Odyssey Magazine January 2019

ODYSSEY 20

Q&A WITH DR. ASHLEE PERRY

Volume 16 Issue 2 Dec. 2018

THIS ISSUE FEATURES MULTIPLE STORIES EXPLORING MULTICULTURALISM AT CLARKE CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL.

VIEWPOINTS 6

TABLE OF CONTENTS

OUR TAKE White teachers need to work harder to better learn the experiences of students of color so they can teach and understand their students more effectively.

STAFF EDITORIAL

Features BALDWIN HALL 16 UGA’s handling of the discovery of the buried remains of numerous enslaved people has caused controversy in Athens.

BY ELENA GILBERTSON HALL AND ELI CLARKE

NEWS PERRY’S PROTOCOL 20 School counselor Dr. Ashlee Perry speaks on culturally

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responsive teaching.

BY VALERIA GARCIA-POZO

REVIEWS THANK U, NEXT 31 Singer-songwriter Ariana Grande shares an important message about breakups in her song, “thank u, next.”

BY KELLY FULFORD

VARIETY SAFE SPACE 33 Local music and mental health outlet Nuçi’s

Clarke Central High School English department teacher Meghan McNeeley reads to her sixth period Multicultural Literature/Composition class on Nov. 5. McNeeley designed a curriculum for the class that focuses on the Holocaust. “Technically, (the class) is about the Holocaust,” McNeeley said. “It’s supposed to be more about various cultures, but I’m able to teach about the Holocaust by looking at the different cultures impacted. It’s kind of my specialty.” Photo by Colin Frick

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Space has been helping members of the Athens community since its opening in 2000.

BY EMMA RAMSAY

SPORTS IN QUESTION 40 ForFUTURE many high school athletes, the dream of continuing sports after graduation does not come true.

BY NATALIE RIPPS

(Left to right) Clarke Central High School sophomore Kiara Holder, senior Samiha Rittenbury and junior Cassandra Jackson stand on the bleachers of the new gym on Nov. 16. The Lady Glads basketball team has not received high game attendance over the past couple of years. “If we want more numbers for our games, we just have to play harder and then give something to watch. Not necessarily (that) we have to win everything,” Jackson said.. Photo by Kelly Fulford

Cover photo by Kelly Fulford Cover design by Katie Grace Upchurch

ONLINE AT odysseynewsmagazine.net

THAT’S A WRAP, EP. 2 Clarke Central High School junior Tecoya Richardson and sophomore Ava Adamson discuss holiday movies with junior Amir Warren and senior Zachary Donegan in Ep. 2 of “That’s a Wrap”.

BY TECOYA RICHARDSON AND AVA ADAMSON

GIVING ‘EM HELL As the only girl on the wrestling team, freshman Isabella Miller is constantly working to prove her ability to naysayers.

BY NAOMI HENDERSHOT

QUEST FOR ATHENS’ BEST The ODYSSEY Media Group Variety Staff continues their journey across the Classic City in search of the best tacos Athens has to offer.

BY VARIETY STAFF

ILIAD LITERARY-ART MAGAZINE Previous issues of the iliad Literary-Art Magazine are available online at odysseynewsmagazine. net and at issuu.com/odysseynewsmagazine. Submit any form of art and writing here: bit.ly/iliadsubmission

Odyssey The ODYSSEY is a student-run news publication, published with the intent to inform, entertain and give voice to the Clarke Central High School community, as well as to educate student journalists.

Established in 2003, the ODYSSEY is published four times a year, and each issue is an open public forum for student expression under the guidance of a faculty adviser.

Student journalists are provided with opportunities to investigate, inform, interpret and to evaluate: all traditionally accepted functions of the press in America. Published opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of anyone other than the staff.

The ODYSSEY staff is committed to reflect the mission statement set forth by Clarke Central High School. The goals of the staff are to provide fair, accurate news and commentaries, as well as to serve the interests of the school and Athens’ community.

Advertising must conform to the guidelines set forth for editorials. Publication of advertisements does not indicate an endorsement by CCHS or the ODYSSEY staff.

Students pictured in advertisements are not given monetary compensation. All advertising rates are available upon request from any ODYSSEY staff member.

The ODYSSEY is a member of the Quill and Scroll Honor Society, Georgia Scholastic Press Association, Columbia Scholastic Press Association, National Scholastic Press Association and Southern Interscholastic Press Association.

Corrections of errors and omissions will appear in the next issue.

Co-Editors-in-Chief: Ana Aldridge Katie Grace Upchurch Managing Editor: Elena Gilbertson Hall Senior Copy Editor: Valeria Garcia-Pozo Senior Visuals Editor: Kelly Fulford Viewpoints Editor: Connor McCage News Editor: Alexander Robinson Variety Editor: Emma Ramsay Sports Editor: Mackenzie Caudill Business Manager: Emma Crane Morale Chair: Bria Echols Web Master: Owen Donnelly Social Media Coordinator: Elena Webber Writing Coach: Roxanne Domizi Staff Members: Ava Adamson Aaron Carr Caedmon Churchwell Gunnar Churchwell Maya Cornish Colin Frick Naomi Hendershot Audrey Kennedy Andrea Matta-Castillo Nicole Ramos Tecoya Richardson Natalie Ripps Krista Shumaker Adviser: David A. Ragsdale ODYSSEY MEDIA GROUP Clarke Central High School 350 S. Milledge Avenue Athens, Georgia 30605 Phone: (706) 357-5200 Ext. 17370

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR HEARING MUSIC IN SILENCE

Our October issue featured a story on Clarke Central High School junior Rea’l Pogue, who uses music to express himself.

>> NEWS

>> FEATURES A PASSION FOR FASHION // Elena

GET TO KNOW DR. SWADE HUFF // ODYSSEY News Staff

Gilbertson Hall

I feel like this article was pretty good. It introduced us to our new principal and gave us an idea on how he wanted our school to change in a few ways. Dr. (Swade) Huff was my former assistant principal at Alps Road Elementary School. I can’t really remember how long he was there, but I do remember him leaving and it kind of changed the dynamic. Some may think he’s mean just based off the fact that he stands on everything he says, but I feel that he means well and just wants everyone to be great. We really do need that here. Reading this article, I could really relate to some of the other people’s opinions about him. I’m glad this article was made.

The only changes I think should be made to this article is that I would like to hear more about his life and where he came from.

I like this story because Havilland (Ford’s) words really spoke to me personally. She made me realize that dressing isn’t everything, and also to just be myself in the way I dress, not to worry about impressing anybody. I really like Havilland’s style because she’s not afraid to be herself, and doesn’t care what anybody thinks about her. I find it cool that she designs her own clothes and shoes, as well. Rocking a brand that nobody else can wear, because you made it yourself, is one of the coolest things ever. I think Havilland should embrace her style at school more because I’m sure a lot of students would like to invest in some of her items she makes herself. Not only would it bring her profit, but it will also help her with getting her fashion line up.

HEARING MUSIC IN SILENCE // Emma Ramsay

While reading this article, it had me thinking about my life and what I went through and go through.

The article paints a picture. A quote that caught my eye was, “People have things that they like.

You cannot justify them as being real or fake or something that is not right” -- Rea’l Pogue. I have things that I like and do, but people judge me all the time about what I do. It’s just not fair or right.

I struggled with bullying, as well, and it’s not a situation anybody wants to be in. I don’t see how someone with a different taste of clothing makes them different from anybody else. Just make more articles as beautiful as this one.

-- Cedric Sherrod Jr., senior

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lthough I do see change coming in the future, I just don’t see it happening very soon.

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>> VARIETY

-- Demetria Bolds, senior

-- Senior Eduardo Hernandez on Co-Editor-inChief Katie Grace Upchurch’s In Focus photo of Stacey Abrams’ Oct. 11 event at Hendershot’s.

>> SPORTS

-- Kenzia Thomas, senior

PART-TIME TO FULL-TIME // Andrea Matta-Castillo

I think that it shows Clarke Central (High School) is becoming a better school. By us getting a fulltime trainer, people will be able to get checked out when the nurse isn’t here, and people will get a better understanding of what’s wrong with their bodies and what they have to do to take care of their bodies. I look at it as Clarke Central starting to think of better ways to keep our school in order. I know that’s not doing anything to stop the bad stuff that goes on in the school, but it prevents others from getting sick and hurting themselves even worse than they are hurting.

-- Ja’quarus Grant, senior Corrections/Omissions October 2018 On page six in the 16th paragraph, the word “the” should be omitted.

On page 17, in the caption, Stacey Abrams should only be said once.

On page 23, Havilland Ford should be referred to as a senior.

On page 33, in “BlacKkKlansman” the fourth K in the title should be omitted.

On page 38, in paragraph 12, connections is mispelled.

On page 52, in paragraph eight, one “the” should be omitted.

On page 53, cheerleading is misspelled.

Contact ODYSSEY Newsmagazine

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Online: Comment online at our www.odysseynewsmagazine.net.

December 2018

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OUR TAKE For students of color, it may be harder to connect with teachers who do not share their backgrounds. However, there are efforts teachers can make to engage.

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ccording to the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, as of the 2016-17 school year, the Clarke County School District consists of 79 percent minority students.

All students, regardless of race or ethnicity, bring to the classroom their own individual experiences of what living in America feels like.

However, some students may be more likely to share experiences with their educators: according to the 2017 Georgia K-12 Teacher and Leader Work Workforce Report, 60 percent of the teacher workwork force is white.

Although not inherently harmful, not seeing a person of one’s own race in a leadership position, particularly in the field of education, can be alienating for minority students.

A Johns Hopkins University working study titled “The Long-Run Impacts of SameRace Teachers” found that black students who had one or more black teachers by the third grade were seven percent more likely to graduate from high school and 13 percent more likely to enroll in college.

Teachers who share a culture with their students will be more likely to understand their struggles, backgrounds, customs and traditions on a deeply personal level.

A level of familiarity with a student earear ly on can build trust and credibility, and could bridge a potential gap between parents and school administration.

Some may say that this level of understanding can be achieved by any teacher -- regardless of race -- with the right amount of effort.

This is true. However, when teachers are unenlightened to student experiences, the consequences can be truly harmful.

For example, on Oct. 31, 14 teachers at Heights Elementary School in Middleton, Idaho dressed up

as Mexicans and President Donald Trump’s border wall, bearing the message, “Make America Great Again.”

The fact that 13 percent of the school’s population is Hispanic furthers the heartbreaking nature of the event.

A lack of diversity in the teaching staff resulted in

is an example of a step that can, and should, be taken to bridge the gap between teachers and students of color.

As of the 2018-19 CCSD Code of Conduct, updated May 2018, “culturally responsive discipline practices are critical to reducing discipline disparities,” and restorative practices -- which focus on conferencing with students when an issue arises, rather than exacting a disciplinary consequence without discussion -- are being implemented.

CCHS counselor Dr. Ashlee Perry believes these are positive advancements, but ac acknowledges there is still work to be done to increase understanding. “(Culturally responsive teaching is) being aware of your biases, being aware of your assumptions, just being constantly aware of who you are and how that impacts the way you present and interact with students, and what you expect from and of students, especially those who don’t look like you, and then again, having the knowledge base of other cultures and then having developing skill sets, where you know how to appeal to students in your classes,” Perry said. “We’re moving in the right direction, but there has to be some standardization among what schools are doing. Equity training should be happening in all schools.”

Despite the fact that the amount of minority teachers cannot magically increase, issues like what happened in Middleton can be prevented.

Teachers of any ethnicity can facilitate discussions among their students, encouraging them to listen to and think critically about one another’s opinions.

In doing so, teachers are providing opportunities not only for students to learn about each other, but they are making an investment in the future of America. O

Teachers who share a culture with their students will be more likely to understand their struggles, backgrounds, customs and traditions on a deeply personal level. a failure to recognize what made for an unwelcoming, hostile environment for a portion of the student body.

The superintendent’s subsequent choice to provide district teachers with cultural sensitivity training

Above: TEACHING TO LEARN: A teacher sits in a circle having a discussion with a group of students. Class discussions are one way to reach a greater understanding among teachers and students, particularly ones that come from different racial or ethnic backgrounds. Illustration by Audrey Kennedy

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Viewpoints

Featured: THE SOUND OF BAND: The Clarke Central High School marching band performed at the annual holiday parade held in downtown Athens on Dec. 6. Freshman Clayton Dodson took part in the parade for the first time this year. “The whole environment was really cool to play in. Seeing a lot of people I know right next to me while performing was really cool. Overall, it was a pretty good performance,� Dodson said. Photo by Krista Shumaker

IN FOCUS

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Clarke Central High School should provide Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT) and ACT preparation to combat the disadvantage that students from lower-income families are already subject to.

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ccording to the than students from households which made $20,000 help them boost their scores. A 2009 report by EduU.S. News & per year.” ventures calculated that, in 2009 alone, $2.5 billion According to The Condition of College and Ca- was spent on test preparation and tutoring.

World Report, The SAT and ACT are highly coachable tests -92 percent of students reer Readiness 2016 report, in 2016, students who at Clarke Central High reported a family income of $80,000 or higher made meaning that if one has the money, one can use it to School are economically an average ACT Composite score of 23.6 out of the boost one’s scores. disadvantaged.

36 possible points. Students who reported a famiMost CCHS students likely can’t afford to prepare The poverty at CCHS ly income of less than $80,000 had an average ACT for The SAT and ACT as well as other, more economANA ALDRIDGE Co-Editor-in-Chief ically advantaged students. is addressed in a variety Composite score of 19.5. of ways. For example, These statistics, though disappointing, are no Ideally, the economic bias of college readiness exams would be enough to make them optional to CCHS students are provided free breakfast and surprise. apply to college or scholarships, or the lunch, and fee waivers for college readitests would be eliminated entirely. ness exams and college applications are However, these tests currently play a available to students. These resources are A way to combat this issue at large role in determining a student’s ophelpful in attempting to provide all CCHS CCHS specifically would be to ofportunities after high school. students with equal opportunities.

A way to combat this issue at CCHS However, one resource overlooked at fer SAT and ACT prep -something specifically would be to offer SAT and CCHS is preparation for the Scholastic Apthat other Georgia schools offer.

ACT prep -- something that other Geortitude Test (SAT) and the ACT. gia schools, like high schools in DeKalb According to a 2014 article in The County, offer.

Washington Post, “students from houseAccording to math department teacher Heather Students who perform well on the SAT and ACT holds which earn less than $20,000 per year on average scored around 400 points lower on the 2014 SAT often hire tutors or attend preparatory courses to Julian, who is a co-leader of advisement, she is open to including SAT and ACT prep in advisement.

“We don’t have (ACT or SAT test prep) at this time. If that is something that seniors or juniors request, that would be great,” Julian said. “They could send me an email and we can see what we can do.”

If CCHS were to provide SAT and ACT prep, that would be a viable step toward addressing the big-picture issue of economic bias in college readiness exams. O

Left: STACKS ON STACKS: A stack of test preparation books sits next to a pile of money. Statistically, students from higher-income families make higher scores on college readiness exams, giving them more options after graduation. Clarke Central High School needs to offer free test preparatory resources to help students from lower-income families prepare for these tests. Illustration by Luna Reichert

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Co-Editor-in-Chief Katie Grace Upchurch reflects on her experiences having a parent who is a public school teacher and the ways in which educators are truly undervalued.

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y mom, Beth -- in a completely selfless way. And I see this in my For obvious reasons, teachers don’t get into it for Upchurch, the pay, and the day-to-day job of a teacher is actualteachers, as well. has been a I sat down with my mom to talk about this, curi- ly much more rigorous and involved than those on teacher my whole life. ous about how many hours she actually works versus the outside might assume.

Some of my earliest mem- how many she is paid for.

They become educators because they are passionories are at Clarke Central “(At CCHS) I was paid for an eight-hour day, 180 ate about growing the future and making a differHigh School, where she days a year,” she said. “(I actually worked) anywhere ence for future generations. taught from 1999 until from 10-12 hours a day. In a given week, in a normal And for this, we reward them by being overKATIE GRACE UPCHURCH Co-Editor-in-Chief 2010. five-day week, instead of working a 40-hour week, (I worked and underpaid.

In the evening, my dad was) working a 50- to 60-hour week just counting Teachers, particularly public school teachers, are would bring me and my brother up to school and we the weekdays and then always working an additional fundamental in society. They play an essential role, if would eat dinner with my mom as she prepared for three to four hours on the weekend.” not the most essential role in our democracy -- withthe next day, working into the night for her students, Because of the amount of work that teachers out them, we would be unable to function properly. and for us.

Education is the gear that keeps our society turnspend working outside of the classroom, she says, it The time we spent as a family was at ing, growing and thriving, and teachers school and, as a kid, I loved it.

-- especially those who can relate to their I loved the big halls at CCHS, the rows I see the hours that my mom puts in, students on cultural and experiential levand rows of lockers, the glass walkway -- play the most important role. the time that she isn’t paid for, how elsTeachers and the secret roof access spot in my wanting higher pay isn’t selfmom’s room. But looking back, I realize ish or self-serving; it is so that they can, in much she invests in her students. that this experience was very different for turn, better serve their students. my mom.

Teachers who don’t have to work secWhile she enjoyed the time that we spent togeth- can be hard for them to reconcile school with their ond and third jobs to supplement their salaries in er, she had to work for it. As my brother and I would lives outside of the job. order to have enough to live are better equipped to hang out, watching old Bill Nye VHS tapes and test“That’s a struggle, too, that I think is a hard time teach their students each day. Teachers who are able ing out my mom’s labs, she would be grading dozens for teachers -- to have a normal work-life balance of to use school budgets instead of paying out-of-pockof essays or preparing to run a lab for her students. what my life is like outside of my job. Having enough et for classroom libraries are better able to fulfill So, while my friends were at home with their fam- time to exercise, having enough time for my family, their students’ needs. ilies, we were at school.

For these reason, it is crucial that we maintain syshaving enough time for my partner, having enough Now that I’m older, this illusion of the grand time for my friends -- I think those are really hard tems to support our teachers. school with the cool toys (Smart Boards) and tricks (...) because (my) job feels kind of all-consuming,” When we pay teachers so little that they have to (flywheels) has worn off. take on extra jobs, we are not only doing a disservice she said.

I see the hours that my mom puts in, now at These are stories that are very familiar to our to those who dedicate their lives to public service Chase Street Elementary School, the time that she teachers, as well, and the hours and levels of dedica- -- who dedicate their lives to us -- we are doing a isn’t paid for. I see how much she invests in her tion that they put in are even greater when sponsor- disservice to ourselves. O students, how much time and effort she gives them ing clubs or coaching sports teams.

Above: AFTER THE BELL RINGS: Co-Editor-in-Chief Katie Grace Upchurch plays at Clarke Central High School with her brother, Mack, and her mother, Beth, who taught at the school until 2010. Because of teachers’ long hours, Upchurch and her family spent a lot of time at school when she was growing up. Photos courtesy of Beth and Todd Upchurch

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A NEW LOOK AT LIT

DEMETRIA BOLDS Guest writer and senior Demetria Bolds shares her experience taking Multicultural Literature this year, and how it differs from other literature classes she has taken at Clarke Central High School.

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his year, I’m taking Multicultural Literature, and it’s not your normal literature class.

In the class, we aren’t assigned books to read, we don’t have to write numerous essays about what we’ve read and we don’t really focus on literature itself. Though things aren’t done like a normal English class, there are still many opportunities for us to read, discuss and explore historical issues.

The class focuses on the Holocaust and its effect on people of different races, genders, sexual orientations and nationalities. We engage with this time period by creating timelines, watching films, reading and responding to passages that are assigned to us.

We have learned more about racial issues, Germany’s treatment of homosexuals and how gender and sexual orientation played a major part in where and how people were placed in concentration camps.

We’re allowed to express our feelings in ways that we might not be able to do in other classes or in other parts of the school -without people judging us.

Before getting into this class, I thought we would focus on different cultures from around the world and maybe compare each of those to our own. Though the class is not what I thought it would be, I have come to really enjoy it.

Although I have learned about the Holocaust in past school years, this class takes a more in-depth approach, exploring how Hitler’s reign began, along with the development of concentration camps.

The environment of the class is pretty calm, mostly because we have a smaller class. Our class is also diverse, with students from different grades and of different races. It took a while for everyone to become comfortable talking about sensitive issues, but our class discussions have been improving.

In Multicultural Literature, we’re allowed to express our feelings in ways that we might not be able to do in other classes or in other parts of the school -- without people judging us and without getting in trouble.

At first, I wasn’t really too sure about being in this class, because I felt a little bit out of place. I knew some things about the Holocaust, but I didn’t know as much as some of my other classmates did.

Now, I’ve opened up in class, especially since we’ve learned much more about the topic and I think I’ve finally found my place there. O

Question of the month What winter holiday do you celebrate and how do you celebrate it?

“I celebrate Hanukkah. We don’t actually do much at synagogue, which is basically like our church, but we have a menorah which we’re supposed to light every day of the holiday.”

-- RACHEL ROBINSON, freshman

“I celebrate Hanukkah. We celebrate for eight days. (...)

We eat latkes, like potato pancake things. (I’m most looking forward to) spending time with my family.”

-- LAUREN HAINES, sophomore

“I celebrate Christmas, but I don’t believe in the Bible. We (celebrate in) New Orleans for vacation. (I celebrate) by eating gumbo with my family and giving presents to my nieces and nephews.”

-- DAVID RICHARD, senior

“My grandmother comes over from Mexico and we all have basic dinner with vito tamales, and we actually have this thing right before, where it’s the cutting of the bread.”

-- ANTHONY JAIMES-BARRAZA, senior

“My family lives local, and so we all get together and celebrate. We don’t really exchange a whole lot of gifts, but we’re just together and eat a big meal on Christmas Eve.” -- MARYANN SULLIVAN, Media Specialist

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THUMBS The ODYSSEY staff’s opinions on this month’s issues.

IRELAND McCAGE

FRESH VOICE

Journalism 1 student Ireland McCage writes about her sexuality, and how she constantly feels the need to hide it from others.

S UNPREPARED Tests like the Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT) and the ACT put lowerincome students at a disadvantage.

COMMUNITY CONTROVERSY UGA mishandled the discovery of the bodies of dozens of enslaved people on the Baldwin Hall site.

LACKING SUPPORT The Clarke Central High School girls basketball team consistently yields lower attendance than the boys.

SAYING GOODBYE After the resignation of a former coach, some senior wrestlers opted out of the team.

SCOUTING SHORTAGE The National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) new basketball scouting rules will negatively affect many players’ chances to play on a collegiate level.

STREAMING SHENANIGANS The rise of Netflix and other streaming services has made movies and entertainment more accessible than theaters.

COUNSELING AND CULTURE School counselor Dr. Ashlee Perry is an advocate for culturally responsive teaching and restorative practices.

MAKING IT MULTICULTURAL

ometimes, I wonder what it’s like for straight people. I wonder what it’s like for them to be able to love who they want to love without ridicule. I wonder what it’s like for them to be able to be who they truly are without being judged, for them not to constantly feel scared and ashamed of an integral part of their being.

Whenever someone brings up the topic of romance, my heart skips a beat. It’s because, inevitably, someone will always ask the question, “So, do you have a boyfriend?”

It’s because, at that moment, I have to decide whether to take pride in who I am, or to desperately hide my sexuality away.

It’s because I could destroy my relationship with a person by telling them the truth.

Being part of the LGBTQ+ community makes me feel as though I can’t ever fully trust anyone, not even my best friends.

One time, I was hanging out with my closest friends, and I made the mistake of making an off-handed remark about being gay.

When my friends pressed me on this comment, I chose to be a coward, claiming that I wasn’t actually gay and that it was “just a joke.”

My friends expressed relief at this, making sure that I knew that they “would definitely hang out with me less if I was gay.”

Even at Clarke Central High School, with its welcoming and friendly environment, I’m still scared to tell people about my sexuality.

I feel like I should trust my friends with my identity, but I don’t want to risk losing them forever.

I feel like I should be able to be myself, but there’s always this small voice telling me I should hide myself away.

I feel like I should be proud of my sexuality, but I constantly find that I’m ashamed of being myself. O

The Multicultural Literature elective is available for the first time since 2011, this time with a focus on the Holocaust.

GRATEFUL FOR GRANDE Pop singer Ariana Grande’s new single, “thank u, next” is an empowering breakup anthem that showcases the singer’s ability to create positive outcomes from her difficult times.

Above: A GOOD CASE OF STRIPES: Journalism I student Ireland McCage identifies as a lesbian, a conclusion that she has come to after many months of self-searching. However, she is afraid to tell people this for fear of rejection. Illustration by Audrey Kennedy

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MARISSA GOODWIN

FACING REALITY

Senior Marissa Goodwin shares how her developing awareness concerning mass incarceration motivated her to get informed and take action.

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ntil I was 8 years old, I was in a bubble. I never felt affected by the history unfolding before me.

I’d watch “Cops” with my older sister, and the one thing I’d always pick MARISSA GOODWIN Guest Writer up on was the race of the person being shoved into the back of the police car.

They were typically black or Hispanic -- rarely white. This proved to be true with the nightly news, as well: the suspect was black, the criminal being charged was black; everyone was black. This usually upset me and I would ask to change the channel.

When I asked my dad why this was always the case, he always responded the same way: “That’s just the way it is.” That answer never satisfied me, but as I grew, I learned the true meaning of what he meant.

tice Fact Sheet, as of 2014, African Americans make up 2.3 million of the 6.8 million people in the U.S. incarcerated, which is five times the rate of whites.

This causes long-term problems to arise -- including familial issues, mental health disorders and the stripping away of future personal freedoms.

According to “From Prison To Home: The Effect Of Incarceration and Reentry on Children, Families, And Communities,” children of incarcerated parents

formation -- like the fact that people are profiting off of the incarceration that is destroying communities -- my anger continues to grow.

What I found out prompted me to sit down and engage in conversations with my grandparents, who offered insight and perspective to the reality of the situation in America. They talk for hours about the many people they knew on the chain gang, or how the crackdown on the crack cocaine epidemic de-

I cannot reverse the results of centuries of damage, but I feel empowered to help.

America has a longstanding-issue with fulfilling its promise of “liberty and justice for all.” The 13th Amendment to the Constitution freed slaves and prohibited slavery.

However, our country has instituted other means of continuing the practice.

Today, mass incarceration plagues the land of the free. According to the 2013 World Prison Population List from the International Centre for Prison Studies, the United States holds 4.4 percent of the world’s population, but 22 percent of the world’s prisoners.

Mass incarceration has become a major problem largely affecting people of color. This is the result of countless acts of post-Civil War racist legislation, Jim Crow laws, disenfranchisement and other acts targeting minority populations.

This issue affects the black community the most, and in the worst ways possible.

Black people should be acknowledged as equals, not as burdens on society.

However, according to the NAACP Criminal Jus-

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Above: RESEARCHING RACE: Clarke Central High School senior Marissa Goodwin browses through Netflix documentaries. The issue of mass incarceration has affected her community, which has inspired her to become more informed about the issue. Photo by Kelly Fulford

often later exhibit behavioral problems and suffer in school.

Partners of those incarcerated may battle depression and economic hardship. In addition to this, formerly incarcerated inmates grapple with the difficulties of integrating back into life beyond prison walls.

The severity of the situation often drives me to immerse myself for hours in research and documentaries on these issues. As I continue to uncover in-

stroyed the lives of the people around them.

I cannot reverse the centuries of damage, but I feel empowered to help.

My current solution is to raise awareness of the problem and bring it into discussions with my peers.

My hope is that my contributions will, in turn, raise political awareness -- to shed light on the injustice that is our justice system. O

Viewpoints

BOILING POINT The 2018 midterm elections offered insights for Democrats about running in the South.

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outhern Democrats can learn a valuable lesson from the 2018 midterm elections: stop trying to win over Republicans, and start energizing the growing Democratic votELENA GILBERTSON HALL Managing Editor er base.

Democrats Stacey Abrams of Georgia and Andrew Gillum of Florida each lost by less than a percentage point in their respective 2018 gubernatorial elections.

In Texas, Democrat Beto O’Rourke, who attracted national attention for his charismatic character and strong liberal agenda, lost by just three percentage points to long-time senatorial incumbent Ted Cruz.

One-third of the seats in the House of Representatives that Democrats picked up were in the South.

For example, gun control advocate Lucy McBath beat conservative Karen Handel in the Georgia sixth district, and Democrat Joe Cunningham won his race in the South Carolina first district, a district that a Republican candidate won by over 20 percentage points in 2016.

These results show momentous progress for Democrats, even from the midterms just four years ago. In Georgia in 2014, Jason Carter, who challenged Nathan Deal, and Michelle Nunn, who challenged David Perdue, both lost by about eight percentage points, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

These Democrats ran on moderate platforms, leading to them to appear as “lite Republicans,” and offered few policies that energized voters.

After the 2014 midterm elections, when many moderate Southern Democrats lost by significant margins, some political commentators argued that Democrats should give up hope of being competitive in the South and focus their attention on more winnable states.

“Democrats should just forget about the (South),” prominent political journalist Michael Tomasky wrote in “The Daily Beast.” “They should make no effort, except under extraordinary circumstances, to field competitive candidates. The national committees shouldn’t spend a red cent down there.”

However, the 2018 elections show that Democrats have a real chance of success in much of the South if they build on the momentum and strategies they developed this year, and recognize the changing demographics of the region.

Stacey Abrams received over 30,000 more votes in this midterm election than Hillary Clinton did in Georgia in 2016, despite midterms generally having lower voter turnout.

In 2012, Ted Cruz beat his Democratic challenger by 16 percentage points, but this year O’Rourke improved that margin by 13 points.

On the other hand, Phil Bredesen, who ran as a centrist Democrat in Tennessee, lost his senate seat by nearly nine points, which goes to show that the moderate platform used by Carter and Nunn a few years ago still fails to gain traction with the electorate

in red-leaning states.

Most of the Democrats in the South who won, or came close to winning, this year ran on progressive platforms, such as Medicaid expansion, gun control and criminal justice reform.

Eight of the 10 House seats Democrats picked up in the South were won by women, and several were won by candidates of color, including Veronica Escobar of Texas and Stephanie Murphy of Florida.

The idea that southern Democrats need to tone down their ideologies and bold progressive plans is based on an idea of the South that is stuck in the past.

The demographics of the South are changing.

According the 2010 census, the South is the fastest-growing region in the United States, adding 14.3 million people in one decade. More than a quarter of the South’s population is under 20 years old, and from 2010 to 2016 the black population in the region grew by 2 million, while the Hispanic population grew by 3 million.

Attempting to win over the population of more rural, or so-called moderate Republicans, is no longer a winning strategy.

Instead, Democrats need to turn to the rising minority populations, young people, women and college-educated voters who make up their base and focus on getting them out to the polls.

Although it is true that Democrats did not come away with the wins in the South that they had hoped for, the 2018 elections showed the viability of a new kind of strategy for Democratic candidates in the South.

Looking forward to 2020, a successful presidential candidate will be one who is unapologetic about their liberal stances and willing to focus a significant amount of their resources to the swing states of the South.

The era of Jason Carters and Phil Bredesens is over.

If the Democratic party is paying attention, the country is ushering in a world where Georgia and Texas are purple states, and the most successful Democrats in the South are those that espouse strong liberal values. O

Left: THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE: A tortoise representing the Democratic party and a hare representing the Republican party compete for a race to win political support in the South. Although Democrats have not had much historic success in the region since the 1908’s, the midterm elections offer hope and insight for Democrats about how to regain support in the South. Illustration by Lilli Sams

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ENRAGED McCAGE Streaming services like Netflix are replacing movie theaters as the easiest, most practical way to enjoy all types of movies -- not just the latest multi-million-dollar extravaganza.

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wenty years ago, aspiring actors around the world had dreams of growing up and acting on the biggest screen in CONNOR McCAGE Viewpoints Editor Hollywood. Now, aspiring actors want to be on a screen so small that it can fit inside one’s pocket. The Golden Age of movie theaters has come and gone, and the awe-inspiring 50-foot movie theater screen has been replaced by Netflix and a couch.

The movie theaters that became a staple of American culture almost 100 years ago have been replaced with blockbuster theaters that have become hostile to even the most dedicated movie-goer. What once was a melting pot of legendary art directors and popcorn-flick directors alike, has become a place for corporations and their hundred-million-dollar Above: ARE YOU STILL WATCHING?: As the cost of watching a movie in theaters becomes increasingly expensive and geared toward multi-million dollar blockbusters or remakes of movies that origifranchises, streaming services are becoming the better alternative for consumers. Illustration by Audrey Kennedy nally came out 20 years ago.

Movie theaters were once a place to go see new movies with original effects, new actors and interesting concepts. Now, most movies that are content than movie theaters and offers movies that This happened to Denis Villeneuve, whose stellar successful enough to be released in movie theaters otherwise wouldn’t be available in theaters due to releases “Sicario” and “Enemy” were released on a are part of long-term franchises, which only hinders the current climate of cinema. small-run in theaters, then streaming services led to the creativity of filmmakers.

Now, up-and-coming filmmakers have a stream- him getting the directorial role for “Blade Runner According to statistics gathered by the Internet ing platform where they can have an audience of 2049.”

Movie Database (IMDb), 80 percent of the top 10 millions and funding to create their own ideas.

Unfortunately, he is the exception, and in many best-selling movies domestically in 2018 were a part Movies like “Reservoir Dogs,” which was made for cases, directors never receive this kind of opportuniof a pre-existing franchise or a sequel/remake to an $1 million and made $22 million in theaters, launch- ty on a large scale. “Blade Runner 2049” didn’t meet older film. ing one of the most well-regarded directors in Holly- the general audience’s standards for explosions and was a financial bomb during its For film fans looking for somewidespread theatrical release. thing new, the movie theater is Admittedly, movie theaters offer no longer the place to go to. NetMost movies that are successful enough an experience that Netflix can’t. flix spent over $8 billion dollars There will always be something on original content last year that to be released in movie theaters are a attractive about showing up early promises to be more interesting part of a long-term franchise that only for the trailers, and the monstrous and unique than what’s currently glow of the movie screen dwarfs the showing at the local Athens theaters hinders the creativity of filmmakers. paltry glow of a smartphone screen.

-- whether that’s Beechwood CineDespite this, the growing price mas, University 16 Cinemas or AMC of movie tickets and the lack of Dine-In. With the exception of Ciné BarCafe, Athens’ resident arthouse theater, movie wood, Quentin Tarantino, would never get a chance original or new ideas in cinema makes going to the theaters are no longer a place to see new movies in normal theaters today due to the expensive cost movies with any sort of frequency impractical. While cinephiles might stick to those rock-hard seats, the of digital film.

-- they are a place to see continuations of old ones.

Those kinds of opportunities from traditional film smart consumer will be sitting at home, saving monAccording to Variety, the average movie ticket right now costs $8.93, while a monthly subscription studios are no longer available in the same way and ey on food and waiting for a new and more unique to Netflix only costs $9.99 and offers 14,000 movies many young directors are looking to streaming gi- movie to arrive on Netflix. O and TV shows. Netflix also offers far more original ants to get their start.

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NAOMI HENDERSHOT UGA’s mishandling of the discovery of remains of enslaved peoples under Baldwin Hall shows the University’s disregard for the black community in Athens.

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The handling of the remains under Baldwin Hall is just a reflection of the institutional racism that still resides in UGA. Considering that the majority of the remains were of African descent, it is only fair that the likely descendants of those enslaved peoples choose where and how to honor the remains.

Even though the University followed standard protocol given to them by state archeologist Brain Tucker, it failed to give the community a voice in this decision.

“I can’t really speak to what UGA should or should not have done, because as a lead state agency, they are the decision makers on it. I will say that, in general, we encourage communication with community members and trying to make things be community-driven,” Tucker said.

The faculty of the UGA anthropology department, along with black community members, eventually addressed the inconsiderate handling of these enslaved people’s remains with the University during a press conference held at the Morton Theatre on March 4, 2017, but UGA should have handled it better from the start.

UGA’s inappropriate handling of the sensitive issue goes to show that UGA still doesn’t respect the black community as they should.

With a 70 percent white student body, buildings still named after slave-owners and a clear lack of consideration towards the black community in Athens, UGA is failing to distance itself from its history of white supremacy.

According to an Athens Banner-Herald article, with the exception of Morton Theatre, Baldwin Hall will be the only other historical landmark representing the black community in Athens.

This memorial was UGA’s chance to do right by the community of people it has neglected for ages.

UGA needs to stop commemorating its racist past and start acknowledging and respecting the unknown African-Americans Above: REDRESS WRONGS: Community organizer and activist Broderick Flanigan holds up a sign reading “Redress.” Flanigan believes the way the University of Georgia who have contributed to the UGA handled the discovery of human remains under Baldwin Hall was disrespectful to the black community. “As a black Athenian, it feels bad, it feels terrible (to see my campus. O community disrespected in this way),” Flanigan said. “Even in death, African Americans and certain people are still being displaced and disrupted. There’s still not peace,

GA constructed a memorial in front of Baldwin Hall on Nov. 16 in memory of the remains of 29 human bodies, most of whose DNA was of African descent, found under the NAOMI HENDERSHOT Viewpoints Staffer building during reconstruction in 2015.

Though the intention of the memorial is a good one, the way the University has handled the remains is inconsiderate to the black community in Athens.

According to “Issues of Concern Related to the Baldwin Hall Expansion,” a paper written by several UGA anthropology department professors, UGA moved the bodies to the Oconee Hill Cemetery on March 7 without informing the black community.

This reflects a desire on UGA’s part to sweep the issue under the rug, rather than appropriately address the school’s complicated history with slavery.

“I feel like the University is responsible for testing

the DNA of the people and trying to at least make a connection to the current, if there are any, living descendants,” community organizer and activist Broderick Flanigan said. “They kinda need to help discover that information. That’s part of their responsibility as a higher institution.”

It’s not a secret that UGA has greatly taken advantage of slave labor. According to UGA history professor Scott Nesbit, the campus did not own slaves, but instead “hired” them from slave owners to do maintenance around the campus. These enslaved people built campus buildings and were servants to the university professors and administrators.

But racism at UGA is not something that ended with abolition. Racism continues to thrive on UGA’s campus, mostly in subtle ways such as buildings named after segregationists and racists.

Mell Hall is named after Patrick Hues Mell, who wrote a paper titled “Slavery: Neither a Moral, Political, nor Social Evil.” The Grady School of Journalism is named after Henry W. Grady, a white supremacist who supported the New South.

even in death, for some groups of people, or so it seems.” Photo by Kelly Fulford

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BEFORE BALDWIN Since the University of Georgia discovered the buried remains of numerous enslaved people during the renovation of Baldwin Hall, there has been extensive community dialogue about the issue. them to reflect and appreciate the world we’re in now because it was different years ago.”

Numerous universities have recently addressed their history of involvement in the slave trade or support of the institution of slavery. For example, Brown University has completed extensive studies about its history of ties to slavery and Georgetown University announced it would give admissions priority to the descendants of 272 enslaved people who contributed to the University in 1838.

“As painful as the subject may be, our pursuits must be in keeping with our training and our scholarly aims. This means acknowledging slavery, slaves and racism,” members of the UGA history department wrote in an Online Athens editorial. “This difficult reckoning with our history will place us among many peer and aspirational institutions. We look forward to joining the 40 or so institutions that have resolved to acknowledge and explore the involvement of their universities with slavery.”

The remains found at Baldwin Hall were reinterred at Oconee Hill Cemetery in March 2017 after UGA sought guidance from the Office of the State

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uring a construction project on UGA’s Baldwin Hall building in 2015, members of the construction crew discovered human remains buried under the building.

Construction was delayed until 2017 while research and DNA analysis was conducted. Researchers determined the remains were mostly of African-American descent and are thought to be the bodies of enslaved people.

“Of the 105 (gravesites), 42 contained (human) remains on that location and, of those, 29 were able to be DNA tested. Most of those 29 had an indication of maternal African ancestry, but not all of them,” UGA Executive Director for Media Communications Greg Trevor said. “A majority of remains that were discovered were determined to most likely be slaves or former slaves.”

The remains are likely those of enslaved people hired by UGA from slave owners for construction and maintenance. Minutes from the UGA Board of Trustees meeting on Aug. 3, 1826 details, the duties of enslaved people on campus, including cleaning students’ apartments and repairing buildings.

“We never think about the sacrifices that people make and I just want people to think, ‘This beautiful campus that I’m walking on, a lot of it was constructed by slaves who were not paid -- and some were killed or lynched,’” Athens Community Career Academy CEO and Baldwin Hall Memorial Task Force member Lawrence Harris said. “I want

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Archaeologist of Georgia.

“Our general recommendations when one encounters a burial is to protect it (and) leave it in place, but if that can’t happen, like you’re in the middle of a construction project, then if there’s more than one person, you should try to keep them together and try to keep them as close to the original spot as is appropriate and safe,” State Archeologist Bryan Tucker said.

The choice to reinter the remains at Oconee Hill Cemetery, where many former slave owners are buried, angered some community members, including Clarke County School District Board of Education member Linda Davis.

“I feel strongly that the ancestors that were disinterred at Baldwin Hall on Jackson Street should be buried with their descendants. I don’t think that any one of them is happy about being buried at the feet of the people that owned them,” Davis said.

According to Davis, UGA should have worked with historically African-American cemeteries to determine an appropriate burial location.

“The right thing to me is to work with the African-American community and look at these two abandoned and neglected cemeteries, the Brooklyn

“I don’t think that any one of them is happy about being buried at the feet of the people that owned them.”

-- LINDA DAVIS, Board of Education member

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and Gospel Pilgrim cemeteries, who could truly have benefited from a deeper partnership with the University, to build a fitting space in either one of those cemeteries,” Davis said.

However, Trevor believes UGA handled the issue appropriately by carefully following all instructions from the Office of the State Archaeologist.

“Since the discovery of human remains on the Baldwin Hall construction site in the fall of 2015, the University of Georgia worked diligently to make sure these men, women and children were treated with the dignity and respect that they deserve,” Trevor said. “The entire process that the University followed (was in accordance with) the guidance of the State Archaeologist’s office, from discovery to reinterment.”

Documentarian and 2018 UGA graduate Joe Lavine, who has been working on a documentary about the discovery of remains under Baldwin Hall, says that the issue was handled poorly.

“The community is not saying that the administration did something illegal. The community is saying that the administration did something that was disrespectful,” Lavine said. “Yes, the University followed the order of the state archaeologist. But it

Map courtesy of the Center for Geospatial Research at the University of Georgia

Above: OLD ATHENS: The remains of enslaved people discovered under Baldwin Hall were reinterred at Oconee Hill Cemetery in March 2017. This location was chosen due to its proximity to the original burial location. “The primary criteria were that the cemetery should be close to the original burial site, and Oconee Hill is the closest cemetery to Old Athens (Cemetery) and was its successor in the 1800s,” UGA Executive Director for Media Communications Greg Trevor said. Photo by Krista Shumaker Top right: UGA UNVEILED: The memorial to the remains of enslaved people found buried beneath Baldwin Hall was unveiled on Nov. 16. Documentarian and 2018 UGA graduate Joe Lavine, who has worked on a documentary about the controversy surrounding Baldwin Hall, believes UGA students have been receptive to learning about the issue. “Students are shocked when they hear about (the remains discovered under Baldwin Hall) and are interested and passionate about learning more,” Lavine said. “I’ve done a few screenings of the documentary in classrooms and we’ve had very engaging discussions afterwards. People are shocked and outraged and really intent on learning more about the issue.” Photo by Kelly Fulford Bottom right: ATHENS’ STORY: This 1885 map of downtown Athens is one of the many used in the Athens Layers of Time project, a University of Georgia story map produced by UGA Geography Department Co-chair Dr. Sergio Bernardes with the goal of creating a richer and more immersive Athens community by looking at the city’s past.

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didn’t follow other ethical guidelines that are pretty standard when you find the remains of a historically marginalized population.”

Athens Black History Bowl Committee co-chair and 2000 Clarke Central High School graduate Fred Smith has criticized UGA for the lack of community input and consultation of the black community in the decision-making process.

“The enslaved persons, through their labor, service and personhood, made important contributions to (UGA) and Athens,” Smith said. “It’s disappointing that UGA excluded from the process the voices on campus and in the local African-American community who have been outspoken concerning the University’s treatment of the burial grounds for enslaved persons.”

For Davis, this issue is personal.

“I will claim some of those bones because I am a descendant of people born here. I am three generations from slavery on my mother’s side of the family and only two generations away from slavery on my father’s side of the family, and I believe that some of

“It’s disappointing that UGA excluded from the process the voices on campus and in the local African-American community who have been outspoken concerning the University’s treatment of the burial grounds for enslaved persons.”

-- FRED SMITH, Co-Chair of the Athens Black History Bowl Committee

my ancestors are in those bones that they found,” Davis said.

Clarke Central High School senior Amy Kamagate believes UGA missed an opportunity to make strides in improving its relationship with theAthens’ black community.

“UGA is a predominantly white school and a lot of black students and black people don’t feel really

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comfortable with UGA sometimes. They don’t feel like they can relate sometimes,” Kamagate said. “I feel like if they acknowledged (their slave-owning history) it would have (helped) the African American community and Athens a bit more with that comfort and respect.”

In June 2018, UGA President Jere Morehead appointed a Baldwin Hall Memorial Task Force made

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Baldwin Hall constructed

Remains discovered

DNA samples identified

Remains of 42 humans found during reconstruction of Baldwin Hall, 29 of which could be DNA tested.

DNA results come back suggesting maternal African American ancestry for all but two of the 30 individuals from whom DNA could be recovered and analyzed.

Left: BUILDING ON HISTORY: Baldwin Hall stands on the University of Georgia campus at the corner of Jackson Street and Baldwin Street The building was constructed on top of numerous graves in the Jackson Street Cemetery. “Black people were not buried with white people and so, when you look at the geography of Jackson Street cemetery, the protected area is where the white people were buried, and the area that the building was built on, that’s the area where black people and slaves and former slaves were buried,” documentarian and 2018 UGA graduate Joe Lavine said. Photo by Krista Shumaker

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up of 18 community members to plan the construction of a memorial to the enslaved people found at Baldwin Hall.

“Ultimately, we decided to raise a monument in front of Baldwin Hall that we felt like symbolized the people who were found there,” Harris said. “We felt like people could visit, schools could visit, kids, families and students as they walk by could see it from Jackson Street and see that the University is honoring the remains that were found there.”

According to Harris, the task force was intentional about creating a memorial with significant symbolism.

“There are, I believe, nine obelisks that are in a circle (because) the idea of a circle is for completion and unity. We got different shades of granite because there were people of different (races) buried there,” Harris said. “There’s a slight water feature there, (because) water is cleansing and so you think of cleansing after the passing of a loved one. There’s (also) a seating space around the memorial for people who want to sit in reverence.”

Davis believes the memorial is a step in the right

March 3

direction to honoring the enslaved people found at Baldwin Hall. “(The memorial will be) a fitting space where we can gather and remember those ancestors and remember what they did in terms of contributing to this community,” Davis said. “To be able to have a space wherein we can actually stand reverently to those people is very important to me and I think the University did a great job on that design.”

The monument was officially unveiled on Nov. 16. A group of community activists, including Lavine, protested during the unveiling ceremony, demanding that UGA President Jere Morehead acknowledge the University’s history with slavery.

“It is time for UGA to invest in reparational scholarships, and it is time for UGA to implement wages of at least $15 an hour for all its employees and take further steps to end its history of worker exploitation,” the protesters wrote in a statement to. “The social and economic inequities that black Athenians face today are part of slavery’s ongoing legacy, and UGA must confront and bear responsibility for its complicity in this violent institution.”

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Tucker believes the discovery of remains under Baldwin Hall provided an opportunity to learn and reflect on the history of UGA. “Whenever burials are found, it gives modern people a chance to reflect on those times and those people,” Tucker said. “We encounter burials from all different parts of history, so I think it’s a good way for people to bridge between now and then and remember that the people in the past are just (like us), and they deserve our respect.”

Although the situation created tension between some members of UGA and the community, Harris believes the controversy provided a learning opportunity.

“If I learned anything, it’s that we aren’t finished as far as progress, but at least progress is being made,” Harris said. “It seems like there is an investment in seeing how can we bridge this gap between Athens, (the) people who live here, and (UGA), which is the largest landowner in Athens. I think being (on the memorial task force) has shown me that it isn’t hopeless. It’s showing me that things could kind of bridge and move forward and we can start having the right conversations.” O

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UGA decides to rebury remains

Task force assembled

Memorial unveiled

Reburial of remains to Oconee Hill Cemetery without informing African American community members. UGA reportedly, “loaded boxes containing them into a rental box truck and-without telling anyone, and with the gates locked-reinterred them at Oconee Hill Cemetery,” according to the Flagpole.

UGA President Jere Morehead assembled the Baldwin Hall Memorial Task Force to design and execute the plans for the memorial.

UGA held a ceremonial unveiling of the memorial constructed next to Baldwin Hall honoring the remains that were discovered under the building in 2015.

Right: COMMUNITY CRITICISM: The Baldwin Hall Memorial Task Force was assembled in June 2018 and unveiled the finalized memorial on Nov. 16. Protesters interrupted the unveiling ceremony, making a statement against UGA’s handling of the remains. “This (protest) was not an isolated event, but a response to the administration’s inaction and obstruction over the last three years and the product of continued collective efforts of Athens natives, UGA faculty and students, and community leaders to address this inaction,” the protesters wrote in a statement. Photo by Kelly Fulford

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Q&A: Dr. Ashlee Perry School counselor Dr. Ashlee Perry speaks on culturally responsive teaching and making efforts to connect with students of color.

Why do you think it's important for teachers to share backgrounds with students?

It’s important for students to see people who look like them, in any regard. Even though we’re all individuals, we do have similarities based on our backgrounds. But, I will also say that I’m aware of many teachers who don’t have the same background as students who go above and beyond to learn about the backgrounds of their students in order to relate. (It) is equally important, when you don’t (share) your students’ background, that you be willing to learn more about who they are, where they come

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from and understand the importance of their culture, but also the importance of who they are as individuals.

A lot of it starts with the conversation: ‘I wanna know more about you. Tell me more about you. These are things that you might want to know about me, I wanna learn more about you. Tell me about where you grew up.

Tell me about what your experiences are. Tell me what makes school likable for you. Tell me what makes school difficult. How can I, as an adult, be, or do a better job of connecting with you?’

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What could that look like on a day to day basis?

Language arts is probably where it’s easiest, and social studies, too -- just looking at current events and attempting to take (an) objective perspective and really having students engage in conversations and things that are happening, whether they be good or bad. For example, last year at Clarke Middle, we engaged a lot of students in the book “The Hate U Give.” That’s real

for a lot of our students: the issues that Starr and other characters address in those books are real. Not only do teachers learn, but students who may not experience the same forms of oppression and marginalization that other students do, they’re put in a place where they have to learn, too. It becomes like a community.

What could be some problems with not having a teacher who makes efforts to understand their students or shares a background with a student?

One of my counseling theories of preference is called “relational-cultural theory,” and it’s based on the idea that conflict that we have with one another is oftentimes just based on disconnections. Teachers have so much on them that it’s easy to just write off a student who doesn’t seem receptive, who seems defiant, or all the negative things that some of our students exhibit. It takes a lot more to try to engage to figure out where the disconnection is, because a lot of times, it’s harder for adults to

hear from kids when they might be wrong. Sometimes, when you address disconnections, you end up finding out there’s something that you need to work on doing differently to connect with someone. That’s where the conversation starts, and what I’ve learned about students is students sense authenticity so quickly. They know if you’re real or if you’re genuine in your efforts, and a lot of students -- they treat you accordingly.

“It’s easy to just write off a student who doesn’t seem receptive, who seems defiant, or all the negative things that some of our students exhibit. It takes a lot more to try to engage to figure out where the disconnection is.”

-- Dr. Ashlee Perry, School counselor

What do you think are some possible negatives to having that disconnect later on in a student’s life?

We see it with racial disproportionality. (Some students) disconnect, and it’s like a trickle-down. If they start disconnecting in elementary school, it’s really hard to get them re-connected once they get to middle school, and then by high school, I mean, let’s be honest.

We already know what happens: they drop out of school, so you have kids who are not educated, and then these kids who are oftentimes engaging in behaviors outside of school that get them in trouble with the law. That’s where it feeds into the school-to-prison pipeline, which

I’m also very passionate about: just the fact that students who are not connected in school, who are not successful academically and/or behaviorally, they do, many of them, trickle into the penal system and unfortunately, schools play a significant role in that. The negative impacts are kids dropping out of school, feeding into the school-to-prison pipeline. The greater impact is just this continued intergenerational poverty: kids just not having access, and then this cycle just being replicated generation to generation. We see it, and it’s disheartening.

Opposite page: READY TO TALK: School counselor Dr. Ashlee Perry sits in her office on Nov. 29. As a teacher, Perry believed in a hands-on approach to adopting culturally responsive practices in the classroom. “There are books for culturally responsive practices, but I like just asking kids how they like to learn. It’s not like rocket science,” Perry said. “It’s hard work, though. It’s hard to hear that you might not be as good at something as you thought you were.” Photo by Krista Shumaker

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In the Clarke County School District, what efforts are being made to help teachers connect with their students?

Culturally responsive in a nutshell is having the knowledge, the skills and awareness of differences in culture. I use the word culture to be encompassing of many things: race, sexual orientation, religion, language, all of that. It’s being aware of who you are as a cultural being (and) being aware of your privileges and your oppressions, ‘cause all of those things impact how you present yourself to students and how you interact with students. (It is) being aware of your biases, being aware of your assumptions, just being constantly aware of who you are and how that impacts the way you present and interact with students, and what you expect from and of students, especially those who don’t look like you, and then again, having the knowledge base of other cul-

tures and then having developing skill sets, where you know how to appeal to students in your classes. Music is not my thing, but a lot of my students -- who doesn’t love music? If rapping a little bit is gonna appeal to this group, I’m gonna make it happen because that’s being responsive. Not all black students love rap, but I’m just saying that was something that appealed to my kids, and all the students seemed to love it, so we did it. It’s just being very strategic in how you appeal to your students.

There are books for culturally responsive practices, but I like just asking kids how they like to learn. It’s not like rocket science. It’s hard work, though. It’s hard to hear that you might not be as good at something as you thought you were.

“I like just asking kids how they like to learn. It’s not like rocket science. It’s hard work, though.

It’s hard to hear that you might not be as good at something as you thought you were.”

-- Dr. Ashlee Perry, School counselor

As a teacher, you mentioned having to go above and beyond to connect to your students. Tell me about what you did to make those efforts.

As a person who was also a teacher of color, I still had to do work to connect with my students. The first thing I did, ‘cause it was probably two or three black males, one white male, and two female students, so in my two years (as a fifth-grade teacher at Whit Davis Elementary School), those are the ones that stick out. I first found out things that they were interested in. And so for my black male students, and the white one as well, we literally would just take extra time. They stayed for after-school, so I would stay and take them and we would just play basketball. Then we would talk for about 10 to 15 minutes about the day, and how it went: what went well, what didn’t work well. For some of them, I had to come up with different codes or signals that we used to communicate with each other when they weren’t exhibiting the behaviors in class that they needed. I asked them to give me feedback on my teaching, so

they were like, ‘Well, Ms. Perry, this is boring. When you teach it this way, it’s boring.’ It’s really hard to spice up gymnosperms and angiosperms in science, but I did. I worked for hours figuring out how to incorporate music to help them understand it. I figured out how to make them leaders in my classroom, too. (One student) was the only one who could answer the door if someone came to knock on my door. By the time the end of the year came, like when we were playing basketball or just checking in midday, they would be like, ‘I know I need to work on doing this for the rest of the day, I’m gonna do better with that.’ It wasn’t even something that I had to initiate. They took their own agency in that. Taking the time out to have those conversations and to be willing to change something on my part made all the difference in the world.

Opposite page: BANDING TOGETHER: School counselor Dr. Ashlee Perry poses for a photo with with senior Marilen Rodriguez, a member of the Clarke Central High School Gifted Minorities Achieving Initiative, outside the Mell Auditorium on Nov. 28. Perry, who co-sponsors GMA, values getting to know students on a deeper level. “When you don’t (share) your students’ background, (it is important) that you be willing to learn more about who they are, where they come from, and understand the importance of their culture, but also the importance of who they are as individuals,” Perry said. Photo by Krista Shumaker

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What do restorative practices look like?

Oh man, restorative practices are awesome. They’re normally like a circle format. There can be a group of people in a circle and you can have restorative practices, or circles, that are just community-building. In Advisement at Clarke Middle (School) the past two years, I really tried to push teachers to have just check-in circles: ‘How was your weekend? How are you doing? Let’s all share a celebration with our topic for the day.’ It’s a way to get people to connect with one another. That’s more (of an) everyday type of thing. Then you have the intervention side of a restorative practices: so a circle where it might include people who have been involved in a conflict. And in that circle, the questions are very basic: ‘What happened?’ Everyone gets to share from their perspective what happened, who was impacted.

How did these actions impact everyone around? How do we move forward to fix this situation? What I love about restorative practices, one of the many things, is that you come in with a plan, then you have a person

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who checks on the plan. You have to check on the plan for 30 days to say, ‘Have we reached our goals? Do we need to revise our goals?’ Now, with restorative practices, there’s this myth that there is no consequence. It’s absolutely not true. Let’s say somebody put graffiti on the wall. There might be a circle with custodians, the students, the parents involved and everybody sort of talks about how they’re impacted. The custodian says, ‘I’m responsible for the upkeep of this building. When you did this, this is how it impacted me.’ So, the student might feel empathetic, but the consequence could be him having to clean that graffiti. Now, which one would be more meaningful: him being suspended or him having to clean up what he put out there? You know what I mean? Just like, the logical consequence of things versus just saying we’re gonna get rid of people as if that’s gonna change the issue. The issue is that we need to really address why he felt the need to do that in the first place, if that makes sense. O

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More than an english class Clarke Central High School English department teacher Meghan McNeeley is teaching the Multicultural Literature/Composition class with a focus on Holocaust literature and history.

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he Multicultural Literature/Composition elective is being taught at Clarke Central High School in the 2018-19 school year for the first time since 2011.

According to the Clarke County School District Program of Study, the class, “focuses on world literature by and about people of diverse ethnic backgrounds.”

The course was last taught by former CCHS English department teacher Marlana Street in 2011.

Chloe Alexander, a 2013 CCHS graduate, was a student in Street’s class and believes its focus on female authors was beneficial to her experience in later litBY COLIN FRICK Broadcast Staffer

erature classes.

“It was really important for us to be reading feminist literature, even though (Street) didn’t put that label on it,” Alexander said. “When I went to college (at Georgia Tech) and ended up taking women’s literature classes, classes where they were using the feminist label, I realized (Multicultural Literature/ Composition) was a very social justice-oriented class.”

For Alexander, the class enlightened her about the perspectives of those from other cultures, not only through the literature they read, but also through

Above: MULTICULTURAL McNEELEY: Clarke Central High School English department teacher Meghan McNeeley reads the book “History On Trial” by Deborah E. Lipstadt to her sixth period Multicultural Literature/ Composition class on Nov. 5. McNeeley designed a curriculum for the class that focuses on the Holocaust. “Technically, (the class) is about the Holocaust,” McNeeley said. “It’s supposed to be more about various cultures, but I’m able to teach about the Holocaust by looking at the different cultures impacted. It’s kind of my specialty.” Photo by Colin Frick

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the opinions of her classmates.

“There was a student in class who was a Bosnian exchange student,” Alexander said. “He was raised as a child by his Christian parents to believe that the Holocaust was not truly the tragedy that it’s made out to be, that it is an exaggeration. And that was a particularly challenging thing because we were reading ‘Night,’ (by Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel), and I remember (Street) had to address it with the class and be like, ‘You know, some people were raised to believe some things, and it doesn’t necessarily mean you are a bad person, it’s just we all come from different backgrounds and we are products of our environments.’”

Prior to being offered his current position as Family Engagement Specialist, former CCHS English department teacher Christian Barner was scheduled to teach the class during the 2018-19 school year.

Barner had an open-ended vision for how he wanted to teach the class.

“Right now we’re doing a study on black people in the Holocaust: how small that group was in Germany in general, and then how they were targeted and how that was different from how Jewish people and the larger groups were targeted,” sophomore Stella Perkins said.

Members of the class study not only the shortterm effects of the Holocaust, but the long-term effects and how they relate to present-day issues.

“When we were doing an activity, we had to look at the numbers of Jewish people in each country before and after the war, and that was kind of crazy,” Perkins said. “There was a website we were on and (we were) just reading about that and how the population shifted because of how many people were killed.”

While studying how black people were affected by the Holocaust, class discussions about modern acts of racism have also surfaced.

“We got into discussions about how we see race,

“Technically, (the class) is about the Holocaust. It’s supposed to be more about various cultures, but I’m able to teach about the Holocaust by looking at the different cultures impacted.”

-- Meghan McNeeley, Clarke Central High School English department teacher

“The first thing we were going to do was look at culture and identity and look at how those two things intersect and how someone’s culture affects them as an individual,” Barner said. “The idea would be to first have students write cultural autobiographies where (they) dissect and analyze their own culture to make sure every student understands they each have different cultures.”

According to English department teacher Meghan McNeeley, who was chosen to teach Multicultural Literature/Composition in Barner’s place, she was selected to teach the course due to her expressed interest in teaching a class about Holocaust-related themes.

“When I interviewed (for a job at CCHS), I let the interview committee know that one of the reasons I was coming up here (from Clarke Middle School) was that I wanted to teach a Holocaust literature course someday,” McNeeley said. “It’s multicultural, but it’s looking through the lens of all the cultures that were affected (by the Holocaust).”

McNeely routinely holds class discussions with her students, examining the effects of the Holocaust from multiple angles.

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how it reflects on Americans and what are some of the issues in our society today with the way African-Americans, particularly males, are being treated,” McNeeley said.

McNeeley hopes to teach about as many affected groups as possible, while also focusing on those of the Jewish faith.

“We’re starting with the group that had the smallest number of affected victims, and we’re going from there to the largest,” McNeeley said. “If we talked about the effect on the Jews first, that would be the only one we study because it was by far the largest.

So we’ve started (with) African-Germans, and then we’re gonna work our way up to the Jews.”

While McNeeley has always found the Holocaust to be an interesting subject to learn about, she is driven to teach about the Holocaust in Multicultural Literature/Composition because of her personal beliefs on the subject.

“It can happen again. Seems to (me) there are some similarities politically right now between then and now. Things like anti-semitism, (and a shooting in a synagogue in) Pittsburgh,” McNeeley said. “It’s very reminiscent and kind of scary.” O

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Their second lives

Clarke County School District teachers work second and third jobs to both make ends meet and to practice professions of their passions.

According to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, one in five teachers work a second or third job to make ends meet. Overall, teachers are 30 percent more likely to be employed somewhere else in addition to their school compared to other workers. While some teachers are able to live off their teacher salary alone, their quality of life would diminish significantly. The Clarke County School District employs thousands of teachers, many of whom make the decision to find a secondary source of income.

BY MACKENZIE CAUDILL Sports Editor

Above: SWIFT SPEAKS: Clarke Central High School math department teacher Dr. Elijah Swift speaks at the Black History School Assembly on Feb. 15, 2018. In addition to working at CCHS, Swift teaches online and works as an associate pastor at New Grove Baptist Church in Winterville, GA. “I teach statistics, business statistics, college algebra and intro algebra. We have students in China, India and different parts of the U.S.,� Swift said. Photo by Ana Aldridge

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Features

Photo by Kelly Fulford

NAME: Rev. Dr. Elijah R. Swift Jr. Age: 48 School: Clarke Central High School Grades: 10th through 12th, math department years of experience: 28 Marital status: Married Children: One

“I really love teaching. I love teaching math, and the thing about it is with teaching in other locations, I get to see a more global perspective and I get to impact, not just students who are here, but I get to impact students all over the world, And I can change how math is taught all over the world.”

Second Job:

“In addition to teaching here, I’m an adjunct professor at Johnson C. Smith University out of Charlotte, North Carolina where I teach adult learners, people who are going back to school. I’m a professor for Strayer University, their Morrow, Georgia campus. I’m also a math teacher online for the Lorrow Spring School out of Worcester, Pennsylvania, and for them, we have students all over the world. I’m also an associate pastor for a local church, New Grove Baptist Church.”

Weekly hours at school:

“If you count after school, during school and before

school, maybe about 60-70.”

Weekly hours from second job: “Maybe 20 or 30.”

MOnthly income from teaching: “I don’t even know. I really don’t know, it’s based on my experience and I would say monthly about $6,000.”

Impact of second job: 27

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“It adds to it. Significantly. It pretty much doubles it.”

Features

Photo by Kelly Fulford

NAME: Drew Wheeler Age: 40 School: Clarke Cental High School Grade: 11th through 12th, social studies department years of experience: 15 Marital status: Married Children: Two

“(GAVS) is an easy second job and I can do it from anywhere and it’s a decent amount of secondary income. With the Flagpole, I’ve always loved movies and I always either wanted to make movies or be a reviewer or something like that and it just kind of fell into my lap to do that fifteen years ago as well. I do that because I like to. I want to. It doesn’t make me a lot of money.”

Second Job:

“I teach online through Georgia Virtual School (GAVS) and then I also review movies for the Flagpole.”

Weekly hours at school:

“I usually get here at around 7:45 a.m. and I’m usually here until at least 4:00 p.m, some days later than that, Monday through Friday.”

Weekly hours from second job:

“(For GAVS) it just depends on how long the day is and how much I have to grade. Sometimes it gets done earlier than others.

Wednesday is when everybody turns everything in and so Wednesdays I grade a lot. And then the Flagpole, it depends on the movie times so I try to watch three movies a week.”

MOnthly income from teaching: “$3,200 or something around there.”

Impact of second job: “The way GAVS is paid is not monthly, its twice a semester.

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Depending on the number of students, and I’ve had a lot of students because I’ve been the only AP Micro teacher for the last few years, it can be an additional 10 to 20 thousand a year. Flagpole is not much money at all, I don’t do that for money.”

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Photo by Kelly Fulford

NAME: Tewanna Stokes Age: 34 School: Chase Street Elementary School Grade: 5th years of experience: 13 Marital status: Married Children: Two

“I just love what I do. I enjoy making people feel good about themselves, I like boosting their confidence. I feel like when you love what you do and you have a passion for it, it’s not work. It’s not a burden to me at all to leave here and go do those services because I truly enjoy it.”

Second Job:

“I’m an esthetician on the side. That deals with skincare. I have a mobile waxing business, so I travel to my clients and I do mobile waxing services.”

Weekly hours at school: “I would say maybe 50 hours a week, but that doesn’t include the time that I put into it at home.”

Weekly hours from second job: “I’m mostly mobile on the weekends. That’s when I usually get a lot of business, so maybe 10 hours.”

MOnthly income from teaching: “I bring home around $3,600.”

Impact of second job: “Being an esthetician isn’t something I had to do financially, it’s something that I enjoy doing, so it’s never about the money with me. However, I have noticed that I’m able to do more things for entertainment. It’s really my fun money and without that, I don’t think I would be able to have that quality of life if I didn’t have my business on the side. I feel like with teaching, all that does is cover my expenses.” O

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CULTURAL BUZZ Te Guste

iOS 12.1

Outlaw King

“Te Gusté,” which translates from Spanish to “You liked me,” was released on Nov. 9 and brings together Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny and Puerto Rican-American singer Jennifer Lopez. A long-awaited collaboration, “Te Gusté” fails to meet expectations, with a lack of excitement throughout the song.

The song’s lyrics focus on two people who like each other, but are unsure how to act on their feelings. Listeners will find the topic and the sound unsatisfying, as the lyrics are repetitive and similar to many already-existing English and Spanish songs.

This song does not demonstrate the extent of Lopez’s singing abilities, and has a slow pace, unlike the typical fast tempo of reggaeton songs. Though, some listeners may find these differences appealing.

In the end, “Te Gusté” is not a strong song for J.Lo and Bad Bunny, but is worth a try from listeners.

Apple’s iOS 12.1 update became available on Sept. 17. The update optimizes the camera quality in more recent Apple devices and provides a couple exciting features.

According to the description of the update, 70 new emojis were added, giving users more opportunities to express their creativity through texting.

Another new feature is Group FaceTime, which can now be done simply through the pre-downloaded FaceTime app. According to the update description, up to 32 people can be on a Group FaceTime.

App-opening speed, specifically opening up the Camera app, is notable when first using the update.

Though these new emojis and group FaceTime are available to all Apple products, most of the update is meant for recent iPhones, excluding the lingering iPhones 5, 6 and 7.

“Outlaw King,” released on Netflix on Nov. 9, is an exciting historical movie about the Scottish King Robert The Bruce (Chris Pine) during the medieval era and his struggle to claim the Scottish throne.

This movie follows the story of the Bruce leading Scotland in a revolution against England.

The film makes history exciting with its brilliantly portrayed passion of the Scottish rebellion, and the masterful cinematography allows viewers to experience the beauty of Scotland’s landscape. The acting and directing as well as realistic costume and set design give audiences a realistic idea of Scotland in the 1300s.

This movie isn’t just for history buffs, it’s an engaging cinematic experience for everyone. “Outlaw King’s” suspense factor will have mature audiences on the edge of their seats.

-- Andrea Matta-Castillo, Sports Staffer

-- Maya Cornish, Viewpoints Staffer

-- Naomi Hendershot, Viewpoints Staffer

Westside

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n Nov. 9, Netflix released a new musical reality show, “Westside,” which was a collaboration with Warner Bros.

Records, Inc. for the exclusive original soundtrack of the show. The first season is eight episodes long, with each episode ranging from 40 to 58 minutes.

The show follows the lives of nine young singer-songwriters struggling for success in today’s high-pressure music industry.

“Westside” can be boring at times because much of its plot is based around watching stars in their everyday lives, which does not appeal to everyone.

However, the show does offer a unique perspective into the lives of struggling musicians trying to make a name for themselves in the industry.

Upon watching to the end of the first season, the show becomes boring and not enjoyable because by the third episode, viewers are able to predict the plot of the entire season, and the emotional connection that viewers should establish with a

BY NICOLE RAMOS Variety Staffer

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Layout by Everett Vereen and Katie Grace Upchurch Photo illustrions by Emma Ramsay

show is missing.

The cast includes Pia Toscano, who appeared on the tenth season of American Idol and placed ninth, as well as Taz Zavala, Arika Gluck, James Byous, Caitlin Ary, Leo Gallo, Alexandra Kay, Austin Kolbe and Sean Patrick Murray, all of whom have released music previously.

The show features original music written by some of today’s top hitmakers, including Diane Warren, Philip Lawrence, Ryan Tedder, Shane McAnally, Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd, Pat Monahan, Johan Carlsson, Ross Golan and Busbee. Two tracks from the “Westside” soundtrack, “We Are the Ones” and “Vibe,” were available before the initial release date of the show.

Although there is no official release date for the next season, it would be a waste of time to make one at all because there is no more plot to be explored.

Overall, “Westside” doesn’t meet the requirement to be an engaging and fun show to watch, but if the viewers like to learn about the lives of the singers, this show will give them all the information. O

Variety

CULTURAL BUZZ Peppermint milkshake

On a Sunbeam

Bold Hold

Chick-Fil-A’s holiday themed milkshake, the Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milkshake, will be offered from Nov. 12 to Jan. 5. The drink is perfect for the holiday season and leaves customers wanting more.

The drink blends soft-serve vanilla ice cream with peppermint syrup, and is topped off with whipped cream, sprinkles, peppermint pieces and a cherry.

The peppermint adds a special taste to the milkshake which can be clearly tasted alongside the vanilla flavor. The prices are reasonable, with a small costing $3.25 and a large costing $3.75.

Although the milkshake is a cold drink in a cold season, it makes up for its temperature in taste.

With the Beechwood Chick-Fil-A and the new Downtown Chick-Fil-A only minutes away from Clarke Central High School, the milkshake is a perfect after-school treat.

Initially a webcomic, Tillie Walden’s “On a Sunbeam” was published on Oct. 2. At first glance, the graphic novel is a sweet, romantic space odyssey following a team trying to keep up with its tedious work. But upon closer look, it is so much more.

The story follows a 19-year-old girl, Mia, as she joins a crew of four members of various backgrounds whose job is to restore ancient architecture. As Mia gets to know her crew, readers discover more about Mia’s past, as well as the story of a girl she fell in love with four years ago.

Walden does a beautiful job of making the story flow without confusion, despite its two different time periods.

“On a Sunbeam” is a gorgeous, touching and immersive book with a beautiful art style and color palette. Once picked up, readers will find it difficult to put this emotional book down.

As wigs, lace frontals and closures are becoming the new wave in the hair industry, multiple hair gels, glues and hair tapes have been introduced to the market. Got2b Glued, Ghost Bond and Ultra Hold are a waste of money compared to the game-changing product Bold Hold Extreme Creme, created by The Hair Diagram.

Not only has The Hair Diagram created a product free of latex, but also three supporting products -- the Bold Hold skin protectant, Bold Hold tape and Bold Hold lace remover. Bold Hold was originally priced at $25, but has now gone down to $19.99. Unfortunately, this miracle product is not available at local stores, but the three-to-five day shipping is worth the wait.

Bold Hold Extreme Creme is easy to use and gives customers a powerful, long-lasting waterproof and sweatproof hold.

-- Elena Webber, Social Media Coordnaitor

-- Audrey Kennedy, Visuals Staffer

-- Tecoya Richardson, Variety Staffer

thank u, next

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ost people have an ex or two they wish they had never met, but not singer-songwriter Ariana Grande. She is grateful for each and every one of her past flames. After almost six years on the Billboard Top 100 list, Grande has made it to No. 1 with her hit song “thank u, next,” released on Nov. 3.

Throughout the song, Grande mentions names of multiple ex-lovers, most notably the late singer-songwriter Malcolm “Mac” Miller, all in an effort to show the growth she has experienced because of them.

Not only is the song well-composed and undoubtedly catchy, it is also extremely personal.

While writing personal songs is not unfamiliar to Grande, this level of transparency distinguishes her from her pop contemporaries.

This single reflects on the terrible events Grande has recently endured. Some may see the song as being too focused on how men have impacted Grande’s life, but it’s her truth. The song is written

BY KELLY FULFORD Senior Visuals Coordinator

Variety

about her past relationships and the strength they have given her. She expresses her gratitude for each relationship, “One taught me love, / One taught me patience, / And one taught me pain / Now, I’m so amazing.”

Not everyone can take pain and create growth, but Grande has opened her heart and given young listeners hope that the pain they endure will someday manifest into positivity.

As for Miller’s passing, Grande included the heartwarming line, “Wish I could say, / ‘Thank you’ to Malcolm / ‘Cause he was an angel.”

For those listeners who say this was not enough, one might suggest they take a closer look at the lyrics and decide for themselves whether Grande was ill-hearted in her mentioning of his name -- it is clear that she was not.

This hit has many biting their nails as they wait for her next album to drop. As for Grande, she is grateful for everyone she’s loved despite the pain. O

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Local music and mental health outlet Nuçi’s Space has been helping members of the Athens community since its opening in 2000.

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ince 2000, Nuçi’s Space, a resource center located at 396 Oconee St., has opened its doors to musicians of all ages. While Nuçi’s Space offers music classes and the Camp Amped program, its staff also works to spread mental health awareness and help young adults in the Athens community with their mental health.

According to its website, Nuçi’s Space “maintains a health and resource center for musicians as a safe space to seek support and guidance, provides access to affordable, obstacle-free professional care, actively participates in treatment and educates about awareness, prevention and the risk factors of brain illnesses.”

After Nuçi’s Space Founder Linda Phillips lost her son Nuçi Phillips, a musician, to suicide, she decided to create a safe space where those who suffered from mental illness could play music, while also having access to mental health professionals if needed.

Nuçi’s Space counseling advocate Lensey Cobbs says that Linda hoped to create a safe place where musicians who may be struggling with mental health problems could seek help.

“Nuçi was a student at UGA and a musician here in Athens. He came from a really good family, who loved him and cared for him and he loved them. He fought with depression for five years and he tried to take his own life a couple of times and obviously, he lost the battle and he took his own life,” Cobbs said.

“Linda, his mom, (founded) Nuçi’s Space so that if a musician needed help they could come here. She hoped that it would be a place where, if Nuçi had

BY EMMA RAMSAY Variety Editor

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“All of a sudden people start answering questions and their own stories come out, and you realize that everybody is going through something.”

known about it, he would have come.”

As a counseling advocate at Nuçi’s Space, Cobbs helps oversee musicians and other community members as they transition into getting help from professional psychiatrists.

“When someone needs mental health facilities they would come and ask me about how to go about that and I would either direct them to the services needed or I would tell them how to go about getting an appointment,” Cobbs said.

“Sometimes, they have no idea what’s available, so I can help someone work out whatever it is that they need. Then other times, I can help them out financially, so if they are a musician then we can help out with some of the barriers of treatment, because mental health treatment is very expensive.”

One way Nuçi’s Space reaches out to younger musicians in the Athens community is through a program known as Camp Amped. The camp provides middle school and high school students with a musical outlet.

Unlike traditional music camps, Camp Amped also teaches students the importance of mental health.

“There’s something about (the sessions), because it’s sad but it’s also magical because you realize that everybody around you, who you thought, ‘Oh, they’ve got it good. They’re happy.’ And you think it’s just you. Then all of a sudden people start answering questions and their own stories come out,

-- Lensey Cobbs, Nuci’s Space Counseling Advocate and you realize that everybody is going through something,” Cobbs said.

Clarke Central High School freshman Tommy Lynn has been attending Camp Amped since 2015 and believes that the camp has had a positive effect on him.

“I think one of the most important parts about (Nuçi’s Space) is the safe space that was created.

Whether it be the location or the people working there, they have done a really good job of that,” Lynn said. “I feel like it’s my home away from home.”

According to Cobbs, Nuçi’s Space seeks to provide those in need of mental support a place where they can truly feel at home.

“Nuçi’s mission is to put an end to the epidemic of suicide and we do that by providing access to treatment and trying to remove the stigma of mental health. They get to know us and then hopefully, if they ever need mental health treatment they will feel comfortable asking for help,” Cobbs said. O

Variety

A DIFFERENT K I N D O F F A M I LY Sophomore Roxanne Domizi has benefited greatly from Nuçi’s Space’s Camp Amped program and the support it provides.

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hen I walked into Nuçi’s Space for the first time at 12 years old, I felt nothing but anxiety. New places always did that to me, and the unfamiliarity of the situation was overwhelming.

When I signed up for my first Camp Amped session, I had no idea it could ever mean as much to me as it does now. Three years later, no other place on earth makes me feel as safe, supported and comforted as Nuçi’s Space does.

I expected to be put in a group with people my age, practice music, play a show and then be done with it. However, that was only a part of a much larger experience.

During my second session, I learned that Nuçi’s Space is much more than a practice space for musi-

BY ROXANNE DOMIZI Variety Staffer

cians. Sitting in a circle with one of the mental health counselors there, we were told the story of Nuçi Phillips’ tragedy.

After the tragic death of her son Nuçi, Linda Phillips decided to dedicate a space to provide mental health resources for people in Athens -- not just musicians, like her son, but for anyone in need.

In that room, the music I was used to hearing was replaced with silence. It was filled only by people sharing their vulnerable stories to provide a simple message: you’re not alone.

This was only the beginning of the support and friendship that everyone at Nuçi’s Space has provided to me. The instructors and other people working at Nuçi’s Space gave me something that I never had before.

For the first time, adults were treating me not as their student or child, or as someone below them, but as another person.

As long as I can remember, I have struggled to open up to people. However, Nuçi’s Space taught me that it’s OK to be vulnerable.

The trust that this built in me carried over to other situations when I was at my worst.

When my anxiety left me sitting on the floor of the bathroom trying to breathe,

an instructor found me and offered me the support I needed, instead of telling me to just get back to practicing.

When I found myself on the brink of tears before a performance, I wasn’t told to get over it, but was reassured by people who understood what I was going through.

Nuçi’s Space and Camp Amped have taught me that my struggles aren’t something I need to be ashamed of, and most of all, that I am not alone in anything.

There’s always a place I can go where people will care. Nuçi’s Space has given me something that we all need. O

Left: PEACE IN PLAYING: Variety staffer Roxanne Domizi plays her keyboard.

Domizi has been participating in the Camp Amped program at Nuçi’s Space for three years and has benefited from the support provided by the program. Illustration by Audrey Kennedy Opposite page: HORSE HEAD: Camp Amped Student Blake Straehla plays guitar at the fall session camp performance. Camp Amped has a focus on promoting mental health. “There’s something about (the sessions) because it’s sad but it’s also magical because (...) you realize that everybody is going through something,” Nuci’s Space counseling advocate Lensey Cobbs said.

Photo by Colin Frick

Variety

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Recognizing hard work The Clarke Central High School girls basketball team received lower game attendance than the boys basketball team in the 2017-18 school year.

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ccording to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the average attendance for a game at the Division I collegiate level for women’s basketball is 1,622. The average attendance for games at the Division I collegiate level in men’s basketball is 4,799 -- three times more than the women’s average.

This pattern continues at Clarke Central High School. In 2017, the Lady Glads basketball team had a 9-16 record and went on to the AAAAA state tournament. However, the average game did not garner the same attendance as the boys’ team.

“The crowd would mostly be our parents and a few people come to the student section after halftime, (when it’s) closer to the boys’ game, and it’s mostly not that many people,” senior point guard Samiha Rittenberry said.

2017 CCHS graduate Fredricka Sheats played basketball over her four years of high school and now

BY ANDREA MATTA-CASTILLO Sports Writer

plays for Macon State College. According to Sheats, her games are not well attended.

“Not many (people come). I’m in a city where not many people support, so it’s very rare that a good crowd comes,” Sheats said. “(It) doesn’t really bother me. The game still has to go on regardless of

represented, underrepresented, as compared to their male player counterparts,” Bothe said. “They’re playing the same sport and doing the same thing and the only difference is that some players are female and others are male. That’s just blatantly sexist.”

According to sophomore Kolbe Cooper, he did not attend the girls’ basketball games last year due to their record. “(I did not attend the girls basketball games) because they sorry,” Cooper said. “They never win. If they started winning, I would maybe go.”

According to head CCHS girls -- Carla Johnson, basketball coach Carla Johnson, CCHS girls basketball coach game attendance varies from year to year and can change for many reasons. whomever is there.”

“A lot of (game attendance) is predicated in soCCHS Women and Gender Studies Club mem- ciety. There are a lot of times that male sports get ber Erin Bothe, a freshman, believes it is unfair that more attention (and) more revenue than female women’s sports are treated differently than men’s. sports,” Johnson said. “It’s also predicated on the “I think it’s wrong if female sport players are less fact of how well that sport is doing.”

“A lot of that (game attendance) is predicated in society. There are a lot of times that male sports get more attention (and) more revenue than female sports.”

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According to Johnson, game attendance has not always been an issue for the CCHS girls basketball team. In the 2007-08 season, the team’s record was 22-6 and 19-7 in the 2015-16 season.

“We (play) before (the boys team), but we were filling up the stands pretty good prior to a boys game (in the mid-2000s), and that was attributed mainly to our success as a team, ” Johnson said.

As a female basketball player, Johnson worked to demonstrate her athletic ability throughout her basketball career at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri.

“I think growing up (I had to prove myself ). I played with my older brother and older cousins, so trying to get playing time or get on a court was just like, ‘Oh, you just a girl, you just a girl,’ and so it just made me work hard and made me more determined,” Johnson said. “Even as I came out through high school and collegiate ball, I would often go to Bishop Park or over at Stegman (Coliseum) and play with the guys.”

Junior Cassandra Jackson, varsity team guard, believes the girls basketball team can gain more game attendance by working harder on the court.

“If we want more numbers for our games, we just have to play harder and then give something to watch. Not necessarily (that) we have to win everything,” Jackson said. “But if you have heart and the

audience can see that, then they’re going to want to come.”

Johnson agrees that attendance is a result of hard work.

“You want to put out a good product out there, so they can come see you and you want to play a good brand of basketball,” Johnson said. “I think if you put time in, work and get your skills where they need to be and put a competitive team on the floor, people will come support you.”

For sophomore Kiara Holder, the number of people in the stands does not influence her or her team.

“Either way it goes, you have to do what you got to do. If a scout comes, you can’t look and see in the

crowd and see who’s out there, you just gotta play your heart out every single game,” Holder said.

Johnson believes that, with or without a large crowd watching the games, the girls basketball players should focus on each other. She has a positive outlook for the 2018-19 season.

“That qualifying game against Loganville (High School) last year really showed where that continued work paid off when at some point they probably could have just fallen apart mentally, but that mental perseverance pushed us over the top. Hopefully that will carry on with the returning players this year,” Johnson said. “Every day is gonna take work, and hopefully we’ll go further than we did last year.” O

Featured: WORKING FOR CHANGE: Clarke Central High School sophomore Kiara Holder (top right), junior Cassandra Jackson (left) and senior Samiha Rittenbury (bottom right) pose for pictures in the New Gym on Nov. 16. Although previous records and attendance has not been where the Lady Glads want them to be, Jackson believes that putting in more work will help them improve. “I think we’re kind of going through a dip right now, so then the effort (we) put in is the opportunity (we’re) going to be able to get out of it,” Jackson said. Photo by Kelly Fulford

Opposite page: STANDING TOGETHER: (Left to right) Clarke Central High School sophomore Kiara Holder, senior Samiha Rittenbury and junior Cassandra Jackson stand on the bleachers of the new gym on Nov. 16. Since the 2015-16 season, the team has seen dwindlng attendance at games, and head coach Carla Johnson occasionally gives the girls pep talks. “I often talk to my players from time to time about, you want people to come support you, not that they should, win lose or draw, but you also want to put out a good product out there so they can come see you,” Johnson said. Photo by Kelly Fulford

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Turning

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Away

Following the resignation of former Clarke Central High School head wrestling coach Timothy Stoudenmire at the end of the 2017-18 school year, some CCHS senior wrestlers are leaving, or planning on leaving, the program.

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he end of the 2017-18 school year saw major changes to the CCHS wrestling team’s coaching staff, prompting the departure of some senior wrestlers and leading others to consider leaving the program.

Former Clarke Central High School head wrestling coach Timothy Stoudenmire left the CCHS wrestling program at the end of the 2017-18 school year when he was hired by Oglethorpe County High School as head wrestling coach and associate athletic director.

BY AJ CARR Sports Writer

“We lost our whole coaching staff that we all had a tight relationship with. It just does not feel the same.”

-- Stephen cofer, former varsity wrestler Former CCHS wrestling assistant coach Stanley Latimore also resigned from CCHS and joined Stoudenmire as the assistant coach for the OCHS wrestling program. Phillip Walter, former CCHS wrestling assistant coach and current CAPS department teacher, retired from coaching after Stoudemire’s resignation.

Following these departures, former University of

Left: CHECKING OUT EARLY: Clarke Central High School seniors and former wrestlers (left to right) AJ Waller, Thomas Isakovich and Riley Smith stand in front of the James M. Crawford memorial arena on Nov. 2. Smith left the team after the departure of former wrestling head coach Timothy Stoudenmire. “When I heard (senior wrestlers) talking about how they were not going to (wrestle), I started thinking about not doing it,” Smith said. “If my friends were not going to do it, I was not going to do it because wrestling is not my main sport. I did wrestling because my friends did it and (because Stoudenmire) was the coach.” Photo

by Kelly Fulford

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Kentucky football player and wrestler Shane McCord was hired to be the new head coach of the wrestling program.

Former wrestler Stephen Cofer, a CCHS senior, believes the absence of Stoudenmire, Latimore and Walter left a hole in the program.

“I think (the coaches leaving) was a big hit to the program. They were all three great coaches,” Cofer said. “We lost our whole coaching staff that we all had a tight relationship with. It definitely is a new feeling to have a new coaching staff. It just does not feel the same.”

Former wrestler Riley “Ricky” Smith, a senior, left the team because of Stoudenmire’s departure.

“For me, it’s just like I grew up with (Stoudenmire) and he was like a role model to me. I was only in the program because of him. I was in the program for him to teach me life lessons and stuff of that nature,” Smith said. “We all grew up with him since seventh and eighth grade and everyone was like, ‘Screw it, it’s not worth it to do it again.’

We were scared.”

Former wrestler Thomas Isakovich, a senior, has wrestled in the CCHS program since the eighth

“Last year was just a tough, long season. Once (Stoudenmire) said he was leaving, the thought just started ticking in my mind that I did not want to wrestle next year. (Stoudenmire) leaving did trigger the thought, but now it’s not the main cause,” Cofer said. “Sometimes wrestling is not all that fun.

It stretches you to your limits and sometimes pushes you over the edge. A lot of teammates are leaving, so it would not be much fun.”

Former wrestler senior AJ Waller left the team to focus more on his academics.

“Sometimes I feel like you can’t do wrestling and school at the same time.

There is so much out of the day you do for wrestling and for school,” Waller said. “You really have to pick one. I picked wrestling every time and my grades suffered. This year, I am picking school and grades so I can get into college.”

-- AJ WALLER, McCord is unsure how the seniors former varsity wrestler leaving will affect the team during his first year at CCHS. “This is my first year here and I didn’t really know nothing about Clarke Central wrestling play for anyone else.”

For Cofer, Stoudenmire’s resignation is not the before the job became open,” McCord said. “I really can’t say who I lost, but I do know that the senior only reason for leaving the wrestling program. class that left was the pinnacle in this wrestling room.”

Stoudenmire, in conversations with some of the seniors, advised them not to leave the CCHS wrestling program this season. “(Senior wrestlers) know how I feel. They know I am disappointed and that they are making a mistake. They also know that they are not being fair to the new coach,” Stoudenmire said. “I think the new coach is a good man and I have no idea what his philosophies are (or his) styles are, but I do know he is not getting a fair shake.”

Senior wrestler Ja’Morris Hart, who is staying on the team, believes that McCord will be a great fit for the program.

“I was pretty excited because he was a black wrestling head coach and he’s a heavyweight wrestler,” Hart said. “I am a heavyweight wrestler and he knows more heavyweight stuff than (Stoudenmire) did.

He knows what’s gonna happen in my heavyweight matches.”

CCHS athletic director Jon Ward believes that the wrestlers who are leaving will regret the decision once they graduate high school.

“We have had coaching changes before in other sports, but this is the first big group of seniors leaving. This is very unique,” Ward said. “I have been involved in high school athletics for 30 years and in all of my time I have grade. He believes that the loss of so many seniors will be difficult for McCord and the wrestling program.

“I don’t know how (McCord) will handle it.

(Stoudenmire) always brought us close together and we don’t know coach McCord like that,” Isakovich said. “We have built five years of a bond with one coach and then I have only known coach McCord for like a few months. It is a turn-off for me. I was so close to coach Stoudenmire that I have no desire to

“I picked wrestling every time and my grades suffered. This year, I am picking school and grades so I can get into college.”

Above: NEW COACH: Clarke Central High School head wrestling coach Shane McCord stands outside the wrestling room on Nov. 29. McCord believes the seniors who left really left an impact on the program. “This is my first year here and I didn’t really know nothing about Clarke Central wrestling before the job became open,” McCord said. “I really can’t say who I lost but I do know that the senior class that left was the pinnacle in this wrestling room.”

Photo by Kelly Fulford

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Above: IN IT UNTIL THE END: Senior Wrestlers Ja’Morris Hart (left) and Me’Shai Coleman (right) stand with head wrestling coach Shane McCord (middle) outside the wrestling gym on Nov. 29. Hart believes that the seniors leaving will impact the program. “I think it will be kinda negative because most of the seniors left and they were supposed to be our starting lineup and our leaders,” Hart said. “Now, since most of them are gone we are probably gonna have to work in some younger guys into varsity that might not be ready for it.” Photo by Kelly Fulford

seen a numerous amount of seniors decide not to participate their senior year. Most of the time, they come back and they wish they had played. Once it’s gone, you never get it back.”

Senior wrestler Me’Shai Coleman considered leaving CCHS after Stoudenmire’s resignation, but decided to stay.

“I didn’t think that (McCord) was gonna be a really good coach for the team,” Coleman said. “But now that I’ve talked to him, I think he’s really cool and I think that he would be good for Central.”

According to Cofer, due to the number of senior wrestlers leaving the program, young wrestlers will have to step into the starting lineup.

“The younger kids are coming from middle school wrestling, but high school wrestling is different. They are going to have to learn the differences

between them,” Cofer said. “They need to learn the mental part of wrestling, not the physical part. They will have to learn to be disciplined and how to stay focused on their matches.”

Coleman says he will miss the fellowship with for-

I think without the guys that know how to do that, I think it will be a little harder to pick the intensity up,” Coleman said. “That’s how it was my previous years, whenever the leaders wouldn’t push us, there’d just be a couple of us trying to get everybody else to go on, and they wouldn’t really pick it up.”

Stoudenmire believes that wrestling should not be about having loyalty to one single coach.

“If I am (the reason some seniors left), then they are very misguided in where their loyalty -- Timothy Stoudenmire, should lie. I never in my life wresformer head coach tled for anybody other than myself and my team,” Stoudenmire said.

“I did not wrestle because I had mer teammates. an affection towards a certain coach or anything “Whenever we would get in our little mojo or like that. Wrestling pulled me out of being a pretty something, we would always start working hard, mischievous and poorly-behaved adolescent teen. It grinding, then I would always pick up the intensity taught me how to have self-discipline and how to get in the room, make everybody start doing that, and more out of myself.” O

“If I am (the reason some seniors left) then they are very misguided in where their loyalty should lie. ”

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THE

Next

STEP

Above: LOOKING BACK: 2010 Clarke Central High School graduate Devante Derricotte sits on the bench in Billy Henderson Stadium on Oct. 31 where he played football for four years. Although Derricotte did not continue his athletic career after high school due to various reasons, he views it as a learning experience. “I know I could have done better, but I have no regrets (because) it’s all for a reason. You have to go through stuff to learn in life, so it’s just this learning process, another stepping stone for me to learn from,” Derricotte said. Photo by Kelly Fulford

Clarke Central High School student athletes strive to excel in athletics throughout their high school careers. However, after graduation, many do not play at the next level.

A

pproximately seven percent of high school students pursue athletics at the collegiate level, according to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As sports seasons conclude, Clarke Central High School athletes face the question of whether or not they can continue athletics after graduation.

CCHS head varsity football coach David Perno says there are many qualities that differentiate a collegiate-level qualifier from the abundant number of hopeful student athletes.

“There’s three components that go into it and it’s ability, attitude and your academics. You got to be solid in all of them, and I think that’s the piece that a lot of kids don’t understand,” Perno said. “It’s not just your ability. It’s not just your academics. It’s not just your attitude. You have to be elevated in all three.”

BY NATALIE RIPPS Sports Writer

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“Life is 90 percent who you

know. If I had pursued some connections, maybe something would have happened.”

-- Rush Maxwell, former varsity football player

CCHS 2011 graduate Rush Maxwell played football, golf and track throughout his high school career. As graduation approached, Maxwell was forced to rethink his future in athletics.

“I loved football. I loved golf. I would have loved

to play both in college. But my skill set, my level of play, didn’t really align with the same kind of collegiate experience that I wanted to have,” Maxwell said. “I wanted to go to a pretty big school and I just wasn’t quite up to that level of playing.”

Maxwell later went on to attend Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and according to Maxwell, he only regrets not pursuing opportunities to play at the collegiate level.

“I probably could’ve walked onto an SEC school team or a bigger (Division 1 football) team. Looking back on it, through work ethic and just sticking with it, I probably could have made the team,” Maxwell said. “If I had pursued some connections, maybe something would have happened, but I didn’t really do that.”

CCHS 2010 graduate Devante Derricotte played football all four years of high school. Derricotte planned to continue his sports career at Benedict

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College in Columbia, South Carolina, but wasn’t able to engage in the opportunity for a variety of reasons.

“I actually did not end up playing in college because I got hooked on the college life and ended up not doing what I was supposed to do,” Derricotte said. “If I could take it back, I would be on TV right now. I know I would.

I was happy for (my friends who pursued athletics in college) because I love them and I’m not a hating type of guy, but at the same time I was thinking, ‘Damn, that should’ve been me, too.’”

According to Derricotte, the end of his sports career encouraged him to develop a new, mature perspective. “(My coach) used to always say, ‘You’re gonna thank me for being hard on y’all,’ and I never understood what he was trying to say. Now I do, now that I’m grown,” Derricotte said. “It taught me more responsibility and stability and just being a grownup. I’m still learning right now, getting better day by day. I’ll be learning day by day.”

Perno worked as the head baseball coach at the University of Georgia for 12 years, where he gained experience as a college recruiter. According to Perno, oftentimes students are given false hope through

“At the end of the day, many don’t get that offer that they thought they were maybe in line for.”

Above: A LASTING IMPACT: 2011 Clarke Central High School graduate Rush Maxwell poses for his football portrait for the 2007-2008 school year. Throughout his high school career, Maxwell was able to discover more about himself through his commitment to football and the team.

“What (football) taught me was I need to find ways to stay busy (because) that’s really that’s how I thrive. Not everyone is like that, but being in high school and having sports and the extracurriculars that I did showed me that at a young age,” Maxwell said. “It also showed me that I really thrive in a team environment. Just knowing my specific role and knowing what it adds to the team (impacted me).” Photo courtesy of Rush Maxwell

-- David Perno head varsity football coach colleges’ search for new recruits.

“I came (to CCHS) and I realize the difficulties on both ends: from the college recruiters who were going to invest the type of money and scholarships in kids and from the other standpoint, that kids (get) led on,” Perno said. “Colleges send out a lot of mail and they’re very active on social media, so these kids think those are offers or interests, but at the end of the day, (many) don’t get that offer that they thought they were maybe in line for.”

CCHS junior Zach Quick has been playing on the boys’ varsity soccer team for three years and believes he has the potential to continue his career at the collegiate level.

“You have to always think about how many people there are in the world and how many people play college. On a college team there are around 20 people,” Quick said. “They have to find those specific 20 people in the U.S. and other countries, too, so you have to be the best that you can. You can’t slack off at all.”

Above: STILL PLAYING: 2011 Clarke Central High School graduate Rush Maxwell poses for a picture in Billy Henderson Stadium. While Maxwell did not continue athletics to the collegiate level, sports continue to be an important part of his life. “There is a little bit of flag football I can find every once in a while and I still play basketball with a group at (CCHS) every Friday morning. It’s a group of coaches that play and some college kids around the area. I try to play as much golf as I can. Really, if it has a ball play, I’ll play,” Maxwell said. Photo by Kelly Fulford

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Above: ALUMNI ADVICE: Clarke Central High School 2010 graduate Devante Derricotte poses for a picture in Billy Henderson Stadium on Oct. 31. While Derricotte did not continue athletics to the collegiate level, he believes student athletes should pursue the opportunity. “(My advice is) keep pushing. Never give up, never quit. Even when it seems rough and hard like you can’t do it, know you always can accomplish anything as long as you put faith in it,” Derricotte said. Photo by Kelly Fulford

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Quick says that he will be looking into both academics and athletics during his college search.

“I definitely want to play soccer as much as I can, but I also really like sports nutrition. I always thought that was really interesting,” Quick said.

“Even if I go somewhere for soccer, I can also go somewhere for academics, too. Just in case something happens during college, I’d still enjoy going there as a student.”

CCHS senior Edwin Summerour has received multiple football offers from colleges across the country. According to Summerour, playing football at the collegiate level has been a goal of his from a young age.

“When I was younger, I would always play up. I was in the backyard and I was playing with my older brothers, and (they were) in middle school and (I was) only six or seven years old. So, I had to always be tough,” Summerour said.

Summerour, who transferred from Monsignor Donovan Catholic High School in 2017, believes his years of effort will benefit him.

“I feel very blessed to be able to (play after high school). (The opportunity) just doesn’t come. You have to work. You just have to work hard to get to where you are right now,” Summerour said. “I had to work really, really hard, going from (MDCHS) to where I’m at now. Perno always tells me, ‘You’re blessed to be able to do this, because nobody else gets the chance.’”

Perno has discovered the selectivity of the recruiting process through his previous work at the collegiate level.

“The recruiting is competitive (because) so many

Below: MEN IN RED: Clarke Central High School graduates (left to right) John Wilson, Rush Maxwell and Devante Derricotte stand with former coach Brock Miller in Billy Henderson Stadium in 2008. After four years at CCHS, Maxwell studied forestry at Louisiana State University, but did not seek a profession in this area after graduation. “My dad always preached (one should) find something they love to do and find a way to get paid to do it. I’m still trying to figure that one out. Upon (college) graduation I didn’t have a great job secured and at that point I was kind of drained, so I got into sales and one thing led to another,” Maxwell said. “I moved back to Georgia about six months ago and found a job with a contractor outside of town and here I am. Life continues to throw curveballs and I’m just trying to hit them the best I can.” Photo courtesy of Rush Maxwell

schools are invested in getting the right student athletes. It sounds good, (and) it’s a great opportunity for those who can get a chance to go and get their

Above: STUDENT BEFORE ATHLETE: Clarke Central High School 2011 graduate Rush Maxwell carries the ball in a CCHS football game in 2007. As a former student-athlete, Maxwell believes academics are a priority for college-level athletes. “In college, if you don’t get your work done and you don’t have the grades, your teachers aren’t just gonna pass you. If you don’t pass, you’re not gonna play. If you don’t play, you have no opportunity to ever go on to the next level. So, you got to get your school work done first,” Maxwell said. Photo courtesy of Rush Maxwell

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college paid for and play at the same time, (but) there’s a lot that goes into it on both ends,” Perno said.

CCHS sophomore Anaiah Aziabor began her volleyball career as a freshman, playing with the JV team. While Aziabor would appreciate the opportunity to play volleyball at the collegiate level, she is aware of the realities of the potential challenges.

“I can’t expect volleyball to pay my bills in the future, so I want to be able to go to a school that allows me to get a job where, yes, I can play volleyball in my free time, but where I’m able to focus on academics,” Aziabor said.

According to Derricotte, his failure to play at a collegiate level led him to an unexpected, yet fulfilling, career today.

“I’m a barber now. I used to cut hair back in high school. I’m just an artistic guy. I always knew I had it in me, I just didn’t know it would happen like this,” Derricotte said. “(Previously), I’ve been working in warehouses and stuff like that, but it just ain’t for me.

I finally found a job that I love to do.”

Although Derricotte did not play at the collegiate level, football remains a large factor in his life.

“I’ll be teaching my little nephews (football) in the yard and everything. I love doing stuff like that,” Derricotte said. “There’s so much that goes along with football. Football taught me to stay strong, never give up and always give it my all. Football taught me a lot about life.” O

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CORRUPTING THE PROCESS The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) attempted, but failed, to improve the recruitment process for high school players looking to play at the collegiate level.

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he National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced several rule changes in August of 2018, many of which affect high school players’ ability to play MACKENZIE CAUDILL Sports Editor collegiate or professional basketball. These alter the recruitment process for students, shortening the amount of scouting time and limiting the ability to hire an agent for high school players.

The changes were sparked by a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probe regarding the corruption of professional basketball, specifically the payment of players by top colleges in order to convince them to commit.

But the question remains: will the adjustments to the rulebook actually change anything?

High school athletes now have to be recognized

by USA Basketball as “elite” players in order to be represented by agents during the recruitment pro-

Independent organizations cannot be trusted to fairly examine every player to determine their eligibility.

cess.

According to the ESPN article “NCAA’s new proposed rules blindside execs from NBA, USA Basketball,” USA Basketball officials feel they have neither the time nor the resources to determine which high school athletes are a part of the “elite” class by the end of their junior year.

There is no clear answer as to who decides what classifies a high school player as “elite,” and there is no guarantee USA Basketball will make informed decisions about student athletes’ eligibility.

It seems as if the NCAA is making a desperate attempt to rope organizations together to create some sort of checks and balances system.

However, individual organizations under the NCAA may not have time to carry out complicated fairness policies.

These organizations cannot be trusted to fairly examine every player to determine their eligibility,

and the shortened viewing times for players to be seen by scouts will make it more difficult for colleges to find the talent.

The rule changes made by the NCAA have also limited the time that small schools will be able to view prospects at viewing events. While bigger Division I schools will be invited to additional events in May, small schools will only be invited to events in June.

Not only do these rules make it harder for student athletes to get noticed by colleges, they increase the corruption of the recruitment process -- the exact problem the NCAA was trying to solve in the first place. O

Featured: “ELITES ONLY”: As many hopeful high school athletes look for college teams in hopes of making it big time, they are forced to face reality. With many new rules and regulations added to the recruitment process, it is a lot more difficult for a young athletes to make their way to that dream. Illustration by Audrey Kennedy

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Star Players0 ODYSSEY Star Players

SWIM

WILL FOGGIN

NAKIA RUCKER

ODYSSEY Star Players are selected based on their academic standing and commitment to teammates, their sports program and Clarke Central High School. Star Players are written for each issue by the Sports staff based on interviews with players and coaches.

WILL FOGGIN GRADE: 10 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE: I’ve been swimming since I was five (years old).

GAME DAY RITUAL: I don’t really have one. I just show up at the pool and I always do the same warmup before every race, so I guess that’s my ritual.

FAVORITE MEMORY: I was at the state meet when I was 12 and I was swimming the 200 freestyle and I had a really bad start, and then I was able to come back and win my heat and make finals, so that’s a great memory.

ROLE MODEL: My role model is probably Michael Phelps because he’s just such a hard worker and was able to achieve all his goals.

WHAT COACHES SAY: “Will is a great athlete with (an) exceptional work ethic. He contributes a lot to our team and he’s always striving to improve. He placed 8th in the 500-yard freestyle last year at state and I expect that he will do well at state again this year.”

-- Emily Hulse, head swim coach

GRADE: 10 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE: I’ve been playing since I was little, but my first time on a team was in seventh grade.

GAME DAY RITUAL: I always listen to music before the game, like all the way up until we start warming up.

FAVORITE MEMORY: I remember last season, we went to round one of the state playoffs and even though we lost, it was an experience I had never felt before because we were all really excited about going to state.

ROLE MODEL: I’m gonna say my brother because he plays football, but he’s really hard-working and we play basketball and football together a lot, so he helps me work on my game.

WHAT COACHES SAY: “Nakia is a very hard-working young lady who brings a lot of energy and a positive attitude each and every day. She is a conscientious person who brings leadership qualities to the program. It is a joy having the opportunity to be able to coach such a smart and dedicated student athlete.”

-- Carla Johnson, head girls basketball coach

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ODYSSEY Star Players

BALL

KET JV BAS

NAKIA RUCKER December 2018

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Featured: ALL SMILES: Varsity basketball cheerleader Zykearia Dean, a senior, smiles alongside teammates in the New Gym on Dec. 8. Dean has been cheering since the eighth grade and is looking forward to her last season. “I’m excited. I’m not really ready for it to end yet. It hasn’t really hit me that it’s my last year yet. Probably closer to the end of the season, I’ll feel sad, but right now I’m just excited,” Dean said.

Photo by Kelly Fulford

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