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BY: SOPHIE STEPHENS, ANNA BROWN, EMMA GEHLBACH, MARY LONGMIRE, SEAN BROWN, & MICHELLE KIM

DYS DIS LEK LEX IA CYA

PG. 8-11

FEATURE PHOTO

Sam Shin ’19 returns the ball against a West Des Moines Valley player on April 4. The West High varsity tennis team went on to defeat Valley High School 8-1 in the meet to improve to 3-0 in their overall season record.

DESIGN BY MICHELLE KIM

DESIGN BY ANNA BROWN

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ADVERTISMENTS

MAY 30, 2017

APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS

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F E AT U R E

MAY 30, 2017

BY EMMA GEHLBACH

Daffodils are native to Northern Europe and grow in temperate climates. The flowers boast yellow, white, pink, or orange petals.

The tulip is native to Northern Asia and Eastern Europe, and over 100 species exist around the world. The Netherlands is especially famous for tulips: they were so valued that when their demand dropped unexpectedly in the 1600s, causing many people to lose their life savings.

Redbuds are members of the pea family and ten different species of them exist.

The heart-shaped leaves are brown initially but turn green as they grow.

Lilacs have deep green leaves and large clusters of flowers in a variety of different colors. The fragrant flowers can be smelled from many feet away.

Crabapples are native to North America and Different varieties Asia and are members of poppies are native of the rose family. They to different places all are most often grown around the world. The for their spring flowers seeds are often used as and decorative berries. seasoning on food.

Lilies are native to the Northern Hemisphere and anyRhododendrons are native where from 80 to 100 different to Southeastern Asia and species exist. They are some range from low ground of the oldest cultivated plants covers to tall trees. The in the world and have been plants can be either everraised for ornamental and green or deciduous. medicinal purposes for thousands of years.

DESIGN BY MICHELLE KIM

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Behind the Disney Scene

F E AT U R E

MAY 30, 2017

BY ANNA BROWN

You’re marching around Universal Studios in a stuffy green and white uniform in 90 degree weather. The sun is blaring down on you and you can hardly see. Through the blinding sun you can barely make out an audience of strangers gathering along the sidelines; they’re snapping pictures, taking selfies and filming videos. However, they’re the last thing on your mind. You have to keep in step, stay in line and count measures. Time seems to go on forever, and to make it worse, you’re parched. Sounds miserable right? But that’s exactly what one hundred and thirty three West High band students did this April.

Every two years, West High takes over one hundred students per year on a one-week trip to Orlando, Florida.

This year happened to be the twelfth trip. From Monday April 17 to Sunday April 22, these students explored Disney and participated in parades for a diverse audience to enjoy.

Rob Medd, one of the band directors, helped create this opportunity when he first started working at West twenty-four years ago. “Before I came [to West] the band had not taken a trip for a number of years. They [travelled around] the Midwest, like Chicago, and more regional [areas], so I wanted to do a bigger trip, a bigger tour type thing,” said Medd. In order to obtain this opportunity, the band has to go through an audition process the years the trip is taken.

“Disney has bands perform every day, or almost every day, so I figured out what the process was, which was just having to send in a video of the band performing in a parade, so we sent that in. You have to also send pictures of the band so they know what the uniform looks like. We sent all of that stuff [this year] at the end of October, and then they let us know in January [that] we were accepted to perform,” Medd said.

A trip of this magnitude requires a lot of help from both parents and students. This year, twelve chaperones and three drum majors, who are student leaders in the marching band, assisted on the

trip. One of these drum majors is Lauren Ernst ’18. Ernst also went on the Disney trip two years ago. “My freshman year was really fun. I kind of got to know some of the other people in the band a lot better. I’m still friends with some of the people I hung out with on that trip. I made some of my best friends [there],” said Ernst.

Being a drum major this year meant Ernst had more responsibilities. While she wasn’t required to play and march in the parade, she and the other drum majors held a significant role in the performances. “During the parade I was in charge of holding our banner with the other two drum majors,” Ernst said, “We also helped out with making sure all the students knew what they had to do with their uniforms, and [making] sure everyone [received] all the [different] parts to their uniforms. It was more just making sure the band work[ed] together cohesively.”

Chaperones played an important role in ensuring the organization of the trip as well. “For chaperoning we were mainly responsible for making sure everyone was on the bus, and we had three or four rooms we had to check to make sure [the students] went to bed [every night]. [We also made] sure they got up in the morning and [helped] communicate information, but we didn’t have a whole lot of chaperoning duties. It was not overwhelming,” said Beth Hill, a chaperone on the trip.

During the trip, the band had only two marching performances: one at Universal Studios, and the other at Epcot.

“The marching aspect of the trip was one of my least favorite. Not only was it hot, but marching is also very energy consuming and not fun,” said Harrison Voigt ’20. While Ernst agrees with Voigt about the excessive heat, she held a different opinion about having to march, “Honestly, I really liked marching this year. When we were in Epcot we went through this really cool tunnel and then it was really echoey and you could hear the drumline going bananas. Oh my gosh, that part was really really cool, and then people were always pulling out their phones...taking pictures of us,” Ernst said, “Small children would look at us and smile. I’m pretty sure we made at least six different kids’ day. I guess the worst part is quite honestly the heat...and as a drum major we’re in all black uniform, so that was a little less fun I guess, but still, the uniforms looked really nice, so not too many cons.”

DESIGN BY MICHELLE KIM

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F E AT U R E

MAY 30, 2017

In total, students had three full days in Disney: Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, while the rest were spent travelling.

Each full day was utilized at different parks, but students had the privilege of park hopping if they so chose. “My group went to all four parks at Disney and probably spent the most time at Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom.

[We also] did almost all the rides at Universal: Dueling Dragons, Hulk and Gringots Bank. [As well as some in other parks at] Disney: Expedition Everest, Space Mountain, Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster,” Voigt said.

While these three days were filled with freedom and fun in Disney, Monday, Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday were spent on a twenty-five hour bus ride there and back. “It’s not fun necessarily, but it’s a chance for the students to get to know each other. A lot of time they end up sitting on a bus with people, that they know, but they are also on a trip with people that they don’t know that well, so sometimes they get to know each other a little better. For me, I get to sit and talk with some of the students I end up sitting with, so it’s fun from that aspect, but it’s a long time on a bus,” said Medd. Voigt agrees with Medd about it being a long time on a bus, but also expresses that the experience wasn’t as bad as he thought, “The two bus rides felt very different. The bus ride there was much worse. It was actually about two hours longer than the way back and felt longer also because of the anticipation. The bus itself wasn’t that bad except trying to sleep on it. The bus ride really wasn’t as bad as some would think,” said Voigt.

As well as making new friends on the bus ride, students were overall able to grow closer to one another on the trip.

“There’s a band family. Everyone’s kind of friends with each other and you meet a lot of people through band. Marching band specifically, it’s like you all have a shared common experience that not a lot of other people are going to un-

derstand. There’s always something about wearing matching outfits with everyone else, it just makes you feel a little special,” said Ernst.

Throughout the week, the band never forgot what they were there for. “[The chaperones] thought [the performances were] great. We thought people were really impressed.

They really enjoyed seeing the marching band and the kids really did well and sounded great,” said Hill. Even with little time to rehearse beforehand, Medd is proud of the band’s hard work. “The only thing that really makes me nervous [is that] we really only get about...no more than a week’s worth of rehearsal ahead of time, and since we have people from all four bands going, we never really get to perform together with the band that’s going to be in Florida, but the students handle that pretty well. This year we had about thirty people from each band from the four bands, and the Wind Ensemble didn’t even go outside. I’m not really nervous about the performance, just nervous about everything coming together logistically and everyone being able to do that performance without really having gone through it as a full ensemble. I thought [the performance] at Universal went well, but I think the one at Epcot went particularly well,” said Medd.

Medd plans on continuing the Disney trip and expresses how proud he is of the students. Not only for their marching, but for the way they conducted themselves and represented West as a school. “We’ve always had really good experiences with the trip. [Something that] happens almost everytime, and it definitely happened this time, was whether it was hotel people, restraunt people, the bus drivers, the tour agent, people in the restaurants where we stopped, that’s at least five or six different people, tell me that our students were some of the best behaved, most well mannered group,” said Medd, “I’m very proud.”

DYS DIS LEK LEX IA CYA

DESIGN BY MICHELLE KIM

BY EMMA GEHLBACH

You are in English class when the teacher calls on you and asks to read out of the textbook. You try to ignore your rising panic and force your eyes to focus on the words on the page, but they jump off the paper and you can’t make any sense of them. The entire class is waiting, but you’re stuck.

Unfortunately, this experience is common for people who struggle with dyslexia, a learning disability characterized by difficulty reading due to problems determining which sounds letters are associated with.

Dyslexia is extremely common: according to Learning Disabilities Online, 5 to 15 percent of Americans have dyslexia. One such person is Samantha Nowotny ’19, who found out she had dyslexia when she was in fourth grade. “When I was younger, learning how to read and write… it was a lot harder for me to do that and therefore I kind of fell behind,” Nowotny said.

As common as dyslexia is, many people are unaware of how challenging it is for dyslexic people to read. “A lot of people will think it’s like letter reversal… there’s a lot more to it,” said Sarah Heenan, a Reading Strategies teacher at West High whose son has dyslexia. “Sometimes the words can actually jump off the page at people… it’s one of those things where it starts actually phonics-based, like they can’t actually get the letter sound down, and you can imagine the frustration if you never master that… it really starts at that foundation level of phonics. For a while the school district got away from phonics-based instruction... so for kids who struggle with dyslexia and things it is really kind of confusing to them, because they’re not getting that base foundation of what phonics are.”

Even though extensive research has been done on dyslexia, it is still unclear what exactly causes it. “There’s still a lot of research out there… they do know it is hereditary for the most part, unless there is a traumatic brain injury, which can trigger it as well, as well as the early stages of pregnancy if something were to genetically not match,” Heenan said. The inherited traits affect the parts of the brain concerned with language, which interferes with the ability to convert written words into speech. However, dyslexia is not always genetic; Nowotny is the only person in her family who has been diagnosed with it, which indicates it has other underlying causes.

As well as having trouble reading, people with dyslexia often experience difficulty when spelling, trouble learning a foreign language, and problems with understanding instructions. People with dyslexia are also more likely to have ADHD, which can lead to behavioral problems, especially in the classroom, because they’re frustrated by

their inability to read at the same level as their peers.

Additionally, the difficulty associated with reading can lower the self-esteem of dyslexic people and may give them anxiety or cause them to withdraw from their family or friends.

One of the difficulties involved in treating dyslexia is that it is hard to identify at an early age. “It doesn’t usually occur until about third grade because that’s the magic time-frame where kids aren’t just learning how to read; they’re reading to learn,” Heenan said. If dyslexia could be diagnosed at a younger age, it would be easier to help kids catch up with their reading than trying to make drastic improvements in a shorter length of time.

As far as a cure goes, there is no way to get rid of dyslexia, but people with it can often improve their reading by practicing. Years of special education programs have helped Nowotny achieve her ideal reading level, though she says she still struggles with similar-looking symbols, such as v’s and w’s and 6’s and 9’s. However, Nowotny has improved her reading so much that this proves no challenge for her. “Since I know the words already, I automatically flip them to what they’re supposed to be,” Nowotny said. “Normally [I have no trouble with] the stuff I read during class, but if I’m looking up information for a school project, sometimes I have to think about it a bit more.”

In addition to practicing, Heenan stresses the importance of teachers knowing how to help their dyslexic students. “It’s really important for teachers to get to know their students and say ‘Okay, is this person a visual learner? Do they need to see visuals on the board?

Do they need to see pictures? Or auditory? Do they need to hear it? Do they need me to read it out loud to them?... Or do I need to give them a copy of the notes and read it and blow up the print so it’s a little easier for them to read?’” she said. “It’s just different for every kid because one dyslexic doesn’t look like another.”

People with dyslexia also often benefit from the usage of tools meant to aid their reading by focusing their eyes.

“There’s these colored overlays you can put on the text; they’re just little plastic things you can see through…

For many people, it does help the words pop rather than jump around; it kind of [prevents] the eye from wandering. Also, it has a line to help you stay focused because when you’re reading and you’re dyslexic, [you] sometimes jump around [the page]; you can’t stay in order because your lefts and rights can get a little confused,” Heenan said.

As well as increasing the accommodations for dyslexic students in the classroom, legal progress has been made in how schools teach kids with dyslexia. “The state of Iowa just passed a law saying that all teachers need to be trained in dyslexia, and they actually mention dyslexia in the law, which is a big deal,” said Heenan. “People are finally realizing we need to do something about this because it really is more common than people realized.”

However, despite the difficulty they experience with reading, most people with dyslexia are able to improve their reading skills enough that they can live successful lives. Even Albert Einstein and George Washington

had dyslexia and still managed to accomplish great things. “I keep reminding [my son], ‘Don’t use it as an excuse. Yes, you have dyslexia, but you have so many other things to build upon and you can’t use that as your excuse,”’ Heenan said. “‘You have to keep trying.”’

“It doesn’t usually occur until about third grade because that’s the magic time-frame where kids aren’t just learning how to read; they’re reading to learn.”

-Sarah Heenan

“I keep reminding [my son], ‘Don’t use it as an excuse. Yes, you have dyslexia, but you have so many other things to build upon.”’

-Sarah Heenan

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E N T E R TA I N M E N T

MAY 30, 2017

Spring Recipes

BY MARY LONGMIRE & EMMA GEHLBACH

Strawberry Shortcake Jars

Pound cake: 2 sticks of butter ½ a cup of vegetable oil 3 cups of sugar 5 eggs 3 cups of all purpose flour ½ a teaspoon of salt ½ a teaspoon of baking soda 1 cup of milk 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract Other: 1 quart of fresh chopped strawberries Desired amount of whipped topping.

Steps:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

-Add all dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix them together.

-Then take another large bowl and mix all of your wet ingredients.

-Mix dry and wet ingredients together.

-Grease a large cake pan with butter and pour the batter into the pan.

-Place cake in oven and cook for 30 minutes to an hour until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

-Once cake is done chop it up into many small cubes.

-Place cubes in a jar or container of any type and add your chopped strawberries and whipped topping.

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E N T E R TA I N M E N T

Mini frozen key lime pies

MAY 30, 2017

Ingredients 5 tablespoons of unsalted butter 1 tablespoon of honey 1 cup of graham cracker crumbs 1 package of cream cheese (softened) 1 can of sweetened condensed milk 3 tablespoons of lime zest ⅓ a cup of fresh lime juice 2 tablespoons of lemon juice ž a cup of chilled heavy cream 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar

Steps:

-Melt butter and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat.

-Pulse graham crackers in a food processor. Add the butter-honey mixture to the processor until well combined.

-Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat cream cheese in a large bowl until creamy. Add condensed milk and beat until smooth. Add lime juice, lemon juice, and 2 Tbsp. lime zest (reserve the rest for later) and beat to combine.

-Using a whisk or electric mixer on medium-high speed, whip cream in another medium bowl. Sprinkle powdered sugar over cream and continue to whip until soft peaks form.

-Gently fold 1/2 cup whipped cream into key lime mixture; cover remaining cream and chill.

-Pack the graham cracker mixture into the indentations on a cupcake tray, making sure to press it down so it covers the bottom and sides of the tins.

-Pour key lime mixture into a pastry bag or plastic bag with the corner snipped off and pipe batter evenly into tins. Freeze until set, at least 3 hours.

-Remove pies from molds, turn upside down, and remove paper liners. Spread reserved cream over pies and top with remaining 1 Tbsp. key lime zest.

DESIGN BY MICHELLE KIM

TEACHER

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E N T E R TA I N M E N T

MAY 30, 2017

You hear your name called out followed by thunderous applause and are handed a diploma. You did it, you finally graduated high school. But what’s next?

College? How will you manage to live on your own for the first time without your parents? What will you do after college? As seniors get ready to leave high school and enter the real world, these are the type of questions that can run through their heads, but their teachers have a little advice for them to help pave the way towards adulthood.

The biggest thing is to get involved in something at college because that’s a great way to meet other people. I always encourage students to look at [college] not as something to be feared, but as something to be embraced.

- Paul Breitbach

I give students the advice early on, when they’re still in high school, to learn how to study; develop good study habits and good study skills - David McNair

Be prepared to be fle adapt to things. You tion from West High about it, and that’s g long way.

-

Never get sucked into the trap of skipping classes. You have fewer classes in college, so they count more. Go to all your classes [and] manage your time.

- Gregg Shoultz

Have a schedule, give yourself a plan so that you have time to get stuff done and you have time for when you’re going to have fun and get involved [in college].

- Kerri Barnhouse

Make sure you fin to get rid of your - Mi

The most important thing is to be confident in yourself, your abilities, your skills, and what you’ve done leading up to now.

- Ben Gast

DESIGN BY MICHELLE

R ADVICE

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E N T E R TA I N M E N T

MAY 30, 2017

BY ANNA BROWN

[Find] a few things you’re interested in to get involved with [them]. It enhances your experiences and allows you to build friendships with people based on a common interest rather than just living on the same floor or the same dorm.

- Tyson Smith You need to have your resume and fill out your application properly. Just being a good salesperson in the interview [is] all part of [everything], but everything you’ve done up to that point [is also important] to being successful.

- Ben Gast

exible [and] to u have a solid educah School, no doubt going to take you a Ben Gast

I always tell kids from West High who are going to the same college as some of their friends to never live with [them], because they need to make new friends and they need to move on from high school life.

- Kerri Barnhouse Don’t stress out over grades, [just keep] doing what you did in high school.

- Paul Breitbach

nd good ways r stress. itch Gross

Give [yourself] time to exercise [and] get plenty of sleep, but you [also] have to keep up with your assignments because unlike high school, you’re not going to be able to cram the night before and do well.

- Mitch Gross

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E N T E R TA I N M E N T

MAY 30, 2017

ONE-ON-ONE COMPUTERS

BY MARY LONGMIRE

Technology has officially taken over. No, there are not robots walking around our hallways. In the 2017- 2018 school year technology will have taken over. Everyone at the junior high and high school levels in the Iowa City Community School District will be receiving Chromebooks. These chromebooks will have hotspots so every student will have access to a computer and internet in their home. All homework, in class assignments, will be done on a chromebook. Many wonder how a school run on technology will work. Multiple West High teachers have visited a one-on-one environment, where every student is paired with a computer or chromebook of some type, and have varying opinions.

Brad Wymer, a biology teacher at West, “ insert quote from Wymer” Some teachers love the idea while others have mixed feelings about them. Many teachers love the idea because every student will have access to online textbooks and online assignments, which will save a lot of paper. Also, every student having a com-

DESIGN BY MICHELLE KIM

puter will lessen the amount of materials students have to carry around everyday. Students on average carry around about 18.4 pounds in school supplies according to the New York Times.

Many students feel impartial when it comes to every student having a computer. Many students feel money would be better spent on other projects like air conditioning throughout the entire school rather than giving every student a computer. Ava Locher ’19 states, “I think they are a waste of money, because we already have five or six computer labs full of computers and we still don’t have air conditioning.” Locher is not the only student to feel this way - many students have expressed their concerns when it comes to this change. Other students feel that switching to a one-on-one environment is a good choice for our school “I think they are a great idea because I don’t have to go to the library to type on the computers. I will have my own.” said Avery Carnol ‘19 The one-on-one environment is coming the Iowa city community school district very soon. The school body as a whole believes this will make the high schools run much smoother and help save a lot of resources. So everyone be prepared because a school that runs on technology is approaching.

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REVIEW

E N T E R TA I N M E N T

MAY 30, 2017

BY SEAN BROWN

Every year, new movies come out - some good, some bad. While many of them are only worth watching once, there are a few that stand out. One movie, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, has the potential to become a timeless classic, making a domestic gross profit of $300 million and a worldwide gross of over $700 million since its release in theaters on May 5. Within its first three weeks it has placed 84th on the list of all-time worldwide grosses, making it the 18th fastest movie to reach $300 million in profit. With such rapid success in the U.S and internationally, the movie has become a must-watch film for any action or comic fans.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 brought back all of the main characters from the first movie and introduced some new ones such as Mantis, Tullk, and my personal favorite, Taserface (only because of his weird name).

For fans of Guardians of the Galaxy volume 1, there are some notable differences in character. For example, groot is a baby, who makes the movie worth seeing solely for his cuteness. Ironically, Groot is voiced by Vin Diesel, the tough, wanted criminal from the Fast and Furious series. Chris Pratt as Starlord is just as hot as he was in the first movie, and David Bautista, professional wrestler, as Drax is just as ripped as the last volume.. The main plot follows Rocket after he steals expensive batteries (not your standard AA ones) from the Sovereign, a highly advanced, genetically engineered race. The Sovereign hunt Rocket and the rest of the Guardians across the universe to retrieve the batteries, while the Guardians jump from planet to planet in an attempt to avoid being killed. Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and his team get shot down and crash into a near-lifeless planet, where they encounter a man who claims to be his father. However, Star-Lord’s dad, Ego, turns out to be a not-so-nice, power-hungry guy wanting to take over the universe. The plot switches at this point when he attempts to compel his son into DESIGN BY MICHELLE KIM

joining his scheme and the rest of the Guardians must stop Ego before he destroys all living things.

The movie had multiple plots going on at the same time, making it captivating and entertaining to watch.

There were more than enough characters to vary the scenes and literally a galaxy-full amount of action from the beginning to the end. It certainly meets the criteria for someone who loves action mixed with comedy and, of course, the slight romance on the side.

The movie manages to create suspense and excitement while still incorporating humor and jokes to ease the never-ending tension. The only arguably disappointing part is that Star-Lord finally finds his father only to find out that he’s a deranged psycho who considers father-son time as conquering every existing planet.

Overall, the movie did a great job to grip the viewer’s attention throughout all 137 minutes of it and, even if it was action-packed to hide any flaws, it executed this perfectly.

FUN FACTS

-Released May 5, 2017 -Budget: $200 million

-Cast includes Chris Pratt (Star-Lord), Vin Diesel (Groot), Bradley Cooper (Rocket), Dave Bautista (Drax) Zoe Saldana (Gamora)

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OPINION

MAY 30, 2017

Sorry, but that isn’t me.

BY ANNA BROWN

Throughout my entire life, I have always felt isolated, never fitting into one group or another. As an Asian child adopted into an all-white American family at a young age, I have been carelessly labeled on the whims of others: smart, a know it all, stuck up and a wannabe.

I constantly struggled with my identity and I let the words of others define who I was and who I wanted to be.

When people first saw me, they would assume I was a child genius who’s a protege on the violin or piano just because of my ethnicity, when in reality I can’t play either instrument. In school, I never got the chance to feel pleasure from any of my achievements: they were all stripped down into expectation. My peers would always tell me the same thing,“Well that’s because you’re Asian…” Huh? How does my ethnicity determine what grade I got on a test? Or why I was doing well in a class? I just couldn’t seem to shake the label of a natural ‘child genius’ bestowed upon me by my genes.

My intellect wasn’t the only thing that made me feel isolated. It was hard growing up in an all-white American family, feeling like the odd one out. People would be shocked when finding out about my family, and I could never help but feel alone because I looked different than everyone else.

As I grew up, this had a huge impact on me. I felt embarrassed and even ashamed of myself for things out of my control. I didn’t want to be different than my family or be known as a stereotypical Asian girl.

I thought the only way I could be accepted into society was to immerse myself into the American culture.

Then maybe my achievements would be seen for what they were; even if I didn’t look like my family, I could act like them: I could act “American.”

Once I came to this conclusion I was determined to make it happen. I quit Chinese lessons. My mother originally wanted me to have some sort of connection with my Asian ancestry, so she had signed me up for classes to learn the language. I refused to take them.

She thought it was because they didn’t interest me and the language was too hard to learn. Both were true, but the main reason was that I wanted to seclude myself from the Asian culture as much as possible.

I became torn, I wasn’t happy like I initially thought I would be from “Americanizing” myself. Now, people DESIGN BY MICHELLE KIM

picked on me for being an assimilist, someone who adapts to a new culture. I was called a wannabe and a try hard. Society was judging me for trying too hard to fit in, for changing myself and trying to “Americanize” everything about me. I was called a “fake Asian” on more than one occasion, and some people wouldn’t even believe me when I said I was born in China, saying, “You don’t act Chinese.”

I should have been delighted. This is what I wanted: to no longer be associated with the Asian culture. This was why I purposely strayed away from watching anime or listening to Kpop. Why I didn’t read manga or play video games. But I wasn’t happy.

I was still characterized, but for a different reason. I became confused and frustrated. I didn’t know who I was anymore. But one day when I was on YouTube I saw a violin cover of “Fire” by BTS. I ended up loving the song and became in love with the group. Somehow this allowed me to pull out of my self doubt, and embrace Asian culture more. I came to the sudden realization that I am me, simple as that. Although others have and will continue to label me as one thing or another in my lifetime, I was and will always be me.

I didn’t change through all of that; the only thing that had changed was how others viewed me and how I viewed myself.

I managed to find a balance and accept both cultures that made up who I am. I no longer cringe from anything I viewed explicitly Asian. I love anime, and am constantly jamming out to Kpop groups like BTS and NCT127 on the drive to school. I eat sushi and love Pocky, a Japanese snack. I’ll dress in Western clothes and eat Western food because that makes me, me. I am one hundred percent authentic. And as for what group I identify with, Asian or American, I choose both. I am ethnically Chinese and culturally American, but this doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate my ancestry. I learned from my experiences, and whether they were good or bad, I’m grateful for all them because they taught me that I’m not the girl society wants me to be, and I’m okay with that.

How technology changed my life.

19

OPINION

MAY 30, 2017

BY MICHELLE KIM

As society progresses, people are consumed by the mesmerizing gadgets such as phones, enabling them to become more captivated and easily distracted with these miniature contraptions. It’s normal in today’s society to have a phone; if you don’t have one it can be hard to communicate with other people and have fun.

I believe technology has become such a big thing in society now; it has provided people with so many opportunities, and has continued to grow more effective over the years. Even if people might have their differences, it has designed a way for people to communicate and understand each other. Technology has created a new way to do things. Remember as a kid, or even now, how you dreamed of a robot that can do your homework? Well now it’s actually possible. Technology has progressed so far, that you can build robots with the AI to do your homework. Technology has also created more jobs and opportunities. The need for these jobs that relate to technology like digital designers, programmers, engineers, etc. are in high demand and, are growing in importance as society progresses into a technology-based future. It has given people a way to communicate and learn from each other.

People from different states and countries, can communicate and effectively share information with each other. I have met my best friends on the internet. Technology has created a huge community to which I can communicate and learn so many things. Technology has also given me my favorite hobby, video games. I go home after school, do my homework and play videogames with my best friends who live in Nevada. It’s such a wonderful thing that has given a place to which I feel safe. I met Aidan Sanchez when I was young, playing Minecraft. I had met him through a server and we instantly connected.

After we met, I talked to him for about a year and then 7th grade came along and so did my depression.

I was really depressed in 7th grade, my grades were slipping, my mental status was not in a good place, and I was really struggling. Nearing the end of 7th grade, I got bored and stole my mom’s laptop and hopped onto skype to see if anyone was on. I hadn’t talked to DESIGN BY MICHELLE KIM

Aidan in forever, so it was a surprise to see that he was still online. I had messaged him and we got back in contact. He had convinced me to play this game called League of Legends with his friend Chase Marino, who now is my best friend. I started playing and talking to these amazing and wonderful people whom I now call family. They have been there for me ever since;even if I didn’t talk to them over the summer, we connected back in the end. Talking and having fun with Aidan and Chase pulled me out of the water that I was drowning in.

Technology has pointed me towards the future that I want; after high school I’m planning on being a engineer or a graphic designer. When I was little, I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up; I thought I could be a vet, or a librarian, and sometimes even a baseball player. Now, I know what I want to do, and it’s because of technology Technology has provided me with so many opportunities, and things that my younger self would probably think I’m lying if I told her.

Technology has made me the person I am today, and I hope that one day I can change technology to help others in a good way.

20

Making a Racket

SPORTS

MAY 30, 2017

BY SEAN BROWN

Did you know?

-State championship singles and state runner-up doubles in 2016 -Have gone to semifinals for 6 straight years -Four state champion titles in the last 5 years West High School has done exceedingly well in many sports throughout the years. From football to baseball to basketball, West has dominated the field time and time again, racking up one trophy after another. However, not all sports get the attention they deserve. One sport at our school has consistently been at the top of its class every year - tennis.

The boy’s varsity tennis team has proven itself to be dangerously by continually making it to either the state semifinals or finals each year. With the regular season over, the team is likely to continue their previous success. The team has won each of their meets by a large margin, beating formidable opponents such as LinnMar (8-1) and Cedar Rapids Washington (8-1). No team has won more than one match in a meet against West except for City High (7-2). West also became district champions on May 11, and are on track to finishing the season off with another title. Even from the start of the season Coach Gross had high expectations.

“I knew we’d be pretty solid at the top of the lineup.

I feel that we have probably the best 1-2 players out of anybody. One of the goals was to develop a strong bottom of our lineup and I think we’ve been able to do that as the season has progressed,” Gross said.

To stay on top requires dedication to perform well, work hard, and never give up. The team practices yearround to maintain their skills and stay prepared for competition. During the season, they have daily practices that last longer than those in many other sports.

Chirag Jain ’19 has witnessed first hand the effects of DESIGN BY MICHELLE KIM

such long practices. “Every day tennis practice is 2-3 hours and after you spend that much time with someone you know everyone pretty well,” Jain said. Jack Wenzel ’19 agrees, seeing the extensive amount of time spent together as a positive thing “We’re really tightly bonded. We all play at the same tennis academy, so in the offseason we all practice together and we all know each other really well, which helps a lot,” Wenzel said.

Many of the players have been playing tennis from an early age and have been practicing ever since. Wenzel is one of those players, saying that he has played tennis for a long time. “Probably since I was born. My dad would always take me out to the courts and we’d practice a lot.”

The team also has team-bonding nights to bring everyone closer together, and to relax in the midst of all the stressful meets and practices. “We go to each other’s houses and play table tennis and stuff. Apparently Mr. Gross can play the drums really well and he pulled those skills out at Jack’s house on his birthday.

Everyone was jamming out to music, with Sasha on the piano, Gross and Sanjeev on the drums and Jack singing,” said Jain. Any team needs to spend time aside from practicing to build a close bond between the teammates, which will boost their performance together on the field. Sasha Chackalackal ’19 has seen the influential outcome that the bonding nights have had on the team’s unity. “Probably one of the best aspects of our team is the chemistry. We always act as a team both on and off the court. For example, when somebody is playing, the rest of us always cheer them on, which is unfortunately something that isn’t seen with most other teams.” Coach Gross shares Chackalackal’s view of the closeness of the team. “They get along great. I think one of our strengths has always been our team chemistry and it’s pretty tight.”

While the team has plenty of fun bonding, they’re all work on the court. Although they have won all of their meets by a considerable amount, many of the matches themselves were decided by only a few points. One of

21

SPORTS

MAY 30, 2017

state championship this year,” Chackalackal said.

Shin agrees with Chackalackal, saying “I think we’ll win state this year but it’ll definitely be a challenge.” Not only are the players confident in their own abilities, but their coach is as well.

“You’ve got to be confident. I’ve won six state championships, and to me the recipe for a state championship is you’ve got to have talent.

We’re a very talented team so I’m confident because if we play at a good level, we’re the best team in the state,” Gross said. So far, they’re on track to repeat last year’s success as West beat Ankeny 5-0 on May 20 in the morning and Cedar Rapids Washington 5-1 that afternoon. They’re now headed on to the state championships on May 23 and are on the path to finish the season off with another trophy and a room full of smiles. these matches was Jack Wenzel’s ‘19 last season in April.

“Last year during the regular season we played Washington High School. They were number two, we were number one, and my match was really close. I won the first set, he won the second set. We were in the third set in a ten-point tiebreaker and I won 10-1, which was really important for the meet.” Sam Shin ’19 also had a close match last season against the same team. “I had one against Cedar Rapids Washington. I lost the first set so I was kind of down but then my coach told me to not get so emotional and to have a different mindset, so I turned around and won pretty easily after that,” Shin said. Whether the matches were decided by a few points or by many, West has won almost every match this season, only losing five matches out of a total of 135 regular season matches this year. Many teammates have high aspirations for the rest of the season, including Chackalackal. “So far, I believe that our team has done relatively well. We still have a lot of room for improvement, though, and we’ll need to work hard if we’re going to win the

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