THE
MESSENGER
OCTOBER VOLUME 97 ISSUE 1
TUTORING & TEST PREP
Lessons by Chris Morris-Lent • GHS ‘06 • Columbia ‘09
Math • English • ACT/SAT • College Apps
Guaranteed gains: +200 SAT • +4 ACT • 1 academic letter grade
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Chris has a terrific sense of which colleges match which personalities.
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—Carl M., parent of Ben, accepted to Whitman and 2 other colleges
“
Our daughter’s SAT score soared by 500 points! We unequivocally recommend Mr. Morris-Lent’s tutoring services to others.
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—Jyoti N., parent of Karisma, accepted to the University of Washington
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An absolute master at explaining difficult concepts. —Nate S., parent and software engineer
Learn more at www.seattlesbesttutor.com chris.morris.lent@gmail.com • 206-551-7843
FREE! FRI NOV 16 7 – 10 PM
For teens, by teens! Make the museum yours. visitsam.org/teens facebook.com/seattleartmuseumteens
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The Garfield Messenger 10/19/2018
Photos: Jenn Au
Support for teen programs is provided by Hearst Foundations
ISSUE 1, VOL 97
CONTENTS
NFO 4
GET TO KNOW: CYPRESS PRICE
5
AFTER SCHOOL ENRICHMENT
5 6 6
Jaya Duckworth
Sophie Reichert
STUDENT ADVISORY BOARD Millan Philipose
COUNSELOR SHUFFLE Tova Gaster
TEACHER CONTRACT QUICK FACTS Ava Klubberud
7
TEACHING FOR BLACK LIVES
8
BLESS THE RAINS DOWN IN AFRICA TOWN
9
THE CLUB BEAT
SPORTS
12
SUBMISSIONS
FRESHLETES
Various
16
13
FAR TREKKING MUSIC TEACHERS
17
CHEER STEPS UP
13
FALL SHOW PREVIEW
17
BOX SCORES
18
PLAYOFF PUSH
19
THE MORNING GRIND
Téa Fortune
EDITORIAL: WE STAND WITH OUR TEACHERS The Writing Editors
10
A&E Sav’ell Smalls
Hailey Gray
8
Cover by Sophia Chryanthakopoulos
GARFIELD BY THE NUMBERS Kevon Avery & Mena Bova
14 14
15
Milena Haile
Camryn Soo
Sara Javkhlan
AN ARTISTIC OPPORTUNITY Molly Chapin
SENIOR PICTURE SPOTS STUDENT MUSIC GROUPS
John Volk Izzy Lamola
Grady CantySwapp
Tsion Belgu
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Ben Mefford
19
MESS GUESS John Volk
Sara Javkhlan
THE HATE U GIVE REVIEW Simone Cielos
SUPPORTERS Benefactors Nancy Chapin Real Estate Patrons Allen Cheadle John Hoyt and Aana Lauckhart Tana Lin and Paul Holland Carol Rava
Jennifer Kerns and Greg Van Liew Phebe O’Neill Bridge Partners, LLC Elana Jassy Friends Catherine and Scott Henson
Jill Hostetter Lisa Chrysanthakopoulos Avery Paddock Diana Peterson Allen Draher Jamie Katz and David Sharp Smidchens Family David Lundsgaard
Heather and Chris Mefford Melanie Nalbandian Dara Armstrong Ilana Guttman Karin Brookes and Simon Woods Hannah Marshall Anonymous x6
These contributions help make the production and publication of The Garfield Messenger possible. If you would like to support The Messenger, please contact us at garfieldmessenger@gmail.com
NEWS
GET TO KNOW: CYPRESS PRICE
NEWS FLASH By Téa Fortune
Safety At Garfield
Inside the life of the sophomore supermodel. By Jaya Duckworth
A
t age 15, most of us are far from camera-ready. But that’s not the case for sophomore Cypress Price, who has spent the last year of her life strutting down runways and working photoshoots. Price was discovered during ninth grade while volunteering at a freelance modeling gig with her mom. “A designer came up to me and asked me to model for her, and I was shocked,” she said. Since then, Price has modeled at Seattle Fashion Week, juggled freelance jobs, and worked with a Portland agency. She is currently represented by local agency Heffner Management, one of the largest direct booking agencies on the west coast. But Price appreciates her career for more than just the publicity. “My favorite thing is meeting people” Price said, “There are so many cool, interesting people, and a lot of them don’t treat me like a little kid or baby me, they’re professional.” However, Price is also critical of the industry, as she mentions the hardships she has faced as a young black model. “A lot of people don’t know how to do curly hair, so they just end up making it look worse,” Price said. She has also struggled with people urging her to smile more, even when she’s off-camera. Nevertheless, she commends the strides the industry has made in the past five years. “It’s more diverse. A lot of black models used to straighten their hair and perm it or slick it back because people didn’t know what to do with it, but now you see black models with their natural hair out.” Price is proud of her identity and sees modeling as an avenue to express herself and connect with others rather than just a way to sell products. “A lot of models become just a mannequin, and that’s just how the industry wants them to be,” she said. Price hopes to combat this onedimensionality by using her career to speak out on meaningful issues.
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On October 10th, an email was sent out by Principal Howard to parents regarding an incident that happened recently at Garfield. A student saw online information that appeared to be a threat. Although they suspected that it might have been a joke, they informed administration, who then promptly inspected the information and took immediate action. The Seattle Police Department was informed and the suspect was identified, removed, and arrested after questioning. In the email to parents, Mr. Howard concluded by saying “Please be assured that the safety and security of our students is a top priority at Garfield High School. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.”
Washington State Abolishes Death Penalty TW: mentions of violence and sexual assault Washington state has become the 20th US state to ban the death penalty and the eighth in the last 11 years. The Washington Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment was applied in an arbitrary and racially biased manner, which violates the state’s constitution. The decision, which was made on Thursday, October 11th, was driven by an appeal by a death row inmate who raped and murdered a woman in 1996. That appeal was apart of a study which showed that black inmates were 4.5 times more likely to be sentenced to death in Washington state than white inmates. While the death penalty law can’t be used, the legislature can try to pass a bill which would address the racial bias or could try to pass the Carlyle bill which will abolish the death penalty all together.
FIND THE BULLDOG Her favorite shoot was for a project in the Central District that combined activism, storytelling, and fashion. “It was all about the black community and how Seattle is being gentrified,” Price said. “[It] was really fun because I got to meet a lot of cool people.” Price plans on pursuing a fashion career in the future, but she recognizes the difficulty of making it as a model. Instead, she wants to be a fashion buyer, which would entail working with designers and sales representatives to select items for retail. Both on and off camera, Price’s warmth and sincerity shines bright: “I love the Garfield community,” Price said with a smile. “I feel like people should spread love a little bit more here.” PHOTO COURTESY OF CYPRESS PRICE
Follow Cypress on instagram: @cypressprice
The Garfield Messenger 10/19/2018
ART BY ARLO VANLIEW
Somewhere hidden in this issue is this drawing of a tiny GHS bulldog. The first person to find it wins a PRIZE! If you find it, take a photo and email it to garfieldmessenger@gmail.com. There is no second place prize so snap a pic and send it quick!
NEWS
AFTER SCHOOL ENRICHMENT What exactly is it?
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By Sophie Reichert
or several weeks, talk of an after school detention program has floated around Garfield, as students feared being penalized for a simple tardy after lunch. Contrary to the murmurs around school, Rob Jones, Youth Services Liaison at Garfield, paints the program in a more positive light. “Administration has developed this program as an alternative for suspension, ” Jones said. Starting October 1st, the program will run after school for two hours on Tuesdays and Thursday in room 105. Implementing a four hour session on Saturday may become an option as well. This extension of the program will be used for kids who routinely do not show up and continue to violate school policy. When asked about the Saturday option, Garfield Truancy Specialist Portia Beard said, “We are trying to see if after school will work over having a kid come in on a Saturday.” In years prior to the new school enrichment program, there was a Saturday school program run by the late Joe Bland. Many other schools within the district have similar Saturday school programs. “It’s really not focused on that,” Jones emphasized when asked if those tardy to after lunch classes would be targeted, “ It’s just really about curving the truancy and atten-
dance rate, which we’ve noticed has a direct relationship with grades.” Beard echoed the same sentiments. “Coming back late from lunch, it’s not the tardy,” Beard said, “It’s not the ten minutes, it’s the eleven minutes and on when it is considered an absence.” Officially, a student is considered truant if they miss five or more unexcused days in a month or ten or more unexcused days in a year. If the pattern continues, then by the seventh unexcused absence in a “ month or the tenth unexcused absence during the current school year, the school district is required to file a petition to the juvenile court. At four absences she mails out a warning letter and at six the student will receive after school enrichment. These advancing steps in the truancy process will still be followed, but the new program is an alternative. “With truancy, [after school enrichment] would be the step before [students] do the student attendance agreement,” Beard said. The student attendance agreement is a plan that is created to assist the student in improving their attendance that can outline differ-
ent support systems and interventions. “What we realized is that there was nothing in between,” Jones said. “So if a student did something that didn’t warrant a suspension but warranted some disciplinary action, there was nothing in the middle.” Short term suspensions can last up to ten days whereas long term suspension can last up to 90 days. The Seattle Public Schools Discipline Guide for administrators is fairly vague, as it leaves it up to each school’s respective administration to deal with offenses. “Instead of suspending kids and having them away from school, we want them here,” Jones reiterated. Jones stressed that the program “[is] not just a place to come and sit,” unlike the familiar detention narrative. There are workshops administered by Garfield staff members during the duration of the program time. The components offered include time management, decision making, self management, conflict-resolution, and goal setting. There is also allotted time in the second hour for students
“ADMINISTRATION HAS DEVELOPED THIS PROGRAM AS AN ALTERNATIVE FOR SUSPENSION”
to complete homework. “After school enrichment is more about developing skills and giving kids skills and the ability to make better decisions,” Jones said. Furthermore, the workshops correlate to the infractions. For example if a student had issues with tardiness and truancy, they would attend the sessions on time management and decision making. “Here we call it enrichment because we are going to give you some skills,” Jones said. “We are going to open up conversation as to why [the behaviors continue].” The number of days a student can be given ranges from one to several. “[It] is really based off of actual policy violations,” Jones said. Security, administration, and Ms. Beard are all involved in the decision. The number of infractions and the severity of the infraction are both taken into account. If a student does not show up to after school enrichment, they will be rescheduled to the next available one. If they miss the second one they are not able to return back to school without a parent. “There has to be a family meeting with Mr. Howard” Beard said. Both Beard and Jones stressed that the program is a place for students to grow and learn skills they can use to succeed.
STUDENT ADVISORY BOARD
Superintendent to form committee of high school students. By Millan Philipose Starting this fall, students from across Seattle will have a new way to voice their opinions about our city’s public education system. The newly-established Student Advisory Board to the Superintendent (SAB) will include at least one student from every high school in the Seattle Public Schools. Although there will be no legal pathway for student representatives to directly modify district policy, Sherri Kokx, Special Assistant to the Superintendent, insists that the SAB will play a meaningful part in the district’s decision-making process. “[Superintendent Juneau’s] intent is to have this group really play a role in increasing graduation rates and addressing equity problems in our
district,” Kokx said. “I can guarantee time hearing from a committee of that the information she high school stugets from the Student Addents. At a town visory Board will be used hall meeting on to guide the way she October 2nd, Juworks with district staff neau described — and even the School the Student AdBoard — to create new visory Board she district policy.” worked with in Students will be selecther former post ed based on teacher nomas Montana’s Suinations and individual perintendent of applications. Kokx had Public Instrucalready received over 40 tion. submissions as of Octo“We had kids ber 3rd, a number that from across the she said was higher than state — kids who expected. were valedictoriThis will not be the ans of their class, DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT DENISE JUNEAU Superintendent’s first but also students
who were at risk of dropping out, ” Juneau said. “They would get together and voice their ideas about policies, and we would work with the state legislature to get things passed.” Though the exact fomat of board meetings has not yet been finalized as of October 3rd, the Superintendent plans to continue bridging the gap between her student advisors and elected officials by giving Seattle’s SAB some kind of channel of communication with the School Board. Garfield’s representatives will be announced before the SAB’s first meeting on December 7th.
The Garfield Messenger 10/19/2018
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NEWS
COUNSELOR SHUFFLE
The disruptive effect of counselor reassignments. By Tova Gaster
I
n a chaotic start to the school year, many students found themselves with their counselor assignment suddenly changed, disrupting years of supportive relationships many students had developed. All 10, 11th, and 12th grade students in the Highly Capable Cohort (HCC) track were switched to Mr. Courtney regardless of their previous counselor. Running Start and students with 504 forms, which accommodates varying types of disabilities, were reassigned to Mr. Willis. Many other 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students were reassigned to new counselors based on their last name. As in past years, 9th graders are with Ms. Alston. For seniors, the student-counselor relationship is extremely important since counselors write letters of recommendation, which are a crucial part of college applications. Counselors also play a vital role in helping students navigate key decisions related to the college process and beyond, including mental health support, academic guidance, and scholarship information.
For students that require extra assistance, this relationship is even more important. So when senior Theo Unger’s counselor was changed from Mr. Courtney to Mr. Willis, it came as stressful news. “I have a lot of issues with school, and I talked to Mr. Courtney a lot and he helped me get a 504,” Unger said. “He knows what’s up with me and can help me make the right choices in a way somebody who’s just met me can’t.” Unger’s problem with school was centered on attendance, so when Mr. Courtney recommended they look into taking Running Start classes at Seattle Central instead of attending Garfield full time, things noticeably improved for them. Although they believe that Mr. Willis will likely be able to give them the help they need to graduate high school and get into college, it’s no substitute for a counselor who knows their history. “You can know my backstory on paper, but for me personally [as someone] who’s had to deal with a lot of special circumstances regarding school, it’s hard to meet someone for the first time and have them actually be helpful,” Unger said.
Senior drama president Julia Haralson also experienced stress due to the counselor change. After having Mr. Courtney for 2 years, since she is not an HCC student, her counselor changed to Mr. Lee. “Mr. Courtney got me into theater classes all my previous years at Garfield, so there’s some relationship to build off there,” Haralson said. When her counselor changed, that prior knowledge of Haralson’s interests and personality disappeared. “Even if the relationship is [meeting] every year for a required session, it’s still better than, hello, nice to meet you, for the first time, right now!” Haralson said. Even without the benefit of years of familiarity, the mandatory senior meeting can still be useful if the counselor and student are able to establish a speedy connection. “I’ve often written letters of support to students in that application process having just met them,”
ART BY CECILIA HAMMOND
Courtney said. “The interview process I do in the senior meeting gives me enough information to present a good summary of who the student is.” Much of the class of 2019 now finds itself hoping that such a condensed relationship will work, with the counselors acknowledging that the situation is not ideal. “One thing we as a counseling office have lobbied for is to not change our caseloads, so we can have that 4-year relationship,” Mr. Courtney said. This enables counselors to get to know students and their needs in deeper way, and to help them navigate academics. As Mr. Courtney surveyed a sample of seniors, he noted that only 16 of the 42 he had met with all three years. That leaves 28 students to be advised by someone who does not know them as well. Mr. Courtney is confident, however, that the graduating class will receive the guidance they need despite the irregularity of the situation. “Students think that, I don’t know my counselor, I’m a senior, I’m applying to college. It is a really nerve-racking time, but the counselors are here to help with that.”
TEACHER CONTRACT QUICK FACTS By Ava Klubberud
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After multiple days of negotiations between Seattle Education Association (SEA) and SPS, threatened strike, and educator outcry a new contract was agreed upon. Here are some of the new benefits outlined by the contract.
The Garfield Messenger 10/19/2018
NEW COUNSELOR RATIOS
1 HOUR OF UNION REP
Counselors now have a ratio of 375 students to 1 counselor.
SEA has an alloted hour of presentation time at every SPS meeting.
NEWS
TEACHING FOR BLACK LIVES
A look at Garfield’s own Jesse Hagopian and his book.
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By Sav’ell Smalls
esse Hagopian is one of Garfield’s most beloved teachers. Students have raved about his ethnic studies class, calling it one of the best classes they’ve taken. Now, after publishing his second book, he hopes to be able to impact people beyond his classroom. For years, Hagopian has been extremely active in social movements, particularly the Black Lives Matter movement. He’s taught countless students, given speeches, and has participated in many events. But it was one event in particular that led him to publish another book. “Two school years ago, on October 19th, we organized the first day of the Black Lives Matter movement at school, with thousands of teachers wearing the shirts to school,” Hagopian said. “Many taught lessons about institutional racism. But some weren’t comfortable with the idea, so we wanted to create a resource for these teachers to teach against racism in their classroom.” Creating a book for others to use and analyze would be a hard task for anyone. But factoring in institutional racism only makes this task more difficult, so Hagopian enlisted help in order to make Teaching for Black Lives a masterpiece. “I partnered with two different professors: Professor Dyan Watson from Portland, and Professor Wayne Au from The University of Washington, Bothell,” Hagopian said.
“They’re both long time anti-rac- minorities for years. ism educators who’ve put out oth“There’s three demands for er books on the topic, and to be Black Lives matter in school able bring in my experiences and movements. Changing zero tollessons from my class and com- erance to restorative justice, hirbine it with their expertise was ing more black teachers, and amazing.” bringing ethnic studies to more As raving book reviews come schools,” Hagopian said. “We’ve in, it is clear that this trio gelled been a part of initiatives that have well. dramatically reduced suspension “It’s been rates, which incredible to correlate to see all these stopping the messages school to prisfrom teachon pipeline, ers across the which directcountry saying ly affects peohow they’ve ple of color.” just bought the Something book and how that makes they plan on Mr.Hagopian using it.” stand out is With nationthat he realizwide buzz sures that there rounding the isn’t a single book, Hagoblack story, pian has big but endless hopes for the different movement. ones. “I hope in “We have a ten years that section of the PHOTO FROM JESSE HAGOPIAN we’re able book where to make dramatic we focus on black identity,” strides here in Seattle, and also Hagopian said. “We really take an across the country,” Hagopian intersectional approach to it. Besaid. “I know this book alone isn’t cause although we know all black going to create that change, but folks experience racism, there this book can help educate more isn’t one black identity. We look teachers on why they should be a at black muslim identity, black part of the movements that could LGBTQ identity, black woman make that change.” and man identity. The list goes on But the change Hagopian en- and on.” visions isn’t simple, and this is As he specifically targets the something that has been affecting black community as a whole,
5 DAYS FOR CHILDCARE Contract specifies that educators now have 5 days to care for children.
10.5% RAISE Teachers and classified staff now have a raise, something that sparked negotiatons and a possible strike
Hagopian knows he can reach them in a positive way. But he hopes he can affect an even broader audience, especially here in Seattle. “We really also wanted to target educators, because we know the book could have a powerful impact in the classroom,” Hagopian said. “We received a huge boost to do this with the book when Macklemore and Michael Bennett bought a copy of it for every middle and high school social studies and language arts teacher in Seattle Public schools.” Hagopian also plans to take matters into his own hands in order to help teachers further understand the book. “I’ll be doing a study group for all the teachers in Seattle that are getting the book,” said Hagopian. “So in November [we] teachers will come together and talk about how best to use the book, and help prepare oursevles for the black lives matter at school week so it can be better than ever before.” Mr.Hagopian has sacrificed many hours of his life to serve his community and his people. He teaches about great activists such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, the Dixon brothers, and the selfless acts they did to get to where they’re at now. With, Hagopian’s own selfless acts and work in the community, maybe one day we’ll mention Jesse Hagopian in the same breath as the historical figures he teaches about.
• In the 2019-2020 school year, 2 sick days will become personal days, for a total of 4 in one academic year. • Educators will be required to have implicit bias training. • New teachers of color will be paired with mentors of color. • A Peer Assistance Review panel will be used to reflect ethnic and racial diversity within SPS. The Garfield Messenger 10/19/2018
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FEATURES
BLESS THE RAINS DOWN IN AFRICA TOWN
The development of 23rd Ave. & E Union’s Africa Town.
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By Hailey Gray
esidents on their morning coffee runs, drivers on their route to school, and nearby business owners have gawked and wondered why Earls Cuts and Styles is now covered in fresh red, green, and black paint, with the words “IMAGINE AFRICA TOWN” neatly pasted on top. Africa Town, a new Black community and business hub on 23rd Ave & E Union St, has recently gained attention as it became Seattle’s new project to slow rates of gentrification, a process that renovates low-income urban areas to appeal to wealthier, affluent residents. Because gentrification continues to affect many neighborhoods of Seattle, many residents of color—particularly Black folks—are uprooted from their homes and forced to relocate outside of the Central District (C.D.), a historically Black neighborhood in Seattle. “There was a pretty close knit Black community here, but definitely in our neighborhood [now] we’re surrounded by white people. Coming from it being predominantly Black, there’s not really that sense of Black community anymore,” said Falisha Samuels, a Garfield senior and lifelong resident of the C.D.
However, the presence of Africa Town allows for a strong, Black familial dynamic between residents of the C.D. to be reestablished. Additionally, Africa Town can serve as a great gathering spot, allowing for Black culture and community to flourish. Even as Africa Town was being built, residents and members of the community came together to paint the mural. Although it was a seemingly simple activity, this neighborhood art project greatly reflects the soul and community aspect of Africa Town. “I got to paint, and it was cool! It was Black people painting, getting together, listening to music, and things like that,” said Samuels. Aside from the community aspect, Africa Town also allows for Black businesses to have an opportunity to regain their footing and placement in a city dominated by wealthy, white
residents and businesses. Despite Africa Town being a progressive project to allow the growth of Black businesses and community in the area, it’s important to recognize that this is only a start towards dismantling the systematic racism in the C.D. “It’s good that we are getting around to actually keeping this space for us. I think it’s still just sad to see everything around it because, even though we have this center now, there’s so many Black folks who can’t afford to live here anymore, or who have kind of been moved or displaced.” said Samuels. That being said, Africa Town is hoping to offset some of the impacts of gentrification, as well as serve as a catalyst for reversing the layers of racism embedded in the C.D.’s construction and history. ART BY ARIEL COOK
HISTORY OF AFRICA TOWN Although the concept of Africa Town is not native to Seattle, it is to the South; Seattle’s Africa Town is actually modeled off one in Mobile, Alabama. Mobile’s Africa Town was the port for the last (known) illegal shipment of slaves to the United States. This land was later purchased by around 30 escaped Africans, who worked and established a community for the retainment of their African cultures, languages, and identities. The land was coined as Africa Town, and was used as a safe haven and community to preserve the Black identity, without the influence of white America. Historically, this concept of Africa Town’s being used to slow or dismantle oppressive societal systems is something unique passed through American history.
THE CLUB BEAT A look inside featured clubs at Garfield. By Tea Fortune
PROJECT PENGYOU
Meets in room 221 every other Tuesday. Culture is something that everyone can take part in. Project PengYou is a club that holds meetings in which members discuss Asian culture in America and beyond. Project PengYou also wants students to gain a sense of community within Garfield. “My overall goal is to expand. We would love to see how much of the Garfield community we can reach, ” said senior Alex Huynh, the president of Project PengYou. “We would like to have a multi culture night for the school, which would involve all of the cultural clubs at Garfield” said Huynh.
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The Garfield Messenger 10/19/2018
GIRLS WHO CODE
Meets in room 115B during lunch on Monday. Will be switching to after school when the fall quarter comes to an end. Coding. That’s how video games are made, and that’s how computers run. Girls Who Code is a place for girls to learn how to code, explore their ideas and interests, and build skills to be able to create their own websites, games, apps, and more. In 2015, Yasna Vismale and Alexandria Storm started Girls Who Code before graduating in 2017. “It’s important to have clubs like this in schools because it provides [an] opportunity for students to expand and explore their interests,” said Betty Cheng, a sophomore, and the vice president of Girls Who Code. “I want girls to have the same opportunities [as boys] in the tech industry” said Cheng. Girls Who Code also have a website where you can check out the creations girls from the club have made. The Girls Who Code website is http://garfieldgwc. glitch.me.
SOMALI YOUTH CLUB
Meets in room 221 every Thursday. To create a club at Garfield, all you have to do is fill out an online application and let ASB meet to discuss the proposal. This is exactly what sophomore Sabiriin Abdi did this year when she set out to create the Somali Youth Club. “My goal this year is mainly for Somali students to stick together and get more exposure to their culture,” said Abdi. SYC wants to extend their learning beyond the club to other peers who want to learn about different cultures at Garfield.
OPINION
EDITORIAL : WE STAND WITH OUR TEACHERS By Julia Lin, John Volk, Lily Laesch and Delphi Drake-Mudede
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n the morning of September 28th, hundreds of students filed into the Garfield High School gymnasium. Some held signs, some took pictures, and some had no idea why they were there. Teachers held binders with their names on them, hoping to organize their disoriented pupils amidst the chaos. “We realize this looks messy,” said Nathan Simoneaux, an 11th grade humanities teacher, while addressing the crowd. “Democracy is messy. Civic action is messy.” When the sudden news broke the day before that two Garfield teachers, Jessie Purcell and Amy Miller, were being displaced, their fellow educators knew they had to take immediate action. They assembled rapidly on Friday morning and decided to give students the option to join them in a sit-in, which lasted until lunch. Students who did not wish to partake could stay in the school commons with other teachers. Such displacements are not uncommon. In fact, they happen every year. The difference this year is that the displacements took place several weeks after school had started, when schedules and classes had already been solidified. It is also unusual to remove educators who instruct courses that are required for graduation. These courses—PE and health —disproportionately serve students of color and low-income students, who often cannot take part in after school sports or enroll in an expensive online health class. (Such actions would allow students to waive these mandatory courses.) This decision does not appear to be based on seniority or on a lack of enrollment in Purcell or Miller’s courses which is why many are left with unanswered questions. “I am heartbroken,” said Purcell, who has taught at Garfield for six years to the crowd in the gym. Purcell’s students gathered around
her, giving her hugs. Many were crying. It was apparent to every person in that gym how many lives she had touched. “I provide a home for a large population of our students,” Purcell wrote in an email to the Garfield staff that Thursday, “...This population at Garfield doesn’t get enough love and support and I truly believe that I provide that by being their teacher.” As students began to rally around their educators, frustration on the district’s side fueled a retaliation effort. First, a human resources email was sent to the Garfield staff, directing them to “return to [their] professional and instructional duties as outlined in [their] collective bargaining agreement.” The district then dispatched over fifty certified teaching officials from the central office to Garfield to serve as stand-ins in the event that the protest continued after lunch. When interviewed, the majority of these officials had little understanding of the situation, with some even asking us to explain to them why they had been sent. These actions speak volumes about the district’s view of learning. They appear to care more about keeping up appearances and checking off boxes than allowing students to take part in authentic learning experiences. “We have the opportunity to learn far more on a day like today,” said ethnic studies teacher and union representative Jesse Hagopian during the sit in. “This is learning through being,” added english teacher Adam Gish. The issue here is a lack of transparency on many levels. While the new teacher contract does have a clear “no strike” clause, students do have the right to freedom of assembly, as noted by Mr. Howard in a letter to families sent out on Friday. Had students and teachers been informed
of the possibility of teacher displacement earlier, there may have been time for a more thoughtout plan of action led by students. While the sit in itself was spearheaded by teachers, many students demonstrated their solidarity by standing up to speak about personal experiences with the displaced teachers. They also discussed the importance of sex education and consent education learned in health class, and the disproportionate impact this decision will have on disadvantaged students. Many students and teachers claimed that the displacements were alltogether unnecessary because the district has enough money in reserves, though the details of this are unclear. Although Sarah Pritchett, Executive Director of Schools for the Central region of Seattle Public Schools, claims that this is an “adult issue, not a kid issue,” these decisions impact students directly. By now, Pritchett and much of the Seattle school district is aware that Garfield is not a school that will sit idly in the face of injustices, even “adult” ones. “It takes a lot of bravery to stand up to something that is terribly wrong,” said Ke’Von Avery, a senior at Garfield and member of local student activist group New Generation in a speech to the gym. “If you’re sitting in this gym, I appreciate you. This is the Garfield that I want to be a part of, this is the Garfield that is unified.” The following Wednesday, October 3rd, the Building Leadership Team, along with other staff, met to discuss the actions taken by teachers the Friday before. Although Clover Codd, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, repeatedly said she was “here with a spirit of listening,” despite repeated explanations from members of the Garfield staff, she continued to express her confusion and lack of understanding for the teachers’ actions. The visible di-
vide and lack of clarity for both sides led to all GHS teachers’ salaries being docked two hours worth of pay. This demonstrates a flaw in the system: another example of issues pertaining directly to students without any students included in the conversation. There are many narratives surrounding the sit in. Teachers were outraged at the sudden displacement of two of their colleagues. The district was upset with the teachers decision to protest. But the students are the ones being left out of these narratives. We are the ones who are directly impacted by the bureaucratic confusion. While students may not have been sitting in classrooms and studying from textbooks that Friday, learning was definitely taking place. Education should not look like students at desks all day; education should look like students being inspired by teachers who stand up for themselves and for their students, even in the face of uncertainty. Since that Friday, we have asked a lot of questions. Of teachers, of students, of district officials. We do not know exactly who told Principal Howard he needed to displace two teachers, but we do know that being a principal for a school as civically engaged as Garfield is not an easy job. We do not know how the health and PE teachers were selected to be displaced, but we do know that these classes are crucial graduation requirements. We do not know if it is true that the district has 50 million dollars sitting in a reserve fund waiting to be spent, but we do know that the city is spending 200 million dollars on a youth jail rather than investing more in educating youth. We do not know a lot of things. But we are learning. And our teachers are teaching us.
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GHS DEM
WHITE (43%) BLACK (23%)
GRAPHICS
GARFIELD STUDENT ENROLLMENT ( O V E R T H E P A S T 1 3 Y E A R S)
ASIAN (16%) 1900
MULTIRACIAL (9%) HISPANIC (8%)
1425
NATIVE (0.6%) PACIFIC ISLANDER (0.4%)
950
475
2005-06
37%
3%
OF STUDENTS ARE IN THE HCC PROGRAM
OF STUDENTS Q U A L I F Y A S H O M E L E S S*
2008-09
28%
8% A R E S T U D E N T S R E C I E V I N G SPECIAL EDUCATION 5% A R E E N G L I S H L A N G U A G E LEARNERS
2011-12
2014-15
2017-18
OF 11th AND 12th GRADERS ARE IN RUNNING START
GARFIELD GRADE SIZE 500 375 250 125
9th
5% A R E S T U D E N T S WITH DISABILITIES *Under the MCKinney-vento act
10th
11th
12th
COMPILED BY KE’VON AVERY AND MENA BOVA COURTESY OF MS CHOW
A&E
Student Submissions The Day I Couldn’t Fly By Josephine Nguyen
Josephine is a senior at GHS with a physical disability. She has run track in the past, loves writing and is hoping to start playing lacrosse soon. It was the summer of my junior year of high school, and I was going to be a senior in the fall. During the summer I experienced a lot of things about myself... but before I get into the details, the reason all started with a well-known place: high school. First off, I already knew that high school was going to be a pain in the a*s! The reason why was because at that time I was not only gonna be a freshman but I was also a student with a physical disability known as “CP” or cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is a form of paralysis caused by a prenatal brain defect or by brain injury during birth. I spent the summer at my parents lake house. When we arrived, the view of the house was g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s! The house looked like an old, yet modern type of lake house with rusty yet beautiful wood carvings in it. I stopped in my tracks just to take it all it all in. After a little while, my parents told me to come inside to check it all out. When I got inside, the beauty of the house amazed me... the living room and the dining room were pretty with sparkling, twinkly lights hanging from the ceiling. After admiring everything in the house, I went to my room to settle all my stuff in. My room was a medium-size room with twinkly little lights hanging from the bed. After settling all my stuff into my room, my parents called me down for dinner. “Hey Juliet, it’s dinner time!” they said. “I’m coming!” I responded as I walked to the dinner table. As my parents were bringing out all the food from the kitchen to the dinner table, I set up the utensils on the table. After eating dinner, we all put our dishes away, I brushed my teeth and got ready for bed, I put some music on my phone and picked out my outfit for tomorrow.
WANT TO SEE YOUR WORK FEATURED INEmail THEus MESSENGER? at 12
garfieldmessenger@gmail.com or drop it off in room 203A! The Garfield Messenger 10/19/2018
Above and left by Kaelin Silas Below by Stella Jarvis
A&E
FAR TREKKING MUSIC TEACHERS
Get to know Garfield’s newest music teachers. By Camryn Soo
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fter 41 long hours on the road, Garfield’s new Band Director Tomisha Price-Brock arrived in Seattle from Atlanta, Georgia, roughly three weeks into the school year. As Price-Brock adjusted to cold rainy weather, she began to settle into to the region. Garfield’s Jazz teacher Clarence Acox, who PriceBrock shares a mutual friend and former professor with, told her about the position opening. “She has a passion for teaching music, band specifically. She has taught at both the high school and college levels and seems to be highly respect-
ed by people who have worked with her,” Bonnie Hungate-Hawk, Chair of the Fine Arts Department at Garfield, said as a part of the interview committee for both Price-Brock and the new orchestra teacher. Price-Brock’s strong connection to music is rooted to her family, many of whom play instruments. Growing up surrounded by music, with a grandfather who sang in a gospel quartet and cousins who were also band directors, she knew that it was in her future somewhere. “It was music or I was going to become a bone specialist… those were my two choices,” Price-Brock said. “It doesn’t seem like a job. It’s the opportunity to do something I love. I learn a lot about culture through music,” Price-Brock said. She brings her musical passion with her no matter where she works. From Clark Atlanta University to Garfield High School, it’s part of who she is. Price-Brock intends to bring new life into the marching band by incorporating her rich musical experience and culture while preparing her students for life after high school. “I’m setting up them up to be productive citizens no matter what their major is... I want them to be able to use their experience in band to catapult them wherever they want to go,” Price-Brock said.
Ms. Price-Brock wasn’t the only person trekking across the country to teach at Garfield this year. Just a few weeks earlier, in late August, Garfield’s new Orchestra Director Bryan Kolk, packed up his belongings in two days, left his home state of Michigan, and drove all the way to Seattle to live here for the second time. After earning his undergrad in music education and masters in performance from the University of Michigan, Kolk decided to move to Seattle. “I wanted to run away from home. I thought it was beautiful out here and I lived here for a couple of years teaching over at Redmond and gigging in the city,” Kolk said, recalling his time in the region. He later found himself returning to Michigan to direct the largest high school orchestra program in the state. “But I missed the mountains, and this wonderful job showed up, and the opportunity was too much to miss,” Kolk said. Originally, Kolk thought he’d be an engineer like his father because of his good math grades. “In high school, I started to teach piano lessons to earn money and I found first off that I really loved teaching … and second that I really did have a passion for music and I wanted more than anything else to explore that.” Kolk is using his love for music to
help his students develop their own musical passions while elevating the orchestra program to its full potential. “When you approach an instrument the only way you get better is if you are actively analyzing what you are doing ... which is a skill which is very difficult to master but is important to literally anything you do in life,” Kolk said. He hopes to give his students the skills they need to critically analyze their lives and respond creatively beyond the classroom.
amongst the characters. “It’s really funny to watch the twins question who they are because their identities keep getting mixed up,” junior Nikko Johnston said, who portrays Dromio of Syracuse. This particular Shakespeare play is not as well known as some of his other classics, such as Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, or A Midsummer Night’s Dream. “The Comedy of Errors is often overlooked despite its humor,” junior Sophia Mitchell said, who portrays Adriana. Mitchell hopes that the Garfield student body will
come out and support their peers in this production and not be held back because it’s Shakespeare. “This is one of the best Shakespeare plays to watch if it’s your first time watching Shakespeare,” Mitchell said. Don’t miss out on all the laughter- performances are October 25-27 and November 1-3. All performances are at 7 pm.
PHOTOS BY JEFFERSON ASHBY
FALL SHOW PREVIEW Shakespeare is in the dog house. By Sara Javkhlan When you think of Shakespeare, you probably think back to the time in your freshman year when you had to study and perform Romeo and Juliet in your language arts class. Most would agree that it was a tragic play that was tedious and boresome at times. That is not the case for The Comedy of Errors, the fall show being produced by the Garfield Theatre Department. Slapstick comedy, mistaken identities, and flat-out foolishness reins in this explosive and vibrant production. “It’s low-brow comedy in the best way possible,” sophomore Tyler Wood said, who portrays Dromio of Ephesus.
The Comedy of Errors was one of Shakespeare’s earliest plays, bound by clever wordplay, puns, and outrageous plotlines. The play centers around two sets of identical twins, Dromio and Dromio, and Antipholus and Antipholus, who were accidentally separated at birth. As they go about their lives, each Antipholus has a Dromio as their servant, one pair residing in Syracuse, and the other in Ephesus. Hilarity ensues when one pair comes into town. Throughout the play, these twins are repeatedly mistaken to be each other, causing uproar and confusion
PHOTOS BY JEFFERSON ASHBY
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A&E AN ARTISTIC OPPORTUNITY The SAM opens its doors to young artists.
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By Molly Chapin
he Naramore Art Show takes place in April and May every year, in the community gallery of the Seattle Art Museum. It showcases around 200 exceptional works of art and photography from the Middle and High schoolers of Seattle Public Schools. The show began in 1985, and was named for legendary Seattle architect Floyd Naramore, who was known for designing public schools across the city, including Garfield itself. “Students who do the Naramore Art Show are at a stage where they’re still learning, but they also realize that they don’t have to do things the way others expect them to,” said Bonnie Hungate-Hawk, chair of Garfield’s Fine Arts Department. 15 students from Garfield are invited to participate each year, split between those from Advanced Photography and AP Studio Art. In years past, GHS students often place high in the rankings. Most recently, Zoe Russell won first place in 2017 with her portrait painting titled “confusion.” The year before, another Garfield student, Hana Beronja, won second place in Drawing with her detailed work. “Because the show has been chosen to be at the Seattle Art Museum,
it legitimizes the effort that has gone into each piece,” Hungate-Hawk said. Many younger people pursuing art struggle with finding a concrete sense of where they stand in the artistic world.
DRAWING BY HANA BERONJA
“With a venn diagram between being an artist and being a teenager, in the middle is that people don’t take you seriously, or that it’s hard for you to take yourself seriously,” said sophomore Ilah Walker, an AP Studio Art student. But the Naramore Art Show of-
fers a way for young artists to share their work in a professional setting, providing an affirmation of student talent on the grander scale of an actual museum.
“CONFUSION” BY ZOE RUSSELL “The first photos I remember taking, and taking seriously, were for a club we had in high school” said Corey Louviere, CTE instructor and photography teacher at Garfield. Many artists get started around high school or middle school, and having the op-
portunity to have art put on display to share with others can be really impactful. Both Hungate-Hawk and Louviere encourage students to jump on whatever opportunities for exposure they can, and to take the risk of putting themselves out there. “Recently I got a grant from Albertsons Companies where we’re showing student work in the outside display windows of the Safeway on 15th” Louviere said. This is just one other example of opportunities like the Naramore show that give students a chance at exposure, and to show off their work. “To me, art in general is really, I think, the essence of life” Louviere said. This seems to be a universal truth in the world of art, one that the Naramore Art Show exemplifies and upholds. “Being an artist isn’t really a question, it’s just a part of who you are,” Hungate-Hawk said. “In a society where there are a lot of people always telling you what you need to do, any time a student is encouraged to speak their truth or express themselves through a different medium empowers them to think as an individual.”
By Tsion Belgu
Here are a few beautiful places in the Seattle area that are perfect for senior pictures! Remeber to submit your senior pictures to the yearbook by November 30th!
211 W Highland Dr, Seattle, WA 98119
Seattle Great Wheel (Pier 57) 1301 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98101 Ferris wheel located on Pier 57 with a beautiful view of Downtown Seattle
Located on south pole of Queen Anne Hill with a view of the Space Needle and Downtown Seattle
Kerry Park
Pike Place Market Seattle, Washington Public market in Seattle, located right next to the downtown waterfront, and is one of the oldest operating markets in the United States
Washington Park Arboretum Cape Flattery
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Washington 98357 Located in Clallam County, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula with a perfect outdoor lighting, surrounded by beautiful clear blue water and plants.
The Garfield Messenger 10/19/2018
Public park in Seattle full of stunning and unique trees, stones, and sculptures
A&E GARFIELD STUDENTS JAM ON Get to know some student music groups.
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By Sara Javkhlan
any people have heard of Garfield’s award winning symphonic orchestra and jazz bands. It is lesser known that some of the talented musicians in school ensembles also play in their own student-led music groups where they perform covers and produce original music. One such group is The Unaccompanied Minors, an eclectic-string jazz band comprised of eight Garfield sophomores and juniors. The aspiring musicians got together last spring when they attended the University of Montana Jazz Festival. “We had played together a lot before [in middle school],” Alyssa Tou said, a sophomore violinist for the group. “That really brought us together.” Since then, the band has been rehearsing and performing frequently with their folksy yet sophisticated sound through their noteworthy covers of jazz standards and folk songs. Recently, they’ve started writing their own music, suited for their unique instrumentation and sound. “Just think of us as a string quar-
tet with a rhythm section,” Tou said. “And not classical!” Tate Linden added, a sophomore violinist. The music group is another space
FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: THE UNACCOMPANIED MINORS, COURTESY OF TATE LINDEN SMALL CHANGE, COURTESY OF ZACH BURPEE
for the string players to venture out of their comfort zones and play without being bound to classical orches-
tral music. “This band is a space where I can play music that I like with people that mean a lot to me,” Linden said. One band takes a different approach to the genre. Small Change, manned by six Garfield seniors, is not your typical jazz band, instead playing a blend of modern jazz, funk, and blues. “We incorporate a lot more complex rhythms” Avi Chung said, a senior alto saxophonist. “Something that makes us unique is that our rhythm section has some rock and blues influence,” Zack Burpee said, a senior trumpeter. What is so special about Small Change is that they produce and perform all of their own music. They have been able to lay down great groves at various Seattle-area venues, including the annual Folklife Festival. They have an upcoming EP that will be soon released on all streaming platforms. If you want to hear either of these bands perform, they will be performing at The Dane on November 3rd at 7pm. Admission is free.
THE HATE U GIVE REVIEW Get to know this bestselling book. By Simone Cielos
TW: Mentions of violence
In the novel The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, Starr, Carter’s life is split into two worlds- her home, and her school. After witnessing the fatal police shooting of her childhood friend Khalil, her worlds collide. Finding herself stuck between the police and Garden Heights’ own drug lord, she must learn to speak up about Khalil’s death, her only worry being the consequence of her words. The book, which is set in 2017, follows the lives of characters in their teenage years, mimicking Angie Thomas’ core audience. The book addresses topics such as social media, police brutality and drug abuse, drawing connections to current issues that are relevant to the readers. In many ways The Hate U Give is a reminder of the issues marginalized Americans deal with today. Some controversy surrounds the novel, and its movie adapta-
tion, which comes out October 19th. The ALA reported that The Hate U Give made the top 10 list of the most banned books of 2017, for reasons including an overuse of profanity, drug use, and inappropriate language.
The movie adaption also received criticism around the casting of Amandla Stenberg as Starr. Because of Stenberg’s lighter skin and more eurocentric features, many people see this casting as an attempt by Hollywood to whitewash influential black characters. Whether or not you agree with the controversy, The Hate U Give is an astounding book that mirrors the world it was written in. Furthermore, author Angie Thomas takes great steps to expose the truth behind police brutality and who it impacts most.
ART BY ARLO VAN LIEW
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SPORTS FRESHLETES
Age is nothing but a number. By Ben Mefford
Ioan Street Although he joined cross country just to get fit for his first high school soccer season, Ioan Street has a new found love for running. When he came to his first practice, everyone was shockingly tall. With captains’ practices everyday for two weeks before the first day of school, he began to meet new people of all ages. He got to know other runners
better through ice breakers, and practicing with new athletes daily. “I’ve always been pretty athletic, but I didn’t think I’d be that good at running,” Street said. “The more I do cross country the more I love it, its growing on me everyday.” After just a few weeks of running for the team, he knows he wants to run for the rest of high school. His love for cross country has grown since those first practices, now even
rivaling his passion for soccer. “I just love running. You kind of get in the zone, and there’s not really much else to think about,” Street said. “You’re just kind of with yourself, so you just run. It’s simple, but it’s fun.” With no plans to run in college, Street continues to run in the moment, and focus on the task at hand, high school. PHOTO BY BEN MEFFORD
Poppy DeArmond-Macleod
She loves the community on all three Garfield teams, and everybody in the program from JVC to Varsity gets along really well. “Everybody knows everybody’s names. It’s a good mix of everybody,” DeArmond-MacLeod said. “It’s a community that makes the school feel a little smaller.” Playing on Varsity as a freshman in any sport is a big deal, and can be a little nerve racking. However, captains’ practices in August helped her get to know a tight-knit community of people before school started in September.
Poppy DeArmond-Macleod’s dad introduced her to soccer when she was young, and now Poppy has played soccer in Seattle for as long as she can remember. Growing up watching the Seattle Sounders play downtown, DeArmond-MacLeod has been immersed in soccer all her life. “It’s the sport that everyone plays in Seattle,” DeArmond-MacLeod said. “We’re big fans of the Sounders and I went to all those [games] when I was really little.”
Hope Yu After nine years of competitive swimming, Hope Yu is now taking on the fastest swimmers in the area. Her parents thought it would be a good idea to take swim lessons when she was young, and she immediately fell in love with the sport. Yu started swimming on a team shortly after she began lessons, and hasn’t looked back since. “On club it’s always very serious,” Yu said. “But here it’s serious in a very good way, and all the girls are
incredibly nice.” She loves the comradery on the team and the inclusive vibe. “All the stories I’ve heard about people switching teams, it took them months to actually get to know the people there,” said Yu. “But it was incredibly welcoming, and on the first day I was already making friends on the team.” Now that she is dedicated to one sport, Yu can invest all her time in swimming. “I did ballet, I did soccer, baseball and softball, but I quit all of those by
Pierre Cole Playing football since third grade has made number 24 the one to watch at Memorial Stadium on Friday nights. Pierre Cole has put in countless hours over the summer preparing for his freshman season. “We had two a day practices for at least two or three weeks in the summer,” Cole said. He transferred districts this year from Puyallup, which means that he knew close to no one coming into his
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“People may think that it’s divided by class,” said DeArmond-MacLeod. “It’s pretty much a family of everybody, and everyone respects each other no matter who is younger or older.” She doesn’t think too much about college yet, but is excited for whatever the future may hold. “I guess I don’t really think about it yet, but I think it’d be fun to play in college,” DeArmond-MacLeod said. With three years left to play in high school, Poppy DeArmond-Macleod has a lot left to bring to the team. PHOTO BY BEN MEFFORD
10 [years old],” Yu said. The community is one of the most important parts of school sports, and the girls’ swim team is nothing short of a tight-knit community. “I like being surrounded by other people who like doing it as well,” Yu said. With years of experience and a strong supportive group behind her, stay on the lookout for Hope Yu as she continues to blow the competition out of the water. PHOTO BY JEFFERSON ASHBY
first days of practice. “It’s [football] made it a lot easier in school. I came in from the summer knowing a lot of guys on the football team,” Cole said. “It made it easier to talk to people since I’m new to this district.” Most sports teams don’t travel much farther than Bainbridge Island, and they definitely don’t go as far as Cole and the team. “Coach will let us go do things, and take us on trips,” Cole said. “For the first game of the season we went up to Oregon and got to tour the Univer-
sity of Oregon.” Playing on Varsity as a freshman doesn’t faze Cole one bit. He just focuses on playing the game, and tries not to think about the age gap between him and other players. “I’ve learned that you just can’t play scared out there because they are all older than me,” Cole said. “But I’ve learned to think of them all as the same as me and just go out there and play football.” With this kind of attitude, keep your eyes open for Pierre Cole in the years to come. PHOTO BY SAM BOYAR
SPORTS
CHEER STEPS UP
Garfield cheer becomes a port. By Milena S. Haile t’s the homecoming assembly, Garfield’s biggest hype men, the cheerleaders, are dancing, stepping, and performing one of their most famous cheers, Y-E-L-L. Suddenly, the cheerleaders crowd in one place and raise one of the girls high into the air. Another one follows on the right side and they both fall effortlessly into their teammates’ hands. That’s something we’ve never seen before. This year, the athletic department has decided to make cheer an official Garfield sport, instead of an activity, a designation it has held in the past. This decision comes with many benefits to the cheer squad as they can now participate in competitions and overall competitive cheer as well as perform their own stunts. “We want to enhance the cheer program when elevating girls sports,” said Athletic Director Carol Lynch. “Cheerleaders went to cheer camp this summer and are beginning to stunt as well.” The change will not affect funding in any way as no teams get funding. “Money comes from parents and boosters or team fundraising,” Lynch said. However this change does come with many consequences which can be seen in many cheerleaders’ reactions. With cheer becoming an official two-season sport, cheerleaders are now no longer allowed to participate in other fall and winter sports. “No one at Garfield is allowed to participate in two sports,” Lynch said. “I was told I couldn’t continue with cheer and volleyball, but I still went to summer practices for cheer,” said Sierra Bradford, a varsity volleyball captain and now ex-cheerleader. “I did it last year, I don’t understand why I
I
can’t do it this year.” Last year, when cheer was just an activity, Bradford participated in both athletics throughout the 2017/18 school year. “The two sports were different types of teamwork,” Bradford said. “I loved what I did. It made me more well rounded as a student and person, I met different people and it gave me more school spirit.” However this year, due to the new rule, she decided to continue with volleyball as she took on her role as captain. “I chose volleyball because I felt like I was letting down the other volleyball players.” Other students have also been affected, luckily before they could really get attached to cheer. As a sophomore at Garfield, Mahalia Lagazo’s cheer career came as quickly as it ended.
Art by Arlo Van Liew
This school year would have been Lagazo’s first year at cheer, however, like Bradford, she gave up cheer for volleyball. “I feel like it’s holding me back from being an active student, I want to represent Garfield,” said Lagazo. These girls will not be able to rejoin cheer after volleyball season ends. With the competitive season coming up in the winter, cheer needs a lot more time commitment; this new restriction allows students to focus on one thing at a time. “How can students focus on their academics, multiple sports and their outside life,” Lynch said.“Many often also have a job.” Garfield isn’t the only school with these new cheer restrictions however. Zoe, a sophomore at Ballard high school had to face this new rule as well, regarding her participation in cheer and gymnastics. At Ballard the restriction to not be able to do cheer and another sport came this year as well. “[Last year] the practices often conflicted, I always had to decide which sport needed me most,” Zoe said. “Now you can’t cheer and do gymnastics.” She stated that people have done both in the years prior but the coaches decided to crack down on it this year. “Ballard has an extremely strong cheer program, we want to give our girls that same chance,” Lynch said. Zoe, who has been doing gymnastics since she was three years old saw this as a very tough decision, but decided to continue with cheer. “I see the policy as a good thing,” Zoe said. “I was pretty stressed last year but this year already feels less stressful. It’s definitely for the benefit of the athlete.” Either way, if making cheer a sport focuses on enhancing the cheer team and its place at Garfield, then the restriction might have just been a means to an end.
Fall Box Scores Football (2-5) Rainier Beach 33 Garfield 0
Friday, October 5 Memorial Stadium 7:00 PM
Garfield Blanchet
7 40
Friday, October 12 Bishop Blanchet High School 7:00 PM
Upcoming:
Friday, October 19 Memorial Stadium 5:00 PM
O’Dea Soccer (6-2-1) Garfield Rainier Beach
6 0
Volleyball (5-6) Nathan Hale Garfield
3 2
Thursday, October 11 Rainier Beach High School 4:30PM
Monday, October 8 Garfield High School 7:00PM
Garfield Rainier Beach
3 0
Monday, October 15 Rainier Beach High School 7:00PM
Upcoming: Note:
Roosevelt
Monday, October 22 Garfield High School 7:00PM
Soccer games on October 16 against Chief Sealth and October 18 against Holy Names, as well as the October 17 Volleyball game against Ballard finished after the paper was sent to press. Visit @Garfield_Sports on Twitter for game scores.
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SPORTS
THE DRIVE TOWARDS PLAYOFFS
What it’s like being a student athlete during playoffs.
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By Izzy Lamola
s playoff season is coming up, the stress to be the best is affecting players all around Garfield. This school has a legacy for being successful in sports. The athletes will push themselves to succeed and continue said legacy, despite all the other stressors that get in their way. The girls swim team is striving to show others the great feats they can accomplish. The girls are creating bonds and a supportive community on their journey towards metros, districts and eventually state. Senior, Olivia Neumark, has been on swim team since her freshman year. “I’m the captain this year, so it’s really great to see how the team has changed over time,” Neumark said. “Every year we get faster.” This year some girls have already qualified for metros and districts, while a few have even qualified for state. All of this success comes from continued and consistent hard work. The coaches hold extra practices after school, in addition to 6:45 to 8:00 AM practices. The athletes weighttrain and condition to ensure they are in the best possible physical condition for metro championships on October 26 and 27. The swim team doesn’t just pride themselves on their determination. They also have an exemplary team community. If you’re a part of the swim team, no matter your speed, you’re welcomed into this tight-knit community of girls. They hold team dinners and believe a working team dynamic leads to a successful team. This brings a feeling of support to the girls as they push their limits. “You definitely have weeks where you’re like, ‘I can’t get up. I’m so tired. There’s so much going on’” Neumark said, “But that’s something that’s great about being on a team, there’s other people going through the same thing, they can help you and you’re not alone.” Volleyball follows the Garfield code: never letting team challenges and personal stressors get in the way of their playing. They never let the net get in the way of their spikes. The team works hard to make sure the chemistry between players is compatible. While there are three distinct teams, the players constant-
ly scrimmage each other during practice. However, as the playoff season pressure comes around again, sometimes the team has to choose if they want good team chemistry or a winning, competitive team. “Towards the end of the season when it’s playoff, we get more intense, you can tell. The whole team wants to go to state,” said Umoya Mckinney, a volleyball captain. Mckinney explained that the dynamic of the team changes between league playing and playoff season. The grind doesn’t stop for volleyball. Morning practices and almost nightly games can be difficult for many players to handle. Mckinney believes morning practices benefit the team because they aid those who have other responsibilities in their life besides sports. “Morning practice is difficult but it’s good for time management after school. If we got out of school later, we would get out of practice later and people have jobs and homework.” Mckinney said. But Mckinney reminds us of the plus side of being an athlete on the volleyball team, “We always bulldog out at the end of practices, we all come together”. To describe Garfield sports in one word it would be rigorous. The girls soccer team is an excellent example of that. “School soccer starts really suddenly and really intensely,” said varsity captain Sophia Balaski. “The first day you walk on the field it’s hard work.” Although the team only wakes up at 5 in the morning on Fridays, unlike swim, volleyball, or football, the team has after school practices that are incredibly draining. “For me personally, there is a big drain of energy. I wake up and go to school, soccer, homework and then crash,” Balaski said. “I think it’s the same for a lot of people… It’s difficult
Photo by Jefferson Ashby NORA BROWN GOES IN FOR THE SPIKE IN THE GARFIELD GYM.
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The Garfield Messenger 10/19/2018
with the late end time to get home so late from practice. And it’s day, after day, after day.” A short season and a highly competitive sport could lead to a dysfunctional team. However, girls soccer will prove you wrong. Despite newcomers on the team this year, there is lots of diversity amongst classes on varsity. “When we need to be focused and when we need to be competitive it’s there, but it’s also a very light environment,” Balaski said. “People are joking around and it’s a lot of fun.” Just like soccer, football players feel it’s difficult to balance stress and the competitive sport. The athletes on the football team feel a lot of pressure. Besides placing third in state last year, these athletes have to balance many other tasks. “You have to be dialed into another level, especially with school work. People might not be able to play because they’re not doing well in school,” said junior linebacker, Sam Treat. With new graduation requirements and stresses, players can get caught up with football and focus less on their studies. To try to resolve this problem, the team holds after school study halls. Thanks to efforts like running back Aereck Savelio, the football team’s average gpa has raised to 3.27 in 2018. “Football is an extra thing for me… graduating and going to college is number one…football isn’t always
going to be there for everyone” Savelio said. Although there can be constant competition between players, the boys all get along pretty well and know how to have a good time. “There’s a lot of team bonding, not just planned team bonding but like when we get good music going and we’re dancing together in the locker room. We’re always messing around,” Treat said. When it’s time to get to work, the football players have no problem changing their mindset. The players study previous game plans and scout out the ability of the opposing team. Before going into a game, they need to know their competitions’ strengths, faults, and their principal players. This is all in the upward climb towards playoffs that athletes must face. “Playoffs is like everything but doubled down. If you don’t win you’re out.” Treat said. “It’s really a playoff push when it comes to playoff preparation.” Photo by Sam Boyar
LISA REHDER TAKES POSESSION OF THE BALL AT MEMORIAL STADIUM.
Photo by Sam Boyar SA’VELL SMALLS BLASTS THROUGH THE COMPETITION AT MEMORIAL STADIUM.
Photo by Jefferson Ashby ALICE JOHNSON SWIMS BUTTERFLY AT MEDGAR EVERS.
SPORTS
THE MORNING HUSTLE
Morning practices effect on athletes.
By Grady Canty-Swapp hen Seattle Public Schools changed the bell times once again in 2017 it changed the schedule Garfield had newly adopted just two years before. Following these schedule changes the football, volleyball, soccer and swim teams all switched to morning practices. Our football, volleyball and soccer practices start at 7:00 AM and with swim team starting at 6:45, some athletes are forced to wake up as early as 5:00 AM. Since the change has been enacted, there hasn’t been much follow up with the students that it has affected. Phoebe Frank is a sophomore varsity volleyball player that has first hand experiences with this new schedule. “I’d say I’m probably late 3 days a week,” Frank said. This is more than half the school week which can mess
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MESS GUESS
with attendance and cause these late students to miss important information and announcements that are made at the beginning of class. She also mentions t h a t she’s often fatigued in her first period class. However while she does end up being late sometimes, she says her coaches definitely make the attempt to get them to school on time. “They make us sprint when we’re late,’’ Frank says. Vatrevyon Garner, an 11th grade varsity football player, has had slightly different experiences with the introduction of morning practices. He also has morning practices where he’s “always” late to first period, similar to Frank’s experience.
However, he says the three days a week that the football team does have a morning practice he doesn’t mind it that much. He mentions that he actually prefers it to after school practices because it gives him more time to focus on other responsibilities he has to take care of after school has ended. He also mentioned that the coaches are adamant that the players get to class as soon as possible even though the players usually end up late to their first class of the day. In a statement given by ex-superintendent Larry Nyland to the Seat-
11th Grade: Sean Greenley
tle Times about last year’s schedule changes, he said: “This change would build on our efforts to improve academic outcomes by aligning school-start-times with student sleep patterns.” Seattle Public Schools changed school times to give the students more sleep yet some of their studentathletes are falling well below the averages given by both the National Sleep Foundation and the Nationwide Children’s Association, which is between eight and a half hours and nine and a half hours. Although Seattle Public Schools didn’t mean to create any problems, a few did arise, but student athletes get it done. After all, they are Bulldogs. ART BY SOPHIA CRYSANATHAKOPOULOS
Staff:
9th Grade: Colin Olson
10th Grade: Ezra Ford
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MLS: Portland Timbers vs. Real Salt Lake
Timbers
Timbers
NFL: Cincinnati Bengals vs. LA Rams
Chiefs
Chiefs
Chiefs
Chiefs
Chiefs
ALCS: Houston Astros vs. Boston Red Sox
Red Sox
Astros
Red Sox
Astros
Astros
NHL: Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Chicago Blackhawks
Blackhawks
Blackhawks
Blackhawks
Blackhawks
Blackhawks
HS Volleyball: Garfield vs. Roosevelt
Garfield
Garfield
Garfield
Roosevelt
Garfield
12th Grade: Becca Salenjus
Mr. Allen & Mr. Wright
WEEK 1
The Showdown Begins
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Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake
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Mess Guess is back and better than ever! The second annual Mess Guess Competition kicks off with the new freshman class bursting onto the scene led by Colin Olson; Ezra Ford starting a revenge campaign for the Sophomores; Sean “Do I Have to Smile” Greenley attempting to make up for last year’s juniors; and Becca Salenjus trying to keep the Mess Guess crown with the seniors. Meanwhile, the security tag team of Mr. Allen and Mr. Wright start the staff out strong. The Garfield Messenger 10/19/2018
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e h t bACKPAge By Jaya and Delphi
Looking for a last minute costume idea? Look no further! We’ve compiled a handy Garfield-themed costume guide just for you. Enjoy!
Yearbook
People who show up to enrichment
If you’re going for a scary look, this is the way to go! But beware, the quality of this costume is not always worth the hefty $60 price.
Trick or yeet...
LOL: Lusty Otumn Leaves LMFAO: Lick My Fangs And Orifices SMH: Suck My Hocus Pocus ROFL: Roll on Frankenstein’s Lice RIP: Ripe Insect Phreak OMG: Oozing Milky Goblins STFU: Spooky Times Freaky Undies
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This Halloween, one of the hottest costumes will be the spooky AP mom. Forget candy, embrace this character by giving out raisins or Trader Joe’s vegan peanut butter cups. Don’t stay up too late, you have a PTSA meeting in the morning!
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No description necessary #GOATs
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Is your child Texting about their Fall Kinks?
Ap Mom
Bewitchment
Enrichment
Scary Creatures
Hairy teachers
Zombie Toys
Almond Joys
Corn Husk
Elon Musk
Ghostbusters
Other busters
Hot Cider
Cold Cider
Football Team Ego
Football Team Record