE NEWS media (failing @ denying them to people who oppose their views, such nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not as denying CNN, LA Times, and NY Times reporters my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People,” into certain press meetings because of past critical he announces into the Twitterverse in mid-afternoon. articles of the administration. Aug. 22, 2017- “I really think they don’t like our In this age of social media, fake news sources, country. I really believe that,” he postulates about real news sources and a president who can’t seem to the media to a crowd of over 15,000 at a rally in distinguish between the two, the DOI staff believes this Phoenix, Arizona. is completely new territory for many in the American Oct. 11, 2017- “It is frankly disgusting that the public: blatant distrust of the media. press is able to write whatever they want to write,” Since the beginning of our nation’s government, the he says during a broadcasted meeting and photo op press has been protected by the Constitution, defendwith the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. ed by the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights. Our Sept. 5, 2018- “They don’t like Donald Trump and Founding Fathers found it important enough, necesI don’t like them because they’re very dishonest sary enough, to specifically enumerate the freedom people,” the president ranted about the news media of the press. They believed that journalists are not an in an unrelated meeting with sheriffs, referencing a enemy, not “the enemy.” bombshell anonymous New York Times op-ed writWe do too. ten by a “senior administration official” that claimed There is danger -- civil and societal danger -- in mana culture of resistance in the current White House. ifesting this divide. A divide between the mass media, On Aug. 16, 2018, The Boston Globe released the government and the people leads to a culture of a staff editorial entitled “Journalists are not the mistrust within the nation. enemy” that aimed to start a conversation among the One thing we believe can help curb this rapidly American public about the administration’s current growing division is recognition of bias. All writers, and perceptions of the press. Prior to printing this editherefore all stories, have internalized biases that are torial, the Globe called for editorial boards around tangent to their background, experiences or personal the country -- “liberal traits. Though and conservative, large one may try to and small” -- to join minimize their them in addressing this biases, they can larger issue; over 400 never truly go newspapers answered away. Information the call, including a and statistics plethora of university can be skewed and high school pato support any pers. Today, Drops of point of view, Ink shares our voice on so the constant the topic. perpetuation of The Drops of Ink “this is right and staff believes President anything else is Donald J. Trump has The 2018-2019 Drops of Ink Staff. wrong” can shield Photo by Katie Kotzan what’s really true had a very long and complicated relationfrom view. ship with the media, built on foundations of mistrust The staff believes it is humanly impossible to take and misunderstanding of the journalistic process. Be- bias entirely out of stories, but readers need to uncause of these relationships, he takes every opportu- derstand how bias is both necessary and important nity to bite at and tear down the community of jourbecause it helps readers understand where the writer nalists in this nation. Here’s why that’s dangerous. is coming from, as long as the reader recognizes that Now, there is value in constructive, thoughtful the piece they are reading is biased. It introduces criticism of the media; journalists are human, and people to a point of view and spurns a dialogue or therefore make mistakes. Correcting these mistakes important civil discourse. is at the core of providing honest and informative Trust is something that needs to be earned on reporting for the public. However, there is a distinct both sides. Journalists need to work to prove that difference between having a thoughtful dialogue betheir biases or opinions aren’t skewing or affecting tween the White House and the media and ostracizwork that is presented as news. On the other hand, ing all journalists in general, labeling them as “liars,” the administration needs to not publicly alienize all “fake news” or “very dishonest people.” journalists, forcing the public to pick sides. Instead, In doing the latter, our president has created a what’s best for the future of the country is a more divide between the media and the administration, positive dialogue between the White House and the with the general public feeling trapped between the media. two. This detrimental relationship allows the White After all, information shouldn’t be red or blue. It House to continue to use political power to silence should be true. One of Drops of Ink’s core values their opponents, specifically journalists, handing out is “Tell the truth,” and we will strive to continue to press passes to people who support their views and deliver honest, truthful work.
26 Drops of Ink | Opinion
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 34 students total. The author(s) of this piece did not place their personal opinions in the story; they merely reflect the staff’s thoughts.
e’ve all had our moments. The moments where you have two exams on Monday and a swim meet Tuesday night and a chemistry lab you just don’t understand and an entire load of laundry that your parents insist you wash by Wednesday or else you can’t use the car this upcoming weekend. And you snap. You snap, maybe at a friend or a sibling, because life gets too hectic and stressful, and sometimes there’s just too much to think about at once, and you can’t handle the tone your friend is giving you at lunch today. Oftentimes when we snap, it just consists of an aggressive attitude, like criticizing the story they’re telling you because it sounds stupid. But we’ve all been there — we’ve all had those moments. But what about the times when it’s not just academic stressors that cause you to snap? Many of us have had moments when money is tight or a grandmother is suffering from Alzheimer’s or maybe you’re struggling with depression or anxiety. And again, you snap because of course life is stressful. It’s stressful at many different levels. Tests are stressful. Finances are stressful. Family conflicts are stressful. They’re not all to the same degree of stress, per se, but all of those conflicts produce varying levels of stress in our lives that we more often than not react negatively to. But does that validate the reason you snapped? Firstly, I’d like to emphasize that
events such as depressive episodes, dissociation, anxiety attacks, etc. are not the snaps I’m talking about. Such episodes directly pertain to medical concerns; they should be addressed by a trusted adult and a doctor. Those mental illnesses are entirely separate from the bad days and stressful moments that I’m discussing. Now let’s address the question: Do moments of stress or internal struggle validate poor treatment towards those around you? Absolutely not! We all will have those days when we’re just rude or bitter because of what we’re personally struggling with. However, in no way does that mean that those moments, or those stressors, justify how poorly you treat others. Your reasoning and/or apology cannot be “Oh, sorry, I was having a bad day!” because that indicates that the respect and care that you have for someone is circumstantial. Justifying your rude or apathetic actions merely because of the
day you’re having reveals to the other person that you can only be capable of kindness and healthy relationships depending on your mood. That is not what the foundation of any type of relationship should be; in fact, that attempt at justification is one of the first indications of a toxic relationship. Furthermore, validating your actions because you’re “going through something” is irrelevant; you never know what someone else is going through, so why should you assume that you can treat them poorly merely because of what you’re going through? As a society, we need to normalize the idea that, on balance, messing up every once in a while does not make you a terrible person. It is likely you’re going to get agitated with a friend or peer or parent at some point, and that does not make you a despicable human being! However, on that same token, we still have a responsibility to normalize apologies if you do mess up. Yes, apologies are awkward and sometimes even embarrassing because you’re openly admitting you did something wrong that brought potential conflict upon others. But one’s ability to apologize and address that their actions will not be justified by past experiences is quite defining of a strong, moral character. Take a second to think about those around you who you may have snapped at recently. Apologize. Acknowledge that you messed up. Those who love and care for you will likely even understand why you reacted the way you did and forgive you for your mistakes. Because, well, we all have our moments.
Drops of Ink | Opinion
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