Friday, February 9, 2018
The Student Newspaper of Jones College Preparatory High School
Social Science department reports for civic duty
New state graduation requirement prompts creation of new class ANNA NEDOSS ‘18 Lifestyles Editor JAYE THOMAS ‘18 School Staff
With class scheduling rapidly approaching, rising juniors are about to find themselves faced with fewer options. In 2015, Governor Bruce Rauner signed legislation mandating that a civics course be a graduation requirement starting with the Class of 2020. The goal of this legislation is to encourage students to become more involved in political discussions, community service, and the democratic process, helping the next generation of voters become responsible and competent citizens. Photo courtesy of John Lund “CPS is responding to statewide legislation that was EXECUTIVE ORDER As part of the AP U.S. Government & Politics curriculum, teachers John passed as a result of civic activ- Lund, Jonathan Smith, and their students roleplay in an annual Mock Congress simulation, where they must react to unexpected current events and navigate needs of their constituents. ist groups who were demanding value of the new requirement, but hard for me to do that,” said Tomich. that we have some sort of civics Although students will requirement at the high school lev- also recognizes her lack of choic- el,” said AP U.S. Government & es when it comes to electives. not have as much freedom with choosing social science elecPolitics teacher Jonathan Smith. tives, Social Science Depart“Prior to this, the only state-manment Co-Chair Ryan Maggid dated check on civic engagement feels that the new requirement was the Constitution test. Now, will be beneficial to Jones stuthere is a full course curriculum.” dents as they prepare to become Starting next school year, politically engaged citizens. all Jones juniors will be required “If you can get students ento take their choice of Honors Civgaged with and thinking about ics or AP U.S. Government & Poltheir political environment more itics. As Jones prepares to adhere and to how political decisions reto the new requirements, teachers ally do affect them, that’s really and students have begun to point valuable,” said Maggid. “But if out that students will now have it’s just something where peofewer options when it comes to ple are checking off the boxes to choosing social science electives. complete the requirement, then “Currently, the most popit’s a waste of time. If it’s taught ular social science elective courses in a way that gets students more are AP Macroeconomics with seven informed, politically active, and sections and AP Government and understanding of the system, AP Psych with five sections each,” especially in our fake news era said AP U.S. Government & Politics when people don’t really know teacher and Social Science Department Co-Chair John Lund. “CrimPhoto courtesy of John Lund what’s going on, then it’s a win.” The Honors Civics course inal Psych has four sections, and POLITICAL DISCOURSE AP US Government & Modern World History and Middle Politics teacher Jonathan Smith discusses current class will bring a new twist to the current AP U.S. Government & PolEastern studies have three sections content with Michael Mutz ‘19 and Jeremy Lee ‘20. itics curriculum, being more projeach. Those numbers will probably “I think it’s good for ju- ect-oriented and community based. fluctuate with the new requirement.” Mary O’Brien ‘20 sees the niors, but I don’t like how there are It will also encompass a new service only two op- requirement that will be tailored to tions. There’s the individual student’s interests not that much at both the Honors and AP levels. of a choice,” The Civics service action project said O’Brien. will be tested in this year’s AP U.S. N i a v h Government & Politics classes, in Tomich ‘20 order to work out any kinks and enfeels like the sure that the service aspect of the new require- class will run smoothly next year. ment is going “The civics course, comto prevent her pared to AP Gov, will be much more from taking flexible in terms of what we can covher courses er. Civics will focus on national, state of interest in and local politics, and personal civic the future. engagement,” said Smith. “The idea “I was is that once you come out of a civtrying to take ics class, you know how to interact C r i m i n a l with government at all levels. That’s Photo courtesy of John Lund Psych and AP going to be the main push of civics, Psych, so I while AP Gov focuses on the nationFILIBUSTER Last year’s Mock Congress participants, including Jaye Thomas ’18, Subin Myong ‘18, and Dylan Spector ‘18, propose and debate feel like this al side of our federalist system and potential laws within their AP U.S. Government & Politics class period’s [requirement] navigating the intricacies of politics.” assigned committees. might make it
Volume 3, Issue 4
With additions of Arabic, Hebrew, and German, World Language doubles offerings
SISLEY MARK ‘20 School Staff JEREMIAH WILLIAMS ‘18 Sports Staff After receiving survey responses from members of the school community, Jones will introduce Arabic, Hebrew, and German to the foreign language lineup starting next year. Three months ago, students and parents were surveyed to determine what new languages they would like to be offered at school. The school was able to pick three modern languages that garnered the most votes: Arabic, Hebrew, and German. “The new languages are all modern languages, they are spoken around the world,” said Principal P. Joseph Powers. “Our language program has been very sound, it’s been very comprehensive, but its been limited to just those three languages.” Other selective enrollment schools offer more than three languages, and by adding more options it is expected to provide students the opportunity to learn languages that are very rare in the Illinois public school system. With this transition, Jones will now be the first CPS school to offer Hebrew as a foreign language option. “I think it’s a really exciting opportunity for our school, as we will be the only CPS school to offer Hebrew. It’s only offered at about six or seven high schools in Illinois,” said Director of Student Services Meredith Kramer. German is a common course at many CPS high schools, yet the demand from students is lower than what the administration expected it to be. Because of this, German will be offered as an online course. Students that sign up for the German language course will report with their classmates to the library for a full 90 minute period where they log in to the Illinois Virtual High School Program. “I don’t think we will ever have huge numbers [for] German, but if we do, we will have to think about hiring a teacher,” Powers said. As the news of the addition of new languages emerges, students like Isabel Sices ‘20 have mixed reviews. Sices is currently taking AP French and next year she will not be able to continue her French studies due to a lack of French courses available. “Adding Arabic, Hebrew and German to our language department is important as it will expand our knowledge and diversity, but it’s also important that we make the languages we already have even stronger,” said Sices. “I think the language program is Jones’ weakest link and as one of the top schools in the city, it’s crucial that all branches of our school are strong.” In the meantime, Sices has decided to explore studying higher levels of French at nearby colleges for her next year of high school. However, she is grateful for her language education and encourages others to see language in a positive light. “As students going to one of the highest ranking schools in the state, we have a lot of privilege when it comes to our education,” Sices said. “I think that it’s important that we appreciate that as much as possible. Since we have the opportunity to learn languages at Jones, we should take full advantage of it.” A potential outcome the administration believes can happen is that more students will take languages for all four years. “We have some students that come into our school placing in the third or even fourth level courses as freshman. These new languages will allow students like that to immerse themselves in another language before they graduate,” Powers said. The administration also believes that they will not have to lay off existing Language teachers. The Language department already struggles with have crowded classrooms as is. “[Enrollment in current language courses] will decrease, but we have room for the decrease as the classes tend to [be] fairly large,” Powers said. “I would imagine that everyone who wants to take Arabic will already be in a language course. I believe the decrease will be shared over more languages, but I don’t think it will drastically changes how many sections we have.”
PAGE 2
Candidate visits Jones
Jones For Biss club will host Illinois state senator & gubernatorial candidate Daniel Biss (D) on Friday, Feb. 23.
JONESBLUEPRINT.COM @JONESBLUEPRINT FEBRUARY 9, 2018
Finals frenzy
Sophomore argues against current testing time frame
Falling out of love
It’s not you, it’s your history of sexual abuse
SISLEY MARK ‘20 Sitting at my desk while in my Ac Lab, my stony-eyed teacher explains our schedule for the rest of the week and I develop a nervous tick. As my knee continues to bob uncontrollably, the panic soon sets in. I double check that I have a calculator and at least one working pencil. I quickly run off to the bathroom to see a long line, which could be a fire hazard. Apparently, I’m not the only one with a weak bladder right before she’s going to take a test. As I’m waiting in this never-ending bathroom line, my friend from another school texts me, “Good luck on finals,” to which I respond, “You too!” She replies, “I took them before winter break!” When we come back from winter break, finals are about a month away. Some would say that this is a sufficient enough time to catch up and review content, but due to this extended period of time, teachers like to squeeze in more units, which will also be included in the final exam. So, on top of studying the new coursework, you also have to review the content you forgot over break. This is counterproductive and we are stuck in this vicious cycle of reviewing and forgetting. Let me remind you that final exams test you on content way back from September. If we take our finals in February, this means that we are being tested on six months of content. Since we are in school for ten months, that means about 60 percent of all the stuff we have learned in a school year is in our first semester finals. But here’s a radical alternative-- if we started school in August, then we would be able to have our finals in December, exactly halfway through the school year. We would also be let out of school in May, allowing us to have a schedule similar to that of a university or college. If final exams were held before winter break, we wouldn’t be tested on more than half a school year curriculum. Anxiety levels would lessen and testing would be more successful. Unfortunately, that’s not the case, so I wish you the best of luck for next semester as you ring in the “finals” spirit.
The dominoes have toppled. All along, you’ve cheered on the bravery of women speaking up, the journalists exposing the coverups and secrets that allowed these assaults to happen right under our noses. But the next domino has fallen; the person you never thought would fall: the person wearing a Time’s Up pin, the man who called himself a feminist, the woman who declared herself an ally. You think back to the hours of your life you spent listening to their music, the nights you spent watching their stand-up on Netflix, or the clothes you’re wearing that they designed. While sexual assault is not something new, the voices of women and men who have experienced sexual abuse have been exceedingly amplified over the last few months. The reach of sexual assault is present within many aspects of society, but the spotlight is currently shining on the entertainment industry, as it has been receiving far more media attention. However, as celebrity culture is so important in America, it is necessary to address the repercussions of these incidents and how it impacts the things that we consume. Is it okay to continue consuming entertainment created by now-outed sexual predators? This year’s award season was kicked off at the Golden Globes in a sea of “Time’s Up” pins and all-black attire in solidarity of the movement, full of inspiring and empowering speeches. Throughout the ceremony, there were shots of James Franco sitting at his table, clapping along with everyone else, following the night’s presumed dress code in his allblack suit and a “Time’s Up” pin on his lapel. Ironically, it’s been a mainstream news story over the past few years that Franco has been accused - and continues to be accused - of sexual assault, misconduct, and predatory behavior toward a minor by a multitude of women. While Franco was called out for his hypocrisy at
the Globes online and in-person, he continues to be celebrated and win awards for his portrayal of Tommy Wiseau in the film The Disaster Artist. What Franco did was completely inexcusable, and he, like all sexual predators, should not be given the privilege to reap the benefits of any product of the entertainment industry. While it’s correct that seeing films such as The Disaster Artist does unfortunately financially support Franco, we must keep in mind that these films are also the main financial lifeline for hundreds of innocent cast and crew members. Franco, and other sexual predators, should not be given the reward of being the face of the collaborative effort that is a film. This does not mean that the actions of predators, like Franco’s, should be erased, either. We must continue to support those who are innocent, but ensure that those who engage in predatory and inappropriate behavior face their deserving repercussions. It should go without saying that it is time to end the careers of those who have well-documented histories of abuse but are only being “revealed” to the public as of now. Woody Allen and Roman Polanski have had a decades-long history of sexual assault and pedophilia, and even Kevin Spacey’s predatory behavior was an open secret within the Hollywood community. However, actors involved in the work of these creators, such as Timothée Chalamet, who appeared i n an Allen film last year, and Ridley Scott, who directed Spacey in the film All the Money in the World, have begun to spend their money and time rectifying their actions by donating their sala-
B positive about B+ NICK RAPPE ‘18
As the semester comes to a close, there is a sharp increase in warnings from teachers that they will not bump a student’s grade to keep them from dropping a letter down. We tirelessly push ourselves to stay above the cutoff so that we have some sort of cushion by finals time that will hopefully save us from dropping. Maybe you’ve already fallen to an 89 percent and know there’s no way to move up with the final, so you give up for the rest of the semester and barely study for the final because dropping ten points to a C is impossible too. N o matter how you look at it, CPS’ current grading system allows for these situations to arise at the end of a semester, making it hard for teachers to keep
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students motivated and putting grades on students’ transcripts that do not accurately portray their work over the whole semester. The addition of a plus and minus system to create A+, A, A-, B+, etc… would more accurately differentiate an 89 percent from an 80 percent and solve many of the present issues. This would be a major relief to those on the border between whole letters because the plus and minus would be a more detailed version of the final grades that appear on your transcript. Instead of colleges seeing a B and not knowing whether you’re an 80 percent or an 89 percent student, they could see a B+ and know that you were in the upper bracket and closer to an A than a B or B- student was. Obviously not everyone is supportive of the plus and minus system, as giving a more detailed view of your grades is a double-edged sword. Students like to get every extra point they can, in order to ensure their grades are mostly secure by finals time. However my guess is that the amount of students in the 90-92 percent (A-) range at the end of the semester is significantly higher than the
amount of students in the 93-96 percent (A) or 97-100 percent (A+) range. Under the current system, a 90 percent or above will grant you an A on your transcript, making it seem to colleges that a student with a 90 is the same as a student with a 97. This gray area in the system is why it is so popular, especially to students at Jones. But let the students who support the current system know that their 89 percents will not always be rounded up to an A, so wouldn’t they rather have the rightfully earned B+ as opposed to being stuck with a regular B?
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Graphic by Ezra Weber ‘18
ries to nonprofits or even re-shooting their films to erase traces of disgraced predators. Exposed predators are still given the opportunity to work and create content, but there has been progress to save the livelihoods of many people who don’t deserve to go down with a sinking ship. For example, the next season of House of Cards will be shot without Kevin Spacey and the next season of Transparent will be shot without Jeffrey Tambor. This is the first time that people across all industries are having the majority of their claims taken seriously. There are still those that have their doubts, though, despite the fact that according to several reputable studies - including the National Sexual Violence Resource Center - only between 2-6 percent of sexual assault accusations are false. However, there is still much work to do, both to support victims and pay more attention to women and men who aren’t in the spotlight: people of color, the LGBTQ community, and those not in the entertainment industry. The question we must ask ourselves is where do we draw the line when it comes to who we support? We encounter a dissonance between the standards to which we hold our morals and the people whose content we continue to consume and admire. This moral dilemma occurs outside of the film industry as well - can we still listen to musicians such as Kodak Black, Xxxtentacion, or Melanie Martinez with a clear conscience despite their allegations of violence against women? Are we complicit by continuing to support them?
Editor-in-Chief Associate Editor, Print Associate Editor, Online Associate Editor, Design Associate Editot, Copy Managing Editor Lead Reporter School Editor School Editor School Staff School Staff School Staff School Staff School Staff School Staff School Staff School Staff Opinion Editor Lifestyles Editor Lifestyles Editor Lifestyles Staff Lifestyles Staff Lifestyles Staff Lifestyles Staff Lifestyles Staff Lifestyles Staff Sports Editor Sports Editor Sports Staff Sports Staff Sports Staff Sports Staff Sports Staff Sports Staff Advisor
Graphic by Abby Teodori ‘19
Orla Levens ‘18 Jonathan Dugard ‘18 Nick Rappe ‘18 Deklin Versace ‘18 Michael Murray ‘18 Lane Kizziah ‘18 Daisy Conant ‘18 Boris Fedorov ‘18 Brendan Schieb-Feeley ‘18 Eryn Barnes ‘19 Susana Chenmei ‘18 Sam Donnell ‘18 Abraham Jimenez ‘18 Lars Johansson ‘18 Sisley Mark ‘20 Jaye Thomas ‘18 Margaret Trovato ‘19 Ellie Lawrence ‘18 Olivia Landgraff ‘18 Anna Nedoss ‘18 Kayla Gardner ‘19 Ben Keeler‘18 Abigail Teodori ‘19 Lucy Tindel ‘19 Sara Weiss ‘18 Katherine Williams ‘20 Jack Bedore ‘19 Dylan Spector ‘18 Ian Crowley ‘18 Carter Frye ‘19 Lucas Vogel ‘19 John Wang ‘18 Ezra Weber ‘18 Jeremiah Williams ‘18 John Lund
Letters Letters to the Editor are encouraged and will be screened for libel, irresponsiblity, and obscenity. The Editorial Board may edit or shorten letters as long as the meaning is unchanged. All letters must be signed and include your email for verification. Requests to withold the writer’s name from publication will be considered. Letters can be sent to jonesblueprint@gmail.com or dropped off in Room 201.
PAGE 3 No School
Spring Break will be held from March 26-30 this year.
SISLEY MARK ‘20 School Staff Among the few hundred students
walking through the link and double-checking if their student ID is on, there is a boy with rectangular glasses, ruffled brown hair, and a Timbuk2 backpack. Unlike the other students who are wearing brands like Adidas and Vineyard Vines, he’s wearing Hugo Boss. Every morning, most students wake up, button their high waisted jeans and toss on their crumpled sweatshirt. When Alex Flynn ‘21 wakes up, he buttons his collared shirt and fumbles with his tie. Instead of checking his social media during breakfast, he double
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checks that his pocket-sized Constitution is tucked securely in his coat pocket. Halfway through the last school year, Flynn made the decision to upgrade his wardrobe to formal business attire. “I didn’t really like my old clothes,” said Flynn. “I just wore boring t-shirts, jeans, and cargo shorts.” On average, retail suits can cost up to $1,000, but transitioning styles wasn’t costly for Flynn. The seven or eight suits that Flynn owns were all affordable and bought from Amazon. Flynn also explains that he had no significant reason for changing his style. “I just wanted a change,” said Flynn. Flynn considers wearing suits
everyday as a hobby. He has realized that his style is a lot more conservative compared to what other students wear, but that doesn’t stop him from wearing suits. “I don’t really care what other people think,” continued Flynn. “I’m mostly concerned with what I think of myself.” Flynn doesn’t believe in a dress code. He encourages other students to dress as they please. He says that he would also never go to a high school that would enforce uniform. “What you choose to wear is freedom of expression and schools shouldn’t have a say in what you wear,” said Flynn. Apart from wearing a suit and tie everyday, Flynn enjoys spend-
ing time with his two cats, drinking tea, and being at Robotics Club. “Kids in his class call him “professor” because he wears suits,” said Physics teacher Erin Cathcara. “It’s pretty cool.” Cathcara also believes that students should have the freedom to express themselves, but would enforce rules against hate speech on clothing. She uses Flynn’s suits as an example of not being offensive. After the school week is done, Flynn continues to wear his suits on the weekends. “He rocks it,” said Andrew Hiss ‘20. “I don’t think anyone else can pull it off but him.” Photos by Sam Donnell ‘18 and Sisley Mark ‘20 Graphics by Deklin Versace ‘18 and Lucy Tindel ‘19
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Luck of the Irish
The annual Saint Baldrick’s Challenge will occur on Mar. 15 at 1:50pm in the gym.
JONESBLUEPRINT.COM @JONESBLUEPRINT FEBRUARY 9, 2018
Eagles break the internet #1 on trending
Students aim for YouTube subscribers
MICHAEL MURRAY ‘18 Associate Editor, Copy Creating a YouTube account and posting a weekly video was simply an assignment for students in Jake Myers’ Digital Imaging III class at the beginning of this school year. As their project draws to an end, some students plan to go above and beyond and continue their YouTube channels for their own fun. “The students have already learned quite a bit in terms of technique in Digital I and II. They know editing, they know Photoshop, they know Premiere, After Effects. They know the basic utility,” said Myers. “But something that I’ve noticed just in my own video practice is that you learn the most when you just [make videos],
and you’re forced to practice and re-evaluate and practice.” Students had to create a YouTube channel, come up with a theme, and upload a video every week. The students learned how to make their own productions and evaluate their efficiency. During this process, they also realized the haphazardness of YouTube: how minimal work may result in many views and how great quantities of work may result in few views. Myers said that he wanted his students to publish their work on YouTube because of the platform’s many prospects. “It just seems like that’s where content is going, towards lower-budget, consistent productions, and I just wanted them to learn that,” said Myers. As the project draws to an end, students such as Elizabeth Goldblatt ‘18, Max Dombrowski ‘18, and Ethan Mueller-Soppart ‘18 all have ambitions to continue their channels. “I’m most likely majoring in Film, Radio, and Television, so I’ll have a lot of opportunities to do other creative content,” said Goldblatt. Goldblatt’s channel focuses on a narcissistic persona that she portrays, and her videos range from a food review of her mother’s cooking to simply stating things she doesn’t like. “I made a video about getting a rejection after hearing back from a college,” said Goldblatt. “I knew I wanted to make light of a situation that was difficult.” Titled “Holiday Themed Rejection Video,” Goldblatt’s upload consists of her singing over
Christmas carols about rejection. “A lot of people texted me back saying that it really helped them and was able to make them laugh and smile at a time when they might have been really upset,” said Goldblatt. Dombrowski, another Digital Imaging III student, gears his YouTube channel more toward lifestyle videos. “I post vlogs, storytimes, ASMR (relaxing videos). I try to do a little bit of everything, just whatever comes to my mind,” said Dombrowski. Dombrowski says that he mainly focuses on humor and creating an enjoyable experience for his audience.
“[I want] the viewer to be entertained, and hopefully they laugh because I try to make my videos funny,” he said. Dombrowski hopes to continue posting videos in the future, although not as much as once a week. “I still plan on posting on my channel, and I just like creating videos, so either way I’ll still make videos,” said Dombrowski. “I hope to be somewhere that’s not Chicago [for college], so it would also be cool to make videos in a different location.” For Mueller-Soppart, the goal of a YouTube channel is to produce content consistently and develop a coherent idea around the channel. “I like to keep everything I do very vague, so there’s no one way to think about it. It’s an image and you take it or leave it,” said Mueller-Soppart. “I also like to put a lot of humor in my videos. In one video, I’m at a urinal, and there’s a bunch of other urinals, and my friend [Graham Holmes ‘18] walks in and pees in the same urinal as mine, and that’s the video. It’s stuff that’s kind of goofy.” As for whether or not Mueller-Soppart plans to continue his channel, he said that he plans to continue posting and see if anything goes viral. “With YouTube, you never know what blows up or what happens, so I think I’m just going to continue doing what I do, and if something happens, it happens. It’s super random,” he said.
Logged off
Students, faculty avoid tangled social media web ANNA NEDOSS ‘18 Lifestyles Editor For most Jones students, social media is a part of everyday life. Platforms such as Instagram and Twitter have been vital in organizing events, spreading awareness of issues that impact the community, and connecting the student body. But for some Jones students, social media is a foreign concept that feels like a waste of time or entirely disingenuous. “When social media was first becoming a big thing [among my friends], I thought that people wasted a lot of time on it and I just didn’t think it was necessary or useful at all, so I didn’t get it back then and since then I haven’t really bothered,” said Franklin Brady ‘19. Any student can attest to the fact that social media eats up a significant amount of time that could be spent working on homework or being with family. For Brady, the benefits of staying off social networking platforms outweigh some of the drawbacks. “When you aren’t active on social media, you’re more attentive to your surroundings
and generally more engaged with the world around you,” said Brady. “You can spend more time doing hobbies or schoolwork. You can’t really communicate with people as well since that’s the way most people communicate now, but I think it’s worth it.” For others, social media lacks an appeal simply because it seems boring and requires too much effort to maintain. “I never had a need for it, so I never got it. It just never came up that there would be a reason for me to get it, and there was never a time when I wanted it,” said Noah Eagle ‘18. “I don’t think there’s anything inherently good or bad about not having it. I don’t think having it means you’re more connected with people because that’s entirely up to you, whether you want to connect through social media or in person or any other means of communication.” The idea of how people form strong relationships in the age of technology is a frequently asked question for those who choose to remain off social media, but many people who
have to-fa wor beca frien I jus ship com well latio criti been and dia or b tain be a fect
PAGE 5
Heathers
The Spring Musical, Heathers, will run from Mar. 15-17 in the Robin Bennett Auditorium.
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t Do it for the ‘gram
Students build up Instagram empires
BUFFERING Max Dombrowski ‘18 (top left), Ethan Mueller-Soppart ‘18 (top right), and Elizabeth Goldblatt ‘18 are some of the many Digital Imaging III students who run and operate their own YouTube channels.
e given social media a chance feel that faceace relationships create far stronger bonds. “I was on it initially and it was too much rk. I also found that it was really superficial, ause people would be like, ‘Hey! You’re my nd!’, but you could never get them on the phone. st realized that to have actual authentic relationps, you need to have people who are willing to mmit in terms of face-to-face communication, as l as online. I just generally did not like that isoon,” said English teacher Ebikepreye Ogundipe. In recent popular culture, one of the main icisms of social media and its popularity has n the spread of information and the ways news ideas can be misinterpreted and misleading. “I think the biggest effect of social meis the spread of information. That can be good bad, because it brings a lot of awareness to cerissues or events to younger people who should aware,” said Brady. “But the negative side efis that a lot of times the information can
be falsified or exaggerated so people have false thoughts about what’s going on in the world.” There is no doubt that social media has had both positive and negative effects on society. For some members of the Jones community, social media provides immense joy and serves as an escape from the world. But other members of the Jones community worry that social media mania has resulted in failure to live in the moment. “I think that it’s creating a society in which people have a hard time communicating effectively on a personal level. There are now classes at some colleges for kids to learn how to ask other people out on dates, and I find that social dysfunction really problematic,” said Ogundipe. “I think that people forget to be present because they’re so busy worrying about what’s happening next.”
Graphic by Deklin Versace ‘18 and Orla Levens ‘18
IAN CROWLEY ‘18 Sports Staff JAYE THOMAS ‘18 School Staff SARA WEISS ‘18 Lifestyles Staff For most, Instagram serves as a platform to scroll through and see what people are up to. However, many Jones students use the photography-based app beyond this, racking up thousands of followers in the process. When most students are putting in their headphones as the bell rings, Erich Sauer ‘19 pulls his phone out of his pocket and buys and sells Instagram accounts. He started by growing an Instagram account very slowly, selling spots on his page for people to post on. Soon after, the funds began flowing in and his career took off. Now, using two Instagram accounts, he sells promotions and advertisements. Sauer didn’t come across this business by chance. He was encouraged by his friends that had already experienced success in the business. “First, I started on this app called iFunny,” said Sauer. The tedious process was worth it to Sauer because soon he began obtaining more and more features on iFunny, which smoothed his transition to Instagram once he got the hang of the business. “You need to get seen, so use a lot of hashtags,” said Sauer. “Then, you like and comment on people’s accounts. It makes the likelihood of getting on the explore page a lot higher.” T h e more followers and popularity the account has, the higher the price value.
the celebrities she has met. “There’s people from all over the world who follow my Instagram, which is weird. I try to get to know them as best as I can, if they DM me to ask me questions,” said Garcia. “I get asked ‘How did you meet Kanye?,’ ‘How did you meet Harry Styles?,’ so I think that’s what kind of attracts people to my page like ‘Oh, who is she going to meet next?’” Garcia stresses that it is hard for the celebrities she meets to be held to a high standard. “People think that celebrities are fake and they don’t care about taking the time to meet their fans,” said Garcia. “If you approach them like ‘Hey, can I get a picture?’ and shoving a phone in their face, that’s completely different from [saying] ‘Hi, how are you?’” Lily Ferguson ‘19 uses her following to promote intersectional feminism. “In the past several years, feminism has had somewhat of a ‘resurgence’ and become more mainstream so people have wanted to learn more about it,” said Ferguson. “Social media is an easy outlet to share and receive information. I started it after seeing feminism accounts on Instagram and thinking ‘I want in on that.’” Ferguson, who has amassed over 43,000 followers on the platform, admits that it is sometimes difficult to run a large page due to trolling. “I have to block people who are just being rude for no reason all the time. I’ve learned not to let it get to me or respond to it,” said Ferguson. “People saying ‘there’s only two genders’ on my posts about trans identities won’t change the fact that they are wrong, whether it comes to biological sex or gender identity.” Ferguson stresses that interaction is key in gaining followers. “If you want to try to gain a
“It was a slow process to start with the first account,” said FAMOUS Garcia’s post with West Sauer. “But larger gained over 7,000 likes on Instagram after that, I followas well as over 71,000 likes and over [could] estabing, use hashtags 20,000 retweets on Twitter. lish myself and interact with your folwith enough money from that account.” lowers as much as possible,” said Fer Similarly, Faith Garcia ‘18 has guson. “You can even make connecamassed over 3,000 followers on Ins- tions with similar accounts and like and tagram, where she posts her many en- comment on one another’s posts to try counters with celebrities, from the cast to end up on the explore pages of their of the hit television show Shameless to followers.” bands like Five Seconds of Summer. However, Ferguson maintains “Things kind of blew up af- that the focus of the account is not numter I met Kanye West,” said Garcia. “It bers, rather the content that she posts. went viral and everyone freaked out.” According to Garcia, West was not the first of her celebrity encounters, but one of her most memoraGraphic by Deklin Versace ‘18 ble. Many of her followers are fans of
PAGE 6 LSC Meeting The LSC will host their monthly meeting on Feb. 12 at 5:30PM in the Media Center.
JONESBLUEPRINT.COM@JONESBLUEPRINT FEBRUARY 9, 2018
Faculty tries their hand at winning “big money” on various T.V. game shows ABRAHAM JIMENEZ ‘18 School Staff JEREMIAH WILLIAMS ‘18 Sports Staff You’re on your couch, home sick from school. Flicking through the TV channels, something catches your eye; it’s your chemistry teacher! AP Chemistry and Consumer Chemistry teacher Ray Lesniewski has always enjoyed watching Wheel of Fortune in his free time. He recalls that although stages in his life were changing, one thing that did not change was his interest in the game. “I remember watching [Wheel of Fortune] in high school with my parents. In college, our whole dorm floor watched it, so it was a thing I wanted to do,” said Lesniewski. Lesniewski made the decision that being on the show was something he had to do. He anxiously waited for an opportunity to do so, considering the competitiveness of the audition process. Once the auditions rolled into town, it was finally time for Lesniewski to live his game show fantasy. “It was me and 100 other people in a big hotel room. We had partially filled in puzzles and had to solve as many as we could in five minutes. They graded our puzzles right away and then they said goodbye to half of the people,” said Lesniewski. “I made it past that segment, and then after, they spun a wheel for us and we each took a turn guessing one letter on the puzzle board, then they cut more people.” Lesniewski remained standing as the process drew to a close. He was enthusiastic about being one of the only contestants to not be sent home, but then he was hit with another surprise. Potential contestants would not know if they had made it onto the show for another six weeks. The deadline passed and Lesniewski was disappointed, as he felt that he had done all of this work and preparation for nothing. Yet, a week later, Lesniewski received a letter from the enterprise.
“It read ‘Congratulations! You’re going to be on the show!’” said Lesniewski. “However, in the fine print, it read ‘Sometime in the next ten years.’ I was so excited that I had made it, but the ten year period was nuts. But within the next week, I received a phone call from one of the producers saying that they were filming in Miami and they extended an invitation to me to be on the show.” During the show, Lesniewski soaked in the ex-
FLEXIN’ Borge shows off his moves for his audition video.
“The opportunity cost of this would be too high for me,” Borge said. Similarly, math teacher Sarah Rayski has been attempting to be on Survivor for about 14 years. Survivor places a group of strangers in an isolated location, where they must provide food, fire, and shelter for themselves. The contestants are progressively eliminated from the game as they are voted out by their fellow contestants, until only one remains and is awarded the grand prize of $1,000,000. “My first video was about 14 years ago, then I did an open casting call about 12 years ago, and I did my latest video last year,” Rayski said. Rayski lives by her motto, ‘Outwit, Outlast, Outplay’ which she believes would carry her to victory. “I think I could play the social game, I think I could do the puzzles, and I think I could do the physical challenges.” Rayski likes to call this her “triple threat.” However, after four unsuc-
perience and was able to see the differences that came from first hand experience. After the memorable experience was over, Lesniewski was left with a feeling of incompleteness. “The very last puzzle of my show was ‘I’ll never hear the end of it’ and I probably actually will never hear the end of it because I show this episode to my students every year,” said Lesniewski. AP Macroeconomics teacher Michael Borge is known around the school as the teacher who can do anything in the weight room. Anyone who has been to the South Building weight room after school has seen him do intricate, seemingly impossible exercises that involve nothing more than his body weight. A few years ago, Borge sent an audition video to American Ninja Warrior, the American version of a Japanese game show that features contestants completing a series I WILL SURVIVE Rayski’s last Survivor audition video featured students rolling of difficult obstacles along a course.her down the hallway “The audition process is really straightfor- cessful audition attempts for Survivor, Raysward. There is a video submission, [and] if you’ve ki decided it was time to switch gears. ever watched the show they usually cut to little snip- “Ms. Bowman suggested we should audition for The pets of somebody’s audition tape which is usually Amazing Race and I thought it was a great idea,” said Rayski. of them training or telling some story,” Borge said. “We’re in the process of completing our application now.” Borge recorded most of his videos Although Rayski and Bowman have only right here at Jones, where he does the majori- seen a few episodes of The Amazing Race, they ty of his training. Borge was also asked to fill are confident that they would be a fantastic team. out a series of essay questions, one being ‘Does “Having auditioned for Survivor four times, I anyone consider you their hero?’ Borge an- think I definitely have an advantage when it comes to the swered with: ‘You would have to ask them.’ competitive aspect and the mental play,” said Rayski. “We “I didn’t want to pretend and say ‘I have chose each other as partners because we’re very similar in been a teacher for ten years so all of my stu- a lot of avenues which could make for good TV. We’re both dents [think I’m a hero.’] Maybe it’s true, but competitive, physically strong, and kind-hearted people.” I didn’t want to put words in someone else’s Rayski and Bowman are confimouth. But maybe I should have if it would’ve dent that their chemistry as friends could take helped me get on the show,” said Borge. them a long way if they were to get on the show. Ultimately, Borge was not chosen to be on “When you’re looking for a partner, you have to the show. He believes it was because his video was think about if you can get along with them personally since too generic, unlike the videos of other applicants. you’ll be spending a lot of stressful time together,” said BowBorge does not believe he will audition for Amer- man. “When I started thinking about it, I knew it had to be her. ican Ninja Warrior again. With his wife and three I don’t know who else I would even consider doing it with.” Photo courtesy of Ray Lesniewski kids, he knows that the level of training needed to be gen- Anna Nedoss ‘18 and Deklin Versace ‘18 contributed to this story. CHEMIST FOR CASH Lesniewski appeared on Wheel of Fortune in 1994 following an arduous audition process. uinely competitive will come at the expense of his family. Graphics by Deklin Versace ‘18 and Orla Levens ‘18
PAGE 7
Score! Boys basketball Senior Night is Feb. 16 at 5 against Foreman at home.
JONESBLUEPRINT.COM @JONESBLUEPRINT FEBRUARY 9, 2018
Going for the gold
BRENDAN SCHEIB-FEELEY ‘18 BORIS FEDOROV ‘18
After spending 89 hours and 54 minutes watching Oscar nominated films, Boris Fedorov ‘18 and Brendan Scheib-Feeley ‘18 give their Oscarpinions.
BRENDAN
VS. Best Picture: Boris: “Get Out” Brendan: “Lady Bird” Lead Actor: Boris: Gary Oldman Brendan: Gary Oldman Lead Actress: Boris: Margot Robbie Brendan: Saiorse Ronan Supporting Actor: Boris: Sam Rockwell Brendan: Willem Dafoe Supporting Actress: Boris: Allison Janney Brendan: Allison Janney Director: Boris: Guillermo Del Toro Brendan: Greta Gerwig Animated Feature: Boris: “Coco” Brendan: “Coco” Animated Short: Boris: “Dear Basketball” Brendan: “Dear Basketball” Adapted Screenplay: Boris: “Call Me By Your Name” Brendan: “Mudbound” Original Screenplay: Boris: “Get Out” Brendan: “Get Out” Cinematography: Boris: “Dunkirk” Brendan: “Dunkirk” Best Documentary Feature: Boris: “Last Men in Aleppo” Brendan: “Icarus” Best Documentary Short Subject: Boris: “Heroin(e)” Brendan: “Heroin(e)” Best Live Action Short Film: Boris: “The Silent Child” Brendan: “DeKalb Elementary” Best Foreign Language Film: Boris: “A Fantastic Woman” Brendan: “The Insult” Film Editing: Boris: “Dunkirk” Brendan: “The Shape of Water” Sound Editing: Boris: “Dunkirk” Brendan: “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” Sound Mixing: Boris: “Baby Driver” Brendan: “Blade Runner 2049” Production Design: Boris: “Blade Runner 2049” Brendan: “Dunkirk” Original Score: Boris: “The Shape of Water” Brendan: “Dunkirk” Original Song: Boris: “This Is Me” Brendan: “Remember Me” Makeup and Hair: Boris: “Darkest Hour” Brendan: “Victoria and Abdul” Costume Design: Boris: “Beauty and the Beast” Brendan: “Phantom Thread” Visual Effects: Boris: “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” Brendan: “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”
“Lady Bird” Best Picture
“Lady Bird,” the most critically acclaimed movie of 2017, is a surefire pick for best picture. Greta Gerwig’s interpretation of normal life in Sacramento is something that many directors have tried and failed to tackle. However, with the combination of Gerwig’s incredible cinematic eye and Saoirse Ronan’s beautiful performance as the titular role, everyday life was captured perfectly; the reason that audiences are still raving about the film. This is the first movie that Gerwig has ever directed, so this will only be the first of many Oscars that future Gerwig movies will be collecting.
“Gary Oldman” Best Actor
Gary Oldman’s transformation into Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour” is one for the ages, as he turns in one of his most phenomenal performances of all time. His total metamorphosis that brought Churchill back to life is something that can only be achieved by the best of the best. All of Churchill’s small antics were conveyed perfectly by Oldman. Although he has stiff competition in this field with the likes of nine time nominee Denzel Washington and newcomer Daniel Kaluuya, Oldman’s wins at both the Golden Globes and SAG awards only make it certain that he will be leaving the oscars with a golden statue as his companion.
Allison Janney Best Supporting Actress Allison Janney was able to take an abusive mother and completely command an entire movie while doing so. Although Robbie’s interpretation of Harding was incredible, Janney’s role as Tonya’s mother was breathtakingly stunning. Her sheer wit was a reason that this movie was held together and she kept audiences laughing with her absurd treatment of Tonya. The ignorance that showed towards anybody that came near her and the complexity of her character are only a few reasons that she is an easy pick for Best Supporting Actress.
“Remember Me” Best Original Song
The ways that the movie “Coco” used the song Remember Me were countless, and every time it was sung, new meaning was brought to the film and the song, and more tears were flowing from the audience. The song is for anybody who was ever lost a family member or loved one, or anybody who has felt alone, or any person who has experienced daily life. It is so simple yet conveys so many different messages, and the universal message of love that it portrays is why Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez will be winning the Oscar on March 4.
BORIS “Get Out” Best Picture
“Get Out” will win Best Picture because of its sheer combination of cinematic excellence and its message of overcoming adversity within the racial tensions that continue to exist in the United States today. Beautifully written, filmed, and directed, “Get Out” opens the eyes of non-Black audiences to the horrors that African Americans commonly face. The superb production of this unique horror movie embodies the potential of positive cinematic effects on its audience and society. I’m telling you, the other nominations should just get out.
Margot Robbie Best Actress
“I, Tonya” is one of this year’s most important and game-changing films as it settles one of the most controversial incidents in American history covered by the media. What makes this film so much more special than the documentary that it could have been is Margot Robbie’s phenomenal portrayal as Tonya Harding. Though she is not favored to win, Robbie will snag the Oscar for Best Actress because of her ability to carry an entire film on her out-of-this-world character development from a redneck, world-class figure skater into an abused, world-hated criminal. Margot will shut the Oscars down, I promise you.
Sam Rockwell Best Supporting Actor Rockwell’s portrayal as a naive, racist police officer who takes “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” by storm is the bait that will inevitably reel in the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. The antagonist in a film about the aftermath of a rape and murder of a teenage girl in a small town, Rockwell finds the perfect balance between a character who is deeply despised by the audience yet still intriguing in the slightest matter. I could not get enough of Sam in this one.
Guillermo Del Toro Best Director Guillermo Del Toro is the mastermind behind this year’s most extravagant and beautifully constructed movie, “The Shape of Water.” Del Toro’s ability to keep an audience committed to a movie for two hours whose two main characters simply do not speak is accredited to his award-worthy creativity and manipulation of special effects, cinematography and direction. Talent like this is a rarity and I know that the Academy will do what the world deems necessary for Guillermo.
Students and staff make their picks for the Oscars Monique Lawson ‘21
Best Picture- “Get Out” Best Director- Jordan Peele Best Actor- Daniel Kaluuya Best Animated Picture- “Coco”
Alexis Ishmael ‘20
Julia Oppenheim ‘19
Best Picture- “Lady Bird” Best Director- Jordan Peele Best Actress- Margot Robbie Best Original Screenplay- “The Big Sick”
Best Picture- “Lady Bird” Best Director- Greta Gerwig Best Actress- Saiorse Ronan Best Actor- Timothee Chalamet
Enrique Carillo ‘18
Best Picture- “Lady Bird” Best Actor- Daniel Day-Lewis Best Actress- Margot Robbie Best Animated Picture- “Coco”
Hope Stimac, Counselor
Best Picture- “Get Out” Best Actress- Frances McDormand Best Director- Greta Gerwig Best Original Screenplay- “Get Out” Photos by Sam Donnell ‘18
PAGE 8 The Gold Standard
The PyeongChang Winter Olympics commence today. JONESBLUEPRINT.COM @JONESBLUEPRINT FEBRUARY 9, 2018
Blood, sweat and ice
Figure skaters display grueling intensity in practice, grace in competition MAGGIE TROVATO ‘19 School Staff You don’t often hear of broken legs, bad knees, sliced fingers, or stitched heads and think of figure skating. Four Jones skaters put the myth of ice skating being easy to rest, revealing the difficult and dangerous aspects of the sport. Ask a skater about the injuries they’ve seen and experienced on ice and mouths will drop. “I’ve seen a girl get run over and [had] her stomach [spliced] open,” said Jordan Fray ‘20. “They were doing a wheel, where you go around in a circle and travel really fast. One of the girls fell and the other one ran over her.” Maddie Falk ‘19 says that she even witnessed a skater go down before she performed at an ice skating show. “There were a bunch of us backstage and this one girl got slashed by a blade. She had to go to the hospital. That was pretty bad,” she said. Natalie Rudman ‘19 has not only beared witness to painful injuries
but has experienced one herself. “A week or two ago, my coach wasn’t there and we had one of our other coaches come. The other coach was like ‘okay, do this and then stop,” she said. “So I did it. We were in formation and were not connected. I couldn’t stop. I fell flat over my toepic and snapped my neck. I was in so much pain. I couldn’t move my back or my neck for multiple days. It was so bad.” B u t injuries aren’t the only thing that make figure skating an intense sport. Perfecting a spin or a jump takes relentless effort and practice. “I’ve been trying to land my jump, an axle, for about three or four years, so it’s very difficult. You’ll get on
the ice and you can spend two hours just jumping and falling,” said Fray. Falk, who has been in the same situation, has even considered quitting. “In the last couple years, I was working on a jump for a really long time. I felt like I was not getting better, so I was thinking about [quitting]. But I knew that I didn’t want to quit until I landed the jump, and I knew once I landed it, I wouldn’t want to quit.” Falk isn’t the only skater at Jones who has contemplated quitting;Fray and Rudman have too. Even Frankie Kulwin ‘20, who fell in love with skating at the age of six, has considered it. “I get frustrated easily,” Kulwin said. “I’ll get off the ice and have to take a break.” But every time these skaters have wanted to quit, the addictive nature of the sport has pulled them back in. “I always find myself coming back to it,” said Kulwin. “I had to take a year off when I g o t sick when I was younger, and that whole year I was like, ‘I just want to
go back.’ I wanted to go back so badly. I missed it so much. I don’t think I could ever really completely stop.” Rudman’s synchronized skating team is one force that keeps her on the ice week after week. “I love my team,” she said. “We had a conversation a few days ago at synchro about why we skate. I remember my entire team was like, ‘Even when you’re out there, by yourself, practicing, you don’t feel like you’re alone.’ I always have friends out on the ice and I just love the atmosphere.” For Kulwin, perfecting a trick is what keeps her skating. “[The most rewarding thing about skating is] when you learn something new and when you finally get it. As we continue to move up levels, the elements that we have to do get harder and harder, the jumps have more rotations and they’re higher. The spins are more complicated and require more flexibility. So when you finally nail something and you know that you nailed it, it’s such a great feeling of accomplishment.”
Photo courtesy of Maddie Falk ‘19
Icing on the cake
Freshman girl plays on both girls and boys hockey teams ABBY TEODORI ‘19 Lifestyles Staff SUSANA CHENMEI ‘18 School Staff The sound of blades carving into the ice can be heard just above the cheers of the crowd. In a blur of motion, a player glides down the ice on a breakaway. She whips the puck straight into the net, and the crowd begins to roar. The team swarms around her, high-fiving and patting her on the back. In a sea of helmets, one ponytail stands out. Not only does Hannah Johnson ‘21 play for the Latin School girls varsity team, she also plays with the Chicago River Dogs boys’ Bantam team. While she isn’t the only girl on the Latin team that plays club, Johnson’s case is unique, as she is the only female on an otherwise male team. “At this age group, the games are more physical because checking is allowed in boys’ hockey,” said CRD boys’ team coach, Rob Buist. “Checking isn’t allowed at younger age levels and is prohibited in girls’ hockey. Because of
this, many girls either find an all-girls team or maybe move to a different sport when they get to this age level.” The fact that Johnson plays on a boys’ team is reflected in both her playing style as well as her attitude on and off the ice. “Being on two hockey teams is a big time commitment, and if you aren’t willing to really budget your time wisely, then it can’t be done well,” said Annie Roche, one of Latin Roman High School girls’ team coaches. “Hannah is a very hard-working kid and I think that being on two teams really brings those positive attributes out of her.” This sentiment is shared by her teammates, Hannah is “a determined, dedicated, and devoted fellow freshman.” said Madison Ross ‘21 “Hannah does play on a boys’ team, but she treats everyone with the same amount of respect and appreciation as anyone,” said Ross. “I find that regardless of what team she plays on she is hardworking, loyal, and completely interested in what the game of hockey has to offer.” Being in a separate locker room
apart from her team is one of the main reasons Johnson feels a weaker connection among her teammates on the boys’ team compared t o the strong bond s h e feels with her girls’ team. “On the girls’ team there’s a lot more support, and everyone is cheering for each other on the bench and high-fiving,” Johnson said. “But I’m the only girl on the boys’ team, so I don’t get dressed in the same locker room [as my teammates]. I don’t really socialize with them. There’s not as much of a friendship.” Johnson’s feeling of isolation off the ice is felt on the ice particularly during checking drills at practice. “I do sometimes hesitate to push Johnson into the boards because with the guys, it’s always a contest [to see] who can hit each other the hardest,” said teammate of CRD boys’ team Ryan Bending. “And we don’t have that same humor [with] her.”
However, Johnson feels that her sense of separation nearly disappears during games. “I get checked at least once or twice a game because it doesn’t seem like other boys’ teams mind hitting me, so I’ve gotten used to it,” Johnson said. “It sort of encourages me now to get back up and play harder to get back at the other team.” Rather than focusing on a player’s gender, coaches focus more on a player’s hockey skills and motivation. “I don’t think it’s an issue having a girl on a predominately boys team because we evaluate every player based on their skill level,” said Buist, “In Johnson’s case, she’s been playing hockey for several years and her overall hockey skills are better than many of her male teammates who either haven’t played as long or may not have put in the same commitment to learn the sport.”
Photo courtesy of Dennis Lee Photography.
Graphics by Deklin Versace’18