BLAKT by Foundations of Journalism

Fashion: Yarelle Jaimes

SUMMER BUCKET LIST By Kiley Piercy

Do a photoshoot with friends Beach Water balloons Pool Cliff jumping (donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get caught!) Music festival Movie day Yoga Try a new haircut or wardrobe Have a bonfire Go on a roadtrip Go on a hike and watch the sun rise/set Go boating or kayaking Drive-in movie Sleep on the trampoline under the stars Go to a theme park Play a fun game of sand volleyball Mini golf Glow bowling Tie dye Random acts of kindness Write a letter to an old friend Read a new book series Sun tan Icecream date Look for seashells

Staying Motivated By: Lucy Polyak Design By: Ben Pizzimenti

What is your go-to playlist for studying? “I really like to listen to classic jazz singers, like Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan.” How do you structure your homework? “I start with the classes I have the lowest grade in first, and then work from there.” Do you think your work ethic drops at the end of the school year? “For sure. I think it’s because you realize that [academic] things don’t matter as much as you thought.” your favorite studying snack? Maddie What’s “I don’t usually eat snacks when I study, but if I do I’ll eat things like hummus and crackers or go with Moriyama some gummy bears.” Do you like group study sessions or do you prefer to work alone? Why? “Alone typically. Other people are distracting and I’m not able to focus as well.” ‘18 Why do you think people are less productive at the end of the school year? “I feel like people get to a point where you just accept your grades as they are and then feel like trying to change them is pointless.” Do you have any tips for staying motivated? “If you absolutely feel no reason to try in school, I’d say at least do it to make your parents proud of you.”

What is your go-to playlist for studying? “I have a bookmarked video called ‘Best Classical Music’. It’s about three and a half hours long and I’ve listened to it between fifty and seventy-five times.” How do you structure your homework? “I start with math and then go from the classes with the most homework to the least.” Do you think your work ethic drops at the end of the school year? “I do complain more, but my typical work ethic doesn’t decrease.” What’s your favorite studying snack? “Chocolate milk. It’s great.” Do you like group study sessions or do you prefer to work alone? Why? “I try to work alone. I’m distracted really easily, but I find it helpful to teach concepts to people as a way of studying.” Why do you think people are less productive at the end of the school year? “Classes become harder and students become less motivated because they’ve been doing lots of work all year long.”

Do you have any tips for staying motivated? “Check Powerschool everyday to make you want to raise your grades. This might seem depressing for some people but it at least gives you a goal.”

Joseph Verry ‘18

As third trimester comes to a close, everyone gets familiar with losing motivation in their schoolwork. School seems like an endless burden on your way to reaching summer fun. Is there any way to beat this reoccurring laziness spell? We talked to four highly motivated juniors about what kept them working hard throughout their final year before true “senioritis” sets in. What is your go-to playlist for studying? “I tend to livestream chill music on YouTube. It’s enough to stimulate my brain but not enough to be distracting.” How do you structure your homework? “I do my ‘homework’ homework first and then do my studying. I usually study later at night.” Do you think your work ethic drops at the end of the school year? “I don’t think it does. It’s kind of hard to gage because classes wind down at the end of the year. But I still usually have theatre rehearsals at night which means I have to stay on top of things.” What’s your favorite studying snack? “Skinny Pop. I don’t have to go through the process of actually making it, and it’s not very bad for you. It’s kind of a mindless thing to eat. I’ll also grab something sweet, like a little square of chocolate.” Do you like group study sessions or do you prefer to work alone? Why? “Definitely alone. I tend to leave group things early if people are screwing around too much and no one is getting anything done.”

Paige Harken ‘18

Why do you think people are less productive at the end of the school year? “I think it’s just summer. The thought of freedom makes it hard to think about doing work. Nice weather also doesn’t help.” Do you have any tips for staying motivated? “Get your homework done as soon as possible after school while you’re still in school mode.”

What is your go-to playlist for studying? “I listen to a Broadway playlist that I made that’s probably forty-eight hours long. That music makes me so happy and it helps the time fly while I’m doing homework. If I have a test, though, I don’t listen to music. I have to be super focused when I’m studying so I remember everything.” How do you structure your homework? “I normally go in order of [my] classes so I don’t forget anything.”

Brandon Burkhardt ‘18

Do you think your work ethic drops at the end of the school year? “Nope. The past four summers I have been on a show tour where we’re constantly rehearsing and performing. If my work ethic dropped [in school] it would be bad because of the show, so I can’t let that happen.” What’s your favorite studying snack? “Probably popcorn because it’s light and easy to make.” Do you like group study sessions or do you prefer to work alone? Why? “I like to work alone because when I’m in a study group, I end up getting nothing done.” Why do you think people are less productive at the end of the school year? “I think that people are starting to get tired and because there are way less breaks in the end of the year than in the rest of it.” Do you have any tips for staying motivated? “Make things fun for yourself. If you dwell on the stuff that you have to do and get mad about it, your life will be boring. So find the fun things and if you can’t, then find some way to make the boring things fun.”

1 Thing 2 Ways Written by: Ayanna Rost Designed by: Taylor Streck

After making cake pops using two different methods, it has been decided that using a cake pop maker is easier and faster, plus creates very little mess. On the other hand, the frosting method takes longer and made quite the mess, but are very moist. For the cake pop maker method, prepare a cake mix as directed on the box and then scoop about a tablespoon of mix into each of the wells in the cake pop maker. It generally makes perfect circular balls of cake, unless too much batter is poured into the sections within the maker. To make cake pops using the frosting method, prepare and bake a cake mix as directed on the box. Once cooled, use a fork to crumble the cake and add frosting. Start with about half a can and incorporate it into the cake until it can be formed into balls and won't fall apart. Once the cake pops are made, put them in the refrigerator. Then melt chocolate for dipping them in. After about five minutes the cake pops will be cold enough to put sticks in them. Dip the sticks in the melted chocolate and put them in the cake balls, then put them back in the refrigerator so that chocolate can harden.

When the cake pops are ready to be dipped, melt enough chocolate so that the cake pop will be fully covered when you dip it. Sprinkles can be added for garnish. BLAKT staff had West High students sample these treats and vote on which is better. The majority voted that the ones made with frosting were more moist and had better flavor.

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When some students think of prom, they think of sparkly dresses and trips to the nail salon. Others think of tuxedo rentals and buying corsages. One thing is for certain, everyone thinks about the famous seven word question: “Will you go to prom with me?”. Over the past decade, a trend of asking this question in creative ways has taken over high schools everywhere. Based off of wedding proposals, “promposals” have become a common occurrence every April through May. Most commonly, you’ll find things like a boy waiting by a girl’s locker with a sign, a boy waiting at a girl’s house with candles and a teddy bear, or a boy showing up at a girl’s athletic practice with a cake that has frosting spelling out “prom”. The days of asking out your date with a simple question seem to be becoming more and more a thing of the past. Some students are all for this trend while others find the pressure of these deeds to be evolving into something too big. In speaking with four students with a diverse array of romantic backgrounds, one common theme seemed to stand out; everyone could get excited about the idea of promposals, whether they wanted to ask someone or not. Asking someone in this way isn’t for everyone, but all spectacles can be entertaining. Ethan Seylar ’18 has been dating Callie Dains ’18 for over three years. The two have gone to three West High dances together, and this upcoming prom will make it four. Seylar appreciates promposals because of the theatrics and planning involved. This prom season, he asked Dains by planning a flash mob for her based on the movie, “La La Land”. “I think they’re kind of fun. It’s a fun expression of how you enjoy someone and also usually they have some good puns. I really like the ones that are very elaborate because they’re fun to see and have on social media.” said Seylar. Seylar likes the idea of doing something special for Dains to build excitement for the dance. He enjoys

any excuse to step into the spotlight for a minute, and being able to ask Dains in a creative way is no exception. “I’m a little more wild than Callie, more theatrical. She’s great but I’m the more expressive one in that manner.” Promposals have been criticized because of the idea that they boost typical gender stereotyping of a guy having to take control of a situation by asking a girl to prom. Seylar notes that while this has been a trend, there isn’t really a need for this to continue. “I don’t think there’s a good reason [for boys always asking girls] except that that’s the way it’s been, and then not a lot of couples are dynamic enough to change that. But there should be no reason why any one gender should ask. I think the way that it keeps happening is just tradition.” Sofia Perez ’17 agrees. “We were raised on this idea of the man asking for a woman’s hand in marriage, the boy pays for a date, et cetera. So I feel in my heart that I want [to be asked] because it creates this romantic sense, but I also think it’s wonderful when the girl asks the guy.” Prom 2017 will be Perez’ sixth and final West High dance. While Perez considers herself a strong feminist, she doesn’t feel a need to protest the typical standards of promposals and instead sees each individual case to belong to a set of rules of its own. “It should be either person’s responsibility, not one or the other. It’s also hard if you’re dating or just pals because there are different ways of going about asking. If you’re dating, you’ve probably talked about going to prom together. If you’re just asking someone on a whim, it’s usually a harder deal to figure out who’s asking.” said Perez. However, Perez does feel that promposals can be too big of a deal. “I think they can be fun, but they also sometimes can go too far. I don’t like using the word ‘extra’ but some ideas I’ve seen have been too extra.” She finds it a bit over-the-top when people have made their promposal into some sort

of grand activity that involves complex steps or a large gift. When it comes to Sasha Tyler ’18, she couldn’t be more thrilled by the idea of promposals. Tyler has been waiting for prom since her first steps through West’s doors and is beyond happy that it’s finally her turn to attend. “I’m really excited, [but] kind of stressed. But yay! First prom ever!” Tyler doesn’t think that promposals are necessary to a good prom experience, but she likes how they bring excitement to prom season. When it comes to promposals, she believes that standing out as an individual is key. No two promposals are exactly alike, and Tyler finds joy in seeing all the ways people ask each year. “I really like the variety of ways to ask, as well as the puns and creativity.” Along those same lines, Perez appreciates the growing diversity of promposals that have taken place over the past few years. She believes that a lot of the fun of promposals comes from the fact that promposals force many people out of their shells, “I like that they give people the courage to ask someone face to face. It gives people the maturity to not just ask someone over text.” While some gripe and groan about having to find an interesting way to ask their date each year, it’s become clear that just sending someone a quick text won’t quite make the grade anymore. Alternatively, Jackson Elkins ’18 feels that promposals aren’t necessarily for every couple. “It depends on the relationship and the people in it. Some people like flashy things and I think it’s sometimes become more about popularity than the people it involves. …I think that they’re fun but put a lot of pressure on people to [ask their date] in a creative way. You should do [your promposal] for the person you’re asking and for that person only.” Elkins is the current co-president of West High’s

Gay-Straight Alliance, “COLORS”. He’s noticed that while promposals are exciting to see, sometimes they can have a negative effect on LGBTQ+ high school students. “The impact is more subtle. When someone sees people getting asked but they don’t have anyone to go with, that can feel isolating. Asking a friend of the opposite gender can feel like heteronormativity but asking a friend of the same gender can also make things uncomfortable sometimes.” Nationwide, the past decade has become a much more accepting environment for LGBTQ+ students and West High is no exception. While this is the case, Elkins believes that prom isn’t an occasion that all students can feel totally comfortable bringing a date of the same sex. “The culture’s changed [at West] and become more accepting, but kids at other schools might feel uncomfortable going with or asking someone [of the same sex] as a friend because not everywhere is accepting as West can be.” said Elkins. So it seems that promposal culture has its upsides and downsides. The growing need to impress peers can accumulate into a pressure that not everyone likes, but doing something thoughtful for someone you love is a highly rewarding feeling. Asking someone out in such a public and vulnerable way isn’t a position that everyone wants to put themselves it. However, this way of spreading spread compassion and good puns is something that high schoolers seem to have grown to love.

Should P.E. be required?

Why forcing students to take physical education classes isn’t beneficial

By: Lucy Polyak Design by: Ben Pizzimenti West High has an incredible athletic program that requires many of its students to train vigorously during the school day. I’m not one of those students. I haven’t taken a P.E. class since I started going to West High. In fact, I have been in West’s gym exactly twice since starting school here in the fall of 2015. However going into my upperclassmen years here, I’ve run across a problem. In order to get an open period during the school day, I’d have to take P.E. I typically get my exercise outside of school hours, either by running when it’s warm outside or show choir during the colder months. Through these forms of exercise, I’ve formed health-conscious habits of my own. Many other high schoolers are also able to find their own ways of staying in shape, ones that don’t involve getting sweaty during their school day. Also, a trimester does not seem to be long enough for a student to build a workout regimen that they’ll be able to continue once leaving their P.E. class. While doing cardio and playing games is a decent way to get some exercise, not many people will continue to do this outside of the class. If the idea behind making kids take P.E. is to get them to exercise and form good habits, it’s not quite doing its job. While P.E. is helpful for athletes who need to get ready to compete in their sport, plenty of students

don’t need to add more time to exercise onto their current workload. Instead of taking this time to workout, students could instead be using their time for a study hall or an open period. Either of these options would be very beneficial to busy students who could use another hour of work time in their day. P.E. electives, such as Ultimate Fitness and Performance P.E., are great ways to introduce new workout ideas to all types of students. However, many students shy away from them in fear of the classes seeming like too much effort. This causes students to take regular P.E. but feel bored by the activities the class offers. Then, due to their boredom, many students often skip their P.E. class, or give little to no effort to what is happening in the class. This often means that a teacher is left trying to run a class of unengaged and uninterested students. If the school had more funding to

create new classes, there definitely could be more engaging types of P.E. classes that many different students could enjoy. From yoga to zumba to specific sports, having classes centered around a central type of physical activity could be more enticing to students who aren’t looking for a hardcore workout. But for now, all students who want to opt out of traditional P.E. classes have to either take a harder P.E. or fill their schedule. This P.E. requirement, created to keep kids exercising doesn’t always live up to its meaning, and truly just feels more like a burden than a convenience.

Chopping for a Cause A reflection on my experience with donating my hair By: Lucy Polyak Design by: Taylor Streck

Cutting your hair can be a very big deal for some. When it came to me, I couldn’t wait to chop all of my hair off. I thought I’d like myself more with short hair and didn’t care how much I cut off, as long as it could just be shorter. When I arrived at the hair salon, the woman who cut my hair, Margeen Jamison, asked me if I would be willing to cut off enough hair to donate it. I had always liked the idea of donating my hair, but I’d never done it. All my life I’d previously been rather attached to my hair and was frightened by the idea of cutting more than four or five inches off. but this new idea of chopping a large portion of my hair off had really resonated with me as of late. Margeen went on to say that what I was cutting off (seven inches) could feel like a lot of hair to lose and wanted me to take a second to sit there and make sure I wanted this. I knew I already wanted to cut quite a bit of hair, so what would at an inch or two more be? Besides, there’s definitely someone else out there who wants, or needs,this hair more than I do. As Margeen was cutting my hair, I got to thinking. There are so many people like myself who haven’t realized how much their hair could be worth to someone. I have so much admiration for my friends and my peers who donate their hair as much as they possibly can. Those who shave their heads so that someone who can’t grow their own head of hair could receive someone else’s. Girls are notorious for cutting their hair during or after a life-changing event, such as moving or a break up. This reason for a big chop is to change oneself and to gain a fresh start. I believe that cutting one’s hair should also symbolize kindness. The type of kindness where someone is literally removing something from their body to give to someone else. Now, I’m not saying that everyone with long hair should go and chop it all off, nor am I saying that everyone who donates their hair is automatically some generous humanitarian. Cutting one’s hair should mean whatever it needs to for the participant, and donating hair doesn’t quite equate to a mission trip, a giant kickstarter, or large-scale philanthropic efforts like that. However, it’s a very simple way to help someone in need. If you’re looking to cut a large amount of hair anytime soon, I’d highly suggest looking into donating it. I would also do some research to find reliable companies for the hair to be sent to, Wigs 4 Kids, Children with Hair Loss Non-Profit Organization, and Pantene Beautiful Lengths are all great places to check out. Going through the process of chopping off a large amount of hair can feel a lot easier if you know your hair will be finding a new life with someone who appreciates it.

The Teacher to Remember

Written by: Taylor Streck Designed By: Ben Pizzimenti

High School is a place full of teachers, students will grow to despise or look up to throughout each of the four years. Most teachers fit in one of three categories created in the student’s minds. Some make you fall asleep every class, others have the perfect amount of work and fun and lastly there are the ones that get nothing done because they let the class watch videos everyday. “I actually really think that school doesn’t have to be terrible [...] I don’t think that school should be all about entertainment. You can go too far the other way where you try to make all of your lessons entertaining. Learning is interesting without being fun in the way a video game is.” said Mr. Iannone about the ideal teacher. Mr. Iannone is one of the most praised and respected teachers at West High School. Whether it be his ability to teach something using fun and interesting analogies or him sharing his talent by using a guitar every once in awhile, everybody has something good to say. “I’ll be honest, I rarely plan [my analogies] out ahead of time. I just come up with one and if I like it, I will use it for the other classes too.” Says Iannone about his random yet relevant analogies. There’s a reason for his ability to bring up random things when he hasn’t taken a class for five years. “Read lots of books, that’s the secret.” said Iannone.

“I used to try to read a hundred books a year but now I have two kids so it’s more like 50 books a year.” Says Iannone when stating his current situation with his reading habits. “If you read 100 books a year for the next, Oh I don’t know, how much older am I then you, 15 years then you’ll know everything I know.” added Iannone jokingly. “They’re not all hard-core history books,” he clarified, “I usually try to do like one or two serious books, so I feel like i’m learning something every month, but I

also do fun ones.” Mr. Iannone teaches AP European History as well as World History which both require a lot of background knowledge. When it comes close to the AP test, Iannone has found a clever way to remind his students. “During AP review time I like to send constant reminders that they need to be studying, but I don’t want it to be to stressful or make it so you tune it out, so then they actually look forward to the memes they are going to get.” Mr. Iannone understands the struggle of juggling high school all together so every once in awhile he will bring out his guitar. He started playing guitar during his junior year of high school and goes through phases of practicing a lot and then leaving it alone for months at a time. He became really good his freshman year of college when he had a lot of alone time in his dorm to play for hours and hours on end. “My first year teaching, I happened to have my guitar with me because I was taking it somewhere after school[...] there was like ten minutes left of class and I had nothing to do and that was the first time I played my guitar in class and it just became a thing ever since,” said Mr. Iannone about his first teaching job as a long term sub. “Now kids hear about it from kids

from previous years and they get upset [when I don’t play].” The class of kids that experienced this are now seniors at West High School. “I will say that a lot of my favorite students are graduating this year, because the group of kids who are seniors this year were eighth graders when I was in Northwest.[...] I’ve known them for a really long time.” These kids come every once in awhile to say hi to their now and forever favorite teacher.

Yarelle Jaimes By Kiley Piercy “My style has definitely gotten way better. I look back at old pictures and it is really tragic.” Yarelle Jaimes ‘19 talks about her style now compared to her fashion sense back then. Jaimes hadn’t always dressed up for school. This year, she completely changed her wardrobe. Recently, she has been inspired by Mexican American singer Selena Q. Yarelle would look at pictures of her and base some of her outfits off of the things she wore. Jaimes also follows a lot of fashion pages on Instagram. Jaimes almost always likes to dress up all cute rather than dressing down into comfier clothes. “The only time I dress up is when I’m really not feeling it.” otherwise Jaimes will go all out on her outfits. She spends quite a bit of time doing her hair and makeup to go with her outfit. Dressing up makes Jaimes feel like a strong and confident person. Jaimes usually wakes up late so she picks her outfits out really last minute but it always seems to work out for her and she doesn’t think about it too much. My last minute outfit is always a pair of jeans or leggings with a nice hoodie. It makes her feel both cute and comfortable. Jaimes considers herself to be more of a random shopper. She usually shops in Zumiez, Forever 21, Ross’ or Marshalls but never goes out to look for anything specific. Jaimes will start browsing and stop when something catches her eye. She tends to buy clothes will darker colors or nude colors because bright colors really aren’t her thing. “I look at other people for inspiration and I am somewhat of a follower when it comes to trends, but I like to put my own twist on everything.” Jaimes said. When it comes to shopping, she finds majority of her clothes in store, but occasionally she opens up her laptop and does some online shopping. “Online shopping has more options and cuter clothes, but I like to be able to try my clothes on before I buy them” Jaimes said.

Yarelle Jaimes â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;19 likes to wear this simple zip up jacket she got at Forever 21. She can wear it with a cute shirt underneath and keep it unzipped or she can zip it all the way up.

PICTURE No matter what shes wears, Jaimes always does her makeup. She does her brows, and always makes sure her eyeliner is winged. She completes her look with highlight and contour.

THROUGHOUT THE YEARS

What grad party food are you? Four iconic foods. One hungry you. Complied by: Lucy Polyak

What are you most excited for this summer?

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