Unpacking Immigrants balance assimilation with with holding on to their culture
STAFF
From the Editors S
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Tea Perez PHOTO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Keaton Frye EDITORS CENTRAL FOCUS: Faith Beckmann MULTIMEDIA: Hannah Bernard SOCIAL MEDIA: Maya Culian HISTORIAN: Madi Hermeyer VIDEO: Aniya Sparrow DESIGN: Sydney Tran FHCTODAY.COM: Rachel Vrazel PHOTO: Riley Wania
itting in a classroom, it is so easy to get caught up
with our identity as a school
that we don’t stop and realize the individual identities of those around us, and what
STAFF REPORTERS Elisa Carter, Lorelai Finoch, Clara Kilen, Olivia McCary, Lauren Rohde, Reilly Scobey STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Samantha Jaramillo Castille, Isaiah Flowers, Rebecca Hornberger, Charlie Rosser, Raina Straughter
they encase. Sitting next to us are not only people who grew up in different houses,
A MOMENT IN TIME: An old photograph features four children sitting outside a house in Vietnam. The child pictured sitting on the far left eventually ended up immigrating to the United States as a result of war. Photo courtesy of Sydney Tran
but students who grew up in entirely different countries or had parents who did. In
ADVISER: Matthew Schott
THOUGHTS?
Have a letter for the editor or a question for us? If something we wrote demands your voice, please e-mail us at fhcpub@gmail.com or drop your handwritten letter off with Mr. Schott in Room 139. We can also be reached via snail mail at 5199 State Highway N, St Charles, MO 63304. The Central Focus staff will print the entirety of your letter, providing it meets the standards of publication laid out in the FHC Publications editorial policy, which is available in Room 139 or at www.fhctoday.com for your perusal.
this issue, we chose to highlight these students who have grown up accustoming themselves with American culture as either first or second generation immigrants. We will be telling the stories of what life was like in their native countries, what their journey to the United States entailed and the process of adapting to life in a new country. Additionally, we also examine the account of a teacher who immigrated to the United States for college. We as a staff aim to expose the majority of the student body to a wider world by showcasing the stories of immigrants, giving insight on a life outside of suburban Missouri.
SINCERELY, Tea Perez and Faith Beckmann
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LEARNING ABOUT ROOTS: Junior Reena Barghchoun stands holding the Lebanonese flag. Though she was not born in Lebanon, Barghchoun has leaned a lot about the country by listening to the stories of her mother and father who grew up there. Photo by Riley Wania
DISCOVER 4 6
FLYING TOWARDS THE FINISH: A cross country runner races towards the end of her course. The girls cross country team work hard with their coaches to prepare for these meets. Photo by Charlie Rosser
Staffing shortages cause problems An influx of books are being challenged in the district
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Gage Hendricks creates harmonies with his harmonica Women’s Chorale prepares for MMEA German teacher Ms. Dumas switches between schools due to lack of enrollment
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MOVE
VOICE
importance of 18 The 25 a good connection with your coach
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Girls wrestling gives insight into their world
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Responding to the question “How are you?” The importance of choosing words that respect immigrants
CONTENT
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Solutions Short on
Staff shortages continue to impact FHSD By Tea Perez Editor-in-Chief Every morning when Mrs. Kelly DuBois arrives at school, one of the first things she does is run a report that determines what the rest of her morning is going to look like. This report provides a list of what teachers in the building are out, and of those teachers, who has a filled substitute position and who does not; from there it’s Mrs. DuBois’ job to fill in those opened spots. “I look at the teachers that have subs filled and I see what their plan times are and I start filling those open spots with the subs plan time… and then after that, I start sending emails out to teachers,” Mrs. DuBois said. She has a system to help her out with the tedious process of finding a teacher whose plan period coordinates with the hour needing a substitute teacher. “I have all the teachers in different address books by their plan hours,” Mrs. DuBois said. “So let’s say I have two first hours to fill, so I’ll email that address group and [ask] ‘Is anybody available?’… and so a lot of times they get filled that way.” Having to fill in open substitute teacher positions isn’t an irregular occurrence, the only problem is that there has been an increased level of
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staffing shortages in the district due to the national labor shortage and most recently, an increase in absences due to the Omicron variant. “[I have to fill in missing substitutes] every day,” Mrs. DuBois said. “A good day would be having one unfilled… I think nine [unfilled spots] has been my biggest day.” Within the district, there is a large problem with staffing substitute teachers, paraprofessionals, and custodian positions. At Francis Howell Central has been a decline in custodians, with some finding jobs elsewhere. Mrs. DuBois believes that many people aren’t considering the benefits offered by the district. “I think a lot of times people don’t factor in the benefits that they get [at Francis Howell] because you get paid holiday, you get paid vacation, you get a pension, so you have to take all that into consideration,” Mrs. DuBois said. “Whereas some people just see that dollar amount and say I’m going to go work there, but they don’t have the [same] benefits when they leave [the district].” The district’s chief human resources officer, Lisa Simpkins, is working to try to increase the number of staff members within the district. “[The district is] implementing
many different recruiting strategies from advertising differently to attending job fairs [in response to the shortage],” Mrs. Simpkins said. “Unfortunately, we don’t have the resources to increase our starting wages like private employers can.” The district is trying to come up with creative solutions to the problem. “We offer [custodial] jobs to students if they would like to take some jobs here, I think the district pays them $11.87/hour. We’ve also opened [custodial jobs] up to paras, and I think we’re going to open it up to teachers and administrators as well,” Mrs. DuBois said. “[The district] is doing a lot of incentives to get people and subs to come… if [someone] subs 10 days a month in our district they get a $200 bonus, and if you sub for 30 days in the district, you get a little bump in pay after 90 days in the district.” The district is met with frustration from teachers and administrators due to the shortages, but they are doing what they can to work with the schools to get through these issues. “It is difficult to focus on your work without staff supporting you,” Mrs. Simpkins said. “I try to be open and honest. Explain the situation we are in [and] ask them for their creative ideas and work to find temporary solutions to their issues.”
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“[I have to fill in missing substitutes] every day. A good day would be having one unfilled … I think nine [unfilled spots] has been my biggest day.” SUBSTITUTE STRUGGLES: Mrs. Kelly DuBois sits in the background working on filling empty sub spots while the looming substitute paperwork and badge sit in the foreground. The struggle to find subs to fill all necessary spots is one that Mrs. DuBois deals with on the daily. Photo by Madi Hermeyer
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DISCOVER 5
Censorship Disputes Diversity Recent disputes against books have dually been challenging diversity in libraries
By Sydney Tran Design Editor
STACKING UP THE CHALLENGES: The photographed books are part of the five books being challenged. Although they are being challenged, they remain in the library until a decision has been finalized. Students can find them on the Project Lit shelf in the Learning Commons. Photo by Sydney Tran
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Senior Michaela Berry enters her English class to work on her project for the book “Monday’s Not Coming”. She analyzes the characters and truly becomes one with the book and its content, as it pertains to the lack of media coverage on the disappearances of African-American girls, like her. Little did she know, weeks later she would have to be part of a committee deciding if the book she had related to could stay in the district’s libraries. Recently, in the district, there have been five challenges against books in the libraries of the district. Many complaints were rooted in censoring sexual content and other challenging topics such as drugs. The district has a procedure for reviewing books that have been challenged that includes teachers, students, library media specialists, administrators, and parents. First, the department chair of English, Mrs. Jessica Bulva, is notified by Principal Sonny Arnel about the challenge. “Dr. Arnel emails me with a notification that a book is being challenged and then asks me to find students and teachers who are willing to be on the committee to then analyze whether that book should be banned or stay in the library,” Mrs. Bulva said. Although Mrs. Bulva has not been on a committee, English teacher Christina Lentz has for the novel “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson. According to Mrs. Lentz, the procedure is lengthy, but structured. “The committee members receive a timeline to read the book and a meeting
date is set to discuss,” Lentz said. “At the meeting, all members introduced themselves and then had time to write their personal opinion on the pros and cons the book presents.” Even though there are adult voices involved in this process, the district requires student input in order to allow students to have a choice and voice as well. Berry was the student element in the committee for the book “Monday’s Not Coming” by Tiffany D. Jackson. For Berry, being on this committee allowed her to call for representation for people of color in both the procedure and in the libraries. “I got to put input on how people of color need to be represented and that we need to have that representation in literature,” Berry said. “Monday’s Not Coming” discusses the problem of missing Black girls not getting equal media coverage as a missing white girl would. Berry said these types of books can be hard to come by and are needed. “I don’t see a lot of books that recognize Black people or something that has Black people overall,” Berry said. “You can have that ‘One Black friend’ in a book or a TV show, but it is more representation that matters.” Diversity in the library is important to Berry, especially because as a person of color she looked up to this type of literature and is disheartened that people challenge these kinds of books. “It feels like they are silencing black people, and I look up to this kind of literature because in school we have always been taught about what ‘the white man’ did,” Berry said. “It’s sad that these books are being challenged and pushed to be out of the library.”
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Mrs. Bulva agreed and mentioned that many students who do not fit into the typical white cis-gendered straight archetype but they also need relatable characters who have experiences similar to them. So, keeping diverse texts can help meet the needs of the students who want representation. “I have different students who say they feel like they don’t relate to the white main characters, so having these diverse texts allows them to feel like they are not alone in the issues they face,” Mrs. Bulva said. Library media specialist Tonisha LaMartina adds that it is important to both give students choice in the books they read and collaborate with parents to create boundaries that ensure appropriate books are on the shelves. “We want parents to feel we are working with them, but also respect the student’s right to have some choice,” Mrs. LaMartina said. “When you are working at a high school library the system is different, not every book can be on our shelves but can be at the public library because they are open to everybody,” However, censoring books in the Learning Commons that make people uncomfortable can lead to larger problems. It can inhibit teenagers from understanding relevant topics they may come across as they grow up. “It can be a slippery slope when we start to censor content that makes us uncomfortable,” Mrs. LaMartina said. “For example, one of the challenged books, ‘Crank,’ is about drug addiction which may be an uncomfortable subject, but is a reality and relevant for teenagers.” Mrs. LaMartina said taking “Crank” and uncomfortable books like it off the shelves can prevent students from being able to understand these topics as they come across them. “It can be something they come across themselves, friends, or people they are close to, and to just take it off the shelves won’t help them relate or gain insight on the issues they are looking into.” LaMartina said. These issues stretch farther than drug use and also include LGBTQ+ issues, racism, mental health, and sometimes involve sexual content. Although these parents challenge books that are of this nature, Mrs. LaMartina explains how even if these books are taken out of the shelves it will not remove the issues from society. “Having the insight and the information can be powerful because if we take these books off the shelves the issues don’t go away,” LaMartina said. “It is still there, it is still relevant, and teenagers will still be conflicted with these situations.”
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HOW A BOOK CHALLENGE WORKS Illustration By Sydney Tran
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First, Department Chair of English Jessica Bulva recieves the challenge and sends names to the administrators of teachers willing to be on the committee.
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The committee is given two weeks to read the book. The committee then reconvenes to discuss whether to keep, ban, or restrict the book.
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Administrators then create a committee and then notify members to meet.
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Whilst reading they weigh the pros and cons of the book and note them.
RESULTS:
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The committee then votes, the results are read when the meeting adjourns and the necessary changes are made.
DISCOVER
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By Faith Beckmann Newspaper Editor Through the general lunchtime chatter and chaos of 4C lunch, another sound can be heard. Above all of the other noise, the gentle sound of a harmonica playing fills the air. A student can be seen lighting up the cafeteria as he breathes through the small instrument. Students watch in amazement and clap as the student finishes his piece. Senior Gage Hendricks looks back at them and stands smiling, proud of his recent performance. Though Hendricks has only been attending FHC since October, he has already made quite the impression on students and staff alike. His harmonica skills have dazzled audiences at lunch, over the intercom, at assemblies and other school-sponsored events. The skills he possesses are those that sound like they’ve taken a lifetime to form, but in reality, Hendrick’s journey with the harmonica began during the transition between eighth grade and freshman year. The process was challenging at first; however, Hendricks’ history with other instruments helped make it a bit easier.
SKILLED EXECUTION: Senior Gage Hendricks sits at his lunch table, playing a song on his harmonica for his classmates. Hendricks has been playing the harmonica for several years and has started to perform t lunches and school events. PHOTO BY KEATON FRYE
“I do play the piano,” Hendricks stated. “That was early eighth grade. [It started] with a bell kit that I used to play in band, then transposed that over to the piano, and then the piano to the harmonica.” Some of the features of the harmonica Hendricks plays have also aided the learning process. “The nice thing about the harmonica I play is that instead of having to bend notes, there’s a button you press to make a note a sharp or a flat,” Hendricks explained. To grow in his musical ability and just for the general love he has for the instrument, Hendricks practices the harmonica every day. As a result, he has learned to play a variety of different songs. “I’m trying to do Christmas [songs] and I know one folk song,” Hendricks said. In addition to his daily practice, Hendricks also plays his harmonica almost every chance he gets during the school day.
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Scan the QR code to hear Gage Hendrick’s harmonica performance of “Silent Night.”
Paraprofessional Paige Ferguson, who works with Hendricks while he is in choir, described his playing habits. “Once he gets to his class he’ll play, afterwards he’ll play, at lunch he’ll play,” Ferguson said. “Just any chance he’ll get.” The most common place where students can spot Hendricks performing is in the cafeteria during 4C lunch. His performances add a nice ambiance to the cafeteria in contrast to the usual yelling and chatter. Senior Louis Jesse sits near where Hendricks performs and mentions his respect for his skills. “I think he’s very talented,” Jesse expressed. “He’s playing songs that I think are really hard.” When he performs, Hendricks tries to get the audience involved as much as he possibly can. Not only does it make the audience feel more connected to his performances, but it also boosts Hendricks’ confidence as he is performing. “Sometimes I get nervous,” Hendricks said. “But if everybody is singing along, that really helps. That’s why when I play I say, ‘Guys, everybody sing along with me!’ and they all join in right away.” Besides the audience, one part of performing that stands out to Hendricks the most is the energy of a performance. “You just feel the energy, you know, you get energy,” Hendricks explained. “You can feel the emotions you have based on if you get nervous. It’s different every time.” Ferguson also mentions how just by watching Hendricks play, one can see the effect the music has on him. “He’s very calm [when he’s not playing], but when he does play, he’s very happy,” Ferguson said. “He’s very excited. It’s a very good thing to see that as a para.” Ferguson later described why having an outlet like this is important for Hendricks. “There’s a lot going on in school, so sometimes they’ll just get overwhelmed, so having that will help them kind of calm down [and] just kind of make them happy,” Ferguson explained. “Especially if [they’re] doing a lot of work and get stressed. Whenever they get tired and they don’t want to do it, having that will make them enjoy their time here. Give them something so they’re not outlasting themselves.” Because of its positive impact, in reference to Hendricks and his harmonica, Ferguson had only one statement. “I hope he keeps playing,” Ferguson said. As for Hendricks’ future with his harmonica, he has one specific goal in mind. Someday, he hopes to play for the 2019 Stanley Cup Champions, the St. Louis Blues. “I want to play a Blues game one night,” Hendricks said. “We can send [the video of me at the Winter Blast] down to the Enterprise Center, there is a way we can send that.” Until that day comes, however, students and staff can still hear Hendricks play at lunch, school events and on his YouTube channel, Ryan the Big Weather Radio Fan.
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Finding Harmony Gage Hendricks gathers the attention of the student body with lunchtime performances
A SATISFYING PERFORMANCE: Senior Gage Hendricks grins and hold his harmonica up in triumph after he finishes one of his lunch performances. Hendricks can be found playing his harmonica during harmonica during 4C lunch nearly everyday. PHOTO BY KEATON FRYE
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FEATURE
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Performing for the Pros
By Lauren Rohde Staff Reporter
The lights are shining brightly, some of it getting in Junior Analiesa Hollowood’s face. The once clear voices continuously get more muffled, until there is a slight ringing in her ears. Her hands are slightly shaking as she’s trying not to let her nervousness show. Finally, the announcer goes over the speaker and lets the audience know the name of the group. That’s when the adrenaline starts pumping and soon it’s “three, two, one… showtime.” While performing on stage might seem like a dream, it is a reality for FHC’s very own Chorale, who have the honor of being selected to perform at MMEA at the end of January. Choir Director Elisabeth Baird went into depth about what MMEA is. “MMEA stands for the Missouri Music Educators Association… it’s the big organization that all of the music teachers in the state are a part of, kind of our professional organization,” Baird said. “Once a year, all of the music teachers go to [an] annual conference, and they choose 40 total ensembles to perform [at] it.” Being invited to MMEA is an enormous honor and achievement. It not only reflects the hard work and dedication that those within the music department give, but also recognizes the talent within the program. FHC has had two other groups perform at MMEA in the past, those being the jazz ensemble and the wind ensemble. However, the already impressiveness of the nomination has increased tenfold, since of the 40 ensembles, only 20 of them are vocal groups and are chosen from elementary schools all the way to the collegiate level. But with such a high honor, chorale has an immense pressure
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to thoroughly prepare themselves in such a short amount of time, since the exhibition is set to be on Jan. 27. “We’re required to do between 23 and 25 minutes worth of music; you can’t go over, you can’t go under,” Baird said. “We have six pieces in ours and we are at 23 and a half minutes.” With the time they have been allotted, chorale will perform six pieces, but it isn’t as simple as just practicing a song multiple times and going on stage to do the same thing. Of the six pieces, four are in English, one is in Latin, and the last is heavily based on traditional Greek phrases. With the complexity of their pieces, Chorale has been working with multiple professionals in the music industry. This includes three composers, two clinicians, and a language specialist to ensure they are at their peak. Working with such elite members of the music community has accumulated lots of stress among the vocalists. Hollowood, who is vice president of choir gave some insight on the emotions of the members. “I don’t know how stressed other people are, so I don’t want to speak for them, but I would say yes, because I also know more of the details than most chorale members know. And because of that, there’s more I need to do and kind of take that extra step to prepare us,” Hollowood said. “If someone is absent, I’ll take notes for them. And on top of that, I’m also doing officer jobs. I just finished the invites today for our preview concert, so I’m doing a lot of other business stuff with Baird.” With the impending performance, there is more work that goes into preparing for it other than practicing in class or outside of school. Other formalities are involved,
and it is not just the officers in the program that have taken on extra roles either. Junior Aubrey Hunter has found herself helping out others as well. “I do a lot of extra practice on my own so that when we do sections in class, I can help read for people that need help with it,” Hunter said. With the increased stress and workload from preparations, some students are beginning to struggle with other classes. “Obviously, preparing for this is super stressful, but it’s still a different kind of stress, so they come in my room and they cry about all of their other classes, because they’re also in other elite classes,” Baird said. “You have the academic stress, you have the social stress, there are a bunch of jobs, they’re doing 15 outside shows with other groups and other ensembles and then they get to come in here and just let it go.” There is more work that goes into preparing for MMEA than what some expect, and for those who are a part of chorale, it is amplified because they still have responsibilities outside of the ones held within the classroom. However, even under immense pressure, the students set to perform at MMEA handle what’s thrown at them with grace. “[Chorale is] able to really connect with their emotions so much more as [they’re] connecting with the music,” Baird said. “I get to know a lot more about them, and about what all of the world is affecting them in such a deeper, real way for sure.” SIGN, SIGN, SIGN: Choir is shown performing at their annual winter concert. The performance is similar to a practice round for chorale before they go to MMEA. Photo by Rebecca Hornberger
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Picking up the Pieces By Hannah Bernard Multimedia Editor
German class cuts lead to a stressful schedule for Ms. Dumas
“I love my German classes, especially German 1 because they’re still excited As the bell to dismiss first hour rings, about learning the language,” Ms. Dumas German teacher Melissa Dumas grabs her said. “I was told at the end of last year that bag and her jacket and makes the trek over my numbers weren’t big enough to keep to Saeger Middle School. After her first hour the class, so therefore they had to find German 2 class, Ms. Dumas spends her something for me [to teach] to be full-time, day at the middle school teaching a wide and this is what was offered.” variety of subjects. This is a major change It can be hard to find the magic number from her usual full slate of German classes of students necessary for a German class “This quarter I have three hours of ISAP and to run, for this number changes from class then I teach German 1 fifth hour and then to class and from year to year. Deciding eighth grade Engineering which classes to run and which By Design sixth hour,” Ms. classes to cut takes months and Dumas said. months and requires a lot of data This schedule, according to Principal Sonny however, is everArnel. changing. At each new “We start this process quarter, one class ends in late January, early and a new class begins. February,” Dr. Arnel said. “It’s “The other quarters all based on where students enroll, I have sixth grade and then class averages, class World Cultures and then size from there, and then I have to engineering for seventh grade,” make some decisions on how that puzzle Ms. Dumas said. fits together.” Over the course of the school Once the data on class sizes and day, Ms. Dumas teaches in two different staffing needs is gathered, it is time for buildings and five different classrooms. administration to make tough decisions. This is a far cry from the traditional one“That’s a really tough decision, and I classroom setup. really am making my best worst decision “It takes about an hour to prep a lesson because [the options] are all terrible,” Dr. almost, especially a lesson you’ve never Arnel said. “I had to reduce some classes taught before,” Ms. Dumas said. “So I look that I really had no desire to reduce.” through curriculum guides and meet After the decision has been made, Dr. with other teachers to see what they’ve Arnel works to find new opportunities for done, what works, what doesn’t work, what affected teachers like Ms. Dumas who materials I have, and go from there.” want to remain full-time teachers. Completing this process for five different “Some teachers may be reduced here classes every single night is a stressful a little bit and they may teach here some undertaking, but to keep teaching the and then teach in other middle schools classes she loves, it’s what she has to do. or other high schools to keep their
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LOOKING FORWARD: Ms. Dumas wacthes her students during her first hour German 2 course, her only class at FHC. She hopes to spend more time in this classroom next school year. Photo by Riley Wania
contract full and make sure they have a full-time job,” Dr. Arnel said. One way to alleviate the stress of Ms. Dumas’ hectic schedule is for more students to register to take German courses, but due to low enrollment in the last couple of years, this may be easier said than done. Junior Liam Nachtrab had gotten all the way through German 2 when he found out the upper level courses were cut. “I was disappointed when they cut the German classes,” Nachtrab said. “It’s something totally unique. Learning a language is something that’s different from anything you’ll ever experience.” The source of the conflict isn’t purely low registration numbers. FHSD has been unable to pass a tax levy since 2004. Without more money, we will continue to cut classes and continue to cut teachers. What was enough in 2004 is not enough in 2022. Cutting teachers stresses staff which can affect the quality of education for our students. “We must have community support in supporting a tax levy so we can increase our staff,” Dr. Arnel said.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: Puzzle pieces labeled with factors considered when deciding which courses to offer attempt to be pieced together. Factors like staffing can feel left out of the picture. Illustration by Sydney Tran
Insight on
Immigration The stories of three students and their experience with immigration
A CAPTURE OF A KEEPSAKE: Junior Reena Barghchoun poses in a traditional Lebanese wrap holding a figurine of a cedar tree, the symbol of Lebanon. These items allow Barghchoun and her mother, Sahar Arnaout keep the memory of Lebanon alive in their home. Photo by Riley Wania
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By Tea Perez Editor-in-Chief Junior Reena Barghchoun sits with her mother Sahar Arnaout as she listens to her stories of life back in Lebanon years ago. She listens to her talk of her childhood, in awe that the resilient woman who sits before her now was once a young girl like herself. Mrs. Arnaout’s childhood was like any other, she went to school, she spent time with friends and family, and life went on. Yet while her life continued, so did the Civil War in Lebanon. “[My childhood] was pretty good because I didn’t know any better. We had the civil war going on in Lebanon for a long time, like most of my childhood… but that doesn’t mean that it was a horrible childhood,” Mrs. Arnaout said. “We knew there was a war, we knew we had to take cover when there were bombings, we knew things were unstable, but it’s amazing how people can adjust.” As someone whose parents have immigrated, Barghchoun’s knowledge of life in Lebanon comes mostly from her parents. Her parents immigrated in the 1990s, they came in search of brighter opportunities for themselves and their future children. “[My parents] wanted a better opportunity,” Barghchoun said. “My mom especially, she wanted to be a CRNA [certified registered nurse anesthetist]... they knew that if they had kids that they would be better off bringing them up [in the United States].” Their life in Lebanon wasn’t always easy, as the country has dealt with instability for years. “At some points in [Lebanon’s history the country] was kind of unstable,” Barghchoun said. “[Sometimes] there isn’t electricity, or there isn’t freshwater… it’s even worse than it was before and [looking] from back then to now it’s just gotten progressively worse.” It’s the stability the United States offered that was so appealing to Mrs. Arnaout. “[Stability] is I think the first thing that, when you come overseas to the States, that you appreciate,” Mrs. Arnaout said. “I feel like people who never lived in a war take things for granted, like as simple as being in a stable environment that you don’t have to worry about… I don’t take for granted anything that’s given to me here because you appreciate it, you look at it in a different angle with a different eye.” Growing up in a country during a time of war leaves many with painful memories of that violence. “The war has a big chunk of my memories. [Such as] when we used to hide in basements in the bombings or run down the streets just hoping no snipers will take a shot at us,” Mrs. Arnaout said. “But I have to say, even as horrific as these [memories] are, when we think about them we don’t think about them that way. Honestly, we weren’t that scared because we got used to hearing the bombing as bad as that is.” Yet, for Mrs. Arnaout her memories of war never overtake her fonder memories of life in Lebanon. “I remember some of my best friends that I lived with
Page by Sydney Tran and Tea Perez
my whole childhood, just this silly stuff that we used to do The simple joys that we used to get from just going out and walking on the beach or just going somewhere to eat, it’s just simple things,” Mrs. Arnaout said. “These are the snapshots that I have in my head… [my main focus] if it’s not on the war, [is on] my friends and the things that we did, we tried to live our lives as normal as we could.” The many opportunities offered in the United States are some of the largest pull factors of immigration here. For senior Santiago Machado, it was the educational opportunities that convinced him to immigrate. Machado’s mother remarried and moved to the United States from Argentina, Machado being ten years old at the time had to make the decision of if he wanted to move with his mother million immigrants were in the or stay in Argentina with United States in 2021, the largest his father. Being so young number ever documented by the he was excited to see the Census Bureau. America that’s displayed in movies and TV shows. Immigrants make up “[When I found out I could move to the United States] I was like ‘Ooh, I get to see everything like [in] the movies, like lunch of the total US population cafeterias… I’m going to have a locker too,’ and that was just crazy to me,” Machado said. As exciting as the stereotypical high school facilities were, Machado was also looking forward to the education he would receive. “The process of going through middle school, high school, and then college [isn’t how they] do that in Argentina… most kids just have to move up north because there are no colleges where I used to live,” Machado said. “I wanted to go to Spain for college, and I still want to do it today, so I have more of a chance now than I did in Argentina.” Argentina is facing problems with its currency and inflation, which is another reason Machado’s mother decided to move. “99 pesos is equal to one dollar, so nothing is really worth anything, you can’t buy property, you can’t advance as a person there,” Machado said. However, the good is what Machado remembers and misses most about Argentina. “Music [gets] really big. We have the genre Tango, it’s a
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partner dance and it just consists of classic instruments like drums, guitars… and bongos. You just dance around… you usually dance on Christmas or just any festive [day],” Machado said. “The culture [is what I miss about living in Argentina].” While many people come to the United States in search of better opportunities, some leave the United States for that exact same reason. Senior Avery Olsen’s family moved to Lithuania when she was three years old after her dad got a job there. She spent five years of her childhood engrossed in Lithuanian culture which she still remembers vividly to this day. “I remember the language, I remember the town that I lived in. We lived in the capital city of Vilnius. It’s completely different [than the United States]. We lived in a flat because only incredibly wealthy people had one-person houses, you lived in an apartment or you lived in a multiuse complex,” Olsen said. “I went to Montessori School… none of the teachers spoke English. I did, but I had to learn Lithuanian… I was fluent in Lithuanian by the time that we left, but I don’t remember anything now.” One such reason culture was so wildly different from American culture is the major religion followed in Lithuania. “Culture was way different there because [their religion - Sahar Arnaout is] primarily Russian Orthodox with a lot of pagan traditions and a lot of pagan holidays,” Olsen said. Taking part in these pagan traditions was one of Olsen’s favorite parts of living in Lithuania. “In the winter, around the Spring Equinox, we had this day where we would go outside and chant around a giant scarecrow that was dressed in heavy coats and scarves and hats. We would all hold hands and run around the Scarecrow… we would chant and we would do rituals for winter to go away,” Olsen said. “I think that is something that I really miss, all the fun little pagan traditions.” Having lived part of her childhood in such a different environment has allowed Olsen to see the world as a much larger place than what others may think. “I celebrate [having lived in Lithuania] as a unique part of myself [knowing] that I have Lithuanian culture with me and I have that globalized experience… it has opened my eyes [because] I’ve seen first hand that there’s no one right way to do things and the world is a far bigger and faster place than it seems when you’re just in the United States alone,” Olsen said.
“[Stability] is I think the first thing that, when you come overseas to the States, that you appreciate.”
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Language Barriers Many immigrant students struggle to figure out fluency By Lorelai Finoch Staff Reporter The process of learning another language is admirable and trying, at best, and as communication is possibly one of the most important things in day-to-day life, things become infinitely more difficult for those who find themselves surrounded by more people that cannot understand them than can. One of such is Magdalena Temelkova, a junior who immigrated to the US from Bulgaria in 2015. “I would say, especially at the beginning, there were a lot of complications, especially with the legal side of things,” Temelkova said. “Everything was already so complicated when we immigrated, but the language barrier just kind of made things worse.” Temelkova has spent the past six years developing her English to the point of seemingly effortless fluency. “I’d say I was mostly fluent after maybe a year-and-a-half to two years. I also had an ESL teacher at my elementary school, and a little bit in middle school, who would just pull me from class for an hour or so and teach me extra English,” Temelkova said. With the help of in-school classes and being surrounded by native speakers, Temelkova continued to find some other interesting ways to improve her English. “Being immersed in the culture was definitely a big part. I feel like I really learned a lot from just watching TV because it let me pick up on it in a natural way, instead of just the vocab sheets and grammar lessons,” Temelkova said. Sophomore Maria Velasquez and her family immigrated to the US from Colombia, where they all found themselves a bit out of their depth, as far as language fluency goes. Thankfully, Velasquez was able to find a mentor to help. “He was my middle school math teacher. He helped me with understanding the assignments I had and he would do his best to explain what I needed to do in my English classes. He also used Duolingo a lot to help me,” Velasquez said. Velasquez and her family have put hours of time towards learning English so they can more effectively interact with their
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FLYING HER FLAG: Sophomore Maria Velasquez stands smiling while holding up the Colombian flag. Valesquez and her family immigrated to the U.S. from Colombia when she was 13 years old. When she first moved to the United States, Valequez did not know how to speak English. Over time and with a lot work and help from those around her, she has been able to learn the new language and is thriving. Photo by Riley Wania
surroundings and the people within them. “Speaking with other people helped me the most. It forced me to push myself and learn faster,” Velasquez said. “It’s best when I can talk with other people, because then they have the opportunity to help with pronunciation and grammar.” While both have found efficient ways to improve their English, they’ve also met their own respective challenges. “When we first got here, it was really hard, because I didn’t really know how to express myself and everything, and my dad would go to work or we would go to the store, and it was hard to get around because we just didn’t speak the language,” Velasquez said. Temelkova has had a very similar issue in her life, in the past she often found herself lost with interpersonal communication, especially when so much of a conversation can rely on context and mutual understanding. “It was definitely overwhelming and frustrating, at times. It’s aggravating to try and explain yourself to someone so much and still not be understood,” Temelkova said. “I can tell sometimes, too, that the other person gets a little frustrated, as well, because a lot of people really do try and understand but they just can’t.” Fortunately with progress, Velasquez and Temelkova both have found a sense of understanding and knowing of the language that was once so foreign. Velasquez was truly lucky to find such a generous teacher to help guide her along the path of learning a new language, and for Temelkova, it all really seemed to be about opening up to the learning process. “I think one of the biggest challenges I had to overcome
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was understanding that sometimes I’m gonna say the wrong thing,” Temelkova said. “I’m gonna mess up here and there, and I had to know that that was okay. I just had to learn to be more comfortable with my mistakes, because most people weren’t even going to care, anyways.”
PROUDLY BULGARIAN: Junior Magdalena Temelkova is pictured standing proudly. When Temelkova was around 11 years old, she and her family moved to the U.S. from Bulgaria. Moving to a new country meant Temelkova had to adapt to a lot of various parts of American life, this included overcoming a language barrier. Photo by Riley Wania
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Holding Onto Heritage
Immigrant families strive to keep native culture alive at home By Clara Kilen Staff Reporter
An extravagant spread is laid out on banana leaves and a family gathers around to begin the feast. There are no utensils laid out and no plates in sight. They eat the food with their hands and they use their thumb to push the food into their mouth. This type of feast is called a boodle fight, and it originated in the Philippines Faustino Javier, a senior, is the child of Yolanda and Rico Javier who both immigrated from the Philippines. On special occasions, his family has boodle fights to remember their heritage and enjoy time as a family. In the Javier home they maintain several aspects of Filipino culture by making dishes such as pancit, adobo, and having boodle fights. “Food is probably our biggest connection to the Philippines because it is a way for us to incorporate an aspect of Filipino culture into our everyday life,” Javier said. Being the child of immigrants can be an isolating experience, when your peers come from families who have been in America for generations. It’s difficult to be the middleman between two cultures and trying to balance involvement in each. Students at FHC that are second generation immigrants experience stark differences between their home life and their school life, due to the unique culture of their family and the country they emigrated from. To immigrant families it is important to keep their cu lture alive when they are at home through food, traditions, and language. Along with food, celebrating holidays from their respective countries can be a way for immigrants to bring their past to America. Junior Platinum Liang’s family comes from China and his family still continues to celebrate Chinese holidays. These celebrations are a way for families to come together and remember their origin. “We still celebrate most of the major Chinese holidays like Chinese New Year and the Spring
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CULTURAL CLOTHING: Senior Faustino Javier displaying clothes from the Philippines. Javier is a first generation American and stays in touch with the culture of his parents through tradition. His family does it not only through holding onto clothing but especially through food. Photo by Riley Wania
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SCOTTISH SMILES: Sophomore Sophie Johnson is pictured with a big smile. Johnson’s mother is from Scotland who shares her culture through games play during the Christmas time. Photo by Riley Wania
TREASURING TRADITION: Junior Platinum Liang wears and holds a jade necklace representative of his Chinese culture. Liang’s family also preserves their culture through speaking their native language at home. Photo by Riley Wania
Autumn festival,” Liang said. As well as continuing traditions many immigrant families speak other languages besides English at home. Oftentimes second generation immigrants such as Liang can speak their parent’s native language. “We talk in Chinese at home [to carry on culture from China],” Liang said. However, this is not always the case. A large number of second generation immigrants either cannot speak their parents native language, or can’t speak it well. It is a common scenario for immigrant’s children to understand their non-English language, but they don’t speak it. This can cause them to feel disconnected from their family and heritage. “Although I can understand Tagalog, sometimes I wish that I spoke it so that I could connect with my parents and my relatives in the Philippines better,” Javier said. “My parents just never taught me Tagalog because they had no problem speaking or understanding English.” For immigrants who come from Europe, where the culture may be similar to the United States, it is easier for them to feel at home. This is the case for sophomore Sophie Johnson whose mother came from Scotland. “It’s actually a pretty similar culture because it’s English speaking, so there’s only little things really that we do differently,” Johnson said.. An example of a tradition that Johnson’s mom brought from Scotland is a game that they play during Christmas time called pass the parcel.
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“My mom kind of brought this tradition over… you take a little present, you wrap it, and then you have a question. If you get that question right you get to unwrap a layer, and it’s like layer upon layer… and when the music stops you can take off a layer.” Johnson said. While there are various ways for immigrants to stay connected to their original country, it can be difficult when the things they miss most about a country are the people. Most immigrants must leave behind several members of their families including parents, siblings, and even children. Thankfully technology has allowed families separated by distance to stay connected and bridge the gap. “My dad will call [his family in China] around four to five times a week [to stay in contact],” Liang said. Although social media and phones have allowed families to maintain contact, it is still hard for immigrants to - Tino Javier feel connected to their home, no matter how much culture they are able to preserve. “No matter how much we FaceTime my family or try our best to carry on Filipino culture, it will never be the same as being there with all of our loved ones,” Javier said.
“Although I can understand Tagalog, sometimes I wish that I spoke it so that I could connect with my parents and relatives in the Philippines better.”
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SPORTING CANADIAN PRIDE: Ms. Barb Riti sits wearing a Canadian hockey jersey. Ms. Riti was originally from Canada but moved to Missouri to pursue a softball scholarship. Photo by Riley Wania
Moving for More
Riti shares her experience immigrating to the United States
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“But it was just exciting. I mean, it was going to be a life-changing thing for me and [the possibility] to pursue my dreams on a bigger stage.¨ - Mrs. Barb Riti
By Faith Beckmann Newspaper Editor As she sits at her desk grading papers, a Canadian flag hangs to the right of social studies teacher Ms. Barb Riti. Unlike some teachers who hang flags in their classrooms because they teach a class relating to the country the flag represents, the flag is not in her classroom because she teaches classes relating to Canadian history or culture. In actuality, it is because Ms. Riti is originally from Canada. Ms. Riti grew up in a small, rural farming community in Ontario, Canada. When she was younger, most of her days were spent at the softball fields playing for local teams. When she turned 15 she transitioned from local ball to playing softball in the nearest big city. This prompted her softball career to flourish as her team competed and won in countless provincial competitions and even competed at the National competition level. When Ms. Riti got older and was ready to move on to university, she started thinking that going to the United States for school would not be a bad option for her. Her love for college basketball had sparked the idea that she may be able to use her softball skills as a way to get her foot in the door at American colleges and universities. “I watched college basketball and in 1991 there was this fantastic team out of [the University of Nevada Las Vegas] called the Runnin’ Rebels and I loved watching them play,” Ms. Riti said. “So I started looking into opportunities and options. And softball was one of my options.” Fortunately, at the time, Ms. Riti had a contact who had gone to the University of Missouri and was able to get her in contact with the softball coach. “I knew a woman who was six years older than me who had gone to Mizzou,” Ms. Riti explained. “So that coach came up to watch me play a few times and we communicated by phone several times. Then they invited me to come down for a visit and eventually just offered me the scholarship.” When Ms. Riti received the news she had gotten the scholarship, she was unsure what to think of it, but excited nonetheless. “Being Canadian… and also being young, I didn’t understand all that that entailed,” Ms. Riti explained. “But it was just exciting. I mean, it was going to be a life changing thing for me and [the possibility] to pursue my dreams on a bigger stage.¨ Compared to immigrating from other countries, going to the United States from Canada did not require any extreme adaptation. Since the countries are both first-world countries with a majority population of white European ancestry, there were little
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differences in terms of language, food and pop culture. However, Ms. Riti notes the differences between college culture in Canada versus the United States, especially with Greek life. “The Greek stuff was very foreign to me,” Ms. Riti explained. “In the 80s there was a show called ‘Revenge of the Nerds’... and that was my first exposure to seeing Greek life on campus was through this movie. I lived in a dorm right across from Greek town, so you would see the houses where the boys were living or where the women were living and it just seemed odd to me.” In her last year of college, Ms. Riti met a man and decided to stay in the U.S. to be with him. Since she was marrying a U.S. resident, getting approved for a green card was an easier process. There was only one particular time, prior to her marriage, when she had issues with her paperwork. “It was the year 2000,” Ms. Riti said. “And I was in my third year of teaching at David Hickman High School in Columbia, Missouri. Every year before I went home for summer vacation, I had to submit some paperwork that needed to be filed and we had a new woman in HR. Typically what I would do is fill everything out and then highlight the areas that they needed to make sure that they signed because essentially, they were like my sponsor… Before I left, I said ‘This needs to be done or I’m not going to be able to come back.’... When I tried to come across probably a week before school started, the paperwork wasn’t there, so they told me I had to turn around. I remember driving two and a half hours back to my parents just in tears, like ‘What am I going to do?’ and calling the office and the woman saying, ‘Oh, I didn’t realize that.’” Eventually, with the help of some coworkers, Ms. Riti was able to cross the border and return to work. “I had really great people [that] I worked with,” Ms. Riti said. “They started calling members of the House of Representatives and our senators and trying to get all of those folks involved in speeding up that process… It was still probably two months but I eventually made it back.” Though she is appreciative of the life and opportunities she has in the United States, Ms. Riti still says there are times when she wishes she were back in her home country. “I think sometimes when there’s traumatic events or big things, I wish I could be closer,” Ms. Riti expressed. “So whether it’s like my dad [having] some health issues and [wanting] to be close [or when] 9/11 hit and you [wished] you could be with your people or even during quarantine when we were all kind of locked down… and when they’re celebrating family birthdays, or they’re all just getting together for the sake of getting together and we can’t do that. Those are things that kind of tug at our hearts a little bit.”
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Hitting the Ground Players, coaches connect to create a one-track mind By Reilly Scobey Staff Reporter Being an athlete is no easy feat. It requires constant training, strategizing, and dedication in order to maintain and improve skills. Freshman cross country runner Reese McDevitt believes that a strong connection between coaches and players can be a huge defining factor in overall performance. Strong relationships within her sport allow for open communication which in return leads to more personal growth within a season. This being her first season McDevitt had little to no expectations of what she would be able to achieve, but she had one goal. She wanted to take a shot at setting the freshman girls 5k record. Little did McDevitt know her goal was about to come true. On Saturday, Sept. 11 McDevitt would become the new official record holder with an impressive time of 19:04. After this meet McDevitt came to the realization that her coaches were able to create an environment that pushed her farther than she ever imagined. In McDevitt’s eyes, a good coach is someone who can push you to the next level on and off the field. “The best coaches are the ones that create a deep love of the sport in you,” McDevitt said. “[They] push you outside of your comfort zone, and are someone to look up to and talk to in all areas, not just the sport you play for them.” While McDevitt strongly believes in her coach’s ability to push her forward. Her coach, Michelle Breuer, believes McDevitt’s dedication to her sport not only benefits her, but also inspires the people around her. “She has many people pushing her to succeed,” Breuer said. “She tries to work hard for all of these people [which] pushes her to work harder [and] allows her to inspire others and push
20 MOVE
them to compete as well.” For many athletes, their coach is someone they spend a great deal of time with. For many it is important for them to feel they are properly supported by them. Having a coach who ensures their support can help them feel valued which in return can help them reach their goals further down the line. While being a good player is a very important factor in any sport, for junior Arman Sams a good coach is someone capable of working with and alongside their players. “A good coach needs to be willing to slow down,” Sams said. “[Being able to] explain the steps needed to perfect [a skill].” The benefits for having an amazing coach are enormous, but not every athlete is that lucky. There are many who lose their passion for their sport all together because of a lack of support. Without proper support athletes begin to doubt their own abilities which in return can cause a lack in motivation to continue moving forward. McDevitt sheds light on the impact a bad coach can have on their athletes. “The worst coaches make you second guess yourself and take away your love of the sport,” McDevitt said. “They can take away your confidence which will make you struggle with [moving forward]”. With player and sports connection being a huge underlying factor in athletes performance many are desperate to have that connection to move forward. McDevitt examines the impact a player’s connection to their coach has on their performance. “I think the more you are supported by your coach,’’ McDevitt said. “The more freedom you have to put all of your energy into the sport.”
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READY TO RACE: Girls varsity cross country laces up their tennis shoes minutes before their Warrenton meet. With the season coming to an end, the girls were fighting ferociously for a shot at state. Photo by Charlie Rosser
STARTING STRONG: The girls cross country team starts off excitedly during a meet. The encouragement and training from their coaches provide the boost needed to perform their best. Photo by Charlie Rosser
HUSTLING AND HUDDLING: Girls varsity cross country huddles around Coach Michelle Breuer before their Warrenton meet. With the end of their season approaching, the girls were hungry for a win, little did they know that this race would allow them to go to state. Photo by Charlie Rosser
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DOMINATING DRILLS: Focused on her teammates legs, senior Skylar Morrissey shoots on fellow senior Emma Thomas during practice at the start of the season. “It’s all about muscle memory, the more you do it, it’ll just come [to you],” Morrissey said. “You have to work from these postions and you’re not always going to get it all the time... if you don’t get it you have to power through and just make it the best it could be.” Photo by Keaton Frye
‘You Just
Go In’
Wrestlers find success through focus, quick reactions PLAYFUL PRACTICE: Laughing during a light-hearted moment in practice, sophomore Stevie Lupo wraps her arms around junior Sophia Miller. “[Sophia Miller and I] are like best friends, it’s always fun wrestling with her,” Lupo said. “[During practice] there’s goofing and joking around, but whenever [practice really gets started] it’s intense and very fast-paced.” Photo by Keaton Frye
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By Tarrah Scott Staff Reporter With the blow of a whistle the fight starts. Adrenaline rushing, crowds cheering, wrestlers battling. Senior Alyssa Haile steps up to meet her opponent at the center of the mat and waits for the whistle. The next six minutes of these girls’ lives are all about the fighting instinct inside of them to overpower and pin the other. As the clock slowly ticks by, the girls put everything they have while spinning, rolling, flipping, and using every bit of strength they have to win. In the past wrestling was more of a male sport. Up until a few years ago there wasn’t even a girls team. Today, they are the girls changing the world of sports after the women’s team placed third overall in the tournament at Fort Zumwalt North. Similar to other sports, wrestling is one that demands every bit of a person’s body. The mental focus and decision making to score points or pin the opponent this sport takes is immensely difficult. “In training, it’s really just mentally pushing yourself,” Haile said. “It’s just being able to decide you’re not going to give up when you get tired [and] a lot of positive self talk like ‘I’ve been here before, I’ve
fought through this before, I’ve been able to get over it.’” Once the first match starts the wrestlers snap into action and focus on the win. The quick decisions and adjustments these girls are making all within three, two-minute matches takes every bit of focus and control, of themselves and their opponent, they have. “We really just drill and drill and drill until it’s perfect … my mind just goes into game mode,” senior Kennedy Eggering said. These girls must practice until complex moves become muscle memory. Wrestling is a very dangerous and physical sport that takes a lot of skill and discipline. “I didn’t fully understand how much technique is involved and it’s not just slam into something. It really is about strategy and how quickly you can think while under pressure,” Haile added. “Everything just goes out. You don’t think about being scared, you just go in.” After taking control of their mentality during a match the next point of focus is the physical aspect. “Women, right now, have 14 different weight classes,” senior Emma Thomas said. Since wrestlers come in all shapes and
sizes, the different weight classes help coaches and referees make sure the matches are fair. Having many weight classes also means you don’t have to stay in one. Some wrestlers move weight classes without trying while others bulk up or slim down to make it into their desired weight class. “In the first three days, I lost 10 pounds,” Haile said. In wrestling the word physical branches into many parts of the sport. Unlike other sports, wrestling is a sport that incorporates any and all figures. The physical fitness and physical contact in every match varies, but all aim for the same goal. The girls use their bodies to move around and gain control of their opponent. “It’s a lot about your strength and speed and also how well you can technically do the moves,” Haile reports. Many girls have considered wrestling but the opinion of it being a male sport has stopped many from trying. “Go out of your comfort zone. In the beginning I was very scared about embarrassing myself… but as soon as I let my pride go and really took other people’s advice it was a lot more fun,” Haile said.
FACING OFF: Senior Abby Mattson and freshman Nevaeh Smith focus on each other’s movements during a practice in December. Photo by Keaton Frye
Page by Rachel Vrazel
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By Rachel Vrazel Web Editor
How Are You,
Really?
I walked through the halls, panicking internally over the homework I hadn’t had energy to do the night before, stifling all of the hopelessness inside. It was only the fourth hour, and I had no idea how I was going to make it through the rest of the school day. I walked through the halls in my own dark world, entering Pre-AP English II as anxieties swirled through my head. “Hey Rachel, how are you doing?” I turned to face my classmate who’d spoken across the room. Immediately, I plastered a smile on my face and mustered the strength to respond. “Hi, I’m doing good!” I said cheerfully. I sat down in class, still overwhelmed and conflicted inside, struggling to clear my mind and focus on the lesson. And each day, every time someone asked me how I was doing, the scenario was repeated. “How are you doing?” “Oh, I’m doing good!” Over and over and over again. What was meant to be a polite and thoughtful greeting became the nail in a coffin of isolation and disconnection from the people around me. Because let’s be honest, how else are we expected to answer that question? No different then, “Oh, I’m good.” It’s become a formality, not a genuine invitation to share how your day is going - unless it’s an elaboration on the positive. It may seem harmless, and often is when your day is going fine and you’re not struggling. But for me, it only added to the hardship I was facing during a very difficult period of my life. During my sophomore year, I was struggling with depression. Something that made it so much worse was the pressure I felt to keep up with the self-inflicted standard of academic perfection and maintain the respect of my teachers and peers. Terrified that any sort of slip up or mistake on my part would destroy my GPA and maim my reputation, I did everything to keep it together and hide how I was truly feeling. So, each time I’d walk into a class and a peer or teacher would greet me with, “Hey, Rachel! How’re you doing?” I lied. I pasted a smile on my face, I feigned cheerfulness, I responded happily. I said my day was going well, and asked about theirs. We made some small talk before class began, and then sat down and got to business. I’d go about school having the same little exchange at least three or four times a day, lying through my teeth. And every time I did, it became harder to imagine ever reaching out. What would people think if I suddenly told the truth, after so long of being “fine”? Thankfully, I was eventually able to be open and get the help that I needed. I got the support I needed at school and changed some medications around. I ended up feeling much
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better, but I still remember this question being asked as one of the most painful experiences of that year. Feeling unable to communicate that I was struggling because I knew the standard response was cheerful and happy was like salt in an open wound. The problem with this question wasn’t that it was being
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A politely-intended greeting can enable a culture of perfectionism and reinforces a foundation of isolation
asked. I know people were well meaning, and it was an effort on their part to be polite and make me feel included and welcome. In fact, despite its negative effects, it’s a gesture I quite appreciate. But even if it was just a standard courtesy, each time someone asked it, it was a reminder of how badly I was doing in reality.
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Since that period of time, I’ve often thought back wishing it had been different, that somehow it had been easier to be honest. But it was always a wistful thought, something that didn’t seem possible. And then, earlier in the semester, I saw a TikTok that changed my perspective on the practicality of answering truthfully. In the TikTok, an American living in the Netherlands acted out a scenario in which she pretended to ask a Deutsch person how they were doing, to which they gave a very honest, detailed response that their day was going terribly. She, as the American, acted shocked at the blunt response. In the caption, she explained how it was normal to be casual about these things in other cultures. This got me thinking more about my sophomore year and made me wonder: if it’s not a problem in other countries, why is it in ours? It’s so easy to get caught up in the idea that productivity and success define who we are, particularly as Americans. Our culture values independence, individualism and hard work. It’s the American dream - you work hard, you build a better life for yourself. While this does possess some bit of truth, perhaps it’s the difference between us and countries like the Netherlands. Maybe it’s what makes us so unable to open up, and has perpetuated the need to keep up a facade of perfection in hopes of reaching success. But it’s something we can only change by unlearning, by putting it into practice and slowly beginning to believe the reality that the sum of our successes and the degree of our “togetherness” doesn’t dictate the type of person we are. Maybe answering “how are you?” with more truth will help us dispel the notion that struggles are a sign of weakness and imperfection. As I’ve started to be appropriately vulnerable, I’ve realized that people are much kinder and more understanding than I’d thought they would be. Instead of people seeing me as a failure like I thought they would, I have become more successful with the support from those around me - support they’re able to give as a result of my vulnerability. Where I once felt isolated and alone in my struggles, I have a newfound sense of security and find peace knowing I am loved and cared for through them. Being honest with others has allowed me to be more honest with myself and helped me to better work through negative emotions I experience. So I invite you - tell the truth. When people ask how your day is going, don’t be afraid to admit when it’s going badly. Defy the expectation based on normalcy! I understand it’s difficult to change the practices of an entire culture, but with every person who tries something new there will be more people who become free to follow your example. Telling our story, even if it’s just a simple, “I’m not doing great, I’m really stressed,” will give others permission to tell theirs.
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25
Revising History The legacy of Jan. 6
J
[
[
ust a couple of weeks ago Americans commemorated the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot. Unsurprisingly, this anniversary did not pass without garnering its fair share of controversy. President Joe Biden kicked off the day with a short speech delivered in the very same place the protestors had stormed just a year prior: the US Capitol. He spared no time jumping straight into condemning the By Hannah Bernard actions of former President Trump, Multimedia accosting the former president for Editor perpetuating lies regarding the results of the 2020 election and held him personally responsible for inciting a riot on the steps of the Capitol. This was not met without outrage from President Trump. He promptly released a statement accusing President Biden of destroying the nation with open borders, corrupt elections, unconstitutional mandates, and record numbers of Covid cases. The Trump faction produces a lot of Trump-fiction. While some believe it was their right as Americans to stand up against perceived injustice and storm the Capitol, others believe the riot didn’t happen at all. That it was an Antifa plot to demonize Trump supporters. The spread of misinformation regarding Jan. 6 has only increased over the past year and is a harbinger for further conflict. If an event that was clearly a conservative attack on the democratic process can be rewritten as far left political theater, our democracy is in serious danger. We are beginning to write our history in pencil instead of pen, opening ourselves up to revision. If Republicans regain control next election, will they grab the pencil and write off the Biden presidency as illegitimate and unconstitutional? Will they erase the Biden presidency as a whole? If we’re not careful, that could be our future. Even if information is factually incorrect, if enough people believe it, it starts to become the truth. It is our responsibility as Americans to ensure that the information that shapes our entire worldview is factual. When we fall victim to misinformation, we open ourselves and American democracy up to chaos.
26 VOICE
A MOTHER’S MEMORY: An old photo of my mother’s family, my mother is pictured in the middle of the left photograph. Although she is clearly not happy in the photo, she still recalls fond memories during her time in Vietnam. Photo courtesy of Sydney Tran
By Sydney Tran For the Editorial Board When my mother was my age, she did not live a typical teenage life. She didn’t wake up at 6:50 a.m. to get ready and drive a Honda Civic to school. She didn’t live the typical suburban lifestyle. When she was my age, she lived on a boat trying to immigrate to America. She spent her days on a boat overflowing with people. She stayed at a refugee camp in Malaysia called “Hell Isle.” She lived in a time where rape, abduction, starvation and death were a threat. However, for my mom, this difficult experience was humbling. When I talk about my vastly different life to my mother, sometimes I begin to forget about where my parents came from to give me this. My mom brings me back down to Earth. Every time she says the same thing: “Sydney, I am boat people, our family is boat people.” It has been the same sentence over the years, and even though it has been repeated over and over again, it always has the same effect. Whenever she would say it my face would get hot and my mind would be clouded with shame from not realizing the struggles she had gone through for me to be able to tell these stories. It has always bothered
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Not Just Boat People
Words, phrases we select can define an immigrant’s experience
A MOMENT IN TIME: An old photograph features four children sitting outside a house in Vietnam. The child, my uncle, pictured sitting on the far left eventually ended up immigrating to the United States as a result of war. Photo courtesy of Sydney Tran
me because not only did her lack of knowledge about English grammar peek through, but so did her shame of being an immigrant. “Boat people” historically described refugees, specifically from Vietnam, who fled to other countries by boat. However, to my mom, it means that my family is automatically lower on the social ladder because of how my mom immigrated to the states. Although the term made exact sense for the meaning, many Vietnamese people such as my mom see it in a negative light. It had taken their trauma from the war, from being in a refugee camp, from traveling with little resources for days on end and reduced it to “boat people.” Not survivors orvictims of war. Boat people. The way society frames immigrants is important. The diction we use to describe them is important. Out of all the experiences my mother and millions of other Vietnamese immigrants have faced, why is coming to the states via boat so important? We never called people who drove from Canada or Mexico to move “car people.” Or people who move across the country via airlines “plane people.” Using the method of travel as a driving word detracts from the experiences and the meaning behind their
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journey. Instead of focusing on how they got here, focus on why. What are their stories? When we look beyond a shallow label, we see the strength and perseverance of those who had fought for their lives and their family’s lives to make it to somewhere safe. It’s not just “boat people,” it’s other dehumanizing words such as “illegal” or “alien” used to describe immigrants. These words that are used to describe immigrants create an unwelcoming atmosphere for people trying to find a better place to live their lives. Words matter, and choosing words that do not make immigrants out to be a threat, an issue, matters. It creates misconceptions and divides us between being “legal” and “illegal.” Before choosing the words that may be “historically correct,” read the room, know the connotation. Words are more than letters; they are driving factors in the atmosphere we create for immigrants. My mother should not have to feel she has a lesser place because of a term. She is more than a boat person. She is a survivor of war. She is a daughter. She is a mother. She is more than what any history textbook could define her as.
VOICE
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Holiday hop
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ZoBot teacher Patrick Reed stands atop his lab stations to get the attention of his students and give them directions. The students were working on their Humbug Project; using anatomical terms to create a craftsupply insect. “I love [this project] because By Madi Hermeyer it makes the Staff Photographer terms really stick for the students,” Reed said. “And it gives them an avenue for creativity.” I really like this picture because it encapsulates Mr. Reed’s personality. The chaos of the Christmas lights in the background makes me like it even more because it’s unexpected in a photo of classroom instruction. I also really love that you can see his Christmas socks.
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FINAL FRAME
28 FINAL FRAME
Page by Madi Hermeyer