September/October 2019

b&w

BLACK AND WHITE SEPT/OCT 2019 VOLUME 28 ISSUE 1

G N I K A E T R N B I PO

EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief Print Editor Online Editor Design Editor Copy Editor Sports Editor Photo Editor Social Media Manager Content Manager Content Manager Ad Manager

Ada Basic Brooklyn Dilley Kylie Emery Taylor Siebert Marandah Mangra-Dutcher Joel Kellar Cameron Deroos Charlie Pattinson Liz Jones Caroline Christensen Ethan Burgett

SEPT & OCT When Jay Rice ‘94 brainstormed the name of our paper in 1991, it was not because of the ink color. For the last 28 years, our mission has been to bring our audience stories from the school, community and nation, told clearly and without exaggeration--in black and white.

News

4 Homecoming Week Marching Band Color Run Dig Pink Spike Blue

Feature

STAFF WRITERS Nolan Akins Parker Anderson Riley Anderson Payton Blahut Savannah Dennis Noah Gilbert London Heim Alex Heron Avery Heun Matthew Hickman Emily Irlbeck Teja Jetty Akshaya Kumar Zachary Kehoe Tate Larsen Ethan Le

CONTENTS

6 Cars on a Collision Course 8 World According to...

Matt Jaschen 10 False Freedom 12 Too Many Kids, Not Enough Space 16 $3.6 Million Diamonds

Hank Lucas Hoa Ly Define Mansour Jay Marren Sabrina Mcguire Nathan Metzger Collin Minear Ben Pegg Leven Petersen Ainsley Proctor Ciaran Rigby Lily Simpson Ethan Ung Max Wilson Kaya Young Stella Zeng

Profile 18 1/1700: Emma Henderson

Opinion

20 Signing Off, This is DTV

BREAKING POINT

Sports

When something goes through enough strain it gives way, this results in a breaking point. Parents that track their children may have reached a breaking point in trust. Car accidents are the results of cars reaching their breaking points. Students and staff have reached their breaking point with class sizes. Dragon TV is currently testing its limits, as new changes result in new challenges.

Students have reached their breaking point with the forced connections throughout the district.

Breaking points are everywhere, impacting our life and influencing our decisions. Are you at your breaking point?

-Ada Basic Editor-in-Chief

22 Lights, Kamara, Action

Entertainment

24 Scary Movies to Watch in the Dark

FINE PRINT Black & White is published solely by the Johnston High School newspaper staff. It is an open forum. In accordance with Iowa law, students assign, edit material and make all decisions of content.

Editorials represent the opinion of a majority of the editorial board.

Editorial and opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the advisor, school officials or the district.

Letters to the editor must be signed. Like all material, letters may not be libelous, obscene or an invasion of privacy. To write a letter to the editor, or report an error in the issue, please contact the editors at jhsblackandwhite@gmail.com.

@jhsblackandwhite

@jhsnewspaper JHS Black and White

O

n June 2nd, 2019, Students for Change hosted their first-ever

BRIEFLY...

mental health color run at Summit

Middle School. The event was supposed to start at nine o’clock that morning but had to be delayed until 10:30 due to rainy weather.

Around 20 volunteers were present at the run.

The colors at the run were from the Sources of Strength standard that the group is based on. Red for mental health, orange for family support, yellow for positive friendships, green for mentors, blue for healthy activities, and

Andrew Ritche ‘20 plays trumpet early in the morning, preparing for the Johnston marching invitational.

Photo by-Jordyn Cimmiyotti

HOMECOMING V. MUSCATINE

MARCHING BAND

purple for spirituality. Approximately $500 was raised for the club. Students for change was created by Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students, kids strive to make a positive impact in Johnston. They believe in helping out students and making sure students know that people care.

D

F

raise both money and awareness

department, band parents and

due to possible severe weather. It was not The Johston Defense swarms Muscatine. Johnston shut out Muscatine 14-0.

the band directors, Jeff Robilliard or Jason

Photo by- Cameron Deroos

prepped and ready to host the invitational

for breast and colon cancer. This year

COLOR RUN

were available for purchase to show your

H

support. The game was played against

The cancellation left some students disappointed and others relieved to be

dressing down in their pajamas. That

of Y’all”. Wednesday was filled with people

The Johnston football team dominated the

able to sleep in. The invitational is a huge

Monday night, Best Buddies hosted a

and cameras, brochures, and Hawaiian shirts,

game that night, beating Muscatine 14-0. After

fundraiser for the band program, as partic-

tailgate before Rock Around the Clock, an event

all ready to be tacky tourists on a vacation. On

the excitement, Saturday promised even more

ipating bands pay a fee of $120 to perform

where participants get into teams and compete

Thursday, Johnston had a blast from the past

fun. Students dressed up in formal wear and

and tickets sales were set at $6. The band

in various relay challenges. It was a fun time for

as students dressed up in 80s/90s outfits. Later

danced the night away at the Homecoming

lost approximately $10,000 in total due to

everyone involved. Mrs. Graving’s team who

that night, the homecoming parade took place,

dance. Attendees danced in Paris, Sydney,

the cancellation of the invitatonal. Johnston

came in first and Mr. Jaschen’s team closely

featuring floats and plenty of candy. Shortly

and various other locations, keeping with the

High School Varsity Marching Band was

following in second. On Tuesday, everyone

after, students got together and attended the

dance’s theme of “Around the World”. Overall,

ready to perform with a full debut of this

arrived at school dressed up as their favorite

PowderPuff Football game, where the Class of

Johnston’s Homecoming week was another one

year’s show “The City That Never Sleeps” at

memes and vines. Most popular were vines

2020 team won, making it their second win in

to remember.

the invitational.

referencing “Road Work Ahead”, mannequins

two years. Friday was the big day, as students

years the school, specifically the volleyball

in need. In addition to the game, t-shirts

for Saturday. boasted their school spirit in purple and gold.

by the school’s volleyball team. Over the

have raised over $70,000 to help those

higher administration. The department was

in hoodies, and “I Didn’t Get No Sleep ‘Cause

was the 12th annual game. It is hosted

team, has raised tons of money. They

Heeren’s, decision to cancel the event but

omecoming week began with students

DIG PINK SPIKE BLUE event that Johnston hosts to

tion sent out an email to the band

Marching Band Invatational was cancelled

Photo by-Payton Blahut

ig Pink Spike Blue is an annual

riday of homecoming, administara-

social media, declaring that the Johnston

Jaden Studer 20’ serves the ball while coaches watch from the sideline.

Urbandale. There were prizes, contests, a Sabryn Labenz ‘20 tosses powder for the Color Run. Photo by-Sierrah Mangra-Dutcher

silent auction, a bake sale, and ice cream.

Even for those not into volleyball it was still a fun time. Those running it even put together care packages for those who are struggling with cancer. You may have seen boxes around the school where you could donate items. Overall, it was a joyous occasion for everybody. While having fun, people were also helping out those in need.

6 | Feature

Cars on a Collision Course words| Hank Lucas and Nolan Akins layout| Cameron DeRoos

L

ast year alone, there were 70 accidents in the parking lot. To put that into perspective, that amouts to almost one crash every two days. Although multiple studies have been completed by a traffic consulting group, administration struggles to find a solution to lessen the number of car crashes in the parking lot.

At the beginning of the the 20192020 school year, there were numerous car crashes in just a few days of school.

“We had 10 crashes in less than 10 days of school,” Superintendent Laura Kacer said.

Adding the speed bumps was an attempt to lessen crashes, however most of the student body dreads them.

“We added speed bumps to one side of the parking lot, and what we’ve done is just move all of the speeders to the backside of the parking lot,” Principal Ryan Woods said. The speed bumps have not stopped the high rate of crashes in the parking lot.

The unexpected addition of the speed bumps with no warning to students caused the school to receive a lot of criticism. Speed bumps have caused students to scratch the bottom of their cars and also back up traffic onto 100th street that runs in front of the school. “We recognized that it would slow traffic coming in, but we felt like it was worth it given the study we had done,” Kacer said.

Snyder and Associates is a traffic

consulting group based out of Ankeny, Iowa. Snyder and Associates has been contracted multiple times by the district to do studies and collect data on the parking lot.

After a study conducted by Snyder and Associates last school year, the school board decided to implement speed bumps in the parking lot upon recommendation.

Snyder and Associates is currently conducting a study on traffic in the parking lot, and has put down road tubes in the parking lot. Road tubes are small black strips that count every car that goes over them to track traffic patterns. Snyder and Associates also plans to track the volume of cars in the parking lot by aerial drone. After Snyder and Associates completes the study, possible solutions will be brought to the school board and then a decision will be made.

That decision aims to help fix the fact that many crashes in the parking lot are due to no one knowing who has the right of way at the intersections in the parking lot. “We have created intersections that people don’t know who has the right of way,” Kacer said. This is one of the problems that the administration hopes to fix after Snyder and Associates completes the study on the parking lot.”

While common in their occurence, student crashes in the parking lot are not all the same and vary in severity.

While most crashes are mere fender benders, Taryn Mock 21’ was involved in a head-on collision with a distracted driver in the parking lot. “People say that your life flashes before your eyes, but you don’t know what’s going to happen, you don’t know what’s possible in the moment,” Mock said.

Mock was concussed in the crash.

After the crash, the passenger in the car woke up Mock and then made sure she was able to get out of her car.

Crashes are inevitable at some point in a parking lot full of young drivers. Precautionary measures are crucial to decreasing the chance of an accident. Removing distractions and driving the speed limit drastically lowers the chance of an accident.

“Experienced drivers know to take their time,” hallway monitor Danny Span said.

When there is a crash, it is important for drivers to know what to do. Drivers should pull over to the curb. “You also should exchange information with the other driver and find out that nobody is injured in the other car,” Student Resource Officer Dan Steck said.

The information drivers need to exchange their contact and insurance information. After a crash occurs, the police should be contacted. The police officer will investigate the cause of the accident and write a report.

8 | Feature slow down and spend time with them, and we’re like “Hey, hey, we need you to get this thing going. We got a meet or we got this event going on”, but he really wants them to see what’s going on. I appreciate that, because he appreciates them in his life.

THE

WORLD ACCORDING TO...

Jaschen: I kinda look at everything like an opportunity to either better myself or better somebody else’s situation and time is a gift.

So don’t waste it. That doesn’t mean I don’t waste time. *laughs*

MATT JASCHEN

Angel Nyaga ‘20: He tries to set people on the right track. He tries to see the good in every situation, which I appreciate.

words | Akshaya Kumar & Charlie Pattinson layout | Taylor Siebert

Just a Small Town Boy Lehman: He was the Coca-Cola scholar in high school. Normally, if you’re awarded the CocaCola scholarship you go down to Atlanta, Georgia, and then they have interviews there.

Chop Wood, Carry Water Matt Jaschen: If you’ve ever met my two brothers, they’re a lot bigger than me. When we got into fights, I learned that I was fast compared to [them]. So, I did Track and Cross Country in high school. We didn’t train hardcore in high school, nothing like we do here in Johnston, but it was fun.

Chris Siewert: Yeah, he’ll talk science and he’ll talk running. Every day.

Jennifer Lehman: I think it’d be more like, when does he not talk about running? I mean we’re always talking about how his team is doing.

Jaschen: My second year I was here, Coach Beason retired. And he had told me, “I hope you get [the job]” which I thought was cool, because he had been the coach for many years and he was trying to hand it off. And then last year, I got the Head Track & Field position.

Yohana Yual ‘21: He’s one of, in my opinion, the best coaches in the state. He’s trained very elite athletes and has had many successful teams. His knowledge for chemistry and running go hand-in-hand and really contribute to smart training plans because of how he knows the body will react. Asking us how we feels shows how good of a coach he is.

Paxson Picken ‘20: Last year, Jaschen introduced our team to a book called Chop

Wood, Carry Water. One of his favorite chapters talks about how we all have to build our own box in order to be successful. As Jaschen loves to say, “Build your own box.”

It’s about working hard and doing the little things everyday in order to achieve greatness.

Jaschen: When you’re in athletics, you want to win and I’m very proud of those successes, but I’m more proud of the other things we’ve accomplished.

Having large numbers of guys that are apart of something, hopefully staying out of trouble, and making good choices and learning those lessons of hard work and failure. But then we win a championship or something, that’s the icing on the cake.

Family Man Jaschen: I was fortunate that all four of my grandparents were alive my entire childhood, as well as four of my great-grandparents.

They all lived within a 15-mile radius. So, I got to know all of my grandparents and great-grandparents and developed a tremendous amount of respect for the wisdom they had.

Siewert: He’s orientated.

very

family

Lehman: On the weekends, sometimes [his day] consists of going to see his grandma [gran-maw] and grandpa [granpaw] and that’s the way he says it.

Siewert: He’ll really take a lot of time just to

Nyaga: When I think of people who would get that scholarship, I think of people who are super prestigious, people who just flaunt their intelligence everywhere, but Jaschen’s a pretty chill guy.

Jaschen: I think they had like 60,000 applicants or something and then, midway through my senior year, I got a letter saying “Hey, you are a semifinalist. You need to write three essays and submit a couple letters of rec[commendation].”

So, I got to go and it was the first time I had ever flown on a plane. That was interesting. You think I’m quirky now, I was super quirky back then because I was not exposed to a lot of cultures. I mean, you live in rural Iowa, everybody’s pretty much very similar.

I show up to this thing and there’s all these *laughs*- there’s all these kids that are going to Stanford and MIT and I’m like “Yeah, I’m going to Iowa State.”

Lehman: He was adorable. He played the “Well, I’m just a boy from a small town” and really had a different spin on things. He wasn’t your typical high school student. He had a unique experience and outlook from his high school experience.

Jaschen: The interview panel included the mayor of Atlanta, somebody high up at CocaCola, an astronaut that had worked for NASA, and Miss USA. So talk about a rockstar group of people, and I didn’t really know who they

all were. But the greatest advice I got was from my 4H leader. She said “Just go in there and be yourself”. So, I just went in there and . . . yeah. A couple days later I was back home and got an email and got $20,000 from them.

Lehman: When I found out he got that, I was like “Dang, this boy’s smart!”

Nyaga: He’s not the kind of person who’s diehard into academics. He has other things in his life, but he’s still a really, really intelligent person.

“Party Animal” Akshaya Kumar ‘20: So, do you have any fun stories from college? Any parties, good times?

Jaschen: Oh, boy. Well, you know . . . uh . .

Siewert [in the background]: Nope!

Jaschen: I will say this, I had three groups of friends in college, the people I lived with, the people in the College of Agriculture, which would be like the dairy science, prevet people, and they were a little bit more on the wild side. But then, we were on this Christian group on campus, and they were awesome. And they were not like your ‘holier than thou’ Christians, because we’re all sinners. You know, when I hung out with them, that maybe looked a little different, as far as a party, than with the College of Agriculture people, because, let’s face it. The College of Agriculture had a reputation for, you know, consuming beverages and things like that.* Siewert [still in the background]: I thought they ate cow poop. *post interview clarification: Jaschen did not drink in high school nor drink much in college.

Dance Partners for Life Jaschen: I never thought I would’ve met somebody online but I did. The first three years, she lived in Ames and I was down here, and we saw each other once every other week.

All those things grew us closer and I think, what really strengthened our relationship was that we learned a lot about each other through all those things, like what things really make each of us tick and what

Coach Jaschen hugs former runner Patrick Bose ‘17 after Bose won the cross country individual state title.

Photo provided by Benjamin Lunn

things are really important to us. Eventually, you grow close enough that you’re like, “We want to be partners for life”.

Siewert: He told us he had already worked with one of our colleagues about the engagement. We knew things were moving in that direction.

Jaschen: So, I had this planned out because we were actually going to a wedding, so we were all dressed up. It was a Saturday and we had done our long run out at Cherry Glen Park that morning and I was like, “Hey, I just realized I had left my sweatshirt out there” and she’s like “Oh, I’ll help you look for it.” Not a lot of bells and whistles. Thanks to [Dave] Oldham’s advice, I did have a person out there with a camera to take pictures of [the engagement].

Lehman: Their wedding dance- you know how the bride and groom will do the wedding dance?- was one of the best wedding dances I have ever seen. So, they started out slow dancing, and you’re like “Okay, yeah,

sweet, adorable”. And then all of a sudden, they broke into two-stepping to the song “Footloose”.

Siewert: He and Molly did an awesome dance together. They went out there and cut a rug and it was perfect.

A Little Quirky Siewert: *laughs* I’m realizing as I get older that I want to become more organized, so I’ll go over to borrow something from Matt and I’ll go “Hey, do you have this worksheet or key?” or something like that, and he’s like “Yeah” and he’ll pull out this big binder and it’s just a bunch of mashed paper.

Lehman: He’s horrible with being organized.

At one point, I just said “Do you mind if I kinda organize a few things?”. And he’s like “Oh sure! I don’t care. ‘’ Jaschen is so laid back and goes with the flow.

Siewert: It’s just disorganized chaos but it works for him. Yeah, he’s quirky.

10 | feature

are. “I’m not on it constantly, it’s more, did

weird. I fought it, and I still do. It sucks, it feels

in her article “Should You Track Your

he get to where he said he was going to

like someone is watching me all the time.”

Teen’s Location?”, New York Times author

go,” Fitzpatrick said. “If he’s not texting a

This idea of being watched constantly,

and psychologist Lisa Damour strongly

response to us, we’ll look, is he driving? It’s

rather accurate or not, greatly decreases how

enforces that location tracking can damage

just a check-up thing, it’s not a constant,

much freedom teens feel that they have. “I

the relationship between parents and their

‘Where are you at? What are you doing?’”

think it’s unfair and too controlling,” Brooks

kids. “Research shows that adolescents who

For other parents, having the ability

said. “Parents should just trust their kids and

believe their parents have invaded their

to see where their kids are is a matter of

give them some freedom without always

privacy go on to have higher levels of conflict

convenience. “Instead of having to text

having to be watched by their parents.”

at home,” Damour said. “And teenagers who

constantly, ‘Where are you? What’s going on?

For both the Johnston graduate and

resent being trailed digitally sometimes

Why aren’t you home yet?’ There’s been a lot

Brooks, knowing that their parents track

disable location features, take pains to ‘spoof’

of times with Madison [Dunn ‘20] that she’s

their location makes them feel as though

their GPS, or leave their phones at friends’

gotten delayed at golf practice or show choir,

they are not trusted. Fitzpatrick, though,

houses to throw parents off their scent.”

and I’ll see that she’s still there,” mother of

tracks his kids even though he was adamant

‘Spoofing’ a location so that their parents

two Emily Dunlavey said. “Or, ‘Oh, it’s eight

that he trusts them. “If we find out you’re

cannot see where they are may seem like

in the morning and she’s still at home.’ And I

not where you’re supposed to be, that’s when

a good idea to the teen, but it also comes

can text her and ask why she isn’t at school.”

we have an issue,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s a

with downsides. “[My oldest daughter] had a

Dunlavey’s family uses Life360, which

trust issue, and the moment that trust is

tendency then, after I put the tracker on it, to

has many features other than just sharing

broken, then it’s a bigger deal. But until that

leave her phone at school instead of taking

locations. “I can see if her battery is dead,

it with her,” Dunlavey said. “Which is more

so that helps too,” Dunlavey said. “When I

concerning. Because then if she needed help

worked nights, I could see that her battery was dead in the middle of the night so she either forgot to charge it or it’s charging and

O

n a Sunday evening, a Johnston graduate decided to go to a bar with some friends to get drinks.

Being under 21, the graduate turned off his location so his parents would be unable to see where he went. Soon after, the graduate got a call from his mother, annoyed and suspicious as she had been alerted that she could no longer see where he was. This process was not unfamiliar to the graduate, as he had been dealing with it for the past four years.

As technology is developing, parents have gained the ability to track their children using a variety of apps downloaded on a smartphone. Some just allow them to see the location of the phone, while others can tell the speed at which they are driving, how many times they pick up their phone, or even if they make abrupt stops or rapid accelerations. This concept of parents being able to see their child’s every move has caused

FALSE FREEDOM words | brooklyn diley & avery heun layout | ainsley proctor

controversy regarding the privacy of teens.

For some parents, monitoring their child’s location is simply a way to gain peace of mind.

English teacher and parent of three Jeremy Fitzpatrick utilizes the Find My Friends app to occasionally check in on where his kids

she hasn’t turned it back on yet, so she’s not going to get an alarm to wake up. I think one night I set an alarm on Alexa while I was at work, remotely, to go off and wake

“You guys talk about how free you are now. You’re less free than we were. We had the ability to leave the house and our parents wouldn’t know where we were.”

Despite him being at college two hours away, the graduate’s mother still monitors his location. “She gets notifications every time I arrive at a different location,” the graduate said. “She checks it quite often.”

Dunlavey also monitors the location of her daughter in college, but for different

her up when I saw her phone was dead.”

Math teacher Richard Brooks and the rest

or anything, she wouldn’t be able to call.”

-Michelle Appplegate

of his family also uses Life360 to see each

reasons. “I’ll check on her a couple times a week just to make sure she’s moving around,” Dunlavey said. “Or if I hear that

other’s locations. “We never look to see where they are,” Brooks said. “I think when we

happens, I’m going to trust him. And even

someone got into a car accident or stabbed

initially did it, that’s what our kids were afraid

with my other two kids. I will trust you as

or something nearby, I’ll look and see if

of. I don’t ever go out and look and see where

long as you say where you’re going to be.”

she’s moving and still alive. Rather than

you are. It’s more of safety. Like one night,

This idea of trusting kids but tracking

having to text her and ask if she’s okay.”

for example, Ben [Brooks ‘20] didn’t come

them anyway is a big topic of debate around

Considering Dunlavey’s unique work

home on time. Ultimately, it was just fine, he

the issue. “I didn’t track them because they

schedule, her choice to track her kids was

had fallen asleep at a friend’s house and the

were decent kids,” mother of three Michelle

made with their wellbeing in mind. “When

parents were there. But, when you’re a half

Applegate said. “If they were trouble kids, I

we first got the app, I was working nights and

hour late from where you’re supposed to,

might have ended up tracking them. They

leaving them home alone,” Dunlavey said.

then we’re gonna go on there and say, ‘Where

never gave me a reason. There was trust there.”

“So I put several measures into place to feel

the heck are you?’ So I think that’s more of

In the rare circumstances that Brooks does

more comfortable leaving them home alone.

the reason why we chose to do it. So that in

check his children’s locations, he still trusts

Like getting a dog that barks when someone

case something happens, there’s another

their judgement and gives them the benefit

gets into the house and I put little alarms on

way to be aware at least where the phone is.”

of the doubt. “If my son says he’s going to go

the doors...Or when I was at work at midnight

While parents may believe they are acting

to Johnny’s but I look at the app and see he’s

and someone wasn’t home, I could look and

in the best interest of their child, this feeling

nowhere near Johnny’s, I wouldn’t confront

see where they were. Because that’s not okay.

rarely goes both ways. “I hate it,” Ben Brooks

him,” Brooks said. “I trust that if he’s not

In the beginning, a lot of it was just because I

‘20 said. “It’s so annoying, I wish they wouldn’t

where he said he was, there’s a reason for that.”

was a single parent working nights, trying to

do it. I feel like it’s super controlling and

Despite a parent having good intentions,

keep tabs on everyone when I wasn’t around.”

12 | in-depth

With class sizes growing each year, teachers and students are at their breaking point

O

words| Caroline Christianson Layout| Marandah Mangra-Dutcher Research Assistant| Ciaran Rigby

n a Friday afternoon, Spanish teacher Peggy Fox found herself staring down a stack of 210 quizzes. She knew the weekend ahead was not going to be relaxing. “You want to get those [quizzes] back in a timely manner, and yet you want to do a good job,” Fox said. “This leads to not giving the personal feedback that we would love to give. Instead we end up doing numerical values on their quizzes, because we have to have a life outside of school.”

With the sophomore class at 583 students, juniors at 600, and seniors at 545 students, class sizes are ballooning to the high twenties and thirties. Teachers and students are struggling to adjust the cramped facilities, as well as managing the stress that comes with an increased class sizes.

AP Psychology teacher, Jesse Dowell, is teaching seven out of eight periods, with 208 students in total. This is a stressful change for Dowell, as in previous years he has taught six out of eight periods, with about 180-185 students. Due to his larger class sizes and extra workload, he has less time to plan, grade, and answer questions. “This year I am noticing how it is taking longer to learn names,” Dowell said. “There is kind of a tipping point. Once you get past a certain class size, it may as well be a 300-person lecture hall. Nobody wants to raise their hands and ask questions.”

A lot of weight has been put on teachers’ shoulders to manage more students in the past five years. AP language teacher, Aaron Eldridge, has noticed his class sizes have steadily risen from year to year. “As I’ve taught, my AP classes were capped at 25,

then it was 26, then it was 28, and now it is 32,” Eldridge said. “You can see it creeping up.”

Eldridge is often overwhelmed with the amount of grading and planning he has to do outside of school, but tries to balance his work and home life. “I try because of my

We are people to.

It’s just the same as students...I would love to double our staffing and half our class sizes.”

- Peggy Fox daughter,” Eldridge said. “I try to be present when she is awake and when she is home because I only get to see her three hours a day, except for the weekends. So when I do have a lot of grading, it can be a lot. It can be eight or 10 hours a week.”

Dowell has also found his grading responsibilities increase. “I have 210 students and I give them a writing assignment...if I

spend five minutes looking at each one, that’s 1000 plus minutes. That’s like 17 hours of grading. And pretty much all of that is done outside of contract hours, because you don’t get time during the day to grade. That’s a crushing amount of work to try to do. I think it has big impacts on [education].”

In Iowa, the recommended class size is 17-20 students per teacher. Johnston is greatly exceeding that recommendation, with some classes capped at 32 students.

Johnston has been growing substantially in recent years, and a limited budget is a big factor in large class sizes. According to the Des Moines Register, “State supplemental aid, the amount of new money available to schools, grew an average of 3.27 percent annually between 2000 and 2010. Since then it has dropped to 1.73 percent per year. That’s less than inflation, which rose 1.81 percent annually on average from 2011 to 2018, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics. That has led to budget cuts for many districts.”

Limited money in the district has lead to fewer instructors, and more kids. “If I don’t have enough teachers, class sizes just have to go up,” Principal Ryan Woods said. “It’s really budget driven. It’s a tough decision. It affects education. Some people would say to truly affect learning, you’ve got to get down to less than 16 kids...the question becomes, is 25 kids better or worse than 30? With relationships that is tougher, but on the performance side a lot of research shows you have to get to like, those 16 or less kids if it affects learning.”

Superintendent Laura Kacer often finds it frustrating dealing with the restrictions

14 | in-depth

put on the budget by the government.

“Advocate with your legislatures and encourage them to fund education at a higher rate than they currently are,” Kacer said.

“What people don’t understand is if you don’t invest in education early on, then your other expenses become astronomical. For example, incarceration or policing neighborhoods. The less educated your population is, the more problems you are going to have.”

In the past couple of years, teachers have had to change assignments and coursework to account for their increased class sizes, which results in less practice and feedback for students. “I have talked to many teachers who are like, instead of five writing assignments I am doing two,” Dowell said. “So students get less practice and more and more things become multiple choice. It just becomes less rigorous overtime because the teachers can’t keep up with the workload.”

Students have adapted to the bigger class sizes, with some taking a more self reliant approach. “I feel like with bigger classes, since the teacher has to focus on so many students, it feels a little more impersonal, but I feel like my education is not being impacted too bad, it’s just independent,” Teija Mitchell ‘20 said.

“Feedback will come back later just because they have so many students. I think I’m used to it at this point.”

Classes like language arts, foreign language, and social studies find it harder to give adequate feedback with big class sizes which makes it more difficult for students.

“Giving specific and focused feedback for writing for that many students is a challenge,” Eldridge said. “I constantly think about how to be more efficient and have it be less about me and more about the students assessing themselves, doing their own work and all that. That is such a big transformation

class cap size

average teacher/student ratio

that is hard for me to kind of wrap my mind around.”

Teachers often struggle to give feedback and grades back in a timely manner because they feel unsupported. “We have been told by various administration that class size does not matter in student success.” Fox said. “I personally feel you can find research to support a variety of opinions and I feel like those same people that are telling their teachers that class size doesn’t matter, when they were in the classroom they would not have supported that idea. I think that type of research supports budgets, and not student well being. So I would love to see us put student well being and student education as opposed to saving money.”

Creative projects, like photography, and critical individualized work time is also lost when teachers have to manage 30 or more students at a time. Fox has been teaching seven periods for the past five years, and has found that it is harder to do projects and individualized work with her large number of Spanish students. “We start to get really limited on the types of activities we can do with kids, especially when it comes to speaking,” Fox said. “Speaking can take quite a bit of time. Even if we do a group skit, we need people to speak for a certain amount of time for us to really get a gauge on their proficiency...It can be very overwhelming.”

Bailey Oliver ‘22 is in digital photography, and has noticed it is harder to manage in a bigger class. “We can’t take as many pictures... and we never have enough cameras,” Oliver said. “Every person doesn’t get their own camera then when we come back sometimes people delete your pictures and then you have to start over. A lot of times there is not really a grade, so we don’t get good feedback.”

Shy students who are afraid to speak out

are especially overlooked in a big classroom.

“Smaller class sizes allow students to connect with other students better.” Fox said. “It becomes more of a community type feel. It allows your students to connect with their teachers better because they’ll be receiving more individualized attention.”

Ideally, teachers would like to have smaller classes, however that may not be a possibility. “I do feel like, as there often is in education, that there is this double standard of what our hopes and desires of what we want to do as educators and the limitations of the realities of space and budget and staffing.”

Eldridge said.

Due to the rigorous demands of their job, teachers often do not last. “I’m a pretty introverted person actually,” Dowell said.

“At the end of the day I’m just fried. With the additional seventh section, somedays I’m like, woah, that’s a lot of noise, a lot of stuff going on. There are times when I’m like, do I want to do this for the next 20 years? Is this something I can keep up until I retire? And I don’t know. The numbers have really gone up in past years. It makes me think, some days, this might not be long term. The average person just can’t handle this for 20-30 years.”

Cramped parking and bleachers According to the Johnston Community School District, the incoming freshman class for fall of 2021 is currently at 595 students.

With the smaller senior class graduating, the freshmen replacing them will boost the enrollment up by 50 students. As a result, the high school will be close to capacity at 1,778 students.

Class sizes are just going to get bigger.

average class size growth since 2010

Tensions are already high among the student body, especially in the student section at football games. Haley Christensen ‘20 attempts to get to football games at least a half an hour early, but still cannot find a spot in the student section. “We are actually standing on the stairs, and it’s a fire hazard,” Christensen said. “They forced us to move, but we can’t. We have had problems with people shoving each other and arguments happening because it is so crammed in there.

People get hit and kicked...that’s where all the drama started. If we had more room it would not be like that.”

The entire bottom section of the bleachers is designated as the student section, but parents and spectators often sit in the far right section. “If you guys don’t fill [the bleachers] up, adults are going to sit there.”

Woods said. “I think because some adults sit there, kids think, ‘oh, you can’t do that.’

Usually when I get there I say, ‘Hey, just FYI, this is designated for our kids’. Some people move, and some people sit and wait.

If we use both sections, there will be more than enough room. I get it’s fun to be in the packed one, but there is more than enough space if we spread out.”

The congested parking lot is also a sore spot among the student body. “The parking lot makes me so mad,” Mitchell said. “I think it was a week or two ago it took me 30 minutes to get out of the parking lot. It was so annoying. You either have to get out of the parking lot right away, or you have to wait a little bit just because there are so many cars

“I can feel the tidal wave of work like just about to crush me.

Every year I get more and more stressed.

October and February are two of the hardest months every year for me to just stay positive and have a good attitude. I think it’s the same for kids.

Like all of that rolls down hill.”

- Aaron Eldridge

and there’s only two exits. It’s just this giant traffic jam.”

Students often have to plan their schedule around the parking lot, because it takes a while to get out of traffic. “I have to leave a lot earlier,” Oliver said. “Typically last year I would get to school a lot later, and I would still be able to park. It wasn’t a big deal. I am normally late to work because of [the parking lot] so I ended up getting my hours cut, because I have been late so much. The parking lot takes so much time, and it is affecting after school activities, like cheer. I have to be to practice, and most of the time I get out of the parking lot at 3:20, and I have practice at 4:00.”

“In my opinion, I just do not like the [parking lot] very much because it stresses me out,” Christensen said. “Some of us even park in those neighborhoods and we have to walk a long distance. I always feel bad for the neighbors, but at the same time, where else can we go?”

However inconvenient and stressful big class sizes, crowded student sections, and a crammed parking lot may be, throwing blame on people is not a good solution.“I don’t think it is one person’s fault,” Dowell said. “So I can’t say, ‘oh, it’s the principal’s fault,’ because at the end of the day it comes down to funding. For the last 10 years schools have not been funded the way they need to be, and those class sizes just gradually pile up.

It’s a numbers game.”

$3.6 Million Diamonds The adoption of new fields has greatly impacted the baseball and softball programs.

words | Savannah Dennis

17 | Feature

or this 2019 season, the baseball

district a lot of money on labor because in

you run a lot faster on the turf than you

and softball teams experienced

the past when it rained we could have our

would on dirt.”

a major upgrade since the 2018

maintenance crew and our team out there

However, a more competitive game is not

season. A $3.6 million upgrade. “It was an

all morning trying to get the field prepared

always a downside. “We just have to be ready

awesome experience because, starting with

for play,” Barta said. “And then it might rain

for faster play, but we like that,” Barta said.

Mr. [ Joe, Athletic Director] Nelson who kind

again and we still might not even play.”

F

The game plays true but that small piece of

of spearheaded it, we had a parent group,

With the new field, that is not a worry.

baseball is still missing. “I wish the baselines

players that were involved too all had input,

“We didn’t worry about any weather issues,”

were still dirt so you could get dirty,” Caden

and we all kind of put our heads together,”

baseball coach Mitch Gearhart said. “There

Steck ‘20 said.

softball coach Todd Merical said. “Everybody

were a few times this year where we were

Coaches see this effect as well. “It does

had different input and the baseball and

supposed to play an away game and because

take out the part after a tough double header

softball sides were working together as well

of weather it got moved to our field.”

and you look at somebody and they’re dirty

on these meetings, so that worked out really

Gameday brought ease of mind for the

all over,” Gearhart said.

coaches. “We didn’t have a lot of rain but the

Outside of games, the fast pace in practice

This upgrade built the softball team a

couple times it did, there were zero worries,

impacts players as well. “It makes us a little

brand new complex, now located next to the

you just go out and play,” Merical said. “From

more competitive, makes us get to the ball

baseball field, and gave both fields a new

a maintenance standpoint, you’re saving a

faster, makes us have to try a little harder,”

surface. “They changed the surface of the

bunch of time.”

Riley Clark ‘20 said.

well, sometimes we fed off of each other.”

field.” baseball coach Michael Barta said.

More games get played and practices can

At the end of the day, the decision

“Our field surface was grass and dirt and

last longer. “Practices are a lot faster now

to add the field took much thought and

parts of that needed to be fixed or replaced

because there’s not as much cleaning up

consideration. “I’m about as old-school as

and they instead turfed the entire infield and

around the field to do,” Cooper Smith ‘21 said.

they get, so going into it I definitely wanted

outfield and our bullpens which has been

With turf more equipment can be used

to look into it a little bit more, and decide is

during practice and they do not need to

this something we really want,” Merical said.

The new field had a much bigger impact

stamp and water the field after. Each practice

“You’d think ‘oh it’s going to take away that

on the baseball program than what most

can involve a variety of drills and activities,

feeling’ and maybe it does a little bit, but the

can see. “There are so many things we can

whatever is needed that day. “We do machines

pros greatly outnumber the cons.”

do at practice at one time,” Merical said. “For

now,” Cole Moss ‘21 said. “It’s easier to throw

From practice to gameplay, the new field

example, if there was something we wanted

with the machines so a coach doesn’t have to

has had a major impact on the baseball and

to do that dealt with grounders, with turf

do it the whole time.”

softball programs and the teams themselves.

amazing.”

Not only has the field allowed more games

“I think that’s probably the biggest piece

to occur, but the gameplay has improved.

to the whole story that no one talks about,”

Barta had a similar stance. “When it was

“It’s way nicer to play,” Barta said. “You get

Barta said. “When our kids come to the

dirt and grass, you want to try and keep

no bad hops, the game plays true. When you

field everyday it’s just beautiful. We can get

that thing in the best condition possible.

watch a major league baseball game they’re

everything we want to accomplish, we don’t

So we want to try and stay off of it until we

playing on grass but it’s so well manicured

have to worry about anything being wrong.

absolutely need it,” Barta said.

that the ball plays fast and you have your

It’s just beautiful every day. I think it’s helped

natural hops every time and the ball rolls

our culture in our program. It’s helped our

where it should roll. That’s how turf plays.”

kids well-being. I think they’re really excited

you can go anywhere on the field, you aren’t spending time raking.”

However, this is no longer a concern.

The new field allows the team to be on the field, whether for practice or games,

Gameplay is nicer, but also faster. “It’s a

without concern for the condition of the

lot more fast paced,” Kali Burkett ‘21 said.

field. “Number one is it probably saved the

“You have to slide earlier, even with running

to be part of it.”

18 | profile

1/1700: Emma Henderson FROM SOPHOMORE TO SENIOR, ONE STUDENT WAS RANDOMLY CHOSEN TO TELL THEIR STORY.

words | LIz Jones layout | Teja Jetty

Henderson is not the only one enjoying

throughout the day and videochat whenever

a recent addition to the household. “It’s nice

they can. “If she’s having a bad day, or she’s

to have someone that is not my brother to

close to having a meltdown, she’ll text me,”

live with,” Smallwood said. “Now I can have

Henderson said. “And it doesn’t matter if it’s

someone be around so I’m not just bored or

three in the afternoon or four in the morning.

just stuck in my head all day...It’s a lot better

I’ll freaking text her back if I see it.”

having her around. Both for me and her and my house in general.”

EUROPE

As a senior, Henderson has began to think about her life after college. She plans

While Henderson moved to Johnston

on going to a local community college and

to live with her adoptive family, she is not

getting a degree in physical therapy. “What

any closer to her girlfriend. Henderson has

I want to be able to do is, I want to start my own little program for rehabilitating military men,” Henderson said. “Especially because over half our population of homeless people are veterans. And I find that absolutely

F

or Emma Henderson ‘20, the first day of school was more chaotic than her classmates’. While most students were

getting lost on the way to class, she was in the counselor’s office creating her schedule.

Henderson moved to the district right before the school year started and did not have enough time to pick classes before school started. It was a big change for her,

“You know how usually it takes you a couple weeks when you move, a couple weeks or a couple months to feel like, ‘Oh, this is home,’ For me it was two days.”

For now, Henderson is enjoying being in school here. One of her favorite classes is Reading the Screen taught by Ed Walker.

Since she is a huge movie and TV buff, it is the perfect class for her. “She just seems to me like a really passionate person,” Walker said.

“Her questions are always really interesting, they keep me thinking.”

Walker has enjoyed getting to know Henderson through class. “One statement I

having moved from Guthrie, Iowa.

Though Henderson is not technically

disgusting.”

-Emma Henderson ‘20

adopted by the family she is living with, she

would make is that I think that the building is just lucky to have her and I’m just really looking forward to working with her,” Walker

is considered an adoptive sister to Cheyenne Smallwood ‘21 and her family. “We’ve known

managed to keep a long-distance relationship

her since we lived out in Guthrie Center,

stretching all the way overseas into Europe.

and we recently adopted her, basically,”

They found each other on a Marvel fan page

Smallwood said.

and talked for some time before Henderson

Even though the adoptive sisters have

realized what was happening. “I was like, ‘Oh

their squabbles with each other, they are glad

my god, I’m falling in love with this girl,’”

to be in each other’s lives. “You know how

Henderson said.

usually it takes you a couple weeks when you

The hardest part of a long-distance

move, a couple weeks or a couple months to

relationship is finding time to talk, especially

feel like, ‘Oh, this is home,’” Henderson said.

with a time difference. However, Henderson

“For me it was two days.”

and her girlfriend do a good job. They text

said.

20 | opinion

Signing Off, This is Dragon TV words | Alex Heron layout | Matthew Hickman

Juniors and seniors may remember

students always had the knowledge that the

No one should expect students to seek

watching videos made by students displayed

whole school would see it. Now that no one

out student videos when they barely paid

in advisory called ‘Dragon TV.’ This year, the

but Barta and a few other students see what

attention to the ones right in front of them.

school has made a change in how this class

kids make, there is no obvious reason to put

Even though kids are looking at their phones,

works.

forth effort into their work. It is encouraging

they are not looking at school projects.

Dragon TV started 21 years ago. Originally, it was a short daily show that everybody

students to do the bare minimum, rather than go above and beyond.

“We pretty much had freedom to make whatever we wanted,” Mcllwee said. “So we

watched. It did not change much for a long

“In the last couple years it hasn’t been

could do a sports video, we could do a funny

time. From daily to weekly, it was still a

something that’s in front of kids enough, so

video if we wanted. We were allowed to be as

collaboration project that kids would work

that’s why we’re changing it to go this route,

creative as we wanted to be, it didn’t have to

on.

where we’re going to put out stuff every

be like a news story. It could be a skit, it could

Currently, I am enrolled in my first year

single day that kids on social media. They all

be pretty much anything.”

of Dragon Media and TV, also known as DTV.

have their phones in their hands so we want

The videos before seemed so much more

When I joined I expected to be able to help

to tweet out a story a day. That’s our ultimate

fun. They were creative and the students

create something that would be seen, and if I

goal,” Barta said. This is a good idea, but not

could think for themselves and create

were a few years older, that would have been

something they enjoyed. However, times

true. The class is denying me the opportunity

are changing and that is no longer the case.

to work on something that is similar to what

“The class is more business focused so, every

I want to do with my life. From what I have

story we produce has to be motivated by

heard, the class was much better before the changes this year.

This introduces a natural question of why exactly things have changed so much.“In

“My goal is just to try to find a good answer to the problem and move forward.”

the last three to four years there has been

something we are promoting. It has to be about something that you want people to see or something you want people to know about, or buy, or participate in. So it’s a little less creative I would say,” Mcllwee said. It is no

- Micheal Barta

more material that we need to get done in

longer a place where kids can be creative but

advisory,” DTV teacher Michael Barta said.

rather, a place of making kids advertise. It is

Although, it is odd that this is the reason,

now focused on serious business ideas instead

because all that seems to be done in advisory

of entertaining creativity.

is the digital citizenship lessons. This would

At a certain point, we have to take a step

be much more important if kids had not

one that will likely be effective if put into

back and look at the whole perspective. “The

heard it many times over. The impression

place. Now, rather than being shown what

way I kinda look at it is, I can complain about

that is being given is repeated information is

kids are doing, students have to find them

it or I can just try to find the answer,” Barta

being prioritized over student creativity.

on their own time. Most students would

said. “My goal is just to try to find a good

Even juniors and seniors have not

probably rather watch their own stuff than

answer to the problem and move forward.”

experienced the classic DTV that used to

unprofessional projects they do not have to

exist. “When Dragon TV was watched in

see.

Things are definitely not as they used to be. The episodes used to be put in front of

advisory, everyday, back in the day, years

“I think I’ve had a couple teachers say

kids and watched and enjoyed. The kids used

ago, there was a ton of motivation,” Barta

‘oh, I saw you in the Dragon TV episode’ or

to have more creativity to create a big project.

said. “You have a real world project that all

‘I like this one story you did,” Daisy Mcllwee

Now, there is a business-oriented class with

the kids in school and all the teachers in

‘20 said. “But there wasn’t a lot of personal

independent projects. Projects that are put

school see. Actually, the middle school is

attention towards me and I feel like most of

on social media rather than shown directly

watching it as well. So kids were very, very

the students didn’t pay attention to Dragon

to kids. It is not what it use to but at the end

motivated.” When there is a lack of viewers,

TV.” Mcllwee was a part of Dragon TV since

of the day, it is what it is. It is an unfortunate

there comes a lack of motivation to do good

her sophomore year in 2017, when they still

situation but, it is still a good class with a

work. When working on their videos before,

showed episodes in advisory.

great environment.

Lights, Kamara, Action 22 | sports

Teachers play in fantasy football league

words | Joel Kellar layout | Tate Larsen

41 million people nationwide have a fantasy

trades even though it is heavily criticized by

“He is also the commish of the league and

football team, a number that includes many

the other members of the league. “Coach

sometimes the rules go in his favor.”

teachers. There are 12 different teachers in the

Barta offers trades all the freaking time and

Barta rebutted, saying, “You see, the thing

Johnston teachers’ fantasy football league.

he’s a trade guru,” Jaschen said. “A lot of times

about DeJong is he doesn’t really know

Many of them have different strategies, and

he will offer you a trade and I would look at

what’s going on. People just kinda beat up

some of them are controversial. It can also

the evaluation and it’ll be like screwing me

on him, he usually loses,” Barta said. “So you

get a bit testy throughout the season with

over big time.”

know you gotta take everything he says with

This year, however, Barta has decided

some bitter rivalries in the league.

a grain of salt.”

The league consists of 12 teachers in two

to offer less trades. “As I was assessing my

Miklo has been widely thought of as a

divisions. In the first division, also known

performance over the last couple of years,

‘dark horse’ this year. Miklo’s first year in

as the “best” division according to history

even though I finished pretty well, I didn’t

the league looks to be trending upward.

teacher

special

win the league. And I always seemed to make

“Watching the draft I really liked his draft. I

education teacher Patrick Mattingly, P.E.

a couple trades every year that really does

think he did a good job,” Jaschen said.

teacher Dan Mennan, industrial technology

me in,” Barta said. “So this year I think I’m

teacher Mitchell Gearhart, business teacher

taking more of a conservative approach.”

Dale

DeJong.

DeJong,

While Miklo may be the dark horse this year, he is not the favorite. This title seems

Michael Barta, and english teacher Jeremy

What may surprise many students is there

Fitzpatrick are all in this division. In the

is a plethora of trash talkers in the league.

second division there is science teacher Matt

DeJong, Mattingly, and Gearhart have all

Unlike Barta, Dowell relies more on a

Jaschen, social studies teacher Jesse Dowell,

been accused of trash talking. DeJong seems

good draft and picking up under the radar

history teacher Tyler Miklo, instructional

to be the biggest trash talker of them all,

players on the waiver wire. “Mr. Dowell is

coach Isaac Rodenburg, english teacher

even though he might not be able to back

always smart and methodical,” Jaschen said.

Kristoffer Campbell, and instructional coach

it up. “DeJong better watch what he says

All talk aside, the teachers do enjoy

Tom Griffin.

because I haven’t seen him win the league

competing against each other. “We have a

yet. He talks a big game,” Barta said.

really balanced league of people that are

There were many strategies heading into

to be held to Dowell or Barta. “Dowell always drafts the best tight ends,” DeJong said.

the draft with it being a fantasy auction draft,

Barta and DeJong have a big rivalry

competitive and care and it’s probably one

but the teachers that were praised by the

between each other, comparable to that of

of the best leagues I’ve been in with people

members of the league for having a good

Iowa vs Iowa State or Ohio State vs Michigan.

pretty invested in tracking NFL football,”

draft were Barta, Miklo, and Dowell. DeJong

They faced off during week three and Barta

Barta said.

on the other hand was victim to Barta’s draft

planned on dismantling him.

strategy. During the draft they were both

“I plan on just absolutely destroying him,

bidding on Joe Mixon and Barta ran the price

[I’m] not holding anything back, I’m not

up, forcing DeJong to use a lot of his fantasy

pulling my starters early,” Barta said.

money on Mixon. DeJong still feels like he

The tension between the two this year

has not overcome it. “My chances of winning

started during the draft with the Joe Mixon

[the championship] were 100% until I drafted

incident and DeJong still has not forgotten

Joe Mixon cause Barta got in my head. I hate

about it.

that guy,” DeJong said. “He upped my picks like five times this year. I’m still mad at him.”

With the start of their 10th season already under way, the teachers have already started to try to make changes to their team. Barta, given the nickname of the ‘trade guru’ by Jaschen, has already tried making plenty of

“Barta kinda knew some of the guys that I wanted to go [and draft], It’s just fishy some of the things that Barta does,” DeJong said.

Fantasy Football Facts According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, approximately 32 million Americans spend money on fantasy football.

On average, $467 is spent per person in the U.S. which comes out to a whopping total of $15 billion annually.

It is estimated that nearly 60 million people play fantasy sports with nearly 80% playing fantasy football.

Scary Movies to Watch in the Dark words | Hoa Ly layout | Payton Blahut

The Exorcist Regan, a young girl started showing unusual behavior and a change in attitude, making her mother call a priest in search of help. After some observations, the priest was convinced she has been possessed by a demon. They contacted an exorcist to rid of the demon.

I initially did not want to finish this movie because the whole beginning part of this movie was pretty boring. There were a lot of filler scenes, but as I

The Children of the Corn

got more into the movie I got more interested and it was probably one of the best horror movies I’ve watched. It was a pretty long movie, around three hours with a lot of unnecessary

Physician Burt Stanton and his girlfriend

scenes that I skipped through. The effects

Vicky were traveling across the Midwest to

and the acting were very high quality and

his new job when they encountered the body

the actors portrayed the characters well.

of a murdered boy. Trying to find help, they wandered into a small town populated by

The Silence of the Lambs

only children. The children run a satanic cult

Clarice Starling, a top student at the FBI academy, gets a

led by preacher Issac who believes anyone

special assignment investigating a murderer named Buffalo

over 18 must be killed. Trapped in the town,

Bill who kills and then skins young women. She interviews Dr.

the couple must try to run from the cult who

Hannibal Lecter who is serving life behind bars for murder and

wants to sacrifice them to a deity.

cannibalism. She believes he might be able to give his insights

I think this is a classic movie and a good

on teh case.

one, but I would prefer more horror elements

I would like for the beginning scenes to be more engaging,

included. The end scenes were, in my opinion,

but otherwise I think the story being put out is very interesting.

unnecessary and the movie probably could

The first part of the movie was something you could just skip

have done without them. The graphics also

through, as it was relatively boring and did not hold a lot

seemed like there was not much effort put

of information vital to the rest of the movie. . The acting,

into them. Visually, it could have had many

however, was well done and the emotions were played

improvements.

out well.

The Conjuring In 1977, the Perron family moved into a Rhode Island farmhouse, and soon began experiencing strange occurrences. Carolyn Perron called paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren to inspect the house. The Warrens found out that the whole area was surrounded in satanic hauntings, following the Perrons everywhere they went. The family soon faced the most horrifying scenes of their life.

I really enjoyed this movie as it was very interesting, but it was not the scariest movie I’ve watched. There were not any unnecessary scenes and the movie flowed well.

The camera work was on point and the effects were very well placed in the movie.