The Voice Dec 2018

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Student Section

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Baseball Legend

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Photo by Emily Parkinson

CULTURE OF KINDNESS AMONG STUDENTS

By Casey Downing STAFF WRITER

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“Be Kind” Movement Spreads Across Nebraskan Schools

anners draped in the halls, stickers decorating the back of dozens of laptops and the unusual sight of teachers milling around the halls with matching t-shirts, the BeKind movement is everywhere in GHS, and its presence is felt in every high school across the state of Nebraska. The campaign was started by Ralston Superintendent Dr. Mark Adler and his wife, Joni, with the simple goal of being kind to others. The Adlers have used the BeKind movement to spread their message after they lost their son, Reid Adler, to suicide in 2016.

“I am proud to stand with my fellow educational leaders from across the states of Nebraska and Iowa,” Dr. Adler said. “Our most powerful leaders are students as we build a culture of kindness.”

Within GHS, the primary student promoters of the BeKind movement are the members of the Class Officers and Student Council. Senior Student Council member Jacob Stover knows that every student can participate in the movement with simple acts.

“To partake in the #BeKind movement, the instructions are simply in the name,” Stover said. “Be kind to everyone, and that doesn’t mean just your friends. Talk to someone you don’t normally talk to, hold the door for others, these little acts of kindness are the foundation of this movement.”

Kindness goes both ways, and the goal of the campaign is to spread compassion to as many people as possible. Senior Grace Giebler’s goal is to expand from the walls of the high school

out into the community.

“To me, being kind is just acting out of compassion and love,” Giebler said. “And let me tell you, I’ve got a lot of love to give. Being apart of the #BeKind movement is an opportunity to spread positivity not only through our schools, but our community as well. You’re important, you’re loved and you matter, is really what this movement is intended to make you feel.”

GHS has taken steps to reach as many students as possible with this movement. They decided that the best way to reach students was through other students. One of these such students is senior Emily Reid.

“To me, #BeKind means spreading a philosophy that I personally already try to live by,” Reid said. “This year, class officers are working on

ways to spread the word through merchandise and signs while also putting on activities to promote the kindness.”

Another activity that is popular with the students is greeting people when they walk into the school in the morning. Many students, such as senior John Cover, enjoy this because they can start out their day with a piece of candy and a smile.

“The small piece of candy really brightened my day,” Cover said.

Schools want to expand their respective #BeKind campaigns and share their own ideas for kindness across the state of Nebraska. One place they promote and share is at sporting events.

During the first football game of the year against Millard South, GHS student leaders and MSHS student leaders met on the field under a single #BeKind banner. This show of unity under a common goal is what the Adlers wanted when they first set out to promote change. This new campaign has grown like wildfire, and GHS throughout the year will continue to build on their growing culture of kindness.

United Purpose With a banner of positivity draped in front of them, the student leaders of GHS unite with the administration to promote #BeKind and its message. “Being kind to others is important to me because I personally know that all it takes is one single act of kindness to change a person’s life,” senior Jacob Stover said. Submitted photo Pictured Left to Right: Dr. Kevin Riley, TJ Huber, Mr. Roger Miller, Tristan Duin, Mrs. Jean Stothert, Grace Giebler, Mr. Travis Lightle, Kellen McLaughlin, Mr. David Gulizia, Deputy Dale LaSonde Top Photo creds: Emily Parkinson Bottom: Casey Downing

Reid’s Life Wearing her #BeKind shirt Mrs. Joni Adler speaks of her son Reid’s life and the impact it had on the lives of many others. “Reid was so special because of the way he reached others,” Adler said. Photo creds: Casey Downing

#BeKind

Kind Atmosphere Speaking to the crowd about the impact words have on others, Dr. Mark Adler talks of creating a new atmosphere in the halls of GHS. “Our most powerful leaders are students, as we build a culture of kindness,” Adler said. Photo creds: Casey Downing

2 News DECEMBER 2018

Volume 5 Issue 1

UNDERSTANDING SCHOOL SAFETY VIDEO PSA INFORMS LOCAL STUDENT POPULATION

By Gabriella Goday STAFF WRITER

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n October twenty-fifth students in the foreign language wing looked out of their classrooms to see two Sarpy County Sheriffs in uninformed gear. School resource officer County Sheriff Dale LaSonde created a presentation for the staff members on how to deal with certain dangers in the safest way possible. County Sheriff LeMonde wanted to take the presentation and create it for the student body. He wanted to make it in order to help students understand the procedures, but also the importance of their safety. Soon after making the decision that they wanted to make it for students, they approached video production instructor David Stastny about having a video production class involved.

“I teach video production, and the class can be flexible about things like this,” video production instructor David Stastny said. “If there are projects that people in the building want us to do, we can tailor sort of the lesson and the learning objectives we have in the class to best fit the project.”

The start of the process begins with preproduction. This is when students have to visualize what they want to accomplish in their film.

Deputy Dale originally had a video made for the staff to inform them about school safety and the class took that video as a template to guide theirs.

Once they had their template, the next step was creating the shot plan. The shot plan is a script of where and how many shots they will have to take.

Video production ended up with about a hundred

shots with two to three different segments; each will be at least two to four minutes long. The finished product should be about ten to twelve minutes long according to Mr. Stastny.

“My favorite part of the whole process is after all the shooting and uploading files and cutting shots is to see the final product that you personally made from twenty shots you did while shooting,” Junior Maeya Gydenson said.

“We completely remake and individualize a product that in the end could be seen by the whole school.”

This project was a big opportunity for the class.

Students were able to become more involved as they took ownership of each shot and edit. The group worked with P.E. instructors Ms. Megan Wentz and Mr. Jake Smith, as well as history instructor, Mr. Jon Swanson. Mr. Neil Hammond and his first-hour students also helped recruit students for the filming process. As a result, about one hundred students were involved in the production. The students are proud of what they have so far and have a good outlook on the final product.

“I am absolutely excited to see how the final project all comes together and how it will look when all the video clips are combined,” said Brianna Cavalieri.

The final product will be shown either the end of this semester or the beginning of the next semester to the entire student body. The class hopes that students will resonate with the presentation, and understand how to act when the school encounters dangerous situations.

Team Effort Many students were involved in this project. “Working with the swat team was very exciting and information because they were in their full tactical gear which made them look huge and scary,” senior Brianna Cavalieri (19) said. “But they were actually patient and they explained everything to us so that we knew what was going to happen.” With students being apart of the project, others will be more engaged with the presentation. Photo credit: Gabriella Goday

Full Gear Deputies from Sarpy County enforcement also joined in the project. “During the project, I have gotten to see what would really happen in these situations and how some students don’t really take it seriously until we brought in actual police in full gear,” Maeya Gydenson (20) said.

Photo credit: Gabriella Goday

KAVANAUGH’S NOMINATION A CONTROVERSIAL SUPREME COURT INDUCTION

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By Gavin Struve STAFF WRITER

elevision, social media and conversation were filled with talk of Brett Kavanaugh through much of September and October, but not everyone understands the situation.

Kavanaugh is the most recently confirmed U.S. Supreme Court Justice, but there was considerable turmoil leading up to him being finally added to the Supreme Court.

Senior Sophie Bredensteiner is one of the leaders of the GHS political club, and she followed the nomination closely.

“I followed the nomination by watching Kavanaugh’s full speech acceptance speech that was posted on the Washington Post website,” Bredensteiner said. “I also followed the hearing between Ford and Kavanaugh.”

Kavanaugh was born in Washington DC in 1965 and attended Yale University.

He has spent most of his professional life working for the government and had worked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit since 2006. He was considered quite accomplished and qualified for the Supreme Court position until news surfaced about an alleged sexual assault in high school while he attended Georgetown Prep. Kavanaugh has been generally Conservative throughout his political career, and could now push the Supreme Court further right-leaning. He has said that he does not believe a President

should be burdened with investigations and lawsuits while in office. It seems that he would like stricter abortion laws in place, and it seems he supports the second amendment right to bear Arms. His conservative views pleased many Republicans, including President Donald Trump, who nominated him. However, despite his nomination, he is relatively unpopular among Americans largely because of the fear that he’ll overturn the Roe v. Wade abortion case.

“I actually think Kavanaugh will be a swing voter like Justice Kennedy,” senior Tannor Dixon said. “He is right wing, but I think he will be more swing than people believe.”

The main concern with Kavanaugh lies in the allegations against him. Christine Blasey Ford, a high school classmate of Kavanaugh’s, claimed in a Washington Post article published on Sept. 16 that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party sometime in 1982. She did not know the exact details of when and where it happened. Ford said there are gaps in her memory, but she still gave specific details of the encounter itself that she does remember. She said the incident gave her years of anxiety afterward.

“I believe that Dr. Ford had good points and reason for coming to surface with the allegations against Brett Kavanaugh,” Bredensteiner said. “She took a polygraph (lie detector) test, and she passed the test.”

This accusation introduced considerable skepticism and worry about

Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s nomination for supreme court. Two more women soon came forward and also accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault furthering concern about the candidate. On Sept. 27, Ford told the senators that she was “100%” sure that she had been sexually assaulted

by Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh was animated in his defense, growing visibly angry and stating the accusation was a “calculated and orchestrated political hit.”

“I believe Kavanaugh delivered a persuasive testimony,” Dixon said. “But I don’t think he should have been as angry as he was. He should have kept the anger for off of the camera and out of court.”

The FBI decided to expand its investigation, and it concluded on Oct. 4 when the findings were delivered to the Senate Judiciary Committee. On Oct. 6, the Senate confirmed Brett Kavanaugh into the US Supreme Court with a 50-48 vote, and he was sworn in on October 8.

“I do not believe Kavanaugh should be on the Supreme Court,” Bredensteiner said.

“He did not carry himself in a judge-like manner when he was questioned.”

After weeks of debate, Kavanaugh prevailed in a memorable Senate hearing.

His nomination and hearing caused quite a bit of controversy on both sides, but the Senate was confident enough to vote him in based on the FBI’s findings. The newly confirmed justice has already heard his first case on the Supreme Court.

Trump’s Opposition President Donald Trump’s nominee faced a substantial amount of opposition. When asked about the Kavanaugh trial, he said he felt “terribly”for Kavanaugh and proceeded to mock Ford.“I do not believe Trump fully knew what was going on, as recently he said that Kavanaugh was ‘innocent,’” Bredensteiner said. “However, Kavanaugh was never on trial and could not therefore be proven guilty or innocent.” Submitted photo

On Trial The Supreme Court did not need to find Kavanaugh innocent as it was not a courtcase. They interpreted the information givento them by the FBI from its investigation. “I am unsure if Kavanaugh was proven innocent if I would want him on the Supreme Court,” Bredensteiner said. “He showed that he did not remain calm when questioned.” Submitted photo

KAVANAUGH

VOTE- FOR/AGAINST

Drawing credit: Isabel Mancilla

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Volume 5 Issue 1

By Emma Mayer STAFF WRITER

DECEMBER 2018

MEET THE NEW TEACHERS Fresh Faces in the Classroom

Submitted photo The newest teacher in the science department is, Ms. Trina Nelson. She teaches freshman Physical Science, which includes Physics and Chemistry. Her favorite part of teaching is her students.

“The kids are probably my favorite part,” Ms. Nelson said. “The kids are different at every district you go to, and it’s been a really good experience so far.”

Before becoming a teacher, Ms. Nelson was originally studying to become a lab technician. After deciding she wanted to become a teacher, she started to study secondary education.

“My first year I was a forensic science major, so I wanted to be a lab technician-like, CSI-type person,” Ms. Nelson said.

Outside of the classroom, she enjoys playing the cello and slow-pitch softball or watching softball and tennis. In the next five years, Ms. Nelson would still like to be a science teacher, but would also like to go back to school and Ms. Nelson get her second degree under her belt.

Submitted photo Here to help out with the laptops, Mr. Matt Moore is the new tech coordinator in charge of the one-to-one deployment. Before transferring to GHS, he worked for Louisville Public Schools while still living in Gretna.

“I’ve seen Gretna grow just from the ten years we’ve been here,” Mr. Moore said. “I’m from a small town, I love living in a small town and being close to Omaha.”

Mr. Moore is looking forward to expanding the one-to-one deployment and helping students and faculty. Also, he is hoping to make the use of technology more understandable and simple for students and faculty.

“I’d like to improve the user experience for students and staff,” Mr. Moore said. “I’m hoping to help with staff development. We have Apple and our educational service unit. I will be teaming up with them to help teachers integrate technology into their curriculum.”

Within the next five years, Mr. Moore is hoping to expand the one-to-one deployment and have it be district-wide. When not at the high school, Mr. Moore enjoys spending time with his kids and playing the guitar.

Mr. Moore

Originally teaching at Logan Fontenelle Middle School in Bellevue, Nebraska, Ms. Allison Dobson is the newest English teacher at GHS. She teaches English 9 CP and English 10 CP. “Gretna is different. In middle school, we had a team set up, so there is a lot more separation, but it does give me the opportunity to meet different people outside of my department and my team,” Ms. Dobson said.

This year, many teachers are integrating laptops into the classroom. Although it is a great resource, it can also be a problem in the classroom. Overall, technology can be a good and bad thing depending on how it is being used.

“I think from an English perspective [one opportunity is] typing papers and there’s a ton of other things you can do,” Ms. Dobson said. “But it’s just giving one more piece of technology in the hands of kids who have grown up with technology their whole lives. It’s a good and bad thing.”

When not in the classroom, Ms. Dobson enjoys reading, camping and overall being outside. She tries to go camping as much as she can and enjoys going for walks when the weather is nice.

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Ms. Brisco

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Ms. Dobson

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Mr. Williams

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Pep Rally Games are Put to an End

here the student section once roared with excitement, the administration hears half-hearted cries. Throughout the year, class competitions were organized with different games and competitors to appeal to various areas of the student body. However, for the administration, the students’ attitudes towards the events have changed.

“Over time, we saw less participation and enthusiasm, and the officers would always find the same competitors,” Principal Mr. Roger Miller said.

The class competitions were planned by Ms. Granger and the class officers. They worked together monthly to come up with new ideas for the competitions and to find competitors for the games. Last year’s class competitions included a variety of events which spanned from Live Hungry Hungry Hippos to Tug-of-War. Last year, the freshmen and juniors played a game of Tugof-War to remember.

“We had won against the seniors as a junior class and we were on cloud nine,” senior Avery Sedlacek said. “All we had to do was beat the freshmen. When we started to tug, we began to win, pulling them over the line. Then they just let go, letting our whole team fall on the floor, hitting our heads and falling on top of each other.”

For the student body, the play

came as a shock. Once the freshmen let go, the juniors held onto the rope and hit the ground hard. To the administration, the freshmen were taking the situation lightly.

“I don’t want something to happen, and someone to get hurt,” Mr. Miller said.

“Once the competition becomes a joke, it shows me that the games don’t matter to the students.”

While the option of ending class competitions was discussed frequently throughout the year, the tug of war game became the final straw. The decision was made by the principals, Ms. Granger and the class officers. It was decided that the officers could offer their services in a new way.

“We thought that the officers could change their focus,” Mr. Miller said.

“Instead of focusing on organizing the class competitions, they could focus on the new BeKind initiative.”

Despite the absence of games in this year’s pep rallies, Ms. Granger is optimistic about the new role class officers will have with the BeKind movement. The movement allows officers to plan activities such as Good Morning Mondays, where students are greeted by smiles and candy from the class officers. These days, as well as the movement, serve as an opportunity to uplift the school in new ways.

“As the sponsor of class officers, it’s an opportunity to decide what a role of a class officer can be,” Ms. Granger said.

“Now we have more freedom with our time to do things that the school wants to see

Submitted photo

After moving back to Gretna from Denver, Colorado, Mrs. Jessica Block is this years newest resource teacher.

She is a resource teacher for the junior class.

“We like the smallness of Gretna and the community, it’s a close-knit community,” Mrs. Block said. “We have only been here since the first of July, so we haven’t explored that much of Gretna, but we have close family around.”

Mrs. Block strives to become a part of Gretna and build more of a leadership role. She wants to get to know the students and their families.

“Being in a new district and new town, I want to get to know everybody,” Mrs. Block said. “There’s a huge faculty, so I’d like to get to know their names and what they do. I’d like to get to know the students and their families, so I can better serve them.”

When Mrs. Block is not in the classroom, she is spending time with friends and family. She is currently raising her two and eight-year-old children.

Mrs. Garcia

CLASS COMPETITIONS END

By Jessica McKee NEWS EDITOR

Mrs. Block

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Submitted photo

This year’s newest addition to the Spanish Department, Ms. Allie Brisco, teaches Spanish II, which mainly consists of sophomores and a few upperclassmen. She is also the assistant coach for the powerlifting team.

“I really enjoy the sophomore crowd, and the few other grades I have in class,” Ms. Brisco said. “I see a lot of personality in the students here and some individuality that I enjoy to see.”

This school year, Ms. Brisco is looking forward to becoming part of the community and building positive relationships with her students. When she is not in school, she enjoys working out.

“I get up at four o’clock in the morning and get to the gym by five, and I lift weights, every day, even on the weekends,” Ms. Brisco said.

Before teaching at GHS, she and her boyfriend had planned to move abroad in the next five years. However, after teaching at GHS, she can see herself living in Nebraska for the rest of her life.

Mr. Sam Williams works in the Social Studies department and teaches not only American History but also World History and Government. This year, he would like to get better at basic teaching skills and help kids be their best and perform their best.

“I’d like to improve my basic teaching skills and help kids do the best they can,” Mr. Williams said. “I want to help kids be who they want to become.”

Mr. Williams strives to make teaching engaging by using interactive lessons in his class. When it comes to the struggles of being a teacher, Mr. Williams main struggle is not his students, but coming up with interesting lesson plans.

“Behavior is not really an issue in Gretna,” Mr. Williams said. “[the main struggle is] coming up with creative lesson plans that get people fully engaged.”

When not in the classroom, Mr. Williams enjoys mountain biking. In five years, Mr. Williams would like to still be at GHS and increase his skill in the classes he teaches.

News

Mrs. Sharon Garcia is GHS’s new front office secretary. She is in charge of activity passes and she helps guide students and parents through the lunch money process. This year, she is looking forward to getting to know the students and teachers.

“We’re a very caring, close-knit school, everyone cares about each other,” Mrs. Garcia said. “I’m looking forward to getting to know more students names and the teachers.”

When she is not at school, she enjoys organizing things and spending time with friends and family. Before becoming a secretary, Mrs. Garcia served in the Navy for more than ten years, where she worked with weaponry.

“I served in the military, the Navy for ten years,” Mrs. Garcia said. “I worked on weapons systems.”

Excited for the many years to come, Mrs. Garcia cannot wait to make many memories at GHS. In five years, Mrs. Garcia looks forward to still being a secretary and eventually retiring.

here.”

Some of the students feel that the class competitions could still exist if different competition rules were put in place. Sedlacek, who competed in the tug of war game, thinks that the rest of the school should not be punished for something that the freshmen did on their own.

“First of all, our class competitions need to be dealt with in a way that only punishes kids who are disrespectful to the games,” Sedlacek said. “The school should not have taken away the competitions for everyone simply because the freshman, now sophomores, were sore losers. In future games, there can be set rules put in place for each game and if you break the rules you are disqualified and the remaining teams can play to win.”

Mr. Miller is not dismissing the idea of class competitions permanently, but acknowledges the it may be quite some time before they are re-established. The student body has simply become too large to continue the same type of competitions.

“In five or six years, once we have two high schools, we’ll split up and have a school of 900 students instead of 1,800,” Mr. Miller said. “The smaller amount of students may allow reinstating the competitions to be a possibility, but we know that you guys won’t have that opportunity.”

While the competitions may not make their appearance for several years, the fact still remains: the quarterly tradition of class competitions has been discontinued.

Hungry Hippos While competing in the Hungry Hippo class competition, Tanner Huber (19) was pulled by Omar Holtan (19). “It made me feel like I was in elementary school again,” Huber said. Huber was one of many students who collected small objects to gain points for their class.

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Court Couples Raising blue colored papers during a dating competition, Tanner Huber and Avery Sedlacek competed against several of the school’s couples. “I loved that competition simply because it gave me a chance to express my knowledge about my relationship and share it with the whole school,” Sedlacek said. The two didn’t win the competition, but brought the junior class a few hundred points.

Submitted Photo

4 News DECEMBER 2018

Volume 5 Issue 1

FIRST SON, THEN FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP Band Director Shines in His Group’s Newfound Spotlight

By Jessica McKee NEWS EDITOR

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fter months of summer preparation, early morning practices, and late-night rehearsals, the band arrived at Millard South to perform in their final competition. Despite the difficulty of the year’s choreography and drill, the band saw the night as a final chance to prove themselves. Stepping out on the field, the group performed for eight minutes and left an impression on the NSBA judges. As a result, the team brought home the school’s first state marching band title.

“I think the result was especially impactful for our students, because of all the challenges they met and conquered this season,” Mr. Norris said. “The perseverance of the band students is undeniable. They learned so many life lessons about working together towards a common goal, handling adversity, and showing each other and others respect regardless of the situation.”

With Gretna’s first state championship title in the books, the band learned many important lessons about teamwork and the importance of perseverance. The students, drum majors and directors worked together to create a show that would grant them the score necessary to win such a title.

“When I was a freshman, we placed tenth and could only dream of being on the same level as bands like Millard North and

Bellevue West,” Drum major Kayla Martin said. “We worked so hard this year, and it feels good to see that pay off.”

As the marching band season came to a close, Mr. Norris gained his first son. On October 2, the head director of the school’s band became a father to his first son. The family named their son Luke Harris Norris, the youngest of three children. While the Norris family welcomed their new addition, the band briefly lost the leadership of their band director.

“I missed four full days of classes, and freshmen band for two additional days,” Mr. Norris said. “Mr. Barada, Mrs. Tucker, Mrs. Malone, Mr. McKenzie, and our student teachers did a great job in my absence. The students stayed focused and continued to improve.”

With state nearly two weeks away, the band faced the trial of performing their best without the aid of their instructor. In response, the ensemble continued to hold sectionals and run through their show on the practice field. Despite the band’s continued progress, Mr. Norris knew that he could not be away from the band for long.

“This is the busiest time of year for the band, and my wife and I agreed on how much time to take away from teaching,” Mr. Norris said.

Because of his extra duties at home and school, Mr. Norris divided his time between band rehearsals and family.

Throughout the following weeks, the

Field Performance Band members Paige Hartman, Noah Hadley, Marin Bartman (19) , and Sarah Ference (19) perform during the school’s halftime show. (quote from Sarah) The band performed at many of the home games, and played pep band tunes on the sidelines. “In my last two years of marching band, it has found a special place in my heart,” Ference (19) said.

Photo by Emily Parkinson

director found many willing individuals to help his family. His daughters have also enjoyed their new roles as big sisters.

“Things are going pretty well,” Mr. Norris said. “We have had a lot of help from family and friends, and my daughters have enjoyed helping their little brother.”

During his time with family, Mr. Norris noticed some of the joys that fatherhood can bring. The break allowed him to admire what qualities he shares with his children and brought to light opportunities that he has to share his musical talents with them.

“It’s rewarding to see family features in my children, help them learn and grow, and share fun experiences with them, especially music,” Mr. Norris said.

With a family of five, Mr. Norris and his wife are now balancing a life with two daughters and a newborn son. This has forced them to take on more responsibilities at home to accommodate their new addition.

“My wife, Catherine and I, are outnumbered, and it requires a great deal of patience,” Mr. Norris said. “But we are enjoying the kids very much.”

Mr. Norris returned to school on October 8. He could be seen directing the marching band, umbrella in hand as a cool rain enveloped the practice field. Less than two weeks later, Mr. Norris took the band to Millard South for their state competition.

Within hours, the team had won their first state title.

State Award The school’s three drum majors and two color gaurd captains, Emma Peters (left) and Marin Bartman (right), stand to await their final score. “My favorite memory from state was standing backfield on my podium and looking out at all the people in the stands cheering for us,” Baird (19) said.

Photo by Emily Parkinson

State Champions After competing in the state competition on October 20th, the school’s drum majors show off their State Champion plaque. “I’m tremendously proud of my band members, and I can’t wait to see how they excel in the future,” Kayla Martin (19) said. Kayla, as well as Seniors Emily Austin and Madison Baird conducted the band during the 3 movement show. Submitted photo

Following Drill The band forms sideway arcs on the field during their show. “The combination of music and drill was the most challenging show that we have ever done,” Mr. Andrew Norris said.

The students created various shapes throughout the show to emphasize this year’s theme, Illumination.

Submitted photo

FINANCIAL WORRIES BECOME NEW JOYS COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS CONTRIBUTE TO A GOOD CAUSE

By Jacey Hammer CO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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hen homecoming comes around, many girls spend countless hours and an outrageous amount of money to achieve the perfect look. Other girls often prepare a budget and stick to it throughout their homecoming planning. Others are not able to do this financially. Extra expenses can often worry parents and students, guidance counselor Miss Carole Carraher wants to help the cause the best she can. She wants each girl to feel beautiful and happy on the night of homecoming and prom.

“I love doing it because through the kindness of people in Gretna community, I am able to help students with creating financial joys instead of financial worries,” Miss Carraher said.

The most important part was getting the message out to students. Miss Carraher offered students dresses along with doing the girls hair and nails. This opportunity was given to females that qualify for free and reduced lunch.

“I put a little note in every female bathroom stall,” Miss Carraher said. “I sent out an email to parents

saying, ‘If they need financial help for homecoming to contact me,’ and I tried to get it around to the students whom I know have financial need.”

The financial support provided for homecoming was not funded by the school. Miss Carraher organized it, and local non-profit foundations funded it. The same foundations provide the payment for other things, including the ACT and dual credit courses.

“It is not funded by the school,” Miss Carraher said. “It’s funded by the goodness of the people in the Gretna community who have created nonprofit foundations.”

For the past few years, Miss Carraher has helped five to ten students per year. She also assists with prom, and the foundations assist with taking care of students’ prom and post-prom admission fees.

“We should help our kids,” Miss Carraher said. “Some aren’t as financially blessed as others, and if we can make it easier for them, that’s what I want to do. I feel blessed that we have the resources to do this.”

Miss Carraher enjoys doing this for the students of GHS. She loves helping out in every way possible.

“It’s one of my favorite parts of my job,” Miss Carraher said.

Miss Carraher has helped many girls through the years. Her help has relieved financial stress from many families.

Thank you, Miss Carraher and the non-profit foundations that make this possible.

Illustration by Abby Leasure

Volume 5 Issue 1

DECEMBER 2018

FIGHTING INFLUENZA IN 2018

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5

SEASONAL VIRUS RETURNS YET AGAIN

By Isabel Mancilla STAFF CARTOONIST

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verything smells too clean, to the point the air itself might as well be spotless.

The doctor calls each patient slowly: by their last name, first name, wait and repeat. Each patient waiting to be called for the yearly flu shot.

Every year, students and adults alike line up at the nearest medical center providing the flu-fighting vaccine. The only difference from the yearly routine is that more people are choosing to not vaccinate, as reported by CNN Health.

This vaccine hesitancy is a rising concern in communities all around the nation as the virus seems to get worse every year.

Well, I mean it’s a risk, but it’s a choice people make and it’s not required,” said School-Nurse Mrs. Bridget Plathe. “Certain jobs like a hospital setting require it and nurses are required to wear masks. The goal of the flu shot is to expose your body to the virus so your body can fight it and you can have a less severe case if you contract it.”

Anti-vaccinators are rising in number as a common myth circling around the treatment spreads. Most of the people against the shots believe that the vaccine itself can cause autism or is linked to autism in children, as stated by the US National Library of Medicine and National Institute of Health. There

are a variety of reasons as to why families are deciding to not vaccinate themselves, including a fear of needles, fear of injecting a virus into themselves and more. If the vaccinee is a child that has a fear of needles, or the parent does not want the child to use needles, the parent can opt to have a flu mist. While most doctors do not allow the use of it, the mist is still an option. The flu mist is a rising option for children, but doctors do not encourage it. The flu mist is like any other nasal spray that can be taken, a spurt in each nostril allows the recipient to take in the medicine. The downside is the fact that instead of a dead virus, the virus is alive, according to Mrs. Plathe. This is the concern from doctors and nurses alike. A virus that is dead cannot do any more harm whereas one that is alive can reproduce, leaving the child a host for the virus.

“What most doctor offices and health centers will say is that it was made to make it less traumatic for kids and it’s less effective,” Mrs. Plathe said.

“It’s a live virus whereas in a vaccinestance it’s a dead virus. You’re putting a live virus inside of you.”

There is confusion when someone should get a flu shot, especially depending on their age. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), most doctors will say anyone between six months old to five years old should receive one yearly.

Until that student is around 18, they are expected to be in a healthier condition

unless there is a chronic health issue.

An exception to it all is that pregnant women should receive the vaccine.

Along with kids, six-months to fiveyears-old, adults over 65 should also get one too. Certain jobs will require that a flu vaccine, which is the other exceptions to the age requirements.

Jobs that hire teenagers and adults alike, occasionally require that their employees be vaccinated. Students may or may not know this, but more and more jobs are requiring the shot as well. They are expected to by the employers, to comply as they will be in a public area where their attendance is mandatory.

“I definitely get worried about the flu,” junior Trystan Nord said. “My studies and extracurriculars take up so much time that if I were to get the flu, I would fall behind and have to work twice as hard to catch back up.”

According to Mrs. Plathe, there are other ways to protect oneself against the flu virus. Washing hands, covering mouths with elbows when coughing, eating healthy and sanitizing things are all ways to keep the virus at bay. Keeping safe through the winter months, especially around December through February, and keeping a healthy routine in check will help keep the body safe. Make sure to check in with a doctor or the nurse and see what the best plan is to stay healthy over the course of the flu season. According to medical fields, students are expected to stay healthy, but there are still exceptions that occur.

Art by Isabel Macilla

Photo by Isabel Mancilla

INCREASING THE DISTRICT’S SCHOOLS

Bond Plan Affects Both New and Existing Schools

By Mary Matya COPY EDITOR

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new $85 million bond issue is in the works for the Gretna Public Schools. The bond includes a number of items that are priorities around the district.

“There are a lot of small things we’ve been putting off,” Superintendent Dr. Kevin Riley said.

In the 2006-2007 school year, there were 2,308 students, and this year there are 5,255 students. The bond issue includes 300 more parking stalls at GHS, two turf fields, HVAC improvements and technology and security improvements.

Everything on the bond issue is a priority, but some items will get done first.

“What gets done first is elementary number six, then the renovation of Gretna Elementary and GHS improvements will be done over two summers,” Dr. Riley said.

The high school is also getting new classrooms. The new classrooms are needed because of the popularity of the Industrial technology and Stagecraft classes and for additional storage space.

“GHS students should be interested in the two new classrooms,” Dr. Riley said.

“One is for Industrial Technology and the other is for Stagecraft.”

The tax levy is significantly lower than the last bond issue, which was a 7.5 cent increase. This bond issue is a threecent tax levy increase. This means that taxes increase three cents per 100 dollars of property valuation.

“It sounds like a lot of money,” junior Rylee Zimmerman said. “It would help fix a lot of problems that we have.”

This bond issue will position Gretna well for the future. The immediate needs will be addressed. The focus of the next bond issue is the new high school.

“This bond issue allows us to address our immediate needs, such as the two new

elementary schools and the renovation of Gretna Elementary,” Dr. Riley said. “This bond issue allows us to finish a long list of projects so that we can focus on the second high school in the next bond issue.”

Another item included in the bond issue is the existing parking lot replacements at GHS and Gretna Middle School. The parking affects both teachers and students.

“Fix the parking lot first because it benefits most people,” Zimmerman said.

“It’s your parking lot and stuff, it’ll all get fixed.”

People must live within the boundaries of the Gretna school district to vote. Any registered voter was able to vote on the bond issue.

“Registered voters that live within the boundaries of the school district,” Dr. Riley said. “Property ownership is not required.”

Voting day for this bond issue was Nov 6 at a polling location. There was an early voting option at the Sarpy County Election Commissioner’s Office as well as absentee ballots. The bond issue was passed on Nov 7th. The final results were 65% for the bond, and 35% against.

Submitted Photo

6 OpEd

DECEMBER 2018 Volume 5 Issue 1 FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS EXCITEMENT

Student Section Captain Shares His Experience of Being Captain

By Colin Kitson STAFF WRITER

A

s I was driving in my car on

game, I was not like any other student that was attending the Friday night lights. I am the student section captain; I have the biggest job among the other students. It is very nerve racking and stressful when it comes down to it. There are multiple responsibilities, such as screaming your soul out to hype up the students. You have to always watch the game and make sure you know what is going on, make everyone to cheer so we can be as loud as possible and so many more things that you need to be on the lookout for when you are the captain. the game in order to get ready for the massive overload of students arriving. I usually show game, but it gets me entirely ready for the game. There is no set voting or anything to become the student section captain People just kind of assume a leader, and this year it is me. It is not all free when you are the captain. You do need some materials, such as a oversized whiteboard (Mine is three feet by two feet.). You have to get one that is big enough so that everyone can see it. You also game that go with the themes. You may have to make a quick Walmart run after school on Friday if necessary. Sometimes I enjoy onesie section. prepare your voice during the day on Friday for maximum screamage. I have to yell all the way from the front row to the back at the games, and I usually lose my voice halfway

photo by Emily Parkinson

friend H2O, I usually can get it back. There are some things that are necessary for the games and one of those is the Husker prayer.

This is a pregame ritual the Huskers use and we have been using in our section for a few

years now. It is something that pumps up the section and gets them extremely loud.

Another necessity for the games is to do the roller coaster at half time. The roller coaster is when everyone is sitting down, and I go down either on the track or the grass.I act like I am on a roller coaster and just have my arms go crazy and fast in different directions, and the students follow my lead.

It is something that is fun for the section and myself.

Being the captain, you also can add your own spice to the chants. For example, during our last game against Papio South, I added something epic. We are going to start doing it before every game, which is when I go down on the grass in front of the section with another friend. We get about 50 yards apart and run. We give each other a shoulder bump at full speed, and everyone goes crazy from that. If you thought that was it, it is not, immediately after the intense bump.

There is also a stressful side to being the captain, because you do have to make sure enough chants are out there to hype the players up and get everyone in our section going. I have to make sure I watch the clock and which down we are on to get the chants out at the perfect time. Also, it is sort of hectic because I have to start chants that people will hopefully like and really give it their all. to what the students like and do not like. I would say that, by far, the worst thing that makes the senior captain frustrated is when people are not cheering. It forces me to go back to that area and scream at those people to get it going so that our boys can hear us and get motivated from our loudness. The louder the better.

All in all, being the student section leader is one of the most exciting things for me and makes me pumped for every gameday. Sometimes it can be tough, but for the most part, it is some of the best times I am ever going to have in high school. I appreciate everyone listening to me and following what I do because it shows strong leadership from me, and the most important

photo by Cecily Jones

and try and walk out with a win.

photo by Cecily Jones photo by Emily Parkinson

cartoon by Isabel Mancilla

photo by Emily Parkinson

Volume 5 Issue 1

DECEMBER 2018

Feature

7

INFORMATION OVERLOAD HITS STUDENTS Citizens Adapt to the Changing Times

By Casey Downing STAFF WRITER

T

he world wide web is only 23 years old, but it has grown exponentially ever since its inception. People can forget about describing amounts of information as mega or giga - this generation will soon be using exa and zetta. This may not seem monumental, but looking back, not many would not have ever dreamed it possible. An academic study by the University of California at San Diego suggests that the current amount of data that an average person consumes in a day is about 12 hours worth. In that day, they will consume 100,500 words, whether that be through email, messages or posts on social media, searching websites or news feeds.

The same university recommends receiving seven hours of sleep a day, which means that ¾ of the time spent awake is spent receiving information, the majority of which is through electronic devices. Thousands of Americans are being overwhelmed each day with data and statistics. More information is available today than is able to be used. Everything from the average height of a giraffe to the

Staying Balanced Multitasking between devices, counselor Mrs. Carole Carraher uses technology to balance her hectic schedule. “I use technology everyday, it has become something everyone must take advantage of,” Carraher said.

Carraher and millions of others have become dependent on technology every day. photo by Casey Downing

best recipe for chocolate chip cookies, leading to something that has been coined “information overload.” This is a major problem, and it can no longer be ignored.

Today, things are designed to really grab your attention. When you get a text message, your phone vibrates or dings, so you must to respond to it. What this means is that real human interaction is being interrupted by digital distractions that have invaded our lives. But what is this information that we are and distributing? On Twitter, users post at a rate of around 100,000 tweets in a minute.

Research commissioned by The Harvard Business Review says that only 36% of tweets from a user’s feed are actually worth reading. Some of the same studies as those conducted at the University of California show that some subjects felt similar effects to those addicted to alcohol, cocaine or cannabis while on their cell phones. But the internet is seen as something more integral to a modern way of life than those addictions, having a growing presence everywhere. This includes within the halls of GHS with the introduction of personal computers.

The inventor of the world wide web, Tim Berners-Lee, believes that access to the internet has become a basic human right.

He believes there is a great divide between individuals with access to the internet and those who do not, and that separation is growing. The influence of the internet has now grown so much that some people are going to extreme lengths to escape “overload”. Apps are being dedicated to monitoring screen time and some even reward its customers for staying off their phones for certain amounts of time, even major manufacturers like Apple Inc. have built-in applications that monitor screen time and overall phone usage. Crucial steps like these must be taken in order to limit our screen time and information intake to stop this global addiction.

Illustration by Emma Mayer

LAND OF THE FREE, AND OF THE MANY America Has a Duty to Accept Refugees

By Abby Leasure CARTOONIST

W

ith war, religious persecution and destabilized governments, many people seek refuge in other countries. In the United States, however, many people argue against the acceptance of refugees. There is a general belief that these people are coming into our country to commit acts of terrorism or take all of the available jobs. This idea is rooted deeply in prejudice and fear-mongering tactics. There certainly are dangerous people out there, but that does not mean that we should let innocent people be killed when the simple solution is to provide them asylum in this country. If this country can become involved in wars that have nothing to do with us, then we can find some way to help out the people who actually want to come here for the sake of their safety.

Many of the problems refugees are trying to flee from are things that we, as teenagers in Nebraska, have not personally had to deal with. We cannot even begin to comprehend the pain and terror that these

Where in the world do immigrants come from?

people are forced to go through every day of their lives because the countries that would offer protection are cutting them off and forcing them to remain in dangerous situations. I, personally, find it odd that the people who say that America is the best, safest, freest place in the world do not want others to experience the same freedom we do. This is not an exclusive country; the fact that we act as if it is so is a very telling sign of how highly we view ourselves, and unrighteously so, given our treatment of other nations

The simple solution is to allow more refugees into this country while performing more rigorous background checks. Naturally, those trying to harm us will not be allowed into this country, eradicating any of the worries we may have.

America is meant to be a nation that fights for justice, and ignoring the suffering from other countries do not follow this belief. By providing aid to those in need, we are not only saving human lives, but we are also returning to the original ideas at the very heart of this country, that every person is created equal and should be treated as such.

1. Mexico 26 percent of immigrants to the u.s.

11.6 million in u.s.

Supporting Soliders: U.S. soldiers arrived at Harlingen, Texas in order to support Operation Faithful Patriot on Nov. 1. Initiated in October 2018, Operation Faithful Patriot is intended to provide the U.S. Customs and Border Protection military assistance when a South American caravan of asylum-seekers and refugees began to approach the border. Days later, the name of the operation was changed to merely “border support.”

Photo marked for reuse, taken by Senior Airman Alexandra Minor

2. china 6 percent of immigrants to the u.s.

2.7 million in u.s.

3. india 6 percent of immigrants to the u.s.

2.4 million in u.s.

Data from 2016, Pew Research

8 OpEd DECEMBER 2018

Volume 5 Issue 1

AMERICAN JOURNALISM’S FAKED DEATH Fallacy of News’ Fall Exists as a Lie

A

By Ben Randall STAFF WRITER

s we grow up, our ideals, hopes and dreams, and maybe even identities change. We have toys, so we play with them. As we play with them, we find other people who play with the same toys.

Those people turn into your friends, but soon, everyone found out that life is, unfortunately, not just about toys and friends. It’s about the small things, unique experiences, and love. This is an important process, and it is known as ‘maturation’.

Here enters my youthful, curious self. As I grew up, sports surrounded me, fulfilling hours upon hours of entertainment, directly leading to a love for athletics of all kinds. On another spectrum, I realized how soothing, special, and altogether intuitive writing became for myself. So, with some hot glue here and there, I developed a passion for sports writing. Years later, with that skill refined and adapted to a more physics-based science writer, I had found my major! Let’s go back to that maturation process, where we all grow up and identities change-yes, maturation.

It seems we are all welcomed with open arms to the hectic world, with the ability to pursue whatever career we desired, without any promise for success. Returning to my riveting epiphany of starting a career in journalism, you would think I would be greeted by that same, ‘give it your best shot’ attitude, right? Well, no, not at all. Instead, imagine telling friends, family members, and even some college representatives about going into journalism, and being greeted by the most obnoxious, inaccurate response that your careers’ field is dying. Imagine, if you will, of someone telling you, “Journalism is fake.”

Earlier this year, Stig Abell, the Times Literary Supplement editor, released a video through BBC. He argued that as advertising moves online, journalism is missing out on funding from giant tech companies, and is, in essence, dying. Unfortunately, this makes sense.

Advertising is beating out journalism for funding opportunities, with colossal tech companies paving the path for future glory and profit. Also, to

stack the deck further against journalists, consider that earlier this year in late July, The New York Daily News laid off almost half of its newsroom staff. Closer yet, the Omaha World Herald had 23 job eliminations in late August. This turned some heads, so along with business strategists foreseeing an inevitable demise for journalism, the common day person began to believe that journalism is going away. People began to believe that maybe, journalism isn’t all that anymore.

Referencing numbers polled by Pewresearch, a nonpartisan American information dealer based out of Washington, D.C, 38 percent of Americans say they read the paper, a number down from 54 percent in 2004. There is a common belief that this decline in print journalism is linked directly to the failure of the field. Before I address the immense, moronic fallacies of these statements, I must introduce another key element that adds to journalism’s ‘collapse’.

“Fake news” has become

the “Boy Who Cried Wolf”, for our society.

To be honest, ‘fake news’ is an entirely different realm of journalism, but still adds to the overall public feeling of disgust with journalism.

The misinterpretation and false spreading of information has been around for ages, ever since Ancient Greece, where Octavius led a disinformation war shortly after the assassination of Julius Caesar. Case in point, fake news is nothing new, but its ascension was meteoric since politics adapted it into political jargon. For instance, the false spreading of news was formerly something that described news in general, but as of recent, it has taken a political connotation. It is now used as a direct term used to describe political stories or situations that may seem damaging to a specific person or agency. President Trump even gave out “Fake News Awards” to reporters who had made errors or wrongful predictions. Obviously it is not easy to decipher the truth, and fake news is a big problem in the world we live in today. For instance, there has been a picture circulating of Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader

from Kentucky, voting at the midterm elections on November 6, 2018. The picture displayed McConnell voting, along with a man giving a ‘thumbs-down’ gesture in the background.

This picture gained lots of traction on Twitter and other social media sites, being used as fuel against McConnell and his role in the midterm elections. This picture was actually taken four years ago during the midterm elections of 2014 at Bellarmine University. Clearly, fake news is all around us, and it doesn’t always have to come from a journalist. Where people look for answers to their everyday predicaments, and solutions to other problems, the term ‘fake news’ is thrown around as a scapegoat, used by people to simply show arrogance towards ideas they don’t like.

Take this ordeal with McConnell. Some people obviously didn’t appreciate his ideals, so they used information from a different time to make his campaign all the more problematic.

Continuing on my quest for disproving the death of journalism, let’s mesh these two ideas together. On one side, we have most of the population thinking that because economists can make correct calculations that the newspaper industry is going extinct (Wow! How intelligent!), journalism is dying. On the other side, we have a historic display of fake news, shattering the norm for reporting. And what has the public done, you may ask? Link these two together, forming the improper statement: Journalism is a fake major. This is known as a ‘hasty generalization’ to literary analysts, a type of fallacy formed by two sides that don’t correlate at all with each other. It’s sad that people view the field of journalism this way, but one day, they will hopefully realize that journalism can never die.

At this point, you might have put some of the pieces together. Journalism is

said to be dying from news sources such as websites and television, which are in fact ways of spreading news. So journalism is killing journalism? Well, no, but journalism has gone a long way in making things harder for itself. The whole fake news debacle of recent has forced the entire industry into a frenzied state of caution and confusion. Fortunately, journalism is not dying, as there is a never ending loop of news. I can promise you that if journalism did die, you would hear about it, possibly later that night, or the next morning, via your smartphone or radio. It would declare, “Journalism, age 492, has quietly passed away in its sleep.” Jokes aside, that would be preposterous, as would the statement of journalism “dying” at all be. Everything is journalism nowadays, from vast forms of social media, to television, and even more so to public relations. What people don’t realize is we are all oversimplifying the matter. “Media” not only includes newspapers, but magazines, books, filmmaking, cable, radio, and the Internet.

On April 18, 1930, the BBC announced, “There is no news,” so they played piano music instead. It is safe to say, as long as our beloved journalism never passes away, that the BBC, or any news station, will never report that again. So even with all of this blasphemy about fake news and the disappearance of print journalism, the future for the field is bright.

The Washington Post reports that MSNBC, Fox News, and NPR are all having record years.

Digital subscriber numbers have skyrocketed, according to the Wall Street Journal, with some companies going from employing zero journalists five years ago, to thousands now.

May I add podcasting, which has absolutely hit the ground in a full sprint, which allows a new frontier for people listening to what they want to hear. Journalism is in fact, very, very alive.

RIP

RNIeP w

Chicago

RIP

York Post

Tribune

Washington Post

RIP

The ardi an

2018-19 Newspaper Staff

Connor Bulgrin Photo Editor

Samantha Chase Sports Editor

Casey Downing Staff Writer

Lauren Eurich InDepth/A&E Editor

Matthew Goblirsch OpEd Editor

Gabriella Goday Staff Writer

Jacey Hammer Editor-in-Chief

Colin Kitson Staff Writer

Bayleigh Koch Staff Writer

Abigail Leasure Cartoonist

Isabel Mancilla Cartoonist

Mary Matya Copy Editor

Emma Mayer Cartoonist

Emily Shurtliff InDepth/A&E Editor

Eliese Simon Feature Editor

Jessica McKee News Editor

Gavin Struve Staff Writer

Benjamin Randall Staff Writer

Ella Weaver Editor-in-Chief

Volume 5 Issue 1

DECEMBER 2018

Feature

9

ADVENTURES FOLLOWING GRADUATION

Insight into the decisions of the seniors pproximately 84 percent of high school students graduate in four years, ending their long tenure of schooling and going on to pursue their careers in life. While most students throw the cap high up in the air in May, a valiant few choose to forgo their regular graduation date and get out of school early, just after the first semester.

Chasing

DREAMS

“I wanted to get a head start on taking college classes and having time to pursue my music,” senior Grace Giebler said. “It’s one of the big reasons why I chose to graduate at semester.”

Giebler is one of the few 23 students that was faced with a tough decision regarding finishing out her final year of her high school journey, or diving into a new chapter of her life. As for her after high school plans, she seems to have a significant idea of what the world will hold in store for her.

“Once I graduate, I’ll do Metro for the spring and summer quarter,” Giebler said. “And then I’ll attend the University of Nebraska-Omaha at the beginning of the fall semester, starting my actual degree.”

Public colleges, private institutes, and community colleges are common routes students tend to partake after high school.

Giebler plans on attending UNO to begin a four-year degree, studying special education.

Staying close seemed to be a priority to her, so she could balance her degree with her music.

“Right after high school, I’ll have more time to write, focus on learning instruments, gigging more, and really just having more time to record music,” Giebler said. “I haven’t had time to record in a long time since I’m so busy.”

Chasing dreams is a noteworthy facet of life, leading students to reach new heights in their passions than they ever thought once possible.

Gieber exemplifies these students, clearly showing a balanced focus upon her dreams and her degree in special education.

Broadening HORIZONS

Continuing on this trend, senior Tannor Dixon has a different plan as to how he will spend his time right after high school. Dixon displays an adventurous attitude towards getting out of Nebraska for college.

“After high school, I plan on starting college at the University of California, Los Angeles,” Dixon said. “It’s either that or starting my own educational software company.”

Students have self-driven goals, as Dixon and Giebler both display. Unlike Giebler, Dixon plans on going away for college, attending UCLA and majoring in business economics with a minor in computer science. Getting out of Nebraska seemed to be a priority to Dixon.

“I’ve decided I’m going to use the extra time of a semester off to travel,” Dixon said. I’m not entirely sure where I’ll go, but possibly the west coast. I plan on starting college in the fall semester.”

COMING BACK HOME

Military Kid’s Life in Germany

By Gavin Struve STAFF WRITER

A

few students get the opportunity to spend a school year in a different country as part of a foreign exchange program. Senior Andrew Carter and his family actually moved to Baumholder, Germany for a year and lived there.

“My dad is in the Army and we move about every two or three years,” Carter said. “This time it was Germany. I spent my whole junior year there.”

During his time in Germany, Carter attended school. Luckily, it was not all that different from his experience here. He attended one of the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS), part of a group of schools for US military children.

“I went to a school called the DoDDS School through the American government,” Carter said. “It was just an American high school; there were twenty-five kids in my junior class and just over a hundred in the school. They were all American Army kids.”

DoDDS provided several activities to keep Carter and other students busy. He had the opportunity to become more immersed in German culture and lifestyle. He was a member of a group that met regularly with German citizens and got to experience German lifestyle.

“I was part of a stammtisch,” Carter said.

“So we would go out and meet with German people in the town and hang out with them, eat dinner, bowl and do other things.”

Carter plays football at GHS, and that was one of several sports offered at his school in Germany. As a result, he was able to participate in several sports overseas.

“I played football and basketball, which allowed me to travel all over Europe for free,” Carter said. “For football I was All-Europe, and we won the European Championship for basketball. We played a bunch of different schools in Europe including teams from Spain and Iran, so it was not just American kids overseas.”

His experiences went beyond just sports.

Through his year abroad, Carter experienced many different cultures and tried several different foods.

“Food was a lot healthier than here,” Carter said. “It tasted good everywhere, and I got to try a lot of different things I never thought I would enjoy, like white bratwursts. My favorite thing I ate was probably Doner, it’s a Greek sandwich with meat on the bottom, cabbage, cucumbers and other stuff. The drinking age is also sixteen for most of Europe, so I could drink whenever I wanted to.”

After a year of new friends, food, teams, schools and experiences, Carter is back in Nebraska. He will finish out his last year at GHS then attend a college in the U.S. “The school there (in Germany) was really bad,” Carter said. “I had taken all the math and science classes that I could already. It was just a bad situation for someone who wanted to go to college, most of the kids there just went into the military. I missed my friends in Nebraska and I everything I got to do here. Germany was great, but America is still the best country. I missed home the whole time.”

Carter is staying with his friend Bryant Jeary and his family for this year. He will spend his last year of high school with his friends in the place he has felt most at home, then likely continue the routine of moving again.

Two isBetter

THAN FOUR

Senior Amber Devries has a different outlook on life after graduation, choosing to not partake in the typical four-year college plan.

She has a rough idea of attending Metropolitan Community College, and getting her associate’s degree.

“I think many people are like me and don’t know what they want to do, but just go to a fouryear because they think it’s expected of them,” Devries said. “That’s a bad idea because you’re spending money to hang out at a place you have no reason to be at.”

Outlook On

Graduation Senior Ryan Schroeder views four-year schooling as nonsensical, and plans on attending a two year school. He values himself at his best when he can work outside with his hands, and states that a trade school would be the best fit for him.

“I will not be going to a four-year school because it doesn’t make sense to me to go and rack up a bunch of debt and come out making less money than if I went to a two-year trade school that was inexpensive, where I would come out making more,” Schroeder said. “I will be attending Metropolitan Community College to study Powerline for one year.”

Tough Decisions

A

Ben Randall Staff Writer

Graduating early has become blatantly clear to be a decision not based solely for academic reasons, but for simple environmental changes, professional goals, or basic wants and needs of an individual’s preference. Academically, however, some students are faced with extra criteria to hit the road early in the school year.

“All I really had to do was take an extra English class to fulfill the Gretna graduation requirement,” Giebler said. “There’s a set amount of credits you need to be at, and it just required me to take a World Literature course.”

By leaving the classroom early on, some of these select few students have to leave their parents, friendships, and activities behind for the looming frontier of college. Some students will naturally have a harder time adjusting to this new life than others, but it is all relative.

“I really won’t miss high school,” Dixon said.

“My home life during high school was far from ideal, so I am looking forward to starting a new chapter in a new place with new energy.”

Giebler, Dixon, Schroeder, and Devries are staple students among this class of early graduating students. Dixon and Giebler chose to study their degrees at four-year universities, offering one option towards life after graduation. Schroeder and Devries realize the cost efficiency of shorter schooling, and are exploring opportunities through Metro. To all the students graduating at the semester, the world awaits their stories.

10

DECEMBER 2018 Volume 5 Issue 1

Politics In-Depth

A House Divided Examining The Current State of Politics in Our Country

P

By Casey Downing STAFF WRITER

olitics dominate headlines. Every major newsstand and media outlet peddles the latest shocking and outrageous political buzz to millions of eager consumers each and every day. In a recent study by the Pew Research Center, researchers found that the average person’s daily news consists of 40 percent politics.

Although the political landscape has gained a huge exposure these past few years, many people stay ignorant to what exactly politics are. According to a recent survey by CNN, 20 percent of registered voters do very little to no research before they cast their vote.

In the United States, two main political parties receive an overwhelming majority of votes: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Each party puts forward

candidates to run for public office, whether it be for the Senate, Congress or every four years, the Presidency. Typically, the Republicans are thought to be conservative, and the Democrats are considered to be liberal. Currently, the Republican Party controls the majority in Congress. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives are Republican, along with the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump. This is something that they hope to maintain as the midterm elections approach, but the Democrats are hoping for a “blue wave” of votes to tip the majority their way.

The newest generation of voters, including many GHS students, is excited to give their say on the direction of the country and to fulfill their most important of civic duties in filling out their ballot. One of these such voters is senior Drew Dummer.

“Voting is obviously very important, and I don’t understand how some people don’t care or don’t believe that their vote matters,” Dummer said. “Voting is one of a person’s most fundamental rights that they should exercise.”

Rolling into November are the midterm elections, and this round of voting has garnered more interest than in recent years.

All 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats

in the United States Senate are up for reelection. In addition, 39 state and territorial governorships as well as numerous other state and local elections, will be up for grabs.

Both Democrats and Republicans are in election mode, spending millions of dollars to fund their advertising campaigns to try and buy as many of the American votes as they can before election day. According to Gallup Research, the campaign that ran the most ads and was better funded had a better chance of receiving more votes than its opponents.

Because of this fact, campaigning has played a greater role in each election, and it comes in many forms. There are the most obvious, the numerous commercials highlighting the good of one candidate and the shortcomings of another. Outspending the other candidate doesn’t guarantee a win though, in the Texas Senate race Beto O’Rourke raised a record amount of funds, nearly double that of his opponent Ted Cruz, but fell short of winning the election. A student that is an active member of one such campaign for Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts is senior Tannor Dixon.

“I get to learn about the inner workings of a campaign and receive real hands-on experience,” Dixon said. “I also got to meet the governor on more than one occasion which was cool.”

On the election day, Dixon stayed

with the campaign until the late hours of the night, not getting home until 2 a.m.

By the end of the night, the Democrats had regained control of the House of Representatives and the Republicans had strengthened their majority in the Senate.

Politics are, and will continue to be a major talking point in the United States and across the world. They are a tool to advance our country and provide an open forum for discussion. In the divided political landscape of today, it is essential to place an increased value on bipartisanship.

“Bipartisanship is an essential piece of our political landscape and must be evident in Washington for anything to get done,” Dummer said. “Currently there is too much back-and-forth. Politicians must be willing to talk to each other.”

This is a collective mindset for many voters that went to the ballot box this November. Voters like Dummer believe that to achieve real progress elected officials must reach across the aisle and work together to affect positive change.

SARPY COUNTY ELECTION WINNERS Sarpy County Assessor- Dan Pittman (R) Sarpy County Attorney- Lee Polikov (R) Sarpy County Clerk- Deb Houghtaling (R) Sarpy County Clerk of the District Court- Dori Heath (R) Sarpy County Sheriff- Jeff David (R) Sarpy County Treasurer- Brian Zuger (R) Sarpy County Engineer- Dennis Wilson (R)

The Gretna School Bond Was Passed.

New Voters in Gretna Seniors Turn 18 in Time to Vote

By Bayleigh Koch STAFF WRITER

M

any people in GHS’ senior class marked their ballots for the first time this year.

For many, voting is an act that symbolizes adulthood.

“While I am not the best at keeping up with the most recent changes in politics, I do believe they are very important.” senior Brooke Downing said.

“It’s important for people to understand what is going on around them and how politics play into our everyday lives.”

Voting happens on the first Monday of November every two years. This year, it fell on

November 6. On Election Day, voters have a designated voting place, usually a courthouse or public building. On average, voting takes anywhere from ten to thirty minutes, according to the Washington State Post.

“Though one single vote may seem inconsequential, I do believe that each and every vote can make a difference in an election,” Downing said. “History has shown that tight races can come down to a very small amount of votes, so it is difficult to believe my vote does not have the potential to make a difference.”

The candidates who ran for the Nebraska Senate seats are Deb Fischer (R), Jane Raybould (D) and Jim Schultz (L). The respective parties of each candidate are

Republican, Democrat, and Libertarian.

“We are very lucky to have a system in place that does allow our votes to carry weight in who is helping run our government, and we are very lucky that anyone over the age of 18 can vote regardless of their gender, ethnicity, or station in life,” Downing said.

The Republican, Democratic and Libertarian parties are the largest parties.

They are all different from each other.

According to the dictionary, the Republican party is one of the two major political parties in the U.S.: originated 1854–56.

The democrat party is one of the two major political parties in the U.S., founded in 1828. According to Scholastic, the third parties focus attention on issues and ideas.

“Voting for the first time is very exciting, and I think that it forces me to be more conscious of the effects my vote may have on our community and society here in America. “ Downing said.

Downing feels excited about the new right that she was granted. She believes that voting is an important thing and it is a duty as a citizen of the United States to vote.

Volume 5 Issue 1

DECEMBER 2018

Political Misconceptions

In-Depth

11

What Is Real News and What Is Fake News

I

By Connor Bulgrin STAFF WRITER

n today’s world, politics can be confusing, it may be hard to know what is the truth and what is fake news. With Republicans and Democrats each calling the other liars, it can be confusing to know what to believe.

One of the primary debates right now is immigration. Immigration is relevant because a caravan of Central Americans is on its way to the United States. Here are the facts: right now, there are more than 5,000 asylum seekers headed towards the United States according to Real Clear Policy. Most of them are Hondurans fleeing the deteriorating conditions. The homicide rate in Honduras is one of the highest in the world at 43 killings per 100,000 people according to Real Clear Policy. The caravan started in San Pedro Sula, Honduras in early October people from Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala have all joined the caravan.

Their goal is to make their way to the United States and enter the country. One of the main adversaries of the caravan is President Donald Trump. He has made it clear he does not want these asylum seekers to enter the country. He deployed at least 5,200 active duty United States troops to the border to provide backup for border control agents.

“They should not be allowed to come here, a country without borders isn’t a country,” sophomore Mark Staley said.

“Why would they seek refuge from a nation in which they burn that nation’s flag, and then fly the flag that has oppressed them?”

Staley is referring to a post on Facebook has been shared over 20,000 times that depicts three men burning American flags.

The post has been proven to be fake news, according to Politifact. These images are being used to make the caravan look evil and as though the members have hatred towards the United States. However, it was proven that the pictures were taken multiple years ago and had nothing to do with the caravan.

A Getty Images photographer took one of the photographs in 2010 outside the American Embassy in London. The other two photos are images at anti-Trump rallies in 2016.

Another debate filled with misconceptions is abortion. Abortion is an unusual topic because everyone is affected by it differently, which leads people to often going against their party. 68% of Republicans believe that abortion is immoral and most are pro-life. Meanwhile, 62% of Democrats are for the choice of the woman or pro-choice according to a study done by Gallup. This is why it is not true to say that all Democrats are pro-choice and all Republicans are pro-life.

“I’m a Republican, and I’m prochoice,” senior Tannor Dixon said. “There’s people on both sides that have conflicting views on that, and since I’m Jewish too, most Jewish people are liberal. So, I’m definitely not your typical pro-choice Jew.” It is not uncommon to go against political

parties on this issue. According to the Pew Research Center, within the Republican Party, 59% say it should be illegal, and 36% say it should be legal. In the Democratic Party, 76% say it should be legal, and 21% think it should be illegal. Overall, 58% of Americans believe abortion should be legal while only 37% say it should be illegal.

Another misunderstood institution is Antifa. Antifa stands for anti-fascists, and they are people who have devoted their lives to stopping racists, white supremacists, and fascists. Fascism is an ultranationalist government that is dictatorial and suppressive. Antifa claims they are less of an organization, but more of a group of people with the same ideology. They are a left-winged group that has been around since WWII. They started fighting the fascist armies of Benito Mussolini, Francisco Franco and even Adolf Hitler. Now they fight NeoNazis, the KKK and white supremacists.

Their main focus is on stopping the spread of fascism and people with fascist views.

“They call themselves anti-fascists, yet everything they do is the definition of fascism, they are silencing people’s freedom of speech through violence,” Staley said. “For example, Berkeley when Milo Yiannopoulos spoke there, people burned buildings, shot fireworks at the police and other Trump supporters.”

Antifa claims that violence is not their first option, and it is only resorted to for selfdefense. In Antifa’s protest of Neo-Nazis

in Charlottesville, Virginia, they were seen using force. However, many bystanders said that without the protection from Antifa they would have been seriously injured, according to The Washington Post. They were using force because in 2017 Charlottesville local officials were planning to take down a statue of Robert E. Lee, and white nationalists did not like that according to The New York Times. In opposition, the white nationalists planned a Unite the Right rally for that day. Antifa went to stop the violent white nationalists and it ended very violently. A woman died when a white nationalist plowed a car into a group of people. Antifa argues that based on the history of what fascism can do, it is entirely ethical to use violence.

“A lot of people have misconceptions about Antifa, and just it’s a mess,” sophomore Alexis Bauer said. “The people who are just destroying things- those are, like, a small amount, and it’s stupid because they’re ruining the image of Antifa. But most of Antifa is usually just people doxing people (publishing personal information online) that were at Charlottesville, like taking pictures (and) using pictures of them and then sending it to their employers and people they know. So they will get fired, and it makes building fascism more difficult.”

There are hundreds of more political misconceptions in the country right now. These are only a few, and with all the political tension, it is important to know what is real and what is fake.

Political Club Legacy Carried On Student Assumes Brother’s Position As Club Leader

By Ella Weaver EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

W

hen Gretna graduate Will Bredensteiner founded the club in 2015, he asked Mr. Swanson and history teacher Mr. Jake Wolf to sponsor it.The current Political Club president, his younger sister senior Sophie Bredensteiner, has been attending her older brother’s club since its foundation.

“I founded Political Club in my senior year, back in 2015,” W. Bredensteiner said.

“It was not the first Political Club, as there was one present during my freshman year in 2012.

Officially, the modern one began in 2015.”

W. Bredensteiner graduated in 2016, and Political Club fell onto uncertain times.

Gretna graduates Matthew Brown and Harrison Kallman continued to attend and lead meetings, but after the class of 2018 graduated, there were few original attendees left. S. Bredensteiner took control of Political Club to maintain the family legacy.

“Keeping on a legacy (inspired me), and making sure that Gretna has as many opportunities for clubs as possible,” S. Bredensteiner said.

W. Bredensteiner asked Mr. Swanson to sponsor Political Club over 3 years ago, and he has not stopped his support of Political Club throughout the years. He supports the club due to his interests in politics. Political Club was an opportunity for Mr. Swanson and W. Bredensteiner to both be involved in their political interests.

“At Gretna, there is a severe lack of activism-related activities,” W. Bredensteiner said. “You have the arts, you have sports, you have media, but what about the humanities? I wanted something where students could engage in debate and learn about politics in a more applied manner outside of a classroom.”

Just like her brother, Sophie also sees the importance of a Political Club. She feels that there are deep divides between the political left and right in Gretna. In her

opinion, there are also not many ways for Gretna teenagers to be politically involved.

“Political Club is important because it keeps teenagers involved, and it makes sure our voices are heard and understood,” S. Bredensteiner said. “We’re able to communicate with each other in a much easier way that’s not as hostile.”

Political Club was not merely created to help students attain a political career.

S. Bredensteiner does not foresee a political career in her future due to the high-stress level of the job. However, W. Bredensteiner has worked in politics as an intern and college student.

“I am currently a Political Science and Strategic Political Communication (Political Media) Double Major, with a Minor in Rhetoric, Media, and Social Change and am on track to graduate in 4 years,” W. Bredensteiner said. “Long, I know. Goes with my last name.”

After years of being in operation, Political Club has met several times and generated numerous memories. W. Bredensteiner fondly remembers meetings as being full of passionate speeches and good listeners.

Despite W. Bredensteiner being enrolled in Drake University, he still has words of advice and hopes for the club he founded.

“My first message is to those in Political Club: Be willing to hear another person out,” W. Bredensteiner said.

“Informed or not, they are still human.

Never take anything that is political to be personal. It makes wading through today’s political landscape a lot easier.”

Sophie’s hopes for the club and message to the members is very similar to her brother’s. Despite her changing minor aspects of the club, she still admires how her brother handled debates and agrees with his advice. This year, Political Club will be meeting once a month on Tuesdays and potentially more for events and outings. Topics to be discussed include international relations, Gretna’s political atmosphere, current events, and more.

Looking Ahead Sophie Bredensteiner (19) began running Political Club her senior year. Although she still has time for her passions like the band EXO, as a senior, Political Club and college applications keep her busy. “My dream college is Brynn Marr University,” S. Bredensteiner said. Submitted photo

Real-World Politics Will Bredensteiner (16) dressed in suits during his senior of senior year.

His professional appearance comes in handy now, as he has worked on political campaigns and professional corporations. “Outside of Drake, I was an intern for a non-profit, nonpartisan group called Vote Smart, which seeks to provide free, unbiased, factual information about elected officials and candidates to everyone,” W. Bredensteiner said. Submitted photo

12 In-Depth DECEMBER 2018

Volume 5 Issue 1

North Korean Nuclear Conflict The The Republican Perspective

T

By Alex Suhr GUEST WRITER

he tension between North Korea and the U.S. has been around since the civil war between the Koreas in the 1950s; but in recent years, the tension has grown significantly worse. North Korea solely blames the U.S. for the conflict between North Korea and South Korea. In recent years, the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-Un, has increased his military capabilities by adding nuclear weapons and missiles to his arsenal. This poses a threat to not only U.S. but the other nations as well. President Donald Trump is trying to create peace between the nations to no avail. With North Korea’s Nuclear Program quickly advancing, it leaves many Americans in fear of what to do next.

With the ever increasing dark cloud that is North Korea, military action may be the only option. In 2012, the Obama administration tried to negotiate with North Korea to stop nuclear tests in exchange for food aids, but the tests continued. Coal sanctions have been placed on North Korea in hopes of decreasing nearly $3 million in their annual income, but according to Jong-Un’s regime, they made $200 million by dodging the sanctions. If the sanctions put into place now are not hurting North Korea as intended, then more are not going to do anything. The country is still making better and more powerful nuclear weapons that they intend on using on the U.S., if the military doesn’t take action soon, the country be could looking at a worse version of 9/11. If the U.S. were to take military action, they could do it in a way that would defuse the conflict but not escalate any further conflicts. The U.S. could also do it without the use of nuclear weapons. The taken action does not need to be done to the extreme like that of Japan, which cause more problems for not only the U.S. but for Japan and the surrounding countries as well.

In the past, economic sanctions have worked against nuclear attempts from other countries, however, this was during the 1970s-1980s, and times have drastically changed with the development of the internet and other new technology. Plus, not all of the countries that trade with North Korea are willing to apply these sanctions, like Russia. Trying to push these sanctions on other countries that aren’t willing to follow them could risk aggravating other countries to the point of trade stopping altogether with these countries, which ultimately could result in world destruction.

Using military action is the best way to end the conflict against North Korea. It may not be the most humane, but North Korea will stop at nothing to create a nuclear weapon so strong that it could wipe out not only the U.S. but parts of Canada and Mexico as well.

It may be aggressive, but aggression is the only that is going to stop the nuclear threats.

Background Information

By Ella Weaver EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

K

orea did not decide to divide itself into two nations: the North, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; and the South, the Republic of Korea. After World War II, however, the Soviet Union established a communist regime in the north, and the United States of America remained in control of the southern half. After the USSR-controlled

north refused to cooperate with a United Nations vote to determine Korea’s fate, a southern government was established and the Korean War broke out. At least 2.5 million people died, and the two nations remained divided. The division between the two nations has grown for decades to the current point- South Korea is a constitutional republic. Their neighbors, North Korea, run as a totalitarian dictatorship in possession of potentially 60 nuclear warheads. The nuclear warheads have their roots in North Korea’s 1960’s USSR-sponsored nuclear program. Attempts have been made to weaken North Korea and end the nuclear threat. However, North Korea has been able to bypass sanctions and has not started the denuclearization process after military threats and agreements from the USA.

Democratic Perspective

By Ella Weaver EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

B

y November 2017, North Korea had tested intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) that had the potential to carry nuclear warheads and strike anywhere in the U.S. mainland. Because of this threat, President Donald Trump and the presidents before him have tried various strategies to stop the Korean nuclear threat. Trump’s attempts to create peace have included angry and insulting tweets to Kim Jong Un, a summit meeting and the releasing of three American prisoners from North Korea. Still, the building of North Korea’s nuclear program continues.

While the shadow of North Korea’s power continues to grow, military action is not the answer. China, America’s ally with the second largest economy and the third strongest military in the world, has clearly stated that attacks against North Korea, even in response to threats, are unacceptable.

Preemptively attacking North Korea would likely lead to war with China and China’s allies (Russia, along with many Central Asian and African nations). The president of South Korea and 59 percent of South Koreans also disapprove of a preemptive strike against Korea, so American troops would most likely be forced out of South Korea.

America does have the military capability to quickly destroy North Korea with nuclear devices. However, we are trapped in the same mutually assured destruction that occurred in the Cold War. The mutually assured destruction philosophy was that, if one nation provoked another, both nations would have enough nuclear weapons to destroy the other. Both nations would end up defeated and destroyed. With the current number of nuclear weapons in the world, one attack on either Korea or America risks nuclear destruction of numerous countries.

A less violent option of economic blockades lowers the risk of planetary carnage.

Economic sanctions and blockades have been effective against nuclear threats in the past. In 1975, the U.S. merely had to threaten sanctions against South Korea to prevent them from purchasing a French nuclear fuel reprocessing plant. The next year, Taiwan was revealed to be secretly developing nuclear weapons. The United States withheld materials being given to Taiwan, and the nation was forced to abandon its plans. Never before has the U.S. used sanctions against a threat as strong as North Korea; however, there is no other option. Current economic sanctions against North Korea are not fully effective.

Syria, European firms, Iran and Singapore all sell to North Korea, buy their products, or employ North Koreans. China also remains North Korea’s main trading partner. The Chinese have stopped recording their oil exports to North Korea. The international community must come to an agreement and unanimously enforce sanctions against North Korea and the nations that aid them.

Economic sanctions have not been used to their full extent against North Korea. If the country is cut off from its allies and resources, then it can no longer function and will be forced to negotiate their nuclear program. This form of negotiating is the least risky form of aggression.

DECEMBER 2018 In-Depth 13 Political Terminology Words and Phrases to Know

Volume 5 Issue 1

BIG GOVERNMENT Bleeding Heart a term describing people whose hearts "bleed" with a negative term, used mainly by conservatives to describe government programs in areas where they believe government shouldn’t be involved, especially those that spend money

sympathy for the downtrodden; used to criticize liberals who favor government spending for social programs

Machine Politics

Dark Horse a long-shot candidate

politics controlled by a tightly-run organization that stresses discipline and rewards its supporters. Machines are usually found in large cities and are frequently accused of corruption.

www.scholastic.org

The Voting Age

Will It Ever be Lowered?

State senator Anna Wishart believes that the voting age in Nebraska should be lowered, according to AP News. In 2019, she plans to introduce a state constitutional amendment to allow 16-year-olds to vote. While 16-yearolds would only be able to vote in local and state elections, Wishart feels that allowing younger teenagers to vote would promote political literacy.

Nebraska would not be the first are in the US to allow 16-year-olds to vote, but it would be the first state to legalize the process state-wide.

Should the Voting Age be Lowered To 16?

Opinions of GHS Students & Faculty on a Lower Voting Age Photos by Elise Simon

“My initial reaction is no because they don’t know enough or (are not) educated politically enough at that age,” Spanish instructor Mrs. Amy Muhs said.

“I would say wait until 18 because I think 16 is still too young for people to vote,” Carl Miz (22) said. “I believe people’s views could change in a couple years due to a job.”

“I think that on lowering the voting age they are putting Nebraska in the hands of uninformed individuals,” Devin Durnal (21) said.

“I think that it would be good because it is better for the youth to know what is happening here,” Cassidy Berck (19) said.

“I do not think 16-year-olds are mature enough to vote due to not much experience in politics,” Jack Wiseman (22) said.

“I think 16-year-olds are too immature to decide who should lead our country,” Alexis Krause (20) said.

“I think 16 is a competent age because I think if you are old enough to drive you are old enough to vote responsibly,” Tanner Huber (19) said.

“I think 18 is a better age because of the level of responsibility and maturity that comes with being eighteen,” history instructor Mr. Cody King said.

14 Feature DECEMBER 2018

Volume 5 Issue 1

KNOCKING IT OUT OF THE PARK Teacher Reminisces on His Pre-GHS life

By Regan Ehlert JOURNALISM 1

I confidently step onto the base to bat. Eyes staring down the pitcher, I see him spit and wipe the dirt from his pants, ready to throw a fastball. The pitcher winds back slowly and throws with all his might. While I, in perfect harmony meet the white and red stitched ball. Woosh! I smile as the baseball flies into the big, blue sky and the crowd goes wild.

For math instructor, Mr. Brendan Raybourn, memories like these are still on his mind today. For as long as he could remember, he played baseball, and his career didn’t end until after college. He’s played in tournaments that allowed him to travel far and wide, including Europe. Mr. Raybourn loves the competition and the game, so much that he still plays for fun in the summer.

“I’ve just always liked baseball for some reason,” Mr. Raybourn said. “I don’t remember not playing it when I was younger.”

Mr. Raybourn was born in Panama.

In 1982, he moved to Austin, Texas, and then moved to Nebraska in 1990. For the Raybourn family, baseball was always the favorite sport.

“My uncle played, and he was a minor league baseball player and was a professional scout,” Mr. Raybourn said. “My dad was really good, too. It just ran in the family.”

As a child, he started playing baseball because he simply loved the game, and nobody pushed him to. Growing up, Mr. Raybourn’s favorite part about baseball was the competition and batting.

“Everything just kind of came

naturally to me,” Mr. Raybourn said. “However, even though batting was one of my favorite parts about the game, it was also the hardest.”

Mr. Fred L. Raybourn Jr., former Catholic Anglican Priest, is Mr. Raybourn’s dad. He loved watching his son play baseball as a little boy. The time he realized Mr. Raybourn had a special talent was when he played Little League. He noticed that he could pitch, hit, and field very well. Mr. Raybourn has lots of funny stories of his son playing as a young child.

“A funny story is when he was a youngster of around 8 or 9 and was playing ‘Pony League Baseball’ when we lived in Texas, I, as the Coach, would sometimes have him play the outfield,” Mr. F. Raybourn said. “Well, when he was out there, he and another fielder would spend some of the time throwing stones over the outfield wall and I would have to yell at both of them to pay attention.”

Mr. Raybourn played baseball throughout middle school and into high school. For two years, he played summer ball in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, because they didn’t

Student (##) and Mr. Raybourn photo by Regan Ehlert

have high school spring baseball. That all changed when he moved to Bellevue, Nebraska.

He finally played high school ball. He earned a spot on varsity with the “Thunderbirds” at Bellvue High School.

“I played third base and pitcher, and mixed in a little 2nd base,” Mr. Raybourn said.

“When I moved, there was a good 3rd baseman, so we just traded off.”

Successfully playing in high school, Mr. Raybourn decided to take baseball a step further. He played all four years in college, practicing everyday with his team. After college, he got picked for an all-star team and traveled to Europe. He got a chance to do spring training with the Minnesota Twins minor league team.

“I wanted to see if I could play professionally,” Mr. Raybourn said. “Those two weeks were definitely the highlight of my life.”

At the end of his baseball career, Mr. Raybourn got many honors and awards. He set season and career defensive and offensive records, many of which are still listed in Peru State College records today. He ranks either first or in the top ten for those records. In addition, Mr. Raybourn was honored as a NAIA Baseball All American and an NAIA Academic All American in 1999 and 2000.

Then, in October 2011, he was inducted into the Peru State College Athletic Hall of Fame, and this made him the first baseball player to be inducted. At the end of his season, Mr. Raybourn learns some lessons from baseball.

“The biggest lesson I’ve learned from baseball is that it’s a game in which you fail more than succeed,” Mr. Raybourn said. “It’s all about how to deal with adversity.”

Many years later, in 2002, Mr. Raybourn began teaching math at Gretna High

school. He chose math because it was one of the subjects he liked the most as a student.

“The most I miss about baseball is probably the competition,” Mr. Raybourn said.

Mr. Raybourn still talks to his baseball teammates today. Former small business owner, Mr. Ted Lipari, was one of Mr. Raybourn’s baseball teammates. They played together at

Mr. Raybourn’s Peru State Hall of Fame Plaque Courtesy of Peru State

Peru State College for three years. They were really good friends during the baseball season and still are today, and occasionally the two meet up in the summer to play softball.

“I was fortunate enough to play baseball with Brendan in college, and we still play softball together this day,” Mr. Lipari said.

“Brendan is the greatest hitter I’ve played with!”

To this day, Mr. Raybourn and his former teammates play softball in the summer and meet together time to time throughout the year. To his students, Mr. Raybourn is a very humble man, but will always remember the experience he got from playing his favorite sport.

A PASSION WITHIN LIFE Fandoms of FINDING Fangirls Find Something New to Love the Year

By Kaleigh Zollman JOURNALISM I

2018- BTS Army Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards

2017-Clexa,The100 eonline TV Scoop Awards 2017

2016- Teen Wolf MTV Fandom Awards Photos

We’ve all seen it. Whether it’s teenage girls screaming over the latest pop star or their favorite TV show, it is something that occurs every day. Teenagers all over the world are dedicated to people who might not know that they even exist, but that does not matter to them.

“My mom and I drove to Kansas City and back on a school night to see The Voidz live,” freshman Belle Rangel said. “When they came on stage, nothing was really processing in my brain. They give me so much joy, and it was an experience unlike anything else.”

Belle Rangel is a fangirl, a female fan, who is obsessive about comics, movies, music, or science fiction. However, it means so much more. According to researchers, fangirls promote for free on various social platforms and are major consumers. Research shows that the music industry has started to listen to what fans have to say more than they ever have in the past.

One who is unfamiliar with this subject might wonder why these girls are so obsessed.

“As cliche as it sounds, I really like Alec Benjamin’s song lyrics, and I can relate to them,” freshman Madison Peterson said.

“I keep listening to him because his songs feel like a friend that is there for me. They’re pretty powerful and make me feel like I’m not alone.”

The fangirl phenomenon has spawned psychological studies and these studies prove that being a fangirl is deeper than simple infatuation. For a teenage girl, a community can act as a safety blanket. Through this fandom, fangirls can connect with likeminded individuals online and are able to relate to another on a level deeper than they might be able to with “real world” friends. Furthermore, according to a Pew Research Center study conducted in. 2015, 57% of teens ages 13 to 17 have befriended someone online. Researchers also say that being a part of a fandom can make up for lack of fulfillment in other aspects of a fangirl’s life, but this is not true for everyone. These two reasons have helped give psychologists a better understanding as to why fangirls are so dedicated.

“Being a part of a fandom definitely

made things better for me,” GHS graduate Brenna Zollman said. “I was going through a rough time in my life. No matter how bad my day was I could go home and listen to One Direction’s music, watch interviews, or interact with other fans on Twitter. It was an entirely different world I could immerse myself into.”

Participating in fan culture can largely impact a teenage girl’s mental health as well.

Considering this information, psychologists understand that people need to destigmatize the term “fangirl”. According to psychologists, as long as their love does not become obsessive, no harm is done. Studies conducted have also shown that belonging to a fandom helps young people connect via social media and at concert events. By feeling like they are a part of a group, teenagers gain purpose and are given something to look forward to.

“I feel that social media allows me to connect with Alec on a deeper level because it has given me the opportunity to try and reach out to him,” Peterson said. “Basically everything he does is on social media because he is such a small artist. I think it’s really cool knowing that if I want to reach out, he is accessible to me.”

With a large stigma surrounding fangirls, they believe that they are frequently ridiculed because they are passionate. Instead

Kayleigh Zollman (22) and Nora Weaver (22)

of reacting, many fangirls ignore hurtful comments and do not silence their passionate support. The nagging about wasting their time often comes from authority figures or even their peers.

“I never hid being a fan of One Direction, and I got made fun of quite a bit for it,” Zollman said. “Kids were never mean to my face about, but they didn’t bother hiding their judgment. I could tell that everyone thought that I was a little weird. Even though everyone liked One Direction, I was just a little more forthcoming about it.”

As fan culture grows, today’s fangirls are doing more than they ever have and changing how some marketing strategists target consumers. Fangirls are continuing to prove that they are not dumb little girls that can easily be brushed off as obsessive. For some, being a fan means being apart of a community, and being an overall happier person.

“I don’t think of fangirls negatively,” GHS parent Cheryl Withers said. “They obviously have fun through fangirling. It gives you something to focus on other than school and I think that’s really important. These girls are our future.”

Fangirls have proved to be smarter than the general public may think they are. Fan culture is rapidly expanding and the world should accept it because fangirls are not going anywhere.

Brenna Zollman (18) and Kaleigh Zollman (22) Liftime Fan Alyssa Arsenault, Isabel Mancilla (20), and her brother Alejandro Mancilla watched Fall Out Boy together on October 5, 2018 in the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln.. Isabel has been a fan of the band for eight years. “I like their music specifically, and the reason they mean a lot to me is that they’re very vocal about a lot of things,” Mancilla said.

Volume 5 Issue 1

DECEMBER 2018

Feature

15

UNSUNG HEROES OF GRETNA Feeding

the

By Ben Randall STAFF WRITER

Dragons

A

Helping Hand Korey Lisiecki, as well as all the other lunch ladies, are much more than the just the people who make your food. Sometimes recognition can be a challenging problem in a job involved with teenagers.

“Everyone is nice and polite, but people are like why isn’t it just this, or why isn’t my food this way,” Mrs. Lisiecki said. “There’s more that goes into this than that.” photo by Ben Randall

school is like an ecosystem.

Teachers and students rely on each other for materials, homework and comradery. In addition, an ecosystem cannot run without energy, which is usually supplied by flora and fauna. The ‘trees’ of the school system are our lunch ladies, who help to supply the student population with their necessary energy and nutrients.

“I usually get here around 5:30 (A.M.), bright and early in the morning,” lunch lady Mrs. Korey Lisiecki said. “I also get out of here around 1:30 (P.M.) each day.”

Mrs. Lisiecki is one of the salad bar area cooks at the school and also helps work the extras stand on the front side of the cafeteria.

She has worked at GHS since 2012, and she enjoys the time commitment to her job.

“I actually like the hours a lot,” Mrs. Lisiecki said. “Because I am able to be home with my kids when they get home from school.”

There is a pattern to school meals - not necessarily being the same food every week but a recurring theme of similar meals within a month span. Preparing these meals is half the battle, as the schools had a challenging time finding meals that were both cost-efficient and appealing to students.

“Everything that we have, we order through the menu Kathy King makes,” Mrs. Lisiecki said. “Then we get it all together, cooking and baking it up. At least that’s what we do on this side, I kinda do my own thing in the salad bar.”

Students often forget about all the work

that goes on daily behind the scenes in order to have the same clean tables, filled condiment bottles and fresh milk. A day where the lunch ladies do not do their job would surely change the everyday life for the ecosystem of the school.

“The hardest part, oh boy. It would probably be just making sure everything gets done,” Mrs. Lisiecki said. “Getting everything done in time is tough, even though we always manage to do it. Making sure there’s enough for everyone is another part of the battle.”

In making all this food, more troubles arise with the selectivity of the student population.

Some meals are more difficult to make than others, obviously. The Gretna lunch system has its classics; the Crispito, mandarin orange chicken and the classic circle pizza.

“My least favorite to prepare is definitely mandarin orange chicken, there’s a lot to do in making it,” Mrs. Lisiecki said. “Chicken on a bun is pretty easy, and it was a favorite of mine when I was in high school.”

Besides assembling all this food every day, these lunch ladies have lives and hobbies of their own. Just as every student is not simply a student, they are not simply the people who put food in the student’s bellies.

“I am married and have two kids, a fiveyear-old named Isaac and an eleven month old named Oliver,” Mrs. Lisiecki said. “I live in Papillion and moved to Nebraska when I was 19 years old.”

Appreciation for different stimuli within ecosystems, or the school system, is tough to show. But maybe the next time people dump their trays, or are walking through the lunch line, they could flash one of these unsung heroes a smile and give them some welldeserved recognition.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP An Inside Look at Our School Nurse

By Jessica McKee NEWS EDITOR

B

eing a school nurse is harder than one might think. A typical day for nurse Ms. Bridget Plathe starts the minute she opens the door and begins with student check-ins and medication management. Next, she opens her email to look for health record updates and prepares the school’s immunization records to be checked by the state.

“Our report to the state is due on November 15th, so that’s a big deal for nurses,” nurse Ms. Plathe said. “It’s a legal document, so I have to make sure that what I’m providing is accurate information.”

Ms. Plathe spent four years getting her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Midland University and jumped into the workforce without any clinical rotations.

She has worked in various areas, including urgent care, home health and as the leader of a hospital unit. Although she did not perform any clinical rotations, she believes that her strengths helped her adapt to her first school quickly.

“I came in my first time with only two years under my belt,” Ms. Plathe said. “I think because of my strengths in organization and confidence in what I knew from nursing school, I was able to be successful in that first experience.”

Even though she has worked in hospitals and home health care, she feels called to her job as a school nurse. The National Association of School Nurses has stated that, “only 45 percent of the nation’s

public schools have a nurse.” While many schools operate without a nurse’s aid, our school has two full-time nurses at its disposal. Ms. Plathe has worked at a total of three schools and has been at GHS for three years. She firmly believes that no student fits into a mold or stereotype, and aims to connect with each student she treats.

“I’ve experienced a lot of things in my nursing career, so my view is very well rounded,” Ms. Plathe said. “I understand that not all students fit into a box, and because of my experience, I think that I connect with students well.”

Despite the connections nurse Plathe makes with students, her day is not without its challenges. Many see a nurse as one who administers bandages and medication, but the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) states that 21stcentury nurses deal with a wider range of conditions. These include chronic illness, obesity, mental health, and nutrition. The variety of conditions, as well as the amount of patients she sees, makes it difficult to balance her other responsibilities.

“The volume of kids coming through right now makes it extremely difficult to do the other parts of my job, such as immunization records and ensuring new students have the necessary paperwork in place,” Ms. Plathe said. “When we’re seeing 100 to 100 plus kids a day, it makes it difficult, because it’s my job to make sure everybody’s health information is kept private.”

Every day, she looks forward to the opportunity to connect with the students she sees. Her greatest reward is when she is

able to see students make a breakthrough, especially when her work was able to make it possible.

“I enjoy when kids come back, or they have a breakthrough with something and they come and tell me about it,” Ms. Plathe said. “Then those little seeds that I plant finally blossom into something, and a student goes ‘Ah ha!’ Those are the little precious things that I enjoy. It makes it worthwhile, for all the other things you have to do. Those little things are what makes it worthwhile.”

Nurse Ms. Plathe finds that her greatest rewards come as she is able to make personal connections with the students she treats. She finds satisfaction not only in making them healthy but also helping them make discoveries in their own lives. Despite the obstacles that the job offers, nurse Plathe shares her love for health by using her talents to help students become happier and healthier.

16 Feature DECEMBER 2018

Volume 5 Issue 1

FACTS OF PREDATORS

How to Stay Safe, in Nebraska and Beyond

By Emily Shurtliff A&E EDITOR

A

s many have noticed, human trafficking has been all over the internet recently. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and many more social media outlets are filled with scary stories, missing people headlines and tips and tricks on how to avoid suspicious situations.

As many would think, Omaha, Nebraska seems like a fairly safe place to be; it is relatively small for being a major city in Nebraska.

However, what the media does not always talk about is that the human trafficking problem in our own backyards. The interstate I-80 plays a huge role in human trafficking in Nebraska.

According to The Ark of Hope for Children, human trafficking is a $32 billiona-year industry, and it only continues to grow.

Thanks to social media, it is easy to find tips that could end up being the difference between life and death. It is important to remember to never get in the car with a stranger. Women are also advised to not walk alone at night, carry pepper spray and lock their cars as soon as they get into them.

However, women are not the sole target.

Even though the media tends to direct tips towards women, men are still in danger.

One thing that many people do not know

about is the 112 hotline. This is an emergency telephone number that can be called to contact ambulance, fire, rescue and police. An instance in which this hotline should be used is if an unmarked car is attempting to pull someone over with a light or siren. It is not safe to pull over for a car that is unmarked. In the event that this happens, a person should call 112 to speak to the police. The police can then track their cars to see if the unmarked car truly is the police. If it is not a police officer, the officers on the 112 hotline can help and give directions to the closest police or fire department. The 112 hotline is an international emergency hotline that has saved countless lives.

While human trafficking can happen anywhere, there are some places that people should not visit at night unless they are accompanied by others. These places can include truck stops, rest stops, certain stores or walking on the street. Gyms are also a place where kidnapping attempts can occur.

Over the summer, an incident was reported at the YMCA on 168th and Q street, which is only seven miles from GHS. It is important to always be alert and watching out for suspicious activity at any time of the day.

If you or anyone else that you know is in danger, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline by calling 1(888)373788 or texting the number 233733.

Photo illustration by Lauren Eurich

100,000-300,000 95% 27 $150 billion

}

sexually exploited U.S. children/year

million

estimated number of people held in slavery, worldwide

in profit were made by human traffickers in 2016

of trafficking victims experience violence

82%

of U.S. trafficking incidents involve sexual trafficking

FACTS COURTESY OF SISTERS OF MERCY

know your facts-stay safe

98%

of trafficking incidents involve women/girls

NEW DRAGON JOINS HERD, HELPS STUDENTS Money Saved from Curriculum Expasion

By Brie Goday STAFF WRITER

A

plethora of new instructors have been brought into GHS. One of those new instructors is Mr. Rick Arch, a HAL instructor who is opening up advanced courses for students that will save them money and benefit them in the future.

This includes Calculus III, Differential Equations and Intellectual Studies.

“I enjoy how welcoming the students have been to me,’’ Mr. Arch said.

“The teachers and staff have also been welcoming.”

He taught at Platteview High School for twelve years, as well as Elkhorn for an additional five years. He found that every school has few similarities such as the students and classes. He learned that at GHS we have different procedures and classes. The school districts are also different sizes from what he knows.

“Few things I am getting used to is just learning the new environment, the schedule and procedures,” Mr. Arch said.

Another class that he has brought into the curriculum is Integrated Studies, a seminar class that will be offered in the spring. Students will study leadership skills, new topics and complete projects on

their own such as, political projects, art, literature and music. If they successfully qualify for state, they will be asked to do an interview and possibly an essay.

“I hope that the topics they choose to study are what they are passionate about,” Mr. Arch said.

After taking Calculus I and II, students will be given the opportunity to advance to Calculus III. Since these courses are dual credit, students are able to avoid future college expenses.There are only a few schools that offer this class, and Gretna has the opportunity lucky enough to get a teacher who is qualified to instruct these courses. There are four students currently taking Calculus III.

“I think it is great. I was excited when Mr. Miller called me and said they were gonna be offering this class,” said Mr. Arch. “It’s a class I’ve always wanted to teach. I’m happy that students will be exposed to it.”

Calculus III is opened to students in the fall along with Integrated Studies.

Students would like to lower college expenses and learn something new, then take a moment to step out of their comfort zone and sign up. This may be beneficial to many students as the class grows and develops in the next couple of years.

Mr. Arch’s sister, Señora Melissa Ryan (shown left) has been teaching at Gretna Public Schools for 12 years. The two are both siblings and coworkers while teaching at GHS. Along with Integrated Studies and Calculus III, Mr. Arch is the sponsor for Quiz Bowl and Academic Decathlon.

Mr. Arch at Quiz Bowl practice, 11/15 photo by Ella Weaver

Mr. Arch driving the Quiz Bowl team to a competition on 10/12 photo by Ella Weaver

Volume 5 Issue 1

DECEMBER 2018

Feature

17

Big Story, Big Heart Koester’s Family Foundation, Fight, and Fulfillment

E

mily is a warrior. It all started in August of 2007, when freshman Emily Koesters became ill. She had unexpected kidney failure. Doctors told her parents she needed a kidney transplant, so her father, Mr. Joe Koesters, volunteered to give one of his kidneys to Emily. The kidney transplant succeeded on May 6, 2008, and Emily’s dad’s kidney was working. In January of 2009 at age four, Emily was diagnosed with Schimke Immuno-Osseous Dysplasia, also known as SIOD. She was not diagnosed until then because of all the complexities the disease has and everything they needed to figure out about what SIOD is. SIOD is a multisystem disorder that is inherited in an recessive pattern, that usually manifests with growth failure. SIOD has been divided into two forms, an infantile or severe early-onset form and a juvenile or milder late-onset form. Emily was diagnosed with the early-onset form of SIOD. Those with the early-onset form of SIOD generally have severe symptoms and a lifespan of about nine years, and Emily is 15 years old. Emily is a fighter, and while she has been through so much that tears her energy down, she is one big ball of strength.

“If I had to describe Emily in one word, I would describe her as a firecracker,” family-friend of the Koesters Mrs. Renee Jaeger said. “She’s gone through so much, but when you get the privilege to meet her, you would never know. She is truly a warrior.”

Since the age of three, Emily has had 55 surgeries. Each surgery has been an attempt to try to correct some of her health issues that stem from her SIOD diagnosis. She has endured chemotherapy treatments for Lymphoma twice. She suffers from osteoporosis, immune suppression, and debilitating seizures, Emily also has a compromised immune system, which can cause her to get sick very easy. In November of 2013, Emily had double hip reconstruction surgery. This surgery was necessary because she could no longer walk from all of the excruciating hip pains she had to endure due to the deterioration of her hip sockets. In addition to her many surgeries, Emily also requires numerous therapy sessions each week.

“Emily partakes in physical, aqua, and horse therapy multiple times a week,” Emily’s mom, Mrs. Erin Koesters said, “It helps with recovery, respiratory, and endurance issues, and she really enjoys doing it.”

Due to Emily’s complex health diagnosis, she takes eight to ten medications both morning and night. Emily takes these medications through her G-button that connects to her G-tube, that was placed on her lower stomach 11 years ago, her G-button is a device that transfers her medicine through a tube and into her body. Every 21 days, Emily gets transfusions and has tests that are taken to labs to monitor other health issues that relate to SIOD.

“Being close to Emily is like heaven,” Emily’s grandma, Mrs. Jeanette Roy said. “She’s such a fun, loveable, wonderful person and she’s so nice and caring for everyone.”

Emily is the voice and face of The Little Giants Foundation. This foundation was established to help raise money for research for children who have SIOD. The entire Koesters family is actively involved in all activities relating to the foundation. Mrs. Koesters is the Executive Director and President of the foundation.

While Emily’s father, Mr. Koesters is Vice President. There are also many more family members that are actively involved.

In 2014, The Koesters family brought the Little Giants Foundation to Nebraska, after another family, whose son Mitchell, also had SIOD, but sadly passed away at the age of 5

By Reese Jaeger JOURNALISM I

and a half. The Koesters family have met many new people through their work with the Little Giants Foundation. They connect with other families over Skype, Messenger, Facebook, Zoom, etcetera, and communicate with them by talking and video chatting. This helps keep them in touch and talk about goals with the Little Giants Foundation and how to become more involved.

“We have talked to people all over the world about the foundation,” Mrs. Koesters said, “People from all the way from Slovenia and Spain.”

Since the Koesters have a big role in the Little Giants Foundation, they host quite a few fundraisers. For the past five years, they have hosted the Little Giants Farm Run, which is a 5k located at a familyfriend’s farm. The Farm Run is always very successful for the foundation, it raises money for them to continue to find a cure. In the past they have also hosted blood drives, craftrelated events. Gretna Public Schools has also helped out supporting Emily and the Little Giants by having mini-fundraisers and events throughout the school year, and selling t-shirts, wristbands, etcetera.

“Each year the Farm Run is a success for the Little Giants,” Mrs. Jaeger said. “We have the run, a bake sale, a meal, a raffle, and a silent auction. The whole event is just a great time, and it’s all for a great cause.”

Emily has missed many days of school throughout her life; especially in her early years of elementary school, when her complications began to get worse. Emily now attends GHS three days a week, for about four hours a day. She tires easily mentally and physically, the shortened days seem to be a good fit into her schedule with all of her doctor’s appointments, therapies, while also saving enough energy to go on with the rest of her day.

“Emily does want to be a typical teenager,” Mrs. Koesters said. “She wants to do what her friends are doing, and tries to be interactive while she is at school. Like anyone else, she wants to be valued and belong.”

Even through all the tough medical issues Emily goes through, she loves to pull pranks and joke around with people. During the week when Emily goes to school, she pulls pranks on staff members at GHS, and jokes around with students. Also, Emily was named Miss. Junior Worldwide 2018, after her mom Mrs. Koesters was named Mrs. USA 2018.

Emily may seem small on the outside, but on the inside she’s mighty, strong, brave, playful, hilarious, and much more.

Emily is a role model and is looked up to by many people, including her mom, dad, sister, and more. For more information on this extraordinary girl, one can follow Emily on: www.caringbridge.org/visit/emilykoesters, @believeinemily on Facebook, @ believeinlittlegiants on Facebook, @ littlegiants14 on Twitter, @littlegiantemily on Instagram or their foundation site at www. littlegiantsfoundation.blogspot.com - The Little Giants Foundation

Taylor Jo, Emily, Joe, and Erin Koester

Get involved. Learn the facts.

believeinlittlegiants

littlegiantemily

The U.S. National Library estimates the frequency of SIOD to be

believeinemily

1

Mutations in the SMARCAL1 gene are thought to increase the likelihood of siod. this gene has an autosomal recessive pattern, meaning both parents must have mutated smarcal1 genes.

per

littlegiants14

1 to 3 million people

TREATMENT SO FAR IS LIMITED TO HELPING THE SYMPTOMS, SUCH AS HIP REPLACEMENTS, DIALYSIS, AND BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTS.

18Sports DECEMBER 2018 Volume 5 Issue 1

Football Season Has Unexpected Outcome First Year of Football in Class A

By Connor Bulgrin PHOTO EDITOR

T

he football team had a turn-around season in their first year of Class A sports. The season started slow, but they battled back in the district games. They finished their season with a record of 3-6. Overall, it was a developing year for the Dragons that ended with an optimistic outlook.

Players knew ahead of time it was going to be a different kind of season. The season brought a learning curve with bigger teams with more talent, but they never gave up hope.

“We were very optimistic, but knew there would be no more 56-0 blowouts around the corner,” senior Tanner Huber said.

“Every game was going to be a dogfight.”

The season did not take off right away, and it began to wear on the team. However, they never gave up and still focused on the rest of the season, because they knew they had it in them to win.

“I think we lost a few games that we could have won,” senior Andrew Carter said. “ I’m not disappointed in us, and I’m proud of how we have played these past few weeks.”

After going 0-4 to start the season, the district games began. District games are important because they help determine if a team will make it to state. The first one was against Papillion La Vista. The team put the beginning of the season in the rearview mirror and looked to make a statement in Papillion.

However, the game did not go as planned and the Dragons lost 36-14 in a crucial game.

“We were a way better team than them, and we came out flat, and after halftime,

we continued to get even flatter,” Huber said. “No energy during the game and it was depressing. It was such a winnable game too.”

The following week, No. 1 ranked Burke High School came to GHS. It looked like another good team was going to come in and give GHS another loss. But that was not the case, and the team showed up on Senior Night and showed Burke that they could not be overlooked. Although they did not win, the team competed well.

“We didn’t win, but it was fun to compete against those guys and was a big turning point in the season,” Carter said. “ I think we finally realized that we could compete with anyone and it gave us a bunch of confidence.”

It was a big game, a big motivator and a big confidence builder for the rest of the year, with a final score of 43-26. The outcome may not look pretty but they used the game to propel themselves through the rest of the season.

“For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, my boys and I played so loose that I felt as though I was on my old pee wee team again, flying around the field without a care in the world,” Huber said. “We seriously had nothing to lose. Everyone expected a big fat 0 on the board, so we just decided it was a great opportunity to take a shot at the supposedly ‘number one’ team.”

The next week was GHS homecoming, and an old rival was coming to town. The Elkhorn Antlers, also in their first year of Class A, were looking for a district win. The team knew it was going to be a slugfest, but GHS came out fighting and won the game 39-21. It

pushed the team through the rest of the season.

“You can’t build a house in one day,” Huber said. “As long as the generations to come learn how to compete in everything they do on the field, we should be able to pull together a solid team, especially with the coaching staff we are fortunate to have.”

The team went on to win their last two games against Fremont and Millard North. They finished the season on a high note, even though they did not make it to the playoffs. They were proud of themselves because of the battle they had fought, and the comeback they had made.

“The only bad part is seeing how good we have played at the end of the season and how much we improved and wishing we could play like that from the beginning,” junior Blake Podany said. “But playing like that at the beginning is just normal for any team, as they always improve over the season and it was also our team getting used to Class A.” Throughout the season, the coaching staff never gave up on their team. They stayed positive through the season no matter what happened.

Although they may not have been expecting the season’s outcome, their focus was still on how they could be role models to their players.

“Despite some hardships, the coaches and players kept a positive attitude and kept working to achieve some wins,” Head Coach Mr. Michael Kayl said. “It start against a very good Burke team, we didn’t win but played them very tough. Was very proud of the way the players kept battling despite some hardships.”

The level of respect between the players and coaches goes both ways. The players are very proud of the coaches for a plethora of reasons.

“I know that we have a great coaching staff who dedicates their time, even on weekends, to help make us a better football team,” Huber said. “I am sure that they feel proud of themselves because they taught us a very valuable lesson: football is measured by the size of the heart rather than the size of the player. As a 210 pound center, I didn’t know what was in store for me, but my line coaches made me believe in myself and my ability.”

The team is going to keep this spirit going into next season. They know that every year is going to be a fight, but they are prepared to do whatever it takes to win, even if that means fighting in an uphill battle.

“Gretna has a excellent tradition in football. We have some younger players that got some experience and a taste of what the competition is like,” Coach Kayl said. “We just have a lot of work to do in the offseason to improve strength and speed.”

The season might not have turned out how the team had wanted it to. But they are still proud of what they have done and are looking forward. The team will remember how hard they fought, worked and played this season.

“We learned that it’s not about the size of the dog in the fight, but about the size of the fight in the dog,” Huber said. “I’m proud to say that we finally found out how to play with heart and I’ve loved it ever since.”

The Return of Mr. Duin

Swim Season Approaches, With a New Coach

By Ben Randall STAFF WRITER

E

arly mornings, late evenings, and long practices have the ability to significantly test anyone’s resiliency. Every coach’s goals for student-athletes are to help them maintain a high level of excellence in the classroom as well as take care of their mental and emotional health. When scholarly aspects are taken care of, athletes have the ability to condition the body and develop techniques to bring out the best in their athletic abilities.

One sport in particular, is ready to take off, under the direction of a well-known face.

“I was one of the coaches who help start the program, and I coached in the 13-14 and 14-15 school years,” Coach Mr. Paul Duin said. “ I stepped down originally because I was considering moving into administration, and I wanted to devote all of my time to special education initiatives we had started at GHS.” Swimming adds to the allure of the season of winter sports, with basketball and wrestling also helping create a competitive and enjoyable atmosphere. Coach Duin was brought back to help with the swimming program.

“We recently lost both swim coaches due to them taking other jobs,” Mr. Duin said.

“But with this group of kids, we will strive to continue the intensity of their training.”

Training for sports goes a long way towards athletic success. The swimming team is no stranger to this nature of striving for excellence, getting up very early each morning to hone their craft, along with practices after school.

“We will practice from 5:30 A.M to 7:00

A.M every morning at the Jewish Community Center off of 132nd and Dodge,” Mr. Duin said. “We will practice four afternoons per week at Mockingbird pool off of 102nd and L St. The season starts on November 12.”

Getting up this early isn’t for the faint of heart. With 32 cuts, or spots, allowed for state qualifying swimmers, Junior Mary Matya hopes to take one of these spots. With a new coach and a couple preseason practices under her belt, Matya speaks volumes to the togetherness and chemistry of the team.

“I like that it’s a small team and you really get to know people, it’s nice being able to know everyone’s names,” Matya said.

“I would like for the girls to get to state, and I want to get a secondary cut (spot) for myself.”

It is an interesting ordeal when there is a coaching change, and Matya emphasizes that. With Mr. Duin coming back, Matya and the rest of the swimming team hope for more adversity during workouts.

“I think it’s nice for him to come back so that he can see how the program has progressed,” Matya said.

“I hope he continues to make it really challenging, as we’re not gonna make it to state with only easy workouts.”

Mr. Duin certainly has a handful of experienced swimmers to utilize this year. Mr. Duin dives into this years team with high aspirations against a formidable meet schedule.

“Our returning swimmers have worked very hard to improve their times,” Mr. Duin said. “Our boy’s relays swam in the state meet last year along with some individual qualifiers, and this year’s boy’s team is

hungry to get back there. Our girl’s relays have been very close to qualifying for state, so I know that is a goal for the girls’ team.”

Just as a basketball player practices his jump shot, or a piano player introduces their hands to a new rigorous material, a swimmer must be diligent about each and every part of his technique.

Swimming relies strongly on technique, so each day the form and movements of a competitor are critiqued by coaches.

“There are different training phases to the season, but typical workouts consist of warm up, and sets that may focus on kicking, endurance, technique, speed, power and specific strokes,” Mr. Duin said. “Workouts can be 3000 to 6000 plus yards, and we have two-a-day practices 3-4 times per week.”

As for the workouts of these athletes, patience is key. It takes many years to perfect the art of an efficient stroke through water.

Improving balance, anchoring your arms, and bettering core strength all goes towards a better propulsion in the water. Swimming is a high intensity, but low impact sport that puts little stress on bones and joints.

“I am grateful to have the experience of Co-Head Coach Maggie Meier, and I am also grateful to have Alexis Briscoe as Assistant Coach,” Mr. Duin said. “My wife, Vicki Duin, will be assisting the team as well with administrative tasks.

We are looking forward to the season.”

With Mr. Duin back under the helm, the swimming team is poised to have an exciting season. With the official season starting on November 12, it won’t be long until all the early morning hours pay off.

Sweat, tears, and pool water Mr. Duin helps out a swimmer during a preseason lifting session. He describes the rigid schedule of the swim team, getting up for practices at 5:30 and practicing after school as well. Typical workouts are technique heavy, working on specific strokes.

DECEMBER 2018 FRESHMAN ON VARSITY Volume 5 Issue 1

Sports

19

S k y l a r M c c u n e I m pa c t s T e a m

By Emily Shurtliff In-Depth Editor

T

he 2018-19 school year brings numerous changes for the GHS volleyball team, including the switch to class A. One of those changes is freshman Skylar Mccune joining the varsity team. Mccune has played volleyball since she was seven years old, and she hopes to keep playing through college.

“My mom always put me in trainings and camps because she played when she was young,” Mccune said. “It was my decision to keep playing after I made my first club team in fourth grade.”

While the transition from middle school to high school sports can be rough for some athletes, it was not that way for Mccune. Mccune plays club volleyball at Premier Nebraska Volleyball and is used to intense training.

“I wouldn’t say it has been a hard transition at all, since how I train in club is similar to how we train for high school volleyball,” Mccune said.

“Middle school volleyball was more for fun, whereas high school volleyball is competing and playing to win, which I love. The biggest difference for me this year is playing with girls two to three years older than I am.”

She knew she was physically ready, but Mccune was still anxious for the social aspects of joining the varsity team. She was preparing to become a part of a team who already had a tightknit bond.

“I was nervous,” Mccune said. “I didn’t know many of the older girls and had never played with anyone older than me.”

For Mccune, volleyball will not end once she graduates high school. Her intention is to continue her volleyball career into college.

“Playing at a D1 school has always been my big goal,” Mccune said. “My dream school would be the University of Southern California. I went to their camp this summer, and I loved their campus. They have an amazing volleyball program.”

Some young athletes tend to be presumptuous, but Mccune is not that way. She is grateful to get to play at such a high level of volleyball as a freshman.

“I get the chance to play at the highest level of high school volleyball for four years,” Mccune said. “To get to play with girls like Kamryn Schuler and Baylie Shearer for my first year of high school is pretty cool.”

Along with the rest of the team, Mccune has high expectations for this season. She is prepared to work incredibly hard with the team to help them reach their goals.

“We want to make it to state,” Mccune said. “When we get there, we want to win.”

This season has a great deal in store for Mccune and the rest of the team. The team made it to state. After defeating Millard West in 5 sets, they made it to the semifinals where they faced Millard North losing in 3 sets. The team had a great season.

Photo by Emily Parkinson

2018 STATS Total Kills 170 28 Total Aces Total Blocks 11 258 Total Digs 240 84 SETS PLAYED

Total Receptions

ALL STATS ARE FROM MAXPREPS

DAY 1 STATS

DAY 2 STATS

Dragons V.S Millard West

Total Kills

6 121

52

Total Aces

Total Blocks

Kaiya Russell (19) and Skylar Mccune (22) go up for a block as they face Millard West. Photo by Emily Parkinson

5

After their last game, Maya Brandon (19) and Baylie Shearer (19) cry. Photo by Emily Parkinson

37

0

Total Digs

Total Receptions

As the Dragons take on the Wildcats, Skylar Mccune (22) helps the team win the game. Photo by Casey Downing

29

Total Aces

Total Blocks

86

DRAGONS: 3 WILDCATS: 2

ALL STATS ARE FROM MAXPREPS

Total Kills

13

Total Digs

Total Receptions

Dragons V.S Millard North

62

DRAGONS: 0 MUSTANGS: 3

ALL STATS ARE FROM MAXPREPS

20 Sports DECEMBER 2018 Volume 5 Issue 1 NEW SEASON, SAME SUPERSTITIONS

By Jacey Hammer EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

T

hroughout my two years of running, when race day comes around, everything has to be the exact same: absolutely everything. I have heard a variety of superstition stories of athletes wearing their uniform to bed or not washing their uniforms, but mine are not like this. I am extremely superstitious when it comes to sports, especially cross country. When I do well, everything has to be the same, or I end up drilling the thoughts of failing in my head. Sometimes being superstitious can be extremely irritating, but the routine helps my performance.

Junior year, I randomly decided to go out for cross country. Each day, I questioned why I would ever want to run for fun, and I planned on quitting. Then, as I crossed the Iowa State finish line, I looked down at my watch and saw my time.

After weeks of training and races, I had finally earned my first personal record. After that, everything had to be the same. I have many layers that go into my superstitious habits. When meet day comes around, everything has to be the same, even the night before. My race day attire consists of a cute outfit, usually a dress or skirt.

This superstition started after my first personal best race. My motto is, ‘when you look good, you feel good.’

Well, it works. I eat the same thing for lunch: a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich, which is cut in half diagonally. For dinner the night before, I eat chicken alfredo with broccoli.

When excused from school, I change into my uniform. No matter the temperature outside, I wear the same white Kids Connection crew neck accompanied by my gray

photo by Miranda Parkinson

Lululemon headband. I even wear the same exact nike socks that cover my heels, but I place on the opposite feet. After running my first personal record race, I took my watch off and kept it in my bag. Coach Bryce Brunswig does not like when we keep his watches, but I have made it my worst habit. Even when he asks us to return all of his watches, I throw my headphones in and act as if I did not hear him. I have to wear the same watch every race. I always return my watch at the end of the season.

I typically do not have to worry about rushing to the bus because I have to sit in the seat that is directly next to the emergency exit. One trip, I sat on the broken seat in order to PR. As I am sitting in the seat, I listen to “Waka Waka” by Shakira on repeat. No matter how long the bus ride is, that is all I will play. The song is motivational, and it brings out my best racing mindset. A few of my teammates have added this to their race day playlist.

Once we get to our destination, the team walks the course together.

With Shakira’s single still playing on full-blast, I zone in on the course. I am ready to race. I am ready to PR. I know that doing these things have nothing to do with my performance. The thought of failing has always crossed my mind when I do not follow this routine. I have replaced old habits with new superstitions. Once I cross the finish line, I stop my watch, and I think back to everything I did before the race, only if I ran my best time. There have been times I had not gotten my PR even when I did follow this entire routine, but I have become obsessed with it.

Being superstitious has its pros and cons, but I could not imagine racing without having them.

Running Game While running in the EMC meet at Blair High School, I ran my personal best. I wore my Lululemon headband along with a low ponytail. My best time is 25:15. Photo by Hunter Hanson

photo by Cade Suing

2018 TENNIS SEASON

By Gavin Struve STAFF WRITER

photo by Miranda Parkinson

photo by Ella Romano

T

he tennis team opened its anticipated 2018 season on Aug 23 in Lincoln. The Dragons brought back state champion senior Zach Weber and state medalist senior Evan Beran. The team was hungry to replicate its success from last season while being the only GHS team remaining in Class B. “Our goal for this season was to finish in a solid team position,” Weber said. “And hopefully win another state title myself.”

The team had a large group boys, many of whom had never played tennis before. Despite the amount of newcomers, there were a lot of departures, allowing some players, like senior Christian Keller to move up to Varsity.

“We had twenty guys come out (this year),” Keller said. “That’s the most we’ve ever had. Six play on Varsity, ten play on JV and four are reserve. My favorite parts about tennis are meeting new people and making memories with my team.”

The group played in a handful of matches and invites and was successful.

Weber, individually, entered the season as one of the State favorites with a target on his back.

“This season was a great way to have fun and end my tennis career on a

good note,” Weber said. “I won most of my matches and competed in the ones I lost.”

Despite their promising start to the season, the boys made sure they kept a level head. They also recognized they could not do it all on their own.

“We did well as a team this year, but the loss of last year’s seniors did not helped our cause,” Keller said. “The team’s goals for this season were really to find as much success as possible in our invitationals and have lots of fun along the way.”

If nothing else, the boys knew they have each other’s backs. Despite Weber competing in many of his matches individually, he recognized that tennis is still very much a team sport, and the boys needed the support of each other and their classmates.

“The best part about playing tennis is definitely the great guys that I get to play with,” Weber said. “We all bonded as a team by joking around and making sure we didn’t take things too seriously to the point where it was not fun.”

Much of the team was young and inexperienced, but there was just enough senior leadership to experience success on the court. The Dragons sent six boys to state and hope to build on the success of this season.

DECEMBER 2018

Volume 5 Issue 1 Teen Boy Spills The Tea on Chick-flick

A&E

By Connor Bulgrin PHOTO EDITOR

T

he movie The Kissing Booth is a popular chick flick produced by Netflix and written by Vince Marcello. It came out in May of 2018 and was given a 13 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. It is a popular film and a relatively quick movie. It follows the life of a 16-yearold girl.

The main character is named Elle Evans, played by Joey King, and she lives in Los Angeles, California. Elle and a boy named Lee Flynn, who is played

by Joel Courtney, are best friends. Their mothers were also best friends until Elle’s mother died of cancer. One of the mothers is played by Molly Ringwald, who was in multiple chick flicks in the 80’s. She was in the movies The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles. Elle has only one secret she keeps from Lee, she likes his older brother Noah. She doesn’t tell Lee because he really doesn’t like to be overshadowed by Noah. Elle holds back but eventually, her emotions get the better of her.

Elle and Noah slowly fall for each other and it was very predictable to see where the movie was going. Then there was a kissing booth Noah and Elle ends up kissing each other. After that, the cliché scene comes on where they are staring into each other’s eyes, and the world is spinning around them.

Immediately afterward, she worries about how it will affect Lee, but she keeps it a secret. Noah and Elle’s relationship grows, and they keep it a secret from everyone. It starts to tear Elle

21

apart because Lee can tell something is going on. She can barely contain it, and things get messy once the secret is out.

The movie had a few things wrong with its plot. There are some pretty important things that are left out, such as that Lee and Noah live in a mansion on the beach, but there is no mention of their parents being wealthy or prominent. Also, Noah is not a great student, because he has anger issues, but somehow he is accepted to Harvard.

The plot was pretty predictable until the end. From the first time Elle sees Noah, it is predictable. Also, the end was very unsatisfying. There is just this open ending that is very annoying. The story is seeming to be over, and then there is a blank. The movie is not wrapped up well and it felt incomplete.

The Kissing Booth is an okay movie if you want to watch a chick flick. It is not very long, and it has a good enough pace to keep it from dragging on. I would give this movie a 5.5 out of 10. It is a well-crafted movie, but the predictable plot and bland ending bring it down. I would recommend watching this movie with someone else, possibly on a date if you need some points or are in a little bit of trouble. This movie would not be a first choice, but if there is nothing else, it is a good way to kill two hours.

Overall, The Kissing Booth is a decent movie, but it is not an outstanding one. The cinematography is not bad, but the plot is lacking in many places. The Kissing Booth gets three out of five stars.

NEW DINER, OLD SCHOOL FEEL P

By Matt Goblirsch OPED EDITOR

atron’s voices, a sizzle of a grill, smell of the fresh food. My friend and I take a seat and get ready to chow down. This is the usual experience of walking into a restaurant for me. Many new restaurants are opening up all over Gretna. I was given the daunting task of trying some of the new places with only one restriction: I could not spend more than ten dollars a meal.

One of the places that has recently opened is Angus Steak and Shake, located in a strip mall near 168th Street and Cornhusker Road.

Immediately after walking into the restaurant, customers are greeted by a completely open space with tables and booths. The booths are on the side, and tables are organized throughout the restaurant. The main attraction is the giant letters spelling “BURGERS.” It is a simple design, but it ties the whole place together.

I came to this restaurant with a friend to share the experience with. We were seated almost immediately by a cheery hostess.

When we sat down, we were given menus and began looking for our ten dollar choices.

The restaurant has many options for lunch or dinner. Some of the sandwiches had toppings that I did not understand, such as tzatziki sauce or epic sauce, so I asked our server, Justin, about them. He was extremely friendly and helpful, and he even gave some recommendations on what to get. I ordered “The Drive Inn Burger” which comes with American cheese, shaved onion, bread and butter pickles and epic sauce, all on a

seeded roll. I was not sure what this “epic sauce” was, so I asked our server and he described it as a sort of a McDonald’s Big Mac sauce. Surprisingly, that was a nearperfect comparison. I also ordered some truffle Masa waffle fries to come with the rest of my meal. The side of fries sadly does not come with the meal but must be ordered separately. When the meal arrived, I was impressed with the look and it made my stomach growl even more. As I took my first bite, it was a sweet tasting burger.

It was somehow a mix of savory from the patty along with the sweetness from the “epic sauce” and bread and butter pickles.

The fries went along well with the meal and brought it all together. Personally, I was not a fan of the added crunch that comes with Masa style fries, so next time I go, I would order the regular house fries. Both the fries and burger alone was more than enough to fill the stomachs of two people.

Overall I rate the meal and service together with a nine out of ten, but I have yet to try more of their food. The pricing was not terrible, and since there were two people, the price I could spend was $20 ($10 for each). It was $9.50 for the burger and $4 for the fries. The tax came out to only 72 cents, and I tipped 20 percent, which was three dollars. The total after everything came out to $16.72, which seems like a reasonable price for the good food, friendly service and neatness of the restaurant. I would definitely reccomend this restaurant to anybody.

BURGERS

2 7 .

6 1

$

Good Eats The Drive-Inn Burger with a side of truffel Masa fries is pictured. The burger was enough for two people and the fries were incredibly crunchy. It tasted like a fancier, more extravagant Big Mac. Photo by Matt Goblirish

Angus Burgers and Shakes is located at 10177 S 168th Ave. It is open from 11 AM - 10 PM Monday thruugh Saturday and 11AM- 9 PM Sunday. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

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A&E

DECEMBER 2018 Volume 5 Issue 1 Passion for Fall Fashion Seasonal Clothes Jump Into Autumn

By Matt Goblirsch OPED EDITOR

A

s the degrees drop, people everywhere are grabbing their favorite sweaters and hats.

From Sept. 22 to Dec. 21 is the autumn season, this time of the year not only brings Halloween spirit, popular coffee flavors, or pumpkin patches. It also brings forth some of the most popular styles of the year. Fashion can be something that people strive for, or not even think about.

Junior Evelyn Theall strives to look good dressed in her fashion choices and the fall season makes that easier than ever.

“Fall and winter are my favorite [seasons] so I can dress warm,” Theall said. “I like being able to wear sweaters everyday.”

A big part of clothing choice for full time students is price. Brands like Gucci or Supreme make shirts cost over sixty dollars, making shopping on a budget a must.

“I shop mostly at thrift stores, places like Goodwill, Scout or Thrift World” Theall said.

“I can usually spend under fifty dollars a month on clothes.”

A passion for fashion can start at any point, whether it be as a young child or a teenager. Every person has their own unique style to show off.

“It’s fun to express myself through clothes,” Theall said. “My style ranges between casual grunge and edgy queen.”

Women are not the only one who like fashion, some guys put work into their look and how they dress matters to them. Senior Ben Schaefer takes time, money, and effort into his look often.

“I like wearing jeans, I think they look better with stuff,” Schaefer said. “You can wear sneakers or boots with them.”

Fall season brings different types of outfits. As the temperature drops, people wear more coats, scarves, jackets, sweaters and much more.

“H&M is where I get a lot of my clothes,” Schaefer said. “If I’m trying to get shoes, I go to Kohls.”

Autumn is a time that companies put out new clothes, and when consumers buy those new clothes. The season is a popular time for fashion and fashion companies.

“With fall you get to go out and there is a bunch of people wearing flannels and beanies,” Schaefer said. “Wearing just one t-shirt you have no options, but when you wear layers you have a lot more combinations. Wear more beanies everybody.”

The fall season has started and with that comes thicker jackets, warmer hats, and warm cups o’ joe. Autumn fashion is something that is looked at as an important part of the year in the eyes of fashion companies, because of the fall and winter fashion weeks all around the world.

Remember to grab your favorite sweater and

Submitted photo

Submitted photo

Teenagers Thoughts On Living With No Social Media Submitted photo

Students Share Their Perspective Unplugging and Spending Time Offline

By Emma Mayer CARTOONIST

S

“As a teenager, I do see many teens spend most of their time on social media,” junior Nhu Hoang (20) said.

it would definitely be the bullying that takes place on social media,” junior Anissa Lemons (20) said.

ocial media has been around for years. Many teens and young adults have been on social media longer than they have realized.

According to the Pew Research Center, 51% of teens get social media between 13-17 years old, they have been present on social media longer than they have possessed their own account. Before social media or even simple things such as digital technology came about, a large percentage of parents would print their children's baby photos, but as technology advanced, everything became digital. According to, Small Business Trends, the first recognizable social media site, Six Degrees, was created in 1997.

“Around the end of the 90’s, the first part of the 2000’s, when digital cameras were released, my parents stopped printing photos and just had them on digital CD’s,” junior Anissa Lemons said. “I think that when everything went digital, it was easier for parents to just post pictures of their children on social media than printing the photos and sending them to family.”

Despite students possessing their own social media account in their early to midteens, a large percent have been on their parent's accounts even before they were on their own. According to The Statistics Portal, among the 7.53 billion people on earth, there are about 2.46 billion social media users. In 2019, it is estimated that there will be around 2.77 billion social media users.

“When I walk into class at the beginning of the period, I see most of the people on Snapchat or Instagram,” Lemons said.

“Among them are only about two students who don't have social media, including myself.”

According to the Pew Research Center, approximately 71% of teens have social media. The remaining 29% do not have or no longer participate in social media.

“I had social media for about five years, but when I came to the high school I decided to delete all my accounts,” Lemons said. “There was too much drama and it became kind of annoying. It was stressful trying to keep my streaks going and to just keep up with posts in general. Social media took so much time out of my day because I was constantly on it. I got tired of spending at least two hours a day on just social media alone when I could be doing other things.”

According to a study by influencer marketing agency Mediakix, the average person will spend more than five years of their lives on social media. Also according to The Washington Post, teens spend nearly nine hours every day consuming media.

“After I deleted my accounts, I have more time to spend with my family and friends,” junior Nhu Hoang said. “I think that social media can take a little too much of our attention away from other things.

When I go out to eat at a sit-down restaurant like Denny’s, I see a lot of families on their phones instead of talking to one another.”

When creating a social media account, platforms such as Snapchat, ask users to give

information such as your full name, age, birth date, address, etc. According to UOPX News, nearly two-thirds of social media users have reported their account being hacked, allowing total strangers to access your personal information. Social media accounts can put users at risk.

“I don’t have social media because I think it replaces actually interacting with people,” Hoang said. “I don’t want to put personal information on the internet and risk being hacked. I do think that social media has its perks, but it’s personally- not for me.”

Social media platforms are constantly updating and releasing new features. Some of the features can compromise users privacy.

For example, the Snapchat map allows users friends to see where they are located.

“I honestly think that people (being) able to see where others are through social media is scary and unsettling,” Hoang said. “Anyone can find out where you are nowadays, and that’s scary to think about. I personally don’t think using social media is worth my sense of security.”

Before social media was in the hands of teens, it was in hands of adults and parents.

Many generations were on social media even before they had their own accounts.

As social media has advanced an spread into the hands of the youth, it has caused a big impact on society. Personal information is being spread, users location is being compromised and face-to-face interaction is declining. Like the students without social media, unplugging and reevaluating social media could be beneficial.

23 A&E

DECEMBER 2018

Volume 5 Issue 2

A Rising Artist With Hopes for a Big Career New Student Shares His Musical Creativity

By Emily Shurtliff IN-DEPTH EDITOR

M

usic is a force that is able to bring people together from all over the world. From small artists to big artists, there is typically one common goal: to share the music that is created. New student, sophomore Daeton Huffmann, has always had a love for music, and he hopes to pursue a career in music.

“I first got into music at a young age, maybe five years old,” Huffmann said. “I remember being in the back seat of my mom’s old, 1981 Honda and listening to Ludacris. Man, good times.”

Huffmann believes that he has always had support from his loved ones to pursue a career in music. Even though he just recently started to create his own music, Huffmann has always had a strong connection with it.

“I started freestyling and rapping to myself on walks home (in) about 4th grade,” Huffmann said. “I only recently figured: why not do it more?”

Huffmann describes his music as being part of the rap genre. However, his music is not like the typical rap song that one would

hear on the radio.

“When it comes to my genre, a lot of people make music about money, drugs, guns and how many women they have,” Huffmann said. “I just like to see the positive side of everything because of the life I've lived. I make music that motivates and inspires.”

Currently, Huffmann only gets his music out into the world by sharing it with his close family and friends. However, he occasionally posts lyrics and clips of his music on social media.

“As far as how do I share my music, I haven't started yet,” Huffmann said. “I've been, ultimately, too busy. From time to time I'll post lyrics on Facebook, but it's never had a solid running.”

According to The United States Department of Labor, many musicians are self-employed. While this may make it hard for up-and-coming musicians to gain a following, Huffmann has a plan for his career.

“Once I really do start to put myself out there, I mainly plan on working with other people I know who make music on Spotify and Soundcloud to really push my presence,” Huffmann said.

Although he knows it may be hard,

Huffmann is willing to work to pursue his passion. Not many are able to say that they are living their dream, and he wants to be able to say that when he is older.

“I would love to pursue a career in music,” Huffmann said. “The trouble is knowing where to start and staying afloat. I feel that if anyone has a passion, you won’t truly love yourself until you chase it.”

Like all other writers, Huffmann experiences writer’s block. However, he gains inspiration from standing on his back deck at night, along with listening to some of his favorite artists. Some of his greatest inspirations are Eminem, Jonyer Lucas, NF, Mr. Mister and Bebe Rexha.

“I do experience writer’s block,” Huffmann said. “I think that anyone who writes, from novels to poetry, will experience it. You have those states where your creativity shuts off; it could take a matter of hours to months, but, yes, it happens. I tend to get over it quickly, however.”

Huffmann currently has a few full songs written, and he spends a couple of hours a day working on new lyrics. He plans to release some music and work with new artists soon, and he hopes that he will be able to spread a positive message through his music.

Photo illustration by: Emily Shurtliff Making Music “I spend a few hours every day thinking of lyrics that I could use, and the best ways they would flow together lacing intricate linguistics. (It is) a challenge, however, a stimulant.” freshman David Huffmann (21) said.

Art illustration by: Isabel Mancilla

New and Upcoming Problems in the Ring of Music Musicians Struggle to Reach Audiences When Releasing New Music and Sounding Good

By Isabel Mancilla CARTOONIST

E

very year, bands across the country release new music. For instance, the two-man-band Twenty-One Pilots. They recently released an album filled with 14 songs. Bands release content ranging from full-length albums to EPs and singles, varying the music length.

Considering the history of a band, most likely they will have started off with EPs, possibly containing three or more songs.

With an onslaught of new content, a couple of bands and artists hang up their gloves, while new artists grab those gloves and continue the routine. Fans all over rejoice while listening to barely-uploaded music.

Some people will even go as far as to wait all night for a release, while others prefer to be casual listeners.

“To be honest, I really don’t follow any albums or songs,” junior Reis Butler said.

“I’m sure my friends are excited for the new Post Malone, but I don’t really follow that.”

The popular two-man band, TwentyOne Pilots, released an album on Oct. 5, 2018. Another well-known band, Muse, is releasing an album on Nov. 9. Whether or not the albums are well-received across their fans, they still create a form of news Art illustration by: Emma Mayer

or “buzz” around these albums. The album Trench, by Twenty-One Pilots, has a storyline following the songs. This lead to fans being excited about the release as almost all of the information surrounding the new music was in cryptic forms. Another album that was talked about a lot recently was The Carter V, released by Lil Wayne.

“If I had one artist to see more content from, Joyner Lucas,” said Butler. “He does things like parodies, for instance, “Mask On,” which is from “Mask-Off”.

While these already-known bands released their music after gathering excitement around it, newer artists do not have this chance. One artist that is popular amongst younger generations, but still relatively new, would be rapper Machine Gun Kelly (MGK). He is climbing the charts with songs like “At My Best featuring Hailee Steinfeld,” and “Gone featuring Leroy Sanchez,”.

“I would say one of the more popular genres would be rap,” Butler said. “Looking at my cousins, around eight [years old], they listen to people like Drake and Logic.”

Artists like MGK and Eminem are due to reasons involving two things; students preferring rap to other genres, as well as songs talking about heavier topics than they used to. Looking at some songs off of

Eminem’s previous albums, he has talked about being bullied as a kid and then making it big. While bands like Twenty-One Pilots sing about the same heavy topics, Eminem and other rappers’ songs create feelings that are not portrayed well in a slower sound.

A major difference some students are not falling in line behind with is the idea that some rappers’ voices are distorted heavily, or sound “off”. Some artists voices have even been destroyed from years of use and improper care.

“I would say that I tried to listen to the new Lil Wayne, The Carter V, but within in 24 seconds, I hate it,” Butler said. “His voice is so annoying and it goes to show that anyone can make it.”

With the rap genre coming back onto the scene, the need for the songs to be relatable is higher than ever. The genre previously has lowered in ratings around 2012. People want songs that they can understand on a more meaningful level. When songs like “Leave The City” off of Trench by Twenty-One Pilots talk about mental health and the importance of being okay, people listen. But, with this need, songs become a lot more “depressing” or “real”.

“If I had to say something I’m finding with new music is that it’s more ‘sad’,” Butler said. “They target feelings of depression, or

relationships that don’t contain love and I don’t really understand why.”

Tying in the feelings of anger, sadness, happiness, love and other naturally occurring emotions is a difficult job that new artists are tasked with and that old artists are finding themselves doing as well. Along with a yearly release, their music is always going to be heavily anticipated and expected, leaving listeners to decide their fate. So far there has already been a few albums shot down by fans.

Looking at the album Pray For the Wicked by the band Panic! at the Disco, fans did not like the new sound. It did not leave fans with the same melancholic feeling with a hint of anger and urge to rebel like their older albums. Fans will say the new album is happy and does not express feelings they were hoping would be addressed within the release.

Music is always a challenging task for musicians, but with the need for something relatable on the rise, artists have their hands.

Adding on top: a yearly release, a catchy or original sound, along with a sense of purpose left to the listeners in the end. The idea that they can do it all is crazy, but the more these new albums are released the more the world is seeing the tasks being met.

2 4 A&E

ANIMATED MOVIES SET NEW RECORDS FOR RECEPTION AND PROFIT

DECEMBER 2018

Volume 5 Issue 1

THROWBACK MOVIE REVIEW

By Ella Weaver EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

A

nimated movies have been watched by children for decades.

Disney and Pixar have always created delightful animations for children, and that tradition has never faded.

In the past year, movies like Coco, the Lego Batman Movie and Incredibles 2 have been released to great acclaim. However, modern animated movies are not only regulated to children, and they have seen great success.

Coco was Pixar’s saving grace of 2017.

If Pixar had not released the movie, then the animation giant would have gone five years without an acclaimed and original film.

Fortunately for them, Coco was a box office smash. The film earned a 96 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and became the most successful film ever at the Mexican box office. Overall, the film earned $153 million worldwide.

Coco was not the sole animated film in the past year to earn a large profit. After 24 days of domestic showing, Incredibles 2 earned $504.32 million. This month, the movie became the first animated film to earn more than $600 million in the American box office. Both Pixar films were received well by audiences and families, as shown by both critical reception and the profits. These two movies illustrate the recent success of animated family movies, and animated movies for adults continue to become more common.

Loving Vincent, for example, was a 2017 animated movie nominated for the 2018 Best Animated Movie Oscar. Its experimental plot and oil-painting animation were a success with audiences, shown through online ratings and the worldwide earning of $42.1 million.

Isle of Dogs was a PG-13 2018 movie with a positive critical reception. Worldwide, the movie grossed $64.1 million. Both of these films were animated movies for a more mature audience than normally expected, and both were box office successes.

For the past year, animated movies have seen immense success. Animated family movies have attained growth in profits and in reception. Teenagers and adults have also been able to enjoy new movies that follow the great success of Pixar’s family movies.

art by Isabel Mancilla

Came out in 1978 Has Won 4 People’s Choice Awards Takes Place in 1958

PAGE VS. SCREEN:

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before

By Bayleigh Koch STAFF WRITER

OR BOOK

MOVIE

T

he movie Grease was, and still is, a huge hit. Released in June of 1978, Grease grossed approximately $188 million domestically, and worldwide it made approximately $400 million. I am so glad it did- the movie is a classic.

Now, high school can be full of drama, as it is stereotypical and odd. It is hard to make light of and deal with as a teenager, but Grease did an amazing job of doing just that. From the fear of teenage pregnancy to relationships with exchange students, they cover a great deal of topics. This was all accomplished while still being fun and incorporating music that is still listened to today. Songs like “Look At Me, I’m Sandra Dee” bring in drama while still being a catchy song that anyone can sing along to.

The movie starts off with 17-year-old Sandra “Sandy” Olsson coming to America.

She ends up in a relationship with 18-yearold Danny Zuko. Last minute, when she prepares to go back to Australia, her parents decide to move to America instead. The two still harbor feelings for each other, but Danny cared about being considered a “bad boy”. Sandy and Danny struggle to keep their relationship but try all that they can anyway. They both go through their final year of high school along with their friends.

The movie does a great job of adding music that teenagers today still know

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everal people are talking about the new movie released on Netflix, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before.

However, the real question is which is better: the book or the movie? Obviously, it is the latter. I think that the movie is the better version of the two. Now, let me start by saying I am not one who usually watches the movie first and then reads the book.

Most of the time I prefer the book, but for some reason, I like the movie better when it comes to To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before.

The book is fantastic. It goes more into detail about the relationship between Peter and Laura Jean and the background of their friendship before they started dating. There is more history to them than it tells in the movie. Not only between Laura Jean and Peter but her and Josh share more intimate moments with each other than in the movie.

It is understandable that all the details cannot be in the movie as in the book, but the book gives a much better idea of how strong Laura Jean’s feelings towards Peter and Josh truly are.

The movie, like I said earlier, left out several important details as in the book but without them in the movie, it still makes sense and is extremely binge-worthy. The actors who play the characters did a fantastic job portraying their personalities as in the book. In the movie, it shows many of the

By Isabel Mancilla CARTOONIST and love. One of the most popular songs would have to be “Greased Lightning”.

The song is about Kenickie Murdoch’s car, but the car itself is very broken down.

They sing about all that the car could be, from putting in a new engine to painting the body. Another fan favorite is “Summer Nights,” sung by both Sandy and Danny describing their summer love but from different viewpoints. Sandy describes their love as romantic and something straight out of dreams. Danny describes Sandy as someone who drooled over him because he saved her when that is not the case. There is also the song “There Are Worse Things I Could Do,” which is sung by Rizzo. She sings about how her possibly being pregnant could be something worse. To make the situation harder on Rizzo, students and friends spread rumors about the pregnancy.

Everyone except for Sandy judged her.

Grease has survived the ages through more than simply its still-relevant drama and music. It is a great movie for teenagers to watch and experience for themselves.

The characters are funny and create a good sense of varying cliques. There is every stereotypical student that exists, making for a classic story. It is no easy task, but Grease does a good job of mixing them all together while still defining who they are and who they will become.

heartwarming scenes but it does not have the book gives a wider variety of those moments.

The movie gives a great representation of how close Peter and Laura Jean get to each other, but it does not go into detail about how close Josh and Laura Jean were even before Josh and Margo dated, which is a little upsetting to me. Their relationship and the memories that they shared were some of my favorite parts of the book. Although what moments they spent together in the movie were cute, it was better in the book.

In my opinion, the movie is still better.

Although the book gives a larger number of touching moments and goes much more into detail, the movie illustrates the book in the perfect way. I have never watched a movie first and then read the book, but because I did, I think it made a difference in my opinion. The movie and book were both excellent, and I enjoyed both a lot. If I were to recommend it to anyone, I would suggest for them to read the book first and then watch the movie so they could see the differences too. To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is the perfect movie if you are in the mood for a romantic comedy or if you want to shed a few tears. I give both 10/10 stars and am very happy that Netflix made this incredible, tear-jerking movie for me to watch.

Started as a Musical Highest Grossing Movie of 1978 The Musical Started in 1971