Dec. 2021 Panorama by Ladue Publications

PANORAMA

LADUE HORTON WATKINS HIGH SCHOOL 1201 S. WARSON RD. ST. LOUIS, MO 63124 DECEMBER 2021 VOL. 70 ISSUE 4

*THREE SEPARATE COVERS WERE USED THIS MONTH

PANORAMA

LADUE HORTON WATKINS HIGH SCHOOL 1201 S. WARSON RD. ST. LOUIS, MO 63124 DECEMBER 2021 VOL. 70 ISSUE 4

PANORAMA

LADUE HORTON WATKINS HIGH SCHOOL 1201 S. WARSON RD. ST. LOUIS, MO 63124 DECEMBER 2021 VOL. 70 ISSUE 4

02 | TABLE OF CONTENTS

SPREAD DESIGN BY SOPHIA LIU

TABLE OF CONTENTS NEWS

BURNOUT

Changing The Curriculum True Colors Integirls Inspires Holiday Helping

5 6-7 8 9

The Harm Of Holidays

10-11

What’s Up Dog?

12-13

A Tasty Traditions Uncovering Griffith’s Principles Pablo’s Drive For Cars

14-15 16-17 18

Burnout Running On Empty Balancing Burnout

19 20-21 22-23

Editorial: Pano Perspective The Cost Of Idolization Non-Fungible Nightmare The Panocene Reviewed Skewed Spirituality

24 25 26 27 28

Hallmark In The Making A Year In Review Whatcha Listening To?

29 30-31 32-33

#FORBOB Go Figure Local Lifting Two Of A Kind

34-35 36 37 38-39

INFOGRAPHIC PHOTO

FEATURES

IN-DEPTH

OPINIONS

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

HEALTH & SPORTS

TRUE COLORS

UNCOVERING GRIFFITH’S PRINCIPLES

Pages 6-7 | News

Page 16-17 | Features

AP Studio Art students display new art showcase in Spirtas Gallery

Monday with Brad Griffith: From morning coffee to disconnecting at night

Pages 19-23 | In-Depth

A look into the effects of burnout on the Ladue community and treatments

PANO PERSPECTIVE

HALLMARK IN THE MAKING

#FORBOB

Pages!24!|!Editorial

Pages!30-31!|!A&E

Pages 34-35 | Sports

Students competing for largest workload can cause mass burnout

How to create a Christmas Hallmark movie in four simple steps

Ladue boys soccer team reaches state final motivated by loss of beloved fan

TABLE OF CONTENTS | 03

PANORAMA STAFF EDITORS IN CHIEF Domenic Fenoglio Sophia Liu Marissa Mathieson Rhea Patney

NEWS EDITOR Allen You

Olivia Chen Richie Jiang

FEATURES EDITOR Mika Kipnis

FEATURES STAFF Emmi Walker Mimi Zhou

ASSOCIATE EDITORS Clayton Coughlin Lucy Lochmoeller Oviya Srihari

IN-DEPTH EDITORS Olivia Hu Joanne Sung

ART EDITOR Danielle Zhang PHOTO EDITOR Ginger Schulte WEB EDITOR IN CHIEF Annie Pan

OPINIONS EDITORS Caroline Edgar Tariq Lashley HEALTH & SPORTS EDITOR Ryan Tung NEWS STAFF Avery Anderson

HEALTH & SPORTS STAFF Max Eastman Luke Lochmoeller STAFF WRITERS Abigail Jansen Matthew Kweon Kiran Varadachari

IN-DEPTH STAFF Mac Huffman Annie Zhao

PHOTOGRAPHERS Sydney Collinger Jack Reeves

OPINIONS STAFF Pranavi Chintha Carly Woodhill ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT STAFF Riley Coates Sophia Hillman

ARTISTS Tarek Al Husseini Erica Shi Scarlette Maier Max Yang ADVISER Sarah Kirksey

EDITOR’S NOTE With finals approaching for the first time in three semesters, there has never been a more important time to discuss burnout. Therefore, we chose to talk about student burnout as our in-depth story this month. On our front cover, back cover and throughout the in-depth, you may notice post-it notes with words and images describing the experience of feeling overwhelmed. These come directly from the Ladue student body. You may also notice that there are three different versions of our front cover. We opted for multiple covers because each person deals with stress in a unique way. Elsewhere in this issue, we take a look at the motivation behind the record setting performance of the boys soccer team, who reached the state final for the first time in school history. This is the second story we have written about the influence of fan Bobby Elzemeyer (the first being in our January issue of last year), and it is clear that his legacy will continue in the Ladue community for years to come. Other articles include a feature on our principal, two record setting runners and a recipe for a Hallmark movie. Our opinions columns tackle complicated issues such as spirituality and NFTs, and we also chose to include the first edition of a running column featured on our website laduepublications.com. Finally, as the year comes to a close, we again chose to review the months of 2021. To say the least, it has been an eventful 365 days. Therefore, Panorama wishes the student body a happy, safe holiday season and new year.

Marissa Mathieson

Domenic Fenoglio

Sophia Liu

Rhea Patney

Scan this to look at more student responses on how burnout has impacted them

04 | TABLE OF CONTENTS

SPREAD DESIGN BY RHEA PATNEY | RICHIE JIANG

PANORAMA POLICY Panorama is a monthly newspaper that strives to inform and entertain students, staff and community members and to uphold professional standards of accuracy and fairness. The publication hopes to engage the student body by eliciting dialogue among students. It aims to reflect the diversity of the population it serves and to observe the journalistic principle of doing no harm. Panorama is a member of the National Scholastic Press Association, Columbia Scholastic Press Association and Journalism Educators Association. All surveys are completely anonymous and the results cannot be used against respondents.

Panorama is produced by the newspaper class of Ladue Horton Watkins High School at 1201 S. Warson Rd., St. Louis, MO 63124. The publication lab is located in room 1311, (314)-993-6447 ext. 5844. Read more stories online at laduepublications.com. Follow @laduepublications on Instagram. Editor in chief photo by Sydney Collinger. Front and back cover photos by Mac Huffman. Front and back cover design by Sophia Liu. Corrections from the October Issue: Sela Masaki is learning Korean, not Mandarin (page 5: Masaki Masters Languages). Mahith Samarathunga’s name was spelled wrong (pages 8-9: Excelling in ESOL).

SPONSORS ISSUE Virginia & Steve Lochmoeller The Schulte Family

The Jansen Family The Mathew Family Michael McAvoy The Mulligan Family

LADUE BLUE

Southern Lochmoeller Team

The Arun Family

The Weller Family

The Coates Family The Coughlin Family The Fenoglio Family Allison Hawk The Leidenfrost Family Heidi Long, Realtor The Patney Family STL Med Law, LLC

GOLD Jeremy B. The Chang Family The Cohen Family Jeanette Dawn The Davis Family Beth & Tim Gunter

The Zhang Family

SILVER

Liz, Tom & Abby Rea The Stappenbeck Family

FRIENDLY Patrick Anderson anonymous The Brouster Family Nancy Beals

Duffy Hofer The Jiang Family Stephanie and Gregg Kinney The Kipnis Family Wanda Laks Mike & Lynne Lippmann The Liu Family Mimi’s Aunt

Breternitz Family

The Moore Family

Lindsey Anderson

Holly & Steve Brewer

The Myers Family

The Arnold Family

Chintha Family

Mary Jane Bahr

The Neuman-Howe Family

The Cox Family

The Biernacki Family

The Ning Family

Andrew Crump

The Cobaugh Family

The Ravindranath Family

Manareldeen Fajors

Amy and Jackson DiBlasi

The Fox Family

Janet & Phil Anderson

The Hawkins Family The Jurgiel Family The Li Family The Luckett Family Molly Roberts and Family

Dalton Family The Flieshers Friess Family Carolyn Gallemore Jen and Jim Goodman Anne Hillman Stuart Hillman

The Sakshi Family The Sakurai-Kearns Family Heather & Kevin Schoelmann Ana Dariq Serban Emmi Walker Family The Walton Family The You Family

NEWS | 05

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | DECEMBER 2021

CHANGING THE CURRICULUM

Teachers redesign courses for a more universal freshman experience MATTHEW KWEON staff writer

tarting in the 2022-2023 school year, teachers and administrators will be implementing universal courses for core subjects taken students’ freshman year. “The changes came from our curriculum and instructions department at the central office,” biology teacher Molly Mannix said. “They had done research and have data that says that universal classes for freshmen are better for academic achievement.” In the English department, all freshmen will take an English 9 course rather than deciding between advanced and regular literature and composition. In addition, the English department has decided to implement a variety of new books and plays.

“We have some really cool, new book club choices that go along with a book like ‘Fahrenheit [451]’ where we’re reading about rebellion,” English teacher Jennifer Hartigan said. “One of my students said that she wants to read all of these, and I think that’s pretty good feedback.” Similarly, the math department is removing the geometry concepts course and offering only geometry and advanced geometry next year. “We found out that the best way for an individual to succeed, to learn math and do it well is by giving them a rigorous course load,” math teacher Micheal Farrell said. “We had a low enrollment in geometry concepts, so we just wanted to support all learners.” The social studies department, on the other hand, is in its fourth year of implementing an universal course load

for freshmen. In addition, new electives are being introduced as alternatives to the already existing courses for sophomores, juniors and seniors. “We reorganized some of our electives based on student and teacher interests,” social studies teacher Christopher Saxton said. “[We will offer] a class on St. Louis history that will involve sociology and psychology, but using it for local examples. We will have a social history of the United States [class], and we will have an international relations post-45 class.” Although the science department is also redesigning one of its courses, freshmen biology, the changes will take two to three years. “The goal is to create a universal freshmen experience,” Mannix said. “We’re still working on what that looks like for science.” P

SHELVING OLD COURSES

Teachers explain why certain courses are being removed or replaced “What we’re looking at is restructuring our curriculum so that it best meets all students’ needs. A pro is that we’re given some time to look and see what’s working and not working, update [our curriculum] and put some new labs into it. Our goal for our long term results is that we see better scientific achievement and hopefully more enrollment in some of our AP classes because students are exposed to more science and they’re comfortable with it.”

“A lot of research shows that a student’s perception of themselves and their possibilities in high school are formed by that experience in ninth grade. So by having that universal experience, it keeps avenues open for everybody. They can go on to take advanced classes if they want to or make a choice not to if that doesn’t work for them. They don’t get stuck in a trap that isn’t the best place for them, whether that’s advanced or regular. ” CHRIS SAXTON | SOCIAL STUDIES

MOLLY MANNIX | SCIENCE

JENNIFER HARTIGAN | ENGLISH

“We found out that the best way for an individual to succeed is by giving them a rigorous course load. That doesn’t mean overwhelm them, that doesn’t mean give them harder stuff. Everyone deserves a challenging course, a course where they’re going to learn something, a course where they will be given an opportunity to grow. Geometry concepts was not allowing all students to grow as a learner, student and mathematician. We believe that all students deserve that opportunity.”

“All sophomores, juniors and seniors are eligible to take AP World, AP Euro, St. Louis history, social history of the U.S. and international relations post-45. Senior year, they will take government for one semester or the AP class. Our curriculum is focused on the idea of citizenship and voting. We thought that ending with government, when high school students are able to vote, was the most important concept so they can be active participants in our society.”

MICHEAL FARRELL | MATH

CHRISTOPHER SAXTON | SOCIAL STUDIES illustration by | RICHIE JIANG

06 | NEWS

SPREAD DESIGN BY ALLEN YOU

TRUE COLORS AP studio art students display new art showcase in Spirtas Gallery Luke Sewell

Abby Soldwish-Zoole

Natasha Theusch

Sky Colors 2

The Blue Ones

Main Street

Tori Webb Body Image

Max Yang Regrowth

Annie Li Distance

photos by | JACK REEVES & SYDNEY COLLINGER r iste

aF Nor up wn Gro

NEWS | 07

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | DECEMBER 2021

illustration by | ALLEN YOU

put together. But on the inside, it can be on student input on what looked better much more chaotic. I want to flip it so where.” news editor the inside is much more orderly and the Although the gallery requires great effort to assemble, observers need bsent nearly -three years and a outside is more chaotic.” While most only see the final not reciprocate that same effort into semester in the making, the AP studio art class unveiled their production — the piece itself and understanding the display or interpreting showcase in the Spirtas Gallery Nov. 12. sometimes the card — many invisible some deeper meaning. The artists A closing reception Jan. 10, which is hours of paint, sweat and tears are primarily want the Ladue community to open to any member of the community, devoted behind the scenes to making the look and enjoy the view. “What I want people to take away is will occur at 6 p.m. and end the showcase. art show possible. “We’ve been working on those drafts the appreciation of a stimulating piece In the meantime, students are allowed to the past three or that can just sit in its own space, and enter and observe the four months and focus on color and ability,” senior Luke artwork at any time we’re going to Sewell, photographer of “Sky Colors 2,” during the school day. be trying to do said. “A lot of people, when they look at “We want as many A lot of it’s getting out the more pieces this it and get confused, think, ‘This person is students to go in brushes, getting out the clay and sometimes getting out year,” senior Abby trying to be annoyingly deep and I don’t there and look at the the paper and just chipping S o l d w i s h - Z o o l e, get it.’ But really, it’s just the experience work as possible,” AP away at it.” painter of “The of looking at these really nice colors and studio art teacher and Blue Ones,” said. how they come together on this specific showcase organizer ABBY SOLDWISH-ZOOLE | SENIOR “A lot of it’s getting texture.” Daniel Raedeke said. out the brushes, The making of the AP studio art “So unless we’re getting out the clay, Showcase is a process defined by its changing the show and we’re in between shows, it’s going sometimes getting out the paper and just outcome, but contingent on the creativity, chipping away at it.” care, courage and commitment of each to be open.” Producing the art is only the first step. member of the class. Each student must Most students will cross paths with the Spirtas Gallery on any given school Just as daunting is trying to place each tackle the many complexities of the day, making it easy for the brightly lit piece in their most appropriate spot in artistic process at a high level. “In AP studio art, you’re giving room to catch the eyes of the student the gallery. “Group shows are challenging and [so yourself the assignment,” Raedeke said. body. But, a single glance couldn’t tell “And that’s the best the full story behind each piece. Upon a is] trying to showcase kind of assignment: second inspection, observers may notice everybody’s work Raedeke the one that you give that each artist provides a card next to equally,” yourself. Because What I want people to take their piece that gives insight into the said. “Of course, the away is the appreciation of students are all doing unlike math class, meaning behind the art. a stimulating piece that can projects in art, there are no “Each card contains the artist’s different just sit in its own space.” answers in the back thinking behind why they made the [with] a variety of of the book. In fact, piece, why the set goes together and sizes. So planning it LUKE SEWELL | SENIOR the questions aren’t what it means to them,” senior Nora out — we just kind back there either. Fister, the artist behind the collage of collaborated. I set You get to create “Grown up,” said. “For me, [my art is] things out where representative of the household. In the I thought they would look good. And your own questions and you get to house, sometimes it is outwardly very then, we move things around depending answer them.” P

ALLEN YOU

“

08 | NEWS

SPREAD DESIGN BY AVERY ANDERSON | OLIVIA CHEN

INTEGIRLS INSPIRES

All-girls club encourages women to partake in STEM AVERY ANDERSON news staff

uniors Megan Ouyang and Nicole Li sit in their respective homes, their faces illuminated by the blueish glow of their laptop screens. The Zoom application slowly begins to load as familiar faces from all around Missouri appear on screen. Members of the INTEGIRLS club log in one by one to discuss their competition Dec. 4. INTEGIRLS is a student-run club consisting of female and non-binary members that meets every two weeks. In these meetings, members discuss the logistics of planning their biannual competitions. “When planning competitions, we usually meet up to talk about the logistics because we plan the competition basically on our own,” Ouyang said. “We write the problems and do all the outreach to other schools and chapters, so we contact schools, get volunteers [and] fundraise.” INTEGIRLS is a club entirely run by students. With no administrative supervision, the pressure lies on the students to create an event over Zoom that still encapsulates the importance of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and the importance of women and non-binary people in STEM. “We hope to make an environment for girls and non-binary students who like STEM,” Li said. “To have a place to be around other people who are interested in it too.” Even though having competitions online isn’t ideal for a typically hands-on club, organizers of the event like Ouyang and Li have come up with ways to keep the competitions engaging, influencing new members to join. “For us, the main aspect of pre-

paring is outreaching,” Li said. “This year, we’re focusing more on rural areas, because most of our members are from St. Louis, Columbia and other big cities, and these rural areas are often underepresented.” Along with utilizing breakout rooms to create teams consisting of members from different schools in the Missouri chapter, speakers are also brought in to talk. This spring, a female physics professor as well as a female astronaut came to talk to members of the club. INTEGIRLS and these competitions strive to produce a more inclusive STEM world for women. “I’m someone who’s very interested in STEM,” Ouyang said. “For me, it’s like helping girls rediscover their passion for math and science.” Ouyang’s math and physics classes are primarily made up of males — something she has noticed before in other classes and math competitions. The lack of female representation in STEM is what pushed her to join INTEGIRLS. Ouyang’s main goal is to have girls and non-binary students feel represented and comfortable expressing their interest in STEM. “I say, if you’re going to join, just go for it,” Ouyang said. “You might think, ‘Oh, I’m the only girl who’s interested in STEM,’ but that’s really not the case.” Li and Ouyang want INTEGIRLS to be a safe space where people can express their love of STEM. INTEGIRLS helps inspire women and non-binary students to create more of a diverse STEM community. “Women have, traditionally speaking, been left out of roles that involved stuff like medicine,” Li said. “That really shouldn’t be the case. Don’t be afraid to try STEM, we’re working to create an enviornment where you can try it and love it.” P

BELOW: Junior Nicole Li writes down information about December’s INTEGIRLS meeting. She is working on fundraising. “There’s a lot of pressure in planning,” Li said. (Photo by Avery Anderson)

REVEALING REPRESENTATION The percentage of women compared to men in STEM courses worldwide

females

males

61%

63%

39%

81%

37% 19%

19%

physical mathematical computer sciences sciences sciences

engineering sciences

Source: STEM Women

8% of the 38% of working women in 1970 worked in STEM

rk wo

Men 52%

force in 20 19

Women 48%

orkforce in 1 97 ew 0 Th

Women 38%

Men 62%

27% of the 48% of working women in 2019 worked in STEM

NEWS | 09

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | DECEMBER 2021

MISSION: ST. LOUIS

ST. LOUIS TRACK CLUB

Affordable Christmas 2021

The Frostbite Series 2021-2022

WHEN: December

WHEN: Dec. 11 to Feb. 5

WHAT: Provides toys to over 1,200 children through donations and drives

WHAT: A series of long and short races including a variety of lengths from two miles to a 20K

WHERE: Virtual event, in-person toy drive locations on website

WHERE: Forest Park Visitors Center

HOW: Purchase toys from wishlists, supply gingerbread house kits to families, drop off toys at certain locations

HOW: Bring used athletic shoes to donate or bring canned foods that will go to Operation Food Search

HOLIDAY HELPING A look at organizations around St. Louis working to spread holiday cheer illustration by | OLIVIA CHEN

Source: Mission: St. Louis Winter Outreach, St. Louis Track Club, Heat Up St. Louis

STL WINTER OUTREACH

HEAT UP ST. LOUIS

WHAT: Offers clothes, transportation and shelter to the homeless

WHAT: Helps elderly and disabled people and low-income families pay heating bills

WHERE: MoKaBe’s Coffeehouse

WHERE: St. Louis area

HOW: Volunteer for their outreach, shuttle or shelter groups

HOW: Make donations, volunteer for the 22nd annual Hardee’s “Rise and Shine for Heat” in February

WHEN: Winter season

DECEMBER DEEDS Q&A with sophomore Ellie Craft, a volunteer at Disabled Athlete Sports Association (DASA)

WHEN: Winter season

How long have you been

What do they do?

volunteering at Disabled

They help kids with disabilities

Athlete Sports Association?

participate in sports activities.

About five months.

I volunteer for the swim

Describe a memorable

lessons [once a week].

moment from volunteering?

What qualities does DASA

Last time I was volunteering

look for in a volunteer?

the kid I was swimming with

You kind of have to be good

was singing Chirstmas carols

with kids and willing to put

in the pool.

in a lot of effort.

10 | INFOGRAPHIC

SPREAD DESIGN BY CLAYTON COUGHLIN

THE HARM OF HOLIDAYS

Nationwide repercussions of overspending due to holidays HOLIDAY HIGHLIGHTS Holiday spending by state Breaking down holiday spending habits 65+ years

$2,388 $489

Per person, Maryland ranks

for most holiday spending

State stats

Highest Spending

55-64 years

$1,321

45-54 years

$1,145

35-44 years

$843

25-34 years

$664

18-24 years

Holiday spending by age

Lowest Spending

Per person, Missouri ranks

for most holiday spending

Per person Flower Mound, Texas leads the country in holiday spending at

$3,427 COMPARISONS WITH CHRISTMAS How total spending on holidays match up against money spent on Christmas

BY THE NUMBERS Shocking consumption statistics

360 250 1.5 More than

million glasses

million roses are

drank on

DAY

of champagne are

NEW

YEAR’S

made for Valentine’s

EVE

billion pounds of PUMPKINS

produced

because of

Halloween

700 150 2 BILLION million marshmallow

PEEPS sold leading up to Easter

million hot dogs eaten on the 4TH OF JULY

Black Friday/ Cyber Monday

Easter

EACH YEAR 729 B

Christmas

Valentine’s Day

birthday cards sent

148.5 B 27.4 B 18.1 B

Sources: The Motley Fool, The Chamber of Commerece, WalletHub, Stanford, The Tatva, The Spruce, 24/7 Wallstreet, AgHires, The Gallery Collection, Statista, MarketWatch, Good Housekeeping, Clothingric, finder, The National Retail Foundation, Mint Life, World Atlas

INFOGRAPHIC | 11

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | DECEMBER 2021

THE MOST WASTEFUL TIME OF YEAR November and December make more waste than any other months

Americans spend of

15%

Planned yearly budget for Christmas from 2008-2021

of a month’s income on Christmas

800

Christmas cards sent

600 Time In the months of November and December, we throw away 25% more trash than any time of the year. That means every week an extra

1,000,000

tons builds up in landfills during the holiday season.

WHAT IF...

sent six less Christmas cards?

10%

Poland

38,000

football fields

United States

A MONTH OF MONEY MAP

Romania Czechia

United Kingdom

million

miles of ribbon, enough to tie a bow around the Earth.

30%

Spain Italy

billion

We would save more than

20%

Austria

pounds of food wasted due to Thanksgiving

reused two feet of ribbon?

We would save enough wrapping paper to cover

We would save enough paper to overflow the entire Epcot ball. France

million

wrapped three gifts in old wrapping paper?

every American family

trees cut for Christmas

364 2.65 120

40%

Dollars

1000

illustration by | CLAYTON COUGHLIN

How much of a month’s income do different countries spend on Christmas

12 | PHOTO

SPREAD DESIGN BY SYDNEY COLLINGER

Senior Anna Cochran and her dog Louie, an Australian Shepard, rest on a sidewalk in the Central West End. Her family recently moved to the Central West End, but Cochran still attends Ladue High School. “If you’re lying on the couch and it’s nighttime, he’ll come and just lie on top of you and go to sleep,” Cochran said. “So that’s a pretty nice little activity we have going on.” (photos by Sydney Collinger)

WHAT’S UP DOG?

From a tailless, urban-living dog to a three legged pit mix, the love for dogs across St. Louis is endless

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | DECEMBER 2021

Freshman Emma Bangert and their dog Luke, a pit mix with three legs, play with a frisbee in the grass. Losing one of his hind legs by jumping out the back of a truck did not impair Luke’s ability to have fun and play with Bangert. “He’s my best friend,” Bangert said. “The first night we had him at our house, I slept on the couch right next to his bed.” (photo by Sydney Collinger)

Q&A WITH ANNA COCHRAN Q: What was the thought process behind Louie’s name? A: We used to have a dog named Clark, so we were originally going to name this one Lewis, so it’d be Lewis and Clark. But, then we just shortened it to Louie because it’s cute. Q: Is there something super funny that Louie does? A: Yeah, he doesn’t have a tail, so when he wants to wag [his tail] he just shakes his entire butt. It’s the funniest thing to watch. [He does this when] he meets someone new and

when he’s very excited. He’s just a pretty happy dog, so [he does it] a lot of the time. Q: Since you moved to the Central West End from Ladue recently, how has Louie changed his behavior due to this move? A: Where I used to live [in Ladue], we had a pretty big yard, so he could run around a lot. But now we don’t really have a yard anymore. We have to walk him at least once a day, which I do at least. So that’s been kind of new for him. I think he really likes it though.

PHOTO | 13

14 | FEATURES

SPREAD DESIGN BY MIMI ZHOU

A TASTY TRADITION Junior celebrates Christmas with special Polish 12 meal tradition KIRAN VARADACHARI

dumplings with mushrooms. Then, you have pierogi with cheese and potatoes. There are a lot of different soups. Finalishes from steaming soups ly, the biggest part is dessert, where you and dumplings to rich cakes have boski, which are like little cakes, and and pastries stretch as far as makowiec, which is a roll made with popthe eye can see. Meanwhile, dozens of py seeds.” family members surround the array of With each type of dish comes a diffood to rejoice and celebrate the comferent meaning rooted inside. A standard pletion of another Roman-Catholic successful year. Wigilia dinner conThis scene is jusists of 12 dishes, nior Maria Wochone to represent Everyone brings something each month of the niak’s Christmas so we are able to have a Eve dinner. New Year. Each enhuge feast. There is plenty Holiday tradicompasses a differtions are a staple ent virtue and symof food to go around. of family lifestyle. bolizes not only the MARIA WOCHNIAK | JUNIOR end of a year, but They tie the past to the present and also the beginning represent a family’s cultural heritage, of a new year. ideology and values. In the Wochniak “Honey is viewed as a magical subfamily, their Polish tradition is showstance symbolizing joy and abundance,” cased in a Christmas Eve celebration Urbanczyk-Wochniak said. “Poppy seeds called ‘Wigilia.’ symbolize the connection with the outer “There is a lot of tradition relatworld, and [the] fish is a symbol of fertiled to this day, which we continue to ity, vitality and new life, as well as Chriscelebrate,” Ewa Urbanczyk-Wochniak, tianity as a whole.” Wochniak’s mother, said. “Before sitFor Wochniak, the Wigilia dinner is ting down at the table, everyone breaks filled with a wide assortment of foods, the traditional wafer, called ‘Oplatek,’ ranging from appetizers to desserts. One and exchanges good wishes for health, of her favorite parts of her Wigilia experiwealth and happiness. The Oplatek is ence is being able to sit down at the table similar to the altar bread in the Roand savor her favorite foods. man-Catholic Church. [It’s] known “My favorite is typically the as the bread of love and is often sent soup filled with mushrooms by mail to the absent members of the that is made with ushfamily. There is always an extra place ki,” Wochniak said. at the table for an unexpected guest.” “The little dumpThe Roman-Catholic Church has a lings inside the large influence on Polish tradition. For soup makes example, Wochniak’s family sits down you feel for their Christmas Eve dinner in the morning and attends a church service at noon. “It’s a meatless dinner,” Wochniak said. “There are three different types of main dishes. You have little staff writer

“

all warm inside. My favorite dessert would definitely be makowiec. Eating them always gives me a comfort feeling, especially because I don’t always eat them often.” The Wochniak family typically sticks to traditional family favorites when placing dishes on the table. When possible, Polish Roman-Catholic families generally choose the same types of dishes as past years, making only a few small changes to the menu. “It’s pretty similar throughout most families,” Wochniak said. “You can add different things into the dinner, like dumplings, or switch up the soups a little bit. The most important part of it is the idea that no one eats meat.” The Wigilia dinner is one of the most important routines in a Polish-Catholic Christmas. The dinner tradition extends across the Polish community. “It’s always so much fun to spend time with family and friends who have the same traditions,” senior Erika Maguire said.

FEATURES | 15

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | DECEMBER 2021 “Eating foods like ryba po greku, [a Greek-style fish], always brings our family together.” Spending time with friends and family is a vital part of many holiday celebrations. As her Wigilia tradition continues to evolve, Wochniak’s mother cherishes the time she spends with her loved ones. “In recent years, I am very fortunate to have several good friends who also grew up in Poland and celebrate Wigilia with my family in St. by n Louis,” Urbanczyk-Wochtio niak said. “When we are a r meeting to celebrate st u l Wigilia, each il family brings their fa-

vorite dishes, so we typically have more than 12 [dishes] to try. It really is the best time of the year.” P

O ZH

MAKOWIEC

(Maria’s favorite dessert)

BAKED FISH

MINI DUMPLINGS

MUSHROOM SOUP PIEROGI

(Maria’s favorite dish)

USHKI SOUP

(Maria’s favorite soup)

MARIA WOCHNIAK (11)

16 | FEATURES

SPREAD DESIGN BY MIKA KIPNIS

UNCOVERING GRIFFITH’S PRINCIPLES Monday with Brad Griffith: From morning coffee to disconnecting at night MIKA KIPNIS

4:45 a.m.

features editor

Griffith starts his day bright and early, waking up at 4:45 a.m. A morning essential? One cup of joe. Next, Griffith walks his dog, Joy, a rescue dachshund mix around the age of 6.

Griffith gets anywhere from 15-20 emails overnight, at which point, he goes through them now.

5:30 a.m. Griffith coordinates with his wife about “who’s doing what, when and where,” with four kids participating in numerous activities.

6:30 a.m. Griffith looks through his calendar and daily to-do list to see what’s going on throughout the course of the day.

Griffith arrives to school and sets up for the day.

7:15 a.m.

adue Horton Watkins High School, housing 1,300 students and 177 total staff members, is still and silent in the early hours of 6:30 a.m.. Principal Brad Griffith begins his school day by pulling up in his car, unlocking the door to his office and opening his calendar to see what’s scheduled for the day. While Griffith tries to stick to his schedule — be it meetings or conferences — there is nothing that he can ever plan for, as a big part of his job centers around how unpredictable every day is. This is what makes the job exciting for Griffith, because he enjoys the pace of going to meetings, troubleshooting, working with parents, staff, central office and addressing any concerns that may come up on a day-to-day basis. “What’s awesome is that from 7:30 to 2:30, I sometimes don’t even know what happened to the day,” Griffith said. “I am never looking at the clock. The only thing I define my day by is when I see buses come in and then when I see them leave. That’s my clock.” Griffith didn’t always know he wanted to be an administrator. Before becoming principal of LHWHS, he taught history at the Metro Academic and Classical High School in St. Louis for three years. He later

The first bus arrives, meaning Griffith must go out and direct traffic.

moved to Arlington, Virginia, where he taught AP Government at Georgetown Preparatory School, an all-boys private Catholic boarding school for a few years, before returning to St. Louis and Ladue. “I had no intention of going into administration,” Griffith said. “My second year [at Georgetown Preparatory school], they had an administrative shake up. Since at private schools you don’t need to have the certification requirements like you need to have at public schools, the headmaster basically walked up to me and said, ‘Congratulations, you’re now the assistant dean of students.’” Since then, Griffith has learned about what it takes to be a principal. One of his missions is to be “visible” for students, staff and parents. This means he tries to be available for anyone who may want to have a 15-second conversation during the passing periods or lunch. With suspensions rising up and social-emotional concerns increasing this year, Griffith and administrative team members are doing their best to work with students and families in addressing these concerns. Every Monday, Griffith meets with his administrative team to “get together and plan for the week.”

7:30 a.m.

The bell rings and the school day begins.

illustration by | MIKA KIPNIS

FEATURES | 17

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | DECEMBER 2021

LEFT: Brad Griffith talks on the phone with a colleague. He planned his day with his to-do list. “I keep an active to-do list and then cross stuff off. I also have a handy folder where I have all of my supervision information,” Griffith said. (Photo by Jack Reeves) BELOW: Griffith’s day is packed with meetings and events, oftentimes making it hard to keep track of time. He directs traffic in the afternoon. “I wait until I see the first bus come in and that’s my cue to go out,” Griffith said. (Photo by Mika Kipnis)

“A key component to the job is Not only is Griffith the principal of that visibility and accessibility to the school, but he is also a full time students and to staff, even if we’re dad to four girls — who have very inundated with whatever the case active lives themselves — in addimay be,” Griffith said. “We make tion to the fact that he is finishing every effort his dissertation. when students This means he are transitionA key component to the spends countless ing [between hours researchjob is that visibility and ing articles and classes] to be accessibility to students writing his disas visible as we can. This means sertation. Many and staff. dropping meetmay see him as BRAD GRIFFITH | PRINCIPAL ings and getjust a principal ting into the within the walls hallways for those 15-second conof Ladue, but fellow colleague and versations, a quick follow up with a friend Adam Stirrat believes Griffith teacher or, of course, for safety.” is a role model for teachers, adminStudents such as senior Jaelyn Leistration and students alike. ver recall that the “conversation I “It’s a really simple thing that he had with Mr. Griffith made my day.” does naturally,” Stirrat said. “Mr. After “making eye contact and seeGriffith brings in really talented, ing him smile,” Lever decided to hard working teachers, and though talk with Griffith during the passing he provides the structures and properiod. The two began talking and cess for our teachers to follow, he instantly striked up a conversation steps back and lets them do what he about Lever’s passion: art. hired them to do.” P

“

5:00 p.m. Griffith begins to unwind from the day, which means transitioning from emails and work to family time.

Meetings

2:45 p.m. “The only thing I define my day by is when I see buses come in and then when I see them leave. That’s my clock.”

2:15 p.m. Meetings

9:00 a.m.

9:05 a.m.

Passing period Admin supervises the hallways. They’re there to have conversations and ensure safety.

10:40 a.m.

This is the time when it is most common for Griffith to address student issues

Griffith joins meetings. Many of them are still on Zoom, which he believes is one of the best things that has come from COVID-19.

12:55 p.m.

18 | FEATURES

SPREAD DESIGN BY EMMI WALKER | MAC HUFFMAN

FRESHMEN BECOME ENTREPRENEURS Pablo Salkoff and Noah Temple start a new car detailing business EMMI WALKER features staff

nches of dirt on the floor mats and undefined stains on seats are what freshmen Pablo Salkoff and Noah Temple clean up. People drop off their cars in any condition at Salkoff’s and Temple’s car detailing business, The Perfect Shine. After leaving their cars in horrible condition, the customers come back to a shiny car that looks brand new. “It is really cool being able to figure things out because problems are thrown at you and no one has any idea how to fix them,” Salkoff said. “When you [solve the problem, it] feels cool to give people fresh starts.” Salkoff and Temple enjoyed starting a business as best friends, but that doesn’t mean there have not been complications. They have been challenged in many areas. Their abili-

ties to perform quality services are often underestimated because of their age. “A lot of people thought it was a joke,” Salkoff said. “Obviously as a teen entrepreneur, no one believes in you.” Salkoff came up with the idea of starting the business because of his passion for cars and introduced it to Temple. Similar to Salkoff, Temple also loves cars. The two met in sixth grade and bonded. “[Pablo] said it was a side hustle we could both do and asked if I could do it,” Temple said. “I was super excited, and we started brainstorming how to start and get information out to gain popularity for the business.” Salkoff and Temple have been proving the doubters wrong by successfully detailing three cars ever since they opened their business this summer. One of those cars provided a unique opportunity for them to clean a “nice two seater.” Not only did they get the chance to clean

the car, but they also learned about business as well. “I think the advantage [to starting a business] is that you can get a head start on life,” Salkoff said. “You can build your bank up a little and learn more about money at a younger age. It teaches you responsibility and management skills.” While his business, and everything that comes along with it, is often on his mind, Salkoff continues to work hard in school. Despite the fact that at a young age he is already successful, he remains humble and cares for others. “He is a determined guy,” junior Nick Tabscott, Salkoff’s link leader, said. “He enjoys doing things for others, and he has a lot of hard working kind of motivation.” Pablo created his business to contribute to the community around him. He wants to create a business that helps others. “I saw a lot of people detailing incorrectly,” Salkoff said. “I wanted to provide a service that was done correctly.” P

PERFECTLY SHINY MAKEOVERS A closer look at their business: The Perfect Shine Services Provided • Platinum Detail: cleans inside • Carpet Cleaning: carpet deep clean • Engine Bay Detail: cleans engine

Support Salkoff on Instagram @theperfectshine2021

BEFORE & AFTER

(Photo courtesy of Pablo Salkoff)

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | DECEMBER 2021

IN-DEPTH | 19

photo illustration by | MAC HUFFMAN

20 | IN-DEPTH

SPREAD DESIGN BY OLIVIA HU

RUNN

Examining how burnou

OVIYA SRIHARI associate editor

ANNIE ZHAO in-depth staff

“

vary as well. However, the most commonly seen symptoms are extreme exhaustion, feelings of hopelessness, mood swings, insomnia and difficulty completing everyday tasks such as hygiene, cleaning or organization.

illustration by | OLIVIA HU

wake up in the morning, and I’m exhausted,” junior David Ciorba began, listing the classes, sports and extracurricular activities that lie ahead. Ciorba’s day can start as early as 5:30 a.m. with a ACADEMIC BURNOUT workout, then to school by 7 a.m. where Although Ladue boasts academic he will stay until 5 p.m., having finished excellence and acceptances from elite diving or wrestling practice. Ciorba’s colleges, the price paid is steep; when first moment of spare time — spent playstudents try to maintain their grades, ing Animal Crossing or relaxing with his play sports, participate in clubs and aplittle brother — begins at 9:30 p.m., 16 ply to colleges all at hours after the first once, they stretch (or second, or third) themselves so thin alarm of the mornthey snap. ing. And although You feel like you’re on a “On one hand, this is David Ciorba’s treadmill and the school year sometimes I do apprestory, the harsh realis a marathon. It’s like a sprint ciate the competitive ity is that it’s eerily but you just have to keep going culture within Ladue and going and going.” similar to many Lasince it really can due students. push you to achieve ALYSON LEVINE | TEACHER “When the stress more,” freshman Bolevel gets so high, we han Pan said. “But almost shut down,” at the same time, it can be stressful and 11th grade counselor Dr. Claire Welton tiring. Competing creates a lot of stress said. “Stress can manifest itself in very to do well. ” different ways in different people. You can see it as mental breakdowns, in social anxiety, in schooling anxiety and in EXTRACURRICULAR BURNOUT school avoidance.” The narrative of what a high schooler This is burnout. should be has changed. In order to deBecause it takes different forms in crease the pressure on test scores and each individual, burnout’s symptoms grades, institutions moved towards ho-

“

IN-DEPTH | 21

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | DECEMBER 2021

NING ON EMPTY

ut has affected students and staff in the past year

listic reviews of candidates. But inadvertently, this ended up manufacturing formulaic approaches to what students should be spending free time doing in order to offer colleges a depersonalized display of their potentials. “In sports, specifically, there’s a motivation to specialize,” Ciorba said. “But as someone who likes to do a lot of different stuff, I don’t really want to specialize in just one sport, so I’m diving and wrestling. That’s pretty difficult because it takes a lot of time. In both seasons, there comes a point where practice feels like it’s five hours long, because I’m just ready to go and things get really repetitive. If my goals aren’t always met, I feel super down. A lot of times, I can’t really enjoy the same things that I might have enjoyed prior.” CREATIVE BURNOUT Eileen Suarez, like most seniors, has been swept up in the college application process. She seeks acceptance into an art school, which means that her applications — as well as her burnout — looks a lot different. “For me, burnout from schoolwork is a lot easier to deal with,” Suarez said. “Especially because I can stop doing the homework and just talk to my teachers. With creative burnout, it’s just me and my own expectations. Around middle school, there was a certain period in my

life that I just stopped drawing for, like three to four years. And even though a lot of people would tell me, ‘wow, you’re so good,’ ‘you should be an artist’ or ‘you should do art when you grow up,’ I wanted to tell them [that] I don’t have it in me anymore. My hands could move and physically I could draw, but I still couldn’t make art.”

ademically. They really lost a year of social, emotional and academic rigor. It’s not that they can’t do it — they forgot how to.” BEYOND BURNOUT

“Students are feeling like they can’t adjust; they might be used to going out 100 miles an hour, but really they need to slow down a bit,” Welton said. “StuEDUCATOR BURNOUT dents should know their warning signs Balancing student wellbeing, academ- and make sure that when they see those ic skill gaps, curriculum requirements warning signs, they [can] veer off and and their own needs post-pandemic has [get] support from a counselor, friends exacerbated stress levels among teach- or parents.” ers. Since 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. is dedicated Welton emphasizes that asking for to school, chemistry and A. P. chem- assistance is never a sign of weakistry teacher Alyson Levine is just ness, but the opposite. Being honest one of dozens who find it difficult to enough to recognize the limits of what’s maintain a balance befeasible is incredibly tween their work and difficult in the modpersonal life. ern day busy cul“The school year is ture, but it remains a like a fast marathon, crucial step towards but people just have to building stronger keep going and gomentalities. ing and going,” Levine “I try to breathe,” said. “COVID made it sophomore MJ Bezburnout from students worse. As a teacher, zant said. “I go outand staff interviews you have to get all the side and get some material done and you fresh air before races have to worry about or listen to music. everybody. I try to make sure all the kids It’s an outlet, it’s a good way to calm you are doing well [and] everything is okay down before you’re about to jump into with them socially, emotionally and ac- the water.” P

READ MORE ABOUT

22 | IN-DEPTH

SPREAD DESIGN BY MAC HUFFMAN

BALANCING BURNOUT Looking at common causes, symptoms and treatments of burnout in students

Student burnout rates during COVID-19

71% in April 2021

40%

in August 2020

illustration by | JOANNE SUNG & MAC HUFFMAN

Students spend 17.5 HOURS on homework a week, enough to watch the entire “Harry Potter” Series

56% 87% of students say homework is a primary stress source

of students say education causes anxiety and stress

PHYSICAL

EMOTIONAL

BEHAVIORAL

•Frequent headaches •Change in sleeping and eating habits

•Loss of motivation •Lack of satisfaction with accomplishments

• Procrastination •Withdrawing from responsibilities

IN-DEPTH | 23

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | DECEMBER 2021

3. Reduce work load

1. Find the source of the burnout

2. Take time to do things you enjoy

4. Reorganize schedule

5. Incorporate in the long run

6-7workout 7-3 school 3-4 clubs 5-7 practice 8-11 homework

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES WashU’s WashU’sPsychological Psychological Service ServiceCenter Center

The Trevor Project The Trevor Project

Suicide prevention and mental • Mental health services for LGBTQ+ youth health services for LGBTQ+ • Trevor Lifeline: 1-866-488-7386 youth

• Low-cost or free mental health low-cost or free mental treatment • Call and set up: 314-935-6555 health treatment

• Trevor Text: START to 678-678

Trevor Lifeline: 1-866-488-7386 Trevor Text: START to 678-678

Calm

CalmHelp when you need it • Breathing and meditation sessions • Helps reduce anxiety and stress • Users download in app store search for can local health clinics

and therapists in price range

Help When You Need It

• Search for local health clinics and therapists in price range • Listings for mental health, social services and substance abuse

Set up an appointment: 314-935-6555

Happify

Headspace

• Games and activities developed by scientists • Specialized in positive meditation with access psychology andapp cognitive behavior

guided lessons

Headspace

• Meditation app with access to guided lessons • Helps users decompress and maintain a healthy balance in life

Sources: healthline, understood, help guide, Harvard business review, ADA, Ohio state

24 | EDITORIAL

SPREAD DESIGN BY RHEA PATNEY | PRANAVI CHINTHA

illustration by | DANIELLE ZHANG

PANO PERSPECTIVE Students competing for largest workload can cause mass burnout 30 out of 30 Panorama staff members agree

ou only got four hours of sleep last night? Well, I pulled an all-nighter. You have three tests this week? That’s nothing, I have three tests, two quizzes and an essay. Conversations where students banter and brag about their lack of sleep or excessive workloads have permeated virtually every classroom and hallway at Ladue. Effectively speaking, students are competing to “suffer” more than their fellow peers. It should come as no surprise that students’ mental health drastically declines when they are constantly comparing themselves and their workloads. Especially since navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health struggles have exacerbated the toxic competition between students tenfold. Even though first semester has yet to come to a close, students are noticeably experiencing extreme levels of burnout en masse. This trend has been corroborated across the nation. For instance, in a survey conducted by The Ohio State University, student burnout escalated from 40% in August 2020 to 71% in April 2021 — a 31% increase in mere months. Despite its destructive nature, taking on excessive workloads is glorified in today’s hustle culture. Experiencing burnout — a natural byproduct of overworking oneself — is sometimes even viewed as a trophy. However, it is imperative to dismantle this mindset and acknowledge the damaging effects

of burnout. According to the Association For Psychological Science, burnout can culminate in the impairment of cognitive functioning — taking a toll on one’s ability to problem solve, recall memories and social skills. Burnout can even infiltrate people’s lives in the long run, often correlating with depression, anxiety and sleep difficulties. Although there is no formula that will eliminate the competitive nature of being a student, being cognizant of mental health and well-being — especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic — is more important than ever. Incorporating enjoyable small steps and activities can play an integral role in healing students’ relationships with their mental health. Consider taking a few minutes a day to do something that is genuinely enjoyable: painting, reading or going on a walk. Another way to prioritize mental health is to step back from taking on an excessive workload. Being able to say “no” to an additional task or extracurricular opportunity is a rare skill in the competitive world that we live in, but entirely necessary to fully take care of ourselves. Above all, it is essential to remember that everyone experiences different adversities in varying circumstances. So, instead of relegating fellow students to toxic competition, offer support and a shoulder to lean on. P

Editorial Note: Each editorial, Panorama selects an issue that the staff thinks is important to address and expresses a view that belongs to the majority of the staff. Panorama welcomes the opinions of its readers, and encourages letters to the editors. Please bring signed letters to room 1311 or email Panorama at publications01@ladueschools.net. Panorama reserves the right to revise submissions for length as long as original intent remains unaltered.

OPINIONS | 25

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | DECEMBER 2021

THE COST OF IDOLIZATION

Putting celebrities on a pedestal means setting ourselves up for disappointment PRANAVI CHINTHA

opinions staff

illustration by | PRANAVI CHINTHA

e all have rules for ourselves. Some people work out daily, control their screen time, follow a diet or perhaps, if you’re like me, you may follow only one rule: don’t get attached to celebrities. Why? Because they always disappoint. With great power comes great responsibility, but when we set high expectations for people that we don’t know, it shouldn’t be surprising when they fail to meet them. We have always been taught that “nobody’s perfect” — Hannah Montana wrote a very catchy song about it — but for some reason, we haven’t learned to extend this to celebrities. Since we often view celebrities as untouchable figures that could do no wrong, when they’re met with valid criticism, we’re quick to defend them from those accusations. We want to believe that the people we look up to are perfect so badly that it ends up clouding our judgment, and we overlook the victims of their actions. Celebrities, like everybody else, need to be held accountable when they mess up, not excused from repercussions. With the recent rise in “cancel culture,” it begs the question: what does it mean to “cancel” someone? This word seems to spark fear in not only celebrities, but any social media user, with “canceling” being seen as a terrifying prospect that could completely strip away someone’s future. Truthfully, the stigma surrounding this word has been blown out of proportion. Holding someone accountable for their actions isn’t about ruining their life. In fact, believe it or not, posts made by a bunch of strangers online hold little to no power over a celebrity’s entire career. At most, a trending cancelation on Twitter may result in them posting a poorly written notes app apology on so-

cial media and moving on with their day. While we should be able to support the people we like and enjoy their content, at the end of the day, all we really know about them is what we see on our screens. By deluding ourselves into thinking we understand the intentions of someone who we only know through their careful self-curation on the Internet, we lose our ability to assess a situation critically and without biases. While following a celebrity so closely, it’s easy to be blinded by obsession. Valid criticism of a celebrity’s actions often results in supporters scrambling to defend their honor without a second thought. Idols derive their power from the people that idolize them. The more we idolize them, the more influence they have over us. Not only do we dehumanize them by putting them on a pedestal, we also create a false reality in which celebrities are immune to consequences. We get angry when a celebrity faces backlash, we celebrate their accomplishments and we treat them like a friend and not a stranger. This is otherwise known as a parasocial relationship — a one-sided relationship — most often between a fan and an idol. Fans end up believing that celebrities care as much about them as they care about their favorite celebrities. As we become more dependent on social media in our every day lives, personal details of a creator’s life can be casually shared in the form of a tweet or an Instagram post. We can so easily learn about someone’s entire life through a quick scroll, that when a celebrity decides to not share everything about their life, people get worried. Celebrities don’t owe us anything. They’re flawed, imperfect people just like us and when we choose to idolize them, we choose to set ourselves up for disappointment. As fans, it’s important to keep our distance from the people we claim to support, in order to limit their power and keep them responsible for their actions. P

26 | OPINIONS

SPREAD DESIGN BY CAROLINE EDGAR | MARISSA MATHIESON

NON-FUNGIBLE NIGHTMARE The popularity of NFTs causes more harm than they are worth CARLY WOODHILL opinions staff

f you’ve been anywhere on the internet at all for the past couple of months, then you’ve heard about NFTs. The term ‘NFT’ is an acronym for ‘Non-Fungible Token,’ aka ‘total scam.’ NFT can represent any form of data stored on a blockchain, which is as a sort of digital record of each individual transaction that provides a transparent history and cannot be changed later on down the line. Supposedly, this is meant to create an ultra-reliable digital record, but lately, the term ‘blockchain’ just gets tacked on to every other digital product as a buzzword. NFTs are bought and sold utilizing cryptocurrency, which is another concept that would take hours to accurately explain, so I’ll try and sum it up with a quick analogy. Crossword money. That’s it. You fill out crosswords and get digital money. Except it’s actually a computer doing the crosswords, and there’s a limited number of crosswords, and they’re extremely difficult and take large amounts of comput-

ing power and therefore use ridiculously large amounts of electricity, and there aren’t any organizations regulating the crosswords. Make sense? No? Neither do NFTs. Something that is easy to understand, though, is the extreme, negative environmental impact that NFTs create. Because mining cryptocurrency takes so much computing power, they use a lot of energy, and that energy has to come from somewhere. To put it into perspective, the electrical cost of mining one Bitcoin, a currency that NFTs are traded with, is roughly equivalent to the power one residence in the U.S. uses up within nine years, according to the University of Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index. That energy is largely coming from fossil fuels, which source 40% of the electricity used in the U.S. Those fuels are burning up into the atmosphere. Even with attempts to slow climate change, all of the toxic gasses produced will remain in the atmosphere for years to come. NFTs just don’t make sense to me. And, sure, I can see why one might say ‘oh well if you don’t understand them,

then why are you writing an article about them,’ and to those people I say, do YOU understand NFTs? Do you really? Can you confidently say that you understand the process by which they are created and traded and that you also understand why people are buying into the concept? If you answered yes to those questions, you are lying to me. Because it doesn’t make sense. I mean, if you think about it for more than a couple seconds, then you are able to come to the obvious conclusion that it’s all part of a ridiculously convoluted money laundering scheme. Ignoring that part, it makes no sense! Who is paying for what is typically bad art? So many of them look like a copy and pasted template. You are able to commission unique and beautiful art all over the internet and this is what people are buying into? And, of course it isn’t the average person that is sinking money into these things. It’s the ultra-rich laundering money from one place to another with a fun little coverup, leaving the public to scratch their heads and think about what brought us to this point. P

THE PRICE WE PAY The real cost of NFTs is outrageously expensive Both Ethereum (The most commonly used cryptocurrency for trading NFTS) and the country of Nigeria use 31 terawatt hours of electricity per year

One bitcoin transaction utilizes 1,173 kilowatt hours of electricity, which could power a typical American home for 6 whole weeks illustration by | CAROLINE EDGAR

Source: The Conversation, MoneySuperMarket

OPINIONS | 27

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | DECEMBER 2021 photo t ra illus

y| nb ti o

NI DA

EL L

ZH A

FIRST EDITION OF ‘THE PANOCENE REVIEWED’ A summarized version of “The Anthropocene Reviewed” review DANIELLE ZHANG art editor

t’s May. By that I mean that it’s been six months since then. It’s November, and I’m still afraid of beginnings. In sophomore year, I was afraid to start junior year; in junior year, I was afraid of senior year. I rarely visit new restaurants or start new shows. And sitting at my desk, I think I’m afraid to start writing a review whose beginnings I first conceived of in September. But for now, it’s still May. I’m one person in a tangle of limbs and conversations on the carpet. The audio of some Zoom class plays in the background from a computer balanced precariously on top of a book that one of my friends is currently reading. “It’s called ‘The Anthropocene Reviewed’,” she tells me. “You should read it — you’d really like it.” “Okay,” I say. And then I proceed to not read it. Or at least, not for four months. When I finally do get over my fear of beginnings and my inability to navigate libraries and finally start the book, I finish it in five days. “The Anthropocene Reviewed” distilled down to its barest bones is a collection of essays in which John Green reviews topics ranging from humanity’s temporal range to scratch and sniff stickers. Each essay is only a few pages long, a bite-sized format that makes this book easy for consumption. However, what makes this book truly stunning is not only Green’s beautiful usage of language, but also his ability to form connections between the topic he is reviewing, its history and his own personal experiences. His anecdotes establish a moving level of

relatability and vulnerability that transcends language. And in drawing these connections, Green ultimately imparts his messages on the unique human experience and the contradictions and capabilities within our species, as well as his understandings of love and falling in love with life and the world. How can we find meaning in wintry mix? What can Canada geese teach us about mankind’s limitations? Why not revel in a sunset? Five pages in, Green writes “…in the Anthropocene, there are no disinterested observers; there are only participants.” I think there are times when it would be better to be a disinterested observer in the time of the Anthropocene. How else does one cope with the world we have created? But that simply isn’t possible. Like it or not, willing or unwilling, I am a participant. I am one person in a global tangle of narratives; when tragedy tugs a few strings, the whole yarn unravels. Yet, in face of this, John Green writes that “I want to fall in love with the world anyway, to let it crack me open.” And in a review that I am still afraid to start, I (Danielle Zhang) am writing that I too want to fall in love with the world. I want to revel at a sunset and rejoice at a sunrise. And I think most of all, I want to walk home on an autumn afternoon, curl up in my favorite chair, watch wind and gravity tug leaves from the trees, and reread “The Anthropocene Reviewed”. With that, I give “The Anthropocene Reviewed” by John Green five stars. P Read future parts of this column on laduepublications.com

28 | OPINIONS

SPREAD DESIGN BY CAROLINE EDGAR | RILEY COATES

illustration by | MAX YANG

SKEWED SPIRITUALITY

Spirituality can be beneficial, but there’s a limit TARIQ LASHLEY opinions editor

ur generation lives in a changing world. A world made rigid with lines drawn in the sand, helicopter parents monitoring above, electronic notifications ruling social situations and your life decided decades before. For many teens, control over their lives is akin to the apple above Tantalus — forever desired, forever reaching. Some turn to sports, an activity they can choose and work at for themselves. Others turn to substances, a way to feel what they ‘want,’ and some turn to spirituality, finding rituals that could elicit change in ways that couldn’t have been done before. All have their boons, and all have their flaws. I want to make this clear: I am not against spirituality, nor am I against believing in what you want to believe in. For a lot of people, spirituality helps connect themselves to their culture and their heritage and provide a sense of comfort and belonging to a community. However, on sites like TikTok or Instagram, spirituality is twisted from something useful to a conduit for misinformation, dangerous levels of escapism and manipulation of the mind. And the deepest evil of the rabble is its attempt to pass off genuine mental illnesses as some sort of otherworldly connection. Too frequently I see posts on TikTok with self-proclaimed spiritual or religious experts and officials explaining their most recent breakthrough: modern

medicine is “blocking the third eye,” and “visual hallucinations is the universe trying to communicate.” No, no, no. You cannot just say things like that. You just can’t. You’re wrong. You can’t parade yourself as some enlightened guru when you claim Tourettes is “the result of your multiple dimensional selves merging together.” You can’t tell yourself you’re helping others when you are actively encouraging people to force themselves into a psychosis where they can’t discern what’s real and illusionary. Do you not see how harmful this can be? The government isn’t hiding some transmigrational power which allows people to slip into alternate worlds (conveniently only when one is sleeping). Spreading the misinformation that people are, only fuels the paranoia of those most vulnerable to such delusions. Real people can be hurt by this content. For some, the repercussions might be distant, but I have witnessed the result of such misinformation firsthand. When you have a platform of potentially millions of people, you have to be cognizant of the dangers of your voice. You can have your beliefs, but you have to be aware of the consequences of your words. When you interact with the internet as an influencer, you hold the metaphorical strings to a countless number of individuals in the real world, and thus should act with responsibility for your influence. When you post such metaphysical and reality-defining claims to an impressionable audience, that responsibility is twofold. P

PARANOIA OF THE PEOPLE

A look into global experiences of paranoia and schizophrenia

38.7% of the global population has experienced hallucinations

15% of the global population experiences paranoia

1.1% of the global population experiences schizophrenia Source: The Spanish Society of Neurology, Scientific American, the National Institute of Mental Health

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | 29

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | DECEMBER 2021

HALLMARK IN THE MAKING A fully unbiased attempt at recreating the classic Christmas films RILEY COATES

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SPREAD DESIGN BY LUCY LOCHMOELLER

A YEAR IN REVIEW A look back on the months of 2021 as the year comes to an end

JANUARY

LUCY LOCHMOELLER associate editor

Jan. 6 brought the insurrection at the capital. Two days later, Twitter permanently suspended Donald Trump’s account. In addition, Ladue offered in-person school to high school students Jan. 5. Finally, speculation of voter fraud continued throughout states such as Georgia. Additionally, in politics, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were inaugurated Jan. 20.

3 5

MARCH

FEBRUARY

February was… strange. From Feb. 13-17, Texas suffered the unthinkable: a snow storm that brought at least 57 deaths, 4.5 million homes and businesses without power and billions of dollars in damages. Also, Donald Trump was acquitted from his impeachment Feb. 13. Lastly, Tom Brady won his seventh Superbowl, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine became the third available COVID-19 vaccine.

Early in the month, Biden signed off on the third round of stimulus checks, giving every eligible person $1,400. Things took a turn when a cargo ship got stuck in the Suez Canal, which is used for 12% of the world’s trading. For six days, the Ever Given sat lodged in the canal, carrying over a billion dollars worth of goods and blocking several other cargo ships. It took nearly 800 people to finally free the ship. March also brought the tragic Atlanta shootings. The killer took the lives of eight people, six of whom were Asian women.

MAY

APRIL

April was quite a depressing month. Arkansas became the first state to ban gender-confirming surgeries for transgender minors April 4. In response, human rights groups filed lawsuits. Also, Daunte Wright was killed during a traffic violation by a police officer in Minnesota. The police officer was arrested for second-degree manslaughter April 14. Major League Baseball protested the new Georgia voting laws by moving the historical all-star game from Atlanta to Denver.

May was fairly uneventful. The month started out with the U.S. beginning to formally withdraw troops from Afghanistan. The Colonial Pipeline suffered from a cyberattack May 7, which contributed to this year's higher gas prices. Elon Musk hosted Saturday Night Live, which became quite controversial. Ladue held in-person graduation at the school’s stadium for the 2021 senior class May 23.

illustration by | TAREK AL HUSSEINI & SCARLETTE MAIER

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LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | DECEMBER 2021

JUNE

AUGUST

Sources: npr, Human Rights Campaign, The New York Times, The Texas Tribune, and Infoplease

JULY

June was better than others, but still not great. Juneteenth became an official federal holiday June 17. Also, Derrick Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison after being found guilty for the murder of George Floyd. Things turned bad when a condominium in Miami, Florida collapsed June 24. The 12-story building collapsed due to delayed repairs and structural problems, killing 97.

Jeff Bezos became the second billionaire to ever fly to space July 20, traveling 62 miles above earth and back in under 15 minutes. Bezos took a shuttle manufactured by his company Blue Origin. Shortly after, the 2021 Tokyo Olympics began July 23. Simone Biles shocked the world after dropping out of the gymnastics competition due to mental health reasons, sparking a conversation around the world regarding mental health in athletes.

The 2021 Tokyo Olympics came to a happy close Aug. 8. The U.S. walked away with 39 gold medals, 41 silver and 33 bronze, coming first in medal count with 113. China came second at 88. Ladue students had their first day of school year Aug. 23, starting the year off fully back in person. Ladue also held the first Friday night football game Aug. 27, the first game under the lights since 2019.

SEPTEMBER

September started out with a controversial abortion ban from Texas, called the Texas Heartbeat Act. The law went into effect Sept. 1, becoming the first law to place a ban on abortions after the first six weeks since Roe v. Wade gave women the right to choose. September also brought the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers. Hundreds of Commemoration Ceremonies were held across the country in honor of the nearly 3,000 victims.

OCTOBER

October was one of the happier months of 2021. The Boston Marathon was finally held Oct. 11 after being postponed from it’s original date of May 28. Benson Kipruto won the men’s race and Diana Kipyogei won the women’s. The 2022 Winter Olympics kicked off with the torch relay Oct. 18. The opening ceremony is set to be Feb. 4 in Beijing. Finally, October ended with the FDA approving the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for ages 5-11.

NOVEMBER

November started poorly with Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III killing a woman and her dog drunk driving. Ruggs was driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.16% at 156 mph. Also, Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival led to 10 deaths due to overcrowding. November ended with the death of fashion designer Virgil Abloh Nov. 28 after a battle with cancer and a school shooting in Michigan Nov. 30. The 15 year-old shooter took a gun from his parents, killing four and injuring many others.

It’s hard to say if December will be better than the others. There are still three weeks to go so...fingers crossed.

32 | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

SPREAD DESIGN BY SOPHIA HILLMAN

WHATCHA LISTENING TO?

A look into the songs students listen to during the school day

“

The lyric playing right now is ‘Step up in the scene, so fresh, so clean, like a detergent.’”

I listen to this song about twice a day.”

BRETT CONCORS | JUNIOR

RIDER GREENE | SOPHOMORE

DON’T SPEAK

BETTER DAYS

By: No Doubt

“

This song is part of my playlist called ‘music that sounds like someones dad.’” LILY GAGE | JUNIOR

By: Neiked and Polo C

YAH MEAN

By: Playboy Cardi

YAH MEAN

By: Playboy Cardi

“

My favorite genre of music, or just the music, I listen to most is today’s top hits.” SABA FAJORS | JUNIOR

WISH

By: Denzel Curry

WISH

By: Denzel Curry

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LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | DECEMBER 2021

illustration by | SOPHIA HILLMAN

“

The last lyric to play was ‘And when you reach the top there is no where else to go.’”

I’m listening to the catchy chorus, the part that goes baby shark do do.” MAC DOUGLAS | SENIOR

KATIE MYCKATYN | FRESHMAN

COFFEE BEAN

ROCKLAND

By: Travis Scott

By: Gracie Abrams

“

I listened to this song for the first time because one of my friends sent it to me.”

ANNA DALTON | SOPHOMORE

Source: Genius

THE FALL

By: Love Joy

“

This is part of my playlist called Bruh.” WILL KODNER | FRESHMAN

BABY SHARK By: Pinkfong

34 | HEALTH & SPORTS

SPREAD DESIGN BY DOMENIC FENOGLIO

#FOR BOB Boys soccer team reaches state final motivated by loss of beloved superfan MAX EASTMAN

that started flashing super bright after we won and everyone instantly thought about Bob.” health & sports staff Elzemeyer passed away after battling COVID-19 Dec. 20, aunching himself into the air with an utter disregard for 2020. The success of the soccer team — becoming the first team his own well being, senior Bobby Hartrich tips the hur- in Ladue history to reach the state finals — was overshadowed by another first: the first season without tling soccer ball, sending it into Bobby supporting from the sidelines. the crossbar above his head. This gives “To me [Bob’s passing] was a reason freshman Avi Levin the opportunity It was a lot less about why we should go as far as we did, not only to secure Ladue’s district title with the winning penalty-kick. feeling his absence, and because this was my last year and a lot of our starting players’ last years, but this As the team celebrates, eyes make it was a lot more you [was] our first year without Bobby,” senior their way to the sideline, hoping against could feel his presence Connor Krell said. “Throughout my years hope to see the familiar face of Ladue in the soccer program, Bobby has been at superfan Robert “Bobby” Elzemeyer when we would win.” every practice and every game. I don’t rejust one more time. As head coach Dave CONNOR KRELL | SENIOR member him missing a single thing. So it Aronberg gives his post-game speech, was like ‘we’re missing a big part of the he affirms what many on the team already knew — that Elzemeyer had still been cheering them on. team and now we got to put on for it.’ And that’s why we did “In the district finals when Hartrich saved their sixth [pen- so well.” The team was dominant throughout the season, playing alty kick] off the crossbar, I was literally only thinking of Bob,” senior Bobby Hardester said. “Aronberg pointed out this star with intense determination. They continued to have big wins,

“

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | DECEMBER 2021

HEALTH & SPORTS | 35

FAR LEFT: The boy’s soccer team huddles before the state championship game Nov. 20. This marked the first time the team has ever advanced this far. “This group came in with the goal of going to state,” head coach Dave Aronberg said. “I think this group was highly motivated to become the best team in Ladue soccer history.” ABOVE: Fans cheer for the players as they face off against Ft. Zumwalt North. Elzemeyer would not only be ever present in the stands during games, but come to daily practices. “I don’t think there was ever a practice that he missed, even during COVID,” senior Bobby Hardester said. “When they didn’t allow other people on the field, he would watch from the parking lot.” LEFT: “For Bob” appears on the shoes of each player on the team. The entire season was dedicated in his honor. “For Bob is right on the inside of my cleat,” senior Bobby Hardester said. “Every pass I made he was with me. He was our good luck charm, and I know that he was looking down on us during every game we had this year.” (Photos by Ginger Schulte)

including winning their season opening tournament. As the playoffs approached, junior Eli Tenenbaum wanted to honor Elzemeyer in a unique way. “Coach started hashtag ‘For Bob,’ and [in the] playoffs, I brought Sharpies for the whole team to write ‘For Bob’ on all our cleats,” Tenenbaum said. “We were trying to win for him.” And win the team did, finishing the season with a 23-7-1 record, a second place state final finish and admiration from many. Although he always loved to see Ladue win, Elzemeyer was truly indifferent to the results of a match. “I told the boys if we had gone 5-20, Bobby would have been just as proud,” Aronberg said. “But having the season that we had, in my eyes, really enshrined his legacy because his story got out to more people.” Elzemeyer’s continued love of Ladue soccer meant that he formed countless friendships with Ladue students. According to Aronberg, he was “omnipresent” around Ladue soccer and a constant support for players on the team. “Bobby would always say hi to me,” Hardester said. “I remember every single time I saw him, he would always [say], ‘Hey, Bobby, you know we have the same name right?’ It was

always really funny to me. We would talk before practice and before every game. He was there for every single person on the team, whether you needed him or not.” The love that Elzemeyer showed many of the older players on the team created a culture in which Elzemeyer was a constant topic of conversation. As a result, players who never met Elzemeyer could feel personally connected to him. “It’s almost like I already met him because of all the things people have said about him,” Levin said. “And I do feel his presence because of how much we talk about him as a team. It’s almost like he’s there.” Elzemeyer’s vacancy was felt by the team almost as much as his companionship, motivating the team to achieve. This season puts a cap on a legacy of fierce friendship and love, and the team is sure that Elzemeyer will remain in Ladue history and in the minds of the team forever. “If I could talk to him one more time I would tell him how much I love him because he was a big ‘I love you’ guy,” Krell said. “You couldn’t talk to him without getting an ‘I love you.’ I would tell him how good of a friend he was and how much everyone at Ladue loves him. He’ll never be forgotten.” P

36 | HEALTH & SPORTS

SPREAD DESIGN BY OVIYA SRIHARI | LUKE LOCHMOELLER

FIGURE

Freshman Gia Grillo skates competitively from age of 3 RIGHT: Freshman Gia Grillo, midair, executes a jump. She took off using the edge of her blade and made 1.5 to two rotations before landing. “You fall on more jumps than you land,” Grillo said. “It takes a lot of effort and power and willpower to want to get up.” TOP RIGHT: Grillo strikes a pose while rehearsing her program. She began training new artistic elements with a private coach when she was 7 years old. “A lot of people don’t give it as much credit as it deserves,” Grillo said. “Figure skaters have to look pretty and do it even though you’re in pain.” BOTTOM RIGHT: Grillo enters a spin. As time progressed and she learned new skills, Grillo came to love the sport. “I would get really scared,” Grillo said. “I’m still scared, just learning new stuff, because I don’t want to fall.” (Photos by Sydney Collinger)

ABBIE JANSEN staff writer

he crisp sound of skate blades on ice slices through the chilled indoor air. Freshman Gia Grillo gracefully glides, pivots and jumps her way across the sheet of ice like the rink is her second home. After being introduced to ice skating at only 3 years old, Grillo became enamoured. Today, at 14 years old, she is an advanced skater. “I thought that it was cool,” Grillo said regarding her first lesson experience. “I really liked it and started making a lot of friends because it’s fun to just go to the rink and talk.” Grillo first began skating with a friend. While that friend eventually decided to quit the sport, Grillo persisted. At around 7 years old, she began to take private lessons with a greater emphasis on her technical skills. By the age of 10, she fully fell in love with the sport, even as the skills she learned became more focused and difficult. “You have more freedom with it,” Gril-

lo said. “You start learning new things, doing new things [and] learning new jumps. It’s a lot more fun then.” During the summer, Grillo practices four to five times a week. However, throughout the school year, she practices only two to three times a week due to the time spent on homework and extracurricular activities. “She has to spend a lot of time training and has to have a lot of perseverance,” Grillo’s mother Terri Grillo said, “When she’s learning new skills or jumps, she has to get over her mental block and push through her fear of falling.” Although figure skating has been popularized by the Olympic Games, Gia believes the sport doesn’t receive enough credit. Hours of practice go into a two minute performance that requires very fine attention to detail and strength. “It’s a lot different from soccer,” Gia said. “You only have two minutes and you have all these different elements — spins, jumps, footwork — and [when] you get out there you’re the only one on the ice. There are judges and no matter what you do, you have to smile. Even if

you fall or you’re stressed out, you have to at least look good.” While many skaters have multiple coaches, Gia works with just one. In competitions, skaters are judged on complexity of choreography, artistic performance, technique and how they look while skating. Gia’s favorite jump is the double salchow, two rotations in the air that is entered backwards. The number of mid-air turns, direction of entry, takeoff and the landing all determine the type and difficulty of a jump. Gia is participating in the 2021 Nutcracker on Ice ice show at the Webster Groves Ice Arena as a Frost Princess Dec. 11 and 12. Years of work, dedication and perseverance have gotten her to her current skill level. “Gia started practicing [her axel jump] as often as she could to make sure she placed well in her program,” Terri said. “This involved a lot of falling and getting back up to try it again. Although she doubted herself, she landed both axels in competition. I remember being in the audience and being so proud of her. She ended up placing first.” P

LOCAL LIFTING

HEALTH & SPORTS | 37

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | DECEMBER 2021

A review on local gyms and their offerings in St. Louis County area

illustration by | SOPHIA LIU

LUKE LOCHMOELLER

the

health & sports staff

2 Millstone Campus Dr. Pricing: $100 per month The JCC Fitness and Community Center offers a wide variety of bicycle machines, a functional training studio for specific muscle targeting and a pilates studio. It also has a double full court gym with a track overlooking the courts. The JCC comes with a large supply of black InTek weights and bars, although they are a little outdated and rusty. All of the machines are in good condition. The JCC caters well towards families and senior citizens, with numerous types of camps, day cares and activities available.

2051 S. Lindbergh Blvd. Pricing: $169 per month Lifetime Fitness is an exclusive gym that comes with a hefty fee but offers an expansive selection in return. The gym has close to 30 treadmills and different types of cardio bikes and stair machines. Over to the weights, Lifetime has 12 squat racks fully equipped with black Alpha weights. The machine area has almost every machine you can think of, ranging from incline chest press to a torso rotation machine. The rest of the upstairs floor consists of two full sized basketball courts, fitness rooms for spin classes and dance classes with trained instructors. Lifetime also offers recovery sessions and stretching coaching.

1201 S. Warson Rd. Pricing: Free for students The Ladue High School student weight room (only student accessible) has 12 squat racks, six benches, six platforms and countless other pieces of equipment, equipped to deal with a large student-athlete population. The weight room also boasts a brand new set of 12 Rogue Ohio Bars that are color customized for Ladue. The weight room has anything you need — from foam rollers and workout bands to lifting belts — for a good lift. On the second floor of the high school, there is an expansive cardio room with Concept2 rowing machines, a Concept2 erg machine and a Rogue Assault bike.

(Photos by Luke Lochmoeller)

38 | HEALTH & SPORTS

SPREAD DESIGN BY RYAN TUNG

Seniors Charlie Krasnoff (front) and Andrew Smock (back) sprint to the finish line at the 2021 State Cross Country Meet. The two placed third and fourth respectively. “Everybody that talks to a runner is like ‘why would you do that,’” Smock said. “I don’t know. It makes me feel fit, it makes me feel confident, it’s sort of like a therapy.” (Photo courtesy of Richard Witt. Photo Illustration by Ryan Tung)

TWO OF

A KIND Senior teammates excel in cross country

HEALTH & SPORTS | 39

LADUEPUBLICATIONS.COM | DECEMBER 2021

DOMENIC FENOGLIO editor-in-chief

ifteen minutes and 20 seconds is about the time it takes to make a frozen pizza. For some high school students, it’s the time it takes to get out of bed in the morning. But for seniors Charlie Krasnoff and Andrew Smock, 15 minutes and 20 seconds is the time it took for them to run 5 kilometers at the state championship race Nov. 5. More specifically, Krasnoff finished with a time of 15:20.2 and Smock with 15:20.7, placing third and fourth in state, respectively. The two smashed the previous school record set by Smock weeks earlier, and Krasnoff weeks before that and, well, you get the picture. Moreover, their times led Ladue to placing fourth as a team. “They push each other, but it’s always been a rivalry that’s been personified by cooperation as much as competition,” teacher and cross country coach Richard Witt said. “It’s the competition they use to push each other, but I think they both really care for the other runner a lot. They both want to do well for the team as well as themselves.” The night before the race, neither Smock nor Krasnoff could sleep very much. However, when the morning of the race came, the two settled into their routine. Krasnoff had his apple cinnamon oatmeal and a banana, and Smock had his peanut butter and honey on toast. Krasnoff tuned in to his “secret” playlist, carefully curated to help him focus. A very superstitious runner, Krasnoff refused to talk to Smock before the race. “I have to do everything the same,” Krasnoff said. “Whenever someone says ‘oh, you’re gonna win,’ the first thing I say is ‘knock on wood.’ Andrew does not get that. I never go to a race in my trainers, I go in my regular shoes, then change into my trainers, then my spikes. I always double knot them.” Similar to the races they won all year, the two stayed side by side until

the very end of the race, when Krasnoff to do better so I can be better than pulled away by a mere few strides. Charlie,’ and I know he wants to be Heading into the better than me.” final stretch, both Part of the knew first place reason that Smock was out of reach, feels the two are It’s super peaceful. but the standing as such close friends Every time I go out Ladue’s champion is because of that on a run, I sit there was up for grabs. intensity they bring by myself thinking. “In the last 20 out in each other. meters, my body Witt describes the My stride is like a started tightening metronome. It’s such a pair as “highly up,” Krasnoff said. coachable,” and simple activity, so you “Andrew almost with that comes get time to think. It’s caught up to me. the ability to power I saw his shadow, through especially therapeutic.” and I put in one last difficult practices. ANDREW SMOCK | SENIOR surge to finish.” “I think that While the two you become closest runnners described their state race with the people that you suffer with,” as a “bittersweet” moment, placing Smock said. “[When] you get through fourth as a team and making their a hard workout, if you can still have mark in Ladue history meant the state fun after that, it brings you really competition was a major success. There close.” were no hard feelings or jealousy with This closeness has helped them in their competitors. their races, as they have a teammate “One of the great things about cross to pace with in the front of the pack. country [is that] if you look at how Smock even described conversations they interact with their competitors, the two have had on how hard they the guys they’re running against, it’s want to push in races with a large gap very supportive,” Witt said. “It’s rare between them and the rest of the field. that you see a runner that doesn’t “I know that if we’re together, we’re thank his competitors and shake their in a good spot,” Krasnoff said. “Usually hands. I’ve got a picture of Charlie during races, we try to work together when he walks up to get his third place [for the first part] to try to pull ahead. medal for state, they’re all high fiving, I try to key off of him, and he does the pounding fists. It’s the nature of the same.” sport.” Both Smock and Krasnoff plan to The journey to the state race traces continue to run in college, and they years for Smock and Krasnoff, who are currently fielding offers from a first became friends when they began number of division one programs. swimming together in elementary Down the road, they look forward school. Their friendship has evolved to lining up next to each other as into an everyday test to see who can competitors instead of teammates. best the other. Both have nothing but While their friendship will always positive things to say about the other be there, alongside it will also be the but ensure that the biggest goal is constant motivation to be better and always to be the best. faster than the other. “It’s a fun competitive dynamic,” “That would be awesome, if we Smock said. “Every single day at ended up in the same race [in college],” practice and training, you’re racing Krasnoff said. “By then, one of us could each other. You just push each other to be a lot better than the other. A lot can get better. It’s fun because you think change in college. I guess we’ll have to to yourself during the workout ‘I want see.” P

“